Just as he was finally rxing into the snugfort of silence and solitude, the automated, emotionless voice of the military system came to him suddenly.


    "Major Mace!"


    Xzavier frowned at the sound of the military system booting up. What could possibly be the issue now?


    "This is a gentle reminder that you have received one thousand points and ten experience points."


    Xzavier took the new update calmly. Back in his days in the jungle, once he got an update of this nature, he would immediately begin to calcte how much ammo to buy and stock up. But now, he wasn''t even shaken.


    "Good times…" Xzavier muttered to himself as he sat on his bed, "Good times indeed."


    Even he wasn''tpletely sure if he was referring to the period he found himself at the moment, or the battle ridden days of his past.


    As Xzavierid his head to rest that night, his subconscious went to work and yed out one of the most interesting nights of Xzavier''s life. In his dreams, he found himself in front of the auditorium again. But this time, just as he collected the award from a Quaid look alike, he suddenly found himself floating up and above, weightless as a feather, and unencumbered by thew of gravity. But in the crowd below, he saw the Anjou boy aiming his spear at him, preparing to impale him in the air above ground.


    When Xzavier woke up the next morning, he remembered the hateful red eyes of the Anjou boy in his dream, and for some reason, it lingered.


    Of course, after such a significant night, Xzavier had to be briefed on his new office and responsibilities. He was soon to learn that this was not just a ceremony. There were certain things that had to be known. So, Quaid sent for Xavier toe to his home office at once. Knowing Quaid, Xzavier knew that the reason for this impromptu meeting might also be the fact that Quaid wanted to get a sneak peek at Xzavier''s state of mind, and perhaps catch the gist on certain things or people he had observed the previous day. Either way, Quaid nned on getting some information out of Xzavier.


    Dressed in the new custom made garments that Quaid had delivered to thetest Baron in town, Xzavier made his way to the home office of the governor, thinking this was the location of the meet. As he was about to knock, the guard at the door stopped him;


    "Sir, the governor is not on seat at the moment. Please step back."


    Xzavier was a bit confused. The message on the note clearly said that he was to meet Quaid at his office in the morning by eight a.m. sharp. As he was pondering on whether his timing was off, he felt like a dork having overdressed just to be stood up by his host. But just when he began to lose faith in the tardiness of his host, the elegant form of the Governor came right around the corner, swaggering towards him.


    "Xzavier! Right on time aren''t you?!"


    "Good morning governor."


    "Morning. Trust you had a wonderful sleep afterst night''s celebration?"


    Xzavier nodded.


    "Great. Since you''re now a Baron and not just my guest anymore, our official meetings will now be held at the city hall. Don''t worry, there is always a coach for you on standby."


    Xzavier knew what he was thinking waspletely opposite from what the governor was probably thinking…


    "Is this all really necessary?"


    About three-quarters of an hourter, Xzavier arrived at the familiar door of the city hall, and was ushered into the governor''s office as ''Baron.'' Quaid who had ridden in a separate carriage had arrived much earlier than Xzavier with enough time to organize his workload for the day. He always intentionally ignored the scheduleid out for him by his secretary.


    "Please, have a seat Baron."


    That name again.


    "Thank you governor."


    Xzavier took his seat opposite Quaid''s extrarge desk. And with that, the meeting began.


    "Before we get to the first order of business, let me once again wee you as Baron!"


    Xzavier was getting a little ufortable with the title now. Last night had been wonderful and all, but it was getting a little too serious for his liking. Deep down, Xzavier wished Quaid and the rest of the city would drop the title, and get back to calling him by his name. At this point, even Earlene''s "Waxavier" would have been weed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    As shrewd politician, Quaid had a lot of questions aboutst night, particrly if he was satisfied with his reward. Anyone with no tact and guile would do something like that. But because it would be pretty gauche of him to start off an official meeting with such impersonal and directly patronizing remarks, Quaid shunned the inappropriate path and decided to take the more subtle and reasonable looking approach;


    "So, Baron, before we begin officially, is there anything I can do for you? I sense you''re a bit troubled."


