by P. S. Power
She looked at Will then and nodded.
“Right. I’ll do that. Tim, you want me to stay the night? We can leave in the morning, or a bit later, if Will can get me home? We have some things to do here, but you probably won’t need me constantly for that. I… just came up with some tasks over there. Still, if you need me, I’m here for you. All of you.” She meant it, which Taman, Tim and Willum actually understood rather clearly.
They all had a kind of low level telepathy, after all.
Clemance nodded, his eyes locking with hers. Amazingly he wasn’t even thinking about sex at the moment.
“We’re here for you, as well. What you did for us here, in the last day, is nothing short of amazing. We owe you a lot. Probably more than can be repaid. Especially if we can use these lines of information to crack open the plot against us all.”
Tamerlane nodded at her then.
“This is a simple truth. If you have need of anything, please let us know of it? A place to stay, or…” She was at a loss then.
Mainly because of Tor, who walked in at almost the perfect time to be a distraction.
He was still tall, and very pretty. Almost like Taman, through the face. A bit more of a jawline, but both of them could have gone into modeling and not been considered to be real at all. They were too close to perfect. Terlee could have done that as well, even if she wasn’t exactly in the range of the others. They all made Clem, Dumas and her seem like ugly ducklings, even if that wasn’t really the case. It was just that some of them had been made more than others, using magic.
After a few seconds of reading she worked out that they all had. Except Terlee. She actually just looked that way. Tor had actually downplayed his natural looks using a disguise amulet, and Taman had slowly been changing the shape of her face for the same reason. Trying to look more realistic.
It left her feeling better about both of them, to be honest.
Tor moved in and hugged her, without even speaking to anyone else.
“I’m so sorry. Every time we need you, you have to kill for us.”
Then, openly, he wept about that part of things.
That kind of seemed forced to Cin, but she got the basic idea that he was holding underneath the surface. That she, for some strange reason, was important to him. Not just for what she could do for his people, even.
Which brought up the issue of why. A thing that she feared was beyond her ability to actually comprehend still. It might always be, she knew.
In the end, you probably had to be a good person to really understand what that kind was thinking. Even if she could read all about it, there was a certain point that she was always going to be lost at.
The human bits of things.
Chapter eight
Her face looked normal in the mirror the next day. That was interesting, since it was a thing created by magic, not actual glass or even polished metal. A lot of the place she was in had the feeling of either a medieval village or an early twentieth century country home. It was strangely mixed together. Blended and warped into something unique and in many ways holding more character than her normal world had. It was certainly more colorful, at least for the wealthy people.
Even better, by walking no more than a few hundred feet and touching a few sigils she could be inside either the Moon, or Mars. According to Clem there were even transport booths that led to ships out in deep space. Several world ships from the incoming fleet and even a couple of research vessels. Anyone could go to those places. He smiled when he said it, then looked around at the tall people in the room behind them. It was just the sitting room that they’d used the day before to work in, naturally.
“Of course, if we go to any of those places, then the rules are whatever they use there. Showing up unannounced on a Space Fleet vessel is considered enlisting, I hear. For a three year tour of duty. I don’t know if that’s real or just meant to keep people away from their working ships, but I know that I don’t want to test it.” He sounded relaxed, but a bit pleased about something.
It would have been easier to claim that it was a thing that she just couldn’t understand, but the boy was as clear in his text as anyone ever was. The day before he and his team had not only stopped an enemy attack on a world leader, but then found seven other spies. That and three others to watch. It was a pretty big deal there in Noram.
Not, he knew, that anyone was going to give him much credit for it all. To his mind, they shouldn’t, since the work was mainly done by Cindy. Whom he now saw was a real hero. Possibly the kind that he’d only ever heard of in legend and story before meeting her.
After all, to him, she’d come in and saved Hess without hesitation. The others there as well. Nareem and Nadia Fields. That part had been interesting, when Dareg reported back to her on it. After all, the woman was from her own world. She’d been kidnapped some years before, and shunted from place to place, largely as a slave. The original goal had been to use her to get at Brian Yi, of all people. Then things had changed in that world, so she’d been given to Evil Allison as a present.
Now she was back home. Finally.
Clemance just regarded her for a while, then turned away, feeling good to have been of even minor help in all that had taken place.
She took that in, then looked behind her, speaking to the kid without making it seem like she actually was.
“Space Fleet. That sounds interesting. A bit military for my blood, but I bet we could find a lot of people from my world who would love to join up.” It was probably true, actually. Going off into deep space in a different reality wasn’t exactly that much of a change up from doing it back home, after all. The aliens were even probably the same.
Which was kind of interesting to think about. In her own space, out beyond the void, there were probably other Ysidril, working their way through the big dark, toward a fleet of human and robot ships that wouldn’t even launch for more than a hundred years from her world.
If it ever did.
Catching her eye, a very tall man with red hair smiled at her and waved. He was youthful seeming, looking to be about thirty.
