Ambassador tya-4

by P. S. Power

  Smythe rose.

  “Very good then. I'll be at it now.” His eyes shone with excitement, for some unknown reason, and he left without another word.

  Chapter ten

  They were going to leave the day after King’s week ended, flying by transport to Printer and leaving from there by ship. Petra offered hers, but when it came down to it there were seventy people going with them and Petra only had the one bed. The Royal Guard respected Kolb's people and vice-versa, but they weren't letting the heir and first Princess go to a strange land without them. Tor didn't blame them. It was, on the surface, a stupid idea. Really they should have left Rolph all together, but he wanted to go, and Tor kind of wanted to have another guy to talk to.

  It turned out not to be a problem at all. There were lots of men coming with them.

  The problem was that Petra's boat just didn't have facilities for a group that large. Even two ships that size wouldn't be enough. The space was there, but it was configured all wrong. Tor looked at the problem, meditated on the state of his own field and decided to risk making something new. It was mainly something he'd already done in different parts. Just a larger boat with two in-ship levels with thirty furnished rooms on each of them. Some people would have to share and the rooms weren't big and they were plain, but had nice beds and a restroom in each. The showers and tubs would have to be shared too, but fully twenty people could use them at one time. If that wasn't enough for Royal Guards and the combat instructors, then Tor had sorely misjudged them.

  He worked slowly, in small bits and pieces, holding things in place as he ate and checked his field for stress. There wasn't much really, as long as he went slow. It took the remaining time and he had to skip the official meals, but just had it put around that he was busy… entertaining. The Warden people gave it a wink and a nod, and no one did more than offer to help.

  With his… entertaining.

  On the day they were to leave Tor got up and ready, Alissa doing the same, insisting on showering with him, though he didn't let her touch him. That didn't stop her from playfully trying. He didn't scold her, since they were to be married soon and you didn't treat your wife, no matter how young, like a child. Besides, she didn't look like one, and it was easy to forget. He didn't let himself though. Rules were there for a reason.

  Even the arbitrary ones.

  They needed four transports for all their things and no one had even asked what they were going to do to actually get there, which seemed a big oversight to Tor. Technically they could have used the transports, but it would be a miserable trip, hours in cramped conditions with no restroom at all. Or water. But it would be fast too.

  That was something to avoid. Slow was better for once. They had some food for the voyage and he bought more in Printer once they got there, because it was going to be better to have too much than to run out half way. Especially since they had all those giants with them, and Tor wasn't going to speed up the trip because their tummy's were grumbling.

  They over-nighted on the beach in front of Holly's house, Tor picking up a few pies from the baker in town to share, ten of them. The man reminded him they were already paid for as per their agreement, even as Tor delivered a few extra amulets to him with a smile. Then, before dark, he checked with Clark and Ethel in their store. Business had been going well and they'd started a few more concerns, using his share of the money. They'd need more devices soon, but could hold for a month, they told him, not seeming sure of that. He gave them about half of what he had left, hoping that he'd be able to go back to his copy work soon, otherwise several businesses were going to be in for a tough time because of his lazy ways. He seemed fine after the work he'd done on the boat for the trip, but if he was missing something Tor didn't want to end up falling into bloody chunks because he made one too many batches of lights.

  The next day he took Petra out to set up the ship, hovering about three hundred feet up, he activated the amulet in his hand, the vast ship appearing directly beneath him. The pretty girl hovering next to him gasped. She wore a simple rust colored silk outfit and light, cream colored shoes, kicking her feet in excitement as he lowered the boat. Once it was in the water she landed on the deck instantly and spun a little, looking around, her face gleeful.

  “Tor! I… How big is this thing?” The awe in her voice was gratifying.

  That it floated and seemed stable was also gratifying, it was always so hard to be sure about things like that. Tor pointed to the front and then back.

