Iron Wolf Chapter 2, Son of Nobility
It had been about three weeks since James had taken over a quarry. He usually spent the wee hours of each morning hunting for his meals later in the day. The rest of the days would have been spent watching over the quarry making sure no one fell in an accident. They were never able to get rid of the demon in a certain pit, but they were able to seal it away.
One day, James took notice of the pile they were accumulating, and he decided that that was a good time to return to Hundsburg. So, he jumped off a rock early in the morning and flew to the manor, which had begun building a palistade. He flew into the hall through a window, turned to face the king and said, " I think we have enough stone for a wall."
Once he finished speaking, he noticed that the king had what looked like his tablet in his bulky, calloused hands. " Uh, that kind of looks like something I own."
"It does," asked the king.
" Yeah."
He folded his wings and stepped towards the king. He stopped within feet and held out an open hand. Thehe king handed the tablet over, and James caught sight of what was on the screen. " So, you were looking at my genealogy?"
"Yes, why not?"
The king turned to Osmund and barked, " Osmund, you are dismissed!"
So," said James, " what do you think of what you saw?"
" Pretty good, noble lineage. Also, take Osmund and use him as you please."
" Osmund? The brown guy?"
" Yes. He was of Semi-Noble lineage. But, his father and mother were exiled so we made him a mine worker."
" So, does this mean I'm qualified for building a castle?"
" That you are."
" Really? Alright!"
After he pumped his fist, James remembered, " Oh, right. The stone."
" Yes, and yes."
" So, does this place have any carts or draft animals?"
" Yes, at the stable."
" Good, that should make it easier to transport stone from there to here."
" Go get a horse and come to me."
" Right."
He nodded, turned to the window and used his wings to propel himself through. He saw a long building and, believing it to be the stable, glided down to it. He pushed himself away from one of the posts before landing in the horse pen. There was a large white stallion right above him rearing back. He rolled out of the way as its hooves came down splashing mud on him.
He sat up and spat mud. " You alright sir James," asked Osmund.
" Yeah, I'm fine."
He held up a hand, and Osmund grabbed it and helped hoist him up. " Thanks."
" You are welcome, sir James!"
He turned to face the stallion that almost trampled him. " See any horses or mules or asses that look like they can pull a decent load?"
" Let me look, sir."
As he wandered, James backed to the fence and crouched under it to get to the other side. He noticed some muck on his arm and ran the side of his hand across to get it off. After that, he crossed both arms on the fence and leaned forward. " You okay," called Osmund. " Yeah!"
" Okay, just making sure!"
" Find anything?"
" Not yet! Some less than yearlings."
" Just that one stallion, eh?"
" Yeah, for now at Least. Into horse breaking?"
" What? Oh, no. I've never tried it."
" Well you will have to, that ones a wild one."
" Great, just great."
" What can you do?"
" I guess I could try."
" Wanna go pay first?"
" Right."
They turned and found an old awek sitting near the fence. James approached him and asked, " Excuse me, are you the owner of this stable?"
" Yes. How may I help?"
" How much for the white stallion? The wild one."
" You here on the kings request?"
" Yeah."
" Than you don't have to worry, just take me to the horse."
He backed towards the door and pointed at the white stallion running around the pen. The old awek nodded and stood up. " By the way, how does one break a horse like that?"
" You must find out yourself."
" Great."
He sighed and went out into the pen. The horse stopped and stared at him with those black eyes. He took a deep breath and approached the stallion. He made it to the side of the horse and put a hand on its back.
It went for a kick in his groin, but he jumped out of the way. Then, he grabbed the horse with both arms and pulled himself on its back. It bucked and made mad braying sounds as James bounced on its back trying to avoid getting hit in the groin. Then, it began running circles around the pen. James used this moment to get on its back properly and grab its mane.
He did his best to hold on as it kept running. Then, without warning, the horse reared back, and James lost his grip and fell into the muck. " Well," he gasped, " that didn't work."
" Yeah, really. Try beating the horse!"
" Beating?"
" Yes, into submission!"
" With my fists?"
" Sure, why not."
He stood up, took a deep breath and approached the horse. He put his hand on its back and threw his foot over it. In a split second, he grabbed its tail and flew forward. Eventually, he had enough and let go. Osmund ran in and start to hit the horse with a stick. James sat up, turned to face the old Awek and called, " Any of the yearlings for sale?"
" Yeah. Three of them."
He stood up and took a step towards the stable. He was about to approach one when he felt a hand grab his shoulder and yank. He was pushed away from the stable facing the white stallion, which was now in a corner. He saw Osmund feeding the stallion oats from his hand and took several steps closer. James watched waiting for the horse to turn and kick him, rear back and trample him or something. " How the hell..."
" How the hell what?"
" No problems?"
" Nope. Like I said you must break the horse."
" Literally, I take it."
" Yes, literally."
For a third time, he put a hand on the horse's back and threw his foot over it. He grabbed the horse's neck and pulled himself upright. No struggle. " Holy s#!t!"
" Why?"
" It's not fighting!"
" I know!"
" How much for him?"
" Nothing. He's yours. The king paid."
" Alright!"
He clicked his tongue and led the horse through the gate. " I wonder if the king's sending a construction crew. Maybe not."
" I don't think he is."
" Well, at least we've got the quarrymen."
" Yeah. But how good are they?"
" One way to find out."
" Yes, put them to work."
They were walking and riding as they spoke. " And, we can use stone from the quarry to build the keep. I've already got a style in mind."
" Yeah, that we can. But in increments. We need to meet quota."
" Right."
" So one piece at a time."
" One piece at a time. Maybe, about a quarter could build a palistade."
" Maybe it can."
" By the way, is there anything you wouldn't want to see there?"
" I can't think right now."
" Oh."
" Well I don't want to see anything stupid for say."
" Like an outright phallic statue or building?"
" Yes. I don't want to thing about someone's you-know-what when I look at it."
" Alright. What about witchcraft?"
" Eh," Osmund shrugged and said, " I don't mind it."
" Alright. Well, can you think of anything else you would not want to see?"
" Beastiality of any sort. But that again we are animals, but we should say not with feral species."
" Right."
" God, it's so wrong."
" And, do you know what animals do?"
"I, I don't want to know. I just seen an awek get a dog in head and weird pups were born."
" Where did that happen?"
"In Hundsburg when I was very young."
James looked up and saw that they were coming up on the mountain. " Oh look, the mountains!"
" We're closing in."
" I see!"
He clicked his tongue, and the horse went faster. Once they reached the quarry, James urged the horse to halt and dismounted. " Everyone, change of plan. So, along with mining stone, we'll also be building a castle."
"What?"
" We'll be setting some stone aside for a castle while sending the rest to Hundsburg."
"Yes sir!"
He scanned the mountain to see a spot near the closest peak that seemed flat enough for a shell keep. He pointed at it and said, " Over there."
He watched as they carried stone to the spot. " Who's up for a hunt?"
Osmund raised a hand and said, " Me."
James went in the shack and came out with a spear.