The Two Pillars (1)

Walking toward the grand hall with Callista a step behind and to the left of me. I couldn't help but frown at the words my father told me before.

"The most I will do is invite them, it's up to you to get them to stay."

Somehow, I feel cheated in our deal, he only invited them. Of course, that's easy. No sane adventurer would ever turn down an offer to meet a duke.

Shaking my head at that thought, I reviewed what I knew about my two future pillars.

Axton Lambert: currently in the lower realm of rank D, and although he was a gifted intellect and his mastery with the long sword was nothing to joke about. The reason he was still in the lower ranks of the Starhawk guild was that like me he would only ever progress to the upper realm of rank D and never be able to break through to rank C.

The reason why I wanted Axton to train both of us, was because he was a gifted instructor and with his knowledge, we would be able to improve leaps and bounds and with what I had to offer him, he would join me in a heartbeat. As he held no loyalty to his guild that kept him down.

Lucia Windsor: currently in the upper realm of rank C and resides in the mage's academy serving as a tutor. Due to turning down a marriage proposal from a very influential earl, her career soon started to suffer from setbacks after setbacks until she was forced to hide in the academy.

Recruiting her was going to be a pain as she didn't trust nobles, but she was worth it. With Cas being a wind user herself, her powers would only soar when she awakens. The more powerful she becomes, the safer I would be in the future.

Stopping at the door that leads to the grand hall. I looked at Paul one of my father's housecarls that served in an administrative role, looking at the trolly that was next to him that held a few items I gazed at each item for a moment.

"My father told you what is required of you?" I asked the house carl without taking my eyes off the items on the trolly.

"Of course, Lord Maxamus." Was his only response.

"Let's begin." I said as I tore my gaze from the items and began to open the door that led to my future.

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(Axton and Lucia's POV)

(A few minutes before the arrival of Ciaran Maxamus)

"Looks like we both were invited to meet the duke." A gruff voice said.

"Yes." Came the cold reply.

"The name is Axton." The gruff voice belonging to Axton said as he reached out his hand

Looking at the hand stretched out, the other figure only looked at it once before looking away.

"Lucia." the cold voice said

"Well Lucia, I hope that we can work well together as a team so we can get rich." Axton said as he slowly retracted his hand.

"Yes." Was her only reply.

The silence lasted a few minutes between the two individuals until they heard a click and saw the door start to open.

Expecting to see Duke Maxamus, there were shocked when they saw a boy with slicked back black hair and striking grey eyes. The deep red vest he was wearing over his black long-sleeve shirt, made it appear as if his grey eyes were glowing.

The girl that was standing slightly behind him was nearly a head taller than the boy. With silver hair neatly braided that trailed down to her waist. Her piercing cerulean eyes looked for any signs of threats from the two individuals in front of her.

The last to enter was a smartly dressed man and he was pushing a trolly with a heavy cloth covering it.

Both Axton and Lucia were confused when the boy sat down in front of them and the girl took up a position behind him, while the man with the trolly stood at attention behind both the girl and boy.

Clearing his throat to gather his thought Axton began. "I'm sorry, I was under the impression that we would be meeting Duke Maxamus." He paused before adding. "Not his son."

Nodding her head Lucia agreed with Axton.

"I see…" the boy said as he put his hand on his chin as if to think. "My father didn't mention why he invited both of you."

When both Axton and Lucia nodded, the boy sighed and after taking a second he began.

"Allow me to introduce myself." The boy said as he stood up and took a slight bow. "My name is Lord Ciaran Maxamus, heir to House Maxamus." Ciaran introduced himself and sat back down. "And this here is my aid Callista. He finished pointing at the girl behind him

Returning the bow, both Axton and Lucia introduced themselves, and after the introductions were completed, the meeting commenced.

"First of all, as a way of saying thanks for agreeing to this meeting…." Ciaran motioned to the man behind him.

The man with the trolly walked toward both Axton and Lucia and stopped before them.

"No matter if you accept my offer or not, I want you to accept these as gifts as tokens of my appreciation." Ciaran said pausing so the man could remove the heavy cloth

When the man removed the cloth, both Axton and Lucia were shocked for two separate reasons.

Axton saw a scroll and a stone that was for him. As an experienced adventurer, he knew what both were. A scroll of identity which can identify any magical item, even if it was dormant. The stone of awakening can awaken any dormant magical item, releasing its full potential.

With a confused look, Axton looked at Ciaran for clarification. Only to hear a slight gasp from the indifferent Lucia.

"Yes Miss Windsor, what you are seeing is correct." Ciaran paused letting Lucia look through a few more pages.

"In those files are every dirty deed and criminal act that Earl Kist has committed." He stated calmly.