Sharon shook her head. “It is quiet there. Our ships haven’t seen much movement between Balta and the Western Isles. The leaders of the Venecian Council believe Lord Zellox is rebuilding his armies before he attacks Solotine. They are investing heavily in their defenses. They fear they are the next place he will attack.”
It didn’t surprise Nathan to hear that. The last reports from Venecia indicated the council was very concerned about where Lord Zellox would attack next. Venecia being so near Balta, seemed a natural extension of the expansionist lord’s territories. Although others argue that Lord Zellox hadn’t completely taken all the Western Isles yet and would start there and then attack Northern Solotine. Nathan had no idea what the man would do, he only knew Elderwood would be ready.
“You heading up to the castle?” asked Sharon. “I’ll join you.”
Nathan nodded.
“You guys have done an amazing job building it,” said Sharon. “Every time I come back from Venecia I can’t believe how much bigger it is.”
“It helps we have so many other buildings to build. Every time we make new blocks for other buildings we go further into the mountain. It is way bigger than I originally planned.”
“Well, you might’ve grown up in a small cottage, but Prince Stoneblood needs a castle.”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “Prince Stoneblood. I hate that name.”
“Would you rather it be King Stoneblood? Some are arguing you really should be called king.”
“Gods, that would be even worse.”
Sharon laughed. “Avera said you would say something like that. Which is why she suggested prince to you. She knew you’d be a wimp about being called king.”
“Do you blame me? Me, a king? I’m not old enough or wise enough for such a title. At least being called prince I can defer to Avera and Verin without anyone questioning it.”
“Quinton has informed me that Balta has had several kings younger than you in its history.”
“Good thing we aren’t in Balta,” said Nathan with a grin. “New kingdom, new rules.”
Nathan looked up the road. They were just leaving the city and now were able to see the mountain face where the castle was being built. Between the city and the mountain was a long stretch of green space. A row of saplings had been planted on either side of the road and one day would make a pretty scenic stroll for the castles guests. The front of the castle was finished. Four stories high, it had originally been eighty feet wide, but as they started cutting more blocks for other buildings they had widened it. Now the front was over a hundred and twenty feet wide and in some places, it was over sixty feet deep into the mountain. They used his blacksmith shop to make glass windows, and in front of the castle was a huge courtyard filled with little gardens. Rose was especially proud of the gardens. She and Aunt Avera had planted an assortment of flowers in the gardens and Nathan had cut stones for pathways then Quinton used magic to make the stone paths glow at night. The rooms on the outer wall all had balconies that overlooked the courtyard. The third and fourth floor could see almost the entire valley, and higher up the mountain were lookout positions that watched the outer wall at the canyon entrance.
A creek came down the mountain beside where they’d built the castle, and Nathan had built a series of pipes to bring the castle running water, and to a fountain built in the middle of the courtyard. The fountain was a new addition since Sharon had last been to the castle. Nathan was curious to see what Sharon would think of it. Like many of the castle’s features, the fountain was magically enhanced.
“Is that water I hear?” asked Sharon as they went down the main path to the castle. The path didn’t run in a straight line but snaked its way through the courtyard. They hadn’t gone far enough into the gardens yet to see the fountain.
“Yes, Avera, Rose, and I made some new additions to the gardens while you were gone.”
They turned the corner and the feature fountain came into view. The fountain shot straight up into the air and cascaded down into the shape of a man and woman dancing. The pair pirouetted and twirled, and the water magically followed the shape of a man and woman before dropping into the small pond. Sharon gasped as she walked up to the fountain. “Oh, Nathan, it’s beautiful. Did you do the illusion?”
“Avera and I did it together. It isn’t as fancy an illusion as Quinton can make, but it is pretty good.”
“It is lovely. Have you been adding a lot of magic to the castle?”
“Not yet, I don’t have the illusion skills Quinton does, and I spend most of my time cutting blocks. Working on the gardens has been my way of taking a break from tedious work.”
“We’ll get Quinton started on it, he’s been drawing pictures and planning all sorts of things for the castle. Rose gave him an entire list of things to work on before we left for Venecia.”
Nathan chuckled. “Rose certainly does have some interesting ideas.”
“How is she doing? I’ve been so busy dealing with the Venecian council and the trips back and forth I haven’t spent any time with her since we found out about Ava’s death.”
“She is doing good. I honestly think she is handling it better than I am. She spends most of her time at the magic school and with Avera. I don’t see her much either, but she’s made friends and seems happy.”
“Good. Ava’s death was hard on all of us. Do you think the necklace helps?”
When Ava had died, Hanna had connected Ava’s spirit to a pair of gemstones. The spirit stones connected the wearer to the spirit world. Hanna had a strong magical connection to the spirit world that matched Nathan’s connection to earth magic. Nathan had taken the spirit stones and made them into a pair of necklaces using his own magical ability to shape black steel into jewelry. Nathan had one and Rose the other. “Honestly, I think she has a much stronger connection to Ava than I do.”
“Strange. You would think you having such strong magical bloodlines would give you the stronger magical connection.”
