by P. S. Power
"That annoying woman from the other day? I... Was your name Rudely?" He snapped his finger and nodded, even as other people moved near them, holding back only because he had a girl trying to belittle him and they didn't want to make his shame worse, witnessing it. They still watched them, but that was because they were Austran. "Oh, that was it! Kan. B. Rudely. Or that's close, isn't it?" He looked down at her, as she started to turn colors. Red being just the first one.
"Oh! I'm Kincaid Rue that's who I am! I was told by our new Revered One, Timon Baker, that there was a man coming at nine to take me to him! It's already nine-thirty and we aren't even boarding yet! This is unprofessional. I'm going to tell him about how you stopped to talk to all these people first, as if I'm not more important than they are?" She at least had the intelligence to make a face and turn to the others watching. "Sorry, but you know what I mean. I've been summoned by the Revered One! That has to be more important than whatever these people have going on."
Did it really? It wasn't like Tim was going anywhere. Gerent tried to imagine having a family, perhaps with some of them being sick or needing food, or even wanting to leave the troubled Earth to go to a happier and better land, up in the stars. That sounded pretty darned important, at least to him.
"Well, if you want to get going quickly, how about helping? You know these people better than I do, being one of them. So... you can either stand there and whine at me, or you can see to their comfort and safety, before we go. Either way, we aren't leaving until we at least try to do what we can. If that's unprofessional... Well, so be it. I don't care." He had to force himself to sound bored through the whole thing, but it worked and while no one laughed at them, people did come up to him.
Most of the people were actually in front of Erid, who listened closely, and then got either amulets for people, or, in one case, some gold, with which he hired several of the people standing there to go and help an old woman who needed to save her pet cats from her half flooded living room. It wasn't about the storm, since they were a good way outside of the area for that. Just a burst water carrying pipe. Erid also sent along a pump, to help dry the place out.
Dorgal had most of the rest, which left only a lone boy, a man in his mid-thirties and an older fellow, who seemed to be about sixty. They all bowed, which got him to do it back, and suddenly got Dorgal and Erid to do it too, from where they stood in the distance. A few seconds later, Kincaid did as well, standing behind him. Most of the rest of the people watching just used their handhelds, or in some cases floating lens boxes, to grab their image while they did it.
He smiled at the men, and spoke quickly, after they all stood up.
"Hello! I'm Gerent Lairdgren. May I help you?
The boy was the one that spoke, his tone clipped and glib. He really reminded Ger a bit of Tim, after a fashion. Like an adult in a child's body. Not that he didn't seem like that now too. Just not as much as this boy. Or man. He looked a bit funny, now that he really saw him. A bit more like a midget than a boy. A small adult man.
"I'm Ken, this is Carlos and Robert. We were wondering if we could get a ride to Noram? Our restaurant here closed, for the reasons you'd think, no food to make anything and no one had credits for it. We were invited by Countess Ward to... Actually go to a party about a year and a half ago. Really this is a desperation play. We don't have a lot else to try for."
Kincaid was standing behind him, making disgusted noises, but she stopped after a half minute, and really looked at the men, who all stared back.
"Wait, you're from the Royal Table?"
Gerent blinked and made a face at the men, then looked at the boy, or young man, again. It was indeed them. He'd actually met them all before. Once.
"I... have to get Miss Rudely here to Harmony first, but I can do that. If you don't mind riding with us for a while? I should go visit, anyway. If she can't employ you, Countess Ward, I'll help you get something going on. Tor will have something, I bet."
That got the older man to make a face, but it turned to a soft smile after a second.
"I bet he loses my invitation..."
The other two nodded at him, very seriously.
The men were willing to sign on, really in almost any capacity, if it got them something better than what they had, which was an empty building that had once been a decently successful business. No one had one of those any more. The best people in Austra were doing was a kind of barely getting by that felt really familiar to Ger.
