Watching Stella nearly dislocate her jaw in a yawn, Markus was hard-pressed not to mimic her as the two of them followed after Major Albricht on their way through the palace to see the Princess Marianne now that they'd freed the children.
"If you'd bothered checking your bags at anytime before you made your hare-brained plan and put it to action, you wouldn't be dead on your feet," Albricht told them as he heard Markus fail to not yawn from exhaustion.
"Sorry," Markus said to the older man that was still angry that they'd attempted to take on nearly seventy trained Orc soldiers. The fact that they'd managed to come out on top in the exchange did nothing to alleviate the Human's anger.
"It's a miracle that nothing went wrong and the children weren't hurt," the Major said. "Though I will admit, you did good to capture some of them alive. Means that we have a chance to learn what they were doing here."
"Will that lead to us having to help again?" Stella asked tiredly.
"That isn't up to me," Albricht answered her. "We're here."
"Thank you Major," Markus said to the man gratefully.
"No, on behalf of the King's Army, thank you both for your help," the Major said, his voice losing some of the heat from his anger. "We'd been looking for who or what was taking those children since it all started, and if you hadn't brought fresh eyes into the whole thing, we'd still be pulling our hair out and those children wouldn't be on their ways to reunite with their families. I'm glad the both of you weren't hurt last night, just promise me that you'll be careful from here on out."
"That's easy enough," Stella said happily. "We promise to be more careful."
"I'll hold you to that," the man said with a slight smile before turning back to the door and rapping sharply three times. At the call to enter, he opened the door and stood aside for Markus and Stella to move into the same room they had met the Princess in previously. Sitting gracefully beside an older man on one of the small couches, Princess Marianne smiled as they entered before rising to greet them.
"Stella, Markus, it is good to see the both of you well and safe," she said formally. "The City of Hero's Crypt and her royal family owe you thanks for the meritorious deed you have performed for us. Please allow me to introduce my lord father, His Royal Majesty, King Martin VII, Ruler of Hero's Crypt and her surrounding lands."
Rising, the older man with hair streaked with gray and colored a darker gold than Marianne's looked at the two of them critically as they froze beneath his gaze. Dimly, Markus was aware of the Major having closed the door behind them.
Trying not to wilt beneath the older Human's studying eyes, Markus brought himself to stand as straight as he could in his exhaustion and bowed at the waist as he thought people were supposed to in the face of royalty.
"It is an honor to greet you, your Majesty," he said in a voice that he barely kept from shaking from his nerves.
For a long moment the room was silent as Markus, followed quickly by Stella, kept their heads bowed toward the man in charge of the city-state they were in. Finally, a quiet chuckle broke the silence before a voice that Markus could only call royal began to speak.
"My dear daughter told me that you were Last Stars, ignorant to our customs by a lack of education, but I did not expect that you might by some chance stumble on the way to greet an Elder of the Light Pantheon's Races," the man said through his laughter. "Please rise, and then, let us sit as equals and speak plainly. I have to speak to my advisors all day and they are the sort to follow the rules of ettiquette to the letter, the prudes."
"We meant no disrespect," Stella defended herself and Markus reflexively as she followed the King's request to sit.
"I am aware of that," the man told her kindly as he studied the both of them as they sat across from him and Marianne stiffly. "If you ever have the pleasure of meeting an Elder of the Light, then your greeting to me was more than adequate. Should you meet a Tyrant of the Dark, you should stare them in the eyes and refuse to back down from them, anything else offers them political victory over you. However, when meeting a Monarch of the Gray, such as myself, a simple half-bow to those you owe allegiance to will be perfectly fine."
"And if we don't owe allegiance?" Markus asked carefully as the man's strangely dark brown eyes turned to him.
"Then you merely dip your head and if they have issue with it, then they will challenge you," he answered. "However, that is seen as crude and petty by our society today, and most will simply let it slide without raising a public fuss. In private though, hmm, the stories the serving staff could tell you..."
As the King lost himself in thought, Marianne jumped into the conversation.
"As I said, our city and its surrounding lands owe the both of you more thanks than I simply offered to you for the information I expected to recieve, that you went beyond that and faced down a sizable Orcish raiding party, without demanding our aid, is worthy of further rewards."
"Indeed," the King nodded thoughtfully, his voice returning to its royal quality. "When we were informed of your meritorious deeds, we considered granting to you a simple Knighthood; however after hearing of your efforts to return our people's children to their families and homes, we have made the decision to offer you another reward in addition to that our daughter, the Princess Marianne, has offered to you for your aid. I am prepared to grant to you a noble title of Marquis. As a Marquis of the Gray Pantheon, you will have status equal to that of a Duke of the Gray Pantheon and the leave of the Monarchs to found your own hold, wherever you wish across Tauron or beyond in the wider world of Astrana."
