49. The Lake 6 (Returning Home)

They left out on time with everyone the next morning and halfway into the day Erica was moving back and forth and Novum could tell that she was in pain. "Erica why don't you take some time on the wagon with Dan and Joe will ride your horse for a little bit. Riding long distances will be tough until you get used to it."

Erica looked at Joe. "Would that be okay?"

"Of course. My first trip all the way here was really rough on me since I had only ridden around the town and it was, well lets say that it was a learning experience. So you hope up here for a while and I will take your horse." The wagon barely slowed down and Joe hopped off and then he picked Erica up off her horse and sat her in the seat. He stepped up on the horse and they continued on.

Novum felt like he was being watched and realized that he was in the area that he had the same feeling the last time that he was through here. He rode back by the lead wagon that the Mayor was in. "I think that something is about to happen. Slow the wagons just a little and let me go out ahead and see what I can see."

"Be careful."

Novum rode out to the area where the trees got a little closer to the road. He pulled Noctis to a stop and raised his voice. "I can feel you watching us. I would rather not kill anyone today so if you would not mind just leave and we will not bother you. But if that is not the case how about the leader of this group come and face me so that only one of you needs to die."

A big man stepped out from a bush that was far away from the rest of the group. "You are a brave one, stupid but brave. What happens when I beat you?"

"Then you can have my equipment and the gold that I am carrying and head on back to your camp and weep in joy."

"That is not nearly enough."

"Well the six guards, two mages, and healer would be hard for your group of bandits to deal with." He could see the doubt in the leader's eyes. Novum willed his sword and shield to his hands and got down off of Noctis. He did not wait for the leader to make his decision he just got ready for a fight.

"Okay boys, hold tight. I will finish this quickly and then we will decide on the wagons." He drew out his longsword and tightened his small shield to his arm and started walking towards Novum.

Novum kept walking forward and with his long reach struck out at the man's head. The man knew that he was going to have to get close to beat his reach so instead of trying to block or stepping back he tried to duck and dart forward. Novum smiled and before the man could change his course Novum kicked him in the face as hard as he could. The man stood straight up and then continued the momentum and threw him back several feet. He could do anything as he landed on the ground with his eyes closed.

"Now does anyone else have anything that they want to say or do?"

There was silence from the bushes around him. Novum grabbed the man by his wrist and dragged him out of the trail and into the woods. After he willed his sword and shield away he walked back to Noctis and waved at the wagons to come ahead. He knew that none of these men had the will to try anything. The mayor saw everything and quietly asked. "Did you kill him?"

"No just knocked him out. Though I did hit him pretty hard so I am not sure how long it will take before he wakes up. I was hoping to discourage him from setting up in the area. I may have to escort the workers back to the city."

"I will make sure that there are more than enough guards for that. It will also give them an opportunity to check on the update from the Duke. He might try and push us to a small city with your presence. So I am not sure what is going to happen."

"If we don't get a huge influx of people in the next year we will stay a town. Though he may put us at the higher end of the tax scale. The mines have been mostly unnoticed but once you are bigger a few outsider may notice you being right on the border and that will put us in a dangerous position and he will put extra guards here."

"We have a few visitors from outside the duchy every year and we have not had any issues."

"Yeah but that was before. Now they are going to assume that based on the rapid growth of the village to a town that you found something big or new in the mines and assume that they should get involved."

"That is something to take into consideration. I may see about hiring a few more guards as a village the way that it is. I would love to try and hire a mage for the city defense."

"That might not be a bad idea. They can really turn the tide of a battle. Another thing that you should consider is building a new and bigger temple. A bigger temple gets more clerics and knights to protect it. They can also be a huge asset if trouble comes."

"Damn it. I may have to go back to the Capitol with you and talk to not only the Duke but also the head priest."

"Well you could talk to him but you could also talk to a few of the other churches and let them build a small place here as well. If the church itself frowns on it I can invite a few small ones to my place. That is private property and the holy people have no authority."

"Honestly if we are going to be growing like you think a few more options might not be a bad idea. But I will worry about that once we start to grow."

"Well don't wait to long. The time to think about getting bigger is before you start getting bigger. If you are reacting instead of acting it makes things twice as hard."

"Are you as young as you appear? That is some very deep insight for someone your age on the development of a town."

"We are as young or old as we feel. But I can tell you that this body is exactly as old as it looks. The mind just seems to be a little older. My elders always said that I had an old soul." Novum adjusted his speed a little bit and put some distance between him and the mayor. He did not want to let something slip out about him creating this world.

