Chapter 74 — New Hands

Chapter 74: Chapter 74 — New Hands

Chapter 74 — New Hands

By the time Christopher returned from the private workroom, the wagon train had filled Dragonwatch’s inner yard.

Walter had kept the unloading orderly while Godfrey made his report. Families remained beneath the wagon covers until spaces were marked for them, the forty-five collared soldiers waited in three files, Warren Price’s hired guards held the perimeter, and Bennet prepared the merchant ledger.

Christopher had seen their written names occupying only a few pages. They looked different when seated shoulder to shoulder beneath patched canvas.

Godfrey walked the convoy before allowing the final unloading. He checked the wagon covers, water barrels and seals on the grain while Nicholas examined the repaired wheels and Mabel climbed into the fourth wagon to see the sick child.

The people watched Christopher cross the yard. Most knew his name by now. Their new lord looked younger than several of the guards and wore no crown or ceremonial cloak; Edmund’s sword hung at his side, but he kept one hand away from it.

The first wagon carried the household of five Godfrey had selected in the capital. The father climbed down, then turned to help his wife and daughter, and the two near-grown sons followed. All wore new wool over older clothes. Control collars circled their necks.

The father bowed. The rest copied him.

"Stand with your household," Walter said. "Do not block the road."

They moved where he indicated.

The other wagons unloaded by family. Parents counted children, a grandmother needed help reaching the ground, and one little boy began crying when a duck called from somewhere inside Dragonwatch. His older sister covered his mouth until Martha told her to leave him alone.

Thirty-five unattached young adults stood in several groups near the final wagons, ranging from people barely older than Meg to several in their late twenties. None spoke unless a guard addressed them.

The forty-five soldiers unloaded last. Months without proper food and drill had thinned them, but they formed three lines when Ivo gave the order. Their collars matched the others. Their backs did not.

Walter watched them settle into place while Ivo counted twice and caught Godfrey’s eye.

"All soldiers?" Walter asked.

"All forty-five," Godfrey said. "They have served before."

Christopher looked along the three lines. Some were older men with scars on their hands and faces. Others were still young, but they stood straight and kept their spacing.

Mabel emerged from the fourth wagon carrying the sick girl, her father following close behind.

"The fever is lower," Mabel said. "She needs a bed away from the main barracks until I know whether it spreads."

"Use the room beside the casualty point," Christopher said.

Mabel nodded to the father. "Come with me."

He glanced toward the convoy guard.

"Go," Godfrey ordered.

The man followed at once.

Bennet and two clerks counted the arrivals against the merchant ledger. A name was called, the person answered, or a parent answered for a child, and Bennet marked the line and moved on.

One name received no answer.

The merchant’s clerk counted again. Walter checked beneath the wagons. Godfrey’s expression hardened.

A woman from the second household raised one shaking hand and pointed toward the first freight wagon. Her youngest son had crawled beneath its rear canvas after seeing the poultry cages.

Adam found him asleep between two sacks of grain.

The final name answered.

Walter checked the collars while Bennet completed the ledger. Several had rubbed the skin raw during the journey, and Mabel marked those people for clean cloth beneath the metal. One clasp had bent and no longer sat properly.

"The collar still works," the merchant’s foreman said. "The clasp only needs to be straightened."

"It also cuts him whenever he turns his head," Mabel replied.

Godfrey ordered the clasp changed before the guards departed, and the foreman produced a spare collar and fitted it beneath Walter’s eye.

Christopher disliked watching the exchange. Removing the damaged collar lasted only a few breaths, yet the man remained perfectly still while it was unlocked. Freedom sat around his neck and disappeared beneath another piece of metal before he raised his head.

Christopher watched until the replacement collar was fitted, then ordered Mabel to treat the damaged skin.

Only then did Godfrey bring the convoy Knight into the inner workroom, Christopher and Bennet joining them. The merchant’s sealed account listed the purchase, clothing, guarded transport, medicine and replacement wheels.

Godfrey reviewed each charge. He removed payment for one damaged blanket bundle and accepted the Northgate medicine cost. The Knight accepted the deduction. Bennet weighed the remaining gold and placed it on the table.

