The Great Forest: Laya: Dark Sculptor Novel 04

by D. R. Rosier

  I replied, “I’m honored… Renesa.”

  It felt strange saying it, like I was getting away with something. I also wondered why they were being so… nice. Not that I was complaining, but they were treating us like old friends, and even Mabosi’s stern aura from court this morning was gone, and he had a large smile on his face as we sat around the table.

  The queen motioned, and several servants came in, and put down bowls of vegetables, potatoes, meats, and breads. Apparently, we were even eating family style as opposed to prepared plates, and the king grabbed the potatoes, put some on his plate, and handed it down to Karana.

  Karana gave me a slightly mystified look, even she didn’t know what was going on.

  Mabosi asked, “James, you’re thinking two years before we get our people back?”

  I nodded, “At a guess. It takes about eight years of schooling on my world, but a lot of that won’t need to be taught. I’ll be focusing on the body from the macro to the cellular and DNA level, and some few magical concepts before I feel they’re ready. Anatomy, micro-biology, and genetics.”

  Renesa asked, “So you will be holding back some knowledge?”

  “Unneeded knowledge. My birth world doesn’t have magic, a lot of the teaching on my world to be a physician is about diagnosis, thousands of types of medicines to treat the problems found, machines to perform corrective operations, how much medicine of each type is needed for a patient based on mass, and a wide variety of other factors including other medications. Not to mention all the diseases themselves of various sources, from the patient’s own body betraying them, to viruses, bacteria, molds, fungus, and other factors. None of that is necessary, because our magic will do all that work, and a lot better and easier than on my old world. A simple illustration is the difference between a person using a fire to heat their bath, or someone with the magical fire ability. The second one is faster, much more exact, and much less messy. Flesh sculptor magic is the diagnosis, medicine, and machines.”

  Renesa looked startled, “I understand, sort of. But… No magic?”

  Karana’s voice had a sultry pride to it as she answered for me.

  “No Renesa, my mate has been on this world and aware of his magic for less than a season, and already he performs wonders our oldest and wisest flesh sculptors of the past would have deemed impossible, and he has improved their greatest works in days. This is the knowledge he offers so freely.”

  I was a bit turned on by her passion on my behalf, and a bit embarrassed by the fulsome compliments.

  Mabosi nodded, “Please, eat before the food gets cold.”

  Lunch was a relaxed affair after that, and Karana spoke familiarly with the king and queen, even to the point of bantering at times. She had a lot of history with them, and we all enjoyed ourselves, and were drawn into the conversation at times, but for the most part those three dominated it with their rich past.

  It wasn’t until the very end of the meal we found out why the king and queen were so welcoming, open, and personally thankful to me.

  The queen spoke a sharp word, and a dome of magic dropped over us. A familiar one, the privacy magic that blocked all sound and light from leaving the dome. Apparently, she didn’t even want her personal servants to hear this.

  Renesa said, “We wanted to thank you one more time, privately. I’d appreciate if this stays private between us? Part of it we never want to get out, and the rest we aren’t ready to announce yet.”

  Karana nodded, and the rest of us indicated agreement.

  Renesa sighed, “When I was younger, long before I caught Prince Mabosi’s eyes, I was injured, and almost died during my first foray into the Great Forest. Eventually, I healed with a few scars on my lower torso, and time erased the horror of the injury. However, a year or two after mating with Mabosi we reluctantly admitted the truth. Time and time again we failed to create a child during my time of fertility, the deep wound and scarring had taken my ability to have children. We’ve kept it hidden for many years, and wished no one to ever know that truth, for stability’s sake.”

  She smiled at me, “That is no longer the case, thanks to the tree you sent. It removed my scars, inside and out. I am… already with child, and we will have an heir to Amathyr, thanks to your generosity. The news will be well received when I make the announcement, as some elements in our nobility have been speculating for quite a while on why we didn’t have an heir yet.”

  Karana looked startled, “That’s wonderful news Renesa.”

  I murmured my agreement.

  Mabosi grinned, and asked, “Is he always this humble? Or is our royalty overwhelming him.”

  Karana smirked, and nodded, “The first one. Although, not quite always humble.”

  She winked salaciously.

  I blushed.

  Renesa laughed wickedly in delight, and then banished her magic. From what I understood, the king was a fire talent, only the queen was a mage. I didn’t actually check though.

  The meal wound down quickly after that, my other mates were quite amused by Karana’s teasing, and all added varying comments in agreement to deepen my blush.

  Karana escorted the three of us back to our suite, before her and Sianna went to the treaty negotiations with her parents in the north conference room, wherever that was. To the north side of the palace I supposed.

  “Do you know when you’ll be starting your school?” I asked Saria.

  I knew she’d be doing advanced training for already graduated scouts, but she hadn’t really told me when that would start.

  It was just the four of us that same afternoon while the treaty discussions went on. Saria, Regina, Claire, and myself. Claire as usual, looked both uncomfortable but determined in my presence. Regina was sitting in between my legs, with her ass on the edge of the couch, and I was giving her a neck and shoulder massage.

