Magic Below Paris Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 8): Trading Into Shadow, Trading Into Darkness, Trading Close to Light, Trading By Firelight, Trading by Shroomlight, plus 3 more

by C. M. Simpson

  “He wishes to speak to you regarding an alliance to secure the four settlements and to keep the trade between our towns alive.”

  The councilor regarded him for a long moment and then nodded.

  “We will be glad to speak with you on these matters.” He gestured to where a guardsman was waiting to one side. “If you would follow our guard.”

  Following the direction of his hand, Marsh looked over to where the guard was waiting and was surprised to see Captain Brodeur.

  “This way, please.”

  Gustav followed, and if this was not what he’d meant by having the captain attend the meeting to discuss the security implications of what he had to say, he didn’t show it. Behind them, the traders stepped forward. They too wanted to discuss a treaty, only this was between somewhere called Montmartre and Kerrenin’s Ledge.

  “It is to the northwest, several days’ journey on the surface.”

  And through the Deeps? Marsh wondered. How long is it, then?

  No one knows, Roeglin answered, keeping his face downturned so no one could see his eyes gleam white. Although the merchants are wondering.

  Marsh just bet they were. It would be interesting to see just how long it was before they asked for assistance in that regard—especially once they realized her team was responsible for restoring the Ruins Hall route. She listened as the council welcomed the traders and ordered them to be seated. After that, it was down to business, and they wasted no time in coming to the point.

  “What do you know of the raiders?” the head councilor asked, looking at Gustav.

  He shrugged.

  “Very little. They came out of the Deeps, attacking our trade routes and settlements and taking our people for reasons known only to themselves. By the time we realized what was happening, we’d lost the waystation at Leon’s Deep, as well as most of the farmers. If it hadn’t been for Shadow Mage Leclerc, we’d have had no warning at all.”

  “Leclerc?” One of the councilors sat up straighter, scanning Gustav and his companions until her gaze came to rest on Marsh’s face. “As in Per Cavallon’s niece?”

  Marsh cleared her throat.

  “Oui, Madame.”

  “I thought you were running errands for Kearick at the Emporium?”

  Her words caused a stir through the gathering, and the head councilor held up one hand.

  “I trust you can explain the association?”

  “Yes, Monsieur. I used to work as a courier for Kearick, but when the trade route was cut, I agreed to a traineeship with the shadow mages.”

  “Until the routes were restored, of course,” the female councilor prompted, and Marsh shook her head.

  “No, Madame. When I accepted the traineeship it was for an indeterminate amount of time—and it was a decision that was made easier when Kearick sent an assassin to retrieve a delivery I had not been able to make.”

  Her words brought gasps from around the hall, and the councilor’s eyes narrowed.

  “An assassin? Are you sure?”

  “Well, Madame, he tried to kill me and then told me Kearick had sent him, so yes, I am very sure.”

  Beside her, Roeglin rested his forefinger and thumb against his forehead, further shading his eyes with his hand as murmurs erupted around the room. Marsh took her seat and waited for the next question. With any luck, it would be directed to someone else.

  “Master Roeglin,” the councilwoman began, “what interest does the monastery have in all this?”

  Roeglin’s answer was direct and to the point.

  “Without Monsieur Gravine’s aid, the monastery would fall, and its cavern would fall with it.”

  “You are aware that the raiders send out mages to ‘recruit’ for their cause?”

  “Yes, Madame, we are. We will not be recruiting without an escort from the approved guardians of the caverns we are recruiting in. It is safer for both your people and ours.”

  He sat back in his seat, but before another councilor could put forward another question, Gustav stood.

  “Master Roeglin’s statements bring us to the nature of my lord’s business with this council. With your permission?”

  The members of the council exchanged glances accompanied by subdued murmurs before turning back to the front.

  “By all means. Proceed.”

  Marsh listened as Gustav presented the founder’s idea of each city creating its own security force and fortifying its caverns against the raiders. As he reached the end of this suggestion, one of the council members raised his hand.

  “As I’m sure you’re aware, such a force is expensive to maintain, and the manning has to come from somewhere. Do you have suggestions as to how we might recoup our costs?”

  “I do,” Master Gage said, interrupting before Gustav could reply.

  He tilted his head and looked at the emissary. Gustav waved for him to continue.

  “Since we expect you to source your troops from the caravan guards who are currently unemployed, and since those same guards will be responsible for securing the routes we wish to travel, I suggest you charge for your services.”

  “Hire our guards for your caravans?” The councilor sounded mildly outraged, but the trader shook his head.

  “No, merely to keep the trade routes open, provide secure campsites where we can rest, and perhaps have patrols who will assist if we are attacked.”

  “How would they know?”

  “I heard the bells. Perhaps we could carry horns or whistles in the Deeps. If a patrol was in hearing range, they could come to our aid.”

  A number of the council members exchanged looks and nods, and the head councilor replied, “We will consider your proposal. Now,” he said, returning his attention to Gustav, “about this alliance…”

  They went back to it, hammering out expenses and expectations, and then one of the councilors voiced the worry that had been raised with the idea of the cavern protectors.

