"Are you comfortable?" I was, it was a nice leather padded chair, high back, the kind you can sink right into. The study I was in was lined with books and smelled of aged wood, the Duke sat across from me in a similar chair, he had a glass of some brown liquid he sampled from time to time. At the entrance to the room was a couple guards in royal purple, their ceremonial weapons still looked extremely functional should the need arise.
"I'd be more comfortable back home my lord." Always refer to royalty with reverence, because they can and will have you executed, also never get to comfortable, because most of the biggest betrayals have come from positions of comfort (I'd say look it up, but history in this world is awful I swear this journal is one of the few things thats actually logging the stuff and I'm making stuff up half the tim... err writing down the absolute truth every time).
"You are a long way from being able to return home Mr. Lorentino." See what I was telling you about feeling comfortable?
"I figured, so let me guess this is the 'Do what we tell you to do or we'll dump you in a ditch conversattion'."
"I figured you'd catch on, you see I couldn't have the judge ordering you executed with you being so welcomed by the public, but here where no one can see you? Well I could have you killed and thrown into a hole, another victim of success." The Duke said this very politely, a bit creepily so.
"How pleasant."
"Quite, though I have no problem with what you and Hanlon are doing, indeed winning a war against the Red Hand benefits us greatly, but should you lose, well we'll have angered a hornets nest of magic users who already do not like us."
"But they'd be in a weakened state!" In theory of course, I had no idea if the Red Hand won they wouldn't have invoked some super horrible new magic to have done that and thus be stronger for it.
"Sure sure, but they'd also want vengeance and that tends to make people fight harder. So I'm tasking you with this, you will not be allowed to return to our lands until this conflict is done, we will provide you with troops and supplies when its convenient for us, but you must win this conflict or face execution."
"So go back to the lands of the Red Hand, win a war or die trying either way?'
"Exactly, I was told you were astute and it seems the rumors were true, my men will show you out." The doors opened and I was once again escorted out of the palace (for one of the final times). It wasn't the first time Ronerawth had tasked me with an impossible goal, but it was one of the few times I really felt hopeless about it. For their part they gave me a nice armed escort to the Divide and supplied me with a horse and some supplies. So I wasn't completely alone, just mostly screwed. And somewhere, somehow I knew Toneron was smiling about the development. I mean it was just one war, how hard could that be to win?
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