CHAPTER 246: POLITICS OF POSSESSION

After a few minutes, one of the Royal Guard members came jogging over in full armour with his visor down, his identity protected from easy detection by the mercenaries.

"Lord Dominic, I have brought the token. There is a bit of damage, but it is still identifiable as belonging to the son of Baron Wall of Dagos." He explained, then passed Dominic the simple steel family token, which had what looked like it had been hit by either an arrow or a bullet.

The blood, if there had been any, had been scrubbed clean, so Dominic nodded and offered it to the mercenaries.

"Will this do for your bounty?" He asked.

The mercenary nodded, but the Guard raised his hand. "Take this as well. I think that it should help settle your employer’s mind."

The mercenary winced as he saw what was in the small cloth bag that the Royal Guard handed him, and then nodded.

"That should settle any questions pretty definitively."

Then, they turned and immediately rode back north, as if they were being chased.

"What was in the bag?" Dominic asked quietly.

"The tattoo from his chest. He knew that they would come for the token, and he didn’t mind turning it over, but he thought that they might want proof of death." He explained.

"I take it that someone healed him?"

The guard nodded stiffly. "They did. Got him a change of clothes as well. We will keep him in the Manor for a day or two, until we’re sure that they’re not coming back to verify.

But there are so many fresh graves in the area that I don’t think they’re going to stick around and see if we’re intending to fill any more."

Dominic winked at him. "Perhaps that will actually work out for the best. I was worried that the curse and folklore would keep people from coming here to settle, but they might actually just work to keep trouble away for a little while."

The Guard shook his head. "We could only wish to be that lucky. No, I suspect that once the Merchant Guild’s Caravans make a single round trip we will start getting more new arrivals than we know what to do with, both commoners, and Nobles who are hoping to claim one of the Baronies with your support."

Dominic frowned. "They can do that?"

The sound of soft laughter came from under the helmet. "If it’s an unoccupied Barony. Meaning that nobody has currently claimed or been awarded it. If you allow someone to move in and start renovations, they will have a basis to petition for the King to grant them land to manage under your supervision, just like any other Baron.

It might take some time to get their official title recognized, but if they can claim a thousand acres or more, and get enough commoners to move in and work the land, it is all but inevitable.

At worst, the King might arrange a marriage between one of their daughters and the Baron he has chosen for the territory. So, they will live in peace, and the family lineage will retain Noble status for another generation."

"I don’t suppose that I can trick my wife into dealing with that sort of issue?"

That made the Royal Guard laugh openly. "Good luck with that. Tricking her into doing the work that nobody else wants was never easy, even when she was a mere squire at the Royal Order."

Dominic sighed. "I suspected that might be the case. Fortunately, hosting visiting Nobles is part of her side of the household duties. I might have to be the one to tell them no, but at least I don’t have to put on a friendly face all day and I can use work as an excuse to delay."

The amused guard patted him on the shoulder.

"Good luck with that, Your Grace. We all look forward to seeing you try."

The Guard returned to the Manor, and Dominic headed for the forge, intending to visit Pops.

The old Dwarf was making farm tools along with John, the carpenter. They had large tractors now, so they needed larger implements, which were essentially just multiple smaller ones linked together for efficiency.

So, that was what they were making now.

Once the first crop was picked, they would need to plow and replant, so, the pair were working on a drawbar that would link three smaller plows or three planters together side by side.

They were a combination of steel brackets and wooden arms, which meant both tradesmen were needed. The amount of timber they had was limited, and it all looked freshly cut. But it would have to do for now, and Pops had built some sort of contraption to steam and bend the wood to shape for drying.

Dominic had heard that the airship and carriage builders used the same thing, but he had never actually seen one in use.

The carriage works next door were already in operation, or at least setting up their tools to start operation, and it had more space. That would let them move some of this work next door if they wanted to outsource.

But officially both Pops and John were employees of the Duchy, and not independent shop owners.

How they were going to settle that after John had paid off the debts that Dominic had taken on would have to be worked out later.

Dominic didn’t intend to take anything from Pops, but the old man was sure to give the locals quite a bit on credit, no matter how he complained about customers only being customers if they were paying. If they gave him trouble about payment later, when they were doing well, Dominic could put pressure on them as the Duke to pay their debts.

Which might have been what Pops had in mind all along.

Doing good deeds was all good, but the Dwarf was not one who would be lenient on those who were ungrateful. It just wasn’t in his nature.