The table was laden with pork and fish meals. Sliced fish cutlets, roasted and marinated were my favorite among the offerings, though the grilled pork steaks drizzled with thick apple cider was a close second. The bowl of mashed carrots somehow got hidden and thrown into the firepit in the center of the room with none the wiser.

To my right sat Lilly and beyond her Leslie. Lilly had dressed in one of her gowns, though her face held the deep sadness of loss. The contrast between the two young women, one sad with bright yellow hair, and the other happy with dark black curls couldn't have been more apparent. My assistant Leslie kept trying to draw the younger Lilly into a conversation, though she only reluctantly spoke. I would need to spend some time with her before I went off to war.

To my left, Kine and Ram’s widow, Lutha, were deep in discussion on how no one truly owns the western mountains, despite what the maps said. Apparently, many of the dwarven clans were still in contact with each other, and many were still without a home or shelter.

It was only partway through my meal that my dour seneschal, Fentworth Aide, came to my side to whisper, “My lord, you have some petitioners that seek an audience. Would you hear them now or shall I send them away until tomorrow?”

I suppressed a shudder at his words. It was a reminder of my new station, something that I had accepted as a possible outcome of my title and lands but hadn’t put thought into beyond that. I hadn’t needed to before now, but it appeared that I would need to hold court. I wasn’t opposed to the idea of doing so, in truth. I was opposed to the idea of the time it would take away from my experiments and other duties.

At the other end of the room, I saw the two guards that had served the longest, Eni and Tond. Both men were of slight build and similar appearance, though Eni had let his hair grow wild after he began taking care of the wolves. Tond normally kept himself well-groomed. Both were looking rather nervous and whispered to each other in low tones. They had polished and cleaned their armor to an impressive degree. Before answering Fentworth, I glanced around the table to see who sat with me.

Lilly to my right, along with Leslie and my other two assistants. Beyond them sat Shaelra and another nun I hadn’t spoken with.

To my left, Kine and then Lutha, with Ram’s son on her lap. The child was merrily bending the iron spoon in his hands, a young blacksmith in the making. Beyond those three sat the other magic-users, Pyl, and Loralie all in an animated conversation.

I didn’t see Rhaela the Red among their number, but given her history of charm magics, I hadn’t believed she would stay in a small village for this long. There were just too many who could see through her spellcraft.

These people around the table, while not the most ideal of candidates, would make for a good council to handle minor petitions in the future. It would do them well to watch as I held court before delegating the responsibility. That I could hold court and eat at the same time was only a small benefit to doing so now, so I cast a quick cleaning spell on myself and nodded in answer to my seneschal’s question.

“Very good, sir,” he said, as he walked back around the table towards the front door. From there he called out over the small conversations around the room, “Presenting tower guard Tond, third-tier [Elemental Archer] to address his lord, Wizard Nemon Fargus.”

Despite a higher pitch in his voice than I would have expected, the man’s words had the immediate effect of silencing all conversations. Tond, in his uniform, approached with an awkward gait, embarrassment clear on his face.

“Sir,” he saluted, then bowed, and then started to kneel before I waved him off of it.

“Tond, you have a request?” I asked.

The man looked around at all the people sitting around the table with me before gazing at his feet, “Sir, I would like to be released from my position here. Ya offered it a while ago, and I think I done a good job. Would that be okay?” He glanced up to see me looking at him, and then back down at his feet.

I considered the matter.

That he would request it meant he was serious about leaving. I had no desire to retain the man if it caused his loyalty to rot. He was also one of the longest-serving guards here, and with the three new guards, it left only Eni to oversee them.

Not that I provided either Eni or Tond any particular training, but they did know by now what I expected of them. The timing did feel unusual, though. I would be going to war soon, so perhaps he wanted to see battle with me? I could only hope for that kind of loyalty, even if I doubted it.

“Why?” I asked.

I heard Eni snicker from where he stood by the door waiting his turn, but Tond just looked nervously around before stumbling over his words, “Well, my lord… you see, I, uh—”

Eni called out from behind him, “Sir, he ain’t seeing Miss Chelsea no more and don’t wanna be around her.”

Tond’s shoulders fell in response, but he didn’t refute the matter. Rather, he gazed at me with a pleading look in his eyes, not that I blamed the man. I was rather annoyed, though. My first petitioner in the first court I ever held, and it dealt with something ridiculous like the matters of the heart. I hoped the other petitioners had more important matters to be addressed.

“Granted,” I said simply.

Tond exhaled a big breath he’d been holding before bowing again.

Before the man was even halfway around the fireplace, Fentworth called the next petitioner, “Presenting tower guard Eni, third-tier [Beast Master] to address his lord, Wizard Nemon Fargus.”

Eni, came forward with a much more confident gait. His head was held tall, and his chest was puffed out. He saluted me directly and then stood to wait for permission to speak.

“Eni, you have a request? I hope you aren’t asking for release from your duties as well?” I spoke, though I didn’t even bother to keep the tone of annoyance from my voice.

“Sir, I have come for two requests. I have been speaking with Lady Ivy regarding your wolf experiments, and—” he paused, the words stopping in his mouth when he saw my face.

My face, of course, had changed when he mentioned he was working with the nature elemental, a frown of consternation and a furrowed brow. I schooled my expression and dismissed my immediate thoughts of burning the woman to the ground and salting the earth where the roots lay.

“Go on,” I said.

