Chapter 258: The Work Begins
The castle was alive with activity.
Dust drifted through the corridors like morning fog, and the rhythmic sounds of hammers and saws echoed off the stone walls.
Workers moved through the halls, their boots heavy on the worn floors, their voices low as they coordinated their efforts. It was chaos, but it was organized chaos, the kind that came from experience and planning.
Darion stood in the great hall, watching a crew of men carry timber up the stairs. They moved with efficiency, their bodies strong.
The roofs were the most urgent issue, Ghan had said. They would start there and work their way down. It made sense. A castle with a leaking roof was a castle that would continue to decay. Fix the roof first, then the walls, then the floors, then everything else.
Who knows, maybe halfway through the work, a heavy rain would start to fall or something like that.
That would be more work. If the roof wasn’t fully sealed by the time the rains came, the water would seep through the unfinished sections, damaging the timber and stone, setting the project back.
Ghan had mentioned that he was pushing the crew to finish the roofing before the weather turned. Darion trusted his judgment.
He heard footsteps behind him and turned. Seren and Garren were entering the great hall, their arms full of supplies.
Seren was carrying a large sack of grain, her face flushed from the effort. Garren followed with a crate of vegetables, his expression neutral but his steps measured.
Behind them, a few senior knights carried additional supplies: meat, bread, cheese, and other essentials for the castle’s kitchen.
"Welcome back," Darion said, stepping forward to help. "How was the trip?"
Seren set down her sack and stretched her arms. "Long. The market was busy, and everything was more expensive than I expected. But we managed." She glanced around the hall, her eyes widening at the sight of the workers. "What’s happening here? It looks like a different place already."
Darion smiled. "Ghan arrived earlier than expected. With his crew. Eleven men, plus himself. They’ve already started on the roofs."
Garren set down his crate and surveyed the scene. His expression was neutral, but Darion could see the flicker of approval in his eyes. "He came back quickly. That’s a good sign."
"It is," Darion agreed. "I wasn’t sure he would. But he brought materials, tools, and a clear plan. He seems serious about the work."
Seren walked over to the window and looked up at the roof. She could see the workers through the gaps in the ceiling, their silhouettes moving against the pale sky. "They’re already up there?"
"First thing this morning," Darion said. "Ghan said the roofs are the most urgent issue. Everything else depends on them being solid."
Seren nodded, her expression thoughtful. "That makes sense. A castle with a leaking roof is a castle that’s slowly falling apart."
Darion watched her for a moment, then turned to Garren. "How was the shopping?"
He had asked about the shopping, it would only be logical to ask for the shopping, right? The supplies were essential for the castle’s daily operations, and if the market had been difficult,
Darion needed to know. Garren was always honest with him, and Darion appreciated that.
Garren shrugged. "It went smoothly. The market was crowded, but we found what we needed. The kitchen should be fully stocked for at least a week."
"Good," Darion said. "We’ll need it. With all these workers, the castle is going to be busier than usual."
And that was definitely going to be the case. Mostly, when a castle was undergoing a full renovation, it was evacuated by the people living there.
The dust, the noise, the constant movement, it wasn’t exactly comfortable. But that wasn’t the case here, because where would Darion stay?
The castle was his home, and he couldn’t just leave it. So he would still be living here, working alongside the crew, adapting to the chaos. It was unconventional, but it was necessary.
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The next few hours were a blur of activity. The crew worked tirelessly, their movements synchronized, their efforts focused.
The sound of hammers echoed through the corridors, and the dust grew thicker, settling on every surface. The castle felt alive in a new way, not the quiet, hollow silence of decay, but the vibrant energy of creation.
Darion tried to stay out of the way, but he couldn’t help watching.
He was invested in every detail, every nail, every piece of timber. He wanted to see the progress, to witness the transformation. He walked through the halls, his eyes scanning the walls, the ceilings, the floors.
He noted the cracked stones, the uneven surfaces, the stains from years of neglect. And he imagined what they would look like when the work was done.
Seren and Garren also observed, each with their own thoughts. Seren seemed fascinated by the process, her eyes following the workers as they moved.
She asked questions, learned the names of the tools, and watched the techniques with genuine interest.
Garren was quieter, his observations more calmer. He studied the progress with the eye of a soldier, assessing the quality of the work, noting anything that might need attention.
Darion found himself drawn to Ghan, who was overseeing the entire operation.
The mason moved from one group to the next, his voice calm and confident, his instructions clear. He was a natural leader, the kind of person who commanded respect without demanding it.
"How’s it going?" Darion asked, approaching him.
Ghan turned, a smile on his face. "Good. The roof is in worse shape than I initially thought, there’s more rot than I expected, but it’s manageable. We’ll have to replace more timber than I budgeted for, but we have enough material."
Darion nodded. "Do you need anything else? More supplies? More hands?"
Ghan shook his head. "Not yet. We’ll see how the next few days go. If we need extra help, I’ll let you know."
Darion nodded again. He appreciated Ghan’s honesty. There were no false promises or exaggerated timelines. Only the simple truth of the work.
As the day wore on, Darion found himself thinking about the castle’s future. The roof was being repaired, the walls were being strengthened, and the floors were being leveled. In a few weeks, the castle would be transformed. It would be a place that reflected the barony’s recovery, a symbol of the progress that had been made.
He smiled and turned back to the work.