by P. S. Power
Smythe of Westend.
Supposedly he was even good at it, the best in fact, though the idea didn't fill Tor with any kind of confidence. The man had tried to kill him and would have if he hadn't been able to get that weapon away from him and blind him in return.
Kolb, bald head shining a little in the evening light that came through the window, smiled, one of his wintry ones that always made Tor wonder if he planned to kill someone.
“He's out of commission for now. Luckily for him. I suppose we could let him investigate himself first… Not that we really need to. It was a clear act of treason trying to kill Tor. If he'd managed it, our military would be crippled for months. In the palace even… Actually I'm kind of surprised he's still alive. A bit of an oversight on your part Tor.”
Tor stuck his tongue out.
“What do you expect? You trained me to run away. The only reason I didn't there was because I was blind already. Even at that I tried to crawl away to avoid him. “Crawl away slowly” just isn't a very good battle cry. I…” Sigh. Why did everything have to be so difficult all the time? He knew what had to be done, but it seriously wasn't fair. Not at all.
“I… suppose I could fix his eyes. His hand is gone, I don't think I can get it to regrow or anything…” That was true, he'd looked into the idea for Trice, but so far nothing seemed like it would work. “Really though, if I do that, what are the odds that he'd just try to kill me again? Are there any other investigators available?”
If there were, Smythe was in charge of them.
The rationale everyone explained to him made good enough sense from a royal perspective. Smythe ran the military, so if a Count had to be called on their behavior, the guy running the investigation needed as much protection as possible, or else they could be intimidated into buckling under due to threats, or possibly be bribed. Smythe was, apparently, known for a lot of things, which included having been a powerful warrior in his youth, a good military strategist and also, apparently, un-bribable. He lived in the palace for free, in a simple servants room, didn't have a family to threaten, and his only “vice” if it could be said to be one, was his penchant for wearing those cream and yellow robes of his. Apparently that wasn't the uniform for the position, it was just what he liked. Well, that and a spot of Tor killing now and again.
He was even known for being friendly and kind in general. Fatherly even. Everyone agreed on that point. Even the ones that had seen the man blind him.
That earned the room a snort from Tor, but he didn't comment. The first time he'd met the guy he'd seemed nice enough, but then the next he set a commando squad after him who tried to capture and/or kill Tor. The time after that they didn't speak and this last time… Well, obviously the guy had issues somewhere in his head.
What got Tor was that, while everyone else in the room, except for Kevin, the man in black that had opened the door, seemed to feel that Smythe should be put to death for attacking him, they also thought that Tor should fix his eyes and get him to investigate the Wards. Kevin stayed out of it, looking pale and a bit frightened by the day’s events. He stood near the back of the room and had started shaking more than a little. Finally Tor got up and went to him, gently placing his hand on the older and larger mans arm.
“Alright there Kevin?”
“I… well, this has been a lot to take in. It's not what I expected at all for today. I just answer the door and make sure the staff does their jobs, set schedules and deliver ma'am her meals. And then suddenly, rooms are flying around and the crown is demanding millions of golds from us. People are sitting around talking about killing a man and at the same time saying you should fix his blind eyes first with magics that would probably cost more than any one person holds? That's… It's not sane is it? You don't heal a man, just to kill him later or…” The man kept shaking and looked down.
Right. Good point, that wasn't sane. For his part, Tor had mainly been avoiding even thinking about the issue. He wasn't going to kill Smythe himself, but didn't want to be killed either. Fixing his eyes felt like a bad plan for that very reason. He'd taken off the man's hand, which had to mean that if the guy could, once he'd healed, he'd be coming after him again, right? The Counselor was a warrior after all, old as he was. And deadly clever. He'd nearly managed to kill Tor while he was wearing the best shield available.
True, Tor didn't have a lot of choice at the time, but anger wasn't very rational, not as a rule. As to the rest he just didn't know. Obviously County Printer wouldn't be paying him millions of golds. For one thing, he didn't know what he'd do with it even if he had it. He literally didn't have a place for it. Not at all.
What should he do?
“OK…” He said, not really thinking first, the words just tumbling out like they sometimes did. “The gold… Well, instead of paying that all at once Holly, how about you set up a small delivery of it for me at need? I don't need to have it all at once or even really at all, unless you won't give me the gold I have in my trunks? Then you have to pay up!” He smiled at her and winked. “But really, I don't need that much. How about we…”
What? He didn't have a clue. What did he think they should do with the money? If he'd been able to finish school, he probably would have eventually learned about economics. How to run a building shop if nothing else. He kind of wished Rolph, with his accounting skills, was there to help him. He'd know what to do. School? Could he finish that? Only if he had one to go too.
“Right, so, why don't we support the Lairdgren School, since we both went there, scholarships and stuff and, maybe… Start another one here in Printer?” Tor looked around expecting people to tell him it was a stupid idea, but he'd learned a lot in school, and while it wasn't all good, there was value in learning.
Holly stood and bowed.
“As you wish. How much do you want annually? For your personal draw?” She said, sounding slightly cold.
