Chapter 49 Transition
In the minds of each of these fogeys are all shameless.
Count Claus: "Fine..."
Count Claus: "Curtana's share was lowered to 30%; 25% went to the duke, 25% to the royal family, 10% to another duke, and 10% open to remaining investors."
Both the royal family and the ducal family wanted to one up each but in the end settled with a fair share. At the end of the discussion, they decided to add another ducal family into the mix because there are three ducal families in the Daedric Empire. To get the majority of the power in Daedric, they still needed to rope in another one to be decided by the Curtana family.
They also considered and decided on opening some share to the public, such as merchants and other noble families, since this project would need a lot of funds to be injected in the initial phase of the project. It's not that the four noble families involved cannot handle the financing; it's just that they also have their own finances to handle, and a little bit of outside support would really help. At the end of the day, when the project started making profits, they can just buy out the shares again. What can they do—fight the royal and ducal families?
Duke Ian: "Since everyone is satisfied, let me call my assistant to draft the contract."
???: "Fine.." he said in a bad mood. The royal messenger expected that the royal family would get a pretty decent chunk of the negotiation. What he didn't expect is that these two guys had a closer relationship than he expected and double-teamed him on the negotiation process.
*knock* *knock*
Barney: "Excuse me, Master, Count, and Sir Gundry," he said as he entered the room and began drafting the contract that the three had agreed upon.
There are a lot of clauses and sections on the contract between the three families, since all of them wanted to protect themselves while still getting the best deal on this venture. Granted that the count didn't have lots of leverage from the discussion because he was the weakest noble out of the three, which in turn reduced his share almost by half, but he still managed to retain much and still gain a lot from this deal. All these sections on a contract to divide the share and supported by a single provision. That the first son of the Curtana household will be engaged to the second daughter of the Harlow family and a princess from the Royal family.
After the negotiation was settled by the group, contracts were still being drafted and not yet signed.
The tense atmosphere in the room slowly dissipated from the previous heated discussion. The silence permeated in the air, no one wanting to start a conversation. The three needed some time to themselves to recover a bit since it was quite a fierce debate and negotiation.
Thankfully, Barney the head butler knocked on the table as he was putting his pen down, indicating that the contract was finished drafting. He skillfully navigated the silence by suggesting a meal and telling the three that the food was already ready to be served.
He successfully got them to the dining room since it was exactly time for dinner. The three of them agreed, and one by one they stood up to walk out of the room. They went down from the meeting room on the second floor to the dining room on the first.
They sat in the dining room, along with the Ducal family. The Ducal family is composed of the two wives and three offspring: two sons and a daughter. It was a quite solemn dinner at first, but when the men slowly became intoxicated with the service of alcohol, They started having a lively conversation; they talked about their family, land, and wealth, bragging about who has the highest piss.
The conversation was sometimes changed topic by the wives of the duke and sometimes the son of the duke. The daughter, however, is very silent. They talked and talked until the topic turned into the recent dungeon break happening in the Daedric.
The royal messenger shared that it was not only happening in Daedric but also mostly in Praetorion and some parts of the smaller kingdoms around the two empires.
Duke Ian: "What is the opinion of the church?" He was curious about the stance of the church in this
Sir Gundry: "The church higher up is only conducting investigations, but according to the duke source it was just an obligatory investigation." He shook his head, indicating the church wasn't doing much to contribute.
Sir Gundry: "They think that the exploding dungeon only brings more resources since it helps kill monsters and gather resources faster." He continued
Duke Ian: "Based on my investigation, it was from a new terrorist radical group named 'Vitello'. They are most active in Praetorion and just recently expended their operation, which aligned with what the church investigated." He shared information about his own investigations.
Count Claus: "Their objectives are a bit mysterious since they tend not to gain anything from exploding dungeons, but here's the scoop. According to rumors, they offer strength to people who help explode dungeons." He decided to share some stuff too.
