by Zack Finley
I knew the guard was not looking forward to combat at sea. Not because they feared the pirates, more due to the ferocity of the fish. “I also think it is important to practice with the new communication capability. This will be very new to the guard. Sometimes too much chatter is worse than not being able to communicate in the first place. Get with the com hub and set up the communication channels you need. Don’t get too elaborate. First time out, think simple.”
Loma joined us and sat next to Cleon, getting his attention. They began talking quietly, I suspected about the sigils.
Argon was chatting with Tobron and Inoa about what we found at Surn. We agreed someone had to go back, but Tobron suggested we read the history book and gather some data from Zoas, Bara, or Rithra first.
“It felt like they just didn’t know there were mages like that had been wiped from their minds,” Argon said. “When mundanes are on the warpath against mages, mundanes are angry at mages, not ambivalent. I’d give a lot to see if there are mage lights or other appliances around.”
“We have at least two mystery kingdoms to ponder,” said Tobron. “I’ll let Marfo know about Rithra as a potential source for goods. We will put both Surn and Xter off limits until we learn more about them.”
Today ships containing our Losan recruits, herders and varied livestock, and the ship hired for boarding exercises were due. Offloading our Losan contingent took priority, in part because the crew on the rented ship would be heading to Klee for shore leave on that ship. We didn’t want to practice boarding until they left. We also planned an all-hands effort to bring our Losan recruits ashore. This was the bunch recruited by Argon with a little help from Shala. Similar to the Klee group, they were bringing a lot of household goods and gear with them.
Tobron assigned the appropriate leaders to orient those coming from Losan. Argon intended to be there to reassure the group they were in the right place. Inoa was screening everyone on the Losan ship before she allowed them off the ship. Although Argon prescreened them in Losan, Inoa’s efforts were an important cross-check.
I finished breakfast and called Gera. He left his meal and trotted to my side.
“I noticed you were late for conditioning this morning?” I asked.
“I’m still not adjusted to starting quite that early, your grace. I’ll do better in the future,” Gera said.
“Based on what I saw this morning, please plan to take part in the morning and afternoon conditioning sessions with the guard. We are planning to take on some pirates. Are you up for taking part?”
“Of course your grace, that is one reason I joined the Duchy. I want to make a difference,” Gera said.
“You will need a sigil so schedule a visit to Loma today. Have you capped in earth magic yet?”
“I haven’t capped yet, but I think I’m getting close. I’ll also visit Loma as ordered,” Gera said.
“Jord,” I sent.
“Yes, your grace,” Jord replied.
“See if our battery enhanced techniques work on Gera, I’d like him capped in earth magic before we hit the pirates,” I sent.
“Send him to me, I’ll work with Clive to push him to the limit,” sent Jord.
Gera waited since I hadn’t dismissed him.
“Finish your breakfast, visit Loma, and then report to Jord to test out our new intensive magic training technique. We’ll see if you are really close to your cap,” I said, waving to him in dismissal. “Eat heartily, I think you’ll need the energy.”
I kissed Argon, then took my dishes to the cleaning station. I hadn’t spotted either Klid nor blacksmith Flmo at breakfast and wondered what they had gotten up to. I took off at a jog to their workshop.
When I got to the workshop Flmo, Klid, and a mage I hadn’t met were hard at work. On what I couldn’t tell, but they were so focused they didn’t notice I’d jogged into their workspace. I watched them for several minutes and saw the mage was conjuring parts for a valve. Something I’d done a few times before. This must be Clive’s mage who excelled at such work.
“Did you skip breakfast?” I asked, causing all three to turn in my direction.
Flmo was the first to recover. “Your grace, we didn’t see you come in.”
“Well, did you skip breakfast?” I repeated.
“Oh no, your grace, we had a tray brought so we could start work right away,” Flmo stammered.
From the puzzled look on Klid’s face, I doubted he even remembered who I was. I nodded at the mage who looked worried. “I’m Steve, I don’t think we have met.”
