A few days later. The caravan of carriages arrived in front of Santa Roberto.

There were people already standing there, waiting for the caravan to arrive. George was there, along with Henry, Roland, Anna, and a few men that Siderius didn't recognize.

They were probably the guard that George and Henry had hired to protect the place temporarily.

Siderius rode in the front and arrived at the gate first.

"George, my friend. Roland, Henry. How are you?"

The three bowed their heads. "We are extremely well, my lord."

Roland took a look at the caravan group and said, "There must be quite a lot of people here. Around fifty to eighty people, I assume?"

"A little bit off, Roland. It is just a little bit more than ninety people."

"Ninety?! Those coaches should be stuffed, yeah?"

"Not really. Take a little look behind." Siderius pointed to the end of the caravan.

The bandits were tied into a long rope and walked at the back of the caravan.

The caravan group went at a very leisurely pace so the bandits were barely keeping up. Their feet hurt from the road and they were exhausted, but they were far from dying. The injured bandits were lucky enough to stay in the coaches with the passengers.

"Are they... bandits?" Roland said.

"How do you even know that?" George glanced at him.

"Haha... Intuition, my friend. Intuition."

Roland was a bandit himself so he knew how to spot one. Also, Siderius wouldn't just torture these poor souls without a reason. The most plausible explanation was that they're criminals. And only bandits would attack a caravan like this. It wasn't that hard to tell.

"Let me introduce you.

This is Ashe, my apprentice.

This is Kraus, the leader of the helpers.

This is Nadia, the leader of the miners."

The three men of Santa Roberto exchanged greetings with the trio of Mucktown. The atmosphere was friendly and warm.

"I need you to help these people settle in, George. You can assign them in the dormitory. Remember to separate the women and men. The monastery had male and female dormitories so it shouldn't be a problem."

"I understand, my lord. What about the bandits?"

"Yes... That is an issue.

The monastery should have some extra beds. Put them in the guest rooms and let the bandits use them for now. Prioritize the injured bandits to stay in the beds. You can prepare some basic rolling beds as well to accommodate those that don't have beds."

"I understand, my lord." George took out a piece of parchment and wrote the tasks down.

"The carts in the middle have some valuable items that will be useful to us. Food, ales, some ores, herbs, and material. Have people pick them up and store them in the storage."

"Yes, my lord!" George nodded.

"After you finish setting everything up, come to the main office of the monastery. We need to have a meeting."

"Only me and you, my lord?"

"Summon Ashe, Nadia, Kraus, Roland, and Henry. It is time to officially appoint titles to them."

"Yes, my lord!"

George was not familiar in handling business for a lord. Luckily, he had Roland on his side to advise him. Roland was a former noble so he knew all about these issues and handled the manpower within the territory. Henry was there and a few men to make sure everyone stayed in line and moved efficiently.

There was a very minor chance that some conflict could happen. But the miners and the helpers didn't know each other. Siderius liked to make sure than hope.

Once everyone settled in, they gathered at the main office of the monastery. This was once the office of Mother Reverend Lisa Cullen, but since she had died, Siderius used it as his office instead.

Everyone bowed down to Siderius, including Henry and Roland. They were also noble but still one rank lower than Siderius, a high-noble.

Ashe stood beside him.

"How are the people?" Siderius said.

George stepped up. "Everyone has settled in nicely, my lord. I have noticed the kitchen to prepare food for ninety people everyday. It will cost quite a lot of coins to feed these people."

"A lot? Based on my estimation, it shouldn't take more than two to three silvers a day." Siderius rubbed his chin.

George widened his eyes in surprise. "That is correct. But..."

"Let me explain everything George." Roland stepped up.

"To feed ninety people, it would take at least two to three silver coins every day, assuming we don't use good food. If we want to feed them well, it would cost double that amount, five to six silver coins everyday."

Siderius nodded. "We will separate the people inside the monastery into two groups. Helpers and Prisoners. Helper's task is to assist the monastery in every way possible. This place is run down and there needs to be people on the fields. Water needs refilling. Places need to be looked after. Structures need to be rebuilt.

I guess you can imagine the rest?"

"Yes, my lord! I will note down the necessary tasks and prepare them for Master George." Roland bowed and said.

"Remember. Helpers have the right to choose which task they want to do. Doesn't matter what. As long as they are doing something. Of course, some positions will be more popular than others so make a limit to the number of people who can enroll.

It should require certain skills and traits as well. If you want to become a guard for the monastery, you should be big enough and good with weapons. This goes with other tasks as well." Sidedius said.

"Yes, my lord!" George bowed his head.

"If someone doesn't want to do any task, you can just kick them out. But report this to Nadia or Kraus first. They will deal with them if it's their men.

Next are the prisoners. They need to do tasks as well. They don't have the right to choose, just appoint them as you see fit. Their food should be good enough to not feel hungry, not delicious. They are prisoners after all. It will alleviate a lot of the weight on our financial side."

"Yes, my lord!" George said.

"Alright. You and Roland should work on this, George. Make sure to make a comprehensive plan for what you want to do. Then send it to me. I will decide on any adjustment and the execution of the plan."

"Yes, my lord!" George and Roland repeated.

"Now that is done. We need to do what we gathered here to do.

Some of you might not know I have entrusted positions to the three men here. I haven't made it official yet but we can do it now.

George is the Steward of the castle. He is the second in command behind me. What he says goes when I'm not here.

Roland is the Advisor. He can handle businesses on behalf of George and also offer his intelligence.

Henry here is a very capable warrior. With the sword alone, he will only lose to me. So he is the Warden and his task is to make sure the castle is safe.

Now we have Nadia, and Kraus. Our two most newest members. Each has their own specialty.

Kraus is very good at blending in and gathering intel. He is now the Secretary. His job is to gather information for me, on and off the castle.

Nadia was formerly a leader of the miners. She knows how to gather resources. The castle can't just keep drying coins without taking in. She will be the new Bailiff. Her job is to gather woods, ores, and other natural resources that can be used for rebuilding the castle, trading for coins and other resources with other territories. Of course, the trading will be managed by the Steward and Advisor.

Any questions?"

The five people looked at each other. George, Henry and Roland had taken their positions for a while so they weren't that surprised. But Kraus and Nadia were very perplexed. Kraus didn't think he would be appointed a position right away and was very thrilled about it.

Nadia on the other hand, not so much.

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