“What are you going to do with them?” Jerremy inquired.
Daniel knew the journey to Shantear had begun and truly wanted to track the progress through his feathered and furred scouts. He also had more than thirty Condemneds and two Aakademneds to restore at the Northland Holding, courtesy of Samuel and Sandra, and a host of other responsibilities to the association. While he did not consider himself to be a Maestro, he sure felt the weight of leadership. People like Leah, Jared, Marcus, and Chas, helped a great deal, and yet the ultimate decisions always came back to Daniel. “I will convey them to an isolated area in Aakadon,” he answered, confident he had enough scouts in the city to find a suitable location.
Lassiter stepped up, gave the traditional nod of respect and said, “I request permission to use the spell, Cleansing The Thought, to make them forget this encounter and then convey them to a quiet place I know of within the Eagle Guild.” His memory loss spell was a specialty of his former association.
“I have taken care of your first request. They will not remember anything that happened over the last mark of time,” Daniel replied.
“And the other request?” Lassiter pressed, seemingly eager to take over the chore.
Daniel could think of no good reason to refuse and the chores waiting at the Northland Holding were not getting done while he stood here. “You may take them to Aakadon, but do not linger. I don’t want you to be arrested.”
“It will be as you say, Maestro,” Lassiter replied.
“I am not a Maestro,” Daniel stated for all to hear.
The former Senior Soarer smiled “If you say so,” he said and then vanished, taking with him the sleeping Accomplisheds of Aakadon.
The other Accomplisheds went back to their tasks, Jeremy DeSuan, Franklin Togan, and his team went back to work on the underground complex. Reginald had his chores set, the incident with the Soarers ended well, Daniel’s parents were on the RiverDancer scouting out possible locations for a port, and he decided it was time to head north in order to start chipping away at the chores waiting for him. Potential for Conveyance filled his being, and three heart beats later he arrived in the office of his northland holding.
Chapter Twenty: Too Late
Daniel sat behind his desk, eyes closed, and viewing a fleet of five sailing vessels through the eyes of Flex, one of eight eagles recently linked to him. The wind beneath his wings provided a lift above the world and a freedom most folks can scarcely imagine. Being one with the great bird allowed Daniel to experience the sensations. Whether it is running with the panthers and wolves or soaring with the birds, he found focusing on one of them and just tagging along for the ride to be relaxing, a great stress reliever. While he considered going through the sword forms and sparring to be great for the body, gliding on the wind was great for the soul.
The vessels below were transporting the Accomplisheds assigned to the Shantear Mission, along with their horses and supplies, yet it was the second boat with a pair of Aakacarns relaxing at the bow that held Daniel’s interest. Sherree and Simon were leaning against the rail, she pointed into the sky, and they both started waving at Flex, who let out a screech.
The small fleet was hundreds of spans west of Aakadon, moving up the Mighty Hirus, speeding against the current, driven by winds conjured by Accomplisheds of the Zephyr Guild. Daniel did not know the route Talmon Reese had in mind, only the destination. The vessels were sailing toward Hiac, a large town, at the junction where the Aczen River originated, flowing south out of the Mighty Hirus.
The bell rang and Jaim Cutler announced, “Sir Daniel, your Teki Seer wishes to speak with you.”
“I have a revelation,” Silvia spoke right up. Both of them interrupted the scouting mission. “Sorry if I woke you, but this is important,” she added.
Daniel opened his eyes while withdrawing his awareness from Flex. Chas had joined the meeting, which meant she wanted the Sentinel Commander to hear this as well. The Teki Seer did not sound sorry, not by her tone. “I was watching Sherree,” Daniel admitted. “What do I need to hear?”
“Then I truly am sorry for interrupting,” Silvia stated with a knowing smile that slowly faded into seriousness. “I see General Kall and his legion surrounding Trevica along with five Fon Kayan legions.”
Chas nodded his head as if it all made perfect sense. It made no sense to Daniel. The Pentrosans already invaded Ducaun once and all the inter-kingdom fleets on the Taltin Sea were poised to attack this kingdom, why would Battencay suddenly be the target?
