To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5)

by John Buttrick

  This was getting tiresome. “Did you come all the way from Mount Suteck to offer the same reasons for failure I received from you last night?” Tarin kept his temper under control.

  A bead of sweat dripped down the left side of Vance’s face as he glanced briefly at the thirty lightning bolts on the shoulders’ of his liege. “No, Supreme Maestro, I came to say they are afraid to further engage in battle against the Atlantan Guild. Even Benhannon’s commoners are formidable. The so called Chosen’s Sentinels can be killed, mostly by our Aakacarns, but they do not die easily, and even then manage to inflict mass casualties before being taken down.”

  The fears of the weak were not Vance’s fault, Tarin reminded himself. “This is much the same case you made when Serena and her team escorted me from Kelgotha. I gave the commoners knowledge to increase the explosive yield of their blasting sticks and how to make containers that can spark the explosions on impact. They received from me enhanced reed plants with extra strong fibers that can be woven into light weight ships and coating they can paint onto the vessels, making them so neither air or water can flow through, not one of which have they actually completed. Am I expected to keep weaklings safe or do their tasks for them?” Tarin paused briefly, although not long enough to receive an answer. “I know the thoughts of my Accomplisheds; that a few of them wish me to create and give them crescendos greater than they can make for themselves, just as Daniel has done for his Aakacarns. You will be given such because you have demonstrated strength of leadership and Serena will receive one for the depth of loyalty she has shown me, but the rest have not proved to be fit. My young opponent has made a huge mistake in giving so much power to inferiors who have little power of their own. They will believe themselves greater than they actually are and eventually challenge his authority over them. At the least he has made himself into a servant of the weak and spends his time and energy bolstering them when he should be gathering his strength.”

  “Supreme Maestro, it is to our advantage Benhannon wastes his time and energy on weaklings and inferiors. I prefer that he continues to do so rather than plan offensives. On the subject of bolstering our own commoners, I beg you to consider that a cavalry provides saddles in order for their men to ride the horses more effectively, and maybe we should similarly provide the tools necessary to make our non-Aakacarns more effective. The making of such things is so far below one of your stature, I would never suggest that you provide the accoutrements. I am suggesting that we order the many Aakacarns in your association who possess less than a lightning bolt of potential be given the task of building the first fleet of light weight ships and also create amulets to allow our commoners to cast a few low power yet lethal spells,” Vance finally got around to the real reason for the personal appearance. “As for the new ship design, they fear coming in contact with the amulet containing the spell which turns the crank that drive the twin propulsion units.”

  Tarin resented the fact that the wrong-headedness of his opponent was forcing him to empower weaklings. And yet, Vance’s suggestion had some merit and might embolden the timid commoners. “The amulet requires energy to power the spell to turn the crank but it need not be the life force of a human, swine will do just as well. Concerning the weapons, the question is not whether we should give lethal amulets to the commoners who serve us, but whether they are devoted enough to use them, especially in light of their stated fears.”

  Vance’s left eyebrow arched up. “Supreme Maestro, I fail to understand your meaning.”

  “The followers of my opponent are so devoted to him that they are slowly dying every time they use the weapons he gave them, even the men on those boats that visited such damage on our warships. Perhaps he is not as foolish as I first believed. The commoners he empowered will not live long enough to challenge his authority, but it is still foolish to give one and no-bolt Accomplisheds the ability to cast High Power spells. Be that as it may, the draining of life forces in the use of those weapons is a fact that has been published throughout the world by the Grand Maestro of Aakadon. The spell, Rejuvenation, of the Aloe Guild, pours energy into a body but the effect is temporary, making the recipient feel more energetic, but would take so much time and concentration to replace the actual demands of a spell, it is impractical,” he explained a basic principle that should be obvious to any second level Talented. “My question to you is do our commoners have enough devotion to us to make the same sacrifices as Daniel’s do for him?”

  Vance nodded and a slow smile formed before he answered, “Either way they will eventually, after we have assimilated as many kingdoms as we can, be required to face the Sentinels in battle, and the only choice for them will be to die quickly in defeat or slowly with the honor of winning many victories.”

