[Ridge]
The celebration lasted well into the night. A Knight named Kierce drunkenly helped me find my room when it finally ended, Kadeeth trailing behind us. He claimed that he should know where I live if we're going to hang out more now that I'm at the estate. I think he just wants more opportunities to bother me.
It took almost another hour to convince Kadeeth that he couldn't 'have a sleepover' in my new living quarters. I don't need to get kicked out on my first day, and as I've learned with Kadeeth, if you give an inch he'll take a mile. If I let him stay once, he'll make himself at home and basically move in. Something tells me the Duke wouldn't like that very much.
My new room is small, but the arrangement of the furniture makes it appear much more open. Two crates holding all my personals were already stacked on the small wooden desk when I arrived. After I got rid of Kadeeth, and Kadeeth got rid of a very drunk Sir Kierce, I unpacked. It was late, and I regret it now, but the excitement humming through my veins wasn't going to let me sleep.
Of course, now I have to deal with being sleep deprived and slightly hung over on my first day. This isn't like training at the Academy. Sure I have to stay fit, and I have a lot to learn still, but I have real tasks here.
The Captain of the Ravenous guard was none to pleased to discover I already had most of the patrols memorized. It shows predictability on their part, but keen observation skills on mine. I didn't mention that hanging out with Kadeeth my entire childhood basically gave me an insiders view into their routines.
That's how I ended up here. As annoying as it must've been to have an arrogant newbie, Captain Ashley was quick to realize how he could put that to use. My schedule loosely consists of posts in the guard towers, organizing equipment and ledgers, training, and gate check.
It's my understanding that most of these tasks can be done by normal soldiers, but the Riddothas are extremely cautious with their own safety. That's why their fighting forces are made up of both soldiers and Knights, but Ravenous remains a purely Knight dominated guard. The training we go through to earn this title is deemed superior to normal soldiers, since anyone with a healthy body willing to fight can become a soldier.
My first job is in a solidly built watchtower on the eastern wall of the Manor. It's made almost entirely of stone, and I can see a lot of the Riddotha property from up here. Past the eastern garden and the woods beyond that, another stone wall known as 'the gate' marks the perimeter of the estate.
Compared to some other Nobel estates, the Riddothas don't have much land, and their house is fairly humble. That being said, "humble" still rivals some of the imperial palaces. But don't let the size fool you, everything the Riddothas own is worth more than fifty commoner houses. They dabble in quality over quantity. That's how you know they're the real deal.
"I know iz boring as shit, but try tah keep er head on the ground, son." The old Knight's voice has me snapping my neck around to look at him. He's facing inward, observing the courtyard and the Manor, while I'm supposed to be watching the other side, where the gardens and forest expand to the gate.
"Sorry, didn't mean to drift."
"Nah, iz alright. I could tell you was a drifter 'om the moment I laid eyes on ya." I think I've finally found someone with more commoner blood than me. Or maybe Kadeeth's just drained it all out of me by now.
"My name's Ridge." He raises an eyebrow.
"People call me Pete." I nod.
"Nice to meet you, Pete." He grumbles something under his breath and turns around again.
"Yeah, we'll see. We'll see." I barely catch his words since his back is to me now.
Pete and I don't speak the rest of our shift. When it's time for us to switch out we brief our replacements on the events, or lack thereof, so far and go our separate ways. For me, that means gate duty.
~*~
Gate duty consisted of walking a length of the gate wall a few times, standing guard at the main and servant entrances, and helping merchants unload their carts.
The Riddotha estate may be smaller than others, but it's still huge. It takes all lot of supplies to keep a place like this running. Shipments of goods and supplies arrive daily and need inspected by either soldiers or Knights before they can enter the estate, and then again once they're unloaded.
Unloading wagons was probably the most exciting thing I've done so far today. I suppose talking with Martina again was also a highlight. Since we were briefly on gate duty together.
I honestly thought he was joking when he said others call him Martina, but I was very wrong. He's well known around the estate, even by staff and servants. I don't think some of them even realize Martina's not his real name.
Now that I've finally finished organizing some ledgers from the Ravenous budget, my new task is to find the training hall. That's one place I've never been in the Riddotha mansion. Only Knights and soldiers of the Riddotha family are allowed access to the two training facilities and the Knight galley.
I turn the corner, only to discover another hall that looks identical to all the rest. I know where I am, just not where I need to be. Since I'm not allowed there anyway, I've never bothered to locate the training hall. Despite practically growing up here, I was always nervous about exploring certain parts of the Manor. The last thing I wanted was to end up somewhere I shouldn't be and ruin my chances of joining the Ravenous guard.
Just as I'm ready to call it quits and find a servant, a familiar grin enters the hallway. Ah, I've been wondering when this face was going to turn up today. There's no way he wouldn't bother me on my first day.