The Porfian Princess: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 4

by L J Dalton Jr.

On top of all this, he thinks that the same higher intelligence that created the gates also interferes with what goes on here, but that is a very rare event. He suspects that he was chosen to be brought through the gate to stop the kidnapping of the Royal Family. He jokes with Catrina that she is his reward. He may partially believe that.

  Marvon believes that the old guard is being replaced because so many of the noble families have trouble producing heirs. Given that Turkmenia could do with an infusion of better rulers, that is why Michael believes that there is a reasonable chance that Brandt will marry Princess Sylvia.”

  Petor allowed as to how he’d heard some of this. Mathias was more taken aback. “This is fascinating. Petor, you and I are going to have to discuss this.”

  They continued to watch Brandt and his friends. Mathias realized that when he befriended Petor, he got his science advisor. Brandt was probably doing this unconsciously as he had with Petor. He and Petor just got along so well. He needed to start doing the things he’d need to so that he’d be ready when he ascended the throne. That included identifying potential advisors.

  While Mathias was thinking, Roddrick continued. “They’re all going to the wedding of Duke Harlold. It’s sort of a training ground for them. Kelvin, Gabor, and Starl are going as representatives of their father’s businesses. They’ll be quietly investigating the business opportunities there. Much less obvious than if their fathers or an older representative went. James is Elizabeth’s cousin; that’s why he’s going. Brandt is going to start meeting other young people from other kingdoms. Rolf is going because they wouldn’t leave one of their friends at home, and he’s Brandt’s security. Oh, don’t take that last lightly; as I said, he’s being tutored to do that by the best we have.”

  It made perfect sense to both Mathias and Petor. Both decided that they needed to get to know the young men better. They could start now and really get to know them on the trip to Koronus.

  Settling In

  Duke Marvon wasted no time getting Catrina and Mike settled in. Catrina went right to work with the Duke. She sat with him as he met with the petitioners who came every week to the Palace. They would quietly confer, and then the Duke would hand down his opinion. Occasionally he would take the issue under advisement and would let the petitioner know the outcome in a set amount of time. After the petitioners left, they would go over the results and would review their reasoning.

  This way, Catrina learned a lot about the city and the intricacies of the city’s internal politics. She also started to learn the way Duke Marvon operated. He was quite astute and was passing a lot of the knowledge on to her.

  Michael got tasked with the military. It wouldn’t be his full-time duty, but he was to review the Guard under Marvon and make recommendations. He met with Colonel Barden, the head of the Guard. “Colonel, Duke Marvon has tasked me with overseeing the Guard in the city and in the Duchy. I’d like to understand any problems that you have and maybe there are things that I can do. What I do want to make sure of is that we use the least amount of lethal force that we can.”

  The last sentence caused Colonel Barden to relax mentally. He knew that Count Michael was an experienced soldier from a place where there was far more violence than on Cornu. “Well, your Grace, there are a couple of problems. The First is we do have some criminals in Centralia. No society is free from people who like to prey on the foibles of others.

  There isn’t a lot. But except for the cut-pursers and minor thieves, there are a couple of bigger better-organized gangs. They’re tough to tackle. My men really don’t like it. They are always at a disadvantage entering buildings and getting the thieves out. I have men injured and occasionally killed. To add insult to injury, a lot of the thieves escape.

  The second issue is the plains. We have forests, and we have open stretches of plains. We usually don’t have problems with the Steppes Nomads. They are a problem in the North near Westland on occasion, but this far south no. What the problem is that if there’s trouble on the plains, our people have to get close to people, and once again, they are put in danger.”

  “Colonel, as to the second problem, have you considered arming those Guardsmen that patrol the plains with rifles rather than muskets? They may be harder to load, but with the cartridges not that much harder, and they have a much longer range. Plus, they are far more accurate.

  Now, as to the gangs. Entering houses where people are armed and unfriendly is risky. You have to have special training to do it. Back home, we have them, and they’re called SWAT teams. I can put one together and train them. Also, they have special equipment.

