by Power, P. S.
There was a pause, and then a soft sound that was a word, but spoken so softly he really couldn't tell what it was.
"Nothing of the sort. I was just going to invite you to the evening meal? It's a small thing, only about ten people will be there. Dinner dress. So, something nice, but subdued. House uniforms, that kind of thing. I think that's sky blue, deep green and opal for Harmony. I'm not certain what kind of uniforms they have however. Do you know?"
It was conversational, and still totally outside of his depth.
"Not a single clue. I think I get the basic idea. At nine?"
"Yes. Count Lairdgren is coming, and wants to meet you. Probably to scold you for your school choice. He runs the Lairdgren school himself you know, directly. We can't really blame him if that's the case."
She was having fun, it seemed, probably because she couldn't see his reaction, which was entirely blank at the moment.
"Well, I haven't paid yet, so I can always transfer if the need arises to keep the peace. I'll be there. Thank you for thinking of me. Say, you wouldn't know the time would you?"
"I do! It's just this moment turning to noon. You have plenty of time then. Do you have plans for the day?"
He didn't really, but his mouth moved, and sounds came out, surprising him a bit. That kind of thing happened, but it was almost always a poor plan to let it. That was when you said stupid things that ended up with you being in trouble.
"Just some copy work. I need to practice, and Austra needs lights. For the port there? I should be able to get a single batch done in that time. Sam wants me to do that kind of thing without using a template, so it will take longer. Not that he wants to waste my time. It's just training."
There was a sound, which was probably clapping.
"Amazing! You haven't even gone off to school yet. Well, don't be late, if you can help it. I look forward to seeing you, little brother." That was a new thing, her calling him that. It kind of shocked him, but he went with it, trying to pretend it was real.
"Me too, sis. See you soon." With that the device in his pocket shifted a little, the energy coming off of it dying. He could feel it happening, since there wasn't a lot else to concentrate on at the moment.
It took him a bit to get back to the port, and to examine one of the lights they were using to ring the landing areas. They worked, but it should be possible for him to do a bit better than that, without completing an entirely new build. Even with his low skill level.
It was all right there for him, he realized. The basic sense of light, then the directions which told it what to do, changing the feeling of the thing when a given sigil was touched. That point of contact was all that was really needed. The intent to do it really, was enough. So the device had to turn on, produce light, and that was it. The rest of the field was dedicated to how to manage the light. There was no reason that a person couldn't add mental controls like some of the food units had however, which would allow the field the light was on to stretch and change shape, brightness and color. Or, and this one made sense to him, turn itself on and off, when it was hit by a bright enough light.
It was a bit more complex, but doable. Still, he needed things to work on, and using bowls from Tam-Unit might not be all that sensible really. Instead, not wanting to waste a lot of time trying to find focus stone making magics, then borrowing the things, he moved away from the city, and collected a sack of rough stones from the ground. The thing was heavy, when he brought it back, but it wasn't like he was walking. He used the low flying feature on his shield, which was much faster.
Then he had to recall everything he'd been told to do.
The effort it took was a lot more than he'd figured on, but a mere eight hours later, he had ten of the things. It was a bit small for a batch, but there were more rocks, and now that the pattern was established, it would probably be easier for him. They each had glowing sigils on them, the locations slightly different for each rock. Taking the smallest one, he put it in his pocket, and got himself ready for dinner. Hopefully Constance had been doing some sisterly teasing and Count Lairdgren wasn't really all that angry at him for not going to his school.
If there was a beating for it, perhaps the man would let him put that off for a while. Not that he felt that bad at the moment. A bit low in energy, but nothing like he had been before. It was just that Dareg needed to be healthy most of the time, from then on. That and he needed to figure out how to hunt down and dispose of their enemies before something too big took place.
The trip into the city was slow, taking nearly half an hour, since he floated along using his shield. Flying wasn't allowed, but you could use Not-flyers, which meant that no one cared if he were moving along at a reasonable speed a few inches from the earth below him. It was faster than walking, but slower than he could sprint. On the good side he wouldn't be left dripping with sweat at the end of it. His clothing was a bit plain, being a regular outfit that looked almost military, but in deep green, with opal trim and a sky blue strip on the side of the legs on the outside. It wasn't an inspired color choice, but looked like he belonged when he walked up to the front gate of the palace.
The man there wasn't known to him, and Dareg could hear that there were two others, standing back, on the inside of the gate. Yet another was stationed in a small stone hut about ten feet to the right. The gate itself was impressively tall, being about ten feet, and seemed to be constructed of heavy black iron.
"Name and business, My Lord?" That came with a bow from the purple and black clothed man. He was bigger than Dareg, by about five inches, and held more muscle to his form.
It was probably intimidating.
"Prince Dareg Canton, of Harmony. Invited to dinner?" He really didn't have more than that to say, and the man stood, looking placid.
"Very well, Prince Dareg. We need to call that in to check on the master list. It will be a moment." Then, for some reason the man leaned in. "New procedure. This way we can get more eyes on whoever comes to the gate. Even that is just an extra step. No one knows if the Truth amulets will work on the new foes."
