"Young lord, our master will see you now... Please follow us."
As they walked, James Barn couldn't help but think about his situation.
The person he was meeting today was one of the Chief advisors to the King of Terique.
Yes.... the empire of Terique was their enemy.... and they were headed over to Pandela City at the border, to fight with the Terique soldiers.
But James didn't care at all.
So what if they were enemies with Arcadina?
Enemies could also become friends with each other, given that the right benefits, terms and conditions were applied.
Amongst his brothers, he was still the weakest one in the group.. aside from his bastard brother who was probably dead by now in Baymard.
To take the throne, he needed more power and men working under him.. and most importantly, he needed his brother Eli dead.
Hence he was willing to strike a deal with Arcadina's greatest foe.
His plan was simple.
He wanted the Teriques to help him kill Eli and sit on the throne... in exchange, he would gladly give them at 30% of Arcadina's land.
James was a very greedy, semi-cowardly and sly fellow.
Sometimes he was a coward, and other times he was not.
Well.. one could say that he liked sucking up to people a lot, especially when he was at a disadvantageous position.
He would swear and even promise to never do whatever he did again.. but once those who threatened him let him off, he would definitely plan their downfall.
What he liked were immediate benefits, so he was willing to trade everything provided his brothers got defeated... and he became king at the end.
In his mind once the Teriques finally put him on the throne, he would break his agreement and refuse to give them any part of the land.
Hehehe.. At that point, what could they do to him?
Absolutely nothing!!!
This border war was the perfect place to take Eli down, hence he had made a deal with the Teriques 3 months ago, without the knowledge of his brother Connor.
But now what really ticked him off, was the fact that these Teriques had suddenly sent someone to schedule this meeting with him.
Apparently, they wanted to amend the deal that he had made with them previously.
Bloody Bastards!!!!!!
Just thinking about it made his blood boil, but what could he do?
He was weak, hence he needed their help and their power.
For now, he could only compromise and pretend to go along with their plans.
He had decided that he would suck his way up to kingship.
.
The men finally reached a massive golden door, that had 2 torches at the sides of the door.
"Young Lord, my master wants to talk to you alone.
Nobody else can follow you in, so your men will stay here with us." said one of the 3 men who led them here.
James turned around and gestured for his men to stay alert in case of any lurking dangers.
He sucked in a lot of air, and tried to calm himself before finally stepping into the room.
A 40 something year old gruesome and horrendous looking man, sat quietly at the front of the room.
The man's appearance was so frightening, that James' legs instantly turned turned weak from constantly looking at the man.
This huge man with no hair and no eyebrows, had 4 long ugly scars slashed accross his face.
And when the repungent man smiled at him, chills immediately ran through his body.
[What a hideous smile], he thought.
If he wasn't so desperate for their help, he would've definitely turned back... in fear of being in the same room with this man.
This wasn't the person that he had made the deal with last time... hence he was somewhat taken aback by the man's ugly appearance.
Since he did the deal around the Capital, the Teriques had only sent 2 spies to speak to him.
But now that they were closer to the borders between Arcadina and Terique, it was easier for spies and other important personnel to move around without getting caught.
The person he was who had almost made James wet his pants, was the famous Aristo Donn.
This guy was practically a legend in the empire of Terique.
He had fought a great number of battles alongside the king of Terique, and now worked as a very trustworthy advisor for the King.
"Welcome young lord!!!.. please, have a seat" Said Aristo as he gestured his hands towards the chair at the other side of his table.
Although James was nervous, he still tried to act tough as he unhurriedly sat down close to Aristo.
"To save our time, I'll get straight to the point.
My king has requested that, instead of 3 tenth (30%) of the land.... we want 6 tenth (60%) of Arcadina.
Do you accept?!" Said Aristo in a low, but spine-chilling tone.
"Isn't.... isn't that too much?" James asked, as he tried his best to hide the fact that he was indeed intimidated by Aristo.
"Whether it's too much or not, do you really have a choice?
If you don't agree to the terms, then we will spread the fact that you came to ask for our help all through Arcadina.
Hehehehe.....What do you think will happen when your father and people know that you wanted to kill your own brother just for his throne?
Remember, we have proof of our contract through your pendant, your letters, and your signature, so everyone will immediately believe whatever we tell them to.
So since you don't particularly have a choice, I suggest you shut up and agree!!!!"
Although James was truly sacred, he was still fuming mad.
How dare they talk to him like this?
Although he wasn't a prince of Terique, wasn't he still a prince?
Why couldn't they just show him an ounce of respect?
[Damn hooligans!!!.. this daddy will deal with you when I become king.. hmmpp!!!], he thought.
He was also pissed off with the amount of land that they wanted to acquire.
60% of Arcadina's land was a lot to give out... but when he thought of the fact that they could easily spread the knowledge of this deal throughout Arcadina, cold sweat began to form on his back.
He finally decided that It was better to give the land out, than to loose his life.
Because even if the whole continent found out about this deal, the Teriques would be fine....While he on the other hand, would probably be executed publicly.
At this point since he had already thought of double crossing the Teriques, the only thing that mattered right now was growing stronger.
With enough strength, he could easily keep the land away from these motherf***ers once he became king.
But first, it was important for him to remove the biggest obstacle in his path... Eli Barn.
The Teriques had agreed to send assassins to kill Eli during his stay at JunGo City, at the border.
He on the other hand, was heading towards Pandela border city.
So he truly hoped that they wouldn't disappoint him, since he wouldn't be there to witness the results.
Since the Teriques could stay in large numbers around the border regions without getting caught, this was their only chance to kill Eli.
If they had tried to kill him in his own territory, or even around the Capital... James was 100% sure that they would fail woefully.
But over here, their chances greatly increased by at least 50%.
For now, he only wanted one of his brothers dead.
If both Connor and Eli died, his father would definitely suspect him when he headed back to the Capital.
So he decided to only deal with Eli, and keel Connor alive... for now.
Aristo looked at the foolish young lord and smirked.
"Young Lord... I suggest you hurry up with your decision.
Looking at you, I'm guessing that you sneaked away from the soldiers and city lords that were travelling with you to Pandela border City.
So isn't it better to hurry this up before they find out that you're missing?
And what's there to even think about? This deal is completely fair and favorable towards you.
We will kill your brother, put you on the throne and give you more power than you could imagine.
Only a fool would miss this opportunity....
So young Lord... do we have a deal?"