by P. S. Power
"Hello. This is Dareg Canton, out at the spaceport. Would it be possible to speak to Queen Constance? Or, more likely to leave a note, so she can get back in touch with me. She's probably busy at the moment." He didn't know that, but it wouldn't shock him to find that out.
He had to spell his name for the boy, who hung up after a nicely polite goodbye. The tall girl smiled at him, and seemed pretty pleased about it all for some reason. Not in a fun way, but like he was a tiny child who was claiming the world hopped to their wishes.
"You're just trying to call on the Queen? Does that normally work for you? I know that I wouldn't dare do that. Not even during King's week. Wouldn't it work better to just walk to the port and ask around about things?" She seemed worried for some reason, and was glancing at her friends, not him. It was a subtle thing, but the other girls, both of whom were identical, as in twins, who had flame red hair and dark tan skin gave him more information about things than he would have had otherwise.
The girl on the right, behind them, made a soft sound then, like a huff, and spoke in a low tone.
"I swear Mella, if this turns out to be another one of your famous tricks, I'm never speaking to you again."
A soft sense of relief moved through him then as the taller girl stammered a little. It was instantly clear to him that she'd been making things up. There was no trip into space being put around, other than by the girl with the running mouth. It could have been a mess if people were traveling out there for a treat, if it wasn't delivered.
The handheld buzzed, and once tapped on, showed a rather nice looking Queen on the screen.
"Dareg? Is everything all right? The phone lad told me that you'd called?" She sounded actually concerned, which was probably down to the fact that the woman hadn't expected to hear from him soon.
"Nothing too bad. I'd just heard that we were supposed to have a ship from the Noram fleet coming in to give people rides into orbit, and that it was your idea. That being the case, I figured you might want to know about it. Maybe Captain Gemma could come? If so... She'll want her ship to be about an eighth the size of what it was the last time I was up there? We actually have craft coming in and out now. I should get with Space Fleet too, and see if Alice Orange wants to free up a craft for that. It has to be a good recruitment tool." Anyone willing to go on a free ride would end up being captive for a while, after all. "The same would work for the Noram fleet. Call it as starting in... Three days? I don't want to clog things up to start with." The highest number of craft they'd had in at once was three, after all.
At least that was what it looked like, off in the distance. Two of them were the little insect looking versions, like Commander Derring had come in. The other was larger, had eight sides and was all orange. That was in the space fleet colors, but it had also been made smaller than the other ships that had come. Hopefully just for the parties.
"What a good idea! Yes, I can ask after that. If not Gemma, then one of the others might be available. Her brother perhaps? Now, are you coming for dinner tonight? A tiny bird has told me that several of the Ancients have been seen with you?"
That would be a literal thing, at the moment.
"Would it be possible to come in at some other time? We can get away now, but there's a small problem regarding a High Servant, and Commander Derring will want to see to that first thing, so it might change plans. Kolb will want to come of course, but I think he's planning to beat me in the morning, so we might want to make sure he gets plenty of sleep first. You know, so he's fresh and strong for it? He's been helping me learn to fight. My tutor?"
"Oh? Very good then. We can't get in the way of your studies. Tomorrow for luncheon?"
The others looked back at him, all of them, and even if it was written all over his face that Kolb didn't want to bother with it, the Commander nodded gently.
"Commander Derring and I? I'll work on Kolb, but you know, he's all old, and thinks that means he shouldn't have to suffer through elaborate meals. Oh, remember that you and Richard are supposed to come visit here too? The third evening of this week, if that works for you? Not that I have anything really planned yet. I need to get on that. I've been busy, running all over the Capital with my friends. It probably means I'm a horrible spaceport boss, but it had to be done."
He was being too subtle, he thought, but the Queen gave him a gentle nod.
"I understand. The High Servant situation?"
That got narrowed eyes and a nod, but no words from Dare.
Then he smiled.
"So, when is luncheon there?"
"Two in the afternoon. I'll see you then? I hate to run off, but I'm being waved at to get my attention."
"See you then, Queen Constance."
"You as well, Prince Dareg." Then the link broke.
So did several of the people around him. No one in Noram used a title like that if it wasn't real, since that could lead to being put to death. Most likely without a trial. For the Queen to use it, or even to be talking to him, was so huge that all the girls were staring at him.
The tall one, Mella, touched his arm.
"Forgive me? I didn't know." Then she tried to fall back, her friends pulling at her a little bit. They were further back so his floating chest wouldn't bump into them.
Snagging her arm from the air, he shook his head.
"Nope. You were leading your friends astray. Again, apparently. That can't be allowed. I'm collecting you up as slave labor for the day... I know, you can stand out front of the Bawdy House and tell people what's being offered this evening." He was kidding, but Commander Derring reached out and slapped Johan on the arm.
"That's fair. Johan, can you stay with her for it? Otherwise someone will think she's on offer."
It was a real point and the man agreed.
Then Dare looked at the twin girls, and made a face.
