Hearthglen

by Daniel Schinhofen

  ~ * ~ * ~

  Entering the inn with Ida and Ryann at his side, Sean waved to the others. Instead of heading to them, he headed to the bar. “Allonen, is Dame Mageeyes in?” Sean asked the bartender.

  “I shall have one of the maids check, sir,” Allonen replied. Stepping away, Allonen went into the back and came back barely a moment later. “I will let you know once I have been told, sir.”

  Sean nodded and leaned against the bar, placing the kettle on it. “I’ll just wait here until we know.”

  Allonen looked at the kettle, but went off to help fill drinks for another maid. Bemin came out of the back and gave Sean a smile. “Sir, if you will follow me, the Dame will see you now.”

  Sean picked up the kettle and followed Bemin. Walking through the back halls, Sean spoke up, “Thank you again, Bemin, for testifying at the magistrate.”

  “It is my pleasure, sir,” Bemin said. “I’ve collected a few new patrons, and the Dame has been kind enough to help offset my loss.”

  “Your loss?” Sean asked.

  “We are all Bonded for a year at a time. During our tenure, we get a small amount of pay, but also a percentage of what we sell. Losing the Shapers has cost me some coin, but the Dame is offsetting that for me. It seems they upset her, something I would advise you to never do, sir.”

  “I’m hoping to do just the opposite,” Sean said earnestly.

  Halting before the office, Bemin knocked, then opened the door when told to. “Dame, Sean MacDougal to see you.”

  “Show him in, Bemin.”

  Sean walked into the room, thanking Bemin and taking the seat across from Dame Mageeyes. “Thank you for seeing me, Dame.”

  “I’m surprised you wished to, MacDougal. What can I do for you tonight?”

  “I’m hoping to pay back my debt with a new device,” Sean said, setting the kettle on the table. Clamping down on his energy, he tried to dull it from being as bright as it normally was. “This is my repayment, at least in part.”

  Dame Mageeyes glanced at the kettle. “A kettle, no matter how well made, isn’t repayment.”

  “Would you put a little energy into it for me please, Dame?”

  One eyebrow rose, but the Dame touched the kettle. A moment later, both of her eyebrows rose. “Oh, what is this?” Pulling the lid off, she looked inside. “Hot water?”

  “It will produce hot water as long as the lid is secured and energy is pushed into it. As you felt, it doesn’t take a lot, either. I figured a couple of these would free up more space for your cooks, since they wouldn’t need to keep water boiling. These are the first of this new line of products. My thanks to you for letting your people help me with my apprentice.”

  “If you gave me two more of these, I would call us even,” Dame said, sitting back and watching him carefully.

  “Two?”

  “Yes.”

  “If that’s what it takes, I’ll have them delivered tomorrow,” Sean grinned.

  Squinting, Dame eyed him and shook her head. “Interesting, and yet disappointing.”

  “Hmm?”

  “I would have thought you to be much stronger than you seem to be. I’ve never seen that color before, though.”

  “Color?” Sean said, playing dumb.

  “Mage Sight. My Talent lets me see the strength and type of aura people have. Did you not know this?”

  “I knew it let energy be seen, but not exactly how it worked,” Sean said.

  “I see. Is that all you wished to see me about, MacDougal?”

  Standing, Sean bowed from the waist slightly. “That is all, Dame.”

  “Learning how to address those of higher status, hmm? I’ve heard you made deals with Gertihs and Silvertouch to avoid having to do so. Why the sudden desire to start now?”

  “You’ve surely heard that Denmur has decided to freeze me out of the city,” Sean replied. “As little as I wished to get involved in the backbiting that he seems to love, it looks like I’ll have to extend myself out of my comfort zone.”

  “Oh, this shall be entertaining, then,” Dame said, her smile widening. “I look forward to what happens in the future, MacDougal. All I can say is keep the dispute from becoming physical inside my walls.”

  “I hope to never anger you, Dame Mageeyes. I will do my utmost to abide by your wishes.”

  “It is so nice to have a youth who understands how to respect his elders,” Dame Mageeyes said, her eyes taking a slow trip down and back up his body. “If you make anything else new, please do bring it to my attention, MacDougal. I’ll be very interested in being the first to acquire them.”

  “I have to abide by previous Agreements first, but I will do my best.”

  “I look forward to tomorrow,” Dame said as she rang the bell on her desk.

  “Yes, Ma’am?” Bemin asked, entering the room.

  “Show MacDougal to the front, and give the kettle to the kitchen. Tell them to put some energy into it. Once they know how it works, they are to start using it.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Bemin said, opening the door for Sean. “If you will follow me, sir.”

  Giving the Dame another bow, Sean followed Bemin. As they walked to the front, Bemin glanced at Sean. “She seemed quite pleased.”

  “I’m glad she was amenable,” Sean replied.

