STEP STEP STEP
The two guards glanced behind them at the three people following them. They couldn't comprehend what was happening. One moment they were playing dice, and the next they were escorting their supposed new lord into the fortress.
CREAK
They pushed open the large metal doors and were greeted by an old hall with a grand staircase at its centre. "This place needs a renovation.",Ali thought. He looked around at the outdated furniture and crumbling infrastructure that seemed on the verge of collapse, even on the lower floors.
"What are you doing?" a sharp voice echoed from the top of the stairs. An older maid in her sixties, holding a candle to illuminate the dimly lit corridors, shouted at the guards.
"Sarina, this man is our new lord. His name is Lord Ali," the guard who had read the contract replied.
"Have you lost your mind? What do you mean new lord? Lord Stork is upstairs in his quarters!" she exclaimed.
"No, he's not," Ali interrupted the maid. "You can check if you want, but your lord has left this valley." Ali calmly lowered Fiona, who stood up on her own. She stood behind him with her dirty brown hair covering her face.
"Go check," Ali instructed the maid, who lifted the skirt of her maid outside and hurried up the stairs.
"What are your names?" Ali asked the two guards, who looked alike with their black hair and brown eyes. They were in their thirties as well.
"I'm sorry, my lord. My name is Tel. He's my brother Tol, and we have a third brother down in the village named Tal," Tel, the guard who knew how to read and was the oldest of the brothers, answered Ali.
"So, your names are Tel, Tol, and Tal. Is that some sort of joke?" Ali looked down at the brothers.
"No, my lord. Lord Stork named us three orphans. When we asked him why he named us like his, he said he's simply bad with naming," the guard explained.
HAH HAH HAH HAH
The conversation was abruptly interrupted by Sarina's heavy breathing echoing down the stairs. She had wide-open eyes.
"Lord Stork, he's disappeared, him and Tess. They've both gone, but they left everything behind. They didn't take anything with them…", Sarina shouted at the two guards, who looked back at Ali.
"How about you come down here so I can explain it to you all and you go get your brother?", Ali told Sarina before ordering Tel, who nodded and started running to the village.
"Before he comes back, take Fiona here to a bedroom where she can rest. Bring her food and water too", Ali ordered Sarina. She looked up into his black eyes and didn't dare refuse him. She then looked behind him at the women holding her baby, and she looked in shock.
"Will you please follow me to the guest bedroom, lady Fiona?", Sarina assumed in her head that Fiona was Ali's wife.
Miles, tired of standing, walked over to the stairs and sat down on one of the steps. He was bored waiting for this to end so he could start the real work, but he didn't rush Ali. There was more than enough time for them in this world.
Two minutes passed, and both Sarina and the two brothers entered the hall.
"Is there someone else working here?", Ali asked.
"Yes, there's another maid, but she's sleeping right now. Do you want me to wake her up?", Sarina asked. The three brothers looked at the old maid with surprise. They'd never seen her speak so calmly and gently before, not even to Lord Stork. She was known for being a mean old hag to everyone.
"No, you'll have to relay this to her when she wakes up", Ali said as he moved his hand up to his face and took off his mask.
Sarina and the three brothers couldn't believe their eyes. This man was the most handsome person they'd ever seen in this backwater place. No one could even come close, and he was so much younger than they expected. He looked to be in his early twenties.
"First off", Ali said in his deep voice, "KNEEL". Ali said the word, and all four of them fell hard to their knees like a mountain was on their shoulders.
UGH
The four groaned as they felt the pain from their knees, it felt like heavy weights were on their backs.
"I am different from your previous lord," Ali said. "I expect respect, loyalty, and excellence in the tasks I assign to you. Of course, if you fail to do so, there will be punishments that could end in you losing your lives depending on your actions. But if you impress me, there will be rewards…." Ali's words dug deep into their minds.
"Lower…," Ali said, and all four now had their foreheads touching the floor. "That's better," Ali said, Miles behind him watching them with his palm on his cheek. 'This is entertaining at least…,' Miles thought, watching with a smile.
"Now, onto what happened to former Lord Stork. You see, your lord got his maid pregnant and decided to run away from the war with his maid. So, he sent me an offer to purchase his land, property, and title for an undisclosed amount. As for where he is now, it's none of my business, nor is it any of your business either. I don't know the exact state of this place, so I expect you to inform me in detail on the state of my new land and help explain the changes to the people of the village." Ali said to his new servants.
"Understood?" Ali asked.
"YES," all four answered in unison, fear now prominent in their tone.
"Good. Now, the brothers can go back to their duties," Ali lifted the Force from the brothers who stayed in position. They cautiously stood up while looking at Ali for a reaction. They bowed to him and stepped back to exit the hall.
"Oh, and if I see you playing around instead of focusing on your duties, I'll hang your heads on the gate of the Fortress. It's in need of a change anyway," the guard's faces turned pale.
"Yes, My lord," they shouted as they rushed out the fortress and closed the gate behind them.
"Stand up," Ali ordered Sarina, who followed his command.
"His name is Miles, he's second in command after me. If I'm not here, you and everyone else listen to him," Ali pointed at the teenager behind him, who stood up from the stairs. The flashing lines of electric cybernetics on Miles's face scared Sarina, who had never seen anything like it.
"I understand, My lords," she said to both of them.
"Are there lower floors in the fortress?" Miles asked the maid.
"Yes, the Fortress has torture chambers that have been locked away since before I was born, my lords. I can take you down there if you wish," Sarina answered.
Please donate some of your power stones, it would help my ff massively.
If you want to support my work and get Five chapters ahead of webnovel : patreon.com/Rondo312