Chương 410: 405. Spoils - I

"Syrene said she's started processing the leaves, and it'll take her around 2 to 3 weeks to prepare the tablets, as usual," Duvas said.

"But she said that with the current warm temperatures, any more leaves will be unviable before they arrive here. That means we can't bring any more losuvil here until late autumn."

"We were already expecting this," Kivamus sighed.

"At least we have a few full jars of acelos tablets ready now. It still means we need to get that encampment ready in the eastern hills within those three weeks. And I think we can do it too, with the sawmills producing more timber than we can use in the third block.

Taniok already knows about gathering enough construction material for that encampment, so once the third block is ready in a week, I think they can wait a few more days to gather more timber, and then we'll send all those workers led by Taniok to that flat hill the hunters identified as a good location. He should be done with the first triphammer by then." He looked at the captain.

"Do you think you and the guards will return from the west by then?" Hudan shrugged.

"I can't say anything in advance, but I think so. Ten days should be more than enough for us to turn Torhan's clay-making compound into rubble and return."

"Good. Then after you return, all the guards who went for the counter raid can stay here at the village to rest and recover, while those who are staying here will be sent to escort Taniok and his workers to the hills." The outer door opened and a servant walked inside, brushing water drops from his hair.

"Milord, a pair of wagons has just entered from the northern gate."

"Oh, another merchant?" Duvas asked.

"He must've traveled through the rain to reach Tiranat faster," Hudan added. The servant shook his head.

"That's what I thought at first, but Feroy was leading them on his horse."

"So he's escorting the merchant?" Kivamus asked. The servant shook his head again.

"Unless the merchant is bringing humans to sell here, it's not a merchant. One of the wagons has people huddling together in it, while the other is covered by an oil cloth. I didn't see Hyola riding with them though." Hudan frowned.

"Hyola isn't with Feroy? And the merchant is bringing humans? It doesn't make sense."

"Let's wait for Feroy to come and report himself," Kivamus said.

"He'll explain better."

Before long, Feroy entered the manor hall.

"Ah. Home sweet home!" Hudan went up and clasped hands with the former mercenary.

"Good to see you back, brother."

"It's good to be back," Feroy grinned, before he gave a nod to Kivamus and Duvas.

"Looking at your cheery expression," Kivamus began, "I don't think you left Hyola behind."

"Huh? Why would I leave Hyola behind?"

"A servant said he didn't see her riding with the wagons, or escorting the merchant."" What merchant?" Feroy frowned.

"No merchant came with me..."

"But that's what—" Kivamus shook his head.

"Why don't you explain it yourself instead of us making guesses again." Feroy finally took a seat nearby, and nearly emptied the jug of water kept on the table.

"Well, firstly, Hyola did come back with me. She twisted her ankle, so she was sitting on a wagon with the other slaves instead of riding."

"Other slaves?" Duvas raised his brows. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Feroy grinned.

"I brought 18 liberated slaves with me on those wagons."

"I thought you just went out to spread rumors…" Hudan snorted.

"Eh…" Feroy shrugged.

"Things just worked out like that. It wasn't particularly easy either. We had to kill a retired knight and six of his men who ran a farmhouse with slaves, two days' journey north of Cinran."

"You killed a knight?" Duvas looked stunned.

"That's not going to end well if others find we did that… Didn't anyone see you coming south with slaves?" Feroy grinned.

"Nah. There were no real problems on the way. We met a pair of the count's riders when we were passing near Cinran, but they weren't much trouble. And don't worry, we didn't leave any evidence at the farms. What little was left will have been burned by now—nobody's going to find out it was us. Anyway, the old fucker behaved nothing like how a knight is supposed to. He was a drug dealer to boot—he ran a veydril smuggling operation to Ulriga from that farm."

"Veydril again, huh?" Kivamus muttered.

"But he was still a knight!" Duvas countered.

"He might even have had noble blood. There's no doubt there's going to be an official inquiry from the count about it if it's so. Why did you have to do something like that? I never saw you as a hothead..."

