NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63
As Waleter led the three towards their commander’s tent they all exchanged some worried looks. After the conversation he had with Kate the previous night as well as the talk through their whole march Ajax was feeling rather good about this whole situation. Sure being conscripted was not exactly how he had planned to spend his time, but he could use it to bring his skill levels up to where they should be for someone of his stats.
This new development was something that he hadn’t expected. What reason would the commander have for Tom specifically to join him right after they had started setting up their main camp? Not to mention the ominous warning that he and Kate might be affected by it as well. As they reached the large command tent the two guards acting as sentries didn’t so much as nod to them as they moved past.
As they entered they took in the scene. The tent looked large from the outside but once inside the space seemed a lot more cramped. In the middle of the tent stood a rather realistic map that had what Ajax assumed to be the terrain nearby fully fleshed out.
“You’re all here. Good.” the commander said as he looked up from setting up certain figurines on the map.”
“Reporting, sir” both Tom and Kate straightened into a salute at the commander’s acknowledgement or their presence with Ajax a moment behind copying their actions.
As their salutes were waved off the commander went and took a seat at the table in the room that was filled with food and waved for them to join him. Rather than sit at the head of the table he took the seat on one side with Walter sitting behind him as Tom sat opposite him with Kate and Ajax taking a seat beside him.
“I know you are all probably wondering why I called you here so soon.” The commander started talking as he also put some food on his plate and offered them some water. “The reason for that is that I just received word, from multiple sources, on who the other noble commanders for this skirmish are going to be.”
This information made all of them freeze as they politely took the offered drink and a few bits of food here and there. The nobles were probably the last person any of them wanted to get noticed by. While Ajax may be the most prominent of the three, all of them were rather talented and being herded into a retinue of one noble or another this early into their development would either see their potential stifled or chained to said noble house.
“I understand your reactions, sadly there is nothing I can realistically do about this. One of the two has already arrived, he is the son of an unimportant baron a few ways off whose father Baron Stillwater owed a favour to. The second, has not yet arrived, is the reason why you are here.” The commander’s face looked tired as he spoke about this.
It was a good thing he did as all four of them, Walter included, had their eyes wide as plates at the new. There were always only three Archdukes, all selected from the prominent dukes of the kingdom to fill three specific roles. Their family names of the selected are always being overwritten, but they kept their house sigil for as long as they kept the position. House Goldmancer, always represented the richest, most affluent of the Dukes, House Silvertongue the politically connected and House Steelblade the strongest military.
“When you say a daughter of Archduke Goldmancer, you mean the daughter of Archduke Goldmancer?” The one to break the silence was surprising Walter, him clearly being as taken aback by the news as all of them.
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“Yes,” the commander nodded.
While Tom and Kate frowned at the news, Ajax had no idea why that specification was necessary. Catching on to the dilemma Ajax was caught in, the commander decided to accommodate him.
“While Kate and Tom think over the implication, Walter, why don’t you explain to young Ajax here what the problem is.”
Walter quickly nodded and turned to Ajax to speak, if in a slightly lesser volume. “The current Archduke Goldmancer has risen to prominence a few hundred years ago and has maintained the position longer than any other Goldmancer in history. The added legal scrutiny has always led the position to be a temporary one as other dukes amassed more wealth.”
“Archduke Goldmancer has somehow managed to bring his family into the position at an early age, back when his father was the head of the house. This accomplishment led to him being named heir ahead of his fellow siblings. The surprising, and worrisome part, is that he only took a single wife in all this time and fathered only one child eighteen years ago.”
“His position as head of the house was well established but with the recent birth of a potential heir, especially as he has been getting on in age, has led to several of his nephews and grand-nephews to try and assassinate the girl in hopes of a chance at taking position as the new head of the house. The girl herself is said to be more than a little talented, any information regarding just how talented however is being strictly regulated by the Archduke.”
“That is the reason that I called you here for, Tom” Commander Grievous said. “A recent failed attempt on her life has led the Archduke to do a thorough cleansing of his household. During this time the girl was sent here with nothing but a single loyal guard and a friend of hers.”
“Your position as our unofficial unit mascot makes you uniquely qualified to be our unit's official liaison with the noble commanders. You are talented and sufficiently well known as to not be an insult yet also weak enough as to not pose any credible threat.”
“And, as if this situation wasn’t enough of a spin already” the commander seemed to be as frustrated by the troublesome situation as the rest of them “the friend she has brought with her is the granddaughter of Duke Manashaper.”
At hearing the name Ajax showed more recognition than either his brother or his sister-in-law. Duke Manashaper was a name he had not only heard about but actively looked into. He was the only person in the kingdom with an openly known Legendary Skill. The name of the skill was kept secret but its effect, supposedly, worked as sort of an automatic reflex that allowed the Duke to go on a sort of auto-pilot to protect himself.
While this skill wouldn’t seem all that powerful at first glance it enabled the very reason he was granted the rank of Duke. Duke Manashaper was in the unique position of being the only unlanded Duke, he was instead the head-master of the Academy, for the simple fact that he could try out new spell incantations without worrying for his own safety as his skill would stop the cast should it be harmful to him. It was widely believed that the man had multiple spell books that he kept to himself thanks to his ability to discover and record new ones.
“That is, that is quite a lot to take in” Tom admitted before he steeled himself. “ What would my new position require?”
“ The position itself is actually quite enviable.” Walter picked up, his reverie at the incoming information broken by Tom’s question. “ Outside of unit combat, you are to stay ready at all times to be sent to deliver a message. This means you are exempt from certain duties such as night-watch or latrine. The only downside is the added scrutiny on you and anyone close to you by the noble and their guards.”
Tom knew well enough that he should in fact be ecstatic to receive this position. Not only would he receive less work around camp but also more time to train as his schedule would be kept open should he need to deliver a message. He knew full well his talent, while above average, wasn’t special enough to warrant dedicated recruiting by noble houses. The same could not be said about Kate, let alone Ajax.
“If it does bring any consolation, outside of Walter here, and perhaps any of the Archduke company, none of the people on our side of the skirmish have any inspect skill.” The commander tried to smooth things over. “Your brother's … circumstances, should stay under wraps easily enough.”
With the new assignment given, the commander dismissed them and the three of them headed towards their shared tent.
“Do you think I should move to a separate tent?” Ajax broke the silence as they slowly moved through the camp.
“ That might not be a bad id-” Tom started to say.
“No. Someone sharing a tent with their brother and sister-in-law is normal, someone changing that arrangement after the liaison position being given to his brother would only invite further scrutiny.” Kate interrupted Tom. “The best we can do is just stick to our jobs and try not to draw attention to ourselves. Anything else we will just have to react to.”