"Would you be available for dinner later? I'll buy. The restaurant here isn't bad." Then he looked at the crowd and shook his head. "If I get a chance. I wasn't joking with Queen Constance about being busy. Still, we all need to eat. I should set things up at Sam Builder's, but it isn't my home to use that way. Speaking of which, I need to get in touch with him, too. I'm making all these plans for him and haven't mentioned it yet, which probably isn't very kind of me."
Kolb laughed, and the twins demurred, a lot. So much that it was clear he was being put off. That didn't really bother him, since he wasn't truly ready to entertain yet. Not that he didn't need to get to speed that way. Soon too.
The girls managed to escape once they were at the port, though Mella did make plans with High Servant Johan, so that the giant and muscular man would be her guard while she played at being a caller for the whores. That meant only four of them were going off to the tiny focus stone hut where the High Servants worked. Inside it was empty, except for a man sleeping in the corner. It wasn't Straughan, but was a person in High Servant robes.
There were no pillows, still the fellow was well and truly sleeping. He looked a bit hard used, too. A few days beard growth graced his cheek, for instance. His white clothing was stained in places, which being they were magical meant he just hadn't thought to fix them for a while. He smelled of sweat, that and a sharper odor that was similar to the stink of fear that some people got.
Rather than start talking, Derring walked over and patted the fellow, who was lanky, on the shoulder several times.
"David?" She shook his shoulder a bit, which got the man, who had bloodshot blue eyes and looked about thirty or so, to cough and sit up.
"Hey sis. I was just going to come and look for you, if I could get a ride up to Harmony. I can't help but notice that you aren't dead?" There was a pleased smile to go along with the words, and after he stood a hug.
That this man, who was the woman's brother, recognized her with a disguise on was interesting. It clearly was one, being bigger than her real face, if only marginally. It took a bit to work out that this being her sibling, and seeming pretty normal, would mean that
her prettier face wasn't the real one. Even if it was hers. This one was the thing that her brother knew, however. Instantly, even on waking suddenly.
She looked at the guy and seemed at a loss for words.
"Do you need to get to Harmony? I have a jump ship..."
The tall man, who was about seven and a half feet high, or better, shook his head and looked not at his sister, but the bald man behind her.
"Nope. I have some things for Kolb. Private? Then he can tell you, if he thinks you should know." There was a bit of metal behind the words, and the High Servant Commander just nodded, understanding what was going on. Not that the male Ancient wasn't important, being really old like he was, but this man wanted to talk to him, before his own family.
That either meant his sister wasn't a very good person, and while she had been a bit angry so far, she didn't seem unreasonable about it. There could be a dark history there, but they'd hugged on meeting, so it was probably that this new man, David Derring, was on duty somehow. He was dressed like a high servant, but also a mess, which was never the case with that sort from what Dare had seen personally. Even drunk, Filby had been presentable.
He was examining the man a little too hard, it seemed, and that drew attention. Really, the feeling of the whole room shifted around, with Kolb glancing away a bit, as if the man in dingy white hadn't said anything, or perhaps like he didn't want to engage with him at the moment. Commander Derring did look at her brother, but went into a forced blankness of being, that was subdued on a level that was as telling as anger or fear would have been. David returned his gaze, and Erid...
Both he and Filby seemed baffled.
It was High Servant Erid who made a face then, and scowled a bit.
"I wasn't aware that you were a member of our order, Countier Derring." It was a bit ridiculous, since Erid was a lot shorter, and only a little squatter than the rangy and hard looking, seedy, man in front of them. Still, he seemed ready to fight about it, even if it meant losing. As if it might be important.
The High Servant Commander winced then, and Kolb showed a tiny bit of stress around his eyes. Nothing more than that, but it was there. That probably meant this David fellow was a spy, or doing similar work. Not for his sister, because if that was the case, she would have simply said so. Maybe after kicking Filby out, but it would have been done. Anyone with half a brain could see that High Servant Erid was trustworthy.
The thing at the moment was that the more manly Derring was moving for weapons, which seemed to be small, but hidden in the hem of his garment. There was a six inch long tube there, it looked like. It was really subtle and matched on the other side, so until the hand went for it, the cloth releasing whatever was there with an almost imperceptible movement, causing the slight bulge to move toward the floor under its own weight, Dare hadn't gotten it.
Kolb shook his head, but it wasn't being noticed, being too subtle. Commander Derring started to go wide eyed, and Erid was totally clueless on the matter.
So Dareg shrugged, faking the movement a lot.
"High Servant Erid, there's a good explanation for this. For now, I think it's safe to say that this man will uphold the full duty of the order. Would that be good enough for you? I'm sure that these others will explain it later, when it's appropriate?" His own voice was mild, he noticed. Inside he shook with fear, but outside he was cool and decently polite.
The large woman nodded, and smiled a bit, holding her hand out toward her brother, who froze in place.
"That's right. Totally, in fact. Thanks, Dareg." Even with her disguise on she managed to look pretty in the moment, smiling about it all. It wasn't exactly that genuine, but there was gratitude in the movement.
Which, summoning a little charm, he waved away.
