Dwarf of Bronze (ZnT/AU)

[SerbobIV]

What a cute couple

Looks like guiche will be digging himself a hole sometime soon.

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

Matilda de Saxe-Gotha was, in a word, concerned. She was troubled, even. Years of hard work might all be rendered pointless by a single and rather sudden event. From her vantage point in the tower of Headmaster Osmond she could glance over at the ruined plain where, just the day before, Guiche de Gramont's dwarven familiar had done battle with a Square-class Earth Mage.

General Gramont had only won the bout, it seemed, due to his possession of Lightning magic. A frightfully difficult spell to cast at the best of times and one considered nigh impossible for those with an Earth affinity. She'd certainly never tried it. Which meant that her carefully crafted plan might all be for naught.

She'd spent weeks, months even, working on the bald idiot teacher. Leveraging every ounce of misplaced affection he'd developed into information. As Osmond's secretary she'd had access to patrol schedules, cleaning schedules, and more besides. The plan had been, frankly, perfect. All she had to do was wait until the day of the Founder's Birthday. Then, during the celebration, she could take advantage of the situation to breach the vault and steal the prize.

That would fail. It would undoubtedly fail. There was no chance for success any more. That familiar wouldn't go to the party. If he was wandering the grounds and saw her siege golem then he'd simply destroy it. She couldn't stand up to that strength directly.

So she had to find a more cunning solution.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

In many ways, she wished to thank the dwarf for his arrival. The desperation he'd infused into her had lead to her coming up with a plan that could get her to lay hands on the prize far sooner than she'd been intending to. Which was, with the increased pressure being laid on her, a very good thing.

While it was very true that the vault was impenetrable from the outside, save through the application of immense physical force, that wouldn't hold true if those who held the key simply opened it for you. In the end, the best way to get into a building was simply to knock. So she did just that; knocking on the door to the vault in the form of the threatening letter sent to the crown.

Of course, the one sent to investigate was a frustrating sort of man. Dealing with Osmond and that little bastard of a familiar that he had was a big enough problem. The Count de Mott was more subtle about it, lacking the excuse of senility, but he was certainly giving her excited looks from time to time that made her skin crawl.

Beyond that, she felt like they were being observed during the tour. It was a familiar sensation for her; given her career she'd gotten quite skilled at acting normal while under severe scrutiny. Thus, she was able to determine that someone was observing her intensely; or, if not her, at least their group. However, she couldn't tell who. It was quite frustrating.

"...-ueville?" She started suddenly at catching the end of her assumed name and straightened up immediately; her clipboard was clutched tightly to her chest. What had the old bastard asked for? Ah, ah, ah… aha! She grabbed a piece of paper and offered it immediately. Osmond nodded to her, and turned back to the Count.

"Here you are, Count; the full details of the vault's contents. You may feel free to check this accounting against the items within at your leisure; the vault itself is reasonably well organized, so it should be easy to confirm nothing is missing." The Count nodded to himself as they walked, examining the papers on his way.

"Which item is he after, would you say?" This time it was a question for the Headmaster. The old man looked thoughtful, considering the situation in full as the Count continued. "The majority of items contained are either dangerous or of academic interest only… any truly valuable items are kept in the Royal Vaults instead." That was certainly true; and she would have much preferred to steal from those. But she had her orders… and no choice but to follow them.

"Well… there is, of course, that item." Osmond indicated something on the current page, to which the Count inclined his head. "However, if so then I doubt they know much about it. For all the power it may possess, there's no known way to use it. Every secret of that item passed on with its owner." Yes… that was certainly true, as well. Out of all the items in the vault that was the one that ought to be desired by Fouquet the least.

So why, then, was that the one she had to steal above all else? Matilda didn't know the answer to that. She didn't care to speculate, either. Her job was to acquire it and deliver it. Something that would be easily possible. Her wand was strapped to her forearm and, as she adjusted her clipboard, she carefully laid her fingers upon it. They were nearly at the door.

"Well said, Headmaster. Even so, we mustn't let any of these items fall into the wrong hands. Open the door, if you would be so kind." This was it. Her greatest barrier, about to be opened. None knew the method for opening this door save the Headmaster. She often wondered what would happen if he died. Still, her careful searching had uncovered nothing that gave her any clues to the functon of the entrance.

Old Osmond laid his stave against the doorway. She'd tried many times to examine the mechanism and open it, to no avail. The already-enchanted stones had refused to move for her. They moved for him, however. Rock slid over rock inside the vast, nigh-indestructible doorway and, shortly, it opened.

"Shall w-" Matilda struck the and there. She released the command spell from her wand into the stones around them. A full week of painstaking preparations bore fruit immediately in the form of bricks raining from the ceiling. Osmond lifted his stave with startling speed to protect them all from the falling stones… and then was yanked through the floor. The animated hallway consumed him up to his neck, rapidly smacking the staff from his hands. All of them in the inspection party were given the same treatment; even the one they knew as the Secretary Longueville. Unlike them, however, she was in possession of her wand and had space to move her arms in the hollow she'd been tucked into. As she outwardly opened her mouth to cry for help, only to be gagged by stone like all the rest, underneath she began to direct her golems.

The wall behind them transformed itself into dozens of the tiny creatures. Dot-magic scale creatures. Simple, pathetic, and capable of only very basic commands. In this case their task was simple; enter the vault, seize the first thing you find, and then flee. As the teachers could only watch in horror the constructs charged in and grasped items by the dozen. They stuffed them into themselves, and then fled.

Under her gag, Matilda de Saxe-Gotha grinned as her plan came to fruition.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

Outside the walls of the main Academy building, Kenneth was painstakingly putting together the links of Guiche's chain shirt. A week of work and he was nearly done. The other little surprise he'd been putting together for his student and employer was nearly finished as well. He'd been quite surprised by the original workmanship but, in the end, he felt like he'd created a superior piece.

Quite suddenly his axe was in hand. He turned and leapt; striking down and cleaving the target in half with a single stroke. His enemy, as it turned out, was a simple stone golem. It seemed he'd also destroyed some sort of book that was inside it? He frowned, looking around.

Through the ground he'd simply felt something strange approaching at high speed. He'd determined it was animated as opposed to alive, and so he'd struck it down. Now that he looked, though, there were more of them. Dozens. They were pouring out of the central building and rushing the walls; partially fusing with the outsides as they climbed up. Simply escaping, then?

… ah. Kenneth reversed his axe and rushed the nearest one, tearing it down in an instant. From there he continued to assault them as fast as he could. Each charge and strike brought down one of the fleeing constructs but, in the end, his anti-army capability was low. Many, many more escaped for each one he brought down.

"Well, this ain't good. Ah'd best go check on th' vault they were all on about." He moved at a rolling stroll, thoroughly unconcerned about the situation. In the end he'd done what he could to prevent escape but there had been too many for him. Since there seemed to be no danger to Guiche it wasn't a big deal. Although, maybe the Academy or the Crown might be willing to pay to recover the artifacts?

Ah, but that would require him to retrieve them intact. Perhaps he'd leave that job to someone else. Once he'd reached that resolution he'd picked up the pace a bit; it wouldn't do if the criminal was still there and got away because he was slow.

There was no criminal at the other end, however. Just the Count that smelled of sinister, the ancient Headmaster who reeked of defeat and the wistful lady with the pleasant earthy scent about her. He freed the latter first, and then the one in the middle. Finally, with great regret, he broke open the floor and pulled the first one out.

"Ah… many thanks, Ser Manson." Kenneth inclined his head but didn't deign to comment. His nostrils flared slightly. Suspicious. Was it this man? He didn't seem guilty. No way to be sure. Leave it to the others, then.

"'Twere naught, Count. Ah laid inta a few lil' blighters on their way oughta th' school, bu'..." He trailed off, glancing at the retreating back of Old Osmond as he ran into the vault. What he'd suspected was confirmed when the man let out a howl of anguish; something in particular had been taken.

"This is dreadful! Simply dreadful! I am afraid, Count Mott, that we have been taken for fools; the threats were a trap to get us to open the door." Ah. The good Count went a little green at the thought. His snake-like nature quickly reasserted itself as Kenneth wandered off again, and he could hear sinister reasoning flowing out from behind him.

"I hope you don't mean to imply this is in any way my fault, Headmaster. Blame lays upon you no matter how one looks at it; the thief infiltrated your Academy successfully enough to lay a trap of this magnitude! In the hallway outside of the vault itself, no less. The Queen shall hear of your negligence, and we shall launch a thorough investigation." Kenneth shook his head as he left, braided beads clacking rhythmically against each other.

Humans. The one at fault here is the thief. Just catch them and everything is fine. Why waste time casting aspersions when the one to blame is getting away? He trudged off in search of Guiche. Best to get the young man's opinion on the matter, and then decide if he should intervene. The Headmaster had been very upset… so was the item taken very valuable? Mysterious.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

By the end of the day, everyone at school had heard of the commotion. Some students had been caught up in the swarm of golems fleeing the vault. A few had been stopped, and a number of items recovered through chance alone. Even so; there were rumors that Old Osmond might be sacked as a result of this, or worse, and everyone knew that the theft was the work of the thief Fouquet.

For his part, Guiche was despairing. If he'd only been out in the corridors, with his mother's sword in hand, he could have certainly taken out at least two or three! Maybe even more with the new spell he was developing… even if it wasn't finished, surely there would be some effect? It was so frustrating! A perfect chance to be the hero, wasted.

Although, he had managed to improve his reputation somewhat through his public declaration that he would protect his dear, sweet Montmorency from any sinister thieves. She'd just swooned when he'd flexed his arms for her and shown off the results of his training! Such that there were, at least.

