The Shatterplate War Chapter 30 (Patreon)

“Hello, sir.” The handsome human man stopped in front of Kay’s desk at something that resembled a position of attention.

“Sit.” Kay pointed at the chair in front of his desk.

The man sat down.

“I am Kay, Mayor of Avalon.”

“My name is Curcius Mapsight.”

Kay nodded once, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“And you as well, sir. I would also like to repeat to you that I had no knowledge of what Tiras was planning. We met on the road here, and he seemed like a nice enough person, but he didn’t say anything about trying to usurp you!”

“I believe you,” Kay reassured him, “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be having this meeting. It is good to learn his name, though,” Kay continued, “He’s been refusing to give it to us.”

“Oh, well, his name is Tiras Orenel. He claimed that the Orenel family is a powerful noble family in the Concord, but I don’t know that myself.”

Kay made a quick note on a piece of paper. “Thank you, that’s quite helpful.” He set down his pen and folded his hands on his desk. “Now then. You’re here because you’d like to become the leader of our military, correct?”

“Yes, sir, that’s correct.”

“Hmm.” Kay stared at Curcius for a moment. “I’m not blind to the fact that Avalon is strange compared to other new settlements that pop up. The fact that we’re even thinking about having a military as early in our development as we are, which isn’t even talking about how low our population is, is one of the things that makes us different. However, I know why we’re doing what we are, especially since I’m in charge.” Kay waited for a moment more, “But I don’t know why you are here. To most people, it probably seems like a strange idea to ask for an outsider to become the leader of our military at all. So why are you here? I need to understand your motivation before we continue.”

Curcius nodded before taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders. “I come from the Bannerthrust Empire. I am descended from the General Mapsight, who stood at the right hand of the First Emperor and led his armies as the First Emperor united the tribes and conquered the Encroaching Nations to form the Empire. Since that time, members of my family have served in the imperial military with honor in every generation that has passed. A majority of my family to this day are officers in the various departments of the imperial armed forces.”

Kay nodded along like he knew what Curcius was talking about.

“I’ve dreamed about being like my ancestors, especially my most famous ancestor since I was a child. But…” He stared off to the side for a moment, with dissatisfaction and disappointment clouding his features, “… There isn’t anywhere for the Empire to reasonably expand to. So the last few emperors and empresses have focused on changing the Empire into something more stable. That has led to the imperial military becoming more of a defensive force than an expansionist military, and being an officer in the military has become more of a political position than anything.” He turned back to look at Kay, “As the eighth child of my family, any move on my part to become an officer would be seen as a political maneuver, and I would be drawn into the battle between factions whether I liked it or not. My family would see me as an ally to be used, and my family’s enemies would make the same assumption and target me.” Curcius sighed, “I love my family and the Empire, but I would quite literally leave and start over somewhere new than get drawn into that mired tangle of intrigue and power-mongering.” He gestured at Kay and his office, “Which is why I’m here.”

Kat tapped at his desk with his pen for a moment as he thought. “How did you hear about Avalon?”

“My previous commander had some connections with the Adventurer’s Guild, and they reached out to him once they agreed to look for potential applicants for you. He chose to decline, but he recommended me instead. He knew about the divide between my beliefs and reality and suggested this as a way to escape the pressures put on me by my birth.”

Kay tapped with his pen two more times, then nodded decisively. “Alright. Then, for the last of the three most important questions, I have, why you? What reasons do you have that I should pick you as the head of our military?”

Crocius’ already stiff posture became even more rigid as he drew himself up in his seat. “I am a tier three Soldier, a tier three Tactician, a tier three Teacher, a tier three Swordsman (Shortswords), and a tier three Shield User. I can get at least two of those Classes up to tier four by this evening and the rest by the end of the week. I also-”

Kay cut him off with a raised hand. “How? That’s quite the claim.”

“While there is a large amount of political favoritism being thrown about that shifts the appointment of officers, to reach the level of officer that would actually make someone a player in imperial politics, you have to have at least one tier four Class. Since I knew that I’ve been getting my Classes right to the edge of tiering up and then focusing on another of them for several years.”

“That’s…” Kay mentally reeled as he processed that, “That sounds like a lot of work to make sure you never tier up.”

“Hm?” Curcius cocked his head to one side, “It is admittedly annoying to say no to the prompts multiple times a day, but it isn’t really difficult.”

“Oh, right, you can do that, can’t you?”

“Indeed, I’ve been working on a Crossbowman Class for some time now. I currently have it at tier two.” He paused and looked at Kay, “May I continue with my reasons?”

“Actually, I have one question first. Why would it take you the rest of the week to tier up some of your classes?”

“Well, without the resources I had back in the Empire, it will take me slightly longer to level a few of my skills. Soldier, Swordsman (Shortswords), and Shield User should be easy enough, but getting Tactician up a tier and branching Teacher off into a class for training soldiers will take me a little longer. Which segways quite neatly into one of my other reasons for choosing me, which is my knowledge. Since my last position in the Empire was the training of troops, I am well versed in a number of different paths for soldiers in a military to choose for their Classes. I personally focused on the training of infantry, but I know a number of cavalry and artillery Class branches as well.”

Kay actually gaped at him for a moment, “And you’d be willing to teach them to us?”

Curcius shrugged, “It isn’t like they’re secrets. It would just be difficult for you to gain them without paying some other country quite a large sum of money.”

“Huh.”

“My final reason to chose me is simple. I am dedicated.” He leaned forward, his tone unyielding. “I desire to serve as a leader of some form in a military force that I feel is worthy of the honor of my name. I love the Empire as my homeland, but its military is one that would disappoint my honored ancestors. If you choose me, not only will you be giving me a clear chance at my dearest wish, but you’ll also be putting your brand new military into the hands of a man that will shape it into something to be proud of for generations to come. And that same military will serve as a deterrent to all your enemies due to its prowess.”

“… I’ve actually got one more question. You can probably figure out why we’re pushing so much of our government to develop as fast as we are.”

He nodded, “Because you’re expecting an influx of people to come because of your position as a Class Line Progenitor.”

“Right. There’s a good chance that Avalon is going to lead to quite the storm of turmoil in the future as we grow. What happens if we end up in a conflict against the Bannerthrust Empire?”

“That depends, really. If Avalon is a nation worth serving, then I’ll stand and fight against anyone out of the Empire. But if it becomes one that I cannot serve, I will leave.” Crucius paused for a moment, then shrugged. “But given that I would be the leader of the military, I’d most likely see any rot coming well before an actual conflict. So I’d either have done my best to fight said rot and failed or have left long before any such conflict.”

Kay leaned back in his chair with a smile. “Well then, Crucius Mapsight, how would you like to be the leader of the military of Avalon?”

“I would like that very much, sir.”

Kay reached his hand out over the desk and shook Cruscius’. “Then, after you read over ad sign all the Agreements that we have brought over, I have your first orders for you. Get all of your classes, except Crossbowman, to tier four, then we’ll get you into meetings to determine a budget while you work on recruiting and then training.”

“Very good, sir.”

Kay stood up and took a step towards the door before suddenly stopping and turning back to his desk. “Actually… I think we have enough people to really start working on one of our most important projects.” He reached into his desk and pulled out a thick sheaf of papers. “If we can get you done with those Agreements quickly, we can probably have our first meeting about it today.”

“What project would that be, sir?”

Kay tapped his papers with the back of his other hand. “Why, the shape our entire government is going to take, of course.”

******

A little bit shorter, but like the last shorter chapter, the next one is looking long.