Nexus of Change (Tasks of the Nakairi Book 2)

by K. E. Young

  They were just finishing the measurements of all those warriors and Tani and Koris were directing the warriors to their new digs with the help of a dozen pages. While I had been playing artist's model, Tani and Koris had been getting room assignments taken care of and working with Ilatis to get the rooms furnished. That both households were going into the same location caused a certain amount of friction, but it was minimal overall. I expected a certain amount of maneuvering as they worked out the totem pole.

  Tani approached me. "My Lady, we'll have rooms and essential furnishings arranged for your entire household by dinnertime. The rooms for you and Lord Cassettis won't be ready until tomorrow, however. There was unexpected water damage we didn't find until we were cleaning. Workmen are making the repairs now. The craftsmen delivered a new dining table. We originally ordered it to replace a court dining hall table that developed a crack. They will just have to wait for a replacement. Fortunately, there were benches in storage so at least they have something to sit on.

  "The armorers will take copies of the measurements the seamstress' assistants have made and will match them to the existing stores first. Those who are coming from other households will bring their weapons and armor with them.

  "The jeweler will be here in about an hour to do evaluations on the jewelry you wish to sell." She took a deep breath and smiled, "I'm so glad you found an accountant. He told me he was just a clerk."

  I chuckled. "Glad I could accommodate. What do I need to do next? I take it there's still a lot to do today?"

  "We may get a few more applicants today, but I expect most of them to hold off until tomorrow morning or the day after. You still have about twenty spots still available in your guard and about 30 non-warrior spots. Ilatis approved those two servant candidates and they're already at work helping get the rooms ready and learning where everything is. That leaves the jeweler and choosing your personal arms from the armory. The armorer already has your measurements and has some armor for you to try on. He'll make up a custom set for you but he wants to make sure you have something as soon as possible, just in case."

  "Can I get a quick tour of the new quarters? I don't even know where they are right now."

  She nodded. "The jeweler isn't due for about another quarter hour." Tani led me back into the palace and we made a quick stop at the dining hall so I could see the changes. Two tables with an extra across the heads to make a U-shaped setup had replaced Mero's table. The other tables had shifted to make room. She then showed me to the room that would be my office. Wik had offered to move so I could be next to my mate, so Mero was next door. We trekked to the royal wing on the other side of the palace from Mero's old quarters. Like Mero's quarters, we had the third, fourth and fifth floors.

  The rooms Mero and I would share faced a pretty, garden courtyard, with lovely marble mosaic floors and walls of a golden wood paneling. The damage Tani had mentioned turned out to be a rotting window frame and the water-damaged wall below it in the bathroom. According to Tani, the mason was out in the kitchen yard cleaning old mortar off the tiles so he could put them back up. Tani's room was to one side of our quarters and Koris' to the other side.

  A messenger boy came running up while we were discussing possibilities for my assistant and informed us that the jeweler had arrived. We arrived at the room the page had directed us to find that Michael and Koris had beat us there with the chest that contained my fortune. Michael also had the stack of appraisals. Two servants were covering a long table with a heavy white tablecloth. The jeweler, an elderly gent who Tani introduced as Master Lethris, was directing his two assistants in opening the curtains to get the best light.

  I unlocked the chest and pulled out the bag with the items I wanted to sell. Michael went a little bug eyed at the rest. Looking at it, I realized this wasn't the best way to store it.

  "Master Lethris, I have another request while you're here. In my old world, I abandoned the special boxes that each item went in for travel purposes. They took too much room, so I shipped the boxes separately, but the portal took me while I was enroute. Now I don't have the boxes and I fear that if I continue to store the jewelry like this, damage may occur. I'm hoping that you might advise me."

  The old gent came over to look in the chest and looked silently at the mass for a few moments. "Well yes, you do seem in need here." He sounded a little breathless. "I have some boxes you can use but not enough for all of that. It also appears you need custom boxes for a few items. I'll have the fellow who makes mine contact you and you can work out what you need with him. Meanwhile, I'll have one of my assistants bring you what I can spare so we can get the most delicate items protected." He looked up and gifted me with the most wonderful smile. "My lady, I do hope you'll allow me to examine these items too. From what I can see, there are some truly unique designs here. I very much want to make notes."

