Chapter 3

Gerald watched the endless mountain peaks extending into the horizon on both sides. The convoy was almost past the northern pass of the Tellus basin. The northern pass was the wider of two passes that led into the Tellus territory. It connected the Tellus territory to the Andross Empire. Its average width was enough for over a thousand men to stand side by side. Too wide for a fortress to clog.

They were already in the Tellus territory, but they hadn't reached Ard castle yet. It would take them a day or two to get there.

As they got past the pass and left it far behind, Uncle Rudolf, riding his horse, approached him. They rode next to each other for a while until Uncle Rudolf talked discreetly. "Gerald, you are foreign to your home. You need to be careful for the first few days. It's unknown whether everyone will accept you as their lord even though you're the true heir. It will be troublesome if you were to lose the loyalty of your subordinates early on, or even lose them altogether."

Gerald nodded." I'll choose my words and actions carefully until I settle in. Don't worry, Uncle Rudolf."

"You will also need to keep an eye out for anyone who might try to use the turmoil of the house to fulfill their ambitions," Uncle Rudolf warned. "I know Arthur well. He has been the minister of the family since you were born. I'm sure he is still as loyal as he was back then. But I'm not sure who leads the army now, and I'm not sure if Arthur himself has reliable subordinates. He can't carry the house on his own, and we can't tell what he has been dealing with for the past two months."

"Haaah," Gerald sighed. "This isn't going to be easy."

"You shouldn't expect it to be," Uncle Rudolf smiled.

"I still have you though, Uncle Rudolf," Gerald said. "I can trust you."

"Yes, you can."

"Huh?" Gerald turned to the east, squinting his eyes. He had caught movement in the corner of his eyes. He was sure of it.

"You've noticed them already?" Uncle Rudolf chuckled.

"Who are they?" Gerald said as he scanned the distant hills. There were people lurking about, moving along with the convoy, but not approaching.

"Bandits. We're probably in their claimed territory. They're keeping an eye on us."

Gerald sighed again, exasperated. "I wonder why they aren't just attacking."

Uncle Rudolf smirked and pointed to the banners flying over the convoy. Gerald looked up to see the flags of the Malfi and Tellus family. Uncle Rudolf was pointing at House Malfi's flag. "They can afford to offend the Tellus family, but not the Malfis. They aren't that stupid."

"Do you think they are the ones that my father fought and . . ."

"No," Uncle Rudolf said. "The ones you're looking for are most likely lying low right now. They just killed a noble after all. It's a wonder the whole kingdom hasn't come down upon them. I guess it's true that the Royal Capital has weakened even more."

Gerald shook his head. "I suppose we have one more bandit crew to deal with," Gerald said, nodding his head towards the ones creeping along with the convoy.

ß---------------------------------------------------à

It took two days for the walls of Ard to appear on the visible horizon. While Gerald was working hard to recognize the outline of the distant wall, the convoy was passing by a village, from which a group of peasants were pouring out while watching in awe as the convoy rolled towards the castle.

It was here that Gerald saw the first road in the Tellus basin. It was a mud road leading to the castle from the village, and it wasn't even maintained well. The pace of the convoy hardly increased after treading on it. In fact, some of the wagons were getting stuck in the mud and being pulled out by the guards every now and then.

As the walls got larger and larger in his view, Gerald saw the people waiting to receive him at the gates. They were led by a well-dressed man who looked to be in his fifties. Gerald guessed that he was Arthur, the minister. On his right, stood a middle-aged man in full plate armor, looking dignified and solemn.

I guess that's whoever is leading the army.

On Arthur's left, stood a group of people in mixed attires of civil and military fashion. Gerald couldn't be bothered to guess the specialty of every one of them.

The convoy soon arrived at the gates. As Gerald's horse stopped, the group of men standing at the gates all bowed slightly. "We welcome the young Sir," they said in unison. Gerald realized that they weren't calling him 'Viscount'. It was probably because he hadn't officially been declared the ruler of the house yet.

This is good news. It means I don't have a group of flatterers in my court.

"Thank you," he said, dismounting his horse.

After he got used to the feeling of his legs, he approached the well-dressed leading man. "I'm assuming you're Arthur."

"Indeed, I am. I hope to serve you well in the future, Sir Gerald."

Gerald turned his eyes to the blonde, middle-aged man in plate armor. As he searched the man's face for any signs to read, the man searched Gerald's face as well. It seemed that Gerald needed to earn the trust of his subordinates and not just the other way around.

"This is Sir Robard, the head knight in command of the army," Arthur said, signaling the blonde Robard with his eyes.

Robard then put his right hand on his chest, where his heart should be, and bowed slightly. "This Robard is a knight of the Tellus family, knighted by your noble father. I hope to serve you better than I have served him."

Gerald detected a hint of guilt in Robard's voice. It wasn't a surprise. His father and brother had died while the head knight of the family was still standing. Though there must have been a good reason at the time, otherwise Robard wouldn't have been standing here. Gerald would get to the bottom of that later, though.

"Ahem," Arthur cleared his throat and gestured to his left. "On my left, stand the civil servants and the military officers of the family."