“Now we know the other half of the spin off maneuver,” Chas said. “Ducaun is the strike Kall wanted the world to see while his attack on Battencay is the deadlier one he wanted concealed. I have to admit, he pulled it off well. Even with us knowing half of the two legions based north of us are regulars, we only knew to be on the lookout for the missing legion, and even then we thought the target would be somewhere in Ducaun. Yes, Kall executed his plan well.”
Daniel turned to Silvia. “Is your viewing a future event or happening even as we speak?”
The Seer looked him straight in the eye without biting her lip, which meant she had a perfect understanding of this revelation. “It is happening now. I see this as something more than political. If King Josher surrenders Trevica, this is not only going to be a victory for Fon Kay and Pentrosa, it will be a great victory for Tarin Conn as well.”
Daniel knew the Battencayan legions were at the border shared with Ducaun, thanks to the folly of politics, and were therefore incapable of reinforcing the capital. If it were not for the fact that this would also be a victory for Tarin Conn, Daniel would not feel compelled to act. As the Chosen Vessel, he had responsibilities beyond his role as a Ducaunan Royal Knight of the Realm. The choices are, walk away, stand and watch, or lend a hand. He decided to lend the hand.
Silvia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and shook her head. “I see Josher Noon exiting the city and he is going to surrender his sword to General Kall. We are too late. There is nothing we can do,” she informed and then squeezed her eyes tighter. “Now I am getting a glimpse of the future. The Battencayan legions will soon be absorbed into the Fon Kayan legions and I see trouble ahead for Lobenia and us.”
“Do you mean Lobenia and Ducaun or Lobenia and our association?” Daniel wanted clarification. He felt sad at the fall of Battencay, in which he did have cousins on his mother’s side, and sorry he could not save the kingdom, but worse over how it might affect the realm or his association.
Silvia opened her eyes. “There is no doubt in my mind, what will trouble Lobenia in the days to come will also involve our association. In fact, the Accomplisheds of Aakadon cannot succeed in their mission to Shantear without us, and we might well need them.”
Her previous revelation made known to him the importance of cooperation with Aakadon. Perhaps helping Maestro Reese strengthen the shields or at least helping him and his team arrive at Shantear is what her vision meant.
Daniel could think of no alternative but to provide an escort to Shantear. The arrest warrant he had considered to be a small wrinkle just grew much bigger. How is he going to protect people who will attempt to arrest him on sight?
“I recommend we take steps to assist and insure the safety of the Accomplisheds from Aakadon while not allowing them to arrest us,” Chas gave voice to a similar line of thinking.
Daniel nodded his head. “In a matter of days we will have a thousand Accomplisheds with a hundred or so Talenteds graduating within a month. We will find a way,” he replied and turned to the doorkeeper. “Jaim, ask Leah to join us.”
“It will be as you say, Sir Daniel,” Cutler replied with a salute and then exited the office.
Chas cleared his throat. “With that many Accomplisheds, we should have no problem assigning the tasks, and those chosen should each be able to convey a squad of Sentinels to assist them.”
Daniel had only thought of using Accomplisheds on the Shantear Mission, yet decided to give Commander Herling’s prop
osal some serious thought, and was about to say so when a communication interrupted his response. He raised his hand, signaling an in coming message. Chas and Silvia nodded their acknowledgment.
“Sir Daniel, Queen Cleona has agreed to the Emissaries,” Jared Benfyllon sent along with a strong sense of satisfaction. “She is aware of your rogue status and suggests, for the time being, that the Accomplisheds assigned as Emissaries wear the uniform of the Benhannon Guard. She believes Aakacarns in association with you, wearing silks, and displaying lightning bolts might give people the impression you are creating your own guild.”
“Thanks for your help in bringing this matter before the Queen,” Daniel sent his gratitude to the Account Keeper. “Unfortunately a goodly number of people already believe I am creating my own guild, including a few who should know better. Be that as it is, our Emissaries will have to wear the light blue wool and dark blue stripes of the Benhannon Guard, at least while at their posts.”
