“No, just the palace; it hears what you ask for and makes it.”
“Okay, okay, stop begging. I'll marry you!” She dove into my arms.
We talked as we ate. “My new ring—will it allow me to port anywhere?”
“Anywhere you have been. It only works on you, and I'll always know where you are. Just be careful where you port to. Don't port out to sea, off a cliff, or where a lot of people can see you. We want to keep this our secret. If someone sees you, just tell them I ported you there.”
“Okay, our secret,” she said.
“What about furnishing the Palace?” Pam asked.
“Buy whatever you want, and I'll port it in there.”
I should have left that part out. It took me a week to port everything she wanted into the Palace like she wanted it, but it made her happy.
Over breakfast, Pam said, “There seems to be a storm to the southwest, odd for this time of year.”
I looked. “That's not a natural storm. Magic users are attacking our South Pass Garrison. I'll go check on things and be back.”
“Be careful, you're the only wizard I've got,” she said, smiling, but there was a hint of fear too. I hugged her and ported to the South Pass Garrison.
The men were hiding behind the battlements. Lightning was striking all along the wall, but my wards weren't even straining to stop them. I walked over to the Garrison Commander. “Good morning, Captain.”
“Good morning, Sir Wizard,” he shouted over the thunderclaps. I looked out over the plain before the garrison walls.
“I bet our new wall was quite the surprise for them,” I said.
“It seems so,” he answered.
Three Red Wizards came forward. “Surrender your post, or we will tear it down with you in it. You shall all die; surrender and live,” his amplified voice echoed down the pass.
There seemed to be about three thousand mounted cavalrymen with support wagons. No infantry. They had not expected a fight.
I amplified my voice: “Okay.”
“Okay, what?” their lead wizard asked.
“Okay, tear it down around us.”
“Fool, you will be the first to fall!”
And with that, a powerful red band of lightning flashed toward me. Time slowed, I grabbed it, circled it around me, adding speed and power to it, and sent it back at him. He held his staff up to block it, but it blew through his staff and through his chest. It left a charred black hole, and he crumpled to the ground. A cheer went up from our men. Their remaining two Red Wizards attacked and so did their army.
I concentrated on the ground, “Hold.” All of their horses sank their bellies into the earth and were held fast.
The two Red Wizards combined a conjuring and were aiming at the wall.
“I wouldn't do that!” I shouted.
They cast a wide band of red lightning. The wall caught it, amplified it, and sent it back. There was a thunderclap and bright flash of light. There was nothing left of them, and everyone within a hundred feet of them was dead. All their men were off their horses.
“Hold.” Their men sank up to their knees in earth and were held fast.
I levitated down to the battlefield and walked toward the man who looked to be their commander. As I approached, a squad of crossbowmen fired. I caught their bolts, circled them around me, and sent them back. The crossbowmen's heads exploded on impact.
“That wasn't too smart. Who is in command here?” I demanded.
“I am,” said the man I thought to be in charge.
“Do you surrender?”
“Terms?”
“You leave everything on the ground—weapons, equipment, supplies, horses, and wagons—and you get to live.”
“How do we get home?” He stared in disbelief.
“Walk from Bald Knob. I'll port you that far.”
“You can do that?” he asked, unbelieving.
I nodded. “Throw down everything, and I'll release and send you home.”
“Agreed.”
I released him, and he walked the line giving orders. Once they had done all I had required, I released them. I made a show of opening a portal to Bald Knob. They walked through, shoulders slumped, beaten without having a chance to fight. But at least they were alive. Their commander was the last to go through.
“Commander, tell your King I won't be so nice next time.” He nodded, and passed through. I closed the portal behind him and walked over to the dead crossbowmen.
“Bury them.” The earth swallowed them.
I turned to the three thousand plus horses.
“Be calm.” I caused the earth to lift them up to level ground.
“Follow me.” I led all the horses to the wall. The gate opened for me, and I led the horses through the tunnel.
“Commander, let's get all the horses unsaddled. Send a detail out to recover all of our new equipment and supplies.”
“At once, Sir Wizard.”
Once all the horses were unsaddled, I concentrated on them. “Eat, drink, and rest.” I pointed toward the river, and they all trotted toward it.
“I'll send wagons from the fort to take all the unneeded gear,” I told the commander.
“Yes, Sir Wizard, we'll be ready.”
I ported back to Fort Midway and found Colonel Lewis.
“It seems South Landing wanted to donate to our expanding army. They contributed three thousand horses, equipment, and supplies for three thousand men. However, it cost them three wizards and some crossbowmen,” I said.
“That was kind of them. Where are the three thousand riders?”
“I sent them home; I didn't want to feed them. Send wagons to the garrison to pickup all the unneeded equipment. The horses are grazing and resting; let them rest a week before you round them up.”
“Understood, Sir Wizard.”
“Colonel, have you ever heard of heliograph?”
He shook his head, “I have not.”
“It's a way of communicating over distances by flashing reflective light from mirrors or shiny metal. By using this kind of communication, the South Pass Garrison could have signaled us a warning of the attack.”
