The weather was, surprisingly, sunny and the sky clear, Aldric noticed as he strode along the colonnade walkway toward the military building. Indeed, it was a good day to send out the drones and start mapping Norsewood, as they had planned.
He took the elevator up to the roof of the watchtower, where he met with Uncle Colt, Mark, Allan, Jacob, Chris, Theo, Connor, and Vincent, along with the soldiers working in the security department.
Aldric eyed the strongboxes, neatly packed with magical drones, and he couldn't wait to see what Norsewood would look like from above. Just as he thought that, Uncle Colt said, "I never imagined there would come a day when we'd get to see our land from the sky above. It's a miracle."
"It is indeed," Allan said. "Even those powerful lords and ministers working in the kingdom's court have never even thought to come up with such an advanced technique to map out Athol."
Jacob said, "The idea is but so simple and easy to implement."
Vincent chuckled and said, "There's no doubt Lady Quinn is a unique thinker. Even though those working in the kingdom's court know of telepathy, they didn't even think to come up with long-distance communication and share it as Lady Quinn has, let alone craft something such as drones and use them to illustrate a map of the nation."
"Indeed," Mark said.
Uncle Colt said, "Let us deploy the drones before the weather turns sour." Which it often did in winter here in Norsewood.
The soldiers picked up the eight drones, and after activating the magic circles by pressing on the buttons at the base of the bird-shaped gadgets, thus turning on flight mode and the cameras, they released them using the controllers, as they had learned through Vicky's tutorial.
The drones hovered in the air and then started flying off, slowly, in the eight directions: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest.
Aldric went to stand close to Uncle Colt who had a tablet in his hands. He noticed the dark grit of the background, and in the middle, the images of the watchtower.
"Remarkable!" Uncle Colt said. "Simply remarkable."
The image expanded as the drones moved farther away, and it wasn't long before the structure of Norsewood Lodge was complete. The men stared at the screen in awe, having never realized just how intricate and detailed the buildings were, as well as the map itself. One could zoom in, as Vicky had stated, and minute details would be shown.
Chris said, "Shall we head into the security room to see this on a bigger screen?"
The men nodded in agreement, and leaving the soldiers to pilot the drones, they took the elevator down.
The security headquarters was a spacious hall with two large viewing screens spanning the walls and smaller ones sitting across work desks. Despite this not being the first time Aldric set his foot in here, he still marveled at the sophistication of the technology. He couldn't believe protecting Norsewood Lodge could be done by four soldiers per shift sitting there and keeping their eyes on the screens. There was no need to have numerous soldiers, around twenty of them per shift, patrolling the perimeter of the buildings as they had done previously with Norsewood Manor. If there was a threat, an alert to the military department would be sent out and the soldiers would then proceed with the emergency protocol to eliminate that threat.
The moment the four soldiers on duty noticed him, they stood and saluted. "My lord."
"At ease," Aldric said, and they returned to their duties.
"Put the map on the large screen," Uncle Colt instructed.
"Aye, sir," Samuel, one of the soldiers, said, navigating the magic screen, and instantly, an image of the map, what the drones had recorded of Norsewood thus far, appeared on the screen.
Mark whistled, both astounded and pleased at the work progress, with the map now containing not only Norsewood Lodge but the surrounding area as well.
"Would you look at that," Jacob said. "It's simply unbelievable."
"The manor is appearing," Allan said.
"Should we start naming sites?" Vincent asked.
"I think we should," Aldric said.
The other soldier, Patrick, standing close to the large screen, said, "Then I shall begin." He tapped the screen with a magic pen, the spot with the image of Norsewood Lodge, and then started writing the name in the common language.
"Wonderful name, Norsewood Lodge," Uncle Colt said.
Patrick marked the site of the manor next and asked, "Shall I name this Norsewood Manor, my lord?"
Everyone turned to look at Aldric, and he said, "Put it as Old Norsewood Manor for now."
Mark asked, "Are we not rebuilding the manor in the same place?"
Aldric said, "We'll choose another site for the new Norsewood Manor. As for the current one, we'll turn it into a memorial for the many lives lost from the disasters we've faced for the past years."
Uncle Colt said, "It's about time a new Norsewood Manor is built on a different site. That there"—he pointed to the map—"has been Norsewood Manor for centuries, and to be frank, I'm tired of the view, having lived there all of my entire sixty years thus far."
Jacob burst out laughing. "Indeed. Then we shall locate a new site, you and I, Colt. Somewhere higher, with a view over the vast plains and hills and rice terraces beyond that is Norsewood."
"Damn right." Uncle Colt nodded.
Allan said, "Somewhere not so easily penetrable by the enemies, as we have experienced numerous times."
"Aye," Uncle Colt said. "But I believe lassie Quinn will be able to come up with a nifty idea for that, just like she did with the surveillance cameras and the drones."
"I concur," Jacob said.
Aldric shook his head in amusement as he eyed the two men with smug expressions on their faces. Indeed, they appeared to be damn proud of Quinn, as if she were their child. But of course, the duo from the older generations had already considered Quinn their own beloved daughter.
Theo said, "Perhaps a monument is called for, to join the great hall of the old manor that still stands?"
Aldric thought for a moment and then nodded. "Aye, a monument."
"Robert would only be too pleased to craft something," Vincent said. Chuckling in amusement, he continued. "A magnificent status of Aldric, perhaps?"
At hearing this, Aldric turned to his friend. "No," he said simply.
"Lady Quinn?" Vincent suggested, his eyes twinkling. "Then those boys who worship her can marvel at her—"
"No!" Aldric said again, a little sharper this time.
Vincent burst out laughing, and Mark said, shaking his head, "Still can't take a simple jest. Honestly, Aldric, how do you even interact with Quinn when you're together in private? She must think you're a bore to be with."
Aldric frowned. He? A bore to be with? Did Quinn think of him in that way? He knew he was a stoic person, but...
Perhaps she was indeed bored with him, although it was hard to determine that exactly since they had hardly spent any time together privately. They were both tremendously busy, after all, and what little time they saw of each other had been during meals, and at night when he returned to the penthouse when Quinn was already sound asleep. He knew that currently their arrangement was not ideal, but once Norsewood was revived and stable, he'd put his sole concentration on her, for certain.
The work of mapping Norsewood continued, and leaving the others with the project, Aldric headed to the magic training hall, a vast fortified space on the lower ground floor of the military building Quinn had created specifically for Theo and Connor, and Quinn herself, to practice their magic.
That first day they had toured the military facilities, Aldric had felt left out and more than a little envious of Theo and Connor, first for them being able to use magic, and second, for Quinn to make such a grand training hall, one that even the kingdom's court couldn't even possibly replicate, specifically for them. Indeed, he had felt that emotion doubled, the likes of which he had never felt before, when he had witnessed Quinn clapping and cheering Theo and Connor on when they summoned their magic and had fireballs blasting at moving dummies.
As he bolted the concrete door shut, he thought that Quinn could now cheer him on, too, when he was able to master his magic, which pleased him mightily.