To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles)

by Buttrick, John

  “I am ready to receive your report, Captain. Give me the short version now and I will read the more detailed one in your hand in due time,” Jathem commanded and prepared to hear bad news. The strain on the Captain’s face hinted at what was to follow.

  “Food has been stolen from the supply room,” Johannan began, perhaps wanting to start with the less pleasant occurrences first and then build up to the worst. “Your room is in disarray along with those of Lord Jonah and each of the Royal Knights of the Realm. Whoever entered your quarters apparently took nothing yet clearly was looking for some item.”

  The Knights of the Realm were on their way to Sir Daniel’s holding, as would soon be Captain Yolan and his two thousand horsemen. Jathem intended to go there shortly, but this development troubled him enough to postpone his plan for another mark or so. The latest report sent from Sir Daniel spoke of a permanent Sutton Guard fortress being built just a few spans from the border, grim news to be sure, and the main reason most everyone was heading for the Benhannon compound. As for what the intruder had been looking for, there was one item of strategic importance in the area Jathem knew about. “The flute of Della Lain is the only object I can think of that would be of interest to the army north of the border.”

  Johannan licked his lips, a nervous habit of his, and then nodded his head. “If the item of interest is the flute, and I believe it is, the Aakacarns reported to be assisting General Kall would in deed be seeking the ancient instrument, and the person or persons responsible for the killings could be Accomplisheds of the Serpent Guild. Fort Casum has been searched most thoroughly and I can say with certainty the intruder is no longer within these walls.” No wonder the Captain’s nerves were on edge, the thought of an Aakacarn assassin was a thing of nightmares.

  Yolan leaned forward in his chair. “If the assassin is an Aakacarn, bringing him or her to account is going to be hazardous in the extreme. I volunteer to hunt this intruder.”

  Jathem understood the zeal of the young officer, yet had no intention of changing his plans. “Captain Johannan and his men will remain here at Fort Casum and will relay information to the other forts as is necessary. He will find out how the perpetrator managed to get in, so it does not happen again, and bring the person responsible to justice. You will lead your men north to the Benhannon Holding, where tents will be pitched within the walls near each of the gates, and prepare to defend the wall or lead an offensive charge out, depending on the circumstances.”

  The young officer stood up and saluted. “It will be as you say, General.”

  Jathem watched as the two captains exited his office. Lieutenant Benettle drew in a deep breath. The red-haired man had been his aid for years and had dragged his wounded body to safety a time or two. Benettle’s bravery and devotion to duty were unquestioned. “General, it was my understanding we would be moving to the Benhannon Holding with Yolan’s men.”

  Jathem glanced at the report on his desk. “I’m going to read this document. When the Northwestern Legion arrives, we will travel with General Malcus to Sir Daniel’s holding.”

  -------

  Daniel awakened with Sherree in the bed beside him, glad he and his parents had decided to pass on by Ducanton and head to his northland holding. He purchased a berth at Port Valeen and left the RiverDancer docked there and then conveyed him and his parents to his office last night. Morning light beamed through the window and he shifted slightly under the covers and drew a contented breath. The warmth of his wife’s body against his felt so good he did not want to get up, preferring to simply lie there and enjoy the moment.

  Two thousand horsemen from Tallen’s Northeastern Legion, along with the entire Northwestern Legion were all camped within the walls, and the respective Generals and their staffs were occupying rooms just down the hall along with the other Royal Knights of the Realm. Daniel had a feeling that quiet moments with Sherree would not come often or last as long in the foreseeable future.

  “Much as I am enjoying this cuddle,” Sherree spoke up and shifted to where her head lay on his chest before finishing her sentence. “It is past time for me to convey back to my room.”

  Daniel began caressing her. “How long have you been awake?”

  “Since before sun up” she replied.

  “I am surprised you are still here. Is there a reason beyond wanting to spend more time with your husband?”

  Sherree shifted to where she could look him in the eyes. “I had a talk with Marsha and she told me about Silvia’s revelation. You cannot prevail against Tarin Conn without forming an alliance of some sort with Aakadon.”