“I am happy to be of service,” Jared replied, making no comment on the creation of a guild. “I will be meeting with Accomplished Bercop about producing some precious gems for me to sell on behalf of your estate. I am glad you gave him the position,” he added and then ended the communication.
Leah joined the impromptu meeting, Daniel told her of the Emissaries, General Kall, and the Shantear Mission. “So you can assemble the Accomplisheds you selected and place them accordingly,” he finished.
“Samuel and Sandra are hunting Condemneds and I have already given assignments to all but one of our Accomplisheds formerly of the Eagle Guild, so I recommend Jeremiah Lassiter to assist you on the surveillance of the Aakadon expedition,” Leah suggested.
Daniel nodded agreement. “Since I am the only one who has scouts in the area, I will need to convey Lassiter and some of his feathered scouts into the vicinity so he will be able to track the Shantear team.”
“What about the Sentinels?” Commander Herling inquired.
Daniel made up his mind. “Assign a squad to work with me and one to work with Accomplished Lassiter. Every time I add an Accomplished to the mission you can assign a squad.”
Herling snapped a salute. “It will be as you say, Sir Daniel.” He then exited the office, no doubt to begin making the selections.
Daniel reached into his desk to remove the new communication amulet given to him by Jeremiah when he noticed Leah already had one against her forehead. He closed the drawer without removing the device and waited.
“Accomplished Lassiter has been informed. I will convey to your estate and bring him here while you work on your next set of chores,” she told him while returning the amulet to her pocket. “I will begin placing the Emissaries after I return. Transporting each pair will take time with some of the postings being in areas of Ducaun I have never visited.”
“Do like me, send your birds ahead, and then convey to the new locations,” Daniel advised.
Leah smiled. “It will be as you say, master of masters,” she replied and then walked out of the room.
Cute, very cute, as if he did not know a Maestro is considered to be a master of those who have mastered potential. If she and the others keep up this running joke, people will believe he actually is establishing his own guild. Daniel glanced at his Teki Seer. “If you intend to convey with Jeremiah and I, you might want to brief David on what we are doing.”
“I will do so immediately,” Silvia replied and then moved swiftly to wherever she is likely to find her husband. The man was probably throwing knives at something.
Daniel went down into the Health Wing of the underground complex. The Aakademneds and Condemneds had been grotesquely disfigured and gave off pungent odors. Even so he ignored the unpleasant feel of physical contact and took on the pain caused by the restoration process. After restoring them to health, he provided them with individual chambers to sleep in. A mark before sunset, He met Jeremiah Lassiter and a wide assortment of birds in the General Assembly Area beneath center court because the surface was coved by half a cubit of snow. Silvia and David were also present, each wearing gaudy clothes, a nightstick, daggerlance and crossbow. The Sentinels would not be making this trip, seeing as Daniel considered the tour was likely to be quick and uneventful.
He focused on Flex and through the eyes of the eagle looked down on the Accomplisheds of Aakadon who had disembarked and were now setting up camp a couple of spans west of the Aczen River. Flex began a spiral pattern in the sky, continuing to circle, until spotting a clearing about four spans distant and then landed in a tree. Daniel summoned the potential for Conveyance and three hearts beats later arrived in the shade beneath the branches along with the others.
Lassiter’s flock took to the air immediately and scattered. He glowed with potential and mumbled, “That does not look good.”
“Where are we?” David asked while eyeing the surroundings.
“We are in the northern frontier of Taracopa, about half a span south of the Hirus River, and a little over four spans on the west side of the Aczen. This is the extreme eastern edge of the Swamps of Append. It does not seem so because this is the dry season and the wetlands are much farther southwest,” Daniel replied in a tone similar to an instructor of Aakadon, while focusing his awareness from Flex into the other flying scouts he had in the vicinity.
“I was told there are one hundred forty-three Accomplisheds assigned to the Shantear Mission,” Lassiter remarked. “Yet I am sensing through that wonderful, Find All, spell you composed, four large groups of Aakacarns at the compass points with our friends from Aakadon at the center.”
