"Slaves, huh?" Adrian commented, looking at the bunch of scrawny people in clothing even rougher than what the villagers wore as they followed after old Tashe.
"Human trade is just one of the oldest businesses..." Sir Cordell said at his side. "They will help in the fields, and the prisoners will handle the more strenuous tasks."
"And? After making them work, what does the Lord plan to do with them?" Adrian asked.
Sir Cordell looked at him from the corner of his eye. "You have thoughts about slaves?"
Adrian shrugged. "I thought they were outlawed in the kingdom."
"They are." Sir Cordell said. "But there are ways around it, like all things. For instance, if the slaves were not originally your own, but ones you took from others."
"Can one sell them?" Adrian asked, curious.
"No, doing so would mean one is in the slave business, then it is against the Crown's laws." Sir Cordell shook his head. "The Lord Baron wouldn't discard them anyway. We lost people... and we are still expected to send men for the Prince's plans. These newcomers will do right by the village."
Adrian nodded. It was early, barely an hour had passed since the first light of day. He turned his gaze toward the other group, the Maglu Islander prisoners. Compared to the slaves, the guards treated them much more harshly, with Colby bellowing and cursing at them to work.
Adrian felt less sympathy for them.
"Why am I being treated so differently?" Adrian asked after a few moments, a question he had an inkling of an answer to, but had never voiced.
The knight simply chuckled. "You know why. You're a Harrow in the end. No matter how distant, think nothing more of it until tomorrow arrives."
Adrian nodded, though he spied hesitation on the knight's scarred face, as if the man wanted to ask him something but decided against it.
They stood there silently, watching the yard come alive, until Sir Cordell spoke again.
"The Lord Baron is not well," He said, his voice almost a whisper.
Adrian's head snapped toward him, but he didn't speak.
"He grows weaker by the day. His injury and his age, the cause."
Adrian frowned. He hadn't stayed long at the meeting last night, leaving only after Lady Harrow promised to help him with the matter of sending people to the new city with Steward Osway.
If the Baron were to die soon without a male heir, the territory would have no Lord.
Lady Harrow, despite being the Baron's wife, could not take up the mantle for two reasons, she was a woman, and she had never given birth to a child of the Harrow bloodline. They were married in the eyes of the law and God, but not by blood.
If there was no direct next-in-line, then Adrian, despite being a distant cousin, might be the only one left.
Adrian sighed. Truly, life was full of surprises. "I guess I'll see you when I see you, Sir Cordell?"
The knight nodded. "It takes a long time to build a city so perhaps those words should be mine."
Just then, the Steward appeared, talking to Hedley. "Ah, Sir Cordell... the boat is ready, along with what you asked for."
The knight gave Adrian one last glance and a nod before heading off to make final preparations. Adrian was to follow in more than a week, but less than two. It was supposedly to allow the village to recover, and since they were going to build a city rather than fight a battle, there should be no danger.
He wasn't clear on the details, but he knew the Prince planned to have nearby lords help maintain and protect the new port city in exchange for benefits. Adrian shook his head, putting the matter aside, and joined Colby in keeping watch over the islander prisoners.
More than a week passed. Adrian was getting used to his routine. In the morning, he was tutored by Osway and sometimes even Lady Harrow herself. The matter of the coin, he had never managed to brought up.
In the afternoon, he explored the village. It was currently the eighth month of the year, the harvest was finished and planting had begun. He saw the former slaves adjusting to their new lives. For them, simply not being whipped was a better treatment, even if food was still sparse as Adrian saw smiles on them.
One night, a few days until he set off, Adrian sat atop the castle wall, carving a wooden figure by torchlight. He blew the wood shavings away just as he spotted multiple torches in the distance, boats from the river coming to a stop at the docks.
He stood up abruptly, fearing the worst, before realizing the direction they were coming from.
It was a delegation from Baron Hillside, a neighboring territory. Led by the Baron himself, a young man with brown hair only a few years older than Adrian, they had come to answer the Prince's call.
------------------------
"The Prince has great temperament and, most especially, a foresight that I can only look up to," Adrian said smoothly with a smile, while inwardly grumbling.
He was in a private dining room with Baron Bronsone and his younger brother. Lady Harrow sat at the head of the table.
"Unfortunately, we are quite a distance away, so we weren't able to send assistance quickly." Baron Bronsone said after chewing his food. "If we had known of the prince, we wouldn't have hesitated."
