1 Going Home.

In an opulent throne room, a ceremony was taking place. A stout grey-haired man in his forties said with gravitas.

"Squire Galahad von Highkeep. Your valorous efforts in the extermination of the red hood bandit group and the show of unusual bravery in the face of danger, have come into the attention of the Crown."

The man then stopped talking and turned around to look at the direction of the capital. A few seconds passed before he returned his attention to the front and continued.

"Specifically, when taken with the expedition party to observe how to lead a bandit extermination effort and left to the rearguard. While everyone else was focused on the intense fighting taking place at the vanguard. You spotted an attempt from the bandits to flank the expedition's rear. At that realization, you rushed towards the bandits and managed to hold the three of them at bay until assistance arrived. Your bold action of unhesitatingly rushing into the fray and putting your life in grave peril not only managed to save the mission. But also the lives of the brave soldiers and Sir Mathew."

He then paused for a moment and then added.

"For that great deed, you shall be given the chance to take the Knight's oath. Do you accept?"

A black-haired youth barely eighteen knelt his chain mail shining and clinging loudly at the movement, as he then uttered grievously.

"I squire Galahad von Highkeep. Vow to protect the meek and strike the wicked.

I squire Galahad von Highkeep. Vow to enforce the Law of the King and the Law Of the Gods.

I squire Galahad von Highkeep. Vow to safeguard the realm and my liege.

I squire Galahad von Highkeep. Vow to defend my subjects and my fief.

I squire Galahad von Highkeep. Vow to uphold the knight's honor with all that it entails.

So that is why I squire Galahad von Highkeep ask his Highness Baron Monver von Gragon to grand

me the honor of a knighthood so I may fulfill my oath."

Baron Monver von Gragon then unsheathed his bastard sword and lightly tapped the youth, first over his right shoulder and then over the left. He then said solemnly.

"I Baron Monver von Gragon with the power vested to me by our supreme and sole ruler the king and the divine authority of the gods officially declare you a knight. Sir Galahad, you may now rise. As it is tradition, I shall bestow you a fitting monicker specifically you shall from now on also be known as the Crimson Lraki."

Shortly after those words were uttered, Galahad stood up his face positively radiating his jubilation.

The Baron then continued.

"With your knighthood, you have filled the prerequisites for you to inherit the title of Knight protector of the eastern fringe. May the gods bless you and lead you safely back home to your fief. As it is the tradition you shall depart coming morrow at the first light. But today, we shall host a banquet in your honor to celebrate this joyous occasion"

The banquet was short and unremarkable. The Baron, his family, his knights, and the important figures of the barony gathered to celebrate the occasion by dancing, drinking, and eating merrily.

Occasionally, Galahad would be asked to retell the story of the red extermination. By either a knight, a young maiden, or a local merchant wishing to curry favor.

At the middle point of the banquet, the Baron presented Galahad with two gifts a banner and a squire.

The banner was beautifully sown with a three-headed crimson crow in an ebony background. While the squire was a tall, sturdy-looking brown-haired lad no older than thirteen.

The lad bowed before Galahad and said.

"Greetings Sir I am Jack Capson son of the current captain of the guard. I am pleased to make you my acquaintance and I am honored to be taken under your wing and tutored in the art of chivalry."

Galahad smiled and said.

"The honor is mine, teaching the next generation is one of the most celebrated privileges of being a knight"

As the night grew long, everyone steadily retired to their rooms, and soon the night gave way to the morn. At the first crack of dawn two riders were seen slowly journeying towards Highkeep.

At about an hour away from the town.

Galahad smiled and said with a friendly tone.

"Hey, Jack. How do you feel about leaving home for the first time and for such a long time?"

Galahad then paused and his smile turned bittersweet as he added.

"To be honest, I haven't been home for more than a decade and I don't remember much from my early childhood in the fief."

His tone then turned mildly melancholic before adding.

" But, I was probably rather distraught, though I did leave home when I was younger than you."

Jack then smiled and simply responded.

"I feel mostly excited and afraid Sir Galahad."

Galahad looked deep in thought before adding.

"I am still shocked that I was the one to inherit the fief. After all, I do have an older brother who is still very much alive. One whom I have often heard praises for."

Galahad then paused in contemplation before adding.