Flmo elbowed him, breaking the tension.
“I’m Forst,” he said. “One of Clive’s apprentices.”
“I’m very happy to see you here,” I said. “When Clive told me you had a talent for making valves, I wanted to see what you and this crew could do together.”
“I’m not sure why I’m here. Clive told me to make five valves per day and work with these guys. I’m not sure what that meant, exactly,” Forst said.
“Then it is fortunate I came by today,” I said. “I need you to find ways magic can help the blacksmiths. They are backlogged with repetitive tasks making hinges and other parts which you can conjure easily. Clive may even have a way to automate it. I also suspect the blacksmiths can assemble things like valves a lot easier than you and I can. I can conjure the parts quickly but putting them together takes some time. I also think the blacksmiths can design better parts for us to conjure. I know when I make a valve, part of what takes all the time is banishing metal then reconjuring it to make it all fit together.”
“You make valves?” Forst asked.
“I’m the one who showed Clive how to make them,” I answered.
That I was the duke hadn’t impressed him, that I made valves sure did.
I spent nearly an hour describing how I envisioned the three of them working together for the good of the Duchy. Klid got out the primitive farseer he’d cobbled together to show me. It was better than the naked eye, but I challenged them to fabricate a better one.
I decided they needed an immediate project which would really help our Duchy. We needed a grist mill. Even a barnta powered one. I put Flmo in charge of building it.
“Marfo,” I sent.
It took a few moments, but she responded, “Yes, Steve?”
“I have assigned a three-man team to build you a grist mill. They need to visit one. Can you arrange that?”
“Yes, but who have you assigned?” Marfo asked.
“Flmo, Klid, and Forst. I’ll send them to get a sigil, and they will contact you for a location.”
“Will do,” Marfo sent.
I told them to coordinate with the com hub to get their sigil from Loma and then visit the grist mill. I told them to coordinate with Ellte for what they needed to build the mill. I alerted Clive they would need some supervision, and he promised to monitor them.
I hadn’t given up on a steam or wind-powered mill, I was just being practical. Besides, we needed barnta poop for the plants.
Cleon and Clive were laying out the new exterior wall around our farmers this morning. I wanted to check on that effort before it got too far along. I wasn’t sure I wanted to run into Maude but decided that was just cowardice. I jogged across the Keep to the farming area.
Whatever disharmony had plagued her new home must have dissipated because Maude had her entourage back. Perga must have been greeting our new group of farmers arriving from Losan because he wasn’t among them. Nimba, his lieutenant, was coordinating with Maude.
My hope to just slide by on the way to see the planned wall was dashed when Maude made a beeline toward me.
“I wondered where you got off to,” Maude said. “You must fix the ward. It is too disruptive. I will not stand for it.”
Unfortunately, I knew what she was referring to. I also hoped we had an answer to the problem.
“Loma, I need help,” I sent.
“Is it an emergency?” Loma replied.
“Not really, just p
lease tell me that mundanes with the sigil can pass through the ward without a mage escort.”
“Probably,” Loma replied. “I hadn’t considered this, but no reason they shouldn’t be able to. Wait for a few, I’ll have Erik test it.”
I knew Erik was at the dock with a squad of the Duchy Guard. If it worked, I should know quickly.
“Loma is checking on whether our new sigils fix that,” I answered Maude. “It looks like the plant dominance battles have resolved themselves?”
“Oh yes, everyone is now playing well together, only a few of my bad boys are still going at it. I’ve isolated them so they can work it out without bothering my farmers,” Maude said. “What about my requirement?”
I was trying to come up with another distraction when Loma checked in. “Good call, Steve,” Loma sent. “Erik says he can pass through, he just can’t bring in someone else.”
“Great, let folks know,” I sent.
“Maude, all your people need to get their new sigils. With those sigils they will be able to pass back and forth through the ward without help,” I said.
