Gwayne didn't know about Rebecca's bold and slap-worthy idea, but he was well aware that Viscount Andrew's sheltering of Seawright subjects wouldn't be free of charge.
The era when lords would die defending their people, when everyone looked out for one another, when all contributed selflessly to rebuilding civilization, that era was long gone.
Seven hundred years later, the Kingdom of Andraste might not have recovered the glory of the Gondor Imperium, but its nobles had self-taught their way to max level in the art of self-interest. Without question, from the day the Seawright refugees entered Gulltown, Rebecca had been saddled with a debt that fell from the sky.
But bearing that debt was better than everyone being dead.
"The House of Seawright will remember your generosity," Gwayne broke the silence. "But what matters more right now is the disaster itself."
Viscount Andrew had noticed Gwayne sitting between Rebecca and Hestia from the very beginning, and he was quite curious about this man dressed in ancient aristocratic garments, a great sword resting at his side, his face commanding and stern. No one in his circles of noble acquaintance matched this figure, yet from the deference Hestia and Rebecca showed this man, he was clearly no ordinary person.
So when Gwayne spoke, the viscount seized the opportunity to ask.
"Forgive my curiosity, but I've been wondering since I walked in, you are...?"
"The ancestor of House Seawright. Pioneer among pioneers. One of the Seven Generals of Andraste. Grand Duke of the Southern Marches. Gwayne Seawright," Hestia had been waiting for exactly this question and rose immediately, her expression deadly serious. "You would have grown up hearing this name, he is the Radiance of First Dawn."
Gwayne kept his face stern, doing his best to project effortless authority in support of Hestia's aggressive introduction, nodding slightly. But at the last phrase, he couldn't help startling, and whispered to Rebecca beside him.
"What's that last title about?"
Rebecca quickly explained. "It's the posthumous name the founding king gave you after your death..."
Gwayne was aghast.
...Couldn't that chuunibyou have come up with something that sounds better?!
Meanwhile, Viscount Andrew's first reaction upon hearing Hestia's words was a face frozen in blank stupefaction.
Had this lady's mind finally cracked under the stress of her family's catastrophe and the terror of fighting monsters?
Just as Gwayne had anticipated from the start. unless someone witnessed it with their own eyes, no one could possibly believe House Seawright's ancestor had climbed out of his coffin. Not even worldly nobles or learned mages would buy such a fairy tale, ironically, it was the illiterate commoners with heads full of superstition who might actually take it at face value.
That Andrew didn't immediately summon his attendants to administer medication to this lady was already a display of considerable composure.
"My Lady, please allow me to... er... collect my thoughts," Andrew said, struggling to arrange his expression into something that conveyed his feelings without being too rude. But in the end, he couldn't help speaking plainly. "I understand you've endured an unimaginable nightmare, but using such a fantastical story to... isn't that a bit much?"
Hestia's expression didn't waver.
"I knew you'd react this way. In truth, even we could hardly believe it ourselves. But House Seawright's ancestor has indeed awakened from his eternal rest. We witnessed him sit up from his coffin with our own eyes, the Pioneer's Sword in his hand. And we've already verified that this is a genuine resurrection, not some undead reanimation trick..."
Andrew wore an expression caught between laughter and tears. "If you have a request to make of me, please just say it directly. This..."
Gwayne waved for Hestia to sit down. He placed the Pioneer's Sword on the table and turned to face Viscount Andrew.
"Viscount, what purpose would it serve for Hestia to tell such a lie? A viscountcy destroyed by monsters and an elemental tide, with a dragon appearing over our territory on top of that, an event of this magnitude is enough to reach the High King in the capital directly. In a life-or-death situation like this, would we really dress someone up in an ancient costume, hand them a cheap old sword, come to your castle, and tell you a fairy tale just for a laugh?"
As he spoke, he channeled the magic within his body into the Pioneer's Sword. As the power flowed in, dark crimson runes resurfaced on the ancient blade, clearer than before. Near the hilt, they formed the crest of a blade crossed with an iron plow, the very sigil House Seawright had adopted on the day of Andraste's founding, the coat of arms of the pioneering era.
Knights had magic too, they simply wielded it in a manner utterly different from mages.
Though the Pioneer's Sword had lost most of its former power, its most basic identifying features remained. The moment Andrew saw the sword, he went slightly dazed. He'd never seen the real Pioneer's Sword, but a replica was enshrined in the Royal Sanctuary in the capital. He'd had the honor of viewing that replica some years ago, and he certainly wouldn't mistake it.