  Daniel still did not know how to persuade Efferin Tames to see him as an ally, rather than a rival, and the addition of a seventh lightning bolt in potential would not make the chore any easier. “You know how the Grand Maestro will view my new ranking as a seven-bolt Accomplished.”

  Sherree’s green-eyed stare intensified briefly and then softened. “I think I am angrier over what he did to you than you are. Be that as it is, your having acquired a seventh bolt might be enough to persuade him you are the Chosen Vessel.”

  Daniel had a bad feeling about where this conversation was leading. “I’m not sure Efferin would be so easily convinced. Be that as it may, there must be a reason you are telling me this.”

  “You need allies in Aakadon. I have decided the best way for me to help rally support for you is to go there with Simon and the other Accomplisheds,” she said the words in a rush. And then added before he could respond, “We can still meet with each other through Conveyance.”

  Except coordinating those meetings would not be so easy, he knew. She would have a difficult time finding a place where other Accomplisheds could not feel the harmonic waves of the spell. “Putting our getting together aside for the moment, you are an Intern studying under Fenton Chen, and are more likely to be sent back to him than spending any great deal of time in Aakadon.”

  Sherree smiled knowingly, as if she expected his response, and was ready for it. “What you say is true, I will eventually be sent back to my mentor, but not before I talk to our fellow Accomplisheds, and exchange communication amulets with those who accept your being the Chosen Vessel, or are at least open minded.”

  Daniel knew when he married her that she wanted to have him and a career in the Aloe Guild, so really could not rightly insist on her staying with him, especially since he truly did need allies in Aakadon. “I am thankful Fenton is the Accomplished to Ducanton. When you are through gaining support and are sent back to your mentor, we will be able to see each other without causing suspicion.”

  Sherree kissed him on the lips. “I knew you would see reason. Fenton Chen was wrong aboutD.L. meaning, Determined Lethal, but he is a great and gifted Senior Practitioner, and his backing, given the reputation he has, could influence many people to our cause.”

  Daniel did not feel so optimistic about the entire notion, yet had to admit the prospect of being parted from Sherree was coloring his outlook. “Can Fenton Chen be trusted?”

  Sherree threw off the covers and reached for her panties. It was time to get dressed, for both of them. “According to Simon, the team Fenton sent to deal with the quarantine we were under arrived marks ahead of the teams requested by he and Samuel. Even if the Aloe Guild members who were sent had arrived in time, Serin Gell might well have captured and condemn them. I believe Fenton Chen did the best he could with the information he had.” She said and then an amber glow radiated from her body.

  Daniel got up, cast, Refresh, cleansing his body, and put on his uniform while Sherree put on her red on black silks. He had retrieved certain items from his desk drawer before coming to bed and now the time had come to show them to his wife. Opening the drawer of the night table, he withdrew the objects. “I have something for you.”

  Sherree’s left eyebrow arched up and then both eyes widen when she saw what he had. “Diamond-bladed knives, they are beautiful,” she said while taking the one he handed her and examining it clos
ely.

  “They are crescendos with seven bolts of amplification. Our marriage is a secret, so we cannot wear rings. I thought these could not only be practical, they can represent our union,” Daniel said and handed her a gold-colored sheath to go with the knife. His sheath was black leather and could be attached to his sword belt next to his trusty old knife.

  Sherree attached the gold sheath to her belt and then gave him a hug. “I will cherish and use it well.”

  When she vanished in a flash of light using her new crescendo, he went down and had breakfast with his parents and Commander Herling. After a brief meeting he went to his office and decided to get creative and make some weapons for the Chosen’s Sentinels. A bucket of rocks and bits of metal were on his desk, no doubt the work of Jaim Cutler, who evidently decided a fresh supply was needed every morning.

  Daniel formed the metal into a dagger with a blade that shined like a mirror, formed a black handle and grip, and then cast, Potentializing the Baton, converting the dagger into a crescendo. He then touched his gold buckle, turned a rock into a duplicate and then altered the shape into a setting for a stone. He took a ruby from his silk purse and then set the stone and cast, Lance of Light, focusing and locking the spell into the amulet. This Crescendo-Powered Amulet should give his Sentinels a huge advantage.

