by P. S. Power
“It’s free. A present from Queen Tiera and Ancient Taman of Soam. So my taxes won’t go up for that, at least! Again, thank you for your time. I didn’t get your name…”
It hadn’t been offered, but the man wasn’t hiding it. The truth was that most people probably didn’t care, since his name was, as far as they were concerned, Tax Thief.
“Bafth Fedris, sir. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Yours as well, Mr. Fedris. Please, call me Will. I should let you get back to your day now. I imagine that there’s a bit of collection to be done, along the river?” That was, or so he’d heard, where the festivals tended to set up. He hadn’t really heard about anything like that happening for the river hanging though.
The man chuckled a bit.
“Oh… Indeed. Also on that far side today, near the space port? Events have been set up on both sides. Food booths and performers, as well as sales stalls. A right proper event seems to be shaping up here. Will you be attending the activation?”
“I will. I have to, since I built the river. I need to come up with a speech, now that you mention it. There will be some music as well. I’m supposed to go in at ten, to get there on time. Which probably means leaving now.” He didn’t have a watch on him, but his handheld had a clock. That was what he normally used, since no matter where he went, it re-set when he turned the thing on. At least in his own world.
That said he was right, and that leaving was kind of needed, right then. It was, in fact, nearly nine-forty.
“Agh. Okay, I need to…” He nearly panicked, since there was no way for him to get everyone around in time. Thankfully Clemance came out then.
“Clem! I have the new transports. Let me set one up? Can you get everyone to the event on time? I have to leave… Now, actually. If I go through the void, I can do it, I think.” That was hard, since there was no node where he needed to be, but that was doable, from the void. Avery Rome could do it from regular space as well. It was, she had assured him, just a trick. A practiced skill and not some kind of special inborn Dragon magic.
He hadn’t learned that yet.
His cousin, young or not, simply bowed toward him.
“Go. I have this part.”
Willum handed the heavy chest over. It weighed in at about a hundred and fifty pounds but his cousin took that easily enough. His strength was augmented, after all. Enough that he could take a better than average fight to a small army, if attacked.
“Good. This has coin for the musicians. They get fifty gold. I don’t have any cloth sacks for it yet. Um… Also, use your disguise amulet? You need to look a bit ugly or goofy, in case Alice Orange comes in. If that happens, make sure you stick by her today. She can’t trust attractive men, so keep that in mind. Uh…” Then he left. There was a lot to be said, but the kid didn't need to worry about it all. If he managed to get the people to the right place or close enough, then it would work out.
If not, then… Well, the IPB wouldn’t start a war over not being given a good enough treat. They really didn't seem to expect good things at all, most days. Even having people really try for them was still responded to as an unexpected boon.
Running to the red hut, he moved inside and into the void, without even closing the door on the thing. He didn't have to, just twisted space as he moved. Then, focusing hard, he found the location he was supposed to go to. Exactly. Stepping out had to be done carefully, a bit away from the stage, since there were Royal Guards there, helping to get it ready.
Being murdered right before the event wouldn’t help anything.
Instead, he moved in out of sight, down the street. Stepping out from nothing, which would have probably gotten stares if anyone was around to see him. He was just inside an alley, between two buildings. They were, he thought, government facilities, rather than homes or businesses. The outside of each was tall, and had flat roofs. The kind that would collect rain easily. Probably on purpose, actually. The rest was made of thick tan clay.
Walking quickly, he moved forward, wondering who he was supposed to meet at the stage. The area was roped off, with the older man from the night before. The one Royal Guard who hadn’t bothered trying to kick his behind.
“Hello! Did I find the right spot?” It was the place, since finding things like that was a big part of his personal skill set. He was really great at taking messages to places as well. Following the line of intent carefully to where it was needed.
Almost no one could do that, so it was kind of special.
The older gentleman, dressed in nice black and purple clothing, bowed in his direction, going about halfway down. It wasn’t far enough for a Countier, but Willum picked up on the idea instantly. He was dressed in nice, but plain clothing himself. To the man in front of him that indicated that he’d come to work and wasn’t standing on airs or imagined power. So, instead of acting like he was a little kid, and bowing low, he was being treated as if he were an adult. That was… Different.
It was real though, so Willum did it back.
“This is the spot. You’re on time as well. Good. We need to get this platform up, still. That should take about half an hour. You have the speech prepared? We need to set that up as well. How long do you have planned for that?”
Willum looked around, then seeing what would be needed next, walked slowly toward a large piece of the stage. It wasn’t too heavy for him, even if it probably took four strong people to shift around normally. Picking it up, he spoke, moving to the correct spot to wait, holding the thing for the guards doing the work to be ready for it. They hurried, but didn't seem to think it was all that strange, him helping out like that.
“About forty seconds? The whole thing won’t take long. Um… Welcome ladies and gentles all! Today we once again place a magical river, a gift from Harmony and Soam, upon the walls of this mighty city.” He looked around, and passed off the large section of the stage to the four people who jogged over to him. Then he went for the next bit. It was laid out very efficiently.