He didn't either. They clearly could use magic when they wanted. Bill had dressed himself in it, once he had the right amulet, and could turn it on and off. Things like the ships held them and transported them like anyone else. When they started to fight, then things went away. That might have been why no one had responded to Bill, even though someone had to have read him using magic, but Tor and he both got that Will wasn't right. Will had been doing that time thing, then, if lightly.
"I can't say, myself. My best guess for the moment is that they can probably use them when they want to. If it would catch them lying?" He spread his hands a little, and moved a bit, his right foot making a scratching sound on the cut stone beneath him.
The Royal Guard made a tiny head movement, which was nearly just a nod.
"That's the thought here. So you aren't going to scream and try to have us all tortured on the rack for this? That's refreshing. Half the people through here in the last day have suggested things along those lines."
The man moved back, as Dare smiled. It wasn't his job to tell them how to guard the King. Not unless he had a better way to do it. As had been mentioned with him, it seemed like the Adversaries could be everywhere they wanted to be. Not so much because of what had happened there, which was pretty normal. Bill and Straughan had infiltrated places, like any spy might have.
No, the real danger was with the incoming fleets. They'd had people infiltrate there, while hurling through space. He needed to learn more about that, Dare decided. They were superstitious about things, thinking that light might protect them from the darkness. Taking the metaphor a bit too literally. Lyone had told them that her entire people, all of them, lived in the light all the time. Even when they slept.
The thing with that was simple. He didn't know enough to assume his people were the ones that were wrong. It had seemed that way to him, but maybe they knew something he didn't. In that case, the job of fixing that
was his own. No one else would deliver that kind of information to him. They wouldn't even know to do it.
It was only a few minutes, and while he did feel a bit out of place standing there, no one made fun of his lack of hair. What happened was that he was handed a Truth amulet anyway, and asked to state his particulars again, then led in.
It made perfect sense. After all, if the things worked on the Adversaries, then not using them would be foolish. If they didn't, they lost nothing by trying. His eyes moved carefully, scanning the world like he was expecting attack, and trying not to jump as they were followed, once they got inside. He'd heard them before, the people in the walls, but this time it was harder to take. Like a real threat was about to rush out at him. It wasn't hard to understand that it was just more guards there for safety, but that didn't mean his nerves were resting easy as they shuffled along, trying to be silent.
Watching him.
Like he was their primary target in the world. He understood why, and didn't take it all that personally, but Dare really could see how some people might. It was like these people were accusing him of being a threat, when all he'd done was innocently walked in, like he was asked to. Yes, the royal family had to be protected, but the scrutiny was maddening, in its own way.
Worse, he didn't really know if it would be enough to protect anyone. What if one of the kitchen staff showed up one day, but wasn't themselves. Or if the King was replaced with a double that was identical to him. The odds that all of the enemy would look like Bill and Kevin was too much to hope for. That, if it was the case, would work in their favor. It would be nice if something finally would.
The guards walked him about halfway to the main dining room, and passed him off to the butler, who bowed to him, going low.
"Prince Dareg. So good to see you again. Things are set up in the small dining room this evening. This way?" Dareg bowed back, going halfway down, since the man was clearly important. His eyes widened a bit at it, but he smiled, pleased by the respect it seemed.
The trip was longer, actually, and went through several hallways that doubled back on each other. In the end they did end up in a room that was small for the palace, but lined with cool seeming polished stone. It was black and streaked with veins of white. The interior space was about ten feet by twenty however, which was the smallest space he'd seen inside there. There were no windows and the room was dim, holding only a few lanterns. The real kind that had oil reservoirs and flame, though very nice versions that had delicate etched glass for the light to be seen through.
Inside there were as promised, not too many people. And it looked like that would hold. There was only one seat left. It was next to Karina, who was sitting beside her brother. He was a place down, with a tiny woman being directly next to the King. She was so dark that he would have missed seeing her if not for her bright red hair. It stood nearly straight up, but was only a few inches long. Her eyes were light enough that he could see them, even in the dim space.
Across from them sat Count Ward and his Countess, and an older man, who was upright, but seemed to be alone. Beside him was Sam Builder, who looked over at him and waved a bit, then winked.
"There he is. Queen Constance told us that you might be a bit late. Doing building work." He smiled, like it was a joke. Until Dareg pulled the stone from his pocket. It was nearly as big as a handheld, and had several different glowing designs on it, each holding a specific purpose. Not that he'd tried it out yet.
Sam held out his hand and took the thing from across the table, and then closed his eyes, going so still that his single point of attention tried to draw Dareg along with it. Everything he had was just sensing what the magical device in his hand was. If it worked. Instead of speaking he just opened his eyes, and shook his head.
"It's the entire freaking family, isn't it? Here, let me see if I can do this as well as it deserves." He touched the rock, with a single finger, and caused a ball of light to form. It started bright, like sunlight, and dimmed just a bit for comfort, as people laughed and covered their eyes, then the ball floated to the wall behind the tall blond wizard, and spread out, making a six inch thick line that ringed the room. Glowing enough that he had to dim it again.
