by Taki Drake
There was nervous shifting from the base of the table that drew everyone’s attention. Several people in that group had moved or cleared their throats, betraying their youth and lack of experience. At first glance, the people sitting in this group looked like a small mob clustered at the base of the table.
Ruth immediately noted the difference in dynamics of this group. Where the other two groups of traders had seated themselves next to each other, each one of them had space around them that defined their territory in their status. The master traders had the most room while others varied their space requirements based on their own sense of importance and the status granted them by the remainder of their party.
The third group was clustered so tightly together that some portion of each person’s body was touching someone else at all times. Ruth was reminded of when her boys had been younger. Anytime they were in trouble, or when they were trying to talk to someone about an unusual request, they would stand near each other, drawing on the comfort of their sibling’s body and the shared protection. The mage suspected that these young people had similar reasons.
Additional visual aspects set them apart from the others in the room. Where the other trading parties were somewhat conservatively dressed, this group most definitely was not!
Clashing colors slammed into Ruth’s vision, some of them in shades that she had never been aware were possible to produce on clothing. A cacophony to the eye, the combination of silks and satins, and leather and lace were enough to bring old movies from Earth to Ruth’s mind. She remembered vaguely about some sort of bird and pirates but didn’t have time to chase down the rest of that errant thought. Instead, she found herself watching in fascination as a group of five younger men seemed to jostle each other until one stood up and gave her jerky bow.
In his haste to stand, he upset a glass of water that had been placed in front of him. The water spilled all over the table, soaking papers and notes that were in front of him as well as dumping a deluge of ice and liquid over his electronic tablet. Blushing a furious red in embarrassment, the young man stuttered through a garbled greeting and sat down abruptly. The speed of his movement almost caused another accident. His rapid return to his chair barely missed a collision with one of his friends who was vainly attempting to mop up the liquid with a hastily acquired square of cloth.
Smiling in delighted appreciation for the comedic break, Ruth threw a small ball of green fire to the base the table that instantaneously removed the water. She said, “You must be the Peregrine Group. Don’t worry about the water. That type of accident happens to me all the time. The cleanup spell was one of the first things that I learned to help with the small practicalities of the day.”
The mortified young man blushed an even deeper red. Ruth heard Jenna stifle a laugh that turned into a small coughing fit and she noticed the shaking shoulders of one of the guards. The seneschal appeared to be totally at a loss, helpless to think of anything to do at this point. To bridge the moment of discomfort, Ruth asked, “Could you please introduce me to the rest of your group?”
“Aw…”
At the sound of this inarticulate response, one of the other young men in the group stood up, straightened his elaborately laced cuffs, and braced his feet as if he were standing at attention. He gestured toward his own chest and said “Lady Mage, I’m Derek. The other people in our group are Johann, Dennin, and Rambad. Our fearless leader here is called Sam.” Having said his piece, the young man thankfully sank back down to his seat.
Smiling in gentle amusement, Ruth responded, “Thank you very much, Derek, and welcome to this discussion.” She had noticed in passing, that most of the other traders kept a neutral expression on their faces. The exceptions were the smile that appeared on Master Wentworth’s face and the large grin from his grandson, as well as the look of disdain that appeared on Wentworth’s other associate’s countenance. Once again, a frisson of dislike ran up Ruth’s body at the arrogance and meanness of spirit displayed in that response.
A flash of foreboding washed over her with the icy cold feel of events to come. A split second image slammed into her mind, showing flames and blood, smoke and sparking wires. Ruth managed to keep all sign of her horror from her face. It was difficult, but how would she explain that she had just experienced a vision of the future? She made a mental note to discuss this with Margot and Jenna later on and to also make sure that Pawlik knew about it.
It was now show time for Ruth. She took a deep breath, tightened her control over her voice, and attempted to set the stage.
“Thank you all for coming, gentlemen and lady. While we will be selling off some of our ships, we are also open to the idea of cooperative ventures. If you would like to inspect them for possible purchase, I can arrange for them to be transported to someplace for you to physically evaluate. At this point, we will only be outright selling eight ships. However, I am interested in diversifying some of our investments and working out joint ventures with established firms to provide both revenue and strategic positioning. You’ve been asked to come here as possible collaboration partners and buyers.”
“We would be very much interested in inspecting the ships that you consider as salable at this time, Lady Mage,” interjected Master Trader Perley. He continued, “Where exactly will the ships be available for inspection?”
“The ships will be available in two days’ time at the small space field by the Hot Barrens.”
The scarred ships captain exclaimed, “There is no place to land a ship there!”
Ruth calmly responded, “There will be in two days.” She had to smile at the looks of total disbelief on display around the table. They would just have to see.
Before anyone else could say anything, the un-introduced man in Wentworth’s party interrupted Ruth. “I understand why we are here, and even Perley. However, we are all master traders while the gaggle at the bottom of the table are just Gypsies. They are not registered master traders and have no certification. In short, they have no reason to be here. You can’t seriously be thinking of going into business with them, can you?”
