by P. S. Power
Dareg didn't really know, but shrugged. After all, Tor had flat out told him that he could spend his coin how he pleased, and getting things going at the ports would secure his position there a lot, he bet.
"A team. I don't know how many yet, since it's coming out of my allowance. A silver a week, per man. Two for Bill..." He paused to look at the small man, who gulped, grinned, and nodded hugely.
Before he could speak, Gerent did.
"Nope. I have this one. Or really, Tor does. I mean, we already have a budget for it. I could come today to talk to him? Petra wants to come in early, in order to try and get a place for the week."
He cleared his throat then, and shook his head a bit, so that dark or not, the man in the picture got the idea.
"Bring something for yourselves and the others? Everything we put up here is filling instantly. We have camps outside the city, with people just sleeping on the ground. In fact, if you could bring in more palaces, we could use them. Sanitation is the big thing. Food, too. Sara was saying this was the biggest thing like it she's ever seen here."
That got a smile.
"Neat! I'll be there in an hour or two? Pet and I are in Printer, so are going to bring Holly with us. Is that all right? I don't want to impose..."
He didn't know who that was, but Holly had the ring of being a nice person. Very green sounding, if a bit prickly at the edges.
"That should be fine. I look forward to meeting her. I... Bill will be just outside my pod house? I have to get to my fighting lessons. We'll dress him in green and brown. Short fellow, about five-two or so." He didn't say commoner, and the Prince didn't ask either.
"Me too, for the clothing. Green work shirt, brown trousers?"
He nodded back. The small man looked away, embarrassed, since he didn't have that clothing on. It was obvious that he didn't have another set that would work either.
Gerent said goodbye and hung up, and instead of demanding an explanation, Bill just looked at the ground sadly and said nothing.
Dare did however.
"The Tam-units can make clothing. Right now it's all set to level one, which will get you a solid colored outfit in the basic style. I, however, am the Tam-unit's friend, so she might just help us out. You know, if we tell her that she's pretty and has lovely eyes. Come on." He smiled about it, and the tiny fellow came along with him like it made sense. They did get him clothing however, and inside the pod house, after making a door appear again, Dare brushed his teeth, then decided not to shower, since he was going right into running.
That left it open for Bill however, who was game enough to try, once the concept was explained to him. He'd seen showers before of course, that being a fairly normal way to keep clean. This one had warm water, which was new to him. Still, when he came out looking clean and dapper in his new canvas outfit, his hair combed properly, it was very clear that the man had hurried.
Looking down, he grinned.
"There should still be water left? I could run and fill the cistern, ser?" The words seemed heartfelt, but it was also clear that the man knew the whole place was magic, and didn't have that kind of thing. Maybe not how it all worked, but his eyes were darting around so fast checking things out that the walls didn't even go transparent.
"No need. It's the nature of this place. The Wizard Taman Baker made it. So, I need to go run, and that means making the door vanish again, so no one will run off with my things. You don't mind eating on the front step, do you? Gerent should be able to find you here."
"Not a problem. This is very exciting. Is he..." The man tried to make things fit, but they didn't seem to really click totally. "The wizard that owns the orchards garden man?"
Since he didn't exactly know the real answer he realized, Dare tilted his head back and forth.
"I think it really is a bit like that. His brother, but he does that work. So, keep that in mind, he basically has the same job you do now. A bit better, because he's been doing it longer, so listen to him, but if you have ideas, tell him all about them. The work of taking care of the port here is yours as far as plants go. Not his. He can't overrule you on that. Not that he'd try." Dareg looked at the little man and shrugged.
Bill however took a deep breath, stood straight and proud in his new clothing and old, very worn, boots, and nodded several times.
"I will, ser. Is... Is he a wizard too? A giant?"
"Hmmm. I don't know if he's a wizard or not. You should ask him. He is a giant, that much is true. Made that way due to magic. They can do that on Harmony, on the Moon? They do all kinds of things now. He told me that he wasn't always so tall. Anyway, when we met he didn't look down on me, even though he's over eight feet high. Like I said though, here, in this place, you're in charge. I mean, you have to bow deep, since he's a Prince and all that, but this isn't his place, so don't let it get to you."
Which didn't seem to help Bill out in the slightest. In fact, the little guy started to shake a bit, so Dare ran and got him some food. He did that sometimes himself, if he didn't eat regularly.
Then, with a pat on the shoulder, he jogged away.
For all Sara had said that he was supposed to be a near super being, it still hurt as much as it ever had. It was also over an hour later when he padded back toward his house, the sun just really starting to rise, when he saw that several giants were in front of his tiny and oddly shaped house, dwarfing poor Bill.
Who shaking visibly or not, was still holding his ground there.
None of them were Gerent however, or even Petra, just Kolb, David Derring, and a man that was between those two in size, who had a hard and sharp look to him. Like fighting wasn't a thing he neglected in life.
Padding up, he sighed a little.
"Hey. So this is the team that came to beat me for the day? I recognize David, but not you yet, sir?"
The other man who wasn't that great looking, managed a weak smile.
"Havar. Baron Ruel Havar." The first name was said in two parts, which was strange. Ru-el. Distinct however, so he bowed to the man, going about halfway down.
"Dareg Canton. Prince of Harmony, Countier Lairdgren, Countier Baker. Space Port Commander. Beat-ee, for the day. Pleased to meet you." Then he turned to the standing man in green and brown.
"This is our head facilities manager for the the grounds. Bill Humboldt. Bill? The short bald one here is my friend Kolb. Our friend, if you're smart about it. He's a good man to know. He'll point Gerent out when he gets here. I'm going to be busy being beaten, I think, or I'd do that part myself. Don't worry, Kolb is a great guy. So are these others, even if I am going to be calling them names in a minute."