  Tarin gave the proposal further consideration and made his decision. “Maestro of my Serpent Guild, I grant your petition. Have the weaker Aakacarns build the first fleet of ships and create the lethal amulets. However, the commoners must build the rest of the fleets with their own manual labor. I will not coddle weaklings or allow even my Accomplisheds with less than a bolt of potential to be servants of commoners.”

  “It will be as you say, Supreme Maestro,” Vance replied. “The plan to draw the resources of Aakadon away from seeking our nests and uncovering our schemes is working. The Eagle Guild has been recalling teams of Soarers from eleven of the twelve kingdoms in order to concentrate on the Atlantan Guild. Even Accomplisheds of the other guilds serving as emissaries to district lords have been recalled. I have not as of yet learned where they are going, but they are leaving nearly all of the cities, and only have a few remaining Accomplisheds in the capitals. The resources of Aakadon have been strained since the days of Balen Tamm and cannot remain in place and at the same time marshal the strength Efferin seems intent on throwing at Benhannon. This has worked out just as you predicted.”

  Tarin accepted the praise due him, but it fell short of what he wanted to hear. He leaned forward on the throne. “Find out onto what Daniel has tied the Da Capo on the spell restraining me and you will receive the crescendo I promised all the sooner. If you prove unworthy, perhaps Rex Badger would be a better recipient. He has recently gained his third lightning bolt and so has Lorain Baler. I sense eighteen Two-bolts who are not far from attaining their third.” It was good to let Vance know from time to time that the favor and position he currently enjoyed could be taken from him if others proved themselves more fit, even though he was not far from attaining his fourth bolt.

  “The means to gather the information is in place and I have no doubt the knowledge will be gleaned in the near future.” Vance was quick with a reply that was far better than a string of compliments.

  The confident response was more than satisfying. Tarin nodded acceptance and then summoned the potential for the spell, Free Me, and concentrated all of his potential at the second of thirty-six crystalline gems that had been placed under his skin to prevent him from teleporting. Tomorrow he would target the thirty-fourth. His rate of replenishing potential would not permit more than one a day, not and maintain his strength to the degree he had become accustomed. Even so, it also did no harm for his underling to feel the harmonic waves of a Thirty-bolt Accomplished.

  -----

  After a pleasant night with his alluring wife, Daniel donned his blue silks and spent part of the morning receiving donations of life force energy to refill his vat. Even though Sero gave him potential yesterday, Jennel declared it, “unacceptable,” and insisted the reservoir be filled to the brim, Sherree agreed with her, and they were correct. He only wished his beautiful bride had stayed a little while longer before conveying to the southern estate. The donors conveyed from Shantear to him at the Benhannon Northland Holding, gave graciously of themselves, and they along with nearly everybody from the grooms in the stables to the most senior Aakacarns were still talking about the great victory. He could not bring himself to celebrate the deaths of his enemies, and ending so many lives still weighed heavily upo
n his shoulders.

  As he made the journey to his office, the residents of the holding gave cheerful greetings and he nodded, waved a hand, and managed to respond kindly to the many salutations. Sero and Carlos were walking at his heels, Simon and Leah seemed to be on an intercept course that would allow them all to meet at the door. Chas Herling arrived first, seeing as all he had to do was step out of his own office and walk a few steps. Jaim Cutler ushered them in, then stepped back out into the hall and shut the door. Daniel took his seat behind the desk and the others sat in the chairs while Sero leaned against the wall on the right.

  “Sir Daniel, the Chosen’s Sentinels stand ready to deploy,” the Commander of the Sentinels stated in a professional manner. Chas always seemed ready to engage militarily.

  “Maestro, I have Defense Department Accomplisheds patrolling the area. If the Serpents teleport or tunnel anywhere within thirty spans of this holding we will know about it,” Leah assured him.

