by Guy Antibes
That’s why I have bodyguards. Did I say they had to be expert swimmers?
Did General Farlotti survive? Ricky asked.
Do I have to repeat? Who do you think they had to save? Me? He’s the vital link to our story, my lord.
Ricky nodded in the dark.
How are your wounds, my lord?
Healed enough to brighten your evening.
Ricky sensed a giggle.
When will I see you again, my lord?
Not for some time. I suppose this link will have to do, if you are discreet.
So I will wear my bird necklace not just to remember my lord who has flown the coop?
I guess so. I’ll be in Duteria for years, I imagine.
Will you rescue me if I call?
Only if you are serious. I’d love to talk, but I need to rest.
Go ahead. You’ll be in my dreams, my lord Valian, my Ricky.
~
“Are they even close?” Ricky asked as he got up and rubbed his aching forehead. “I think I overextended things a bit last night.”
“Not in sight,” Tobia said. “The deckhands pulled something up from the hold. It was a last minute shipment, made after the performance. You weren’t in any shape to receive it then. I don’t think you are now, but the hands were curious.”
Ricky sat up. Princess Pira had made it through his attack, as planned. Her phrases when they spoke were much too intimate. She continued to play with him, even when they went their separate ways.
His hands gripped the rail of his berth to keep him upright as they helped him up to the main deck. Bespa could only heal so much before Ricky had to flee. The crew crowded around a huge chest, still in the tackle they used to haul it up from the hold.
Tobia took the key that had been tied to a shipping manifest and unlocked the chest. “Shall I?”
“Please do.
Tobia opened the lid and gasped. Ricky walked around and peered inside to behold a sea of gold.
“One hundred thousand galleons? Does that mean I won?”
Tobia shoved an envelope into Ricky’s hands.
He pulled out three letters. He tore his eyes away from the shiny coins. Ricky had been given two treasures in the past few months. Had he earned this one? He felt like he did.
“This is from the head judge,” Ricky said.
We Dimanians are easy marks for patriotic performances. Not only did yours strike a chord in our hearts, but you struck a traitor through his. You won unanimously among the Dimanian judges and a majority of the Parantians.
Ricky examined the letter’s seal. It looked authentic, but one never knew what kinds of strings Princess Pira could pull.
“This one is from King Courer.” Ricky read the message and decided to keep the king’s generous words to himself. It appeared that duels between nobles were legal, but such things had often led to other unpleasantries. The king would name Jac the new royal heir. The king suggested that Ricky wait at least a year to return to Dimani as a hero.
“He called me a hero,” Ricky said. His eyesight began to waver, so he brushed away the offending tears. “Jac is to be the new heir as we decided. There will undoubtedly be a few very unhappy factions.” He didn’t read the rest out loud.
He expected the third letter to be from Pira, but he was disappointed. He knew Jac’s writing. He forgave Ricky for killing his brother. Hundreds of people witnessed Ticco lose a sword fight to a boy with a stick. Jac claimed he would be able to get his mother to forgive him, but he had made an enemy of Jac’s father, Lord Forari Griama. “Eggs must be broken,” Jac wrote. “It is a maxim of unsuccessful diplomacy.”
Ricky would try to link with Jac at a later date. His friend’s life would be full of the unpleasantries King Courer had foretold. As for himself, his inheritance to Naparra was probably forfeit, and he expected King Leon to seize his bank accounts.
Ricky looked into a new future. He grinned at Tobia and Minnie, pulling up a handful of coins. “Do you think this will be enough for tuition?”
~~~~
If you liked A Sorcerer’s Diplomacy, please leave a review where you bought the book. I would greatly appreciate it. A glimpse at the next Song of Sorcery book, A Sorcerer’s Rings, follows.
~
An excerpt from
~
S
ONG OF SORCERY – BOOK FOUR
CHAPTER ONE
~
T OBIA, HENDRICO VALIAN’S SERVANT, HAD HIRED FOUR GUARDS to accompany his chest, containing over one hundred thousand Sealian Galleons, the largest gold pieces that the Parantian capital of Sealio minted. They entered the State Bank of Hessilia and stopped in front of a black counter.