"I have acquired the list of items confirmed to have been stolen, my Lady." Guiche tried not to scowl at Louise's familiar as he materialised. Certainly he felt a level of camaraderie with his instructor, but that had been tempered by the anger that had been sown through dozens of vicious spars. Even so… he was a good servant. After all, he'd brought them all tea and cakes to go along with the information. Although, speaking of 'all' of them… Guiche sidled up beside Louise on the bench.

"Zero?" She glanced up at him, a frown of concentration on his face that said 'This had best be important, fop' as clearly as if she'd shouted at him. He shook off the similarities to her terrifying mother for the moment, and continued. "I understand it was your idea to investigate this event but…" He pointed suddenly at the unwanted invader at their meeting table. "Explain to me again why Zerbst and her friend are sitting with us!" Louise sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"In her own words, it seems that since I have no man for her to steal Kirche the Over-amorous has decided to steal me." The explanation had the tone of one who had been forced to repeat it many times. Which she had. Guiche himself had asked no less than three times in the past hour, yet still couldn't wrap his head around it.

Kirche waved off the explanation with a characteristic smirk and pounced on her quiet, blue-haired friend instead. Said friend ignored the incident entirely in favour of focusing even more intently on her book.

"Nonsense, Louise! It's just that my darling Tabitha has been so intently focused on your luscious servant that I thought I ought to help them get to know each other." The tiny girl pushed her nose ever closer to the book, turning slightly red. "Carrying home a Vallière is less of a goal, and more of a family tradition. Since you refuse to find a nice boyfriend, and appear to have no interest in that manly familiar of yours, I've chosen to lay claim to you for now!"

Louise let out a groan of frustration, and Kirche attained an air of infinite smugness. Even then… Guiche could see something there that, some weeks ago, he wouldn't have. A faint air of contentment from Kirche, and a mild happiness in Louise. He wondered what the cause of that might be.

"Alrigh', kiddies, settle down. Uncle Kenneth's here t'keep th' peace." Said dwarf laid himself down happily in a large armchair that he'd moments before been carrying over his head. Guiche pressed one palm to his face with grace and aplomb in recognition of his oh-so-graceless familiar's lack of tact. He had carried the chair here from his apartments, obviously.

"Th' red one's here 'cause she kin speak Dwarvish, and ah like t'tell jokes th' way they were intended. An' th' blue one is here 'cause they're attached at th' hip. Tha's all y'need to care about." Guiche shook his head. He rather doubted that all of his familiar's meddling was for such inane reasons.

"Ah… it seems they took the Staff of Destruction. That's not good!" Louise interrupted whatever further rambling was going to come out of Kenneth's mouth by piquing his interest with her outburst. He shifted a bit closer, leaning forward to eye the papers she'd been shuffling.

"Oh, aye? Wha's th' deal with that, then?" The Vallière rolled her eyes, and immediately launched into lecture mode. Even the blue-haired girl, ah, Tabitha? Even she looked up. Guiche had to admit once more that he'd never known just how much theory Louise had absorbed. Since they'd started hanging around each other a bit more, due to their strange familiars and training and such, he felt like his grades might have improved somewhat.

"The Staff of Destruction is a mysterious artifact recovered by our own Headmaster some many decades ago. During his travels as a young man-" Guiche tilted his head, but all of his attempts to imagine a younger Old Osmond just created the image of a young man with the exact same facial hair. Judging by Kirche's snickering she was suffering from the same problem. Louise frowned, and soldiered on. "During his travels as a young man…"

She got up and turned around, applying her knowledge of the library's contents to acquiring the book she needed. A basic bestiary, with pictures; a rare and expensive book, due to the cost of the woodcuttings. The page she laid it down on was no joke, either; a monstrous, many-headed serpent leered out at them. "He encountered this. A Hydra."

Now even Kenneth looked interested. The heads bore a great similarity to the constructs that Guiche's father had made during their fight. Now the young man wondered if his father had ever sought such a creature. "Hydras heal rapidly from almost all wounds, and are incredibly poisonous. In addition, the larger ones release a horrifically toxic miasma that can blight the land for years. As an Earth Mage, and only a Line at the time, the Headmaster lacked the capacity to kill it."

Kenneth nodded, and Guiche understood well. They'd spoken of this, briefly. What to do if you came across an enemy that couldn't be overcome by force alone. As he was now, Guiche would have been even more helpless than the Headmaster had been against a creature such as this. "Apparently, a stranger saved his life with a mysterious magical power like none the world had ever seen… none of the accounts go into any details, though. He died shortly after from wounds he'd already had, and was given a hero's funeral and a mausoleum on the Osmond family's lands." At that moment, Kenneth interjected.

"Aye, lass, tha's a fine tale. But ah detect an issue. For ye, th' wands and staves're just tools. Why the fuss with this one?" Louise grinned, excited to share her knowledge. Perhaps she'd do better as a teacher than a student, Guiche mused.

"Because it had magic of its own. Any mage who touched it could feel the power sealed inside of it, but none could make it work. Out of respect for the man who had saved his life the Headmaster kept it safe and, when he joined the Academy, petitioned for it to be stored in the Vault here." With a smug expression, Louise concluded her lecture. "This item was undoubtedly their target; in which case, the entire heist was pointless. Even if they have the staff, the greatest mages of Tristain couldn't do anything with it. In the hands of a common thief it will serve them no better than a simple walking stick."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

In the woods outside of the Academy a golem carrying a wooden box trudged onward. The energies animated it had nearly died out but this, too, had been accounted for. As it made the last few steps it paused suddenly and then keeled over in place. Mere moments later a shape in a dark cloak dropped down beside it.

"Hm… perhaps she is not so worthless as I thought? The construct almost made it all the way to the rendezvous point. Well, even so; it still didn't make it." The figure pushed their hood back to reveal a pale face and even paler blue eyes that shone in the moonlight. Multicoloured tattoos of all sorts covered their face and danced down across their skin to vanish beneath their coverings. One, of a deep reddish colour, glowed suddenly and fire erupted from their fingertips to blast the wooden box apart.

Within was a staff. Pitch black, yet not made of any wood that was recognizable in this world. The tree from which it had been hewn had been one of a kind in the Old World, or so they had said. A King of Trees, and a powerful entity in its own right, that had been dethroned by the maker of this tool.

She picked it up delicately, almost reverently, and tingled with delight as one of her runes burst into light. The only one not inscribed by her own hand. For a few moments the strange magic of the land that tried to seep into the staff was confused but it shortly melded with her own ability and then it understood.

"Their so called Staff of Destruction… Azak Ruya's lost stave, The Ash in Mourning… you have come to my hand at last." Symbols inscribed along the otherwise perfectly cylindrical staff began to glow with a sickly green light. She raised it up and a wide grin came to her face. Then, quite suddenly, she flung it away.

A surge of disturbing green flames licked across the surface of the discarded staff. They ate at the ground and the plants, blighting both equally in their attempt to scour the one who had dared to try and wield the tool. The woman chuckled to herself and a deep brown rune along her left arm began to glow. Stone formed from dirt and sealed the staff away once more.

"Ah, you're a feisty one. But I shall master you nonetheless… and then…" A twisted, fanatical expression of adoration adorned her tattooed face. "My beloved master… I can give him the army he desires… and at last claim for myself that title…" She giggled maniacally for a time, and then picked up the stone containing the staff. Intricate white runes along her legs shone as she rose up through the air and vanished into the clouds above; her last words trailing into the night behind her.

"The Queen... of Banefire..."

 

[GiftofLove]

Interesting. If it wouldn't ruin the suspense for the reveal, I'd ask what the hell she's supposed to be. As is, I'm waiting eagerly to find out.

It's rather telling of Guiche's immaturity as a hero that he's so focused on self-gain. On the other hand, there's certainly nothing wrong with doing good for selfish reasons.

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

Interesting. If it wouldn't ruin the suspense for the reveal, I'd ask what the hell she's supposed to be. As is, I'm waiting eagerly to find out.

It's rather telling of Guiche's immaturity as a hero that he's so focused on self-gain. On the other hand, there's certainly nothing wrong with doing good for selfish reasons.

Click to shrink...

In short, without major spoilers, she's a being from Kenneth's world; as all of the Void-touched Summons are. Beyond that, I shan't elaborate out of respect for your desire to enjoy the mystery.

As for Guiche, mm... even if he's selfish about it right now, in the end he still wants to be a hero. If that means helping people, then he's certainly a good person. But, hopefully, he'll improve in various ways as time goes on.

 

[Pobreytie]

I really enjoyed the story. I hope you keep with it!

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

For the first time in a very, very long time Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst, or Kirche von Zerbst for short, was feeling a rather peculiar emotion. She wouldn't say that she was 'happy', because that would imply that she wasn't normally. It was hard to describe. Yet, as she leaned on her hand and watched Louise pore over a book there was a flush of warmth about her.

It had all started with that dwarf, hadn't it? He was a rather entertaining fellow, and his jokes were spectacular even if they didn't translate into Tristainian too well. There was a lot of punning and doublespeak involved, sometimes with truly spectacular complexity. Yet, for his ribald and risque speech, he was certainly…

Well, thanks to him she'd cried for the first time in a long time. Which was actually a good thing, as far as she'd concerned. When he'd needed to he discarded that air of foolishness and acquired a certain paternal grace about him. They'd had a good, earnest discussion about… quite a lot of things. Her treatment of Louise for one.

It was funny how things changed. The way he'd spoken of his homeland, and his wife, and love had lead her to thinking quite hard about all sorts of things. So perhaps it was just a bit of girlish fancy, some foolish and childish diversion that meant nothing, and would amount to nothing but a strong friendship. Still, if she didn't try…

Louise noticed her staring and turned a little red, focusing on her book. Ah, she was just so cute. Kirche just wanted to eat her right up… which, according to some of Kenneth's jokes, was actually a fairly reasonable approach! She couldn't wait to test that. Ah, and as if reading her mind Louise sat up and cleared her throat.

