With the latest revelation, Varre decided that it would be safest for Nilo to stay at the castle. At least for the next several days. Or until Capucine was found. No one wanted to risk having the noble kidnapped yet again.

  Benjamin was more than happy to make the arrangements. The castle certainly had enough guest rooms to fit all of the monarchs friends.

  The king and his buddies spent this evening together, though no one was in a particularly jovial mood. They were happy that Nilo was safe of course, but their thoughts were heavy with the tribulations that lay ahead.

  “Now, all we need is to get Alastair into the castle and we can party just like before,” Lester joked.

  Varre frowned. “I don’t know. So far, all of you came here in pretty dire circumstances. If that’s what it takes to get him here…”

  “Ha! That old bastard’s always lookin’ for trouble. I bet he’d even like it!” Nilo was acting nonchalant, but it was clear the kidnapping attempt had shaken him up. He was trying to cover it up with heavy drinking. At least wine was readily available in the king’s personal quarters.

  Benjamin tried to slow the aristocrat down, but he couldn’t refuse a direct order from the king. If Varre wanted more wine, he’d get it. And a former college student like him was more than willing to share with a troubled friend.

  “Maybe you’re right,” the king laughed, “then again I’m allowed to bring guests in here aren’t I?”

  -*-*-*-

  The next morning Varre set off for an emergency council meeting. The betrayal of Court Mage Tobias would have dire consequences for the kingdom. Marna and Hakon were already aware, but the others needed to be informed as well.

  When the king arrived at the chamber, everyone was already seated. He quickly walked around the table to begin the briefing.

  “Tell me captain,” Varre asked, “were the guards able to find our missing wizard?”

  Hakon grimaced. “I’m afraid not, your majesty. We checked all of his properties, asked around the mage’s guild, and even investigated the most popular inns in the city. There was no trace of Tobias anywhere.”

  “That’s it?” the king tapped his fingers on the table, “what about the unpopular inns? No? Moderately popular then?”

  The captain lowered his head. “I apologize. We simply did not have enough manpower.”

  “You don’t have the manpower to search every inn in the city?! I mean, I get that it takes time, but you had the entire night. Westbridge isn’t that big,” insisted Varre. He was already very familiar with many of the city’s taverns.

  “The security situation was very tense, your majesty. As you well know. We had to double the patrols around the castle! That took out a full forty of my guards already. I also dispatched a couple knights to the city gates,” Hakon explained.

  “Forty guards were enough to deplete your forces?” the king asked incredulously, “how many do you even have then?”

  “Sixty…”

  “What?”

  “The Royal Guard is comprised of sixty knights. Your majesty,” Hakon grimaced. He did not expect this reaction.

  Varre needed a moment to process this information. “Let me get this straight. So you’re telling me that my entire army is made of sixty men? That’s it?”

  The Steward decided to intervene, before the situation got out of hand. “Your majesty. Please understand that the Royal Guards are your elite bodyguards. They are meant to protect you and your home. They’re not meant to fight wars.”

  “Ok. Good,” the king replied, “then how big is my actual army. And where is it?”

  Marna gulped. “Well, since the realm is at peace… your loyal vassals are at home. If we were invaded, or you decided to plan an invasion of your own, they would answer your call and support you.”

  Varre didn’t like this. At all. “So right now, I only have access to sixty soldiers. Sixty full time troops ready to answer my commands?” he leaned forward, “that’s it?”

  An awkward silence settled around the table. Finally, Hakon came up with another option that would hopefully satisfy his liege, “Westbridge has its own guard contingent as well. That’s another four hundred troops or so.”

  “Ok great. Why didn’t you use those during your search?” asked an exasperated Varre, “is someone else controlling them?”

  “Technically yes, your majesty. They have their own command. But of course, as the Captain of the Royal Guard, I could give them orders too,” Hakon said.

  “Then why didn’t you?”

  The Captain straightened up. “Please understand that we are a dealing with a powerful mage here. You’ve seen how easily he dispatched the gate guards. And these are some of the best knights in the kingdom! They receive advanced training, can enhance themselves, and have high attributes. If we sent regular guards, they’d just get in the way.”

  “I suppose this means Tobias has escaped?” Varre rubbed his temples.

  “I’m afraid so,” Hakon nodded.