The clerk looked down at Ricky. The man must have been perched on a tall stool, for the counter was as high as Ricky’s shoulder.
“My Lord wishes to deposit his fortune in the bank,” Minnie Castocca, Tobia’s wife, said. “I have drawn up the provenance papers and Lord Valian’s instructions.”
“And your ‘Lord’ is lord of what, exactly?”
“He is the heir to the duchy of Naparra. Everything is in there. He is also a highly-regarded performance sorcerer.”
“Highly regarded? The Duterians might have something to say about that,” the clerk said. “Where is your lord?”
“He is here,” Minnie said, giving Ricky a bit of a bow.
“A boy? A teenaged boy?” The clerk stretched over the counter and took the papers that Minnie presented.
“What is he saying?” Ricky said. Tobia translated the exchange.
“It all looks in order. I would like a demonstration of his power,” the clerk said.
“Show him something,” Tobia said.
Even without a command of the language, Ricky could tell a disdainful civil servant from a civil one. He sang and rose to the ceiling and drifted around the bank a bit before returning to Tobia’s side.
“Is that adequate?” Ricky said.
Minnie looked at the startled clerk. “I believe it is.” She spoke in Hessilian to the clerk. “He will need Hessilian identity cards for himself and for his servants,” Minnie said. “Also, please correspond with the Bank of Sealio. He has deposits in Sealio, Dimani, and Tossa. Where can I get our papers?”
“Over there,” the clerk pointed to a sea of desks. “We can take the fee from your deposit.”
After supervising the count of all one-hundred-twenty-four-thousand, seven hundred and fourteen Galleons, Ricky looked over at Minnie, who had just returned from the sea of desks with a fistful of papers.
“The Hessilian City-States are a bit more bureaucratic than Paranty,” she said to Ricky. “However, these documents will permit us to freely travel between the city-states, and more importantly, permit us to enter Duteria without a fuss.”
Now that the prize money from Ricky’s winning performance at Princess Pira’s Grand Performance was safely dealt with, Ricky walked out of the bank onto the streets of Torak, noticing the vibrancy of the city.
“It is the commercial heart of the City-States,” Minnie said. “Each city can have their own coinage, but trade is based on Hessilian Eagles, which are valued about the same as Sealian Galleons.”
“Even the architecture is different,” Ricky observed. There were few of the tile roofs that proliferated in Tossa, replaced by ones of stone with steeper pitches.
“More snow falls in Hessilia in the winter months than in Paranty.”
Ricky nodded. He had never studied Hessilia in detail in his world history classes. “Everyone walks faster here,” Ricky said.
Tobia laughed. “Business is busy-ness. Torak is the trade center in Hessilia. Let’s see if our baggage made it to our inn, and then we can get something to eat.”
~
“I can’t believe I’m here,” Ricky said. “The ship wasn’t much different from the Dimani ship that I sailed, except I couldn’t understand what the sailors said. Now everything is different, and I still can’t figure out what anyone is say
ing.”
Minnie took a bite of the pork steak that she had ordered. “We let you alone on the ship since you were recovering, but now you’ll have to focus on learning Duterian. The Ring sorcerers don’t teach in Parantian. Duterian is a dialect of Hessilian, so you’ll understand most of what people from the other city-states are saying.”
“How long will that take?” Ricky said.
“It is up to you,” Tobia said. “It may take weeks, or it may take months or years.”
“Weeks sound better,” Ricky said.
Minnie chuckled. “Then we will have to get to work when we get back to the inn. I asked for some basic language texts. We can stay in Torak for two weeks while we communicate with your Parantian banks to see how much of your wealth King Leon will permit you to keep. The clerk assured me that they would send out birds before night,” she said.
Ricky felt a power-link engage in his mind.
You haven’t drowned yet? Princess Pira said. I waited a full week before trying to contact you.