The King looked at them and bowed his head a tiny bit.
"Very useful! I was told that the only way for us to get a magical light in here involved ladders, and half an hour of work, hence the lanterns. This is new, isn't it? Something from Harmony?" The King was looking at him, but Sam answered, as he changed the color of the lights, smoothly going through hundreds of different shades.
"I'd sigh and hang my head being shown up like this, but no, Prince Dareg built it. It has a full mental interface. I... Let me see..." He closed his eyes then and the light from the ceiling moved down, and after a few moments, formed the shape of a person. One that glowed at first, but then dimmed until the statue seeming thing was shown only by the lamp light. It was of a woman, who looked a lot like Laurie Baker, being that small. With wings that glowed a tiny bit. They were held back, and a light bluish white. Then he returned the light to where it had been, making the room bright.
"You could make anything with this, if you wanted. Well, a seeming of it. In real time." Sam seemed impressed at least, which was good.
Karina leaned in her shoulder warm next to him.
"Not bad. Is this for shows? Entertainments?"
Dare leaned back a bit, since he was a little tired and jumpy, not stupid or dead. The woman was nice looking, and they'd done enough on the Saturn trip to show that she wasn't just playing with him that way. Not that anyone ever really had, Queen Tiera aside.
"Lights for the Austran port, and the new fleets coming in? They live in light, so I figured it might be useful to them. It should be able to get a lot bigger and brighter than this. That could be useful for growing things on Mars, since we're starting underground there. If enough light not made by the unit hits the rock the whole thing will turn off. That way we won't light things without need during the day. I didn't know if that would help so that feature can be turned on and off."
The statue thing had been amazing, but Dareg didn't respond to it, even though he hadn't really known the magic could do that. It was enough that it worked, in his book.
The Ancient of Noram looked at the rock again and then handed it back. Leaving it activated.
"That's a decent start for a first build. I want one thousand copies, in two days. Batches of one hundred each, taking no more than an hour and a half for each one. If it does, then start over. That's ten of a hundred, in that time, for it to count." His voice was very serious, as if that was a normal thing for people to be doing.
Dareg snorted.
"I'll... Do my best. I have lessons in there too... I suppose this is where I learn not to sleep so much?"
Sam seemed to think that was about the case, "I'll also accept a batch of a thousand if you do it in less than three hours. You have the skill to do that, but most people aren't brave enough to just jump into that kind of thing. Is the risk of failing worth the lost time? That's your decision."
Karina made a face across the table at him. It wasn't mean really, but it wasn't totally proper, either.
"That's a steep learning curve, isn't it? Even the Lairdgren group didn't move that fast."
Sam, his deeply tanned skin perfect as far as lines and blemishes went, made a face back. It was different. Darker, and a bit sinister.
"Ah, but you see, we were mainly a bunch of regular people. Dedicated and hard working, but not special. Dareg can do more than that, so it's only fair that he push at the same level. Natural talent can spoil anyone, if you aren't careful. There's a level where people never try all that hard, because things are easy for them. I'd be failing as a tutor if I let that happen. I hate failing, so you see the dilemma?"
Count Ward, Marvin, nodded.
"There is wisdom in that. We'll just have to hope that Dareg doesn't fail at the task set. That would be embarrassing, it having been given in
front of all of us." There was no censure in the words, it really just seemed like an observation.
That got Sam to crinkle his eyes in a way that forced him to smile a little.
"Wouldn't it? Why the shame of it would make you blush for... Oh, whole days, don't you think, Dareg? The way around that, of course, is to not fail." There was a tone to it, but it held playfulness inside of it.
Dareg sighed and looked down at the table, trying to seem humble.
"You lose one single multi-million gold jump ship, and suddenly everyone thinks you're incompetent. Thankfully I'm getting a new one soon, so people won't keep asking me where mine is."
Several of the people looked troubled at that statement, as if he were putting himself down, but Sam nodded.
"Which wouldn't happen for anyone else. Loan, however. I expect you to make your own ships, and give that one back. We'll go over how to do that in about a month though. Focus on this new project first, then we'll do some drills, so you can practice more complex things. I have some in mind, if you can't come up with more...Which, actually is a good idea. Turn in a list of ideas for new builds. You don't have to know how to make them, just list them off. I want at least a hundred novel things on it. In that same two days. You get extra marks if you double both of them."
For some reason the interplay got everyone to laugh, about then. Dareg didn't really understand that. It was some kind of inside joke, it seemed. Even the giant Marvin smiled, his good looking face not being too mean about it all.
It was Prince Alphonse who changed the topic however, which was kind of him. The work level seemed to be primed to keep growing as long as Sam Builder was speaking.
"I hear that Dorgal Sorvee is holding a grand fete for his birthday this year. It's being held on a ship, in orbit of the gas giant, Jupiter. That's impressive, if he can pull it off, don't you think?"