Necromancer: Kingdom Building with My Legion of Undead Knights

Chapter 219: The Pens Are Done

Seven days later, the livestock construction was over. It was done.

Darion, Garren, and Seren stood at the farmlands now, looking at the work the carpenters had done.

It was early evening, the sun still hanging above the horizon, casting long golden shadows across the fields. The air was cool, carrying the smell of fresh timber and turned earth.

They watched the carpenters finish up the last bit: a final plank being nailed into place, a last section of fencing being secured.

The head carpenter stepped back, surveyed his work, and nodded to himself. Then he turned to Darion and gave a respectful bow.

"It’s done, m’lord," he said.

Darion nodded and walked forward. Garren and Seren followed.

They examined the place in detail. Darion ran his hand along the wooden beams of the main pen, feeling the smoothness of the planed surface. He pressed his weight against it, testing its stability.

The structure held firm, not even a creak. He walked to the fencing, gripping the top rail and shaking it hard. It didn’t budge. He crouched down, inspecting the joints where the wood met the ground, checking that the posts were sunk deep enough.

Garren did the same on the opposite side, his experienced eyes scanning for any flaws. He kicked the base of a post, testing its resistance. He ran his fingers along the rope bindings, checking their tension. He inspected the gates, opening and closing them to make sure they swung smoothly.

Seren walked through the pens, her footsteps quiet on the packed earth. She touched the walls, the fencing, the gate latches. She looked up at the shelters, their roofs sturdy and sloped to allow rain to run off.

Darion stood in the center of the main pen and looked around. The fences were straight and strong. The gates were secure. The shelters were solid, their wooden frames reinforced with crossbeams. The whole structure felt permanent, like something that would last for years.

He voiced his concern to Garren. "Will it hold? When the rain comes, when the animals are in here, pushing against the walls, will it fall?"

Garren considered the question. "That depends on the wood," he said. "And the quality of the work. The carpenters knew what they were doing, so the structure itself is sound. But the wood has to be good enough to withstand the weather and the weight of the animals."

From behind them, a voice spoke up. The head carpenter, who had been packing up his tools, straightened and walked over. He was a middle-aged man, his hands calloused, his face weathered by years of outdoor work.

"The wood that Ser Garren followed us to bring was actually really good," he said. "We comfortably bought the best on the market. It’s not the cheapest, but it’s the kind that will last. Properly treated, it could stand for a decade or more."

Darion nodded, a small smile on his face. "That’s good to hear. I examined the wood when it first arrived, and I was impressed. Now that I’m touching it, checking it up close, I can see it’s even better than I thought."

He ran his hand along a beam again, feeling the grain, the solidness. "Everything looks all right. The measurements are clean. The framing is solid too."

The head carpenter puffed up slightly, a look of pride crossing his face. "Thank you, m’lord. We put our best into it."

Darion turned to Garren. "Pay them."

Garren reached into the pouch at his side and pulled out a heavy coin purse. He counted out the silver coins, the amount they had settled upon before hiring the carpenters. He handed the payment to the head carpenter.

The man’s eyes widened slightly as he felt the weight of the coins. He bowed deeply. "Thank you, m’lord. Truly. This means a lot to us."

The other carpenters gathered around, their faces bright with gratitude as Garren payed them. They had worked long hours, their bodies aching, their hands calloused, and now they were being paid fairly for their effort. It was a good feeling.

Darion nodded to them. "Thank you for your work. If I need you again, I’ll send for you."

One of the younger carpenters, a boy barely out of his teens, spoke up. "M’lord, it... it feels almost unreal that Percvale is really growing."

Darion looked at him and smilrd. "Yes," he said. "It’s true. We’re rebuilding. And part of that rebuilding will mean more work for people like you. I’m going to try and develop Percvale into a place where skilled workers are needed. Where people will call on you for jobs. This won’t be the last time we see each other."

The carpenters exchanged glances, a new energy passing between them. They had seen the work, seen the progress, and now they were hearing from the Baron himself that there would be more. More work. More opportunities and more reason to stay in Percvale.

The head carpenter spoke again. "We’ll be ready when you call, m’lord."

Darion nodded. "Good. Now go, get some rest. You’ve earned it."

The carpenters gathered their tools and filed out of the farmland, their footsteps light, their voices low with quiet pride. They had built something today. Something that would last.

It was even something that was historical, if you thought of it in the long run. If all things went as planned and Darion actually got this Barony to be something really good in the future, a place that prospered, a place that people talked about with respect rather than pity, then this moment would be remembered.

These carpenters would be the ones that built the first pens of a now well-established Percvale. The first livestock pens. The beginning of the barony’s recovery.

Years from now, when Percvale’s herds were large and its farms were productive, people might look back and ask who built the original structures.

And someone would say: the carpenters who worked under the hot sun, who measured and cut and hammered.

They would remember the very hot sun on their first afternoon of construction, the way the heat had pressed down on them and the sweat had dripped from their brows.

Darion turned back to the pens, looking at them in the fading light. Garren and Seren stood beside him.

"One more step," Darion said quietly. "Now we need to buy the livestock."