It felt a little strange holding a magically sentient staff, but on the other hand, I’d looked forward to really studying him and asking questions, and this seemed a beautiful moment to do it. “Sure. Seton, red means no and white means yes, right?”
The staff flashed white at me.
“That’s what I thought. I’ll try to phrase yes and no questions to you, alright?”
He gave me a sparkle of color, like northern lights, which I took to mean general happiness. I felt a little sorry for Seton, because even though he clearly had a good relationship with his mage, it had to be hard to not communicate with the rest of the world. Even with my extraordinary sight, I didn’t automatically understand him. I decided to try a little harder to befriend him.
The three squished their way down into the riverbanks, using their toes and whatever sticks they snatched up to churn the mud. I killed the one slug I saw, then strode along the side, watching in amusement as three adults reverted into children right in front of my eyes.
“Bet I can kill more slugs than you,” Chi challenged Bannen wickedly.
“With your toes?” Vee objected, and she was not the only one grossed out by that suggestion.
Bannen, proving that men do not have a squick factor, met Chi’s look with one of his own. “You’re on.”
I looked between them with open mouthed disgust. “Isn’t the whole purpose of you two turning up the mud to unearth them for me to kill?”
They looked at each other, then at me, shrugging in unison. “Meh.”
I looked down at Seton. “I will never understand men.”
The staff lit up in a quick flurry of lights that I thought meant laughter.
Bannen pointed at the area in general. “All three of us shouldn’t stay on this side.”
“Good point.” I frowned at the other bank, and while the water didn’t really run fast, it did have some depth to it in places. “Whoever crosses is going to have to be good with a swim. It doesn’t stay shallow in this area all the way across.”
“Not a problem,” Vee assured us. “Bannen, right or left side?”
“Right, I guess?”
He barely had the words out of his mouth before Vee caught him by the belt and flung him like a discus to the other bank, barely any exertion on her part. My heart jumped at the sight, sure that Bannen would crash spectacularly. The bond twinged too, a mild flare of protest. He did flail at first but tucked and rolled smoothly on the other side, coming up to his feet with a bounce and an outrageous grin on his face. “Thanks!” he called back.
I groaned. “I know that look. He just got an adrenaline high from it. Vee, you just created another Chi.”
Vee stared at him and shrugged, not bothered. “Miscalculation.”
“You say that, but you’re not the one that has to live with him.” Damage was already done, though. I growled out a half-hearted curse and started up the bank again.
Chi moved ahead while Bannen got situated, crowing, “Got three!”
“Not fair, no one said start!” Bannen yelled back.
“They are twelve,” I said flatly, although part of me found this amusing. “Seriously.”
Vee patted me gently on the head. “It’s alright, Rena, I’ll dig up slugs for you.”
“Thank you, Vee.” At least someone remembered their job. Although it felt like the giantess was just humoring me. I put the feeling aside. Eventually, when we got further upriver, we’d run into an infestation of slugs too large for the boys to squish out with their feet. I supposed I could wait. I turned my face up to the sun for a moment, enjoying the warmth against my skin, the smell of moving water, the sounds of wind rustling leaves and birdsong. It was a truly glorious day. There was no harm in letting the boys play in the mud.
“Chi, you make a mud pie and fling it in this direction and I will end you,” Vee growled.
I looked down at Seton. “We’re going to be filthy by the time we make it to the station, aren’t we?”
Seton flared up white.
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
Just as the sun set over the horizon, we trudged up to Station Four. The station looked nothing more than what it was—a stopping place on a four-way line, a place for weary travelers to get off, get a hot meal into them, perhaps shower and find a cheap bed to sleep in before rolling onto the next train. The station itself had one story, a simple boxy building with a large overhang porch. A three-storied hotel stood nearby, lights on to keep the encroaching darkness at bay, and those lights guided us up the riverbank and into civilization.
The station master stepped out, a ring of keys in his hands and a tired look around his eyes. He stopped in the process of locking up and looked us over, eyebrows climbing into his low-brimmed hat. “Can I help you folks?”
Feeling like the only sensible adult in the group (Vee’d betrayed me three hours ago by throwing me into the river), I stepped forward. “I’m Magus Rocci. We sent word ahead this morning that our bags were to stop here? We’ve been working on the slug infestation in the river all day.”
“Ah, yes.” His eyes flickered over us, taking in our absolutely soaking and muddy states, and he nodded in complete understanding. “Your bags are just inside the hotel, I booked two rooms for you. That alright?”
I didn’t even know this man and I wanted to kiss him. “Thank you so much.”
“No trouble at all,” he said sincerely. “We appreciate all of your help with the river. It worried us, what would happen if those slugs ate it clean. You say you got the infestation under control?”
“I believe we got them all,” I assured him. “I’ll double check in the morning before we leave.”
That put him at ease and he smiled. “Good, good. Let me lock up here and I’ll escort you to the hotel. That must have been some dirty work, eh?”
