"Now," the Duke said, rubbing his hands together, "comes the question of announcing this... auspicious occurrence."
"Is that wise?" the Count asked.
The Duke looked across at his brother.
"No?"
"My name is Edmund, by the way," the Count said, turning to me with the faintest smile. "We seem to have skipped introductions."
"I..." I bowed awkwardly from my chair. "An honor, Lord Edmund."
He inclined his head before looking back to the Duke.
"My concern remains the same."
"The enemy."
Hodger nodded slowly.
"They already know something unusual occurred yesterday."
"The map," the Duke agreed.
"The map," Hodger confirmed. "Now imagine word reaches them that a forgotten Epic class has awakened in our camp."
The Duke's smile faded.
"They would seek to kill him."
"Immediately," Edmund replied. "Or capture him."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"They don't even know me."
"No," the Count said quietly.
"They would only need to know what you might become."
Silence settled over the pavilion once more.
Finally the Duke nodded.
"Very well."
He looked toward Hodger.
"No public proclamation."
The old mage smiled approvingly.
"Discretion, then."
"For now," the Duke amended.
His gaze shifted to me.
"But understand this, Elias."
"If your class proves to be what we suspect..."
He smiled faintly.
"The kingdom will not be able to keep you a secret forever."
"And now," the Duke said thoughtfully, "how do we explain the youth's presence?"
The Count folded his arms.
"Do we need to?"
The Duke gave him a patient look.
"He is a conscript."
He gestured toward me.
"By this evening half the camp will know he has been summoned to my pavilion."
"And by tomorrow morning," Hodger added dryly, "the other half will claim they were present when it happened."
The Count sighed.
"A fair point."
I looked between them.
"I could just go back to my company."
Three pairs of eyes settled on me.
The Duke smiled faintly.
"I rather expected you would say that."
"It would be easier, sir."
"For everyone."
The Duke shook his head.
"Unfortunately, Elias, the easiest course is rarely the wisest."
He rose and began pacing slowly.
"We require a truth."
He held up a finger.
"But not necessarily..."
He smiled.
"...the entire truth."
Hodger chuckled.
"A politician's answer."
"A ruler's," the Duke corrected.
He looked toward me.
"The camp already knows you recovered an enemy map."
I nodded.
"Many also know you discovered several unusual rings."
Another nod.
"The simplest explanation, then..."
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He looked to Hodger.
"...is that Mage Hodger requested the soldier for further questioning regarding those discoveries."
The old mage smiled.
"Entirely truthful."
"The boy will remain attached to my staff temporarily while the investigation continues," the Duke continued.
"Also true."
The Count nodded in approval.
"And if anyone asks why he's receiving additional instruction?"
The Duke smiled.
"He has demonstrated uncommon initiative in battle and is being considered for advancement."
I blinked.
"Advancement?"
The Duke looked at me.
"You've killed nineteen enemies in two engagements."
His smile widened.
"If that doesn't justify additional training, I should like to know what does."
Even I couldn't argue with that.
"Then..." I said slowly, "the natural thing would be to order Brenn to take me back to training, seeing as I did break two spearheads yesterday."
I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed.
"I reckon I still have a great deal to learn."
The Duke threw back his head and laughed.
It wasn't a polite chuckle.
It was a full, hearty laugh that filled the pavilion.
"My boy," he said, wiping at the corner of one eye, "if you produced yesterday's results while regularly breaking two spearheads, I'd gladly supply you with a kingdom's worth."
I stared at him.
"What...?"
My jaw had gone completely slack.
The Duke's smile softened.
"Elias."
He leaned forward.
"You adapted when your weapon failed. You recovered intelligence from the enemy."
He nodded toward Hodger.
"And then you had the good sense to bring every oddity you found to someone better equipped to understand it."
He spread his hands.
"That is judgment."
The Count smiled.
"And judgment is considerably harder to teach than spear drill."
Hodger nodded in agreement.
"Anyone can be taught to thrust with a spear." The count continued.
"I was only trying to do what seemed sensible."
The Duke's smile widened.
"My dear boy..."
He picked up his tankard.
"The finest officers I have ever commanded all believed they were doing exactly that."
"Perhaps one man in twenty possesses such good sense naturally," Edmund said.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"The rest have it beaten into them by life."
The Duke chuckled.
"Usually at considerable expense."
Edmund's smile grew a fraction wider before his eyes drifted toward the wooden chest resting beside my chair.
"That chest you carried in..."
He looked at Hodger.
"The boy's remuneration from the rings and other curiosities," the old mage supplied. "I confess I have not yet told him the amount."
