"Many were jealous of House Aurellion."
"At how amid disaster they had managed to find an opportunity few countries or nobles' houses ever get."
"A chance to find out who your truly loyal subjects are and unite them under one banner and vision."
"For it is known without the support of his loyal retainers…."
"Railius and House Aurellion would never have become so powerful without those four old central pillars supporting him sincerely to the best of their abilities."
"Leon Mantelon, Malwin Thornsworth, Aldorus Belarion and Darius Heartguard."
"These four talented NPCs were instrumental in House Aurellion's rise as one of the top powers in DO."
Lee Smith, CEO of Emart and head of House Erendis.
…..
[Railius' Customised Plate Armour acquired.]
[Your new weapons and armour can be found with your subordinate Leon Mantelon.]
Before going further, it is worth explaining why Railius got such good equipment from his starter kit, as it was some of the best available in the game. He even used this reward to set up his armour and weapons for the long term, especially when it came to his armour, as it would only be something he wore on the battlefield once he had revealed his identity and began to show off the power of House Aurellion publicly for the young player did not expect to be able to keep his origin a secret forever.
First and foremost among those reasons was the vast wealth at the disposal of the exiled noble house of Aurellion, as their young lord had spared little effort in establishing his two very profitable streams of income coming from both Sigismond Security Service, which had become one of the most respected, skilled and trusted guards one can hire and Leon's dojo where for the past 8 in-game years merchants and influential men have paid a large amount of money to send their sons and trusted subordinates to be trained by a master fighter with few other strings attached.
Usually, master fighters or the influential people they serve require more than just gold to train someone. This is not only because the more people that can train and become master fighters, the less valuable and respected they become, but these people of influence would want to control such power as one master fighter was the same as having hundreds of soldiers under your command so who would not want to have a few under their command?
Of course, just because a master or grandmaster fighter taught you does not mean you are guaranteed to get to that level. It just increases your chances, as not everyone has the talent, luck or discipline needed to get to that level, but despite all of this, just like how people are willing to scrimp and scrounge to help their children get access to better schools, people in DO are willing to pull out a large amount of money to help their descendants learn self-defence which is essential in protecting yourself from the brutal world of Dynasties Online and who knows maybe because they have access to the dojo's training they may become a master fighter which will enable them to get employment in the court of even the most powerful nobles of the realm.
In addition, even if you cannot become a master fighter by learning from Master Zhou, you will still become somewhat skilled as many of the dojo's members are more skilled than some kingdom's military recruits when it came to raw combat strength, so whether you aspire to a successful military career or only want to learn how to fight for self-defence reasons, it is still worth the expense to be professionally trained.
Why was it that the children of nobles had such a significant advantage over the children of commoners and even merchants when it came to gaining success in life? It was not just their background but the extensive resources that the noble family had to give their children the best education and teachers possible.
Whether it was hiring famous scholars to teach their sons how to read and govern or having a currently serving master or grandmaster to give them one-on-one lessons on how to fight, all of these advantages not only needed money but connections and status and was why the children of nobles were far more skilled than their more common-born contemporaries.
Even though Leon was only known as Master Zhou and not the legendary warrior who slaughtered his way out of the Chavarian Capital by killing 3 master level fighters only to disappear in a puff of smoke, it still did not stop people from paying a good amount of money to gave them learn from a master fighter.
Either way, this gave House Aurellion two profitable streams of income to draw upon. Over the years, their expenses had lowered, allowing them to spend rather lavishly on the weapons and armour likely to accompany their lord throughout his life.
To allow the lord of House Aurellion and the next generation to peacefully develop apart from the old Pelican Guards and the people who had willingly accompanied the noble house into exile and were loyal to the death, no one else was told about or let into House Aurellion.
Not only did this help shield them from their many enemies by keeping a low profile, as apart from Count Nidor and the Crown Prince of Nathia Kodjis Kendari, no one else has managed to find out about House Aurellion or the vast network that had constructed over the years throughout the ancient kingdom. But it also allowed them to keep costs low, slowly expanding out as by now, under the direction of Baron Malwin House, Aurellion has a base and safehouse in every prominent nobles' territory throughout the Kingdom of Nathia and has even started expanding into other countries though stayed clear of Chavaria for now.
The retired Pelican Guards became the owners of these establishments in name, collecting info and acting as safehouses for House Aurellions people to rest and conduct operations from.