"What's the catch?" Markus asked immediately. "Raising a person to nobility like that has a catch to it and it must be a pretty big one if you're saying that we could claim our own land wherever we want."
"The catch, as you call it, is that you must raise your own army, your own treasury, and your own citizens," the King said with a smile that Markus saw as cunning, given the circumstances. "Additionally, should you claim land adjacent to a hostile force of any of the Pantheon's people, you would be responsible for preventing them from moving through your lands to raid and pillage your own villages and cities and that of your neighbors."
"What other perks come from the title?" Markus asked carefully. "What other pitfalls are there that you're trying to hide?"
"What are you doing?" Stella hissed in his ear before the King of the Princess could answer. "It's a noble title! It could be a ticket beyond what other players could get!"
"Why offer a position like Marquis?" Markus asked her quietly in answer. "Think about it Stella. They're offering something that looks like gold, but is probably copper. A noble position equal to a Duke? No such thing exists without some sort of catch. Besides, the King was thinking about giving us Knighthood before he decided to give a Marquis title. That's way lower than a Duke, I think the next highest is Baron or Viscount, but he went all the way to the number two position in nobilty. The only thing higher than Dukes are Kings."
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"So what?" she asked after a moment. "You think it's some sort of trap?"
"Like my uncle always says, 'If it looks perfect, it's been painted recently. Start looking for the cracks and holes,'" Markus told her before raising his voice to be heard clearly again. "Please answer my question your Majesty."
"Other than the aforementioned opprotunity to claim any territory as your own," he began, his eyes studying Markus carefully as a smile tugged at his lips, "you will be able to declare youself a Monarch in your own right should you meet the Pantheon's requirements. You will also be able to choose a Divine that you resonate more clearly with and declare them the Patron God of your lands. As for the 'pitfalls' as you called them, they are simple and boil down to the reasons that the Orcish party you destroyed was here. Population, wealth, might and labor. You cannot build your lands up without all four of these things. Population without wealth will seek out more charming lands to live within. Wealth without population will be spent as quickly as water runs. Labor without population will lead your lands and any buildings constructed to fall into disrepair and ruin. And if you don't have the might to protect your wealth and population, you will find yourself absent both."
"So, to summarize, if we accept a Marquis title from you, we'll be able to start making our own kingdom if we want, but we'll also have to worry about retaining citizens, collecting taxes and building an economy, raising an army, and keeping whatever labor is necessary from ballooning into something we can't meet. Sound right?" Markus asked as the King's smile finaly split his face.
"That's correct," he said. "It is so wonderful to meet a young man that looks toward the larger issues with something like this. Many in your position would have dived headfirst into accepting my offer and they would have found themselves failing from the outset from lack of coin, land, people, and military. Do you have an answer for me about my offer?"
"One more question from me," Markus said. "Is there some sort of time limit to raising funds and claiming land that I would need to be aware of if I accepted the title now?"
"No," the King said. "The only caveat to your holding the title and living your life is that you will be unable to pass it on to any children or heirs you may have unless you have claimed lands for yourself."
"Do we both have to accept the title?" Stella asked, fearfully. "I don't think that I want to have a noble title like that now that I know how much work goes into the whole thing."
"We would have granted the both of you a Marquis title that was uniquely your own," the King assured her. "Our eyes see that neither of you are bound to one another through marriage, so forcing you to share a title without such a bond would have gone against the tenents of our Lady Brandi, Mother of Humans."
Quietly, the King and his daughter sipped their tea as they waited for either of the two across from them to speak. Before either of them could, the door opened and a man looked in before speaking.
"Your Majesty, sir, I must remind you of your other duties that will begin to demand your attention shortly," the said.
"Of course, Silas," the King said easily as he waved the man away. "We're almost done here. I'll be along shortly."
"Thank you, your Majesty. Excuse me, your Highness," the man bowed slightly as he exited the room and the King looked expectantly toward the Human and Halfling sitting across from him.
"I've made my choice," Stella said, raising her head to meet his eyes. "Thank you for the opprotunity that you have offered, but I must decline. I'm not here in Astrana to work myself to the bone trying to make things the way I want them, I'm here to have fun."
"Very well," the King nodded his head to her. "We have discussed this choice with our daughter and she will offer you a different reward in addition to what was already promised. And you, young man?"
