Dagger & Deception

by Jeremy Dwyer

  “What was the purchase price?” Judith asked.

  “Oh. A few million platinum coins,” Alistair said.

  “How many is a few?” Judith asked.

  “About forty (40) million, I’d say,” Alistair said.

  “Where did you obtain this much money?” Judith asked.

  “Some wise investments over the years. The right opportunity came along at the right moment, and I didn’t want to say no,” Alistair answered.

  “Where did you make this purchase?” Judith asked.

  “From the deed administrator, in Dalavar,” Alistair answered.

  “That’s all that I need. I will travel there myself to get more details,” Judith said, and she left for the city of Dalavar. She recorded all that was said and observed so far regarding this, but wanted to check the facts more closely from a more reliable source. As much as listening to Alistair’s excuses and lies was entertaining for her, there appeared to be a more significant story, given the large amount of money and land that had supposedly been exchanged.

  ~~~

  “I will stay to help with the farming. I want to make sure that the seeds actually get planted, and spaced correctly. The mayor needs me,” Romana said.

  Then, Romana took a fresh drink of the Gradaken waters from the vial she wore on a chain around her neck. She was energized, and her connection to the natural world became stronger. She took the seeds and met up with the nomadic and poor people in the town, and started handing the seeds out. Several people followed her. “I drink the Gradaken waters. Every seed that I touch will be of greater value, and yield a more bountiful harvest. Some of you, who have not already been waterbound, should now drink the same waters,” Romana said to them.

  Romana then started planting seeds, and others followed her example, placing them according to her directions. Over three hundred (300) people were taking Romana’s direction now. Alistair was not one of them, just watching and waiting for an opportunity for work that he would have to run away from.

  Romana turned to a small group of young men from among the nomads and poor, homeless people – men who seemed stout, but unfit for the work of planting seeds. “You will need to travel to the nearby port, and purchase additional supplies of the Gradaken waters. Take these diamonds with you and move quickly. The waters will be needed to empower them, to energize them, so that they can harvest a greater yield,” Romana said. She then handed these young men a small pouch filled with diamonds, and they made their way to the Port of Kemalorin to the west.

  “Know this – the power to grow comes from the Gradaken Ocean water. The water, in turn, comes as a gift from God, who has given it to each of you out of His Love. This work you do – whether it is planting the seeds or bringing the water or anything that supports these things – is a sign of your love for one another, and your cooperation with God’s Plan. He wants you to live in service to one another, and He has given you this land on which to live and provide that service. How you received it may seem strange, but there is a purpose. It is His Purpose, and that is why a good has come from all of this,” Romana said to the people around her.

  ~~~

  Judith traveled on foot to Dalavar, and found her way to the deed administrator’s office. There, she asked of him, under the authority that the Chronicler’s Oath gave to her, for the purchase document for the land. He provided it, and she saw the financial document and the imprint of the bank from which the money was taken. Judith then quickly copied this into her own book and returned the document to the deed administrator.

  Judith then left the deed administrator’s office and made her way to the bank’s office. There, she requested to see their financial registers, and began tracing through them. She found the movement of money in the amount of fifty million (50000000) platinum coins into Alistair’s account, and saw where the money had come from, and it was an account with the name “Angela.” She traced further back and saw that the money of a married couple – Theodore and Gretchen – in the amount of thirty-one billion (31000000000) platinum coins had been transferred from their account to the account of this “Angela.” She also realized that, based on the forty million (40000000) platinum coins that Alistair had paid for the farm land, he had ten million (10000000) coins left with which to cause further trouble. The large transfers were troubling, and she would have to look elsewhere for more information, as the bank’s records didn’t indicate who this “Angela” was. Interestingly, however, they did indicate occasional large transfers from the account of “Angela” to the account with the name “Oliver,” and that account was staggering, with a balance listed at over a quadrillion (1000000000000000) platinum coins. She only knew of one person close to being that wealthy – Sebastian was famously rich, known for lavish spending on luxuries, although he was also highly charitable and funded the materials for the protective crystal archways. However, this large bank account was not proof that Sebastian was the true account holder, or even related. Suspicion was not proof, but merely a suggested direction in which to search. Judith recorded the facts into her book, but not the suspicions, because those were akin to judgment, which the Chronicler’s Oath forbade.

  The search would wait, however. Judith decided that it was time to return to see how the “mayor” was holding up, and how the farming was proceeding. The land purchase may have all been in jest, but the people who arrived with their families were very real and needed homes and food that were also very real.

  ~~~

  Judith made her way back to the farm town. There, she found that Romana was making good progress with teaching the nomads and the poor, homeless people to make this place their home and work the land. A group of young men arrived at this time and they were carrying many vials of water, which they started handing out. Judith observed closely and saw that these vials were marked with the classical symbols indicating that they contained the waters of the Gradaken Ocean. Many people were drinking from them, and there were many vials left.

  “I believe the mayor has this under control. Don’t you agree?” Romana said to Alistair, who seemed unwilling to agree to anything responsible.

  “Things seem to be settled at the present. However, I might need your expertise at any moment,” Alistair said, nervously.

  “Somehow, I think you’ll do quite well. There’s ample Gradaken water, a large tract of land, various seeds in large quantities and plenty of people willing to do real work. All you have to do is not do anything at all. Don’t get in their way, don’t make any wagers, don’t get anyone drunk. In fact, just don’t do anything you’re famous for, and maybe you’ll be famous for something good for a change,” Romana said.

  Judith noted all of these things in her book. She was enjoying the silence as Alistair looked on, with a surprised facial expression, seeming to not have a response.