Ricky mouthed ‘It’s Princess Pira’ to his servants. He rose and walked outside, sitting on a bench in front of their inn.
I have made it as far as Torak. No other ships could have reached here, Ricky said. Is the king actively seeking me?
My guardian has graced me with his absence, Pira said, but my contacts haven’t heard a thing about you, other than your being branded a traitor to the crown, of course.
Of course, Ricky replied. What about General Farlotti? He seemed to be reluctant to capture me.
He was upset enough after being blown into the sea, but I think you read him right. He is caught between his duty to Paranty and his duty to my guardian, the princess said. We had to return to Dimani for new sails, so I arrived in Sealio a day later than scheduled. General Farlotti stayed behind and took a ship north to see about returning his troops to Paranty. He had no desire to stay in Dimani after you revealed that Prince Ticco fabricated the gold discovery. Subjugating another country isn’t cheap when there’s no gold to pay for troops, tents, and food. Do you miss me yet, my lord?
Ricky panicked. He didn’t want to flirt with the princess. I spent the voyage recovering from my wounds, and today I deposited one-hundred-twenty-four thousand Sealian Galleons into a bank, which shall remain nameless.
You don’t trust me?
I heard that princesses don’t last long under torture, Ricky said, grimacing as he said it.
He nearly felt a sigh.
You are right. I’ll leave you in a moment, but I did want to say your little Mara won’t be returning to Tossa. I heard some ancient books were recovered in that city. My guardian seemed a bit too smug when he boasted about that fact.
Ricky made a sound that attracted the attention of a few passersby. Another secret revealed. I’ll tell you about it another time, if there is a need.
There will be, Pira said. I have to go. Think of me, and I’ll think of you.
I am at your service, Princess Pira, Ricky said with another groan.
The link died. Ricky walked back inside the restaurant and described his conversation.
“So she’s not upset with you?” Tobia said.
Ricky shook his head. “She could be upset with me, and I’d never know it. It’s like she wants to be friends.” Ricky shivered.
“More than friends?” Minnie asked.
Ricky had to nod. “I’m sure she’s playing with me, so I play along, wincing as I do.”
“You could do worse for a girlfriend than Princess Pira,” Minnie said. “She is smart, powerful in her own way, and I am sure she respects you.”
“So does Effie Asucco.” Ricky talked for a bit about his Tossan friends. “I don’t know when I’ll see them again.”
“You can always invite them to Duteria. Once you get established, you can even pay their way.”
Ricky nodded. “I can, can’t I?” The thought made him feel a bit better. Ricky had choices to make, and Minnie and Tobia didn’t treat him the same way Saganet and Merry did. They were less like parents and more like friends, but he wondered if they would behave the same if he didn’t hold their contracts. He thought about that for a moment.
“I want to cancel your contracts,” Ricky said. “I still want to employ you both, but as employees, not as contract servants.”
Tobia and Minnie laughed. “We already are. Servant contracts are illegal in all of Hessilia’s city-states. We were free the minute we walked off the ship,” Tobia said. “Since we are currently unemployed, Minnie and I will take you up on your offer. We know you are good for the money.”
“After my fortune, are you? It would be easy enough to swindle me, since I have no idea what I signed, or what you told the bank clerk.”
“Use that as incentive to learn Duterian as quickly as you can!” Minnie said.
~
The next day, the three of them bought clothes suitable for Torak and Duteria, but that was Ricky’s last time out of the inn for ten very long days. Tobia and Minnie relentlessly taught him Duterian. They would switch on and off, even between meals.
Ricky’s head ached with all the effort, but Minnie proclaimed that he was making progress. He thought of the trouble Mara had had with Parantian, not knowing how much was fact and how much was fiction. Still, he didn’t want to be stuck like her, not being able to progress because he couldn’t pronounce the harsher way the Hessilians spoke.
By the time they headed out in a modest carriage that Tobia bought, Ricky had progressed to basic phrases, enough to understand that he had recovered about half the money that Duke Noacci had given him. The rest was impounded by King Leon. That was good news, since Ricky thought he had lost it all.
