Jorvik, The Kingdom of Ederath- Mid-spring 15 years AR

Erik walked alongside Kyanna while finally making it back to the capital after leaving Vanheim. The two cities weren’t very far apart but at his brother's request, he extended his stay. Both to catch up and as his Lief had said, to let his knights relax after months of traveling and fighting. With the jubilation in the city, he could only agree. The men and women who’d gone with him to the Dain deserved a chance to enjoy themselves now that they were finally back in Ederath.

He walked through his father’s hall to see him sitting on his throne holding court. It was something that Erik would have to do one day and he resented just the idea of it. The nobles of the north weren’t as petty as the ones in the south and spoke their mind quicker, which meant it was a shorter process, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have grievances that the crown had to sort out.

“… So, you see my king. That vein is in my lands. I had not built there but it is and always has been a part of my Thanedom and not the Jarl’s domain,” a Thane spoke out. Erik didn’t know him but recognized the Jarl of Hrothhafn, the kingdom’s main port to the east, standing patiently to speak his piece. Whatever vein they spoke of must have been valuable for a Thane to stand against his own Jarl and even go as far as to travel to the capital to plead his case. Either that or his father had heard of them squabbling and had requested their presence to put an end to it.

Erik waited while the two gave their arguments and his father decided that the land did, in fact, belong to the Thane. He did give in to the Jarls compromise. It being a copper mine, a metal used in coinage, the Jarl had wished to provide oversight to ensure that the correct sums were reported for taxes. When they accepted the ruling they departed and his father stood to greet him with a smile.

“So I hear we now have a child ruling a thanedom the size of a jarldom? Also, this land has been given from my own,” His father said with a bit of amusement in his voice, so Erik knew he wouldn’t be cross, “further, this boy is subservient only to you and my crown?”

“I had my reasons father,” Erik said.

“I’m sure you did, you’re no fool. That being said, what reasons are they?” King Herald said and started walking out of the main hall towards the private quarters. Erik and Kyanna followed without waiting for an invitation.

“It’s the child that made the crossbow, my king,” Kyanna said formally with more the tone of her voice than her actual words. Erik grinned when his father sighed in front of him. He knew it peeved his father when people spoke to him like that in private, especially family. A trait Erik shared with him but Kyanna had never shown the same formalities to Erik, they were both royals of the same level.

“Please, there’s no need for that. You can drop the ‘father’ and ‘king’ talk. I insist,” the king reminded her as he had on several other occasions.

“He’s also the one who found the process for liquid stone and clear glass,” Erik ignored his father’s look and spoke. He winked at Kyanna and continued as they made their way to his father’s study.

“So you think him some sort of prodigy?” the king asked. It was a good description but Erik honestly wasn’t sure. Everything he’d learned about Jon Halladson suggested that the boy was far more intelligent than living in a small out of the way village would allow.

It was mainly that which caught Erik’s attention and the idea to give him a title to tie him to Ederath was Kyanna’s idea. Erik had no intention of taking control of the boy but still would rather he benefited Ederath. As for giving Jon such a large tract of land, he hoped Jon and his companions would be able to make something of it and was curious to see if they’d find a way to build a harbor despite the dangerous shoreline. Besides no one else wished to claim it so it stayed under the crown. He wouldn’t promise his father too much, though. It was better to show results than to make empty promises, “Perhaps… If nothing else he has earned his reward and I believe it better if he were in the north.”

“Well, he is a lycan.” Kyanna pointed out less formally which made his father smile. Although Erik could see her troubled face. He knew she didn’t necessarily dislike it now but as the daughter of the Archon, she’d been raised on formality and tradition. She’d told him that to her it was akin to a right-handed Ranger suddenly switching which hand he held the bow and which held the string. The Ranger could fire either way but one way was second nature while the other felt wrong.

“More than that. Here he can freely spread or sell his ideas without having to worry about-” Erik stopped as a soft knock on the door was heard.

“Come in Elmon,” the king said with a roll of his eyes before explaining for Kyanna’s benefit, “He’s the only one in the city that knocks that quietly.”