I put a professional smile on my face. ‘Well, Chi and Bannen turned slug-stomping into a competition until that got boring, then decided to sneak slugs down the back of Vee’s shirt instead, which got her mad, so she started throwing people, and I was stupid enough to try and mediate, which means I got into a mud-slinging fight with all three of them, and Chi’s scary accurate even when throwing mud-pies’ was not the answer I’d give this man. Or anyone else for that matter. “Apparently so.”
The hotel kindly gave us baths, a full course meal, and clean beds that night at no charge. We woke up leisurely the next morning, ate a full breakfast, and wandered back down to the riverbed to make sure the infestation was cleared out. I made Chi stay at the station.
He pouted at me and promised to behave.
I was not moved.
It took a few hours of walking up and down the banks, but we didn’t see any signs of slugs, and the moss hadn’t been disturbed overnight, so I counted the deed done. I spoke with the station master—Frank—and told him to notify me at even the hint of slugs, which he promised faithfully to do; then he sent us off on the next train.
Apparently mudslinging was an excellent way to bond with people, as this time we fell comfortably into the private car and laughed and poked at each other like friends. It had taken washing my hair three times last night to get the mud and other questionable substances out. It might have been worth it, if getting these two as friends was the payoff.
I stepped off the train, automatically taking my bag, and automatically having it taken from me by Bannen. I gave that one up without a fight because after two years with him, I knew how to pick my battles.
The train station was larger than some towns I’d been in, and the word ‘crowded’ didn’t do it justice. It seemed to branch out in every possible direction, signs indicating different platforms for destinations, one sign pointing the opposite way for all arrivals. I counted three main streets just from where I stood and didn’t hold any illusions that constituted all of them. The place had enough space that it even contained its own shops, restaurants and cafes, even a small hotel with a vacancy sign in the front window. Bannen stepped a litt
le ahead of me, acting as trail blazer, until we could force our way out of the throng and into a city street via a side gate. I felt relieved to leave the noisy train behind us, as talking over the sound of it had gotten old after the first hour. Of course, I basically traded one set of noises for another, as we left the churning of the engine for the overlapping conversations of the crowd.
“Welcome to Kapanka,” Chi said cheerfully, in the sort of voice a tour guide would use. “Home of several delicious drinks of the alcoholic persuasion, snake fights, and other interesting entertainment.”
“In the seedier parts of town, fortunately; the rest of the city is relatively crime free,” Vee assured Bannen.
I appreciated her saying so as I didn’t want Bannen to think the place lawless and act accordingly. “Do you know where to go from here?”
“Absolutely!” Chi assured us, already turning back around. “MISD protocol states that we report in first, and see if they have assigned lodging—they normally do—and hopefully find out which shard they want taken out first. I assume it will be one of the older ones, which makes the situation a little tougher.”
“They all have to be taken down sometime,” I responded with a shrug. “The order doesn’t really matter in the long run.” I tried not to eye Bannen sideways as I spoke, but I wanted to make sure he hadn’t slipped over into overprotective mode due to the crowd. He looked calm, fortunately, and of course he caught me looking at him. He lifted a hand, smoothing over my hair and cupping the back of my head for a moment. I felt something in me ease and I turned back to the city at hand.
This place seemed to be a complete mismatch. There were older buildings, crumbling and in states of decay, mixed in with much new structures made of brick or stone. I saw buildings with clean, straight lines, others with a softer curve to the rooflines, and still others that had thatched roofs sitting short and stubby in between two or three storied offices. The place had a weight to it, a history, that suggested it had been here a very long time.
We had an uneventful journey through the streets to the MISD branch office. It was not in a new building, as there were signs of wear and tear, but it looked perfectly kept up and highly functional. It smacked of being a converted mercantile store, as it had that general shape to it, and a lingering scent of dry goods. I stepped in behind Vee, which effectively blocked most of my view, thereby missing who she spotted.
“Maksohm!” she greeted, happy and relieved all at once.
“Vee, Chinny, how are you?” a deep voice greeted in return, smooth as polished stone and sounding just as pleased.
Tired of not seeing the speaker, I stepped around Vee and Bannen, angling my torso to get a glimpse at least. The man named Maksohm was roughly Bannen’s height, dark hair cropped short, dark eyes, a compact build not at all disguised by his MISD uniform. The slight hint of crow’s feet at his eyes hinted at his age. Forties? Late thirties? He looked solid, trustworthy, and I could tell by Chi and Vee’s reactions that this was a person they liked and respected, which spoke volumes to me.
He clasped both of their hands and then turned those dark eyes on me. I felt like he saw right through me, right to the back of my skull, which unnerved me. But he had a pleased smile on his face that didn’t make the feeling judgmental.
“Maksohm, this is Magus Renata Rocci,” Vee introduced, her hand lingering on the man’s shoulder, “and her familiar, Bannen Hach.”
“Magus, Mister Hach,” Maksohm greeted with a firm handshake for both of us. I felt his magic as he touched me and it felt so balanced and warm that my impression of him raised another notch. “I received a report this morning that you were coming our direction. Your contract arrived bare minutes ago, so you have good timing.”
Oh good, I’d wondered when the contract would catch up with us. “I’m glad to hear it, sir. Should we sign that before getting to work?”
“If you don’t mind. Makes the paperwork easier on me later.”
