Kingdom of Stars (The Young Ancients: Timon Book Three)

by Power, P. S.

  Normally the woman would have just let him have it he knew, but he'd started negotiating, which wasn't a mistake. People from Noram would eventually want to do business there and if they started out getting things for free, the nobles would march all over the people there. Economically at least.

  "Thirty gold for the land, twenty-five in jobs, or the trade equivalent of gold, and I want one of your new ships. You made this one, didn't you? Can we copy it?" The last was a simple request, and really, Lyn could.

  He didn't think he could stop her for one thing, and she had the personal ability.

  Tim shook his head.

  "You can have one, but you need to rebuild it and make them your own. Improve on the idea in some fashion. This is a school after all. Not doing that would just be lazy, and should get people low marks." He was half kidding, since they didn't have marks there, but one of the mages bowed to him, clearly understanding what he'd been saying. It was a young man, who looked to be in his early twenties or so, and had a stupid wispy mustache, that was, he realized after a moment, a copy of Dorgal's. Hopefully they weren't starting a trend.

  "The Great Brother speaks truly. Wise one." There was another bow, and Lyn sighed.

  "You do. When did you start growing up?"

  Timon smirked, and shook his head.

  "It was either when Countess Alan was torturing me, along with the Larval Assassin, or earlier today when Remy Seventeen declared me a dead man. Take your pick."

  Lyn made a face, then looked at the others, stopping to stare at Kolb, for some reason.

  "Well, that's not a gentle thing, is it? Are you certain?"

  The weapons master shook his head.

  "Not personally, but it has the right sound to it. We should set things up here, if you don't mind. Get Orange in, if you can put up with her, and possibly Green. Tim's already got a plan, but you don't need to know about it yet." He put out his right hand gently, but half the crowd reacted, as if he were going to physically pound their Great Mother.

  It was cute, Tim decided. They all looked so earnest, but none of them had weapons that would affect Kolb at all. Then, the man didn't have anything on him that would take Red, so it was already a stalemate, most likely.

  One of the men, the one with the wispy mustache that he really should have forgone, did have several extra amulets on him, all on stone, from the feel of them. Timon waved to him, ignoring the rest of the people's over reaction.

  "Can I borrow a clothing amulet from you? Or trade for it? We've got someone on the ship that needs clothing."

  Without hesitation at all the man bowed and worked at his neck, removing a leather string and handing it to him.

  "Thank you for considering my humble efforts worthy, Great One."

  "Timon. Or Tim. Sorry, I didn't get your name?"

  Dorgal stepped forward then, smiling.

  "My protégé, after a fashion. In that I'm successfully teaching him Noram Standard and failing to make a merchant of him at all. Mages aren't allowed to engage in commerce. It's a rule here. His name is Deshi. They don't use familial names here."

  Bowing back Timon took the amulet.

  "I thank you for the loan then. Um... Here." He pulled his amulets from his pocket and tried to think what he had extras of. A craft, which he handed to Lyn, but nothing else really. Except for his Tor-shoes, which he hadn't been using at all. He could make new ones however, and probably should, with much greater speed than anything existing had yet. At least if he didn't want to be dead. "Please take this."

  The man took it, and seemed baffled, but managed a bow in return.

  "I am unworthy of such a gift, you should give it to the Great Mother, or her consort."

  Lyn gave the mage a look, and rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. It was apparently not unexpected, since the others all managed a soft chuckle and covered their mouths, except an old man that looked familiar.

  Timon waved at him.

  "Oh, right! Did Mark get you the dried meat in exchange for the healing amulets I came and got a few months ago?"

  Red nodded somberly.

  "That was a most appreciated gift. From you, and a Count Kern? It heartened the students here to know that we have the support of all Noram in our meager efforts." Then she bowed, because that was something that Noram and Vagus had in common. Bowing. All the time.

