Ancient Kings (The Young Ancients)

by P. S. Power

  "You need to keep these on you as you travel. Having a survival hut back here in the Capital while you're in the middle of Vagus isn't going to help anyone. Sorry to lecture you on it, but this whole thing is a bit of a rush. Oh... crud. Come with me." It was abrupt and a bit pushy, but Tor spun and marched off, looking for Collette. He hadn't seen her that evening at all, which was kind of rude of him, since they were so close as to practically be married. What kind of boyfriend was he, forgetting her like that?

  Jerk. He smiled about it and half jogged back down the stairs, Gerent following gamely enough, if not as fast, his eyes a bit wide when Tor looked back at him. He found Collette neatly sitting in a side room, the one with the communications device the house had, next to Trice who was speaking in low and calm tones to the King.

  "I don't know... Tor's here, along with Gerent." She gestured to them to walk over, her face set and a bit hard looking, though it softened after a few seconds. "Tor, do you know the current plan? I ran out before it was all set." He scooted over a bit, still standing next to the device, so that Tor had to move close to her in order to speak. Collette was looking a bit worried, but sat away from them on a small love seat, gesturing silently for Gerent to take the place next to her. It looked like a polished wood frame with soft cream colored cushions, but it wasn't really even there at all. It just looked like it. Tor was pretty sure he'd seen the same design in the guest house at the King's palace a few times. It was nice.

  He gave a run down without even saying as much as hello, not stopping until the King asked a very practical question.

  "How do we pay for all this? I know that many will gladly volunteer their time and effort, given the severity of the situation, but if we're to take people from their normal employment, they'll need at least a bit to keep themselves and their families fed and under a roof." It was a good point and a thing that Tor hadn't considered at all. Even his own family would need to be paid, so that the effort wouldn't bankrupt them while they sent people out to do their delivery work.

  "Is there anything left in my accounts with the Treasury?" It could, he knew, all be gone. After all that was what he'd asked happen to it. That it be spent on parties and festivals. Alphonse was in charge of that part of things.

  The King scoffed a bit, which wasn't a pleasant sound.

  "Anything left? It's growing still. Trying to pry your coin from my son's fingers is a much harder task than I figured it would be at first. Are you suggesting that we use some of that for the project?"

  "All of it, at need. I'll get with Rolph... Alphonse on that score. Also... Collette, what do we have in the vault here? Anything?"

  The very attractive blonde sat straighter and spoke in a low voice, her cornflower blue eyes looking at him very directly.

  "About one point two million gold. I've had to enlarge the space six times already." She smiled about it, as if it were a joke, but Tor knew it wasn't. The horrible thing was that, with the gold in there, it meant it wasn't out in the world helping out regular people at all.

  He nodded a bit.

  "Let's use that too. Collette and Gerent will handle those funds. They can spend it on anything they like anyway. I was actually just looking for Collette to make sure she knew that. Oh, also, make sure Gerent takes at least ten gold a month for a stipend. That's just a token though. He can use whatever he needs. Give it away, or whatever he wants." It made sense to him, but Trice went wide eyed suddenly and then turned away dabbing at her face.

  She didn't say anything at all though.

  The King did.

  "Excellent. Gerent, will you be available to speak about matters soon? Perhaps over diner tomorrow evening? If you can make it..."

  "Ah..." The little man looked like someone had drained the blood from him suddenly. There was nearly convulsive swallowing and he started to shake a little. Then his voice firmed and sounded almost noble. It wasn't exactly right, and was pure faking, but Tor had to feel impressed. From the way his new family member felt it was as if he was being invited to stick his hand in a fire and leave it there, and he did it, even though he was afraid. "Certainly sire. I don't know that I'm ready for such a thing, but I'll be there to make a fool of myself anyway."

  Tor nodded, understanding that one himself. At least he'd grown up using the same table manners that the nobility used, trained that way by his mother. Poor Gerent didn't even have that.

  "You have a Fast Carriage and should be able to get to Lairdgren and back before noon. Collette, would you see if Glaren would cover manners for him before he leaves? I know that I'd have loved that before I went to something like that the first time. Don't worry Gerent. They don't really bite, and will understand if you don't know something yet. They're all good people. If a little too into intrigue at times. Watch for that. Especially from the King. He's so good at hiding what he's doing that he thinks we don't know about it at all. We all do though. We all do." He was playing, and it came out in his voice, but that was on purpose, to help set Gerent at his ease. After all, to him, a person that had lived his entire life as not just a commoner, but very nearly the lowest of even that group, just thinking about a meal with the King had to be a vast and terrible thing.

  Richard didn't even have to have that part explained to him. No matter what anyone thought, the man really was a decent person first. Sometimes it was hard to see, like with Tiera and Sandra, since his hands were tied like they were, but that didn't mean he didn't want what was best for everyone. It was pretty much all he wanted, as far as Tor could tell. He already had gold and power. What was left, except to do his job well?

  "There is that. The meal will be at nine. Patricia, will you be attending with him?"