“After that… Well, I have a bit of a light show, and there should be some musicians coming to play for everyone over the river? That’s about all I have, to be honest. Do I need more than that?”
The man, whose name he didn’t really know, nodded.
“The King will speak first. Then the Heir. You might need to answer questions, so keep that in mind, if you can. When in doubt, thank everyone openly and often. People rarely dislike being told that they’re worthy, after all. After that, we need an introduction of any special personages that are attending? There was some talk of Ambassador Mableton and some of her people?”
He nodded then, thinking.
“Others as well. A great point. I can handle that, I think. Say… I missed your name.”
The older fellow chuckled a bit then.
“George. No last name.”
Some people didn’t have that kind of thing. Most did, but he worked out that the Royal Guard wouldn’t, on purpose. Most likely to keep them humble and anonymous in the world.
“Nice to meet you then, George. I’m Will. We should get this set up, you said?”
Technically that wasn’t his job, but it went faster with him helping as well. Slightly. It still took nearly half an hour, since that was really how long setting the thing up required. There was also a grandstand box next to them, for important people to sit in. Then, moving quickly, Willum double checked the placement of the river tiles, making sure that the flow pattern was going to work right. It was a bit more decorative than the old one was.
Taman had made sure of that, even if the old way had worked pretty well. What he’d come up with hadn’t impressed her much, he thought. She certainly hadn’t gone with his first two ideas at all. Those had been plainer, but it wasn’t exactly simple to carry a river’s worth of water hundreds of miles. The whole thing was ready to go, with only a few small changes being made. The control unit for the river was inside the palace, of course. He could feel that, since his work kind of called to
him when he focused on it.
At about eleven-thirty, George and a tall, brown haired woman both walked over to him. The lady smiled, charmingly enough. She was a bit older as well, but had on enough makeup to hide a lot of it.
“You should change before the event. Something flashy, perhaps?”
Taking a deep breath, he nodded.
“Right, let me…” He had an idea, which was a set of robes, in gold, that looked a bit like shimmering flame. The two looking at him seemed to think it was funny, rather than interesting, but didn’t tell him to fix it.
George cleared his throat.
“That will work. Perhaps make it a bit darker? A hint of red or copper to it?” They worked on the whole thing for several minutes, standing behind the stage. Just as a line of large vehicles in purple and black pulled up, down the street. People started to pour out of the things, getting him to smile. The street was filling up as well, but everyone moved back, so that the IPB folk and the others that had come, could get to the front easily.
He waved, which got a few people to do that back. They were far enough away that it took several minutes of walking for them all to reach the front area. At the same time, the King, his Queen, the Heir and his wife, and both of the in line princesses came out. Most of them heading toward the box to the left. A man in robes of white and gold waved to him. He wasn’t old seeming at all. Then, none of them were. Most of the people there were immortal, Will noticed. At least the nobles were.
He could feel the fields coming off of them that indicated that.
There were more people coming, from the direction of the palace as well, walking together. Three women, it looked like. Queen Tiera, Taman and Princess Allison. They had a guard on them, walking around them as if a real attack was expected.
When she got to him, Cindy was whisked away, to the right, since she, apparently, was going to get to stand behind him on the stage. Several others moved up, but looked tentative. One of those was Marcia Turner, but behind her were several folks he didn’t know at all, standing with instruments. He vaguely recognized the face of the man in front of the other four. They were Austran, so each looked insanely odd. Sorvee didn’t so much, though he had a single tattoo on his face. His hair was just black though, and he seemed pretty normal, otherwise.
Thinking fast, he nodded as the King walked over.
Bowing first, everyone else followed along with him then. The entire crowd. That technically meant that the event was starting.
“King Richard? Prince Alphonse? We should move to the stage. These men and women are here to play for us. We can speak using the river, if you like? That would mean turning it on however… I don’t know if that’s to the plan.”
It wasn’t as it turned out. The kingdom had a loud speaker set up. One that used magical amplification.
The speaking order was different than he’d been told, as well. Prince Alphonse and the King both went first, followed by Queen Tiera, who spoke for both herself and her people as well as Taman and Soam. Her words were a bit less flowery than the men had been, when it was her turn.
“This is being put forth as a gift from other lands, which isn’t incorrect, but I thought that I’d share how that happened, exactly.” She grinned, looking over at Willum, winking. “I noticed that the old river, made by Builder Tor Baker was failing, about a year and a half ago. Then again, when my nephew, Willum Baker, pointed it out to me. A bit heavy handedly I suggested that he build a new one for us.” She paused, which got a laugh from the front of the crowd after a moment. They were mainly IPB people, who had to have things translated into English for them.
“Recall, at the time he had no training at all in magic. It was, more or less, a joke. Then my little sister, the Ancient of Soam took him on as her student. With judicious beatings and berating, she arranged for him to actually do the work. I heard that he nearly died, several times, attempting it. The river that we will see here today is the third complete system that he came up with, the others rejected as not being good enough for you, the people of the Capital. So, yes, this is from other lands. It also comes from the people of Noram. We are one people! On several worlds, but still together!”