  "You do. Please tell everyone that. Even the King and Queen are most interested in seeing you all succeed. As well as my family. I'm surprised you haven't gotten a visit from Terry or Tess yet. Or Taman. Though if she shows up without contacting you first, make sure to paddle her for it. Ma and da won't, but she can't have free run of the whole world. There have to be some limits." At least if they could enforce them.

  Red grinned and seemed to be agreeing, while Julie looked horrified.

  "You wouldn't really strike a child, would you Lyn? Timon?"

  Tiera wrinkled her nose, which had more than one of the mages surrounding them looking her way, including Deshi. It was cute and she was both pretty and incredibly exotic for the area.

  "Well, when she built a little floating carriage of her own and ran away to live with Tor, mother didn't beat her for it. It was impressive in more than one way. You should have them in over the summer however, if you can stand the idea. The kids I mean. Living at a mage school won't hurt them at all. They're all in building lessons anyway. Terry's even becoming decent at making copies from a template I hear. Taman is the only full builder yet, however. I doubt it will be too long however, since Terry's smart."

  There was a sudden bit of speech from Lyn, who was rather commanding sounding. Tim managed to get part of it, but not all.

  "We should prepare for a visit from the Great Children. They will be coming to learn from us, and we must not fail them."

  Tim didn't let himself smile, just bowing toward them all again, and then holding up his right hand, with the Deshi made clothing amulet in it. The thing felt like the man, which meant it was his own work, not just a pure copy.

  "Perhaps Builder Deshi and I can go and retrieve Monroe? He has to be wondering what's going on by now. We kind of left him locked up inside." He didn't put a voice to the thought, but if it had been him, Timon would have been already working to escape.

  It seemed like Monroe was unfamiliar with magic, but when they got in he was already sitting at the main controls, wrapped in a sheet from the bed, which had been cleverly tied over one shoulder into a satin dress. It was a light blue and didn't go with his skin tone at all. Timon had thought everything went with black, but there seemed to be some things that didn't really work.

  "Oh, hey! This is the drive control right? I just move it in the direction I want to go, and the amount controls the speed? That's efficient. I got hungry and wanted to see if you had anything to eat, but I couldn't find anything. That's all right, isn't it?"

  Timon looked at the scene and suppressed a giant sigh. The man really was smart, no matter how innocent he sounded most of the time. He might well have merely gotten hungry, or he could have been ready to take the craft and run home when they'd walked in. That he hadn't yet could mean anything.

  "We came with some real clothing for you. That sheet won't exist as soon as you leave the craft. Well, at least if you move too far away from it. It's not separate from it." Holding up the amulet he moved on the man, who didn't shy away or act guilty of anything at all. In fact he just smiled. It looked cheery.

  "Wonderful! It's part of this object? I can use it like the ship? Just think what I want at it?"

  Deshi stood back, his eyes humbly downcast, which seemed a bit too much for just them, being only a child, and a half prisoner like they were, and Monroe didn't look any older than the native mage did.

  "I hope you will accept it as a gift? It is my own humble effort." The man wasn't speaking flawless Noram, but it was only heavily accented, not too thick to understand.

  "Thanks. That's really nice of you. I'm Monroe. I heard we were going to Vagus and
that Lyn Red is here? We used to be friends, back in school. That was about a thousand years ago now." Waving a hand airily he just stood, waiting for Timon to put the device on him and activate it. It could be a trick, of course, since it meant getting really close to him in order to make that happen.

  Instead of coming at him with some form of advanced and ancient martial art, which Timon wouldn't be able to stop at all, most likely, the man just thanked him and looked down at the simple red robe that the thing became.

  The default for it was, Tim intuited, the most common thing that Deshi wore, day to day. Monroe looked at it, his eyes down at his body, and then seemed to focus a bit. It was hard to tell really, but after a few seconds the clothing went through a lot of changes, as if he were trying to test the limits of it. Most of it was just clothing, but the last outfit was pretty unique and reminded him of the padded armor that some of the students wore when training to fight. Only it seemed more durable somehow.