  He glanced at Simon expectantly, it would be a rare morning when the sandy-haired Chief Aid had nothing to say, and he did not disappoint. “Maestro, Samuel is meeting with Jerremy, who will lead the team assigned to create the new facility for the prisoners of war. General Fisher has been notified by Accomplished Laughlin of the non-Aakacarn prisoners and has agreed to send men to take them into custody. Sam spent half the night questioning the captive Aakacarns before conveying to Shantear, although he only managed to speak with a small number of the one thousand-five non-Aakacarns, most of which were support personnel and non-combatants,” The Chief Aid paused and took a moment to glance at Chas and then refocused on Daniel. “Sam recognized a man dressed as a groom to be the same officer he met near the border a few months back after you killed Serin Gell. Under the spell, Truth Speak, the man admitted to being Lieutenant Lymin of the Sutton Guard.”

  Daniel remembered the officer who had been training spheroid slingers at the recently destroyed fort. Chas shook his head as if in wonderment. “Runyen Lymin is a survivor, always has been. I’m not surprised he managed to find a way to live,” the Sentinel Commander stated, and then added, “I will have some words with him before he is transferred to General Fisher’s facility,” to which Daniel had no objections.

  Simon nodded and continued with his report, adding a slight smile as his eyes met Daniel’s. “The ISIG Conductor also recognized the male of the couple you captured as being a former associate of Serin Gell who was with the evil Accomplished at the encounter when Samuel lost his hand. Through further questioning he discovered the female to be the one who killed his horse and burnt his appendage to a crisp. Had you not restored his hand, he might have been tempted to repay her in kind. He was still upset over the death of Salsa and so was a little harder on the couple than he was on the rest. He did them no harm but the threats he made should guarantee their good behavior for the foreseeable future.”

  Daniel nodded acknowledgment of the information while being inwardly pleased about Sam not given in to temptation. The talk of prisoners sparked a thought. He glanced at Leah. “Have you decided where the new facility is to be located?”

  Leah nodded and he was not surprised that she had already come to a decision. “It will be two spans beneath the waves of the newly-formed Lake Shantear. The prisoners will not know they are under the water and the only way in or out of the facility will be to convey. The Accomplisheds are still asleep and will remain so most of the time, and when awakened for food and exercise, no more than three at a time will be permitted contact with each other. If we ever allow enough of them in one place to form a traveling circle, they will escape, and the facility will thereafter be vulnerable to those escapees returning in force.”

  Daniel well understood the difficulty of detaining Aakacarns and knew he had two options and was astonished the experienced former Senior Soarer had not thought of them. Perhaps she was feeling ill. “I approve of the location and want to be taken there in the near future,” he began and peered into her eyes. “We will further reduce the risk of escape by either Silencing them or leaving their potentials’ shielded off. The fate of each spell-caster will be decided on a case by case basis. For example, the pair of One-bolts I captured cannot summon sufficient potential to create harmonic waves powerful enough to go beyond a one span radius. Good behavior means they will continue as they are with the ability to summon but not focus energy beyond their bodies, bad behavior means they will be Silenced and made to forget every Melody in their repertoires.”

  Leah smiled, dimpling her cheeks. “Simon and I knew you would make that decision. Twenty of the Accomplisheds taken captive are One-bolts, nine are Two-bolts, and four of the detainees do not possess enough potential to rate a lightning bolt.”

  Daniel leaned back in his chair and glanced at a bucket of rocks on the floor near his feet. He passed their little test of his decisiveness and all seemed to be as it should be. While he felt the test to be uncalled for, he felt better knowing they did not need to be told how to best detain Aakacarn captives. While every member of the guild seemed to respect him as a leader, many of them still saw him as being relatively inexperienced. These types of test did not bother him. It was the unasked questions and unspoken opinions bubbling beneath the surface that could potentially cause trouble. He could tell by the way a number of members faces’ blanked whenever he mentioned his wife that many of the former Accomplisheds of Aakadon did not approve of the marriage. They would never rebel or desert him, but he wondered if the drastic changes he continued to make caused the little tests. Well, he decided, a new day lay ahead and it was time to get on with it. “The Sentinels here are at full strength, the question of what to do with the prisoners has been answered, and I am ready to hear what chores my Chief Aid has for me to do.”