  “This morning, the gates have been opened as usual, your majesty,” Marna added, “a powerful wizard could probably have found another way to escape the city anyway. Even if the Captain had more guards under his command, we could not isolate ourselves for the multiple days it would take to search every household in the city.”

  “For what’s it worth, I agree,” Lester raised his voice, “it would be a terrible interruption to the city’s trade if we had to lock ourselves up for so long. Even just one day would bring great disruption.”

  Chancellor Anastasia Clearwater was a lot calmer. Luckily for her, she had nothing to do with this mess. But she could still offer suggestions. “Locking ourselves up would send a dangerous message. To our people yes, but even more so to our neighbors. If they start thinking we’re losing control here, they might start getting ideas. Even try a few bites to pick off tasty pieces from our lands.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The Captain cleared his throat. “Of course, the guards at the gates have been informed that if they see Tobias, they are to arrest him immediately. Same with Capucine of Lessay. The man you told me about yesterday, your majesty.”

  “Alright. I suppose it just has to be this way then,” Varre shrugged, “but I want you to look into increasing the Royal Guard. Was this really enough for Mikkel? Sixty is just too few.”

  Hakon straightened up. At least he felt more comfortable talking about this. “In the past, twenty guards were always enough to ensure the security of the castle, or the monarch. Whenever your predecessor would leave the capital, he’d take at least that many with him, or leave them behind. Depending on where he was travelling of course, and whether the queen was going with him.”

  “Either way, I’d like to raise this number. I doubt that having too many guards would hurt me,” Varre countered.

  “I… will look into it, your majesty,” the Captain rubbed his neck, “but it will not happen over knight. Royal Guards are your most elite forces. They receive rigorous training and even a quarterly dose of elixir. Most of them come from the local knight families. I’m not sure how many more we can find on short notice.”

  “Do they have to come from these families alone?” the king asked.

  “We could try sending out a few heralds and inviting knights from farther provinces. It’s a very prestigious position, so I’m sure we’d have enough volunteers,” Hakon offered.

  “That could work,” Varre nodded to himself, “what about expanding the search beyond knights?”

  “What do you mean, your majesty?” Hakon raised his eyebrow, “do you wish to start asking some of the lords if they want to send their children for training? I’m not sure if there’s enough of them to really make a difference.”

  “And the Westbridge guards? You said there’s four hundred of those. We should try offering their best veterans some promotions,” the king smiled.

  “I’m afraid they’re mostly commoners,” the Captain responded, with a finality that showed he considered this argument closed.

  “And?”

  He definitely did not expect the follow-up question. “And, your majesty?”

  “Yes, Captain. And? Why is it a problem if they’re commoners?” Varre clearly did not believe that answer was sufficient.

  “Your majesty…” Marna slowly cut-in, “the Royal Guards are your most loyal and prestigious bodyguards. I’m not sure if it’s the best idea to…” she struggled to even say the words.

  “Is this really such a big problem?” the king pointed to the Head Merchant, “Lester’s a commoner. So is Benjamin.”

  The chamberlain lightly grimaced. That comment hurt him a bit, but he would not get offended by his liege’s lack of knowledge. “Actually your majesty, while I may not come from a family as illustrious as yours, I am a noble as well.”

  “Oh. And the others?” Varre slowly looked around the table. All of the councilors nodded with awkward expressions.

  Except the Steward. “Actually… I’m afraid I am a commoner as well,” she said with a tone implying her shame at the fact, “but it’s a bit different for your personal advisors. You determine who sits on your council at your own discretion. Mikkel found my abilities worthwhile. But I have always been the only commoner here.”

  “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware,” the king awkwardly scratched his neck, “I hope I didn’t offend you.”

  Marna actually stood up at that comment. “Of course not your majesty! It’s me who should be apologizing.”

  Varre stopped her with his hand. He did not expect this reaction.

  Chancellor Clearwater decided to intervene before the situation got out of hand again. “Regardless, I would recommend caution. While our Southern neighbors in the Miroti Republic have a more cavalier attitude towards nobility, they are alone in this. If we decided to embrace their opinions, our other neighbors might decide to intervene. Even without considering our own nation’s opinion on this.”

