Redlun Survey
Inventory and Survey of Redlun Manor as prepared by Sir Ferlun Uhlart, Seventh Month of 896
To His Royal Majesty, Urien Buell,
Your Majesty, as per your Command I have undertaken a survey of Redlun Manor in preparation for final disposition. I have spent fourteen days walking the Manor, examining the Manor House, out buildings and contents as well as surveying the village and its occupants.
To recap the Manor’s history. Redlun, so named from the red granites that predominate the area, was first enfoeffed in 122 by King Rostov Gwalcibar “The Just.” It was constructed as part of a chain of manors designed to help defend western Gemmattus from Hobgoblin and Jhensari raiders. That the area was considered of strategic importance by the barbarians is evident by the existence of a Jhensari Hill Fort that Velitar troops stormed in 115. The Manor was enfoeffed in the then existent County of Saarn, in the family of Rudigore as a subinfeudation of the Saarn fee. The manor and adjacent fiefs remained in the Rudigore family until 314 when all surviving Rudigores, along with all other bloodlines of the Velitar Lords were extinguished by the Plague. During this time the population of County Saarn was so reduced in numbers that, after a series of large and bloody Hobgoblin raids, the majority of the County was abandoned in 326. Boundaries were redrawn and the remaining manors of Saarn, Redlun included, were incorporated into County Lonath.
Lacking any clear heir the manor, like many other properties at the time reaccued to the Crown after the election of King Lublin Andorra in 318. It remained a Crown Hold until 353 under King Belo Herat, when it was enfoeffed to Lord Gomel Ayan. Redlun remained with the Ayan family through the Rebellion 590 - 598 against King Garatu Rostov “The Despot.” The Rebellion began in Western Gemmatus and the Lord of Redlun was an important member of the Rebel Forces and was elevated to Count of Lonath by King Soche Agata “King Slayer” for his part. The manor was passed to a lesser branch of the Ayan family, the Havnar in 623. In 678 the large Keep was added. The manor remained with the Havnar until the events of 865 - 869. Lord Dryson Havnar was a Mulgrave Loyalist who went into voluntary exile with his Lord, the Duke. Since 869 the Manor has again been in the Crown Hold. From 869 to 876 Redlun served as a base for quelling the population in that region of Lonath. During this time the Royal Army undertook the construction of a defensive palisade for the village and rebuilt the bridge over the Redlun River. This was the last major construction work done on the Manor. From 877 to the present the Manor has been administered remotely by Royal Agents operating from Drunmore or Velitrium. The state of the Manor reflects the lack of hands on control. Your Majesty has indicated that Rathban Tallanar, as the last legitimate member of the Havnar blood line, will be enfoeffed as the new Lord of Redlun.
As to the current state of affairs: First, the land..
Redlun Manor consists of 1,800 acres*1, the Manor house with outbuildings and the Village of Redlun. The Redlun River flows past the Manor House and the village, cutting the manor into two parcels, the western one is the larger and consists of some 1,370 acres, including the hill fort and all of the woodland. The eastern half holds the balance, 430 acres, the village and manor house and the orchards and vineyards
The land is utilized thusly:
460 acres are wooded. This area runs into the Lonath Forest on the Manor’s western edge. It is utilized for hunting, wood cutting, charcoal burning and gathering of roots, herbs and mushrooms and grazing swine. Hunting is good, deer, boar, bear and wild bulls are all found thereabouts. Some large predators, wolves and lion, do come out of the woods and forest from time to time.
350 acres are designated as orchards and vineyards. They yield several varieties of apples, pears and apricots. The vineyards produce a satisfactory red wine of better than middle grade. The vineyards are entirely owned by the Lord of Redlun. The orchard areas also double as pasture during off season. The orchards occupy 250 acres, the vineyards 100 acres. *2 *3
975 acres are used for general agriculture. Most of the ground is worked in the three field manner, one third under vegetables, one third under grain and one third fallow as pasture. However, there is an area about 80 acres in extant, around the ancient hill fort, that has soil of such poor quality that it remains as perpetual pasture. In general the soils in this part of Gemmatus are poor. Grazing lends itself more to sheep and goats then cattle and horses. Though all the major grains are found in the area, none do extraordinarily well. Beans, Annast Root and Jhensari Corn do very well. Of the grains barley seems to have a slight edge on the others.
