A New Arrival [https://i.imgur.com/vyukAsa.png]
Chapter 11: A New Arrival
In the royal palace, the King launched the next evening meeting.
“So far, it’s looking like the Empire was behind the assassination attempt. The suspects are at large.”
“My King, once we make it through the immediate crisis, I will step down,” the Captain offered. “My blunder is unforgivable.”
“You’ll step down when I tell you to, or when you’re dead. Where you have failed, learn. I won’t accept it if you quit on me now.”
“…Understood.”
The Court Mage spoke next. “My King, did you learn anything regarding Bearclaw or his connection to the large hydra!?”
“He did not admit to anything, and I could hardly push him after he saved us yet again. There may be a connection, but I do not sense any malice on his part. Do you two agree?”
The Prime Minister and Captain both nodded.
“I still have been unable to learn anything new,” Kay pointed out. “Please permit me to investigate him using magical means. If I can trace—“
“Absolutely not!” the King interrupted. “In the future, he may share more information with us. Until such time, we need to support the Adventurer’s Guild and offer him a helping hand should he ever need it. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to monitor the situation near the border with the Empire.”
“May I at least have a friendly conversation with him regarding magic?” she asked.
“Not now. We will remain passive.”
The first princess jumped in. “Father, I still want to discuss summoning magic with him! Did you see that splendid eagle he summoned?”
“The one I practically had to duck under to avoid? Yes, I saw it.”
“The way it intercepted the attack so soon after it was summoned was remarkable. Had I noticed the attack at the same time as Sir Garfield, there’s no way I could have intervened in time. And not only that! As he was preparing to cast his spell, he continued his conversation with me as though surprise attacks are nothing special to him.”
“He did?” the King asked. “Do you mean to say he knew the attack was coming and thus wasn’t surprised?”
“No, father! I was asking Sir Garfield to demonstrate one of his summons shortly before the attack, and he kept declining saying it wouldn’t be appropriate at a banquet. He would most likely have taken advantage of my request if he knew he was going to need the eagle to save you.”
The princess cleared her throat.
“When he and Ms. Yttria noticed the assassin up on the roof, while Ms. Yttria was running towards you, Sir Garfield said to me, ‘it looks like you’ll get that demonstration after all.’ He then calmly summoned the eagle. If he was only pretending to be surprised by the attack, he never would have said such a thing to me.”
The princess looked from the Court Mage to the King and continued her explanation.
“I’m 100% certain he had no advance notice of the assassination attempt. He was just that confident in his magic! After the eagle blocked the arrow, there was chaos all around us, but he said to me ever so calmly, ‘I hope your father doesn’t schedule another banquet for this…’”
Several of the attendees laughed out loud.
The King addressed the Court Mage. “Kay, what do you think about that?”
“I. Want. To. Meet. This. Summoner.”
“My King, I too am intrigued by that story,” the Magic Guild Master noted.
“Well, Charlotte, what do you want me to do? If we tried to hire him as a magical tutor, he would almost certainly decline.” the King said. “You heard what he said. Apparently, a second banquet is also off the table.”
“That…”
“My King, what about a housewarming?” the Prime Minister proposed.
“A housewarming?”
“If Sir Garfield were gifted a home in the northern district as a reward for saving his King, as well as his other accomplishments, it would both tie him down to this city and give us an opportunity for the princess and others to visit him on one or more occasions. Even a noble title is justified in this case.”
“Upgrading him from an inn makes sense, but do you think he even wants to become a noble?” the King questioned.
“My King, may I?”
The King nodded at the Adventurer’s Guild Master.
“I’ve met many adventurers in my time, and I believe I’ve become a decent judge of character. I’ve only spoken to Sir Garfield on a limited basis, but I believe he’s the type of person who could thrive as a noble or in another leadership position.”
The King looked elated, at least until the Guild Master continued.
“However, I think it would be very challenging to motivate him to actually take such a position seriously. His values seem foreign, almost as though there is no connection between where he’s from and this kingdom. What I’m trying to say is, offering him a noble title right now would likely get declined, but it’s worth keeping in mind for the future.”
“Hm, I see.”
“Well, just where is he from?” the crown prince asked bluntly.
Nobody spoke for several beats.
The Magic Guild Master’s deputy was the first to offer an answer. “Could he have fled here from the Empire? He seems close with you know who.”
“Her?” the crown prince asked. “Didn’t she jump in front of you to protect you, father? Why would she do that if she served the Empire?”
The King did not respond. Eventually, the Magic Guild Master’s deputy spoke up again. “Who knows what her true goal is?”
“Enough,” declared the King. “We’ll treat both adventurers only with respect until such time as they force us to do otherwise. Honestly, I have no idea where Sir Garfield is from, and I get the feeling we’ll regret it if we try to find out. How should we go about offering Sir Garfield a reward?”
