Chapter 619: Logger’s Nook

Again, none of this was Braden’s concern; his responsibilities were far simpler.

He had to make it back home, cultivate hard, help his parents with running the territory, then figure out what the succession situation in his family was going to look like.

If one of his younger siblings showed particular talent in administrative affairs, Braden would be happy to let them take over the barony after their father retired and instead run off to join the military, as that had always been his dream.

Were it not for a strong sense of duty that had been instilled in him since young, Braden might even have stayed in Misty City and tried to join the Raging River Legion.

Alas, that was not meant to be.

And so, other than noting that Valley’s End was a bit shabby in comparison to Misty City and the capital, Braden simply carried on his way, hopping aboard a merchant ship which was heading down the Belton from the Tarnath Dynasty border towards Fardan.

4 days later, the young lord from the Firth Barony found himself standing on the docks of the Campbell Family’s capital city.

Braden wasn’t planning on staying long in Fardan, but after asking around at the docks, he unfortunately learned that the next ship heading towards his hometown wouldn’t be departing for another 2 days.

After booking passage with the captain of that ship, Braden suddenly found himself with time to kill, so he began wandering around the city.

Unlike the other major settlements he had visited over the past year, this wasn’t Braden’s first time in Fardan. He had been to the Campbell Family’s capital on several occasions before, and each time he had marveled at just how rich and prosperous it was.

Today, however, Braden couldn’t help comparing Fardan to Misty City and finding it lacking. Even compared to Valley’s End, this city, which he had always felt was the biggest, most vibrant and bustling place in the world, now seemed a bit small.

Another thing Braden noticed as he strolled through the streets and markets was how limited the variety of goods was, feeling there was actually not that many different types of products for sale.

Braden wasn’t wrong in this regard, not that he knew why it was.

Valley’s End had quite a bit of cross-border trade with the Tarnath Dynasty, while Fardan was far more focused on internal trade and local resource development. This naturally led to their being a smaller variety of offerings on display in the city’s shops.

Now, it would be wrong to say that Farden was poor, or that the Northern Province wasn’t as well off as any of the other provinces in the Rockell Kingdom, but it certainly wasn’t the richest either, a fact that Braden could now see for himself.

Turning his head towards a small hill situated at the southern tip of the city, Braden stared at the giant castle surrounded by a second layer of walls and armed with dangerous looking weapons.

This was the home of the Campbell Family, as well as the fortress which stood as the fallback position for the armies posted along the northern border should war ever break out.

For a brief moment, Braden contemplated heading to this fortified manor to pay his respects, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

He actually had a token, given to him by his little cousin, which would allow him to meet with the Campbell Family as apparently Eris and Lucas were close friends with Young Lady Brynn Campbell, but Braden didn’t exactly feel comfortable showing up for no reason at the home of an Earl.

He may have spent time around a bunch of high nobles and royals this past month, but Braden didn’t think he would ever be fully comfortable interacting with people who occupied positions so much higher than his own. They were all incredibly friendly and welcoming to him, but it still felt awkward.

Shaking his head wryly, Braden figured he was just better suited to making friends with simple folk and soldiers and found himself a cheap inn to spend the next two days until his ship departed.

.....

5 days later, Braden again stood on the wooden pier of a river dock; this time, however, it wasn’t in the harbour of a big city, but rather in his hometown of Logger’s Nook.

For a place that started off as a logging camp, Logger’s Nook was actually quite large and well developed, with a population of over 4,000 permanent residents.

Of course, 200 years after its founding, much of the surrounding forest had been cleared and replaced with farmland, but forestry was still the main industry of the Firth Barony, it was just that the actually logging was done in outlying villages while Logger’s Nook took care of processing the felled trees into lumber products.

These products were then shipped along a small tributary to the main Belton River, then up to Fardan.

The town where he had grown up and spent most of his life now appeared a bit quaint compared to the vast cities he had spent much of the last year in, but despite all the splendor of those places, Braden somehow felt that Logger’s Nook was better.

It was probably the result of nostalgia, as ever since he had come of age, Braden practically couldn’t wait to leave home and see the rest of the world, but for the moment, the young man wasn’t thinking too hard about it.

After a whole year away, Braden was just happy to be back on familiar turf and among familiar faces. He was especially looking forward to seeing his mother, father, little brother Tucker, and little sister Lexi again after having been gone for so long.

I hope they like all the gifts Cousin Eris stuffed into my pack, Braden thought to himself as he hoisted his large travel sack onto his back and began walking into town.

Ordinarily, he would have used a horse, but somehow, Braden felt like taking a stroll today.

"Oh! If it isn’t the Young Master!"

"You’re right! It’s been more than a year since he left, hasn’t it?

"He certainly looks a little more mature now! Hah! Seems the future of the barony is secured!"

"En, thank goodness! I was starting to get worried with all the commotion..."

"Shh! Mind what you’re saying..."

"Ah! Right..."

Braden was a bit surprised by the enthusiastic greeting he received from the townsfolk at first, even stopping to wave and say hello to a few people he recognized or was friends with, but the more he listened to their conversations, the more concerned her grew.

He wasn’t the smartest young man out there, but that didn’t mean he was an idiot.

From the bits and pieces of information he was able to glean from the gossip going on around him, it seemed the people weren’t so much excited he was back because they had missed him or because he was some great positive force in their life, but rather because they were worried about something...

What could have happened? Braden began to worry.

When he left about a year ago, the barony, and by extension his family, weren’t facing any major problems; or at least, neither his mother nor his father had mentioned any big issues to him.

The roads were all clear and passable, logging in the outlying villages had met expected quotas, the fall harvest was underway and was sure to produce enough for everyone’s needs, and there had not been any major bandit or beast attacks in recent memory.

In other words, things were calm, peaceful, and prosperous.

The situation in the South West Province was indeed worrying, but that was so far away that it didn’t seem possible for it to affect a small place like Logger’s Nook directly.

Now, however, it seemed something had changed, and obviously not for the better.

No longer having the leeway to casually chat with the townsfolk, Braden stopped walking and began running. He knew getting home a couple minutes sooner wasn’t going to change anything, but he just couldn’t help himself, not when his family might be in distress.