To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles)

by Buttrick, John

  Sherree had nearly forgotten the unobtrusive fellow had a tendency to be keenly observant. “Did you hear about the Grand Maestro’s new decree?” She inquired without being specific.

  Simon nodded affirmatively. “Maestro Cransur made the announcement a short while ago. You and I know Daniel will never comply.”

  Sherree and Simon discussed the possible ramifications and the risks they were both willing to take, seeing as neither of them would stop helping Daniel and Sherree was pleased with Simon’s level of commitment. “And so I am essentially tagging along on the mission because Senior Forester Galloway, my Mentor, told me he was chosen by Maestro Reese to be among the twenty Willows assigned to the task. I needed to make sure Spud was ready for the journey,” the Sapling finished his explanation of how he came to be in the stables.

  Sherree told him all about her meeting with Janna Barroon and finished adding, “It seems we are both going on the same journey and for similar reasons,” giving her own explanation.

  Simon licked his lips, which slowly formed into a secret smile, as if he found a peace of a puzzle and just realized where it fit. “Your Maestro knows Daniel is the Chosen Vessel. I think she sees you as a means to get the message to him and for you to do so sooner rather than later, seeing as you would be breaking the law after three days.”

  His idea involved a great deal of guess work and Sherree could not as yet make herself come to the same conclusion. “I fail to see why you believe that.”

  Simon shrugged his shoulders and then leaned on the stall to the left. “A Maestro would not have summoned you just to reveal your new assignment, something any Practitioner could have told you, for one thing. And for another, she reminded you only one person remains in Aakadon who has been restored from Condemnation by Daniel. In fact, according to you, she went out of her way to remind you of your previous interview at the beginning of the audience. I am probably the only Aakacarn in Aakadon who believes your will is entirely your own. After he confessed to using a modified version of Tarin Conn’s spell, even those supportive of Daniel believe he could easily take your free will away by reversing the command.”

  Sherree considered her brief audience with the Maestro and decided the Sapling had pieced together what she failed to see. Janna Barroon went out of her way to speak of the intimate connection she observed between Sherree and Daniel, how he had eyes for no one else in that crowd. Thank the Creator the Maestro did not seem to suspect just how intimate that connection is, Sherree thought and did not dare speak out loud, not even in front of Simon. She smiled, unable to hold back the brief flare of positive emotion in the midst of her internal turmoil. “I agree with your conclusion and begin to see why Daniel holds you in such high regard.”

  Simon waved the compliment away with a casual sweep of his hand. “He has never failed to notice me.”

  Sherree removed the communication amulet from the inner pocket of her scarlet on black silk cloak. The topaz stone with a sapphire falcon clutching a diamond lightning bolt in its talons always reminded her of the uniqueness of the man who made it. With the gem touching her forehead she sent, “That was quite a show you put on.”

  A sense of love and amusement came through the connection ahead of the reply. “Did you like it?”

  “All but the part where you revealed more than you should,” she sent back and then went on to explain in detail what transpired since he came and went. “How are we going to fix this?”

  A tight mental focus, along with and a strong sense of musicality, flowed through the connection, and then the whip crack sound of air being displaced startled all of the horses on this end of the stable, as well as some familiar owls perched nearby. Daniel suddenly stood directly behind Simon, who jumped nearly a cubit straight up, and then asked “What held you up?” after his feet hit the hay-strewn floor.

  It took all of Sherree’s self control not to throw herself into her husband’s arms in front of the Sapling. “Can you warn a person before doing that?” she scolded without a trace of rancor. She wanted to kiss him and drat the man for knowing it and smiling at her like that.

  “Greetings Simon, it took a few moments to fix the location through Flit,” Daniel replied while pointing to a barn owl clutching the top of a nearby stall. He made no mention of giving warning ahead of time in the future, but confessed to transporting the Accomplisheds of the Tomlin project to his southern estate along with Reginald. “Sherree, Simon, I can take you both with me right now. If Maestro Barroon suspects the connection then you can be sure Efferin will eventually come to the same conclusion. It is not safe here for either of you. A Sapling who has been so closely linked with me from the time he was a Talented is likely to draw suspicion.”