Master Wentworth face went slack with shock, and he opened his mouth to respond. Ruth silenced him with an abrupt hand motion and turned her eyes toward the speaker.
“Who I choose to invite to my business meetings is my concern. If you are uncomfortable with that initial premise, I would suggest strongly that you leave. Since you obviously do not understand the basis by which I’m going to evaluate possible partners, it puts you at a disadvantage. This disadvantage may extend into any negotiating that you would have to do with me.”
“Perhaps when Lord Pawlik returns, your attitude will change, Lady Mage. You are just not familiar with how things are done on Arkken.”
A new voice cut into the conversation, as Pawlik strode into the room. “Since the ships in question belong to my lady, I find your comment both offensive and unacceptable. I believe that Sgt. Gray here can provide you a personal escort out of the castle. If you require transportation back to the city, he will arrange for it.” With that statement, Pawlik ignored the sputtering man and move over to gently place a kiss on the top of Ruth’s head.
She glanced up at him and smiled, saying softly, “Perfect timing, my love!”
“I try!”
Ruth looked over at the sound of a chair slamming like a hammer blow. The furious trader had stood up so quickly that his chair had flipped down on the ground. He shrugged off Sgt. Gray’s hand and begin to storm out of the room. Unable to leave without making a statement, the irate man paused and spun in the doorway. Looking back over the group gathered around the table, he half shouted, “Anything you do will fail. I will see to it!”
Turning back into the hallway, he managed to stomp and mutter as he stormed out. The sound of his frustration and fury echoed slightly in the room, slowly diminishing in volume and invasive quality as he, his attitude, and offensive nature receded into the distance.
“Well, that was interesting!” sai
d Master Perley. He looked over at Master Wentworth and asked, “Why on earth did you bring him, George? You know what a pain he can be.”
“He asked if he could ride with us. I didn’t realize he hadn’t been truly invited until we got here.”
“I told you that your good nature toward him would get you in trouble one of these days!”
Pawlik interrupted the conversation, “Let’s not waste more time on him, gentlemen. My Lady Mage has some requirements and some suggestions. She will outline them and then leave us to discuss concerns and responses privately.”
Ruth took over and quickly outlined the idea that she had of a partnership where she would provide some of the capital ships for the trading ventures, and the master traders would provide crew and merchant skills. The eyes of all of the people around the table brightened, and they moved slightly forward as she spoke.
The mage knew that many traders never got beyond owning one or two ships. From her own world, she was aware of the immense cost of capital improvements. She also knew that there was a tipping threshold where the number of ships signaled a significant difference in the ability of a merchant alliance to provide transport for its goods and services. What she was offering to these merchants was literally priceless in the effect it would have on their future.
When she had finished talking over her position and requirements, Ruth stood up to leave. Nodding her head at the people around the table, she added, “I will leave you to your discussions with the seneschal and Lord Pawlik. I’m sure that you all will have plenty to discuss and I look forward to seeing or proposals that you come up with.”
“Excuse me, Lady Mage,” came from one of the young men at the bottom of the table. “Are you really going to let us bring forward a proposal? Trader Vic was correct in that we are not master traders and I don’t want you to expect the same type of trades for the same type of commerce from us that you would get from the honorable master traders around this table.”
“Thank you for being upfront with me, Sam,” she replied. “I know that your method of trading is different. However, there is a definite place in the universe for different types of commerce. I am looking for you to provide me with a proposal that addresses those different needs and also that shows me that you would be a worthy partner irrespective of any certification.”
Looking stunned and a bit overwhelmed, the young man murmured an inarticulate agreement. Exchanging quick glances with the equally surprised Peregrines around him, he finally managed to distill everything down into a simple, “Thank you.”
Ruth left the room, thankfully escaping to the rest of her daily duties.
It was only as she had walked part way down the hallway that she realized that no one had appeared to see the catog at her side. Not once in the entire time that she had been there had anyone acknowledged its presence or reacted to its close shadowing of her. Interesting, she thought and resolved to think more about it later.
Chapter 5 – Interlude
Planet – Borachland Castle
It had been a very full day. The discussions with the traders had taken most of the remainder of the morning and well into the afternoon for Pawlik and the seneschal. Ruth had spent a good portion of the day organizing the outing to the space field that they would have in a few more days. The spaceport that didn’t exist yet. Ruth was looking forward to the challenge of building something. She was also, frankly, anticipating with pleasure the astonishment on the faces of the traders and space captains. After all, everyone needed to have a hobby...
As usual, Ruth was running late. It seemed like everything during the day just took longer than it should have. Consultations about food, logistic discussions on supplies, meetings with her staff, she was busy all day but sometimes could not figure out what she had actually done during any one period of time.
A brief flash of amusement crossed the Mage’s mind. She found herself thinking that it was not much different than her life on Earth had been. Meetings on this, calls on that, everything combined into a blur of activity that infrequently resulted in the completion of any one task. Somehow it was even more amusing to realize how far away she was from Earth and her life there, but that the end result of her daily activity had remained pretty much the same.
