As Galahad once again entered the opulent throne room and gave a deep bow.
The Baron simply said.
"Rise. Sir Galahad, you are slightly late but it is fine with regard to your condition."
As Galahad stood up the baron continued now, his voice entwined with dignity.
"We have gathered here to prepare for the war. Sir Galahad would be the last remaining noble in my realm as such I called him here as well. Now I would like Sir Adam von Sinor, Sir Jeroic von Heria, Sir Monert von Erfia and finally, Sir John von Ienia to tell me how many troops they will commit to the war effort, what type of equipment they have how many are horsemen how many logistics carts they have prepared and how much grain. Sir Adam as the eldest you may go first."
The elderly knight gave a quick bow and responded slowly and calmly.
"Sire I will contribute six men at arms and twelve levies. My men at arms are armed with chain mail armor swords and shields and they are decent cavalrymen. As for my levies, four will be in charge of the supply carts and my camps needs and the rest of them are six hunters made archers they were gambeson and they are all decent shots and a couple of them are veterans. As for food, we will take enough for thirty days a mix of grains and salted meats and the rest of the basic camp supplies such as tents and so on."
The Baron nodded and said.
"That is enough. Sir John what about you?"
A thin man in his early thirties walked up bowed and said.
"Sire rather than take both men at arms and levies. I will contribute ten men at arms and four levies for the camp's needs. My ten men at arms are armed with gambeson, kettle helmets and crossbows. As for supplies I have a similar plan to Sir Adam."
The Baron nodded and said
"Thanks, Sir John. Now sir Jeroic you talk the talk but do you walk the walk?"
The proud man walked before the baron gave a quick bow and said boisterously.
"Aye, I do Sire I will take with me fifteen of my men at arms and thirty-eight of my serfs with me. Eight of the serfs will serve as camp attendants while the rest of my serfs are armed with spears, shields, gambeson armor, and nasal helmets. As for my men at arms, they are armed with two-handed axes, mail armor with several integrated steel plates and Barbuta helmets. As for supplies, I have secured enough for two months"
The Baron scratched his beard and said.
"I see while this great contribution to the realm Jeroic. Are you sure it is wise to not leave more troops to defend your fief?"
Jeroic nodded and said.
"Yes, Sire this is my final decision."
The Baron gave a quick nod and looked towards Sir Monert.
He quickly said.
"As for me sire, I have employed a company of sixteen mercenaries and six levies for my camp's needs. The mercenaries are armed with full chain mail armor and pikes. As for supplies I have enough for thirty days."
The baron nodded and said.
"I will also send my knights, twenty-five men at arms fifteen archers and ten crossbowmen and thirty levied archers and ten camp attendants. All of them are armed with gambeson armor and nasal helmets. As for supplies I have enough for forty days. Now that this is done and dusted with you have a week to prepare your men. We are marching to the count's city next week. In other news, I decided to leave my Magos Erfiadi as the regent."
That proposition shocked everyone inside the room.
The first to respond to this bombastic announcement was Sir Monert.
"But Sire you know full well that leaving a Magos in charge is taboo. I mean they did try to dethrone the nobility in the fight for power two hundred and fifty years ago. It is simply not wise to leave a Magos a regent."
The Baron looked towards Monert and simply asked.
"Do you know why they Revolted?"
Monert simply said.
"No, but it is not impo.r"
The Baron cut him off and said seriously.
"Of course it is important. Does anyone of you know who are the Knights of the Realm."
Galahad quickly responded
"I do yes."
The Baron looked towards Galahad and then continued
"Do you know what happened before they disappeared. Why did they disappear and what role they had inside the kingdom?"
Galahad thought for a moment and said.
"Well, I thought they all died at the battle of Northern Passage after that the king to honor them didn't allow any new knights to join the order as they would be inferior to those great heroes. They used to be traveling warriors destroying the enemies of the kingdom and mankind wherever they found them. But still loyal to the kingdom the point of death."
The Baron sighed and said softly.
"While those events are partially true, that is only half of the story. Three hundred years ago the kingdom had a different system of governance called the diarchy. Where the king wasn't the sole ruler of the kingdom, he had control only over the military, the guards, the judiciary and the external matters. He had a coruler an ArchMagos which had control over taxation, lawmaking and budget allocation as well as any other internal matters. The same applied to the Counts, Barons, and Dukes. What about the landed knights? You might ask? Almost all of them were Nobles which had full control of their realms without a coruler. On the other hand, the Knights of the realm was an elite force made out of Magoi. They were tasked with investigating the murders of Magoi all across the realm in addition to their normal knightly duties. They were the only military power the Magoi had. As such when the king stopped the order from getting new members it, later on, sparked a bloody civil war. The Magoi lost their position as equals, but they were spared due to their abilities. But from now rather than corulers, they became just advisors. A fief was granted to the new ArchMagos where he would train his Magoi and the rest, as they say, is history. On the topic of them gaining power I am not very worried that Erfiadis will do anything bad. After all, he is the one behind most of my economic and internal policies. "
Jeroic then bellowed.
"First and foremost the fact that they lost the civil war proves they are inferior rulers to us nobles. Second, where did you get that history from? If it is from one of those Magos it can hardly be trustworthy and Third isn't it irresponsible to give power to the group that lost through war and might hold some grievances about it?"
The Baron simply said.