  When he made it back to the front room, everyone at the table was staring at him. As soon as he sat down, Lilly was there with a mug of Dark Delight for him.

  “I ordered it for you,” Ryann said. “Figured you might need one.”

  “Thanks,” Sean said.

  “So, what was that all about?” Joseph asked eagerly.

  Sean gave them a quick rundown on his meeting and about the kettles. Fredrick, Eva, Italice, and Ryan all asked to buy a kettle from him, each rushing to try to get the request out first. Sean promised them a good deal before he continued with his story. By the time he finished, the Shapers were all lost in thought.

  “It shouldn’t even work like it does,” Ryan said. “No one summons hot water.”

  “Even still, attaching an energized stone should work... but you’re using a broken rune or emblem, so maybe that’s the trouble…” Fredrick mumbled.

  For the rest of the evening, the Shapers kept coming up with ideas for Sean to try. The smiths had no experience with enchanting, but were also throwing out ideas. A warmth suffused Sean as he sat there listening to the others.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Four days passed by in a blink for Sean. His frustration at failing to get the enchanted kettles to work like he wanted was growing. Taking a deep breath to clear his mind, he thought back to how happy the others had been over the last few days when he had brought kettles for each of them to buy, and two more for the inn.

  I wonder if Fiona has finished her dealings with Augustus? Sean mused. He had been surprised when the merchant showed up asking about the kettles. Good thing Fiona was in the shop with me; she’ll get a better deal than I would, besides the fact I’ve been less than great company over the last few days. Fucking stupid enchanted kettles. I still wonder how he found out about them.

  Putting the kettle down beside him, Sean grumbled as he leaned against the bathhouse wall. “I’ve tried fucking everything. Shaping the gem into the rune, placing the gem and then adding the rune, powdering a gem and then infusing that dust into the rune, but nothing fucking works. Even the gem quality and type doesn’t seem to matter. If the rune isn’t in sections, it works fine, but then it doesn’t shut off.”

  Shaking his head, Sean let his mind drift. The idea of a gem powering an enchantment worked fine; he’d seen that when he had spoken with Eva last night at the inn. Eva had brought along a monocle that had a ruby set where one would hold it. Sean had immediately dampened his energy signature when she placed it on the table. Once everyone at the table had used it— most of them staring at Sean— she had retrieved it before she was summoned by the Dame. When she got back to the table, she had a pouch with her and a broad smi
le, having sold it to the Dame.

  Sean thought about the way the gem had worked: it only powered the monocle if a person held the ruby with thumb and forefinger, and had it directly in front of their eye. “No… it can’t be that simple,” Sean muttered and picked the kettle back up.

  Grabbing the amber that he’d been using for most of his attempts, he placed it on the lid right below the handle. One tip of the gem was touching the rune on the inside of the kettle, and the other was poking just out of the top of the lid. Locking the lid in place, Sean pulled the energy from the amber and infused it again, focusing on it discharging its power when touched by flesh.

  Setting the kettle next to him once he was done, Sean reached over and touched the gem with his index finger. The sound of water flowing made his eyes widen. Pulling his finger away, the sound stopped. Quickly pressing the gem again, the sound returned, followed swiftly by Sean laughing.

  “Finally, you fucking bitch,” Sean laughed as he grabbed the wooden handle and broke the lock. Pressing the gem again, the sound of water failed to happen. Holding his finger in place, he locked the lid closed again, and the sound of water filling the kettle started immediately. “Yes! Eureka!”

  Sean was still laughing when Ryann and Ida came running into bathhouse. Ryann was the first to speak, watching Sean dancing around with the kettle held above his head. “Sean… are you feeling okay?”

  “It works! It works, it works.”

  Sean,” Ida said cautiously. “Can we see it?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Sean coughed, realizing what he had been doing. “I’ll just set it here.” Putting the kettle down, he edged to the door. “Go ahead, I’ll be right back.”

  As Sean bolted from the bathhouse, the two women went to the kettle to see what Sean had discovered. While they did that, Sean ran into the house and to the sitting room. Bursting in, he found the room empty.

  “Ven?”

  “Here, sir,” Ven replied a moment later.

  “Where is Fiona?”

  “She went off to the bathhouse after she finished her deal with MacLenn, sir.”

  “Go get her. Tell her and Myna to come to our bathhouse. Hell, just tell everyone, and close the shop for a few minutes. I want them all there as fast as they can.”

  Ven nodded, a smile on the Fairy’s face. “I’ll handle it, sir.”

  “Thanks,” Sean said before he headed for the backyard again.

  It didn’t take long to get everyone gathered at the bathhouse. Ida and Ryann were grinning, having figured out what Sean had managed. They kept silent at his request until the others showed up while he worked on the showers and tubs.

  “I’m back, husband,” Fiona said, entering the bathhouse. “What was so urgent?” she asked, breathing a little hard, having clearly run back to the house.

