Baron Wiseman's Manor wasn't extravagant. It was by far the nicest house in Gurnkey, to be sure, but it felt more like an oversized house than say, a manor or a chateau or anything. The inside was decorated rather plainly, with solid colors abounding, local craftsmanship being apparent. It was less "opulent" and more "neat and clean". The stairs were made of mahogany, not anything gaudy like marble. The chairs oaken. There were paintings and indoor plants, but no statues or anything. It felt surprisingly humble.
The maid led Felix upstairs, and they stopped in front of a particular door. The maid knocked twice. "Come in." came a call from inside. The maid opened the door, let Felix in, and shut the door behind him with a curtsy. The room was a study, with several bookshelves, laden with dusty tomes, a fireplace, and a pair of large oaken chairs, with a red plush trim, one of which was occupied by the Baron. On the table between them, lay a large goblet, which was by far the most opulent thing in the manor Felix had seen. It was made of a silvery metal with a gold trim, with many gemstones inlaid on the hilt and handles. It was full of water.
"Have a seat." Baron Wiseman said, nodding to the chair opposite himself. Felix sat down in the empty chair.
"Well well. If I'm right, you must be... Maxwell's kid?" Baron Wiseman asked.
Baron Wiseman was an old man, Felix guessed to be in his 70s. He was a bit portly, with white hair, pale skin, and he was wearing a rather comfortable looking red robe. On his ring finger was a large black ring, the insignia of his rank. But the most notable thing about him was his eyes. They were a striking verdant green, and looked like they could pierce through the entire world.
"Yes, sir. I'm flattered the Lord would know me." Felix said.
"Of course I would. Tell me, do you know how your family came to be in Gurnkey?" he asked. He rang a small bell.
"No, Lord. I do not." Felix said. The same maid poked her head in the doorway.
"Bring us some tea, would you please, Faith?" Baron Wiseman asked. The maid nodded and shut the door, presumably to go off and brew some tea.
"Well, let's see... how long ago was it now... Lad, how old are you?" Baron Wiseman asked Felix, glancing over at him.
"I just turned 18 last month, Lord." Felix responded. He smartly did not bring up the matter of the illegal conscription.
"Right, right... I believe Maxwell told me he had you at 20, and Luke had him after about 4 years after he got that land south of the town. So I suppose it was about 40 years ago your family came here." Baron Wiseman said.
"Were you very familiar with my father, Lord?" Felix asked in surprise.
"Well. I kept an eye on him. I owed Luke, your grandfather, a great deal. You see, I became Baron of Gurnkey at 32. Pretty young, right? It wasn't for a good reason, though. My own father, the late Baron, was killed. A small team of demons had made it past the southern mountains, we still don't know how. But there isn't anything of sustenance in the wastes and wilds to the south of Gurnkey. By the time they reached the town, they were ravenous and desperate, and my father happened to be outside the walls, speaking to your grandfather, who was a mere passerby. If I remember correctly, your grandfather was the 3rd son of some noble up north, but since he had no realistic chance of inheriting the title, he was wandering the kingdom, looking for whatever opportunities happened upon him." Baron Wiseman recounted. At this point, there was a knock on the door. The maid, Faith, entered the room, and poured them both a cup of hot tea, gave a curtsy, and left the room again. Felix took a sip of the tea. It was quite delicious.
"Good, isn't it? Imported it from the capital. Worth every silver." Baron Wiseman said, sipping on his own tea.
"Yes, Lord. It is delicious. Thank you." Felix said.
Baron Wiseman put down his cup and he continued. "So, the demons came upon my father and your grandfather. You may be wondering how come no one saw them? Well, most unfortunately, a scuffle had broken out in front of the gate. The watchmen came off their post to help break it up, and no one was watching. There were three demons. My father was a powerful mage to be sure, but, unfortunately for him, he was specialized in long range attacks. Quite useful if you're behind the walls, not useful if you've been jumped by three demons in close quarters. The demons were absolutely ravenous, wicked beasts. One of them leaped on his throat, tore out the flesh, and swallowed it then and there. Your grandfather, unfortunately, could not save him. However, what he could do, was kill the demons. And so he did. Their skulls are right above that fireplace behind us." Baron Wiseman said, as he took a sip of his tea. Felix looked, and sure enough, there were three skulls hanging above the mantle of the fireplace.
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"And so, I inherited my father's title. And my first act as the new Baron was to award your grandfather that land down south of the town, which he turned into the beautiful and productive orchard that it is today, and your father took over it because he had his eyes on a local lass who loved apples, rather than following his original plan of being a bounty hunter. Which, if what Faith tells me is true, you have come here today seeking to sell?" Baron Wiseman asked Felix.