18 acres are occupied by the village, chapel and cemetery.
7 acres are occupied by the manor house and immediate outbuildings.
50 acres are hedgerows, windbreaks, undrained swamps
Agricultural Report
The following summarises the Manor’s overall standing. Income figures are high since the Manor house is unoccupied and there is no Lord or retinue in residence. To date Royal Agents have arranged marketing of surplus through Jaglan Mirr, a merchant and wholesaler out of Drunmore. His people have handled all freight hauling and organized the storage and transfers. Mirr’s agents have taken to wagoning the produce north, to the village of Boma, on the Lendalefoot river. They use the docks there to ship the produce on Mirr’s barges and hired shipping, sending it on to markets in Velitrium City and across the water to the Frontier. Most of the mutton goes into Glenluce and from there, via wagon, to the Dwarf Hold. At the present time all surplus income flows directly into the privy purse.
Production records for the last seven years are summarized as follows;
The period in question was basicly a time of good to very good harvests.
Crop Type Bushels/acre Total Acres Total Bushels
Wheat 15 40 600
Oats 17.5 30 525
Barley 19 30 570
Hops 13 20 260
Corn 27 60 1620
Annast 31 40 1240
Beans 23 50 1150
Vegetables (misc.) 16 55 880
Crop Type Bushels/acre Acres Total Bushels
Apples 408 80 32640
Pears 459 75 34425
Apricots 306 45 13770
Grapes 7000 (lbs) 100 700,000lbs
Livestock Animals/acre Total Animals Total acres
Cattle 4 208 52
Sheep 8 2700 338
Goats 10 2150 215
Swine na 350
Horses, draft 8
Horses, riding 6
Donkeys 2
Mules 3
Chickens 250
Ducks/Geese 60
Oxen 24
Bees 22 hives
Animal By Products
Meat Animals Lbs Usable Total Meat
Slaughtered/year Per Animal Per Year
Beef 10 600lbs 6,000lbs
Sheep/Goats 2000 30lbs 60,000lbs
Poultry 100 3lbs 300lbs
Pigs 300 150lbs 45,000lbs
Dairy *5 *6
Products Gallons of Gallon/year/ Lbs Cheese Total for Year
Milk/animal/day animal /animal/year Milk Cheese
Cow 2.5 113 17lbs 10,622g 1598lbs
(337)
Sheep/Goats .3 12 2lbs 17,796g 2876lbs
(36)
Poultry Eggs/day/bird Total/bird/year Total/year
Chickens 1 312 62,400
Ducks/Geese 1 300 9,000 *7
Hides & Skins Total/year
Cattle 10
Sheep 2000
Pig 300
Wool lbs/animal Total per year
Sheep/Goats .3 1455lbs
Bees Honey/hive/year Total honey/year
22 hives 3.5lbs 77lbs
Raw production numbers based on acerage
Numbers in [ ] is Lord’s share of Serf and Freemens produce, 25%
Lord of Redlun’s share vs Serfs and Free farmers
Crop Type Total Lord’s Acres Serf/Free Lord’s S/F Total
Acres Acres Bushels Bush Bushels
Wheat 40 31.5 8.5 472 96 600
[32]
Oats 30 21.5 8.5 376 112 525
[37]
Barley 30 30 -- 570 -- 570
Hops 20 20 -- 260 -- 260
Corn 60 51.5 8.5 1390 173 1620
[57]
Annast 40 31.5 8.5 976 198 1240
[66]
Beans 50 41.5 8.5 1120 23 1150
[7]
Vegetables 55 46.5 8.5 744 102 880
[34]
Crop Type Total Lord’s Acres Serf/Free Lord’s S/F Total
Acres Acres Bushels Bush Bushels