As he rode towards the back he saw that Joe and Erica were talking again and even though it had been almost all day she was still on the horse. He offered to switch but she figured that she needed to get used to it as fast as possible. He saw that she was a little older than he originally thought but he also knew that Joe was a little younger than he looked. Life in Three Mines was rough on a body. They were only about three years apart in age.

As he got closer he saw that the man that was riding with Joe put some cotton in one ear just to keep the noise to a minimum. Apparently the two of them talked from sun up to sun down. It was getting on his nerves. Novum did not say anything he just hoped that the man realized that he should offer to swap with Erica next time instead of Joe. He moved over to ride beside Berry.

"How are you today Berry?"

"Why did you not kill the bandit leader while you had the chance?"

"Well honestly I do not have a good reason except that I don't kill unless I am in real danger or to protect someone else. If you are worried about me not having what it takes once we are in the tower don't. I can and will kill when it is necessary. I honestly am hoping that they realize that I will be making this trip often and either move to a new location or find a way to turn their lives around. If I had killed him then that was end of the choices that he could make."

"That is deeper than I thought. I assumed you had never taken a life before and did not want to start. But given the apparent ages of the bandits they do still have that option. By the way how old is Joe?"

"He is younger than he looks but I have never asked him his age. I would assume he is probably two to three years older than Erica. But that is given she had a talent that manifested a little early. If she came to you at the normal age they are probably born the same year."

"Her talent did bloom a little early but not that made her a prodigy. I am hoping that she doesn't get in over her head. She really seems to like him but I don't want an older man taking advantage of her."

"Then be blunt and ask him to make sure. You are practically sisters so it would only be a little rude to ask him."

"You may be right. I do think of her as a kid sister and she had called me big sister when she is trying to get something out of me. I will use that to my advantage. I will talk to the two of them when we set up camp tonight. Thank you for the advice."

Novum gave her a nod of his head and rode over to Sister Crystal. "How are you doing?"

"I came from the south and I have never been this far north of the city. The views here are amazing. I really like this environment."

"I am glad that you are getting to see something new on this trip."

"I am glad that you are giving those young men a chance to think about it and change their ways. Not a lot of men would think that way that you do. They would have killed all of them without a thought. You only kill when you have to and I see and respect that."

"Thank you for that and you are right. I only kill when I have to. Which has been way more than it should have been. Any other questions or concerns that I need to be aware of?"

"No Baron. You know what there is one question that I wanted to ask you but I am not sure that it is appropriate."

"I have thick skin so ask away. If I think it is inappropriate I will say so and we will pretend that the question was never asked."

"Why are all the people that you hired women? Are you looking for a spouse?"

"Oh that. Nothing of the sort. I gave the leadership of each group a description of the situation that I was facing and they all recommended you. I had nothing to do with the gender of the person. If they had recommended a man I would just as quickly hired him."

"Yes but you could have asked for a man from the start."

"But there is absolutely nothing that says that women can't do the same things as men. Are men naturally physically stronger, most of the time I would say yes but that is only most of the time. And I asked for the best for my situation and this is the group that I got. I have no reason to doubt your the people above you. Now if you are complete garbage and get me killed then I would complain."

Crystal let out a huge laugh. "Thank you for that Baron. You are a good man and a good leader."

Novum gave her a smile and rode over to talk to Topaz. "I apologize that most of them seem to be avoiding you. It is my fault and I humbly apologize. I told them that I hired a locksmith for the tower and they all figured out that it was you. The two mages come together and the cleric, I mean the armor is kind of a give away. I should have been more discrete."

"Thank you for your concern Baron. But you should be more worried about your reputation. I mean openly hiring a locksmith and even riding with one is not the best for your reputation."

"Didn't want to be a Baron in the first place. Hope they take the title so people will stop calling me Baron. And your profession is necessary for a lot of things and people only remember the bad ones and not the good things that a few of them do. So I base my opinion of person on the person not what they do for a living."

"Well this region is also not known for their treatment of half breeds."

"I apologize, I did not realize that you were a half breed as you call it. And the nobles give you trouble?"

"Actually it is not the nobles usually. It is the people in the outer towns and villages that give me the most trouble."

"If anyone in Three Mines gives you any problems let me know and I will take care of it. And thank you for taking the job."

"I am being paid so I am going to give you my best. Plus this honestly sounds like a huge challenge that I would have kicked myself for missing. And underwater tower that has been lost for a long time. Yeah that is exciting."

"Then enjoy yourself and let me know if you need anything."