The Great Northern War (The Portal Wars Saga Book 2)

by Wisher, James E

  “That makes two of us.” Hans accepted the coin and slipped it into his pocket. “We’ll make good time, my lord. You can count on it.”

  “I have no doubt about that, Sergeant. Safe travels.” Otto offered his hand and after a moment of hesitation Hans shook it.

  Otto waited until the men were mounted up and riding out the front gate to become one with the ether and travel to Franken Manor. He appeared in his closet amidst his clothes and boots. The rune on the floor appeared as bright as ever in his magical vision. Lord Karonin had never said whether they needed renewing, but so far none of the ones he’d prepared appeared to have weakened.

  He stepped out of the closet and extended his sight into the hall. The coast was clear both ways, so he turned invisible and slipped out. Otto snuck downstairs, careful to keep his footfalls as quiet as possible. By good fortune he made it out one of the servants’ exits, circled around, turned visible, and walked up to the front door.

  The butler opened after his first knock, bowed, and said, “Welcome home, sir. Master Franken is in the dining room. Shall I have a place set for you?”

  “No need, thank you.” Otto shrugged out of his cloak and made his way to the dining room.

  Edwyn was seated at his usual place at the head of the table, a feast surrounding him. Maybe it was Otto’s imagination, but the feast looked a little smaller than usual, only five platters of food this morning. Still enough for ten men, but a mere snack for Edwyn.

  The master merchant spotted him, started to rise, thought better of it, and slumped back in his chair. “Please tell me you have good news, my boy.”

  “Some.” Otto sat and fixed a bacon and egg sandwich. “Father is cleaning up Shenk Barony as we speak. In a couple of days, I’d say travel through there should be ready to resume. After I check on a few things here and speak to His Majesty, I’m heading south to root out the bandits there.”

  “That is wonderful news. If Shenk Barony is secure, we can at least resume bringing in the harvest. Have you spoken to Annamaria yet? She seldom leaves her room, but I’m sure she’d be happy to see you.”

  Otto seriously doubted that. Part of him was tempted to tell Edwyn exactly how things stood, but he didn’t. Otto’s father-in-law had enough to worry about with bandits and trade issues, no sense shattering all his illusions. If Annamaria wanted to tell him she could, but it wasn’t Otto’s job.

  He finished his breakfast and said, “I need to go check on the trainees. I doubt I’ll be back before setting out again.”

  “Best of luck in your hunt, my boy.” Edwyn hesitated then asked, “Could you ask them to practice a little more quietly? By the end of the day, all those explosions have given me a splitting headache.”

  “Training for war is a noisy business, I’m afraid. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be long before we all head for the front. Until then I’m afraid you’ll just have to bear the noise.”

  Edwyn sighed. “I feared you’d say that.”

  Otto left him to drown his sorrows in food and wine. He had so much to do it wasn’t funny.

  Otto’s first stop was just a few steps out the mansion’s side door. It was still early and the trainees hadn’t begun practicing yet. And while he wanted to see how much they’d improved, Otto really wanted to talk to Master Enoch. He dearly hoped to find things progressing quickly despite his absence. When he’d offered to train wizards to serve in the army, he hadn’t paused to consider how much time it would take nor how many other claims he’d have on his attention.

  All around the hastily built barracks, the grass was trampled down and dead. The smell of charred earth filled the air. It was a good smell, one that meant they’d learned to hurl at least basic fire magic. He went to the barracks door and pushed it open. Inside, the trainees were seated at two long tables where they devoured a breakfast much less appetizing than the one Otto had just enjoyed.

  Enoch sat at the head of the table, a half-eaten bowl of oatmeal in front of him. It seemed today was to be Otto’s day to talk to people over food. As he walked toward the far end of the barracks, he drew a few curious looks. He didn’t bother counting, but Otto would have sworn there were more people here than when he left.

  As he got closer Enoch finally noticed him. His former master hastened to stand. “Lord Shenk. I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you enter. When did you get back?”