“I asked Demarion Black about that, he says it isn’t strange at all. That being gifted in one type of magic doesn’t mean you necessarily are strong in other types of magic. In fact, he says my affinity for earth magic may be dampening the connection. I could never be a spirit warrior like Hanna.”
“Perhaps that is for the best,” said Sharon.
“Hey, where is Quinton anyways? Shouldn’t he be with you?”
Sharon laughed. “He’s in the city visiting with some of his old friends, I wanted to get back and discuss the trip with Avera.”
“Let’s go find her. I have to report on Tarnstead as well.”
“You remember when we used to play Bartoh growing up?” asked Sharon.
“Sure. I used to love Bartoh.”
“You realize that was only a couple years ago. We’ve gone from playing Bartoh to running a kingdom. I was your age when we were still playing.”
“It’s not like there was much else to do,” said Nathan.
“I just mean look at how innocent and young we were. A bad day was you getting in a fight over Ava. My life revolved around my friends and what boys were interested in me. We both are so different now.”
Nathan smiled as he remembered the memories Sharon was talking about. His first fight had been over Ava. It had been a different world back then. An average day was working with his parents then spending time with friends, mostly Ava. It had been a good childhood, but Sharon was right, they had been innocent and had no clue how dangerous the world really was. His parents had given him the gift of a sheltered childhood, it was something Rose and many others didn’t get. “I wonder if Rose will teach the kids from Balta about Bartoh.”
“I don’t think Rose has time for kid games. If it isn’t magic or her normal studies, she isn’t interested.”
“She should make time for fun, we all should. Avera and I have a festival to go to in Raumont. I was thinking we should create a festival of our own in Elderwood.”
“You want people from Tarnstead to c
ome to Elderwood for a festival?”
Nathan frowned, he could tell from Sharon’s tone she didn’t think it was a good idea. “Why not? We should be friends with our neighbors. And not just Tarnstead. All of Solotine.”
“Yes, but you haven’t exactly been circumspect or subtle about your use of magic here. I mean look around.” As they approached the doors to the castle Sharon turned around to examine the courtyard. “Don’t get me wrong, the courtyard is beautiful, and I love it, but are the people of Solotine ready for magic users?”
“They need to see magic isn’t bad. Coming to Elderwood and seeing how we use magic for good will show them they don’t have to fear magic. People fear the unknown. The more they see magic, even simple illusions and glowing light spells, the better.”
“I suppose you are right, you will have to tell your ideas to Demarion Black. The magic school students could come up with all sorts of simple things that would be entertaining. And you know Quinton would come up with something crazy.”
Nathan opened the doors to the castle. The huge doors, four-inch-thick cedar reinforced with black steel, swung open easily, another feature of the castle that had been enhanced with magic. Maggie, one of the house staff, came to the door.
“Prince Nathan, Lady Sharon, it is good to see you both back.”
“Thank you, Maggie.” Nathan had originally balked at the idea of having a staff. He wasn’t some stuffy royal that needed his bed made for him, or his breakfast cooked for him. But Avera had reminded him that him being recognized as a prince wasn’t about him, and maintaining a castle was a full-time job, not one he or she could do. Maggie and her husband Ruphus had been part of Avera’s staff at her home in Balta and had been one of the first to request a position in the new castle. Maggie and Ruphus were great with Rose and Sharon and had made the move to Balta easy. It hadn’t taken much for Nathan to bend to Avera’s logic and as usual she’d been right. Maggie and the rest of the staff were a godsend. Maggie was amazingly well organized and always seemed to know what was going on in the kingdom.
“Shall I inform Lady Avera you are here? She’s in the library.”
The library was the main meeting room and was one of the biggest rooms in the castle. It filled a large percentage of the second floor. It was a great workspace, and the only thing missing from the library was books. Very few scrolls and books had made it from Balta. But Nathan had really liked the library in the castle at Balta and one day he hoped the shelves would be full of books and scrolls. For now, it was more of a war room and meeting place, but one day it would be a proper library. “Yes, Maggie, that would be good. Inform her we will join her shortly. I want to change out of my road clothes.”
Sharon grabbed his tunic and put her finger through one of the new holes. “Yes, something with less damage would be good.”
Nathan shrugged. “It’s not like I try to find trouble.”
Sharon shook her head. “It’s not like you try to avoid it either. I will see you in the library.”
Nathan headed up the stairs. His bedroom was on the fourth floor. As he entered the room he removed his tunic then his armor and undershirt. Grabbing a clean, hole-free shirt, he walked out onto the balcony and gazed out onto the canyon valley. It wasn’t the grand expansive views his bedroom in Avera’s house in Balta had, but it was glorious in its own right. Looking over the emerging city and farms that were quickly filling the valley gave Nathan a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Balta had been beautiful, but Elderwood was something he was building. From the sturdy blocks of the outer wall that protected the canyon to the magical stones used in the courtyard, he had a hand in building it all. Perhaps it was why his father had enjoyed being a blacksmith so much, creating things that could last forever.
Nathan walked into the library, at the table were Aunt Avera and Sharon going over a raft of ledgers.
