To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5)

by John Buttrick

  “Nor am I,” Sorel declared. “We came here to join Sir Daniel’s muster, as is our right as citizens of Ducaun, and I will not stand for you accusing me of such a thing.” The man showed a lot of salt speaking to an Accomplished so boldly.

  “Behold,” the Aakacarn said, and spread his hands wide. An orange glow radiated from him. Teki were known for their dramatic gestures.

  Indigo light suddenly flared around Buck and seemed to be coming from him, Sorel had a yellowish hue, Laurence greenish, and Ned a sort of a red-orange. This had to be a trick of the Accomplished.

  Kay’s club was aimed at Buck. Better that than raised to strike him. “And I believed your story.” Her voice held equal parts anger and sadness.

  “This is the first time any of us has left the region of Arend and you making us glow does not prove anything,” Sorel stated, undaunted by the spell-casting.

  The Teki’s eyebrows lifted slightly as if he was surprised by the continued denial. “I cast a spell modified by the Maestro, with enough power to be in the visible range of a non-Aakacarn, and so the only people in this room who do not believe me now are you four.”

  This had to be a trick. “Then you are all wrong. I am not an Aakacarn,” Buck declared, determined not to be intimidated.

  “Very well, then you will not mind if I cast, Truth Speak, on you to verify your claim,” the Accomplished replied.

  Buck had a feeling the spell was going to be cast on him in any case, willing or not, and so made his decision. It is better to appear cooperative for the time being. “I will submit to your questioning, but know that it is you and Sir Daniel who are now on trial in my mind. If you force me to lie while under your spell, it means there is no justice here, and this army is no better than the one that serves Tarin Conn.”

  “How dare you speak so about the Chosen Vessel,” Keenan said, while taking a step closer.

  The Teki did not speak about who was judging whom, nor did he pay any attention to the officer. He began glowing again, pointed, and an orange beam shot from his finger, striking Buck on the forehead and causing a warm tingle in his head. “What is your name?” the Accomplished demanded.

  “Buck Duadams.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “I came from where I was born, Mount Arend, and from a cabin I left recently to come here. It is on the southern slope deep in the woods.”

  “Are you an Aakacarn? Do you know any spells? Who is the first Aakacarn you ever met?”

  “No, I am not an Aakacarn, I know no spells, and the first Aakacarn I have had the unpleasant experience of meeting is Accomplished Cresh,” Buck replied and the tingling in his head suddenly stopped.

  The Teki turned to Keenan. “He has spoken the truth. This man is an Aakacarn, possibly a Potential who went undetected all these years,” he informed the Lieutenant and then focused on Buck. “You are an Aakacarn and it is the reason you have uncommon vigor for a man of your age. In fact, your energy level has only increased over the years and I suspect you feel stronger now than ever before. To be thorough, I will now question your friends.”

  How did he know about the uncommon vigor?

  Buck only nodded his head, still having a difficult time accepting this nonsense about him being an Aakacarn, and yet had to admit the Teki was right about him feeling more energetic as the years went by. How can a man be a spell-caster and not know it?

  The Accomplished did as stated and was soon satisfied that they were all Potentials. He turned to Keenan. “Roder, I found ten more Condemneds to be restored by the Maestro, which is what I wanted to report to you, since some may choose to be of the Guard rather than Sentinels. Upon arrival I decided to scan the area for any Aakacarns foreign to the guild. I sensed these four in this building, only to find four Potentials have come of their own accord to join the Benhannon Guard. I hope you don’t mind if I take them to Leah.”

  All of the clubs and daggers had been placed back into the belts of their owners along with the anticipation of sudden violence. People went back to what they had been doing before all the excitement. The big officer waved his arm casually. “You can take them to the First Accomplished, but I promised them meals and rooms for the night. We will send them to you in the morning.”

  “It will be as you say, Lieutenant,” the Accomplished replied and gave him a slight nod of respect.

  “Fancy that, my family really did have a reason to worry about me,” Sorel commented. He seemed to be accepting this Aakacarn business.

