Chapter 62 — Arms for Dragonwatch

Chapter 62: Chapter 62 — Arms for Dragonwatch

Chapter 62 — Arms for Dragonwatch

Godfrey returned to the small plane with Christopher before sunrise. They brought two deer for Thunder while Walter surveyed the nearby herds.

Thunder released her Prestige when the first carcass reached the table. Christopher felt it through the bond and stayed on his feet; her approval followed. Walter soon returned and reported another herd beyond the orchard, and Christopher ordered him to watch its numbers before hunting there.

Before leaving the castle, they entered the magical armory.

All fifteen sets remained in the preservation formation. Godfrey ignored the armor covered in scales, wings and bright formation lines, and he and Walter examined the plain sets instead, testing how much Knight Essence each required.

The first chosen suit was dark grey with overlapping plates at the shoulders and thighs. Its formation strengthened the entire body when Godfrey fed Silver Essence into the chest stone, and a matching longsword held an Aura edge without scattering the energy along the blade.

Godfrey tested one cut against an old iron bar.

The bar fell in two. The sword stopped before touching the stone table beneath it.

Godfrey studied the clean cut, wiped the blade and returned it to its sheath. Christopher had expected some reaction. Godfrey’s expression stayed flat.

The other two sets looked simpler. One had blackened mail beneath narrow plates; the other used pale grey plate reinforced at the chest and forearms. Both answered safely to Walter’s Bronze Essence, though Christopher’s Dragon Eyes saw deeper formation layers waiting in the metal.

"Ivo can use either," Walter said.

"Which do you prefer?" Christopher asked.

Walter touched the blackened mail. "This one moves better."

"Then take it."

Walter’s hand stopped.

"Now?"

"We didn’t walk here to admire it."

The equipment went into the storage ring. Three empty frames remained inside the preservation formation. Twelve complete magical sets stayed in place, and the Dragon Lance remained beside the buried commander.

They returned by evening.

Christopher ate in the common hall before going below again. He did not summon Walter and Ivo together until the ordinary work had ended and most of the settlement had gone to sleep.

Bennet waited in the private workroom. Godfrey stood beside the locked door. Three covered shapes rested on the stone floor.

Walter entered first. Ivo followed and looked from Christopher to the cloth-covered armor.

"My lord?"

Christopher barred the door himself.

"Some of the sealed military stores beneath Dragonwatch survived better than we expected."

Godfrey removed the first covering. The magical armor looked like fine dark plate until Godfrey released Essence into the chest stone. Grey light crossed the inner lines, and the plates closed around the neck and joints.

Ivo stared.

"Magical armor," he said.

"Yes," Christopher replied.

Godfrey uncovered the sword. Ivo’s wonder changed to caution; a magical weapon could remain in a noble family for generations.

"Whose is it?" Ivo asked.

"Mine," Christopher said. "I am giving it to Sir Godfrey."

Godfrey took the sword and armor without ceremony.

The second covering came away. Walter had already seen the blackened mail in the small plane, yet he still looked at it differently beneath Dragonwatch. In the armory it had been one set among many; here it was worth more than every repaired house inside the stronghold.

"That belongs to you," Christopher said.

Walter did not reach for it. "For use?"

"For you."

Christopher uncovered the third set for Ivo.

Silence filled the workroom. Bennet recorded that three sets from the baron’s private armory had been given that day.

"Try them," Godfrey said.

Walter changed first behind a hanging cloth. The mail fitted poorly until he released Bronze Essence into the inner formation, and then metal tightened across his chest and waist while shoulder plates shifted to match the length of his arms. The remaining looseness came from decayed padding that Owen and Nicholas Tanner would replace.

Ivo’s plate adjusted in the same way. He moved slowly at first, lifting each arm and bending at the knee, and when he released Essence, pale reinforcement spread across the surface.

"Again," Godfrey said.

Ivo repeated the movement faster.

Godfrey struck the breastplate with the wooden end of a practice spear. The formation flashed. Ivo moved half a step but did not lose balance.

"You will train in it before trusting it," Godfrey said. "Magic does not correct poor footing."

Ivo nodded without taking his eyes from the armor.

Christopher handed Walter the matching sword, and Ivo received his afterward. Neither drew the weapons inside the narrow room.

Walter lowered himself to one knee. Ivo followed.

Christopher had not ordered it.

"Sir Walter?"

Walter removed his right gauntlet and placed his bare hand over the sword’s pommel.

"House Drake ordered me north," he said. "You didn’t choose me, and I didn’t choose you. That has changed."

Ivo turned to Walter, then placed his own hand over his weapon.

Walter continued. "I swear my sword and service to Christopher Drake, Baron of Dragonwatch. I will guard his life, lands and people. I will obey his lawful command and keep what he places in my trust."

The oath bound Walter directly to Christopher and Dragonwatch.

Ivo repeated it in his own voice. He stumbled once over the phrasing, stopped and began the sentence again rather than letting Walter speak for him.

