The sparring tournament

"Yes, my Lord," Marcus acknowledged. They then took another minute or two to discuss some minor details before they eventually moved on to the next topic.

"We have a few resources in our vicinity. Now with the addition of the mine we currently possess two natural resources, Lake Maridmar is also not that far away from us. We could possibly try our luck and occupy a point on the shoreline." Bran probed half hopingly.

"Not a chance!" Gresvin directly disagreed. He refused to even think of it. "Even if we could occupy, we have neither the manpower nor the resources to occupy the lake area. Even if it is only a small part. Once we have a larger 'army' and the village's population increases, only then will we even consider it" Gresvin shot a warning glare at Bran.

They skipped right over that topic and continued on with other, less important matters.