  Sherree came close to agreeing with him and a large part of her heart wanted to go immediately, move on to the next faze of her life with the man she loves, and who loves her in return. The Maestro of the Aloe Guild knows of the connection and will, no doubt, from this day forward, question the loyalty of an Intern who had been watched so closely in the coliseum by Daniel Benhannon. Sherree had to admit, her career is essentially over, yet there was something compelling about the mission, and she hesitated to abandon the Aloe Guild at this point.

  “Daniel, our Mentors have been assigned a mission, something important, and whatever it is will be taking place in Lobenia,” Simon replied. “I have learned that much about it. Maestro Reese is going to be the leader so it must be significant.”

  Daniel glanced away as if taking a moment to think and then focused on Sherree. “It must be Shantear.”

  Those four words triggered the understanding in Sherree’s mind. “They are going to perform the Grand Symphony you proposed.”

  “What?” Simon blurted.

  Daniel nodded affirmatively. “We all have a vested interest in the mission being successful. The spells holding Tarin Conn need to be strengthened.”

  Simon’s eyes flickered back and forth between Sherree and Daniel before settling fixedly on her husband. “The idea makes perfect sense. I am surprised they listened to you.”

  Daniel chuckled, unable to suppress his amusement, so Sherree decided to answer. “I mentioned it to Maestro Barnes and he must have proposed the idea to the other Maestros.” The Sapling nodded his acceptance of the fact.

  She pondered the matter, weighed her desire to be with Daniel, along with the importance of the mission, and made up her mind. “I will sever my ties with the Aloe Guild and be at your side all the way,” she began and then raised her hand when it looked like he was about to interrupt. “I will do so after the mission is completed. This is something I must be a part of, I can feel it, and know in my heart it is my destiny to be at Shantear.”

  “I feel the same way,” Simon quickly gave his answer and then added, “I think you feel it too.”

  Daniel nodded his head. “I do,” he admitted and then hugged Sherree.

  Just when it seemed he would never let go, not that she wanted him to do so, he stepped back from the embrace, and then turned to Simon. “Watch each other’s backs. Be sure I will be watching both of you,” he said, clapped Simon on the back, and then added, “Close your eyes.”

  Sherree realized she had been given the warning she asked for and closed her eyes. The sound of displaced air snapping back signaled his departure, yet even with her eyes closed the flash lit the inside of her eyelids.

  -------

  “Three days are up, you are now officially a rogue Accomplished,” Jeremiah Lassiter announced as he entered Daniel’s office on the southern estate, just after the first nightstick had been created. The blue silks suited the man well with a golden lighting bolt on each shoulder. He had been given a level four baton and an increased repertoire, courtesy of Leah. She had come and educated all of the newly recruited Accomplisheds from Aakadon, not that they needed much training, and then conveyed back to the Northland Holding.

  Daniel shrugged off the arrest warrant, being in trouble with the Grand Maestro was n
othing new; this was just an added wrinkle, another task on his list of chores. “So are you, for associating with me. At least I am in good company.”

  Lassiter nodded agreement with the response and yet his frown did not go away. “According to my feathered scouts,” the man had taken to linking with animals like a frog to a lily pad, “a flock of twenty Soarers is on its way to carry out the warrant. I estimate they will be here within two marks.” The estate is a rectangle twenty-five spans from east to west and sixteen and a half spans north to south, which means the flock is within Daniel’s jurisdiction. “You have twenty-one Accomplisheds with superior spells and armed with type one level four crescendos,” Jeremiah went on to say, “so I have no doubt we will win if this confrontation turns ugly. My question is how are you going to handle it? There will be no going back once blood is shed between our association and Aakadon.”

  The former Senior Soarer was trying to be helpful, Daniel understood, and had no doubt the man would shed that blood if ordered to do so. The words were meant as a caution. “They will attempt to arrest us, we will resist, and they will resort to spell casting. This is inevitable, which is why every Guardsmen and Sentinel will be issued one of these nightsticks, both here and in the Northland,” he replied while holding up the black copper-capped club.