  “Five hundred feet long, one hundred and twenty wide. Five levels, but three are above the main deck, those buildings over there? In all there are sixty-five rooms, sixty below decks, five up here. The Captain’s is the biggest, of course. The rest up here are for Rolph, Karina, Ursala and Ambassador Mutta. The kitchen should feed us all, and is probably little overbuilt space wise, at the back of the ship, inside on the first floor. I mean deck. The tubs and showers a level down from that.” Tor looked over the side of the rail and saw that the water was pumping in and out already, so that was working right. Good. If worse came to worse a big boat with water at sea was better than a big boat without. Dying of thirst on the ocean would be ridiculous, but he'd heard of it happening in stories.

  Tor gestured for her to take the glowing focus stone and hang it on the post right in front of the pilot house.

  “There you go Captain. You have the ship.” Tor bowed to her, a low thing that would have fit the King himself.

  She looked at him mouth half open and then smiled hugely, white teeth gleaming. Then she started doing a little dance like the combat giants all did when acting playfully gleeful. It was cute on her, but freaky when some of the others did it.

  “Thank you.” Was all she said, her eyes gleamed brightly and her look seemed proud and happy all at once.

  Tor didn't actually get why she was thanking him for dumping a whole bunch of work and responsibility on her without asking, but he managed a satisfied look anyway, as if he hadn't been expecting to have to beg her to do it. She was the only one he was certain could find the continent of Afrak in a boat though.

  They had to load using air transport, but the rear deck was large enough they could set down all the vehicles at once. They were a little close for comfort maybe, but the doors opened on the sides for off loading, so it worked. It was tempting to take them, just in case of problems, but they had a half dozen people with magic vehicles, and while they didn't get as big as a full transport, there were more than enough for everyone to get a ride if need be.

  It would work. It took three hours to load everything, the kitchen being nearly as far from the transports as physically possible, but with seventy odd people, it didn't take that long. They didn't make Mutta load anything, being a dignitary, but Rolph was set to work by Petra who smirked as she did it. At sea, by long standing tradition, she outranked him. Actually as Captain she outranked them all, hence the biggest room, even though she didn't really need it.

  The ship was jet black on the bottom, but the top portions had been done in a light blue color, nearly white, The railing that ran around the deck was a light wood rail, on true white stone. Tor had textured the deck so that it wouldn't be slippery when it got wet. He was sure some things had been forgotten, but it would go where they wanted and they could sleep, eat, bath and drink fresh water all the time. There were lights in each room and the hallway. It wasn't really pretty, but was just plain, not shabby. Still, he kind of held his breath when everyone started getting their rooms. He went first, just taking the room on the first floor, near the stairs, so that he could be found easily if anyone needed help. Kolb grabbed the one across from him and Wensa the room next to that. Probably for the same reasons. After that he lost track.

  No one complained about the rooms, which had large beds that made themselves, and a few pieces of furniture. They were the same in each room, identical, with red carpet floors and brown soft chairs and sofas, with a table and writing desk that looked like wood. There were large windows
too, each about four foot around to let in natural light. It was all shield, so it was just as strong as the wall itself, clear or not. It gave people a view at least.

  That was it though. No drapes, no decorative hangings. Just a place to stay. No one whined about it, not to him at least. He really didn't know what people got on a regular boat and hoped he hadn't stinted too much. He'd been running on kind of a tight personal energy budget in a way, so it was about the best he could do safely for now.

  Tor went back to the kitchen to start setting things up, and making some bread for dinner. They had fish and giant bugs for the meal, those lobsters they liked so much in Printer. So that and some vegetables, carrots and peas? It was standard stuff, but with a spice cake for dessert, it should do. It was three in the afternoon when they left, so he had six hours to get something ready. The bread first, large flat loaves, so they'd bake quickly and sheet cakes, he made four, but decided to layer them. If he was in Two Bends it would have been enough for all three hundred villagers to have some, but here, with what these giants ate he just hoped two full cakes would be enough. The recipe was so basic that he didn't have to look anything up, which was good, since he didn't have anything with him to do that with. In their hurry, no one had thought to get a set of recipes in for the trip. That was fine for baking, obviously, since he could make a few hundred types of baked goods from memory. The rest of the food would probably be a bit plain if he didn't fight to make it more interesting somehow. At least they had plenty of spices, which always made cooking easier.

