Chương 409: 404. Kirnos - IV

Levalas nodded.

"That's likely the future plan, though I don't know too much about it. I'm not an advisor of the baron. The thing is, there's a lot of reconstruction going on in the village. So people are temporarily living in what's called a longhouse-block right now, where everyone gets a bunk to themselves—that's like a separate cot. Obviously, there'll be proper houses built in the future, likely before the winter, from what I can guess, so you and others who can afford it can lease or rent those houses.

But right now the village is growing so fast that we have to build one longhouse after another just to give people shelter, so making separate houses has been pushed to the future."

"Either you're lying about everything, or Tiranat is really going to be a far different place than I can even imagine." Juhibi exhaled.

"But as long as Joric is there, we'll be just fine living in a... bunk. It will be worth it living in such a place for a while if our family is reunited in return. But what'll this cost me? You're doing so much to help me, so obviously you want a cut of the gold I get from selling this house's lease, right?" Levalas chuckled.

"Nope, I don't want anything at all. The baron of my village wants more people to move there, especially skilled people like you, but it still wasn't a priority until Joric forced a condition that he'd only help us with a certain thing if we agreed to bring your family to Tiranat. I'm just helping things move along." Juhibi smiled.

"That's the man I remember and love. Good to see his time at the clay mine hasn't changed him." She glanced around at the shop.

"But… I don't know what to do here. How do I even start?" Levalas pointed at the shop section of the room.

"You won't be able to take much with you, so just pack up anything you need for your trade, and your other bare necessities. Needles, threads, those bolts of cloth, and so on. You can take some of your family's personal clothes and your ready-to-sell clothing, but not too much. And you don't need to pack any food." He paused.

"I think I can provide you one barrel worth of storage space for your trade goods, and another for your personal things. But that's all."

"But…" Juhibi looked around at the cozy home.

"That's not going to be enough." Levalas sighed.

"Tell you what. You gather everything you think you need in one place, and we'll see what to do from there. You have… two days for this. But sooner will be better."

"Where will you be?"

"I can't openly take you out of Kirnos with me, as you can guess. The lecherous young master would never allow a good looking woman who lives alone to leave easily." Levalas added, "So I'll have to smuggle both of you out of the village. My official reason to visit here is to sell coal and buy some smoked fish from a merchant who lives near the north gate of the village.

I've brought two other men with me, so they'll take care of that, and I'll spread the word about you selling the house—saying you need the money to feed your family. My public excuse will be that I'm doing this to earn a good commission." Juhibi hesitated.

"Hmm… That'll work, I guess. But if others hear that I'm going to come into a lot of money suddenly, it may get dangerous…"

"Don't worry about it." Levalas smiled.

"Now that you've agreed to come with us, it's my responsibility to bring you both safely to Tiranat. Me or one of my men will be here to protect your family all day and night until we leave the village." Juhibi gave a final look around the house which doubled as her shop, and gave a confident nod.

"Let's begin then! We don't have time to waste."

"What's happening, ma?" Polly asked with a confused expression. Juhibi bent down and brushed the hair of the little girl.

"We're going to meet your pa. I'll explain later. For now, just help me with some things, 'kay?" Polly immediately became excited at the thought of meeting her father, and started jumping in joy. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Levalas couldn't help but smile seeing the homely scene. It was a really good decision to move to Tiranat.

Doing something good like this felt far better than what he used to do during his pitiful life in Cinran, while working for Zoricus. He stretched his hands. It was time to work.

~ Kivamus ~"Feroy's late, isn't he?" he asked, watching the constant drizzle while standing near an open window of the manor hall. The rain had started a few days ago, and while its intensity wasn't the same all the time, it still kept raining. Sometimes it poured heavily, while other times it just drizzled. At least it was good for the farms and their crops. The plants had already germinated, and they were starting to get their first leaves now.

It was a pretty sight, knowing that it would go a long way in making sure the village had enough to eat in the next winter.