Apples 80 63 17 25704 5202 32640
[1734]
Pears 75 58 17 26622 5853 34425
[1950]
Apricots 45 28 17 8568 3902 13770
[1300]
Livestock
Total Animals Lord’s Serf’s Freemen
Cattle 208 172 30 6
Sheep 2700 2508 102 90
Goats 2150 1958 100 92
Swine 223 45 118 60
Horses, draft 8 8
Horses, riding 6 6
Donkeys 2 1 1
Mules 3 3
Chickens 250 135 115
Ducks/Geese 60 45 15
Oxen 18 18
Bees 22 hives 22
Animal By Products
Dairy
Products Lord’s S/F Lord’s S/F Total for Year
Share Milk Share Milk Share Che. Cheese Milk Cheese
Cow 8,814 1356 1326lbs 204lbs 10622g 1598lbs
[452] [68]
Sheep/Goats 15765 1524 2600lbs 207lbs 17,796g 2876lbs
[507] [68]
Wool Lord’s share Serf/Free share Total per year
Sheep/Goats 1339lbs 87lbs 1455lbs
[29]
Poultry Total/year Lord’s Share *8 Serf/Freemen
25% Share
Chickens 62,400 15,600 46,800 eggs
Ducks/Geese 9,000 *7 2,250 6,750 eggs
Meat Lord’s Serf/Freemen Total
Share Share per year
Beef 4,200lbs 1,755lbs 6,000lbs
[45]
Mutton 49,500lbs 7,875lbs 60,000lbs
[2625]
Pork 11,250lbs 33,750lbs 45,000lbs
Hides & Skins Lord’s Serf/Freemen Total
Share Share per year
Cattle 7 3 10
Sheep/Goat 1,650 263 2000
[87]
Pig 75 225 300
Based on good year prices, Lord Redlun has garnered the following income per year.
25% Food*11 Market
Crop Type Total Bushels Seed stock Reserve Total
Wheat 504 126 100 278
Oats 413 103 310
Barley 570 142 428 used for beer
Hops 260 65 195 used for beer
Corn*9 1620 362 1058 200
Annast 1240 310 600 330
Beans*9 1150 288 778 84
Vegetables (misc.) 880 220 200 460
Bushels used to make
Bshls Gal of Gal of Misc Dried Raw
Crop Type Total Bushels Press Cid/Per Vngr Presrv Fruit Fruit
Apples 27,438 24,938 24,938 24,938 500 500 1,500
Pears 28,572 23,573 21,073 21,073 500 500 1,500
Apricots 9,868 1,200 2,400 2,000 6,000 668
Grapes 700,000lbs 40,000 6,000
Beer/Ale 1,500 gallons each = $2,250
Wine 40,000 gallons x $4 = $160,000
Wine Vinegar 5,563 gallons x $ .50 = $2,781
Cider 12,500 gallons x $ .25 = $3,125
Cider Vinegar 11,000 gallons x $ .50 = $5,500
Perier 10,500 gallons x $ .25 = $2,625
Perier Vinegar 10,000 gallons x $ .50 = $5,000
Dried fruits 17,500lbs x $2 = $35,000
Raw Fruit 3,668 Bushels x $8 = $29,344
Wheat 278 Bushels x $20 = $5,560
Oats 310 Bushels x $12 = $3,720
Corn 200 Bushels x $10 = $2,000
Annast 330 Bushels x $9 = $2,970
Beans 84 Bushels x $6 = $504
Vegetables, fresh 160 Bushels x $8 = $1280
Vegetables, pickled 12,000lbs x $2 = $24,000
Cheeses 4,062lbs x $10 = $40,620
Beef 4,245lbs x $.12 = $509.
Mutton 52,152lbs x $.10 = $5,215
Pork 11,250lbs x $.05 = $562
Wool 1455lbs x $8 = $11,640
Cattle hide 7 x $8 = $56
Sheep/Goat skins 1,737 x $6 = $10,422
Pig skins 75 x $5 = $375
TOTAL...........................................................................$354,968. per year
Production Notes
The Grapes yield about 40,000 gallons of wine and 6,000 gallons of vinegar
The Apples and pears are processed into 23,000 gallons of Cider or perier and 23,000 gallons of vinegar.
