The Brothers von Stahl could not be more different if they tried. Hierophant Frederick Wilhelm von Stahl, who had studied with the Order of Light, wore the order's white, gold, and blue robes. The bright colors of his robes were contrasted by the severe expression on his clean-shaven face and the taciturn demeanor that he presented. In contrast, Freiherr Hans Ulrich von Stahl wore a burgundy doublet slashed with charcoal gray, matching breeches, and dark brown leather boots. The muted colors of his ensemble were contrasted by the friendly smile on his bearded face and outgoing demeanor. Both men, however, were armed. Hierophant von Stahl's gilded stave terminated in a swinging, serpent-headed, flail at one end. Meanwhile, Freiherr von Stahl bore an arming sword with an ornate bronzed hilt. Both of those weapons seemed to radiate power in different amounts, and both of the emissaries carried themselves as if they were familiar with their use.
Carlo, by contrast, was wearing his usual outfit with the embroidered sunbursts. He was, however, wearing his dwarven blade. The Brothers von Stahl entered the great hall and bowed shallowly as they approached the dais. Carlo nodded back and caught Hierophant von Stahl studying him as the conversation started. There was the subtlest whisper of power behind the Hierophant's gaze that Carlo could feel. It was almost as if the Hierophant was searching Carlo's very soul for some arcane signal that he was what the man had wanted. While the Hierophant did that, his brother, the actual ambassador, began the audience.
"Your excellency, I bring you greetings from my brother, Pfalzgraf Paul Emil Von Stahl, ruler of the County Palatine of Domatburg! We have watched your campaign in Bouellia with great interest and seek to come to an agreement with you and your principality. Ijssel is clearly on the rise, and we feel that we could be better friends to you than enemies." Announced Freiherr von Stahl.
"What kind of agreement are you seeking?" Questioned Carlo.
"Let us start with a trade agreement. We spoke to your Meneer Dejong on the subject and are prepared to offer you a substantial discount on our timber, iron, tin, and amber. We also wish to purchase copper, foodstuffs, peat, and black powder in varying quantities." Responded Freiherr von Stahl.
"How much of a discount, and in what quantities?" Queried Carlo.
"We will sell to you at a twenty-five percent discount. As for quantities of purchase, we wish to purchase foodstuffs in large quantities, same for peat, a moderate quantity of copper, and a smaller amount of black powder every month. I am afraid that we do not have enough arable land to feed our entire population, and though we produce timber by the cartload, many of our charcoal kilns are within raiding distance of the Blue Face Orcs. Besides, peat warms a home so much easier than charcoal does, yes? As for copper, we do have some trade with the dwarves via their mining outposts in the foothills and the trade settlement of Khazid Wyrvarn where the Rivers Orco and Limnalla meet, so we have less need of it than we otherwise would. As for Black Powder, we have a supplier for that in Trantio via the Old Dwarf Pass through the mountains, though with the current state of war in Tilea, we thought it best to purchase a smaller amount from you as well, just in case. We have drawn up an agreement if you would care to peruse it?" Answered Freiherr von Stahl.
"I would." Intoned Carlo. As he said this, he engaged his power and began to study the brothers, thinking that a trade agreement would hardly be the only reason to call on him for them, and he hoped that his powers would be useful once they actually got to the meat of their visit.
Freiherr von Stahl clapped his hands and a bespectacled man in the livery of Domatburg came forward with a document on parchment. The man was clearly some form of a clerk, as he had ink stains on his fingers. The Clerk presented the document to Carlo, who perused it with an eye for contracts honed over years as a mercenary and privateer. It seemed that between the discounts on Domatburg goods, and the massive amounts of goods Domatburg would be buying, the trade balance would come out to another one-thousand-five-hundred-fifty guilders a month in Ijssel's favor, though there was a provision that Carlo caught regarding reduced toll duties on the Khyprian Road for Domatburg Caravans, which he figured was how Domatburg was going to make their money back. The reduced toll duties were not so onerous as to be ruinous, however, especially as the discounted Domatburg Amber would be able to be made into jewelry and shipped out of the Port of Ijssel to various markets that would pay a premium for such luxuries. That was likely why Jan Willem Dejong had agreed to it in the first place.
