Mad Toffad's Keep

by Zack Finley

  "I have substantial debt," Malek said, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

  "We will pay it off as a hiring bonus," I said. "You will own your ship free and clear."

  "We expect our employees to behave honorably," said Tobron. "We expect you to be clean, fair and honest in your business and personal dealings. What we do within our compounds and in our businesses are considered private matters. Sharing our private matters with anyone outside of our circle without permission will be considered a violation of trust. Will you abide by these rules and swear an oath of fealty to our duke?"

  Malek looked torn.

  "Malek, we are forming a new family. If you need help, we will help. If another member of our family needs help, we expect you to help. The collapse of most of the nations on this half the continent means the old business models are dead. If you need a deposit of gems," I pulled a small handful out of my money pouch. "these are yours to do with as you wish." I put them on the table in front of him.

  "We are in this for the long haul," said Argon. "Having all honorable shippers go under is not in our long-term interest. Enough other ships have become pirates and raiders. I fear until business recovers throughout the region, we may have the last viable fleet for many years."

  Malek reached for the flask of graal and poured his juice glass half full. He drank half the glass before responding.

  "Why me?" he asked.

  "Finding a trustworthy ship's captain is difficult. Finding one who is a mage with a well-trained and very loyal crew makes you unique," I said. "We have substantial magical talent gathered already. We can improve your ship and any other ships we acquire. This improvement could reduce the size of the crew, shorten the journey time or improve the safety of crew and cargo. But we don't know the sea, and you do."

  "How do you know I'm this paragon of honor?" Malek asked.

  "We could say we read your crews, which we did," I said. "We could say we talked with your references, which we did. But you passed the biggest test by just being able to sit and talk with us without a problem. Our headquarters has some unique capabilities. People of dubious moral flexibility have trouble remaining here. I must also confess one of our most trusted partners cracked enough of your mind shield to verify you are inherently honorable. She shared no other information, and unless you attack us in some way, it is unlikely she will ever reveal anything she learned. She is in many ways the keeper of all our secrets."

  "You call reading my mind honorable?" Malek asked.

  "It was necessary," I answered. "Had our partner detected a serious breach we would have peeled you like a grape and planted a false memory. We live in a ruthless world. Too much is at stake to allow a traitor into our inner circle. Being naive and failing to take basic security precautions would hurt our family. I assure you I will do a lot more than violate someone's privacy to protect my family. Should you join us, I will defend you and your crew with the same fervor.”

  "In the past two weeks, I have nearly died and so has my mate. Only major medical intervention saved us. We have also saved the lives of thousands of innocents. Saving innocents is also what we do. Will you join us?" I asked.

  “I need to think about this,” Malek said. “I will give you my answer in the morning.”

  “Good, meet us at the headquarters for breakfast tomorrow morning,” I said.

  Malek agreed before 'porting away. He left the gems on the table.

  Tobron gathered them up saying he figured Malek would want them in the morning. I told him we would need room for a group of mundane soldiers sometime tomorrow. He recommended adding them to our singles living complex, rather than a separate garrison. He wanted them integrated into the new keep mindset.

  He expected Cleon would want a garrison for the keep because it would make the defense much easier. Tobron thought it was too easy for defenders to become estranged from those they were defending.

  I suggested we house the soldiers with the Augun refugees since this would be more of a barracks-like setting. Tobron said that would work, too. It might even help settle the refugees.

  Tobron assured us he and Inoa would be moving into headquarters tomorrow, as soon as his two-person shower was in place.

  A long day, a hard day, but there had been progress on a lot of fronts. We retired to our rooms.

  ◆◆◆

  Chapter 16

  Allo made sure we didn't oversleep. Argon geared up and left to visit Avia's temple before breakfast. She took some energy bars and a canteen filled with hot chee with her.

  We had amended Tobron's assignment sheet to include our breakfast with Malek. Argon was skipping that interview and going to pick up our guards. Later today, she was going to several of Shala’s temples to speak with some foresters and farmers.

  Inoa and Cleon were out on Klee business.

  It looked like our new managers would be at breakfast but only Alba, Tobron and I from the inner group would make it.

  After Argon left, I checked Inoa's new magic management app. Alba was right, we were wasting a lot of flesh magic we should be saving.

  Recruit Jofi was staffing the entrance. I told her to send Malek to meet me for breakfast.

  I filled my plate and got a cup of chee before sitting across from Alba and Loma who were having an intense discussion about health batteries. Alba handed me a handful of health amulets she'd gathered from her colleagues and told me to charge them up. I tucked them into my pouch, adjusting my magic management app to fill them in a designated order until I hit my three-quarters health stop. There were a dozen amulets, all with slight variations of the health magic. Loma had examined each one. She announced she needed to gather some things but was ready to set up the first portable health battery.

  Loma contacted Tobron and Marfa and told them the types of supplies she would require for her work. She also needed a workshop.