  “Just this morning. Please, sit and enjoy your breakfast. I only wanted an update on your training before I went to speak to the king. I see some new faces have joined us.”

  “Yes, my lord. Six new arrivals from beyond the capital have signed up. Everyone has shown great promise despite my lack of ability with fire magic. They can all now cast a fireball safely and accurately every time. We moved on to defensive magics just yesterday.”

  “Excellent.” That was actually better than he’d hoped. The spells were fairly simple, but still it was good to hear they were making progress. “When do you think they’ll be ready to march?”

  “The most promising group should be ready in a week to ten days at most. Have you heard how the army fares?”

  “Not yet. I expect I’ll get a full briefing at the palace today. I’ll leave you to it then. I plan to be in the city for a few days so maybe tomorrow I’ll join you for some practice.”

  “We would be honored to have you, my lord.” Enoch offered a seated bow.

  Otto left the wizards to their meal and headed across town. It was time to find out if his new spymaster had learned anything interesting about the would-be blackmailer. The streets of Gold Ward were quiet this early in the morning, but once he entered the business district, the streets grew crowded. The familiar sound of hammers on steel filled the air along with shouts from vendors offering cheap meals for the workers on their way to their jobs.

  No one paid much attention to Otto and soon enough he reached the Thirsty Sprite. The tavern was closed and locked up tight. No surprise there as they didn’t open until later in the day. Otto wanted to get his business taken care of before the crowds arrived.

  He knocked a few times and waited. When no one answered after nearly a minute, he extended his sight and went to have a look around. First, he found Allen asleep in his bed. Next he flew upstairs and found the mercenaries he’d spared in the garret. It took a moment of searching but he finally found Ulf asleep behind the bar. It seemed his servants had put in a long night. Pity he couldn’t let them sleep in.

  He sent a single thread to the runes on the back of Ulf’s and Allen’s necks. A weak shock zapped both men awake. Otto knocked again and this time the door quickly opened. Ulf looked as tired as Otto expected but he stepped aside so Otto could enter the tavern.

  Allen emerged from his office a moment after the outer door closed. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, “That’s a hell of a way to wake a man up.”

  “I have business at the palace and I want to be able to give the king a full report. Now, what can you tell me about the blackmailer?”

  “Not as much as I was hoping. It seems Anders was working with a bunch of thieves. They stole some weapons and gave them to a group of smugglers who intended to deliver them to the Lasil border. The smugglers didn’t know much about the thieves, but I’m hoping to track down the manufacturers of the stolen weapons and see if they knew who might have taken their goods.”

  Sounded like Anders was just hired muscle for the thieves. He probably saw the assassination and thought he could make some easy gold. At least Otto hoped that was all it was. They needed to find the thieves to make sure.

  “Did you bring one of the weapons back with you?” Otto asked.

  “Of course.” Allen went behind the bar and came back with a sword wrapped in oilcloth. He unwrapped it and handed Otto the blade. “If you need more, there’s a whole barge full of them downriver a ways.”

  Otto ignored the comment and studied the weapon. It was a common design made in a number of smithies in Garen. There was one easy way to tell who made this particular swor
d, assuming it really was stolen and not custom-made for the thieves. Otto made a blade out of ten strands of ether and sliced off the peened-over end of the pommel. With it unsecured, he pulled the pommel off and then the hilt. Stamped on the tang was a stylized anvil, the number four, and a decorative capital F.

  He shook his head. This couldn’t be right. The sword had been made at their fourth forge. The F marked it as a Franken blade. It was unlikely to be counterfeit since the maker’s mark was very specific. Edwyn hadn’t mentioned any shipments going missing, so either he was hiding something from Otto or the manager of forge four was keeping secrets. Either way Otto needed to know.

  “Lord Shenk? Does the sword mean something to you?” Allen asked.

  “It does. I’ll be joining you in your investigations today. You’ve done well. It seems keeping you alive was the correct decision. Tell me, how did the newbies perform?”

  “Eric’s a little nervous, but he did okay. Erin is a stone-cold killer. She was a great find, though I wouldn’t trust her to watch my back on her own.”