  Monroe noticed him looking at the all red outfit, and screwed his face up playfully.

  "You never know what will be useful. So far you've all been pretty nice to me, considering the situation, but what if that changes? I might need this."

  Timon nodded. Of course, if he really needed that, it probably wouldn't do him much good, since no one attacking him there would be a tavern brawler, or want to stab him with a spear. Then, you did what you could, in dire situations.

  "You might want to memorize that then. Maybe something a bit less combative for the initial meeting though? Something plain, and boring. Like what everyone else will be wearing here, since you already have that unique skin coloration thing going on. No need to rub that in. Being all special and all." It wasn't exactly pretty, but it was still striking. In a way it was too hard to look at to really see the man. He was all black, and it washed out the definition that a normal person had. He'd be invisible at night too.

  That would probably be when the man would escape.

  Or try to at least.

  His sense of place was pretty good it seemed, and he didn't go in for a robe, like a mage, but a deep red version of what Timon had on. It was probably a bit too fancy still, but it would do. It was Red's land and wearing a color that she favored wasn't a bad plan. The man stood straight, stretched a bit and then smiled, which was too exaggerated to be real.

  "I'll follow your lead then, Tim, since we're going to be partners in the coming project. I was thinking about the moon base idea. Can you build long term structures out of material like this ship is made of? If not we might be able to make use of something similar to make earth moving equipment for lunar work. Or, well, it isn't called earth there, is it? I hear it makes good glass though, since it has a high silicon content. This is really exciting." Without stopping, he switched topics. Timon had to fight that urge himself all the time, but he didn't think Deshi was keeping up, not having a good enough base of information yet. "Oh, I need to get some equipment before we go. Would Austra have enough of a technological base do you think? If not I'll have to send a list with you to Blue. Cindy hates me. I think it started when I snitched on her and Remy Nineteen when we were kids. The Remy wasn't upset about it, but Blue never really forgave me. I was asked though, so of course I told the administrator what they were doing. It isn't like I had a choice. Again that's about a thousand years ago."

  Timon shook his head, smiling.

  "Three thousand and a bit. The Remy's all date back to then too?" He was both changing the topic and moving them to the door, since he was a bit hungry himself. The food of Vagus was meat heavy and bland, but filling and nutritious enough. No one there was fat though, so he'd need to make sure he brought in something to replace what they took away. He was starting to get the idea that these people would let themselves starve, rather than turn away a request for aid.

  It was noble, of course, but also meant that he needed to make certain Lyn didn't let her mages want for too much. If that happened they'd probably try to run off on their own and get into mischief. Timon would have if someone had told him that he wasn't allowed to benefit from his own work directly.

  Monroe grabbed the new topic and ran with it.

  "Yes, they sure do. They were different than most of us, since they aren't living, and are, at the same time. They don't need food or water, and absorb what they need from the environment. They do need air, unless they go dormant, and then they can pretty much just hang out as long as is needed. The thing with Blue, well, Remy's are adept shape shifters. They can be anything or anyone, which was the real problem. They weren't supposed to be having sex, since we weren't allowed back then, all of us being too young. About fifteen or so, I think. Cindy is a hermaphrodite, and Remy switched the position of their genitals to be the other way around, so they'd fit? It worked, but Blue wasn't really designed for that, and it was hurting her. So I told when asked, and they got in trouble. One of the lab techs ended up being fired over it."

  He was still talking as they moved down the stairs and walked slowly, so that no one would use a force lance on them, over to where Red, Dorgal and Tiera were talking into one of the hand held communications devices. It was he realized, Dorgal doing most of the speaking, his voice happy and excited.

  "It really is a marvelous idea that Timon has, Sir." Who he was speaking to Tim didn't get at first, until the man replied.

