Chapter 39: The Knights of Kastell
Ethan then went to the Mercenaries' Guild Hall to get the answer from Clovis Schwert and his band about his proposal to be knights of the Kastell Barony. We walked inside, through the pub-like first floor, past the reception desk, up the stairs, and to Clovis' office on the second floor. The door was opened and Clovis and his band of mercenaries stood there waiting for Ethan.
"Have you made a decision about my offer then?" Asked Ethan.
"We've discussed it among ourselves. Before we give you our decision, we have come up with a few questions together that we would like to ask you first." Said Clovis.
[That makes sense. They are going to make a major decision. It makes sense that they would have questions.]
"Go ahead." said Ethan.
"I can tell by your accent that you're not from Vorbei originally. How did you become Baron of Kastell?" Asked Clovis.
[I suppose that despite becoming fluent in this language, I still talk with an American accent. That is to be expected, of course, because I've only been in this world for a week, but I wasn't really conscious of it myself. I wonder if there's anything else that marks me as an outsider.] Thought Ethan.
"It is as you guessed, I am not from this land originally. I am from a very distant land called 'Earth' originally. It is a bit of a long story, but about a week ago, I found myself in the Ancient Forest near the eastern border of Vorbei. While there, I met the Sun Knights, and provided them significant assistance. As one of my rewards for assisting them, Duke Von Ritter gave me the title 'Baron of Kastell'." Ethan said.
"Why do you want twelve knights for such a small barony in a time of peace that you're willing to pay more than the market average for salaries? Are you planning on starting any conflicts with any neighboring nobles?" Asked Clovis.
[I really don't want to just tell everyone that the war will start soon, but I should just tell them the truth. In the end, if they are my knights, whom I will be expected to lead into battle, I will have to trust them with my life in battle, and they will likewise need to trust me with their lives. If I start this relationship off with a lie, no good can come of that.] Thought Ethan.
"No, I have no intention of starting any conflict with any neighboring nobles. You have my word that I honestly have no animosity whatsoever towards any human in Vorbei, nor do I currently have any land ambition beyond the Kastell Barony. The reason I want twelve experienced knights is because I doubt that this time of peace will last. I have reason to believe that this kingdom will get invaded by the Western Empire soon, and I want to be prepared for when the war starts. For that reason, if you agree to be my knights, when we get to Kastell We will immediately begin immediately begin war preparation for when the Duke calls on us to fight. I will want you to begin training the young men there of military age in spearmanship, and I will have blacksmiths begin making weapons of war." Said Ethan.
There was a short silence after Ethan said that. Finally, after a few seconds, Clovis broke the silence.
"We really are going to war again then. To be honest, I suspected it when my man Gozbert Techniek here said that the price of potions had skyrocketed this afternoon, meaning that the Kingdom itself is buying up a lot of potion. I guess that the Kingdom suspects that there will be war soon, and you somehow caught wind of it as well. I won't ask you for your source of information. I consider myself a good judge of character, and I saw the honesty and certainty in your eyes. You've been forthcoming enough to not doubt that you are speaking in good faith. The only other question that we have is can you afford it? You offered a generous salary, and a lot of other benefits as well. It would be a lot for a low ranked noble, especially one who just recently received his barony and so has not had time to build up many funds. Plus, you promised us Vorbei Pferds, and one can't just buy Vorbei Pferds, even if you have the money, as they are considered a scarce military recourse. If you make a promise to us we'll expect you to keep it." Said Clovis.
"Regarding the horses, it won't be a problem. The King gave me sixteen of them as a reward for helping the Sun Knights. Regarding the money, I think that I'll be alright. I have over 1100 gold coins on me at the moment, and plan to get more later. If you agree to be my knights, I can pay you your first year's salary right now." Said Ethan as he held up his large and heavy bag of gold.
At the words '1100 gold coins' most of the mercenaries gasped, and Clovis did a facepalm.
"You mean to tell me that walking through the crime filled streets of the capital, you just casually carry 1100 gold coins on you. I don't know if you're naive, insanely wealthy, or both." Said Clovis.