  “Why don’t we develop a single force,” the woman asked, “rather than what will amount to four private armies?”

  “I’m glad you asked,” Gustav told her. “Monsieur Gravine too is more comfortable with the idea of a force that has no alliance to a single cavern or town. However, he does not believe we have the time to establish an independent force until after the threat of the shadow raiders has been dealt with.”

  “I concur.” Captain Brodeur’s voice rang across the chamber, and he continued when attention turned his way. “With the routes still being secured, it is better to have four smaller forces each responsible for a particular jurisdiction. It is also better for the division of expenses, at least until trade is restored and the protection force can fund itself from its earnings. I could assure the council that the Kerrenin’s Ledge Guard as it stands could expand to fill the role of cavern protectors, provided it received assistance from the monastery to staff its ranks.” He paused. “That is what the founder is doing, is it not? Bolstering his guards with magicians?”

  “Yes,” Gustav replied, “and the rock mages have agreed to assist us with closing any entrances into our caverns that we do not have the power to guard.”

  He glanced over at Roeglin.

  “I believe Shadow Mage Leger can speak on their behalf.”

  Marsh figured that if Roeglin couldn’t, he was more than able to speak to the Master of Stone.

  Oh, you do, do you? What makes you think I have an existing link with her?

  Pillock.

  The meeting wound on, with the council stopping discussion on the treaty in order to broker an agreement with the traders. Only when Master Gage and his entourage had signed and left did the council return to Gustav’s topic. This time they included Per and had Captain Brodeur join them in the discussion.

  “How big a force would you need,” they asked, “in order to secure the Ledge and patrol the routes between Downslopes and Midpoint?”

  “Downslopes?”

  It was like they’d hit the captain with a hammer.

&n
bsp; “Yes, man. Downslopes. They are our citizens—and we’d like them to stay that way, and not be tempted by offers from elsewhere.”

  His eyes crept to the doors through which Trader Gage and his fellows had exited.

  “It would not do to have a rival’s interests camped out on our doorstep.”

  For a moment, Marsh thought Per might protest that his son would never betray his home community, but Gustav waved him to silence and Brodeur gave his somewhat stunned reply.

  “I…I do not know if we have that many men to spare.”

  The councilor’s face turned hard.

  “Find out.”

  “Oui, Monsieur.”

  Satisfied the captain would do as he’d asked, the head councilor turned back to Gustav.

  “Captain Moldrane, while we have Captain Brodeur to oversee the logistics of the Kerrenin’s Ledge Protectors, we need someone to oversee their training. Would you…”

  Gustav started shaking his head before the man had finished.

  “I’m afraid not. I am under orders to accompany the shadow mages in their search for the source of the raiders. We are pledged to try and return as many of the missing to their homes as we can, and to end the threat the raiders pose.” He stopped, then added, “After, of course, we restore the trade routes between each of the Four Caverns’ settlements.”

  The councilman sat back in his set, resting his chin on his fist as he thought about what to do next. It was Captain Brodeur who came up with the answer. While they’d been discussing the matter of manpower, his eyes had strayed to where Per was sitting quietly beside Marsh—not once, but several times. When Gustav had finished speaking, the captain cleared his throat to draw the council’s attention.

  “The stationmaster has combat experience.”

  Those five words fell, soft and clear, into their midst, and Per jerked his head around to regard the captain with mild alarm. Before he could reply, however, the captain continued, addressing him directly.

  “I can call witnesses from the Surface Wall if you like, but without you directing the defenses, they’d have breached us half a dozen times.”

  He glanced at Gustav, and the Protector captain nodded. Marsh felt her uncle shift uncomfortably beside her and shot him a sideways glance. To her surprise, his face was red with embarrassment. Brodeur was, however, without mercy.

  “I need him.”

  “But...” Per said, and all eyes turned toward him, “I have a waystation to run.”

  “You would be compensated,” the head councilman offered, and the other councilors nodded in agreement.

  “But…”

  “The newly founded Protectors would need a leader to report to Captain Brodeur while the first Protector squad is brought up to speed. They would have to be trained and then rotated through the Guard to gain experience, and we need someone with your administrative skill to coordinate that.”

  “Are you proposing two separate forces?” Gustav asked.

  The head councilor shook his head and then shrugged. “In a way,” he said. “What I am trying to do is to ensure there is a core body of troops whose sole aim is to protect the Ledge, rather than the cavern. When this is over, and the Protectors become their own force, I want to be able to guarantee the town isn’t left without a force to defend it.”

  Marsh wanted to protest that the man was making no sense, but she clenched her teeth together and managed not to make a sound. Gustav and Brodeur exchanged glances.

  “Agreed,” they said, their response coming as one.

  At the head table, the council members relaxed momentarily, and then the head councilman leaned forward.

  “Good,” he said. “Also, given that trade is slow to non-existent, Hawks Ledge will act as the headquarters, barracks, and training ground for the new troops.”

  Per opened his mouth to argue but the councilman kept going, rolling over the stationmaster’s open-mouthed protest as though he hadn’t noticed it being born.

  “We’ll renegotiate both your position and the status of Hawks Ledge once trade picks up again. Do you agree?”