  The first thing is what we call a ‘Flashbang.’ It’s a grenade that, instead of trying to kill people, disorients them. It gives off a lot of light, which temporarily blinds people. And a lot of loud noise. With the combination of the two, people are temporarily disoriented and can’t fight. I can make some up. I will look into some sort of armor for those people. I want to protect them against whatever the people inside try and do.

  There are rams to break down doors and special tactics. They go inside in a ‘stack.’ That is, men in a line or a stack, with specific duties. The first man in carries a shield to protect against musket balls. Everyone else should be armed with something easy to maneuver in a tight space. Probably some sort of shotgun. We could make that less lethal, and you don’t have to have a great aim in small dark spaces.

  Yes, I definitely can train those people. We practiced it all the time back home. We needed to go into buildings and capture people.” Mike didn’t mention that sometimes they went into buildings to clear them out and didn’t use non-lethal force. Best not to upset the Colonel.

  The Colonel seemed pleased. “Yes, the rifles are a good idea. We’re just so used to muskets, I never considered them. This SWAT sounds like the answer. How many men do you need? And when can you start?”

  “I’ll need about a dozen men to start. Let me think about how to adapt what we used to what is available here. We usually did these raids late at night; we called it ‘Oh dark thirty.’ That’s the time when people are the least alert. It’s just human nature. We had lights that we could use to light up an area. I’ve got to think about how we can adapt what I know to the conditions here. Let me think about this and come see you in two weeks if that’s acceptable.”

  “That’s more than acceptable, your Grace. I’ll start picking out the men for the SWAT group and also start looking into rifles.”

  With that, Mike left. He felt pretty good about it. That night at dinner, they discussed the whole thing. Marvon was pleased. “Those are two good suggestions, Michael. Do you think that you can produce those ‘Flashbangs’ as you call them?”

  “Yes, I do. I need to find some magnesium and some potassium. We combine those together in a metal container that doesn’t break and then light a fuse, and it produces a lot of light and noise. Totally disorients people for a few seconds, which is enough to take them down.”

  Catrina admonished her husband. “I expect that you’ll be teaching them and not leading these raids.”

  “No, I have no intention of leading those raids. I’ll just train them. I’ll find a couple of empty buildings, and they can practice there. It’s standard tactics, and I know them well.”

  That seemed to satisfy both his wife and the Duke. They discussed getting the steel project going. Duke Marvon suggested that they host dinners for the various key players in the city. Smaller affairs would allow them to interact more than in a big assembly.

  Then Mike asked about the Steppes Nomads, he’d never heard of them, and his wife wasn’t that informed either.

  Duke Marvon cleared that up. “The Steppes Nomads live in the northwest portion of the continent. They aren’t part of any kingdom. They follow their herds of sheep or caribou. Every hundred years or so, they become a problem raiding and pillaging. They hit villages mainly in Leeland and Turkmenia. Sometimes Sorbia and Modia. Rarely are they a problem for us. The city in the most danger is Westland. If
Westland is pressed, you might have to go to their aid.

  It hasn’t happened in my lifetime. It was in my grandfather’s time that the last big incursion happened. Westland was smaller and less well run than it is now. I would expect that the Duchess would be able to handle things if that occurs.”

  That seemed to satisfy Catrina. Mike, on the other hand, had to wonder. Was this like the Mongols and the other nomads that had swept out of the east on earth only on a smaller scale? He didn’t want to have to deal with that.

  Catrina meets Illaria

  Duke Marvon started to arrange intimate dinners. He hoped to have two a week. The first dinner was with Andreas, his wives Chloe and Elena, and their three daughters – Illaria the oldest, Nella the middle daughter, and Ladoona the youngest. The girls all took after their mothers, dark-eyed beauties.

  Jack was able to sit up and was put into a highchair. Food was put on his tray that he could pick up with his hands and shove into his mouth. Mike had told Catrina how his mother always had Cheerios for the grandchildren when they were young. He explained what it was, and Catrina found something equivalent along with some small biscuits that Jack could put in his mouth and chew.

