Duchy Unleashed

by Zack Finley

  “If the com hub gives the evacuation warning, I want everyone to shelter in the port complex,” Tobron said. “It is the most defensible space we have. Only two entrances and no windows.”

  “Any other pressing business?” asked Tobron. Seeing none, he said, “Good hunting.”

  “Hear, Hear,” echoed through the room.

  ◆◆◆

  Chapter 14

  Argon had been up for a while when I woke up. Allo was visiting for the first time in days.

  I took a quick shower and dressed for battle. Argon had a pack ready for us containing our sleeping pads and several sets of under armor. I tossed in several energy bars and a towel.

  Breakfast was early and quick. Those going on the expedition were radiating with anticipation. The Duchy Guard staying behind were not a happy bunch. I knew what that felt like.

  Most everyone else was just going about their day. I was happy to see members of the guard getting well wishes from their fellow citizens. I suspected the Malan’s crew had been up for hours prepping the ship to leave.

  We petted Allo as we left and she trotted off. There were no morning exercises so Argon, and I ran to the docks to board. The Malan’s crew had already secured the four longboats. We boarded on a gangplank amidships. The first mate greeted us and sent a sailor to show us our berth. We were staying in the first mate’s cabin. Two hammocks were rigged up.

  I hadn’t expected anyone to give up their berth for us. I’d been prepared to sleep on deck. Before I could get a head of steam up to object, Argon told me to chill out and accept the honor graciously. She effectively derailed my irritation. We dumped our gear and headed back on deck.

  Everyone was in Duchy battle livery. It was easy to tell the sailors from the guard. Everyone had a stun gun on his right arm. The sailors had no other weapons. The guard wore studded leather armor and carried sheathed swords or kukri.

  Once the Duchy Guard loaded up, the ship left without fanfare. About half of the guard were taken below decks to show them their new bunks. The rest would sleep on the deck. The 16 Duchy Guard we had with us represented half of our forces.

  Our entire fighting force could fit in two longboats. Capt. Malek had offered eight sailors swelling our ranks to 24 along with four mages. I could only hope it would be enough.

  Argon was in her element. She loved scrambling up to the crow’s nest. A sailor with one of Klid’s farseers was up there scanning the horizon for ships. Argon was calibrating her mind-reading app. We didn’t expect to spot any pirates until we passed the River Augun to our north.

  That did not mean Capt. Malek took any chances. He had a full watch set and even recruited some Duchy Guards to keep a lookout.

  Capt. Malek consulted with Cleon and I. He planned to stay in the sea lane unless we spotted something. He proposed checking out any ships we spotted along the way. None of us wanted to leave a pirate between us and home.

  We sent Gera and half the guard to sleep below decks so they would be fresh for the evening shift.

  “You need to talk with King Ruton,” Cleon said, sitting beside me on the deck. “You can’t continue to ignore being his heir.”

  “I just hate politics,” I said. “And, I have more than I can handle getting the Duchy moving forward.”

  “He is a good man and a good king,” Cleon said. “I shudder to think how close Klee came to suffering the chaos we saw in Augun. And, that was just a taste of the future. Men of goodwill need to pull together.”

  “We will build the largest lifeboat we can,” I said. “A lot depends on how long we have.”

  Cleon was a father, grandfather, and brother. I could barely imagine how he must feel with only some of his immediate family agreeing to join our enterprise.

  A few minutes later Argon climbed down from the crow’s nest to join us.

  “I’ve spoken with Cleon and Capt. Malek and there is no reason for us to stay on the ship. Gera and Capt. Malek will keep watch and alert us the moment they spot any vessel. No one expects to encounter a pirate until after we get to Augun, but even if they do spot one, we can be here long before combat commences,” Argon said. “We have other duties at the Keep that will be a better use of our time.”

  By then Capt. Malek joined us on deck to reinforce the plan. “Even the small amount of mind magic I have can handle the mind-reading app Argon shared with me. If I need more expertise, I’ll call. If you think Gera can handle it when I am sleeping?” asked Malek.