  That got another smile from Trice, and a soft look for Gerent. It was a thing that Tor had seen directed his way more than once as well. It was telling. Reaching out he felt what she was and while it might not be love, it was certainly a lot warmer than just having used the man for her own ends. She felt close to him. After the first slight flare of jealousy, Tor decided it was a good thing and let it go. If he was going to spy on peoples thoughts, he couldn't let it all get to him. Gerent was worthy of kind thoughts anyway, and feelings. So was Trice.

  "Sure. I'll be there. That way we can talk too." She stopped there and no one looked at her funny. Why wouldn't she want to chat with her Uncle the King?

  "Very good. I look forward to it. Now, there's the matter of the Austran Ambassador? I hadn't been informed that he was in the city, officially. I should have a meeting with him. We need to get Samantha Callings in as well. Would Timon be available for that, or one of his people? We can pay for the service."

  Tor took down the information, using a writing pad and pencil that Collette kept by the communications device and went to set that up, Gerent following behind him. Timon was watching Kincaid, Petra, and Brown stand in front of the Austran devices in the front hall, the backdrop having changed to something far plainer than what was normally there. It was a golden colored wall now, with just a bit of irregular texturing. They'd all changed clothing, Petra standing behind the others, since she towered over them.

  They looked similar, all in very official looking brown jumpsuits with nametags on the front, which were all magical clothing devices in actuality. They also looked well made up, which, Tor realized, meant they were using disguise devices for it. Except Denno. He just looked like that.

  The words were coming from Brown, which made sense, him being basically the real ruler of Austra.

  "There is no need to panic at this point. We'll have an announcement when it's time for that. It is important that you report to the local medical center as soon as possible at the first sign of any breathing difficulty. We have a treatment for this disease, provided by our friends in Noram. The most important thing to remember is to be aware of your health and to seek treatment as rapidly as possible. Secondary treatment facilities will be coming to an area near you soon. Please use them, even if you feel well at the moment. It's possible t
o carry and spread this disease even while feeling perfectly fine."

  Then Kincaid took over, walking through the room with the others following her, gesturing to the furniture behind her as people scrambled to move their lens boxes and lights. Her words were smooth, as if she'd rehearsed them already a dozen times, even though that couldn't be the truth.

  "The technology of Noram is very different than our own. They call it magic, but the fact of the matter is that it simply functions in a different manner. Using direct mental interfaces and quantum effects to produce incredible results. Conserina Ward, you said that you'd demonstrate the healing device for us? Can you explain how it works to the people at home?"

  Tor wondered what she'd say, because he was halfway certain the Petra didn't have a clue as to what it actually did. He'd never gone into detail about that part of things with her. He was a bit surprised then, when she started speaking. She held up the amulet, one of the first ones that he'd made, being on glass instead of focus stone, with its green glowing silhouette of a man on it and smiled, holding it out for the boxes to see.

  "Certainly Kincaid. Call me Petra though. This is a healing device made by the Wizard Tor. It causes the human body to heal at a faster rate of speed than it normally would, and return to a base state of health in a few moments. It can't re-grow limbs, but it will allow a person to correct wounds, disease and poisoning in a matter of minutes. Here, allow me to demonstrate."

  Out of the people in the room, only Tor really knew what was going to be coming next. Petra made the sleeve of her jumpsuit vanish, and pulled a knife, then slit her forearm to the bone, near the elbow. The blood didn't spurt, but it poured out as Kincaid gasped. Then the large, good looking Conserina held her arm out and tapped the sigil on the amulet, allowing a man with a lens box to come very close, so that the healing was visible to him. It was both gross and fascinating at the same time.

  "Oh my god... did you see that?" Kincaid wasn't having an easy time of the demonstration, but Brown played off of it as if it had been written down for him.

  "I did Miss Rue. I've used this device myself before and can guarantee its efficiency. Unfortunately they're difficult to manufacture and only a small handful of people in the world can do so. Also, due to other situations, they're normally not allowable in Austra. The ones we have coming are all the personal property of Torrance Purple. This is a great kindness considering he cannot come to our land himself, since a small problem with the Larval have caused them to hunt him as their primary target, as most of you know. That situation will soon be remedied however. Tor, would you say a few words to the people of Austra? I'm certain they'd all love to hear from you."

  He went blank, mentally. It wasn't fair, to put him on the spot like that, was it? Kincaid was still staring at Petra though and neither of them seemed ready to resume their speaking parts. He walked over, so that the men and women with their boxes wouldn't have to turn around to see him. It bought him a few seconds if nothing else. When he got to Denno he contemplated hitting him, but turned to the correct direction and looked at the lens like the others had been doing.

  What would he want to know if someone were trying to explain this to him? After a full second he tried to just speak as if someone were actually there.

  "Hello everyone. As Denno Brown said, this is a dangerous, but very survivable situation. We all need to work together and do our parts, naturally. In the next days and weeks there will be opportunities for all of you to help those around you. To be there for your friends, families and neighbors." Which was a great thing to say, if he were talking to a Noram audience, which he wasn't. Austra was a far greedier place and didn't think overly much beyond their immediate kin. What would get them interested? "Also a chance to travel to other lands to help there, on my coin. We're going to need a lot of people, in many places, so please consider volunteering. There will be an announcement when this comes around, but it won't be long, so stand ready."

