「Three days later.」
The morning light shone upon the desk in the Lord's Mansion office.
Velin was drafting "The Bader Dung Beetle Dung Conversion Procedure."
A sudden knock at the door drew his gaze from the paper to the entrance.
Granted permission to enter, old Walker came in, his face clouded with an expression of frustration and helplessness.
"My lord," old Walker said, leaning on his cane and rubbing its head with a calloused palm. "There's... a bit of a problem with the new batch of serfs."
Old Walker sighed and spread his hands in a helpless gesture, his murky eyes full of distress. "It's about clearing the land... They don't cause trouble, and they don't resist. It's just..." He couldn't find the right word, adding lamely, "Something's just not right."
Velin placed his quill back in its inkwell and stood up.
"Show me."
The group passed through the bustling town center and headed toward the vast stretches of wasteland to the west.