  He had the kind of smile I couldn't help but return. "Of course. Geran led me to believe you would be evaluating the items I want to keep for my records. I would like to hear your opinion. This was the bulk of my inheritance from my grandmother and I haven't looked closely at it other than to decide whether or not I liked it. If I disliked it enough I couldn't see myself wearing it I put it in the 'sell' pile."

  He chuckled, "Most ladies wouldn't let go of any jewelry even if they disliked it. Now, the high lord mentioned that you made that lovely pendant yourself. Do you do any other jewelry work? I've seen journeymen who can't do so well."

  "I've worked in silver, bronze, and a little gold. Decorative chainmail patterns for jewelry, wirework, a little lapidary work, casting, silversmithing, and some beadwork."

  "Chainmail?"

  I laughed. "Chainmail. I have a necklace and matching earrings with me and a pattern book I keep." Turning to a servant who was standing nearby, I asked, "Could you get the small jewelry box off the dressing table and the dark blue notebook with the red cord tied around it? I think it's on the bottom bookshelf."

  She nodded and ran off. I turned back to the jeweler. "Explaining is much less enlightening than showing. Meanwhile, shall we see what you think of my discard pile?"

  He laughed. "Please. I'll admit, from my glimpse into that chest I'm quite curious."

  Michael emptied the bag of discards and the assistants sorted them out and laid them out on display. A servant placed a chair where Lethris would have the best light. He did a cursory review of the items laid out and discussed the order he wanted to see them with one assistant while the other laid out a sheaf of paper and writing implements. Michael went down the line and tucked the corresponding appraisal with each item.

  I still thought they were ugly but everyone seemed enthusiastic about them. While the jeweler did his thing with Michael in close attendance, Koris and I laid out the remaining contents of the chest at the other end of the table far enough away from the discard items that Master Lethris couldn't mistake them. Seeing it all laid out in the sunshine was somewhat overwhelming. The servant came back with the items I had specified. I laid out the necklace and earrings before setting aside the jewelry box.

  After that, all I could do was wait so I looked through my notebook locating patterns that the jeweler might enjoy. Koris looked over my shoulder. "My lady, you should let the armorer look at this. Most of these patterns don't look at all familiar."

  "Well, we have to go see him after this, don't we? I'll take it along. If the jeweler wants some of these patterns, I can see if one of his assistants can come by tomorrow or the day after to copy them. I also need to get to a woodworker at some point. If I can't do my Kumihimo I'll go bonkers but I need the equipment."

  "Whatever that is, can it wait until the Drakkeni leave? We have a lot happening and the fellows we go to will be busy for a while making and repairing furniture for your household."

  "Well it'll have to I guess." It was too bad. Kumihimo was very soothing. All during college, I would do it when the stress overwhelmed me as a method to calm down. I could use a little de-stressing no
w.

  "My lady! I have a rough evaluation for you. The sum you would gain from this lot is — considerable. A few items we can sell as they are and they will fetch a high price not only for their quality and materials but also from the novelty of being from another world. I can see why you dislike some of these pieces though. They are still valuable, as materials if nothing else.

  "There are items I would sell now, others I suggest you wait to sell. We can break the rest down into materials. I can do the breakdown for you, and buy those jewels I would find of greatest use. I will also act as agent for the sale of the as-is items and any gems sold to other jewelers. We can melt the gold, silver, and platinum into ingots and keep them for future use. If you want to sell the metals, I can refer you to a very reputable gold merchant." A puckish grin spread over his face, making his eyes twinkle. "Or I can always use the materials to make something new for you."

  I snorted. Master Lethris would have made a wonderful grandfather. "I will keep that in mind. Don't worry Master Lethris. We can sell it off over time without too much trouble. Michael here will keep track and he'll let you know if there's an issue. Now, you wanted to look at the rest?"