  Lassiter’s eyes widened as they fixed on the object in the hand of his leader. “I see where the non-Aakacarns would find such a weapon useful as a form of deterrent, yet must admit I fail to see how these will help solve our problem with the flock.”

  “This is a CPA and has the spell, Sleep Time, within the gem,” Daniel replied while holding it out for inspection.

  Lassiter took the device, about a cubit long, narrow at one end and tapering out to the thickness of his wrist before rounding on the other end. He took a few swings as if testing the balance. “Nicely made and it gives our people the ability to use non-deadly force. I gather from this that we Accomplisheds will be using non-lethal spells on the flock.”

  Daniel nodded his head. “You have gathered correctly and with folks armed with these, that flock will be facing a thousand Guardsmen as well as twenty-two Accomplisheds, counting me,” he replied and then led Jeremiah out and down the hall, into the north wing, and to the room assigned to Reginald Bercop.

  The sign above the door read, Benhannon Estate Provisioner. The southern estate had no such title until two days ago and had depended mostly on Daniel to supply whatever needed to be duplicated through spell casting. The task did not require a great deal of potential, yet it was time consuming.

  The new recruit stood up from his worktable when he noticed who came through the door. “Maes.., Sir Daniel, how may I serve?”

  Half of the room was filled with rocks, gems, precious metals, and tubs of water. The other half contained many shelves full of finished products.

  Daniel chose to ignore the slip of the tongue as if it had not occurred and handed his new creation to the Provisioner. “This is a nightstick with a CPA infused with Sleep Time. I need you to make one thousand of these within the mark and will want an additional three thousand made within the next few days. Half of these are to be sent to the Northland Holding.”

  “Are the nightsticks to be used on the Soarers?” Reginald asked, his eyes widening with anticipation. His lack of a lightning bolt did not mean he was feeble minded. He obviously knew what was going on around him.

  “Yes, Accomplished, when you finish the first batch, have the Guardsmen pass through, collect one apiece, and then join us at the East Gate. I want you to be a part of this,” Daniel replied.

  Pleasure radiated from the Provisioner at hearing he was being included. “I will get to work right away,” he stated, held the nightstick in his right hand, and concentrated on the thirty rocks currently on his table. He glowed with potential and after about a minute, the rocks formed into thirty nightsticks.

  “Keep up the good work,” Daniel encouraged the Provisioner, and then headed outside with Lassiter keeping step right behind him.

  The four-storied manor house, facing south, with a lookout tower rising thirty cubits from the center of the roof had one story wings twenty strides wide, stretching out north, east, and west another thirty strides. The manicured grounds covered a square span area and were surrounded by a granite wall ten cubits high, two thick with ledges facing inward about half way up for people to stand on, and step ladders at various intervals for access, for those who did not simply hop on. Fruit trees, squared off hedges, and beds of flowers decorated the lawn most of the year. Snow would soon be falling and the air had a chill, so there were no flowers, just a promise of a white blanket covering the ground in the near future. The stables were on the west side of the estate and had recently been expanded to twice their original dimensions with an additional four levels below ground. Jerremy and his recently recruited associates of the Stone Guild were working on the large complex beneath the grounds Daniel had approved of in the meeting not many days ago. He and Leah both decided they did not need to do the work themselves after teaching the Accomplisheds, Fashioning. The former members of the Stone Guild were happy to take over the project.

  Reginald finished duplicating the nightsticks about three quarters of a mark later and Marcus had the Guardsmen assemble at the north gate. All one thousand were given time to get acquainted with the use of the new weapon while the twenty other Accomplisheds now living and working at the Southern Estate gathered around Daniel and Lassiter.

  “The flock of Soarers will be coming into sight shortly,” Jeremiah announced to the assembly.

