Even as Shamon enters into the room, I can tell that the man has a haggard look on his face. He doesn't say anything to me as he drops in the chair next to me. I have never seen this man look so defeated in my life.
"Are they that exhausting?" I ask, about the three nobles.
Shamon looks worse than during the invasion of the Ice Beasts, which seems almost impossible if I am honest. (and still I am seeing what I am seeing.)
"The nobles are already pretty annoying guests to have at the best of times," he replies. "It doesn't help that the Starfall family always want to pick a fight with anybody from the Frozen Peak. I have had to make sure that everything has been perfect for them all these weeks."
"So what is going to happen after this?" I ask. "Why are they not coming in here already?"
"Well, I am supposed to ensure that you are not armed at this very moment," He says. "Until I confirm to them that you do not hold any weapon, they won't be coming in here."
"Another ritual of yours, eh" I speak. "I do not have any weapon so you can call on your guys already. I don't exactly have a lot of time here."
I don't need a mere weapon with a formation now, do I? (I still wish I had my sword.)
"I have been on the beck and call of those guys for the last week, Captain," He says. "I want a few minutes away from them if you don't mind it."
I guess I can give the man that at least. He has helped me quite the bit in the last few months.
"Fine, I am not going to do it for free, though," I reply. "Speak about them. How should I handle them?"
I can see the man look at me, nervousness in his glance. The commoners here really don't like to speak about the nobles, I have noticed.
"Be wary of the construction mage. He has been moving about the fort like he has swallowed a bee in the last couple of days," He says. "He feels insulted by you. The man is not going to make things easy for you in this meeting."
"I can handle him, what about the other two? Are they similarly arrogant or are they easier to manage?" I ask.
"They are calmer than the construction mage, as far as I have seen. There is no noble that can be called humble, but they seem to be the kind that will listen to you at least," He concludes. "We have waited here long enough. Let me go and get them. The quicker this is over, the quicker we can all relax."
"Sure, take your time," I say.
"Captain, I hope you are ready to meet the Starfalls," Shamon speaks, his voice cracking as he speaks. "I would rather that there be no fight here."
"You will do well to calm down, Shamon," I reply. "Such fear will only make the other side bold, I find."
"That is why I warn you to be careful, kid. The Starfalls are new nobles, with an itch to prove their nobility. If you offend them, they might not be able to punish you directly. They can still kill every person in this fort to make a point," he speaks, his voice quivering. (I have never seen the man be nervous in this manner.)
"You need not worry about that, Shamon. I do not think they have any reason to kill me or you. After all, I plan to agree with every command that they give," I say. "I just need to make sure that I am not given too raw a deal."
And it is with Shamon's nervous energy that I sit. The men in question are in the room next to me. I can study the mana of all three from here. They should not be able to do the same, though. They simply don't have strong enough mana senses for that. Then again, very few people can compare to me on this front.
Even as I am thinking this, the three of them are making their way towards me. Ankon, I have already described. The only thing that is new is that the man looks like a midget next to his fellows. The other two Starfall brothers are standing to his side, absurdly tall for a human. They are tall enough to look down on me while talking. (Which is weird since I am pretty tall myself.) I would have thought them to have giant blood if they did not have the necessary mass for it.
They are clearly twins, if not for the scar on one of the guys. It looks like a beast claw cut the man across his face. It gives him a fearsome look as he stares at me.
As they enter the room, I bow down to them.
"Captain Sevenstars, it is rare for us to meet people of your capability this far north. It is an honor to meet you," The Scarred man speaks. "You can call me Theo."
I thought I had recognised these two. They are present in my records as powerful young masters of the Starfall family. Theo is the elder of the two, recognizable due to the scar on his cheek. He is supposed to have gotten it while wrestling with an Ice Beast troop leader as a child. (Which seems unlikely based on personal experience.) This story was just a rumour that one of my predecessors overheard. I have no way of verifying it.
"Commander, we have been admiring your handiwork," Ankon starts, a bit too sweetly to be true. "To think that a mere formation would be enough to let you survive the Snow Drive. It is admirable."
"I only did half of the work, Captain Ankon," I reply. "This fort has been built with the sacrifice of your soldiers. Without them, I would have died by the end of the first week. They are an admirable lot."
"Captain Antonio, we will need your assistance once more," he says. "We need to send the soldiers from here to the Frozen Peak. While they are unlikely to get worse in this barrier of yours, they are also unlikely to recover as well. The only problem is that we need an escort to send them back."
The man does not directly ask about it but it is clear that I am meant to be the escort here.
