After leaving the dungeon and meeting up with his squire they both got on their horses and headed back to the castle. He was still unsure about whether he could or even should trust the voice that spoke to him in what may or may not be a so-called dungeon. Either way, the probability that he was going to head back tomorrow with Rachana in tow seemed high. His brother had left him in a near-impossible situation and even the remotest possibility that the voice could be of help getting the barony through the present difficulties was worth taking.
Upon entering the castle Amondo was met by a page who informed him of three things. Firstly that there had been no change in his sister-in-law’s condition, secondly that a courier had arrived with a message for him which was currently in the possession of his secretary and thirdly the constable wanted to talk to him. He had been avoiding meeting with his secretary Marvin Abela and the rest of his staff to give them time to rest from the trip, to settle into the life of the castle and to gain a better understanding of what they faced.
It was about time this changed so after ordering the page to inform his secretary and others to meet him in the constable’s office in ten minutes he headed there himself. He thought he knew exactly what it was the constable wanted to speak to him about but he was wrong.
“Constable, you wished to speak to me, did you hear back from the forester about the timber?”
“Not yet sir that was not what I wanted to speak to you about, just shortly after you left to visit the dungeon I received a message from the baronial Seneschal Gru Meten. It seems that the Escheator, Ryton Calving has received a missive from Eugene Haas and Paul Bohyde his new lord of Antwa. They claim that the old border between the lordships of Antwa and Hasford is at least in part no longer valid. According to them two years ago your brother allowed a small land swap between the two lordships involving the forest of Elmsey and Atlanky Lake to go ahead.”
“Interesting do we have any record of the land swap in question and what exactly did it entail?”
“I don’t remember anyone mentioning it to me but then again it does fall with my remit so why should they. However, Gru in his message made mention of such a swap having been proposed but was unsure if your brother had ever gotten around to authorising it. I have people looking over the records to see if any relevant paperwork had been filed and dispatched a messenger to the deposed lord of Antwa enquiring about it. God knows when we might hear back from him, so I also sent one to the inn to summon his Marshall, Fabio Rocha and the other two members of his retinue who are staying there. I don’t imagine Eugene bringing the matter to the attention of the Escheator if he didn’t have proof real or forged to back up his claim.”
“So what do you think he is up to, this doesn’t seem like something he just came up with on a whim, he must be playing a deeper game.”
“It could be a distraction to keep you guessing what he might do next but then again it could just be aiming to piss you off or question Orlando Scotti’s loyalty and by extension that of everyone else. It is also possible that for some reason or other he wants the Escheator kept busy or half a dozen other things.”
“Whatever the reason behind it we have to deal with it as quickly as possible and be on the lookout for any other surprises he might spring on us. You’re going to have to look into every single thing my brother agreed to during his time as baron and I’m sorry to say that of my father as well. I know it is probably just a waste of time but better safe than sorry as they say.”
“It may take some time but as you say it needs to be done.”
“Any idea when Fabio Rocha and the others might arrive I hear they don’t spend all that much time at the Inn to it may be hard to find them?”
There was a Knock on the door before the constable was able to answer that question.
“That just might be them now,” the constable started before going to open the door but it wasn’t the three retainers of Orleans Scotti but rather the three retainers of Amondo whose presence he had requested earlier and one other.
First through the door was Sir Elias Labil who was a few years older than Amondo and like him had been a knight on the tournament circuit. He had broken his sword arm in several places during the first tournament of the season and it not having been completely healed he was forced to sit out the rest of the season. He wasn’t up to Amondo’s standards having only ever won a single tournament, but he still managed to come second in at least a single tourney each year. He was however very deadly with an axe he was perhaps the finest axe fighter of his generation or so he claimed.
The two of them had been fast friends for over a decade ever since Amondo had unhorsed him the first time they had ever meet in the list and then fallen to his axe work thereafter. He had been the first knight Amondo had invited into his banner and the third one to join it. He was the eldest son of the former baron of Raging Water who had lost his barony to the crown after a large bandit band had ravaged it. They destroyed him both financially and in spirit when Elias was fourteen. He was about to start squiring for a knight from a neighbouring barony and if his father had not already paid for it there was no telling what might have happened to him. Elias had been knighted after he and his master had captured a valuable hostage in a border war between two large baronies.
Five years ago he had purchased a small hamlet near where he was born, retired from the circuit, married a local girl and saw her die in childbirth a year later. At which point he decided to re-join the circuit, leaving his former father in law to run the hamlet in his absence and hadn’t returned since. Amondo had tried repeatedly to get him to do so but to no avail, he wouldn’t even talk about his wife. For a while, it seemed as if he had a bit of a death wish but thankfully it didn’t last and he soon returned to a slightly melancholic version of his previous self.
At four foot twelve inches Marke Alfara, Amondo’s Chamberlain and Treasurer was second through the door, he was followed by Mavin Abela who served as Amondo’s secretary. Mavin had been a clerk at a small merchant house that had gone bankrupt owing Amondo and others money before finding employment as a clerk with him. At the time this occurred the clerk he was to replace had died after accidentally eating some poisoned food that had been meant for Amondo. He had heard about the opening in the days leading up to the bankruptcy while Amondo was trying to get some of the funds he had placed with the merchant house back. He proved valuable to Amondo over the years and became his secretary two years ago.
The last thought the door was Bagrat Dischal who Amondo hadn’t invited to this meeting. At twenty-four he was perhaps the youngest of Amondo’s retainers and he had been orphaned when he was just six months old. He was raised in a nearby monastery dedicated to Matitas and had nearly become one of his priests. At the last moment, he had realised that he wasn’t quite suited for the role and when Amondo had paid a visit to an old friend at the monastery he had casually mentioned the need for a new clerk. His friend had immediately recommended Bagrat for the position and the rest was history.
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