“Sounds great. How do we do it?”
“Well, I'd need to teach the operators the signal codes, and we'd need to build the equipment.”
He took a piece of parchment from his desk. “Can you draw out what you need?” I waved my hand over the parchment, leaving a detailed drawing of the mirrors and tripod equipment. “I'll have the equipment built, if you'll train the operators.”
“I'll work on that, but I need to try something first. I'll see you in a few days.”
“I will get started on building these right away,” he said.
I ported back to the palace so Pam would not worry about me. “What happened?” she asked when she saw me.
“I found some horses,” I said, smiling.
“It will be hard to talk while I'm choking you,” she said.
I laughed, “Okay,” and I told her what happened.
She shook her head. “South Landing again.”
“I think this was all part of the same plan. News had not caught up with the invasion force. All they had was cavalry, no infantry. They didn't expect a fight. They really didn't expect the South Pass Garrison.”
“You are probably right. Next time, though, we will slap his hand.”
I smiled, “Yes, my Queen.”
Chapter 20
After breakfast, I said, “I need to do some checking around the city; I'll see you at dinner.”
“Don't start any trouble,” Pam said. “Without me, anyway.”
I bowed. “Yes, my Queen,” and I ported to the apple tree in the temple yard. The Master Priest was there. He motioned for me to sit, so I did.
“What is the mood of our city?” I asked.
“For the most part it is good. The new harbor is bringing in work and prosperity, but they could use some work that doesn’t have to do with the sea.”
&n
bsp; I nodded. “Any concerns from outside Midway?”
“Some look at Midway with jealousy, and others with envy. Any time someone is thought wealthy, he must always be on guard.”
“As it has always been,” I said. “Do your people have a navy?”
“Not as such, but we have fighting ships.”
I nodded. “I'll keep that in mind. Do you have any concerns?”
“None at this time.”
I nodded. “Good day, Master Priest.”
“Good day, Royal Wizard.”
I ported to the Harbor Master’s office. “Good afternoon, Sir Wizard,” he greeted me.
“Good afternoon, Harbor Master. Tell me, do we have any shipwrights, ship builders, ship designers, or anything like that in the city?”
“We have one that I know of, an old Harbor Master, who was also a ship builder at one time. He lives about three streets off the wharf. He has a place in the back of the Wandering Sailor's Inn. Ask for old Hal.”
“Thank you. I'll look him up.” I left his office and headed for the Wandering Sailor's Inn. I found old Hal, and he was indeed old.
“May I sit and buy you a drink, perhaps?”
“A drink is always welcome, Sir Wizard.”
I ordered drinks for us both. When they were delivered, and we had taken a swallow, I said, “I'm interested in building some ships.”
“So, you want to know about ship building? Talking is thirsty work.”
I smiled. “It can be,” I said. I bought the beer, and he talked. “So, why didn't they ever start ship building here at Midway?”
“Wrong kind of trees, or not tall enough to make good ship timber, and too expensive to bring in,” he answered.
“What about building skills?”
“We had that, for a while anyway. Now they have all moved to North Landing or wherever.”
“Do you have any books, paper, or notes on ship building?”
“A few. I'll sell them to you.”
“Show me what you have, and we'll talk.” He took me back to his shack where he kept his things. He had several books, and they were stuffed full of notes. “How much?” I asked.
“Three golds; you won't find these anywhere else.”
“Okay, I'll take them.” I put three golds on his table. “I may come again to talk.”
“As long as you buy the beer,” he said, smiling.
I stepped out of his shack and stopped.
“Give me all the knowledge I want, and then forget I asked.” I now had all his ship building knowledge.
I looked at the books and papers. “Give me all your knowledge.” I now understood the knowledge from the books better.
Step one complete. I ported back to the Palace and put my new books on the bookshelf. It all seemed straightforward enough.
“I wonder?”
I ported to my woodland valley on the other side of the mountain. I got a firm picture in my mind of the ship I wanted to build. It was a large, three-masted galleon. I concentrated on the forest and the land.
“Build my ship.” A purple aura surrounded me.
The forest vibrated; trees became lumber, and lumber became planks. Planks came together and formed the ship's skeleton. Tree sap became tar to seal seams, stones for ballast, metals for hardware, chains, and the anchor. I armed her with eight cannons per side. I'd buy the black powder and have it delivered to her when I moved her to Midway Harbor. Vegetation became ropes and sails. It all came together to form my ship. I named her Tradewinds. She was bigger than anything I had ever seen sail into our harbor.
I sat her down in the big, freshwater lake; I'd wait until tonight to take her to Midway Harbor.
I ported back to the Palace, where Pam and I danced, swam, and had dinner together.
“Did you find what you were looking for today?” she asked.
“I did. I think I'll build our shipyards tonight, now that I have a better understanding of what we need. I met with and old ship builder. His name is old Hal, at least that's what they call him.”
“Sounds like fun.”
She took my hand, and we ported over to the other side of the harbor. It had never been used, as it was too rocky. I concentrated on what I wanted.
