You choose to spare the countryside.

You came here to avenge your father's honor. Destroying the productive capabilities of this area's countryside could only do the opposite: taint his honor. No, your house had plans for these lands. While the city of Aard could be treated in one fashion or another, its countryside was another matter entirely. Besides, you would need these lands to be profitable for – at the minimum – the next year so that you can forage them for provisions for your military. Even soldiers must be fed.

Emissaries were sent out from Aard informing the region's minor settlements to make tributes to your warband. While some failed to respond, a slight you did not fail to notice, none outright refused. It seemed the past lord was quite harsh with his subjects and most were welcome to try to work things out with a new administration. These towns, villages, and even hamlets sent in tributes of cattle, grain, on a few occasions some precious metals – though mostly silver, and even slaves. Most of the slaves were sourced from the region, sold into the practice to pay debts or as sentencing for a criminal offense. Virtually all were men, although you saw a few older and old women on occasion. You sent the most productive and healthiest slaves back north under some escort, while you sold the rest in Aard in order to avoid weighing down your baggage train.