  His eyes sparkled. "Indeed, my lady! It is a rare treat seeing all of this. From what I've seen so far, your grandmother chose pieces with only the best craftsmanship and materials. Such a lovely variety of designs and some new techniques I haven't seen before. I'll be paying very close attention I assure you."

  I laughed. "Well if there is anything you want to examine more thoroughly, just let me know and we'll arrange for delivery to your workshop for 'cleaning'." I paused in thought. "After the Drakkeni contingent leave. There's no telling what I'll need before that happens."

  "The Drakkeni contingent, my lady?"

  "We're expecting the Emperor to come for a visit almost any time in the next few days. He's adopting me into the Imperial family." I sighed. "Yay. Relatives."

  The old gent raised an eyebrow while he tried to smother a smile. "You have my condolences, my lady. Relatives of that caliber are always difficult I hear."

  "It promises to be interesting. However, given the specimens of the family I've already met, it shouldn't be too bad. The flunkies however…"

  He lost the fight over the smile and a peal of laughter rolled out of him. "Please forgive me, my lady, but you look so dismayed at the thought."

  I gave him a sheepish smile. "Well, before you look at the rest, how about you tell me your thoughts on these." I waved toward the chainmail necklace and earrings and opened the notebook to the page with that pattern.

  He examined how the links connected and matched it against the pattern diagrams. He seemed delighted. "I would never have thought you could use armor as the creative spark for jewelry, but there it is. It's quite lovely. An apprentice could fabricate it too. Sometimes it is difficult coming up with sufficient tasks for them that keep them interested enough in the work to continue." He paged through the notebook. "There are a lot of patterns useful for jewelry here, may I make copies?"

  "You may, but it will have to be another day I'm afraid. I need to show this to the armorer and he's next on my list for today. In fact, if I'm interpreting my housemaster's expression correctly, I need to go deal with that now. Michael, if you could stay here to answer his questions while this gentleman looks over the rest of the jewelry and then get it packed up and returned to the vault when he's done? I assume you'll be taking at least part of the discards with you today sir?"

  "Yes, those items for breakdown in particular. I'll have one of my assistants bring you the storage boxes first thing tomorrow. Once the breakdown is complete I'll return the materials to you along with payment for those gems I purchase for myself."

  "Thank you so much for your help with this Master Lethris. I appreciate your efforts."

  "It is my pleasure, my lady. You have such lovely jewelry for me to look at."

  I laughed again. "Very well, I hope to see you again soon sir. Please, take care of yourself. Don't over-work."

  "Never fear, my lady. My wife would skin me with her tongue if I did."

  On that note, Tani and I left him, notebook in hand. Tani led me to the practice yard, then to a building tucked behind the armory. Inside was a large well-lit room with a multitude of workbenches. To one side an apprentice was fabricating wooden weapons while a man was drawing out wire at a workbench on the other side. Tani led me all the way to the back and poked her head into an office tucked behind a collection of dummies with varying stages of armor assembly on them.

  "Master Thoras, Lady Kendra is here to see you." The man that came out was shorter than I was by at least a head, but had to be twice as broad with a generous beer gut. He was clean-shaven and bald as an egg with burn scars across the left half of his face that pulled his mouth askew. Despite that, he still looked quite cheerful.

  "Ah, there you are! I've been looking forward to meeting you. That was the prettiest little beating you gave Lord Cassettis that I've ever seen. Well done! Now, I have some armor for you to try on. We'll see how it fits. Usually, the measurements I get from the seamstress do well for me, but your build isn't like the local ladies' or the men either, so what I have won't fit right. However, I don't like the idea of you wandering around without armor available. Nakairu always seem to get into the oddest messes." His mellifluous bass voice echoed from the corners of the room.

  "I'm already collecting materials for a new set of armor for you but I need to know a little more about how you move and such. It can make quite a difference." He led me to a bench about half way down the room. On it was an array of chainmail, leather, and plate armor pieces. "I don't have an entire set of matching armor for you. The best I could do was this mess. Now, put this on and we'll see how these fit."