  Catrina also had some mashed-up vegetables and meat that she tried to spoon into his mouth. About half made it in, and the rest got on his bib or the tray. Illaria sat on the other side of Jack and helped Catrina. The two of them got into a conversation about the baby. Jack seemed to like Illaria. Mike thought that showed good judgment on his son’s part. Always be nice to women, especially really attractive women.

  After dinner, the women stayed to talk and play with Jack and Thimotie. Jack wanted to be mobile, and Catrina or Illaria followed him around. Thimotie dragged some of them off to his room to see things or brought out little treasures that he’d collected.

  Duke Marvon, Mike, and Andreas retired to Duke Marvon’s study to talk and have some wine. Marvon asked Andreas how things were in the city.

  “Well, your grace, your nephew Bjorn is still trying to undercut both Michael and Catrina but is not having any success. Count Michael’s story about the attack on his country and how many people were killed took a lot of wind out of his sails. The only thing he can grouse about now is how young and inexperienced they are.

  The problem for him is that they are looking quite competent. People like Catrina a lot. She’s personable and intelligent. Michael is a bit scarier, but his work on new inventions is what most people think when they think of him. In the back of their minds, he stands by his wife, and nobody wants to cross him. Everyone thinks that would be something very stupid.

  Those that work with Michael have a different opinion. They find him to be very intelligent and friendly.”

  “That’s good to hear. My nephew is a pain, but he is bearable. What do you hear from your brother, Timor in Porfia?”

  “It depends on your viewpoint. The news is either good or bad. Timor thinks that Porfia is heading for a civil war. The Dukes are increasing the number of men they have in the Guard, as is the King. He thinks that Leonades doesn’t trust the heir, Bartrum. You may know that he had a much younger son, Pindar, who sent south to Peta with his mother. His brother was told not to try and injure him in any way. Leonades reasoning was that he could marry the young man off and build an important alliance.

  Timor is familiar with the situation as he has tea plantations in the south. Pindar’s mother bought a load of tea from him. He had no idea why. He speculated that it was to allow her and her son to leave Peta and go somewhere quietly. Timor had somebody visit Peta for a valid reason and, while there, do some investigation. As far as his agent could tell, Pindar and his mother are no longer there.

  He hasn’t told anyone, and he hasn’t heard any rumors about such a move. So, the secret seems to be safe. The best guess is that they headed to his mother’s father’s estate. He has a large guard force that can protect them.”

  Marvon nodded. “I’m not surprised; I expected as much. What do you think, Michael?”

  “It’s not surprising. I studied how they took over Tantulus, and they are a bloodthirsty, backstabbing group. They thought that they could do in Nordia what they did in Tantulus. Why they thought anyone would want to be ruled by that group is beyond me.”

  Marvon then enquired about Andreas’ business. Andreas told him that it was going well. Their business with Brandlund was making up for a lot of the loss of revenue from Porfia. They also were expanding west.

  One thing Andreas mentioned was that his daughter Illaria would soon be looking for a husband. He was worried that she would have trouble because of her Porfian heritage.

  Mike thought that was stupid. In his opinion, Andreas would have to be beating the suitors off with a stick. His daughters were in the drop-dead gorgeous category. He let Andreas know that.

  Later that night, Mike was telling Catrina about it. “Andreas is worried about finding a husband for Illaria because of her Porfian background. I just don’t see it. Since I’ve gotten here, I haven’t seen any really ugly people. Plain people, attractive people, and some drop-dead gorgeous people like you.”

  That brought a smile to Catrina’s face, and she lightly punched him.

  “Well, Andreas’ daughters are in that drop-dead gorgeous category. He’ll have more trouble keeping the men away, and then he will have finding a husband for her.”

  “So, you think that Illaria is gorgeous. Should I pretend to be her while we’re in bed?”