The Knight resealed the coins inside a leather case.

"You delivered everyone listed in the agreement," Godfrey said. "Bennet will release the remaining payment."

The convoy Knight bowed. "Then our business is finished, Sir Godfrey."

They exchanged receipts. No feast or handshake followed. The Knight had carried property across half a kingdom and received the price promised for doing it.

His guards watered their horses, ate bread and stew near the gate, and departed before sunset, wanting distance between themselves and Dragonwatch before choosing a camp.

Christopher sent for Meg while the freight wagons were being opened. She arrived with Joan and stopped when she heard barking near the animal pens.

The four hounds remained inside their travel cage while Aldous checked them after the road. None were fully trained. One growled when Walter passed; another pressed against the bars when Meg crouched nearby.

"I want you to help care for them," Christopher said.

Meg looked from him to the cage. "All four?"

"Feed them, clean their pen and learn how to handle them. Aldous will show you what to do until you can manage them safely."

She held her fingers near the bars without pushing them through. The nearest hound smelled her and stopped barking.

"Yes, my lord."

Joan studied the animals before looking at Christopher. "After her other work?"

"It becomes part of her work."

Meg remained beside the cage, speaking quietly enough that Christopher could not hear the words.

The wagons left behind more than people. Grain sacks filled one corner of the storehouse, bundles of winter clothing went to Joan, and bowls, blankets and work gloves were counted beside the barracks. The convoy also delivered the civilian skill list and the service roll for the forty-five soldiers.

Bennet read it once and placed it beneath his ledger.

"Do you believe it?" Christopher asked.

"I believe the dealer charged according to it."

"That was not my question."

"Then no, my lord. We will learn what they can do when they work."

That suited Christopher better than another round of testing in the yard.

Joan and Martha had prepared the western barracks. Hanging cloth divided its largest room into family spaces. The partitions stopped short of the ceiling and offered little protection from noise, but every household received a place together. The unattached men occupied one end room; the women used another.

The sick girl and her father stayed near Mabel. Her mother and siblings were given the closest partition in the barracks.

Christopher entered after the first bundles had been carried inside.

The room smelled of road dust, wool and too many people. Children sat on rolled blankets. Adults checked the roof, the door and the distance to the guards. One man pressed every part of the straw mattress, searching for something hidden inside.

Christopher stopped where everyone could see him.

"You will eat tonight and rest," he said. "Work assignments begin after the morning meal. Families remain together. If anyone is sick or injured, report it to the healer."

"The collars remain," Christopher continued. "Running will be punished. So will theft and violence inside the settlement. Work will be assigned according to what Dragonwatch needs and what you can do."

"Food is served outside in household groups. Walter will show you the order."

He left before his presence delayed them further.

In the yard, the harvest continued around the arrival. Two carts returned from the eastern field piled with bound barley, Cedric walking beside the first, one hand holding a broken binding cord, with southern farmers following and carrying sickles.

Several newcomers watched them pass.

One of the older purchased men turned his head toward the grain until a guard told him to keep moving toward the meal line. Christopher noticed the man’s hands: thick fingers, old cuts and dirt settled into cracks that weeks of road travel had not removed.

The dealer had listed him as a farmer. His hands supported the claim.

The harvest had begun four days earlier. The highest field ripened first, although half its barley stood shorter than Cedric wanted. Stones and poor ground had left bare streaks between the fuller rows, birds had taken their share, and a section near the western edge had bent beneath hard rain and needed to be cut by hand.

It was still grain Dragonwatch had grown.

Bennet joined Christopher near the carts.

"The convoy brought the promised sacks," he said. "Dry enough. One has insects near the seam."

"Keep that sack away from the others," Christopher said.

"I moved it before coming to you," Bennet replied.

"How long will all of it feed us?"

"Our old stores, hunting and fishing could have carried the settlement through winter. Godfrey bought grain for all the new mouths. Ask me again after we finish threshing what is in our own fields."

"Then we have enough?"

"If the harvest is adequate and no store spoils, we should pass the winter without cutting portions. I will give you a proper count when the grain is dry."

Christopher accepted that answer.

