"Whats the job?" Rayla asked
"We'd like you to infiltrate Hasting's office and acquire some copies of his documents, we'll give you the tools and information you'll need to carry it out and we'll also take care of any lose ends." Callum answered her.
"why me?" she asked.
"Because all the other Moonshadow elves have already been dispatched on different missions so you're all I got. In the end it's your choice but if it counts you'll be paid two gold for it." He said.
The last part struck her like lightning. She realized Callum knew just where to poke and prod to make her more likely to agree while still giving her the final say in it all.
"Deal." she said, she ain't turning down money, plus he said they'll deal with any loose ends.
"We'll get you your equipment and deal with he paperwork when we head to the capital, weapons come later."
"When do we head out?" she asked,
"we head for the capital in nine days from now so enjoy yourself till then."
She then proceeded to munch happily on the pastries.
Callum thought, "this is both fascinating and adorable" he got up and took out a violin from the nearby cabinet and went back to his seat, and began playing.
She immediately recognized the song.
"You were the one playing that song every morning?" she asked. He nodded as he continued to play. She continued eating as quietly as possible while enjoying the music "Great food while being entertained by royalty, I'm definitely not walking away from this kind of life."
She noticed Vaeril seemed more relaxed as soon as Callum started playing.
-
Frenoria - Capital City of the Erdus Dukedom, one week later
The storekeeper heard someone knocking at his store's door. After first confirming the time and making sure his appearance was presentable, he went straight to receive the patron. There was only one person that would arrive at his bakery an hour before opening.
"Your Grace, Lord Richard Belmont, I trust you had a pleasant morning," he said in greeting, bowing his head. The man wore a green long-sleeved, open jacket that covered up to his waist with white trimmings and a finely made dark silk shirt.
His pants are simple and a comfortable fit, and reached down to his hard leather boots. The boots are made from high-quality leather but are otherwise not any different from others. He noticed the dirt that clung to those boots.
"Quite well, I heard you'll be opening a new branch in Zoras next year. I must say Nelson I not sure why you chose a city dedicated to military production but then again I'm not a businessman."
"You needn't be so humble Your Grace, after all managing the affairs of our great nation requires far greater skills than one in my trade." Nelson said.
"Managing a bloated bureaucracy hardly requires skill, you just need enough staff to not drown in it." He let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"This should cover next week's delivery, the children especially loved the orange fillings." He pulled out a promissory note for the amount. Nelson examined it to see if the amount was correct and found it a bit more, which meant he needed to make sure the next delivery went perfectly.
"I'll shall see you again next week." saying that, he took his leave.
"I'll shall look forward to it, Your Grace." Nelson said as he saw his esteemed guest out. Once the door was closed, he let out a sigh of relief. He was glad the Prime Minister only visited in the early morning, if he came when the store was busy, he'd have to worry about one of the customers accidentally offending him. He didn't know why his store was chosen, but he wasn't going to complain since it began thriving after it became known he was a purveyor to a Duke.
When he was outside, the coachman was waiting for him holding the carriage door open. After being seated inside, the coachman closed the door then chanted
"erebros"
The carriage was enveloped by a faint glow momentarily before they began to move, the magic acted like suspension making the ride as smooth as possible.
" 'great nation' whats nonsense, are these people truly this blind?" Richard muttered under his breath.
He wondered what was so urgent that Ernest would summon him now of all times. His agents had told him that a munitions warehouse was destroyed a week ago, but that wasn't a problem for them politically or economically. In fact, it was rather fortuitous.
The Castle was busy with staff ranging from high-ranking officials to average servants running around frantically that most didn't notice the Prime Minister at all, which piqued his curiosity. He picked up his pace.
Archduke Ernest Rannerias was in his office contemplating when he heard a knock from the door.
"This had better be important, if it's not then I swear I'll"
"It's me you idiot." came Richard's voice from the other side.
"Oh,.. come on in" the Archduke's face momentarily flushed with embarrassment after remembering that it was he who summoned Richard to come quickly.
He entered the room, on either side of the door were several bookshelves filled with books on history to works of fiction. The room was quite spacious even with the table and sofas in the middle.
Closing the door he turned to his old friend "Now what is so urgent that you drag me in the middle of my vacation." he said as he made his way to the chair in front of the Archduke's desk.
"This," the archduke said, placing a file on the desk. Richard took a seat then began to read it.
"I already knew this Erney, and that the other Dukes are requesting an emergency meeting to be held in 2 months. What I don't know is why you couldn't have waited a week before telling me this, I rarely get enough time to play with the children " Richard said
The Archduke didn't know where his friend kept getting his information from. He'd learned from a young age that Richard always had access to information, personnel, and resources that should be impossible for him yet he did, which was what allowed him to ascend to the throne so easily so to secure his rule he made his friend Prime Minister out of gratitude and fear of what might happen if he didn't repay him. Though Richard knew far more than anyone could possibly imagine, but he had no reason to show his hand.
