A New Council Member [Private/Lagi]

Elric Stein made his way to the front desk, bowing his head respectfully.

“My name is Elric Stein, I have an appointment to see King el Nagi this afternoon.”

The person at the desk checked something before nodding to a page. The page would herd the tall man with silver hair down the halls to a large office lined with books, informing him the king would be with him momentarily. Elric looked around as he waited. He was there to offer his services as a council member until a suitable replacement could be found. He straightened his cloak, wondering if he should have worn the robes of Magnostadt before shaking his head at the idea. No, he was hear as an advisor, not a magician and he doubted the king would even recognize such an outfit.

Two stotic lieutenants arrived at the area that Stein was awaiting and gave a fair salute. One of them spoke up, addressing the man. “Elric Stein, correct? Standard procedure….” They would say as they gave Elric a pat down and body search. Once they found that Elric was completely unarmed and safe, one of them left the room and came back with the king. Afterwards, they both bowed to Elric respectfully for cooperating. “Please forgive the inconvenience. We will be outside if you need anything specific. “Lagi had somewhat of an irritated look on his face, the deaths of the council members didn’t sit well with him. Who’s to say that this new guy wasn’t apart of some grand scheme of the Kou empire to somehow pin all of this on lagi?” ….” Lagi sized Elric up a little as he gave him a cold expression. Afterwards, lagi started to introduce himself. “I am Lagi el nagi, king of reim. I was informed that you were interested in being a new member of the council?”

Elric gave a deep bow when the King entered, arching brow at the seeming displeased look on Lagi’s face.

“Yes, your grace. My name is Elric Stein, originally of Magnostadt, though I do not come on their behalf necessarily. It has come to my attention that you are short two council members, both of them financial advisors. Allow me to be blunt, if I may. You have a problem, I am offering a solution. You have two dead councilors, and your… benefactors in Kou will not look kindly on this. In my experience, this will lead to one of two things. Either they will try to de-throne you or they will try to tighten their grasp on this country. Honestly, I do not care if you remain on the throne or not, but no one wants to see Kou take more control. Their expansion is worrisome to all of the other countries and would like to prevent them gaining any more control. The solution I am offering is a neutral party on the council. I am not for Reim or Kou. I simply want to keep the delicate peace that is currently here. To that end, I would like to offer you financial and possibly military advice. I can assure you, the last thing I want is Kou in your backyard, trying to usurp more power.”

He would pause, knowing it was a lot of information to take in, before offering another word.

“Do not get me wrong, I am no fan of Reim. But the enemy of my enemy would make a good ally. And Kou is an enemy to both of us, if I am correct.”

Lagi listened well to what this man had to say, this was the second occasion that a native of the Magnostadt country has come to impose him on such little notice. He questioned if this was a sign of something to do in the near future?” You are right, I do need a successor. It would be neat to have someone from my nation, but possibly we need a bit of a more unbiased standpoint within the council to prove that this is not merely just a game of tug of war between Reim and Kou. Their expansion has worried some, as where I only cared about the prosperity of my own nation. “ Lagi lightened up and loosened his shoulders when he got a bum along a nearby chair.

“I am no fool to turn anyway any kind of help that’s offered to me, specially if this is from someone who intends no damage whatsoever to my rural area and its citizenry. Kou is an enemy, indeed. Nevertheless, there are more or less people in Kou that are genuine and invaluable, which makes me mull over their true purposes. I trusted what I read in my coronation speech to a full stop, but I will not allow anything to bump to this country, not as this runs against my will asking, and the will of the masses. If you want to be my friend, then I have. “He thought about Garret and Aix when he said that some of the people were invaluable to him, maybe they weren’t all so spoiled.

Elric gave a sharp grin, dipping his head in a nod.

“I would not say friend, my king. Ally will do for now. Trust that my greatest intention is to see Reim remain as free from Kou as possible, nothing more, nothing less. As I said, I not the biggest fan of this country, the culture is barbaric to me. But, it is better to remain free and barbaric than to fall under the boot of Kou. You are young and trusting, I would caution you against this in the future, your Grace. Not all that offer to help are on your side and not all that give you difficulties are against you. Regardless, I am honored to serve on your council. If I am correct and Kou responds by increasing their military, I can assure you I will have plenty to say about it. But we will face that issue when it arises. Until then, King, I shall allow you to return to your duties. I imagine you are quite busy and do not wish to impose on you any further.”

He would bow respectfully again and await his dismissal.

“I see, very well. Please acquaint yourself with the rest of the council members when you get the chance. I do look forward to the next council meeting to see you in action. Until then…” Lagi would say as he got up from the chair and the Stotic guard entered. “One more thing, please take into consideration that I have agreed to cooperate with Ariella Negri and the Negri family in order to find her missing mother. She went missing during the coronation, but there was no official report. I am led to believe that the kidnapping and the murders are related, and I gave Ariella my permission to act as if this was a joint investigation. This will surely increase diplomatic relations with Magnostadt if successful . “ After that, Lagi would proceed to walk out of the room with the Stotic guards following Lagi to his next destination.

Elric nodded, filing away the information. The Negri name was well known to those in Magnostadt and especially so to him. He and Adamus had served in battle before and taught side by side on more than one occasion before he had left the Academy. His eyes narrowed at the knowledge that Evelyn had disappeared on the night of the coronation ceremony. It seemed he needed to have a discussion with Lilly. Without showing Lagi a sign of anything, he smiled slightly.

“I would be happy to assist the Negri family with anything they require. Again, my thanks for accepting my service. You have a wonderful day, your Grace.”

Elric would bow once more before leaving the room, his mind twisting with the information granted to him. The last time he had seen Ariella, she had been struggling through the Academy. Now that she was a grown woman, he wondered how she had turned out, she had shown much potential when not being overshadowed by her brother.

[exit]