Rebirth and Second Chances

Each of them performed their assigned tasks efficiently.

Henry coordinated with Lord Kel's people and arranged a banquet to coincide with my departure.

From listening to his side of the conversation, it was apparent that Lord Kel would not be happy. I didn't care. I had overheard the conversation between him and Lady Patricia, and I knew his motivations were suspect. There was a possibility that he may not have been involved in the plot I'd uncovered pertaining to the Olympians and Asgardians, but I would bet gold that he was.

Henry also managed to attain a list of properties, items, serfs, retainers, and possessions that Thom had owned and were now mine by right.

I arranged with Basil to sell off all properties and possessions, even if that meant accepting a loss. I knew I would not be returning to Fief Kel once I left. The monies added up, and I added a few thousand gold to my assets.

I kept Thom's stable of animals. He had a few mounts that would come in handy. Five Kelpie, but only three were suitable to be used as mounts, the other two were foals, capable of travel, but not sustaining the weight of a rider.

His retainers I freed from their Oaths allowing them to decide their own fates. The staff I gave the option to sever their contracts, paying each a month's wages and allowing them to search for new employment, or transfer their contracts to Lord Kel. The great majority of them accepted that offer and transferred contracts, but there were a few, mainly serfs, that sought permission to transfer their allegiance to my House.

I agreed to accept them as provisional employees elevating them from serf to freemen. Placing them under Jennie's direction for the moment, I informed Cedric to be vigilant in background checks where these people were concerned. I didn't want spies or assassins that Lord Kel had purchased to use this method to gain access to me or mine.

Happily, no slaves were listed, and I was pleased to know that Lord Kel had one redeeming quality. He did not approve of the practice and refused to allow Seelie slaves. It seemed on this one matter even Thom was not exempt from Lord Kel's edict. I did notice his ban seemed to be limited to Seelie slaves. I was uncertain what that limitation meant for the rest of Sidhe in his demesnes.

Brianne did an amazing job of scheduling interviews. She funneled data sheets to Cedric who expedited background checks. Information that was based on each person's System character and status. A simple crystal bio-metric tool allowed her to corroborate and copy the stats, skills, and spells System recognized. There was no way to hide or obfuscate level, class, or Rank once this tool was utilized.

Coincidently a colony of Aziza, a sub-species of the fey, that were indigenous to the African continent on Earth, were one of the first to offer fealty. These small, hairy individuals often hid and made their homes in ant colonies. Their size made them suited for spying.

Their abilities leaned more towards hunting and scavenging, and each member of the colony could extend an auric buff that increased the abilities of allies. Although they didn't exhibit the mind hive mentality of ants and bees, they were still able to communicate using scent trails. Their sense of smell was so heightened that they could communicate with each other over vast distances.

Aziza that were Ranked Knight and higher had the ability to change size. None of them would ever be as tall as a Seelie, but they were able to grow to a foot in height. Much easier to interact and discuss treaty and obligations with.

I detailed the colony to assist Cedric with investigative responsibilities. Using their diminutive size to spy on and infiltrate suspect candidates. Their ability to search pockets, hide in clothing, and avoid detection allowed us to ferret out and dismiss several possible spies.

The process was tedious and time-consuming, and we were exhausted at the end of the day.

The steady stream of potential candidates exploded as news that I was not only accepting Knights and Squires but Commoners and Peons. Hard luck stories from individuals that were obviously malnourished or abused became common and these individuals were usually hired.

My guard detail swelled from none to twenty, and I found a Ranked Knight, level 3, named Uron, that had some experience training others. He had been employed as a retainer and as the personal trainer for a crony of Lord Kel's but had been dismissed after his last student had ascended.

Although it is hard to tell the age of the Sidhe, he projected an aura of command and steadfastness that only came with age. He meshed well with Cedric, and the two of them looked to be on the way to becoming great friends.

He was honest and suggested we scrutinize even more invasively anyone that was chosen to act as guards. The problems we would encounter were legion, without the need to worry about the pitfalls and traps of setting up a rookie protection detail. But he agreed to a contract and loyalty oath without batting an eye.

He even suggested revisions to the wording on contracts we'd cobbled together and pointed out ways to make the Oaths more effective, with fewer loopholes. Pulling up a website that had detailed Oaths that had been time-tested and were used by Seelie and Unseelie Monarchs, we discovered that most of the work had been done for us.

I agreed to have him sit in and conduct any field tests he thought necessary for any potential guard candidates.

By the second day, I realized the hotel was not going to work as a base of operations. There was no way to house new staff or guards, so Henry made short work of finding new temporary lodgings.

An empty warehouse.

Not ideal.

But it did have offices that were quickly relegated to living areas. Two communal shower stalls that were separated by gender. And a small kitchenette. The cooking facilities were suitable to meet our growing needs, but Jennie was able to broker a deal with her clan for delivery service.

It was a tight fit and took some adjusting as new people were continually hired. Forty staff, a third of whom had been elevated Serfs Thom had controlled. Fifty guards. A Guard Captain. An Aziza colony. But still no appropriate advisers.

I was beginning to worry that Kel fief was too small, too remote to attract the kind of people I needed to really build an effective house. Even if the World Quest had increased the available labor pool.

I may need to wait until I reach the Capital t