Roleplay from Hadron Indirik
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As Hadron approached Aegir's Deep, he realized that the situation was just as bad, if not worse, than the local officials had described. The rising sun revealed that the walls were in very poor shape. It looked like any good hit with a battering ram would knock a hole clear through. The militia was disheveled and dispirited. Almost hostile, in a way.
Word of the arrival of the new Margrave quickly spread. The commoners lined the streets to get a look at their new lord. There wasn't much cheering. Most of the commoners appeared skinny and malnourished. No doubt due to the half rations on which the peasants had been living. Well, that was done, anyway. His first order to the local officials had been to restore rations to normal. It had only been a day or two since then, so there hadn't been much time to for it to have an effect. The officials were telling him that it had at least stabilized morale in the region.
Hadron had attempted to find out why the rationing was still in place. The answer didn't really make much sense. Something about the warehouse managers reducing the food supply during a past drought, and no one having the authority to rescind the order. But why couldn't the person who decided to send out half rations also decide to return to full rations? It sounded foolish, but that's why the commoners needed the proper guidance of a true noble.
Hadron spent the first half day in the region holding some courts, getting the feel for the status of the region. He did his best to dispense justice. Most of the disputes were about pasturage, food stores, and other such mundane things. Food was obviously the major issue in the region. Well, that would change. The people received their decisions stoically. They weren't especially happy about it, but they did seem to have a bit more confidence in the way things were going to be run from now on.
After that, he sent his mounted soldiers to patrol the city. Reports were that they arrested a few miscreant, but nothing major. That was a good sign. As the sun set, he knew that there would be many more days like this in the coming weeks. But at least he'd made a start.