    This time, Xzavier was caught in the governor''s web of ttery. In his mind, he apuded the governor''s powers of observation. This was clearly a man whose heart was centered on the people! So, having bought over his sensitive side, Xzavier went on to pour his heart out.


    "Thank you for your steadfast concern Governor. You have been a model host, but honestly, my sole purpose now is to get back to my home…"


    The look on Quaid''s face seemed to say; ''Hmmm, I see."


    "…but before I can do that, for some reason, I need toplete some specific tasks…"


    Quaid''s full attention was fixated on Xzavier right now. The governor''s memory was extremely sharp, so he didn''t need a statistician to tell him that this was the longest Xzavier had ever spoke since he had known him. Quaid was very perceptive when it came to things like this, so he could instantly tell that Xzavier was indeed speaking the truth.


    "…actually, right now, thanks to you, I have no problems or difficulties whatsoever. And if any were toe up, I will not hesitate to reach out to you regarding them."


    Quaid allowed all of this to sink in as several theories regarding Xzavier''s mysterious background began to form in his head. Of course it was a long shot, but when Xzavier had mentioned how he couldn''tplete certain tasks before he could go home, the governor surmised that Xzavier had probably been sent out on a kind of quest to prove himself. However, in spite of all of these theories running loose in his head, Quaid answered smoothly as he made sure not to reveal his true feelings;


    "It''s all good…whatever you need Baron, whatever you need…"


    With that out of the way, the governor shifted slightly in his seat, suggesting that there was more on his mind.


    "So, we haven''t really discussed it yet, but as someone who has only just received the title of Baron, there are some things you need to know. Do you follow?"


    Sensing Quaid''s new tone, Xzavier sat upright, nked his mind of any distracting thoughts, and gave the governor his full attention. Without saying too much, he nodded curtly and gave him his usual two word reply.


    "I do."


    "Good…"


    Quaid exhaled deeply and resumed his monologue;


    "For anyone who has recentlye into the title of Baron, a corresponding fiefdom is in order. The two go hand in hand, in thisnd, this is a known fact. So, you must understand that the title of ''baron'' isn''t titr in nature. Ites with a certain degree of authority and domain…"


    Being the astute orator, he knew that he had just offloaded the first part of a very important information, so he allowed Xzavier some time to digest this data before continuing.


    "However, due to the fact that the bestowment of your title was a bit rushed, the central government hadn''t the proper time to give you your allocated fief. So, you might have to wait a little longer…"


    Xzavier''s controlled breathing was the only noticeable thing about him in that moment. Quaid''s sharp eyes mulled over Xzavier, hoping to catch his instinctive reaction to the bit about the dy. But Xzavier retained his stern expression and an overly serious gaze,pleting robbing Quaid of the knowledge he wanted to glean off him.


    Unable to see through his perfectly cid expression, Quaid proceeded to throw in a bit of good news. This was one of his favorite gambits, and he had perfected it over the years. He would draw in his prey and hook them with a seemingly insurmountable problem. He would then enme the problem and blow it out of proportion, often more than it usually was.


    So, after roping them in with how problematic the issue was, he would suddenly sweep in with a solution or something resembling it, and make himself the hero.


    With this in mind, he yed the same gambit on Xzavier;


    "But then again, it is not all bad news. If you want, I can link you up with a corresponding position in the government. Because I personally recognize your extraordinary achievements, I can make it worth your while and help you apply for a position that would be tailored to suit your strengths."


    Having said that, he reclined in his chair and watched Xzavier mull over what he had just said. In actuality, it was Xzavier''s right as a new Baron. He was entitled to a corresponding position in the government. But Quaid had yed on Xzavier''s ignorance of the town''s legitive proceedings in this situation. Instead, he presented it to Xzavier as though he was doing him a favor.