  “I’m glad they proved useful. Make whatever preparation you must. I’ll return in an hour and we’ll head out.”

  Chapter 19

  Otto spent an hour practicing with his crystal ball while Allen and the others prepared to confront the manager of forge four. He still couldn’t get an especially clear picture, but he did see Sergeant Hans making good time as he rode out of Shenk Barony toward Grunewald. His gaze next turned north. The army was on the move and getting closer to Straken by the second.

  As much as he searched, Otto could find no sign of Straken’s army anywhere in their vicinity. There was no way they could retake the entire northern province that easily, but he also couldn’t deny what he saw.

  Using the crystal ball was surprisingly taxing and he wanted to be at his best when he approached whoever was in charge of the forge. On the plus side, Otto was now able to easily command twenty threads’ worth of ether and, if he pushed, twenty-four, though that would exhaust him in minutes.

  When he returned to the Sprite, he found everyone armed and ready to go. Eric and Erin both nodded to him but showed no particular deference. Hopefully they wouldn’t get any ideas about defying him. Having extra muscle available in the capital when Hans and his squad were out of town was useful, but not so useful that he wouldn’t kill them both at the first sign of rebellion.

  “Where are we bound, Lord Shenk?” Allen asked.

  “The forge where that sword was made. It’s a Franken piece so we won’t have any trouble getting to whoever’s running the place.”

  If Allen had any thoughts about him not knowing what was going on at one of the family’s businesses, he was smart enough to keep his opinion to himself. The truth was, the Frankens owned so many businesses, Otto doubted Edwyn even knew everything that happened in them all.

  The forge wasn’t a long walk away and ten minutes after they set out, they came to a halt in front of a sprawling brick building. The crash of metal being shaped was nearly deafening. Otto used ether to partially plug his ears. The others had pained expressions, so he took pity on them and plugged their ears as well. The magic didn’t leave them totally deaf; it only brought the noise down to a bearable level. If it was this bad outside, inside was bound to be worse.

  He was right. Inside, a dozen smiths hammered away at swords, axes, daggers. The heat from the many forges made Otto instantly break into a sweat. He scanned the work floor. There had to be someone that wasn’t doing anything useful. That would be the manager.

  Allen tugged on his sleeve. Not bothering to try and talk over the noise, he just pointed up and to the left. Otto followed his finger and there was a man standing on a bare metal catwalk looking down at the workers. That had to be who they were looking for.

  Otto waved, trying to get his attention. It was a waste of time. The man never looked their way.

  A quick peek around revealed a set of stairs leading to the catwalk. Otto stalked off with the others behind him. He clanked up the iron steps and worked his way around to the manager.

  Up close he was a skinny little man, with a short salt-and-pepper beard. “You can’t be up here!” he shouted over the noise.

  “We need to talk,” Otto said. “Right now.”

  The manager glared at Otto, who debated throwing him off the catwalk. The fall was only about twenty feet. At worst he’d break both his legs. Restraint won out and Otto settled for crossing his arms and not moving. Having four, armed people behind him probably helped convince the manager to relent and lead the way to an office built into the side of the building.

  The instant they were all inside and the door closed, the noise cut back to almost nothing. Otto looked around with his magical sight and sure enough there was an ethereal barrier blocking the sound. Interesting, and no doubt expensive.

  The manager settled into a battered chair behind a metal desk that were the office’s only furnishings. “Look, we don’t sell to individuals here and we don’t keep any gold on hand if you’re thinking of trying to rob the place. If you want to buy blades, we have a stall in the market.”

  Otto kept his composure and in an even tone said, “We’re not here to buy swords or to rob you. We’re here to find out if any of your merchandise has been stolen lately and if so when.”

  “I don’t see that it’s any of your business. None of you look like members of the city watch.”

  “You don’t recognize me, do you?” Otto said.

  “Should I?”

  “My name is Otto Shenk.” The manager’s face turned white and he clenched the arms of his chair. “I see I have your attention now.”

