Duchy Unleashed

by Zack Finley

  The dining room crew had decorated the area with bright colors and had plenty of the younglings’ favorite foods. None of the other workers seemed to mind the different fare. I suspected if someone had grumbled, their fellows would have thumped him.

  I noticed the food was blander than normal, but it was plentiful. I was hungry.

  I was pleased we had a full slate of partners at tonight’s meal. Tobron asked a young mage to join us at the table. The young man looked a lot like Tobron.

  “This is Jern, my grandson,” Tobron announced. When he noticed Inoa was about to say something, he relented. “He is Cleon’s and Alba’s oldest son.”

  “He is the latest Duchy recruit. Much to Jord’s happiness, he will take over managing the HQ and warehouse. His mate Allie has taken the oath of fealty but will continue working elsewhere. They are still deciding where to live and issues of childcare.”

  I was surprised to realize Jern was older than I was.

  Jord stood up and said, “Thank you, nephew. Thank you, thank you.” I knew Jord really felt behind in creating training regimens for our disparate groups.

  Jern excused himself and returned to his table.

  Tobron went around the table to let everyone share what was going on. Capt. Malek wanted to take the Malan to fetch a load of metal and ore from Losan. This meant the Malan wouldn’t be available as a refuge and was a change. No one objected. We could tell he was pleased to be heading back out to sea.

  Marfo had Ellte come to the table to brief us on the food supply. I’d heard much of it earlier, but she brought up a new twist on the barges. She proposed adding large refrigeration units to barges transporting fresh produce, meat, and other perishables to us from her farm network. She also thought having a small, fast ship with refrigeration assigned just to transport perishables to the Keep would be a good idea. Capt. Malek wondered whether we should use portable refrigeration units which could be loaded once and have the entire unit placed aboard the ship. Loma gave Ellte the name of one of her team and Malek promised to set up a trial run before he left. Ellte said we should expect grain, fruit, and nut shortages due to the disruption in supplies from Kavil and Ylee. She felt the Keep farms and orchards would have to make up for that loss.

  Ellte was expanding her meat purchases in rural areas of Klee but was concerned about sources of protein due to the disruption in Augun. Although leather wasn’t her main focus, jarma meat was the main byproduct of Augun’s leather production. Frozen jarma meat was normally a major import to Klee from Augun. That source of meat had dried up and showed no sign of returning. Ellte observed the Keep did not have any current herd or other facilities to overcome this shortage.

  We all thanked Ellte. She smiled and ‘ported away.

  “I have another partner-only issue,” I sent. “I believe we must keep all contacts with the east coast as partner confidential. Argon and I visited Zoas and Bara. We brought back some seeds and seedlings from Zoas. We didn’t say where we got them, but we should have been more circumspect. Both Zoas and Bara are vibrant cities, without any hint of the dark sect. We will visit the other countries, but I don’t want to be the reason the dark sect discovers them.”

  “I agree with Steve,” Argon sent. “They are a happy people. Busy and industrious. Their populations are at least double our own. Zoas has several cities the size of Klee City. While we may not be the only ones with ‘port locations in the east, whoever else has them has guarded that information.”

  “Ellte knows we are looking for seedlings and seeds,” Marfo sent. “I’ll let her know we have a secret source. She’ll just put that into her calculations. Some may think the source is in Ylee or Kavil, we just won’t correct them.”

  I told the team what I was thinking for our next trips to the east coast. No one had any better suggestions.

  The discussion about opening bank accounts on the east coast raised concerns about our cash supply locally.

  Tobron took the lead on this. “We have sufficient resources for many years as long as we do not crater the markets in gems, precious metals, or high-value luxury items. So far, we are continuing to get top price for our offerings, I’ve been careful to sell them discretely. Never too much at one time. We need to continue driving hard bargains to make sure we get value for our assets, but our current reserves will purchase a lot of food and services.”