The Prime Minister continued explaining his plan. “My King, I recommend we offer Sir Garfield a noble title knowing that he is unlikely to accept. The offer can allow that, should he not be interested in a noble title at this time, he still may receive a residence in the northern district and financial assistance to cover ongoing operating expenses.”
“Why not just marry him into the royal family if he’s such an amazing mage? He and Charlotte could produce some amazing summoners, couldn’t they?”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“B-Brother!” the first princess cried.
The King held his head in his hands. “Oh how I worry about the future of this kingdom…”
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After the meeting, as the King was getting ready for bed, the Captain knocked on the door. “My King, my Queen, please excuse the late visit.”
The Queen rolled her eyes and went into the other room. The King sat down opposite the Captain. “I doubt you would be here right now if the news wasn’t important.”
“I have taken your earlier words to heart. I’ve been coordinating with the Prime Minister to prepare a reward for Sir Garfield as we previously discussed. As part of that, I just received a report that his inn was attacked earlier this evening?
“Is this what he alluded to earlier!?” the King asked, somewhat desperately.
“I believe so. According to the innkeeper, a woman tried to solicit help from Sir Garfield by knocking on the door to his room while he was actually at the banquet. The door was locked, of course, and some ruffians dragged her away.”
“So he was telling the truth but… if it happened during the banquet, how did he know about it?”
“I don’t know,” said the Captain. “Either he already knew it was going to happen and feigned ignorance as he queried us about it, or he received a message somehow.”
“I doubt it’s the first one, but how could he possibly have received a message inside the palace without you or me knowing about it?”
“Once again, I don’t know. Perhaps Kay knows of a way to send secret messages using magic. I’ll inquire with her, but I wanted you to know right away.”
“Good. Continue working with the Prime Minister.”
“I will. Good night, my King.”
As the King rejoined his wife, he thought to himself, ‘If this Garfield ever becomes the one trying to eliminate me instead of the one saving me, 9 lives won’t be enough…’
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A day prior, at the western edge of the kingdom, in a town called Foamy Port, workers scurried about the docks.
“That’s a strange wave,” a dock worker mentioned to a passing sailor.
“Hmm? You’re right. It looks kind of like a riptide but… something’s off. It’s out too deep.”
“It’s coming up pretty quick, I’d say.” The dock worker was just as experienced looking at waves as the sailor, after all.
The sailor pulled out a spyglass and inspected the wave.
“What the—”
“What do ya see?”
The sailor said ‘run’ and ran off himself without a further word, probably to report what he saw. There wasn’t enough time though. A few moments later, as the wave neared the port town, it split open, revealing the emerging head of the creature beneath.
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The day after the royal banquet, Garfield slept in a bit late. When he awoke, he glanced at the other side of his bed. Fortunately, it was empty, save for a bear cub. He went downstairs and ordered a full breakfast, including sausage-like meat, eggs, something halfway between pancakes and waffles, and fried potatoes. He really felt like he earned this brunch after last night. He survived the banquet in his honor without becoming an enemy of the kingdom, and he even recapitalized the criminal underground.
As he exited the restaurant, he glanced at the innkeeper in case there was a message for him, but she only waved. He proceeded to the guild, one bear on each shoulder. He was starting to get used to all the glances and pointing.
At the guild, he waved to the receptionist, but she similarly waved back without beckoning him. While he was reading the posted requests, a person breathing heavily entered the guild and proceeded to the main counter while carrying a sack of messages and other documents. Garfield couldn’t hear what the messenger said, but the guild staff started panicking and ran with the messenger up to the Guild Master’s office.
A minute later, another messenger entered the guild. He walked over to the main counter, waited a few moments, then walked over to the secondary counter where Garfield originally registered on his first day in the city. The employee nodded and accepted a single envelope. The messenger departed.
Garfield eased closer to the guild counter as stealthily as he could (without using magic). Soon, the Guild Master and the messenger from earlier both came back downstairs. The Guild Master called the secondary counter employee over to him. She handed the Guild Master the envelope, to which Garfield heard him respond:
“Oh, I know what this is. If Bearclaw doesn’t come in this morning, hand-deliver it to him at his inn if possible.”
One employee posted a message on the urgent request board regarding an important guild meeting for all-hands at the top of the hour. The Guild Master then shouted out to those present. “Attention! Gather as many of your party members as you can within the remainder of this hour. I will make an important announcement at that time.”
Garfield glanced at the posted message, and it said basically the same thing. Well, his party was all present and accounted for. He stepped over to the main counter.
“Oh, Bearclaw! We have a message for you,” the employee said as she gestured for him to approach.