  He removed Silvia’s crossbow, held it in his hand, and cast, Change It, forming a duplicate out of several large rocks, then turned all but two of the rocks into miniature bolts using the same process. He changed one of the remaining rocks into a gold buckle and the other smaller one into a ruby. The buckle he split in half, reformed the first part into a cap and placed it on the front of the crossbow just beneath where the bolt would lay, and then cast, Potentializing the baton, and felt his lightning bolts tingling as the spell created the powerful crescendo. He then made an amulet out of the other half of the buckle and cast, Pebbles of Fire, into the ruby. This he placed right below the bolt release.

  David had been joking about the shield placed on him and Silvia on the journey through the swamps and yet those shields proved to be necessary. Would not the Sentinels be in such need? Daniel made another amulet, cast Personal Shield, shaped the shield to adapt to the wearer, and then locked the spell into the amber stone. The people in his service would need to keep the gem beneath their uniforms and in contact with their skin. This should keep them safe from ordinary attacks, blades, arrows, and the like, yet not so much against some of the spells Aakacarns could throw at them. Each sentinel would have vulnerable points, the ears, eyes, mouth, and finger tips. Physical contact must be made with the rubies in order to use their weapons. A lucky or well placed shot could injure or kill them. Even so the shield amulet is better than any armor ever made and gives them far greater freedom of movement.

  Everything comes with a cost and the protection comes with a price. Even though the shield would be fed and strengthen when hit by potential, not all attacks will be Aakacarn in nature, and the minimal energy to power the amulet will be drawn from the users life force. Therefore, Daniel decided each sentinel should only wear the amulet against their skin when on patrol, going into battle, or some other hazardous duty. It would also be prudent to assess their vat of life force energy and refill them when necessary, otherwise they will die.

  The bell rang and Jaim Cutler’s voice hollered in, “Sir Daniel, your Teki escorts are here.”

  “Enter,” Daniel replied and wondered if he should think of a title for David and Silvia. He supposed they were happy enough with the description or they would have done like most everyone else in his service and invented their own.

  Jaim walked in with Silvia and David right behind him. She noticed the duplicate crossbow immediately and went right to it.

  “I like that Dagger,” David said while picking up the new weapon. Considering the large quantity of blades hidden within his clothing, his reaction came as no surprise.

  “Don’t touch the gems,” Daniel warned as the juggler’s finger was poised to do just that.

  Silvia examined the ruby amulet on the crossbow. “So these are not for decoration. I thought you merely wanted yours to be fancier.”

  Daniel stood up and came from behind his desk. “We need to go outside, somewhere isolated, and test these things.”

  He took the weapons from them and headed out, they followed, and so did Jaim Cutler. The Northwestern Legion was camped among the trees to the north where the invasion from Pentrosa seemed likely to come. Tallen’s men were split into four groups with each camped at a gate. Daniel had no qualms about the arrangement. Chas is the Commander of this holding and so the arrangements had been made with him.

  As Daniel walked, more of his Sentinels joined the procession, and by the time he, David, Silvia, and Jaim, arrived in the west woods of his compound, eighty seven additional people stood watching.

  “Sir Daniel, are those the new weapons for the Chosen’s Sentinels?” Chas spoke up, even though the answer was obvious and the fact so well known by the other folks in blue, they had all dropped whatever they were doing and followed along.

  “These are the test versions,” David announced in an authoritative tone, giving the impression he knew all about them.

  Daniel handed the dagger to Silvia. “This dagger has a Crescendo-Powered Amulet. The CPA on this fires a lance of light. All you need do is aim and touch the ruby. The spell is fixed and so is the amount of potential required to cast it. Non-Aakacarns cannot focus life force energy so this is also pre-focused. Jana, would you set up a target beyond those trees, yes that’s it, the one that’s three hundred strides from here.”

  Jana Bencain ran out, found a fallen branch and set it up as the target. Silvia aimed the dagger and a lance of blue light shot from the point, flew straight out, punched through the dried branch, and embedded deep in the tree beyond it.

