Mad Toffad's Keep

by Zack Finley

  Argon and I met back at our new headquarters suite. She'd assigned Findot to help Tobron today. He had a lot of things to get moving and needed the help. The recruits had already put up help-wanted posters on our headquarters door, the warehouses and at the Klee Mage Guild. One of our recruits was downstairs at the entrance handing out and receiving applications. We had people manning an information booth at the market and at our warehouse operations.

  We learned our wards had already had an effect. One of the buildings near us was already vacant. The tenants moved late this morning telling their landlord they had a very uneasy feeling. The told him they were sure someone was after them. Tobron thought this was very funny. We expected to live on the most lawful block in all of Klee by the time our special wards had a chance to fully work their magic.

  He also had the recruits finishing up the first section of unmarried residential quarters and urged Argon and me to check them out.

  Inoa had endorsed the first five recruits to move in but wanted to talk with Argon about Findot. She'd already tweaked Jofi's and Bolon's mind shields and provided a set of decent mind shield amulets to our three mundane recruits.

  Inoa was confident they were now protected from all but the most skilled mind mages. She thought this was a good first attempt and had included a special trap in all five shields to alert her to future mind probe attempts.

  Inoa was very dissatisfied with the mage training Bolon and Jofi had received to date. She was sure this was a systemic problem we would need to assess with all young mages. She thought the probationary period should be extended and a training plan included in the requirements to be promoted to permanent status.

  Inoa was in Tobron's double office when Argon and I joined them. The office was set up to provide them both with semi-private work areas. It was a way to share their mate bond, yet allow them to work independently.

  I was amused and touched to see some of the homey touches Tobron provided for his mate's workspace. I knew Inoa had been much too busy to give it any thought.

  Argon sought out Inoa to discuss Findot.

  Neither Tobron nor I wanted any part of that discussion.

  "I should give you this," Tobron said, handing me an ornate envelope addressed to Argon and Steve.

  "Inoa and I got one, too, so I don't think it contains a trap," said Tobron.

  “King Ruton and the Queen Mother Jenia would welcome your presence at a formal reception tomorrow evening,” I read.

  "A runner brought both our invites while I was still at the chamberlain's office. I suspect he was expecting them and they somehow got delayed so he was stalling," said Tobron. "I don't know whether it will just be the six of us or 600."

  "What are we supposed to wear to something like this?"

  "I don't know, I just put on whatever Inoa tells me to. But from what I have seen I have a lot bigger wardrobe to choose from than you do."

  I was going to follow Tobron's example and let Argon tell me what to wear. I expected this afternoon's shopping expedition to take longer than I had anticipated.

  The foresters Cleon talked with this morning were excited to see Toffad's Keep. He expected to take them there to get an overview of the challenge later this afternoon. Tobron agreed to join them. Tobron wanted to bring Bolon, one of our new mage recruits, along as a training opportunity.

  Tonight, Tobron was hosting a group of retirees in the pub room of our new headquarters. He asked me if I could drop by and meet them.

  "We have a pub room?" I asked.

  "Of course," he said. "We needed a place to schmooze prospects and potential business clients and some place for our own people to hang out after hours. This will be its first official party. I have a nearby tavern bringing an assortment of libations and appetizers."

  Seemed reasonable. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Our people would need a safe place to relax and meet with friends after work. That just meant we'd need to recruit someone to run the bar, serve drinks, etc. Great, more to do.

  "First, I'm going to give them a tour once the wards chase off any questionable characters. When we get back to the pub, I'll com you. Drop by and help sell them on the new keep. We're going to have to give you a title like Sir Steve or something."

  I acquiesced to everything except the Sir Steve thing. I reminded him we were moving Allo tonight. My free time depended on how well that went. I suspected Allo would be all right as long as Argon stayed with her.

  I was getting hungry and gave Argon a mental nudge.

  She and Inoa drifted into Tobron's side of the office, wrapping up their conversation about clothes. I held up the king's invitation, and Argon nodded.

  Inoa hugged Argon then came over to kiss me on the cheek. As we were leaving, she slipped into Tobron's lap. I swear he purred.

  I 'ported Argon back to our rooms to finalize our shopping list. Bed linens, toiletries, laundry supplies, more underwear and under armor, towels, nightclothes, and chee, so far.

  We'd decided to skip kitchen perishables and wall and floor tapestries until another day. The kitchen was already fully stocked with a variety of pans, utensils, chee cups, glasses, serving bowls and dishes. Argon said Tobron had gotten a great deal on these items and picked out a popular pattern. He figured anyone wanting something different could buy their own.

  With that, we were off to Losan.

  We'd last visited this particular Losan restaurant as a guest of Erfo from the Losan Mage Guild. Nearly everyone had a mind shield. The hostess was annoyed we didn't have a reservation but accommodated us anyway. I suspected she didn’t know her shield masked very little.