“Your Maj-” Elmon started but stopped short when the king raised his hand. Erik looked at the man that had served his family for well over a century. He looked disturbed, “We have received word that Saena has been attacked. Thousands perished and hundreds of those wounded are seeking aid and coming north. It was the wolves, my king.”

A silence descended on the room and Erik looked at his betrothed. The shock in her eyes made it obvious that she was thinking the same thing. ‘We were just there.”

Elmon relayed the contents of the missive to the three of them. They sat in silence as Elmon read the lengthy letter. Erik thought about rallying his knights but it would cripple them to have so many to train that being said, they would have to. Most lycans didn't even know the old way and it needed to be a lycan to do it. It was similar to an alpha wolf hurting another member of his pack to show that he was in charge.

After the topic moved from the bitten it described the pox. That's when Kyanna left after their friend, the Duke, explained in his letter that not a single Elvanni had taken ill from it and had asked for Ederath to lend non-magic healers of the pointed-eared variety and to relay the same request to the Elvan. It may have seemed rude to expect another kingdom to send word on a Duke's behalf but the man knew a Lady of the Elvan lived in Ederath. Erik guessed that same Lady left to respond to his request for aid by ordering Rangers to ride to Duratan with haste.

“It mentions that you’re familiar with this Jaesmin, my prince,” Elmon said while still holding the actual missive like it was an ancient scroll or a Temple priestess reading off the scripts, “The duke sends word that she is leading those that require aid to Vanheim to learn the old way. Is it the same Jaesmin that saved our dear Astrid?”

Erik sighed and nodded. He didn’t hold the fact that she’d discussed the old way with a foreigner against her. It wasn't a lack of judgment but was worried about her leading hundreds of desperate people. He’d seen how she’d grown up, she was a timid young girl that was forced to study the beliefs of the Temple and he doubted she’d received any instruction for leading a group… then again the same could be said with the young Thane in the west, and he’d just sent the boy to the wilderness with hundreds of people. In any case, he knew they both had changed from when he’d first met them, the Jaesmin he knew had saved his sister and bested a wendigo in solo combat. Thinking of his sister, “We’ll have to inform Astrid, I’m sure she’ll be delighted.”

Strondheim, The Kingdom of Ederath- Mid-spring 15 years AR

Erin yawned as she stretched and sat on the edge of her bed for a moment, looking at Willow sleeping soundly in her own above Sunada’s bed, which was now Karli’s. Their token Inari had been staying with her people since they got there. That wasn’t to say they hadn’t seen her, she would come by for a day or two before heading back to Hani but it was under heavy escort and they brought their own tents. Her trips were both to see Andrew and to talk on behalf of her people. The Inari hadn’t decided whether they would join them at Strondheim or not because they already had a settlement but at least communication had gotten to the point they could relay that much. The orcs however were camped out right beside them again although she wasn’t complaining anymore, the strange norther- the strange far-northerners had grown on her. She thought it was strange and funny at first to be considered from the south but decided she didn't like being called a southerner.

Erin got dressed and slapped Willow on the butt to get her up. Her older friend grumbled but started to move. Erin then looked below and saw that Karli was already out and about, she was going to wake her nicely. Karli however, was an early riser and today was a big day! Well, not really for Karli, she was probably just milking the cows.

They’d spent the past couple weeks moving to the area, gathering supplies, and digging up fields and that wasn’t over with… but today they were going to start the first proper building in Strondheim. They already had a few huts and shacks but those were more so people could have privacy or to give the livestock shelter than permanent residences.

Today though, they were building a house. One made of a stone first floor and a timber second floor with stone chimneys. It was going to be three stories tall if you included the attic. It wouldn’t be as large as the manor in Terra but it was the first step. One that Erin was excited to take.

She nearly skipped as she made her way through the camp and waved at various people she’d come to know. They all looked at her curiously or they knew why she was in such a good mood that morning and laughed. She was looking forward to the house. It wasn’t just any house, it was going to be the first manor for Clan Halladson in their own lands! More importantly, she was going to have her own fucking bedroom for the first time in almost a year!