"Well it seems that, apart from the Staff of Destruction, nothing stolen was particularly dangerous. So I think, Guiche, that this is best left to the proper authorities, Guiche, who can undoubtedly handle this without a group of school children blundering in. Guiche." The puffy-haired blond flushed, and then took on a look of righteous indignation.

"I had not intended to go off on a wild goose chase, thank you. Ser Kenneth impressed upon me the importance of choosing my battles. With no leads, there's no reason to try act on it. Is that not so?" He looked over to what was ostensibly his servant but undoubtedly his master with an expression that put her in mind of a puppy that had just shown off a new trick. It was cute, in a slightly pathetic sort of way.

She'd often considered spotting him a quick roll but, unlike her varied paramours, she doubted he'd be able to resist the urge to brag about it. They all knew better than that. Guiche… was much less likely to do so. At least back then. He might be able to keep his mouth shut now but he'd also quit his two-timing ways.

If a boy was like that already she had no problem using them; but she would never incite a man to be unfaithful. Kirche had standards, after all. In spite of what some foolish children who couldn't get dates as easily as her might like to whisper behind her back.

For now, she got up and moved around behind Louise; wrapping her arms around the smaller girl's neck and leaning over her head to look at her notes. There was a moment of awkward silence and then a long-suffering sigh.

"Zerbst." Louise was quivering slightly.

"Vallière?" A grin spread across Kirche's face.

"Zerbst. Please remove your udders from my personage." Instead of acquiescing, Kirche leaned even closer into her target with a massive smirk plastered across her face. Guiche was staring at them now, with the expression of a man in excruciating agony.

"I don't feel like it, Vallière. This position is so comfortable! Although, I know a few others that are even mo-" She broke off as the smaller girl began flailing violently, lashing out with her tiny, impotent fists to a chorus of chuckles from the Germanian.

"Oh, no need to get so angry, Louise. I'm just teasing." Kirche patted the pink-haired noble on the head, ruffling her hair in the process, and shifted into the seat beside her instead. Louise was bright red and fuming silently in her seat as she closed the book.

"I think we're done for now. We don't want to be late for dinner." Louise stood abruptly and turned to leave, bright red. Across the table, Kenneth was visibly restraining his mirth. He supplied her with a wink, and an upraised thumb that was apparently a sign of support. Teasing the other girl was really quite fun, but… well, maybe she could get a little serious about it.

Germanians were rather permissive, after all. Her family had an heir now, so she didn't need to worry about another unsuitable engagement. That left her to pursue her own happiness. In the long term she had no idea what that might be… but, for now, supporting her friend seemed like the thing to do.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

It was at dinner that Guiche noticed something was off. The entire mood was somber due to the attack, and neither Osmond nor the Count de Mott were present at dinner. Throughout the entire meal Saito had seemed ill at ease. Well, moreso than usual. After two weeks of sparring he'd managed to pick up on the servant's moods somewhat.

Kenneth had gone to offer his services in making sure no more golems were in the school, at Guiche's suggestion, so he was unattended for the moment. With that in mind, he decided to ignore his familiar's earlier suggestions and left to find the Count.

He wasn't in his rooms, nor near the vault; eventually Guiche found him in the Courtyard. His various servants were carefully packing his things into the ornate carriage that had brought him there in the first place. Although Mott was wearing a sour expression he brightened up considerably when he noticed Guiche's approach.

"Ah, young master Gramont. You look well. Good, good; it seems that the Headmaster was able to prevent harm coming to the students at the very least." It was an odd thing to say, or at least Guiche thought so. Fouquet had never hurt any of his victims in the past so of course nobody had been hurt. He didn't comment outwardly, however.

"Indeed, we were quite fortunate. Your visit has concluded, then?" The Count nodded, looking over to his carriages. In the background Guiche could see his various staff getting into a far less ornate conveyance. There was a moment where he thought he saw a familiar face amongst them, but quickly had to refocus on the Count.

"Yes, well, I was to inspect the security of the vault and suffice to say it is not secure; though in little danger of being looted again, I feel. Rather, I shall be making some sternly worded suggestions to Her Majesty regarding the safety measures taken in this academy." Guiche frowned, although only inwardly, and inclined his head.

"Surely the circumstances are not so terrible? Nobody was hurt, after all." Mott smiled and placed a hand on the young noble's shoulder, turning him around as he began to walk; Guiche found himself being led along as the Count spoke to him.

"While it is true that nobody was hurt can we really say it was the result of any competence on the part of the Headmaster? Consider, Guiche, the method. An entire corridor was animated into simple golems and then acted to ambush us. We saw no sign of the perpetrator, which makes it likely that Earth Stones were used." That wasn't necessarily true, but Guiche nodded nonetheless. Mott carried on.

"From this, we can infer that an unknown individual with considerable skill, at least Triangle class, had access to that corridor for several days. None of the staff detected any evidence of tampering beforehand. Not one. If this phantom thief had instead wished to do harm to the student body…" He trailed off, releasing Guiche. They stood now near the front gate, looking back upon the school in its entirety.

"I cannot, in good conscience, allow the Headmaster to remain in his position. While none would deny his experience it seems that perhaps his eccentricities have been getting in the way of his work, as of late? Why, his secretary alone had a wealth of fascinating testimony for me…" Having been present in Osmond's office barely two weeks hence Guiche immediately knew what was being referred to and reddened slightly. It was true that the Headmaster was a little odd, but….

"No, I suppose you cannot. It seems a shame to cut your visit short, however. Surely you haven't finished your inspection? After all, if the thief had to resort to trickery to enter it speaks well to the security of the vault itself." Again Mott shook his head, patting Guiche on the shoulder.

"No, that vault is worthless now. We can't upgrade it to correct the security issue; best to move what few valuables remain to the Palace Vaults. Their entry method renders them immune to such trickery. If the hallway around it had been properly secured them maybe the Headmaster's position wouldn't be quite so precarious." Ah. Yes, well… that was… it did sound rather reasonable, to Guiche, in spite of his niggling little doubts.

"I suppose so. It's just a shame that your trip turned out to be a waste." The Count shook his head, allowing himself a modest, noble smile. It would seem to Guiche that his assessment of the situation was being disagreed with.

"Ah, my boy, you must find a silver lining in every failure. The outcome here may be such that I might as well have never arrived, yes; however, I have come into possession of a truly delightful new retainer." Oho? That was curious. When Guiche considered the servants in employ in the academy he'd only really consider one to be of a tier that would cause such interest for the Count.

"I felt that her talents were being wasted here, and offered her a far more appropriate wage to her station. As unfortunate as the situation here is the one benefit is that I was thus able to convince the Headmaster to release her from her contract with the school; conditional upon her agreement, of course." Oh! Well, that was certainly kind of him. The two beamed back at each other, each secure in their apparent understanding of the other.

"Considering the quality of wages at the Academy your offer must have been most generous; with such a master I'm certain any servant would be pleased." The Count bowed his head to the compliment, and responded in kind.

"You are too generous; and a thoroughly perceptive young man. I have somewhat of an eye for talent, and a penchant for collecting unique servants." He turned back to his carriages and strolled for the lead one. The young blond kept pace with him for the time being, feeling his choice well vindicated as he did. "You are certainly a perceptive individual, young Master Gramont; I pray that you will consider my hospitality if you are ever in the vicinity of my demesne."

"I shall gladly endeavour to do so, Count; your own conversational skill has been delightful to experience." They bowed to each other, then, and with a few more requisite pleasantries they parted ways. The carriage train rolled out of the school taking with it the man who might determine the fate of their education; Guiche could only hope he might be moderate in his response to this disaster. Perhaps any concern might be tempered by his pleas? Only time could tell.

Well pleased with himself, the young man headed back inside. Hopefully, any further unpleasantness could be forestalled by level thought; after all, with the skill demonstrated it seemed to him that the one in the position of Headmaster would have been irrelevant to the outcome.

His good mood lasted well into the evening and through the night. From there it was sustained even unto the morning, when he performed his basic exercises alone and unsupervised, and right up until mid lunchtime; whereupon he suddenly found himself being accosted by Louise during his attempt to enjoy a particularly delightful tea and cake combination while his familiar was still otherwise occupied.

"Guiche," She began, shattering his calm reverie and interrupting his beloved Montmorency mid-sentence, "Have you seen Saito? He didn't come back after morning classes." Beside Guiche, his blonde companion arched a brow and smirked in a fashion that he thought might look somewhat unladylike on anyone else.

"Has he finally run away, Zero? How unfortunate. I saw him skulking about the women's quarters earlier; perhaps he's finally tired of you and is seeking a new master." Almost as if by magic, Kirche materialized out of thin air to provide one of her mannish hugs to Montmorency as they began a conversation on what was and was not appropriate to say to 'her' Louise. The Vallière paid her no mind, frowning at Guiche.

"I'm afraid not; I've not seen him since yesterday. Perhaps he's preparing something for you elsewhere?" But the thought rang hollow once voiced. Saito was like a shadow to Louise, and for him to not be around when she hadn't specifically sent him away was incredibly unusual. However, even as they considered the mystery it ended; only to be replaced by another one.

Saito appeared, quite suddenly, coming from one of the doors to the main building and striding across the grass towards the table upon which Guiche had been having his now thoroughly diverted lunch. He gave no explanation for his tardiness, or his stormy expression, and instead came right up to Louise in order to speak softly into her ear.

"Hm? Oh. Well, I suppose that can't be helped, Saito; if she wants to change occupations that is her choice. I know you were fond of her, but this is really too much." A stricken expression came across the servant's face and, for some unfathomable reason, he shot a look at Guiche. "Oh, come now; what is this uncharacteristic wariness?" After a moment, the young familiar sighed deeply.