  I spotted several mages scattered around the restaurant using my mind-reading app. This was good practice. I considered visiting the Losan port to look for mage pirates.

  We considered Inoa's insight about Findot. Inoa agreed the young mage had potential. She was worried whether that energy could be channeled in a positive direction.

  I surmised Findot never found anything she cared for more than her own comfort; that she grew up with no positive role models.

  I theorized she could benefit from a boot camp experience, where she'd be forced to be part of a team. One cannot teach someone to stand between danger and the helpless. You can train a warrior to shoot better and give him a better chance of survival. Some might stay and fight due to pride in their abilities. Honor and duty cannot be taught. They come from within each of us. Whether Findot had proceeded so far down the other path she could not find her way to the light was a matter of much concern.

  Our other young recruits might disappoint over time, but they were on an honorable path. Findot was a different story; it was hard to break a lifetime habit.

  Argon wanted more information about boot camps. I shared my experience with her. As always, my Earth memories were blurry, but the gist came through. Sometimes pictures of objects were okay but the more complicated the memory, the fuzzier it was. By contrast, Argon's shared memories were crisp and clear. I attributed the fuzziness of my memories to some element of the transfer.

  Argon did not think the brutality of my boot camp memories would translate well to Jaloa. She could see the benefits of forcing a small group of recruits under the supervision of an experienced warrior to live, exercise, train, and fight together against a common foe. She didn't understand why, after doing all that bonding, those leaving boot camp all went their separate ways. She had a point.

  It didn't help that Findot only had a small amount of elemental air magic and a modest level of force magic to go with her powerhouse mind magic. She could do well in a support role or a tactical weave, the way Argon and Inoa used their mind magic. But her squad mates would have to trust her completely to cede that much control. I knew I wouldn't trust her that much.

  Our lunch was good, not as great as last night's dinner but better than most lunches I've had in Jaloa. I'm no gourmand, but I like good chow. I liked most things Argon liked with a few notable exceptions. I enjoyed trying ne
w dishes to broaden the things I'd eat.

  While I'm fine curling up with Argon with a bowl of vegetable mush, it is nice to know I have other options from time to time. Learning we can get takeout at the Klee market was another positive discovery.

  And I do like graal. One of these days Argon says she'll introduce us both to paskar. Paskar has certain pleasure enhancing qualities. Users are warned to imbibe in private with a romantic partner. Argon says Alba swears by it, but Inoa can take it or leave it. Some use it to bring some zing back into a relationship. I’m not going to ask Tobron or Cleon about it anytime soon. I’m not sure I could handle more zing in my relationship with Argon.

  After lunch, we teleported to the Losan guild to visit the magical weapons and armor shop. Argon asked the sales person if the shop had an armorer in attendance.

  "Master Orik is not currently at the store. We do have one of his apprentices working on an item in the back. Please wait here." The guy hurried behind a curtain.

  We'd gotten the sales clerk's attention. He might not be a mage, but he recognized superb armor and knew we were wearing it. We didn't try to monitor the mage apprentice, but it was hard to ignore the sales clerk. He was becoming annoyed. The apprentice was berating the clerk for bothering him.

  I had to applaud the clerk, he stuck to his guns. He stubbornly coerced the apprentice come to see the fine armor for himself.

  Argon said she sensed this was a new apprentice being tested to determine whether he'd be retained for advanced training.

  Argon told the apprentice we needed to speak with Master Orik on a delicate matter. The apprentice told us he was Master Orik's representative and the master was too busy to meet with us.

  We were monitoring the clerk, and he was livid. He knew Master Orik quite well, He knew Orik would fire the apprentice on the spot had he witnessed such disrespect toward any combat mage. Much less two combat mages with exquisite armor.

  I left the apprentice for Argon to handle. I provided the clerk with our com-card and asked him to have Master Orik call us to discuss a private matter.

  While the clerk and I were talking, Argon had the apprentice pinned high on the far wall of the shop. He wouldn't be moving for several minutes. Argon assured the clerk the apprentice would be free to continue being the rear end of a basas in a few minutes.

  She told him we needed several sets of under armor and hoped he could help us. The clerk was enjoying the apprentice’s comeuppance. He was also a little cheeky, telling us he'd be happy to help us if only we'd extend the spell holding the apprentice for a few extra minutes. He winked to make sure we knew he was joking. As if the mirth bubbling out of him could be missed. Argon was touched and added another 15 minutes to the apprentice's punishment.

  The clerk promised he'd have a note explaining our request and the com-card delivered to Master Orik after the close of business today. We thanked him for his consideration and teleported to the Klee market to finish shopping.