  Loma had an update on the networked batteries. “Clive installed the two batteries under the roads in Klee so quickly he didn’t even have to slow down the cart. No one suspected and we couldn’t find the sites during our daytime search.” Clive looked quite pleased with himself despite Loma’s frown.

  “As predicted, the magic levels equalized when we linked them,” Loma said.

  “Was there any magic crossover?” Marfo asked.

  “No, each magic remained in its own channel,” said Loma.

  “You can still fully charge someone’s magic using the battery?” I asked.

  “Oh yes, it just takes someone establishing a spell to do that. We can also charge the new barge refrigerators from the warehouse if we want. It would be similar to the spells we use to top off the appliances,” Loma answered.

  By now everyone had finished eating, and we were ready to disperse.

  I caught Jord, and we arranged to talk about training after breakfast. Tobron offered to join us, and I suggested the more, the merrier.

  Argon reminded me we needed to leave at 1 a.m. to get to the Bara market to purchase seeds and seedlings.

  Despite her warning, we got dragged into the tavern for several graals in a group bonding exercise. At least so I claimed to Argon. I thought it was suspicious when I noticed she, Inoa, Alba, Loma, and Marfo were huddled together having what seemed a very serious discussion.

  Argon wasn’t blocking me, but she wasn’t inviting me to snoop either. I suspected I’d find out later what that was all about, or not. It certainly wasn’t worth intruding. I might not be up on all the mindreading protocols, but even I could figure that out.

  By the time we got to bed we only had a few hours to sleep before we had to get up. Argon reminded me we would still have time for a nap before the Keep’s day began in earnest.

  We put on our non-descript outfits provided by Cleon, had all of our combat spells armed and ‘ported to the Bara market. Dawn was just lighting the city. The marketplace was already buzzing. We both got cups of chee to go and scoured the farming side of the market. As always, I let Argon do the honors. We visited the four different farm-related stalls before making any purchases. Herb and grain seeds were the top priorities on Ellte’s list. Several of the vendors had a variety of both. We were both loaded down by the time Argon was done. We ‘ported to the Keep’s main entrance, surprising the Duchy guard. We placed the barrels of seed in the empty carriage and told him to send them to Perga after dawn.

  We ‘ported to Zoas and went through the same process. The stall owner who had sold us the seedlings and a variety of seeds greeted Argon as if she was a long-lost friend. Argon told him she was interested in an orchard-lot of seedlings of a nut I wasn’t familiar with. After much back and forth they agreed on a price. The only twist was we had to pick them up directly from the docks when they arrived. Argon consulted with Ellte and Ellte agreed that we needed them.

  Argon thought Ellte might have expressed some positive emotions. But she wasn’t sure.

  Argon clinched the deal and gave them a metal bar as a down payment. We bought seed and some unusual farming implements from the remaining three vendors. We concluded our shopping trip and ported back to the Keep.

  It was only 3 a.m., and I was definitely ready to go back to sleep. I was surprised when Allo joined us for the first time in nearly a week.

  Funny how much I’d missed Allo’s presence.

  Though, I’d never let Allo know.

  ◆◆◆

  Chapter 10

  Waking up was easier than I expected. I was wearing an Argon blanket. I was slow switching from dr
eam to reality even though the reality was so much better than my dream. In fact, within seconds I had no memory of the dream.

  Argon was on top of me, kissing along my jaw and nuzzling my neck. She had me pinned, and I loved it. My arms went around her, and I squeezed her tighter to me, one hand straying to massage her pert buns.

  I claimed her mouth with my own. Her lips were wet and eager. Her mouth was scalding as it engulfed me.

  I was ready to roll her over when it became clear she wanted something else, and I became her puppet. She pushed me back on the bed. I nearly whimpered when she withdrew her lips from mine. But I knew she was as hot as I was.

  When she engulfed my left breast with her scalding mouth, I couldn’t stop arching into it while pulling her torso into contact with Happy and the Boys.

