Chương 76: Book 2 Chapter 28 - Machinations

Kane barged into Baron James Norshod's office without knocking. As always, James jumped with fright as Kane entered.

"Don't you ever knock?"

"Should I?" Kane asked. He flexed his aura a little bit, and the baron shrank back as the spiritual pressure settled on the room.

"N-no, no need," James stammered in response, with fear in his eyes. Good, Kane thought. As long as he remembers his place. Baron Norshod was kind of an idiot. Kane realized that the more time he spent in Easton. The man certainly didn't know how to run a city. His ability to reason about things that most people considered trivial was astonishingly low, which was saying something, considering how magic improved one's starting mental capacity.

Kane himself felt like he could process information twice as fast as when he had been a mere mortal. He couldn't quite remember what it felt like at tier 3, but he didn't remember any substantial improvements to his cognitive ability when he advanced to tier 4, maybe just a bit. Which meant that Baron Norshod, being an idiot at tier 3, was of substantial consequence. Kane shuddered to think what he might have been like at tier 1 or 2, or even as a mortal.

He wasn't dumb, per se, Kane carried on coherent conversations with the man quite often, he was just… proud, rash, and impulsive to a fault. He had periods where his emotions ran so hot that he lost the ability to control himself or think clearly. He was capable of following the breadcrumbs of reason, he simply failed to actually do it sometimes. Quite often, actually. Not a lack of ability, necessarily, more a lack of… well, Kane wasn't sure what. Motivation maybe?

At any rate, he had delegated to Kane the task of 'fixing the problem' in Easton. From the baron's perspective, the upper class here was getting out of hand, getting unruly. The baron considered himself some kind of monarch here in the barony, apparently, and tried to rule as such. The lesser lords that ruled under him obviously had to treat him that way, seeing as they were all tier 1 or tier 2 mages themselves, and literally couldn't stand up to him if they wanted to.

Beyond which, they were mostly distant relatives of his, and their tenure and legitimacy was somewhat tied to his reign as baron. A noble who ruled poorly was much more likely to be replaced if they had no personal ties with the noble whose jurisdiction they ruled inside of. Especially at the level of a barony. The lesser nobles that ruled towns and cities throughout a barony usually all had ties of some kind to the current baron.

New barons oftentimes switched out the lesser nobles ruling underneath them within the first few years of their tenure. Those positions were handed to family, friends, and anyone they owed favors too. Ruling over a town or a city was a very lucrative opportunity in most cases. The previous nobles who had been ousted lived off the money they had made during their own tenure, filling out the upper crust of society with plenty of nobles who weren't actively ruling.

When a baron died, or was replaced for one reason or another, the count who held jurisdiction over the barony sometimes chose a family member as a replacement, but many times it didn't pan out that way. Cities and towns within a barony were geographically close enough that a baron could travel to them if needed, quelling any uprisings or problems that the lesser ruling nobles couldn't handle themselves. Counties, on the other hand, were quite large, and a count needed competent barons to rule from a distance.

A county was large and populous enough to generate immense income for the count's family, so a count's children and grandchildren generally focused on helping out at the county level, instead of ruling over any baronies. They also focused on personal growth and power, since when the count passed away, their ability to take over the county depended largely on what tier they had grown to. The same principles that applied to a count needing competent barons was even more true for a duke needing competent counts.

A duchy was very large, and counts generally ruled with impunity in their county. County seats attracted many powerful people, and a count needed to be strong enough to be in charge. It seemed that Baron James Norshod's fears of the high society in Easton was in large part due to him not being related to Count Dremond in Portish. He was nervous that enough complaints might lead to a new baron being instituted in his place.

If Kane was trying to do what was best for Easton, he would have honestly pushed for that exact outcome. There had to be dozens, if not hundreds, of qualified people in Easton that could do a better job that James was doing. Having said that, Kane was most definitely not trying to do what was best for Easton. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

He felt bad for the common folk, the crop he himself had come from, but remembering the abuse he'd received as a child from those in power, Kane seethed inside. The high society here in Easton could all kill each other off, for all he cared. He would even help them do it. So if Baron Norshod wanted to rough up some of the upper class here in Easton, Kane was happy to go along with it. In fact, he was bound to help, courtesy of the soul oath he had sworn to the Silver Serpent Clan.