“Creyta had a wheat crop shortage, so prices are high. Any extra wheat we have can be sold in Venecia for a premium right now,” said Sharon.
“We barely have enough for ourselves. But we could trade for more from Tarnstead, they’ve had a good year and their prices haven’t gone up yet,” said Avera. She then stood and hugged Nathan as he joined them at the table. “How was your visit to Salma?”
Nathan filled her in on his trip, starting with the bandits on the trail to the invitations to the festival in Raumont and Count Mavane’s assessment of the troubles in Tarnstead.
“The bandit attacks are troubling, especially if they are being sponsored by one of the lords of Tarnstead looking to create trouble for the king. If that is the case, we will see more attacks along the trade routes. I’ll have Verin add more men to the trade caravans,” said Avera.
“Nathan, tell her about your festival idea,” said Sharon.
Avera raised an eyebrow.
“I was thinking we should host a festival here. Give our people a celebration and give people from Salma and the other cities in Tarnstead a reason to come see Elderwood.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea,” said Avera.
“He wants to make it a very magical festival,” said Sharon. “To show everyone magic is good.”
“Well, that is bold. Aren’t you worried about advertising Elderwood as a magical kingdom? It will create new enemies. There are many in Solotine who feel magic is used only by fools and demons.”
“It is that attitude that needs to die. You needn’t remind me of how the people of Solotine think about magic. I have firsthand knowledge,” said Nathan. “And we’ve already got enemies who use magic. I consider Lord Zellox far more of a threat. Magic is a gift, one we need to embrace.”
“Yes, you would know all about the attitudes of Solotinians, you’ve spent far more time here than I have. I’m just used to hiding my magical abilities. A magic festival would certainly open some eyes to what it can do. Demarion and Lilliana could have the students work on projects for the festival. You and Quinton as well. But I would caution that we might want to keep it simple, at least for the first couple years. I do believe the people of Solotine can change their feelings on magic, but we don’t want to overwhelm them to the point of reinforcing their fears.”
Nathan nodded. Aunt Avera had a point. “We can keep it to simple magics, lots of entertainment, some music, some wine.”
“I like it. We can put out invitations when we go to Raumont. When do we want to have our festival?”
“The coming lunar alignment,” said Nathan. There were only a few months until the two moons are lined up with the sun.
“A lunar festival, that is appropriate. Many magics are at their strongest during lunar events. I will start organizing it,” said Avera.
“It sounds wonderful. Rose will be ecstatic,” said Sharon.
Avera smiled. “If the rest of Solotine embraces magic the way Rose has we would be a nation of mages. Demarion tells me she is by far his most dedicated student.”
Even though Nathan and Rose lived in the same building, Nathan rarely saw the child. The months of building the castle and the other buildings and structures of Elderwood had been a routine of working day break to dark cutting the stones. Only he and Rayan Rosa had strong enough earth magic to cut the stones. And Rose spent much of her time at the magic school. Nathan saw lots of the older students who’d been taught how to use levitation, but the beginner students weren’t involved in the construction projects. However, every time they talked, the school was the only thing on Rose’s mind and she would eagerly tell Nathan all she’d done and learned that day. It was a reminder to him that his own magical knowledge was far from complete and he too needed to make his way to the school. He smiled as he thought about his own magical lessons he and Ava had received from Balthazar.
“Have you given any thoughts to your next projects?” asked Avera. “There is a list of projects that require stone, but I don’t think anyone expects you or Rayan to spend all your time cutting stones.”
“I don’t mind cutting stones, I will probably d
edicate one day a week to doing it. As for new projects for myself, I want to explore the western lands more, perhaps visit the villages to the west, and then I would like to spend some time at the magic school. And I want to finish my new blacksmith shop.”
“Be careful. The reports we get from the rangers are that the western lands are very harsh,” said Avera.
“I’ve spent some time in the desert. Mother and father took me with them a few times. The desert has important herbs and spices my mother collected. I know how harsh the badlands are, but they are only a strip. Father and mother had both gone farther. The lands are much different along the coastal mountains, almost rain forest like. Father always said he would one day take me there, but that never happened.”
“My father talked of the western lands,” said Sharon. “He’d gone there before he met my mother. He said they were beautiful but too wet for his liking. He’d traveled all over Southern Solotine before deciding he liked Elderwood. Of course, his reason for staying in Elderwood had less to do with the weather than it did meeting my mother.”
Nathan smiled. It wasn’t often they talked about their pasts, and often when they did it revolved around the attack, but they had so many other shared memories, it was nice to talk about the old village of Elderwood. It had grown because of the dense source of elderberries that grew in the region, and as more businesses developed it slowly grew over time. His own parents had chosen to live in Elderwood at least partly because it was a small and sleepy village that wasn’t part of any kingdom. Nathan suspected his mother had had a strong say in the choice as well. The great swamp, just north east of the village, was a treasure trove of ingredients for her apothecary business. The swamp provided much of what she’d needed to make salves, healing potions, and other products like soaps and perfumes.
Treachery in Tarnstead (Stoneblood Saga Book 5) Page 3