[Now that I think about it, this is a lot of money to just have on me walking around. If I recall, back when I heard about the value of money in this land, I estimated that 1 standard silver coin is worth roughly 64 USD. With that in mind, and given that a gold coin is worth 100 standard silver coins, a single gold coin would be worth 6,400 USD. I am carrying 1100 of these right now, so that would be… over seven million dollars?! So what I was doing today was the Vorbei equivalent of carrying a duffel bag full of over seven million dollars through dangerous city streets. No wonder they were surprised.] thought Ethan.
"I guess that I didn't really think about how much money that was. I am from a foreign land, so it is sometimes difficult for me to get a good sense of the value of the currency here. In fairness, I only had about 220 gold coins when I was here earlier, and I made the rest over the course of the day." said Ethan.
"How does one earn that much in a single day?!" said Clovis.
"I gambled at the casino, and then I sold monster cores to an alchemist." Said Ethan.
"Well, regardless of how naive you seem, you must be at least a little bit clever to make that much in a day without getting swindled. I suppose that that answers all of our questions. Shall we all swear fealty to the rightful Baron of Kastell?" Said Clovis.
They all agreed to be Ethan's knights. They swore fealty to Ethan and Ethan payed them all their first year's salary. They introduced themselves one by one. The twelve new knights of Kastell were:
1 Clovis Shwert- Position: the leader; Weapons: broadsword, kite shield, and magic (heavily armored); Gender: Male; Age: 58.
2 Lothar Speer- Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: spear and kite shield (heavily armored); Gender: Male; Age: 50.
3 Flaubert Werpspies- Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: javelins (with a short sword and a buckler as a secondary weapon); Gender: Male; Age: 25.
4 Lo Bogenschütze- Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: Bow and arrows (with a shortsword as a secondary weapon). Gender: Male, Age: 32.
5 Oda Tovenaar- Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: Magic; Gender: Female, Age: 24.
6 Tassilo Slaan- Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: War hammer and shield (with a shortsword as secondary weapon) Gender: Male, Age: 23.
7 Fardulf Moordenaar- Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: Dagger and camouflage; Gender: Male, Age: 41.
8 Gozbert Techniek- Position: ordinary knight; weapons: buckler and dagger (for self defense only. Usually he has a non-combat role as a field alchemist, making life saving potions even in the worst conditions of battle.) Gender: Male, Age: 36.
9 Cyr Aanvalswagen- Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: spear and kite shield (heavily armored) Gender: Male, Age: 50.
10 Hartmut Klauw- Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: spear and kite shield (heavily armored) Gender: Male, Age: 37.
11 Lo Bord- Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: spear and kite shield (heavily armored) Gender: Male, Age: 56.
12 Wulfram Bescherming Position: ordinary knight; Weapons: spear and kite shield (heavily armored) Gender: Male, Age: 24.
[Excellent. Now I have my knights. They seem like a well rounded group. They do have a lot of shield and spear wielders, but they also have a couple of magic users, an archer, a field alchemist, a javelin thrower, and even an assassin/scout type. They are a bit old on average, with a few younger ones in there as well, but it also seems like they have a lot of experience. With all of these knights at my side plus soldiers armed with guns, I might just survive the war with the Western Empire.] thought Ethan.
"Well, Excellent. I will see you all in a few days when we are getting ready to go to Kastell." Said Ethan.
"My lord, where are you staying?" Asked Clovis, looking somewhat concerned.
As Ethan looked over at the other knights, they all had the same look of concern on their faces.
"Over in an inn near the east gate of the city. Why do you ask?" Said Ethan.
"Would it be possible for several of us to escort you there?" Asked Clovis.
[Are they worried about me?] Thought Ethan.
"I suppose so. You can't be too careful, I guess." Said Ethan.
"Thank you, my lord. And it would really put our minds at ease if a couple of us could stand guard outside your room tonight." Said Clovis, and the others nodded in agreement.
"I really don't think that is necessary." said Ethan.
"My lord, I don't know what your homeland is like, but here, a wealthy person with no combat experience who is not being protected by anyone could be a target of criminals." Said Clovis.
[Maybe he does have a point. I will have the equivalent of seven million dollars in my room tonight. It would be really bad if I were attacked.] Thought Etham
"Okay, yeah I guess that you can guard me." Said Ethan.
"And if you're going anywhere tomorrow, if we could have some of us be with you then-" Clovis Started to say.
"Okay, I get it. I guess that I'll just have to get used to being guarded 24 hours per day." Said Ethan reluctantly.
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