The trip back to Harmony wasn't too bad, though he had to listen to Kincaid the whole time, whining about a half dozen things. Even though she'd had food to eat the whole time, warm clothing and a ride in Boxy. Without thinking about it, he took the box out and let him float on the bridge. He'd sized himself to be about the size of both Gerent's hands again, and was a silvery green at the moment.
Without him even suggesting it, the box kept bumping into Kincaid, every time she got even a little annoying. After a bit she stopped talking, and just watched Boxy.
The crew thought that was funny, but it really wasn't. Boxy liked everyone, even the player from Austra. So for him to be that bothered by her, well, it was a sign that she was being a real pain, wasn't it?
It wasn't hard to find a place for the three men, since they were sought after, even if they weren't successful in the moment. When Tim found out they were there, they were invited to stay with him, before he even said hello.
Gerent just nodded at him, happy that Boxy was pushing the player toward Tim with little nudges, as he stood in the back of the craft, having come to actually meet his guest in person. After a moment Timon looked at the box, and put his hand out, so that it floated over to him, and gently landed on his outstretched palm.
"This is interesting..." He closed his eyes for a moment, then smiled. "Not bad. You rewrote the basic instructions for it? I mean, it's Tor's work, but this is well done. It ties to your subconscious mind pretty clearly. You should let him look at it. Or not. He might just get scared. Especially if he realized what it means for the other things he's made if people can do this. Can you imagine a space craft acting like this?"
Gerent could, which was funny to him, but he managed not to show it. In fact, he managed to do something he hadn't been certain he could do, and give Michael and Erid some days off. Kimi, Monnette and Deng too. Normal people didn't work every day, and there was no reason that his crew should have to either. He tried for Dorgal as well, not wanting to stress the man's good will, but he just shrugged and smiled at Kincaid.
"That won't be needed, yet. I'll catch a few days when the others come back."
That meant, because it was his place, that Tim took everyone away with him then. When they got back on the ship, Dorgal piloted them back into place, and then hovered over Noram, looking down.
"So, are we going to finish this now?" There was no judgment in the words, but Gerent, after a moment, nodded.
"Yes. This is just the cleanup, so we won't need the others, unless the nobles around this are too bothersome."
"Which they will be. That kind always is. I know I was when it was my turn. Or that I seemed that way to everyone else, I bet."
They knocked the first one out with a lot more efficiency than Gerent had counted on, simply hovering over Galasia, finding the man by asking at the guard station, and then waiting for him to get off shift. Then Gerent just walked up and put a Truth amulet on him. The glow was more impressive in the plain wood building that the guards met in each day. It was next to the proper jail. Not the low one where he and Patty had been hurt. Thinking about that made him want to kill the man outright, but he asked questions instead.
"Do you know where Jimson is?" He started with that, which got the man to furrow his brow.
"Jim? Oh... Um, last I heard he was going to the Capital to look for work. There was some trouble... Well, our Liege, Count Rodriguez..."
"Is that all you know about Jimson then? Or where he is, I mean?" It had been an honest answer, which left the glow
ing white and yellow pure and untouched by the sharp distorting black of a lie or untruth, but the man seemed to think it really was.
"Yeah. What is this? I'm a guard in good standing here..."
Gerent didn't explain.
"Did you rape Petra Ward?" His voice was angry, he had to admit, but the man shook his head. A little upset himself.
"No. No I didn't." The device stayed pure again.
For a few moments Gerent wondered how the man had managed to cheat the device, since that was pretty much impossible. He'd need magical help, or total control of his thoughts...
Which meant he was, somehow, telling the truth.
"You didn't rape her? Not at all? You never touched her?"
The man looked down and then shrugged.
"I did what I was ordered to. I spit on her, from the top of the pit she was being held in and pissed on her head. We were told that the Count ordered her raped until she died, but I knew that had to be a lie, so didn't do it. I just kept letting someone else go. I couldn't say anything about it, in case I was wrong and it was a lawful order. That's all. What's this about?"
