Ruby Mage

by Dan Raxor

  Nathanael finished his food, standing to say, “Urgent matters require me to hold a private meeting. Thank you all for attending.”

  Everyone stood, figuring it was decorum I stood also. The wife who refused to leave her hover beside me sighed, returning to her seat. Viscount Nathanael signaled for me to follow him.

  I tried to take my plate. Rivinia gently blocked me. I tried again another block.

  Stupid Lornian rules.

  I was starving, without a second thought I shoved food into my mouth for the trip to the side room. When the group gasped I shot a fireball to a nearby torch, setting it aflame.

  I hoped they choked on their annoying gasps.

  I remembered that feeling where my parents would tell me to eat my vegetables, and I swore when I was in charge I’d do something different. I was having one of those moments.

  I told myself my court would be filled with delicious food, drink, and casual dining in robes and comfy seats. Pretentious bullshit was stupid.

  With my brandy jar in my hand I entered the small war room with maps on the walls and on the only large table.

  Oh neat! There’s those little figurines on a carved out terrain map.

  As much as I wanted to smash two horse toys together, my desire to relax was greater. I sat on the couch, careful not to spill my brandy. I immediately regretted my decision.

  “Ugh, this reeks of anal sex,” I said, jolting to my feet to play on the map.

  There was snickering from everyone in the room.

  “My father was odd. He had five wives, a dozen children, and still preferred men. Not my place to judge, but the war room was for everything besides discussing war,” Nathanael said, propping the door open to holler at servants to bring in a new couch and to burn this one. “Better?”

  His question came after a lovely new couch arrived that smelt of lavender.

  “Marvelous. How did he die?” I asked.

  “He was summoned to see the king after our victory,” Nathanael said, not going further.

  A soft knock had Targon and Norlan joining the room. I clasped forearms with both who were happy to see me. When the ornery wife entered I decided to give her the same respect.

  “You play dangerous games, Master Mage,” the raven-haired beauty said, clasping my forearm.

  “Lady Pela, or is it Viscountess?” I asked, playing with the word. “Viscoutessss. Vicountesses… hmm…”

  “Lady,” the room echoed as they all informed me.

  “I don’t know all of the formalities yet, my apologies. Maybe avoid inviting me to something you consider dangerous if I am uninformed,” I said and she sighed.

  “I want to hate him but I can’t. I said the same thing to Nathanael and Linn. They said you’d be cordial, and then you challenge the table to a duel,” Pela said, looking up to the heavens with squinted eyes.

  What she thought was important, I felt was irrelevant. Targon whispered in her ear and she left, only to return with a chair to sit in the corner.

  “So…” I said, carrying the o. “What happened after the battle?”

  Targon grunted before moving pieces on the board.

  I saw a figurine of me! My hair was vertical flame, but hey, take a win when you get one.

  His fingers moved tiny toothpick flags over the right side of the map. There was nothing beyond the mountains shown to the east. I really wanted to know what was on the other side, a quest for another day. He stuck two flags down. One had a tiny war hammer drawn and another with claws.

  “We’ll get to that in a moment. Your baron duties have some history and context you should know,” Targon said.

  The guy was gruff, straight to the point, and someone I like. His mansplaining was a bit over the top here, but I allowed it. Plus, who didn’t want to listen to a cool story from a guy with an eye patch.

  “The dwarves breed at the same rate as humans. Which is faster than elves and slower than the likes of the wolf-kin or ratkin. We are in the corner of dragon lands. There are over a dozen scorched towns that never developed, or did develop, and were removed by the tides of war. Riverten has been demolished and rebuilt maybe a hundred times according to the history books,” Targon said and I frowned.

  I wagged a finger at him before grabbing my little figurine and placing it on top of Trimi.

  “I think I’m catching what you’re trying to teach. Humanity goes through growths and then loses lands. The natural order of resistance tempers, if not halts, expansions. Hence Trimi getting the main cities excess riff raff,” I said, shifting to view the capital. “However, why not move Riverten upstream?”