  Tobron was pleased to announce he'd already built and stocked an enchanting workshop next to the armorers. We didn't have an armorer yet, but he was hoping one would arrive soon. When Loma said she needed some gems, he set a bucket full in front of her at the breakfast table. She and Alba had finished eating. They ran to the workshop with Loma carrying the bucket of gems and Alba not far behind.

  That left me eating alone when Capt. Malek arrived. Jofi contacted me when he arrived. She had directed him here. I urged Malek to serve himself, and I went back for seconds.

  "The chee and breakfast are tasty," I said urging him to fill his plate.

  Malek sat across from me. He had just started eating when Tobron joined us.

  "This is our first communal breakfast," said Tobron looking around. "We are catering it for now, but we'll be adding cooks and other staff as soon as our contingent arrives from Augun. We've got our people so busy, expecting them to shop for groceries, cook and clean, is stretching it."

  "I am angry you violated my mind. I am only a little mollified because if I had the capability, I'd likely have done the same," said Malek without preamble. "I believe your information about the situation in Ylee, Kavil, and Augun. I've seen Augun for myself, and the rumors of Ylee and Kavil are dire."

  I waited, letting him talk and feeling more confident he would join us.

  "I cannot imagine living on the land, again. I am a man of the sea. I don't mind being on land for a few days or weeks, but I need my ship. Without trade, that lifestyle will die. Already, too many crews have turned to piracy or haunt the ports hoping for a ship. I could not do that. I'm confident neither could my crew. Soon, if conditions deteriorate as it seems they will, even the pirates will leave the sea."

  Malek sipped his chee and stabbed at his breakfast. Tobron made an encouraging gesture for him to continue.

  "Your offer provides the best opportunity for me to remain at sea. Before too long you may have the only ships moving goods that aren't pirates. I accept your offer to head up your nonexistent fleet of ships," Malek said.

  Tobron had him recite the fealty oath. Tobron asked what pay
ment would his creditors accept and they arranged to pay off his ship's debt. Tobron put the pile of gems Malek left the night before on the breakfast table.

  Malek started to protest, but Tobron cut him off. "Use these to upgrade your quarters or your crew’s quarters, have a night on the town, provide bonuses to your crew, or to offset any profits you may miss out on. Or use it for a personal nest egg. This is not to purchase the Malan, you are still her owner. Once your crew accepts our terms, they will be duchy people, but you are still their captain. We cannot have you worried about your own finances. Consider it a down payment on your next year's salary. Tell us when you need more. The duchy is a family, we care for our own."

  Malek only hesitated a moment before sweeping the gems into his money pouch.

  Tobron called Marfo over, introduced her as his daughter and asked her to fix Malek's shield.

  Inoa had briefed Marfo on our latest shield version. Then she added Malek to our management circuit, while Tobron asked Loma to meet Captain Malek at the Malan later in the morning. He wanted her to review the Malan's enchantments and wards before he left on a new voyage.

  I messaged Loma to concentrate magical upgrades to the Malan on protection, speed, and crew safety. Providing wards and other enchanting upgrades for our new ships would be limited to the magical support available for them. While we could recharge them at Klee, juicing them up in the outlying ports might be problematic. I was hoping we could eventually provide a minor version of the anti-evildoer wards we were using at HQ at some point.

  Clive came over and told Malek he needed his insight on repairs and upgrades to the keep's pier and harbor. They agreed to meet after the captain met with his crew and Loma.

  Tobron pointed out the summaries we'd posted of ships and captains in the common management area.

  "How many ships should I be looking to acquire?" Malek asked.

  "We need about four, and some barges--especially in Klee," I replied.

  I told him he was also in charge of our barge fleet. "What barge fleet?" he asked.

  "The one you will acquire," I answered. "We don't want to tie up a ship to shift people, livestock, and supplies between the Klee city harbor and Toffad's Keep. We may also need some of our own barges in other countries. Klee has some fine shipbuilders; we will need an armed vessel of some kind to combat pirates. We should get that started very soon as I suspect we'll need them."

  Both Tobron and Malek gawked at me. Without gunpowder or cannons, armed ships were unknown. "Armed with what?" Tobron asked.

  "I guess I need to think this through a bit more," I replied. It still seemed the right course, but I knew of nothing fit to arm a ship. As best I could determine battles at sea were non-existent on Jaloa.

  Tobron changed the subject, "As soon as you sign up your crew, and deliver the oath, contact Marfo. She'll send someone over with the latest mundane mind shields for your crew."

  "Marfo is handling purchasing and Jord is our business manager," I pointed toward Jord who had gathered several of our young recruits. Findot was at his side. "When you see the Toffad's Keep pier today, look over the keep as well. I want you to grasp the size of the enterprise we are creating; and how much we'll depend on shipments of food and supplies. At least in the beginning."