In general, 20lbs of fruit ( a bushel) will yield 1 gallon of cider, vinegar or perier.
1 Bushel of pears is used in every 20 gallons of cider or vinegar (for sweetening)
Drying fruit yields a 1 for 8 ratio. So, 40lbs of fresh fruit yields 5lbs of dried.
Most apricots are dried or used in preseves. Only a small percentage is pressed. The juice is used as flavorings for wine, vinegar etc...
Raw fruit, or fresh fruit is consumed locally or shipped only short distances.
Drying of fruits and meat is done using special racks during hot, sunny days. Cost, other than acquiring and maintaining the racks, is minimal.
Fodder, straw and general cuttings are stored in temporary stacks to feed the livestock through the winter. Most of the animals, sheep and goats, remain outdoors all year. Cattle have some shelter available, mostly for milking.
NUMBERED NOTES:
*1 = Velitrium Acres are slightly larger than ours, being 50,000 square feet in area.
*2 = There are 120 trees in 1 acre of orchard (on average)
*3 = There are 1,000 vines in 1 acre of vineyard (on average)
*4 = Roughly 15% of all trees and vines are new plantings and are not mature enough for production.
*5 = 50% of milk production is processed as cheese, the balance becomes butter, yogurts, curds or is used as milk.
*6 = Not all cattle are cows, some are bulls. Not all cows are producing milk at any given moment. Usually slightly less than half a herd is milkable, the rest are in various stages of pregnancy, between calves, or male.
*7 = Unlike chicken where one rooster can service as many as ten hens, ducks and geese have higher ratio of drakes to ducks.
*8 = The poultry listed belongs entirely to the Serf’s and Freemen
*9 = The Serfs and Freemen buy 2/3 of the Lord’s bean crop and 2/3 of the corn crop at $4/bsh of Bean and $8/bsh of Corn for animal feed. The price discount reflects the fact that the horses and oxen fed, work the Lord’s fields.
*10 = Meat must be preserved to store and sell. It can be dried, smoked, salted, pickled or preserved magicaly. It requires 1/4lb of salt or 1qt of vinegar to preserve 1lb of meat.
*11 = Food reserve. It is assumed that a minimum working diet require 300lbs of grain, 150lbs of vegetables and 20lbs of meat per year per person. The Serfs and Freemen come up short in grain reserves every year, but trade surplus fruit as well as wool and mutton for annast, corn, beans and wheat from the Lord.
Typically, 2 bsh fruit for 1 wheat and 1 to 1 for corn, beans and annast.
Other Assets of the Manor (Owned by the Lord)
Type Value
1 Coach $2,000
4 Four horse, freight wagons $1,000 each
4 tons cap. 2 axles
2 Two horse wagons $700 each
2 ton cap, 2 axles
2 One horse carts $400 each
1 ton cap, 1 axle
1 Small Boat $500
6 Steel plows $200 each
Vintner Facilities
10 Fruit Presses $1,000 each
250 500 gallon Casks $625 each
Winery Buildings (3) Total value = $143,500
#1 40’x 100’ Field Stone, slate roof
Racking Building
#2 40’x 100’ Field Stone, slate roof
Pressing Building
#3 40’x70’ Field Stone, slate roof
Brewery Building
Vintner’s Residence
Dairy Facilities Total Value = $43,600
1 Dairy Barn with milking sheds and
attached cheese and curding sheds
Fieldstone with Thatched rooves
7 Shearing Sheds total value = $16,000
Field stone with thatched rooves
Stables (30 horse cap) = $21,000
Field Stone with Slate roof
Grain Mill Total Value = $32,000
Dressed Stone with slate roof
Milling Equipment
Granary = $60,000
Dressed stone with slate roof
85,000 Bushel cap
Assets, continued
Redlun Manor House = $1,000,000
Dressed stone, slate rooves
Out going Expenses
The principal outlays for the Manor, other than personal needs, is for containers for storing and transporting the Manor’s products and for salt, needed for preservation of the meat. Liquid storage capacity alone, for the Lord of Redlun, is 94,000 gallons annually. Additionally, wooden casks are used to pack meat, both dried, smoked and salted. They are also used for dried and fresh fruits, and some cheese. Packing and shipping fresh and dried fruits will require 20,190 gallons of barrel capacity. Meat packing will require 13,529 gallons of barrel capacity. And, at a 1/4lb of salt per pound of meat salted, as much as 16,900lbs of salt.
