Jaunten (Advent Mage Cycle)
Page 34
Val Haben opened the door and his face with alight with a satisfied smile. "Sire, Captain Xiaolang of the Red Hand is here."
"Bring him in, please." Guin rubbed his hands together, a fierce feeling of anticipation tingling at the base of his spine. Considering how dangerous using magic was in Chahir, he hadn't thought it wise to send magicians in as rescue teams. A non-magical solution to this problem would be better. He had contacted Ascalon a week ago, asking for their best team in infiltration. He hadn't expected the Red Hand, but was absolutely delighted to have them. Even here, in Hain, the Red Hand team was famous for their abilities to infiltrate anywhere, and to recover anything…or anyone.
Guin smoothed his face out into more neutrally polite lines when he heard the approach of two sets of feet. Grinning like a demented goat with a new chew toy would hardly be dignified, after all.
The first one into the room was Val Haben, but close on his heels was a lithe young man wearing the black and red uniform of Ascalon. He was striking with thick black hair, pale skin, and sharply penetrating blue eyes.
Guin was an experienced politician, with years of practice in keeping his face straight, so he didn't gape…much. He'd heard that the Captain of the Red Hand was young, but he hadn't expected him to be around Garth's age!
After a brief second of surprise, reflex kicked in and Guin was composed and in control once more. "Captain Xiaolang, thank you for responding so promptly."
"Not at all, Your Majesty." Captain Xiaolang flashed him a smile, one filled with easy humor and confidence.
"Please be seated," Guin invited. He used the few seconds that it took for his guest to sink into a comfortable armchair to give the Captain a quick perusal. So young! And he was obviously not native to Ascalon. They were a darkly complexional race, and this young man was too fair and by far too light of frame to belong to that people. Actually, Guin couldn't quite pin what nationality he was. (This didn't surprise him, as his intelligence officers hadn't been able to figure it out either.) That blue-black hair and brilliant blue eyes were almost Q'atalian…but the skin color was wrong. Besides, the idea was absurd. No Q'atalian would be a captain in any military; they were a very pacifist culture.
Before he could be caught staring, he sank into a nearby armchair. "May I offer you any refreshments?"
"I'm fine, but thank you." Xiaolang was relaxed in his seat, perfectly at ease and attentive.
"Very well, I'll get straight to the point." Guin took a breath, ready to launch into his prepared explanation…and then paused when a thought struck him. This man was reputed to be excellent at gathering information. Actually, Guin wouldn't be surprised if the Captain already knew why he was here. "Captain Xiaolang, would I be mistaken if I said that you already know why you are here?"
Xiaolang's head cocked slightly to the side. "Did you call me here in order to hire my team to help rescue people with magical abilities out of Chahir?"
Guin felt the corners of his mouth twitch slightly as he suppressed a smile. "Indeed."
"Then no, Your Majesty, you are not mistaken," the Ascalon Captain assured him cheerfully.
"Dare I ask how you knew?"
Xiaolang gave an elegant shrug. "I have many sources of information. The political tension between Chahir and Hain over the treatment of magical people, and of course, your recent visit and the results of those negotiations were rather obvious. I simply inferred a number of things from that."
The man was certainly living up to his reputation. Guin nodded thoughtfully. "Then I needn't bore you with a full explanation. Most of the province lords in Chahir do not choose to enforce the new laws. Actually, some of them are actively hunting magically gifted people down. I cannot ignore the situation, as you know."
Xiaolang nodded in understanding. "How many people do you want retrieved?"
"All of them," Guin answered simply.
Those penetrating blue eyes widened slightly. "All of them?"
"Captain, I'm fully aware of how impossible this task seems," Guin admitted with a weary sigh. "After all, people with magical gifts are being born daily. People will become aware of their gifts at random moments. You might not find anyone one week, and find a hundred the next. It's a dangerous and very time-consuming task that I'm asking you to take on and one without any end in sight. All I can promise you is that I'm not done with Chahir yet. I am still in close correspondence with Vonlorison, and still trying to sway him to do something to stop this atrocity. Eventually, I think he will enforce the laws that we agreed to two months ago. But this will take time. Captain," Guin leaned forward slightly in his seat, giving his words emphasis, "I know that this will keep you from your home for quite some time. Are you willing to do it?"
For a long moment, Xiaolang sat in silence, his eyes locked with Guin's. "What fee are you offering?"
"Name your price," Guin retaliated.
Xiaolang's eyes flew wide and then he started chuckling in genuine humor. "That is a dangerous thing to say to a mercenary captain, King Guin. It's almost a shame that I promised my reflection that I would be nice today and not take shameless advantage of the situation." With a rueful sigh he shook his head. "The temptation is almost too much. No, Your Majesty, I shall charge you standard fee, plus traveling and living expenses since we shall be in Chahir for so long. Is that acceptable?"
Guin blinked. He had expected to pay far more than this; had steeled himself to pay his entire family fortune, actually. He had not expected this much generosity. "More than acceptable, Captain." He almost felt like bargaining for the Captain, but restrained himself at the last moment. One didn't argue when handed a bargain. That would be foolish. "You shall have support as well."
Xiaolang looked intrigued. "Really? What support?"
"I have two people within my service that excel at finding people with magical abilities," Guin explained. "They can search for several miles around them, sometimes up to twenty miles. They will be at your disposal."
"That is a relief to hear," Xiaolang admitted with a wry smile. "I had been wondering on how to tell the magical people apart from anyone else. Rescuing people without knowing who to rescue would be a tricky business."
"I can imagine," Guin drawled. "When can your team get here?"
"They're here now," Xiaolang corrected. "They came with me. It was an easy trip down river and they wanted a chance to play tourist. We can begin at any time."
Guin beamed, thoroughly caught up in a wave of enthusiasm. "Excellent! I shall call in the people that you'll work with. If you'll gather your team, Captain, we can meet here within an hour?"
"Perfectly acceptable, Your Majesty."
Chapter One: Trouble
Chapter Two: Trouble, Part II
Chapter Three: The Trasdee Evondit Orra
Chapter Four: All Things Magic
Chapter Five: Beginnings
Chapter Six: Daily Hassles
Chapter Seven: A Field Trip
Chapter Eight: Diplomacy
Chapter Nine: Power
Chapter Ten: Traveling
Chapter Eleven: Patches
Chapter Twelve: Mages
Chapter Thirteen: Culture Clashes
Chapter Fourteen: Conflicts
Chapter Fifteen: Magic
Chapter Sixteen: Jward
Chapter Seventeen: Night
Chapter Eighteen: Work—Of All Kinds
Chapter Nineteen: Moving
Chapter Twenty: Introductions
Chapter Twenty-One: Family
Chapter Twenty-Two: Family, II
Chapter Twenty-Three: Power
Chapter Twenty-Four: Politics
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