  “I saw the branch fall, but not what hit it,” David said and his face scrunched up in confusion.

  “Neither did I,” Chas stated, “but I like its effectiveness.”

  Silvia eyed her husband. “A lance of blue light shot out from the blade. I saw it clear as day. It punched through the branch and sank deep into that far pine. Although the lance of light is gone now, but if you look close enough you will see the hole.

  Sergeant Calver brought his hand to his brow and peered where she indicated. “Sure enough, there is a hole in the tree,” he confirmed and then rubbed his wide chin in wonderment.

  “Any Melody Wielder can see the lance of light,” Daniel began to explain. “Only the non-Aakacarn using the weapon can see the lance, the potential is too low for the rest of you to see. It is a minimal power spell, yet effective, and something you all can wield without draining away your life force energies.”

  Daniel reached out to Silvia for the dagger and gave her the crossbow in return. “This weapon can be used for the obvious, to launch miniature bolts, but that is not its most dangerous aspect. Silvia, aim at the tree and touch the ruby.”

  The Teki acrobat smiled and took aim, tiny fireballs the size of pebbles flew into the tree and stopped only when she took her finger off the ruby.

  Daniel was sure everyone had to have seen that, yet they said not a word. He turned and all of them stood with their mouths wide open, completely stunned. “Do you approve?” A loud affirmative shout irrupted in response.

  “Can I have a go?” David asked his wife.

  She handed him the crossbow and he sent a round of fiery pebbles into the tree. Daniel stopped the demonstration long enough to go put out the fire, heal the tree, and place a shield on the no longer scorched pine. At that point everyone wanted a turn using the dagger and the crossbow. Each person took the opportunity to test the weapons and last of all, the doorkeeper.

  “This is great,” Jaim shouted while sending a lance of light at the shielded tree.

  Daniel smiled at the doorkeeper. “I will take that as a seal of approval.”

  He then took the dagger, cast, Change It, and f
ocused on the ground, forming duplicates out of the dirt until he had a thousand. He did the same with the crossbows and made twenty bolts apiece. Four hundred of each weapon would be for his northland holding and six hundred for his estate down south, which should please Marcus. Hopefully the recruiting efforts will bring in enough people to use the extra daggerlances and crossbows.

  “Commander Herling, each member of the Chosen’s Sentinels is to be assigned a daggerlance and crossbow,” Daniel ordered and told what quantities were to be in the northland armory and which were to be prepared for transport to the southern estate. “Each member of the support staff is to be given a daggerlance. These weapons are to be considered restricted to members of our society and not to be discussed with anyone not a part of this group.”

  “It will be as you say, Sir Daniel,” Chas replied formally.

  Lieutenant Mallory SuKendall, her dark hair hanging in a single braid beneath her helmet, stepped forward and shouted. “Assume squad formations.”

  The unorganized mass suddenly became four squads with a sergeant at the front of each. Lieutenant Al Benkorren eyed the lineups and nodded approval. “Weapons will be collected by squad. Lightning,” he named the first and they ran forward and took up their weapons. He called out, “Stormcrow, Nighthawk, Quicksilver,” and soon each sentinel had a crossbow and daggerlance.

  Sergeant Tanner turned to his squad. “Quicksilver Squad, gather the remaining weapons.”

  His squad began the task of taking the rest of the weapons to building four, containing the armory, where they would be divided as ordered. Silvia and David each claimed a daggerlance for their own use. Daniel hoped this effort meant he was now at least walking in the marathon rather than crawling. He went to his office and notice Jaim Cutler caressing the new daggerlance sheathed to his belt.

  It was time to see what the enemy was up to. Daniel focused on Wisp, who was soaring above the new fortress of the Sutton Guard. Snow flurries filled the sky, promising heavier snow in the days to come. The legion of regular cavalry still occupied tents to the north of the elite guard and probably resented being out in the cold while the Suttons were warm and cozy inside. How long will Kall keep them from returning to Los Collins? The osprey had no answer. The raptor angled downward and settled on the branch of a honeylocust tree. Nothing of interest seemed to be happening among the Pentrosans so Daniel thanked Wisp and withdrew awareness.