Jeff awoke slowly and as per usual got ready as he had the day before. First thing after he left he went to his morning training before doing his etiquette classes, after that however his schedule changed as Sargent Mar called him to discuss something.
“ Ah, lil commander. Glad you could show up, I would have told you this earlier, but I was just informed this shortly after your morning workout. And gods forbid I break the Duke’s edict about not interrupting etiquette lessons. So, I had someone fetch you after they were done. You see, the potential quartermaster for your merry band of constructs has arrived.”
Jeff paused seeing the sergeant almost giggity with excitement as he was then dragged to a nearby office where all his soldier constructs were on display as well as a dozen other guards all looking at the one dwarf who had his focus on Jeff’s summons.
“ All right you tag ons. This here is a private conversation so get out of here before I kick your collective rears out.”
The room quickly empties save for the constructs, Jeff, the dwarf, and the Sargent. With a gruff and a motion toward the door, Mars reluctantly leaves as well. The next thing that happens is the dwarf pulls out a stone and puts it on the nearby table.
|You are under the effect of a Master level privacy ward.|
“ Alright, that kid Lews said you were a sharp lad, so I shall give you five minutes at first crack at me. Because otherwise, I will have to go to the group I was originally called here to help.”
With only hesitating a moment, Jeff opens his jacket’s folds and pulls out a few notebooks. Without saying a word he offers them to him and he takes them without a second thought. It appeared to Jeff he just flipped through the pages, without giving any any particular thought, but he knew better from his lessons about those with higher stats. In less than a minute the dwarf was done and handed back the notebooks. Then without much fanfare, the dwarf merely left after taking his stone back. Jeff just stood there unsure exactly what happened when Sargent Mar returned to the room seeing Jeff seemingly starstruck.
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“ Whatever he said to you, it is for you only. It is not every day someone gets time with a Legend. Now that I have said my required line, spill it.”
Jeff blinks seeing Mar still jittery like a schoolgirl who gets a hello back from her pop idol. Shaking his head, Jeff put his notebooks away and shook his head.
“ He didn’t say anything, just walked out without a word.”
Concern and sadness appear on the old soldier's face before he sighs and turns to the constructs. With a simple motion, one of many Jeff had been learning himself, the constructs left the room to return to their individual training.
“ Well, it's not all bad, you can brag to your grandchildren that you met a Legend at least. Not many he would give a second consideration to. Still something to be proud of.”
“ I guess, only if I knew who he was in the first place.”
Mar looked at the young man less than half his age in surprise before sighing realizing he overlooked one important fact. Jeff was an otherworlder and did not know the common folklore of famous people.
“ Right, perhaps I should start with his name. Wit Cobblestorm, one of three triple S ranks adventurers alive that have broken the fabled two hundred and fifty threshold. Said to be over a thousand years old, but not old enough to be born when the pack of flame and stone was forged between the dragons and dwarves. To end the great war of the third era. You can look that up on your own time. Anyways, Wit became an adventurer when he was young. He had to. Long story short, he was good at it. So good at it that the dwarven king back then forced conscripted him into his army. To summarize what happened from that, that bloodline no longer exists. Move on a few hundred years and you have Wit and the new dwarven nobility and royalty have something of an understanding.
In more recent history, Wit served as a staff sergeant because he was tired of killing. He wanted something of a more quiet life while upholding his agreements. Then one day some seventy years ago, some no-name double-digit in-line prince spent his holiday pretending to be a soldier. Not many know the exact details but, the prince accused Wit of theft and had him jailed. It took three days for the king to learn of this, and be released. Naturally, Wit was pissed. As reparation, he asked the king to deal with the prince properly. That led to the first public execution of royalty in hundreds of years.”
Mar paused to let that all sink in and he could see Jeff contemplating it.
“ Since then he been wandering from one bar to the next on vacation. On occasion, you hear of him rampaging past the front lines or shoring up a weak point. And now he is here. I wonder if he is giving autographs...”
Jeff’s only response was to roll his eyes.