  “Gera should be fine,” I answered, “We’ve been practicing it. Have him call me when he wakes up. Argon and I will return tonight to sleep on board ship. We can back him up if needed.”

  “I’ve talked with my dad,” said Cleon. “He really needs our help with recruit interviews. He has something special cooked up for you two. For me, Commander Jamal has a large group of volunteers that just showed up to join the guard. I’ll take Erik with me, that will leave corporal Jenks in charge of the troop until we return.”

  Argon and I ‘ported to the Klee HQ where Tobron and Inoa were conducting interviews. Cleon grabbed Erik and they ‘ported out to check on their new recruits.

  Tobron was happy to see us. He immediately sent Argon off to contact the orphanages. He gave me a stack of applications and sent me to an empty conference room to interview candidates. Braka, one of our original recruits was assigned as my helper.

  “Braka, how has the Duchy been treating you?” I asked her.

  “Sir, it has been really exciting. The Keep is really great. I can’t believe how many people we have. This new mind speak has made a big difference for all of us mundanes. Thank you so much for hiring me at the beginning. I’m encouraging everyone I know to join us. I can’t tell them most of the reasons why it is so wonderful but they know I’m very happy.”

  “Any of your friends or family on my list for today?” I asked.

  “No, Tobron has my twin on his list, but the rest applied later, so they aren’t on this call-up list.”

  “Well, I guess we’d better get to this, escort them in one at a time. It will help me if you mind speak their names and anything you’ve learned about them to me before you escort them in. That will give me a chance to review their applications,” I sent.

  I had a mixed bag of 20 recruits with about one-third being mages. All the applicants were young. Our building wards did their job, two of the applicants ran out of the building long before the interview. I crossed them off the list with prejudice. I offered the 18 remaining candidates a job and told them to return to the Klee warehouse in three days, ready for transport to the Keep.

  Braka brought me a lunch plate and large carafe of chee. Other than that quick break we kept working through our backlog of applications. Some people didn’t show, and they were axed. Some showed up but left before they were called into the interview. I nixed a few who had problems telling the truth and a few others with theft or bullying issues. By the time we were done for the day I’d recruited 58 people for the Duchy. I was also exhausted. I felt each one was a positive addition, but the process was time-consuming.

  “We have a hundred coming tomorrow for you to screen,” Tobron sent when I told him I was finally done.

  “Okay, I’ll just have to speed things up,” I sent.

  I spoke with Braka about changing the procedure for the next day. I’d prescreen the questionable ones and send them on their way early. Any mages I couldn’t read would be sent to Inoa right away. Then Braka and I would split up whoever was left. Since the interview was mainly to answer our recruit’s questions, Braka could mind speak me anything she couldn’t answer.

  With the new plan in place, I ported to the Keep for dinner. I knew Argon was already there spending time with Allo. “Meet for dinner?” I sent. I could sense a strong level of anguish in my mate. I checked with her earlier in the day when I felt the first wave of distress. She damped it down quickly, assuring me all was well. I felt she would be angry if I persisted, so I dropped it. Now I was regretting letting
her talk me out of joining her.

  “I’ll save you a seat,” Argon replied.

  I rushed back to join her, but she was in no mood to share the day’s experiences, yet.

  I was one of the last in line for a meal. Most of the directors had already left. Loma and Jorvik were deep in conversation. From Tobron I learned Cleon had come and gone. Commander Jamal had assembled more than 20 new recruits for the Duchy Guard. While Jamal had started conditioning them, they hadn’t started their combat training. Cleon spent much of the day getting them to the keep and sworn in. Just getting them situated was a full day’s job.

  I learned that Erik promoted one of his rising stars to corporal in charge of the training cadre. I hoped that meant he was anticipating a lot more recruits.

  After I finished eating, I joined Jorvik and Loma. I was really glad to see they were meshing.

  “Jorvik, how are you settling in?” I asked.