Another thing that hadn’t really changed was how hungry she got when she finally stopped focusing on her activities. Her stomach was growling loudly as she half trotted down the hallway, trailed by her security. For once, neither Jenna nor Margot was with her. Instead, she had two of the recruited former Marines as protection and firepower. She was familiar with Eric and Craig, who had joined her security team that first night at the bar. They were flexible, competent, and dangerous. Perfect for her type of protection but sometimes unsure of what to do with a boss that could throw fireballs.
The catog butted its head against her elbow. She reached over and scratched it behind the ears as she walked, absentmindedly noting the purr that rumbled from its throat.
“Stop!” The command came from Eric behind her. Obediently, Ruth stopped in midstride. She turned her head carefully toward Eric and noticed that both he and Craig had their weapons out and were scanning the area.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“There’s a strange rumble, and I can’t see where it’s coming from.”
“It’s from my companion.”
Both of the Marines turned to her wearing almost identical looks of disbelief on their faces. She wanted to laugh but knew that it was inappropriate. However, the urge to giggle was so strong that she had to take her tongue firmly between her teeth to avoid laughing at their astonished faces.
“I take it that neither of you can see my companion.”
Before either of the men could respond, Jenna appeared in the hallway accompanied by two other Marines. All of them had their weapons out, and they were approaching Ruth at a flat-out run, ready to block the Mage from possible harm. Apparently, the unexplained noise had resulted in the issuance of an unseen alert that had summoned more security.
Ruth planned on waiting until Jenna had come to a halt. However, Jenna’s planned sliding stop by the Mage was interrupted when she appeared to slam into an invisible wall. The mage’s bodyguard had forgotten that her security detail was no longer the only protection for Ruth.
Ruth lost her battle with laughter. Holding the sides of her ribs, she bent over laughing. Tears came to her eyes, and she was overcome, unable to form coherent words or sentences. All of the Marines except Jenna were semi-frozen in surprise. Jenna had a different reaction.
“Of all the mangy, flea-ridden fuzzy butts that I have ever encountered, this has to be the most disgustingly stupid situation to have to deal with!” she shouted. “Did you do this damn trick without telling us? Or does the walking fur rug have tricks of its own?”
Ruth felt the unmistakable touch of another’s amusement in her head. She knew instantly that it had to be the catog. Reaching an invisible hand out gently, Ruth sent a formless <<???>> with her mind. The response back was a clear image of the catog stalking and bringing back prey. Pushing a response back of amusement and approval, Ruth finally answered Jenna.
“Stalking Hunter here finds it just as funny as I do. However, I am sorry that you seem to have forgotten about him. And just as obviously, you seem to have forgotten to brief your team.”
At those words, it was obvious that the catog had become visible to the Marines. At the sign of the huge animal standing next to the Mage, they reflexively aimed their weapons, spreading out. Some of them went to their knees, while others remain standing. All of them reacted instantaneously to the threat that the large animal represented. Jenna just looked disgusted when the armpit-high feline – canine mixture materialized two inches from her face.
Her bodyguard’s disgruntled look set Ruth off again. The intense amusement left her clinging desperately to the catog as her laughter ran its course.
<<<>>>
It had taken a little while for Ruth to regain
her composure. Even now, if she glanced back at Jenna, half strangled giggles would sound in the back of her throat. Every time she did that, Jenna looked even more disgusted. It was with the accompaniment of the mixed merriment and annoyed disapproval that they entered the dining room to find everyone else waiting for them.
The children had eaten earlier, so the table was quiet and sparsely populated. Pawlik came to his feet as Ruth entered the room. With a smile on his face, he walked around the table with a hand outstretched to gently take Ruth’s hands in his. Raising them to his lips for a gentle kiss, he escorted her back to her chair and seated her.
The seneschal had also come to his feet, as did Cal. Both men waited until Ruth had been seated before they took their own chairs again. Pawlik had paused momentarily on his trip back to his own chair to cock a querying eyebrow at Jenna. Still with a totally annoyed look on her face, she just shook her head. Shrugging slightly, Pawlik continued back onto his seat and seated himself. The seneschal was sitting at Ruth’s right, while Mary was on her left. Mary smiled and nodded her head, reaching for her wineglass. That motion was arrested midway, and she glanced around the room. Other than the diners, guards, and two servants the room appeared to be empty.
Jenna said, “Ha! At least we have one other person in this benighted castle that can tell when something strange is going on!”
Pawlik looked around the room trying to see what had caused Mary’s reaction and Jenna’s response. The seneschal also was nervously scanning the room, but Cal had his eyes on his mother. Seeing that she looked calm but amused, Cal appeared to not be concerned about whatever it was that was happening.
He poured his own glass and pass the bottle onto Mary who was so absorbed in trying to see what was strange in the room that she ignored him. Shrugging his shoulders, Cal stood up, poured Mary some more wine and went to walk toward his mother’s chair before encountering the invisible catog. Checked momentarily by something that he couldn’t see, the younger man smiled at his mother, and then looked in front of him to address the empty air.