With the departure of the chief forester, Amondo was left alone with the Edvard Gruven the reeve of Membe village.
"How are things with my old friend, I last got a letter from you in May have you sent me any since?"
"I send you one informing you about what happened to your brother via the usual route the day the levy was disbanded but expecting your imminent return that was the last one."
"It didn't catch up with me before I received one from the Steward and hurried home but I am sure I will eventually come my way, how's the family Edvard?"
"Everyone's doing fine thanks for the money you sent when Zoe was born. "
"I'm sure you spend it wisely."
"That I did well the part I used anyway I decided to save most of it for a rainy day."
"If only my brother had done the same then he might still be alive, well no use crying over spilt milk tell me truthfully how is morale amongst the villagers, it can't possibly be that high after all that went down."
"It's not as bad as it was just after he died but to tell you the truth if it wasn't for you it would be a whole lot worse."
"What do you mean by that I have been away for over a decade and since the age of seven I probably only spend five months or so of time in the barony and that was spread obverse a good number of years?"
"Well to a certain extent they are clutching at straws but everyone even here has heard of your exploits and they all expect great things from you, so please try not to let them down too much."
"I don't plan to but who knows what the future has in store for us I certainly never expected to return home under these circumstances or even at all, to tell the truth. I expected to continue competing for another few years, at least until my wardship of Rachana runs its course. I was never quite sure what I would end up doing then other than perhaps if I was lucky marrying some heiress and setting down to run her estates or something like that.
Now if we survive the current difficulties then I'll either stay in the barony until my brother's son reaches his majority or the rest of my life if it's a girl or god forbids the child dies young. No matter what I suppose I'll end up getting married sooner rather than later I imagine. To tell you the truth I've only really loved a single woman in my life and she ended up getting married to someone else.
I suppose survival comes first and until then it's not worth worrying about. Now, what would you say was the biggest worry concerning the survival of the barony?"
"When the levy was called up by your brother it was as near to a complete disaster as I have ever seen, no one knew what they were doing, not those called up, not your brother and certainly not his Marshall. Most weren't even sure if they were supposed to be called up or not, I have since learnt that it is supposed to be every able-bodied man between the ages of sixteen and forty.
You need to see to it that everyone eligible has the weapons and if possible the armour they are supposed to and has at least some basic training on how to use them both individually and as part of a larger group. There also needs to be enough supplies on hand to feed everyone in the levy and the rest of your forces for a week or perhaps longer. How you organise that I can't begin to imagine but you at the very least need enough flour to bake bread for them for that long. Training with the levy's from the rest of Membe if not the barony wouldn't go amiss either."
"All good ideas I must say, nothing new to me of course but implementing them will require much planning, funds and not just the will to do so."
"Well that's best left to you guys up in the castle we poor folk down in the village just dance to your tune don't you know. Seriously anything I can do to help just ask, by the way, have you had a chance to look at the castle armoury, I hear it's seen better days."
"Don't' tell me that my brother sold off its entire contents."
"A rumour did circulate that he sold off much of the good stuff and replaced it with subpar equipment but I don't know the truth of it."
"Hopefully he didn't go as far as selling the baronial sword, it's been passed down in our family since Viktor II granted my ancestor Juan Malla the Barony of Membe all those years ago. It had a matching dagger until it was lost in some small skirmish many years ago even my brother couldn't have been that desperate."
"No Eugene sent the sword back with Leonid's body and it now rests in the baronial armoury awaiting the next baron of Membe to pick it up. He did, however, sell the sword that was taken in battle from the then Baron of Neudon two hundred years or so ago."
"Tell me that he at least sold it back to the current Count of Neudon, Issac Zayat?"
"Yes he offered it to his former brother in law first and it is said that he willingly paid the modest price your brothers wanted for it. Even he could see that doing anything else would have been a disaster, one enemy is more than enough to deal with."
"You wouldn't happen to know the current state of the baronial horse herd by any chance?"
"Can't say that I do but then isn't that mainly located over near Athens Hold, I don't know anyone from over that way, never have."
"I'll ask the constable about it before dinner so I best be on my way, it was good seeing you, we'll speak again soon."
"My pleasure Sir but before you go and a don't suppose it will surprise you but don't you go trusting anyone not even me. The things people are capable off under the right circumstances don't bare thinking off."
"To tell you the truth I don't even entirely trust myself all the time, it's a hard lesson to learn but it comes in handy on occasion."