by Zack Finley
“Any signs of economic recovery?”
“The squabbles are one sign. I’m losing members of the conservation corps to private employment every day. It makes scheduling difficult, but it is a really good sign. Crops are growing, and there is a lot of grumbling about restoring the leather and cloth trades. I guess that means we are finally on the mend,” said Olive.
I let her tend to her duties as I sought out the main table. I had thought we’d be meeting basically alone with only our main advisors at hand. I was wrong, at least for the first part of the show. Capt. Malek and Marfo joined me. The three kings were chatting with people I didn’t know. I had hoped Jorvik would attend, for no other reason except that I liked him.
King Rufix spotted me and came over to welcome me. “We need to talk, call me or come by to see me.”
I agreed I would, and he went to greet his next visitor.
King Arvich and I nodded to one another.
After all, the polite niceties must be observed.
King Ruton caught my eye from across the room, and we both acknowledged the other. I’d been avoiding him since the night I was invested as duke. In large part due to our off-the-books operation in Losan. As Inoa said at the time, it was easier to act surprised a king doesn’t like what you did than to violate a king’s directive.
Ruton hadn’t said anything to me, but I knew he was aware of what happened in Losan. That we’d ended the dark sect in Losan was a count on my side of the ledger.
I moved to take my seat and indicated Capt. Malek and Marfo sit beside me. I wished Tobron had designed more comfortable dress uniforms as the collar cut into my neck. I was surprised by how much more comfortable my armor was.
Our taking a seat seemed to be an unofficial signal for the rest of the crowd to be seated. King Rufix and his counselors sat next to Capt. Malek. King Ruton and his counselors took the seats beside Marfo. King Arvich and his entourage sat next to King Rufix.
King Rufix offered some welcoming words and then signaled for the feast to be served. The food was good, and I ate, but the butterflies in my stomach prevented me from truly enjoying it. I just wanted us to get to the main topic.
The kings were more used to the leisurely pace of diplomacy. At no time did I get any impatient vibes from them. Marfo and Capt. Malek shared my impatience. We obviously were the only ones sitting there with real work to do.
After dessert, which I ate quickly, King Rufix announced we would be retiring to a meeting room for further discussion.
I was pleased the new room had a small oval table with only four chairs for the principals. There were other chairs around the room’s periphery.
The nametags had us sitting in the same positions as the head table.
The next two hours were a total waste of time. After less than 15 minutes I released both Capt. Malek and Marfo. I’d have left, too if I could. In the end, no one agreed on anything. We couldn’t even agree there was a problem.
I know King Rufix wanted to chat, but by the time the bickering was done, I had no patience with their version of diplomacy. I ‘ported to Klee HQ, changed out of my dress uniform and updated my assignment list. I noticed there was a large stack of material’s needing teleporting from the warehouse to the Keep. I made several trips as a pack mule. Between trips, Argon drifted by to give me a supportive hug, she was still working with Jord staging tomorrow’s shipments to the Keep.
I marked the transfer project as complete and checked for other assignments that needed help. I noticed Maude was already on the job and decided to see how that was going. I ‘ported to the farm area. She spotted me right away.
“Boy, we need water magic right now,” she shouted. I jogged to meet her, concerned she might get overheated at her age in her black outfit. Perga spotted us and raced to meet me.
“Maude, what do you need?” I asked.
“Do your water thing,” she demanded.
Perga showed me the fields needing water. I took care of them. It felt good to do something and not just talk about it.
“Do you need anything else, Maude?” I asked.
“You said I would have help.”
“So, you shall, let the com hub know if you need magic you don’t have. Even better, if you know you’ll need someone tomorrow, put in a request in now and they will schedule one,” I said. “Otherwise how is it going?” I asked, making sure Perga knew he was included in the question.
“Lots to do, lots to do,” said Maude, wandering toward a farmer beginning to plant the field I’d just hydrated.
“I’m sorry your grace, we didn’t expect her until tomorrow. I’ll make sure we notify the com hub of any needs we have,” Perga said.
“Should I talk with Maude?” I asked.
“No, your grace, she is a plant whisperer,” Perga said with a strong sense of awe in his voice. “We are so very glad you have brought her. None of us have ever met a plant whisperer before. Most of us didn’t really believe they existed. We are very blessed.”
I could tell he was eager to return to Maude’s side and released him. Sounded like Maude was going to be an eccentric but positive addition to the team.
That still left me with too much time before dinner.
“Argon, we should meet at the desert training area, we are getting rusty,” I sent.
“Meet you there in a few. Jord has things in hand here,” was the quick response.
I put a training notice on my assignment board and ‘ported to our desert training area. I was working on the last ward when Argon ‘ported in. I’d already shared the wasted hours spent at the summit, so rehashing that was not necessary.
She banished and replaced the water in our swimming pool. She then dragged me over to it, not that I was really resisting. After swimming and frolicking for a few minutes, she sat up on the side of the pool splashing her bare legs in the water beside me.
“We need to visit the cities on the other side of Jaloa,” I blurted out, not sure where the thought had come from.
“Okay,” she said. “I’m game for that. But why now?”
