"If General Amelyer gets too mean with you, just start to cry by the way. He doesn't know what to do when a pretty girl is crying or upset; and since you are an exceptionally pretty girl, I have a feeling you could even get him to apologize quickly. That would be a trick. He isn't known for saying that he's sorry normally," Niadene finished with a quiet giggle.
Megan was pointed towards the few things that needed cleaning in the outer room according to the other maid. While the wizard thought the room clean enough, she was glad for the mission that he was so fastidious about his suite. If Amelyer didn't have daily needs for his maids, her job would be harder and take longer because of having less time to look around for information.
About half an hour later, the elven general practically marched into the room calling out, "Helene, Niadene, is breakfast ready? I need to be ready for my men shortly and it wouldn't do to be late as their general."
Pulling up short, the man spotted Megan who glanced up from her dusting of some shelves in a corner. With the shorter skirt than she was used to, the wizard felt like she was showing off way too much leg and stood quickly letting the hem slide back to just above her knees.
"Who is that?" the general demanded of Niadene as a frown took over his face, or more to the point the look deepened at the sight of the girl. Megan couldn't remember a time any man had looked at her like that. It almost amused her when so many people often told her how attractive she was normally. While she didn't need her ego stroked in that way, it was still strange to be glared at when she hadn't done anything wrong.
"This is Megan," Niadene explained gesturing towards the new girl, though the general didn't even glance in his maid's direction. Paranoia kept his eyes fixed on the petite woman in her tight servant's dress. "She is covering for Helene until she is able to return."
"What is wrong with Helene?" the man asked letting his eyes move to the blonde haired maid locking onto her green eyes. She didn't appear capable of resisting his gaze or possibly looking away, Megan thought.
Megan wondered what exactly had happened to the other woman as well. If she was so close to the general, the wizard doubted that she gave up her position near the man willingly.
"Greta said that there was an illness in her family that she had to help with," Niadene said sounding meek as her voice weakened slightly under his stern gaze.
Frowning at the excuse, Amelyer shook his head with an emotion that Megan couldn't quite put a finger on without knowing him better. She wanted to say that it was anger, but the man looked disappointed as well. Perhaps the sudden loss of a woman he had known for a long time, even if she was a servant, had an effect on him.
"I hadn't heard anything," he mumbled in a low tone that Megan had to search for with her hearing. Again the man looked up at her and frowned, "And now you are here at this point in time."
It was an odd statement the woman thought and she nodded.
Striding towards her, Megan found that she felt threatened and instinctively took a step back balling up slightly as if afraid of being struck. He hadn't raised his hand, but the girl was smaller than he was and the general looked angry enough to strike her.
Amelyer stopped abruptly in surprise as he noted her new posture. If he wished, it would only take a long stride to reach the girl; but the general's unforced anger seemed to fade at the sight. His voice remained stern; however, as he continued to speak, "The timing of this illness seems rather coincidental. Helene suddenly has to leave and now you are here. Is Corven behind this?"
The question was in tone accusatory, but lost its bite as the man looked at the petite girl in front of him. If she was an assassin, the only way it could be believed was if she were to try poisoning him. As a physical threat, Megan wasn't athletic looking enough to be much of a problem for a lifelong soldier.
She didn't answer the question as any innocent woman likely wouldn't unless they lost control and started to babble in panic. Megan's shoulder's eased and the young woman straightened more. She no longer looked like she was trying to avoid a blow.
"If General Corven sent you, you are an interesting choice of assassins," he decided.
"General Corven, the orc?" Megan questioned making the words sound a bit disgusted. "As if I would follow an orc... I may only be part elven, but I am not that far removed to believe someone like that should be leading a choir let alone an army."
The thought of his long time ally as a counselor to the emperor trying to sing or teach a choir was amusing enough to make the general chuckle briefly. "That would likely be a weapon no man could stand."
Taking a deep breath, Amelyer sighed, "You have been approved by the staffing and checked for weapons?"
Unable to prevent her frown of anger, Megan spat, "Your guard Velden made certain that I have nothing secreted... anywhere."
Niadene couldn't help championing her fellow young woman and said, "He was touching her very inappropriately, general."
Again the man sighed, "I will have a word with him, but the searches will continue. I can't risk..." Amelyer realized that he was speaking with a stranger in his presence. If he had been uncertain of her character only a moment ago, it was hardly wise to give her more to think about as he tested her as a servant in his home. "Your dress doesn't leave a lot of space for weapons. I'll make sure that he restrains his... exuberance from now on, however."
The general moved towards his table with a pair of covered platters. Two glasses, a plate and silverware were at the head of the table with no other settings though the table had room for at least eight sitting. Megan thought it was a lonely looking table.
"Niadene, please serve my breakfast. Megan, continue your cleaning," Amelyer ordered with a wave towards the second woman.
While she wasn't exactly ignored, Megan went on with her chores assigned by the other maid as Niadene did as she was told.
The wizard could see that the elven general was in no way sure of his position. Becoming emperor would still be a chore that might be beyond someone like him. It was one thing to act as general, but the addition of political intrigues weren't for every man, she thought.