Sir Gundry: "We don't know how, but the result is definitely effective because there is also intelligence that some nobles and even wealthy merchant families are slowly coming and joining this organization silently," confirms Count Claus's hearsay.
Sir Gundry: "We don't know the leader; we don't know their base; we don't know their end game in this current time. But we know they are slowly targeting higher-level dungeons based on their movement; they are doing it silently by avoiding the adventurers guild and targeting the local rulers and wealthy people by enticing them despite the clear risks." He ended his statement.
*Siggggh*
The three of them managed to let out a simultaneous
Duke Ian: "Turbulent times are really coming quickly and silently. Good thing we have something to capitalize on. By the way, who is the duke you will be choosing to rope in?" The Duke asked Count Claus.
Count Claus: "I think its best to not rope in the Wesson."
Duke Ian: "That would be the wise choice." He nodded in approval.
The royal family didn't really care, but the reason why the duke asked this and was slightly happy with the Count Claus answer is because the Harlow and Wesson relationship is not the best and a bit strained due to their confrontations. Though there are several reasons for this, the most relevant reason was their differing ideologies.
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On a dungeon
A man in a robe with a slight red eye stands in front of the people around him. There are a lot of people in robes to cover their face and body.
The man with crimson eyes started preaching the new ere that they are currently creating.
???"We are on the verge of starting the new era by first cleansing the dungeon and filth that the monsters are bringing into this world.
Let us continue to the progress; we will receive the will of the god of the new era. We shall gain unending power to remove the suffering of all people, starting by removing the parasites in this world. The dungeons that are still sprouting in this world."
He then looked at the group of people in the group of hooded people.
???"Status report: how is the progress in Praetorion?"
The group responded by fervently reporting the status of their progress and how many dungeons they had exploded.
???: "Good job. As a reward from the god, here I bestow upon each of you a mana powder."
It was blood-red dust that had been grinded from a crimson ball emitting a high amount of mana. Though the mana is strong, the content of it is a bit chaotic and didn't have the signature blue aquamarine color. Instead, it had a purplish highlight, looking like a grotesque bloodball with veins on it.
With this blessing of mana core given to us by the god of the new era, we shall rule the world.
We shall rule the world!
We shall start the new era!
We shall rule the world!
We shall start the new era!
We shall rule the world!
Crazed frenzy was started since they chanted to the phrase.
To Vitello is the glory!
To Vitello is the glory!
To Vitello is the glory!
To Vitello is the glory!
???: "Go continue our mission! The pathetic church of the goddess won't expect what we brought them to their knees!"
A devious laughter echoed in the room.
???: "The meeting is adjourned! All the members who contributed and finished their missions will be rewarded; proceed to the station to claim it by submitting your proof. Only the main or elder member remained! Glory to Vitello!"
GLORY TO VITELLO!
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For the more formal meeting.
The guy with the crimson eyes is sitting in front of a table.
???: "How is progress? When will our gods champion descend here on Asterik?
???: "We are hastening the progress as much as possible with our manpower. With our pace in about 2 years at most."
???: "Great work. How about the recent talk about the lower nobility, Wesson?"
Wesson: "Things are going well; some nobles are still on the edge, but slowly I'm gathering force since I provided them ability to increase their power."
???: "Velkeria how is progress in early expansion in the Blastenic Empire?"
Valkeria: "Not that good; we cannot establish roots to gather funds. I think we need to inject some preliminary funds to kickstart the process."
???: "Fine, we will find some funds after we fully expand in the Daedric."
???: "Ahgren, how is the trade union?"
Ahgren: "Yes doing great. There are a lot of willing merchants who crave power; they are willing to provide resources in exchange for funds."
???: "How about me? When can I make a move?"
???: "Just wait, we will be needing you in the main event. Just consume as much mana core as possible to gain more strength. It is the will of the god."
???: "Fine, but is boring here. I want to taste fear."