"It is a shame I don't get to meet the Baron himself." Lord Bronsone continued. "My father and he had quite a connection."
"You fought the Islanders yourself, Lord Adrian?" the younger brother asked, eyes wide with interest.
Adrian nodded and recounted the tale of the battle.
When he was done, the Lord sighed. "Back in our territory, we worry about barbarian clans in the mountains. Now there is the worry of raiders in the ocean. Truly, everywhere is perilous."
"The barbarians still worry the Lord of Hillside?" Lady Harrow asked.
"Yes. Some clans have gathered together forcefully. One of the captured barbarian told us they are being pushed out of their lands by the Elves."
The Elves. Adrian would be lying if he said he wasn't interested in other races. "Have you seen an Elf yourself?"
"I haven't had the honor, but my father did," Lord Bronsone said. He described them as looking human, save for their sharp, pointed ears and a grace that seemed unnatural.
"They can live half a millennium, something that even kings can only hope, but they are a recluse race. They rarely leave their forests."
Adrian asked if they were as beautiful as the rumors suggested, and Lord Bronsone confirmed they were.
Adrian wondered what's it like to be able to live that long and reckoned watching kingdoms fall and rise would be quite interesting but also lonely.
When morning came, Baron Hillside left immediately. However, a new boat arrived shortly after his departure.
A messenger hastily headed to the castle. When Adrian entered the room where Lady Harrow had summoned him, he saw a grim, sullen look on her face. Her lips were pursed and he could almost see a tear form out of her eyes before she blinked.
The Steward's eyes were shifty, darting from Adrian to the message the lady was holding. After a long silence, the Lady spoke.
"You are to go to Whitesand Town immediately."
"May I ask why, Milady?"
Lady Harrow released a heavy breath before inhaling deeply, struggling to collect herself. "Just go… you'll see."
"What about the preparations made for the aid to the new port city?"
"This comes first." Lady Harrow said firmly. "Take a guard or two and a few servants. Leave immediately."
Adrian hesitated, wanting to press for more answers, before simply bowing and leaving the room. His preparations were finished with startling speed, Lady Harrow must have whispered a command to the Steward, as the man was far more fussed over Adrian's departure than usual.
Soon, taking Dudly and Garly with him along with two servants, they set off by boat.
"What happened? Another conflict?" Dudley asked after two hours on the water. Adrian could only shake his head, he was as much in the dark as his men.
It was night by the time they arrived at the town, but Whitesand seemed to have gained a new surge of vitality. The docks were crowded, and the streets were still bustling with people. A guard rushed toward the castle to signal their arrival, and Adrian was quickly ushered inside the keep.
As he crossed the yard, he spotted the younger brother of Lord Bronsone, along with some of the children of Baron Sanford.
Instead of meeting the Baron or another lord, he was intercepted halfway by Sir Cordell. The knight wore a grim expression and guided him to a private chamber where servants immediately descended upon him. They scrubbed him clean and began changing his clothes with practiced, frantic efficiency that Adrian didn't have a chance to utter confusion.
The servants muttered about needing to be ready in half an hour. Adrian found the treatment unsettling, he wasn't used to such luxury and wasn't sure he wanted to be. He looked at the knight standing like a statue beside the doorway.
"What is going on, Sir Cordell?"
The knight only looked at him and lightly shook his head, refusing to break his silence. Soon, Adrian was dressed in what could only be described as ceremonial robes, heavy, fine fabric that felt like a weight upon his shoulders.
He was guided to the great hall. As he stepped inside, he instinctively stepped back in shock. The room was filled with nobility he hadn't seen before. The Sanford family, Lord Hardinge, the Viscount's family, Lord Cenroy who had faded bruises on his face, and Lord Bronsone were all present, lining the hall like silently.
In the center stood the Prince, and beside him, seated in a chair, was Baron Harrow. The man was pale, thin and greyer and weaker than Adrian had ever seen him, looking as though he were held together by sheer will alone.
"Step forward, Lord Adrian Harrow," The Prince commanded, turning to him with a faint smile. In his hand, he held a bared sword.
The minutes that followed were a daze. Adrian moved like a puppet, following the Prince's orders. He made an oath to the Crown and an oath to the people, his voice steady even as his mind raced, merely repeating the words said by a courtier at his side.
Only as the ceremony reached the end did he finally snapped into focus.
"With the lords and the god of light as witness, welcome…" the Prince declared, his voice ringing through the hall.
"Lord Adrian Harrow, Baron of Harrowfield."