The ceremony for Adam had been simple, with the baron lifting the young man up to the status of a baron, before he lifted himself up to the status of a t. The nearby knight gred at Adam with a terrifying fury. The young man had takele meant for him, and had promised the tow for him to another, a local, lowly guard captain.

  “What did I say?” Adam asked, patting Charles on the back. “Once I’m done here, you’ll be in charge, you be sure of that.”

  Charles blinked. His voice had lo him. The man who had killed his lord, the various knights tasked with proteg the town and nearby vilges, and many of the oners, had kept his word. He blinked once more, still trying to process what had happened.

  “Alright, let’s put you to work, Sir Charles,” Adam said, chug lightly, awkwardly. “We’ll leave you here to admihe town since we’ve got to go and fight. Figure out stuff from the workers of the previous lord, ask them what the tax situation is like and all that.”

  ‘Of course,’ the neointed knight thought. ‘Money and power, that’s how it always is. Suppose I ’t say nothing about it though…’

  The soldiers made their to the castle, while Adam and the others remai the towre. He gnced around, w if he could find the young fellow.

  Perception CheckD20 + 4 = 20 (16)

  He mao spot the figure gring at him. Adam furrowed his brows, before motioning a fiowards them. However, they disappeared into the crowd and the shadows.

  ‘They must have really loved the lord…’

  “I want to thank you all for accepting me so easily as your baron,” Adam began, standing tall, the light of the flickering fire casg all across his puthral armour. “We didn’t meet on the best foot, but I hope that you will remember me as a det lord. I ’t do much for yht now, though if you have any issues you may bring them to Sir Charles, who will work to deal with the town’s matters in my stead.”

  Adam could see the awkwardness all among the people. “However, know that I am no tyrant. month, I expect you to all work hard, as you have done so for years and years, and be gd that you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your bour, for month you shall pay only half your tax!”

  A liveliness filled the town upon hearing they would only o pay half the tax for the month.

  “Like I said, I’m no tyrant, so from now on, the townsfolk will pay half the tax twice a year, during months of the lord’s choice. I have chose month, and I will leave it to Sir Charles to pick the seonth for this year. I am but your lord temporarily, and I will do my best to work together with Sir Charles so that Rockcastle will prosper for you, your children, yrandchildren, and so on and so on!” Adam raised a mug of ale into the air.

  “Lit! Lit!” came the response from the vilgers, who raised their mugs into the sky, before sipping their ales.

  “What does that mean?” Adam whispered to the stunned knight beside him.

  “It means they wish you will live a long life.”

  “Well, yeah. Me too.” Adam chuckled lightly, his smile softening.

  ‘…’ Sir Charles remained silent, thinking deeply about Adam’s procmation. ‘Who are you?’

  Adam retired to the castle, which had bee within the rocky hill. The town ed around the hill, with a rge field with guards to one side, though it only half as lively as he had seen previously. The castle was certainly rger than the castles of the nearby towns, and was no doubt hard to impregnate, especially with the rge river which ran through, and the several towers set within the robsp;

  ‘Nice.’

  “Good evening, t Moonglow,” Adam called, arriving into the dining hall where the t had beeing with his soldiers.

  “Good evening, Baron Fateson,” the t replied.

  “How’s the food?” Adam asked, gng between the servants. “Not poisoned, I hope.”

  “Not poisoned.”

  “Well, I double check if you give me a few minutes. Not hard to check for poison.”

  ‘Were you not poisoned?’

  Adam frowned, reading the thought on the t’s face. “I wasn’t expeg it st time, but I check for poison given a quarter.”

  “That quickly?”

  “Yes.”

  Matteas wasn’t sure if he should be surprised by such a statement, sidering how Adam could rain down fire from the sky.

  “Alright, well, I’ll have someone lead me to my treasury, and once we catalogue everything, lit everything then.” Adam gnced around. “Who is the leader of the servants?”

  “I am,” a young man said, stepping forward. His hair was dark brown, trimmed a, swept to the side. His eyes were a dark, dark grey, not quite bck. He was thin, and carried himself as though a ruler that been glued to the back of his ned his back. “I am the attendant head.”

  “I was about to ent on how young you are, but I know how annoying that is.” Adam raised his brows knowingly. “Great, you fill me in with the situation at the castle, the amount of workers, their heir saries, and so on. We’ll do that after we check out the treasury though, so I know how much to pay you and whatever.”

  “There is no need for you to deal with such matters, my lord.”

  “I’m sure there’s no need, but I want to make sure my house is in order,” Adam stated, smiling once more.

  “Such matters are typically dealt with by myself, my lord.”

  Adam tio smile, and as the seds passed, his eyes stopped smiling. “It seems as though you are all quite a loyal bunch to your old lord. I uand that it might displease you that I killed your previous lord, the same lord who aimed to murder me, but I want to make sure you uand the situation. If you wish to be stripped of your roles here, I am more than happy to allow you to leave with the clothes on your back, a pouch of silver, and a dagger to protect you as you make your way to the nearby vilges and towns, one by one.”

  The attendant head stared at Adam, his eyes widened slightly, and he could feel the chill at the back of his neck. “A baron who has no respect for his staff, is no lord worth following.”

  “Staff who have no respect for their baron, are not staff worth employing,” Adam replied, thought he raised his brows slightly at the attendant head. “I am certain, with ye, that you are stelr at your role. It would be a shame to lose your job because you do not want to serve your temporary lord, who will not spend much time within the castle, and will leave you to your business once he uands the situation within the castle.”

  The attendant head swallowed, certain that he had baited the young baron int to kill him, but he made no such moves.

  “I don’t care that you disrespected me in front of the t. I don’t care that you disrespected me in front of the other staff. What I care about is that you are trying to py with the livelihoods of those you grew up around, and those you lead. I’m irely certain what the attendant head deals with, which is why I wanted you to help me uand, but you don’t seem to want to.”

  Adam frowrying to py a fine liween being passionate, but also getting the job done. “Uand that I will not just punish you for your disobedience, but those around you as well. If you will not tell me what the other servants do, then I must fire them. If you will not follow the simplest of orders, then I must fire you. You, with yeions of serving this family dutifully, fired. Why? Is that family so important? Is it Rockcastle, or its rulers, you should be serving?”

  The young attendant head did not reply to Adam’s words.

  “If you wao do my job properly, then you should do yours. Now, fill me in with the situation at the castle.”

  “As you say, my lord.”

  “Thank you.”

  The attendant head let slip a look of shock towards the new Baron, uanding he was not noble born. Even the t threw a look towards Adam, blinking.

  “A word of advice, Baron Fateson,” the t began, staring at the young man, who tio shock him. “It is nht for a man of your rank to thank their lessers.”

  Adam swallowed for a moment and closed his eyes. ‘Lessers?’ He inhaled deeply, before letting out a long, tired sigh. “A word of advice, t Moonglow. If you have a man that wants to make you a king, don’t give him a reason not to.”

  So it begins. Adam has bee what he hates most.