Going into town and visiting the temple was easy. Convincing them that we should have a paladin order to protect travelers from bandits was a bit harder. Eventually, we got our shot. Our task was to take out bandit dens. All of the bandits made it hard to travel by foot or car on the roads. There were also a ton of them. They liked to make tolls to tax travelers. Innocent people would not be able to pass through unless they gave 10% of their money to them. Other times, they would just beat people up and take their things. Since I was the court mage, I was part of Xander's party. It was my job to aid him and his sons as they went to do the culling. It did not take too long for us to accomplish. Every other day, a den was dismantled. We had to bring the bodies to the nearest city. Many of them had bounties. That would allow the Embereyes to pay the temple. Becoming a paladin required that you devoted yourself to a god that had a martial order or founded one. You need to show off your devotion by making a sizeable donation and then being knighted by a priest. The price was extremely high.
Jermyn was the one tasked with going with me to the nearest city. Xander and the other 2 sons had to do the politicking to ensure that once the Embereyes were finally established as the protectors of the roads, all of the townsfolk would fall in line and starting paying taxes to them. Basically, it was a larger protection racket than what we might see in a city. We also had the loyal Gawther to accompany us. Because the bounties where for all of them whether they were dead or alive, it was easier to just take their heads in sacks. That was cumbersome and easily something that would raise many questions. That was why the manservant was here. Luckily for us, it was a simple journey. Once we got to the city gates, the garrison took the heads and matched them to the bounties they had. We were paid and then sent on our way. This was just enough to pay for the donation to the local temple. More bandits got in our way. We had a whole lot of loot now. We killed them and went back to the garrison. Only 2 had a bounty. We now had enough to get Xander knighted. We brought all of it home.
Buying our way into true nobility was a cinch after that. Because all the houses fell, no one actually had a title. They were simply wasting away using the very last of their families' fortunes to limp along. There was a massive ceremony in town to mark the first paladin of Fharlanghn. Xander was now to be addressed as Sir Embereye. With all hype from the ceremony, even the holdouts were now willing to pay for us to clear up the roads. He was now a paladin, but at level 1 there was not much he could do on his own. Luckily, he had me and Gawther. Grinding by slaughtering bandits every so often helped him improve. Clearing their roads was seen as pious by his god, so he was able to curry favor with the temple easily. Bounties also made us richer. In order to regain the rank of baron, there was an amount of money that could be paid at any city in the duchy. Barons had no power or land. It was more of a token of appreciation for knights or civil servants of sterling character and devoted service to the region. It was not hereditary. The title could not be passed down. It was a small start.
Only civilly appointed nobles could apply to higher ranks. That meant that you had to be at least a baron to become a count or higher. Not only that, but you also needed some institution to vouch for your character. The price to get a title of baron conferred upon you was 5000 lin. To become a count was 10000 lin and 2 separate letters of recommendation. None of the letters could be from the same place. Because Xander was a paladin, the temple automatically endorsed him when he requested it. With the very last of the family treasury, he had 16,724 lin. That was enough to become a count. All 4 Embereyes went with Gawther and I to the city of Zeolon. The civil servants at the city hall were more than willing to take their money. With a letter signed by the head cleric at the temple logged in their records, Xander became a lord. It was only at baron rank, but that was something. It was now time to find other ways to get some recognition. I asked if Xander knew magic. He looked at me as if I was stupid. "I am a paladin of noble blood. Of course!" "Let us go off to the Mage's Guild."