"I'll do it," Markus said after a moment. "It lines up with my own goals, so this just sets up something I was going to be working toward anyway."
"Excellent," the King smiled before standing and moving to less cluttered side of the room. "Rise and come over here, please. The Gods do love their beauracracy at times."
"What's next?" Markus asked standing in front of the King that he realized was an inch shorter than him.
"Kneel and bow your head," the King directed him as one of the Guards in the room offered a beautifully decorated sword to him.
Following the older man's instructions, Markus folded himself onto one knee and lowered his head to face the floor.
"Do you, Markus, Last Star from beyond Astrana, swear to uphold the tenents of the Gray Pantheon and protect the people who offer themselves to you?" the King asked as he rested the blade of the sword on Markus' shoulder.
"I do swear," Markus responded, knowing somehow what the appropriate response was.
"Do you also swear to stand tall against the forces of the Light and the Dark Pantheons as they seek to dominate the world and mold its people in their image?" the next question came as the sword's blade moved to his other shoulder.
"I do swear," the answer came easily.
"Lastly, do you swear to spend your life in service of the people who would call you lord, to protect them from those Outsiders who manage to claw their ways into our Realm?" the final question was asked as the tip of the sword rose to point directly at the top of Markus' bowed head.
"I do swear," Markus answered.
"Then rise, Sir Markus, Marquis of the Gray Pantheon and go forth to lay claim to lands of your choosing for the sake of your people," the King said firmly as he raised the sword's hilt to the level of his face. "I have granted you the title of Marquis of the Gray Pantheon by my right as Monarch of the City, Hero's Crypt."
You have gained a Noble Title! Marquis of the Gray Pantheon: A Monarch of the Gray Pantheon has seen your deeds and found you worthy of becoming a noble that might rise to equal him in the future. As a Marquis, you may align yourself with one of the Kingdoms of the Gray Pantheon and claim new territory to expand their borders, you may also choose to form your own kingdom by whatever means you choose. Beware, both options will require you to build a capital city, a military force, and a civilian population. Should you fail to hold your claimed lands, you will lose your title. There is no time limit to claiming lands, but you will be known as a Knight equivalent until you claim lands of your own.
"Now then," the King said cheerfully. "I have matters of state that I must attend and I must take my leave. Marianne, I hope to see you at dinner tonight. Sir Markus, Miss Stella, again, thank you for your efforts to aid my people. It was wonderful to meet the both of you. I expect great things from you both."
With bows, the three of them bid the King goodbye and watched as the man left the room with the grace of a monarch, his guards in tow.
"Well, that was something," Stella said to Markus as she straightened up. "Was it worth it?"
"Ask me in a few years," he suggested with a barely restrained snort.
"I think you will find that the benefits of your position can come to outweigh the detriments," Marianne smiled at him. "Of course, this assumes that you are able to rise to the challenges that come from your new position. Especially when you begin to build your own lands."
Markus didn't offer her a response, lost as he found himself in the Princess' smile.
"Let us move on to our other matters," she said, turning her eyes toward Stella and breaking Markus from his stupor. "As promised, a sum of fifty Bronze coins to each of you for your efforts to aid our city. Additionally, at a time of your choosing, you will have access to a maximum of two Royal Guard Instructors for training of your choosing. Do not worry about if they will be able to teach you anything. Our Royal Guards are more capable than most realize and they have a broad range of duties that they specialize in. Lastly, a Royal Artisan will create for you an item of your choosing. Simply meet with one and tell them what sort of item you would like. They will take over from there. Questions?"
"What sort of extra stuff does Stella get since she turned down the title?" Markus asked. "Is there certain time limit that we need to request our training and new item within?"
"I cannot reveal to you what Stella will receive since she has forgone a noble title," Marianne told Markus. "You will be lead from the palace when we are done here and I will inform her of her extra reward. As for your second question, there is no restriction. Perhaps you know exactly what you want and having someone to make it for you know will be a boon; perhaps you don't know and choosing hastily will leave you filled with regret when you realize that what you chose was not useful to you. Simply inform the Guards at the palace's gates and they will lead you to the Master Artisan or our Head Trainer."
"Okay, that's it from me then," Markus said, rising to his feet. "Do you want to keep moving together or go our own ways?"
Stella startled slightly at his question before answering.
"I think I can make it on my own for a bit," she said. "You don't have to wait for me. Maybe we'll see each other again. Besides, we exchanged our info so we can message each other, right?"
"That's true," Markus nodded before bowing to the Princess and leaving the room. "Take care Stella. You as well, Princess Marianne."