  ~~~

  “Let’s make our way back to the port town, and see how matters are progressing there,” Romana said, looking to Judith, who moved to follow her. They began the walk back to the Port of Kemalorin, while Judith wondered about what would become of the farm town under Alistair. That was an interesting turn of events, but traveling with Romana was also interesting, and she needed to be there for any potential significant historical events. Romana was wise and a good friend. She also was able and willing to say many things that Judith was forbidden to say by the Oath, which forbade judgment as well as interference. Judith considered those incisive words to be worthy historical entries in their own right, and having the company of her good friend made life enjoyable.

  CHAPTER 12: Planning to Scout

  In the continent of Revod, in the Jenaldej Empire, the young idealists – Radoslaw, Corinne, Cheveyo, Kettil and Havard – all believed very much in their own notions and abilities. They believed they would find the Ahitan woman, Victoria, and take her tiara and put it to a just use, depriving her of the opportunity to do evil with it. Furthermore, they believed that they could convince others of their abilities and the validity of t
heir goals.

  Corinne was among the eldest of the group at thirty-one (31) years old, and also had a convincing personality, which was enhanced by her emotional projection powers due to the Elanatin Ocean waters that she drank. She said to the others: “We can serve as scouts and lead the forces of this empire to find the Ahitan woman. I believe that we should take the essence of the idea suggested by you, Havard, and look at its perfect opposite to find her. Instead of looking for where the suns are at their most intense, which is where the tiara will be at its weakest, we should look for where the suns are at their least intense. That is where she would want to hide. We have to assume she would have her own star-reader, and make the same determination.”

  “That is a reasonable approach,” Havard said. He was young at twenty-four (24) years old, but it had been a year since his own waterbinding trials, and he had some experience as a navigator. He drank deeply of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean in the vial that he carried on a chain around his neck. He was energized, and began to sense the positions of the many suns, and their movements. He listened to several of them, tracing their paths, to see gaps in sun coverage, and when and where they would occur, as well as ones that were currently present. He concentrated for several minutes, and then found the most likely place. He then opened a scroll he kept in a satchel, and the scroll had maps of the continents, oceans and some of the islands in them. He pointed to an area in the Dead Waters Ocean – the ocean whose waters gave no power at all to those who drank of them. He used a writing implement to circle a large island there. “This island – Athekriptole Island – here in the Dead Waters Ocean, receives relatively less sun exposure when compared to others areas. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t hot – it’s just less hot. This area is going to cool down rapidly, which makes it a good choice for the Ahitan woman to hide there.

  “Good for her, bad for us,” Radoslaw said.

  “Good for us to find her. The inferno must still be too intense for the tiara to be of any use or she’d be using it by now. We need to lead the way, and we need to get to that island, with some support in case we meet any large opposition: she may have a small army under her command, or even a large one. We have to find someone willing to take the opportunity and provide that support and strength,” Corinne said. She drank deeply of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean in the vial she carried on a chain around her neck. She was energized, and her emotions of confidence projected from her as an aura, reaching out to those around her. She was ready to convince the decision makers in the Jenaldej Empire’s military, and project the same confidence in their presence. The aura could have a positive influence on their decisions. She didn’t pause to consider that another telepath might be watching her to prevent her interference – her ideas were so good, in her estimation, that no one would dare.

  ~~~

  In the city in which they lived was a military academy, and they visited the academy and asked them to hear their case. In attendance was its head officer – the forty-one (41) year old General Cassandra – who had been demoted from her position as Admiral due to less than successful operations. If she failed again – as she was warned by both Imperial Prince Emerond and Imperial Prince Trahaearn – she would not be demoted, but discharged, both as an officer and as a citizen. She was being given another chance to prove herself based on her limited successes in the past, but her recent military failures were costly as measured in lives of valuable soldiers and sailors, as well as opportunities that were lost as a result.

  The five idealistic youths were taken to an auditorium, with many cadets present and listening, as some of them might be assigned if a decision to act were to result. Corinne began speaking: “We would like to propose an idea – a tactical approach to support the effort to prevent the attack on the Jenaldej Empire by the Ahitan enemy in waiting. We believe that we have a way to find the Ahitan woman before her power grows to where she can strike at us.” Present and listening were twelve hundred (1200) cadets. General Cassandra was there with her, along with Colonel Marko, Colonel Basil and Colonel Tyler. They listened intently because of the strong personalities of these arrivals, but reserved all decision making for their own freely operating minds. As a matter of standard military procedure, there were several high-ranking citizens of the Jenaldej Empire present who drank the waters of the Elanatin Ocean. They supervised this meeting, applying their telepathic powers to be sure that the military was not usurped by telepathy. Also part of that procedure, there were other citizens present who drank the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean and applied their powers of darkness to conceal themselves and those telepaths from any sort of attack or manipulation. If these young people had a convincing argument, it would be evaluated based on its merits, but it would not be foisted upon senior military leaders.

  Corinne continued speaking: “The greatest danger to us will be where the heat and light are weakest, where the solar alignment is least intense, as that is where the power of the weapon – the tiara – will be greatest when the solar alignment does finally end. This is precisely where the Ahitan woman would want to hide. The solar alignment is at its most intense now, so such an area of least intensity will become increasingly favorable to her future actions. We have identified a candidate location. When we get there, we can locate her personally, use empathic detection.”

  “What is this location? Do you have precise directions? And what other candidate locations are there?” General Cassandra asked.

  Havard spoke up to answer this, saying: “Based on my reading of the paths of the suns, the area is an island in the Dead Waters Ocean. It’s Athekriptole Island. Its solar exposure is considerably less than that of other islands, or of most other locations. It is the most probable among, perhaps, three (3) or four (4) other locations.”

  General Cassandra considered this, and thought that a small number of troops might be able to search the island without seriously detracting from search operations elsewhere. However, the number would have to be large enough to accomplish the search and deal with any resistance. Then, she left the room with her three (3) colonels and spoke to them in a private office.

