35. Finally Home

The dinner with the Earl's family was great and Rachael seemed to connect with Aureus and the two of them talked for the entire meal. Rurik discussed some fighting techniques the Earl and his son. Novum talked a lot about other things Countess Lions. She provided him a lot of information from the view of nobility and the expectations of lower nobility. It was a lot of great information that he would need over the next few years. He did not chose to be a Baron but he would not take his responsibilities lightly.

It was late before the trio could get out of the house as they kept talking and talking about anything and everything. But finally Novum got them all out the door dragging Rachael away from Aureus. The two really hit it off and Novum would not be surprised to see the message back and forth. It was nice to see them getting along since they both seemed to be very independent.

They got back to the inn late and even though the meal was paid for none of them ate it. Rachael had an idea and talked to the manager and he looked a little reluctant but when she looked at Novum he quickly agreed. A few minutes later three meals came out in a type of to go container and Rachael took them out front and came back right away with a smile on her face. Novum knew that a few of the less fortunate at well tonight and that made him feel a little better as well.

They all slept soundly and were up early. Rurik was up before the rest of them and had already made arrangements for biscuits and coffee. The three ate a few biscuits without any honey since there was a shortage and made their way to the wagon storage area. The man at the place hated to see Novum coming since he had been a huge source of income over the last few days. Most of the locals did not use him and most other merchants were in and out in a day.

Noctis was happy to be getting so that he could run around again. The care was great but he was a horse that liked to run. Looking over the two wagons and only the three of them he thought it was best that he hired a few more guards like the last wagon. He did not have the ring to fall back on so he thought it would be the safer route. He hired four guards that were riders and two more to drive the wagon and just led their horses behind the wagon. The trip was uneventful and that was just the way that he liked it.

When they pulled into Three Mines Peter came running down the road and Rachael jumped off the wagon and went running towards him. Novum gave them a smile and headed for the general store. Two of the three were back sitting our front and Novum jerked his head and put them on the wagon that the guards crawled off of. Novum paid the lead guard and also moved Rachael's bag on the porch of the city hall.

Novum led the way to the property and once the wagons were there he sent the workers back including the one that was tending to the farm. "If you guys could come back in the morning it would be great. The wagons are mine so there is no hurry and I need some time to get things sorted out."

"We will be back in the morning." The three men waved and headed for the village. The could tell that Novum was exhausted after this trip to the capitol.

"Okay Rurik. Let's go for a short walk and I will show you the mine and a few things in the area. That way we can decide where we want to put the forge and other things that you need to get set up." He gave a shrill whistle and Fang came running from around the house at a full sprint. "Good to see you Fang. This is Rurik a friend of mine."

"Sounds good sir. Pooch." He nodded towards the wolf.

"Rurik, I understand you attitude about the situation but out where could you please just call me Novum?"

"Okay Novum. I will try my best. So where is this mine?"

"Follow me." Novum headed for the mine and Fang bounced all around him in excitement. It had not been that long but to the pup it was an eternity. Novum pulled some jerky out of his pouch and tossed it to him. They finally made it to the mine and Novum moved the vines out of the way and motioned for Rurik to enter. The dwarf walked in without hesitation.

Once they got down to where the shaft split into multiple shafts Rurik stopped and looked around. "Going to need some heavier bracing before we go much further. The person that did this was not very experienced. The beams should be almost twice this thick. Also going to change the shape a little bit. I am not sure what they were doing."

"If you go down the right tunnel you will find out that you are completely right. The original owner's crushed body is down there. Also showing a vein of something behind him. That is why I bought the testing kit. I am not positive on what it is."

"Well that is one of the things that I will check once we get this braced. Who do you need to talk to about heavy lumber?"

"I will cut it myself. That is what I have done for everything else. I will find a heavy tree tonight and get started on it. You are going to have to give me the exact size that you want so that I can cut it just right."

"We are going to need to do them a few at a time so that I make sure and save the extra work and nothing goes to waste."

"That is fine with me. So do you want the forge down here or up top?"

"We can put the forges, smelter and brew stations down here. Once the walls are braced I will start on a room for the smelter first. Then as we get ore we can put it there. And then we will worry about the forges once we get enough ingots to be worth firing it up. And I will also get the last few things that we are going to need for the brewing."

"That is fine. I will go to town and get what you need before long. If you want to look around a little more that is fine. I am going to go and take a look around the property and find a good tree. I will also start laying out the expansion for the stables and the sty. Those pigs are going to need some extra room."

"I might walk around a little more so that I can get a good count of the lumber and sizes that I need. It will be better that way so we are not going back and forth and doing one or two braces at a time."

"Okay see you this evening." Novum headed out of the mine and led all his new horses to the stable. Seeing all of them he knew the he was definitely going to need to expand. With that in mind up pulled out his bow and made sure that all of his wood tools were in his bag. He wanted to scout most of his property as he was looking for a good tree so he made sure that he could feel his coin. Noctis and Fang were ready to go so he headed straight towards the lake.

Novum estimated that they were about half way to the lake and he could see the sun on the water in the distance when a deer bound out of the woods. His bow was up in an instant and he was ready to release the arrow as soon as the deer stopped. Fang lot out a loud chuffing noise and the deer froze and looked for him. In that moment Novum let the arrow fly and hit the deer right in the chest.

The deer dropped to the ground and then jumped up and ran for the deep woods towards the lake. Novum gave Noctis free reign and he chased after the wounded animal. As they got closer Fang suddenly went on high alert and started growling. Noctis also shook his head. Novum pushed Noctis a little further and he could see a bear had come out of the woods and was after his deer. He had his jaws locked on its neck. Novum was never one to waste an opportunity and drew another arrow.

The arrow hit the bear in the shoulder instead of the chest and it bellowed out in pain. Novum put two more arrows in the air and when both of them hit the mark the bear still was not ready to give up the kill. Novum stopped Noctis and climbed off of him. He started walking towards the bear and called forth all of his new equipment. The bear was not intimidated by this and charged at him.

Novum knew that the bear would easily run him down and was braced to jump out of the way. Just before the bear could get lose Fang darted in from the side and even though that bear was huge compared to the young wolf he still attacked the leg. The attack caught the bear completely off guard and since his leg was already wounded it made him stumble. When the leg gave out the bear dropped to his chest and slid towards Novum. With one brutal chop he took the head off the bear at his feet. He was glad he had finished the smokehouse before he went to the capitol.

"That was nice work Fang. You are getting a treat once we get this taken care of. You want the heart or the liver. Yeah you want that juicy liver. Looks like the tree is going to have to wait until in the morning." Novum tossed the deer up on the back of Noctis and tied up the bears legs and pulled him nice and easy back to the house. If it had been much further he would have taken a different option but he knew that the bear would not be to messed up with the short trip.

Novum spent the rest of the day cleaning both the deer and the bear and cleaning the hide so that it could be treated. Then he got the fire for the smokehouse started as well. Fang was laying off to the side eating the bear's liver with a passion. The liver was almost to big for him to eat in one sitting but he was determined. By the time the sun was going down Rurik was back out the house. He saw both of the animal hides and raised and eyebrow.

"I shot the deer because it was there and then it ran away and the bear tried to take it and I could not tolerate that so here we are. Glad I finished the smokehouse before I left. How are your cooking skills?"

"Yeah not that good."

"Then I we can work together and figure that out. I can eat what I cook but I am not sure about anyone else."