  Per rolled his head back and then straightened.

  “Of course.”

  From his tone of voice, they were twisting his arm, and he didn’t like it. Captain Brodeur smiled, his face tight and hard as he watched Per give in. It made Marsh wondered if the two of them were going to get along. The councilman sighed and made a show of looking down at a sheet of paper on which the day’s agenda was written.

  “This brings us to records access.” He raised his head. “A very interesting point. A number of records went missing from Kearick’s Emporium. We trust they can be found, and the information gleaned from them shared. I am sure this could lead us to an equitable exchange.”

  While he didn’t say as much, it was clear he believed they had the records, although why he was so sure, Marsh couldn’t figure out. Perhaps he wasn’t. Perhaps he only suspected they had the papers and expected that if they didn’t, they would be able to find and retrieve them. Either way, he was holding any records of the children’s family for ransom, and they were going to have to comply.

  We’ll discuss it when we return to the station, Roeglin reassured her as the councilor moved down his list.

  “We have a request to make,” he said, and Roeglin tensed.

  Uh-oh.

  “Continue,” Gustav instructed as the councilman did just that.

  “Not all of our people live within the city walls. Some of the slightly larger communities have been very insistent that they be allowed to continue their ways of life in the caverns. While the new Protectors train, would you be willing to check on these communities and families and see which ones remain?”

  “We would.”

  The councilman relaxed just a little.

  “And…” He hesitated, looking up and down the line of his fellow councilors. He ended by studying Marsh, Roeglin, and the three shadow guards with some apprehension. “It’s difficult…”

  He took a breath, looking for all the world like he was ordering his thoughts, and then he continued.

  “I do not know what it is like in Ruins Hall, or the rest of the Deeps,” he said, “but magic is on the rise. People are discovering they have abilities they didn’t know they possessed. They’ll go to bed normal one night and wake the next day to discover the stone smooths beneath their feet, or the shadows thicken to hide them, or the glows brighten when they pass. And the children...”

  Shaking his head, he turned slightly to direct his question to Roeglin.

  “Master Leger, I know the monastery is not recruiting at this time, but these people need help. Their abilities come as a surprise, and they’re not always easy to control. Would you consider…”

  Roeglin started shaking his head before the man could finish the sentence.

  “I cannot stay to train. Training takes time and patience, and while I have the second, the first eludes me.”

  He held up a hand when several of the council rose to protest.

  “But I can offer you this.”

  He waited as they settled themselves back in their seats, not continuing until he had their full attention.

  “You already know we are reopening the trade route between Ruins Hall and Kerrenin’s Ledge, and that Ruins Hall has pledged protectors to staff Mid-Point while it reopens the final half of the route. With the forces clearing the monsters and raiders, there are a large number of mages and shadow guards. There are also several rock mages. If you have somewhere suitable we could use as a school of sorts, we could establish a training center here.”

  “Within the walls?” One of the councilors looked alarmed at the thought.

  “To start with,” Roeglin said, keeping his voice mild, “although I’d imagine them wanting their own place outside the walls as soon as it could be properly established and staffed. It could also serve as a joint base of operations for the Protectors at that time, and would mean parents wouldn’t seek to relocate to the m
onastery cavern to be close to their children during training. It would also be better for the adults to have a separate training establishment since they learn differently from the youngsters. If that is acceptable, I will speak with Master Envermet and see whether he has mages he can spare for training and if there are any willing to stay behind when he returns.”

  Monsieur Dupont looked up and down the table, seeking a response from each council member before he nodded.

  “This agreement,” he asked. “Will it be between us and the monastery, Ruins Hall, or both?”

  At this, Gustav stirred in his seat, and Roeglin indicated he should speak.

  “The training of magic users is an arrangement solely with the monastery and the rock mages. The one you have just made is similar to the one Monsieur Gravine brokered for his own people, and the matter of newly emerging magicians is one we are also seeing in the Deeps. Master Leger is authorized to make the arrangements. He has Monsieur Gravine’s permission to act on the monastery’s behalf during this mission, and I have no objections.”

  He settled back into his seat, leaving the council members to gather their thoughts.

  They all rose from their seats and clustered together to discuss their thoughts, and then they returned to the table. Monsieur Dupont, it seemed, spoke for them all. Looking once at each of the members, he turned back to where Gustav and Roeglin were waiting.

  “We will draw up the appropriate treaties and alliance documents over the next few days, and reconvene to discuss them when they are ready. If we are all in agreement at that time, we will sign.” He paused, casting his gaze up and down the table and then clearing his throat. “There is just one other small matter…”

  14

  One ‘Little’ Thing

  The other small matter wasn’t so small, and it was entirely related to the council’s need for an answer to the training of emergent mages. It made Marsh want to shout in outrage and maybe burn the entire cavern down around the Kerrenin’s Ledge inhabitants’ ears.

  It took everything she had not to tell the council members to pull their heads out of their asses and stalk out of the meeting. Roeglin’s hand on her thigh distracted her enough to keep a leash on her temper—especially because out of any of them, he had the most reason to be offended.