"I do not mind returning to the Frozen Peak. I certainly don't mind escorting the soldiers as well. Sadly, I have other duties too and I cannot leave the place unless you can confirm that my people will be protected. After all, I am a guard sent to guard my people," I speak, looking at Theo with my most serious expression. He seems to be the leader of this group.
"We cannot spare any soldiers to guard them, captain," Ankon begins, the aggression clear in his voice. The man is just looking for a fight now. "We can be attacked any minute now. They cannot go to the Frozen Peak without a guard. You will need...."
"What he asks is fair, Ankon. Antonio, we are honor-bound by the Hexmountain treaty to protect you and your ruins. Failure to do so would be a stain on the honor of the Commander," Theo speaks, explaining. "We shall march to protect you and your soldiers should the enemy even think of attacking the ruin."
"I will apologise for doubting you, but I have heard of the relation between your family and the Commander. I find it hard to believe that you care a rat's ass about his honour," I reply. "I will do this if you swear on the honour of your family."
"Why will we do th....." Ankon starts clearly agitated.
"Enough, Ankon. We swear on the honour of the Starfall family. Should any Scholar die in the magical ruin, I will abandon my name," Travis says, as he explains. "This is the most extreme oath that I can make."
I look at the man for a second, wondering if he is lying in some way. Why would he be willing to give such an extreme oath? I don't know. Nobility is a big deal down here. It is enough of a guarantee that the Head Office will be satisfied. They really could not have given me anything better than this.
The annoyed expression on Ankon's face is proof enough that the man is pissed off. I return to the twins for now. (Only a fool argues with a fool.)
"I guess that I can do that then. Still, escorting them is not something that I am treaty-bound to do," I speak. "How do you plan to reimburse me for this?"
"We have already commanded you to return home, temple wrecker," Ankon growls at me. "The fact that we are already not attacking you is reimbursement enough."
"Enough, Ankon. Just because I am being polite doesn't mean that I will allow you to bark at me like a mutt," I reply, letting my irritation get the better of me. "Now what about my reimb....."
I am not able to complete my statement as I find myself in the air. It takes a moment for the pain to register. Not that it is enough to cause me to panic as I orient myself in the air. (Landing on the wrong spot can do quite a bit of damage, you know.)
Even as I crash on the ground, I begin to study the construction mage attacking me. I don't get up immediately as I study the three figures in front of me.
Of the three of them, only one of them has entered into a combat state. That is Ankon. Even looking at the man, there is no need for me to worry about him. The other two are still sitting there, waiting for me to act. They are studying me, looking for weakpoints in my defense. Activating the formation now would certainly force them into action. The way they are studying me tells that these guys won't be easy enemies to fight.
I take on a defensive position even as I get up. Ankon looks at me as we study each other's movements. It is obvious that he has no experience with fighting. Even now, there are about ten different flaws in his defence that I can use to kill him on the spot. It is taking all of my self-control to stop myself from doing that. (Killing him in a formal meeting would be a disaster I cannot afford.)
If it was anybody else, (with even a bit of experience in combat.) they would have used the period of me getting up to attack me twice at the very least. It might not have killed me, but it would have injured me at least. I grasp the vital mana in my core, as I use it to reinforce my body. I can feel my body getting lighter even as my fists crunches through the other party's nose. (He couldn't even block it, by the way.)
I kick his stomach, immediately after my punch. This I did without any kind of enhancement so I feel like I have kicked a stone statue. Still, it sends the man flying through the air as he hits the wall behind him.
I haven't stopped my action though as control strings begin to flow out of my hand into the depths of the fort. I speak the moment that the control strings touch the formation.
"Is this why I have been called into the meeting, Theo Starfall," I growl. "To be ambushed in this manner. I do not want a war between us, but if you keep acting in this manner then it is a declaration of war. Do you want the Legion on your ass, because I can arrange that."
"ENOUGH," Screams Travis. (He is the silent twin, who has been sitting next to his brother quietly till now.) As he screams, he begins to get up from his chair.
Even as I flex the Formation to create a few rings of water between us, I am caught off guard. The man doesn't charge at me. Instead he is moving in the direction of Ankon who has collapsed against the wall.
"We apologise for the actions of our fellow, Legioner," Theo speaks, a kind of regality to his voice. "My brother will escort him out of the room. Meanwhile, I have to request that we continue this discussion more calmly."
"Fine," I reply, while sitting down. My connection to the formation is still there, so I can activate it in a moment if I need to. The other party also seems to have realised that as he looks at me carefully.
Travis is picking up the man even as I sit. I seem to have shattered a couple of his ribcages with the kick. That is a surprise. I didn't expect that my kick will be able to harm him that much. They are supposed to be elite soldiers, you know?