“Llani, did you sleep well?” Llani blushed brightly as Deena took a gentle poke at her. Deena looked at her as she walked and noticed how unsteady her steps were.

“We’ll need to get some chickens. Do you think any merchants will come here? We need livestock that can provide wool, power for pulling the plow, and helping with general tasks in a new community.” Deena smiled a little knowing smile. She knew Llani just wanted to change the subject, but she was correct. They needed some things that could only come from other areas.

“If we can get some ore from the mine, we’ll have a lot to trade with. If father can smelt it first, then it would take up a smaller area in the cart, but truthfully, the ore is more valuable. Father already sent a message using one of his last pigeons, letting them know what we would need, and what we had. The skins, the ore, and the salt is worth a lot.” Llani nodded.

“But how did Elias know what we would need?”

“He asked Tero after he came out here that first time. Once he knew what he had to trade with, he knew that the merchants would flock here. As long as we have skins and ore to trade, we’ll have merchants. And they will come with mercenaries to protect their stocks. They won’t have to worry about an attack from the town.” Llani frowned.

“Will they be stupid enough to try and take what they want?” Deena chuckled.

“With the one who destroyed the dark kingdom personally protecting this area? They are smarter than those fools from Belford.” She looked up as Leon came into the clearing with another two large logs on his shoulder. “Which is good for them. If Leon were to swing one of those logs, no amount of armour could prevent the soldiers from dying.” She said the last under her breath, without knowing how good Leon’s hearing had become.

“Deena, there is a small force coming from that direction. They don’t appear to be hostile as they are also with some carts.  They will be here in a couple of days.” She smiled.

“I wondered when they would arrive.” He nodded.

“Alright, I’ll leave the negotiations to you and your father. I need nothing personally, but the community does, and so does Llani. Treat her word like it is mine.” Deena watched him walk off and let out a deep breath.

“For someone who doesn’t try to put any pressure on anyone, I often feel like my whole body is being pushed down by an invisible weight when he wants to make a point!” She shivered slightly. “And he didn’t make a sound when he left.” Llani smiled softly as she watched him leave.

“He can’t help it. He told me about the time he went into the castle after we escaped. Anyone who encountered him fell to the floor and sprayed out blood as he walked up to them. Those were people he was angry at, and he didn’t touch them with his hands. They died just by the pressure of his presence.” She looked at Deena carefully.

“Everyone he encounters should feel fortunate that he isn’t angry at them.” Deena couldn’t help but nod.

“I am grateful. Not only for the food, but for his protection. I haven’t felt safe in Belford for a long time, but while I’m here, I feel...secure. Walls without walls.”

“How deep do you think it should be?” Jaro asked Elias. He thought for a moment.

“For now, as deep as a person should be okay. If you meet a large shelf of stone, clear it off as wide as the wall should be, and keep digging the trench. Once the trenches for the wall’s foundations are ready, he’ll set the stones in. If we can get this done, we’ll also do the foundations for each house. Even if it has to be a large log shell for the winter, we’ll all bunk up there, and finish the rest of the houses in the Spring. The most important are the walls for protection.” He left the two to start digging, not bothering to tell them to cut the ground first. They would figure it out eventually.

“Jaro, should be cut the surface all around, or dig down where we are and keep going?” He frowned.

“It's been a long while since I’ve dug any kind of ditch for pay, but some crews would cut the surface and dig about a foot or so, while the rest dug the proper depth. Let’s cut through the surface for several feet, then I’ll dig it out here. You keep cutting, and dig about a foot. If we hit stone, we’ll move on until we can dig deeper. In order for it to be equal between us, I’ll dig deeper, while you do the harder surface. If you get all the way around before I can catch up, just start at the beginning and we’ll dig it out until we meet in the middle.” Harri nodded.

“That sounds fair. Lots of work, but we’re being fed, right? Oh man, that food! Stew and bread! I haven’t eaten so well in years!” With rare smiles on their faces, the two men started a job that would take a couple of weeks to complete, but they would not complain.

Their women were happy, had food in their bellies, and had talked about having babies last night. Though they didn’t yet have a roof over their head, for the first time in their young lives, the young women they loved had hope for the future.

Leon didn’t ask for their lives, just their loyalty.

“I didn’t expect him to do that.” Elias said to the other older men around the fire.

“As they dig the trench, he puts in the largest stones he can find, and makes a solid foundation for the wall. He fills the rest of the pocket with smaller debris to fill up the space. When he caught up to them, he went back to the start and build it up to the height of a house.” Tero rubbed his neck. “And he also started a gate!” Elias rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, he already requested the hardware for the gate. Large hinges on the inside, and bars.” Tomas groaned a little.

“He’s not going to give us much to do if he builds the entire wall with huge stones like that.” Then he frowned. “But I was surprised when he added those indents in the walls. He actually did what he said he would. We can build our homes right into the walls. One wall is already done on two houses, which will make it so much easier to build the rest.” Randall nodded.

“He didn’t tell us to dig up the foundations, but since we’re here, we can dig up our own foundations, if we have the time. We should check the walls to make sure they stay plumb, and remain strong. Too bad we don’t have access to limestone blocks. Granite and blue stone is too hard to saw, while we don’t have the setups for cutting them with a water powered chisel.” Randall wasn’t sure they were needed with someone as strong as Leon.

“True, but he did say that he only has the knowledge from a book. If we weren’t guiding him, this wouldn’t go as smooth. He didn’t know about stretchers, or soldiers. He knows that stone falls down, and presses down, but he also said that common knowledge of his modern world was incorrect. People think that walls will fall outward. Stone falls down. Straight down. Brick can be unsteady if its only one course, but we don’t do a one course wall.” Randall snorted.

“One course thick? Who the hell would put a wall up for their house with only one course? You need three with the small ones, two with medium ones, and only one if your bricks are a foot wide and two feet long.  He said their bricks were about three inches thick.  Practically paper.  We should get a brick kiln and forms set up. This time next year, this community will show others the way to do things!” Leon smiled from the shadows.

He didn’t participate in these discussions. He gave guidance when necessary, made decisions, and used his strength to back them up. These people would be the core of this town, and his kingdom.

He looked in the direction of Belford, and growled.

Every town, every city, and every empire that got in his way would be swept away. He would tolerate no more actions against his people. Or against his wife and daughter.