Chapter 145: The Shape of Things to Come
The northern road was still busy when Kael returned to Blackwood.
He remained on horseback for several moments, watching the settlement beyond the gates.
What had once been an empty field was slowly becoming something more.
Houses stood beneath wooden frames.
Workers carried stone from one building to another.
Carpenters shaped beams beneath temporary shelters.
Merchants unloaded goods.
Farmers brought produce toward the new marketplace.
Children ran between the adults, laughing without concern for the work happening around them.
Kael smiled faintly.
He had been gone only a few days.
Yet Blackwood had changed again.
Ronan rode up beside him.
"It seems you’ve returned to a different territory."
Kael looked around.
"It feels that way."
One of the six Black Dragon soldiers accompanying them laughed.
"At this rate, my lord, there won’t be an empty field left when we return from our next journey."
Kael shook his head.
"Then we’d better start planning before that happens."
They continued through the gates.
Lily was waiting near the manor.
The moment she saw Kael, she hurried toward him.
"My lord."
Kael dismounted.
"How have things been?"
Lily looked toward the growing settlement.
"Busy."
She handed him several documents.
"Very busy."
Kael looked through the papers.
Merchant requests.
Housing requests.
Timber orders.
Food deliveries.
Requests for additional road work.
Then he stopped.
One report caught his attention.
"Westfield?"
Lily nodded.
"There was a monster incident yesterday."
Kael’s expression changed.
"How serious?"
"No deaths."
He relaxed slightly.
"How many?"
"Seven creatures."
"Where?"
"Less than a mile from the village."
Kael looked toward the western forest.
"Did they determine where they came from?"
"Not yet."
Ronan stepped closer.
"How were they dealt with?"
"Several villagers and hunters drove them away."
Kael frowned.
"Villagers shouldn’t have to fight monsters."
Lily lowered her eyes.
"They didn’t have another choice."
Kael folded the report.
"Where is Darius?"
"He is with the Black Dragon."
"Training?"
"Yes."
Kael nodded.
That made sense.
Darius had been given responsibility for the Black Dragon from the beginning.
If Kael wanted the unit to remain disciplined, Darius needed to continue training them.
"Tell him I want a report on the western villages before tomorrow evening."
"I will."
Kael handed the papers back.
Later that afternoon, Kael walked through the settlement with Lily.
Ronan remained nearby while the Black Dragon soldiers watched the surrounding roads.
Kael stopped at one of the new houses.
Master Rowan was inspecting the foundation.
"Master Rowan."
The carpenter turned.
"My lord."
"How is it going?"
"Better than expected."
He pointed toward the foundation.
"We’ve corrected the spacing between the houses."
Kael nodded.
"Good."
"I also changed the placement of the wells."
"Why?"
"Fire."
Rowan looked toward the unfinished homes.
"If one house catches fire, the others shouldn’t be close enough for the flames to spread."
Kael smiled.
"That’s exactly why I hired you."
Rowan grunted.
"I assumed you hired me because I’m the best carpenter in Blackwood."
"You can believe that too."
Rowan laughed.
Further down the road, Garrick Ironhand was surrounded by workers.
The blacksmith looked up as Kael approached.
"My lord."
Kael examined the tools lying across the table.
"Hoes?"
"Farming tools."
"How many?"
"Twenty finished."
Garrick pointed toward another pile.
"Thirty more by the end of the week."
Kael nodded.
"And weapons?"
"Enough for now."
Garrick wiped his hands.
"But not enough if you intend to increase the Black Dragon."
Kael looked at him.
"You heard about that?"
"I have ears."
Kael smiled.
"I haven’t decided anything."
Garrick shrugged.
"Didn’t say you had."
As Kael continued through the settlement, something became increasingly obvious.
The territory was changing.
And with every improvement...
The demands upon it increased.
More people meant more food.
More merchants meant safer roads.
More roads meant more patrols.
More farms meant more tools.
More houses meant more workers.
More people meant more threats.
Kael stopped walking.
Lily nearly walked past him before noticing.
"My lord?"
Kael looked toward the road.
"I think we’ve reached the next problem."
"What problem?"
"We’re growing faster than our ability to protect what we’re building."
Lily understood immediately.
"The Black Dragon?"
Kael nodded.
"They’re fifty."
"And Blackwood has eleven villages."
"Exactly."
Lily looked thoughtful.
"But Darius is training them."
"I know."
Kael looked toward the distant training grounds.
"Darius can make fifty soldiers better."
He paused.
"But he can’t make fifty soldiers be in eleven places at once."
That evening, Kael returned to his chamber.
He placed the Imperial Council’s decree on his desk.
Imperial Development Territory.
The words remained before him.
Blackwood had been given an opportunity.
But opportunity came with responsibility.
Kael opened a drawer.
Inside was an old notebook.
He slowly pulled it out.
The cover was worn.
Several pages were bent.
He placed it on the desk.
Then opened it.
His eyes moved across the first page.
He remembered writing those ideas with Lily.
Five days.
Five days trapped inside this very chamber.
They had barely slept.
Lily had brought him food.
They had filled page after page.
Ideas that had seemed ridiculous at the time.
A system for accepting requests.
A system for paying people to complete dangerous work.
Ranks.
Tests.
Rewards.
Monster extermination.
Escort missions.
Village assistance.
Search missions.
Protection for travelers.
A place where ordinary people could become capable enough to protect themselves.
Kael slowly turned the page.
At the top was the name he had written.
Adventurer’s Guild.
He stared at it.
Lily entered quietly.
"You opened that book."
Kael looked up.
"You remember?"
"How could I forget?"
She walked over and looked at the pages.
"I thought you had forgotten about it."
"I haven’t."
"Then why haven’t you built it?"
Kael closed the notebook.
"Because Blackwood wasn’t ready."
Lily nodded.
"And now?"
Kael looked toward the window.
Outside, workers were still moving through the settlement despite the fading light.
"Still not ready."
Lily smiled.
"I thought so."
Kael looked at her.
"But..."
He tapped the notebook.
"...it’s becoming necessary."
A knock sounded.
Ronan entered.
"My lord."
Kael closed the notebook.
"What is it?"
"The soldiers have finished securing the northern road."
"Any trouble?"
"No."
Ronan hesitated.
"There’s something else."
Kael waited.
"Several travelers asked where they could report monster sightings."
Kael’s eyes shifted toward the notebook.
"How many?"
"Six."
"From different villages?"
"Yes."
Kael leaned back.
That was not a coincidence.
People were beginning to need something Blackwood didn’t yet possess.
A place where they could report dangers.
A place where capable warriors could accept work.
A place where villages could ask for help without waiting for soldiers.
Kael opened the notebook again.
Lily watched him.
Ronan looked between them.
"What is that?"
Kael smiled.
"An idea."
Ronan raised an eyebrow.
"You have many of those."
"This one might become important."
Kael looked down at the pages.
"But not yet."
He closed the book.
"First, we finish what we’ve already started."
Ronan nodded.
"And after that?"
Kael looked toward the growing settlement beyond the window.
"Then we’ll see."
The notebook remained on the desk.
The Adventurer’s Guild would not be built tomorrow.
Perhaps not next month.
But the need for it had begun to reveal itself.
And Kael had learned something important.
Great institutions were not created simply because someone had a brilliant idea.
They were created because the world eventually gave people a reason to need them.