"I do not wish for Master Gramont to think I am speaking ill of one of his… friends." In spite of what he said, the venom in that last word was barely contained. Really, Guiche had to wonder what Saito could possibly have against any of his friends? Well, perhaps Malicorne could be a little brusque at times and being such an impeccable servant the young man did take insults to his master rather seriously…

"I'm sure your judgement is sound and your reasoning solid. Never fear, Kenneth would solidly berate me if I didn't let you speak your mind." Perhaps he was mollified by the concept of dwarven retribution as much as Guiche's own assurances, which was, frankly, a tiny bit insulting, but either way Saito allowed himself to continue.

"... very well. I have encountered another servant whose grandfather appears to have been from my homeland; through her I have a link to my home and through me she has a link to her heritage." Perhaps a few weeks, or even days, ago Guiche may have questioned the relevance of this anecdote.

Now, though, he was able to connect a few dots faster than he might have otherwise by simple dint of paying attention to what other people said. It was weird to think of how oblivious he'd been not that long ago; particularly as he couldn't exactly point to any one event that made him decide to listen to those around him. Really, it wasn't a decision so much as just a thing he'd started doing at some point. How peculiar.

"Ah, I see your concern. Well, for what it may be worth the Count did suggest to me that he had offered her a notably increased wage for his service. Besides which, she did have to request release from her service here." That didn't seem to calm Saito any. In fact, his teeth only clenched together tighter.

"I see. Thank you for the information." The servant turned to his master and dropped to one knee, bowing his head to her. "Lady Vallière, I wish to take my days of leave for the past month now. In addition, I regret to inform you that there is a small chance I will be unable to return to your service afterwards." That took everyone present aback; Louise most of all.

"What are you talking about? Why wouldn't you come back?" Her concern was clear, and well justified. Beside Guiche, Montmorency shifted uncomfortably. He turned to her, quirking a brow but she wouldn't meet his gaze. Saito resolutely refused to answer until, quite suddenly, his darling let out a frustrated huff.

"Come now, Zero, you can't be this dense. When a middle-aged, unmarried nobleman acquires the service of an attractive young maid what do you think that means? Obviously your familiar has feelings for the girl, and is considering doing something rash to prevent that outcome." Saito didn't nod. But he didn't avert his gaze either. Louise gasped, and then glared at him.

"You… idiot! Guiche is one thing, but the Count is a Triangle mage at least. What do you think you could do against that? I refuse! You, you, you… gah!" By the end she was striking him about the shoulders, tears of concern running down her face. Saito allowed her to vent for a time, and then took hold of her wrists.

"I am sorry, my Lady. However, we are bound to care for our own. Siesta is the closest thing I have to family in this world, apart from yourself. Even if it means going against your commandments I cannot abandon her." Guiche closed his eyes. Coming from Saito, that was certainly a profound statement. It also illuminated a number of factors about this situation that were… concerning.

He stood, quite suddenly, and laid a hand on Louise's shoulder; looking down at Saito with a grave expression. The servant rose to meet his gaze and they regarded each other in silence. Then Guiche let out a heavy sigh.

"In this case, good Ser, I am afraid I have my own debts to pay. Come!" He gestured expansively, striking a pose that he thought looked properly heroic. "We shall go to retrieve your maiden!"

 

[ChandraMagic]

Beautiful, just...beautiful. You know most of my thoughts on this already, buuut I found a small error, just for you:

"I think we're done for now. We don't want to be late for dinner." Louise stood abruptly and turned to leave, bright red. Across the table, Kenneth was visibly restraining his mirth. He supplied her with a wink, and an upraised thumb that was apparently a sign of support. Teasing the other girl was really quite fun, but… well, maybe she could get a little serious about it.

Click to shrink...

Word in red itlaics is missing.

Other than that, nothing jumped out at me.

 

[Strunkriindiisk]

Ehehehe...

she wouldn't meet her gaze.

Click to shrink...

Small typo: the word in red ought to be 'his.'

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

Ehehehe...

Small typo: the word in red ought to be 'his.'

Click to shrink...

Thank you.

But, on a personal note to all y'all reading; please be aware that this story can be hard to write sometimes, and the more in-depth the feedback I get the easier I find it to continue. That said, I somehow managed to finish a full third of the next chapter since posting this one... not sure how; so there ought to be more soon regardless.

 

[DieKatzchen]

Please tell me he has the good sense given to grapes and consults with Kenneth first? Just read all the way through this and am loving it! I especially liked the bit between Saito and Tabitha. Clearly, Saito is underutilized by his master. He could solve so many problems!

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

For some reason I can't read any of Mott's lines in any voice other than that of John Cleese. Which, considering the quite horrible things he's saying, is rather surprising. Just felt like I'd share that.

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

Once he'd agreed to act on Saito's behalf Louise had been forced to go along with the idea. Guiche's first action was thus to meet with the Headmaster so that he and Vallière could request a leave of absence. If they were refused… well, they'd work something out.

Much to their surprise, however, they found that Old Osmond was currently in the middle of… well, it looked like packing. He acknowledged them as they entered but didn't pause his efforts. It was bizarre to see the old man dressed in something that wasn't his school robes. Instead he was in a well-worn traveller's outfit.

"Headmaster? Are you… leaving?" Finally, the teacher took a moment to focus on them. He leaned on his staff and regarded them as a small, white mouse circled around his feet. There was a certain resignation in his gaze even though he looked younger than they'd ever seen him. In deference to his overall oddness, however, his beard appeared to be tucked into his belt.

"The Crown has yet to ask for me to abdicate my position, if that's what you mean. Rather, I am taking pre-emptive measures. I intend to pursue the thief myself, and return the Staff of Destruction; having seen its power firsthand, I have no desire to leave it in unknown hands." That was startling. Certainly, the Headmaster was undoubtedly a powerful mage but…

"Ah. Well, we wish you luck then. However, before you go, we must ask a short leave of absence from school for… personal reasons." Osmond scratched at his beard with a thoughtful expression as he regarded the two teens.

"I see. Am I to assume, then, that your familiars shall accompany you on this venture of yours?" When Guiche nodded the old man grimaced somewhat, and let out a grand sigh. "Most unfortunate. Miss Vallière, I had hoped to request the services of your servant for my own journey; however, it seems I shall have to make do with Mótsognir."

"I am sorry, Headmaster. Under other circumstances I would have gladly granted your request, however…" Louise bowed her head. "This is a very personal matter for my servant, and I don't think it can wait." Osmond sighed again, and returned the gesture.

"Very well. You may have your leave; and I wish you luck." He stepped forward to give Guiche a companionable pat on the shoulder and allowed a grandfatherly smile to both of them. "Do listen to your familiar, young Gramont, and try not to get into too much trouble."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

Guiche saw Louise off first; she'd said that she wasn't going to come with them but, rather, was going to go to the Capitol. Apparently she'd formulated a plan of some sort and, on the whole, didn't think she would be of much use in a direct confrontation. Saito would go with him to Mott's… mostly so that he didn't do anything foolish.

Now, however, came the most difficult part of all. He had to explain the situation to Kenneth. He'd located his absent familiar shortly after the quick planning session with the Vallière. The dwarf was in his forge, and as Guiche approached he appeared to be quenching something. There was an ominous, sputtering hiss as he stood over the hollow and looked in.

"Ah, Guiche. Good timin', lad. Ah've got something for ya." He pushed himself up with a little mound of dirt and went right for his master with gift in hand. Grinning widely, Kenneth thrust the finished chain shirt out in front of him.

It was rather pretty, actually. Guiche was momentarily sidetracked and took the armour from his familiar. Quite light, as well. He shrugged off his cloak and pulled it on, just to see how it rested. The answer was, apparently, 'perfectly'. He had to struggle a bit to get his arms through but once it was in place it rested slightly loosely and didn't interfere with his movements.

"Gotta get ya a prop'ly padded jacket as well, else ye'll get some nasty chafing. Still, suits you. Ah kin guarantee that there's but one blade in this world as can cut that, although if y'take a solid body blow or a heavy hit from a spike th' welds on th' individual links can give way." The particular tone he used made it obvious that was probably an unlikely outcome.

"Thank you, Kenneth. This is… thank you." They stood there in silence for a couple of moments until Saito cleared his throat rather meaningfully. Guiche turned red, recalling the reason they were there. "Ah, right. I'm afraid, Ser Kenneth, that the young maid Siesta has been appropriated by the Count de Mott; possibly through some form of coercion. I feel I owe it to her to assist Saito in retrieving her before anything untoward happens."

Kenneth was very still for a time. Then he stepped back down into his forge and retrieved his axe. He gave it a few hefts, examined the edge and spike, then nodded to himself. Next he retrieved his armour, pulling it on and grabbing his cloak as he climbed back out of the hole. Finally, he grasped the straps to the massive, cloth-wrapped stone slab that he took almost everywhere with him and secured it to his back.

"Very well, then. Let's go explain t'him th' error of his ways. All nice an' polite like." The very worst part was that he seemed entirely calm. Guiche didn't realize how much he would've preferred furious, mouth-frothing ranting until right at that moment.

The skies grew dark as they set out. Saito was guiding the horse while Guiche clung on for dear life and tried not to cry. Kenneth had packed up a few more things, including his crossbow, and was keeping pace with the horse by, frankly speaking, cheating. Since he was unwilling to leave his slab behind this time he had instead chosen a bizarre form of travel that seemed to involve using his control over the earth to constantly fling himself forward.

With Saito's horsemanship and Kenneth's… Kennethness they were making good time. It was well, then, that they came into sight of Mott's manor just as the gathering clouds opened up and began to pour down upon them. They pulled up their horse in front of the gates and Guiche did his best to demand that they be taken to the Count in an imperious fashion. The rain made it a little difficult to maintain the facade, however.

They were, unsurprisingly, admitted with relative haste. Warm, fluffy towels were provided to dry them in the entrance hall and they were quickly escorted thereafter into a warm, comfortable sitting room with a roaring fire. In the presence of such opulence it was almost easy to forget why they had come. Well, for Guiche at least.