“Build it.”
I used the rock that had kept anyone from building here to build our harbor garrison, navy harbor, and shipyard. Even so, I had to use some mountain before I was finished. I extended the navy harbor one thousand yards inland and five hundred yards wide. I made our shipyard with cradles for four ships, each one separate from the other. They could be drained or flooded separately from the other. Our new facilities were all white like the Palace.
“Show off,” Pam said. I smiled. “Let's go home so you can rest.”
I nodded and ported us home. I sank down into the earth to rest. Once again, I had used a lot or power building our new naval and shipyard facilities. I slept the night through and waited until the next night to bring Tradewinds to Midway Harbor.
***
The next night, once it was fully dark, I ported to Tradewinds' deck. I concentrated, “Levitate.” I flew Tradewinds to the harbor, landed her smoothly in the middle of it, and set her at anchor. I waited a moment; no one seemed to notice the new ship.
“Set marker lamps.” Marker lamps lit around the ship.
I concentrated on what I wanted and reached down into the seabed.
“Arise.” Five stone men rose from the seabed, and I levitated them up to the ship's deck.
“Guard the ship.” The stone men took up guard positions around the ship and began walking. Satisfied, I went home for the night and slept in the earth to restore my strength.
The next morning, I went to see the city magistrate.
“Good morning, Sir Wizard,” he said, bowing. “How may I serve?”
“Good morning, Magistrate.” I handed him the royal paperwork for licensing and approvals for Hue Magenta to register his company: Magenta Shipping. “I'd like the paper entered into your records.”
He took them, looked at them briefly, and replied, “Right away, Sir Wizard.”
“Everything is going well?” I asked.
“It is, Sir Wizard. Streets are clean, and crime, for the most part, is down.”
I nodded. “Let us know if you need anything.”
“Yes, Sir Wizard,” he said, bowing.
I left the magistrate's office, owning a shipping business. Well, another shipping business, but this one was all mine.
I sent Colonel Lewis a message, telling him to man the harbor garrison. I also sent a message to the Harbor Master to put the word out that we were recruiting for Midway's Shipyards and Midway's Navy.
I went to a shipping broker's office in the guise of Master Gray. This one had a good reputation for good captains, crews, and making their clients money. The clerk rose as I entered. “Good morning, Sir. How may we serve?”
“I'd like to speak to a broker about hiring a captain and crew for my cargo ship, Tradewinds.”
“Of course, Sir. One moment, please.” He stepped into his master's office; the door to the office opened, and the master stepped out.
“Please, Sir Wizard, come into my office.”
“Thank you,” I said, following him in and taking the offered seat.
“So, you wish to hire a captain and crew for your cargo ship.”
“That is correct. I work for Magenta Shipping. Our ship, Tradewinds, sits at anchor in the harbor. We'd like you to hire a captain and crew for her.”
“We can assuredly do that; may I offer our merchant services as well?”
“You may. We have an account with the Money Counter’s Guild; you can work with them for the finances.”
“Very good, sir, we do the same with many of our other customers.”
“We'd like you to start as soon as possible,” I said.
He was very helpful. Of course, he was making money from the deal. It took him just over a week to have Tradewinds captained and crewed.
Their first trip was to North Landing to spread the word that Midway had a shipyard, and that we were hiring shipwrights. I kept investing in cargos and caravans and was making good returns on my investments. I didn't need the money, but I enjoyed the challenge of doing business.
I had made some observations during my trip south with the caravan. I wanted to try my idea, so I went to the wagon wrights with my drawing and told them what I wanted. I paid in advance, so they were happy to build anything I wanted. I ordered a specially built caravan wagon specially; the axles were twice as strong and the wheels twice as wide and strong as well. I had the overall wagon size increased by a third, and it would be pulled by four oxen rather than two horses.
I went back to the caravan yard and found Red. He was still working out of his little shack.
“Are you still selling that shoddy leather work?” I asked as I walked up.
“To every unsuspecting customer I can,” he said, smiling. He stood, and we clasped wrists. “Are you just getting back?”
“No, I've been back for a while. I came back by ship.”
“World traveller now, huh?”
“It was an adventure to be sure.”
“So, I heard you made quite an impression on the Caravan Master. He said he'd hire you back on in an instant.”
“He is a good Caravan Master. What I came to ask you about are oxen.”
“Oxen?” He frowned.
“Yeah, I have an idea for a wagon, and I want to use oxen to pull it.”
He nodded. “They’d do the job all right, just don't expect them to run like horses would.”
I nodded. “Do you know anyone who deals in oxen?”
“Yeah, Skinner does. You remember him?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“We can go see if he has any for sale.” I nodded and followed him. We walked out to the edge of the stockyard. That was where they kept the oxen.
“Skinner,” Red called out.
“In here,” came an answer. We went inside a barn-type building.
“Gray came back looking for an ox; said that horse we sold him was too rough.” He turned to look at us.
“That's right,” I said, jumping right in. “That horse ran way too fast; a body could get killed falling off at those speeds.”
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