  The king was clearly mulling over something in his thoughts. Just to make sure he didn’t get any more strange ideas, Hakon decided to try another angle. “Changing the hiring standards of the Royal Guards is of course allowed, your majesty, but either way we have no choice but to focus on knights. We need people with high attributes. We cannot waste years training commoners from the ground up. Even professional guards cannot hope to reach our high standards.”

  “Fine, I suppose I’ll leave it for now,” Varre finally relented, “but I want you to increase the guard force anyway. At least to one hundred knights.”

  “Understood, your majesty,” the captain saluted, “but I must warn you. It will take a lot of elixir.”

  “In that case, I have good news to share,” Treasurer Johan Gruber smiled, “we have finished going through your majesty’s inheritance. Or at least we finished counting the money in your relatives’ treasuries.”

  Varre clasped his hands. “That took a while. But good work. You can tell your people I said that.”

  Gruber bowed, while remaining in his seat. “Thank you, your majesty. I’ll make sure to do that. Now, there is still a lot of jewelry, furniture, artwork, and many other valuables that need to be counted, but looking at the coin, precious metals, and gems alone, the treasury gained around 180 000 thalars. The total now stands at an impressive 250 000 thalars. And we haven’t even began the harvest yet!”

  Hakon smiled as well. “I suppose we can afford some elixir with that.”

  “Then I look forward to seeing my new and improved guard force captain,” the king winked at him.

  The council then moved onto other minor administrative matters. Finally, once everybody has finished outlying their reports, Chancellor Clearwater popped the question everyone was waiting for. “Now I’m sure we all miss our dear friend Tobias already, but are we expecting him to return to his post anytime soon?”

  The advisors turned to Varre, awaiting his decision. The Court Mage may have fled from the castle and the guards may be out hunting for him, but he hasn’t officially been fired yet. Technically, if he was to return and subject himself to a thorough investigation, the king could pronounce him innocent and restore his position.

  The king had already made up his mind though. “Absolutely out of the question. I’m not letting that shady bastard keep such an important post.”

  Anastasia smirked. “I thought as much. In that case, I suppose we need to start looking for a replacement.”

  “Already taken care of,” Marna said, as she flipped through her notes, “Archmage Kadmos is waiting at the castle to discuss this issue right now. We can meet him as soon as the council’s over.”

  “Well, let’s get it over with then,” Varre grumbled. He was rather looking forward to having one less coach bothering him with training. He saw no need to rush this much.

  “Before we go…” the Steward paused, unsure of how to continue, “Kadmos is a very temperamental man. We cannot just go and drive ourselves into conflict with the mage guild. Not right now. You don’t have to be nice, but please, don’t let him get a rise out of you, your majesty!”

  The king just sighed.

  Varre was escorted by Marna and Hakon. The Steward, as his right hand woman, was naturally present for most important discussions. On top of her hopefully decent advice, the notes she always carried contained a wealth of relevant data and statistics in case the monarch ever needed it. Hakon on the other hand, would ensure security and underline Varre’s physical might. No matter who the king met, he could not be easily intimidated with the Captain at his side.

  The Archmage was waiting inside the throne room. As soon as Varre entered through the side doors, he saw the wizard, dressed in a dark blue robe and a tall hat, yelling at one of his companions. Though it’s been a few months since he saw her, the king recognized her immediately.

  Elvira was in the midst of a heated argument with the Archmage. She was waving her arms in exasperation, as she shot back at her boss. The third sorcerer was currently silent, but through his expression, Varre could clearly tell that he sided with the Archmage.

  The screaming match was so loud, that none of the wizards noticed the king’s arrival. Hakon had to loudly clear his throat to get their attention, just as Varre was settling in on the throne.

  “All welcome, king Varre I!” the Captain boomed.

  The three wizards immediately grimaced. They did not intend to have Varre see this quarrel.

  The two lower ranked sorcerers bowed, while the Archmage, recognizable by the golden jewellery he wore on top of his robes stepped forward. He pushed Elvira to the side, probably a little harder than was necessary. “What have you done with Tobias?!” he gruffly barked out at the monarch.

  What sort of king has but a mere sixty soldiers?

  He ordered an increase, but he is starting to notice another problem plaguing his lands.

  He is not an easy man to get along with. Will our valiant hero succeed?

  Find out in the next chapter!