Then, as people applauded politely, she got off the stage, leaving just Willum, Cindy and moving into place slowly, the band that had come to play for them.
Rather than do some kind of countdown, Willum just turned the river on, using the control unit. That had been placed on a wooden stand, directly in front of him. It was tan, since the focus stone from where he’d collected the dirt for the tile, a thing the size of both his hands, came out that way there. On the right half there was a streak of jade however. It wasn’t symmetrical, but he’d liked the effect, so had left it.
He just stood there for a few minutes, since it was going to take a while for the water to get there. It flowed fast, but it wasn’t instant at all. Just as people started to get bored and it was clear that the King was going to move in and suggest that he speak, the water came. He could hear it move, but also a cheer start up, from the far side of the city. Then, almost as if the sound were looping with the clear tube of water that hovered over the top of the wall, the entire Capital joined in, making a mighty roar.
When things quieted down, a few minutes later, Will recited his little piece for everyone.
That came from the water itself, so that every person in the city could hear them. The sound was balanced as well, so it wasn’t too loud for anyone. At least if they weren’t directly next to the water itself. You’d need to be on the wall for that to happen, which was illegal, unless you were hired for the job directly.
“Now, let me… Ah, here we go. A bit of a show for you all?” He glanced at the King first, and bowed, then the Prince, who did the same back, indicating he was allowed to play around that way. First he changed the colors of the water. Making it glow brightly, then as an opaque line that looked solid from the outside. People cheered for that, as if it were a big deal.
Then they lost their minds, when he made some simple images come into being. The first were pine trees, floating along the length of the thing. Then, in a hundred even sections, he tapped a sigil which had his face appearing about every ten feet or so. Hundreds of times around the city. It was, he saw, looking up, a bit oppressive. Like he was watching everyone personally. Still, he smiled.
“Now, from Austra, we have some musicians who came all the way just to play for you today. Let’s have a round of applause for Marco Sorvee and his friends? Perhaps you could introduce them?” That was for Sorvee, who moved in, a guitar in his hands.
That had a tail on it, which connected to a speaker. The kind that were connected to computers, only a bit larger.
“Thank you, Wizard Willum! This is an incredible sight here today. One that will impress any who come to our grand city! Let me introduce my band, Memories. On keyboard, we have Wendel Howell, over on lute, we have Lester Glenet. On drums, Saraph! Now, we’d like to play a simple tune for you… The Heart of Flame.”
People cheered then, as if they knew what that was. The song was pretty good, Will had to admit. Different than the things he’d grown up with, but still nice. As he sang, Sorvee was shown to the entire city. At least for the first half of the song. Then Willum moved to the front and altered the focus of the device, to show the others there, finally getting Prince Alphonse as well, then the crowd. Picking up that things were about to end, musically, he allowed the song to end up on Marco, who thanked them all.
He was ready to go on, but didn't know if he was supposed to or not.
Willum didn’t know either, so moved in, speaking calmly.
“Let’s have another big round of applause for Memories! Thank you all so much for coming to celebrate with us today. Now, everyone is eager to get to the festival portion of the day, I’m certain. Obviously, we won’t be playing music over the river all the time, and the lights will be used a bit more tastefully… Maybe.” He smiled, the whole river being turned to a nice purple and b
lue swirl. “In case of civil emergency or important announcement, this will be how information is passed. Thank you all.”
Then he shut up. Part of that was due to the fact that the King was looking at him strangely. When the giant man came over, crown upon his head, wearing a velvet tabard, a thing heavy with brocade showing the crest of the kingdom, the man patted him on the shoulder.
“I hadn’t really understood what we’d been given, Master Willum. This is… An incredible gift! You truly did the work yourself? Amazing.”
The man winced then, since there was almost no way for his words not to be taken the wrong way. Except that Will could pick up what was meant. Cindy, who’d cleverly moved off to the sitting box when the band started playing came back, several others around her. Queen Tiera and Taman being next to her.
“It’s pretty good work, don’t you think, Tiera?” The words were a little informal, but the Queen didn’t act put out by them at all.
“Not bad. I hear that every major city is getting one? Does the master unit allow messages to be sent to all of them from here?”
She wasn’t being kind it seemed, since they didn’t do that at all, of course. Which was her point. Teasing Willum for failing to put that in, even though it was the kind of thing that they really could have done.
“No. Each city has independent control. I…” He didn’t really feel badly, but it actually was a good idea. A great one, to be fair. “Really, we can do something different for announcements like that. Not everyplace will want a river.” Not that his job was building things like that. He was supposed to be a simple messenger. Even that was all about letting him spy on different worlds.
Which Queen Tiera was making a point of giving him a cover for. After all, if he were to look like a famous wizard, no one would suspect that he was anything different than that.
Taman actually understood that instantly, as did Cindy.
Will clasped his hands suddenly and smiled.
“You know, I can do that? I have another assignment first. That and my messages to take around. That’s more of a hobby than not, really. A reason to travel to new places and all that… Yes… I can have that ready in a few weeks? Possibly a month or two, depending on what I end up doing.” Time in other worlds tended to be different, after all.
