The Duke of The lands over the woodlands certainly was a man that matched his title. The Emperor had personally appointed him the Lord of all the lands to the east of the woodlands. His fief bordered The broken kingdoms, the conquered areas of the Caliphate, and it needed to be armed to the teeth and fortified. The man was chosen for the role for his contribution in supporting the current Emperor in the previous succession war. A war-hardened man, he ruled his fiefdom as The wise tyrant, and he needed to do so, to keep his lieutenants disciplined and the order maintained.
Such was the man that ruled over Dave and Eddie's homelands. Eddie's work was to ensure a constant supply of food towards the heart of the dukedom, and so his town was ruled by the Duke's children, to make sure it functioned like a clock. The town itself, other than a major supply point, functioned as a buffer zone to safeguard the rest of the empire from the Caliphate's hordes. As always in the borderlands, everything needed to work like clockwork.
The only legal way for Eddie to free himself, was to join the ranks of the military
"Are you nuts? With your scrawny ass you wouldn't last two days in the guard! You'd just puke your guts out at the sight of blood" Dave rebuked, staring in awe before the amount of foolishness he had just heard
"What would you do, smartass? Wait till someone pities you? There's no other way for me to free myself"
"You could escape. There are probably hundreds of escaped slaves in the empire, and it's not like someone will recognize you if you leave here", Dave answered
"I have thought about it, but I don't know if I can even get past the guard… they are trained soldiers, while I don't even have a kitchen knife. Not to mention I'll be broke, and I don't know anything about what's out there" Eddie said, his eyes thoughtfully staring at the ground
"I can help with the guards, and I have some silver saved up. We could get out of the dukedom together"
"I get it. But you are sacrificing a lot for someone whose worth is determined in days work.." Eddie sadly remarked
"Don't even sweat it. I was going to leave anyways. It's not like I'm carrying your stupid ass on my back or anything. You'll have to pull your own weight" Dave said, with a smile on his face, concluding the conversation
They both needed to go their ways, Eddie with the plowing, or cleaning the stables, or whatever it was he was doing. Dave had still a lot of work. He had been commissioned for some construction work in town, and the pay seemed really pretty.
His employee was going to meet him in the outskirts of the town. They would discuss payment, and whatever fine details Dave needed for the job. Heading over, Dave found himself amongst small, wooden houses, that although poor, looked pretty warm, stable and well constructed. He reached the spot he had agreed to wait to discuss the offer, a small, green park, where children could be seen playing. He sat down waiting, dozing off and observing the kids playing. He didn't pay them much attention, he just stared at them, letting himself go cross-eyed as his mind ran off to faraway places. An old man, his employee, finally arrived, breaking his daze and bringing him back to reality
"You the lad that's gonna do the buildin? Excuse me my eyes are kind of failing me"
Dave was about to answer, but the old man swiftly cut him short "I'll pay you a hundred marks for every ten days work. I think that's a fine price for a laddie your age"
Dave couldn't believe his eyes. Ten marks a day was slightly more lucrative than stealing from a blind man. There had to be a catch, but he didn't want to worry about it too much. He quickly accepted before the old man decided to change his mind
"Alright kid, here are the blueprints of the house. I can't pay for a construction team or anything. You're gonna have to do everything by yourself" said the old man, as if he just said the most normal thing he could
"What the hell are blueprints? And what do you mean by myself? Am I supposed to build a house by myself? What am I, some kind of beast?!" Dave angrily replied, finally realizing why the price looked so enticing
"Don't worry son, the house isn't going to be that big, and I believe my price is fair. As for the blueprints, I suppose I have to teach you to read 'em. Along with teaching you to at least write. That's going to be minus ten marks", said the old man, with a grin from ear to ear
"Why would I need to read? You never said that when we first met! You said this was going to be just plain normal construction work! Am I getting scammed here or what?" Dave rebuked, whilst inwardly cursing the old man like his worst enemies never would have
"Listen here young man" the old man said, as his eyes stared not into Dave, but into things only he knew "It may seem like reading is useless, burying your head in papers and scrolls and parchments. Trust me, this is what's separating people like you from ever reaching the top. Its knowledge. Do you ever expect to have an easy pencil pushing life without knowing how to write? Maybe become an army officer that cannot study tactics? No. Knowledge is the most important thing in the world, and the first step to hoarding it, is putting effort" said the old man, with his voice full of passion, and maybe a faint trace of missed opportunies of the past
Dave remained silent as he pondered on the words he had just heard. The old man had made his point clear, and it seemed like he had talked from experience. In the end, Dave decided to trust him. He didn't have anything to lose, other than some of his time
"Alright old man, I get it. But because food doesn't grow out of nowhere, I'll be eating off of your stack. And your slouched ass is going to help in construction. I'm not going to become the victim here!" he said, and then decided to add "also its twelve marks a day now"
"Twelve marks?! That's pure philargyry!" The old man replied jokingly "but I suppose knowledge is priceless"
"whatever, old fart, I'll be here by tomorrow dawn, you better have some wine ready for the night"