Dorgal glared at him, as if to let him know, without a doubt, that he was being dense.
"Petra Ward. Tell us. Have you broken any laws since then? Have you hurt anyone that you shouldn't have? Or forced a woman to have sex with you? Or a man? Children?"
The man shrugged and rubbed at his clean shaved and smooth cheeks. He was a bit yellow in color, but that was probably just how he tanned. His face was a little round, but he wasn't fat, just solid looking all over. Good for a guard, being bigger than most of the people that might cause problems.
"Of course I've broken the law. Everyone does, mostly. There are too many of them not to. I took a piss against a back alley wall for instance, not two nights ago, so I wouldn't wet myself as I walked my rounds. That's a four copper fine right there. I haven't forced no one, or beaten anyone much more than was really needed to do my work. Probably punched a couple of loudmouths harder than was strictly duty, but that's it." There was no hint of a lie, which probably meant the man was cleverer than he looked.
If he gave even a hint of not telling the truth, it would lead to people, in this case them, digging deeper into what that meant. Still, he hadn't raped Pet, so that meant...
Really Gerent was at a loss for a moment. He still wanted him dead, for not helping her, but that was just him seeking vengeance. Not even for the woman that had been wronged, but himself. For all those times that some big monster had hurt him. Now he was the big one, so it seemed fair to start paying them all back. Except that he wasn't a monster, so he let go of the idea. The fellow in front of him wasn't one either, it seemed.
Looking at the man, he put out his right hand to take the amulet back.
"That's probably all then. You might want to consider running away and changing your name. When Count Ward finds out about this, he may not be happy that one of the remaining people on the scene got away. Or not. I can't assure you that anything bad will happen, either. We'll try to explain it all correctly for you, if we can." There was a moment then, where Gerent was nearly certain that the man was going to yell at him.
Instead he just nodded.
"Right. Well, this is a good enough spot, and a decent city. I'll stick here. If he thinks he needs to come for me, I won't hide, but I didn't do it."
Dorgal looked a bit strange, almost raw, when they left, but he didn't comment.
The next man, well that one was more interesting.
Duchess Keen, it turned out, was a fast friend of his brother. At first he assumed that it would be Tor, but it was Tim she name dropped, as they stood talking to her on her own stoop. Rather than being a pain about things, the second she got a report on what was happening and why, she just asked for the man to come to her sitting room.
He was a giant brute, if Ger had ever seen one. The man didn't seem to have any body fat, and wasn't much taller than he was, but he was wide with muscle. Vastly so. He rippled, under his red and yellow clothing, to an extent that it almost had to be a trick, but wasn't. The questioning was different this time, since the man threw the amulet down after ripping it off, rather than even bothering to answer the questions.
"Fuck you. Die!" Then they fought. It was a strange thing, since it took place in a Duchess' front room. It had nice furnishings and delicate and complex tile work on the walls in bright colored patterns.
Three of them had shields, and they were all at least better than average. The guard, McKenzie, just didn't. Not until he went into a full combat rage and started shooting lighting from his palms at them. It didn't touch anyone, but that, along with the fact that the man threw large pieces of furniture and finally, the wall, at them, certainly made a mess.
In a rage like he was in, there was no point in talking about anything. Clearly he knew what was coming, didn't he? It wasn't what he deserved, but rather what the world required of him. Gerent and Dorgal took turns fighting with the man, knocking him around and to the ground, over and again. He had a natural shield, due to the rage he was in, but that didn't mean it was as good as what either of them had. It didn't for instance, stop the force lance that Dorgal had with him. Or the Cutter that Gerent finally pulled out, taking the man's head.