  We should have finished shopping at the Losan market if only for research purposes, but Klee was starting to feel like home. We made connections with several merchants. There was also an odd feeling of respect. Most of those in the market didn't know who we were; they just knew we were considered VIPs. Once word got around about our connection to Toffad's Keep, I suspected we'd be getting a lot more solicitations.

  We dropped by the Toffad's Keep booth and chatted with Braka, one of our mundane recruits, about the market's reaction.

  "I've only been here about an hour," she said. "Luzon and I split the day up. We had a ton of questions this morning and during lunch when a new group came to the market. I expect to have a surge as the after-work crowd comes to the market. Tobron told me to close up in time to get to dinner."

  "Any recruits?" asked Argon. She was edging around Braka's mind shield but getting nothing.

  "A lot of people took applications, but nobody turned any in. Tobron said that was to be expected. We were told we were here to educate, not recruit," said Braka.

  Argon sent rave reviews on the mind shield to Inoa as I made our excuses and resumed our shopping spree.

  I was not to be trusted with any purchase. It was fortunate I love walking next to my mate because I wasn't sure why I had to come along. I just wanted to get this shopping expedition over with. I had originally planned to divide up the list and finish quickly.

  Oh no, everything had to be bargained over to the enjoyment of my mate and the merchants. While merchants normally gave their rock-bottom prices to mages up front; they also enjoyed a spirited bargaining session. Argon was a bargaining fiend.

  While haggling added at least 10 minutes to every purchase, I couldn't argue with the pleasure it gave Argon or the merchants. The bed linens and towels were in one shop; the toiletries and laundry products were in another. We picked up several medium sacks of fruit, juice, a flask of graal and a box of chee at the food market. There was some minor bargaining back and forth over the graal, but we paid the asking price for the food items. Another nuance to the market culture.

  Sexy underwear, pajamas, and special outfits to visit the king were only available at a fancy-looking place near the middle of the market.

  The proprietor snubbed me and lavished his full attention on Argon. After a few minutes of discussion, he disappeared into the back room. Moments later an attendant brought out several boxes layered in something opaque that looked a bit like tissue paper. The attendant showed Argon several pairs of panties in a variety of colors and styles. Argon made her selection. Her choices disappeared quickly into a box along with a batch of more utilitarian female briefs. A selection of male briefs was approved as well. These all got tucked into the original box and stored in her carryall.

  Argon chose two sets of filmy nighties and pajamas suitable to wear in public.

  Argon messaged, "Next time I have to sleep in your hospital room, it won't be in smelly under armor."

  By the time those selections were put away, the proprietor had returned and directed us toward an elegant sitting room. In a tent at the market, who knew.

  Male and female models trotted out dressed in what I assumed was the latest in elegant dinner attire. There seemed to be a rule that both outfits had to match.

  Just when I thought it would never end, Argon called a halt. She had seen the outfits that appealed to her. They looked like most of the others that had come before them. But I nodded in agreement.

  Argon knew what I thought but let it pass. She warned me the proprietor had a soul sensitive to negative vibes.

  I was concerned we'd need to strip to be measured and was pleased when Argon passed our measurements to the fitter. The fitter spot checked in a few intimate spots but seemed satisfied with the results.

  I never saw money change hands, but the proprietor thanked Argon profusely for considering his humble establishment, blah, blah. He promised delivery to our offices by noon tomorrow.

  We split up after leaving the clothier. I went to my favorite restaurant at the market to order takeout and Argon 'ported off to fetch Allo. We arrived back at our new apartment at nearly the same time. I teleported straight to the apartment, but Argon had teleported to the lobby and carried Allo in through the door.

  The suite’s new wards let us teleport in. They only allowed Argon, Allo, and me to get in. Argon wanted to verify the wards were safe for Allo before ‘porting her into the suite.

  Our door would only open to one of our living hands. There were other anti-intrusion wards, but those were the main ones. The intent was to have this be a place we could assume was our own space. It should be one of the safest places in Jaloa. Our personal wards were in addition to the powerful wards surrounding the entire headquarters. Allo would have her own tiny door keyed to her essence, once we determined she could roam the HQ freely.

  Allo lived with Argon for years in the old place. This new space smelled, sounded and tasted different. Argon had brought all of Allo's toys and her bed. I couldn't figure out why Argon bro
ught the bed because Allo never slept in it.

  I just tried to exude a positive attitude after Argon mentally thumped me and said I wasn't helping. From the look Allo gave me, I suspected she had hacked into our private couples-only area.

  I left Argon with Allo in the kitchen heating up dinner and putting away our groceries while I tackled the bed and put the towels in the bath. I admired the double shower but didn't crank it up. I did christen the sanitation facilities.

  Tobron told me he had to threaten to cancel the entire building's shower order to get them to build my special shower. He wanted some feedback on it before he installed any similar showers.