  ~~~

  General Cassandra said to them: “Do you believe that the island can be searched efficiently and safely by our troops?”

  Colonel Marko said: “It is mountainous terrain, and the high elevations will make the heat and light more intense because of the exposure. We can search efficiently only if we reduce our time spent taking precautions, but that will lead to an increase in illnesses and fatalities.”

  Colonel Basil said: “If we incorporate adequate shade and rest, we can likely cover that island quickly. However, searching for one person on an island that large is quite doubtful.”

  Colonel Tyler said: “The young woman said she can use empathic detection. If we can shrink the search area to the most likely, and smallest, radius, this may be worth a small investment of our resources, time and energy.”

  Colonel Basil said: “There are already numerous citizens enlisted in our military who drink the Elanatin Ocean waters to have that same telepathy, which is likely more refined with experience. The enemy may very well hide under telepathic shielding beyond her ability to penetrate.”

  Colonel Tyler said: “I don’t dispute that. Yet, the fewer we send the fewer there are to be detected…and to lose if this operation fails. Stealth, surprise and economy of resources are still essential operating rules. Those telepaths who remain here, or in strategic lookout posts, need to be maintained and reinforced, rather than being sent on this mission. The gambit has a low probability of success, but our chances are something meaningfully above zero (0).”

  Colonel Marko said: “We risk more than we might gain because of the intense heat and light of the many aligned suns. I recommend we only surround the island and probe it from a distance.”

  General Cassandra considered her own position: she needed to vindicate herself for her past failures. Putting an early end to the Ahitan woman before the tiara
could be used to bring disaster to every ocean would save far more lives than were lost during her unsuccessful missions. Besides the obvious lifesaving benefits, she would likely be given better treatment in the Jenaldej Empire. If she failed, exile was certain, and she didn’t have many career prospects. The Nabavodel Ocean waters she drank granted her strength and speed, which were her greatest personal attributes – in fact, they were her only worthwhile personal attributes. She was willing to bold and take risks, hoping that sheer strength and speed could overwhelm, especially if by surprise.

  “I will provide you with five thousand (5000) troops each. I will personally go on this mission,” General Cassandra said.

  ~~~

  The colonels followed General Cassandra as she returned to the auditorium, where the cadets were waiting along with the young visitors: Corinne, Havard, Radoslaw, Cheveyo and Kettil.

  General Cassandra then said: “We have considered your suggestion. If you are available to provide your guidance for this effort and operate as scouts, assuming personal risk in this mission, I am willing to send a number of troops to that island. I and my colonels will lead them based on your scouting, and the outcome of this mission will have bearing on each of us and our good standing in the empire. Failure has consequences which can be severe. Are you certain you wish to proceed?”

  “Yes. I am certain,” Corinne said. She felt confident in her powers of emotional detection, as well as the powers of her fellow youth, and was reassured by the cooperation of a military force in the event they met any significant opposition.

  “I am certain,” Havard said. He knew the many suns well, and was confident that the Ahitan woman would be found, and that the others could help to locate her personally.

  “I am ready and certain,” Radoslaw said. He believed he could sense any emotions or ill thoughts of their enemy, and react in time.

  “I am ready and certain,” Cheveyo said. He believed he could sense any spiritual danger, or signs of the dead, which would be a warning sign of a killing field, where the Ahitan woman could be hiding.