Chapter 348: Return to Vrethka

The horse raced along the forest road, its hooves striking the dirt in a steady, comforting rhythm.

Darion rode at a fast pace, making good time because the Vrethkan horse was well-trained, bred for speed, and seemed to sense the urgency of its rider. The forest road was relatively peaceful. The towering trees offered shade, the morning sun was warm, and the air was fresh.

He kept an eye on the surroundings out of habit, his gaze sweeping the treeline and the undergrowth, but nothing attacked him. No monsters, no beasts, no bandits, and no hostile warriors appeared along the route.

After everything he had experienced lately, the lack of danger almost felt strange. He was so used to fighting, running, or planning for the next disaster that a quiet ride through the woods felt like a foreign concept.

Darion eventually relaxed slightly and took out his water flask. He drank deeply while the horse continued speeding down the road.

’Exhausting,’ he thought. The past few days had been an absolute marathon. Vrethka’s invasion plan, fighting hundreds of warriors, killing Chief Dross, taking control of the settlement, and then immediately riding to Harrowhold to install Marrick. It was a blur of blood, politics, and undead.

Yet, somehow, despite all of that, things were beginning to fall into place.

He thought about his decision to make Marrick the King of Harrowhold. He considered whether Marrick could actually handle the position. The kid was young, he had been tortured, and he was clearly terrified of Darion. But Darion concluded that Marrick was probably one of the safest choices available.

The biggest advantage was that the people already knew him. Marrick wasn’t some random outsider Darion had dragged into power. Before his father’s death, Marrick had already been heavily involved in governing Harrowhold. He had effectively been second in command. The warriors and people of Harrowhold would recognize him. He understood the territory, its people, and how his father’s administration worked.

Darion thought this was much better than trying to install one of his own people, who would know absolutely nothing about Harrowhold. Marrick also had something Darion couldn’t manufacture overnight: familiarity and legitimacy. Darion’s role could therefore remain what it needed to be: making sure Harrowhold stayed loyal while Marrick handled the actual kingdom.

Darion also reflected on the fact that he never actually showed his face to Harrowhold’s subjects. He didn’t make some grand entrance or publicly announce himself as the person who had returned with Marrick. At first, Darion considered whether that was strange, but then he realized there was no reason to reveal himself.

Staying out of sight gave him several advantages. Most of Harrowhold didn’t know exactly what he looked like. Enemies wouldn’t immediately know where he was, and people couldn’t easily track him. He could operate behind the scenes instead of constantly being surrounded by people.

Being publicly known as the terrifying Necromancer Lord wasn’t always useful. Sometimes it was better to let Marrick be the visible ruler while Darion remained the unseen power behind him. He didn’t need everyone bowing to him personally. He just needed Harrowhold to function and remain under his influence. This also gave him more freedom to move between territories without announcing where he was going.

Darion was satisfied with the arrangement. Marrick could handle the public side of things while Darion handled the bigger problems.

The road stretched through forests and open paths. He periodically drank from his water flask. Nothing happened. No monsters emerged from the forest, no strange sounds interrupted the journey, and no enemies appeared. Darion almost found the peaceful ride refreshing.

Eventually, the familiar surroundings of Vrethka began appearing in the distance. The thick stone walls and the towering structures of the settlement came into view. Darion realized he had made it back without incident.

He rode through the entrance toward the settlement. The guards recognized him almost immediately. They greeted him respectfully, their heads bowing low. There was no hostility, no alarm raised, and nobody suddenly attacked him.

Darion noticed that nothing had changed since he left. The people hadn’t rebelled, the warriors hadn’t abandoned their positions, and nobody had attempted to assassinate him. The settlement appeared to have settled into the new order.

He was mildly relieved. He had considered the possibility that someone might try to use his absence against him. Instead, Vrethka seemed stable. He gave the guards a brief acknowledgment before continuing toward the palace.

Darion reached the palace and dismounted. He left the horse with the appropriate guards and walked through the familiar palace halls. The atmosphere felt noticeably different from when he first entered Vrethka. Before, this had been Dross’s stronghold. Now, Darion controlled it.

He eventually reached the throne room. Darion sat down on the throne. For a moment, he simply sat there, looking around the room and thinking about how quickly everything had changed. He didn’t necessarily want to rule Vrethka directly, but the position gave him control over the territory.

After sitting there for a while, Darion realized something important. He knew Vrethka’s military strength. He knew its warriors. He knew its leadership situation. But he didn’t actually know how the territory functioned economically.

Darion got up from the throne. He started thinking practically. If Vrethka was now part of his territory, he needed to know what it actually possessed.

He wanted to inspect the settlement himself. He needed to find out where the money was stored. How much wealth Vrethka actually had. Where their food supplies were kept, how much livestock they owned, where the farms and farmland were located, and what resources the surrounding land provided. He needed to know what buildings and facilities were important, how much military equipment remained after the battle, and what supplies Dross had stockpiled.

Darion realized that conquering land was only the first step. If he wanted to make Percvale—and now Vrethka and Harrowhold—stronger, he needed to understand what each territory could actually produce.

’I conquered the place,’ he thought, a hint of dry humor in his mind. ’Now I should probably figure out what the hell I actually conquered.’

Darion left the throne room. He prepared to personally inspect Vrethka. Rather than immediately relying on reports from warriors, he wanted to see things with his own eyes. He planned to start with the most important resources: the treasury, livestock, farms, food storage, and military supplies.

As he walked toward the palace exit, his mind was already organizing what he needed to investigate first. He stepped outside the palace and looked across Vrethka.

The settlement was now his. But he realized he barely understood its true value yet. He looked toward the sprawling buildings and the surrounding land.

’How much wealth is actually hiding inside this place?’