  “I apologize for using force, but this facility has been infiltrated in the recent past and we take no chances here,” the Teki said while extending his hand. “Welcome to the Atlantan Guild.”

  Buck hesitated, still believing the man was wrong about the Aakacarn business, but satisfied his trip was not wasted, and that he would be serving Sir Daniel. It was also good to know justice was being upheld under the Knight. He shook hands with the Accomplished and then locked eyes with Kay while the spell-caster shook hands with Sorel, Laurence, and Ned. Kay gave Buck a nod he supposed was meant to be encouraging and so he returned it.

  “Will you accept us into the Benhannon Guard if the First Accomplished rejects us?” Ned asked.

  “I don’t feel any different,” Laurence joined in. “Even if I can’t cast spells, I still can work circles around men much younger than me, and could be of use to you. As a barber I got pretty good at pulling teeth and stitching wounds for folks who needed more than a haircut.”

  Keenan’s lip twitched as if he was about to smile, yet managed to stifle it quickly. “If the First Accomplished turns you away, come and talk to me. I can always use men with stamina.”

  The Teki looked down and to the left as if he could see underground. “Daniel has just returned. He will probably eat before the meeting,” the Accomplished said, although it was unclear whether he was informing those around him or just talking to himself. He raised his chin and a boyish smile lit up his face. “Buck, you and your friends have given me something unexpected to bring up, and I think Daniel will want to meet you, all of you.”

  -----

  The room had a large obsidian table, rounded at the edges, with twenty-two chairs, ten at the sides and one on each end, all made of the same substance contoured for comfort. Red-orange flames in ten lamps on golden stands, evenly placed from corner to corner, provided a flickering light. Conjured spheres would provide a steady illumination, but Daniel wanted a place to meet where non-Aakacarns could feel a little more comfortable, and a constant reminder that they were surrounded by active spells tended to have the opposite effect. His southern estate had a room used for conferences and a place for that function was at Shantear, one that would be used mostly by the Aakacarn leaders of the Atlantan Guild. This one in the Benhannon Northland Holding had been made by Accomplished Togan and Daniel was pleased by the work of the elder Aakacarn, and did not want to make any alterations.

  Daniel sat at the head of the table with Sherree in the chair to his right and Leah to his left. Many of the attendees to this meeting would not be surprised at their presence being required. Chas Herling expected to be here. Marcus Bower, along with Jared Benfyllon, had been conveyed to the Northland Holding by Leah, and neither was a stranger to such gatherings. Accomplished Lassiter was talking to Samuel, who had been mentored by the former Senior Soarer back when they were both members of the Eagle Guild. The former Teki and Sandra Treena had been asked to attend but likely did not know why. The same could be said for Jennel Obenport, Bernard Kleopis, Daria Copa, a Three-bolt Accomplished with long brown hair, and Franklin Togan, a Three-bolt Accomplished of Serinian birth who always kept his currently white beard neatly trimmed, it was light brown yesterday. He often changed his hair color, something he reportedly never did before joining the Atlantan Guild. Perhaps he felt free to express himself here in a personal and creative way that would have been frowned upon in Aakadon. Simon, sitting at the other end of the table, never missed a meeting and it was unlikely Martin, sitt
ing near him, was surprised to be here, but none of them knew what Daniel had in mind, although he had shared a little bit with his wife and Leah during a private conversation after dinner. They all knew he expected each to participate and no doubt came prepared to report on their activities.

  Tim and Gina Dukane were ushered in by Jaim Cutler and quickly moved to take their places beside Jared. “Now that the Admirals of our navy have arrived, we can begin,” Daniel said while holding back the smile that otherwise came naturally at seeing his childhood friends. Marsha Obennen, who was probably in the common room, had conveyed them to the location on time, so they were not late, but were always last to arrive at any meeting.

  “Six Benhannon Wager-class patrol boats do not a navy make,” Tim commented while taking his seat. He did not bother to stifle his smile.

  “Especially when one of them belongs to your parents,” Gina added from the chair beside her husband. The newly-wedded couple often spoke in tandem or like a relay where one hands off to the other. She was not smiling, though her eyes were sparkling with mirth.