  Nathanael’s finger raced to Clruss, then northwest to a town the size of Trimi. “There is no rush on the decision, and starting fresh won’t change the lack of stone in the area. You’d need to cart stone from the quarry west of Jasmine Shire.” He tapped the spot on the map. “Three weeks to move heavy stone. Not to mention if it rains, and you don’t improve the road, you're simply going to jam carts. So, you have to build roads first.”

  I groaned, wishing my entry point to Lornia was anywhere else. A silence settled over the room as I gave a quick study of the map.

  The interior of the realm showed a dozen massive cities around Crimm.

  It was as if humanity knew the exterior parts of its domain were untamable. Knowing this, they leveled everything in the middle to create expansive farm fields from the sea to… everywhere.

  The center of the realm contained two things, farms and massive castles for all those farmers to hide in if the realm was overwhelmed.

  The ports were huge, showcasing how much trade cycled from Primodat to Lornia. The ships on the map were tiny and severely lacking. Not my concern for the moment, but intriguing since the kingdom was in a booming period.

  “Yes, not far off,” Nathanael said, moving my piece to Riverten. “Okay, father is in a dungeon awaiting a trial, his wives in our private estate in Crimm. That includes my older brothers who drank wine while Semma was conquered. Duke Lacroy nominated me for a Count while giving me Viscount for the interim. You’re a temporary baron. Both of our cases will be stuck in front of the new king who almost always signs off on what his duke’s requests. You’re to—”

  “Make Riverten amazing!” I exclaimed and there was chuckling.

  Targon chimed in to say, “Burn it to ash and rebuild, just know, since your needs are sanctioned by the Duke, and the builders from our sacked settlement returned, they are going to you ... after Seema is fixed.”

  “Yeah, I can only begin to imagine the amount of skilled workers I would need to build something like this out in the woods,” I said.

  Norlan smiled and said, “That is without you hiring from here, Clruss, Branfield, or Crimm. We certainly can find people needing work in the winter. Most folks sit in homes with their wives making new babies to squall next summer.”

  There was chuckling from around the table.

  “I take it there is a reason Clruss was brought up before Branfield as an option,” I said and Nathanael winced.

  “Taxes. Father could avoid a double tax by trading away from Branfield. Speaking of which, I’ve got a few things for you,” Nathanael said handing me a token. “That will have your share of the salvaged dwarven weapons and armor. It is a bank token for your new account here. Should Trimi fall, so does your fortune, and should you move it, transport it to Crimm or wherever at your own risk.”

  “So … what you’re saying is the battlefield was cleaned, and I got a small cut. The Duke sent a healer to visit me and is returning the stolen livestock we—”

  “A quarter, yes,” Norlan said and I sighed. “The recovered funds were minimal. We lost Ted and Maria during the fighting besides the vixens fleeing north. They died to arrows early in the battle. The Viscount has let us stay for free as guests and our coffers are sitting idle.”

  I bit my fingernail in frustration. “Going to take a guess here, healers are not something on the open market?” I asked.

>   “No, they’re extremely rare. Why, what were you thinking?” Lady Pela asked from her corner.

  I wished she wasn’t in here, mainly because I didn’t want to hear her answer. “I want to buy a healer, and before you scoff. I have lots and lots of gold.”

  Surprisingly, she stood with a smile. “I understand both. The problem is you need the castle to keep the healer locked inside of. They’re an investment, and yes, get stolen or murdered when a competing healer’s business revenue declines, or another noble wants what you have. I heard your realm healed a broken arm in weeks.”

  “Sure but … that may not always be the case. The realm back home is weakening in unique ways. Your point is a valid one. Build the hearth before the fire,” I said and she smiled with a nod. “Has the capital been sending more workers and crown servants here?”

  “Yes, and no. More than usual, but not in the sense it was the same as last month. Snows really delay travel and blanket the roads. By spring I expect a swath of—”

  “Wait,” I said, wagging my finger at Nathanael. “So, Crimm will be flush with the desperate and mostly contained by the snows?”