"I see nothing wrong with signing this trade agreement. I shall do so immediately." Nodded Carlo, once he was satisfied with the trade agreement. A servant brought him a quill and inkpot, along with wax for his seal and the trade agreement was soon signed and sealed.
"Excellent, you will not be sorry, Excellency. I can promise you that much." Grinned Freiherr von Stahl.
"Perhaps you will now tell me why your brother, the Hierophant, has been attempting to use his magic to scan me?" Asked Carlo.
Freiherr von Stahl's smile slipped for just a moment before he gazed over at his brother. For his part, Hierophant von Stahl blinked twice, and whatever effect he was using to stare into Carlo's very being seemed to vanish. The Hierophant got a look of contemplation on his face as if he had just managed to puzzle out something important about a larger riddle, before nodding to his brother. Freiherr von Stahl sighed in relief and turned back to Carlo. His easy smile was replaced by a look of determination.
"Apologies, Excellency, but we had to be sure. The last time my brothers and I made such a risky political move cost us the chance to ever return to our homeland in Sigmar's Empire." Intoned Freiherr von Stahl.
"Sure of what, and what sort of political move are you hoping to make here?" Questioned Carlo.
"How much do you know about our family and its circumstances?" Queried Freiherr von Stahl.
"Only that your father was accused of worshipping the Dark Gods and executed. Your lands were confiscated, and you and your brothers chose to lead what forces you still had south to conquer a Border Principality rather than disband your army and live as commoners. I was given to understand there was a political motivation for the whole thing. Why?" Answered Carlo.
"Politics being the cause is true enough, and your summary is accurate in the broad strokes, but there is more to it than that and it has to do with religion." Grumbled Hierophant von Stahl.
"Before you ask, no we were not actually worshippers of the Dark Gods." Added Freiherr von Stahl hastily. Between the power allowing him to tell if someone was lying and the vehemence in the Freiherr's voice, it was enough to quiet the alarm bells that had begun to ring in Carlo's mind.
"So what then? I cannot believe there are many Gods that are not on the list of Dark Gods that are proscribed in Sigmar's Empire?" Pressed Carlo.
"There are a few who fit that description whose worship is not on the officially approved list. Solkan, for instance, is not on the approved list, even though worship of Solkan seems to be endemic to several orders of Witch Hunters." Interjected Hierophant von Stahl.
"We are not Solkanites, however. In fact, our Goddess is on the approved list, at least officially. Unofficially, the Church of Sigmar has long held a policy of soft conversion of the religious minority in Solland that worship her. It has to do with tithes, you see. The fewer of us there are in an area that is traditionally Sigmarite like the Southern Empire, the more money goes into the coffers of the Grand Theoginist." Explained Freiherr von Stahl.
A suspicion began to grow in Carlo's mind. There were a few cults that could fall under in the Southern Empire, but only one of those would have much of anything to do with him. After all, many of the larger cities of Solland and Wissenland had originally been built by Tilean explorers and merchants as outposts beyond the mountains before being taken over by Sigmar's Empire, including Nuln and Pfeildorf.
"Where Tileans go, so too do our gods." Murmured Carlo.
"Yes, Your Excellency, you seem to have put it together." Nodded Hierophant von Stahl.
"Indeed, we're among the dwindling minority of Solland nobility that still worships Bellona Myrmidia, and you, Excellency, have her favor like no other we have heard of." Insisted Freiherr von Stahl.
"Indeed, when we heard of you, I consulted some of the few contacts I still have amongst the Magisters of the Colleges. A long-time colleague of mine is an Astromancer of the Celestial College, and I asked if she would perform an augury regarding you. All the heavens would tell her was that a blazing sun rises at dawn." Affirmed Hierophant von Stahl.