  Mike just blushed. Catrina laughed. “I was just teasing. You’re right; she is beautiful. She’s also intelligent. Jack likes her, and I like her. I’m going to invite her to lunch. I think she could be a friend here in Centralia. I don’t have my sister or Julie and Roberta here. I’ve got to start making friends that I can trust. I think she’s one of them.”

  Catrina also took in Mike’s opinion of Illaria. She’d also seen Illaria eyeing her husband. Something to think about.

  Mike thought to himself that his wife and sister-in-law enjoyed making him blush. As somebody said, women are a lot more practical about sex than men are. Mike had to agree with that.

  From then on, it wasn’t unusual for Mike to come home to find the two women, Catrina and Illaria, sitting talking while watching Jack do his thing. Jack got so used to Illaria being there that he would happily go to her for things, even to kiss minor hurts to make them better.

  Occasionally Illaria would join them for dinner and help Catrina feed Jack. He was slowly being weaned and was eating more solid food by the week. Although by Mike’s reckoning, only about 70% of the food actually got into him. The other 30% went elsewhere. During those dinners, the four women had their discussion, and Marvon and Mike had theirs.

  Corporation

  Mike had two projects that he needed to work on. The SWAT team to take care of the occasional situation where a door needed to be broken down and the people inside were subdued with the least amount of danger to the Guard. Then there was producing high-quality steel in reasonable quantities. That also meant high-quality iron as well, since that was a precursor to steel.

  The SWAT team needed flashbangs and some equipment. To make the flashbang, he needed magnesium and potassium nitrate. He sent for Jefferson, and when he showed up, he sent him and Normon out to find the minerals. Their best bet for magnesium was to find dolomite or brucite. Potassium nitrate they might find in caves, or they might have to make some from guano. He’d leave that up to Jefferson. This would be a learning experience for Normon, and he could supply some muscle to the operation.

  Jefferson, along with Normon and another helper, set out to find the minerals. They headed towards the Sud with packhorses. Mike wanted a few hundred pounds of either dolomite or brucite and a smaller quantity of Potassium nitrate. He’d show Jefferson and Normon how to extract the magnesium. That done, he turned his attention to the steel.

  The Palace in Centralia was located inside of formidable walls. This dated from a more violent time in Landia’s hist
ory. There were several old warehouses that would have stored food and other necessities for a siege. They were unused, and as Duke Marvon said, they’d probably be unused for the foreseeable future. Mike took over one of those as his workshop.

  It was a two-story stone building. It wasn’t particularly large but more than adequate for what Mike wanted. He set up offices on the second floor, and the workshop would be on the first floor. Marsha and Alan both had desks there as well as Mike and Normon. There was room for more.

  Mike had Marsha and Alan put together a presentation of what the steel-making process would involve. It would be on the equivalent of poster board along with the structure of the Crown Corporation. It would be the ‘pitch deck’ to get people to invest their resources and energy into the enterprise.

  Mike set about contacting investors. The first thing he did was to invite Lindale and Hagan along with their wives to an informal dinner at the Palace. While Lindale and Hagan both knew Duke Marvon, this was more than they were used to. Catrina and Marvon’s wives quickly put them at their ease. The two children helped. People on Cornu loved children and doted on them. Seeing the two children with their parents made them more real to the two couples.

  After dinner, the women talked and took care of the two little ones while the men retired to Marvon’s study. There Marvon poured all of them a glass of wine, and Mike started off. “The reason I’ve invited you here is to pick your brains. I’ve got a big project planned, making a sufficient quantity of high-quality steel and of course iron. I know the techniques that will translate to the technology available. This is too big an undertaking for a single individual as it covers mining, transportation, smelting, and a few other things.

  The King will create a ‘Crown Corporation’ that will allow people to invest in the corporation and receive shares. The only exposure they would have is the money or resources that they put into the corporation. The corporation would have the exclusive right to the developments for a period of fifteen years after production starts in earnest. In addition, there would be no taxes for the first five of those years. I think that is a pretty good deal.