  Argon shifted to completely own my mouth, driving her tongue into me in a primordial rhythm. She broke away for a brief moment to sheathe Happy to the hilt in a single move that had me on the edge of control. She returned her mouth to mine and matched the thrusts of her tongue with her assault on my being.

  I don’t know how she managed it, using force magic or extreme muscle control but she fucked me hard and long in a way I had never imagined. I was not in charge. She was. It felt amazing. When she determined we were ready, she drove us over the edge as one. I couldn’t tell where my climax stopped and hers began. And I didn’t care. It felt awesome.

  Spent and quivering we slid back into a deep sleep.

  The com hub contacted me too early. Maude was demanding to see me. I checked my time sense, and breakfast was still being served. Argon was still sound asleep, so I reluctantly left her and Allo in bed. I took a quick shower, hoping Argon would join me, but no such luck.

  I ‘ported directly to the farm area to meet with Maude. Perga spotted me right away and raced to greet me. A definite sign that Maude was not pleased.

  “Her grace is demanding a house,” Perga said, not pausing for any politeness.

  I couldn’t miss Maude, she was standing in an area within the Keep walls at the cross-section of a newly planted orchard and some other crops.

  “Young man, you will build my house right here,” Maude announced with emphasis.

  “Inoa, Maude is insisting we build her a house,” I sent to Inoa.

  “That is great news, build her a house,” Inoa said as if that ended the issue.

  “Clive, we need to build Maude a house,” I sent.

  “Why can’t she live in the Keep HQ with everyone else?” Clive responded reasonably.

  “I don’t know, but Maude and Inoa both insist on it.”

  “I’ll come to handle it myself if I send one of my apprentices we may end up with another palace,” Clive grumbled. “Tell her I’ll be there within the hour. You know we’ll be building farmer housing over there next.”

  “Thank you very much,” I sent, hoping my appreciation came through. I feared he was correct about the farmers. At least we needed to resist putting any housing outside the Keep walls.

  I conveyed Clive’s message to Maude, which neither calmed nor agitated her further. I took that as progress.

  I was turning to leave when she asked, “Did you bring the new seeds and seedlings?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “They are good quality and were well treated. You may buy more from those sources,” with that I was dismissed. Just in time for the last call at breakfast.

  Jord arrived just as I finished eating, I’d nearly forgotten we were planning to meet. Tobron had contacted Jord and arranged a late meeting, knowing I’d been out most of the night.

  Tobron breezed into the nearly empty dining room to join us.

  “I hear Maude is being a pain,” he announced, sliding into the seat beside me.

  “Inoa seemed to think it was a good thing,” I answered a little defensively.

  “Perhaps it is. Her farmers are definitely mesmerized by her. I just hope she doesn’t get a burr up her butt and leave them.”

  “She seems to be doing a great job,” I offered.

  “Oh, she knows plants and animals, no question. People are her biggest problem,” Tobron winced.

  “Any hint that her priorities aren’t being accommodated and it will become a huge crisis. If that happens, call Inoa immediately. She is the only one I know who can calm her sister down.” Tobron seemed to be remembering past crises. “I guess it is a positive sign that she wants to make her residence here. I never expected her to leave that mausoleum she calls home. She has made it a shrine to her mate. If she spends a lot of time here, I suspect she will want to bring more and more of her plants from home. Be prepared, she has a lot of plants.”

  I noted Jord was waiting patiently and I nodded for him to start.

  “My biggest immediate concern is our young mages. Most of them have not capped in all their magics,” Jord said. “They aren’t even using the most efficient spells even for the magic they have. We have an unprecedented level of spell sharing within the Duchy, and I’m just not sure how to maximize the benefit.”

  I suggested appointing a master for each of the magics. Some were easy to choose and some required compromise with their other duties. We ended up suggesting Clive for earth, Marfo for mind, Argon for air and water, Alba for flesh, Cleon for force and Loma for fire. Jord was to visit each one and determine whether they could commit the time.