  Argon was returning with three of our new troops. I decided Duchy Guard was descriptive and wouldn't confuse anyone. I considered Toffad's Troops, Steve's Soldiers, or Mad Men but settled on the predictable.

  Erik was the sergeant in charge of the new Duchy Guard. I introduced myself, and the three men saluted me with a fist to the chest. I told them to grab some chow. Then, we'd get them situated. I pulled Tobron over, showed him our three guards.

  Argon said we had 13 more men joining us as soon as we could fetch them. Jamal, the gate commander, and Argon reached a commitment on staffing. In the near term, we had 16 of the best. They'd been detached to the Duchy Guard, but they had no idea what that meant. Despite not knowing, they agreed to swear fealty to the duchy.

  Capt. Jamal agreed to call us when more volunteers showed up after he had replaced these 16 men. It was unclear whether we'd get the volunteers or the more seasoned men they'd replace, but at this point, it didn’t matter.

  I messaged Cleon and told him he now had a small army, we just needed to fetch them, give them the oath, equip, and house them.

  Argon and I departed to ferry the Duchy Guard to headquarters for breakfast. Cleon said he'd 'port in as soon as they were all here.

  During the trips, Argon briefed me privately on the ritual for cleansing the death cult funeral pyre. Avia alerted her priestess about the unclean site 50 years before. The temple took no action once the mage guild built their ward. Avia still wanted the site cleansed. Her priestess was getting too old to handle the stress of the ritual anymore. Her trainees weren't strong enough to assume the role either. All agreed the site needed cleansing and the priestess agreed to consult with Avia on the issue.

  Argon wasn't sure how Avia would address this, but she was sure it was an important priority. Argon had the power to cleanse the site in Shala's name. If she did, it would set up some kind of godly territorial clash, unless Avia gave permission.

  It sounded like the gods would sort it out soon enough and we had a fallback if they refused to deal with it.

  It took two trips, and we had a Duchy Guard. None had been teleported before, but they were a stalwart crew. We left them with Cleon to swear them in.

  Reminded they needed armor and weapons, Argon and I teleported to Shala's armory. It took us two round trips before we had full sets of enchanted studded armor, similar to the type Argon once used, enchanted crossbows, bolts, and swords. Cleon called Loma to supervise the recharging of the Duchy Guard gear.

  Loma had already retrieved the fully charged health amulets from me. She configured our magic replenishment spells to recharge Erik’s gear first, then one soldier at a time until complete. Argon and I set our minimum levels before authorizing the charging to begin. Loma reconfigured the rest of our mages to harvest their excess.

  I was starting to feel like a milk cow. Argon found this quite funny after she learned what a milk cow was.

  Recharging armor was a bit like giving blood. We had to stay in the headquarters until we either reached our minimums or filled up the gear.

  Tobron told Erik his troops would move into the first communal living area once they were finished later in the day. He provided Erik a precious metal bar for his troop to purchase a new kit, bedding, towels and other toiletries at the Klee market.

  Tobron had already hired a tailor to create Duchy Guard livery. I hadn't seen the design, but blood red was the prominent color with black trim. I was concerned about what it would look like until Argon shared that Inoa had approved the final look. We now had battle dress, patrol dress, and full dress uniforms designed for everyone in the duchy.

  Tobron expected abbreviated sets to arrive today for our six original recruits, four managers, and six partners. Inoa, Alba, and Cleon were only expected to wear duchy livery at official duchy functions.

  I wasn't sure what an official duchy function was supposed to be, but Argon and I had agreed to wear the battle dress with our armor. She thought we might need to revisit the fancy dress maker to craft "official" duke and duchess formal wear. I would be sure to find something more pressing to do on that day.

  Tobron asked Marfo to order a full complement of livery for the Duchy Guard. He suggested having the tailor come to HQ to measure our new soldiers right away. That way they'd have something to wear by tomorrow.

  Argon and I stayed in the breakfast area, catching up on Tobron's to do list and just being visible while charging the guard's gear. Tobron agreed to send out a broader request to his cohorts for information on glappners.

  Argon received temple teleport locations from Shala last night in Klee, Ylee, Losan, and Kavil. Argon thought it was important for her to visit the Klee and Losan temples alone as Shala's acolyte and assess each s
ituation. She prepared to go when her magic levels reached her preset limits.

  I was still being drained of magic and wasn't happy to be left behind.

  "I've got my deadman's teleport set and a full complement of combat spells at the ready. If I call, you can be there in a heartbeat. Help Tobron out, while you are waiting. He can always use the help," she sent.

  I waited until she sent me the all clear from the Klee temple, before hunting for Tobron. He was building a muster area and armory near the main entrance for our new Duchy Guard. I met him there and helped finish the stonework. While we worked, I briefed him on last night's meeting with our goddess and on Argon's current mission.

  Marfo had a stack of recommended hires and Clive was finishing the new top floor for our Augun refugees.