Smoking meat requires 1 cord per 1,000lbs of meat
Pickling meat is cheap, but it cuts down on saleable vinegar. Also, the Dwarves, who are major mutton customers, prefer salted meats. Old records and common practice, dictate that half of all meat be salted, one third smoked and the rest dried or pickled.
Pickling vegetables or meat requires 1 quart of vinegar per pound of vegetable or meat
Wine, Cider, Vineger etc, is stored and tansported in wooden casks, varying in size from 5 gallon, 25 gallon or 50 gallon. Or, in stoneware bottles of 1, 2 or 5 gallon size.
Fresh fruit packs at 1 bushel/ 5 gallon cask. Dried fruit is 10lbs per gallon.
Meat utilizes similar size casks, but are packed by weight. 25lbs, 125lbs or 250lbs
Costs
1 gallon of cask capacity = $1.25 (5gln = $6.25 25gln = $31.25 50gln = $62.50)
1 gallon stoneware = $2.00
2 gallon stonewar = $5.00
5 gallon stoneware = $15.00
Salt = $2 per lb (bought in bulk of 2500lbs or more)
1 cord of wood = $20
Sources
There is a cooper in the village, who with his sons, turns out an average of 150 barrel gallons per day. Annual production is about 50,000 barrel gallons. The Lord is entitled to 25% of this output as rent (12,500 barrel gallons.) Additional barrel capacity must be bought.
There is a potter/glassblower in the village. He and his family turn out about 200 gallons of storage capacity per day. Annual production is about 72,000 gallons of capacity. The Lord is entitled to 25% of this output as rent (18,000 gallons.) Additional capacity must be bought.
In the normal course of events there is a percentage of storage capacity from previous years that can be recycled, usually represented by 80% of the amount held for food. There is a general 20% loss allowance due to breakage, travel etc. However, since the manor has been unoccupied for many years, there is no appreciable quantity of empty storage to recycle.
Additionally, most customers for the Manor’s produce either arrange for their own storage, which means that upon delivery the liquid is transferred into the customers containers, or the customer returns the empty, cleaned, prior to the next years harvest. Again, loss due to damage, etc is about 20%.
Replacement costs average $33,000 annually
Vintner’s Salary
The major annual salary is to the Master Vintner/Brewer who runs the Lord’s winery.This is a family operation . He oversees all wine, cider, perier, beer, ale and vinegar production. For this he recieves 20% of the Lord’s gross on this, plus 20% of the cider, vinegar etc, made for the serfs and freemen. Typically, for the Lord this means $36,000 The Vintner is Master Silas Card.
Preservation costs
These vary widely. There are two woodcutting families in the village. Between them they produce 18 cords per week, or 930 annually. The Lord is entiled to 25% of this, 232. Additional cords will cost.
Note: Cord wood is also used for heating and cooking by everyone. Also, the peasants buy some of all village products for their crops etc...
Average, Annual Operating Expense Summary
23 cords of wood = $460
8456lbs of salt = $42,280
Storage Replacements = $33,000
Vintner’s Salary = $36,000
Taxes
Personal Property = $22,523
Real Estate = $83,755
----------------------
Total Expenses $218,018
Note:
As mentioned before, these income and expense figures are based on a Manor with out a Lord or retinue in residence.
It should be assumed that each member of the Lord’s retinue (including dependents) will reduce annual agricultural income by at least $300. Additional costs will be incurred paying salaries, clothing and equipping each servant, etc.
Also, at the present time there are no horses in residence. Aside from purchasing animals, tack and harness. Each horse will require grain and fodder. A riding horse consumes about 2100lbs of grain per year and a draft horse, or war horse, needs 3200lbs per year. This will reduce income by $600 per riding horse and $920 per draft horse. Assuming that Jhensari Corn is utilized, considerably more if Oats are used. $1056 per riding horse and $1596 per draft horse. To efficently operate the Manor should have at least 4 draft horses and 4 riding horses.
