26 Planning for the future. (1/2)
The next morning Katerina brought before Galahad a young, pale, black-haired girl no older than twelve summers. With her only defining feature, a heavy dose of freckles.
The girl bowed and said.
”Dame Katerina's attendant Maise Estar greets Sir Galahad”
Galahad first smiled and nodded, before he leaned over and whispered in a conspiratorial tone.
”Well met Maise, I hope you take good care of my wife, she can have a bit of an explosive personality at times.”
Galahad then winked at Maise and gave her a cheeky smile.
Maise laughed.
Galahad then said.
”Now Maise will you please leave the room for a minute? I need to tell a secret to my wife.”
Maise nodded and skirted out of the room.
After Miase left, Galahad sighed and said.
”So Katerina why did you pick such a young girl as your attendant?”
Katerina said in a factual tone.
”Well, for starters she is young enough to be moldable and as such, I can transform her into the perfect attendant. Secondly, she was one of the refugees by taking her in I show myself as a gracious woman that helps the downtrodden. Thirdly, she is a natural beauty as such when she grows up we can use her as a trading chip to secure an alliance or the loyalty of one of the big men in the fief.”
Galahad nodded and said.
”This is indeed true in that case I have no objections.”
Katerina gave a quick bow and said.
”Well, In that case, I will take my leave. I still have a long road before I get this girl trained up to my standards.”
About an hour later Karlos entered the hall and gave a deep bow before saying.
”Good day Sire, I have come to ask you about your replacement leader for the Hunters. As you are well aware, Sir Ludwig now has other duties and his most trusted hunter Miss Telenia will soon accompany you in your task. As such we need a nonobvious replacement .”
Galahad nodded and said in agreement.
”Well yes, Karlos this is indeed true. So do you have anyone in mind?”
Karlos nodded and responded.
”Indeed I do. After consulting Ludwig he suggested three candidates Mister Jaron, Mister Iason, and Mister Velos. After privately meeting each of them I decided on Mister Velos. While he is of middling skill when it comes to hunting he has more leadership qualities than most of them and he seems to have a slightly better upbringing. But he is a recent arrival and as such is not as trustworthy as the others. ”
Galahad nodded and said.
”Well, that is interesting, seems like an interesting fellow. But I would need to meet the man first before I decide on a course of action.”
Karlos nodded and responded.
”Indeed Sire it is obviously a wise choice to first meet the person in question before you assign him such an important role. As such, I took the liberty to have him wait outside Sire.”
Galahad gave an honest smile and said.
”Good job Karlos this is the exact type of time-saving measures I want to see. Please bring him inside.”
Karlos bowed and said.
”I will do as you desire Sire.”
After a couple of minutes give or take Karlos returned. He was accompanied by a man in his early thirties of average stature and a rather lanky build with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. His most striking feature was his rather ostentatious outfit. Quite dissimilar to most peasant hunters whose outfits were rather drab and dominated by browns. He's had some rather peculiar notes for starters he was wearing rather warm clothes for summer with the most impressive item a thick black horse leather jerkin with copper buttons purposely left open to show off the white fur adorning it's inside, Below the jerkin he had a beige Boreian tunic with flat brown shoulder guards to perhaps appear more stylish. Outside of that, he wore a green pair of trousers and a brown pair of shoes.
The man bowed deeply and said.
”It is a great honor to make acquaintance with the most honorable Sir Galahad. Your deeds have been known far and wide across the community.”
Galahad gave a nod and said.
”Well met mister Velos I heard that you are rather good with managerial tasks and the way you talk and dress shows an element of higher upbringing. Have you perhaps ever served under other nobles or even wealthy bourgeois?”
Velos bowed deeply before responding.
”Indeed Sire as you might know I am one of the more recent arrives. I used to be from Persos a town in the duchy of Ribertan. I originally hail from an illustrious family of merchants. When the old duke died as we had more robust trade links with Boreia, as such, we supported Boreia on the matter of succession. Sadly my dear friend the lord of Persos Ipot Basol Argia was in the capital to take part in the council of lords. His wife which rather destained that her husband would stay in the company of low borns such as myself. She decided that they would side with Frankians and as I and my family publicly sided with the Boreians we were banished. Originally I had the vain hope that when Basol learned of the matter he would reverse the decision, but after the battle of Yargon, it became politically infeasible. At the time we still stayed relatively close to the border, but after the news reached us we traveled northwards trying to get in contact with our business partners. But most of them denied us even the faintest hint of hospitality as our relationships were based on mutual benefit and we provided them with none at this point. Eventually, I arrived in the dukedom of Norvick and from there we were gathered and send north to start a new life. At this point, most of my family were either kidnapped, dead or had settled down along the way.”
Galahad nodded and said.
”While this makes sense in regards to your ability to speak Boreian like a native and your good manners and managerial ability. It makes me wonder on how exactly you became a Hunter and why you didn't reveal your skillset earlier.”
Velos smiled bitterly and said.
”Well, some lords when they hear the word merchant they think free gold. As such their first action would be to levy me taxes on goods I don't have. In regards to my hunting ability, I was a close friend to Basol as such I would sometimes accompany him on his hunting excursions. This was enough for me to learn the basics. But I became a passable hunter after my recent odyssey where I was routinely forced to hunt for food for my and my family's survival.”
Galahad sighed and said.
”Well, that makes sense, but your abilities make me conflicted, as I don't want to waste a man of your caliber in leading ten or so hunters. But alas my fief needs hunters and not traders right now.”
Velos nodded and said.
”I feel deeply honored Sire, but I might have a solution to your quandary.”
Galahad raised his eyebrow and said with interest.
”Go on.”
Velos nodded and said.