"I do wonder why he hasn't sent me a single letter in the last ten years though? I am also worried about the state in which I will find the fief when I arrive. After all, it has been ten years since my father passed away suddenly and there are no other members of my family surviving outside of my brother, at least close ones. Are there any peasants still watching over the land or would it be nothing more but a few families barely subsisting amidst overgrown fields and an empty husk of a village? "

Jack then said.

"Sir, if I may say most people tend to stay in their villages for their entire life if nothing life-changing happens. As for your brother, I am sure you will one day meet him. Furthermore, I asked my father what happens when a fief remains without a ruler. He told me that the fief falls under the control of a regent and most of the time he does a half-decent job. Additionally while rare I know that the village has a designated trader which comes over and sells the village's goods. So they must have at least a few people still living there."

As the pair of knight and squire continued their idle talk. Time flowed by, as they passed through farmlands filled with wheat, beans, clover, and turnips, which were soon replaced with managed woods and then the managed woods once again gave way to farmland but this time it was uniformly filled with only wheat which seemed slightly more sparse and a bit more withered.

Galahad smiled looking at the growing fields and said.

"I am finally home Jack. While the fields look slightly less well kept it is still a rather impressive crop."

Jack nodded and said.

"Indeed it is Sir."

As time slowly passed early midday set in. A small brown dot grew into a wooden Keep into the horizon. It was placed on the top of a small hill with a wooden palisade wall protecting the village resting at its foot. As they reached the gatehouse, Galahad was greeted by a priest, ten men at arms and a tall robust man wearing chain mail and a breastplate riding a black horse as well as a slew of onlookers looking at their new lord for their first time.

The robust man rode up to Galahad and Jack and then proceeded to give Galahad a small nod, before getting off the horse and saying.

"Greetings, Sir Galahad. It is an honor to be acquainted with you. I am Sir Donathan the Tall and I shall officially return the fiefdom under your jurisdiction. As such I shall return to you the proof of authority."

Donathan then took off a ring and presented it to Galahad.

Galahad got off his horse, took the ring, and inspected it. The ring was made of silver and at the center, it had a singular black onyx with an engraved crow in the end. After a few seconds of inspection, he put the ring on. Galahad then looked at Donathan and nodded before he said.

"Greetings, Sir Donathan. The honor is mine. Your service has been a great honor to my house and to my fief. I shall accept back the proof authority. I am sure we can talk over mead in regard to the fief and you could perhaps guide me over the main threats harrowing it?"

Sir Donathan shook his head and said.

"While I would be most honored to spend my time guiding you, I need to leave at this moment as my count requires my services. But before I do, I would like to inform you that Nikolas von Highkeep, your older brother, will arrive this week with his entourage. We learned that through a crow letter about two turns of the hourglass ago. Goodbye, Sir Galahad. It was a great honor to meet you and I wish the gods grant you a long and prosperous reign."

Galahad nodded and said.

"That is a great shame. However, I cannot stand in the way of duty. As such I wish you good luck in your future endeavors and may the gods bless you."

Sir Donathan then got back up onto his horse and rode into the direction of Gragon.

After that, the middle-aged priest introduced himself calmly.

"I am Markos the Gaudrain Naegl Priest of the temple of Lados. I am here to bless you child and pray that Lados may grant you a long, prosperous, and honorable reign."

Galahad turned his attention away from the departing Donathan and nodded before he said.

"Well met, Naegl Markos. Our wishes align Markos, I am sure that under your spiritual guidance, Lados will grant us a truly noble existence. I hope you will grant me the honor of hosting you in my banquet in the keep."

Markos gave a small bow and said.

"It would truly be my pleasure to guide you in regard to your spiritual matters."

Finally, the leader of the men at arms walked forward. A short greying man with a stout build, an old veteran wearing a worn but well-kept kettle helmet and an aged but clean of rust chain mail. The only one amongst the men at arms with any metal armor pieces. The man then gave a quick bow and spoke with a calm and steady tone with a strong commoner accent.

"I am Hank Martinson the Captain of the Men at Arms at your service me Lord"

Galahad looked at the man and nodded before he said.

"I accept your and your men's service may they be honorable, long and martial and I hope that you and your men shall join me in the feast.

Hank saluted Galahad and said.

"It will be our pleasure."

