They rode back to the castle in silence.
The farmland sat behind them as they went, the dark soil visible even in the fading light, stretching across the eastern section in a way that still caught him slightly off guard every time he looked at it.
It now looked peak!
Just a few more touches and it would look like a normal and proper farmland.
The dark was still new enough to notice.
Darion dismounted at the gate and handed the reins to one of the stable workers, one of the eleven new ones, a young man who had been doing the job since the recruitment and was already moving around the horses with the calmness of someone who had been doing it much longer.
Seren did the same too.
Then he went to find Garren.
He was at the great hall, reading a book.
"Count out two hundred gold coins for Seren," Darion said to him.
Garren looked at him for a moment. His face didn't do very much but there was something in the pause that suggested the number had been well noticed.