“We are getting bogged down in the details of building our Keep,” I said. “Today I wasted three hours listening to three kings bickering about whether we really had an economic crisis looming. We’ve got farmers and bakers but very few soldiers. Without soldiers, I can’t go after the slavers or help Ylee, or Kavil. We didn’t even have enough soldiers to wake us up when the damn roaches tried to overrun our new home.”
I felt Argon’s mind reach out and envelop me. Accepting my anxiety and worries. Seeking ways to address them.
“We need to clear our schedule and visit the five countries on the other side of the spine. I have never visited there. I know of no one else who has either. Occasionally a shipwreck appears on our shore from abroad, but the currents and winds seldom align to allow us to travel there. I have wondered for some time if the dark sect came from there,” said Argon.
“I’d like to know what is there. We may find an unwelcoming place, or we may find new allies. But no matter what we do, we need to prioritize expanding the Duchy Guard,” I said.
We felt whole again. We got back into training with a vengeance. I was eager to show Argon some of the fire magic Inoa had dragged out of me. I conjured up the plasma rope and showed it to Argon. She copied it and soon we had decimated the stone pillars that stood in for combat targets.
Argon began her combat weave. She hammered the last pillar with a plasma swarm before completely shattering it with a giant plasma whip. Her hurricane blew the rock fragments away from us, scattering them across the field.
It felt good to get back to training. Argon had set a reminder to get us back before dinner, so we had time for a quick shower before the dinner bell chimed.
The Keep staff made this meal from scratch. The audience applauded. I’m not sure what the meal was, but the brew made it even better. Inoa looked exhausted but exuded a sense of accomplishment. I told her Maude had already shown up and the farmers we
re in love.
“I’m not surprised, most mind mages focus on the human mind, Maude not so much. She didn’t want that. Plants have such simple needs. She is much more comfortable in their world,” Inoa said. “She is like a youngling; her plants are her only focus. People are not important. She can do wondrous things if she adopts the Keep’s plants as her own. Whatever you do, do no suggest hurting any plants. Talk to your farmers, they will be able to communicate with her best.”
“I guess you’re talking about Maude,” Tobron said. “Crazy woman.”
Clearly not a fan.
“I’ve got a whole group of people reporting to you first thing in the morning at HQ,” Inoa said to Tobron. “Maude is already at work, so you won’t have to deal with her.”
Everyone else looked our way, interested in hearing about the new hiring class.
“Nearly all are mages from Klee, and more than half have relatives on staff,” Inoa said. “Some won’t be in tomorrow because they must give notice at work. A few need to tell their mate they both need to swear fealty to the duke. That may be a deal breaker for some, but I think it is an important security requirement. Some will need quarters, and some want to stay where they live, at least for now. Marfo did a great job vetting them,” She stopped and smiled at her daughter, who tried not to look pleased with the compliment.
Inoa continued, “We need to rescue Jord from the warehouse as soon as one of our new people can handle that job. We really need him to develop a solid training program for our recruits. So many aren’t even capped. It is disgraceful.”
“I know Jord would really appreciate a change,” Argon added.
Loma had notified everyone about the meeting I’d requested and asked us all to meet at Klee HQ. She had worried about so many of us ‘porting into her crowded lab. She suggested meeting her in the lobby. There were a few groans about leaving the Keep but nothing serious.
I offered to ‘port anyone who wanted to conserve force magic and got a few takers.
Loma met us all at the Klee HQ entrance that was closed and locked to the outside world at this hour. Clive was dressed in dark clothing, as part of his clandestine plan to sink the two batteries under the Klee streets later in the night.
Loma made a show of unlocking the door to her workshop. We all trooped in.
“What you will learn tonight must remain secret,” I began. “The dark sect must never learn of this discovery. This could help them destroy the world. It is that important.”
“As most of you know I’ve been working on batteries.” Loma began. “We made a major breakthrough with them in the last few days. Clive and Tobron found a way to grow large quartz crystals. Each crystal can hold enormous amounts of magic. We currently have tons of stone below us, storing the magic we have been collecting. A small 6-inch long crystal can store even more magic than a giant stone can. Even better, an earth mage can create a large cluster of 6-inch crystals in only a few hours using an earth magic battery. Clive grew this cluster this afternoon.” Loma lifted a cover to reveal a sparkling crystal cluster. This one had seven hexagonal crystals, with six surrounding the center. They appeared to be locked in place.
“Why do you need seven crystals?” asked Marfo. “If they are so powerful can’t you store all seven magics in a single crystal.”
“Oh yes,” said Loma. “But the spells to allow magics to share space on a crystal are so complicated that I chose simplicity. Mind you if Clive and Tobron hadn’t come up with an easy method for growing crystals, I’d have been forced to deal with it.”
Everyone accepted that the batteries kept all the appliances filled. That this helped that process was nice. They hadn’t made the leap Loma, and I had.
“Loma used our HQ battery to recharge my magic after the lich lord fight,” I explained. “I had her recharge Alba after a full day at the hospital so she would be at her peak in case of casualties.”
“That is great, but aren’t we still limited to how much magic we can generate. The crystals only capture what would be wasted,” said Jord.