  “My forges are set up, and tomorrow we’ll bring the rest of our people. Your builders really impressed my apprentices. They have never seen such a well-engineered setup,” Jorvik said.

  “Glad to hear it,” I said. “What do you think of our batteries?”

  “They are inspired,” Jorvik said. “I wasn’t aware earth mages could create crystals. And your harvesting apps are mind-boggling. Any of us could have done that, but we were too selfish. I’ve heard of masters abusing their apprentices by demanding magical tithes. When Loma first told me about the concept, I was outraged. But now I can’t believe no one else is doing this. Most mages have the parts, just no one I know has put them together. Armorers, in particular, should have begun doing this for generations. We charge so much of our armor we certainly have the spells to do it. Everyone is so busy hoarding their own magic, no one is thinking about benefiting the group.”

  “I haven’t shared the part about mundanes generating magic,” Loma sent me privately.

  “Probably best for now,” I concurred.

  “Has Loma filled you in on our stun guns and offensive wands?” I asked.

  “How did you make so many stun guns at once?” Jorvik asked. “We could make at most two or three per day.”

  I turned to Loma, “You need to introduce him to Forst, Flmo, and Klid.”

  “They are on tomorrow’s agenda,” Loma said. “Today they are cranking out more stun guns and parts for the grist mill.”

  “Once you meet with the tinker trio, any suggestions you can make to improve the stun guns would be appreciated,” I said. “I’m sure Cleon will be coming to you to arm his 20 new recruits. I’ll be particularly interested if you can improve their armor using force magic. I’d also like them to have a wand to kill our enemies at a distance using rock and fire magic. I see the stun guns as an intermediate distance weapon. I’d like to boost their close-in weapons with force, fire, or earth magic. We have as many crystals as you need to make this possible.”

  “You want your Duchy Guard mundanes to be armed to go toe-to-toe with mages?” Jorvik asked.

  “Yes, and to kill most enemies before they get close enough to hurt my guys. I suspect our forces will be outnumbered at the start of most battles. Reinforcements will ‘port in quickly, but they need to hold off their foes until help arrives,” I answered. “We also need explosive arrows and crossbow bolts.”

  “That last one will probably take some work. I have some possible combinations, but nothing really reliable, yet,” I said.

  “I recall something about explosions in one of my old books, I’ll have to read up on that,” said Jorvik. “I knew this would be a new experience, I just didn’t realize how exciting it would be. I suspect if any Losan armorers see the Duchy Guard in battle, we will be flooded with applications to join the Duchy. As it was Orik wanted to come with me but he is just too involved in running Losan for King Arvich, he just couldn’t. He sent several of his apprentices to me, and I was happy to take them in.”

  “I’ll ask Argon to drop off the rest of the oso armor for you to check out. So far only Argon, Cleon, and I are wearing them. Tobron feels his fighting days are too far gone to claim one. I’ve been working on Inoa, but so far she hasn’t wanted to claim a set,” I said.

  “I would be honored to care for such armor,” Jorvik said. “I know of three experienced battlemages who might consider joining the Duchy should wearing such armor be part of their duties. They became dissatisfied with serving King Arvich and retired to private business. I have been thinking of them much of late.”

  “I’m not sure I’d welcome mages wishing to join us just because we have nice armor,” I started.

  “No, I misspoke. I doubt any of them believe themselves worthy to wear the armor. I am the one who believes they could wear the armor with distinction. The mere fact the armor is in your possession will likely be enough to convince them to join us. While they are more Orik’s generation than mine, I provided each of them with the armor they wear today. They resigned from the Losan Mage Corps when they became disgusted at the level of greed and corruption within the government.”

  “I’d be happy to talk with them, but they will need to agree to be sworn in and mind scanned,” I warned.

  “I’ll contact them and arrange something. I think it will be a good match. Two have mates, but one is still looking,” said Jorvik.

  I gathered up Argon and we ‘ported aboard the Malan just as the sun was dipping into the ocean. Gera had provided the ‘port location, but he hadn’t relieved Capt. Malek, yet.