"I just got an encrypted message from Duke Vanderbilt on the reason for the meeting, they want to speed up preparations for conquering Katolis."
Richard's head crashed into the desk, the sound of teeth-gritting and paper being crushed could be heard clearly. Richard clearly didn't know that and he genuinely wished he didn't find out about it either.
"Those incompetent fools! Just where do they think we'll get the resources to do that."
They were interrupted by a knock "You called for me Dear?" came a voice from outside, it was the third member of their old circle, the Archduchess Elaine Rannerias. Richard raised his head from the desk, his face still holding on to the anger from a moment ago.
"Come in" was all the Archduke said, knowing that formalities mattered little in this little group.
"Ernest why didn't you tell me Richard would be here?, I'd have ordered us some tea." She said happily as she entered. She looked far younger than her husband by around 25 years.
"Elaine focus, we're gonna hold a council meeting in two days, while we're doing that, I need you to entertain their family and retainers and see if they accidentally let slip any useful information." He said, in a tone that one would expect from a ruler.
She sighed as she stood near the door.
"You old men have some audacity to ask a youngster such as I to handle these things,"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUNGSTER?! WE'RE PRACTICALLY THE SAME AGE YOU OLD HAG!" Ernest protested loudly.
"HOW MUCH SKINCARE MAGIC DO YOU USE, YOU ARTIFICIAL OLD HAG!" Richard joined in without hesitation.
Several large hardcover books came flying at them. All hitting their targets with exceptional accuracy.
"You men are really shameless, after all I'm two years younger than you." she said
"It's just two years"
"It's only two years"
They tried retorting in unison.
"Very well, consider it taken care of," She said with a malevolent smile before gracefully leaving the two of them to deal with more pressing matters such as nursing their many concussions.
"I still can't believe you fell for that devious brute." Richard said staring at the door.
"That's my devious brute you're talking about!" He smirked, trying to rebuke his friend.
"I am SO impressed" was Richard's response, rolling his eyes with his tone dripping with sarcasm, then he changed the topic back to the meeting.
"Let's just hope we can keep those war mongering apes in check."
"On that front, we have some good news, Katolis has sent us terms for at least a technological alliance" He placed three pieces of paper, one was already unsealed, the other two were still unread, but one had a black seal instead of the usual red. He now understood why Ernest had ruined his vacation, any message with a black seal would burn to ash within 15 minutes after being unsealed.
They read it, it contained just three sentences "The terms laid in first the document are non-negotiable so you maybe exaggerate them how much you desire before presenting the original terms to make your government agree to them. We will consider your other offer only if the treaty is signed. Prince Tristan has assured me that Del Bar will support Princess Aanya's if she agrees to your terms."
"Well that makes our job a lot easier," Ernest said, tossing the message into the air then snapping his fingers, instantly burning into nothingness as it began to descend.
"That's generous of them," Richard said
He then picked one that contained the seal of the former kingdom of Duren. The message was that the former Princess of Duren would take up the position they offered her if they didn't violate the treaty with Katolis for three years after taking effect.
"That means the terms Katolis sent are crucial to all this." Richard said,
"Here, I'll paraphrase their terms." Ernest said, his face was like a child receiving his years end gifts.
"ahem (1) we have to acknowledge that that we are at fault for the incident all those years ago followed by an official apology and reparation of 1000,000 gold paid over 50 years... no arguments from me."
"the amount is no problem even if it was to be paid within a year so we easily increase it by ten times or more just to annoy the fools in our midst." Richard offered.
" (2) Acknowledging of current national borders... politically a bit problematic but meh."
"Hardly, this is just removes one casus belli, not all of them but it will give us time." Richard countered.
" (3)Making it punishable for merchants to acquire anything that's illegal in Katolis for the purpose of selling it within Katolian borders... can't blame them for wanting this.
"that would give us more leeway in reducing the power of those fools."
"And finally, (4) Sealing the breach to Xadia and allowing for Xadian's to return including the ones taking refuge in Katolis."
"Not like we plan to keep the breach open forever, we only planned for a 100 year occupation... but seriously thats it?" Richard asked, "Just what do they expect in return after selling all these favors?"
Richard already knew all of this but continued acting coy, revealing all his cards was counterproductive to his own goals. He just needed to reveal just enough that everyone else would know their place and act out the roles he wrote for them without drawing too much attention to himself.
"I have no idea," Ernest said happily, "but it won't be cheap if history is anything to go by." Politics worked by giving and taking favors, when the parties involved are nations, what was asked in return would never be something trivial.
This was the best possible scenario for the Archduke who didn't want a war. He had to make good on what Katolis offered. The pacification and occupation of Duren weren't going well, and occupying the Xadian frontier is a costly endeavor. They were stretched far too thin. They needed the technology and expertise of Katolis if the Dukedom was to be stabilized quickly.