  Saria shook her head, “At a guess, my parents will probably send two scout groups with your other pupil, whoever that turns out being, along with whoever brings the new store stock and another more seasoned group in escort. We didn’t really talk about that while I was there, but it makes sense to travel in larger groups for safety. Even we don’t cross the forest lightly. I’m curious to see how my people will get wagon loads of wool and cotton through the woods without horses or wagons.”

  I smirked, that was a logistical problem. I hadn’t considered that aspect of increased trade, there were no roads to Lelmalond or Amathyr, and I’d get glared at if I suggested cutting one through Laya.

  Regina said a bit breathily, she really liked my massages, “Bolts of cloth and balls of yarn would be easier. You don’t really have the infrastructure to process and dye raw wool and cotton yet anyway. With one of Karana’s lightening spells, each elf could carry a lot comfortably. It would also be far less bulky for far more material.”

  Claire said, “Bulky is bad, we need to be able to move freely. Light weight is good, but bulky is still awkward, especially in a fight or when trying to take cover from a fae.”

  Regina nodded, “Perhaps some quick release mechanism, triggered by unsheathing a sword or dagger. Have the pack simply fall off their back as they dodge for cover.”

  Claire replied, “That’s not a bad idea. What about a levitating device that follows the person it’s bonded to?”

  That… wouldn’t be hard. A piece of elven armor shaped like a platform, with an always active levitation spell. It could use compressed air nozzle spells like my hot tub for lateral movement in any direction, but…

  “It would have to follow closely so it wouldn’t get caught up in the trees. It would sense the person it’s bonded too and what direction to go, but it wouldn’t be able to see the trees. It might also have issues on a windy day, and constantly be blown off course.”

  Claire shook her head, “I was thinking of a levitating device that strapped around the bonded person’s waist with two extensions, like arms. Like our armor, it would come off with a thought, if the group was attacked. That wou
ld be faster than a physical quick release, and it would also allow a person to carry even more.”

  I nodded, “That could work. What about breakage? That storm fae for instance, if we’d had a shipment of goods with us it would have likely been destroyed or lost.”

  Claire grinned, “It’s made of the elven armor right, potentially? Just make it more a crate than a platform, to surround and protect the cloth. If it’s cut loose from its bonded, it should drop to the ground, anchor and protect itself, maybe even dig into the ground.”

  Regina said, “Or in the case of cats or wolves, it could levitate out of reach.”

  “I still say we should make a flying ship, can’t we just cloak it with a privacy spell?”

  Saria laughed, “Give up, no flying ships. Yes, it would disguise the ship, but not from dragons. Our illusions don’t work on them, maybe their minds are too different. Also, the flying predators above the forest won’t see the ship, but they will see the magical flow that forms it, and they’ll know something’s up.”

  Ash said, “She’s right. Your campsites are like beacons to my eyesight. I couldn’t see in, but I knew something was there, and could feel you there.”

  That was interesting, I wondered why campsites didn’t draw the panthers, cougars, and other predators.

  Ash replied, “No scent. Magic all over forest, fae glow brightly, avoid. No scent, we see but ignore, no scent, no prey. Instincts of my kind that work in your favor. Ship different, stand out in air where no magic belong.”

  Well, she told me.

  “Fine, no airships,” I grumbled.

  Regina’s whole body shook with giggles under my hands.

  In my head though, I figured a floating car that levitated four feet or so wasn’t out of the question, and it would be a lot faster than horses. Even fifty miles an hour would make it feasible to get to Dulcier in just ten hours, and another ten to the capitol. Two days was a lot better than ten, wasn’t it? It wouldn’t work to the elven cities, but all the human cities had roads.

  Maybe I was just obsessed with the idea of making things fly and float, mostly because it sounded cool and it appealed to something in me.

  I sighed, “So it sounds pretty complicated. We’d have to make it so it can’t be easily copied by cutting a piece off, but also able to bond to anyone. But in the end, it’s just a shipping crate, so how much can we charge for it?”

  Regina frowned, “Something like that would be priceless.”

  I shrugged, “In today’s world. Now maybe, but not when there’s over twenty flesh sculptors running around and competing with various devices, between healing people, supply and competition will drive the prices down. That’s really my goal, to improve the quality of life for everyone, eventually it will snowball.”

  Claire shook her head in disagreement, and replied, “If it’s too expensive, they won’t buy it, but you should get paid well for it. How about charging a percentage of earnings, for ten years? One percent of the profits for ten years, instead of just one large price. They’ll be able to afford that, and actually make more if they don’t have to worry about eating losses from damages in shipping through the forest. I get what you’re saying, and your self-cleaning rooms, closets that clean clothes, and automatic baths and temperature control devices will be cheap enough eventually for all to have. But… the simple crates as you call them will be far more sophisticated, like the protection rings you’re charging thirty gold a piece for, and those should be more expensive.”

  Saria and Regina agreed, and I couldn’t really argue with them. The crate would be very sophisticated, and it’d require dozens of spells some automated and some controlled by whoever was currently bonded to it.

  “Alright. I’ll try to have something ready for when trade actually starts. We should talk to Karana about it too, maybe we could bypass shipping through the forest altogether.”

