Chapter 42

A day after the battle, Gerald was sitting in his study. He rubbed his forehead slightly. After bringing back half the gold from Luwin's camp, his treasury now contained 10500 gold. The next year was still a few months away, but he still had to set aside 5000 gold for its expenses. That meant that he was only left with 5500 gold, which wasn't much, considering that he had to refill the army's ranks and replace the fallen men. He would also have to arm the new soldiers.

There was a knock on the study's door.

"Come in."

The door was slowly pushed open, then Harrid stepped in.

"Harrid," Gerald smiled. "You're back." He gazed behind the boy and spotted who he was looking for, Yanna.

"My lord," Harrid bowed.

"My lord," Yanna said as she entered, bowing as well.

"You two have been away for quite a few days," Gerald said. "Did it work, Yanna? Did homeless people arrive at the house?"

Yanna shook her head. "Only five came to the house, my lord. The rest are all scared."

"Huh," Gerald rubbed his chin. "Well, I suppose it was too wishful."

"But Yanna sent those five to the rest," Harrid said hurriedly, wearing a wide grin.

"You did?" Gerald raised a brow, eying Yanna.

She nodded. "I promised them coin if they brought news from the others. After they bring me the news from the other homeless on the streets, I give them coin, and they split it with the others."

"So there is a way for it to work," Gerald smiled. "This is very good. Is there any important news then?"

"Yes," Yanna said. "Madame Grina has been sending letters out every day for the past fortnight."

"To whom?" Gerald asked, his expression turning solemn.

"I don't know, my lord," Yanna said, shaking her head apologetically. "They've been very discreet. The homeless ones who saw it noticed it by chance. We're not even certain when she began sending out letters. It might have begun earlier than a fortnight ago. And following the couriers of the letters is too dangerous. No one will do it even if we offer gold. They could get killed."

Gerald leaned on the table and rested his chin on his fingers. "Most likely, those letters are for Renard. You did well, Yanna. You can take a rest and continue reading with the head maid. Go to the house again after your rest, and keep an eye on Grina as usual."

"Yes, my lord," Yanna said.

Gerald turned to Harrid. "And you, you've been with Yanna since she left. That's enough time wasted. She has guards. You don't need to worry about her. From now on, you'll stay in the keep and do what an attendant does. You also need to continue your training."

Harrid glanced at Yanna hesitantly. Then he gave in and nodded. "Yes, my lord."

"Alright," Gerald said. "Arthur and Robard should be waiting outside. Harrid, let them in. Yanna, you can leave."

They both nodded and bowed before leaving.

A few moments later, Arthur and Robard entered. "My lord." They both bowed.

"You're both here," Gerald said. He gazed at Robard. The knight had received quite a few wounds during the battle, and he had chosen not to show any weakness since then. The wounds weren't severe, but they deserved some rest. Yet Robard hadn't stopped attending to his duties. "Arthur, have you handled the families of our fallen soldiers like I told you?"

"We've already begun handing out two gold coins to each family," Arthur said. "They will also receive half a soldier's wages for several years. Handing out two gold coins for each family will cost us 1000 gold."

"So the treasury is left with 9500 gold," Gerald sighed. "How much will the new recruitment cost us? We need to refill the army's ranks this month."

"Most of the expenses will come from the new equipment," Arthur explained. "And most of it is crafted by our armourers and the smith. It shouldn't cost us more than 1000 gold as well, leaving our treasury with 8500 gold." He stared at Gerald, almost reproachfully.

Gerald's mouth twitched a little. He hadn't expected to come back with so little gold. Arthur's worries about the treasury hadn't been groundless. "There are still other bandits. We'll get their gold. And since we've mentioned them. Have your prepared riders to represent the 'merchant' yet?"

"Yes, my lord," Arthur nodded. "Should I send the riders to the bandit crews tonight?"

"No," Gerald said. "Let them have some time. Send the riders to the bandits in two days, and offer to buy their goods at two-thirds the price. I want them to abandon any thought of trading with Canary again. We must become their sole source of news in Ard."

"I will do as you command, my lord," Arthur said. "Ah, and we have already begun trading with Gasper's crew. They hardly have any goods. But we've been selling them ale as an excuse for the visits."

Gerald smiled. "Good." He would be able to exchange letters with Gasper and Uncle Rudolf instead of the latter visiting him every time. The visits could be limited to important matters from now on. "Robard, how long will you need to train the new recruits?"

"For the infantry, three months if you want soldiers capable of combat, my lord," the head knight said. Gerald had lost 400 infantrymen during the battle, and it would fall upon his head knight to train the new ones. "They won't be half as good as a soldier who has been to battle, but they won't run when the enemy charges."

"And it will be difficult to replace the five fallen Warriors as well," Gerald said. "But what about the archers?"

"Archers need much longer to train, my lord," Robard said with a wry smile. "We haven't lost many. But even training 45 new longbow archers will take time. A lot of young men know how to use a bow, but using a longbow takes a lot of training even for them. We'll have to recruit the most talented bowmen that volunteer and train them for at least 6 months, and they won't be as good as the rest of our archers. To train proper longbow archers, we need at least a year, my lord."

"Alright," Gerald said. "Do what you can. As for our losses, isolate them into a single regiment."

"But that would make one of our regiments very weak, my lord," Robard said. "A regiment with only 550 soldiers? It could hardly be called a regiment any more. We would have to wait months for the new recruits to fill its ranks."

"It won't bring us any trouble," Gerald said. "I also want you to put all the wounded who are recovering in that regiment. After that, you will send the regiment to the southern pass. They will guard there. And They won't have to fight in the coming battles."

Robard nodded, though he looked puzzled. "By your command, my lord."

"Now," Gerald said, looking at Arthur. "About our prisoners."

Arthur cleared his throat. "We've prepared for most of the bandits to be sent to the mine in the southeast, my lord. Members of the garrison will be sent there to guard them. As for the captive Warriors, we will keep them imprisoned to avoid any risks."

Gerald nodded. He was thinking of recruiting some of the Warriors captured from the battle, but he was worried they would desert as soon as they get the chance. As for Luwin's lieutenant, Rupert, Gerald didn't think of recruiting him for a moment. The man had betrayed his chief and former captain. Even if the betrayal was for good reason, Gerald didn't feel like taking any chances. Rupert would stay in the dungeons for now.

Gerald shook his head slightly. He would also have to be a little patient and let those captive Warriors rot in his dungeons for a while. Later he could take his time to recruit some of them into the elite corps. If a bandit's punishment was simply being recruited into his army, it would be like inviting more bandits to his territory. Many lords recruited captives, including bandits, but they only did it during wars and at desperate times. And He wasn't that desperate for the time being.

"Ah," Gerald suddenly remembered something. He pointed at Arthur. "I need you to send a letter to Gasper in the next few days. I want him to see how the bandit chiefs will take the news of my attack on Luwin. They should begin to trust us now, but let us be sure."