Christopher felt unprepared. He accepted their oaths and told them to rise. Walter and Ivo had followed him through the north, fought bandits and orcs and helped rebuild Dragonwatch. Now they chose him directly.

Christopher drew Edmund’s sword and touched the flat of the blade to Walter’s right shoulder, then Ivo’s.

"I accept your service. I won’t spend your lives carelessly. I will protect your families and honor what you earn at Dragonwatch."

Walter rose. Ivo followed. Godfrey stood beside them in the armor Christopher had given him, wearing it as naturally as his duty.

Bennet opened the ledger only after everyone stood. Walter and Ivo gave him the names of their nearest family members for the inheritance entry; that was the only additional record made.

Godfrey spent the next hour teaching Walter and Ivo to release Essence through the armor. Both exhausted themselves quickly during their first attempts, and Godfrey ended the lesson.

They changed back into ordinary clothing before leaving the underground rooms. The magical sets remained locked below until Owen and Nicholas replaced the padding and straps, since carrying them openly through the courtyard would create questions before Christopher decided what answer to give.

Godfrey kept Walter and Ivo below after the armor practice. He placed one of the verified noble breathing records on the table between them.

Both Bronze Knights had advanced through the military method. Godfrey had already confirmed that they could change to the older noble method safely.

"This method stays among the people in this room," Christopher said. "You don’t copy it, teach it or name its source."

Walter and Ivo accepted. Godfrey taught them the complete method and supervised their first circulation.

At the door, Ivo paused beside his covered armor.

"My lord, how many survived?"

"There are others. These three are the ones we can use now."

Ivo accepted the boundary. "Yes, my lord."

After Walter and Ivo left, Bennet closed the ledger.

"Three issued," he said. "Twelve remain."

"Given to people who will use them," Christopher replied.

"I was not objecting."

Christopher watched Walter and Ivo carry their equipment from the room. The armor would defend Dragonwatch instead of gathering dust beneath the mountain.

Owen and Nicholas replaced the hardened padding and damaged straps the next morning, and by midday Walter and Ivo could move freely in their new armor. Godfrey made both men train in the equipment before wearing it on patrol. The unfamiliar weight exposed poor footing, but each drill improved their control.

The apprentices noticed the armor and quickly learned to keep their eyes on their opponents. Dragonwatch’s forces were improving, but they still lacked enough soldiers to watch every approach.

Christopher entered the temporary council room with Godfrey, Walter, Ivo and Bennet. Cedric joined them because every new guard still needed food. Owen arrived late with stone dust in his hair.

Bennet had already heard the question.

"How many?" he asked.

"As many as Dragonwatch can train, feed and command," Godfrey said.

"That’s not a number," Bennet replied.

"Because you have not told me what we can feed."

Cedric placed both hands on the table. "Not an army."

Everyone accepted that.

The first barley had headed, and hunting, fishing and captured stores gave them room to grow. Bennet counted the barrack space, Cedric counted grain, and Owen listed the workers still needed for houses, walls and the quarry.

"We can’t buy one person for every missing trade," Christopher said.

"Then choose which shortages continue," Bennet replied.

They separated the purchases into three groups.

Dragonwatch needed more farmers, workers and soldiers. Christopher also wanted someone experienced with magical beasts.

Christopher studied the three lists. Their earlier attempts to hire free people had failed once Dragonwatch’s name was mentioned. The capital would offer more choices, but the distance and cold remained.

"Six farming families for Dragonwatch," Christopher said. "Thirty-five young workers as well. Men and women. They must be healthy enough for the northern road."

Bennet nodded and marked the numbers.

Godfrey tapped the military group.

"Do not purchase men because they claim they can fight. Every thief with a knife becomes a veteran when a buyer asks."

"Then how do you choose?" Christopher asked.

"Ivo and I test them. Balance. Endurance. Obedience. Whether they watch the man speaking or the purse beside him."

Walter added, "Former soldiers will cost more, but they can stand on the wall as soon as they recover from the road."

Christopher would examine the soldiers after they reached Dragonwatch. Godfrey could judge their health and whether they had truly served, but only the Dragon Eyes could reveal which of them might advance beyond ordinary training.

"We start small," he said. "Enough people to build one training group, not an army we cannot feed."

Godfrey accepted that.

The meeting moved to the capital journey. Christopher would remain at Dragonwatch. Godfrey would take Ivo, six apprentices and enough treasury bullion and ordinary gems to finance the purchases.

Godfrey would hire additional caravan guards for the return journey, since the convoy needed wagons, scouts, food and warm clothing.

"Hire enough guards for the whole convoy," Christopher said. "Your own party cannot watch every wagon."

Bennet made the change.

The military storage ring could carry the treasury payment south, then return filled with cold-resistant seed, medicine, metal tools, spare parts, books and other compact supplies.

"Livestock?" Cedric asked.

"Four young hounds, poultry and several northern horses if suitable animals are available," Christopher said. "The convoy will already be slow."

Dragonwatch still possessed surviving cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and draft animals. The three captured warthogs and five growing young remained in their separate stone enclosure. Expanding the herds could wait for another merchant caravan.

