The Ability to Act

"Well, well, well...look who we have here..."

Conrad was smiling in spite of himself as he stared down at his interviewer's feet. It had been about two weeks since he had arrived in Jeremiah's body at this point. Brutus had taken all the time he needed to become completely satisfied with the sword he was smithing for him. After passing it off to Conrad and giving him a little time to get comfortable with the weapon, Conrad reported to the recruiting station of the royal guard.

Only to be met by the grinning face of Squad Captain Carmela Ingram.

"It would appear that you've decided to commit yourself to something grand, young man. Something bigger than yourself. To think that Conrad's protegee would become mine next. If all goes according to plan, I'll forget you into someone even grander than him."

Carmela slowly circled Conrad, inspecting him further, sizing him up for any additional strengths and weaknesses she didn't notice when they last saw each other.

"Jeremiah, I'll tell you this right now. You're a respectable young warrior. You've clearly put in many hours of practice, and I'm sure you learn fast. But I need to stress to you that being able to fight well is not all that you need in order to join the royal guard. If that's all you have, you're better off trying to become a mercenary. Tell me, can you put the needs of others over the needs of yourself?"

Conrad straightened up further. "I can, Captain. I'm prepared to put myself in harm's way for the sake of people less capable than myself. I want to use the skills Master Walters gave me to do right by my community."

"Well said. You seem a reasonable and humble person. You still have a lot to prove, but I'm inclined to give you a chance, at least. We're not done, though. Being strong is excellent, being selfless is valued, but being able to take action under pressure is mandatory. Follow me, Conrad."

Carmela stood and motioned for Conrad to tag along. They left the barracks of the royal guard and headed in the direction of the castle. Conrad's eyes widened as the beautiful and grandiose palace filled his view, taking up more and more of his vision the closer he got. It almost felt like he was attempting to step into somewhere that he wasn't even qualified to stand in. Conrad hesitated.

Carmela turned. "Jeremiah? Are you okay?"

"Just a little overwhelmed. I've never been in anywhere like this before. I don't want to accidentally upset the king or cause trouble for you."

Carmela chuckled. "Upset the king? You're not a sworn servant of the king yet. You'd never get anywhere near his majesty as you are now. Not even I have the authority to allow you to see him. The only way you could trade words with him right now is if he summoned you personally."

Conrad nodded, settling himself down.

"And as far as causing trouble for me is concerned, you won't. I can already tell that you're going to be completely silent and respectful as we walk through. You're not the type to act loud and foolish, and I'm sure that goes double for a setting like the royal castle. Just stay right next to my side, and don't speak unless spoken to while we're in there. I have the authority to permit civilians inside on official business, but I'm accountable for you while we're in there. Not that that should be an issue."

They continued up the steps. Conrad stuck to her side, and kept his eyes focused straight ahead as they entered the palace. He did not even glance at passing guards and court officials, doubtlessly curious to see who this young man accompanying Captain Ingram was. Carmela herself only briefly nodded at passing associates. Allowing himself to glance up, Conrad's eyes practically bulged out of his dome as he caught sight of the ceiling. Even back in his own world, he had never entered a cathedral or castle of any sort, so the sight of how high up the building went from the inside was incredible.

Carmela guided Conrad down a flight of stairs off to the side, then another, then several more. She did not bother to explain anything to him about where they were going or why they were going there. After half a dozen flights of stairs, Carmela and Conrad arrived at the dungeons. Carmela brought Conrad further in, past a number of prison cells. Some were empty, some had inmates residing in them, their beady eyes following Carmela and Conrad as they walked. Eventually, the two reached a specific prison cell, where a chained man with bloodshot eyes awaited them both.

"Alright, this will do."

Carmela fished a key out of her pocket, and opened the door, letting herself and Conrad inside. Carmela then turned to Conrad with an extremely calm, yet serious expression on her face, and spoke. "Jeremiah, listen to me. This man is a criminal who has been sentenced to death. Draw your sword and kill him, in the name of the king of Estrenbridge. You have five seconds."

Conrad's heartbeat began audibly thumping in his ears as he heard Carmela speak. An incredible, unspeakable anxiety seized him, and he was forced to make a decision, or watch this path be closed off from him.

"Four."

Conrad seized his sword's hilt.

"Three."

Conrad forced his shaking arm to draw his blade.

"Two."

The two men stared at each other, the prisoner's gaze completely unrelenting.

"One."

Conrad turned to Carmela sharply. He had made up his mind.

"What is his charge?!"

"Zero."

With that, Carmela nodded, lowering her hand in a placating manner. "Good. Very good. You passed, Jeremiah."

Conrad glanced at Carmela, his entire body shaking, forcing himself to keep his voice steady. "...Carmela? What are you talking about?"

"You succeeded. I told you before we entered the castle that this was a test to see if you could take action under pressure. And I'd argue that you chose the best possible option. The situation was under control. It's not like this man had a weapon to my throat, or yours, or anyone else's. You asked me why he needed to be put to death instead of rushing to your decision."

Conrad continued to breath deeply, the situation clearly having rattled him, which he was certain was Carmela's intention.

"If you had killed this defenseless man without a second thought, I would already be walking you out of here. I need soldiers that are capable of following orders, very obviously, since that's needed for a team to function effectively. But people who simply kill at the slightest provocation are not an ideal fit for the royal guard. Unless, of course, one of our own was in danger. Similarly, I would have also failed you if you had just stood there and done nothing. Those who get paralyzed by nerves, and cannot think quickly and act under pressure, are of no use to me either."

Carmela clapped a hand on Conrad's shoulder. "Normally, there would be a combat aptitude test. But you and I already sparred a couple weeks ago." Carmela walked out of the cage, gesturing for Conrad to follow. "Let's go, Jeremiah."

Conrad followed her out, and Carmela locked the door behind them. Throughout the entire affair, the prisoner never once said a single thing. He merely stared into Conrad's eyes, as if daring him to bring the blade down upon him. Conrad shook his head as Carmela led him back the way they came, attempting to rid his mind of the look on the man's face.

"Captain, there's one thing I don't get. Why did you actually risk that man's life on an initiation test for me?"

"Because he's going to die tomorrow anyways. I wasn't lying about him being a criminal sentenced to death. He was a brigand found in the palace, late at night, with a dagger and a vial of poison. The royal guard found him on the path to the king's bedchambers. When interrogated, he refused to utter a single word, no matter what we did to him. Ultimately, he was thrown down there and sentenced to the guillotine."

Conrad nodded slowly. "Understood. Yes, that'd definitely not someone who could have been released back to his associates. Assuming he had any."

"Right. That's the tricky part. Since he didn't crack, we have no idea if he's working alone or is part of an organization. We HAVE been dealing with a group of radical brigands who are attempting to overthrow his majesty's rule, and we can't rule out that he's a part of their collective. They claim that his majesty is exercising cruelty by hoarding all of the city's resources for the privileged."

Carmela smiled. "Well, we can deal with that later. For now, welcome to the royal guard. We raise our glasses to you tonight, Jeremiah."