After leaving the grain trader, the lord and the young master made their way further along the main road, continuing in the same direction they had been going before.'
'Old man, can I ask you a question about the village before we get to the smithy?'
'Sure, you can ask me a question, but I don't know if I like being called old man. I am not even 40 yet, Cass.'
'You and the toothless geezer laughed at me, so I think it's more than fair I call you old man for the rest of today. Anyway, all of the houses here look very similar; they were all built the same, right? So why doesn't our house look like that? Ours is much bigger and it is a different style.'
'You can blame your step mum for that. When I was married to your step mum, and given this area of land as a reward for my war contribution, father-in-law and brother-in-law dumped a big bag of gold in my hand and called it seed money.
They said that I could use it to get the village started, on the condition that I leave the money to Adeline to build a house befitting a baron. When I asked her if we couldn't just build a larger 2-story cottage, she got pretty upset and scolded me as a brainless lord, hehehe.
Less than 24 hours after we were married, she was already making me toe the line. According to her, a lords house has to look like an actual lords house, otherwise the residents won't respect him as a lord, I protested and said that the villagers would mostly be former comrades in arms, and she scolded me even more harshly saying that I need to make the difference even clearer in that case'
'I don't think she was wrong, though.' Cass replied.
'You know, Cass, neither do I. At first, when I met her, I thought she was too strict and rigid, and as our marriage was a political thing in the beginning, I had my doubts about some things she told me, especially when she scolded me harshly.
But then, after we started to get along, I quickly realized that everything she said was true, and that even though she gets angry and can take her scolding too far, it all comes from a place of love. If she weren't with us, this village would have gone bankrupt and failed within the first 5 years.
When you start learning from her, take it seriously, and when you start looking for the right wives to support you as a lord, make sure you find a woman just like her. She will make sure that you always do the right thing. Also, the harsher she is with her scolding, the more affectionate she is when she is showing you love. Did you see the way she was stroking my hair this morning, even though she called me a bastard and threw dirt in my eyes, that's real love.'
'Hahaha, I will try and find a wife just like my mothers. Is that the smithy there on the corner of the road?'
'Yeah, let's go in and I will introduce you to a man who has saved my life more times than anyone ever has.' The father-son duo pushed open the door and entered the brick building.
Directly in front of them as they entered, there was a wooden counter with a shield stuck to the front. Engraved in the shield was the Wyecliffe family crest, a leaping fish with a barbed spear piercing it.
The walls of the building were shelved and divided into sections. There were sections based on the type of product available, one for standard longswords and shortswords, one filled with spears, and another with Shields. Behind the counter were farming tools, pots, pans, and other less lethal items. 'Orin, are you in?'
'Is that you, oh bastard lord of the village, come to slow down my workflow again. At least you are doing it early morning instead of in the middle of the day. If you don't have a lot on, I do need someone to work the bellows for me, wanna come help me out?'
'Sorry I can't help out today you grumpy old shit, come out here so I can assign you a task'.
The closed curtain behind the counter started to shift. 'So then, o great shitlord of Wyecliffe village what can I do for you today?'
As the blacksmith made his way out of the backroom and behind the counter, Cass saw that he was a very tall man with a grizzled beard. His gut hung out so much that the apron he had on was stretched to the limit, however, his uncovered arms were massively muscular and lean, not seeming to carry an ounce of fat. Cass guessed that his 'gut' was more like a big ball of muscle hiding under that apron.
He looked down over the counter and grimaced slightly as he looked at Cass. 'Lucius, you should have said you were bringing your kid today. I would have toned down the crass language if I had known. Don't worry, kid, I kinda like your dad, saying all that mean stuff to him is just our way of joking around.'
Lucius just chuckled and looked at the blacksmith. 'Don't worry, when the kid becomes a man, he will understand how things are between old war buddies. Cass, meet Orin. Orin, meet Cass.
Orin here made sure that my armour was always in working order so that low-level goblins with their pig iron spears couldn't stab me in the heart so easily. Orion, as discussed, starting next week, I want him to get some experience working here one afternoon a week. Do you think you can accommodate him?'
'As long as he doesnt bitch and moan about the heat in the forge or the difficulty of the job, I have plenty of work for him. I can have the boy help me make molds, work the bellows, shovel charcoal, and make batches of iron plate, but once a week isn't going to make a difference for me, if I can have him for two afternoons it might make a dent, but I need more full time hands.
Actually, can I keep your son twice a week? As a matter of fact Lucius, next time you go to your brother-in-law's port town, find me an apprentice or two, please. Without one, you are working me to the bone.'
'Alright, Orin, I will ask Adeline to send her brother a letter and inquire. Now, about this twice-a-week business with the boy. I can probably do it every other week, as long as he doesn't have anything pressing that needs to be taken care of, does that work?'
'Yeah, yeah alright, better than nothing I suppose'. Orin turned towards Cass and offered him a hand to shake. 'Alright then, boy, starting next week, you are mine, so be prepared. Smithin' is a hard day's graft, and I won't tolerate any bellyaching from a kid. If you can agree to that, I'll look after ya until ya come of age, deal?'
'Deal,' replied Cass while shaking the proffered hand.