  The only real concern was the big bugs. He didn't have a real clue there, except that he'd been told to boil them until they turned bright red and that he needed a big pot with a lid so they wouldn't be able to escape. The idea of boiling them alive frightened him, but Holly had assured him that it really was the way it was done. It seemed cruel to him, but what did he know? They weren't exactly something he'd ever made before.

  Tor set the food out Warden style and let people get their own when everyone started following their noses in at about nine. He didn't have a clock, but it was ready, so he let them eat, hoping he'd gotten the amount they'd need, at least close. If not he was sure that people would tell him. Loudly. Possibly with hitting being involved.

  With a bit of creativity, he even managed a few decent sauces, and melted butter for the sea insects, which he hoped wouldn't just go to waste. He'd only had it once himself and wasn't a big fan personally, but they had a lot of them in a salt water tank near the back of the room, enough for the first week. People took them when getting food, and made impressed and happy noises about it, so it must not be that strange to them. Then again, the royals always did weird things didn't they? Giant bugs… Eeek.

  Petra came and took a seat without more than a nod to him, not even smiling. She sat at the table furthest away from the food and waved him over, then Rolph, Karina and Ursala when they walked in together. They had to sit and wait for Ambassador Mutta, who wondered in, looking around, a bit amazed by the space it seemed, as boring as the decor was, just having wooden tables and walls. Polished light colored wood though, so kind of pretty. Petra got her to come over too, and stood as she approached. Rolph did as well, which meant Tor needed to get to his feet he decided, feeling a bit tired already. Karina rose, and then bowed as Mutta approached.

  Was this protocol stuff? They all bowed to Mutta, except Petra, who simply stood and led them all over to the food. Well, she was in charge, he guessed, though it all seemed a bit over done for fish and bread. There was plenty left at least, so it didn't look like anyone would be starving that night. It was simple, but Tor had tasted it and decided it was good enough for the first meal.

  If they wanted better, he was going to need help. Looking around at all the royals Tor wanted to shake his head about the odds of getting it, but didn't. He'd just have to be clever about it or something like that.

  Tor didn't say much at all during the meal, just listening to Mutta's plan, which involved docking at the big port on the south end of the continent and then flying to the desert to work. It was basic and had a lot of holes, but they'd work around it. They also had to go to the main city, not exactly either the capital or a city. She tried to explain, but couldn't exactly manage it. That at least was just the southern port, so they'd be there to start with, making his ambassadorial duties light.

  “We live in a garden…” The words were vague, like she couldn't explain it really. She just smiled and waved her hands instead.

  When people started to finish, Tor got up and brought the cakes out, which took up half the serving table, but got a murmur of approval. Who didn't like cake? Well, out there in the world, some crazy person sat in a cave eating bugs and reviling cake, Tor guessed, since there was always one, but normal people liked it. And this was a good cake, nearly perfect. The frosting had set nicely and everything. He took a small piece back to the table with him for Mutta. Everyone else could jump up and fend for themselves, he decided. Tor waited for his because if it ran out he could do without.

  Then, probably rudely, Tor pointed at things and asked, “what is that?” in Afrak. He repeated the words and built a picture of the objects quickly, holding the field of the word in mind. It wasn't magic, but it made everything easier to remember by far. After about half an hour Mutta ran him through everything again, asking him what it was in Afrak and having him name it while she pointed. He slightly mispronounced a few words, so he made a point of remembering them and trying to fix that. As everything wound down and people started to drift out Tor waved to Kolb and Wensa.

