Happy new year 2026
***
Greed for coin was endless, even among those of royal blood. But in the North, there was no crime more despicable than selling the lord who fed and sheltered you.
Erlic stood in the lower hall of Ashen Keep, regarding the two prisoners as one might inspect spoiled meat.
He felt nothing.
The absence of emotion unsettled him—if only faintly. Perhaps it was the remnant of a modern mind resisting old instincts. Or perhaps this was simply who he was beneath it all.
He drew a slow breath and turned to the new Captain of the Guard, Danos. Crimson blood stained the man from head to toe; he had been personally overseeing the interrogation.
Danos had always been bloodthirsty. That was likely why Erlic's father had never counted him among the inner circle of the guard. Yet now, that very trait made him useful.
At least Erlic still had someone to rely on. The veteran knights who would have questioned his methods lay dead, slain alongside his father during the hunt.
If my memory serves, Erlic thought, Benjen Stark should soon begin gathering men for the Night's Watch.
Sending a criminal north would cost him nothing—and buy goodwill.
"The western mines are exhausted," Erlic said calmly. "Send the boy there. If he survives a year, train him for night watch duty."
At once, Hobert's face drained of all color. A dark stain spread beneath him as his legs gave way.
"L-Lord, please! Mercy!" Hobert sobbed. "I'll serve you! I swear it! I'll give my whole life to House Ashwood!"
Erlic did not respond.
Begging changed nothing. It only proved that fear had come too late.
His intent was simple: break the boy, teach him his place, and turn him into an obedient Ashwood hound. He could be helpful to know about the situation in Night Watch.
Now, his full focus was on the Hob's face, who is being tortured mercilessly.
Unlike his innocent nephew he was full vile creature. This is the man who had thought himself clever.
"Find out who contract him and what's their agenda, if you find out, your claim as the captain of the guard would be more strong."
"Remember this. Fear obeys, but it does not make other to follow you."
"As a loyal soldier! I will do as my lord oblique."
The moment Erlic asserted himself, order returned to Ashen Keep. What the previous lord could not accomplish in years, the new one achieved in a day.
That was why Danos swore his loyalty without hesitation.
As a Knight of House Ashwood, he would stand firm beside this young lord, no matter the enemy.
"Danos," Erlic said softly, leaning closer, "Hang him for three days. After you learn who stands behind this. But before that torture him to his limit that death seem easier."
"Yes, my lord," Danos replied sharply.
He understood.
The new lord was writing his laws in blood.
...
That night, after the prisoners were dealt with, Erlic returned to his chamber.
He stretched, feeling stronger than before, his thoughts became sharper, his body steadier.
The system displayed his resources clearly:
Fortune Points: 500
The system held five hundred points of Fortune point.
A metal detector cost eight hundred, fine horses seed cost twelve hundred.
And... Good mother of seven gods.
He could even buy viking seed for 1800 point.
Looking at the bizarre buying option his mind immediately gone blank but one thing sure.
He is poor... Too poor.
Erlic stared at the twenty eggs listed in the system inventory.
Come to think of it, these were eggs from the twenty-first century.
Did that not mean the hens hatched from them could lay twenty to thirty eggs each month?
The thought settled heavily in his mind.
What if I breed them selectively, he wondered, and keep hatching continuously for a full year?
The numbers began to compound in his head.
For the first time since taking Ashen Keep, Erlic felt the unmistakable pull of opportunity—as though he were standing before the gates of a vast fortune.
"Reiner" Erlic called out the old servant's name.
The old servant entered promptly, his back straighter than it had been that morning.
"My lord, what do you require?"
"Find out who in the town has brooding hens," Erlic said. "I need at least three no, five owners whose hens are already sitting on their eggs."
He paused, then added coldly, "Choose carefully. I intend for these eggs to hatch."
His gaze hardened.
"I want every single chick to live."
For a heartbeat, Reiner did not move.
His weathered face twitched—once, twice—as if struggling to decide whether he had heard correctly. His brows knit together, then rose, carving deep lines into his forehead. Of all the commands he had received in forty years of service—executions, levies, famine rations—this was a first.
"…All of them, my lord?" he asked carefully.
"All," Erlic replied.
Reiner swallowed
"Then I will personally see to it. I will choose hens that have already chased off foxes and survived winter sickness."
A pause.
Are we pretending this is normal, or should I prepare for rumors? Erlic thought.