by Zack Finley
Argon explained we were new to the region and desired to establish a significant steading near Klee. “We are very open to meeting with local mages and officials to smooth away any issues. While we hope to build our future in Klee, we are also considering other kingdoms.”
Alanna invited us for a cup of chee, herding us toward the atrium. It had high transparent ceilings that let the light from the sun shine through. The walls were white stone with elaborate inlays and carvings. A host of tall, willowy trees provided a natural feel to the area, and the sounds of the waterfall provided a pleasant backdrop.
She led us to an open seating area near the burbling stream and signaled for a waiter. She studied us for a few moments while we placed our order. I was hungry but limited myself to a cup of chee.
Argon promised via a link that we would locate food after concluding things here. She also warned me to watch what I said as Alanna had truth sense. Argon emphasized we couldn't afford to trigger it or our entire project in Klee could be defeated.
"What size steading are you considering?" asked Alanna, once the chee orders came. She had adopted a casual, disinterested air, which didn't fool us.
"We wish to use our financial success to establish a new steading," said Argon. "It needs shipping access, proximity to fellow mages, and a stable government. We desire a location with enough room for expansion, where we can have our children and establish a future."
Keeping things private when dealing with people using truth sense required limiting how much one said.
"You are powerful mages," Alanna said, without much sincerity, "But our guild has no such property for sale. Only the king may award a new steading such as you describe. For our members, of course, we can help run interference with his office."
I played the strong, silent type while Argon took the lead in the negotiations. Entrance into the guild had a sliding scale depending upon membership level. Duties of membership appeared to be limited to paying one’s dues, abiding by local laws, and assisting the guild with one day of service each year. In exchange, the guild ran interference for the mage community with the local government and operated a school for young mages. They also maintained a library of magic and a venue for mage related businesses. All for a fee, of course.
Alanna also hinted about ongoing research into great magic.
I learned from Argon each mage guild operated independently and most kingdoms had one. Mages could belong to as many or as few as they wanted. Most guilds offered discounted entrance fees to encourage mages to belong to multiple guilds.
There was no apparent downside to joining at this point, and Argon handed over the gems needed to secure our top-level membership.
Alanna invited us to her office to receive our membership sigils, which would admit us to the members-only areas of the guild. She also agreed to contact the king's chamberlain on our behalf to set up an initial meeting.
When I asked Argon through our link why Alanna hadn't required a magical demonstration, she was amused. Alanna had been trying very hard to penetrate our mental barriers the whole time. "She is well aware no one could maintain such barriers without strong mental magic," Argon responded silently. "She isn't sure about you since you don't necessarily feel like a mage, but she has no doubts about me. There was little risk for the guild to enroll both of us as the fee was substantial and I'm sure will help them pay their bills."
"Is there an annual fee?" I wondered.
"Yes, not as exorbitant as the initial membership charge but enough to maintain the guild's lifestyle," Argon sent with a wave highlighting the atrium and elegant stairways of the main entrance as examples. "Let's go check out the library. It should have more information about Klee and the surrounding area. Just a quick visit there and then I promise we'll go get some lunch."
The members' area of the guild was cozier than the public areas. We entered a large open room with comfortable chairs and several magical fires. Groups of mages sat in conversation nooks clustered around the fires. Some conversations were lively and accompanied by arms waving and loud voices.
We were the only people in armor.
There were more men than women in the room. The women dressed more colorfully, but there was little else to differentiate them from the men.
Our entrance stopped most of the discussions. Maybe it was due to new faces but our armor and weapons most likely caught their attention. After an initial glance, the groups picked up their prior discussions.
Argon reached into my mind and showed me how to use the air currents to eavesdrop on the conversations. I expanded my mind reading radius, and as far as the app was concerned, I was alone in the guild. Everyone here had sufficient shields to block my basic app.
"I don't want these new mages to detect our powers or skills," Argon sent. "At least, not yet. In a group of this size if we probe to penetrate their barriers someone may be able to detect it. I have already detected several probes directed at us."
I was satisfied with playing with my new eavesdropping skills, which confirmed our armor along with our new faces had drawn the attention of those in the room.
One mage approached us directly, bowing as he introduced himself. "I am Goran, welcome to the Klee Mage Guild. Alanna asked me to assist you in getting settled here." He gave us a card and at Argon's request provided directions to the library.
After assuring him we required nothing more, he returned to his friends.
"Seems odd to provide a card," I sent to Argon. "Does it do anything?"
"Oh yes, it allows us to contact him directly," she said. "Should he no longer want to take our calls, it will just dissolve into dust. It is an easy way for mages to communicate without requiring anyone to open mental barriers. We'll need to purchase some cards before we leave the guild. While we are there we can do some other shopping," Argon enthused. "We'll get you something to eat there, first."