  “Uh yeah, normally the city hangs more violators in winter than any other time,” Targon said in a sour tone.

  “I need magic supplies, and apparently a frontier army. They won’t turn away gold will they?” I asked and the room laughed at this.

  “For rabble no, but you’re talking a hard march of three to six weeks each way in blizzard season. This far south, winter gets brutal sooner than later,” Nathanael said, sliding a finger from Crimm to Trimi. “You can do it as a massive wagon train, heated tents, and enough gold. I also won’t be surprised if you receive a spring summons anyway.”

  “To the King’s Court?” I asked.

  Targon nodded. “You cowed the dwarves into giving up loot. That is sacrilege, frightening to the point where the Duke sent his frail healer to fix your wound. Alas, you going during winter will be a win-win.

  “Meet a king, bend the knee, get heaps of marriage offers, and come home with an army of trash. The crown is happy you reduced food intake as well as problems. You get an army and a massive work force.”

  I smiled, liking Targon proposal. I said, “That’s fair. All right, this is what I want to do. I’ll jump to my other home and start ferrying gold to the drop spot. Norlan, I need you to buy up every wagon we can. I’ll take my guard with me, but I want a caravan awaiting us outside of Riverten. If I’m late, chop trees to create firewood until you reach my arrival spot.”

  “Yes, Master,” Norlan said.

  Nathanael folded his arms. “So, straight to Crimm with riches they won’t expect. Wish I could join you.”

  “Attacking an entrenched foe in winter is a bad idea. As bad as charging at dwarven cavalry,” I mumbled, wishing I had a staff to lean against. “I want to finish the wolf-kin off or at least kill that enemy mage. Just because I can’t free Gabriella or Ryleigh yet, doesn’t mean I won’t rescue them.”

  “Except you need a proper army, a base, and you have neither. The winter will be hard, Master,” Rivinia said, speaking for the first time. “Your people will get to brave the snow in warm gear and heated tents. Something that is beyond rare. A proper caring, by a proper noble.”

  I smiled, feeling motivated. “Okay, thank you for your hospitality Viscount Nathanael, Lady Pela. It seems we have things set in order for a grand adventure this winter.”

  There was a cordial goodbye with me retreating to the room I had recovered in. Lidia was here, wanting to stay in Trimi until my return. The problem was, I would probably go home, move gold, and then not return to Earth for a month if not more. It was already May, meaning people would notice her lack of answered calls and messages.

  She gave in when I said Harmony would need a medical checkup anyway. While Norlan stayed to bring wagons to Riverten I grabbed, Libby, Susanna, and a few other mages. We shopped at the local market for unique trinkets and items from Lornia before assembling in the fort’s staging area. With a quick spell we returned to Earth.

  CHAPTER 28

  Montana, Earth - Trevor’s Estate

  May 4th 2023

  Being gone for weeks resulted in little changes besides slightly warmer weather and only faint traces of the previous winter.

  I inhaled in the rich smell of cedar, happy to be home. The mansion shined as if someone pressure washed it. My purple cyber truck gleamed and everything was as it should be.

  Well, there was a new oddity. An argument outside the tent city reached us all the way up the long driveway.

  Dad!? Yeah, that was my dad who was raising hell with Lidia on the way to the rescue.

  I groaned at the fact I hadn’t anticipated this.

  Lidia squealed in happiness, dragging Pete and Harmony to see our parents. Rivinia kissed my cheek, whispering about wanting a toilet to use while reading the news.

  Before I went inside, I sent the helpers down to the tent to drop off our purchases. When I felt like there was calm enough I went to find out how many messages were waiting on my phone. Judging by the screaming at the base of the hill - a lot.

  “Everything okay, Master?” Libby asked with concern.

  I nodded, not wanting to talk about it. “Take a shower, then start prepping the vault and find everyone’s spare cold weather gear,” I ordered. “There is going to be a long trip so might as well bring extra stuff.”

  Susanna kissed one cheek with Libby kissing the other. The two women ran into the house happily, elbowing each other about something. It was good to see them doing so well. Then again, Lornians handled loss far better than most.

