Lord Marshal Grefon kept Marak busy for the rest of the afternoon by continually requesting men to run errands or organize activities for the visiting soldiers. Just before sunset, Lord Lashendo and Marshal Garouk arrived with the contingent from Fardale, the estate furthest away, which produced grain and vegetables. Fardale was Lord Ridak’s newest estate and was his opening attempt at increasing his holdings into areas close to rival Lords. Unlike the four traditional Situ estates, Lord Ridak had claimed Fardale only four years earlier and most soldiers considered it the frontier.

Squad Leader Rybak’s men followed the Fardale contingent to the mansion and, after greetings were completed, dispersed to guard the perimeter of the mansion. Marak posted two of his men in the entry foyer and ordered the rest to get some sleep so they would be available to relieve the Meeting Chamber guards later. Marak followed Lord Marshal Grefon into the Meeting Chamber and stood behind his chair.

When Lord Ridak seated himself at the head of the table, the room fell quiet and the meeting officially began. The Lord of all Situ asked for the status of his holdings and, one by one, the Lords reported the condition of their estates. Most of the reports dealt with finances, markets, and population counts and Marak became engrossed with the dialog as he began to realize the full extent of Lord Ridak’s holdings. He already knew that the Situ were not a major clan in Khadora, but the impressive numbers presented at the meeting gave him an idea of how large the holdings were. The Estate Marshals reported on the strength of their armies and Marak was awestruck. He always believed that the real strength of the Situ was in Lituk Valley and that the remote estates had only token forces. The reality was much different. Each estate had its own army only slightly smaller than the one Lord Marshal Grefon commanded here.