Then he spoke in very proper Standard. She had to cheat, and read his words from over his head, but understood what he meant anyway.
“Ambassador Mableton? I wish to thank you for the aid you gave my land, my world, and my friends yesterday. It was a thing that we could not have done on our own, I hear.” There was a low bow then, the man actually bending nearly in half.
Given that he was the King of Noram, and that was incredibly low for him to be going, the giant was actually trying to tell her something. The others there as well. That he knew when he was dealing with important people. She did the same thing, glad that stretching was pretty easy for her now, since she needed to go lower than the man had. Doing an equal job would also work, but seem a bit self-important. She picked that up from Tor, who joined in as she did it.
That was kind of interesting, since it was done in a fashion that meant that he was either taking credit for the work done himself, without actually saying so, or to indicate that he was throwing in with Cindy totally. As in, if anyone wanted to fight her, they were dealing with him as well. Including the King, who was a good friend of his.
Then Dumas, Clemance, Terlee and Count Thomson matched that.
It probably meant they were all dating.
The fascinating part of it was that, in truth, it honestly could mean that there. Though her doing anything with Dumas would be looked upon as more than a little sick. Most of the nobles would have let things with Clem go however, since he was nearly an adult, being close enough to fourteen to fudge the numbers a bit.
It wasn’t the only meaning of the thing, thankfully. The other meaning, that they were part of the same working group, so were taking part of the credit, was there in the back of their heads. For at least half of them. Timon had that right up front.
He also wore a dark smile on his lips.
“I keep offering her all of Tor’s wealth, b
ut so far she doesn’t seem interested. It isn’t that she lives in a palace or anything either. I’ve seen her home. It’s a basic officer’s set up. Rather military and austere. So if we want to entice her to stay, we should probably come out with something better than trinkets and pretty words.” It was a joke. In part. Half of it was actually a bit of a warning.
Not to his family, but to King Richard, who he actually admired. Prince Alphonse was held in high esteem as well by the tall fellow. Interestingly, that man, also with dark skin and red hair, smiled at her and nodded.
Then he spoke in somewhat broken English. It was clear that he’d been practicing since their last meeting.
“What desire, have a heart?”
Above him the words stood out, being far more advanced in the text. He kind of figured that she’d ask for a title, and possibly great lands. It was what people in her position normally did, after all. In fact, it was so common that the Prince had already offered to give her part of his own holdings, to go along with a decently sized Barony. Technically they should have given her a higher title than that, given her position and the works she provided for them, but there was nothing open, so his father was hoping that she might be happy with something smaller. Otherwise they were going to have to assassinate someone to clear a spot.
That never went over well.
Timon, thinking that she didn't understand, turned to her, getting ready to translate into English. Instead she plugged what she wanted to say into Will’s head, and spoke the words carefully. In Standard. It was in phonetic writing, so looked funny, but apparently she got close enough for it to be understood.
“For myself, I would ask nothing. People from here have nobly come to my world and asking nothing, aided those that could not have afforded to hire them for the great works they have done. It is only fair that I do the same, if my powers or skills allow for such. Though…” She wasn’t finished, which the King and Prince were ready for. What they weren’t prepared for was what she wanted.
She stood for a moment, with everyone waiting to see what that would be.
“I would like it known that without the aid of Timon Baker, Countess Tamerlane Thomson, Clemance Thomson and Dumas Thomson, I would have likely failed in my task.” Then she bowed, playing it up a bit, since Prince Alphonse was sort of directing her as to how to make a good impression there. Inside his head. On purpose.
It worked, or at least the King bowed again, directing a bob at each of the people mentioned.
“Thank you. All of you.” Then he clapped and sat back on one of the very large chairs in the room. He was so big that the huge piece of light blue furniture was still left seeming a bit like it had originally been built for a child. Then he waved, so everyone else would do the same. Cindy didn’t go last, since that was actually Will’s job, for the room they were in.
He was important in his own way, but the lowest ranked person in the space. Normally he’d be before Dumas, thanks to age, but it was the kid’s house, so that got altered this time. If they were meeting in his home of Pine Creek, he’d beat out Clemance as well, but not anyone else there. Technically she should have been right before him, being named an Ambassador, but they all mainly found a seat at the same time.
The King didn’t let up for a minute however.
“Now, Ambassador Mableton… What do you have in mind for your team? We could, perhaps arrange for some coin for them? Or a Squires position for the boys? Eventually at least. They would need another mark of valor. Though they did go into the void of space and treat with aliens and those from other worlds, did they not? That’s rather bold sounding to me.”
Off to the side, not too far from her, Tor nodded. His face was serious about it all.
“They did, Sire. For two weeks they stayed with people from far off worlds to keep them safe and well served. It is kind of impressive, when you consider that they had to learn another language in order to do that. Clemance has also arranged the transport network for us, which is very noble of him. Dangerous as well. Honestly so.”
That got Cindy to snort and shake her head.