"Relax Jeroic. Inferior or not as a whole he is good at his job. As for where I learned the history from it is written in my house's chronicles. As for the last point, I am not particularly worried that they will stage a new revolt with the control of one extra Barony."
After a solid minute of silence, Sir Adam spoke up.
"Sire while this is true. A regent is not the only matter that the war has created. Have you picked an heir?"
The Baron sighed deeply and said.
"I did it is written in my will which is currently safely guarded in the vaults of the scribe guild. If anything happens it will inform you of who is the new ruler. Now that we solved that matter on hand. Galahad I will require your services while I am away."
Galahad gave a quick bow and said with gravitas.
"What you will Sire?"
The Baron simply said.
"While I am away you are the only Noble left behind in the barony. As such in the case of an attack you have my permission to lead my men at arms. As for levies you will need to ask my regent though. Do you accept the task?"
Galahad simply responded.
"Yes, Sire."
Sir Adam then added.
"The same applies to my men, boy."
Galahad gave a quick nod.
The Baron then clapped his hands once and said.
"Good now that this matter is over it is time for a banquet. Servant go fetch Magos Erfiadis and the rest of my knights."
The night was spent peacefully eating and drinking merrily. The baron offered them a stay in his keep. The next day the Knights split in their merry ways. But before returning to his fief Galahad went over to see his father-in-law after all their relation has slowly improved over time. As he arrived before the merchant guild he was quickly led inside by the attendant. When he entered the office, he found Veron conversing with Magos Erfiadis. At the moment he went inside their conversation came to an abrupt halt.
The first to respond was Veron he smiled and said.
"Oh, dear son-in-law. Hello. How are you doing? But where are my manners? First and foremost let me present you Magos Erfiadis he works with the baron. Now would you like a cup of Erimian black coffee or would you prefer some Velorian wine or perhaps some Bandebargian Brandy? lastly, have you come here to request something or are you just visiting?
Galahad smiled and simply responded.
"Dear father-in-law in am doing well. Yes, I had the honor to meet Magos Erfiadis rather briefly. I would appreciate some Bandebargian Brandy. As for the reason for my visit nothing particular just passing by."
Veron nodded and said.
"You see me and Magos Erfiadis were talking about the slave trade. We were considering setting up a trade route. The issue is transferring goods through caravans from the coast to here is rather expensive. But north of your territory, there is a rather large river which stems from the Erinea mountains and goes all the way to the Megalos ocean. Since it is adjacent to your territory. You could claim that it is yours. Especially now with the war raging on they would be no contenders. Slaves will become a rather cheap good perfect for manpower for a growing realm. So I was talking to Magos Erfiadis to get him to agree to my proposal. I was going to inform you after I had finished my dealings with him by going to your fief. But since you are here that just makes it easier."
The Magos nodded and simply responded.
"What he is saying is true. The issue is for someone to properly expand to the northern frontier he needs permission from the kingdom. While only a formality it could save someone troubles in the future. As such I will ask for you to give me twenty whole gold coins as a payment for the new land. Since you are buying the land it will become a part of your inheritable realm."
Galahad then responded.
"That is good and all but three things. First and foremost who will construct the trading post and the road leading to my fief? Second How will the profits be spread will I get a tax for each slave coming in? Thirdly who will defend the trading post?"
Veron quickly responded.
"My son in law the trading post isn't just for slaves it will also bring other goods. My current suggestions are that we will pay a tax of one whole gold coin a year. We will construct the trading post and send troops there. The Magos promised to hire some. In the case, the trading post is under attack, you will attempt to support if and only if it is feasible. As for benefits, you gain a twenty-five percent discount for any purchases."
Galahad then smiled and responded.
"The terms seem good enough. But why haven't we pushed up to the river already it would act as a natural barrier? Additionally, what does Magos Erfiadis get out of this?"
The Magos responded.
"Your fief was established three hundred years ago and has been destroyed no less than six times from goblin and beast hordes. As such it never quite managed to colonize all the land up to the river. If anything this is the largest it has ever been. Additionally, the river becomes frozen in deep winter as such is not that good of a natural barrier. As for my own benefits, I have a stake in a bunch of trade companies that will start selling goods in the nearby settlements with a lower transportation cost, increasing their profitability."
Galahad nodded and said.
"That is all then. Shall we get it into a contract?"
The two men nodded and after the contract was written. The group left for the scribes guild. Soon the group reached its destination. This time Galahad paid fifty whole silver coins for the officialization of the contract and twenty gold coins for the officialization of the new frontier land.
Finalizing the contract the men went over to the inn to celebrate their new partnership this time Veron paid for the food and drinks. The first to leave was Magos Erfiadis claiming he had early work tomorrow. When he left Veron said.
"I will leave Gragon for about three months. As I need to establish trade links with merchant guilds of the coastal cities of Angon, Elbon, Etgon, and Ion. Galahad please take good care of my daughter while I am missing. This is a big chance to enrich both myself and yourself. Don't let it go to waste."
Galahad then responded.
"I mean outside of defending the trading post from some goblins and beasts is there anything else?"
Veron shrugged and said.
"Just rumors please keep an eye out for any suspicious activities. Magos Erfiadis is not as trustworthy as he seems. He has his own motives I am sure, I just don't know what they are."
After that, they continued drinking and eating for a while. When the night grew old Galahad retired over to Veron's house for the night. The next day he left for Highkeep at the first light.