I don't want to deal with a snowwind noble if it is possible. After all, after the seven temples incident, you could say that all of them are after my head. That is why I have been sitting in the guesthouse so quietly till now. If we were to roam about the frozen peak, we would be killed by these nobles. (The only thing preventing them from doing so is the commander and the man that I am about to meet.)
It doesn't help that I am meeting the strongest noble in this frozen peak. The only reason that I have agreed to this meeting is that the commander is stronger than the noble. He will be able to kill the man in a single strike, according to Trevor. So there is no way that I will be killed.
Sitting here in the office of Jacob Starfall, I can't stop myself from being uncomfortable. I can't stop myself from focusing on my mana sense, trying to look for the man. I seriously don't want to be caught off guard here.
In an attempt to distract myself, I force myself to stop looking for the man as I look at his room. The difference between the commander's room and this man's room is quite stark. The first major difference would be that the room is much larger in the first place. This room is at least three to four times the size of the commander's.
Looking at this room. This is the type of room that I would expect the commander to have. Gaudy, flashy and massive. Everything in the room has been designed to showcase the owner's achievements. (These trophies are all placed here to intimidate you.)
Of this, the most prominent example is the spoils of war in the room. Weapons, claws, and teeth are just a few of the things that I have seen spread across the room in glass cases. I recognize the teeth of a drakon, but beyond that I don't know any of the other creatures.
As I am busy looking at the many things in the room, Jacob enters the range of my mana vision. Even as I record this, the man enters my vision. He is fast.
I have to admit that the man does not look particularly impressive. If you were to place him in a group and tell me to find him, I might not be able to do so. Yet there is an edge to this man, something that tells me that this is not a man that I should be messing with. The only guarantee that I have today is that I won't be killed. (The commander won't interfere for anything below that.)
"I greet you, young master Jacob," I say, bowing down appropriately.
This time, I have practiced the move very diligently. I am quite fond of my head remaining exactly where it is. I swear, even a local can't do it as well as I have done it now. (To those that don't know, let me record this. The young master of a family is the prime candidate trained by a noble family to replace the head of the family. They are considered arrogant among nobles.)
"Well, it has taken you long enough to come here, Guard.", he replies. "You are supposed to greet the representative of the nobles within a day of reaching the fortress. You would be wary not to break rules like that with my brethren. They tend to take this seriously. Thankfully, I am quite lenient. I will still require an explanation."
"We wished to meet you. It was the first thing that we wanted to do after meeting you." Master Jacob.", I reply. " We had wished to meet you, but we did not know how the commander would take it. Also we didn't know if you would meet us after the seven stars incident."
As I speak this, I can see the expression of the man flicker for a second. The mention of the commander causes this man to flare up in anger. The instant that he makes this expression, it disappears. It was so brief that in a few minutes, I will be personally doubting whether this had happened. The only reason that it made such an impact on me is that, for a second, I could have sworn that the man was scared for a moment.
"Well, a lesser noble would have taken offense already for such behavior, Guard. I am the leading noble in this place and I will be given my due respect.", he replies. "Regardless, with what business have you come here? I do hope that it is something important. Otherwise, you are wasting all of our time. "
"Well, I would like to visit the markets of the frozen peak.", I ask, feeling that I am being too direct. Well, Trevor was the one who warned me to be clear. You don't want to be cryptic with these nobles. They are the masters of beating around the bush.
"Well, we have reason to worry for your safety.", says the noble. "Your people have managed to provoke a lot of people here, Guard. With the Seven Temples incident, right now, it is not particularly safe for you to roam inside the frozen peak. We have reason to believe that somebody might try and attack you. We cannot protect you against all the noble factions here."
"Well, it is vital that I be allowed into the markets. I am doing this as a personal task. This is not related to my duty as a guard.", I request the man. "Maybe we can come to a deal regarding it. After all, I am a formation mage. I could build something that would make it worth your time."
"Well, if you were to die in the city, it would cause too much damage to my reputation.", he replies. "I specifically had to take responsibility for your protection, Guard. If you want to leave the fort and die, I will take you there personally. In the fort, your death is more costly than anything that you will be able to offer to me."