Garfield received an envelope bearing the seal of the royal family. Other adventurers in the vicinity were bored and antsy as they waited for more information about the announcement, so they couldn’t help but glance over at Garfield. One noticed the seal of the royal family on the envelope.
“Bearclaw, is that a message from the royal family!?” More adventurers came over, bugging Garfield to open it and share what it says.
“Hey, this could be some secret mission for all I know! Back off!” Garfield was mostly joking, but the adventurers just got more riled up. He decided to leave the guild and come back before the top of the hour.
Once outside, he wandered over to a quiet alley where he could read in peace. He looked around carefully to make sure nobody was watching him, unlike when someone witnessed him copying gold coins on a previous occasion. He opened the letter:
Dear Sir Garfield,
Thank you for your continued service to the Kingdom. King Fenwick informed me he will never forget your impressive display of skill as you protected him from an assassin during the recent banquet. The entire royal family is in your debt. Please allow the Kingdom to make good on that debt right away.
The royal family has empowered me to offer you peerage and the rank of Baron within the Kingdom. Should you accept this title, as well as the associated privileges and responsibilities, you will be granted a domain within the Kingdom as well as a residence in the northern district of Bretten. If you choose not to accept, King Fenwick insists that you at least accept his generosity in gifting you a northern district manor commensurate with your valor. The Kingdom will be pleased to cover standard operating costs for the upkeep of this accommodation as long as you remain a resident of Bretten.
If you have any questions regarding the roles and responsibilities of a Baron, please see Baron Briarwood. He volunteered to answer any questions you have. You may provide your response to this offer via Baron Briarwood or to me, in writing or in person. The Palace Guard have been instructed to provide you full access at any time. The Kingdom looks forward to your favorable reply.
Once again, with gratitude,
Prime Minister Benjamin White
“This sounds a bit like a trope…” Garfield returned to the guild but saw a familiar face (including fox ears and a foxy tail) as he was about to enter the front door.
“Sir Garfield. I wanted to come visit you and thank you for protecting me from that assassin’s arrow. I didn’t mean to be a bother, so I thought I’d wait until I saw you at the guild.”
“No thanks are needed. Also, the guild’s about to make a big announcement. We should head inside.” The two entered the guild, and shortly thereafter, the Guild Master started speaking.
“Just a little while ago, we received an urgent message from Foamy Port, a small town on the western shoreline of the kingdom. Their guild branch writes that the town was assaulted by an extremely large creature resembling a sea dragon. As of when the messenger left, the state of the town was unclear.”
Garfield heard gasps and other surprised sounds from the adventurers.
“As most of you know, branches of the Adventurer’s Guild in places like Foamy Port are not equipped to handle a threat of this magnitude. Hell, we’re not equipped to handle this either, but we’re going to help. I’m currently in contact with the royal palace. While we wait for a final decision on how to proceed, I’m making preparations for a large convoy to set out later today.”
Garfield looked around. The expressions he saw were mostly fearful, with a few excited adventurers sprinkled in.
“Everyone Iron and above, go home, make whatever preparations you need for a multi-day trip, and return here. All non-emergency requests are suspended. If you don’t join this expedition, you will need to explain yourself later. Don’t bother arguing with us now; we don’t have time.”
Garfield thought about what he should do. ‘I guess I’ll need to ride along in this convoy with everyone else…’
“I’ll take one or two quick questions, but if it’s not important, save it for later. Yes?” One adventurer’s hand shot up immediately.
“Is this related to the divine beast? Is it as big?” The crowd murmured in anticipation.
“I don’t have that information regarding either question yet. Most likely, it’s not as big. Yes?” A second adventurer asked a follow-up question.
“Could the sea dragon be attracted to the divine beast, if it’s hiding nearby?” Nobody noticed, but Garfield’s eyes widened as he came to a certain realization. The Guild Master responded to the adventurer’s question.
“Hm… I’ll bring it up, but I can’t say one way or the other right now. That’s all, get going.”
The assembled adventurers started discussing the breathtaking news in hushed tones. Garfield was holding his fist to his mouth, deep in thought.
“Sir Garfield, is everything all right?” Yttria asked.
“Hm? Oh, yes, things are okay. I was just thinking about… uh, this.” Garfield handed the letter from the Prime Minister to Yttria. Her eyes widened at the seal, then her brows lowered as she read the letter.
“Sir Garfield, we should speak in private about this.”
Garfield was surprised by the sharp tone since she normally never spoke like that with him. “Oh, uh, all right. When we have time, I’ll discuss it with you. I won’t take any action before then.”
Yttria nodded with a serious look on her face. As Garfield thought about what to do next, the leader of White Glow made contact with Garfield.
“Bearclaw! I heard from my father. Congratulations, Baron Garfield!” The guild hall went quiet. Garfield buried his face into his palm.