"That just leave the issue of proposing an arranged marriage with Prince Callum to secure peace." Richard said. "Have you managed to convince your granddaughter yet?"
"Amelia is at least open to the idea. Though we'll have to wait for both of them to come of age before trying to push that boat." he said, then took out several photos of her and shoved them at Richard's face.
Richard just snapped his fingers, a ball of water formed over Ernest before falling on him. "How many times do I have to tell you to not do that."
"But she's so adorable." Ernest may be an archduke, but he was also an exceptionally doting grandparent.
It was dusk within the Dukedom. Richard had arrived at his estate. His butler came to greet him, a true professional, one would consider him to be the perfect butler.
"Welcome back my lord, I trust the interruption to your time with the children weren't a problem," he said while taking his master's coat.
"too problematic, those fools are pushing for war" Not hiding his scorn, he then looked at his butler, knowing that Elliot would never come to greet him unless it was something that required Richard's personal attention.
They walked to Richard's office not saying a word, Elliot went to a bookcase and waved his hand in front of it, the bookcase disappeared, revealing a darkened passageway leading down.
Richard's mansion was small compared to what other Dukes possessed. The land within the estate was vast and beautiful, but underneath was a different story. It was an underground fortress that was also the most secure location in the entire Dukedom. It was a secret that only those who were loyal to Richard knew.
They entered what looked like an office, Richard sat down at his desk.
"Report." he ordered
"Regarding the two officers who came close to uncovering the legion's activities, officer Melvin's loyalty has been secured. After a thorough investigation, we found that his five year old son is gravely ill, we have offered to cover the boy's treatment and education so Melvin's future cooperation can be guaranteed. He is completely unaware of who his benefactors are."
Eliot paused so his master could interject if he found any issues, then Eliot continued his report.
"As for officer Gavin, we planted false evidence leading him to a corrupt subordinate within General Bernard's ranks, effectively purging an incompetent problem from his side while convincing officer Gavin that the matter had nothing to do with the legion. The General was leaning towards your's and the moderate's faction to begin with, with this our agents within the intelligence agency have made him less susceptible to influence from other factions."
"Next is the matter of the spies, increasing the number of Alta Magus and Golems have impeded them but they have chosen to wait for an opportunity, we have ensured that an opportunity will be presented to them which will allow them to succeed in a manner that will be beneficial to your goals, my lord" he concluded.
"Tell me what became of the Earthblood elves," Richard asked.
"They managed to slip by with no assistance from us. They have entered Xadia approximately three days ago. The men informed me that our nation's agent's were so pathetic that they weren't even sure if the elves weren't trying and failing to get captured. The 'other' party proved to be a challenge but we succeeded."
He then took out a piece of paper, unfolded it, and gave it to his master.
"Here is the information they were carrying, the men copied it while the elves slept."
Richard's lipped formed a smile as he read the information, anyone who didn't know his true nature would've been overwhelmed by fear if they saw his expression, but to his subordinates, it was hardly anything to notice.
"Good, everything is proceeding according to my script." His smile was genuine, as was the malice that he emitted.
"I believe Duchess Kiera would be most suitable for what you intend to do with this information, preparations are already underway." After many years of service, Eliot had learned to anticipate his master's thoughts and thus was allowed to act as he saw fit. He only had to seek his master's permission and input for matters that demanded his attention.
Richard's expression quickly became stoic.
"Venderbilt managed to get an encrypted message transmitted to the Archduke,"
Eliot bowed "I shall instruct our agents to find the source and any others in order to rectify this serious blunder on our part."
"See to it" was all Richard said
-
Within the Moonshadow Kingdom, Runaan was kneeling in front of the King and Queen.
"You may rise my friend." the king said, and Runaan obeyed.
A servant came forward with a piece of paper.
"A group of earthblood elves managed to return with that information, read it."
Runaan began to read it, after rereading it several times to confirm it, then turned to look at the king.
"The Dukedom seeks to form an alliance with Katolis. We'd like your team to deal with it. King Avizandum and the other evlen races have given their approval for this mission. You may requisition any weapons, equipment or personnel you deem necessary, if anyone dares denies you then send them to me, I will personally deal with them." The king said.
"What are my mission objectives?" Runaan said, his tone indicated that he intends to carry out this mission.
"I shall tell you everything," the king said.
Two hours later, The King and Queen sat alone in the throne room, Runaan had just left to prepare for the mission.
"Are you sure he should be the one to go?" the Queen asked
"He lost his niece to the enemy, with this mission he can avenge her and save Xadia, that is what drives him. I'm ashamed to use her memory like this but we have no choice." the king answered.
"The twins also miss her, at least she won't have to deal with our eldest anymore." the queen said, not hiding her remorse.
"But at the very least she's finally found peace and is no longer tied to the troubles of our world" was the only thing the King said before he lowered his head.