The young mage Cohen stood in this mansion belonging to the Duke, listening to the magic casters around him discussing in low voices about the mysterious pioneer territory in the south. He would chime in from time to time, but he was actually absent-minded.
Half the people here are not serious about recruiting, and Cohen knows this very well.
Behind them are small families that are declining day by day, new nobles who are preparing to hit a higher level of status, and wealthy businessmen who are trying to build a good relationship with the nobles. The real purpose of these people is not at all It is not to go to the pioneering territory in the south to be a builder, but to take this opportunity to establish some contact with the Cecil family - it is true that the Cecil family has declined, but the resurrected founding Duke has brought great benefits to this declining family. There was a glimmer of hope. In the past six months, news about the Southern Territory had come from time to time. The Cecil family was not destroyed in that barren land, but was gradually gaining a foothold. This made some people with ulterior motives active.
Almost everyone recognizes the fact that even if the founding Duke really goes to the border to start development, it will be a matter of time for the Cecil family to return to the political stage of the kingdom, whether it is for the orthodox symbol of the royal family itself or for the In order to stabilize the aristocratic system, the king must make the Cecil family a pillar of the royal family again - the king can be afraid of Gawain Cecil himself, but he must face up to the "Cecil" who has regained the protection of his ancestors. Surname.
In this case, the Cecil family, which is still far away from the border, naturally has investment value.
But in any case, the surname "Cecil" is still sensitive, and their investment value is still not clear enough, so many big families are still waiting and watching, still thinking carefully, so some Small families that were vassals of the big family were pushed out, and took advantage of the Duke's opportunity to recruit extraordinary people to come and establish a connection to lay the foundation for future investment.
Except for these people with special purposes, the minds of others at the scene were not simple. The only thing that is certain is that few people at the scene are really responding to the Duke's call. Come.
If there is no family mission, there is no need for a professional who has gained extraordinary power to go to the barren land on the border to do any development and construction. Even if the remuneration given by the Duke is not low, there is no need to go to the barren land on that piece of land. What can be gained? The most important thing for extraordinary people is the prospect of promotion in the extraordinary field, followed by the development prospects in the upper class, and money is the third thing for them.
As for whether we can take this opportunity to establish friendship with the Cecil family... A spell caster without a family background would not expect this. This is a world that pays attention to blood and family inheritance. A person who is born as a commoner does not have What value can a wealthy little mage have to the Duke?
Cohen knew that the same was true for him. Although he had some personal relationship with Santis, he decided to come and see the situation after receiving Santis's personal letter this time, but in fact he had no intention of doing so. Really respond to the Duke's recruitment, his purpose of coming here is the same as other young and down-and-out spellcasters, he just takes a fancy to the "network" opportunities this place brings - those who want to invest in the Cecil family, they themselves are just the bottom of the aristocratic system , but for a low-level mage like Cohen who comes from an average family and has average talent, it is still a rare connection. Now two-fifths of the people in the hall come here with the intention of establishing friendship with these people.
There are only two kinds of people here: the first type of people who want to establish friendship with the Cecil family, and the second type of people like Cohen who want to establish friendship with the first type of people.
A young man with brown curly hair, a hooked nose, and fine silk clothes came over. Cohen recognized that he was a collateral member of the Straughan family, and immediately smiled. Then he stood up, raised his glass of wine to greet him, and tried hard to talk to him.
The two parties had little friendship, and the conversation did not last long, but Cohen believed that he had left a little impression on the other party. After the young master of the Straughn family left, the young mage put away his face. He put on a stiff smile, exhaled softly, put down his wine glass and left his seat.
The attendants in red vests immediately came forward to ask if he needed help - these attendants were all hired and dispatched by the royal family. After Duke Gawain Cecil was resurrected, the royal family, in order to show their goodwill, went to the While the Duke went to the south, he continued to provide money and help with the property. Cohen waved his hand, saying that he just had chest tightness and wanted to go out for a walk.
He left the brightly lit living room and went outside where the cold wind was blowing. The huge sun was gradually setting and the sky was getting darker.
Cohen sneezed, rubbed his nose, turned around, and prepared to drink another glass of precious Carna wine before heading home.
But at this moment, he saw the young woman with dark skin and wearing a long skirt named Jipri walking towards him.
Santis is so lucky to have such a beautiful lady by his side.
Cohen thought a little enviously, and then nodded slightly to the female mage apprentice in front of him: "Miss Jipri."
He wanted to greet the Duke's envoy, but he also You have to maintain the reserve of being a formal transcendent, after all, the other party is just a mage apprentice.
Jipley tapped her forehead with her finger, responded with a standard mage salute, and asked with a smile: "Mr. Cohen Bonnet, is that so?"
