Deep into the night, Ashbourne soldiers gathered around a bonfire, chatting and drinking. This was the only time Asher allowed them to take rum.
When it was time for battle, the only liquid they took was water and no one dared to sneak out to drink rum or they would be sentenced to 10 years of hard work and that meant spending 10 years in the mines!
In their midst were headless, featherless chickens, two times bigger than an average chicken being roasted.
Some soldiers watched the chicken drippings fall from the chickens that had been roasted golden into the fire.
Over 100 chickens were being roasted and behind them were Ovoks, also pierced through with iron rods and turned around by soldiers to make sure it was roasted properly.
The abundance of meat caused a cloud of fragrance to envelope nearby houses, disturbing the nostrils of the inhabitants.
All the soldiers gathered in the lord’s manor and the nearby houses were hundreds of yards away.
While the meat was being roasted, behind them were women preparing soup in large pots for those who might not be satisfied with the meat alone.
Asher watched the massive feast from one of the windows of his manor. Since the windows in the meeting hall were long and wide and had no glass covering, he could be easily spotted.
From up here, he could see Eritrea giggle as she chatted with the other commanders. Like her, Lambert was also in a boisterous mood, the same for Alex.
Alec’s expression was still the same while Adam ate alongside his wife.
The wind blew Asher’s hair upward as he smiled at the sight.
All of a sudden, a soldier sighted him. He swiftly informed those around him and lifted up his cup toward Asher.
“To His Lordship, Great Baron Asher!”
“To Lordship!!”
His comrades echoed.
Others turned toward the window, including the commanders but saw no one.
Eritrea’s eyebrows knit together.
“Was he there?”
“He’s been there for quite a while.” Alec replied with a crisp tone.
“I personally think his Lordship needs a partner. If he doesn’t want a wife, a concubine would be fine.” Lambert suddenly said.
“Do not let him hear that.” Alex whispered.
“Why?” Eritrea tilted her head.
“His Lordship has a bad past with a woman, an elf. She’s the daughter of a count and quite beautiful, according to the rumors.”
Everyone looked at Alex.
Alec shook his head as his brother went about talking about something that happened when Asher was 10.
“I’ve seen the look in that young lord’s eyes. He’s not a man to hold on to such a trivial thing when there is land for him to conquer. He’s a warlord, not a broken man.”
None of them had any idea when Katarina appeared and slapped Alex from behind.
Meanwhile, in the meeting hall, Asher sat on his stone throne with his hand supporting his chin.
His vanguard was also given a break so he was the only one in the hall. While sitting there, his mind ran at a crazy speed, calculating all that he had gained, and he would move on after this.
Asher knew a lot about Boundless and it was so identical to the game he created that he began to think what he might have created might have been a portal to this world.
His greatest fear was players spawning out of nowhere, thinking they were playing a game.
The relief he had was that he crashed the game before dying.
Turning, Asher saw a map on the wall. It was quite large.
“I did notice this.” He muttered and approached it.
This was the map of the Bashan basin! He saw the Ash mountains to the south of Ashkelon, the Black Iron Mountains to the extreme east and the Dragon Lair Mountains to the north.
Then a river, which was named the Azure River on the map, occupied the west.
All sides of the basin were protected. Mountains on three sides and a river on the remaining side.
In between Ashkelon and the Ash mountains was the ‘Desolate Forest,’ the place where the beasts that emerge during winter came from.
The army passed through the forest after they left the mountain pass.
Before the Ash mountains, he saw Nineveh and a wide path paved with cobblestone, wide enough for 10 war horses to run side by side, came from the stronghold’s main gates, connected to Silverleaf Bastide, moved through the Silverleaf forest, through the pass, and connected to Ashkelon’s main gate.
There was now a road for his citizens! This would make travelling easier and people from Nineveh could easily visit those in Silverleaf and those in Ashkelon.
The same for people in Silverleaf and Ashkelon.
Asher also noticed that there was a small fort at the location of the White Wolf tribe. Written above it was: Stormbringers’ barrack.
He blinked.
“So that’s where their stele built the barrack.”
The barrack was after Silverleaf and the Polar Sanctuary but before the Ashbourne tomb.
However, the distance between the barracks and the tomb was over 30 kilometres!
Vertically, it was shorter for Silverleaf, while horizontally, it was much longer for the Stormbringer barrack.
Asher noticed only places that he was lord over were on the map. Other places only had dots and names over them.
He spotted a red dot close to Ashkelon and above it was written: Were Jackal mining town?
After a while, he walked out of the hall.
…
Sitting cross-legged on his king-sized bed, Asher, garbed in a black tunic and black pants, regulated his breathing with closed eyes.
As he finally entered the peaceful state, he found his spirit in a valley, staring at a crimson-armored knight.
He could see her vibrant golden eyes from the space in her helmet.
It was Lady Ariel Ashbourne!
“Lady Ariel.”
Asher lowered his head.
“What is your ambition, boy?”
Asher took a deep breath. He felt pressured being under her scrutinizing eyes.
“To be a great lord.”
“That’s too vague. It lacks the spark. All Lords want to be great. The question is, What does it mean to be great?”
Asher frowned.
“You have no ambition?” Ariel tilted her head.
“I do.”
“Speak then. I’m listening.” Her cold voice fell into Asher’s ears.
After a short while, she sighed.
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“You’re just another lord.”
A fierce wind came from nowhere and as it got more intense, Asher’s eyes flickered.
“I want to make my name known. Etch my feats in the annals of history. Be more than just an Ashbourne Lord. To surpass the family name and not be glorified in their shadows.”