Additionally, Redlun Manor is a big building. Heating it, at least those sections being used, will require a steady supply of cord wood. As mentioned, the Lord is entitled to 232 cords of wood per year. The building will consume 6 cords per week for the 8 months in which some heat will be required plus 3 cords a week the rest of the year for cooking. A total of 252 cords. Twenty extra cords ($20 each) will be needed.
Lighting, whether by oil lamps or candles, is another expense. Old records, from prior occupents, show annual lighting expenses of 20,000 wax candles ($ .25 each) and 1800 gallons of lamp oil ($16 per gallon) and 500 torches ($ .25 each) A total of about $34,000.
Typically, the Manor house employs servants from the village, usually between 4 and 6 in number. Generally these are young women or boys. Their services do not count against labor owed, but instead are paid for by the Lord. This averages $200 per month per servant.
The Lord is expected to give gifts to the famlies that serve him, at Mid Winter, births, marriages, deaths, etc. This is at the Lord’s discretion.
The Village
There are 179 people living in the village as of the time of the survey.
That Includes 49 adult males between 16 and 50, eligible for the Spear Levy, of which 23 are presently in the Militia. There are 51 children under 15. And, 53 women between 15 and 50 and 26 adults over 50. A total of 39 families.
Notable individuals include:
Professions found in the village:
Leatherworker/candlemaker
Tailor/seamstress
Carpenter
Mason/stonecutter
Cooper/wainwright
Brewer/Vintner
Potter/glassblower
Miller
Inn Keeper
Friar & Monk
Smyth
Woodcutter/charcoal burners (2 families)
Farming = Of the 179 villagers, fully 133 make their living by farming
Of the village population, one hundred and twenty three are Serfs. These are all farming families, 25 famlies all told. On average each of these famlies are granted use of 5 acres. They must pay over to the Lord or Redlun 25% of the produce raised on this land. Plus they must work the Lord’s land.
Three farming families are Freemen. They lease ten acres each from the Lord and pay him 25% of the produce, plus they owe him service of 1 mans labor for 60 days and 1 man for 30 days of military service or a scutage fee equal to 1 fully equipped footman for that time. (About $600 )
The craftsmen in the village are all freemen. They pay to the lord 25% of their products plus they owe him service of 1 mans labor for 60 days and 1 man for 30 days of military service or a scutage fee equal to 1 fully equipped footman for that time.
Additionaly, all the manor residents pay taxes.
The Militia is armed with spears, axes or clubs, leather armor, leather cassis, small wooden shields, large knife. Additionaly, eleven men have crossbows, four have stone prods and six employ slings.
Notable individuals include:
Friar Jol Tomkin. A Friar of Mitra who serves the spiritual needs of the village (can’t cast spells) and is the local Healer/physician.. He lives in a small cottage next to the chapel and has a monk (Brother Elias) who helps him tend the grounds. (You DO NOT own Church property)
Miller Lol Jordass: Runs the Gist Mill (Which YOU own) Well respected member of the community. He collects the money/grain shares from the farmers for use of the mill.
Master Tomas Yarling Owns the only tavern/inn a small “quaint” affair with a drygoods type shop on the side. The most respected man in the village, generally the village spokesman (along with the Smyth) One of the few educated people in the village.
Smyth Oris Coyner: Village blacksmith/farrier/armorer BIG man. Quiet, shy but very wise.
Mayree Herat: Probably the oldest woman in the village. Herbalist, midwife, said to have been intimate with Lord Dryson.many, many years ago
The Vintner is Master Silas Card. He is a fourth generation master vintner and brewer. His great grandfather came to Redlun to help the Lord establish the vineyards and the family has been here since. He is a Freeman and receives 20% of the Lord’s gross on all wine, beer, cider and vinegar sales and production. He is educated and is training his sons to carry on after him.
