Chương 56: Book 2 Chapter 8 - Unsettling News

As Kiara walked into the guard house, Soren greeted her with a bow and a smile.

"Afternoon, Lady Yountal." She returned his smile.

"Good afternoon, Soren. How are the injuries coming along?" He glanced his own body up and down, pausing as the worst injuries.

"Well enough, milady. A few more days oughta set me straight. How's yours?" He gestured at her arm with his chin. She pulled her sleeve up to reveal the gash. It had scabbed over, but the scab was still a deep red.

"Probably another week or two on this one," she said. Soren nodded slowly. He seemed surprised by that revelation, but didn't say anything about it.

"It's been about a month since we spoke last about the guards receiving additional training," she said. His eyes lit up at the topic.

"Indeed it has, my lady." Kiara had been busy enough with her sword training, amongst other things, that she hadn't been keeping track of how her guards' additional training was going. She had seen some of her guards in the beginner's class at Handel's academy, but wanted to get Soren's take on it as well.

"Did any of the guards seem interested in the opportunity?" she asked.

"Ha!" Soren barked out a laugh.

"I'll give you five silvers if you can find me one that isn't! Once they heard that Mr Savage would be paying for the classes, more than half of them were rearing to go. Once I revealed that we'd be hosting an in-house tournament, with prize money involved, every single one of them rushed in. They near clobbered me to death trying to get to the sign up sheets." He shook his head slowly at the memory, a wry smile on his face. Kiara chuckled as she imagined it.

"Good! I'm glad they are taking it to heart. How's their training coming along then? Are they seeing improvements?" Soren nodded enthusiastically.

"Aye. It's only been a month, but I've seen them practicing more in their spare time than ever before. Some of them spend their breaks sparring in the yard, practicing their forms. More than a few have been trying out new weapons too, hoping to try for the prize in multiple categories when the tournament comes around. I'd say their skill levels are going up for sure, but more importantly, morale is at an all-time high." Kiara was happy to hear that. Happy workers were hard workers, as Dustin had told her.

The improved skill with their weapons would improve the protection here at the estate as well. * That night at dinner, Dustin had news.

"Are you still interested in attending the Marsant Ball next Saturday evening?" he asked as they began eating. Kiara thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

"I think I remember meeting them at the tribunal. Gabe and Terra, wasn't it?" Dustin smiled with pride.

"Yes! Good memory. It is a starry-night themed ball, and promises to be quite something. The Marsants throw one every year around this time, and last year's was quite spectacular from what I've heard." A question came to Kiara's mind.

"You once told me that these types of parties are a social dance, where everyone is trying to gather information and get a leg up on the competition. Is that true for something like this starry night themed ball as well?"

"Always," he replied with a grin.

"Although that isn't something you'll need to worry about too much."

"Oh?" she quirked an eyebrow at him. He nodded.

"For one thing, I'll handle that aspect of things for House Yountal, so you can just be yourself and focus on enjoying the evening. If anyone wants to talk business, just point them to me. Although it wouldn't hurt to freshen up on those etiquette lessons I had you read a while back." He winked at her, and she blushed slightly. Her etiquette wasn't that bad, was it? He continued, "For another thing, the level of competition and espionage here in Easton is truly abysmal.

That is to say, anywhere smaller than a county seat like Portish simply doesn't have the size required to attract any of the big fish that really know what they're doing. Even in Portish, I doubt I'd come across any real competition." This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. She laughed.

"Wow, praise yourself much?" He laughed back.

"I just call it how I see it. Granted, there are a few larger houses based in Portish that have satellite operations here in Easton, but the actual house heads rarely get out this way, and the family members running things out here aren't all that versed in the game. However…" He paused, and Kiara looked up from the bite of food she was shoving in her mouth to see why. Rather than his usual twinkle in his eye, he had a rather serious look on his face.

"What is it?" she asked around a mouthful of food. He tapped his finger on the table, a clear sign he was debating how much to tell her.

"Oh come on, what is it?" she implored. He sighed lightly.