  A Melody was taking shape in Daniel’s mind while the former Senior Soarer explained the plan. Half way through the instructions, the tune reached the point where Daniel knew it would do as he desired after adding a three part harmony. A fourth part entered his mind that would cause the person to forget his repertoire and a fifth line erasing all of the person’s memories. He chose to drop the last two harmony lines, having no desire to Silence the Accomplisheds or reduce their minds to those of infants, but those two versions were locked into his memory. The Melody with the three part harmony he titled, Forgettable.

  “Everyone, take your places on the wall and stay low until Sir Daniel gives the signal,” Marcus commanded and a thousand Guardsmen spread out in an orderly fashion and then climbed the ladders. Towering Roder Keenan and low-browed Chuc Carlin, who spit out a wad of tobacco, split the company between them. Every person on the wall crouched down out of sight.

  Daniel and his twenty-one Accomplisheds stepped outside of the spell-enhanced brass gates and then watched as the flock of Soarers, half One-bolts and the rest Two-bolts; approached on their steeds. A corpulent man dressed in the red on black silks of Aakadon, as were they all, rode forward of the two columns. His brown eyes widened as his gaze took in the people wearing blue silks, most of which had two or more bolts on the hoods of their cloaks. Four of the restored Aakademneds had three bolts of potential at their command. He cleared his throat and spoke up in a spell-amplified voice, no doubt so everyone in the estate could hear him.

  “Daniel Benhannon, I am Jerroam Karfen, Flock Leader and Soarer of the Eagle Guild, a two-bolt Accomplished. For failure to follow decree number three-two-eight-nine-seven-one, issued by Grand Maestro Efferin Tames, you are hereby declared a rogue Accomplished and I have a warrant for your arrest, signed by Talmon Reese, the Maestro of the Eagle Guild. You must come with us immediately.” The warrant signed by Reese had to have been written days ago, meaning no one believed the decree would be honored.

  Reginald walked forward, stood in front of the mounted man, and introduced himself, “I am Reginald Bercop, the Benhannon Estate Provisioner and Accomplished.” He pulled out a fancy sheet of parchment and stated, “You are in the kingdom of Ducaun, Aakadon has no authority here, and all of you Soarers are trespassing on the property and jurisdiction of Sir Daniel Benhannon, the twenty-first Royal Knight of the Realm, and Lord of the Land, a seven-bolt Accomplished,”
he finished and then handed the paper to Karfen and added, “This is an official notice of trespass. I suggest you vacate the jurisdiction at once.”

  Karfen shook his head and looked beyond Reginald to Daniel. “I am not surprised you have chosen to follow this course of action. However, Jeremiah, I am surprised to find you here associating with the rogue. I do not blame you for leaving Aakadon, given your circumstances, but to stand against us, members of your former guild, I confess to being disappointed.”

  “Jerroam, the Maestro of the Eagle Guild declared me to be dead and refused to allow me back into his society. Sir Daniel has restored and welcomed me into his service. I am proud to serve the Chosen Vessel and strongly suggest you follow the advice of Accomplished Bercop and exit the premises,” Lassiter replied without hesitation.

  The nineteen mounted Accomplisheds drew their batons and the move seemed to embolden Karfen, seeing as no one on Daniel’s side moved a finger. The Flock Leader leaned forward in his saddle. “You are all under arrest. The Grand Maestro is correct. Daniel Benhannon, you are a rogue and attempting to establish your own guild, just like Tarin Conn. Come with us peacefully or you will be compelled to do so.”

  Daniel raised his right hand and one thousand Guardsmen, five hundred on the wall to the right of the gate, five hundred to the left, stood up with nightsticks in hand, and blue beams of light shot into the Soarers. So startled were they by the abrupt appearance and surprise at seeing non-Aakacarns wielding potential, they fell asleep without managing to cast a single spell, much less put up a fight. Cushions of air in various colors appeared as multiple estate Accomplisheds decided to have compassion and break the Soarers’ fall to the ground. A cheer broke out from those on the wall, yet Daniel did not see this as any great victory, only a chore that needed taken care of. He summoned the spell, Forgettable, and focused on the sleeping Aakacarns while Jared, Keenan, and Carlin ordered the walls cleared.