Five days had passed since the meeting of all the Grandmasters at Middle Tahl, and yet no real progress had been made other than what Crusader chapters can stay within the Kingdom. Maxis arrived at the Palace in the early morning for negotiations, as he had for the past four days. He made his way to the dining hall where the meetings were being held and immediately saw Baldwin speaking to Monterrey. He glared at the Grandmaster, his blood running cold as he walked by him to sit down.
Baldwin noticed Maxis and nudged Monterrey to signal to move somewhere else with him to discuss plans.
Baldwin and Monterrey went to another corner of the room, away from Maxis, and began to speak to each other quietly while more people began to arrive and walk into the room.
"Are you confident your plan will work?" Monterrey asked.
"Yes. I've been writing letters to Edelweiss all week. Once Maxis finds out, he'll snap and try to kill me. That's when we can get him imprisoned for attempted murder." Baldwin responded with a smile.
"Middle Tahl will have lost one of its best leaders." Monterrey said, following along.
"And it's best fighter. Without Maxis, Middle Tahl won't get any help from Indians either, and he won't be able to convince Wivven to join him either." Baldwin added, chuckling and feeling proud of himself.
The King finally emerged and took his seat at the end of the long table in the room, wearing a white gown with his long and messy blonde hair being held out of his face by his crown.
"Alright then, let's continue the negotiations. Take your seats, gentlemen." The king said tiredly after having done this for five days.
Maxis crossed his arms in his seat and sighed tiredly. He didn't want to be here at all. He'd rather still be in bed with Edelweiss, sleeping peacefully. He spaced out while the Grandmasters bickered and the king droned on. He thought about Edelweiss and how his plans for the future didn't seem to reflect his own. Maxis wanted children ever since his mother died, and he left his people. He always wanted to make his father and grandfather proud by carrying on their bloodline. He knew it was sort of strange, and he knew, but he didn't care. He was sad Edelweiss could never be the one to give him a child, and he knew that with the war going on, it was unlikely he would ever have one.
The negotiation continued for many grueling hours, and some servants lit the fireplace in the dining hall as the wind blew harshly outside the warm palace. Maxis leaned back and looked out the tall windows and saw snow falling outside. "Winter is coming soon." He thought. This time of year, he placed Owaine or Hetfield in charge of the knights while he went to the plains to visit his father and his people. It didn't look like that would be happening, not this year.
Hours passed, but it seemed as though some progress had been made. The king had agreed to let Boscogne and Aldonva alone keep their headquarters in Frostgrad, and in return, the other leaders would receive supplies to construct new headquarters elsewhere. Many Grandmasters began protesting to this, though.
"Our headquarters are ancient monasteries built in the 1500s! We cannot simply build them again or move them elsewhere!" Grandmaster Godwin of the Order of The Holy Lance intervened. "If we move, what if the savages attack us next?" Godwin added. Many Grandmasters shouted their agreement, but then Boscogne and Aldonva arose from their seats to calm down the leaders.
"Is this how men of God act? Bickering amongst each other over selfish things such as 'your' land. You forget, brothers, that we are not from this land, nor were our grandfathers or their parents. We are in the process of stealing this land from the people who already live here. They are closer to God than all of you. They are truly happy, and they have love in their hearts. I have never heard of the Kiowa letting any visitors go hungry, nor have I heard of the Osage being greedy, or the Cherokee be dishonest. You men are the true savages."
Maxis looked over to Aldonva and nodded in approval, standing up with him to show it.
"I believe Aldonva's words to be true, my brothers. Though somewhat harsh, he speaks the truth. We must all back down from this conflict and turn to the true path of eternal life. We can start by stopping this war and continue by treating the indians fairly. Is that not what our book says? To love thy neighbor?" Boscogne spoke, much to Baldwins' annoyance. Many of the Grandmasters sighed, knowing the Hospitaller was right.
Godwin spoke up once more. "But they are savages! They fornicate, they steal, they kill, they rape and cannibalize! They are sinners that need to be destroyed."
"They are sinners? Let he who is without sin draw his sword then. Strike that one down." Boscogne said, raising his arm and directing them to Maxis. The grandmasters shifted in their seats and looked around uncomfortably.
"See? None of us are without sin. I know many of you were in the last crusade in the north. Many of you have killed or stolen, but you use our faith as justification, and that is disgusting and unacceptable." Boscogne added, sitting down, follwed by Aldonva.
Godwin nodded his head and sighed in defeat. "Very well. We will leave your Kingdom." He said.
"Thank you. You are all also required to give us thirty soldiers each from your orders to pay for casualties you have inflicted." The king added.
Godwin glared at the king before nodding and getting up from his seat. Maxis handed the king the treaty that everyone present would sign, and a nearby servant produced a quill and inkwell. Slowly, one by one, the Grandmasters lined up and signed their names on the treaty. Last in line was Baldwin. He and Monterrey signed their names, and the Grandmasters left the palace.
It'"s finally done." Maxis said tiredly.
"Not yet." The king responded. "We still need to help them move, which will take months. Thank God most of them are based overseas. Moving all of them out of Middle Tahl would be a nightmare."
"I agree. Though, in my opinion, your majesty, Baldwin should be executed." Maxis said coldly.
"Executed? Why's that?"
"I caught Edelweiss kissing him-"
Before Maxis could finish, the king rolled his eyes.
"Not this again, Maxis. If Edelweiss is upsetting you that much, you should leave him. This isn't good for you, friend. I can't execute a prominent leader because of your own vendetta against him."
"It's not just that, I think he was behind the slaughter of those rangers about a month ago."
"Do you have proof?"
"....No.."
"Then just drop it. He'll get what's coming to him, don't worry."
Maxis sighed and walked off angrily.
"If he won't have him executed legally, I'll do it myself." He thought as he stormed off through the palace.