“Well, why didn’t you say so,” Maude said. She turned to Nimba and told her to take care of it. Maude turned around and dismissed me.
I escaped before she found something else to complain about. I was pleased to see the stout iron doors in the doorways through the main wall. Getting those in place had been Cleon’s biggest security concern.
Outside the wall, one of the farmers directed me to where Clive’s earth mages were working. I hadn’t realized how much area Clive planned to enclose. The builders had a wall more than twice my height and about one and a half arm lengths thick. It would keep out casual visitors but wouldn’t stop a serious assault. When I got closer, I noticed the exterior trench that was nearly as deep and wide as the wall was high. It reminded me that banishing earth was a lot less magic intensive than conjuring stone. That way we got nearly twice the benefit, as long as no opponent got in the trench and tunneled in. I imagined a lava bath would discourage such antisocial behavior.
Clive’s senior apprentice was in charge of the work crew. I asked if he had an area I could help with. He showed me the markers for the wall and suggested I begin building a short jog away.
Remembering my first experience with building, I banished enough dirt to give me a good base to build on. I didn’t want this one to fall over. I then spent an hour conjuring iron and stone. I didn’t stop until I got to the end marker. Channeling that much magic was tiring, but it was also rewarding. I could see why Clive and Tobron liked building. The other magics were ephemeral. With earth magic, you had something substantial to show for an hour of work.
I jogged back to let the lead apprentice know I was done for the day. I was surprised to find how little progress they had made on their section of the wall. I became concerned I’d built a substandard wall.
“Clive, can you check my section of the wall. I’m concerned it may be built wrong,” I sent.
“Be right there, my boy,” Clive replied.
While I waited, I watched the apprentices. One worked on the wall a few minutes, then he sat down. The next got up and worked a few minutes, then he sat down. I began to understand why they were so slow.
When Clive showed up, we walked along the stretch of wall I built to check it. Clive was very complimentary over its quality. He also didn’t think it odd that I built nearly the whole southern wall by myself in the time it took for his apprentices to build a few feet. I decided not to make a big deal out of it, at least until I spoke with Argon and Tobron, who were both much to busy to chat. They were both up to their chins in new arrivals.
I thanked Clive for checking my work and jogged back to the Keep HQ. I wanted to read “A Complete History of Surn” to see if it had any hint about what was wrong there.
Our suite still looked barren. We hadn’t brought much from Klee HQ due to lack of time. Argon and I hadn’t discussed having three residences, but now Allo was here I suspected we should bring the rest of our stuff.
I made chee and pulled several cookies out of my pouch before sitting down to read the history book. Whoever wrote it didn’t care whether anyone read it or not. Talk about dry. The book seemed old. Maybe even ancient. It detailed an endless succession of kings, but I couldn’t find a single reference to mages or magic.
Perhaps no mages had ever settled in Surn. That wouldn’t explain the uneasy feeling we got in the marketplace. The only place we sensed any magic was in the temple. I was left to consider three main scenarios, all mages had been wiped out in Surn, mages were actually running Surn as their private fiefdom, or mages were in hiding for some other reason. I just hoped whatever was wrong in Surn, stayed in Surn.
The lunchtime gong sounded just as I began writing the Surn summary. I wrapped it up and posted it on the partners-only channel before I headed for the food court. I knew Argon, and the rest were already there, along with our new recruits from Losan. It promised to be a busy lunch.
It wasn’t as bad as I feared. While the line was long, it moved quickly. Seating was tight, but Clive and Virn had expanded the tavern area substantially to double as mealtime overflow seating. Argon saved me a seat.
Dors looked stressed, but she had several helpers. After a week in transit, the Losan arrivals were eager to get settled and showered. They wanted to eat quickly and get moving. Those with younglings were particularly stressed, in part because the younglings were having a fine time.
None of the new people had a mind shield, and there were a lot of unhappy people in the food court. It had been a hard journey for most due to seasickness and crowded conditions on the ship.
