Aled had been listless for a few days. He had received news that the daughter of Marquess Burgess had run away from her marriage. This had caused his golden blond hair to start greying at the temples, even in his early thirties. The Kingdom he had inherited from his father was strong, but incredibly divided. The King was a figurehead everywhere but the capital, and factional disputes among the nobles had taken their toll on him. He looked like he was a decade older than his true age. Though he trained regularly and was well groomed, there was a gloominess about him that he could not seem to shake.

While he was glad that the land would no longer fall into Earl Blake’s hands, he was afraid that the Marquess would align with whichever faction she had escaped to. And he knew that this news was old. He did not get rumours easily, even in the most prosperous city in the empire. The merchants had to leave the capital, and to do that they had to go through multiple territories to leave Fiveria. If they were smart they would align themselves with one of the powerful noble factions, not a powerless king.

He knew that everyone else that mattered in the empire would already know who’s side the Marquess would join. And here he was still waiting on news a full twelve days after the wedding should have been held, none the wiser. Whilst Aled was marching new paths into existence through the palace gardens, a messenger arrived. Not something he was used to seeing, most nobles wanted nothing to do with him.

“In whose name do you come? He had to ask, if there was a noble who was willing to ally he had to know who. Hopefully it was not one of the Dukes coming to mock him.

“Viscount Fiton, your grace.” The messenger bowed.

“Fiton? Is he not the earl to the north of Boshil? Since when was he a viscount?” The king was at least aware that the old Earl had died, so the news was fresh on his mind. ‘Was he not one of Duke Oakley’s men? I heard that Oakley’s son was chasing after Burgess’s daughter but got beaten to the punch. Perhaps she ran to his land?’

“No, your grace. The old Earl Fiton held the title of Cliforge on the eastern border. His second son, Braydon, inherited the viscounty.” Aled was surprised by the messenger’s correction. He didn’t have the time to pay attention to the internal matters of most earl’s houses, Blake being an obvious exception. Not like he was getting many reports about them anyway ‘Oh, so is he not one of Oakley’s? Then who?’

“My liege would like to request Your Grace’s aid.”

“Why does he not get aid from his brother. It is a fairly rich earldom if I remember correctly.” This could tell Aled of Braydon’s affiliation. It being a matter of his brother being unable or unwilling were two very different situations.

“I am not one to question my liege’s motivations, but from what I have heard, Your Grace, they do not have the greatest of relationships.” ‘So he is not one of Oakley’s men, perhaps Duke Burn? He was stirring up a fuss the other day, perhaps this gave him some confidence?’

“Then why not turn to one of the Dukes? There are duchies closer to the Brimstones than the capital.”

“My liege has no acquaintances among the Dukes, Your Grace. From what I know, our only ally should be Marquess Burgess. His daughter is staying in Cliforge after all.” Whilst it was common knowledge among the nobles that Nela was to marry Jett Blake, the story had not made its way among the common folk. Nor did they much care for matters that did not affect them. What the messenger did not know was that Aled was celebrating internally. This would be great news for him. Most royal allies were barons and/or in vulnerable positions. A viscount in a relatively safe position would be a great ally to have. Especially since the truce with Shuluk was just signed, there would be another few years of peace in the east yet.

“And what assistance would he need of me?” The substance of the assistance was not so important, all that the king could supply right now was legitimacy and money. Legitimacy only really held sway with other countries at the moment, so it was going to be money.

“My liege has found a large iron vein, in his land east of the Brimstone pass. Our problem is we have not the men nor the funds to get it producing iron. My liege would like to request your assistance on at least one of these regards.”

King Aled was over the moon. Not only was Marquess Burgess not slipping out of his grasp, he would be getting a new ally in the form of one Viscount Fiton, an ally with an iron mine to boot.

“Tell Viscount Fiton that I would be more than willing to give all the coin necessary to get it up and running. I will see what I can do on the side of people, would your lord prefer just workers or their families too? I might be able to convince more people if their families are tended to as well.”

“My liege would be happy to welcome their families too. Bandits had exterminated one of his smaller villages, before he was able to take up his position following the late Earl Fiton’s departure. The reduction in people has left my liege strapped for workers. We had to trade food to Baron Monrow in return for temporary workers to fix up the roads.” ‘Is this real? It feels like a pie in the sky after so long. Messengers are not so reliable to tell such an elaborate lie and pull it off. It must be mostly true, at least.’

“Then it shall be done to the best of my abilities, though I cannot guarantee how many families will take up the offer. You may return to your Lord to tell him of my decisions.”

The messenger bowed once again, took two steps back, and turned to leave. The King was no longer pacing the gardens, much happier than he had been before the messenger had arrived. He need not do more, whilst he did not hold much saw outside of the walls of Boshil, he held great power within the walls. Power seconded only by the guilds, who were content to make money if left alone. The servants around him had already gone to take care of the matter.

The messenger did not know that his honesty had just earned his lord more aid than Braydon could have hoped for. He may be a competent scout and rider, but in terms of keeping secrets he was not all that great. In this instance it played in both side’s favour. Bringing them both greater benefits than the original transaction warranted, gold for iron. Instead an alliance was born. One that just might shock all of Fiveria.