“I… I don't know. Maybe five hundred gold? I probably won't need that all the time though and I may not need it each year at all, honestly I probably won't, could you keep it for me, until I need it? Is that all right?” Tor hated how meek he sounded, but she looked angry. Well, she had until he spoke the amount, then she suddenly smiled.
“Really?” Holly ran around the table and hugged him in a less than dignified fashion, picking him up off the floor. “We can do that! I thought you'd want a million a year or something. God Tor… you could break us forever if you took it all at once. The interest could sink us even this way. Not that I don't deserve it, but the County doesn't. My wrong doing shouldn't hurt them. What do you want for the schools?”
That, he decided would have to wait. At least until he had the time to build the new school buildings or have it done, and then they'd have to find teachers and all that. Maybe Hardgrove, the dean at Lairdgren would have suggestions? They also needed to get kids into place. A lot of students had left Lairdgren when the war started, seeking military glory or other stupid things like that. Like anything good came of killing? He said all this out loud which started him laughing after a while. That earned him some puzzled looks.
If he felt like that, then what did he do about Smythe? Well, the only real solution seemed to involve him talking to the man and seeing what could be worked out.
There was suddenly so much to do. And almost none of it had anything to do with building. He was a builder… That's what he should be spending his time on, not this garbage. Tor stood and stretched, then plunked back down. So what should he do first? He asked the room and oddly enough it was Kevin, the butler, who answered.
“Sir… if it's all right for me to make suggestions?” The man began, but didn't say anything else.
“With me? Always. I know I'm not so brilliant I shouldn't listen to other people. I may ignore you, but that shouldn't stop you from saying what's on your mind. Or hitting me in the back of the head with a rock until I listen, if I'm doing the wrong thing… What do you have for us?” Tor expected a suggestion that they all bathe, or rea
dy themselves for dinner, something like that, but what the man said next was a real surprise.
“It seems that you have an organizational problem sir. Right now you need to reestablish contact with Count Ward and his lady, and assure them that the proceedings are going forward and that currently you plan an investigation first. I know that if I were personally accused of a crime, I would find that to be greatly reassuring. Especially if I were claiming innocence of it.
“At the same time you, personally, are needed for the common defense and that, if I understand correctly means working undisturbed? Given everything, I think you should delegate some of these tasks. Visit with Ward first, as that is a matter of honor, then establish a working base and send others out to do most of these things for you. Hire a man to manage the school funds and scholarships for instance. That should leave you at least slightly more time to work.”
It was a plan, a good one, but he didn't know how to make it all happen. He didn't want to work out of the palace and didn't have a home to go back to, did he? The military had taken it over. A wave of despair came over him then, which turned into anger. He had to close his eyes and calm himself before he could even think correctly. When he opened his eyes, everyone else was across the room looking worried.
“What?” Tor said, his tongue a bit thick feeling suddenly.
Trice giggled, earning a glare from the room.
“What were you just thinking about?” She said as if it made sense as a question. The tone was serious for all that she was smiling at him.
“Um, the military taking over my house. It's kind of ticking me off. I mean, I was thinking of it as mine, but apparently no one else did. Oh well, I guess I just need to start over somewhere, when I get a chance. I don't need much, but well, later. There's too much to do right now for me to whine about things, right?”
Everyone nodded, though Kevin was starting to back out of the room. Everyone else held their ground well enough. Had he looked that ticked off? Wow, he must seem deranged for people to respond like that. He apologized and closed his eyes, seeking as much calm as he could muster. After all, if he was acting like a jerk or something, or looked crazy, he needed to fix it. After about five minutes he opened his eyes, only to find that everyone else had sat and was staring at him with similar funny expressions on their faces.
“Ah… I wasn't in a thinking trance or anything. If I'm supposed to produce a brilliant plan or something now, you're all out of luck. Well, I think that Kevin had some good ideas. He can be in charge of the school stuff. Holly, would you see that he's paid fairly for his work on that? I should focus on getting the ball rolling in the poison investigation, if the King doesn't have that underway already. If that isn't overstepping what I'm supposed to do I mean. Other than that, well anyone have an idea of where I can go to set up a base for this? I'd rather not stay with the Wards, before anyone suggests that. It would look a little bit like favoritism or something. Same with staying in Printer or Thorgood, even though none of those have been offered. The Capital, well, could I rent something in town maybe? Or… buy some land do you think? I can build fast enough. It doesn't even have to have water on it. I don't know…”
Tilting her blond head, her slightly large nose and full lips giving her face a lot of character, Holly blinked at him several times as if he was speaking a foreign language and finally started nodding. Without getting up she reached over, a large lean across the table, and put her shielded hand over his own.
“Tor… You just went into a combat rage. The aura… how did you stay so calm?” She sounded impressed, and a little scared.
Petra grinned.
“I've seen him do it before, when we were in bed together at Count Thompson's. I'd told him about some of the lies Maria had spread about him three years ago, before she left school and he did something similar. I thought he was going to kill me at first, but he just sat and closed his eyes like that and it went away. I think it's because of all the building work he does, the discipline letting him control himself, even when pushed like that. I don't know for a fact though.” She smiled and him, her white teeth flashing in smooth dark skin.