"Let them inquire all they want. They're not going to find who did it," Feroy gazed into the distance.

"And we didn't really have a choice… I was out scouting the surroundings that night when Hyola saw a couple of his guards taking a young woman away from the other slaves—probably to rape her—and blasted one of them away with her crossbow in anger. By the time I arrived, the old knight and his men had captured her, and would've probably killed her and a few other slaves in retaliation if I didn't intervene." He looked at Kivamus.

"I just thought about what you would want me to do in that situation, and decided rescuing Hyola and the slaves was the right move. It ended with the knight and all but one of his men dead, but that was the only way to leave no evidence behind. Oh—and we brought a good amount of loot." Kivamus chuckled in wonder.

"While you were out, the rest of us were planning about sending more guards out to spread rumors in the north after the counter raid, and to have some of them waiting with wagons near the farmhouses and villages to bring back any escaped or liberated slaves, instead of letting the poor souls walk to Tiranat by themselves through these forests. You weren't even present for the conversation, and yet you already started doing exactly that.

Your method was more gruesome than what I'm planning, but the result was still the same. You're something else…" Feroy snorted.

"I know how your mind works, so I was just fulfilling your orders before they were even given." Kivamus laughed.

"That you were. Wait—you said all but one of his men died? Wouldn't the last guy tell others about you?"

"Nah, he wasn't there at the time. I brought 18 slaves from there, but four other men from their group were out on a smuggling run to Ulriga, along with one of the knight's guards." Feroy waved a hand.

"I left instructions and supplies for those men to kill the last guard, and come here after burning everything. I know it's still risky, but those men know their families are here now, so they'll have to come here anyway to check on them, and once they arrive they'll see the other slaves are doing well, so there won't be any problems after that." Kivamus opened his mouth to say something, but stopped.

Feroy hadn't just killed a corrupt knight and his criminal guards—he'd also made sure the remaining slaves would have no choice but to come to Tiranat to find out about their families, which would prevent them from blabbing about what happened there to other authorities. That was nearly… Machiavellian. He really had lucked out in finding a man like Feroy to work for him. He had no doubt the former mercenary would be one of Tiranat's greatest strengths in the coming years.

"You mentioned loot?" Duvas asked with raised brows. Feroy grinned.

"Five sacks of wheat, three excellent quality swords, a pike, a good quality iron-reinforced shield, a bag of fine clothes of the knight, seven average quality swords as well as leather armor, and—" He brought out a small pouch from a side pocket.

"—311 gold and two silver coins. Likely gained from the sales of the drug."

"That's a lot of gold!" Kivamus smiled broadly. The drug trade was lucrative in any world, after all. Feroy handed over the gold to the majordomo. Duvas looked at Kivamus while holding the small pouch in his hand.

"With this gold, can we…?" Kivamus shook his head.

"Let's wait for the counter raid to be over. Then we'll decide." Feroy continued, "A small amount of veydril was also kept there in stock, which I'll keep aside for use in any interrogation. It's far easier to find stuff from people if they're high on a drug like veydril." He tilted his head with a blank face.

"Oh—did I forget to mention the armor?"

"What armor?" Hudan asked.

"Leather armor? You just mentioned it." Feroy grinned from ear to ear.

"No. Plate armor—meant to fit the retired knight when he was young. The armor's old, a little rusted and bent in some places, and it'll need repair before it can be used, but yeah—I brought a full set of plate armor with me."

"You stole a damned plate armor?" Hudan nearly stood up from his chair in surprise.

"That's… that's…" Then he just started laughing.

"Shoulda expected it if you killed a knight!" Duvas shook his head.

"I can't believe we're finally going to have a knight in Tiranat again... We have only hired one retired knight in this village's whole history, but he perished along with the previous baron last autumn. He was already old, and had retired a decade before he was hired here, so instead of helping out in fights, he was only used by the previous baron to show off that he also had a knight employed under him. But I guess Tiranat isn't the same anymore, after all..." Kivamus looked at the captain.

"You're the only one in the village who's gone through any kind of training to become a knight. The armor is yours if you want it."