  The smile Daniel had been restraining broke forth. “The last one to recruit a couple of hundred sailors is a hound pup,” he challenged, stating the consequence for losing they often used back on Tannakonna.

  Tim lost the cocky smile he had been wearing since taking his seat. His eyebrows arched up, eyes quickly scanning the room as if he could sense something had escaped his notice, even if he did not know what, and suspicion made him hesitant to accept the challenge.

  “I’ll take that bet,” Gina stated confidently. She and Tim had personally recruited at least half of the Benhannon Guard, giving her a reason to feel so certain.

  “Done,” Daniel replied and brought his attention back to the other attendees.

  Every non-Aakacarn came in their wool uniforms, without helmets, and every Aakacarn came in their silks, hoods down. All of them were now giving undivided attention to their leader. Daniel glanced at Sherree, who gave a quick nod of her head, and he then addressed the assembly. “As you probably already know, my vat is nearly full as a result of donated life force energy, and I have grown new limbs for everyone who suffered loss at Shantear. I am in the process of restoring Condemneds to humanity. Thanks to the swirling of events, over which I have no conscious control, I have managed to restore two thousand people.”

  “The level of your vat was only declared, acceptable, ten days ago, how did you manage so many?” Sandra asked. Her green eyes widened, reflecting concern on a freckled face framed by long tresses of flame-red hair. She even spared a glance at Sherree as if surprised his wife would allow him to expend so much energy.

  At some point, maybe, people will stop looking at the First Lady as if it was her fault if he over taxes himself. But he could see on the faces around the table that the concern was shared by many, so he decided to alleviate their fears for his health and well-being, and explain. “I began at the first cubicle and worked from there, restoring the poor souls who had been hideously malformed by Balen Tamm. After healing five of those, I came to ones who had been the victims of Vance Cummin,” as was she not so long ago, “you know his alterations have to do with facial changes and the enslavement of minds, and are easier for me to counter. From that point I concentrated all of my efforts on people that could be restored quickly. I also had the help of Accomplished Sero Bagget, who kept resupplying my vat, and is currently enjoying refreshments in the kitchen along with Carlos. So be assured, as of this morning, the level in my reservoir has been deemed, acceptable, by the First Lady and Accomplished Obenport.”

  “How many more of the easy ones have yet to be restored?” The always inquisitive Samuel Cresh asked.

  “Three hundred twenty-eight,” Jennel answered. It was no surprise she would know the exact number of people in any given category who were in need of care.

  “Thank you Accomplished Obenport for that timely answer. As you all know I have been walking around, listening to what various folks have to say, watching people go about their assigned tasks, and not saying much,” Daniel continued with what he wanted to say.

  “Nothing unusual about that,” Samuel evidently could not refrain from sharing with everyone.

  Daniel chose to ignore the interruption. “My point is, from my walk today, and from the animals in my swirl, I have a fairly good idea of what has been happening over the last seventeen days. I called you here, not for logistical reports or numbers, but to hear from each of you what you believe I and the people in this room need to know. I will have more to say after you speak. We will begin to my right.”

  Sherree’s emerald green eyes swept the table and then fixed on her husband. “At times, in the recent past, critical information has been kept from me and you, Maestro. I learned about the attacks at the southern estate after conveying there. I also learned the kingdoms of the world are in an uproar over a Ducaunan Royal Knight of the Realm annexing land in Lobenia, and declaring himself Maestro of an illegitimate guild,” she paused and eyed everyone at the table before continuing. “Aakadon has declared the Atlantan Guild to be illegitimate, equivalent to the Serpent Guild, and the other kingdoms are now talking of preventative strikes against Ducaun. While I understand why these things had been kept from us, you all being worried about Daniel needlessly expending his life force energy; I think it is a symptom of a greater issue. This guild is so large, compared to what it was only months ago, that many people are serving without direction, and are making decisions on their own, especially now that we are no longer escorting Accomplisheds of Aakadon and have evicted the Serpents from Shantear,” she must have been speaking with Jerremy DeSuan, “while we do value independent thinking, the choice to make a decision, good or bad, and not tell anyone about it is causing some problems. We need to have better communications. Other than that, the Atlantan Guild stands ready to follow its Maestro.” She ended her statement with a nod of respect, which he returned.