"Well, Lord, that depends. Firstly, I hope you can help me with your scryer's goblet to contact the other branch of my family up north, and see if they would have me. I did some soul-searching in my brief time in the military, and I decided that I think it would be best for me if I reconnected with them, rather than be alone here in Gurnkey. Not that I dislike Gurnkey or anything, I just think it would be best if I was among my family." Felix said. Baron Wiseman nodded.
"Well, let's see. But, if they will have you, you will sell the orchard and move to be with them, yes?" Baron wiseman asked, seeking to re-confirm everything.
"Well, if they'll have me, then, yes Lord. Actually, I might sell either way, and I may end up a wanderer like my grandfather. But first, I should at least inquire with my family up north." Felix said.
"I see. If I had to place a value on that orchard... I would say it's worth about 20 gold, for everything, including the house and whatnot. Does that sound like a fair valuation to you, lad?" Baron Wiseman asked, looking at Felix.
"Yes, Lord, I would say that's a fair market value." Felix said, nodding his head.
"Hmm. Indeed. However, there's a couple of issues with that. Firstly, if you're looking for a short-term, or even immediate sale, I'm realistically the only one who could buy it off of you in Gurnkey. Which, I am interested. However, I think it's fair that you should have to accept some loss for impacting my liquidity so much unexpectedly in the short term. Don't you agree?" Baron Wiseman asked.
"Pardon my ignorance, Lord, but are you saying the amount you should pay should be lower because you wouldn't be given much time to arrange your assets?" Felix asked.
"Yes, quite right." Baron Wiseman said, nodding.
"I suppose that's fair, Lord, depending on how much of a cut you're thinking of." Felix said.
"Well, let's see. I think I can reasonably do 12 gold coins for the property. In addition, I'll waive the cost of your scrying today, and the cost of giving your your leave of Gurnkey, which would combined be worth an additional 60 silver. Does that sound fair to you?" Baron Wiseman asked, looking at Felix.
"Indeed fair, Lord. Considering the extremely short term nature of the proposed sale, asking for more on my end would be downright greedy." Felix said, relieved to be getting 60% plus a bit extra. "Might I ask what your plan is for the property, Lord? If you don't mind. I'm just personally curious." Felix asked.
"Well, funnily enough, I actually needed something to gift someone for a service they rendered me recently. You don't need to know the particular details, but it's just the same as I did with the property the first time, I suppose." Baron Wiseman said, as he finished his tea. Felix politely finished his as well.
"So, Lord, how exactly does this scrying work?" Felix asked, looking at the opulent goblet.
"It's a water spell. It's rather intensive, actually, which is why I charge a fair bit for it's use. It will send a kind of mental ping to the intended party, and they can choose to accept or reject the scrying. If they accept, it will open a vision in front of them, and we can speak to them through the water." Baron Wiseman said.
Felix was reminded of a cell phone, in many ways. Or a webcam.
"Why doesn't everyone use this technique, Lord? The military sends riders everywhere. Even the capital sent a physical rider on horseback during that blockade a month ago." Felix remarked.
"Hehe. That blockade was nothing but a sham. They sent physical riders everywhere to sell the show to the demon's spies. Trust me, they use this technique frequently." Baron Wiseman remarked.
Felix supposed that made sense. The noble intelligence rider a month ago in the middle of the night lighting up the entire plain with his light magic had been quite the spectacle.
"Remember lad, deception can be just as important a skill when it comes to fighting as your actual strength. We won the last battle with the demons because we out-maneuvered them. Had they been patient and continued to build their strength, they would have won handily in a couple of years." Baron Wiseman remarked.
"Now then. Enough chatter. If you want me to contact someone via scrying, I need to know who it is I am actually contacting! Do me a favor lad, and go to that bookshelf over there with the red covers. Those are the ledgers. It'll have the various notes my father left." Baron Wiseman said.
Felix stood up and walked over to the shelf. The current year, as measured from the founding of the Aurul Kingdom, was 1714. Felix looked for the ledger labeled 1674, which was quite covered in dust. He picked it up, dusted itt off a bit ,and handed it to Baron Wiseman. Baron Wiseman cracked it open, and began to peruse it.
"Let's see...harvest reports.... guard pay.... taxes... Ah, here we go. Property transfer. So, your family in the north..." he began.
"It seems they belong to an Earldom. They have the family name of..." Baron Wiseman said, continuing to read the ledger.
"Belrose."