  "A space port in each land? Possibly several? All at his own expense? That's ambitious, I'd say. Very well, I can put the word out that more bodies will be needed on the project. Perhaps the High Servants could be put to that endeavor? Not strictly, of course, since their mandate is to serve those in need, but being positioned with such a grand scheme can only give them the chance to help even more people. That's most important to them." There was no hint of irony in his words at all, so Timon didn't bother making a face.

  Tiera didn't either, but she did turn to look at him, as if expecting him to give that one away. As if he'd do something like that?

  Nodding he bowed to Lyn and then, as an afterthought, Dorgal, being that he was kind of the lesser co-ruler of the land here. It was a big deal, and he deserved some respect for that. Mainly for not abusing his new found power there at all, as far as Timon could tell.

  "The High Servants are a new order. Much like a sworn knight, except that they seek to aid others in times of peril or stress, rather than defend them with strength of arms. They were formed originally to help put the Capital back together, after the last attack."

  That wasn't exactly correct, but the King didn't naysay him in front of the foreign ruler. They always got along that way, Tim realized. Actually, they got along really well. Too well. It wasn't a bad thing, and not creepy in any way, but the King actually listened to him. On one hand that meant he was a wise and intelligent man, because clearly, Timon was almost always right. Still, he was a child and knew it. He liked to think that being smart helped him seem older, but the King should have largely ignored him. Maybe give him a gift on Noram Day, or possibly invite him to a party or two, occasionally.

  Instead the man treated him like an advisor almost. Only occasionally acting as if he weren't a full grown and educated man. It wasn't normal. It probably meant something dark too. What exactly that was he didn't know for certain, but had heard enough to suspect Doris had created him to be very well received by the Royal family. It was some kind of chemical or pheromone thing. Useful, but also dangerous.

  Timon wasn't exactly a trustworthy person in all things, after all.

  "Tiera? Would you get with Sir Derring, and see to that? If you want them, I mean, Timon. I'll understand if you don't." That was nice of the man to add, since a lot of people really wouldn't want a group that was made up mainly of castoff second and third sons and daughters that no one else wanted. Except that putting it that way made him realize something. If no one else wanted them, maybe he could bring them together for his own purposes.

  "If we have work for them, I'd want them in various locations. It won't be easy all the
time. They'll need to learn other languages and customs... But if they're willing, then I think we might have use for some of them."

  Monroe started nodding happily and spoke as if there weren't a king on the other end of the communications device, moving toward Lyn the whole time he spoke.

  "Ah! They can help us build the new lunar base! We'll need a work force, yes? Tim and I have to find a way to stop micro-plasma, and that will take most of our time. These High Servants sound exactly like the people we need. After all, we need their help, and you said that was what they're supposed to do, right?" He was addressing the King, and chatting along as if they were not only fast friends, but had been talking together the whole time.

  King Richard just pretended that was the case, being good at that sort of thing. It was a valuable skill to learn, going along with things like that, Timon decided. He needed to work on it himself.

  "That's true. Tiera will see to that part of things. Now, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm being signaled that I need to attend to a meeting. Is there anything else needed for the moment? I can assign someone to this project for you, if you feel it's needed, Lyn?"

  The small woman smiled a bit and then shook her head and Deshi frowned for some reason. It was on the words from the King and since the man wasn't against being helpful, he doubted it was that. That left the name, Lyn. It was probably a bit too casual for him, since she was also the Great Mother. Tim understood a bit more now than he used to about that title. It wasn't saying she was their Queen, or anything like that, though she had that kind of power and more. It was the more that made it different. She was, in a very real way, their living god.

  To make it all worse, he was one of the Great Brothers and Tiera was probably a Great Sister or something along those lines too. Because that was exactly what they needed to hear to keep them humble and not full of themselves. He decided not to mention it to her. Tiera was, in many ways, a better person than he was. A hot head at times, or at least she used to be, and a bit too willing to think of him as a boy still, as in a truly little one, but other than that, she was generally kinder than he was.