"Did you know that Baron Norshod has decided not to re-instate a ruling noble over Poston?" She shook her head, this was the first she was hearing about it. Dustin continued, "Lord Grivalt wasn't financially solvent, as we both know, so it appears the baron has decided to simply absorb that land into the barony's direct reports, rather than instituting a new ruler there." Kiara nodded. That made sense so far. She swallowed before asking, "Why do you look so glum about it?"

Dustin's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the table.

"It's not that, specifically. It's just that… well, a tier 4 mage came to Easton today." He looked up to meet her eyes, gauging her reaction. Kiara pursed her lips, considering the news. It was unusual to see a mage that strong this far outside of a ducal capital city or a county seat. Dustin seemed to be implying that it had something to do with Baron Norshod or maybe Poston itself, which concerned her a bit. Dustin continued after studying her reaction.

"Baron Norshod hired him, supposedly as a house retainer. He used the absorption of Poston as the reason in his official announcement. It's odd enough that he even announced something like that, but tying it to Poston in that way makes me think that he's trying to send you a message. I think you scared him a bit when he pseudo-challenged you to a duel at your tribunal." Kiara pondered that. He had seemed rather unnerved at her immediate agreement to something like a duel.

Had he gone out and hired someone to beat her up or take her out? Her fight with Lord Grivalt had been eye opening. While she had outclassed him pretty profoundly, fighting him alongside his guards had been a bit of a challenge. It was something she had enjoyed – which as an aside she found slightly concerning in and of itself, she wasn't sure what it said about her – but it was a challenge nonetheless. She had been excited when Baron Norshod had suggested a duel.

She wasn't entirely sure what that entailed, but Handel had mentioned doing duels at the end of the semester, and she was looking forward to it. The fact that they had a different name than sparring made her think that the rules were probably different, but it was nevertheless a chance to fight and practice her swordswomanship. Going up against the baron would have been an interesting challenge. She wasn't sure how he would compare, as a tier 3 mage, but had been excited to find out.

Fighting a tier 4 was another matter entirely though. Until she had more experience with something like that, she wasn't sure how that would end up. She remembered that Ron, from her sword class, was a tier 3 mage as well. Maybe she could get him to spar with her at the level of a tier 3 to get some experience in. Eventually, Dustin added one more piece of information.

"We may run into the baron, and possibly his new guard dog, at the Marsants' ball. It would be the perfect place for him to parade around his new muscle." She met Dustin's eyes.

"How much do you know about what it means to be a tier 4? What are their powers like?" Dustin scratched the side of his head.

"I'm not an expert on magic, by any means, Shian. On our trip to Portish, which, incidentally, I think we should take pretty soon after the Marsants' ball, we can try and find someone who knows more about it. Maybe there are some books or something that could give us some information." Kiara drew her lips into a thin line. She really needed to try and get some more information about this, it kept coming up.

Dustin exhaled, then added, "All I know is what I gathered from being around them, back at my family's estate. It's odd that the baron was even able to hire a tier 4, if I'm being honest. Tier 4 mages are powerhouses. They are rare, especially out this far. I'm sure there are a few in Portish, and other cities of that size, but to think that one would move out to Easton is odd. Besides, what tier 4 isn't already gainfully employed? Most are busy running their own houses, businesses, or even counties."

Dustin was on a roll, and Kiara let him keep talking.

"Tier advancements take time, so most houses try to scout young talent as they come out of the magical academies in the larger cities. Most young mages graduate from the academies at tier 2 or tier 3, and the talented ones get gobbled up rather quickly by the wealthy houses. Once a mage reaches tier 4, and especially tier 5, they are well into their careers, with well established ties to whichever house they work for already. It's almost unheard of for mages at that level to be seeking employment."

He paused after that, lost in thought. He seemed troubled, and Kiara didn't know if she should ask about it or not. She decided to just let him think. After a few minutes of silence, he inhaled deeply and cleared his face of any emotion.

"Probably nothing to worry about yet," he said with what she was pretty sure was a fake smile. She found that after spending enough time with him, she was starting to learn which of his smiles were for show. She decided not to press him about it now. If it became important, he would tell her. She had other things she'd rather focus on.