"Well, it is quite important that I have to enter the marketplace, young master. I will be honest, I need to fix my airship. That is going to require quite a few materials. For this, I will need to visit your markets. Unless I do this, we shall not have a working airship, and that is something that I can't afford.", I reply. "What would you say that I have to do to be allowed into the fortress?"
"Since you are being so honest, I will be frank with you, Captain.. I have no interest in whether you die or not. If anything, I prefer you dead at the moment.", he replies. "You and your people are nothing but distractions to my people at a time when we should be focused. My only problem is that my reputation is at the moment linked to your safety. Figure out a method of breaking that link, and I will give you whatever permission that you need."
I finally got the man where I need him to be. Well, I must say that Trevor certainly knows what he is doing. Most of my actions today have been done based on his advice. They have been working correctly up till now at the very least. In a way, I am starting to see why my master recommended me to take him. Well, enough getting distracted. Now comes the most vital part.
"Well, I guess my solution will work out perfectly then.", I reply before I can be interrupted. "What I propose is quite simple. I want to challenge your best soldiers to a duel. You can pick the date and the time. I have heard doing this will allow you to wash your hands of the task of our protection."
"Well, that would certainly handle this mess quite nicely. Do you understand what you are proposing, though?" He asks as he folds his arms across his chest. "A duel is a pretty serious matter among us. A duel's results are not forgotten easily. You win, and you will insult the entirety of the Starfall family. If you win, we don't need to worry about your protection. Your death won't harm my reputation. If anything, it will be enhanced by letting you die. That is, if you win. If you lose, things will be even worse. No noble will bother listening to you ever again, and I still won't need to protect you for the insult you have done to us. I certainly won't allow you to the markets, though."
"Yes, I am sure of this, Young master.", I reply. "I have thought this through."
"Still, I don't see how this benefits me.", he replies. "You win, and I have to answer for this failure. You lose, and I gain nothing. Why should I support such a duel?"
"How about this, I will follow your directive for the remainder of my stay here if I were to lose." I reply, "As long as it does not actively damage the black mountain and its reputation, I will follow it. This I can and am willing to swear on the guarantee of the formation corps."
As I say this, I can see the man thinking in front of me. There is still so much that can go wrong here. The man might not know about the guarantee. He might suspect a trap from the commander. He might be in a bad mood for any number of reasons.
"Well, it certainly will be enough. Fine, I accept this duel of yours, but there is one thing that I have to make clear before that.", he replies. "Win or lose, you will have to do this task. Before I tell you your task, you will have to prove something to me."
As he speaks, the world suddenly seems to constrict around me, crushing me to the ground. Thankfully, I was sitting in the chair, or I was sure that I would have fallen to the ground.
"Well, you certainly are more resilient than the fools that they usually send to this place.", he says. "Let's see till where you will be able...."
As he spoke, the pressure on me intensified like a constricting python. I could feel my breath becoming harder to take. I think that I was on the ground, though I couldn't feel anything at the moment. (The world had become a void for me.)
And still, the pressure grew. Within a few moments, I was sure that my lungs had flattened into pancakes. (Like the rest of my body.) The pain had become unbearable, like the man was removing my nerves out of me and using them as an instrument.
Finally, even the pain disappeared, and all that was left was a void, one which I remember vaguely like a bad dream. Yet like a nightmare, I remember the feeling of terror from it very vividly.
(The pain was so great that even my log came out half coherent. I had to later rework all of it to make it more coherent. It is a weird feeling to touch my already recorded thoughts and change them. It took me quite a while, though I am sure that others in my place would have done it quicker.)
It took an eternity for the pressure to disappear. It started slowly, with the first feeling returning to me.
By then, I was ready to even welcome the pain that I was feeling at the moment. Slowly, even the pain disappeared. Finally, the pressure disappeared.
"Well, I am surprised that you managed to hold so well, Guard. Most at your level die within a few moments, squashed to a pulp. Well, you have the strength to resist the commander. My requirement is simple. I want you to report everything that the commander asks of you." He speaks, his voice echoing in my head. "Be thankful that I might need you in the future. You shall fight my strongest soldier tomorrow at noon. You can leave now."
After this, I honestly do not even remember how I made my way back to my room. I remember it like a haze. Well, at the very least, I made my way back to this room. For a few moments there, I was not sure if that would be the case.