"And now the main topic we hopefully all came here for" Gars's voice basically thundered through the chamber. Even I shook a little, I did not expect that.
"As you may or may not know from our earlier meetings I specifically prohibited any of you or your inferiors to contact Req! Now I would have normally believed that all of you, in the best interest of your own, would respect the decision I made, however I have a very strong suspicion that this agreement was broken." He sounded way more agitated than his words showed. Who is this Req? Since Gars didn't say his last name it is likely he is of common birth. Why would someone like Gars be concerned about him, yet alone about him living in peace?
Gars continued with his talk. "Is there anyone in here who doesn't understand the weight of this situation?!". Gars probably forgot about me and expected everyone to shake their heads to confirm that Gars was right this time. When I raised my hand Gars's gaze suddenly weakened. He quickly realized what he was doing and went right back into his stone cold face. "Of course Arquin Dafoe, I am terribly sorry I forgot about you". (I could feel that he wasn't sorry in the slightest, but he had to apologise to me out of courtesy). "I may need to explain a few things then". He ringed a bell that he had placed on his part of the table. Suddenly a small old butler came out of small doors behind him and surprisingly fast ran all the way over to Gars. There Gars said something to the buttler before the buttler quickly ran back through the door. Gars then waited patiently for few seconds until all the lights went out. Then, in the middle of the table, a projection of an ordinary looking man, probably in his last years compared to the life expectancy of commoners. It was weird at first why Gars showed us this image but then it clicked, that must be that person named Req. A confirmation of my thought came right after from his mouth. "This man you are looking at is Req, probably the strongest mage the world currently has, I believe that everyone here understands what could happen if someone of that power would be displeased or even angered. I myself witnessed it. An entire enemy army wiped out by a single man. A single man furled by his desire for freedom. Now that he has grown accustomed to the freedom it would be even harder to make him work for anyone of us. And possibly even more dangerous for ourselves." It seemed a little weird to me, the almighty Gars, the "Soft Tyrant" would suddenly back up from having the strongest mage of today at his disposal. Either Gars is truly terrified of this man or Gars wants to keep Req free so he can use him at any moment. I need to wait for a while before trying to recruit him.
"Well… I am sure all of you understand now.", Gars said now more calmly and slowly. "If no one has any objections I think we can now end this meeting." Everyone, as if they were already awaiting these words, slowly stood up and went to the large door. There were now countless servants, each with their distinctive uniforms signalling who they belong to, waiting for everyone's return. I of course did not have that luxury, my country was in shambles and I needed to act that part. That was the end of meeting now
This meeting gave me some precious information, firstly I set my sights on a possible ally and secondly I have a soldier I want to recruit.