"This way, please." Said a butler as he walked Halvar through the complex. Classicism, like marbled floor and impressive columns standing both outside and hiding inside the building, created quite the sight.
The building Halvar found himself in had a lot of history. A birthplace of the ancestor of the Barford family later rebuilt in his honour.
Then 33 years after, the Barford family had risen. A fire took most of the building, leaving only scraps and barely intact library.
Later on, the Barford, through combined 3 generations, built the impressive building right before them.
Many times, it had to be stopped due to the resources needed. Sometimes, trade disputes and nearby wars inflated the prices of building materials, pushing it even further back.
66 years and a lot of ups and downs. It became a famous site where the main Barford family resided.
A place privy only to the core main line members. Even Halvar couldn't live in there as he wasn't of the main line descent.
Through the time of luxury. It became his goal, to one day live here with his head up, leading the entire family.
That goal turned into a fantasy after numerous ups and downs. As much as he desired power, his brain still didn't leave him and he threw away any kind of plots of assassination.
If Ortus were to be assassinated. Not to mention him, even main line successors wouldn't be able to touch the head seat unless Athánatos invaded once again.
Like an ever-expanding maze. This place never stopped growing, and a tradition dictated that each time the family gets more powerful, the estate grows with it.
A symbol of their pride. Right now, it had been estimated at 77 thousand meters squared. Of course, such a unit didn't exist in these times.
Barford's created the so-called bars.
One bar represented the standard mandated length of a gold bar which backed up their economy.
With the ample resources, they could estimate that one bar equalled around 1.2 meters, give or take.
A standard upheld by the Barford family for decades. Were it to be lowered, then their entire monopoly might be questioned by dozens of foreign powers.
Currently, he wore the estate footwear. Designed and cleaned in order to not dirty the estate.
His feet clacked as they reflected his nervous face. While it completed a part of his dream, the reason for it reflected a different reality.
"Family Lord is waiting up ahead, please." The butler said and bowed as he opened the door.
Paintings filled with creatures of myths. Sculptures of the most esteemed family heads and taxidermies of powerful predators filled the room.
In the middle, a table surrounded by a sofa let out steam as a servant finished pouring tea before leaving.
"You may sit. I believe that we have a lot of discussing today." Ortus said, and beckoned for his guard.
Stunned, but quickly following his orders, left the room. Ortus' presence filled every nook and cranny. A trait Halvar never had.
Those days of living in fame didn't make him too much of a coward.
"I wonder what your esteemed family head might need from someone like me." Halvar said in a humble tone.
Ortus caught on and delivered his first strike.
"Well, it seems that, although very talented. You do not seem to be actively working on your own projects. Did my family mistreat you?" He said as he smiled and sipped his tea.
"No, no, no, how could it be. The Barford family is nothing but kind and generous to me." Halvar said, not daring to take a sip.
"So why do you disappear for weeks at a time instead of working in our most advanced facilities?" He asked in a heartbeat.
"You see... I get the greatest ideas and work the best in the nature when I am alone." Halvar said, and mustered his courage to take a sip.
"Oh? Why refuse the presence of any kind of guards?" Ortus asked again.
"I.. have this place where the nature sits with me the most and I don't wish for anyone to intrude upon it."
"Why, tell me where such a magical place is. Or am I not trustworthy enough?" Ortus asked, finishing half of his tea.
Halvar gulped and said.
"Ah, of course, Lord is very much trustworthy. -"
Ortus cut him off and said.
"Let me guess. The place which you claimed as your own? Took away the livelihood of a medium-sized village just for yourself. That happens to be quite close to our neighbour, which is friends with the Duke of Life."
"Coincidence?" He asked.
"N-no, that place is where I refocus my thoughts. I play a lot of chess there with myself in order to find inspiration. Yes..." Halvar blurted out without much thought.
"I see... Very well you might go and please don't leave the sights of my butler as you can get easily lost in here." Ortus said and smiled.
Halvar bowed and left in big strides.
"Call a couple of our most elite scouts. I want to have that forest and anything around it within 1000 bars swept through." Ortus ordered his guard and finished his tea.
...
Halvar walked through the corridor as he felt a huge stone fall off his back. A few points weren't perfect, but he wasn't lying.
Who could guess that he was playing chess with some kind of otherworldly spirit or a ghost?
If they came to such a conclusion. He truly wouldn't have anything left to defend himself with.
Looking outside. He savoured the beautiful gardens, statues and pillars, seeing himself as the grandest statue there.
The butler led him outside, and his exhausting journey ended. An hour of straight back and forth for just 10 minutes of talking.
A taxing journey on his spirit. But now, he could finally implement his plan to find some kind of talented youngster and fool him.
Of course, before finding such a person. A couple very much needed preventive measures were needed.
Otherwise, if Morpheus decided to grant his knowledge to another random fool. Wouldn't he be the one losing everything?
Halvar took a look and decided on a young man from a village. A newly coming researcher in the Barford family who just established a family branch.
A pregnant, frail wife and two parents living in a mountainous village. Perfect target for him.
...
As Halvar made his move. The scouts in the Barford family didn't dally and in just 2 days arrived and began with scouring.
First, they talked to the last remaining residents of the Waterflow village. On their accounts, the only strange thing was the doe of wisdom.
A legend from quite a long ago. No one knows if it is true, but a legend of a doe existed, where she managed to evade and see through tricks of hunters for several years.
Her actions almost human like gave her the title of a spiritual guardian. Sometimes, the villagers offered sacrifices and hunted fewer deer in order to gain a blessing of some sorts.
Maybe not the most lucrative. Nonetheless, over the years, a couple of curious adventurers and merchants came to visit.
Bolstering the financial situation of the village somewhat. Other than that, nothing strange.
Not finding anything useful. The scouts turned their sights on the manual labour and began working.
In a week, they swept through every place and even found a damaged chessboard.
Near it, some scouts felt a weird tingling sensation. Which became their only lead. At first, they shrugged it off as something like lack of sleep.
But with no new clues, their only lead remained near the ever so normal hill. They even walked around it and found out that the epicenter was the hill itself.
Some felt more powerful tingling sensations and something else over time, so they quickly left.
They didn't know what they were dealing with and waited for their lord to make a decision.
One scout took out his carrier pigeon and tied an encrypted letter to it, sending it flying.
In a day they expected an answer and finished some things. Their lord would most likely be interested in visiting the place himself.
The residents of Waterflow village received some funds, and they began working in a somewhat inhabitable hotel for their lord.
Other things like special dishes or any kind of specialities were brought up to see if the lord would be interested.
The villagers cooperated willingly. They didn't care who was rich enough, but if he/she were to fancy the place.
Their future would be quite bright.
...
"Well, would you look at that? Sebastian calls the personal guard and prepare my best horse. I'll be taking a peek myself at this mystery." Ortus said to his butler.
The butler nodded in affirmation and quickly gathered his guard. In just two hours, the lord of the Barford family went on a journey that might change the whole landscape of the world...