  Jord felt at least initially that each master should hold a mass class weekly, assigning a week’s worth of homework for the group. This would allow the young mages to practice together on their off hours. This would allow the classes to be spread through the week. Those capped in the magic would be evaluated by the master. Remedial lessons would be suggested if warranted.

  Jord had already evaluated our young mages and felt he could implement this plan as soon as he met with the masters. I suggested some of the practice might involve spot assignments to the com hub for mind magic, Clive’s building crew for earth magic, transport duty for force magic, appliance duty, etc. Tobron really thought that was a good idea and Jord took it as his assignment to make it happen.

  I asked Jord to establish self-defense classes and offer them to all of our residents. I also wanted members of the militia to spend at least an hour each day improving their military skills. I suggested Jord meet with Cleon to establish what that meant.

  Jord was to determine the educational needs of our younglings and bring back a proposal to address them. We also needed to know what occupational areas needed bolstering. I suspected that Maude had the farming and forestry needs covered, but there were likely other areas that needed some help.

  Jord left with a long list of things to do, but he seemed happier than when he’d been handling logistics at the Klee warehouse.

  I asked Tobron to stay behind to discuss Duchy business, in particular, money. While everyone seemed happy now, I was worried they would soon be wanting more than food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Tobron, Inoa, and Argon had each told me I was worrying about something that wasn’t relevant.

  Tobron thought we likely had several generations before needing to address this. We had eliminated the greedy and criminally minded from the beginning. Those willing to swear fealty were committed to the common good. As long as the Duchy leadership reflected that same fealty towards everyone in the Duchy, we were good. Tobron reminded me the Duchy already had the highest standard of living in the region. He expected as word got around we’d see another surge in applicants.

  I guess this was another key difference in the Jaloan psyche. We were living in a commune.

  Argon must have been monitoring the conversation because at this point she weighed in, “Duchy members donate any wages they receive from outside sources to the Duchy coffers.”

  Who knew.

  “Clearly everyone but you,” was the rejoinder from my mate.

  “Ready to go to another city?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “Meet you in our rooms. I think I can wear the
outfit Cleon supplied once more before laundering it.”

  Off to Xter. This ‘port location was not in a temple. As best I could tell with my mind-reading app, no one spotted us arriving in the quiet back alley. The vibe in Xter was unsettling. Nothing overt, it just struck me as off, very different from the happy, working feelings from Bara and Zoas. They had a market. We hiked the distance to it, trying to identify why the people seemed so edgy. One thing was different here than in other cities, there was a huge temple or cathedral not far from the market. This was the first large building dedicated to any religion I’d seen in Jaloa. In contrast, most other temples were small, modest buildings.

  It finally dawned on me that everyone on the streets and at the market was male. Argon likely figured that out a few moments before I did because she had pulled her cloak more closely around her. We slipped into a quiet area and ‘ported out.

  Argon tried to locate some mages but hadn’t spotted any with our app. Perhaps something to discern in our next visits to Bara and Zoas. I wanted to know a whole lot more about Xter before risking another trip there.

  We reported our findings to our partners, but they had no insight for us. The lack of mages particularly worried Inoa. She warned us that some kingdoms periodically purged their mages by any number of gruesome methods.

  Marfo offered to pick up the seedlings from Zoas. She thought Jord needed the exercise. Argon gave her the details and handed the task off.

  Marfo intended to research the Zoas and Bara markets to determine whether they could supply any other hard-to-get items. She and Tobron agreed to handle opening guild banking accounts there for future purchases.

  Argon and I got the message. We explore and then if it looked safe, we handed it off.

  That left us choosing between Rithra and Surn. Rithra was north of Bara and Surn was south of Xter. Easy choice, Rithra it was.

  We ‘ported into a temple. This was a good sign, only Augun and Xter put us on the streets. This temple had welcoming wards. As best Argon could tell its god welcomed anyone to take refuge in its temples. Our mind-reading apps found many people, of both sexes, on the streets going about their lives. A pleasant, normal vibe after Xter.