"Don't thank me, I'm planning on grabbing him up for free labor for the week. Maybe past that if you have the time, sir? I mean, you are a High Servant, at this moment..." He was joking, distracting from the event and could only hope that his words wouldn't set things back into motion again.
Thankfully the large guy snorted a bit, caught as he was, and looked not at Dare or his sister, but Kolb again. It was so clear that the man worked for the Ancient weapons master that they could have been in matching outfits. To Dareg at any rate.
He smirked a bit however, and gave a small, probably ironic bow.
"Good idea. I have a few things to get done, but if I can help out that shouldn't be a problem. For the moment, I-" He yawned, and rubbed at his face. "Sorry, I've been up for about three days, until my little ten minute nap here."
The bald Ancient nodded at him, and then glanced at the others, as if they were all included.
"We should find you a room. I could walk you over to Sam Builder's place. You and he are friends, aren't you?"
That was news, especially when the large man nodded.
"We were at school around the same time, so have met, which is friendly enough to impose during King's week. Is he in?" The conversation was being changed, but at least his hands had moved from where the weapons were being hidden.
Looking at the the whole room, it was clear that, as far as Dare was concerned, they were all getting off track. Which was... Fine. His job for the week was to get things ready and set the base up, which was happening far more quickly than he would have ever expected it might. Even his helping to retrieve the High Servants, of which they'd only managed one, was just him playing around, because his real job was being done for him by others, more or less.
It was a good thing. The people in charge never really did all that much, did they?
"You know, I think that setting people up there would be good. To answer the question, Ancient Sam doesn't even know that's his home yet. I should get in touch and ask about all of this, but for the moment, we can set people up there." He shrugged and dug into his backpack, which he'd had on the whole time, like that didn't mark him as being different.
Getting out a single Tiera food device, he handed it off to Erid. He was the one there to actually help him, after all.
"Could you set this up for the Ancient in his house? Sam, I mean? The rest of you can go with him, and get rooms. Not Filby here, who needs to clear himself, then go into hiding from the rest of you for the week, so you can't beat him too badly for missing the first bit of things. It really wasn't his fault. Anyone have a truth thing?" That was rare, and other than at the gate of the King's own palace complex, Dareg had never seen one in action.
Some people, like judges and guard stations in big cities were said to have them, but to his own benefit he'd always managed to avoid most of those sorts of people, except in passing. Interestingly enough, everyone but Filby started to scramble at their necks for the correct devices. It left him feeling a bit poor and a little naked, personally. Like the kid who only had one shoe in school.
For most of them it made sense.
Erid was a High Servant and the one that had been suggested when real work was to be done. Kolb and Commander Derring were both Ancients. Immortals that lived on the freaking Moon they were so powerful. David however seemed to be a drifter that had mugged a High Servant. Yet here he was with a magical device that only one in ten thousand should have been able to even ask to be brought into play in most cases.
Which left him feeling pretty good about himself, at the moment. After all, he'd asked and instantly the things were being pulled out.
He gestured to Erid.
"He's your man, and if I have it right, you and I have to beat him if he's been being bad here, so why don't you do the honors? Try to get him out of any jail time though. You can't work in a cell." The words were playful enough that no one in the room stiffened up over them, because... That part was a little off.
Honestly no one there should have been listening to him. Which, he realized, they really weren't. It wasn't that they respected him so much yet, as that they were smart enough to see that he was moving with them in what they really wanted, or close enough. He was just some common looking
young man that wasn't worth all that much to most of them. What he was doing was making himself into the path of least resistance for them. Like a river.
As long as they weren't in conflict, there was no real reason for them not to go along with him.
The Commander bowed at Erid, then waved at Filby.
"That's probably a good enough point. You can't help others on broken legs. If you will?"
It took about three minutes to clear Filby, who had largely been honest enough about things. The only real problem came when he was asked about Kevin Straughan's sex extortion game.
He was surrounded by a nice white glow. Directly down the center of it, covering most of his body as he stood, was a yellow stripe. It was brighter than the light coming in through the open window in the wall.
"I don't know about that. It's not as if I took part in it." A sudden black streak came then, and Erid gave the man a very hard look.
"We need to break that down. Did you take part in using your sworn position as a High Servant to extort, force or coerce anyone to have sex with you?"
The man in white looked annoyed.
"No." The field of light stayed pure and untouched by darkness that time. "It isn't that one. I guess I knew more than I was letting on. I mean, it wasn't great, but Kevin had mentioned it from time to time. I... Really, I mean, they were commoners, mainly, and a few merchants. It seemed a bit funny at the time." That wasn't a lie, according to the device but got a growl that promised bloodletting.
From High Servant Erid.
"Our duty is to help those in need. Did it not occur to you that letting people be abused, even by a noble, is going directly against your charge? I don't care if the law would allow it for others, Kevin Straughan was abusing his station. As one of us! It was your job to do everything in your power to stop that from happening. Even if all you could do was call on me, and pass it on. We do not allow this!" His face went very hard then, and he looked away, at the far wall. Seething and so tense that it was kind of clear a fight was about to break out.