The group on Arthur's left bowed in unison. "We hope to serve the young lord well."

It took a while for the pleasantries to end. Uncle Rudolf was welcomed by Arthur with a warm hug, and the group soon opened a path for Gerald and his convoy to move through.

Gerald wasn't planning to tell Arthur about Renard, the new minister, just yet. He didn't want to freeze the atmosphere so early when they were just at the entrance of the castle.

As he walked steadily towards the gate, something caught his eye. "Wait." Everyone stopped as they heard him. "Them?" he asked with a raised brow while pointing at the distance along the wall. The gate they were about to enter was closer to one corner of the castle than the other. Around the closer corner, outside the castle, there appeared to be a group of disheveled people. They were peering over every now and then in curiosity. A group of kids kept peeking at Gerald and his convoy and giggling only to be pulled back by wary parents. This bunch gave Gerald a somewhat familiar feeling.

The obvious answer to his question came from Arthur at the same time it came from his memory. "Refugees," the old minister said with a sigh. "I will make sure we discuss that after the ceremony tomorrow. It's a tragedy, to be honest. A tragedy that is putting too much pressure on the house and its granaries."

Gerald nodded, remembering a little something that he had thought about along the journey.

Hopefully.

"Let's move then," Gerald said with a genial smile. Then he started walking ahead of the procession of officials and wagons.

The first sight to greet him in the castle was the muddy main street, though it seemed to be recently taken care of compared to others, as was proven by the other branching streets that had puddles and uneven pits all over. It seemed that this was as much as Arthur could do for his arrival. Deep inside, he begun to have an eerie feeling about the family's treasury.

He was pleasantly surprised, though, to find that most of the people living in the castle weren't as starved as he had imagined them to be. They looked well-fed, considering the circumstances. They were ill-clothed, however, and a lot of them seemed to be far from having any coin or work. Many young men littered the side streets, looking idle and dispirited. They peered at the passing convoy from time to time but didn't have much of a reaction to its arrival.

The houses in the castle seemed old and barely standing. This was a poor place. But at least people weren't starving, Gerald consoled himself. This meant the granaries Arthur talked about weren't running out of grain. It was something to keep him hoping.

Amidst all this dilapidation and poverty, only one redeeming construct appeared in the distance. The keep. It was built on a rising hill in the middle of the castle. Used to build it was the valuable white stone in contrast to the rough black granite used for the walls of the castle. It was surrounded with some vegetation and trees that rose with it over the hill, and the tips of its towers were painted azure.

Gerald remembered the memories deeply buried within him. He was ripped away from home. From this. He was dragged away, looking back at this keep and at its white and azure towers.

It didn't take them long to reach the keep. The mild sun was still about. Gerald stepped into the keep first, ignoring the assortment of raggedy servants and maids. There weren't many of them, though. It was to be expected. All signs of a drying treasury were hopping and jumping in his welcome today.

The sun was setting by the time he had gotten himself reacquainted with the keep. It took him a few tours in its halls, grounds, and gardens to get familiar with it again. It was then that Arthur alerted him.

"It would be best if the young lord goes through the first part of the ceremony today before tomorrow. It would cure the restlessness in the house," the old minister said.

"Restlessness?" Gerald looked back at Arthur, dumbfounded. "Why would there be any trouble if I'm the only heir?"

"Ahem," Arthur seemed to be a little bit embarrassed by the collective glares of both Gerald and Uncle Rudolf. He seemed hesitant to say his next words. "I'm ashamed to say that your cousins have been scurrying for your seat as the head of the family."

"Cousins?" Gerald marveled. "What claim do they have for my seat?" He didn't remember much of his cousins. But then again, he didn't remember much of anything. But to think that they used his absence to start trouble and covet his seat. It was peculiar. Especially considering that they would sooner have taels of gold dropping on them from the sky than be able to legitimately inherit the Viscounty while there was a living heir.

"They were using the fact that you have been away from the Viscounty for most of your childhood as an excuse," Arthur said. "They said that you had been raised far from home, and you wouldn't know what the territory needs. They even…" he trailed off.

Arthur didn't seem timid to Gerald, but he seemed to be waiting for a reaction of some kind. If Gerald were to explode with anger upon hearing the first part of his speech, then he probably wouldn't add oil to the fire. But now that Gerald was waiting for the last part, it seemed that he was preparing to tell it.

"They even doubted your loyalty to the family, saying that you grew up as the Duke's godson, which I rebuked. Everyone knew that you were just a ward to the Duke and forever a Tellus, no matter how long you stayed with the Duke. They were warping reality and spreading these lies among officials and your subjects alike."

A trace of fury finally appeared on Gerald's face. Greed had already worked its wonders on the house and its branching households. His cousins were already vying for his place, though that had probably come to an end with his arrival. And this was an almost bankrupt Viscounty they were vying for. The glamour of power was too attractive to ignore, even with all the troubles the territory would bring its ruler.

Gerald closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was one more thing to deal with after being named Viscount. He had to go through the ceremony first, then worry about everything else.