Martha served thick barley porridge with bits of smoked meat. The purchased people ate in groups beneath the barracks wall, children receiving smaller bowls first. Several adults waited until they saw Dragonwatch’s own workers eating the same meal.

One woman hid half her bread inside her sleeve. A guard noticed and stepped toward her. Martha blocked him with an empty ladle.

"It was issued to her," Martha said. "She can eat it now or sleep on it."

The guard withdrew.

The woman kept the bread hidden. Later Christopher saw her divide it between two children after they finished their porridge.

Near the water barrel, a purchased boy stared at Meg’s shoes, his own soles having split on the road. Joan noticed before Christopher did and sent Elsie to bring one of the smaller pairs purchased in the capital. The shoes were too large, but cloth around the ankles made them usable.

Joan handled the problem before Christopher needed to give an order.

Bram carried a water barrel into the yard alone. Conversation stopped near him. He set it down carefully, fitted the wooden cup beside it and walked away.

One of the unattached youths watched him with open disbelief.

Ellis and Cole helped distribute blankets. They were newcomers as well, but they wore no collars and had travelled beside Bram under Godfrey’s protection. Cole showed one family how to fasten the barracks shutter. Ellis carried an old woman’s bundle without being asked.

Walter found Christopher near the stable.

"The barracks will hold," he said. "Crowded, but not dangerous unless sickness spreads."

"How many guards are you placing there?"

"Two outside tonight. One inside the main door. The collars reduce escape. They do not prevent fights."

Christopher turned to the meal line. "No weapons near the barracks."

"I had them removed before the first family entered."

They walked past the construction yard, where the original fifteen purchased slaves had stopped work to watch the convoy. Three among them carried Green potential. They had spent months hauling stone and repairing houses.

Walter would bring them into the training yard once the new workers settled into their duties.

"Tomorrow, ordinary assignments," Christopher said. "No training selection yet."

Walter nodded. "The fields need hands first."

"And the newcomers need to see what this place is."

"They will see cold stone and more work than they want," Walter said.

"We can give them something better after they help us build it," Christopher said.

At sunset, Christopher carried Thunder’s evening meal into the small plane.

She met him near the nursery entrance, impatient from the moment the contract strengthened. He brought raw meat from the day’s hunt, and Thunder tore into it while sending him flashes of strangers, dust and unease drawn from his emotions.

"More people arrived," he told her.

Thunder lifted her head, blood darkening the scales around her mouth.

Christopher sent an image of the crowded barracks yard and its lines of collars. Her response held no sympathy. More hands meant more servants, more food and a stronger territory. The certainty was simple enough to be dangerous.

"They are not yours."

Thunder considered everything within Christopher’s walls to be partly hers.

They completed a short Recognition session. Thunder matched his breathing sooner than before. Christopher stopped at the agreed count, left the remaining meat with her and returned through the portal.

Night had settled over Dragonwatch.

The western barracks remained awake. Babies cried. Adults whispered behind thin partitions. A guard walked outside with a lantern, and beyond the walls, the uncut barley moved under the autumn wind.

The entire convoy had reached Dragonwatch.

The walls now held more voices than they had the day before.

By morning, the harder work began.

Christopher met Godfrey, Walter, Owen, Bennet, and Aldous in the inner yard after breakfast. The six farming families waited near the western barracks, the thirty-five young workers stood together beneath guard, and the forty-five soldiers had already formed in the training field.

"The families remain in Dragonwatch," Christopher said. "Cedric will divide them between the harvested fields, the animals, and the vegetable beds near the wall. Give them houses as the repairs are finished."

Owen nodded. "The oldest children can gather fodder and carry water. The younger ones should stay near the barracks until they know the fortress."

"Put them under Cedric and begin today," Christopher said.

Christopher turned to Walter. "You and Ivo take the soldiers. Restore their strength first. We need a garrison, not men collapsing during morning drill."

"They will begin with marching, formation work, and the walls," Walter said. "We can issue spears after I know who follows orders."

Godfrey nodded toward the files. "The older man in the first line is Alfred Cooper. He guarded roads and grain trains for eleven years. The soldiers were bought separately, but they listened to him during the journey."