  Argon and I watched the sun give way to twilight. I had my arms wrapped around her, as she relaxed against my chest. “You want to talk about it?” I sent.

  “It is the same story, just repeated a hundred times,” Argon sent back. “It was very hard to leave them in those places. The orphanages aren’t run by evil people, they just have no time for anything but basic food and shelter. We can’t take all the younglings, some are too far gone. Brutal bullies and hard-core thieves. We can’t take them, and I don’t want to leave them in another orphanage to prey on newcomers.”

  “Perhaps we can consolidate all of them into one place to allow them to prey on each other,” I suggested. In Jaloa there were no juvenile halls. Not that juvenile halls were one of Earth’s great success stories. “About how many problem younglings were there?”

  “Only about 20 but they ruin the lives of so many other younglings,” Argon sent.

  “Was there anyone you met running the orphanages who knew how to handle them?” I asked.

  “A leader at one of the homes in Augun was doing better with them than the rest. He at least had recognized them and separated them from the innocents.”

  “What is that orphanage like?”

  “It is on a farm in Augun. It is very overcrowded, like all the orphanages. Why?” Argon asked.

  “Maybe we can have him take all of our problem younglings and put them to work on the farm. If they work, they eat.”

  “It would be better than spreading them out. As the orphanages start bringing in more youngsters maybe any problems ones can be sent there. We’ll probably have to provide transport, but that is the least we can do.”

  “Talk to him about it tomorrow, then we can move his non-problem youngsters to the Duchy first. As we clean out the rest of the orphanages, most youngsters come to the Duchy, and the rest go to Augun,” I said.

  Argon spun around in my arms, sliding her arms around me and crushing me to her. I tilted her head up and kissed her. Her lips parted, and she invited me in for a slow, languid kiss. I was always happy to kiss her, and I was happy the balance of her emotions felt restored.

  “What a good idea, I was too close to see it,” she said.

  “I’m just glad I could help,” I sent. “How soon does Tobron think we can start bringing the younglings to the Keep?”

  “He thinks we’ll be ready to start the transfers sometime in the next few days,” said Argon. “He is arranging one caregiver for every two babies. The toddlers will move to barracks-like
bunk beds. We will keep twins together wherever possible. A caregiver will sleep in the barracks with each group every night. The older younglings will move into two-person rooms. Jord is still working on the training program.”

  I reluctantly let her loose, and she went to speak to Gera while I spoke with the captain in his cabin.

  “Good winds, good company,” said Capt. Malek. “We are making excellent speed. Loma and I tweaked some of the ship’s wards and the Malan is now a speed demon.”

  “What does that mean to the mission?” I asked.

  “We will be off the mouth of the River Augun about mid-day tomorrow. That is likely a record fast journey. The new wards, favorable winds, and an empty hold. It would normally take us three days,” said Capt. Malek.

  “If we spot a pirate ship, we may even be able to catch him before he expects it,” Capt. Malek said. “I still think we should expect from three to five ships in a pack. The Malan is so quick it will have a major advantage in any encounter, even without our new armament. Expect each pirate captain to look out for his own ship and crew. If one of them thinks he can take us without involving the others, he will try. They will all be leery of anything that may harm their own ship, even those equipped with rams. I suspect the captains had little say about that little addition. Pirates would prefer not to ram anything, especially a merchant ship. A sinking merchant ship is hard to plunder sending the loot to the bottom of the sea. Ramming usually causes major damage to the ship doing the ramming. Using pirate ships to enforce a blockade is only a good idea if you have no other choice. While the pirates may not sink many ships, they probably scare a few away.”

  “When do you expect to see them?” I asked.

  “Near the Augun and Kavil border. I doubt they want to get very far from their base, but they can’t allow anyone to slip into Kavil city either,” said Capt. Malek. “We will keep a close eye anyway, just in case they are changing tactics to start raiding Augun shipping. If they are considering that as a tactic, we could expect to encounter pirates sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning.”