"Take a look at this crystal," Gawain said, tossing a light purple crystal into Hedy's hands as soon as he saw her.
Curious, Hedy examined the crystal, her face quickly reflecting astonishment. "Is this from the mountain treasury you told me about?"
"That's right, it's from there," Gawain nodded. He hadn't brought Hedy along this time, but he had already informed her in Tanzan Town about the treasure hidden within the Dark Mountains. "These crystals were crafted using Gondor Empire technology. See if you can decipher their rune structure."
Any mage with even a modicum of sense would recognize the value of these beautiful light purple crystals at a glance. Fascinated, Hedy studied the crystals, handling them with reverence. However, after some time, she regretfully shook her head. "Ancestor… I'm afraid I'm not capable enough for this. As a mere third-level mage, I can't replicate something so sophisticated."
Gawain looked her in the eye. "I'm not asking you to replicate it, only to analyze its rune structure. If possible, sketch it out. As for reproducing them, I doubt anyone today could make anything similar—these crystals were directly infused with power from the Deep Blue Well."
Hearing the name "Deep Blue Well," Hedy couldn't help but repeat it in awe as she gazed longingly at the crystal in her hand. "If it's just about extracting the rune structure, that's feasible. With a set of resonance crystals, we could project the engravings from inside. But… would the rune structure alone be of any use? Without the infusion techniques or activation methods, the rune structure would be little more than a series of geometric designs…"
"We'll tackle that later," Gawain nodded. "These crystals can't be reproduced, so at least while we have them, I want to preserve whatever knowledge we can."
Hedy acknowledged with a nod, stowing the crystal away. Though still visibly weary, knowing the exact details of the "Mountain Treasury" had clearly invigorated her spirit. Gawain then took the opportunity to inquire about the camp's construction progress.
"We should have all the tents set up by sundown, along with a perimeter fence. I'm planning to set up some magical traps and warning runes around the area, which should be more than enough to keep wild animals at bay. The lumberjacks have found plenty of quality timber to the west. They've stacked the logs upstream of the White River for now, and tomorrow we'll float them downstream as needed. And just as you informed us, we did find an iron deposit to the east, though we lack the immediate means to refine it. We'll proceed slowly for now. Our biggest challenge is manpower; the advance team was mostly here for scouting and setting up the initial outpost. For resource collection, we'll need the main force."
"The main group will arrive in three days, so the manpower issue will be addressed soon. They'll bring additional tools and materials as well," Gawain said, turning to survey the camp that was gradually taking shape.
With plans and ideas inspired by both his forward-thinking mind as a traveler from another world and his vast knowledge as Gawain Cecil, he felt a strong sense of confidence. Looking at the nascent camp, Gawain couldn't help but feel a surge of ambition.
Tents were arranged in an orderly pattern, and drainage ditches had been dug around the camp. Once they redirected water from the White River into these channels, they'd provide a firebreak—a critical defense for the fledgling camp. Craftsmen were working with the lumber, fastening the wood together to create a basic, rudimentary fence. Though it wouldn't stand up to real magical creatures, it could help fend off wildlife. The lumberjacks, having just returned from the western forest, were resting.
At a glance, everything seemed to be going well.
But after taking a closer look around the camp, Gawain couldn't help but frown.
He noticed the dull, withdrawn expressions on the craftsmen and laborers' faces, as well as their various half-hearted attempts to slack off. Though the tents and fences appeared orderly at first glance, closer inspection revealed many signs of corner-cutting and shoddy workmanship. Missing nails were a common issue, and some tents weren't even properly secured. Under Hedy's supervision, the craftsmen could manage, but the unskilled laborers were doing a rather poor job.
Gawain had already considered that most of the commoners in this era were entirely uneducated—they were illiterate and innumerate. For this reason, he had explained in great detail how each tent should be set up and the overall layout of the camp.
But it seemed that aside from placing the tents and fences in the designated areas, none of the specific standards were met.
Did they not understand that these tents and fences were their only shelter in the wilderness, their lifeline in the coming days?
Gawain's frustration mounted, and then he had a sudden moment of clarity:
No, they didn't understand.
