Noble Arcana

There are many cities within Drakthiss that have no compare. The capital of Brevantiss is, of course, the greatest city in the world. With streets wide enough for a dragon to walk them and a market filled with more diverse goods than any other. The ports of Ventariss are legendary for their boats of living wood and of course the home of the Union’s academy, Arcthiss, is home to sights and sounds beyond understanding. Even the average town within the empire is the envy of many of the greatest cities of lesser nations.

Jerkahn, a Sponsored Writer, in his book Drakthiss: The Jewel of the World

Moonfallow was the ugliest place Solomon had ever seen, a town of squat buildings built from dark brick with roofs of some kind of sickly green tile. The streets weren’t the clean cement of Brevantiss, or the well-maintained cobblestone of his family estate, but rather ugly unworked stones held in place by gravel. The look of the place wasn’t helped by the constant drizzle of freezing rain that had been falling for the entire afternoon. Solomon had hoped to get a glimpse of the people of Moonfallow as well, but with the rain the most he saw were people moving quickly between buildings wielding umbrellas and wearing heavy coats with wide-brimmed hats.

The carriage reached the edge of the town and kept going, working its way through a winding road that slowly made its way upward. Based on the maps Solomon had studied, they were on the path to Victor’s, or rather his estate. He felt tempted to try and catch a glimpse of it, but based on its elevation and the rain he knew he’d catch only a shadow of a view at best and so leaned back in his seat.

Aside from this carriage were two wagons following behind carrying his personal effects, some furniture, some raw materials for rebuilding any damaged parts of the manor, and of course, his servants. He’d insisted on a covered wagon for them, which he’d wound up having to pay from his first stipend payment himself, but it was worth it seeing the rain. He’d wound up with sixteen servants, for which he was grateful, but they were hardly of the specialties he had hoped to find. For one thing nine of them were young women he’d been told were in some kind of trouble from a brother, or a cousin, or even their own families. He’d been horrified to learn of some of their stories, but he hadn’t been surprised. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have use for maids and seamstresses and cooks but he’d hoped to bring more specialized labor with him. Aside from them he’d gotten a one-handed apprentice carpenter and his younger brother that had only just started training as a mason, a driver that they’d tried to force into retirement on four separate occasions, his apprentice, and a gardener.

He’d almost certainly need to hire some additional construction help to restore the manor, its gardens, and any furniture that had been stolen or damaged. He’d also be smart to make sure the apprentice carpenter and mason could finish their training somewhere in the town. He may even need to see if any of the female servants would be willing to apprentice in something. It was rare to have them apprentice for the more specialized roles, though some lesser houses had started the process and in the cities he’d heard it was becoming more popular for women to take apprenticeships in general.

He broke from his ruminations as the carriage came to a complete stop and grabbed his parasol, stepping outside before the driver, Duncan, could get the door for him. He’d opted not to take a valet, as he had other priorities and didn’t think he could trust anyone the way he’d trusted Edmure. He put the umbrella over his head, hearing the soft pitter patter of the rain drops on its canvas and took in his new home.

It was an older construction, with large portions of it built of stone. It was unpainted, very out of style for the last hundred or so years, and the grayness of it made it seem to fade against the rain. The roof was shingled in a dark green, and the walls largely overgrown with vines and moss. The windows were long and lean, reminding him of those of a church, and at almost every corner were small elaborate gargoyles whose menacing visages he could only barely make out. He turned to see they’d ridden through where the wrought iron gate had been, though it seemed that something had destroyed or removed it at some point. The manor itself did seem to be in good shape though. At least from the outside.

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He heard the wagons near him beginning to empty, and his new servants starting to unload crates.

“Just get what you need, and my necessities. Duncan, Regis, please take the carriage and the wagons around the back for now and get the horses settled and get inside as well. Let’s not get any more wet than we have to.”

There were acknowledgements from all of them and Solomon began to make his way toward the front door which he could now see was made of black oak with equally dark black iron hinges and locks. In the center of the door was a large knocker in the shape of a clawed hand holding an orb. He found that odd, as he was used to his family’s holdings always using fixtures in the shape of a stag, the animal that adorned their coat of arms, no matter how impractical it was to add antlers to everything. He ignored the knocker and slid the key into the lock. It required a small amount of pushing, but he managed to get it in, and it turned smoothly with a satisfying clank as the lock moved.

He pushed open the door and stepped inside and was struck by an ice cold draft. He blinked. It was strange that such a cold breeze had come from inside, but the manor had been empty for some time. Who knew when a fire had last been lit within?

He shook his umbrella just outside the door and went inside, finding that it was not nearly as cold as the first gust had made it seem. His first impression was that it was… plain. The curtains were all the same dark green as the roof shingles, the floor had only a few rugs, and they had mostly simple repeating patterns rather than grand displays of war or animals. The walls were painted a simple white, but there was a stripe all throughout the middle with a pattern in simple green. The furnishings were equally plain, but well made of fine wood and all of the chairs and couches were heavily cushioned.

Solomon was surprised to see that everything appeared to be in good shape. He’d expected there to be damage to the furnishings from moths, woodworms, and boring beetles. He’d even anticipated that some of the locals might’ve made their way inside and looted a bit. He could hardly blame them. The servant staff had dwindled down to almost nothing even before his uncle had passed and it would’ve been ripe for the taking.

He moved over to a large central fireplace. There was only a small stack of firewood, but he began to toss the pieces in, taking the lighter from his jacket and lighting it. He heard the servants approach behind him and turned to see them. Some were looking in awe, others a bit disappointed. Perhaps they’d expected to serve in finer surroundings. Whatever the case they were quiet with him nearby.

“Melissa?” he asked the nearest of them, a tall girl with red hair and blue-gray eyes. “Could you check to see if any of the wall lanterns still have oil?”

She curtsied and went for the nearest one.

“Barnabus, you and your brother search for more firewood. Prioritize any you find for the servant’s quarters, the master suite, and this room.”

The tan carpenter and his brother began to move down a nearby hall.

“The rest of you should group up in pairs and search the rest of the house. When you find the kitchen, let Claire know so she can get some food started. Don’t worry about preparing a separate meal for me tonight. We can make things more formal in the morning.”

“Yes, sir,” said Claire, pairing off with one of the maids as they began to search the mansion. Once everyone was acclimated he’d rarely have to give direct orders, but for now he was anticipating he’d be quite busy doing so.

After warming at the fire for a few moments he decided to do some exploring himself and chose one of the wide corridors heading to the eastern wing, diverting his path whenever he heard servants already exploring in that direction. He reached a particularly wide hallway with wide windows on either side. He took a moment to peer out of one of them. It was still dark, but the rain was beginning to clear. He looked at the far tower the hallway he was in seemed to be heading toward. It looked to be a large circular turret. His eyes gradually went up it, where he saw a shape standing in the window.