Some of these establishments, like the taverns, became rather profitable in of themselves, allowing their owners to have a better quality of life while also providing funding for the expansion of their intelligence network as members of Sigismond Security Service on a mission routinely stop there to sleep, gather information and supplies. All one needed was to say the correct passcode, and they could find anything they needed, from spare weapons and armour to food and a room for the night.
The second important aspect was the type of starter kit that Railius received. Not only was it upgraded by an inheritable dynasty trait, but it was upgraded again when that trait was improved.
Unknown to Railius, thanks to the excellent results he gained through the Dynasty History System, he managed to get the best starter kit possible for his current traits.
Not only did this starter kit give double the gold of the regular one, but it also gave him two customised weapons and a set of customised armour. He was even able to choose somewhat what his equipment was made out of rather than them being made out of the default materials most weapons were made out of being, iron or steel, mainly depending on the technological advancement of the kingdom you start in.
....
As Railius was opening his starter kit and heading to bed in a tavern barely 15 minutes away, three men were sitting at a table faintly lit up by candlelight in casual clothes, two far more muscled and toned than the other, making it obvious who was the more physical threat out of the three.
"What are your thoughts on our lord's plan, Malwin?"
Leon asked, knowing that Railius would begin preparations to start his business in the morning.
"Well thought out, if vague, at least he has a direction to go in, and I am not surprised that he has decided to go a different route to his father. While gaining power will take much longer, it establishes a solid foundation not linked to any nation or territory that should not be underestimated, something that not every noble has at his disposal."
Malwin said, analysing all the bits of Railius' plan before giving his opinion. He, more than anyone else, knew just how much the noble house had expanded its power over the years, as even when Leon was regent and even now when the young lord had come of age, he still dealt with the noble house's day-to-day domestic affairs.
"So, which of us will accompany him on his excursions."
Aldorus asked the group, which represented most of the powerhouses' within House Aurellion, as there was no way, with so many potential enemies, that they would allow Railius to travel alone because, in the event that Railius' true identity got revealed, it would be too dangerous to allow him to run around freely without proper protection.
Just because the Chavarian Empire had stopped looking for them did not mean that they would allow House Aurellion to travel around and gain power freely, as letting them escape was humiliating enough, let alone allowing them to bounce back and gain power with the potential of them moving against Chavaria due to the dynasties deep grudges with its old country. It actually fit the ruthless empire more to send assassins after Railius once they found him and it was only because of how low-profile House Aurellion had been and the many internal issues within the new empire that had to be dealt with being the reasons why the errant noblemen had been forgotten about temporarily by the imperial court of Chavaria.
Even if the current grey-haired old emperor of Chavaria and the minister of war didn't go after House Aurellion because of their languishing attachment to Lucius, their falsely accused old friend Crown Prince Flavius Crestier had no such misgivings as the legitimacy of his future rule relied on House Aurellion being traitors. So, how could he allow them to live?
The simple answer was Flavius couldn't!
Being astutely aware of this and knowing how powerful Chavaria's intelligence network was, only if Railius had one of them accompanying him would he be adequately protected because, depending on how far Railius went to do business, it could take months before Leon could organise a proper retinue to escort their now exposed lord and even longer for them to find him. In contrast, it would take only weeks for Chavaria to be notified and for a lucrative bounty to be put on the young lord of Aurellion's head, which would immediately shift the agro of all the world's greatest assassins to him, who would see the young 18-year-old not as a human but a moving money bag.
If Railius was only trading within Nathia, then they could give him leeway as they could quickly respond to any unforeseen situation that may arise, but the men sitting around the table knew that Railius wanted to travel and do business around the world, so now they had to decide which of them was going to accompany Railius.
Of course, Baron Malwin could not as not only is he not that accomplished of a fighter, but he also still needs to teach students to leave either Leon or Aldorus to protect Railius as Sigismond and Lucian need to keep away from Railius so the connection between House Aurellion and Sigismond Security Service is not discovered.
"I will go!"
Leon said decisively he was the strongest amongst them, and even grandmaster assassins would have to be careful when facing him, making him the best candidate in that regard; he also wanted to stay as close to Railius as possible to protect him as the last time he was away from the lord of House Aurellion he died in an ambush.
Malwin looked at him, contemplating some things before suggesting someone else.
"What about Aldorus?"
Malwin asked.
"Why him?"
Leon asked, frowning, as he was expecting to get support from the cunning baron but was instead met with resistance.
"One of us needs to go, but it needs to be someone who will bring the least suspicion to our lord."
Malwin began explaining.
"Darius cannot go. Otherwise, people will ask why he chose to defend a new merchant personally when he doesn't even give that privilege to those big companies. While we have managed to seem like there is only a rudimentary connection between us Chavarian refugees and the mercenaries, Darius' presence will provoke suspicion."
