“Finally got around to doing your actual job?” Gerald asked when he saw that Braydon was going out to meet the elders of the various villages in Cliforge. Braydon was unsure where Gerald had been hiding for the past few days but he doubted that Gerald was doing his job either.

“I am. And since you mentioned doing your job, you can join me.” Braydon was not about to take the dig from the only person that worked less than he tried to. He could guess that Gerald would try to spend the day ‘patrolling’ or finding where Braydon had had the wine hidden.

“Sure, why not.” Gerald replied almost immediately.

“And no you are not to wander off to find your drinking buddy.” Already having guessed what the knight was thinking, Braydon cut him off. Whilst Braydon did not have a need for a master prospector, Aran was one of the only smiths in his territory. Being the smith of the various villages was Aran’s retirement. He did not want to listen to the village elders complaining that they couldn't have their tools fixed because Gerald and Aran went for a drinking binge.

“Tch.”

“I heard that.”

“You were meant to.”

“Is it me or there are a lot more villages in Cliforge than in a normal earldom, let alone a former viscounty?” Gerald had to ask when Braydon had told him how many elders that they would be visiting.

“It’s what happens when there are a lot of people trying to escape from a civil war just across the border. Give it 5 or 10 years and they might combine into a single large town.” Braydon understood that he had a veritable treasure trove when it came to villages. The possible levies and tax revenue would be a great boon for him in coming years. Though combining into a town would depend on gaining more than triple the current population of the eastern half of his lands. Not something that he thought was a realistic possibility.

“Perhaps you might want to name them all? They do have larger populations than Midbury did when you first inherited it.” That was also true. He had only named Sutherford, there were another three villages that didn’t have names. And since he now had more than one unnamed village, it would just be confusing to talk about them all.

“I’ll ask for the elder’s suggestions. Should start us off on positive grounds.” Since most of the people in his new villages were young enough to run away from war in the first place, it was not like he had many options for replacing elders that he didn’t get along with. That and the elder needed to speak to him for the community, not the other way around.

“Midbury seems to be a lot bigger than I remember it.” Gerald commented when they entered the ‘village’. Colin had said that it had grown to rival a small town but seeing was believing. If it was not for a lack of more tightly packed buildings and a wall, Braydon would have thought that he had gotten the wrong place.

“I think I still remember where the elder lives?” If he had to guess, it was the centre. But since there were so many more houses than before, Braydon was not quite sure if he was right about that.

“The confidence you just inspired me with is astounding.”

“Good man, would you mind pointing me in the direction of the village elder?” Braydon asked the nearest villager whilst ignoring the previous comment.

“ ‘Tis just over yonder, Sire. Pass by the blacksmiths and not much father.” The villager replied politely. Even if he could not guess that Braydon was the lord of the place, being on a horse and accompanied by a knight was a good enough reason to.

“Thank you. Now Gerald we will leave greeting Aran for another time. I want to speak to all of the elders today.” True to the villager’s words, not far past the smithy Braydon recognised the elder’s house and the man himself standing outside. Colin had either told him in advance or a rich man on a horse passing through had already spread to his ears.

“Greetings, milord. It has been a while since we spoke. I take it that the war went favourably for yourself.” Elder Wilf smiled as Braydon and Gerald pulled their horses aside before dismounting.

“Indeed it did. I hope that the influx of people has not been causing you too much trouble.” There was one thing for certain, Midbury had changed since Braydon had taken over. If not because of actions that Braydon facilitated then due to other circumstances.

“No, no. If it had not been for your lordship, I dread to think how badly things would have gone with so many people suddenly setting up in Midbury.” If he had any grievances about it, Elder Wilf did not think them worth sharing with Braydon. He was at least experienced enough to know that it was not by choice that Braydon ended up with hundreds of people showing up in his lands almost overnight.

“Now that I have more time to dedicate to my lands, Colin has brought up an interesting proposal. What are your thoughts on turning Midbury into a township?” Braydon had to ask considering Elder Wilf was the obvious candidate for being the mayor of Midbury if it became a town. Unlike Mapjess, where his ‘official’ residence was, Midbury would need a mayor to look over it. Though since Braydon mostly lived in his castle, the butler in Mapjess and Corban were doing the day to day running of the town.

“Forgive me if I am wrong, Sire, but would that not need a significant investment to turn Midbury into a proper town? If large, this place is still very much a village.” It was obvious that he had some misgivings about the idea. Not that he was wrong in saying that the current Midbury was just a very large village.

“I do not intend to do it all at once, but considering the size of Midbury, Colin suggested building a wall. The King would also need to sign a decree making it a township.” Braydon was not planning on making Midbury a town all at once. Even if he built new houses fit for a town, he would need to attract richer folk than just farmers to live there. It would be a slow process but one that he was interested in seeing through.

“I think that there would be many people thankful for a wall. Even if Sir Roan has done a fantastic job, it would give peace of mind to those that have fled from war.” Elder Wilf sighed in relief, glad that Braydon was not going to try to form a town quickly regardless of the trouble it would cause the current residents.

“Then that settles that. I will tell Colin of my decision.”