Once everybody has sat down, the elders took the initiative to introduce themselves via the codenas assigned to them by the organization. They also readily reported which sector or specific area they were assigned to monitor and manage the everyday activities. It seems that the elders are the top assassins during their younger yeats and also one of them was the previous patriarch or as they call "Lord" of the organization before the current one took the reins barely 5 years ago. His codena is "King" and is currently the highest ranking elder out of the 8 people seated in this round table discussion. King has also admitted that the current Lord is not in Skalvryet as of the mont and has chosen to train his skills and his mind in another territory. He said that the current lord was quite young when he got his position and thus was given his codena "Amir" though the guy didn't like it one bit. Amir beca the leader of the organization at a young age of 17 and is quite a genius so he was willful. Nobody can contact him during his missions and he cos back whenever he wants. He dumped all the administrative work to the elders.
I stayed quiet as the elders took turns in explaining the hierarchy and job description of each role in their organization as well as how employees were ranks. They also gave an overview of how missions are ranked and assigned. They were also quite detailed in how the paynt system works. They were also quite proud to say that ranks are earned here and the leadership is not inherited. Every 50 years, everyone who is willing to undergo so rigorous series of tests. Simply, whoever cos on top will take the lord position. It was based on a person's strength, intellect, innate talents and honestly, also luck. As they were discussing things to one by one, I started feeling like I was the CEO getting productivity and financial reports from my subordinates. Once they have run out of things to report, I started everyone by saying, "I strongly believe that I t "Amir" in the Acade of Gnosis last sester but for so reason, he did not enroll in the current one. He seems to be making his own investigations to find my whereabouts. Don't tell him that you have t , no matter what happens. This is an order from . Does everybody understand?" All the elders swore their allegiance and even gave their mana vows to keep everything that we have talked about in the conference room a secret.
Once the business side has been settled, I asked the question that has been bugging for quite so ti, "How is my family connected to your organization?" King answered readily, "Your family built this organization, your highness." My eyes widened at the truth. I told them that I really thought that it was just a cooperation that has spanned several years, maybe a relationship through marriage or even a paynt for a life-saving grace. The elders laughed and they told , "It was all of the above and much more."
Once you ask an old man to tell a story of the past, he will definitely and energetically retell it as detailed as possible as if he was reminscing his youth. Based on experience, it would take several hours on end. What more if you have 8 grandfathers that each have a version of their story to tell. I don't think I will be going back to the inn any ti soon.
To summarize their story, the first royals of Rosenoir needed a way to monitor the lands that they have created without interfering personally. They saw how a lot of people are having a hard ti living day by day as most of them were refugees who moved to this world with nothing to their na. The Rosenoirs loved the world they created and everybody who lived in it. As such, they started picking out talented orphans and trained them in different skills but the focus at first was on information gathering which will be their primary jobs. They also bought a huge piece of land and gave it to these orphans as their permanent ho, Sklavryet. Throughout the years, the Rosenoir family has supported the organization financially and also provided basic edication and skills training to the children they have taken in. At first, the organization has almost equal numbers of male and female mbers but as ti went on and through the changes in society and population after the Rosenoirs mysteriouly disappeared, the organization beca predominantly male with a few won once in a while who are usually related to the previous employees through marriage (wives and lovers) or by blood (sisters, mothers and daughters). Won preferred to work for the governnt, the military or do business and just marry as many n as they can bring to their households. As the population gap between n and won grew larger, treatnt towards n beca worse. At that ti, the elders then started rebuilding and repurposing Sklavryet as a sanctuary for abused n who have nowhere else to go and are looking for jobs that would pay them fairly. A territory of n would easily catch the attention of lascivious and greedy won thus they set rules in the territory with a warning that grave cris are punishable by death. Won who choose to work here are also closely monitored and won who do bad things to the n of the territory have to pay appropriate financial damages, get jailed and in worst cases, their bodies will never be found. They also built the Noir organization's headquarters in heret though it was simply called the governnt office on the outside. The mbers then had to adapt to the needs of their growing clientele so even though they only started with basic information gathering, most mbers eventually learned other skills to complete escorting job, delivering of high value items or confidential docunts, espionage, protecting people such as travelling rchants, nobles, royals, etc and even assassination requests beca available through the next couple of decades. They were proud that they were able to keep the organization afloat even when their masters had to close their kingdom off from the world indefinitely. The elders said that they knew that an heir will co back to lead them again but they didn't know when or how she will appear or how long are they supposed to wait. They still kept their hopes up since it was written in a confidential docunt that was passed from one generation of elders to another since the creation of the organization. The Rosenoirs were kind enough to give them financial support for the next two centuries in advance to ensure that the children that they will be taken in and those that will be taken in for the years to co will not have issues getting their necessities t to survive. They then presented well-preserved financial docunts of the allowances and financial support they have received from Rosenoir from the ti it was built and the things they have spent it on year over year. Everything was well-docunted and in good condition. Based on the records, the annual allowance that they receive is at 10 gold coins. As for the paperwork, it clearly showed that they have not received any financial support for the last 243 years. This goes to show how tough the leaders were and the grit of all the mbers in keeping the organization and their ho territory running even without the main source of funds. They said that it was the reason why they allowed their people to learn normal skills or jobs as their other sources of inco when there are no missions. They honestly said that most of their people live double lives and it was also one of the reasons why they expanded to other type of services and recently, they finally even ventured to common types of businesses.
After the long talks and story telling, I pushed a bulky bag of coins to the middle of the conference table. Inside was a total of 2 crown coins and 430 gold coins to make up for the years that they were not provided for with instructions to continue with the docuntation on how the money will be used. I swear that I even saw the old n tear up as they said their thanks profusely. I simply nodded and said, "Excuse , I will just need to do a couple of quick magic spells." As I closed my eyes, the first thing I did was to envelope myself with an isolation barrier. I have to release my mana limiters without crushing these old n due to the pressure. Once both were completed, I started the silent chant for two rank 10 barriers. The first one was to envelop the whole territory and the second one was for the Noir headquarters. With my consistently growing mana, it only took less than a minute to put both of them in place. It was the sa type of offensive and defensive barrier that I set up for the acade and the territory of the Vacarros in the south. As quick as my limiters were disabled (which for sure made my real countenance co out but who cares...), I placed it back and removed my isolation barrier. When I opened my eyes, I saw the surprised faces of the elders with their widened eyes and opened mouths. One of the elders was able to reel in his shock first and asked, "We would like to thank your highness for setting up a protective barrier for our territory." The other elders looked at the one who spoke abruptly. This elder was definitely a mage. I gave them a smile and then instructed, "The barrier I have set up is a type 10 barrier that both have offensive and defensive features. I have registered it under a patent but it has not been released yet for sale to the public. In case sobody asks, tell them that you have t with the inventor secretly and was able to strike up a deal. I trust that nobody would be brave enough to try and force information about the seller out from you guys, am I right?" The elders suddenly laughed heartily before they almost unanimously said with smirks on their faces, "They could try but I hope they survive till dusk." I am liking these grandpas more and more.
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Author's Note:
Money System in the world of Aeocrecens:
1000 copper coins = 1 silver coin
1000 silver coins = 1 gold coin
1000 gold coins = 1 crown coin
1000 crown coins = 1 arcane coin
So territories still follow the barter system. Jewels, precious stones, ores as well as other items considered as precious for each race can also be used as currency.
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