Features of the Village
Redlun is laid out along the inside of a curve of the Redlun River, a wide stream or creek (100’ at the most, 50’ is average.) It averages 4’ to 6’ in depth but is very rocky through most its length. It is navigable only by small boats. There is a ford east of the village and there is a bridge just outside the village. (By the mill.) The river flows from east to west, meandering to the north east and eventually joining with the Lendalefoot River.
Most of the buildings in the village are of fieldstone with thatched roofs. There are a couple exceptions.
The Chapel is of dressed stone with slate roof
The Mill is of dressed stone with a slate roof
The Granary is of dressed stone with a slate roof
The Tavern/inn/store is fieldstone with a slate roof
The smyth is fieldstone with a slate roof
The sheds, barns and stables tend to be a mix of wood and fieldstone with thatched roofs.
In addition to the river, which is only a few hundred feet from the houses, the village has a a community well.
The bridge is of timber and stone
The mill dam is of stone. The Mill Pond basicly fronts the length of the village, making the depth of the river in this section about 12’.
The Palisade: About twenty years ago a battalion of Royal troops came through here. The rebuilt the rickety timber bridge with the current stone and timber one. They also dug a shallow trench, about twenty feet wide and eight feet deep, that ran in an arc across the side of the village not flanked by water. The mounded the dirt into a packed wall, reinforced with timbers and boulders, some 10’ high and perhaps ten feet wide. On the top they errected a log pallisade another 10’ high and stabilized the outerface with plantings of viscious thorn bushes. They cut two gates for the road. The ditch is not flooded and is sloped to drain into the river at each end. Alltogether there is about 350 feet of rampart and wall. Some of the village houses and a lot of the agricultural buildings, are outside the wall.
The Granary: This is a large building, but it is used beyond its capacity. Another should be constructed as soon as possible.
The Armory. As required by law the village has an armory for the Spear Levy. The contents, though adequate, is much in need of replacement. There are, at last inventory; 26 spears and 26 wooden shields.
The Manor House
The Manor house is more of a mini fortress. Less than a castle, but more heavily fortified than most Manors found in the interior of the Valley. Despite being empty for almost twenty years, and used as barracks for the Royal Army for seven years before that and stripped and slighted by its previous owners, its in fair shape.
Defensively there is some work needed, I quote from the report by Captain, Sir Ryan Forn, of Your Majesty’s Engineers, written in 881.
“The watch tower atop the main Keep shows signs of hasty construction (It was built during the Rebellion) and is in much need of repair. The timber frame work is much rotted, having been built of unseasoned lumber and of an unsuitable type..... The gate timbers are dry rotted and the entire structure needs to be replaced, most of the iron work has rusted beyond salvage.... The gate approach is direct and open, obstacles of massive and permenant nature need placing to prevent efficent use of a ram...The moat is now dry and much filled in. .. It was a water moat and should be re-dug, properly stoned and flooded....”
Sir Ryan estimated that, with proper repairs, recommended improvements and a garrison of 20, combined with the village militia and spear levy, the manor could hold off a force of 700 to 900, provided the attacker employed no substantial Magicks.
As to the house itself. There are several sections of roof that need repair. Some slates are missing. There has been some water damage on the second floor.
Of the interior furnishings, the best were taken during the Rebellion or shortly thereafter. What remained, though of good quality, was too massive to transport easily. Since then the furnishings saw hard use from the soldiers and then sat neglected for almost two decades. Though much may still be usable, most of its gilding is long gone. The armory has been stripped, even the kitchen stove grates are gone.
Lord Havner maintained a torture chamber, the equipment though rusted yet remains. There are six holding cells near the interrogation area. The wine cellar and larder are empty except for some casks of long spoiled food and beer. The storage area is about a third full of old furniture and junk. I made no attempt to examine the contents due to the large amount of vermine that currently over run the house. Rats and mice are common, as are many serpants, undoubtably drawn by the rodents, spiders and centipedes.
To sum up, Your Majesty, Redlun Manor is in fair shape, but would strongly benefit from an infusion of gold and a resident Lord.
This Inventory has been conducted to the best of my ability, in accordance with His Majesty’s Commands.
Your Obedient Servant,
Sir Ferlun Uhlart