  “I’ve figured it out, at least partly,” Sean’s already wide smile grew. Reaching out from where he was standing next to the shower, he touched the amber set in the pipe, and water began to cascade from the head. “Hot water on demand, without needing energy.”

  Everyone besides Ida and Ryann watched with wide eyes as the steaming water flowed. When Sean pulled his hand away, the water stopped. Voices rose in congratulations as they all came toward him.

  “Wait,” Sean said as he showed them the same idea on the tub. Explaining what he had figured out, he showed them how it worked. “This is a good first step, but it’s not my end goal. Having to touch the gem with your finger isn’t what I want in the end. I still have goals to meet, but this is the first solid step I’ve had.”

  “I knew you would find a way, dear,” Fiona said as she hugged him.

  “I never doubted you, Master.”

  “It’s amazing,” Andrea said. “Hot water on demand without needing to use… It could make so many things easier in the kitchen for cooking and cleaning.”

  “I’ll be working on that after I get my switch to work,” Sean told her.

  “Are you going to start selling these?” Ryann asked.

  “No,” Sean replied quickly. “It’s a prototype. The other kettles are just starting to move. We need to let them have a bit first. On top of that, I want to see how long they can last without needing to be recharged.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Ida nodded. “Having a solid idea of how long they last will go a long way to making sure no one complains about them.”

  “We can work with that,” Sean said. “I can keep an eye on the gems as we let them continually produce hot water. Andrea, can you keep track of how often you use this kettle until it stops producing?”

  “Of course,” Andrea said quickly.

  “You used amber for all of them?” Chastity asked, looking at the tap on the tub.

  “It’s by far the cheapest stone,” Sean said, “so it was the best choice for the test.”

  “What are you going to do now?” Fiona asked

  “See what I can do about making them work the way I want. It’ll probably take me another handful of days, but now I know that paths exist, I’ll find a way.”

  “Why don’t you take a break and come over to the bathhouse?” Fiona suggested. “It’ll be good for you.”

  “She’s right, Master.”

  “It has been a few days since I’ve been there,” Sean admitted.

  “You’ve been a bit obsessed,” Ida coughed.

  “Fair,” Sean chuckled. “How are the pipes?”

  “We’ve been able to get them cleaned up as they come in and still get all the other Shaping done,” Ryan replied.

  ~ * ~ * ~

  When the group reached the bathhouse site, Sean whistled softly. The building was vastly different than it had been. It had looked much like all the other ones on the street, a two-story shop and house with a mid-sized yard behind it, but now the building took up the entire plot of land, and while still being two-story, lacked the windows it had had before.

  “Goddamn,” Sean said as he looked at it.

  “The people in the area have been stopping by to ask Knox what’s happening,” Fiona told him.

  “What’s he been telling them?”

  “To wait for another tenday,” Myna laughed.

  “I’ll have it done by then, aside from the pipes and the water,” Fiona smiled.

  “We’ve all helped as much as we could,” Ryann added. “Fiona and Myna have done the bulk of the work, though.”

  “They have been very helpful,” Fiona gave Ryann a grin.

  “Oh, Sean! Haven’t seen you out during the day for a while,” Knox said from the front door of his shop, waving at him.

  “Been busy. I had a minor step forward today. Not what I really want, but a step nevertheless.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be waiting to tell me what it is until tonight, right?” Knox laughed.

  “I’ll tell you. Let’s go inside so I can see more of this,” Sean said as he headed for the door.

  “I get the story first? Oh, this ought to be good.”

  Sean relayed his breakthrough to Knox while he took the grand tour of the bathhouse. The outer structure was done, but the interior still needed some work. By the time he finished, they had come back to the front of the new building.

  “You really mean to sell those to everyone?” Knox asked.

  “Yes. It’s time to let everyone have something, not just the rich and powerful. Though, even with just copper and amber, they’ll still cost a bit to make.”

  “And you won’t be able to make more than one or two a day,” Knox added thoughtfully, looking into the distance. “Even then, that will make a wave.”

  “Good,” Sean chuckled.

  “Well, tonight will be a good night. I’m sure the others will take it as a reason to celebrate. Even with the need to touch the gem, it’s still closer than anyone without power can come to being equal to those with.”

  “It’ll get better,” Sean chuckled. “I’m not done yet.”

  “I can’t even begin to imagine,” Knox said before he led th
em back out the front door. “I need to get back to the smithy. I was just pausing to get something to drink.”

  “See you tonight,” Sean said, slapping Knox gently on the back.

  Parting ways with Fiona and Myna, who both went back inside to work on the bathhouse, the other three headed home. “Sean, do you think it will work the way you hope?” Ryann asked.

  “You mean will I be able to help turn society on its head by giving those without a taste of what they could have? Yes.”