"Now, Saito…" He looked over to the attentive servant where he stood in the corner. Without Louise around, actually, he felt a little less 'attentive' and a little more… ominous. In retrospect, he probably should have asked the young man to hand over his various knives. Even then, he of all people knew just how many weapons that Saito could conceal upon his person.

"I understand this is a complex situation, Master Gramont, and I assure you that the ride has well calmed me." The young man cast a dark glance over at Kenneth. "In any case, I have no doubt that Ser Flamecutter could easily restrain me if I chose to act rashly." Perhaps… then again, he was terrifyingly fast.

"Pray, have some faith in me. I shall do my utmost; for your sake, and for hers. Though I know I cannot blame myself for what has transpired directly I still cannot help but feel a responsibility to this girl." Saito remained silent, returning to his usual taciturn self, but Guiche could feel warm approval radiating from his familiar's seat. Now he could only hope his skill matched up to his resolve.

The door opposite to the one through which they had entered opened and an immaculately dressed maid entered. A fine silver platter with delicate china tea set was placed on the table before Guiche and Kenneth and she poured three cups before leaving the room. Shortly thereafter the one they had journeyed so vigorously to see arrived.

Count Mott was dressed in a luxurious velvet nightgown that bespoke a certain level of both comfort and elegance. In spite of what ought to be a state of undress, or embarrassment, he was both well at ease and secure in his personage and home. As he entered he smiled magnanimously at Guiche and bowed his head to Kenneth.

"Ah, young Master Gramont! So soon a visit? Well, I suppose I did say you could enjoy my hospitality at your leisure, more or less. Yet, I detect a certain note of… urgency to this visit. Are you quite alright?" When he had previously spoken with the Count his easy air of self-assurance had rather endeared him to Guiche. Yet, now, it felt somehow… sinister.

"Yes, well, I am afraid that needs must. You intimated to me before you left that you had acquired a new servant at the Academy, yes?" Mott inclined his head, faint smile never leaving his face. "I would like to obtain her contract from you." There was a light chuckle from the other noble as he leaned on one hand, adding milk and sugar to his tea with the other..

"I see. Well, that is a conundrum. You realize, of course, I cannot simply sell her contract to you? There are laws, Master Gramont." As he spoke he calmly stirred his tea. It was as if the situation was utterly normal for him. "Of course, even if I were inclined to release her from her employment contract… well, frankly, I see no reason to."

Before Guiche could respond, Mott continued in the same calm, confident air that hung around him like a shroud. "You see, I am invested in her. I could've gained a far greater concession from Osmond if I hadn't spent that… ah… call it, 'good will' on getting him to allow her to leave her position at the Academy."

Every hope that Guiche had for a peaceful resolution was draining out of him. Each soft-spoken word, dripping with absolute conviction, drove a knife into his gentle heart. He felt, in that moment, like he may as well have been poisoned for how close to being violently ill he was.

"I had… you cannot seriously be intending to...?" Much to his surprise, Mott took on an expression of concern that felt actually genuine. Hope became resurgent as the spectre of the once-unsullied Nobleman that the Count had seemed to him before returned for but a moment.

"Why, young Gramont, you look a fright. What could be so troubling to you?" He considered for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Ah, I see, I see. I have stolen your prize from you, have I not? Well, I must apologize; after I heard about that dreadful business with that insipid first year girl I'd assumed you'd been put off. Well, even so, I am afraid I cannot cede such a fine specimen to you so easily."

Perhaps it was the look of utter shock on Guiche's face that finally betrayed him. Or, perhaps, the entire thing had been building to this. Mott remained calm as his guest covered his mouth in shock, staring blankly at the older man. Beside him, Kenneth's gauntlet creaked as he clutched at the haft of his axe.

"Jus' say th' word, Guiche. By yer leave ah'll divide this bastard into quarters an' scatter th' ashes of him an' his possessions inta th' storm." The dwarf was quivering in place, practically vibrating with fury. He was fully prepared to commit murder on the spot as soon as Guiche was willing to unleash him. Yet… he was not willing.

"He won't say it, Ser Dwarf. Because he knows that, in the end, it would be for nothing save the tiniest balm on your consciences." Mott smiled beatifically, secure in his moment of victory. "In fact, it would serve you even less than nothing! With no actual proof or wrongdoing your master would be ruined. No amount of heroism in the future would absolve him of the crimes of murder, and treason."

He lifted his cup and took a sip, sighing happily at the sweet taste. "His father would, first and foremost, be forced to disown him in order to avoid any of the repercussions falling on the House de Gramont. Without that protection he would be, in essence, a commoner; thus, his manifold crimes would be magnified. In short, to unleash you now would ruin everything he is and could be for the sake of a lone peasant girl."

Finally, the facade of a generous, confident Nobleman shattered to reveal the snake beneath, Mott's calm smile grew into a vicious grin. "And that, Ser Dwarf, is something he will not do. Because in the end he accepts, as well he should, that he is more valuable than her." In that moment, the Count came within inches of death. Quite literally, in fact, as Kenneth only barely managed to catch Saito's knife with his left hand a handsbreadth from piercing his chest.

"Pity that you stopped him. I could have used a few favours from her mother." When Mott lowered his hand Guiche was rather startled to see that his wand was in it. He hadn't even seen him pull it out. Had it been concealed in his sleeve? "That is Vallière's servant, is it not? Well, he did make an attempt..."

"Ah, but my familiar gallantly protected you, did he not?" His grin fading to a hint of a smile, Mott allowed a slight nod to acknowledge the point.

"Indeed, you are correct; that was well done, Gramont. Certainly, I do owe you some small favour. Shall I release your servant girl? I can call for her now, if you like." Whatever certainty Guiche may have derived from the moment was easily quashed. The prize he'd come for so gladly offered him...

"I think I must ask you to excuse Saito's actions, mustn't I? Else you wouldn't offer her up so readily." Mott's smirk returned quickly but he said nothing. Not that there was any need to. Guiche swallowed heavily. He felt rather out of his depth, here, and neither Saito nor Kenneth was calm enough to offer any real assistance. "You must understand what you're doing is wrong, Count; exploiting this girl for your… base desires is both immoral and illegal.. If I were to go to the authorities…"

That finally got a reaction beyond smug amusement and subtle condescension out of Mott. Unfortunately, it was out-and-out laughter. Guiche's proclamation was met with absolute mirth on the part of Mott.

"Oh… you poor, naive little boy." Mott continued to chuckle even as he stood and strode over to the fire, turning his back to the group. "You truly have no grasp of this situation. Allow me to elaborate for you… purely hypothetically, of course." He picked up a fire poker and jabbed at the burning logs a couple of times before turning to face them once more.

"Take, say, a young, exotic servant girl. She has an older Nobleman offer her a job at, say, twice her current pay. While it is, of course, a lucrative offer she has enough of an imagination to know what he may desire of her. So, quite reasonably, she begs off the offer by saying… hm… well, for example, that she cannot leave her current employment contract without permission. Quite common, no?" Guiche didn't trust himself to reply. He just glared silently.

Mott rolled his eyes, perhaps at the childishness of it in his own mind, and continued heedless of the sheer level of hate being directed at him from the room's only other inhabitants. "So, this Noble is stymied, yes? Well, no. All he need do then is suggest he can get her out of her employment contract. The wheels turn in her head, making… connections. Implications. He can have her contract voided so she will work for him… so, perhaps, will he do so if she doesn't agree to?"

The only snakes that Guiche had ever seen in his life were familiars and, as a result, were unusually docile. If he were ever to encounter one in the wild, however, he could only imagine that it would look and move exactly like Mott did. Slowly, deliberately, shifting softly across the room as he extolled the virtues of his plot while utterly secure in the knowledge that there was nothing Guiche could do. The definition of sinister.

"No threats have been made, you understand. No overt implications, either. Yet she has talked herself into agreeing already. That… is that. From that moment, her fate is sealed. Upon her arrival at his home she meets his other servants… every woman among them uniquely beautiful, in their own ways. Her assumptions are only reinforced further by this… and the fact that, many nights, a maid will not return to their shared quarters."

It was funny… Guiche couldn't recall having ever actually hated anyone before. In the man's every word he saw his ignorant self reflected, arm outstretched to strike at a terrified girl. No wonder Kenneth had been so furious… was this what his lack of restraint might have led to?

"So you see, Guiche, there have been no laws broken here. None need be violated. After all… why would I threaten, bribe or coerce when the chains of her very own expectations will drive her willingly into my bed without my having to lift another finger." Saito had gone very still again, Kenneth's outstretched arm quite possibly being the only thing that prevented him from launching himself across the room in a murderous frenzy.

"You can't possibly believe that you can get away with this, Mott; you just told me everything. Even if you're somehow not breaking any laws I can certainly destroy your reputation with those admissions." The fact that Mott only laughed in response didn't give Guiche much hope.

"Please. Your word against mine? The word of Guiche de Gramont, known philanderer against Count Mott, the trusted Royal Messenger? Who do you think would believe you, boy? Honestly, I had thought you understood the way the world worked." Mott sighed, and retrieved a roll of parchment from within his velvet robe.

"Trading in people is illegal, of course, so I can't put it in writing that I shall release her from my service. But, should you agree to my terms, I will seriously consider your request." He moved to a small writing desk at the side and began to scribble upon the scroll. After a minute of awkward silence, broken only by the scratching of a quill, Mott turned back to Guiche and offered him the contract to peruse.

"... you can't be serious. This is… this is outrageous! You might as well be asking me to enslave Kenneth to you." The agreement was, on the surface, a trade agreement of sorts between the houses of Mott and Gramont. It was based around Kenneth's crafting skills and, apart from requiring the Count to provide the raw materials the result was heavily in his favour. "And you ask this of me, with no guarantee you shall uphold your word? How can I trust that you shall release her untouched?"