Speaking a little slower, and with some added uncertainty, “And she was able to cast a spell to speed their fertility. Given your previous orders, we culled all the lines with birth defects, but we still have an abundance of more than nine hundred pups. Your assistants have successfully completed their animal bond spell,” he paused to give the two young men a pleading look, “And I was hoping to put the new pups up for adoption among any who want one.”

Phillipe, the taller of the brothers, stood as soon as Eni had finished, “Master, we can confirm the spell is complete. Testing is over, though casting the spell for everyone who wants an animal will take a significant amount of time.” He bowed after he spoke and returned to his seat.

I glanced at the brothers, and raised an eyebrow, “You can confirm there is no side effect to the fertility spellwork?”

Philipe stood back up, “None that we could find, master. We also asked Kine, Loralie, and Pyl to check, and they could find none either.”

That relieved my biggest worry at the moment, I glanced at Kine who shrugged before speaking, “Master, I couldn’t find any. I can report that the spell worked on more than the wolves. Half the villager women are pregnant, the fish swim in abundant schools, and we have more mosquito swarms.”

I tapped my finger on the table, and poked at my food with my fork as I debated burning down the nature elemental for the second time this evening.

“Sir?” Eni’s voice cut through my thoughts.

I looked up at him and then realized that he was still waiting for an answer. I had already made up my mind though. “Certainly. Get rid of them all. That experiment is over as I won’t have time to complete it before the Pestilence arrives. Any wolves not spoken for can be culled.” I spoke while gesturing with my fork, and then took a bite as I finished. Wolf pups were so far below my current priorities, it wasn’t worth spending any more thoughts on.

“Any other petitioners?” I looked to my seneschal.

“Three, my lord,” he answered with a swift bow.

I nodded and then filled my glass of wine a little higher as he gathered the next one.

The next two petitioners were simple matters. A case of adultery and a case of theft. For the adulterer, I deferred to Sister Shaelra, and the thief was tasked with gathering night soil for three months. The third and final petitioner, though, was concerning something beyond my expectations. When the door opened, it revealed Rhaela the Red in her best attire leading a prisoner who had a bag over his head and his hands tied.

“Presenting Rhaela the Red, third-tier [Charm Caster] to address her lord, Wizard Nemon Fargus.”

She approached with a sway in her hips and a flirtatious look in her eye, leading the man behind her like a dog on a leash. “My lord,” she said with a bow.

I nodded in return to her greeting and waited.

After a quick glance toward Kine, she returned her eyes to me and spoke, “Great Wizard, I have found within your domain, a spy under the guise of a villager.”

With an overly dramatic flair, she snatched away the bag on the man's head and revealed a rather normal-looking fellow underneath. The man’s gaze seemed unfocused at first and then his eyes widened in the realization of where he was, darting around in panic. However, when his eyes met those of his captor, they became wistful and his panic was replaced with a doe-eyed fascination.

She waited for this to occur before she turned back to me and continued to speak, “Fourteen days ago, I noticed that Leenu didn’t socialize much with the other villagers and would often disappear for days on end. After carefully plotting where and when he went…”

I waved her speech off.

I didn’t need to know about the methods or details of how he was captured. “Who does he spy for?” I asked, numerous possibilities going through my head.

“Mirktal,” Rhaela claimed, which sent a round of mutters through those around me.

Lilly, who had been paying little attention to the ongoings until this point, became fixated on the man. Her hands curled into a fist and her jaw clenched. Some of the others had similar responses, though not as severe.

“Go on,” I commanded.

I had begun to feel flippant about holding court until this moment. It was good that I hadn’t dismissed the event entirely.

Rhaela bowed, “Sir, I know he is from Mirktal with orders to track your movements, but that was all I was able to gather for now. Given more time, I could learn more.”

I had been considering how best to correct the problem of the spy, until she said these words. The man didn’t have any slave-magics or wear an enchanted collar, so there was little freeing I could do. That the prisoner was brought to court meant that all those around me knew he was here, and I couldn’t secret him away to a cell in my dungeon to take care of the matter quietly. Yet, when Rhaela spoke of wanting more time, I saw a sharp look in her eyes, not much different than the look of a merchant.

“Shaelra, your thoughts?” I called, and waited for the nun to speak. She stood and began discussing how she felt about Mirktal and the problems of the way, but I didn’t listen. Her speech was a distraction for the others.

Instead, I leaned towards Kine and whispered, “What is she asking for?”

Kine tilted his head lower and smirked as he whispered back, “She wants to prove her value. Thinks she can be a spymaster for you. I told her you wouldn’t have need of such a thing, but she is a difficult woman to curtail when she sets her mind. That’s part of what I like about her.”

I nodded and sat back up as I digested his words. My first thoughts were on how painful something like that could be to a romantic relationship, and that I should warn the man, the look in his eyes told me that such a warning wouldn’t be heard. Then I considered the rest of it. Did I need a spymaster? Clearly, there are people spying on me. There have nearly always been mages seeking to better their craft through looking in on mine. My wards would prevent that easily.

Yet a glance at Lilly’s angry face and my assistants sitting beyond her reminded me that I was no longer responsible for solely myself. It was a disappointing line of thought, as I only had myself to blame for the growing number of people living in the shadow of my tower. Perhaps a spymaster would be useful.

I permitted others to address the room as well, Lilly next, followed by whoever else wanted a say. It took an hour for their remarks to conclude, and, by the end, our dinner had grown cold. Still, it was worthwhile.

When no one else desired to speak on the matter I turned towards Rhaela, “You may have the time you requested. Come by tomorrow and we will discuss your employment further.”