Pleased at the decent state of his fief and the news of his brother's arrival, Sir Galahad ordained that a grand feast shall take place in the keep. Soon he, the priest, the men at arms, and his squire were eating and drinking joyously.

But good things don't last forever and after the fifth day of banqueting, in the first crack of dawn, a small entourage reached the small hold. With Galahad, the priest Markos and the men at arms in a comatose state from the constant banqueting. There was no formal reception for Nikolas.

In the late afternoon, Nikolas woke up his useless excuse for a brother by kicking him in the groin.

As Galahad woke up from the excessive amount of pain, the first thing his eyesight was greeted with was a blonde-haired thin and frail man of average height with deep black circles under his eyes, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles and a long red silken robe with the only major detail a small badge depicting a crow reading a book sown on it. The man was holding a thick leather-bound book with the title the Geography, culture, and History of the county of Lajon. The man then said with a calm but deeply irritated tone.

"You useless excuse of a brother. Which your only redeeming feature is your strength. It took you eighteen whole years to become a knight and inherit our family holdings and after all this time, the first thing you did when you got this massive responsibility from our ancestors was to hold a banquet and drink yourself to a coma for five days in a row no less.

In all honesty, Galahad was overcome with shock at the appearance of his brother. He always imagined him as a strong, tall, and stout warrior like himself. A man too rugged and adventurous to be a knight, not a proper scholar. Furthermore, it wasn't uncommon for a new ruler to hold banquets for a couple of weeks before properly assuming his responsibilities. Galahad coughed and then responded, his head still foggy from the pain, alcohol, and lack of sleep.

"Mister, you claimed to be my brother but you are not a warrior and you speak all proper like. Furthermore, if that is true, how can you afford such a fine silk robe? After all, my brother owns no land."

Nikolas scoffed and responded while pointing at himself.

"Your older brother is a well-known scholar and a successful businessman. As well as one of the few men in the kingdom with a minor understanding of the occult."

Nikolas then raised his left eyebrow and said with a degree of curiosity clearly observable in his tone and grimace.

"I am truly surprised you never asked about me. After all, I am quite famous in Arxia ."

Galahad shook his head and said.

"Well, I did ask a few people but none really knew much about you. I guess you are not as famous as you believe you are. Concerning the fief, I do care about the fief but I was waiting for the treasurer to appear and make a report. The fact that he still hasn't appeared is extremely infuriating."

Nikolas looked at his brother like he was a buffoon.

"I am not surprised that none knows of my illustrious self in this backward parts. But dear brother your title is only one of a landed knight. Why in the seven hells would you have a treasurer when your realm barely has two hundred souls for you to manage? Outside of that as far as I am aware you have been here for a few days already. So if there was a treasure you would have surely met him."

Galahad gave a half-smile and said.

"Everything has been a bit hazy since I first came here. I have been trying to stave "grrr" the eventual Crapulence with the hair of the dog approach."

Nickolas shook his head dejectedly, sighed deeply and said.

"Don't worry it doesn't matter. Your older brother came here with a Ducal decree putting me in charge of the daily running of the fiefdom for a couple of years until you are mature enough to take charge. In the meantime you can train the men and kill monsters or even laze around, I frankly don't care. My goal is to properly set up this fief to the point where even you can't lead it to ruin. But as I am not technically the owner of the fiefdom and I still am your older brother, I shall inform you about the happenings in the small chance that you learn one or two things."

Galahad was shocked, pleased, and angry all at the same time. He was shocked because it was decreed that his brother will actually manage and in reality all but own his fief. He was angry his brother would do something so inconsiderate and that he was a snotty uppity bastard and finally he was pleased because he didn't look forward to managing the fief and was planning to just give the task to the treasurer. The one he just learned doesn't exist.

Before Galahad could say anything Nikolas continued.

"I looked through the treasury, I assessed the development level of the fief and sent my men to do a census, as well as a thorough check of the warehouses and granaries. Have you done anything? "

Nikolas stopped and looked straight at Galahad for a few minutes before adding.

Galahad's grimace reminded one of a guilty puppy.

