“Except you’re not in your lands anymore, you little prick, you’re in MINE!” I roared at him, making everyone take a step back at my sudden blaze of fury. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, rubbing my face with my hands as I reflected on how easily this man had driven me into a rage, before calling out to Seneschal.
“Seneschal, old buddy, you there?”
“Of course, Jax.”
“Coolio. Okay I need you to get someone to grab the shittiest weapon you can find in the tower and bring it down here, along with a pack of supplies.”
“I have the perfect equipment in mind. It should take only a few minutes to have it prepared, and it’ll be with you within the hour. There’s a Servitor close by, and it can deliver them.”
“Thanks, mate.”
“Okay, Bob, take those three asshats off to the side. I want them out of the way before I do something I’ll really enjoy…”
I said, gesturing at a section of the courtyard that was the furthest from where the rest of the group stood.
Bob stomped forward quickly, grabbing the three in his multiple hands and dragging them unceremoniously as far as possible from the remaining villagers, who were glaring furiously at them.
I addressed the villagers, grimacing as I reflected on what should have been a joyous occasion.
“Okay, people,” I said, taking a deep breath and smiling at them, although it was obviously a little forced. “That wasn’t the start I’d hoped for with this, but Isabella told me that some of you would like to join us here in the Great Tower permanently as citizens?”
“Yes, my lord!” replied Isabella, offering an awkward curtsey that was quickly copied by the rest of the group, including the men, who seemed as confused as I was by the show.
“Stop.” I shook my head. “Please, there’s no need to bow or curtsey, not here, and not with me. Yes… I am Lord Jax, and I’m lord of the Great Tower and of Dravith, but we’re a small community, and we’re all going to be working hard to get things up and running together.
“First of all, is there anyone here who doesn’t want to swear allegiance and join the community?” I asked, noting the looks a few of them had given the three men that had been dragged off by Bob.
“Ignore those idiots, please,” I said firmly. “Isabella asked to join my community and was already under my protection when they decided to harm her. As it stands, they can consider themselves fortunate that I’m just making them leave. If they’d managed to actually carry out their threat, they’d be dead.”
I took a deep breath and looked around, spotting a moss-covered bench off to one side that faced an open space that was dappled with sunlight. I led them over and gestured for them to sit on the ground while I sat on the bench. “Can you all see hear me okay?” I asked, receiving cautious nods in response.
“Okay, then; you all want to join us, and that’s great. I’m happy to take you, but there will be Oaths, there’s no getting around that. In exchange for your fealty, I won’t just give you protection. First, I know there are some kids with you; anyone want to tell me how many?” Isabella spoke up, hesitantly.
“There are eight children, my Lord.”
“Righto. Well, while you can all swear, as you’re adults, the kids can’t. Don’t get me wrong, they’re very welcome here…” I said, seeing the panic on a few faces. “But as they’re only kids, I don’t expect them to swear to something they don’t understand. How old are they?”
“Between three and eleven,” Isabella offered after a quick whispered consultation.
“Okay, nobody under the age of sixteen can swear. They’ll be fed, and we’ll sort out some kind of schooling as soon as we can. Until then, I guess they get to play and get underfoot for now. I’ll not tell you what to do with them, as I’ve never had kids and don’t know what to do with them as well as you all probably do. So, moving on, are there any of you here that have a trade or recognized skill?”
Of the group of nearly twenty adults, only four held up their hands, and I asked them to stand and tell me about themselves.
“Well, um, I’m a farmer, m’lord…” the first man said, shuffling his feet awkwardly and looking down at his hands. His clothes were simple and had clearly been mended often, but he was fit and strong, with a heavily muscled frame, green eyes, and sandy hair. I blinked, a realization dawning as I looked over the rest of the crowd, and then considered Lorek. They were all what I’d have classed as ‘the beautiful people’ back home: not one of them was ugly, or even average, and the few that were overweight were clearly even more attractive than the others. They’d been taken as slaves, after all, or as hostages. The ship had probably left the ugly ones back at the village… if they’d not just killed them out of hand.
I suddenly realized I’d left the man standing there as I looked around, and I had to stop myself from facepalming. Great work, Jax. Way to make them feel valued!!
“That’s fantastic!” I said, forcing a smile to cover the awkward pause. “I’m sorry, I just had a realization; it wasn’t important, though. So, you’re a farmer? That’s going to be especially useful. After all, we all need to eat, right? What’s your name?”
“Ah, Timoth…m’lord,” he said, and I nodded at him.
“Well, welcome, Timoth. There’s certainly plenty for you to be busy with here. Tell me, how skilled are you?”
“I’m at level fourteen farmer, m’lord,” he replied proudly. “Been a farmer for seven years, grew up helpin’ me da!”
“That’s fantastic! Thank you, Timoth, you can sit down.”
I addressed the next person, finding in short order