  “Um, dishes? So me, you two, Karina and Rolph? If we do the first dishes, no one else can complain about the chore later, right? Well, they can, but anyone claiming to be too important or noble for it will have to eat their words without sauce. It's a good plan, don't you think?” The look he gave them was just level, slightly amused and filled with steel. The basic message was that if, after making the whole meal, Tor didn't get help with that part, he was going to mutiny.

  For some reason no one seemed all that thrilled about the idea of being used as scullery help. They did it though, and with good enough humor once the task was started. Actually there was remarkably little playing around and the work went faster than he'd thought it would. The wash water was warm and he had a food dump that put the scraps into the outgoing water for the sea life to eat. Large plates of the cake were escaping back to the rooms he noticed, which was fine, but he wondered if everyone had gotten enough to eat?

  Kolb kept washing as he talked, handing plates and silver off to the Prince for drying and stacking.

  “It's a fighter thing. Gather provisions when you can, because you don't know what’s going to happen later. If they were hungry now they'd just eat more, you didn't run out of food, so it's probably fine. I'll listen for grumbling, but it should be all right.”

  That got a nod from Wensa.

  “Indeed. No one here would complain openly about the food, not on the first day, but I'll listen too. So far if anyone has complaints it'll be an individual food preference issue. Lobster and whitefish with rosemary sauce and fresh melted butter, while at sea? Then that lovely cake for desert? Most impressive. Really I figured it would be sea biscuits and limes for us, not having a cooking staff. I wasn't aware of your kitchen skills.” The Royal Guard Captain smiled at him, approvingly, which shocked Tor a little and made him blush. It wasn't like they were the best buddies ever or anything.

  After a bit Tor understood she was trying to be nice to him, probably because they weren't the best of friends, and had kind of gotten off to a rocky start, relationship wise, what with her wanting him tortured, and Tor thinking she wanted to kill him. For months.

  Karina was busy putting away the dishes, walking quickly from one secured rack to another. The plates were stacked like normal, but between four supports that just touched the sides of the dishware, so they couldn't shift much if the boat rocked. The cupboards were done to look like dark cherry wood wit
h brass handles. The dowels themselves looked and felt like wood, but that was just an illusion of course. When she made sure the last was in place she turned and looked at Tor.

  “We should make some rolls for breakfast tonight, and get people to work at each meal.” Her gaze shifted to Wensa and then Kolb, looking a bit more “Royal Princess” suddenly. “If we keep making him do it all, by day three Tor will be serving a big pot of potage for every meal and handing out sternum punches to any whiners. I'll help, but…”

  But she didn't know how to cook or bake. Why should she? That was something she'd never had to do at all. She hadn't even warmed her own food. Servants did that, and when there were no servants, you hired some. But here she was just as clueless as anyone. Less really, because she'd helped at the bakery for a week, practically a professional compared to the rest of this crowd. Even when he couldn't go, she went and helped Box along with Davie, who’d apparently dragged a rather battered and beaten looking Jerral along towards the end to scrub the whole place with an old toothbrush. Karina would do to start with.

  They didn't finish until one in the morning, but had sweet spice rolls, bread for the next day and all the breakfast prep they could do without fixing the food itself. Tor was about to fall over by the time he got to his room only to be woken up while it was still dark out by an insistent pounding on his door.

  “Tor wake up! Emergency!” It was one of Kolb's people, one of the medium sized giant guys, drunk off his rear, and sopping wet. He was also naked and had three other naked people in the hall with him, two guys and a girl. All huge and hard looking. In all ways from there flat abs to… Well…

  “'mergency?” Tor felt like his mouth had been wired shut and looked at them sleepily with one eye. What did they need? If they were looking for sex lubricant they really should have waited for morning. They could use cooking oil, but he wasn't getting it for them right now and if they went into his kitchen and messed things up he'd dangle them all over the side by one hand. That meant they'd all swim, because there was no way he could hold them up.