Mott pressed his hands together and rested his chin atop them, smiling beatifically at Guiche in a way that made him desperately want to strike the man down where he stood. Or to give the word and let Kenneth do as he would. The Count probably knew that, though. It may even be his intent.

"You have none; save this admission. The girl is just a… bonus prize, for me. My real goal, Guiche de Gramont, is and always was the service of your familiar. I had worried that I might have to spend some of my hard-earned political capital in order to have that blacksmith arrested! But, instead, you walked in here and handed me the key to his shackles of your own free will."

Mott smiled a true and genuinely pleased smile. "Thank you, Guiche. Thank you so very much." He slid the pot of ink across the table, along with the quill, and looked expectantly at Guiche. The young man felt… defeated, mostly. Lost. He'd come in here without much of a plan, so what had he expected? What a fool he had been.

He hadn't even realized he was reaching for the quill until there was a knock at the door. Mott's expression turned foul for just a moment, and then he smoothed it again as the door opened a well-dressed male servant stepped in.

"Count, there is a Griffin Knight here. He says he needs to speak with you, urgently." Mott sighed and stood, glancing over at Guiche with an apologetic shrug.

"I do apologize, Gramont, I must attend to this. Do consider my most generous offer while I clear up whatever matter this may be." However, he was prevented from leaving as the door opened further. A man, silver-haired yet surprisingly youthful in appearance, stepped through and removed his wide-brimmed, feathered hat as he did so.

"No need, Count; my business is relevant to young Gramont." For the first time since Guiche had met him it seemed that Mott was legitimately taken aback. He stood in place, staring speechlessly at the stranger who just turned and winked at Guiche. "Allow me to introduce myself, young sir; I am Viscount Wardes, Captain of the Griffon Knights. My dear fiancée all but demanded that I come intercede in the matter at hand." Finally, Mott managed to bluster himself back into sensibility.

"Well, Viscount, I am afraid there is no matter here that requires your intercession! I cannot imagine the Captain of the Griffon Knights has any interest in a simple servant girl." The condescension returned in full force, along with the smugness. It did falter somewhat, however, when Wardes flourished a slightly soggy letter.

"I must disagree. You see, Count, my fiancée informed me that the servant you have acquired has a precommitment to the Vallière family. In my hand I have an agreement, signed and ratified by Louise de la Vallière, master of the young man there, and the Duchess Karin de la Vallière, that one the former Academy maid you hired just yesterday is engaged to be married to Saito of Vallière." Guiche started in his seat as a number of things clicked into place.

Firstly, the plan at work here. Then, rather more slowly, the connection between Viscount Wardes and Louise. He was rather embarrassed that the latter part took him so long. Mott snatched the letter, tore it open and began to read it. Then he smirked.

"I see no notary from any priest here. This engagement has no legal power; until she marries the boy the Vallières have no authority over her and thus I, as her current employer, say that I do not support any such marriage; as is my right under the contract she willingly signed." The Viscount grimaced as Mott thrust the letter back at him with a sharp grin. "I'm afraid your clumsy attempt has been stymied, Wardes. Better luck next time." Yet the Captain was not to be dissuaded as he lay his hand upon the hilt of his sword.

"I see. Then I am afraid that, on behalf of the boy, I must challenge you to a duel." Mott snorted with derision, waving the idea aside as if it were a foul smell.

"I decline! And you are a Griffon Knight in any case, you cannot challenge me on behalf of another to whom you have no connection. Perhaps the Vallière brat is your betrothed but, just like the girl, you are not yet part of the family. Please, see yourself out; I have no more time for your foolishness." Wardes bowed his head, frustration writ large across his features.

Guiche looked at the man. Truly looked at him. He was soaked to the bone. For the sake of a servant girl… but, no, that wasn't it. For the sake of his betrothed he had flown here from the Capitol, in a storm no less, to challenge this man with what had to be the best plan he could concoct on such short notice. To have it fail now…

"Count Mott; in the name of the House Gramont, I challenge you to a duel of honor." Once more, shock graced Mott's face. It was a far more preferable expression for him to wear.

"Come now, boy, why would I accept? You have no claim either. Unless you wish to tell me that you will take the peasant's hand in victory?" Guiche shook his head, teeth grinding together as he glared at the foul, inhuman apparition before him.

"You will accept my challenge, Mott, else I shall speak to your cowardice until my dying breath. Not only myself, but the Viscount here; and my father, as well, I assure you! My familiar fought him to a standstill and if he says to the General Gramont that you, sir, are a coward then he will gladly speak that truth to every Nobleman he ever meets with until his dying breath!"

He'd shot to his feet at some point and was practically shouting at Mott. Pure hatred buoyed him forward at that point, gave him words to say and the voice to cry them with. "And, for your information, that 'peasant' has a name! Her name, Count, is Siesta and I swear I shall beat the remembrance of that name into you if it's the last thing that I do!"

Mott was very still, and very quiet. Then his wide, self-assured smile returned as his perception of control reasserted itself. This, to him, was not outside of his goals. The potential for serious slander was minimal but certainly present as a legitimate threat and he would also think, or so Guiche hoped, that this might well prove to be a golden opportunity.

"Very well, Guiche. In accordance with the Code Duello you have challenged me. You may select one of the time, or the location, for our duel." The blond man grit his teeth, sensing the trap but having no choice but to fall into it.

"Now. This very moment, Count. We shall resolve our duel immediately." Once more Mott nodded magnanimously, as if all this were within his projections.

"And thus, as is my right, I say that we shall duel in my courtyard. The rain ought to make a lovely backdrop, don't you think? The Viscount may be our referee in this. Of course, for the sake of fairness, I shall limit myself to mere Dot spells." And once more Guiche ground his molars together with frustration.

"No. You shall have use of your full arsenal, or else you may surrender now. I shall not leave you any room to claim my victory is invalid." The wide answering grin let him know that such a declaration was exactly what Mott had wanted; yet, even knowing that, he'd had no choice in the matter.

"There shall be no interference from familiars, then. Neither mine, nor yours." Although he didn't know what creature one such as Mott may have called in his Academy days Guiche was certain that such a ruling was not in his favour. Nevertheless...

"Very well. I wish to invoke the Chevalier code. Have you any objection?" This was the crux of Guiche's one and only chance for victory here. If this did not pass he had no hope at all.

"You wish to use a wandblade, then? And your fine armour, I've no doubt. I have no objection… assuming that you, I trust, have no objection to my carrying multiple wands. Or did you hope your victory might come from sundering my implement?" That had been one hope, yes, but one of many. Ill-prepared as he might be plans were rolling into Guiche's head like a lightning storm.

"No objection. We shall fight to surrender. Upon your loss you shall release Siesta from her contract." At that Mott quirked an eyebrow. Perhaps he had expected for Guiche to demand a duel to first blood. Such a thing would have only benefitted the older man, however.

"As you say; however, upon your loss, you shall sign whatever contract I may put before you. Do you agree?" For a moment Guiche closed his eyes, centring himself in the memory of a tragedy avoided. Then he nodded. "The rules are set, then, and witnessed. I shall change, and meet you in the courtyard. Good luck, young Gramont. You will certainly need it." Mott left the room, absolutely secure in his victory. Behind him, Wardes shook his head.

"That was a damn fool thing, boy." The Viscount stepped forward, clapping Guiche on the back. "But brave, I won't fault you that. In this rain, though, he might as well be a Square mage; you can consider all his spells to be at least one rank higher in power." Guiche nodded. He knew that much. It was entirely possible he had no chance of victory here. Even so…

"Nevertheless, Viscount, I must at least make the attempt. I know that… that if I were in her position, I would want someone to do as much for me." Kenneth nodded, but said nothing. He didn't have to. Wardes seemed to accept that, and began to unbuckle his jacket.

"The weather's awful out there, and my keen powers of detection note that you are lacking in both a coat and an undervest for that chainmail of yours. Take mine; even if I can't help you fight, I can at least do that much for you." Tears of gratitude welled up in Guiche's eyes as the Knight stripped off his padded vest and, with Saito's help, got his chainmail off and then back on again.

They swapped out his school cloak for Wardes' heavy, surprisingly dry cape. "No hood, I'm afraid. But…" A weight settled on his head. Guiche looked up to see the older man smiling down at him from under the brim of the wide hat he'd removed upon entering. Only it wasn't on the Viscount's head. "You seem a good sort, Guiche de Gramont. I don't think I'd like little Louise to lose a friend like you. This ought to keep the rain out of your eyes, at least. Try not to die out there, okay?"

Guiche nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Kenneth, meanwhile, had removed a cloth-wrapped package from his own bag and was pulling the bindings off it.

"An' ah dinnae wish to add ye to me slab, boy. So ye'll be taking this as well, with my compliments. Ah was hoping to put a few finishing touches on it afore ye went and did anything quite so damn foolish as this, but… well, hopefully this'll be yer trump card." It was a gleaming shield, engraved with the coat of House Gramont upon its surface; the crest barely marred by the few strategically placed spikes.

"Ah'll enamel it for ye if ya survive. An' if ya don't, ah swear by th' Goddess that ah'll make the man wish he'd never been born." Then, much to his surprise, the small man hugged Guiche around the waist. It was a little awkward, and surprisingly teary. "Yer me first student, boy. So ye'd best not be going and dyin' on me." They disengaged. Saito said nothing, knuckles still white with restrained fury, but he managed to place a hand on the young noble's shoulder and give him a nod of support nonetheless.

"Right then." Guiche turned and felt that he managed to make his cape flourish in a somewhat dramatic fashion. "Let's go. I have a duel to win!"

 

[Strunkriindiisk]

Ah, Wardes, you're making it hard for me to wish you dead.

 

[macdjord]

Wonder if Siesta has any idea any of this is happening yet...