If the sword on the table wasn't a forgery made by House Seawright, then it could only be the genuine article, the one sealed away in House Seawright crypt, the one no one had dared touch even as the family declined.
Would this fallen house really dig up their ancestor's grave and excavate the holy sword just to tell an outrageous lie?
Andrew wavered. If this was a farce, the cost was frighteningly high. But if it wasn't...
An ancestor just up and walking out of his grave, nobody in their right mind could believe that!!
"You're welcome to bring an elven smith to authenticate the sword. It was forged by their kin, and they know how to inspect elven runes. You could also compare portraits of the founding lords against my face, though I've slept for seven hundred years, my appearance has fortunately not changed much," Gwayne said, watching Andrew's shifting expression with a slight smile. "And if you can manage it, you might try tracking down some elven mercenaries who participated in the Second Expansion and have since retired to the wilderness. There might still be someone among them who recognizes me."
"No, that won't be necessary," Viscount Andrew waved his hand. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling that the situation before him was decidedly not within his area of expertise. "Since you're a legendary hero of your caliber... sleeping for seven hundred years and then coming back to life might actually be possible, I suppose."
Though he said this, anyone with eyes could see the viscount still didn't entirely believe Gwayne's identity. He was merely seizing on a pretext to shelve the discussion while still half in doubt.
He'd already thought it through, what did House Seawright's ancestor popping out of his coffin have to do with him? Why get hung up on whether it was true or not? If House Seawright said it was real, then fine, treat it as real.
It was just some ancient who'd been dead for seven hundred years, after all.
And only after reaching this conclusion did Viscount Andrew belatedly register a detail Gwayne had mentioned.
"Wait, did you just say... a dragon appeared near here?!"
"That's right. A blue dragon. No idea where it came from, but it flew off to the northwest..."
Gwayne nodded, then proceeded to tell him everything that had happened in Seawright territory.
"...And that's the full picture."
"Others... monsters from the Dark Tide era... and a dragon... by the gods..." Viscount Andrew's brow knotted so tightly it seemed about to collapse. The flush on his pale face drained away entirely. "What the bloody hell is happening to this world..."
"What's happening to the world is for scholars and His Majesty the High King to worry about. Our job is to get word of what happened here to Sunspear as quickly as possible," Hestia cut in. "The situation is already extremely serious."
"I've already dispatched a messenger to report the attack on Seawright territory," said Viscount Andrew. "He left on a fast horse. By now he should be about halfway there."
It seemed this Viscount Andrew was quite capable of getting things done. Not only had he taken in the neighboring territory's refugees, but he'd immediately sent a messenger to report to the High King. For a frontier noble of this era, that was already quite impressive. But Hestia had no choice but to push further.
"Viscount Andrew, that isn't enough. The situation has escalated to the point where Rebecca must appear before His Majesty in person. And with the Seawright Grand Duke having awakened from his eternal rest, he too must travel to the capital. We are deeply grateful for your help to House Seawright, but we still need more."
Andrew lowered his eyelids upon hearing Hestia's words, seemingly deep in thought. Then he rose and paced back and forth before the long table, hands clasped behind his back.
"What do you need? Fast horses? Supplies? An escort?"
"All of it," Rebecca said, mustering her courage. "And we also need you to continue looking after the Seawright subjects for a while longer, until we return from the capital with a new territory to resettle them..."
"And there lies the crux of the matter," Viscount Andrew raised a hand, cutting Rebecca off. "In fact, I was just about to raise this point. I have been doing everything in my power to help my neighbor, and I'm happy to be a generous man. But I'm only a minor viscount. How much can I really spare to feed those refugees?"
Gwayne picked up the red tea before him, now somewhat cool, and took a sip, thinking to himself that the good viscount had finally gotten around to the "real business."
Rebecca said with some agitation. "When Ser Philip broke through, he carried a store of gold and silver. That should be enough to..."
"Of course, I know about that gold and silver," Viscount Andrew interrupted Rebecca again. "Rest assured, I am not the sort of man who exploits others in their time of need. But medicine and food both have costs. I believe I mentioned earlier? That brave knight was covered in wounds when he arrived in Gulltown. The soldiers and civilians he brought were nearly all injured as well. To treat them, I used the finest medicinal supplies in my domain and hired the best clerics. These things are expensive. That gold and silver was barely sufficient."
Rebecca's eyes went wide.
"Of course, let me emphasize again, I would never take advantage of someone's misfortune," Viscount Andrew continued.
"So I will continue to shelter those refugees and provide as much assistance as I can. I simply want to confirm one thing. after I've done all this, does House Seawright actually have the means to repay this debt?"