CHAPTER 263: CLEAR THE AREA

Dominic and John raced through the woods, checking for more signs of intruders as they made their way to the Barony.

If there was one group led by cultists, there might be more. And they may have been targeting Dominic and the Princess again, not just randomly attacking travellers.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that these were most likely part of the same force that had attacked Cygnia, perhaps ones who had escaped, or one of the forces that was successful.

But neither found any sign. It was as if the whole horde of Ogres had simply appeared out of thin air, or had been following the overgrown road without damaging the surrounding trees. Which would be very unusual for Ogres.

The Manor the Princess had chosen was not far, and on the same side of the estate as the attack.

However, it was also one of the least damaged buildings, as the battle had occurred in the fields and the force had been called to the Earl’s estate before they could loot much.

"This is going to take a minute. There are a lot of skeletons in the fields." John sighed.

Dominic nodded. "That will be the case everywhere. I cleaned up the farms around the estate when we first arrived. Or, the Royal Guard did most of the work while I built the crypt. But every estate has remained untouched since the war, and that means we’re going to find the aftermath at every farmhouse and barony."

John nodded. "I understand, Your Grace. I have a storage ring, and I will gather as many as I can find. You can do the Barony Manor so that it’s ready for the family. They’re unlikely to notice what I’m doing, as long as the main house is ready for them.

It’s the great thing about being a farmer, everyone just assumes that I belong wherever I am, as long as I’m not inside a city."

Dominic laughed. The man had a good point, nobody questioned the presence of a farmer in any field, except the farmer who actually lived there. Even if he was in town, you would just assume that he needed something.

But a Nobleman in the fields, or at a discount inn in the city? That was suspicious.

Dominic entered the house, and found that the interior was going to need a bit of a refresh. The majority of the battle had been outdoors, and he collected those skeletons as he went in, but the front door had been battered in, and there had also been a fight in the front room.

Dominic assumed that it would be the great hall for the barony, as all the bedrooms looked like they were on the second floor.

But he had to work quickly.

A quick blast from the torch stored with his smithy tools scorched the blood on the floor, and Dominic tossed an oil lantern in the middle of the patch. It was obvious that there was a battle here, but as he moved through the house checking for bodies, the house wasn’t actually in too bad of shape.

This one didn’t have a magitech panel in the basement to do repairs, but a few patches with [Fieldstone Wall] was enough for the worst areas, and the carpenters could be called in for the rest, as the beams looked solid, and the floor didn’t flex or creak too badly.

There had been a battle in one of the children’s bedrooms, so Dominic simply stripped everything into his storage space except the furniture. Let the new baron think that this had been an unused guest room.

Then, he headed back outside to find John waving to the new arrivals, whose convoy was slowly trundling across the grassland with its one overloaded tractor.

Perfect timing.

{Did you get it all?} John signed, and Dominic gave him a thumbs up as he waved to the Baron.

"Park right out front. I checked the house for damages and wildlife. It should be safe to move in, and I didn’t see any bugs." He greeted them.

A matronly woman in the passenger seat of the tractor laughed. "That is wonderful news, Your Grace. The cats won’t mind if there are a few mice around, but I’ve never been fond of bugs."

"You must be the new Baroness. Welcome home. Feel free to take a look around before you start moving furniture. We haven’t gone through all the farm houses yet, so the extended family might have work to do, but the main house is in good shape." Dominic replied.

"I think that we can manage that. None of us are under any illusions that the houses will be newly built or contain a tonne of gold worth of magitech. Though, I do see that the house has magitech lights." Baron Keith explained.

Dominic nodded. "There is a magitech stove as well, but that’s it. Those two things were pretty standard for every Nobleman’s house in Wavemates."

The Baroness smirked and poked her husband. "Now, you don’t have to stop working at dark, you can just turn the lights on and finish the job."

Keith sighed, "Can we take the lights out?"

"Unfortunately, they’re all through the house, even the basement. But if you don’t have anyone who can use them, you might luck out and get to go to bed at dark.

That’s a luxury that most of us don’t have. Nobody would believe that I can’t turn the lights on with my magic, when even the maids can do it." Dominic joked.

The baroness giggled. "Even at home we had a magitech lamp, they’re not hard to work, even if you have very limited affinity with magitech. I don’t think that we will have any issues with the lights in the new house.

Thank you, Your Grace. This looks like a wonderful manor, and it’s much larger than I had expected."

Dominic nodded politely. "The Princess chose it, likely based on the size of your family. But most of them are designed for larger families or many guests. Hospitality is part of a Noble’s duty, after all."