  “Lord Shenk, forgive me. I’ve heard your name of course, but I’ve never had the opportunity to see you in person. My name is Lorenzo and I’m honored to have you in my humble forge.”

  “Lorenzo, let’s get one thing straight. This isn’t your forge; it belongs to my father-in-law. You just look after things for him. Now, talk to me about stolen merchandise.”

  “I’m not aware of any stolen merchandise, my lord.”

  “Show him, Allen,” Otto said.

  Allen dropped the sword they’d recovered from the smugglers on Lorenzo’s desk. “We found this and plenty more just like it in the hands of smugglers who said they were bound for the Lasil border. They claimed a group of thieves provided the merchandise.”

  Lorenzo checked the maker’s mark and said, “This is one of ours, though I can’t say from which batch. If it was stolen, it didn’t happen here. We pack and load wagons on the dock out back. After that I have no control over what happens to them.”

  Otto frowned. If the weapons weren’t stolen here, they must have gotten hit on the road. He’d have to talk to Edwyn later. “I assume you keep records of what you ship out.”

  “Of course, every blade that leaves here is recorded.”

  “I’ll need to see the records for the last month.” Otto looked around at the empty office. “Where do you keep them?”

  “In a storeroom off the loading dock. I’ll show you.”

  They followed Lorenzo back across the catwalk and down a different path to the rear of the building. Another set of iron stairs descended to the floor and a few feet away a heavy door waited. He pulled it open and a blast of blessedly cool air rushed out. They stepped through and once more the ear-splitting clang was dulled down to a bearable level. Otto released the spell that blocked their ears.

  Beyond the door was a wide walkway that wagons could back up to for loading. There was no one waiting at the moment. Lorenzo led the way down the walk to a door that led to a room filled with cabinets. A woman in her early thirties, rather plain with brown hair and eyes, sat behind a wood desk and scratched away with a crow quill. She looked up when they entered and her eyes widened.

  “Lord Shenk,” Allen whispered.

  “I noticed. I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything foolish; you keep an eye on him.”

  Lorenzo had been wa
tching their inaudible discussion with a nervous little smile. When it was clear they were finished he said, “Val, this is Lord Shenk. He’s checking on a load of merchandise that went missing. We’ll need the paperwork for the last month.”

  “Yes, sir.” Her voice shook, more than it should for simple nerves.

  When she started to stand, Otto said, “Stay there, please. Just tell me where the manifests are kept and I’ll get them.”

  “I couldn’t ask you to.” She kept moving, edging her way to the left, toward the nearest cabinet.

  Otto flicked his ring and prepared a binding spell. “You’re not asking me to do anything. I’m telling you not to move another inch. Sit down and be still.”

  Finally sensing the mood, Eric and Erin set their crossbows on the floor and started to load them. The sight of the weapons getting cocked sent her over the edge.

  Val lunged for the cabinet.

  She managed three feet before Otto’s spell locked her in place.

  Lorenzo took a step, but Allen had his sword at the man’s throat in a blink. “Keep your distance.”

  The manager nodded and raised his hands before stepping back against the wall.

  Otto turned back to Val, releasing her head and asking, “What did you do?”

  “I didn’t think anyone would notice.” Tears ran down her face. “We’ve lost so much to bandits I figured why shouldn’t one wagonload go to someone who needed it. He was so handsome and kind. When he looked at me, my knees got all wobbly.”

  Otto wasn’t overly interested in her wobbly knees. “Tell me everything and if you don’t lie, I might not have you hung.”

  “Hung?” The word came out in a squeak.

  “In a time of war, stealing military equipment is an act of treason. I’m getting the impression that you’re less a thief than you are an idiot who’s easily manipulated. For the last time, what happened?”

  “We met at a tavern one night. Thomas sat down beside me and smiled. I think I fell in love a little. He told me about his financial troubles and couldn’t I help him? He knew people who would pay good coin for Garenland steel. He said after it was done, we’d run away together. It was stupid, but I agreed. I faked a signature and when he showed up with a wagon and some men, I ordered the crates loaded.”