The first morning in Piryn started grey and gloomy. Brim jogged around the circle of carts, inspecting everything. There had been no attacks or sightings in the night. He took that as a good sign. The longer they went without an attack, the more time they had to prepare. Brim didn't like being without protection in such a dangerous place. Even though he was a guard and there were four others now under his command, they were far too few for this swamp.
Brim looked westward, to where the land curved back up towards the rest of Ardania. There had once been watchtowers here, several of them. Long ago, pirates had roamed the coastlines and watchtowers had been needed as warnings. Now the watchtowers were rubble, the great stones strewn about the sand. Brim was glad for them. There was little stone in these swamps. Without the stones of those watchtowers, Piryn's defenses would never grow strong.
Brim finished his inspection and turned back into camp. Most of the peasants were awake now. Several women had taken it upon themselves to make breakfast. Others were caring for the livestock. Only a few farmers had come with them to Piryn. The most of the swamps were not good for crops. The farmers would have a tough time coaxing plants from the soil. Those that had come had brought their animals, thankfully donating them for the good of all. They had a dozen cows, a bull-calf, several sheep, four goats, five mule teams, ten horses, and two dozen chickens.
"Brim?" Lilith came from her tent, still sleepy-eyed.
"You should get some more rest. It's barely dawn."
She yawned. "Too much to do to sleep. What's first?"
"Breakfast." He replied. A peasant woman offered them both plates of eggs, sliced fruit, and bread.
Despite the gloom and chill of the world around them, breakfast was cheery enough. Lilith conversed with Camdan, the blacksmith and his young son. The dark-skinned smith had lost his wife several seasons ago and had, for some time, been distant from those around him. It had been hard for him to work with a young child to care for, but now that Seth was older, Camdan had found time for smithing again.
"A small shop, I'd think, Majesty." He said. "To start with, anyway. I've brought all the scraps I could find from Havan. It'll be awhile before there's much to trade for, but I'll be workin' at it best I can. It's a good thing I learned about leather armor too. There's supposed to be kina deer in the swamps. Near as good leather as any other, just needs more working. I'll have to go hunting to see what we see."
"Good." Lilith said, glad the blacksmith was not the least bit frightened of the swamps.
"We may have to wait a bit on building a blacksmith, I'm afraid." Brim said. "It's best we focus on some defenses."
"Of course, of course. I'm in no hurry." Camdan chuckled. "Best thing to do would be to start with the palace."
"I'm sure we can wait on that, can't we?" Lilith said. "I don't mind sleeping in a tent. I'd rather get something else, something that'll help everyone."
"Actually, he's right." Brim said. "With a palace built, we can use it as
our main defense. There's a lot of stone from those old watchtowers. More than enough to build a palace. It'll take a fair bit of time to build it, but it'll be stronger than a few guardhouses and it's a better use of resources. We can use it to protect everyone if we were attacked."
Lilith nodded. "All right. What else?"
"We'll need to corral the animals, Majesty." Another peasant, a farmer named Tirus said. "Not only for protection but to keep them running off."
"My thoughts exactly." Brim said. "Do you think the women would mind building houses? The stones for the palace will be heavy. It'll take the mule teams and most of the men together to work with them. But houses are made of wood and thatching."
"The day we women can't handle a bit of work, young man, is the day you might as well throw us into the sea." An older woman nearby said. "You leave it to us. We'll take care of what we can. What we can't, then you can figure out on your own."
The Queen laughed as Brim blushed. "Do you think some of the older children could watch the younger ones?"
Kyriana spoke up from her place by her cart. "My Lyssana could do it. We've only got a handful of little ones, anyway. She's only thirteen, but she's got a good head on her."
"If you can get her out of bed." Nessan said. "I'd like to help, too, Majesty. I think I can organize a few of the older children into shepherds so the rest of us can work on what needs to be done."
"I'd like to help organized the supplies." Another peasant woman said. "I'd be good to know what we've got and what we don't. Some people have things they brought to share and some things that are just for them. We should separate it so we aren't stealing from each other."
It didn't take long for the people of Piryn to break into groups and begin work on their new kingdom. Most of the men started work on the palace, while a few of the older ones began building fences for the livestock. Women cleared the land of debris and thatched together bundles of the swamp grass that grew everywhere. Camdan and another man took their axes and set to work cutting down trees for building houses and for firewood. Several of the carts were emptied and torn apart for wood. Brim and his guards organized watches and set about protecting the fledgling village. Even Lilith joined in, helping Kyriana pick early berries from a grove of bushes, then planting apples in the hopes their seeds would sprout and one day grow into a small orchard.
By days end, Piryn was only just beginning on its journey as a kingdom. Wood was piled for cutting and huge rolls of thatching lay waiting to be turned into huts. The men had built machinery for moving the stones. Holes had been dug for fence posts and planks from the disassembled carts were piled, waiting to be used. Only those who had been foraging for food had had luck. The children had caught enough fish to last everyone for several days and told of how they had seen great shoals of fish jumping out of the water further out to sea.
It would be a hard journey ahead of them, and Lilith knew it. Over fresh fish served with bread and rice, the young Queen broke down into tears. Her people were few and they would have to work hard for many days to come. But they were willing and ready to follow her. The night fell to a reddened sky, the promise of a warm, sunny day to follow.