Christopher added one more priority. "Find a beastmaster who understands magical beasts. I need more than someone who feeds noble horses."

Godfrey understood immediately. They had seen rhinoceroses, strange deer and other herds inside the small plane. Christopher could recognize potential, but he could not decide which creatures could be bred, trained or safely captured.

"Look for a herbalist or a mage too," Christopher said. "Make sure they know the work."

"Walter stays," Christopher said.

Dragonwatch could not be left under apprentices while its strongest Knight travelled south.

Ivo accepted it. "Who chooses the six?"

"Godfrey."

The answer ended that question.

A sharp pulse of hunger crossed the bond. Thunder had decided her morning meal was too small. Christopher sent her an image of the midday sun and himself carrying food into the nursery. Her displeasure remained, but the scraping stopped.

"Something wrong?" Walter asked.

"Something hungry," Christopher said. "We finish the drill. Then I need another deer haunch taken below."

Outside, a bell rang three times from the inner yard — not an alarm, only the children’s group beginning its morning drill.

Christopher left the council room with Walter.

Twenty-four children and teenagers stood in four loose lines. Meg waited with the other runners while Joan and two women watched from the common-hall steps.

Walter walked to the front.

"Shelter bell."

The lines broke. The younger children moved toward the shelters, the four runners took separate routes, and the older youths carried emergency supplies toward the fallback point.

The first attempt tangled near the kitchen. Walter reset the group and sent the younger children through first. Afterward, he kept the older twelve for basic movement, balance and carrying drills.

Joan watched from the common-hall steps. Christopher had already limited the sessions to three short mornings each week. Meg and the kitchen helpers trained after their early work was finished.

Meg joined Walter after the others left and repeated the four-stone footwork exercise. She stumbled on the second turn, caught herself and began again.

Bram waited beside the wall with a heavy wooden bar.

Godfrey entered the yard and tied colored cloth strips to four posts.

"Bram, come here," he called.

Bram placed the bar down carefully and approached.

"Stand beside the blue post."

Bram walked to it.

"Stay there."

Godfrey circled him. Walter struck two practice swords together. One of the apprentices called Bram’s name from behind. Bram turned his head but kept both feet beside the blue post.

Godfrey pointed toward the red post. "Now there."

Bram moved.

The orders became harder, and Bram made two mistakes before completing the full sequence.

Godfrey gave him a long padded training hammer. Bram held it naturally with both hands.

"Strike the post once," Godfrey said.

Bram swung.

The padded head broke the post at ground level.

Silence followed.

Bram took in the fallen wood. "Once."

"You did strike once," Christopher said.

Godfrey set another post into the practice hole and ordered Bram to stop before touching it. On the fifth attempt, the hammer halted a finger from the cloth.

By midday, Bram could stop three swings out of five and reset without anger when corrected.

Christopher joined Godfrey near the weapon rack.

"Can he go?"

Godfrey watched Bram place the hammer down rather than drop it. "Northgate first. The road and crowds will test him more than this yard."

"And the capital?"

"If he follows orders at Northgate."

Bram heard his name and approached. Christopher explained the journey and made him repeat Godfrey’s and Ivo’s authority.

"Do I come back?" he asked.

"Yes," Christopher said. "You come back to Dragonwatch."

Bram nodded. The certainty in that answer seemed to matter more than the capital.

Godfrey selected six travelling apprentices after the evening meal: Thomas Reed, Simon Atwood, Adam Fletcher, Nicholas Tanner, Martin Pike and Robin Dyer. Between them, they could keep order, scout, shoot, repair equipment and fight in a line.

The six stood before Godfrey in the inner yard. Peter Cobb and the other apprentices remained under Walter to defend Dragonwatch.

"Northgate and the capital," Godfrey told the selected six. "We travel quickly. You carry your own equipment, care for your assigned horse and obey Sir Ivo when I am absent. This is an escort, not a holiday."

Wat Cooper altered a large mail shirt for Bram. Bennet assigned him the strongest draft horse, though Bram would walk during easier stretches to spare it.

Godfrey brought a spear, an axe and an old warhammer from the store. Bram handled each before settling his hands around the warhammer’s haft. He tested one slow swing and stopped before it reached the ground.

"This," Bram said.

The ordinary weapon bore dents from earlier owners, but Bram lingered over it longer than he had lingered over Walter’s magical armor.

"You carry it only when Sir Godfrey permits," Christopher said.

Bram repeated the order, then returned the hammer instead of arguing to keep it overnight.

That afternoon, Christopher and Bennet reviewed the money Godfrey would carry. Food came first: grain, flour, beans, preserved meat and oil, in quantities large enough to carry Dragonwatch through winter. Chickens and ducks could travel in cages and begin breeding after they arrived. Tools, seed, cloth and medicine followed. The people would cost less than feeding and transporting them north.

Outside the window, the older children repeated their three-pace turn. Walter called the turn again, and this time, all twelve reached the wall together.