  Simon leaned forward in his chair. “You make it sound like I am the delegator of tasks. It is not my fault so many people want a piece of your time,” he gave the disclaimer and then continued. “In a quarter of mark you will spar with Commander Herling while Accomplished Tell briefs you on the results of her surveillance. After that, Accomplished Glader will arrive and, as you added to the agenda, will convey you on a little outing where you will be leisurely observing aquatic creatures in their natural environment while the rest of us go about our regularly scheduled tasks.”

  “Alright, alright, you can come, but it is going to get a little tight with you, Carlos, and Sero crowding into the sphere.” Daniel could tell by the tone of voice that his friend did not want to pass up an opportunity to learn something new about the complexities of the natural world.

  A slight smile crept onto the face of the Chief Aid. “A sphere is as large as the spell-caster wills it to be, and you know it, so I won’t be stepping on your toes, and there will be no bumping into each other,” he replied, and his eyes seemed to brighten. “I look forward to seeing the world beneath the ocean.”

  Carlos planted an elbow on the arm of the chair and rested his chin on his fist as if posed for thought. “Maestro, I admit to being curious as to why it was a good idea to use the spell, Sleep Time, on the Cenkataaran legions and not on the Pentrosans.”

  Many people could and probably would argue with the reasoning behind his decisions, Daniel knew. He was the one with the responsibility to take action and placed in the position of deciding such things, while others had the luxury of sitting back and criticizing his choices. “King Gabriel KaTaar is not an ally of Tarin Conn and though his two legions did violate the sovereignty of Ducaun, they did not attack until our guild forces entered their camps. It was and is still possible to convince our neighbor to the east that we are not his enemy and it is my hope that by not killing his men, when it is obvious I could have easily done so, His Royal Majesty will change his mind. The same cannot be said for Xavier of Pentrosa. He is a willing ally of Tarin Conn, Accomplisheds of the Serpent Guild ride with the legions, and so every foot soldier and horsemen knows by now on which side of the War of the Champions they stand. We have and will continue to u
se lethal force on the servants of Tarin Conn and will accept the surrender of those who put down their weapons.”

  Carlos leaned back in his chair and gave a slight nod of the head to show the question had been answered to his satisfaction, not so Simon who leaned forward. “You did not finish giving the reasons for the change in what had developed into the practice of taking no prisoners.” The sandy-haired Aakacarn could be just as determined as Samuel when it came to seeking answers.

  Daniel opened his mouth to explain, but it was Leah who spoke first, no doubt to spare him the burden of speaking for himself. “I convinced him to make the change. Up until recently we had nowhere to safely keep any captives and could not afford to spare our limited personnel to watch them. We were and are so greatly outnumbered by our enemies that nearly every encounter has been a desperate fight to the death and any combatant left behind is one who most certainly will attack us in the future.”

  “But most of that is still true,” Simon raised a good point.

  “Yes,” Daniel agreed, “and you are correct. We have an uphill struggle against Tarin Conn and his allies, but that does not mean we should fail to give those who are less committed to his cause the opportunity to give up. Aside from the fact that I prefer not to kill people, Leah has given me several other reasons for making an effort to take captives.”

  The first Accomplished held up her hand and raised one finger. “Living people answer questions.” Her second finger came up. “If the people sent against us believe their only hope of survival is victory, they will not stop short of death or incapacitation.” Her third finger came up. “The Atlantan Guild has grown to the point where we can hold captives. We have more Aakacarns and Sentinels now than we had before the taking of Shantear, although they are currently Talenteds and raw recruits, even so securing prisoners is not as risky as it once was.” She closed her fist. “Let’s hit the Serpents with all of our might, but extend an open hand to the countless people caught up in the struggle only because their selfish and power hungry leaders have sold out to the Dark Maestro.”