Alain arrived at the castle, hoping to slip in, but sadly finding himself being saluted at every turn. It wasn't the kind of thing he particularly wanted for himself, but such was the life of a lord. This was going to be the kind of thing he would have to learn to accept. He was a little curious what had happened to the previous lord's harem, but he suspected they'd simply been returned to their townships or given private chambers to live out on the grounds as they saw fit for the rest of their lives. He was sure someone would tell him if he asked. In fact, he was pretty sure someone would answer any question that he asked. That was also going to take some getting used to. He couldn't be as much of the smug smartass he'd been for most of his life. No, now if he made an off-the-cuff remark, it might get taken seriously, and that was a danger he would have to watch out for. He finally made his way past the guards and into the courtyard of the castle, where a young man was awaiting him.<br/><br/>"Greetings my new lord. welcome to your new home." A dry chuckle rolled off of Alain's lips as he swung his leg back and hopped off his horse. A guard scurried forward to grab the horse's reins. The young man held out his hand, and Alain looked at him curiously for a second. "Please, my lord, allow me to carry your bag." Alain sighed and shrugged, handing it to him. "You know I could carry it myself, don't you?" "Of course, my lord, but this is your castle. We are here to tend to such things." "What's your name, son?" Alain said. The young man probably wasn't more than five or ten years younger than he was, but Alain knew he'd probably never seen far past this castle. "Rodrigo, sir." "Well, Rodrigo," Alain said, patting him on the shoulder, "I understand you need to treat me like a lord, but please, by all means, keep it from getting out of hand. I'm a salt of the earth kind of man, and if there's too much bowing and scraping, I'm likely to strangle someone. Destarch your shirt and give me the rundown of this place."<br/><br/>Rodrigo smirked a little bit, curiously, shaking his head slightly. "You are nothing like our previous lord, sir." "Gods, I hope not. He died in battle because he was too stupid to see what was coming. Me, I'd rather live long, and now it seems like I'm going to have a change in lifestyle. Give me the tour." "Your tributes await your presence, m'lord." "They can await a few minutes longer. I'd rather know where I shit and sleep before I worry about who to fuck first." Alain laughed a little bit, and Rodrigo laughed with him. "You are most definitely not like our previous lord. Well then, sir, let me give you the quick tour. The castle's quite large so don't be distraught if you get lost in it for the first few months. For the most part, the ground floor is meeting areas for you to deal with subjects, weapons lockers, stables for the horses, and the staff's area." "The staff's on the ground floor with the horses? That seems rather cruel." "The horses are outside, and our chambers are more than generous sir, but thank you for your concern. The only exception to that is your harem girls each have their own chamber on the top floor, not far from the central harem chamber, and not far from your master bedroom suite. There is plenty of room for expansion, too, so if you feel, ah, your appetites growing, you can increase your stable." Alain scowled at him. "That's not a fair way to speak of women, Rodrigo." The young man blanched. "Sorry, sir. The last lord was rather... coarse about it." "Oh, I'm sure I'll be just as coarse, but you should still be polite to the people you fuck, treat them like human beings." "Yes sir. Would you like to meet them now?" He sighed. "Were they ugly?" "Not at all sir." "Did any of them seem particularly angry about being tributes?" "One of them seemed a little reticent, but I'm sure you'll warm her over, sir." Alain nodded with a sigh. "Fine. Take me there, then take my backpack up to my quarters." "Your sword, sir?" Alain hesistated for a second, then unbuckled it. "I hope I don't regret giving you this." "You won't sir."<br/><br/>The two men headed into the waiting room where the girls had been placed, Rodrigo walking in first. "Ladies, allow me to present your new lord, Alain Delmont, Liege of Barrant. You should welcome him to the best of your abilities and consumate your new roles as soon as you feel comfortable in doing so." Alain stepped forward and looked over each of the girls in turn. A redhead, a brunette and a blonde. Well, that would certainly help. Alain was often terrible with names but the colors would help him differentiate each one. "Ladies," Alain said, entering the room, heading over to sit down on an unoccupied couch off to the side.