On arrival they were met by someone who by appearance was huge wearing an outfit that seemed odd to Ash, a brown jumpsuit with an inner clothing what he noticed to be a black skin tight shirt which if he wasn't mistaken was very much going to be very tactical very much similar to the ones used by naval seal but with much more practicality than the one used in earth since of course there was magic it made everything better.
The man acted as a guide, taking them through different corridors and elevators, taking them to the office of the main commander of the Bastion, which he wasn't surprised about. The man had just come back from a battle, so they had to wait a little in what seemed to be a lounge.
Right from where Ash could see, the 'rift or Gates ' looked like a solid giant tear going from the ground up to the sky, not to even talk about its sheer size, and this wasn't something that was meant to be measured ordinarily with a mind as fragile as his.
The wait wasn't for long, and he appeared, and Ash was surprised since he didn't look like what he imagined; a tall, burly-looking man with a lot of muscles, but this man looked almost the opposite, standing nothing more than six foot six, very much slim with not much muscles to offer looking somewhat malnourished.
But if there was anything that he had learned, it was the fact that it was very dangerous to judge a book by its cover, as he had seen in this world that there was no such thing as normal, even the feeling he got from the man was making him less and less comfortable
"Greetings, your majesty, " the man whose name happened to be Sir Nicholas gave a polite bow, which was to his aunt, not to the not-soon-to-be prisoner, but it was normal for him, even before this now it was normal for him to be treated like he was invisible, so he didn't mind it.
They talked alone for a while in hushed tones while Ash stood not too far away from them , he couldn't really tell what they were saying he could even be on negotiation right at that moment and he wouldn't know and he did not really care about it , since his life was now in the unwashed hands of someone who looked extremely stressed.
" I'm leaving now, so is there anything you need to tell me ? or a message to pass across to anyone ?"his aunt asked looked at Ash who really did not seem bothered but then something occurred to him "yes just tell Karl that he should be careful with that thing he calls a fiancé, he shouldn't be surprised when he wakes up with a blade to the neck "his answer made her frown since it wasn't much known to people that Karl was seeing someone and him knowing this meant something wasn't right but she quickly brushed it off, knowing her he knew she was going to take his lightly.
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"kiddo I guess I have to say this now because we would hardly ever be meeting again in the future " sir Nicholas said in a calm tone as they made their way through a dim-lit hall way heading deeper into the bastion " your aunt bought you five wishes which are within my power and mind you I'm no king or genie but I'll try my best to help and be quick with it " he did not bother to look at Ash as they made their way deeper heading towards a bulky vehicle that looked more armored and tailored for battle instead of being used for transport but apparently they were using it.
A loud engine roared as the vehicle made its way through a dark tunnel, with the only source of light being the vehicle's bright headlights. 'Five wishes? not good. Ash frowned at the thought of it, the family he knew hardly ever did anything for charity, and every action taken had a reason, ''a debt. 'The thought of it made him feel extremely uncomfortable, and owing one wasn't something he could afford in his state.
After a little thought he came up with a few things "first I would like to ask for a good room, second would be access to the bastion library, third would be a place that could act as a workshop it would be preferable for it to be close to my room the fourth would be for me to be put in a squad that's tough and always busy while the fourth .... I want to save it for something later or most preferably I would like to earn it " Ash said calmly with a distant expression and when he turned to look he noticed sir Nicholas had a somewhat bewildered expression at least it was obvious he didn't expect such words from a kid and Ash not being like other kids and hell wasn't In the situation that other kids wanted to find themselves he had to use the little he had to get as much as he could get.
"I can help you with the other ones except for the last two ….. I'm going to need a good why? " he said now intrigued with the kid which was in front of him, this time he had his whole attention " the first being obvious, I have to be able to become stronger than my current state ..... the second being that I want to have a goal that I can hold onto temporarily until I find a proper stand and they is nothing more satisfying than what you earned by yourself "Ash gave a reply that satisfied Nicholas and impressed him more than he initially had anticipated, even though he was scared he still didn't show it on the outside acting like It wasn't getting to him.
When Nicholas was told that he was going to be convicting a child, he was expecting one who would be brought in kicking, scratching, and crying for help, but he got something he didn't expect: a child way smarter than his age. There was a small chance that he did do what he was being convicted for.