It was a huge mess, over all. The room was a complete loss, he was willing to bet. For a moment he felt horrible about it, until he realized he could probably just send some gold along for repairs. Or just leave that to the Duchess, since she was the one that hired an obviously insane asshole that had just tried to kill them. Plus, given the sobbing and slight moaning coming from the next room, she got that part of things. It was telling. Well, that and the fact that she muttered too, and said as much.
Gerent moved into the hallway, but only after looking at Dorgal and making sure he was doing all right. He didn't even seem worried. In fact, he just looked blank. It was probably better than the fear that was on his own face. He'd just killed yet another person. It was becoming a habit with him, and that couldn't be allowed. Being a noble now... That meant he could easily end up being a monster himself. Like a lot of them were.
Not that you had to be powerful in wealth or title to be that. McKenzie showed that pretty clearly, didn't he?
In the outer hall, the Duchess stood, holding a weapon. It was only a knife, but she hadn't fled past that point, and seemed relieved when they walked out of the room, instead of the giant that had been raging inside.
"He...Kind of ruined that room. Sorry about that, but it was a combat rage thing." Gerent had heard that one before. Even at the Palace of King Richard, a person that accidently slipped into that state was largely held blameless for what they did.
The red and gray haired older woman, who was tall enough, at six-six or seven, looked up into his eyes. Then she glanced at her hand, and stared at the blade there.
"Is he... No longer in my employ?" The words had a weird tone to them, but there was a shaking to go with them. A reaction that everyone had when they were faced with death. Unless they were insane. Not everyone showed the result as clearly, but it influenced them all, from the strongest to the weakest man alive. That having been him for most of his life, so he knew that one well. He shook a bit himself, but didn't let it worry him. Pride had been a thing that Gerent couldn't afford. He still probably wouldn't be able to.
"He passed, unfortunately. I took his head off." He waited for her to suggest he pay for the damage, and decided that it would be better to do that than make her hate him, anyway. Not that he carried gold on him like that. "It will take a day or two for me to get coin around to pay for what was done in there. I have more work to do, so it might be longer than that. I... How much should I send?"
To her credit the woman just shook her head no.
"He was my man, no matter how short his employment. A sworn man, so claiming that this wasn't an attack on you rings hollow. I... will of course put my affairs in order." She bowed, but there was no apology to go along with i
t.
That made sense. She hadn't done anything wrong, had she? Her move here was... Well, that would be down to his family, adopted or not. Wouldn't it? Harmony might be a new power, but there was little chance of Duchy Keen surviving a fight with them, if it came to it.
Dorgal looked away, but didn't comment on anything. Gerent however, did.
"Nonsense, Duchess Keen. He was a very bad man that tricked his way into your home. He attacked me, because he knew his own end was near, nothing more. A personal issue, if you will. We came for him, so even that could be looked at as me not managing this well enough. I beg forgiveness for that. I'm truly sorry." He bowed, going low, but didn't kneel. It was a thing from a street performance he'd done once. It was a made up thing that he and his partner at that time had come up with. Baron, had been his name. The only one that Gerent had ever known him as. Not Baron anyone, since that would have been making a claim to a title. Just Baron.
The man...had really known the ways of nobles, and they'd skirted breaking the law over and again, using that information to create some shows that had truly been something good, until the man just left one day, before Gerent woke. There was no mention of his leaving, but that wasn't too surprising. Back then no one stayed with him for that long, did they?
He wasn't truly certain that it had ended either. That part of his life.
Baron however, the oddly named city man, who was a bit too clever for the world they lived in, had explained the meaning of different apologies. You didn't kneel to a person you hadn't wronged. It didn't matter who they were. If the King had been there instead, he would have only bowed as deep. He was sorry for the mess, and distressing the lady, but that was it.
So he stood after a moment.
She nodded slowly, and then moved around Dorgal to peek into the room, not entering. She didn't go pale, but after a moment she did come back to them and bowed to first him and then Dorg.
"I think I understand, gentlemen. Thank you then, for your aid in uncovering this man, before he had a chance to harm any of mine here."