To them, these structures belonged to the lord, not to themselves. Even if they would live in the tents, they didn't believe they'd stay there for long. They assumed that once the land was measured out, they'd be pushed out to some barren plot while the tents would be dismantled and repurposed for the lord's castle and stables.
That's just how things worked in this era, a truth everyone took for granted.
Although they had experienced the destruction of the old Cecil territory, traveled as refugees, and started building a new home, these commoners and serfs were accustomed to suffering in a world that was rigid and decayed. They had grown numb to hardship, so they felt neither the hope of blessings after disaster nor any real sense of enthusiasm for building a new home.
Gawain realized he had been too optimistic in his assumptions and that many of his carefully laid plans would likely be difficult to implement.
He promptly called Hedy and Rebecca over.
Standing by a tent that, at first glance, appeared serviceable but was actually missing several support beams and crookedly assembled, he pointed to the shoddy workmanship. "What do you make of this?"
Hedy, not understanding his meaning, assumed he was reprimanding her. She immediately bowed her head. "Apologies, Ancestor. I didn't supervise them closely enough…"
"This isn't about supervision," Gawain interrupted. "You can't monitor every nail they drive in. This is about the workers' attitude."
"Ancestor, you can't expect too much from these commoners and serfs…" Rebecca said after a moment of thought. "Most of them are unskilled in anything beyond traditional farming and mining. As such, they don't have the capability to handle more complex tasks. These people have never even set up a tent, especially not with all the specifications and functions you insisted on for the camp layout. It's too complicated for them."
Gawain shook his head. "Is it really that complicated?"
Hedy nodded slightly. "Only soldiers set up camps with such rigor. Commoners and serfs can't meet those standards."
"It's not complicated at all. I've broken down every task to the simplest level. Each person only has to focus on a single action—driving nails, tying ropes, or sawing wood. They don't need to understand the camp layout, and their tasks aren't any more complex than regular labor."
Gawain looked from Rebecca to Hedy. "Do you really believe commoners and serfs are too ignorant to handle this?"
Hedy and Rebecca exchanged glances, sensing Gawain's dissatisfaction but unable to pinpoint the core issue.
To them, especially to Hedy, the question itself seemed perfectly natural.
Commoners and serfs were, of course, inferior.
Both women had been born and raised in this era. Neither of them was particularly well-traveled or possessed the extraordinary insights of a visionary. They couldn't transcend the mindset of their time, even though Hedy and Rebecca were already progressive anomalies among the nobility.
Hedy didn't allow family knights or soldiers to pillage the commoners and serfs and sought to ensure that every person under her care had enough to eat. Rebecca had gone even further by breaking the ironclad rule of lifelong servitude for serfs, giving them a path to become free citizens.
In their territory, Rebecca even allowed freedom of trade and commerce—a radical challenge to convention.
Yet the mental conditioning of their time still prevented them from fully breaking free from the notion that commoners and serfs were inherently lesser beings.
Gawain understood this well. He hadn't summoned his two distant descendants to scold them or attempt an ideological awakening. He wasn't naïve enough to believe a few words could transform the camp's commoners and serfs into aware, motivated, and diligent citizens overnight.
It would be a long process, but for now, he just needed them to complete the tasks he assigned.
"Gather everyone—the commoners, serfs, and soldiers, all of them," Gawain instructed. "While the sun's still up."
The laborers and those resting were soon assembled. Even Amber, who had been entertaining Betty with exaggerated tales of her mountain treasure escapades, arrived out of curiosity, with Betty following closely behind, looking confused.
No one knew what this ancestor from seven hundred years ago intended to do—not even Hedy or Rebecca.
The commoners and serfs obeyed the command to gather without any real comprehension, forming separate groups with the soldiers standing aside to maintain order.
Many assumed their "new lord" had new orders and possibly instructions even more complicated than the "tent regulations," so several frowned, believing they'd be able to rest after finishing their work.
Standing on a large rock, Gawain surveyed the crowd
of over a hundred people. He spotted Amber lurking within the group, likely up to mischief, but decided not to address her for the time being.
Clearing his throat, he raised his voice to ensure everyone could hear.
"People of Cecil, I have something to say—about your future, and the new laws of the Cecil territory!"