“We can directly charge the crystal as well,” I said. “If I transfer magic to the crystals, it will be available in a battle for Argon to access. But the real revelation is that mundanes generate magic, too. Their bodies just can’t store it. Loma has tested several and found they all generate force and mind magics, but some generate other types as well. Loma tweaked their mind shields to harvest their magic for the battery, so we know that works. What we don’t know is if they can learn to cast spells using a battery or not.”
Now there was stunned silence in the room.
“If I had a cluster on each of my ships we could have stronger wards,” Capt. Malek said.
“This could revolutionize training young mages. One of the problems we have is they cast one or two small spells. Then they have to wait too long to try them again. If we could backfill them right away they could get some concentrated practice and cap much quicker,” said Jord.
“It would be very helpful if the mundanes mind shields could provide them enough mind magic to communicate directly. We could get rid of com cards,” said Marfo.
“It is possible our mundanes can learn to store magic,” Inoa said. Everyone turned to her. “We will have to work with them to see. They may never be able to store the same amount of magic a mage can, but I suspect with practice they could store a small amount. Jord will have to test this.”
“We have a few decisions to make on this project. Loma has found that magic flows a bit like water from one battery to the other. There is a distance limitation on this. Tonight, Clive is going to bury two clusters under the streets of Klee to connect to a cluster he’s installed under the warehouse. These will link the two Klee properties together once Loma activates them,” I said. Several looked at Clive’s dark clothing with understanding now.
“Loma wants to do the same across the Keep. Obviously, this provides some benefit for harvesting magic, but a problem in one location could drain the entire system. I’m not ready to commit to this for that reason,” I finished.
“I’m not sure how we are going to both use and protect this secret,” Inoa said. “But we must try. I’ll work with Loma to expand our magical harvest to include all who swear fealty to the Duke. I do not recommend we expand the use of the batteries until we have a comprehensive disinformation plan. Do not hint at this,” she looked around the room, “do not even think out loud about this until we discuss it further. In the hands of the dark sect, every mundane within their reach will be enslaved to harvest their magic. If they gain access to that much magic, they will defeat the world, and there will be nothing we can do about it. They are evil. They are ruthless.”
I felt a wave of horror wash over the group. I knew this had never crossed Alba’s mind. She had only considered how many lives could be saved with more flesh magic.
Inoa relented. “Much of the benefits can be cloaked using talismans, but this will require us to misdirect our own people. This will be the most difficult part of any disinformation plan. Our explanations must be rock solid, and unchanging. All of us trust our workmates. We have gone through a lot of effort to make sure they are trustworthy. But our opponents will stop at nothing to gain an advantage. Just as we stripped those we captured of information, they can do the same to us. Except our people are out in the open and not hiding in the shadows.”
“Just in case you are worried about whether someone will spot the crystal clusters,” Clive said, “Voila.” He encased the cluster in dark stone. “Loma has anti-tamper wards on these to alert us of any foreign interest.”
It was a silent, somber group that departed. No one needed a ride back to the Keep. Not ready to be alone we moved toward the hub of the Keep HQ, the dining hall. One of Clive’s team must have been busy because we now had a full-sized tavern area next to the hall. Virn must have been on this day’s transport because he was busy greeting people and providing refreshments. Argon got us glasses of graal. We sat at a small table and e
njoyed the happy sounds all around us.
These were my people. They had sworn an oath of fealty to me. I hoped they knew I had sworn to keep them safe as well. We waved to our well-wishers and headed to bed.
Most of my team were missing at breakfast. Argon visited Jamal first thing about guard recruits but was now cleansing with the acolytes. Cleon was picking up our new guard recruits from Jamal. Tobron was indoctrinating the new people Inoa hired yesterday. I suspected Inoa was closeted with Loma. Clive was likely still asleep. Who knew where Marfo was and Jord was still working at the Klee warehouse. Capt. Malek was at the docks supervising the offloading of still more ships and personnel. If the cleansing wrapped up today, the Malan would be bringing our younglings to the Keep tomorrow. Argon was optimistic, and so was I. I hoped Cleon’s top to bottom search of the Keep was nearly complete.
I was just swallowing the last of my chee when Gera appeared beside me, resplendent in his Duchy battle dress livery.
“Tobron has assigned me to you, sir.” He said, looking somewhat at attention.
“Tobron, why have you assigned Gera to me?” I sent.
“Because you need an apprentice,” Tobron said. “Gera has the makings of a battlemage, but he is undisciplined and untried. If I assigned him directly to Cleon, it would not go well. You have been with Gera in tight spaces, so you believe he has the balls for it. Gera just needs to learn he belongs there.”
“Is that how you greet a superior officer?” I barked. Gera looked shocked, but he immediately came to full attention. At least he picked up something from the Augun guard.
“Tobron believes you have the potential to be a leader in the Duchy Guard. Is that a goal of yours?” I asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“You are now my aide-de-camp,” I said.
“Excuse me sir, but what is that?”
“It means you are my shadow as well as my eyes and ears. You are at my beck-and-call at all hours of the night or day. In exchange, I will train you and help you achieve your goal. Can you live with that?”