"I'd say so," Hudan muttered from nearby.

"We told him to return in a week, but it's already been 10 days. We can't afford to wait more than a day or two to send the rest of our guard force west, or they won't get enough time out there." Kivamus nodded.

"Yeah. I only hope those two didn't get in trouble for spreading rumors. But our plans are still on time. We originally planned to send our men west around tomorrow, so we can afford to wait another day for Feroy."

"Yeah, that should be fine," Hudan said confidently.

"The guards have already trained a lot in attacking a walled compound, and I've also selected those who'll be leaving. I didn't expect the heavy protest from those who didn't get chosen, but at least it shows everyone's committed to the cause."

"No doubt about that," Kivamus smiled.

"Nurobo's also gone through his medic training well. Truthfully, I don't know that much myself, but whatever I taught him, he soaked it up like a sponge. He already knew basic first aid, and how to elevate wounds or apply a tourniquet to prevent blood loss, and he'd been doing that for years for the other guards anyway. But now he can field dress a wound in minutes, although I wish we had some strong alcohol to disinfect wounds properly. At least we have enough losuvil powder now. That alone will save many lives.

Madam Nerida and Leah have also prepared some clean bandages for Nurobo to take with him. It's used-up clothes mostly, but they've been washed well, and Nurobo knows to boil them before using, which is probably the best we can do right now. His skills will be vital for this mission."

"It also helps that he isn't as fat as he used to be," Hudan snorted.

"I gave him a warning during the winter that if he didn't complete the same number of laps around the village as the other guards, he'd be let go, and that gave him the motivation to become nearly as fit as the other guards. And you're right, he works like a maniac whenever I have him practice on another guard—telling him to assume the guard has a broken leg, or a large gash in his arm.

He's even started training a few others in the basics, and now we have four more guards—including a couple of women—who can do the minimum needed to keep someone alive until Nurobo can attend to them."

"That CPR thing you taught everyone a few months ago was also so surprising," the captain added.

"I mean, we haven't actually gotten a chance to test it yet, and I hope we don't have to, but if you're right—like you always are—that'll also save many lives. Nurobo tried to teach every guard about that, but the men were hesitant to do it in the beginning. At least until their instructor Nesser got involved. Once he gives an order, no guard dares defy him. I also made it mandatory for every guard, new or veteran, and now everyone can perform it passably." Kivamus nodded as he watched the raindrops falling.

"Yeah, not everyone can become a medic, but Nurobo's already as close to a medic as we're going to get. I'd even say that's a much better use of his skills than just using him as another archer. Hopefully in time he can train others to become as good as he is. We need at least three or four such medics for our guard force of a hundred."

"Don't worry about it, Milord," Hudan shrugged.

"Only 60 of those guards are men, who have to go out to fight and are likely to get wounded, and Nurobo is already taking two of those four guards who are doing well as medics to the west. Amongst the 40 women, we need around two medics, and Savomi—the younger one of the two sisters—is already doing well as a medic in training, along with another woman who's showing good promise." Kivamus smiled, looking at the manor outside.

"With merchants coming regularly, the long house construction proceeding smoothly, the sawmills being ready, us having enough guards—including some medics in training, and so, so many other things—I think for the very first time after arriving in this village, the future is looking bright for Tiranat."

"True that," Hudan grinned. Kivamus turned around and walked to a chair, where Duvas was sitting while scribbling something on a ledger.

"The walls and watchtowers should be fully coated by clay by today, right?" The majordomo looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah. Yeden has already taken most of the workers to the eastern hills, and they've started cutting a proper road there. A few men are still here, and they'll complete the work of wall coating by evening if the rainfall stays light like this. The planting of sharpened stakes in the trenches is already done, and the rainwater gathering in them will make it a proper moat like you wanted."

"That'll help a lot in the future," Kivamus nodded.

"How's it going with the latest batch of losuvil?"