I wasn't ready to drop the issue of the card and learned it only works with mages because mundanes cannot activate the spell. Some mundane businesses with a significant magical client group employ a mage service, which provides low-level mages with teleport skills and mind magic to facilitate mundane-to-mage business communications.
"There are much more expensive cards which mundanes can use, but it requires the receiving mage to imbue the card with substantial power," Argon sent as we entered the library. "Most mages are not willing to expend their own magic to charge those cards except under rare circumstances," she added.
The library was open, and before we could enter, the librarian required payment of library fees. Within seconds, the librarian and Argon engaged in a contentious discussion about library fees. Argon nearly walked out, refusing to pay the full fees until she had some assurances there were texts in the library worth reading.
At first, the librarian appeared outraged, but he eventually acquiesced with an initial discounted fee.
"It was the principle of the thing," Argon sent, catching my puzzlement over much ado about a small fee compared to what was at stake. "I'm sure this will get back to other members of the guild hierarchy. If they see us as pushovers, we will have bigger issues later."
This made some sense, so I let it drop, though I was certain Argon bargained because she loved it and I noticed the librarian acted pleased with the interaction as well. Go figure.
Argon dumped me at a table with a book about Klee. The book contained a map of the region, of the city itself and of the Jaloan continent. I suspected the Klee city map was accurate and the continental map significantly less so. The continent was oblong and surrounded by water. It didn't quite match the globe Shala had shared with me, although representing spheres on two-dimensional paper is always tricky.
The map was about 18 inches high, with Klee located about halfway down the map on the western edge. The map location of the city corresponded closely with my location sense.
The kingdom of Klee extended several inches above and below the city and ended at the foothills of the continent'
s mountainous spine to the east. The map had several of the cities on Shala's list on it; each surrounded by a bold outline depicting what I assumed was each kingdom's boundary. The map displayed a lot of other cities and their boundaries. There were few other geographical details.
When we went shopping, getting our own maps was definitely one of my priorities.
The regional map was smaller but showed an outline of the river, also called Klee, which formed the harbor. Several smaller towns dotted the landscape, with most located along the river.
I assumed winding lines on the map represented roads or paths. These lines connected many of the towns on the map and extended to the north and south of the Klee kingdom border to a few towns there. Without a legend, I was stuck guessing.
The river and harbor divided the city of Klee with two bridges connecting the two sides. The north side was much larger than the south.
On the north side of the river, a wall surrounded old town, which housed the king's complex, the mage guild, a few temples, housing, and much of the commercial sector. Most of the city was outside the walled area.
A series of gates provided the only direct access between old town and the rest of Klee. Within the walled center, the layout of the streets and buildings was very cramped. Outside the wall, there was significant urban sprawl with wider streets and larger buildings.
The harbor was outside the wall but accessible from old town through several dedicated gates. The harbor district had scores of piers and warehouses along the river and harbor. The harbor district was as cramped as the walled inner city.
Across the river, the city's south side had cramped streets and tiny buildings, giving me the impression of a slum. There were few piers or warehouses. I suspected, based on the curve of the river, the north half of the city was on higher ground, and the south side got flooded from time to time. The river was probably deeper along the northern edge making it better able to support shipping.
I didn't have time for further research because Argon rejoined me with a very satisfied air. "Let's go have some lunch," she said aloud, nodding toward the door.
"I thought you'd never ask," I agreed, knowing she'd let me know what she learned later. She was radiant with excitement.
Argon thanked the librarian, and we set off for the guild marketplace.
We ate lunch in the guild market area. The dining area was modest, and the selection displeased Argon. That didn't bother me because I was hungry. I suspected this would not become one of our go-to dining venues.
Over lunch, Argon shared the results of her research. She had a lead on a potential site for a steading. According to the text she found, the inhabitants had abandoned the site more than 100 years ago. The steading was considered a folly created by an eccentric relative of an earlier king. It fell into disrepair after the owner vanished. The king eventually declared the owner dead, and the site returned to the crown. By then most of its inhabitants had moved away. In the subsequent years, raids by pirates and other thieves thoroughly looted the place of anything valuable.
Pirate groups moved into the complex through the years. When they became too brazen, the king sent the king's guard to eliminate them. About 50 years ago, after a particularly virulent group of death cultists killed a number of his guardians, the king hired the mage guild to ensure no one would reoccupy the place. Most considered this a major coup for the guild, which still received annual income from the king to maintain the wards.
Argon and I agreed it had serious potential.
Then we went shopping. First on the list were business com-cards. We decided Argon would be the contact for these and she showed me how to imprint them, should I need to do this in the future. There was nothing special about the card, and its spell was simple. I decided any inanimate object could support a similar spell and Argon confirmed it. I imagined a doorbell or walkie-talkie might be a potential application.