“No more tents, no more random knights snoring, no more having to sleep next to someone and have them roll over in their sleep, elbowing me in the face! Thanks, Jaes! No more bugs crawling into the tent or worrying about snakes! No more...” She started listing off the good things that were coming to her or more specifically the annoying things she wouldn’t have to worry about once it was done. The former slaves gave her a look as she passed but they weren’t offended and she didn’t feel bad. Sure, she was getting her own space soon. Meanwhile, people lived in tents but even those that had to wait had no need to be jealous, they intended to build a home for everyone.

It felt a little weird to her that it was because of Jon’s title but the villagers insisted the new hall be built before anything else. Jon of course denied that after realizing by hall they had meant something like the towering structure that they’d seen in Vanheim... even if it would be a lot smaller. That would come later though, their temporary manor would eventually be all hers or maybe Willows as the only two Drengrs once they built the hall but it was a low priority.

The village had been planned out and then some by that point. They took what they’d seen from every city they’d been to in the past year and decided to take what made sense and combine it into one. Along with whatever Jon could get from his visions. Sewers, parks, granaries, markets, monuments, docks… they had sat down and discussed every aspect around the campfire with Willow stepping up and taking notes.

The streets would be wide so they could use a method Jon described to build a sewer one day by digging down and building a tunnel before filling it in and paving the road with cobblestones. For the most part, those streets would be in the form of square blocks with a few exceptions, one being the main road that went through the village and slightly followed the curve of a large inlet they’d decided to build next to. A second would actually follow the waterline and become an area for docks to fish in the lake, it would one day be separated from the rest of the village as it marked the future location of the wall by the lake. A third road would follow the contours of the land and would be the boundary line for the village on its other three sides. It was going to be a little ways from where the houses were but it was meant to be a field road and it would also one day be the location of the rest of the wall.

There would also be a second main road that went from the soon to be built manor on a slight hill to the road cutting through the town. Where they met a square was planned for the market and most of the tradesmen, with land set aside for guildhalls in the future. It might be a long time till that happened but no one was going to argue against a bit of open space anyone could use. Further from the lake would be houses and people's personal plots of land for their garden and livestock if they owned any. Each house was basically going to have two spots, that way the villagers could sell their second one if people ever moved there. The main reason for it was to spread out the village, not only would it prevent a fire from spreading, they intended to build stone walls and once those were up it wasn’t easy to change. Granted the wall was already planned to encompass a mid-sized town and would likely take a few years to build, even with Jon ‘remembering’ new things that might speed it up.

The second wall would be far faster though. The plan was to build it around the gentle hill where the new manor was going to be built. Essentially, what was their family's private estate. Besides providing for a safe place to fall back to, it would be practice for the real thing later. Although they wouldn’t start construction on that until people had their own homes. No one was really worried about the wildlife thanks to the fact that after surviving the Dain, they had enough people with fighting experience to face any monster that came out of the forest. As for people, there wouldn’t be any bandits that far away from trade routes. The clans and tribes in the north were a concern but Garrick had told them only the desperate would wander into Ederath, just like his own clan.

As far as things went, the village was starting to come together at least in theory. Erin smiled as she made her way to the construction site where a few people had already started to dig along the areas marked out with sticks and cordage. They’d first have to dig down deep enough to place a stable foundation below the frost line. Considering that was at least five feet down according to Gertrude, they’d clear out a third of the area to build a small cellar while they were at it. From there they’d start building stone walls and archways to make the first floor before starting on the second.

The first floor would be divided out into a kitchen above the cellar and the common room. Each with a hearth and a staircase. With the one in the kitchen going to the cellar and the one in the common room going up. Besides the two large rooms, a bathing room and pantry room were planned to be on the back of the house with a study and a part of the kitchen extending from the front, forming an ‘H’ shape. Although the area between the two wings would have a covered balcony supported by heavy timbers, mainly because it would make it easier to build a single roofline than having to build multiple.

The second story would have four different rooms, two per wing, and a wide hallway to fit the stairs. Each room could either be a bedroom or whatever else they wanted and each was going to be as large as her room and her parents' room in their old house combined! The final part would be an attic formed by the sloping roof and would be accessible through a ladder in the hallway.

