Chapter 6

'Boring.' That was all Magnus could think of as he sat there and wrote down everything he heard. From common petty thieves to actual criminals, they all came here to plead their case, and Magnus had to write down all the conversations between the judge(?) and the convicted.

[+1 Dexterity]

'This might be the most boring part of my new job, but at least it allows me to increase my dexterity. I remember Ecbert said that the Lord would be looking for me, I wonder when that'll happen.'

"Please you must believe me! I didn't steal the bread! I'm being framed!" A man came in just a few minutes ago, convicted of stealing bread from the bakery. Magnus learned the country he was staying in was known as The North. The justice system in The North was much different than that of the United States. Trials barely took a few minutes and are straight to the point.

"All the evidence points against you, seven people saw you leave the shop with the bread. The punishment for thievery is and always has been the removal of your right hand. Guards take him to get his punishment." The Judge passed his verdict, and the guards dragged the struggling and crying man to receive his punishment.

'Brutal.' Magnus thought that the punishments were a little much. The removal of a hand for stealing some bread? 'Back home you'd at most get some community service or a small fine.' He thought. However, Magnus knew it was not his place to speak out against this world's customs. 'Perhaps when I become King I will rewrite the legal system.'

After the criminal left, another came through the door. This one was not a criminal, simply a servant. "I am here on request of Lord Ryswell to bring the scribe to his office." He said, and Magnus in response stood up and gathered all his materials before nodding to the judge and following the servant.

As he walked through the city toward the castle, he used the time to check his stats again. 'Jarvis, show me my stats.'

[User Statistics

Strength: 28

Stamina: 26

Agility: 21

Intellect: 19

Wisdom: 18

Dexterity: 18

Charisma: 19]

He was getting closer, 'Soon enough I will be able to upgrade my system, and then I will be able to increase my skills much easier than usual.'

After his visit to the Lord, Magnus planned on going to the library and looking for books of a more magical nature. If he can figure out a way to be able to gain and manipulate mana, it would greatly assist him on his journey.

Magnus followed the servant and navigated the now familiar halls towards the Lord's quarters, and as he approached, he heard the servant call out. "My Lord, the scribe is here as you ordered." Upon the response of 'come in' the door was opened and Magnus entered the room.

When he entered he noticed two people near the Lord. One he recognized as Maester Ecbert, the other he did not. A younger woman was in conversation with the Lord, and addressed him as 'Lord Father.'

"Barbary, you can leave." In response to his words, the lady bowed a little before walking towards the door. When she noticed him, her eyes lingered for longer than normal before she smiled.

"You must be our new scribe, my name is Barbary Ryswell, I hope you've enjoyed your stay so far?" She asked him,

"Yes my lady, your family has been a gracious host, and I am thankful for the opportunity," Magnus responded, his words accompanied by a small bow of respect. Not low enough to seem subservient, but enough to show respect. The lady was for now of a higher station than him after all. Barbary nodded before walking out of the room, after she exited Magnus' attention returned to the Lord.

"You called for me My Lord?" The man nodded before he opened his mouth and began to speak.

"I hope you've settled in well?" Magnus nodded, "Very well, I am glad to hear that. I called for you to ask you a few questions. One being, who are you? Truly."

Magnus' face hardened upon hearing his words. He had an inkling he was called for such a reason. His background story was not the most believable after all. He glanced at Ecbert who had an apologetic smile on his face, 'I can't blame him, he was only doing his duty after all.' Magnus looked back at Rodrick before speaking, "I'm sorry my lord?"

"Don't play dumb with me Magnus. A man descended from a legendary king, a part of the nobility, and a Lord in his own right. Decided to leave his homeland and travel across a massive sea previously untraveled, he then arrived, alone. No guards, no escort, no wealth. For someone with such a legendary background to arrive in such a state is suspicious no? I want the truth. Now." Rodrick's words were backed by a stare, Magnus knew that if he wasn't able to save his story now he could be in big trouble. 'Luckily I prepared for this.'

"My lord, the truth is I never lied to you, I just omitted some facts. I am truly who I claim to be, but the reason I left my homeland I never told you. The truth is I was forced out, exiled. I led an expedition into French territory, as they were looting and pillaging our villages and fields. We captured the French commander and plenty of troops. My lord you have to understand the feud between the Germans and French, it is not dissimilar to your people and the wildlings on the other side of the wall. This French commander had killed thousands of my people and caused the death of thousands more. I and my men were out for blood." Rodrick seemed to be listening to Magnus' story. For him, that was a good sign.

"I ordered his execution for crimes against my people, however our king at the time." To get his point across, Magnus almost spits out the word king. He mustered up as much hatred as he could in that one word to truly sell the point. "Quite a king, never once left his castle that coward. Anyways, he ordered that the commander be set free, alongside his soldiers in order for 'peace talks'. I was furious, as were my men. It was our villages that were burned, our citizens that were killed, yet the king simply was letting these men go, with no punishment."

"However, despite my hatred for the man, I was loyal. So against my better judgment, I complied. One of my men hated that so much that he and a group murdered the prisoners that night. Upon my finding out of such, I couldn't bear for my men to be executed for treason. They only did what they thought, what they knew was right. Therefore I took the blame, and I said I ordered it. I was put on trial, and the king wanted me to be executed. However based on my distant kinship with him, he instead ordered my exile. 'Send him across the Atlantic! Where he will never return.' He told me. This was nothing more than an execution disguised as an exile, as the sea was thought to be uncrossable. I was given supplies for a 3-month journey, and alongside a few escorts, I was sent across the sea."

Rodrick seemed to believe my story, judging by the empathy which showed in his features. After around five seconds of silence, he began to speak, "The ship and these escorts?"

"Dead my lord, they tried to murder me around halfway through my journey. I fought back, and they now are buried along your coast. The men at least deserved a burial, they didn't want to be sentenced to what they assumed was certain death for nothing. As for the ship, I burned it. Forgive me if it could've been of use to you my lord, I simply wanted to leave my past behind." Rodrick nodded in response to Magnus' words.

"There is no need to apologize. You have clearly been through a lot, Magnus Engel. Forgive me for making you speak of such a traumatic event."

"There is no need to apologize my lord. You were suspicious of me, and you were only looking out for your people. I would have done the same." The Lord seemed to appreciate Magnus' words, as he stood up and walked towards Magnus. Once in front of him, he stuck out his hand for a warrior's handshake before saying.

"Magnus, you are a noble figure, and I thank you for your honesty. I hope, however long your stay at my castle may be, you are comfortable and enjoy it."

Magnus glanced at Rodrick's arm, before smiling and grabbing his arm firmly, "You have done much for me, my lord, I will pay back this debt to the best of my abilities."