“They will be fine, after some food, a little sleep on a bed that isn’t moving, and a shower. That’s all they need,” said Argon patting my hand. “Give them a chance to unwind and get to work.”
Seasickness was an issue we hadn’t had before. I hoped the newcomers thought the new opportunities were worth it.
“Our jarma herder is happy to be here,” Argon said, changing the subject. Of course, his was an easy trip from Klee. “Maude was very happy to see his jarma. Perga is getting the family settled in. I think each of his jarma received personal instructions from Maude because I have never seen jarma so well behaved.
“Maude doesn’t want them in the fields planted for jarma pasture for another day or two,” I said. “I suspect she won’t be satisfied with just this group. She has Ellte working on getting some manure here.”
“I’m a little surprised Maude doesn’t have one of her farmers following behind each of the barntas to pick up any deposits.”
While that was funny to consider, I wouldn’t put it past Maude. “Can the fields handle dead fish?” I asked. “Or are they too poisonous?”
“I don’t know, we certainly have a lot of them. I know Cleon is very concerned someone will fall off the dock and be eaten before they can be rescued,” Argon said. “I don’t know anyone who has tried to catch them. We can stun a few and see what happens. As long as we don’t deplete the local fishery, it shouldn’t cause any long-term harm.”
Other than feeding glappner carcasses to the fish I hadn’t done much with them either. I suspected in a similar situation on Earth, depleting the local fishery would have already happened.
Another Jaloan difference.
Cleon and the guard began their ship boat training the moment the two ships finished offloading and left for Klee. Argon and I wanted to take part in the training since we intended to be on the upcoming mission.
“Are you going to tell me what you noticed during this morning’s run through the obstacle course,” I said.
“You run and jump funny,” Argon said. “You could be a lot faster and jump a lot higher if you weren’t so stiff.”
That observation surprised me. “Any ideas on how I can get better?”
“I think you are fighting against your body, somehow. Jaloans are very flexible. I’m not sure how to act looser, but that is what you n
eed,” Argon said. She shared a mental clip of Erik running and then of me running. I could see what she meant.
I didn’t know how to fix it, but I could see the difference. Being aware of something was the first step to change.
“Let’s go practice boarding ships,” Argon challenged, jumping up to put her dishes away.
I was right behind her. This time during the run to the wharf, Argon paced me, making suggestions along the way. Basically, she wanted me to learn how to run differently. I was surprised I didn’t trip over my own feet.
The Duchy Guard had two ship’s boats trying to row toward the practice ships. They needed help.
I might not know how to run, but I had small-boat handling down. I had Cleon clear me a teleport landing and joined his boat. A Jaloan ship’s boat was similar to a longboat. It had a high prow and oars which fit into cleats. The stern was fitted with a cleat and its oar served as a rudder.
I took charge of the rudder and had everyone hoist their oars.
“Everyone needs to pull together on the oars or the ocean will beat you. It is very calm inside this harbor, imagine the waves on the open seas. Everyone, turn around and sit facing the stern of the boat.” When it became clear some didn’t know where the stern was, I added, “The stern is where I’m standing. Everyone should sit three across. Everyone but the people in the middle should have an oar. Keep them up in the air for now. When I say “pull” drop your oars in the water and pull the oar towards you. Then lift the oar out of the water and move it forward. When I repeat “pull” dip your oar back in the water and pull steadily toward you. Then repeat and repeat. All ready?” I waited as several guards shifted spots. “For now, you middle guards should help me with the cadence. Once we have the rhythm, we’ll do that for a while to make sure you have the hang of it.”
“Pull, one, two, three, Pull,” I repeated the cadence over and over. At first, the group was ragged, but in a short while, we were finally making good speed. Not Olympic level but good progress.
I steered us alongside the other boat and Cleon climbed into it. They had been watching our progress and were beginning to straighten out their own boat.