"People have already attempted to connect us together, and this will only give substance to theories that seem to many to be conspiratorial, for only idiots or racists would assume that just because we are Chavarian, we all serve the same person or the same goals."
Malwin said, explaining all the reasons why Darius could not accompany Railius.
"We already know this, but why not me!"
The grandmaster of loyalty said, managing only by some miracle not to shout and keeping his calm. His care for the young lord of Aurellion was evident in his annoyed and slightly frustrated tone.
"It's simple. You are needed to bring up the next generation of Pelican Guards!"
Malwin said, not backing down an inch from the man who could cut him in half instantly.
"Couldn't Aldorus do that?"
Leon asked, still not wholly convinced by the idea. He still regretted not being there to protect his good friend Lucius when he was ambushed.
"Potentially, but you are more respected throughout the dojo than Aldorus is and more well-known to the world."
"People are far more likely to recognise you than Aldorus, and you have quite the reputation in Nathia compared to him, as everyone knows you have refused many invitations to serve, even one from the crown prince himself. What do you think they will do if you suddenly start serving some no-name child of a friend? The nobles may have become corrupt, but that does not mean they have become stupid! The Duke of Detarnor should be more than sufficient evidence of this!"
"You think they won't investigate you? Or not find out how you, a respected old master-level fighter at minimum, just so happened to arrive in Nathia a few months after the fall of Lucius Aurellion accompanied by a boy who happens to be the same age as the heir of House Aurellion and now that he wants to see the world and set up his own business accompany him to protect him."
"Are you trying to tell the world where we are based? And have hundreds of assassins linger about to the point where he can't even go out to the restaurant without a guard of 50 men or accompanied by an expert?"
"Not to mention how we will deal with the Duke of Detarnor we secretly take shelter under. Don't think that cunning fox is an easy opponent just because we used another Nathian noble as a shield to disguise our involvement in the incident eight years ago! There are reasons why the Nathian royal court struggles to deal with him even after all the strings we pulled!
"You can explain teaching a friend's son out of your close relationship but not accompanying him like a loyal bodyguard or subject!"
"Aldorus is less well-renowned than you and has only been around for a year or so. As a result, it would not be abnormal for him to leave to travel elsewhere to experience more of the world after Railius had left, allowing him to catch up to him once he cannot be recognised by people anymore and accompany Railius more out in the open without arousing as much suspicion."
"Also, because he only arrived a year ago, no one will be able to connect him to us in any way. I believe he also still knows that tactic from the old lord, so I wouldn't worry about Railius' safety too much, as even grandmasters would have to tread carefully around him if he had enough men under his command."
Baron Malwin finally explained being an ex-landed noble, he knew their fears well and how they would react in different situations.
"Yes, you were taught that tactic that I never learned, weren't you, Aldorus."
"The grandmaster level tactic, Grandmaster Suppression!"
Leon said, looking at Aldorus, who only nodded calmly and agreed with Malwin that he was the best candidate to accompany Railius.
"How many men do you think I can command without arousing too much suspicion?"
Aldorus asked. He knew they had just over 600 men to mobilise who were not related to Sigismond Security Service, but the intelligent man also knew that suspicions would be raised if Railius could suddenly hire or raise that many men with the snap of his fingers.
"For now, we should recommend that our lord start his operations in Nathia and make some money here first. Not only will we be able to protect him easily, but once he makes enough money, he can hire some skilled guards without arousing suspicion. Just getting the cart and initial goods on its own will bring some amount of doubt to his true identity as everyone knows it is hard for an orphan with no background to suddenly have tens of gold hanging about."
"Have Jordis and a few of Railius' friends from the dojo protect and accompany him as well because they are close to Railius. It would not be abnormal for them to work together or plan a venture like this. It can also explain where they got their initial capital from, as Jordis could have requested it from you, his father."
Malwin said, pointing at Leon, helping to lay out a plan that would deflect as much suspicion as possible from Railius and his true identity that they wanted to keep secret for as long as possible. However, he knew Leon's connection to House Aurellion would be revealed sooner or later, but the longer they hid it, the smoother things would go for their lord in the short term.
As always compared to the other four pillars of House Aurellion who were more combat and war-focused it fell to him to fill in the gaps and make sure as little sign of there movements remained as possible.
Like this, the meeting ended as the loyal retainers of House Aurellion planned how to help and protect Railius in his endeavours to resurrect his noble house.