The Count's eyebrows rose.
"You haven't looked inside it, I presume?"
I shook my head.
"No, sir."
"I figured..." I shrugged awkwardly. "It wasn't rightly mine until Mage Hodger handed it over."
The old scholar inclined his head in approval.
"No," Edmund agreed quietly. "It was not."
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
"Tell me, Elias."
His voice had become gentle.
"What was the very first thing that crossed your mind when you picked up that chest?"
I blinked.
"My first thought?"
"Your very first, and why."
I didn't have to think long.
"Work boots."
The Count stared at me.
"Work boots?"
I nodded.
"For my brothers."
I smiled faintly.
"They've been making do with patched shoes. Proper boots would last them for years. And when they finally wore out, they'd have had good use from them. Pa always said tight boots'll ruin a boy's feet just as surely as a poor-fitting shoe will ruin a horse."
I hesitated before continuing.
"And maybe..."
I looked down at my hands.
"...a couple of dresses for my sister."
"She keeps mending the same two."
The room had gone very quiet.
I continued, almost apologetically.
"If there was enough left..."
"I thought maybe I'd buy a better pair of boots for myself too."
I looked at the Count.
"Someone once told me a good pair lasts long enough that they're cheaper in the end."
The Duke slowly looked toward his brother.
Edmund's appraising expression had vanished.
Instead...
He smiled.
"A remarkable answer."
I blinked.
"Sir?"
Edmund leaned back.
“I have asked that question of young officers, newly knighted nobles, and heirs to respectable estates. Do you know the most common answers?”
I shook my head.
“A fine horse. A finer sword. A larger house.”
The Duke grinned.
“You forgot the girl.”
“Usually somewhere between the sword and the house.”
The Duke laughed.
Edmund looked back at me, then at the chest.
“And you thought of boots for your brothers.”
I shrugged.
“They need them.”
Something in his expression changed.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “I suppose they do.”
"And your thoughts now?" the Count asked.
I looked down at the chest.
"Mage Hodger suggested I lodge it with the captain's company..." I admitted. "I... don't rightly know what that means."
I shrugged.
"But if a mage says that's the sensible thing to do, I reckon it probably is."
I rested a hand on the lid of the chest.
"I'm thinking there must be a great deal more in here than I've ever had before."
I looked toward the Duke.
"There'll be taxes, of course. There's always taxes."
The Duke smiled faintly.
"A painful truth."
"Aye, sir."
"So after those are paid..."
I smiled a little.
"...whatever's left can go home."
"To your parents?" the Count asked.
I shook my head.
"No, sir."
I swallowed.
"Ma and Pa passed."
I had to stop and think.
"Near three summers ago now."
"There was a sickness..."
I looked down at my hands.
"...and after that, I had to run things."
No one spoke.
"My sister. Tera."
Despite everything, I smiled.
"She's got a good head on her shoulders." I said with a thought.
"She'll know how best to stretch it until I get back."
Tera would probably argue with half of what I wanted done, but she had a better head for stretching coin than I did.
"Thank you."
The Duke rose, signaling that the meeting had come to an end.
"Elias, you are dismissed."
I hurried to my feet, nearly upsetting the chair in my haste.
"Yes, sir."
"But before you return to your company, I would have you see my chamberlain."
I blinked.
"Your... chamberlain, sir?"
"Yes."
The Duke smiled.
"I believe he is rather better suited to assisting you than your captain."
I frowned.
"I don't understand."
"No," the Duke agreed kindly. "I wouldn't expect you to."
He gestured toward the wooden chest.
"A captain's company is well suited to holding a soldier's wages."
He paused.
"I suspect that chest contains considerably more than a soldier's wages."
Hodger cleared his throat.
"I would agree."
The Duke nodded.
"My chamberlain manages my estates, my accounts, my correspondence, and my household. He understands taxes, investments, contracts, and the safe transfer of funds."
His smile softened.
"You have told us that your sister has a good head on her shoulders."
"Yes, sir."
"Then let us ensure she receives every coin that rightly belongs to her—and that no one along the way decides otherwise."
I swallowed.
"I... thank you, sir."
He waved the gratitude aside.
"You earned this wealth, Elias."
"It would be poor stewardship on my part if I allowed ignorance to rob you of it."
The Count smiled approvingly.
"A lesson worth remembering, lad."
"The first duty of wealth," the Duke said, "is not spending it."
He glanced toward the chest.
"It is protecting it."
"Aye, sir. Thank you, sir," I said respectfully as I backed out of the room with the chest in my arms.