Snippet #2453490

"Well, this is a first. You are actually waiting on me. I'll have to increase your assistant's pay. She can halve the time it takes for my runners to find you. What is your opinion of her?"
"I called you hear for two counts. The first is to congratulate you on your outstanding victory against the bandits. It takes quite a man to single handedly take down a bandit company, and you did it without blood shed. On the other hand, I did not give you the command of my men just so you can deal with all the problems by yourself. We need to be ready for when we become embroiled by a true conflict. Not just the skirmishes that we've bloodied our noses on. I'm talking about a real war with a kingdom that wants to make an example of us and show everyone that our way will not work. To do that, we need as many hardened veterans as we can get. The Tithe definitely is a fighting force that must be contended with, but when the next situation arises I want you to be there to help. Let your men deal with it, you've trained them, learn to trust them. If it becomes bloody, put the blame on my head, or your training, I care not. We can train the strong and cull the weak with one fell swoop. Complacency will only lead to our down fall."

Indeed. Even if Max was given the permission to command the soldiers of Illia, he couldn't just bring himself to 'use' them and lead them to their deaths. He's just too weak to do that. Already had he experienced staring into the bodies of his comrades, who all fell one by one, because of a battle that resulted in the sacrifice of the lives of his comrades. The despair he felt back then, to know that he still live but not his friends damaged his heart and mind endlessly. But, throwing aside these dark thoughts, Max returned to the matter at hand.

"I am very well aware of that, Calleus. However, just as the soldiers places their lives on lines for this country, they have homes to return to. I do not wish to blood to be spilled on my watch and I will do anything to prevent their deaths. I do not want history to repeat itself." He looked away. The words just slipped out of his mouth, even though he told himself that he didn't want to talk about it. But what's done is done.

"Forget that, we have more important news at hand. Look at this." From his pocket, Max created a folded paper and presented it to Calleus. The content were of a foreign language and Max could not read it. He didn't stop there. "It's an official order document that I found after taking out spies in our country. I've had translators translate it, and what was on it was the order to assassinate you, the leader of Illian. They think that with your death, the country's morale will drop and they will take the chance and destroy Illia. That isn't all. They plan to amass a great number of troops and magicians to overthrow us if the assassins were to fail in their task. We don't have much time before they strike. The fact that I managed to find this is a miracle. Had we not been informed any later, I'm afraid it'll be to-"

"It's an intruder! Do not let him reach Lord Calleus!"

A loud shout echoed throughout the hall. There was already guards getting knocked out by the sound of it. Max acted on his instinct and rushed outside. He came out just in time to find the 'intruder' charging his way towards the masked man, holding a blade in hand and a flaming hand in the other. Trevor immediately stepped up, with his spear in hand. "Please leave this to me! Protect Lord Calleus, Commander North!" And there went Trevor, trying to stop the intruder. Without any weapon, or specifically, his blade, he wouldn't be able to fight the intruder. He suspected that the man was a magician and Max can't risk fighting the intruder and leaving Calleus alone to guards. Max took a step back and raised his hand across the door, his fist gripped tightly. He waited for the intruder to ignore Trevor and come charging at Calleus. Worst case scenario, Trevor gets injured and the magician is able to unleash powerful magics that even Max himself could not handle.