The whole garden was turned into a wilderness, and the delicate flowers and trees, which had been brought here specially from all over the country, soon died away without being cared for. The square was overgrown with weeds and mud. The beautiful arches, the statues, the flower-pools, the pools, were either cracked or simply shattered to the ground.
Horses were tied up on the lawn in front of the castle house, people were standing there, and a few others were standing before the door. They were all dressed up as soldiers, and they were all brightly dressed. It seemed to be some soldiers belonging to a Lord who had just arrived. They split up into units, each occupying an area. Some are telling rude jokes with their peers and seem to have no discipline. Some were silent.
A few knights of different colors, in armor and robes, were among the crowd of their subordinates, talking at the door.
The fog stirred, and a pair of tall, fierce figures suddenly appeared in the clatter of hooves. They drew up their horses in front of the farm with great speed, and the fog around them was blown away.
The soldiers in front of the gate came back to life in surprise and slowly closed their mouths as they looked at the team of mighty knights in their white robes. It was impossible to identify the territory from which they came.
Though the coat of arms and intricacies of the men's gowns were incomprehensible to the men who had never been out in their lives, they were certainly not for the men of Black Pearl Valley.
"Is this the Hall of which you speak?" George whipped up his whip and lifted his head to look behind the staring knights. It was as haughty and insolent as the great saints of the sept.
"Yes, your excellency." After nodding his head and answering, Mi Shan turned his eyes to a knight in a red cloak in front of the door with a half-smile. There was a gleam of disgust and joy in his eyes. "Oh, Lord Alf, it's been a long time."
"..."
Alf's face was a little pale, his lips puckered, and without saying a word he led the two knights beside him through the door.
The place where the surviving lords conferred was in the main hall at the entrance. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere. The furniture and furnishings had rotted away long ago, and the only things that were in good condition and clean were a few stone chairs. There were even some stone chairs and tables that had been turned upside down, with a few dusty, dried blood stains on them.
Those stone chairs are full of three or five hundred catties, it seems that not every party is harmonious and orderly. But from the dust, it should be a long time since there was a direct fight at the scene.
The environment is terrible, but no one cares. Some of the lords, who had been at so many parties, even chose a place to sit down without blowing the dust off their buttocks. The knights around them, too, stood casually behind them, but their hands were always on the hilt of their swords.
There have been many such gatherings. So some simple rules have been laid down long ago.
Everyone will not bring too many things, mainly to reconcile a few things, to talk about a 'list'. After confirmation, the deposit will be paid, and the two parties will exchange the goods at an agreed time with the participation of the notary party.
Don't start a group fight here and get everyone into trouble.
Those who did not obey were killed by the gang -- generally these were the new robber leaders who had no aristocratic status. In the eyes of the lords, they were like upstarts, unruly and vulgar. At the bottom of the chain of disdain between the lords.
Such people, let alone now, were untouchables who could have their heads cut off with a word.
So there wasn't a lot of conflict at the party.
Nor have there ever been some ungrateful men who had surrounded the place and plundered it -- lords though that was all, and the soldiers only brought one or two bands. But it will bring most of the knights. These knights were thirty or forty at a time. So even if there were eight hundred men all around the place, these men could ride away into the fog.
If it had been less than four or five hundred, it would not have been exactly who had fought whom -- it would have been more or less the same as when George had fought Rice Hill.
There was also less unnecessary conflict between the lords since the rules were made. But there are some hungry guys who come to the meeting just to find out who to target.
Of course, those who make the first move tend to lose out.
And when those who go too far make everyone feel threatened, they will unite to destroy and divide them up. The winners, however, don't usually want to occupy the territory of the losers. They just want a few resources, and a few useful people.
It was rare for a Lord to send men to stay long in certain areas, for there were no reliable transport lines and not so many useful men.
Even some villages, or camps where resources could be produced, were left by the lords specifically for the purpose of sucking blood -- what the lords called a tax.
In these years of big fish eat small fish, the overall strength of the lords are not too bad. And when we do get together, the atmosphere is generally amicable, as long as we are not particularly starved of resources.
But occasionally there are newcomers, mostly from newly assembled camps of survivors, or from remote areas.
At times like this, things tend to get a little more interesting. Like today.
The lords came in one after another, each with a few boxes at his side. Usually at this time, people can't help asking each other what they have brought. These northerners are rough and unfussy. When they talk, they shout. With the louder and louder voices, the party will begin slowly.
But today it was quiet, and many could not help but turn their eyes to the door through which Alf and the others were coming in, and to the dozen knights who had dismounted and entered.
The seat was now full, and the Lord who had entered glanced around and raised his eyebrows.
Then, without a word, the giant of armor beside him came to a stone chair lying on its side, picked it up with one hand, and placed it in its place.
This scene, let the eyelid of some people could not help but beat up.
The stone chair weighed at least five or six hundred catties. It was necessary to ask all the people present who could move the weight or who could stand out. But it was like setting up a wooden chair, lifting it up and laying it down so casually that no one dared say he could do it.
Look at the sword (lance on the horse) at his side. He might have cut the horse in half with one blow. Not from the bottom of my heart cold.
There must be no such thing as a duel here today!
Several knights had by this time wiped the dust off the stone chair with their cloaks, and the Lord sat down. Then the group stood behind him, leaning on the hilts of their swords, like javelins.
Each of these men wore a different garment on his chest, and the patterns on it could not have been sewn by an ordinary skilled craftsman.
If you look at the equipment they were wearing, it was not plate mail, but it was a crowd of discerning men, and from the density and thickness of the mail, you can see their value.
After a lull in the party, some people began to talk in low voices. But the talk seems to be family gossip, few people talk about what the goods. And they didn't bring up the conversation about the new person, as if they were the people who were here today.
George leaned on his arm, stroked his chin, and sighed. 'There seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding. I guess I'm going to have to pretend to be a bitch today. '