  Daniel had meant to tell Sherree about the raids, but had not gotten around to it. He wondered when she learned about the declaration from Aakadon and the threats being made by the other kingdoms. She was correct about the need for better communications, starting with both of them. How many of the people assembled here knew about this development before now? “Agreed, I will address the problem after each person has had their say. Chas, you are next.”

  The Sentinel Commander leaned forward, both forearms on the table, and nodded his head. “The Chosen’s Sentinels stand ready to serve. We know from the Seer’s most recent revelations that we could be needed to assist the Lobenians in repelling the legion that has invaded their eastern realm and possibly to assist Van Efery of Taracopa. What we do will depend on how you intend to win the trust of the monarchs ruling those kingdoms, which I just learned is going to be more difficult, judging by what we heard from the First Lady.” The Pentrosan gave a quick nod, indicating he had nothing further to say, and leaned back in his chair.

  Daniel had not lost sight of the revelation; that was for certain, but could not ignore other equally important goals. “I have no doubt the Chosen’s Sentinels will have a larger role in the near future as well as the Benhannon Guard. While winning the trust of those monarchs is a goal, I want us to move beyond countering Serpent Guild activity. A war cannot be won by defense alone, as you, Leah, Marcus, and Jeremiah, have been saying. Tarin Conn and Vance Cummin have a strategy to win and tactics we don’t yet know about to bring them the victory. This matter will also be addressed after everyone here has had their say. Marcus, let’s hear from you.”

  Standing, the Captain of the Benhannon Guard would be taller than Daniel and sitting or standing was broader in the shoulders. His dark hair and eyes were typical traits of a fellow Ducaunan. The man was clean-shaven and had a wide beak of a nose. He cleared his throat in preparation to speak. “The Benhannon Guard is four hundred strong here at the Northland Holding, sixteen hundred at your Southern Estate, and currently sixty at the Benhannon Naval Facility. We ha
ve three Guards serving with an Accomplished to protect the queen, the same number assigned to each of the seven commanding generals, the twenty of your fellow Royal Knights of the Realm, and six of the twelve Lords of the Land willing to trust us.” He had begun with numbers already known to Daniel. Hopefully he had more to share.

  “What I think you and everyone at this table should know, Sir Daniel, is that we need to increase the Guards protecting the dignitaries, a full squad at the least, and build a force large enough to respond when the Queen orders the private musters to work with her legions, especially after learning about the declaration and threats from my sources in Ducanton since our last conversation.” Marcus stated.

  He evidently had a greater vision of troops in blue filling out the Royal Legions than he and Daniel had previously discussed, proving they had both been giving the matter some thought since their last talk. That discussion had taken place nine days ago and no mention had been made about these new threats. Chas was eyeing the Captain of the Benhannon Guard as if surprised something so vital had not been shared with him, but not Leah or Lassiter. Those two had taken the news so calmly Daniel was convinced they knew before today.

  “Your idea of increasing the number of guardsmen protecting the dignitaries of the realm makes sense in light of this new information, new to some of us anyway. The original plan was for the Aakacarns, disguised as members of the Benhannon Guard, to provide the protection and the real guardsmen were for back up. But that was before I declared myself the Maestro of the Atlantan Guild, before claiming Shantear, and before we were officially declared illegitimate,” Daniel replied. “Practically everybody in the world knows I have established my own guild, so the reason for the Accomplisheds wearing wool rather than silks is gone. The Aakacarns should go back to the garb of their profession, where those under protection agree, and the number of Benhannon Guardsmen assigned to each dignitary should be increased to twenty with a sergeant to lead them, especially with the Serpents becoming more aggressive. You and I can discuss how large the muster should be and the speed at which information is passed on to me at a later date,” he gave his decision.