He ate quietly and Megan noted him sniff his food warily before taking a first bite. Amelyer might be contending for the throne, but she doubted that he could take the crown. She watched him discretely as the morning progressed and his officers arrived for another meeting.
Chapter 19- A New Path
"I don't know about this, Holdy," Poultus said as he placed his key in the lock of the third house that he owned that touched the southern wall of the city. "This place is rented through the next month. My client only paid for two months this time, but he has been paying ahead faithfully for most of the year."
Holdy used his magical senses to scout the interior of the house in case there was someone home and was surprised by what he found. Traces of magic could be felt and he knew the owner of the spells that had been used. Palose had been here and he felt the magic of others as well, but they all had that cloudiness to them that he had seen and felt with Sylvaine. She and Oween were resurrection women now and shared power with Palose too. There were others in their group. Like some coven of the mythical witches human folk spoke of in stories his ancestors had spread for generations, the resurrected people had apparently congregated here and hidden. Only Palose had been known from the group.
If others had been known about them and that Palose could create more, Holdy was certain that they would have been hunted down by now and become a new legend of warning for necromancers to avoid those spells. Only he knew about Palose's little family as far as he knew. He had discovered Sylvaine with Oween in the library, but no one else had ever said anything about the girls. Holdy also didn't know how many more might have been created besides the two women.
"It's alright. They're gone and I don't think they've been here since the attack on the emperor," the boy told his uncle gently. "I have a feeling you won't be getting any more money from your client."
That made his uncle
frown unhappily. "Hmm, that is unfortunate if you are right. It is rare to find such faithful renters these days. Too few have enough money and those who do hate to part with it."
The door opened and Holdy spotted a few lamps. Lighting them with his magic, the room was no longer dark and there was no sign that anyone had been here for awhile. The dust wasn't thick yet on the floor or furniture, but when he searched the cabinets later there was no food left that could spoil. Only a few canning jars were found, so Holdy had a feeling that they had left rather quickly. There was no clothing in the wardrobes, however, and the beds were stripped of linens.
"Was the furniture already here?" the boy asked trying to decide if he believed Palose would return.
"No, the place was mostly empty. There was some junk in the basement, and the kitchen stove and heater; but aside from that anything else must have been purchased by my client."
Holdy used his magic to search for the distant lodestones he had set outside the city. "This might be the best of the houses to use. There is little to clear inside and, if I use the back wall of the bedroom, I think I can reach the outside even easier than from the other two houses."
"I wasn't certain that I wanted a big hole behind my house anyway," the older man mused.
"I can make it look like there is still a wall with my magic and make an easily broken barrier. If you need to escape, this is the furthest place from your house."
"I'm not so old that I can't walk," Poultus replied indignantly.
He hadn't meant it like that. Holdy was just afraid that if trouble came, the further the escape route was from his uncle's home, the more likely he wouldn't be able to reach it.
They didn't argue and, once decided, Holdy was left to contemplate how he could do such a thing. Perhaps earth magic would be enough, but there were too many creatures that could sense movement in the earth as well as warlocks. Since the mountain was their defense, the outer wall in particular was monitored regularly; but without an enemy looking to breech their defenses, the diligence of their watch wasn't as great.
On the other hand, he wasn't certain of a few things in that regard. If he tried to remove the stone between here and the outside of the mountain, where would he put it? Trying to excavate from the outside was an equal problem. He could pull the stone out, but it was likely to be discovered eventually as well.
Before he could worry about the stone, the boy moved the bed to the side. Holdy wondered if he grew too tired, if he should leave it there to take naps to recover. Approaching the far corner from the spot on the wall he had chosen for the bed, the apprentice cast a spell. The wood panels making up the inner part of the wall separated as a large rectangle. Eight feet wide, Holdy could see immediately that pulling things from the wall was going to be difficult. Just the wall alone was enough clutter to make him readjust how he was dealing with the panel.
Cutting it in half vertically, the apprentice used a spell that he had read to make them equal size before placing them on the wall beside the base of the bed.
The apprentice could see stone where the wood had been. With the entry made, Holdy stared at the mountain's inner wall trying to decide how to work. If portals could move once created, the boy would have simply slid the door back letting it eat the stone. It would be relatively easy. If his energy remained, Holdy guessed that such a thing might take him a week or less to make; but the doorways didn't work that way.
He could make new gates in different places, but no wizard or warlock could shift them once they were set. Perhaps a blend of the two might work, but Holdy wasn't certain that he had the strength to do such a thing alone.
Shrugging, the boy decided to try something reasonably simple in theory. First, he cast a portal doorway inside the wall. It was there though his eyes couldn't see it without magical aid, but the apprentice knew the dimension of the doorway behind the stone. Holding the doorway, Holdy used an earth moving spell exerting his power over the mass of stone which was the same size as the hole he had made. With a great shove of his magic, the boy watched as four inches of stone suddenly moved away from him until he found the golden light of the portal.