"The Treasury has zero gold coins, one hundred eighty-nine silver coins, and one thousand twenty-three bronze ones. Specifically two grand silvers (half hold), seven quarter silvers, and one hundred and eighty whole silvers(one-hundredth of a gold) you also have ten grand bronzes and a hundred twenty-three quarter bronzes and nine hundred whole bronzes. Some minor jewelry and a bit of steel and our familial steel armor. Overall the value is about ten whole golds. Thanks to the bookkeeping of the series of knights holding the fief for the past twelve years. I know that your realm has slowly and steadily lost our father's accumulated treasury. Specifically, we had one hundred whole golds in the treasury. But through disasters, famines, and the slow, and steady withering of all sectors of the economy, led the fief to run a growing deficit year after year. Transforming your treasury to its current pitiful form. The average running cost of the realm has decreased from a net gain of 10 whole gold a year to losing ten whole golds a year. In other words, you are almost bankrupt."

Nikolas then stopped allowing Galahad to take in the weight of the situation.

"Specifically, our economy has decreased thanks to a series of minor disasters such as warehouse fires, goblin raids, bad harvests, droughts, and the wages of the temporary lords. The poaching of almost all our capable craftsmen, the decrease in trade, the decrease in population, and as a follow up your taxes. Furthermore, Baron Monver your direct liege, has increased your taxes three times. Finally, the loss of skilled personnel has increased the number of products the realm imports and decreased the number of products the fief exports. Specifically, the fief exports furs, lumber, herbs, and clothes. The realm is mostly sufficient in grains and meat but it needs to import everything else such as wine and craft goods. About ten years ago before father passed away, the realm had a blacksmith which could produce some basic farming tools and maintain the men at arm's equipment, as well as a woodworker, and a tanner.

Speaking of population the current population, of your holding is 212 people. Made up of fifty-six working-age men specifically, two craftsmen, a tailor, and a miller. Forty-one peasants split into three occupations farmers, hunters, and lumberjacks to be exact, twenty-nine farmers eight hunters, and four lumberjacks. The fief employs eleven people, ten men at arms, and a cook. There is also a priest and an innkeeper. There are also sixty women, with only eight of them being actively employed. Four of them are employed by the aforementioned innkeeper, two barmaids, and two prostitutes, and two nuns which work in the temple. We also employ two castle maids. The rest of them tend to their kids and help a bit with farming. Speaking of kids, there is ninety-five of them, forty-five boys and fifty girls. There is also one elderly man.

As for your infrastructure, it is as a matter of fact falling apart. Your roads haven't been paved with fresh gravel in a while, the walls of the keep and the village are rotten at places. Knight Trajon the Orange has abandoned your observation towers which have since first fallen to a state of disrepair and finally completely rotted away.

On the topic of your Granaries, you have enough food for the winter if nothing unexpected happens. But if you don't fix your income situation, you might need to decrease the number of festivals, which will make the peasants uneasy. Your men at arms are severely under-equipped, and untrained and you will be easily wiped out if a goblin horde attacked.

But there is some new good news. First of all, you are a frontier knight and as such if you manage to colonize more nearby lands, you should be able to petition the count to make you a baron. That is if you expand your realm about five times, but that will require both money and men."

Hearing the constant barrage of information and the near-constant hidden insults from his older brother, Galahad thought why in the seven hells was he, Sir Galahad, treated as a child. I am a man, a knight, a warrior, and most importantly, this short frail man isn't even my lord or even a landed noble. How dare he talk down to me?

Galahad then stood up towering over his brother by a whole head and said.

"How dare you talk to me and treat me like a fucking child, showing me no respect in my own home and fief? You are not my lord and frankly, you are not even a noble. You are not welcome here if you don't respect me. You and your whole fucking entourage should fuck off or I will make you fuck off back to whatever blighted shithole you came out from, you snotty four-eyed prick."

Nikolas just looked at his brother and disdain appeared on his face.

"How dare you a man with nothing but muscles for brains which has been drinking and eating away the money you inherited talk to me like that? And I wanted to take off some of my precious time to help you manage your realm. I had some hopes for you kid, being my brother and all. But all knights are the same, a bunch brainless tin cans proclaiming their moral and martial superiority while not even being able to fight as much as a bloody snail, As such I am leaving good luck at managing your realm, Honorable Sir Knight."

Galahad hearing his brother's words turned red with anger and reached towards his sword. But before he could unsheathe his sword. Nikolas snapped his fingers and the smell of incense filled the room before Nickolas said with an ethereal tone.

"Impe."

Galahad was then knocked off his feet. Falling headfirst to the floor and promptly falling unconscious.