Curse of the Crystals

Chapter 13: Dreams and Politics - part 3

"By all means." Frode said, clearly curious to learn what his servant had come up with. Ezer had a habit of coming up with odd multi-layered plans, which was exactly what had earned him his current position at Frode's side.

"It's almost time for this year's Grand Tournament to start, but there are less people interested in it each year. Considering it is a great way to show the strength of our Empire's warriors, and an even greater way to allow new talent to reveal itself, it is quite a shame for it to slowly keep losing popularity. One of the Emperor's advisors even asked me for ideas on how to renew the Grand Tournament, so that people would be interested in it again, and I believe I have an idea." Ezer paused for a moment, seemingly trying to formulate his thoughts. "What if we open up the tournament for everyone, rather than just the nobility? People of all backgrounds, species, races and status. We can have them try to get qualified through some sort of preliminary trial, so that only the strongest and most creative ones continue to the main tournament rounds."

Adelmar interrupted. "Hold up. I don't have a clue what this has to do with our current situation. What in the world does defiling the Grand Tournament with commoners have to do with resolving miss Goldlake's issues with this ragtag team employed by my brother?"

"My apologies, your highness, I shall try to get to that as soon as I can. You see, I believe what miss Goldlake is saying is not merely her own opinion, but a sentiment shared by a vast amount of the population. However, if they are starting to make a name for themselves, whether they like it or not. I fear that they might become more and more well-known, but that their popularity will rise among specific groups, whereas other groups will start distrusting and fearing them. If we wish to avoid polarizing our society about their employment, we need more people to like them. I believe this can be done by having them show off their skills in the tournament. That way, we can revitalize the tournament, and we can ensure their reputation gains a boost. It should also allow miss Goldlake to see what she wanted to see; their competence."

Adelmar grimaced. "Are you aware that this can backfire badly?"

Ezer nodded. "Of course, your highness. Were they to fail badly enough, the opposite of what we hoped for will happen. They will not be taken serious. In such a scenario, there would be no other option than to sent Ambrose back to the Human kingdom, and to banish him from ever entering the Empire again. We'll also have Itzal arrest for his involvement in our internal affairs. Finally we'll, have to put miss Aina under house arrest for breaching public decency, due to her refusal to act according to the customs of the nobility she belongs to."

Adelmar's grimace turned to a genuine laugh. "Either you have quite some trust in them, or you're willing to let go of them without a shred of doubt. Fine, I'm willing to play along with this game of yours, but I'll have sir Blue make sure that you aren't setting the tournament up in their favour. Oh, and if they screw this up, I want you to resign from being my brothers advisor. I'm sure my brother will agree to these conditions, won't you?"

Frode, being pushed into a corner, nodded. "Very well." He didn't sound the happiest, but there was little he could do in this situation.

Adelmar turned towards Edith. "Would that satisfy you as well, miss Goldlake?"

She nodded. "I shall consider sending in some men to participate in honour of my fathers memory."

Adelmar then turned towards Maiara. "While I don't particularly care about the opinion of the others, I would like to hear yours, miss Aina."

She sighed. "Neither me nor Ambrose are warriors, so I can't exactly say that I'm happy about this arrangement, but if mister Floros and sir Blue are willing to allow us the usage of our intellect in a way that is of equal or greater worth than the usage of raw strength, I would be delighted to show what I'm capable of."