"That's right, it's me. Is there something wrong?"
"You meet the requirements. Mr. Santis asked me to give this to you."
The young female mage apprentice will A folded letter and an ordinary-looking brooch were handed to Cohen. After taking the letter, the latter couldn't help but frown slightly and said hesitantly: "But... I was not prepared to... "
"This is not a registration letter to go to the South, but just an invitation to the next party," Jipri said with a smile, "Please don't miss this opportunity - wearing the brooch means you are attending the party.Proof of meeting. ”
Cohen wanted to ask something else, but Jipri just smiled mysteriously and shook her head, turned and walked away. Cohen had no choice but to lower his head and open the folded letter, looking at it curiously. Get up.
There is only one sentence written on it: After the first bell rings tonight, I will still be here.
But there is a small symbol behind this sentence, a belt. Symbols with lightning bolts and eyes
“The Conclave of Magicians? What is Santis doing... is he planning to use this opportunity of running errands for the Duke to have his own private party? He also plans to return to the circle of mages in the royal capital? "
Cohen frowned and murmured curiously, but still collected the letter seriously.
No matter what Santis wants to do, it is still necessary to participate in similar secret meetings of magicians. Suddenly, the communication between spellcasters is a good opportunity to improve their strength and gain knowledge. However, it is not cheap to organize a decent party. Now that someone has come forward to organize it this time, and they can continue to taste fine wine in the Duke's mansion. A delicious meal, Cohen believed that most people would not miss this opportunity.
He glanced at the sky outside and found that the sun had almost completely sunk below the horizon: the first bell was not far away.
He returned to the living room and saw that many people had stood up and left, but some people were still sitting there. Cohen glanced around and saw that someone in the corner had a brooch pinned to his clothes.
Sure enough, he is not alone...
Cohen felt relieved and pinned the brooch on his body.
After another ten minutes, a senior attendant appeared. , indicating that the party was over, all guests had been registered, and visitors were asked to leave as they pleased.
So a few more people got up and left, but Cohen saw that there were still people sitting still - on them. They all had brooches.
The waiters in red vests and the maids in black and white maid skirts entered the hall and began to collect the plates and wine glasses left by the guests. Cohen sat back down in his seat with some anxiety. , a waiter passed by him. The waiter's eyes obviously paused on the brooch on his coat. Then the waiter nodded and paid tribute, but did not let him leave. Instead, he brought a glass of sour grass water to sober up and refresh him. < /p>
Cohen was completely relieved.
After a while, Cohen saw some new visitors walking into the living room - these visitors were still carrying the cold air from outside. The first time they entered the house, they rubbed their hands and walked towards the fireplace. They had obviously just arrived.
Are they the "recruits" who had been here earlier during the day?
p>The party that Santis is going to hold this time is quite big... He is indeed a man who can spend noble money.
Cohen's thoughts were wandering, and he slowly noticed something. Unusual things:
Many of the people who came to the party were familiar faces. This is not surprising in itself. After all, the number of people in the mage circle is limited, but none of these people came from noble families.Or a member of a mage faction!
You know, even the down-and-out Santis should know one or two members of aristocratic families or factions... At least they should have friendships from studying in the same mage tower, right?
Deliberately not invited? Or... is this gathering really special, and all family members and faction members are excluded?
Cohen's heart moved and he couldn't help but raise his concentration.
He instinctively felt that tonight's so-called "second gathering" might not be simple...
And in the process of thinking about it, the first time in the royal capital The bell rang.
The tinkling bells rang. As the bells of various churches called on believers to pray and praise the Lord, Cohen noticed that the attendants left the hall one by one, and those wearing Cecil's standard armor Soldiers replaced the attendants to guard the entrances and exits, and the sound of door bolts being locked came from the direction of the gate.
The people at the scene were a little uneasy, but soon, the side door of the hall opened, and Thantis, wearing a black mage robe, walked into the hall accompanied by Jiprey and Pierce.
Santis quietly glanced around the people in the hall, and he found that at this time, he was calmer than expected.
Then he spoke:
"Everyone, is anyone interested in the magic skills of ancient Gondor and the knowledge of the lost realm?"
Southern Realm, In Count Horsmann's castle, Count Karloff Horsmann, who was wearing the earl's golden and red attire and had sharp eyes, stood at the banquet, holding a gold cup filled with Karna wine and looking around with a smile. Looking at the guests present.
Amidst the pleasant music of lyre and tambourine, the earl said loudly: "Everyone, is anyone interested in the 'Magic Network' technology from the Cecil Territory?
"I want to tell you some good news - with the efforts of several wise magic advisors and scholars of the Horsman family, I have cracked its secret! ”