Sitting down in a leather chair, Jacob had his legs crossed over his black trousers while he was sipping on some tea. The teacup was white with gold embroidering around the sides, very expensive, something only the wealthy could buy.
This cup was not owned by Jacob, instead by the middle-aged man seated across from him.
On his bronze-colored face that was full of wrinkles, his face expression was one of shock and amazement. His thick large hands held a small lockbox, while his black eyes locked onto the object that was inside.
"Amazing."
His deep voice rang out as he commented on the object inside.
Setting the lockbox down on the large black desk that had a pile of papers seated nicely on the corner, he looked up at Jacob, the young noble.
It was impossible to tell what the young man wanted, as he was calm, not showing a smile nor frown. Instead, he was drinking the tea in his hand, and his eyes looked as if he were uninterested in what was going on in front of him.
Jacob was not the first he has encountered who behaved like this, but usually he could grasp a feel for their behavior from the way they talked. Yet, Jacob only said a few words since he entered the room.
He knew it was not easy to come here, and the young lord in front of him even managed to meet him, the headmaster of this academy.
"Let's cut to the chase, what do you want for Damien's Heart? Free entry into the academy? Gold?"
That was the first thought that came to his mind, why else would this noble person be here with him? Clearly he wanted something for this relic.
Lowering the tea in his hand, Jacob set it on the small white plate that he held in his left hand.
"You are mistaken, I am merely returning it to where it belongs. I do not ask you to give me gold, nor do I want to enter Dawn's Knight academy."
He spoke nonchalantly while telling the headmaster he wanted neither of those things.
Before the headmaster could speak, Jacob raised his right hand, stopping him.
"However, I do want something. After all, nothing is free."
"Speak, what do you desire? If it is within my power I will see it accomplished."
The headmaster said as he interlocks his fingers together and leaned forward in his chair slightly.
In response, Jacob raised up three fingers.
It was highly confusing, he had no clue what the young lad meant.
"What does that mean?"
"I want three knights."
Jacob lowered his hand as he picked up the teacup once more, about to take another sip.
"I do not believe that is what you really want. As a noble, you should find it easy to employ a knight or two. There are many graduating this year that will be seeking employment, and even more that are looking for a new liege."
Fifty to a hundred knights graduated yearly, and each one would be sought after. Some already had work lined up for them, others waited until an offer came around they were searching for.
There were even a few who joined the army in search for even greater glory.
Still, there was no reason for Jacob to come looking for him if he only wanted to employ a few knights. There was a whole department dedicated to the line of work.
It was suspicious, something he had to take note of.
"If I wanted one of those greenhands, then I would have gotten one. What I seek is to hire whoever I want, here at this academy besides yourself of course."
This was frustrating, was there anyone here special? Thinking about it now, he shook his head slightly. There was not.
The only difference between those who worked here and those being trained was experience. Anyone can gain that given enough time, so he could not see the benefit behind Jacob's words.
Jacob saw how the man was lamenting over his decision.
"Do we have a deal or not?"
Jacob asked him, but he already knew the answer.
Damien's Heart was a sacred relic that belonged to the founder of the knights order. One could say, he was the very first knight in the land and the first to give his vow to Mother Nessa.
To them, this was a holy grail, worth a great amount of prestige.
It had no real use, but it meant a lot to any knights academy. Damien's Heart was stolen more than fifty years ago and thought to be lost.
In Pathfinder, the relic could be found in the destroyed library of Saint Hall. However, it was not easy to open. It was not until the player completed a series of quests would they find out the right combination.
Then, they had a choice to make at the end. One, found a new knights order in Damien's name, or two, gain the favor of any knights academy across the land. They would join you no questions asked, netting you a free army of over two thousand knights.
For him, he decided to keep it simple. It was difficult to found a new knights order and with his current renown, it was unlikely many would follow him. Jacob felt that he could use the favor instead, but he had no need for an army at this point.
"Deal."
Jacob grinned as he sat the teacup and plate on the black table before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
"Employ was a broad term, I would like for these three to take a vow."
Taking the paper Jacob slid over, the headmaster unfolded it and read the names.
He could not help but rub his temple in frustration.
"A knight's vow? No wonder you wanted to see me directly."
He could finally make heads of it now. A knight's vow was sacred, as once they vowed to serve a lord, it meant service forever. Not many did such a thing. It was an old custom that the newer generation had forgone.
Gazing at the names on the list, the headmaster could only sigh.
Two names were easy, but it would be pretty troublesome for the third.
The third was not really special, but he had a temper. Students always complained about him, but as a headmaster, he could not get rid of him, for he was a talented trainer.
Jacob did not comment. The headmaster was more than likely paying attention to the trainer on the list, but not the other two.
One was still a student, but if his memory was right then she had a special background. Charlie created her, and that guy was in love with anime.
All Jacob recalled was her physique, being quite voluptuous.
As for the other two, the man he picked was a trainer who worked here for ten years. The last one was another female knight whose father was a merchant.
Jacob knew this information because he looked over a student registry in the other department before he came here. It retained all knowledge concerning the students at Dawn's Knight academy, including their family. This made it easy for him to look through the list and pick out who he wanted.
"What does a young lord like yourself seek when you want to employ an old knight, one graduating student and one who has yet to finish her third year of training?"
This piqued his interest more than anything else, as he could not find what Jacob saw in them.
In return, Jacob only smiled.
"I just simply do not wish to pay a lot of money."
Jacob responded to him as he got up.
"I'll meet them out front."
The headmaster did not believe him for a second. He offered him gold, which is worth a thousand silver if not more. One gold coin could keep a knight employed for an entire year, and he was willing to part with fifty gold coins just for the relic.
Clearly, Jacob had something else in mind.
Still, he got what was thought to be lost. So why did it feel like he was being scammed?
Damien's Heart was a relic, and even if he wanted to believe it was the real thing he could not make that decision by himself. He even had other knight teachers in the academy inspect it, and none of them denied it was the real thing.
After Jacob left, he got up from his seat and grabbed the metal lockbox. Leaving his office, he glanced at one of the knights that stood guard at the entrance.
"Tell these three I need to meet them in the grand hall."
Handing the paper to the knight, the knight nodded and went off.
"You, go get Harald. Inform him that there will be a meeting later on today, all the teachers are required to assemble."