Sweat began to drip from his forehead by the time he released the shining gateway. Releasing a breath slowly, Holdy thought for the small amount of stone; it was a tremendous outpouring of his energy.
He walked over to the bed and picked up his pack. Inside was food and drink. Holdy ate two sandwiches and drank half a flask of juice. Already a third of the way through his provisions, the boy knew that he was going to need help.
Unwilling to give up after just one try, Holdy wanted to at least have more to show for his efforts. The wizard made the next gate a foot away from the new excavation. Once more he used the stone spell making thin lines in the stone separating the large rectangle from the rest of the mountain as he created minute seams around it. He shoved it forward grunting as if his body was physically trying to move the stone. If he had tried, the thousands of pounds wouldn't have moved at all. A second grunt as he threw his hands towards the stone saw the mass move.
Soon a foot more of the stone was gone revealing the inner doorway of light. Holdy released the gate as soon as he could see it and thought that despite moving three times as much stone the energy used was actually about the same. He had felt the extra mass, but while his strength was challenged the actual expenditure of magic was similar to the first time. It was holding the gate while using a second spell that was the biggest challenge.
Holdy didn't eat this time. The food's power would hold for another shove he believed. Soon another foot was gone into the light. This time, the apprentice looked inside the doorway. His right hand touching the stone wall next to him, Holdy leaned into the magical doorway to see the silver light of the void.
Floating nearby was the last chunk of stone. It rotated slowly and once it was horizontal to his view, Holdy could see a second rectangle tumbling beyond it.
He pulled his head back into the room and released the doorway. Gray stone faced him cut straight and smooth by the portal magic. Though he had moved a little over two feet of stone in depth rather quickly, the apprentice knew the progress would be a problem like this. His energy was already low.
Walking over to the bag again, Holdy nearly fell onto the mattress as he tried to sit. His legs felt wobbly and weak, the boy knew that he had pushed himself close to his limit with just three tries. More food was eaten and the flask of juice was finished swiftly. His supplies were already down to a third.
"Maybe one more time," he said wearily and tried to stand. Falling back onto the bed, Holdy lay his head down and admitted, "Maybe not."
Food didn't replenish a wizard's energy that fast, though it would power him if the apprentice gave it more time. Still, he would need that energy to return to the school. Holdy wasn't sure he wanted to try walking that far. Perhaps another gateway to the back of the school was warranted, he thought tiredly.
"You look exhausted," Maya told him with concern at dinner. She had spotted him right away at their morning class now led solely by Fordenna. Her class had been curious about the absence of Megannah, but her partner in teaching only told them that she was working for the grand master at the moment and would return when her current work was over with. No one tried to get more information than that. Fordenna was tight lipped when it came to secrets. If they didn't need to know, then the students would learn nothing from her.
Holdy knew that she worked undercover in the spire, but not much more than that.
"I was trying something," he replied before a big yawn caused him to cover his mouth with the back of his hand quickly.
"What? Were you casting spells for hours?" the girl asked. Defrienne and Turless became more interested as well in the process.
Thinking of taking a page from Wizard Fordenna's book, Holdy considered keeping the matter to himself; but there was just too much work for him to do alone.
"Are you all from the human quarter in the southeast?" he asked having
never thought to find out about that part of his friends' past. Once an apprentice was in the school, little of their early history truly mattered. They were becoming wizards, so their former life was merely a means towards that end. For some it shaped them into nicer people or ones that had learned patience, but in the end whatever traits they were raised to have would be dwarfed by learning magic in most wizards' opinions, he thought.
Turless nodded. Maya shook her head and said, "My father is an officer in the army. I'm not sure what rank he is or whether he was sent to Litsarin, but my mother and brothers live in a house closer to the gates."
Defrienne looked a little uncomfortable as she answered, "I come from a farm outside the city."
Ignoring any feelings of difference, Holdy wondered if either of the girls could understand what he was feeling in relation to the human quarter.
"You've heard of the infighting between the generals. Lord Devolus hasn't returned from Litsarin and doesn't seem to care. Who knows what the grand masters are thinking? No one has been made emperor or king or even mayor of the city. People are becoming worried and discontent in the rest of the city too.
"I had to help put down an attack from the orcs in the human market a few days ago. Well, they were robbing the merchants mostly; but they didn't like it when I tried to get them to stop."
Maya frowned in confusion and asked, "Why did you get involved?"
Taking a deep breath, he confessed, "They were threatening my mom and other people that I've known for years. I was told that it wasn't the first incident either. It was just the furthest into the human neighborhoods so far.
"For the moment, they haven't risked coming back, but that might not last if whoever sent them wants more."
Maya looked concerned, but it was Turless who grumbled angrily, "Stupid orcs. They're no better than the other monsters in my opinion."
Defrienne reminded him, "General Corven is part orc and there are other humans that have orc ancestry. The emperor hoped to create more intelligent orcs while keeping their inherent strength. I've heard there are even half orcs that are half elven also."
Battle Mage Broken Empire (Tales of Alus Book 14) Page 25