Erin didn’t wait for the others and picked up a steel shovel to get to work. She'd been working nonstop for weeks and had planned to work her fingers to the bone if needed until the house was finished. She desperately wanted space now that she realized how close it was and even though it was tiring it felt good considering that each shovelful was that much closer to having a home again!

In time Jon and Tira joined her while Aethred worked on heating limestone for the cement they would need. Andrew was going with Willow to map everything from the cliffs to where the two rivers eventually converged, essentially Strondheim and its hinterlands.

They’d already explored most of the area but he was hoping a proper map would help Chajin Coda decide to move there, the Inari leader had yet to visit the area. The idea was that it would highlight the fact that there was plenty of space and it was protected on two sides by a lake and a fast-moving river with half of the final side being a small cliff that most animals would hesitate to jump.

“Milord, we have a problem,” Erin heard Roland say after working for a few hours when she decided to take a break. She saw the man who spoke standing next to a hole that would be in front of the main entrance.

“Huh?” Jon asked dumbly and Erin followed him over to where the man was standing. He dropped his shovel into the hole that was far larger than needed to fit a wooden post, even one the size of a tree trunk. When the shovel hit the bottom which was only two feet down she heard a ‘clank’.

“Take a see milord,” He said and squatted down next to the hole, “We thought it were just a big stone and done tried to dig it out but it’s solid I think. I don't think we can dig through it and there's no way we can lift it.”

Erin looked into the hole to see the top of a large boulder or even bedrock. The hole was four feet wide and it looked like they hadn’t even found the side of the massive piece of stone.

“Can’t we just put the post on top of it?” She asked wondering why it was a problem.

“Pfft. The ground’ll shift come winter when it freezes and it’ll be solid mud on all sides next spring. We just won’t be getting deep enough,” Gertrude was standing nearby and informed them. She may have been a merchant but she grew up in the north. It was common knowledge that wooden posts or stacked stone needed to go below the frost that set into the ground every winter, or at least according to her. Erin didn’t know enough about it to comment and after a few other northerners said the same thing she accepted it as fact.

“So it won’t be stable?” Jon asked.

“Ah… No, milord,” Gertrude gave an answer when Jon looked at her when she didn't answer. Erin didn’t blame her, it sounded like Jon was asking a rhetorical question but was instead clarifying the obvious. He looked into the hole and seemed to be contemplating how to handle it.

“We could just put stone and liquid stone around the timbers, bind them right to it. That should hold them in place,” Roland suggested, which sounded reasonable.

“Ya do that and ya may just as well make stone columns. We wouldn’t have to make all the holes twice as large and it’ll last longer anyways,” Gertrude suggested. That too sounded reasonable to Erin. It being the support for the balcony they could even wait until they were ready to start the second floor before building the arches, giving time for people to cut more limestone. Erin looked over at Jon and opened her mouth to ask about it but his expression was one of shock.

“Jon?” She asked, trying not to bring more attention than what was already there. She knew by the look that he’d just had a vision.

**********

Jon had gotten plenty of visions, most of them were complex to the point he could barely understand them. The rest were usually vague, the image of a crossbow in his mind, the reel on his fishing pole, or the recent understanding of a stone keep. Like with the keep and castles, he now knew what they looked like and about things like crenelation on battlements, portcullises, barbicans, murder holes, and machicolation but he didn’t actually have the information to build them. He could figure them out but it was like the monument in the middle of Sentia, he had seen it but if he wanted to build it he’d have to figure it out himself.

At the same time, he had things that he knew far more of in detail. The process for clear glass and concrete among them. They were usually simple processes and, like they’d tried to convince Magistrate Ellis, they could probably be stumbled upon by accident. This was another one of those but seemed even more detailed…

He’d been looking at the rock and was trying to think of a way to get it out of the way. In doing so he’d accidentally triggered a vision, one that his prior life knew well. The information was both exciting and worthless at the same time. Jon could see its potential but he only knew where to get a single ingredient and he needed three! Sulfur, ground charcoal, and saltpeter.