We also purchased a more complex set of mundane use com-cards. These allowed communications both ways and required us to infuse the card with sufficient mind magic power to operate. Argon indicated that once we had our mind magic containers filled, charging these cards would be a good off-duty project.
Talking Argon into a trip to the bookstore was easy. I came out with maps, and she bought several new volumes. I tucked her books into a pouch nestled in the small of her back. The pouch negated the weight and stretched to hold them securely. She had to adjust her armor to fit over the bulge.
We browsed the magical weapons and armor shops, in part to give me an overview of the options available. The rack of magical swords drew my attention. Some were enchanted to pierce magical armor, and others inflicted extra damage from elemental spells. Most of the armor was lightweight and heavily enchanted. Some of the heavy metallic armor was enchanted to weigh only ounces but carried weaker magical enhancements. I purchased several more sets of garments suitable for wearing under my armor.
In the magical weapons shop, we purchased a long knife and a short sword with scabbards and straps to match. I strapped the knife to my leg and the sword to my belt. At Argon's suggestion, I settled on mid-level dispel enchantments. Even with only moderate spell levels, they still cost several silver bars.
I wondered what limited the types and strength of enchantments used for the armor. Argon advised there was an entire class of mages who spent their lives studying these issues. I agreed to let the subject drop, for now.
At a clothier, we purchased clothing for both of us suitable for meeting with the chamberlain. Even in Jaloa, making the proper impression was important.
We then dropped off a com-card at Alanna's office with a note explaining we were awaiting her contact.
Walking back to our room in the inn, I alternated expanding and contracting my mind-reading app with my eavesdropping one. Some of the mundane vendors appeared to have rudimentary mind magic barriers, but I was still able to read them.
I learned the king's guard only allowed pedestrian traffic on this street and several others in old town during main business hours, with carts and such banned from these areas except during nighttime, early morning and late evening. Some areas of the inner city allowed one-way travel by vehicles, but in all instances, people had the right of way. Some of the vendors resented the limitations, mentally grousing about spending the coin to hire mages to transport goods during the restricted hours.
I caught mental pictures from the vendors of the types of carts used for delivery and chrrts pulled most of them. Chrrts were an odd two-footed animal resembling an ostrich, but bright blue. Some people resented being on foot, forced to leave their basas at stables outside each gate. Basas were furry, carried a saddle, had four legs, and lots of teeth.
I was happily ambling along, reveling in my newfound voyeurism, when I felt alarm from Argon through our link. We maintained our carefree demeanor but prepared for action as she highlighted a trio of mages following us.
"I don't know their intent, but we shouldn't take any chances," she sent. "If they follow us into our inn, I'll step up my probes and try to identify the weakest one to see what we can learn. Of course, if they attack, we will defend ourselves, but try to keep any civilian casualties to a minimum. Your lava bullets may be too extreme for open combat here. If we create too big of a mess, it could severely limit any cooperation we can expect later from the king. It would be best if we can lure them to our room for a cleaner capture."
I began thinking of ways to use my force magic to toss them to the ground and paralyze them. I noticed Argon was subtly strengthening our force fields, laying in counterspells for all four elementals. The force field was set to activate with a command from one of us or any act of aggression that touched our shields. The force field should stop a normal blade, crossbow bolt, or magical attack, but I didn't know how well it would deflect a magical blade or bolt. It would be better not to find out the hard way.
My warrior lover was silently hoping the trio would do something stupid and attack. She assured me
these were not top tier mages or they would not have been so easy to spot. Argon also cautioned the ones we were watching might just be decoys, meant to distract us from the real danger.
I hated feeling this unprepared.
The three mages following us held back as we entered the inn and headed for our room. They had done nothing overt and assaulting them on the street would make us the aggressor. Jaloans considered even a vigorous mind probe an act of aggression.
When we originally checked in, we made it clear to the innkeeper we expected privacy. He had agreed to keep all staff away from our room until we checked out. He had dealt with mages before and assured us his staff would consider the room off limits, but he had us pay in advance and provide a substantial damage deposit.
One of the mage guild's agreements with the local government was to provide support for Klee businesses defrauded by magical means, so he had some protection from any magical messes we might leave behind. Removing unwanted wards and other aggressive enchantments were some of the ways guild members provided their day of service.
On our way to our rooms, we waved at the innkeeper. Argon made sure he spotted our new guild sigils.
Learning we were local guild members would also discourage casual thieves from taking an interest in our affairs.
Argon unloaded her new books into her travel pack, but I kept the maps out for further study.
The potential keep Argon had uncovered was north of the city on the coast. There were no roads or settlements listed shown at this location on the regional map.
I tucked the maps into a pocket inside my armor designed to hold papers. We decided to return home and continue my training while waiting for the wheels of bureaucracy to turn. I was relieved, not wanting to use the chamber pot.