The clan had accepted this contract, and Kane was here to see it through. That being said, the contract was a bit vague in some ways. Luckily, it had a timeframe attached to it. He was bound to help for a year, or until James felt that the problem had been resolved, whichever came first. The only issue was that James himself didn't seem to have a good idea of exactly what 'the problem' was. Just that he felt insecure, and wanted someone to come fix it for him.

Lucky for him, Kane was competent enough to do this on his own. Kane had been travelling around the city the past month, visiting the bars and taverns, meeting with the nobles, trying to learn what he could about the city and the way things ran. The bars and taverns were especially informative. Nobles had servants, servants liked to drink, and drunk people talked. Kane had learned plenty of valuable information. Now, he would start putting it to use.

"I've gathered enough information for now," he relayed to James.

"There is a party coming up in a few weeks at the Norse House. We'll both be attending."

"I didn't receive an invitation," James said dejectedly. Kane gave him a flat stare.

"You don't need an invitation, you'll be coming with me."

"You got an invite?" Kane pinched the bridge of his nose. Idiot.

"I don't need an invitation, I go where I please in this city." He flexed his aura again, and James paled a bit.

"Ah… of course," came the meek reply.

"The Norse family has a brittle business relationship with the Henitons, both sides seem to be wary of the other. They have some history there." James nodded along, clearly following the logic now. Kane couldn't help but wonder how long that would last.

"We'll be at the ball to avoid any suspicion landing on us after what happens."

"What's going to happen?" James asked.

"I'm going to burn one of the Norse storage facilities, with just a hint of evidence that points to the Heniton House."

"Why?" Ah, there it is. I lost him again.

"You want the upper class in Easton to follow your rule?"

"Yes, of course," James replied immediately.

"Then you need them divided against each other. United, they look to tear you down. If they are at each other's throats, however, then they'll come to you for mediation, as the baron. They'll be so wrapped up in their own concerns that they won't have time to focus on attacking or replacing you." James was nodding again. He was quick to understand things if Kane laid it out for him, showing that he had the intelligence… he just preferred not to use it, apparently.

"The party will be the perfect cover for us, at the same time laying the blame squarely on the Heniton House. I managed to intercept their invitation to the party. They have taken it as an affront that House Norse didn't invite them, and the gossip has already started.

"No doubt House Norse will hear about the invitation being missing, and issue a replacement, but the damage is already done now that the gossip mill is churning. When the evidence at the storage facility points to the Heniton House having burned it, the dominoes will fall."

"The Henitons will know it wasn't them though." A wicked glimmer shone in Kane's eyes.

"True, but they already have bad relations with House Gorand. They will assume they were set up, especially after they receive a well-timed note from the head of House Gorand."

"How will you ensure Lord Gorand sends that note?" James asked. Kane put his face in his hands and rubbed his temples. With his hands still covering his face, he mumbled.

"Me. I'm going to send that note."

"Ah…" came the reply.

"And what about Shian Yountal?" Kane raised his face sharply from his hands to look at James. Why the sudden change of topic? He suddenly wondered if 'the problem' in James's mind was really just Miss Yountal. That tribunal had definitely struck a sour note in the baron's mind. If Kane removed her from the equation, would the contract be fulfilled? He would have to follow up with the clan headquarters to see if they'd been able to find any relevant information about House Yountal.

"She reportedly hired a new swath of guards in Portish a few weeks ago. A couple of tier 3 guards, and a handful of tier 2s as well. She even paid for soul contracts for all of them." James looked nervous at the news.

"So many?" Kane scoffed.

"That won't be a problem. I could kill everyone at that estate with my eyes closed. The real question is why did she pay for soul contracts with those tier 2s? Her house must be weaker than we thought if she has to rely on soul contracts to keep tier 2 retainers in line." James relaxed a bit with how confident Kane was about the situation.

"Have you heard from your superiors in the clan yet about any foreign ties House Yountal might have? How powerful they may be?" That was the real question. If House Yountal had no powerful ties anywhere else, then no one would come after the baron or the Silver Serpent Clan if anything happened. If they did have powerful ties, as everyone in Easton suspected, then Kane needed to tread carefully.

"No news yet," he said, watching James's face for a reaction. Sure enough, the baron seemed especially worried at his response. Perhaps Kane would need to pay House Yountal a personal visit sometime soon to feel things out.