“If it is the case then I want to learn building too. Could you imagine the power a warrior would have if they could learn to harness the rage like that? Targeting things on purpose, not just lashing out?”
It made sense and felt right, but Tor didn't really know. Varley looked a little put off by it, so he tried to set her at ease, telling her that he was fine now, and forcing a smile. He really was too. His head felt a little stuffed, reaction to having been in a combat rage, but he'd live. It was just a thing after all. She made some non-committal statement about it, but obviously still seemed worked up. Tor couldn't see why, but Trice did.
“Hey, Varley, don't go blaming Tor there, it wasn't him being indiscreet, that one was all Petra. Who really should know better… Tor's the guy from the country that doesn't know all the rules, not her.” The glance she gave the dark girl was amused, not upset at least.
Petra smiled and looked around playfully.
“Oh! I guess I phrased that one wrong didn't I? I haven't had sex with Tor yet at all. I was on guard duty, sort of, and was sitting on his bed so that we could be under the silence field thing of his while we talked, that's all, which is why I didn't try to hide that part. Totally innocent.” Then she licked her lips seductively while dropping her chin and making her eyes go half hooded, an overdone thing that made her previous, and totally true, words seem like a lie.
Everyone else at the table laughed. Tor just shook his head and asked if anyone knew what that stuff for combat rage reaction was called, and where he could find some? He added, while they were at it, if someone could get him a guidebook that explained the silly rules of the nobles, so he didn't start a war or wake up one night with Varley trying to trim off body parts that he'd barely gotten to use, just because someone made an offhand comment? No one laughed at him for saying it, but then they wouldn't, not with him having just been showing combat aura.
Holly went to see about the first part, but everyone else just chuckled gently, awkwardly not making eye contact with him, watching her leave. Right, he was helpless and clueless little Tor. He wanted to raise an eyebrow at them all, but had never actually mastered doing that. Instead he just sighed dramatically and tried to look much put upon. It was close enough to reality so he thought he probably did a good job.
Varley started talking to him and wasn't being all cold or standoffish, so she must have accepted Petra's statement. That or the whole thing had been a game for her to begin with. From the way everyone else reacted he kind of thought that might have been the case.
“Easy enough, we'll get Rolph to lease you some of the Wildlands on an indefinite basis. When you set that river up that you told us about, you can run it past your new house, so water won't be a problem. Rolph said you could build easily enough with that new compression device and earth moving equipment? That way you'll “own” it as much as anyone owns anything and can use it for anything you like. Maybe even your own school? Definitely get enough for your own town at least. “Torville” or maybe “Torington”? Both would be within the normal naming conventions I think, don't you?” The Princess knew one thing about Tor at least, and it was how very much he hated everything he made being referred to as the “Tor” whatever. She was teasing him he realized after a bit, feeling slow and stupid. He smiled at her and smothered a yawn. It wasn't a real one either, just being meant to show how boring he thought the teasing was.
She chuckled and looked at him sweetly. Then yawned for real, which got him to yawn back.
Holly brought him a carafe of brown sludge that tasted like the bottom of a shoe, or at least he imagined that to be the case, and along with that she brought a thick brown leather bound book, one that just said “Manners” on the front in faded black ink. Amazingly, Tor realized as soon as he opened it, the book actually told him a lot of what he needed to know.
“Can I keep
this? I mean, just until I read it, I'll return it, of course.” He asked so eagerly he realized it must be rude, because Holly got a very strained look on her face then. He tried to school his own and not seem over enthused. It really would be a help though. A huge help, if half the things in it were correct.
Holly nodded and told him that would be fine. It was an heirloom, so she wanted it back at some point, but… Tor promised instantly, not making her finish the statement. That she'd even let him look at it was an honor, if it was something that had been in her family for a long time. Trying to remember the protocol for such things, Tor stood and bowed to her, which got her to rise and bow low as well, matching him, tears in her eyes. Everyone else just looked uncomfortable.
Except Kevin the butler who beamed at him and bowed too.
Dinner was to be in two hours, at nine, and they were going out to eat at a local restaurant, one Holly assured them wasn't really nice enough for royalty, which meant that the people were honest and kind, instead of just servile. Varley laughed at that and said it sounded wonderful.
The only problem was that Holly really didn't have his stuff. Not at her house. She'd sent it all off to her military's main training base, some fifty miles away.
Of course, Tor thought, that just figured didn't it? It even made sense, because it was harder to take back nine or ten thousand scattered amulets than ten boxes of them. So as far as that went Tor was still in the same place as before. He didn't even have his own toothbrush, or any way to buy a new one.
Maybe he could trade some of his gadgets for one in town? This was really starting to wear on him he realized. He felt exhausted from it and more than a bit put upon. Things weren't important, but they could be handy and it felt like a little more could be done to make him comfortable too.
Tor didn't let it show. Smiling he asked if what he was wearing would be suitable for this place, trying to act casual about it. He'd only ever been in one restaurant, and that hadn't gone well, so he didn't hold out high hopes for this one, but he didn't want to push the people there into attacking him either.