  Entering the foyer led to a second surprise. Off to the left sat Ming in my kitchen, chatting with a quarter fey girl with small bunny ears and a fluffy tail. Ming was not in her power suit, instead going for casual clothes, telling me something was up. Her hair appeared frazzled and she seemed paler than normal.

  “Ming, so nice to see you,” I said with a fake tone that matched my fake smile. “I tried to call and you never picked up.”

  She snorted. “Probably because I’m dying,” she said, removing her wig. Things started to add up quickly. Although, I’d never heard of estrogen to treat cancer, this clearly looked like post chemo. “I’ve been in chemo for the past month. Hence you’re sporadic to no answered calls while I was gone.”

  “Well… sheesh. I’m sorry I was rude. I just figured—”

  “I was avoiding you? No. The powers want to get more items from Lornia like that honey. That cured Alzheimer’s disease. Can you believe that!?” Ming said and I smiled.

  “That’s fabulous news. We did buy random fruit and trinkets before—”

  Ming stood quickly. “To the tents then. So, your money has been earning interest, did you have any needs?”

  “Are you still my liaison?” I asked, walking with her toward my parents, who thankfully, were no longer screaming. “Uh … I … Damn. Guess I gotta deal with this.”

  “Yes, visit with your parents, you never know when it may be your last,” Ming said sadly, likely recalling when she lost her parents. “As for your liaison, yes and no. I need a Lornian healer or I die in six months. So … consider my fortune yours and my contacts at your disposal.”

  “Please tell me you have turned my vault into Fort Knox?” I said eagerly. She gave me a goofy look.

  “You have what eleven or twelve thousand gold coins?” Ming asked, pausing as we arrived at the hazmat entrance.

  “Not enough. Honestly, you’ll see that there is a bright future in Lornia with enough gold. We are, as in my group, are going to Crimm, the capital,” I said.

  “Getting all the best trinkets and mage stuff?” Ming asked.

  I shook my head but shrugged. “Sorta. Sure we will do that. Mostly to build my army up so I can build an epic castle.”

  She placed an arm around mine so I could help her walk.

  “You want to stay there?” Ming asked.

  “I tell my
self I’m undecided but deep down, I don’t like this mansion. Sure, I’m the boss. A nice boss inside a prison,” I said with a sigh.

  “You were mentioning the capital.”

  “Oh right. Crimm means there will probably be a healer we can hire for you. The question becomes how many gold bars does it cost to cure you?” I said with a shrug. “Regardless, if money is still inflowing here I want to build there. I have a barony to establish. Is it barony or kingdom?”

  “Barony,” Ming said with an exhausted sigh. She looked like shit with her drooping face and puffy eyes. “How much do you want converted into gold?”

  “All of it, and yesterday,” I said, helping her to sit on a bench.

  When she got on the phone to start making things happen, I left her be.

  A door checker in a hazmat suit sat at a desk. I signed my name, my temperature was taken, and a prick of blood was retrieved. I walked through the corridors of tent hallways following the visitor signs.

  “They said you were sick, while you said you were fine. Then boom, we’re going on a hiking trip and then nothing, for weeks!” my dad shouted. When I arrived he beamed a smile. “I almost didn’t believe that Krissy girl. You were always my adventuring partner, what happened to asking me to go too? I love hiking in the spring.”

  I sighed, taking a seat, and facing my father through the thin vinyl wall. Mother was smiling, holding a pen and paper. She would want to take notes, kinda where I got my planner desires from.

  “You want the truth? It's so crazy I can tell you because no one else will believe you,” I said.

  Mom snickered. “That man has fucking horns, Trevor,” Mom said, and I winced.

  That was the problem with fey. While they looked normal to me now, they weren't. More importantly what I had grown used to was a shock to them.

  “Yeah… Fair point. Uh, this is—”

  “You’re late T, we’re past introductions,” Dad said impatiently.

  T was his nickname for me no one else got to use. I pulled the gem from my neck. “What do you see?” I asked them.