  He had boats and could make more after all. Soam and Tellerand would need help, he thought. They were good people, but they didn't seem to do a lot of traveling. Not the fast kind at least. Vagus either, but they had their own builders and magic now. He should be able to just send some things to them and let them do a lot of the work themselves.

  Denno beamed as if he'd said exactly the right thing.

  "Is there a chance for people to meet you coming soon too? I know that will be popular." The man was pushing things for some reason and in a way that meant Tor would be trapped if he wasn't careful.

  "That's the plan. Of course I need to actually make the healing devices first." That and hunt down Gray. It would mean a trip to Afrak was coming soon. That part would be less than fun, because she was family, but you didn't try to kill most of the people in the world and just walk away.

  Tor smiled and wondered if Denno was going to try and dump more on him. He did, mentioning that there would be some rewards for volunteers, such as produce. That seemed strange to Tor, but the good looking Ancient called over Tim to expand on the idea.

  It was about then that Tor realized that there was a cable leading out the door, and when he tracked it with his mind, the field led to a device outside, which was sending a faint signal up into the air. Putting the message out instantly? That was impressively fast work.

  Denno ended the whole thing with another speech about being aware and taking sensible precautions, such as washing your hands regularly and reporting to the nearest medical center if symptoms came up.

  The second the lights went off Tor sighed.

  "So they all saw this? What are the odds that people aren't headed over to see their doctors this second?" He was a bit tired, but Brown shrugged and waved a hand in the air lazily.

  "Almost a hundred percent. Every person with a cough or the sniffles will be going by the time this had played twice. We couldn't afford to wait however. The first real wave of this has already started. Inside a week we might lose millions, even with our best efforts. The same goes for all the lands."

  Which meant he needed to get to work right then, didn't it? But he wasn't doing it there. He wanted to see Ali first and get her those flowers. It was too selfish of him though. He nearly got mad at himself, feeling so conflicted.

  "I'm off to Lairdgren then. If you need me in the next few hours, use the communications device, after that I'll be out of touch for about four days. Then I'll need some things picked up for delivery."

  It was going to be a pain.

  "Someone find Gray and kill her, will they?" He was half joking, but Timon nodded and looked at Brown.

  "On it." There was a coldness to the boy that sent a chill down his spine then.

  Not that it didn't need to be done.

  He took off for the school and landed in the dark, then got a compression rig from around his neck and a cutter. It took hours to come up with the tens of thousands of little tile squares he needed. They weren't as big as normal, about half that size. Any smaller and he'd have to worry about people losing them too easily. As it was they were going to look like they were miniatures anyway. They didn't have holes for a string either, but they weren't meant to be worn. He used a resized floating box, created out of the same material the craft were, to hold the things and arranged himself in the front room of Ali's house. It was a bit rude of him to take up the space, but he didn't want to change the house more than he had too. As it was he needed to make all the furniture in the room vanish, except for a comfortable and soft chair. Then he floated the box in, making the front wall go away for a bit, and reforming behind it.

  The box was made into a platform, so that the shield material wouldn't stop him from interacting with the tiles and he settled into a very deep state to get things done.

  The trick was in a combination of things, such as using a very deep mental state, and allowing the initial field to infect the things around it. Kind of like a disease itself. Once he had that going it was just a matter of making sure everything took. That was the part tha
t required time, since otherwise the results could be a bit hit or miss.

  The world went away for a while, but it felt like only a minute or two to him. When he came back and opened his eyes, Ali was there, sitting next to him in a chair, reading a book.

  He smiled.

  "Hello." For once his voice didn't sound like a frog croaking at all. He stood and stretched, but didn't get halfway through it before his wife grabbed him, surging up from her chair, school book flying.

  "Tor! That was faster than I thought it would be. What are you making? They look like healing amulets..."

  "That's right. No one told you about the illness?" He looked at her. She was in her normal school browns, made to look like humble canvas and had her shoulder length hair pulled back. She was taller than he remembered her too. About five-ten already. She was going to end up being big.

  "Illness? No. I was working for a few days... I did it. I created my first build and then made some copies. It works!"

  Tor hugged her and picked her up off the floor. She was taller than he was, but not that heavy.

  "Builder Ali!" His smile was so big it nearly split his face and tears came to his eyes. He'd been a little worried that it might not work her first time. Traditionally people failed on their first attempt. Half the Lairdgren Group needed help that way even and they were the cream of the crop.

  So, apparently, was his little wife.

  "Can I see it?" He had no clue what it would be, but she had one of them around her neck and it was handed to him instantly. She didn't speak, just watching him closely, which he took as a sign that he was supposed to activate it.

  It had an etching on the metal, one that was just a single hash line. Basic but efficient. When he tapped it though, nothing happened. At first.

  Then the room filled with the scent of apple pie. It was a rich and full scent, with undertones of yeast and strangely, pine trees. He didn't blurt anything out, tracing the effect itself first. It took him nearly a full five minutes to work out what was happening, since it was so subtle.