“No.” She sounded a bit mean, then shrugged, as the King gave her a questioning look.
“You have something else in mind?”
She nodded, and set the translation up instantly. There was still a pause, but she managed to sound halfway sensible at least.
“Indeed. I was thinking that we could assign them to be my working team? We aren’t done here. Not by a long shot. They can collect what I need to look into while I’m away and come get me every few weeks or so, if they have need? I still have to do my own job back home, but that would mean I can come in, and bang out the data collection needed here in short order, if they keep up with what is needed. Not just the enemies either. We can look into some blackmail, or maybe other kinds of information gathering? If that works for you, I mean?” She was kind of expecting everyone to scream at her, once the words were out, but holding her tongue was sort of a new skill for her.
The response was mixed.
Tamerlane smiled at her like she’d offered to get that gold Tor kept offering and pass it all along to her.
The King went still, but planned to have them all in for several work sessions while he asked them questions, personally. There were thousands of things that could be useful to learn about in his world. The very offer had him plotting to kill one of his counts, just to try and open a spot that would be worth what was being offered. Even while guessing that Ambassador Mableton wasn’t going to require that sort of thing at all. His text struggled to find a reward that would be worthy of what she was offering for free.
Timon just laughed, meaning it.
“Well! That’s nearly as good as getting those squires positions! Still, we should do that for the kids. It’s more of a responsibility than anything else. Besides, Clemance gets Noram Three in a few months, so that going to a squire sounds a bit more likely than if he’s just some foppish Countier, doesn’t it? Like he possibly earned the right to have his own Jump Ship?”
Cindy nodded at the idea.
“I need to get one of those myself. Or a few. The government back home will love to have them if nothing else. They grabbed up the one I took off of the other Tor, of course.” It was said in Standard, but King Richard looked at Tor, his face going still again.
Then he spoke, as if they were old friends, which even though they were in different age ranges, was just the truth.
“Would that be possible? I know that you can go from reality to reality in such things, is that a danger to us, if they have them?”
That got a head shake at least.
“Not in particular. They might have a person or two who could learn to do that. Brian Yi could manage it, right now, but he can show up here anytime he wants already. I doubt that anyone could easily force his hand in that kind of matter. The man is incredibly strong and honorable. Cindy? Do you think that your people would be a danger to us if we gifted them with such craft?”
For once she didn’t even have to hedge on what was being asked.
“Nope. They’ll probably hide that they have them or something, but it won’t come back on anyone here. It might help open up relations with them? I can take some back with me on one of my future trips, if you choose to go that way. We tend to be complete jerks most of the time, so my urging aside, I’d have to say you should only do it if you have extra laying around. America is basically just part of Noram, so… I don’t know, you might want to spread that out a little bit? Give one to Canada and another to Mexico or something? That would be all of the lands that you hold here.”
The feds would probably love to hear that part of things, but as long as the craft were unarmed. Not that Cindy figured it would be happening. She wouldn’t have parted with that kind of thing as a gift anyway. Not to anyone in her world.
Timon looked at his older brother, then tilted his head a bit.
“I can part with… Say twenty of them, for your people? Do you need
food units as well? I have a few hundred I could send along.”
She paused then, and shook her head, but smiled.
“Africa and France in my world could both use the help. We couldn’t pay you back for them. We can’t even afford to pay Tim for his work there.”
That got waved away, as if it weren’t a real concern at all. Which was how he felt about it. After all, giving someone something of a real life, for a mere five hours work, just seemed worth it to him. To Taman as well, but they were still hiding that she could do that kind of thing.
Mainly so that people wouldn’t show up at her house in the middle of the night and pester her.
Timon stood, bowed, and ran off, much to the amusement of everyone else. The King didn't even blink at the idea, though the Ancient of Austra should have probably indicated what was going on, even if he didn't really have to ask permission. The thing there was that the men had known each other for a decade and a half, more or less. No one even blinked when Timon came back about fifteen minutes later, with a floating case behind him, that looked like it was made of carved ivory. Half the time he’d been gone had been spent designing the decorations on the box.
The talisman for it was presented to her with a bow. That was just a little stone piece that wasn’t even on a chain. It had a hole for it, so she decided to see if she could keep the thing, once it was emptied. Probably not, but it was kind of nice seeming.
“From our reality to yours. Two hundred of the large food units, twenty ships for America, one for Canada and one for Mexico, as you requested.” There was a bow that went with it, which had everyone else in the room doing that as well. Since it was, literally, coming from them too.
She took the tile, which was smooth and a bit damp from his fingers, and bowed back, going low.
“Thank you. All of you. So, now that I have the loot and my team here, I should head out? Dumas is in charge of making sure I get to things here on time. So if need be, send him through the box and have him roust me from bed. Willum, can you make sure that part happens? Or Tor? Both would be best. That, or teaching the boys how to do it.” She stopped then, and read something from over Tor’s head, then nodded.