“Maksohm, we’re not just reporting to you?” Chi asked hopefully. “We’d do better with one more mage. Can you go in with us?”
Now that was interesting. I could tell from Maksohm’s general aura he was a mage, and a powerful one, but nothing about him suggested a specialty. Was he a warrior-mage, like Vee?
“I came down here to do so,” Maksohm assured him.
I didn’t miss the relief on either Vee or Chi’s faces. Now I really wondered what his specialty was. And for that matter, where was his familiar?
“Maksohm’s barriers are nigh impenetrable,” Chi happily explained to us, nearly bouncing on his feet like an energetic puppy. “He’s one of the best barrier mages we have.”
The mage in question flapped a hand at Chi, gesturing for him to quit it, but I noticed that he didn’t deny it or act modest. He was really that good, eh? Thinking it prudent, I warned him, “No matter what your barrier is like, I can cast spells through it. So when I start doing that, don’t panic or think your barrier is failing. It’s just me and my weird magic.”
He gave me that penetrating look again. “I had heard a report mentioning that. After you sign the contract, I would like a demonstration, so I know what to expect. Then we can tackle the problem at hand.”
“That’s fine,” I assured him and gave him points for his prudence. Surprises in the middle of a fight should be kept to a minimum. Bannen had taught me that.
“Then sit here,” he indicated an empty desk right behind him that had two chairs parked in front of it, “and I’ll fetch the contracts.”
One of the things Master had made sure to teach me before I left was how to decode legalese and be able to actually understand any contract handed to me. I accepted the three pages that Maksohm gave me, settled in, and seriously tried to understand exactly what the contract said. My concentration was such that it took a second to realize Bannen’s shoulders shook with mirth and he had a hand clamped over his mouth. I looked between him and contract but really, what could possibly be funny about legal jargon? “What?”
Maksohm looked quizzically at him and my demand brought Chi and Vee’s heads around as well.
“I appreciate the sentiment, truly,” Bannen managed, trying to keep his face straight and failing spectacularly, “but whoever translated this has no idea what they’re doing.”
I leaned over enough to get a look at the contract. “Oh, it’s in Zagh,” I said in partial understanding. After being in the country for two weeks, I could at least recognize the language even though I barely knew more than the insults.
Chi’s eyes took shone with an unholy gleam. “How bad is the translation?”
Bannen snapped the paper straight and read somberly, “So get banned the parsley explodes muscle with turtle power. The civilized and tidy circumstance is kind with Company now protect the right by under arrest downgrading the bowels—”
I rubbed at my forehead, as I honestly felt a headache brewing. “Wait, what?”
Chi hung off Vee’s shoulder doubled over, wheezing with laughter. Maksohm got a good chuckle in as well, although Vee didn’t seem that surprised, just stared at the ceiling with a ‘why me’ expression.
Leaning sideways, Bannen read from my contract, “I take it that it’s supposed to say something like ‘This contract is a binding agreement between Bannen Hach (Party A) and the Magical Intercontinental Specialist Division (Party B). The contract is binding as of the date mentioned above?’”
“Something like that, yes,” Vee growled, still exasperated although I could see she found it a little funny as well. “Translation spells leave much to be desired sometimes.”
“You don’t say,” Bannen drawled in that dry tone of his that said he was laughing hysterically on the inside. “Specialist Maksohm, sorry, I really can’t sign this the way it’s written.”
“I certainly wouldn’t,” Chi said, still trying to gain control.
Maksohm, more practical, offered, “I’ll get some paper, we’ll copy what Magus Rocci’s contract says and just substi
tute out what we need to.”
“That should work. But can I keep this? I’ll laugh about it for weeks.”
“Feel free.” Maksohm said over his shoulder as he went to the opposite side of the room, presumably hunting down paper and a pen.
I propped my shoulder against Bannen’s and requested soto voice, “You’ll read that to me later.”
“Of course,” he assured me gleefully. “Best entertainment we’ll have all day.”
“Good.” I leant half an ear to Bannen and Maksohm as they drew up a new contract, leaving mine on the table so we could both read it, but both men were an old hand at business contracts so it didn’t take much time or discussion to get a new one written up. I found no fault with mine, signed it with a large, loopy signature, and passed it to Maksohm, who then got a copy of it for me.
Paperwork settled, we left the building and went around to the side, where a small training yard resided. It was little better than a square of packed dirt and some training beams stuck in the ground, one bench lurking off to the side. I gathered that most of the time no one used it. It possessed that air of neglect. Maksohm walked right up to the first pole, a notched, beaten thing that had definitely been abused, and threw up a shield around it with nothing more than a wave of the hand and three spoken words.
I let out a wordless whistle. This man was good. I’d never seen such an amazingly efficient, airtight shield like this one. I could tell it could be mobile, too, tied to anything he chose and it wouldn’t lose an ounce of function.
“That good?” Bannen asked me, casually propping an elbow on my shoulder.
“That good,” I responded, still letting my eyes rove over the design. “Specialist Maksohm, I am thoroughly impressed. A spell design that efficient is basically an art form.”
The Void Mage (The Familiar and Mage Book 2) Page 5