 

[Guile]

So, doing some catching up, and had some comments on Chapter 4, here:

"Ser Kenneth, I'm not sure I quite understand the point of continuing this exercise." Guiche shifted nervously as he looked over at where his familiar was standing. They were not in the school itself but, rather, had come out into the woods nearby once more. Yesterday there had been an abject demonstration of his familiar's fighting prowess when compared with his own Bronze Valkyries.

It had been humiliating. Kenneth had caved in the chest of the first one with a left straight, and then only drawn his axe because he'd simply decided that destroying them with his bare hands would be inefficient. Today, however, it was different. The dwarf's axe was sitting at his back, yes, but he was only holding on to it in case of bandits.

Instead he had put on a pair of steel gauntlets and was grinning maliciously.

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This suggests that Kenneth doesn't wear gauntlets normally, right? Or at least, that he wasn't when he caved in that Valkyrie's chest the first day. I guess I just automatically assume dwarf = armor at all times.

"Yes, but I fail to see the point of this." He rapped his knuckles on the breastplate. It was smelly, and heavy, and even with the padded vest he'd been forced to put on as well it was rubbing in uncomfortable places. Kenneth had taken pity on him and not made him wear the helmet, or any of the other bits.

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You know, if there's ever a 'train Guiche to learn metalsmithing' arc, he might not be up to the dwarven standard, but I bet he'd train up REALLY quick. Construct pieces in minutes using his magic (and then Kenneth could point out all the mistakes he made), then deconstructs without losing any metal at all. And then rinse and repeat until out of Willpower.

He might be really good at discovering new metal alloys, for the same reason. That's probably more trial and error if he can't crib off Kenneth's metalworking knowledge, though.

"Boy, where ah come from th' best warmages wear full plate armour.

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Gotta love dwarf mages.

We gotta build up yer strength a bit. Th' attack squad idea 's a good one, ah'll grant, but th' best way to run it well'd be from in th' thick o' things. Which means armour!" It had never really occurred to Guiche that, if he were to go into battle, he'd have to get within a certain distance of the actual fighting to control his golems reliably before Kenneth had pointed it out to him. Now he was seriously reconsidering his specialty.

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Well, hypothetically, he could just learn a spell to see remotely or something. That seems like it would go against Kenneth's sensibilities, though.

"Whene'er we train, ye'll wear tha'. Ah'll work out a proper diet plan an' such wi' th' help o' one of yer healers. Dun wanna o'er work ye."

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I really wish we'd seen that scene. Kenneth going, 'What, seriously, is that all wee humans kin take? Ye're pullin' me leg.' and the healer keeps going, 'No, no, if he follows that training program he will LITERALLY die.'

Guiche whimpered. The brute would ruin his perfect, handsome figure! Kenneth just rolled his eyes and kicked at the dirt a bit. "Dinnae be daft, ye idjit. Th' lasses love a strong man."

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Pft, Germanian women love a strong man. Although at least Tristainian knights use sword-wands, so I bet fencer or gymnast physiques are in vogue.

 

[Guile]

"Ah was gonna have y'run away from me with yer damsel, boy. An' if ah caught up with ye, ah was gonna bury me foot in yer tacklebox."

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How high off the ground is Kenneth? I'm picturing, like, a dropkick into Guiche's jewels.

So he'd foolishly asked his familiar to teach him about how to be an adventurer. Or, as Kenneth kept teasing him, a hero. He didn't mind the terminology, nor did he make any comments about what Guiche felt might be a somewhat naive choice in the long run. Not being criticized for his romanticism was… it was nice, really.

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Is it canon that Guiche has 3 brothers, or is that fanon I picked up somewhere? Do they make fun of his romantic heart? This might be a nice spot for some Guiche backstory.

Kenneth had done more damage to the trees than Guiche had done to his familiar; which was mostly due to him striking through them to hit Valkyries.

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Comma not semicolon here, I think.

"Bah. Y'willnae get a good enough one fer him in this place. C'mon, Guiche, up y'go."

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I feel like you're wanking Kenneth's world a wee bit here. I don't know how Halkeginia's tech level fares RE: ranged weapons, but at least in real life the French did okay. They weren't the finely honed war machine that was the English longbow, but they weren't incompetent or anything. Having Kenneth arbitrarily decide he can make a better bow than whatever the locals have, sight unseen, is a bit much.

However; that concern paled in comparison to the woman. It was like someone had taken Louise's general appearance and reassembled it on the frame of one of his Valkyries. The end result was steel personified standing there and looking coldly at the two of them.

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While this works fine, I think it would have been funnier if Guiche looked at Karin and only saw a charming, if cool, older woman. Poise, grace! Perhaps there is some hope for Louise after all... eventually. Someday.

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

This suggests that Kenneth doesn't wear gauntlets normally, right? Or at least, that he wasn't when he caved in that Valkyrie's chest the first day. I guess I just automatically assume dwarf = armor at all times.

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He was not wearing armour at that time, no. For various reasons he didn't have to.

I feel like you're wanking Kenneth's world a wee bit here. I don't know how Halkeginia's tech level fares RE: ranged weapons, but at least in real life the French did okay. They weren't the finely honed war machine that was the English longbow, but they weren't incompetent or anything. Having Kenneth arbitrarily decide he can make a better bow than whatever the locals have, sight unseen, is a bit much.

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He'd assume the same thing back home as well. Kenneth is a dwarf... he assumes that Dwarvencraft is superior to all other forms of crafting except for his wife's. It's a cultural pride thing.

Really, what Halk has a one-up on is the muskets. I should remember to make a note on that.

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

You know, if there's ever a 'train Guiche to learn metalsmithing' arc, he might not be up to the dwarven standard, but I bet he'd train up REALLY quick. Construct pieces in minutes using his magic (and then Kenneth could point out all the mistakes he made), then deconstructs without losing any metal at all. And then rinse and repeat until out of Willpower.

He might be really good at discovering new metal alloys, for the same reason. That's probably more trial and error if he can't crib off Kenneth's metalworking knowledge, though.

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As you may see later, Kenneth cheats when it comes to forging. Guiche would be a dab hand at it, though. His main idea is to teach him engineering as opposed to metalworking, though. Making Valkyries with properly articulated joints could help improve his magical efficiency a fair bit.

How high off the ground is Kenneth? I'm picturing, like, a dropkick into Guiche's jewels.

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Not very high at all. A lot of the time he's looking up at Guiche instead of down; although, his mannerisms make that hard to notice at times.

Gotta love dwarf mages.

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They're actually Not-French, which is why he wants to push Guiche that way.

I really wish we'd seen that scene. Kenneth going, 'What, seriously, is that all wee humans kin take? Ye're pullin' me leg.' and the healer keeps going, 'No, no, if he follows that training program he will LITERALLY die.'

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That is more or less what happened.

 

[Guile]

Moving on down, Chapter 5:

'Attend'. Hah. What a word. She'd woken up to find him waiting for her with a maid, and clothing laid out. Then he'd left the room while the maid helped dress her. When he came back in she'd informed him that she could dress herself from then on. That had been… embarrassing. The maid was nice about it, but she'd felt like a child again.

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I guess the idea here is that Saito is the perfect servant (sort of), and Louise doesn't like that either, right?

But Kenneth refers to him last chapter as a Kagathi (or however you spell that) woodsman. I was imagining him as a quiet but competent ranger, subservient but reserved and apart. But he reads more like a Satsuma plantation serf, except he's way too talented at noble home maintenance to be a peasant.

Saito presenting the crop for his own lashing seems a bit overdone even for a feudal lord, but it gets the point across I guess. The Hiraga lords must be literally monsters.

It was just all so strange. Louise had never had a dedicated attendant before.

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No dedicated ladies' maid for Louise? I guess that makes sense, we don't meet one when she goes home to the Valliere estate nor brings one with her to school.

A vision of her familiar diligently renewing the lace on all of her underthings drove her to imperiously demand he stay with her during class time.

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I somehow managed to read this as the familiar sewing her FACE onto her underthings, which was even more amazing.

Luckily, nobody was hurt… except her stupid, courageous, heroic idiot of a familiar.

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Man, she is going to fall hard for this kid.

She merely pronounced her confidence in his ability to protect her and actually got a very tiny huff from him in response.

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This character growth on Louise's part feels a bit fast to me. Like, I feel like she should still be huffing about how she can take care of herself darn it.

He had been deep in discussion with one of the maids, in fact. She almost hadn't wanted to interrupt them but he'd seemed to sense her and turned around as soon as she thought about stepping back.

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Here, too. Louise, quietly back down and let Saito and Siesta talk? It feels like an abnegation of the natural order.

 

[Guile]

Even the third year's curriculum had grown dull.

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I thought Louise and Guiche were just entering their second year. Are you saying she's already bored with material 1+ years ahead?

Then his family situation, and almost perfect relationship with his father…

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That sounds kind of weird, gramatically speaking.

It seemed unfair that even after being exposed to Kenneth for almost a week now his father could so easily cow him. Surely they weren't even on the same scale of fear? But, no, one stern look as they drew closer brought him to silence… although the words that followed would have done so anyway.

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I hope the subject of Guiche's father comes up in conversation with Kenneth at some point. Get the dwarf PoV on respecting your elders.

"You may now demonstrate." Saito nodded and stepped up as Guiche watched with bated breath. This was it. Not only was the fate of Louise's familiar resting on this but also the reputation of his own. If Kenneth's bow proved to be unsuitable then his father would have cause to rescind his earlier assessment.

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I'm a bit confused as to how we got here. I mean, if Guiche and Louise had summoned giant moles their very busy parents presumably wouldn't have come out of their way to put their new familiars through their paces. Is it that they're being paid like servants? Is Saito being paid like Kenneth? He doesn't seem the type to accept it.

A truly skilled musketeer could only reliably hit a target at under a hundred and fifty metres; although some of the elite could supposedly make better shots. Accurate archery range was a little better than that, but you tended to mass bows for effect in any case. It was the only way to reliably damage an enemy army with any wind mages seconded to it.