  The leather jacket he handed me was fine across the shoulders but loose in the chest and waist. He cinched it up with a belt and strapped the armor on me. The pieces covered an odd mishmash of styles, none of them the European armor with which I was familiar. The main pieces resembled Persian scale or Indian plated chainmail armor more than anything else.

  When Master Thoras finished, I looked like a refugee from a fantasy film. It was hot and somewhat heavy. I walked over to an empty bit of floor and did a couple katas to see how well I could move. I could tell that I would need to practice to get used to it and some movement was difficult. The armor pieces bound up in the shoulders, waist, and hips. Master Thoras used what looked like a crayon to mark the areas that bound while dictating notes to an apprentice. He removed the most offensive of the pieces then had me run through the katas again in slow motion. We did this several times while he observed from all angles.

  "Given the flexibility you require, I'm thinking we may have to go to something more Akkadi in design. Even the Drakkeni armor designs will bind on you. Felim will have the pieces adjusted by tomorrow afternoon. It will be ugly, but serviceable."

  "I have an Akkadi warrior in my household. Can you make sure he has appropriate armor as well?"

  "Really? No one told me. Thank you for mentioning it. What might the lad's name be?"

  "Thalak."

  Master Thoras checked a stack of papers on the desk in his office then pulled one out and made a note. "There. I'll make sure he gets something he can move in. He may have to wait though since your armor comes first."

  I nodded. "Understood. I have something here that you may find of interest." I handed him my notebook. "One of my hobbies in my old world was jewelry work including decorative chainmail although I originally got interested in it for armor. I brought my pattern book for you to look at. Koris thought you might be interested since there were a variety of patterns for armor usage he didn't recognize."

  "Well now, let's see what we have here." He parked himself on a bench and leafed through the book, humming. One of his apprentices helped me with the removal of the remaining armor pieces. I was glad to get the heavy leather coat off. It was hot and smelled somewhat of sweat. It had been cl
eaned, but there was still that little bit of odor left over. "Well, well. I can see what Koris meant. There are some interesting bits in here. They give me ideas. I'd have to try them out to see how they work though. I can see where some of these could be useful for edging and such if they're flexible in the right way. Help give shape to the piece. He tapped the page he was looking at and grabbing a slate and piece of chalk, he sketched a precise rendition of the directions for a pattern called elfsheet. He yelled out to one of his men and handed him the slate. "See how that works out will you? My lady, would you be willing to let me examine this for a few days? There are several patterns in here that look promising and I would like to try them. I promise I'll be careful with it."

  "I don't see why not just let me know when you're done with it. The jeweler is interested in many of the patterns too."

  He barked a laugh. "I imagine so. Some of them are remarkably pretty, not all that practical for armor, but very pretty. Now, would you care to choose weapons for yourself? I imagine that from the way you fight, you're feeling bare."

  I chuckled. "Not as much as you might think. Where I'm from it's illegal for common citizens to go about armed. They leave that for the peacekeepers."

  "Heh. Stupid of them. I wager the criminals were armed." He led me to the same armory from my weapons testing. This time we went all the way to the back where he kept the real weapons. "Choose whatever you like. Most times I'd test someone to see if they can handle them but I've seen you in action. You can handle pretty much anything I have here except the war hammers. You might handle them too but I doubt you want to, you seem more speed and precision than blunt force."

  I began with the swords. Most of them were straight double-edged things you would have seen all over Europe during the middle ages, but there were a few exotics. At the very back, I found one that appealed. It looked very much like a katana but with a second edge along the top third of the blade. The blade was a couple inches longer than my arm with a hilt wrapped in some kind of knobby leather that might have been ray skin but with coarser pebbling. The balance was perfect and it felt good in my hand. I tried it out with a few kendo moves, some arnis, then finished up with some I had learned with fencing sabers. I nodded and set it aside before I moved on to the knives.