Reinforcements

The next day, Christopher returned with good news. His father and the head of the Owens family wanted to meet him. He requested to meet James the following day. To celebrate they decided to look for a good tavern and enjoy some drinks. Even the men were sent some drinks to enjoy.

While the celebration was continuing, Warren also joined in. He also had some good news. The head of the Anderson family was also interested in James' story. The meeting with him would be the day after. That was even more reason to celebrate, thus the four of them enjoyed a few drink as they were sharing some stories.

The following day, James, joined by Francis, was greeted by Christopher. He would lead the way to his family's homestead.

As they arrived at the mansion, James was surprised at how big the building actually was. Apparently, the Owens was an influential power in Silver city. This was positive, as James could expect more help from them.

Entering the garden, there were rows of guards who welcomed them. They all looked well trained and able to handle themselves. As they finally arrived at the door of the mansion, they were greeted by a group of servants. Even though James was a noble himself, he had never expected that the difference between the nobles could be this great.

Following Christopher's lead he entered the building, and made his way to the study of his father. Entering the study, there was an older figure sitting behind a desk. His clothing looked tailor made and had even the family sigil implemented in it. This clearly showed that he cared a lot about the family reputation and power. He was flanked by a group of influential people. There was even a priest among them.

"Welcome. You must be James? I am Hyde Owens, the head of the Owens family. Behind me are my steward, marshal and a priest of the nearby church. They will be joining us in the coming conversation." Signing to an empty chair, Hyde invited them to take a seat.

James started to understand the situation. Even though Hyde was an influential man, he still decided to count on the advice of his people. This might have been the reason why he is considered rather successful.

Bowing out of courtesy, James thanked him and sat down on the chair. After being offered a drink, James was the one that spoke up, "I assume that Christopher told the reason for my visit?" James quickly recapped what had happened and his intention.

"I see. That makes sense. However, before I am willing to help you out, I want to verify that your accusations and claims are actually valid. I had heard that you got proof of being married to this girl. Can you show it to me?" Hyde spoke on a neutral tone. He did not want to jump directly to conclusions.

Surprised that Hyde would actually ask something like that, James took out the document that shows that he and Loraine were actually married and approved by the church.

Hyde took the document and inspected it. After a moment, he passed the document over to the priest and asked about the legitimacy of the document.

As the pries took the document, he started to inspect it carefully. He even took out some tools to verify some of the seals and signatures. After a moment, he spoke up, "This document indeed proofs that he is married to the woman called Loraine of the Bloom family. This is the seal that the church has approved for marriages. Moreover, I know the priest that signed this paper and this looks like his work." Giving the document back, the priest continued, "There is no doubt about the legitimacy of the claims and therefore the reason to take military action. I am sure that neither the church nor the crown would hold it against you."

Hearing those words, Hyde could not hide his happiness. "Good! This is definitely good! I have been searching for a legitimate reason to decrease the power of the Herewealth family. And now you have provided me with one." After calming himself, he continued, "I am sure that Christopher has told you the story that the Herewealth family has blocked our mining industry and is blocking us at every chance. For this, I am willing to help you out." Hyde looked over at his steward and marshal and asked them how much money and men they can spare.

After some discussion, Hyde was prepared to offer James 120 men together with their pay and equipment. Moreover, depending on the damage that James could do to the Herewealth family, Hyde was even prepared to offer James a huge reward.

As James started to hear to numbers and soldiers that Hyde would give James, James could not hide his excitement. There was even a group of Knights that would join him, directly sent from the Owens family. With that, his fighting power would actually double.

Even Francis could not hide his surprise at how much they were prepared to help James. It was clear that the beef between the Owens and Herewealth was more important to Hyde. With a successful negotiation, they spent the rest of the day celebrating, with a small party.

The following day, they prepared themselves to go to the Anderson family. James was hoping that a similar situation would occur. With that, he would have a sizable force that could easily rival high leveled nobles.

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