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This is an interesting tidbit that whets my appetite for Tristain military strategy.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Wow. That's one of the most likable Wardes I've seen in a while. Props to that, and on the Vallieres' last-minute plans. They certainly close ranks to protect their own, don't they?

Good on Guiche, for trying to do the right thing against all odds here. The terms are not in his favor, but I feel he did the best he could manage given what he had to work with.

Mott though....yeah, I totally believe that Kenneth will kill Mott if Guiche loses/dies. Mott is utterly screwed at this point. He has a lot of power and advantages, but he has become the subject of such immense dislike that everyone is preparing to go all in to take him down. Methinks he's a little too used to his authority and retinue protecting him from violent threats, and assuming he will always live to see tomorrow.

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

I'm a bit confused as to how we got here. I mean, if Guiche and Louise had summoned giant moles their very busy parents presumably wouldn't have come out of their way to put their new familiars through their paces. Is it that they're being paid like servants? Is Saito being paid like Kenneth? He doesn't seem the type to accept it.

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The chain of events was that Guiche wrote to his father about his servant, and the contract, and then Armand wrote to Karin.

Saito also has a contract, although getting him to accept any payment was difficult Kenneth did as much. Karin's concerns would be almost not present at all if Louise had summoned a creature like everyone else because their capabilities are well understood. By all accounts, however, she just summoned a commoner. So she wanted to make sure that he was suitable as a 'familiar' and also as a servant of their house.

I thought Louise and Guiche were just entering their second year. Are you saying she's already bored with material 1+ years ahead?

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This came about due to conversing with Chandra, I think, but Louise's only recourse in regards to her utter lack of practical skills is to be word-perfect on the theory. She's quite intelligent and works hard at it. With there being no real point to her doing practical exercises, however, she's moved ahead.

This character growth on Louise's part feels a bit fast to me. Like, I feel like she should still be huffing about how she can take care of herself darn it.
Here, too. Louise, quietly back down and let Saito and Siesta talk? It feels like an abnegation of the natural order.

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Although the Louise chapter is one of my least favourite bits, and may be due for a rewrite, I think this much stands.

For the first part, she's outright teasing him about his overprotectiveness. She's poking fun at him for his earlier insistence on taking an explosion for her. As for the second, she's mostly just startled seeing him acting like a person instead of a nigh-perfect machine all the time.

I guess the idea here is that Saito is the perfect servant (sort of), and Louise doesn't like that either, right?

But Kenneth refers to him last chapter as a Kagathi (or however you spell that) woodsman. I was imagining him as a quiet but competent ranger, subservient but reserved and apart. But he reads more like a Satsuma plantation serf, except he's way too talented at noble home maintenance to be a peasant.

Saito presenting the crop for his own lashing seems a bit overdone even for a feudal lord, but it gets the point across I guess. The Hiraga lords must be literally monsters.

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Kagati Woodsman, yes. His near omnipresent skill in all aspects of servitude is more or less a plot point, and as for the Hiragas... well, you'll see.

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

Wow. That's one of the most likable Wardes I've seen in a while. Props to that, and on the Vallieres' last-minute plans. They certainly close ranks to protect their own, don't they?

Good on Guiche, for trying to do the right thing against all odds here. The terms are not in his favor, but I feel he did the best he could manage given what he had to work with.

Mott though....yeah, I totally believe that Kenneth will kill Mott if Guiche loses/dies. Mott is utterly screwed at this point. He has a lot of power and advantages, but he has become the subject of such immense dislike that everyone is preparing to go all in to take him down. Methinks he's a little too used to his authority and retinue protecting him from violent threats, and assuming he will always live to see tomorrow.

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Louise thinks fast, and more or less begged Wardes to help her. She's a clever cookie, and Saito's been nothing but kind to her in his own bizarre way.

As I implied, Guiche is trying to do the right thing because he sees in Mott the horrific spectre of what he might have one day been without Kenenth's intervention. It's by no means accurate, but fear rarely cares about such things.

Mott's not as in over the head as he seems, though. He knows how desperately Kenneth wants him dead, but that's why he's not going to kill Guiche in this duel; indeed, that would defeat the entire point of his scheme. Rather, he knows that it's Guiche's nobility that's keeping it safe and is gleefully milking it for all it's worth. As long as he's not broken the law Guiche won't unleash the Dorf, because of the repercussions that'd result.

... I mean, if he knew what Saito was I think he'd probably be a little more cautious right now, but still.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Louise thinks fast, and more or less begged Wardes to help her. She's a clever cookie, and Saito's been nothing but kind to her in his own bizarre way.

As I implied, Guiche is trying to do the right thing because he sees in Mott the horrific spectre of what he might have one day been without Kenenth's intervention. It's by no means accurate, but fear rarely cares about such things.

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Fair on both points.

Mott's not as in over the head as he seems, though. He knows how desperately Kenneth wants him dead, but that's why he's not going to kill Guiche in this duel; indeed, that would defeat the entire point of his scheme. Rather, he knows that it's Guiche's nobility that's keeping it safe and is gleefully milking it for all it's worth. As long as he's not broken the law Guiche won't unleash the Dorf, because of the repercussions that'd result.

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If Mott were a really clever cookie, Mott would realize that that's actually a big problem for him.

He can't kill Guiche; not even by accident. This is a fight to surrender after all, so Guiche can afford to boldly risk grievous injury because Mott will have to avoid dealing said injury. It's just too dangerous to his outcome.

Sure, Mott might complain afterwards that Guiche's victory is invalid because Mott couldn't just kill him, but I'm assuming someone dying in this duel would be frowned upon no matter what. The sticking point here is that Mott will die immediately if Guiche does, no chance to weasel his way out.

This gets especially fun if Guiche ducks out of sight, covers himself in armor similar to his Valkyries or some golems, and then rejoins the field with his minions. Then Mott has to treat every minion as potentially holding Guiche, lest he make a mistake and kill the lad. Which slows him down immensely and gives the minions much better chances, always assuming Guiche can continue casting and directing movements.

This could be an interesting fight, if both sides are trying to abuse the limitations and rules imposed by a duel.

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

He can't kill Guiche; not even by accident. This is a fight to surrender after all, so Guiche can afford to boldly risk grievous injury because Mott will have to avoid dealing said injury. It's just too dangerous to his outcome.

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True, true; but Mott's a Water mage, so he can deal with a certain amount of injury. He's not a skilled healer, but he has the capacity if need be. Either way, some interesting thoughts there~

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

True, true; but Mott's a Water mage, so he can deal with a certain amount of injury. He's not a skilled healer, but he has the capacity if need be. Either way, some interesting thoughts there~

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There's a funny thought, Mott having to heal Guiche mid-fight.

More plausible is Mott being honor-bound to heal Guiche after the fight, although I suspect he may go for some borderline torture or extreme pain in the hopes of making Guiche surrender just to have it stop. Then he dispenses the healing.

...Heh, I hope he does try that. Because that would paint him in a very bad light, and then when Guiche doesn't give up Mott has to deal with the fact that he may have mortally wounded his opponent, and said opponent is perfectly willing to risk death for victory.

Which....may actually lead to Mott surrendering on account of it being better to lose Siesta than A. let this indiscretion be punctuated by Guiche's death and spread far and wide, and B. killed by Kenneth.

 

[macdjord]

Which....may actually lead to Mott surrendering on account of it being better to lose Siesta than A. let this indiscretion be punctuated by Guiche's death and spread far and wide, and B. killed by Kenneth.

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I think most duelling codes have some form of 'incapacitation = surrender' rule to avoid just such catch-22s.

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

...Heh, I hope he does try that. Because that would paint him in a very bad light, and then when Guiche doesn't give up Mott has to deal with the fact that he may have mortally wounded his opponent, and said opponent is perfectly willing to risk death for victory.

Which....may actually lead to Mott surrendering on account of it being better to lose Siesta than A. let this indiscretion be punctuated by Guiche's death and spread far and wide, and B. killed by Kenneth.

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The rules will be somewhat clarified in the next part but if one of the participants if rendered fully helpless then that can be considered their loss; assuming they legitimately can't break free. Wardes is the adjudicator, and he has to act as impartially as possible. The true meaning of the 'surrender' clause is more that Guiche could've asked for First Blood. That may have been in his favour, as all he needs is a scratch, but against an opponent as superior as Mott is he can't rely on luck.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

The rules will be somewhat clarified in the next part but if one of the participants if rendered fully helpless then that can be considered their loss; assuming they legitimately can't break free. Wardes is the adjudicator, and he has to act as impartially as possible. The true meaning of the 'surrender' clause is more that Guiche could've asked for First Blood. That may have been in his favour, as all he needs is a scratch, but against an opponent as superior as Mott is he can't rely on luck.

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I assumed that pinning the combatant such that they can't be freed, or to put a metaphorical knife to their throat that can't be denied. But having to fight to entrap without killing, especially an opponent sufficiently reckless, will at very least tie up Mott's attention.

Also, in some ways Guiche's inexperience may play in his favor. Mark Twain puts it well:

There are some things that can beat smartness and foresight? Awkwardness and stupidity can. The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do; and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot.

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[GiftofLove]

Ah, Wardes, you're making it hard for me to wish you dead.

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In my opinion, Wardes is at his best when he's not unashamedly evil. It shows how good of an actor he actually is. Plus, who's to say he's not sincere? Even the worst of villains can be moved by a boy with his heart in the right place. Especially if that boy just so happens to be a good unsuspecting bodyguard for his fiance.

TotalAbsolutism, this was very well done I have to say. I was genuinely touched by Wardes' gesture, as well as Guiche and Kenneth's growth. The reveal of the softer side of Kenneth's bond with Guiche had a lot of emotional impact. As well as the reveal of what the stone is. (Unless you revealed that already, and I just forgot.)