Ad aspera

Ruven nodded.
— Representing Fendrin at this competition is a great honor. And besides...
He paused for a moment, remembering the knightly orders of Divef.
— I also wanted to visit Divef. I've heard interesting things about that country.

-- This year, the tournament promises to be even more interesting than usual. For the first time, there will be an Ardorsk delegation, and moreover, their emperor intends to compete personally. He has already challenged the king of Divef, although at the latter's age, this is somewhat... risky. And what does this mean, and why did their church approve of it? Is it an attempt by the empire to establish contact, or, on the contrary, to intimidate us? It is not yet known what this will lead to, -- the count paused, lost in thought. Now that he is not standing at the arena, stern and formidable, but sitting, furrowing his brow in thought, the count seems much older to Ruven than he did at their first meeting. -- And we should certainly not fail. So far, I am not at all pleased with what I see among the knights or the squires. In three weeks, I intend to hold a small competition with the participation of, hmm, outsiders. After that, there will be only a couple of days left before the departure for Divef.

-- However, Ruven, this is not the only reason why I summoned foreigners here. There are some things I cannot ask my own people to do, and there are some tasks where I will need... capable individuals. Are you ready for such work?

Added 11 minutes later
Oh, and one more thing: are you going to split the reward in half?

Don't forget to return the deposit and the helmet.

I didn't even mention it. I wasn't sure if anyone would...