Emery unconsciously grabbed for his face covering, but when he was about to put it on and asked Morgana to stay in this house, he froze. He thought about the possibility of him being recognized as well as Morgana, but he knew he wouldn't be able to run from this forever and he was no longer that weak kid anymore who couldn't barely even lift a sword. So, in order to move forward, he decided to put the thing down and face the present with confidence.
Emery arrived in the grand hall of the Quintins' Mansion and stood on the opposite side of Kastan, Luna in the middle, while the knights wearing several red robes held by a standing golden lion crest stood in front.
There were five of them and once Emery got himself settled; Luna gave him a nod, waved her arm to Emery and said, "Honorable knights of the Lioness Kingdom. Let me introduce my friend, Merlin, the wizard."
Emery gave a bow but once he had raised his head, he received a slight shock after seeing who they were meeting.
Luna smiled and said in her elegant voice, "Merlin, let me introduce to you Sir Bagdemagus. He is—"
Emery blurted out unconsciously. "Knight of the Anvil, one of the three Guardians of the Lioness Kingdom...," realizing he had spoken out of turn, he quickly added, "My apologies, Luna."
Luna didn't mind and simply said, "No need for apologies. The tales of Sir Bagdemagus are tall and wide, which speaks of his magnificent achievements and wonderful personality."
"Ahh, you flatter me, Lady Luna," said Bagdemagus, humbly. "Merlin, the Wizard, I am pleased to make you my acquaintance. Can't say I wasn't surprised to know that the wizard is young."
The old knight stared at Morgana and asked "And this is?"
"My companion, Morgana," said Emery.
"Ahh I see, pleasure to meet you then," greeted the old knight with a smile but Morgana didn't say anything.
Emery waited for a moment but looked like none of the knights recognized him or cared much about the identity of the girl beside him.
The Knight of the Anvil, the old knight's title came from the awe-inspiring tenacity this man had when holding the battleline. Tales of him inspiring his hundred men to hold against five hundred enemy soldiers and coming out of top spoke of his effective leadership in commanding people, also making him a hero in the Lioness Kingdom, and even despite his bones being old, his might in the battlefield was still to be feared.
In fact, the name Sir Bagdemagus, held a certain significance in Emery's memory. This man was also one of the reasons why Emery wanted to be a knight. His late father used to tell him stories of how he became an esquire for this knight along with Yvain, the Knight of the Lion. And whenever his late father talked about this man, Emery remembered how beaming his father's face was all the time.
He hadn't expected to have a sudden trip down memory lane; when he came back to the present, he hadn't heard half of what Luna had said.
"...news about the Crimson Fang," said Luna.
"Crimson Fang?" Emery repeated unconsciously.
"Yes, this band of marauders has to be annihilated. They have raided several settlements already and even dare to attack noble's estate…" Sir Bagdemagus vehemently said but his voice weakened at the last part of his sentence.
"The kingdom's forces are spread too thin at the moment but when I heard Kastan searching information for these marauders, we talked to him and it felt like the goddess of fortune had finally blessed us."
"What can a simple merchant do compared to the force of the kingdom?" asked Luna, playing innocent.
"Lady Luna, I am sure you have heard about the recent draft. Lord Fantumar has levied thousands of peasants and is preparing them on the far west along with hundreds of knights. Because of this, a great disparity in the patrols had occurred and many garrisons were left half-empty in many of the kingdom's settlements, causing crime to be at an all time high, even higher than the yearly tributes. The desperate peasants then joined the Crimson Fang under the leadership of Padraig. According to my scouts, the damned criminals dared make a ruined fort as their base!"
"Do you have an estimate of how many there are? And where's the location?" quickly asked Emery.
"At least… a hundred men, about half of them, I think, were peasants turned into marauders due to desperation… The ruined fort is a day's journey from here," answered Sir Bagdemagus. He then looked at Luna and said, "Will you help the kingdom in its time of need, Lady Luna?"
Luna seemed to think for a moment before turning to Emery and saying, "What are your thoughts, Merlin?"
He had put off this goal for too long now. If he didn't take this opportunity, Emery wasn't sure when the next opportunity would rise, and whatever evidence from the perpetrator of his family's demise would probably be cold by the time of his return. He smiled underneath his scarf and said, "I'll join Sir Bagdemagus' party."
Luna nodded. "I understand." She looked at the old knight and added, "Sir Bagdemagus, this means that the Quintin Family will also join in your upcoming operation in eliminating the scourge of us merchants. We are also suffering from them attacking merchant carts on the road, wanting to pass through here. Unfortunately I can only lend a few of our guards at the moment, however, I'll put in a request for mercenaries to be hired as well as Kastan. He is reliable and can lead the mercenaries."
"Haha! Great! Truly, I appreciate whatever men you can lend me, Lady Luna," shouted the old knight in joy. He then placed his hand on his crest and bowed, the rest of the knights with him followed suit.
After some discussion, Sir Bagdemagus decided they would be executing the attack on the Crimson Fang marauders in two days. For Emery, that would mean he would have one day left before the recall spell initiated. Emery thought he'd been blessed for such a coincidence; finally he would be getting closer to the perpetrator of his family's demise.
When the meeting finished and the old knight left, Luna walked close to Emery and said, "Merlin, I hope I was able to help you with your request. I have an inkling of why you are wanting to know about these marauders, but since you don't want to talk about it, I understand…"
"Thank you, Luna," Emery said. He then noticed Luna's a bit distressed. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"
"I…" Luna at first looked reluctant to share but then she leaned closer to him and said, "It's about the toxin. After interrogating some people involved with the medicine pot, they dropped the name of a powerful noble from the Lioness Kingdom, but testimony is usually not enough. I need evidence."
"What? Tell me, who is it?" Emery had thought of a name.
"Lord Fantumar but don't tell anyone I've told you this! I've heard that his influence in the Lioness Kingdom is second to none aside that of King Richard. And because of that, terrible rumors are starting to come abound. But then again, there is no evidence. Anyway, enough of that," she pulled back herself and added, "Merlin, I'm hoping for your safety in the upcoming battle. Please be careful. Kastan, you as well."
"I will Luna," said Emery. "Yes, Lady Luna," answered Kastan.
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