When Xander had reached level 5 as a paladin, it was time to go to Zeolon to take the test at the Mage's Guild. He cast Aid and Magic Weapon. That was just enough to pass. He was registered and made a member. We then went over to the Zeolon branch of the Adventurer's Guild. All 4 members of the Embereye Family were enrolled. I was a Silver Adventurer, so people crowded around me to chat while I waited for them to get all of their paperwork done. Now that they were in both institutions, they could get letters of recommendation from them. It was easy for me to help at the Mage's Guild all I had to do was hint that he was joining The Wrecked Coven and they were all for it. The Adventurer's Guild was tougher. They did not endorse anyone that had not completed 10 missions. That meant they all needed to be Tin Adventurers at least. It was fine for us. Looking online, it was the exact same as the job listings for Rekha. Great. They grumbled about it, but they did not shirk away from going down in the sewers, delivering food and escorting random old people from place to place.
None of the entry tasks were all that hard. We got those 10 missions done in under a week. They had ranked up to Tin Adventurers and got their endorsement letters. It was pretty easy. All we had to do now was go back over to City Hall. Lord Xander Embereye was proclaimed a count by the mayor. This was a massive thing. The duchy of Krepia had it's first noble house restored. Unlike baron, this rank of count was a hereditary. Even if he died tomorrow, the title would pass down to Gabriel. Counts were granted land to collect taxes from. The count was also allowed to raise a mercenary band to fight battles for him. He was given the town where his manor was. We were happy about that. They had a deal to give him protection money. Now, it would actually be enforced by law. As a fellow noble, it would also now be possible to form alliances through marriage with other noble houses in other duchies. He had 3 healthy sons. That was more than the advised "heir and spare". Xander would be able to send one away to get married to a noble lady somewhere. I was their court mage.
Rolling through the momentum, Xander looked for more ways to gain power. It would take quite a while though. He was broke. Luckily, the nobles of this kingdom dealt in dowries and not bride prices. People sold their noble daughters off to men. Xander would not have to worry about about not being able to afford a wife for his children. It was already going to be a hassle to repair the manor and get some troops raised as a show of force. He also had to pay me. I was not hurting for cash. I was still getting money from the clubs and the members in my guild office were regularly taking missions in Zeolon. Seeing as I was an underling to my lord, it would be crass to be on the same level as him. Now that I knew the process, I was going to stay a level below Xander. Wesez, Voxex and I were made barons. Advancing to duke was tricky. It was not in our control at all. Only the king could raise a noble family to being the rulers of a duchy. Lore wise, it had been decades since the big civil war and there have been no appointments. It was clear that their king did not want anyone to rise in here.