  Saria tilted her head in confusion, “How’s that?”

  “Remember what Karana was talking about at dinner with your parents? A mage is limited to summoning something at about two or three miles away, depending on how powerful and old they are. What if I created a summoning room, or closet, with fifteen times the mass and magical channeling potential of a human? We might be able to make summoning boxes that are connected, load it on one end, and activate it, then they’d unload the box on other side. The three cities are only about thirty miles away from each other, it shouldn’t be out of the range of possibility to not carry anything at all.”

  Claire asked, “What would you sell that for?”

  I shrugged, “I wouldn’t, I’d charge them for shipping by the load, and hire some people to run it. It might not work, the distance limitation may have other factors, and be a geometric magical energy cost rather than linear. In other words, we might only add another half mile or mile to the range with fifteen times the magical energy available. We’ll find out. If it doesn’t work, we’ll make the crates, and go with your idea, Claire, and charge a percentage for ten years.”

  I patted Regina’s shoulders, and crooked my finger at Saria, who grinned and happily took Regina’s place.

  My beautiful elven princess liked my massages too.

  We relaxed for the rest of that afternoon, and we had a family dinner plus one that evening. I noticed Claire actually get comfortable for a moment or two, several times, and then flinch and tense up as she realized she had. She was admirable, and if Sylris and Irina even had half her force of will and healing spirit, the elves would be in very good hands once I got them trained up.

  Sianna was excited and gave us all an overview of the afternoon. It seemed the dark elves cheated on more than just learning about my oath and reasoning for my plans to make flesh sculptors a calling rather than a birthright. It seemed Abresi and Anasha knew all about the treaty between Gritor and Lelmalond. She didn’t think it would be later than tomorrow afternoon to finish hammering it out, and they were down to arguing over the finer points, already agreeing in principle on the rough idea of limited trade and mutual defense.

  I supposed we all owed Desirae a large thank you for smoothing things for us all, with the exception of Abresi’s hatred of humans that is. I also missed my sister-in-law, probably more than I should have.

  After dinner, Saria took me to bed for our intimate one on one time, and the rest of our mates and Oceana joined us an hour later. Eventually, we all even got to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The next morning after breakfast we all followed Karana for a tour of the city, including Claire who was more than welcome to all our more social aspects of the visit. The first thing we did was actually step outside the city’s wards, to spend a few moments with Ash. She was a lot more relaxed without the elven scouts and hunters around me and my mates. She didn’t seem to mind Claire’s presence at all.

  It had occurred to me yesterday, I hadn’t done all I could to protect my familiar, who was already family and dear to me. She wasn’t all that excited about wearing a silver choker around her neck, but she understood the benefits of the protections and healing it offered, so suffered its presence. It was tight, so couldn’t be caught on anything, or torn off, and it would automatically grow as she did, being made from organic elven armor as the base.

  The second place we went was in the southern side of Amathyr, and partially within its round magical borders. There was a large natural pond, or small lake, about a third of which was safe for swimming and inside the borders. There was also a mid-sized river which both fed the lake from the north-east and left the lake to the south and a little west.

  There were a lot of dark elves there, including children, and it was very reminiscent of a beach back on my world. There were some fishing boats as well, and many swimmers as well as people sitting in the sun.

  Then we went to the shops and looked around. Regina bought some silk sheets, she’d become quite addicted to the soft sensual feel of the bed in both Lelmalond and Amathyr. She also persuaded the owner to sell a cou
ple of bolts of the raw silk. The only clothing they really had of the stuff was mage robes, everyone else wore elven or leather armor, and she wanted to make some silk lingerie and dresses. I had no doubt she’d want me to add illusion spells at some point, though she hadn’t asked yet.

  I sure as hell wasn’t going to complain, and I was looking forward to seeing how my bright green-eyed beauty looked in her creations.

  The last thing we went to do was go bar hopping. Dark elves as I’d said before, were far more sociable, which inevitably led to more public meeting places than they had in Lelmalond. In addition to their more open houses, patios, and balconies, there were a lot of raised platforms, bars, restaurants, and other social meeting places.

  In all, we had a lot of fun that morning, and then headed to her house in the city last, or I supposed her parent’s house, for lunch.

  The house was rather large and not in the trees, given her parents were both mages, affluent, and had standing in court I wasn’t surprised their home was large and opulent. The trail that led to it was off one of the main trails, and the front of the house was a large open flower garden with outdoor furniture. An obvious invitation to others if they were sitting outside.

  The house was only one story, just wide and large, but still blended nicely into the trees and bushes around it. It wasn’t landscaped like a human home would be, like the elves themselves their houses and the surrounding nature were beautiful, but also wild.

  The house’s front door opened up into a large sitting room that could easily accommodate twenty or more guests, and it took up the full width of the front of the house.

  Karana took us to the hallway on the left, and then waved at the six closed doors.

  “These are the bedrooms, the master is on the end, three guest rooms, and my room along with Narroc’s.”

  She opened her door and let us all take a peek. Her room was neat, and orderly, with a couple of shelves of books, a queen-sized bed, light oak night tables, and a cedar armoire.