Daniel cast, Find All, added a Da Capo to keep it going, and immediately sensed four groups of forty breaking up into smaller groups of ten, and spreading out chrono disc-wise. Each of those had an Aakademned and nine Condemneds, proving these Aakacarns were of the Serpent Guild. It was a good thing Jeremiah thought to scan the area. “The surrounding groups are hostiles. We must act now. Lassiter, you stay here while I convey to the opposite side of their formation. When I arrive, you cast whatever spell suits you, so long as it gives off enough ripples to alert the Accomplisheds in the camp. At that point, we will attack the Serpents, and save as many of the Condemneds as we can. David, Silvia, stay close to me.”
Lassiter nodded his head. “Good thinking, the plan will remove the element of surprise those Serpents are apparently counting on.”
Daniel focused on Skyler, an osprey, and then conveyed to the other side of the enemy formation, taking David and Silvia along for the ride. The juggler and acrobat had their weapons drawn, he with a daggerlance and she with the crossbow.
“I’ll use the nightstick on any Condemneds I spot,” Silvia stated while turning her head right and left, clearly looking for a target.
Daniel summoned the potential for, Sleep Time, and let it build up until he was sure the harmonic waves would spread out at least thirty spans, and then released the energy in a cone that fanned out to the right of the Aakadon encampment. Nearly a quarter of the Serpents fell to the ground along with scores of Condemneds and a host of tiny creatures that happened to be in the way. Surprise! Daniel thought as he felt harmonic pulses coming from Lassiter’s direction.
“Let’s run,” Daniel told his escorts.
They ran between trees, leaped over bushes, and soon reached the nearest band of Aakacarns. Daniel focused Sleep Time and his blue beam struck five shields, rendering his strike ineffective while fireballs, solidified blades of air, and lightning bolts flew back at him. Silvia dived to the right behind a tree, quickly took aim, and sent a flaming stream of pebbles at the enemy. Her attack bounced off their shields. David dove to the left while launching lances of light. Condemneds ran screaming towards them, brown cloaks flowing behind them, and covering the ground quickly. These were not grotesque or disfigured, merely hairless. Silvia shot one with a blast of light from her nightstick and the mind-slave tumbled to the ground in a heap.
Daniel sent streaks of lightning from both hands, backed by
four bolts of potential, and blasted through the shields, killing the first five. The remaining Aakacarns scattered and ran. David sent a lance of light through the lower back of a thick-bodied spell caster, causing the Aakacarn to immediately drop to the ground. Spells flew back and forth as the remaining four Aakacarns hid behind trees and continued the battle.
Through Find All, Daniel sensed the Accomplisheds of Aakadon moving into action, Eagles going on the offensive and the rest establishing shields of different sorts. The only people he could identify in the camp through the spell were Sherree and Simon, seeing as Daniel had never physically touched any of the others. They stood together, guarding each other’s backs, and focusing potential at the attackers. Daniel had no doubt her repertoire would be more than a match against anything the Serpents could throw at them and knew both Accomplisheds had powerful crescendos. Lassiter seemed to be mowing down any Aakacarns foolish enough to engage him. Silvia launched fiery pebbles, striking an Accomplished in the face, causing a great deal of screaming, moments later the cloaked figure fell dead with his head all aflame. The acrobat spun around, nightstick sweeping out, and struck asleep a male Condemned a mere six paces away from reaching her.
A bush to Daniel’s right suddenly burst into flames and a lighting bolt struck the tree next to him, sending burning fragments of bark into his face, and blinding his left eye. He spun to the right behind a tree while ten Aakacarns sent a constant barrage of spells in his direction. He ignored the pain throbbing in his eye and used Find All to aim, Die Now, at his attackers. This spell required an extremely narrow focus, rather than a broad beam, to avoid killing indiscriminately. Ten beams shot from his fingers, passing through the tree he was hiding behind, striking each Aakacarn, and killing them instantly. His only regret was that the tree also died. He took the time to heal his eye while David and Silvia began using their nightsticks on the Condemneds. In his mind, with the use of Find All, Daniel could see multiple circles of ten vanishing as the Serpents realized they were not going to prevail against the Accomplisheds in the camp. Bright flashes lit up the forest in every direction, while the harmonic waves of their teleportation spells washed through the entire area.
To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) Page 37