"Do you trust him?" Christopher asked.

"Not yet. He knows how to keep men in formation. That is enough to begin."

Christopher called Alfred forward, a man past forty, with an old scar beneath his left ear and a collar around his neck.

"Sir Godfrey says the others listen to you," Christopher said.

"Some of them do, my lord."

"Then you will serve as their sergeant. Walter and Ivo command you. You will help with drills, watches and work assignments, and you will report problems to them."

Alfred bowed. "Yes, my lord."

The five soldiers Christopher had marked with Green potential stood in the second file.

"Separate five men for guard duty under you," Christopher said. "I will show you where after the others begin training."

Walter called the five men out of formation.

The thirty-five young workers gathered in the lower hall, away from the crowded yard.

"Owen will lead your work," he told them. "You are moving to another settlement within my holding. You will farm, cut timber, clear an orchard, repair old rooms, and work on the coastal terraces. Aldous will manage the animals. You will obey both men."

The workers exchanged uneasy looks. One young woman raised her hand.

"Speak," Christopher said.

"Will we return here at night, my lord?"

"No. You will live where you work. The land is warmer, and the buildings are stronger than these barracks."

The workers remained uneasy, but nobody asked another question.

They carried tools and supplies into the lower passage. Godfrey led the first group, and Christopher opened the hidden door with the pendant and his blood.

Sunlight entered the stone corridor.

The workers stopped.

Beyond the doorway, a paved road descended through green hills. The Knight castle stood against the mountain, and the sea shone in the distance.

"Move," Godfrey ordered. "Do not block the gate."

They crossed.

The five selected soldiers entered last with Walter. Their collars remained in place, and they carried only work knives. They would guard the castle while learning its roads and walls.

Thunder landed above the gate before the supplies reached the yard.

Her Prestige rolled over the newcomers.

Several workers fell to their knees. One dropped a sack of grain. The soldiers reached for weapons they had not been issued.

Christopher felt Thunder’s suspicion through their bond.

They are ours, he told her. Do not hurt them.

Thunder studied the frightened people. Weak.

They will make the castle useful.

She released the pressure and jumped into the yard.

"Her name is Thunder," Christopher told the workers. "Do not touch her food or enter the nursery. If she blocks your path, wait until she moves."

Aldous remained standing, though his face had lost color. Thunder smelled the animal scents on his coat, sneezed smoke across his boots, and walked away.

"I have handled magical beasts," Aldous said. "I have never handled a dragon."

"You are not handling her."

"That makes the work easier, my lord."

Owen divided the workers before fear could settle over them again.

Ten went to the nearest fields, where the old terraces needed roots removed and water channels cleared before planting. Eight began cleaning the habitable rooms around the kitchens. Six took axes and saws to the fallen timber south of the castle. Five followed Aldous to inspect the stables and animal pens.

The remaining six went with Christopher toward the orchard and western road.

He showed them the overgrown vines, the fruit trees, and the broken press.

"Clear the dead growth first," he said. "Do not eat fruit you do not recognize. Mabel will inspect it."

From the orchard, they continued to the coast. The old salt pans lay in shallow terraces above the beach. Sand and weeds filled the channels, but the stone beds remained.

Owen had copied the old channel plan and harvest instructions from the castle’s service records. Christopher gave the copy to the four workers clearing the first pans, while the other two returned to the orchard.

When they returned to the castle, Owen had opened the well and found the water clean. The field group had cleared one irrigation channel. The kitchen chimney smoked for the first time in years.

Christopher stood in the yard while the work continued around him.

Work now filled the field, orchard, coast, stables, and castle rooms. The settlement had begun to live.

Thunder dropped the remains of a deer near the kitchen door.

The workers scattered.

Christopher looked at her. "You cannot leave that there."

Thunder pushed the carcass closer to the door.

Owen stared at the deer, then at the dragon. "Is that for the kitchen?"

Christopher felt Thunder’s expectation through the bond. "She wants most of it back after you cut it."

"How much is most?"

Thunder answered with an image that left almost nothing for anyone else.

"We will negotiate," Christopher said.