They spent the night in a village inn. Tobia took Ricky out into the pleasant twilight.
“There is a fine blacksmith in this village. He makes solid swords. I’d like enough of an advance on my wages to buy one,” Tobia said. “I’d like you to meet him.”
They strolled to the end of town. Ricky could smell a forge before Tobia turned down a lane.
“Is that you, Toberu?” the blacksmith said, as they entered a smithy that was brightly lit with torches.
Ricky couldn’t understand exactly what was said after that, but it appeared Tobia and the blacksmith were cousins. After hugs and back-slapping, they sat down. The smith beckoned Ricky to do the same.
“You are a noble?” the smithy asked.
“Yes,” Ricky said, not knowing what else to say. He listened better than he talked.
The man nodded. He turned to Tobia, and they talked while Ricky tried to pick out words in the rapid stream of conversation. The smith disappeared into the smithy and returned with a sword enclosed in a worn leather sheath. He gave it to Ricky.
“What do you think?” he said. Tobia had to help with a few words.
Ricky pulled the sword out of the sheath, and his mouth dropped open. He had never seen such a blade before. It had straight edges tapering until it curved into a point. Both sides of the blade showed wavy forge marks. The steel felt solid. Ricky swung the blade, disappointed that it was much too heavy a weapon for him.
“I’ll buy it for you,” Ricky said in Parantian. “It is beautiful.”
Tobia and his cousin negotiated. They both enjoyed the dickering, it seemed to Ricky, and then they slapped their right hands together. Ricky guessed it meant they had struck a deal.
“Ten eagles,” the smith said, looking at Ricky, who plucked the coins from his purse, making it much lighter.
“Can you find your way back to the inn?” Tobia said. “Take the sword. I’ll not be needing it for what I intend to do.”
Ricky lugged the weapon back to the inn. Minnie waited for him in the little lobby.
“Did Tobia talk you into buying him a little toy?” she said with a smile on her face.
“I don’t know how much Hessilian I learned, but Tobia was very happy to visit his cousin.”
“I’m surprised Tobia was able to talk him
out of that.” She took the sword from Ricky and pulled it out a few inches from the sheath. “It’s worth over one-hundred eagles. His cousin probably spent three months making it.”
“I paid ten eagles.”
Minnie slapped her knee. “You were robbed. Tobia should have gotten that for free.”
She gave the sword back to Ricky. “He’ll be a handful tonight, assuming he makes it home. It’s been a long time since they’ve seen each other,” Minnie said. “He’ll be wearing that tomorrow, and you’ll be wearing your sword when we enter Gruntal. The city-state of Gruntal is to military etiquette as Duteria is to sorcerers. A man or youth won’t get any respect if they enter the city unarmed, no matter how much they have deposited in the State Bank of Hessilia.
~~~
C
HAPTER TWO
~
T HE BLACK STONE WALLS STRETCHED FOR MILES on either side of the massive iron-bound gate that led into the city-state of Gruntal. Guards, carrying pikes with pennants trailing in the breeze, walked the walls.
“What are they guarding against?” Ricky asked Tobia, as the carriage moved slowly in a long line, waiting to enter the city. “Or are they keeping people in?”
Minnie leaned forward and parted the closed curtain with a finger to look out. “Practice, drills, whatever it is to continue to improve their relative position in the Gruntalian military rankings,” she said. “Those guards may spend the day practicing riding horses with lances tomorrow, or how to mend armor the next.”
“How does anything real get done?” Ricky said.
“Oh, it does. Not every citizen wishes to train every day of their lives,” Tobia said. “I was one of them until I found I had talent.”
“You lived in Gruntal?”
Tobia nodded. “There is turnover in the military,” he said. “My cousin didn’t like putting up with smug officers and he left, taking his sword-making skills with him. The Supreme Commander himself tried to talk him into staying, but he left and hasn’t regretted it. Me, they just patted on the head, and then patted me on my bottom and sent me on my way. Good swordsmen are as common as flies.”