"Our brother, the Pfalzgraf decreed that if we could meet you and see for ourselves the truth of your spirit, and if that truth proved true, we were to offer you a deal. An alliance in exchange for your aid in reclaiming some of our most precious relics remaining in Solland. They are currently in the hands of the new Graf, a traitorous former Freiherr of our father's named Markus von Bulow. It was he who betrayed our father and planted that makeshift shrine for the Witch Hunters to find. The family banner and shield are still in his possession. They have great significance to my family. Help us to reclaim them, and bring von Bulow's treachery to light, and our alliance will turn into fealty." Explained Freiherr von Stahl.
"I see, and have you been satisfied with what you have seen of the truth of my spirit?" Asked Carlo.
"We have. I have yet to meet the illusion yet that can defeat my mystical prowess with Eyes of Truth. I have used the spell to see into your spirit and found no illusion or darkness, but the Dawn." Answered Hierophant von Stahl.
"Will you accept my brother's bargain, your Excellency?" Questioned Freiherr von Stahl.
"I do accept this deal. Alliance and eventual fealty in exchange for retrieving your family heirlooms and helping you to expose this von Bulow for the treacherous dog he is." Nodded Carlo. Even if he had stood to gain no allies or fealty from it, it was still a noble quest. In truth, Carlo likely would have promised aid anyway. Something told him Bellona Myrmidia would have wanted him to do so. As the alliance treaty was sealed and signed, Carlo reflected on how far he'd come since arriving in the Border Princes. Not only was he now a Prince of an up-and-coming Principality, not only was he Chosen of Bellona Myrmidia, but now he was planning to aid other Myrmidian Worshippers by wading into Imperial Politics. The odd thing was, he could likely even pull it off with Myrmidia's help.
Soon enough, however, the Brothers von Stahl departed and it was time for him to eat dinner and turn in for the evening. A plump, herb-roasted, chicken, crusty brown bread, and a mug of ale to wash it down with helped quell the rumbling in his stomach. Tomorrow he would have to start working on getting everything ready for war with Khypris in the spring. After he had defeated their alliance, he could set his eyes on crushing the Blue Face Orcs, likely in the fall. After that, he would need to make a pilgrimage to the Temple of Myrmidia in Myrmidens to try and gain guidance on how to proceed from there. Once he got that guidance, he would be able to fulfill his end of the agreement with the von Stahl family. Course set, Carlo went to sleep, beside his already sleeping wife.
Tomorrow would be the first of many busy days. . .
XXXX
AN: So yeah, did you guys know that Solland used to have a large population of Myrmidia Worshippers? Enough so that the Knights of the Blazing Sun have an entire chapter of Knights called the Myrmidons who only accept members from Myrmidian Sollander Nobles? Of course, by the time of the End Times, their numbers had dwindled so much from centuries of soft conversion that there were only twelve Myrmidons at any one time. Myrmidia was never strong enough in Solland and Wissenland to resist the more subtle avenues of conversion available and was always seen as a surplus Goddess in most parts of the Empire since Sigmar is already basically 'what if Myrmidia but a German Dude'. The overlap essentially caused what you might call a theological turf war over tithes and prestige.
We're not there yet, and there are still a few dozen Sollander noble families that keep to worship of Myrmidia at the moment. They still try to keep their worship less visible than devout Sigmarites, though. While that closes a few avenues of conversion for the Sigmarites, it opens up others. After all, on Mundus, not being zealous enough in your worship of any gods can be seen as suspicious, and it only takes a handful of turncoats not entirely on board with their liege for something like what happened with the von Stahls to occur.
Here there's actually someone for the von Stahls to turn to for help. It gained Carlo some needed allies for upcoming campaigns, a good trade deal, and eventual vassals.
At any rate, the next chapter will be a time-skippy montage chapter leading into the Spring of 2458 and then we'll be in the Khypriot war.