Return to Jorgaldur Volume I: the battle mage

The dilemma of the nobility

The faces of those present were much more serious than they had been in previous meetings of the Nobles' Council. It was all due to the confirmation of the return of the visitor called Eldi Hnefa, and that he had acted against a nobleman in the way he had done, making some of their worst nightmares come true.

It wasn't known how he had intruded the castle, nor how he had learned of the acts of the counts of Tenakk, but it was undeniable that he had somehow done it, so they themselves felt threatened.

Not that they were all like the counts of Tenakk, but many hadn't fulfilled what was promised by their ancestors. Moreover, they had ignored what other nobles were doing on their lands, no matter how ruthless it was. After all, "It was none of their business".

As a consequence, many of them were softening their attitude towards their vassals, relaxing some laws and oppressive actions, but they couldn't erase what was already done. Besides that some of them weren't willing to give up some of their prebends.

"So, what do we know?" Asked a woman in her fifties, with penetrating brown eyes, black hair tied in a long braid and an aquiline nose.

"All the family killed. Count, countess and two sons. All with the Eldi Hnefa's mark. And everyone of them had committed what he considered abuse" Ricardo explained.

He gave no details of the alleged abuses, but everyone there had heard the rumors. Even many of them had felt uncomfortable with the hobbies of the deceased family.

"Is the mark authentic?" Asked a young nobleman, who had come in the place of his father, allegedly ill.

"Yes."

"How did he go in? Was he working with someone?" Artio inquired.

"We don't know, but because of the injuries, it seems that he was working alone. Though it might not be that way when he left. It seems he wanted to take someone with him."

Everyone understood it as having rescued someone and, in the process, he had killed the counts. What they didn't know is whether killing them was their first intention or not.

"Then, we can deduce that his level is at beyond 35. If not, he wouldn't have managed to assassinate the countess," analyzed the woman who had spoken before.

"That's right, Aldhia, although we don't know what level he has reached."

Those words caused a knot in the stomach to many of them. If he had reached the power of the past, they had a serious problem. He could go to the Kingdom's capital and claim the promises that all of them should have fulfilled.

"Maybe we should just welcome him. After all, he has the right to get the commitments fulfilled," one of the nobles expressed the opinion of some of them.

"No way! With what right does a foreigner come to impose anything on us? He doesn't even belong to this world!" Another refused, representing his own faction.

The discussion went on without reaching any agreement. On the one hand, there were those who had used their power wisely, either because of the promise of their ancestors, because of the fear that the visitor would return or, simply, because they considered it the best path. They didn't fear the return of Eldi Hnefa, nor did they want to become their enemy by going against him.

On the other hand, there were those who had committed abuses beyond what they thought he could ignore. They were afraid of being the next, and wanted to end the threat as soon as possible. In fact, their state of anxiety could already be considered a punishment.

And there was a third group that was in the middle, swinging towards one side or the other. They had committed abuses, but they didn't believe them to be severe, and were doing their best to mitigate them. They didn't want to become enemies of the visitor, but if he disappeared, so much the better.

In addition, there was the problem that the roots of revolt that had been suppressed with so much effort could arise again. Eldi Hnefa's appearance had been made public, and they hadn't been able to hide it, so some groups had regained hope and were regrouping. However, like the nobles, they were waiting for what would happen from now on.

"Any information that hasn't been said in there?" Ricardo asked.

"Not much, practically everything that has been said in the meeting is what we know," Elsa replied.

"Practically?" Ricardo insisted.

"The commander who is now in charge of the county doesn't seem to want to collaborate too much, and may know something else, but we don't believe he has helped the visitor to enter or kill the counts. He is of commoner origin, so he'll probably see him as a hero, but he is also considered loyal and strict. Rather, it gives the impression that he hasn't known about what was happening in the county until this incident. The worst part is that he has allowed the information to run freely."

"Is he a problem? Should we get rid of him?"

"No, it's hopeless. We can let him be for a while or name new counts, but nothing will change. Surely the visitor is already far away" Elsa assumed.

"And where could he have gone?"

"That is a good question. We have ruled out the forests we had under surveillance, since their level should be higher than 25, but we can't know how high it is. We have people watching the borders, in case he tries to leave the kingdom, because, if he does, it will be difficult for us to act. But we really have no clue."

"I get it. Any suggestions for regular troops?"

"Not much. That they are prepared, but just that. It would be great if they sent us information about all the dungeons, who enters and who leaves. Perhaps he will go to one of them, although, without knowing his level, we can't know to which."

"I get it. I will take care of it. And how is the B plan going?"

"The murder of the counts has convinced the undecided, so we can carry it out. The problem will be how to keep it active until needed. One year won't be a problem, even two. But if he shows no signs of life for a longer time, it will be difficult to justify it."

Ricardo nodded. He hoped they could solve it before that, but it was comforting to know that they had prepared for the worst case scenario.