It wasn't said as a question but was one, and the tall, hard looking, bald fighter smiled gently.
"Good call, on both counts. Yes, come on over here with me. So, Havar, Dare, there are no rules here, except no shields. Do you have a healing amulet, Dareg?"
He pulled it out, along with his shield which was handed off to the man as Bill did go to stand by him, away from the scene of impending carnage.
"I do. So, shall we? I won't be properly thrashed just standing around stalling, will I?"
Without any hesitation at all, the giant Havar came at him. It started with a series of low kicks, that weren't blindingly fast or anything, but when they hit did real damage. The trick was to keep out of reach. It was a fight though, not a foot race, so he recalled what he'd been shown and tried to keep his guard up while being battered to his knees. Over and over.
He did manage to land a few kicks to the fellow's lower legs, and nothing else, so he focused on that, hoping that it might open things up. Either weaken the man, or get him to make a mistake in pain. It didn't. Oh, it made him angry seeming, and got him to hit harder, blasting through the arm he put up to stop him. That blow nearly knocked him all the way out. No teeth went flying, but a few were looser than he liked now.
Dare didn't go down under the follow up blows, and since the big man was punching, he was able to dodge in and hit him b
ack several times. They nearly traded punches for a bit, but while the large man was rocking him back each time, Dare barely seemed to have an effect when he did things.
After about ten minutes of this, Kolb called a halt to it.
"Stop!" It was, for about half a moment, a relief. "Davey, you're in. A bit more firmly than Havar was doing? We can't afford to take it that easy on him."
David came in and started hitting him full out, fighting like he was going to die if he didn't stop Dareg right then and there. He went down, and had to fight to his feet, guarding and rolling each time he did, as he was battered constantly, with no real break in the action. It was hard, until he felt a cold flash, and strength suddenly flowed through his body, carried on a wave of pure rage.
It seethed through his entire being, and the man he fought staggered away suddenly, not able to keep himself upright. Even Kolb and Bill had to move back about twenty feet.
Then the bald monster of a teacher called out to him.
"Pull that back, Dareg. You have fifteen seconds. Go!"
That was optimistic, and it took about forty seconds to do, not fifteen. Then, as soon as he was in control of himself, he was in the center of a pain cyclone again. Trying to block and control himself at the same time. Finally the man in black leather who he was fighting dodged back again, staggered, even though it was clear he hadn't been touched.
Kolb just waved this time, not saying anything.
It wasn't much faster, though he did try for that.
Then, for over an hour they kept at it. David Derring slamming into him in a way that he wasn't certain he was going to survive, and him spending the brief breaks trying not to let his rage win the day. He was on the last massive beating, or so he thought, when Gerent and Petra came.
Blood didn't pour from him, clotting on his skin already, smeared and rust brown on his clothing. Gerent and Petra were both dressed simply however. He was in a brown worker's outfit, and Gerent was in the same thing but with a snazzy green top, like Bill was. Opening his eyes, he spoke, even if he wasn't totally out of the rage yet.
"This is Gerent. Gerent, Bill. He's in charge here, for plants." It was, almost certainly, rude of him to say it that way, and he'd forgotten to bow, which he did then, even while trying to break free of the combat rage, not really making it yet.
Instead of being polite like Gerent and even the large Havar were, Petra, his loving and clothing talented aunt, just smiled at him. It wasn't a friendly thing.
"Next!"
Then just as he pulled back from the boiling and bubbling hatred of everything, she kicked him in the middle, turning her body sideways to do it, throwing him back. He did roll, well enough to not be too hurt, but much like David, there was no letting up or time to recover.
The different thing this time was that when he went into a rage, Kolb didn't tell him to stop. The directions suddenly changed, in fact.
"Dare. Move back. She has a shield on. Put one up now yourself. Use your powers for it." That wasn't too hard to do, but, even angry like he was that everyone was hurting him, he could tell it wasn't good enough. It would stop a fist, sure, but it wasn't like the other shield that he had. That took a lot more to generate. It was a thing he tried for, trying to make the world feel like his Timon shield would. If he had one on him.
It was pretty clear when he had it however, since her blows stopped a good three feet from his body suddenly. Before, her shield had hit him, so her fist nearly touched. The field was close around the hands, so you could move things, like a bubble with gloves on one side.
Then, as he should have expected, the whole thing failed, since thinking about all of that kicked him out of the headache inducing rage. Everyone stopped then, and Kolb winked at him, which was oddly anger inducing at the moment.
"Pull it in. That's all for today, Dareg. Now, almost every other time you do this, and we will be doing it again, normally at random, and a lot more frequently than we would with regular students, you'll get the same lecture that everyone does. Make sure to keep in practice, stay sharp and remember that a real fight is never like practice, no matter how hard that is. This is the first time, and you clearly have special training needs, so I won't ride you too hard. This time. Your handling of the combat condition needs to be under your total control, from now on. You go into it when you choose, and you don't when it doesn't serve you. Understood?" He didn't sound angry or anything, but did look a bit worried, like he expected that a few words would get him to go off again.
"Got it. Not that I can instantly do that, but I'll try to live it now. I'm in control. I'll just chant that in my head for a bit."
Which he got to prove instantly, when the big Baron Havar smiled at him, and slapped him across the face, hard. Then he stopped, and waited.
It was a struggle, not to go for the man, and to not let the condition start to manifest, but he did it, which got the giant in front of him to laugh, then hit him again. Then, thankfully he stepped back.
"Not bad for a beginner. Your fighting isn't good. Not the worst I've ever seen, but I've seen school boys your age and size do better."
Rather than explain, Kolb moved over and clapped him on the back, then handed his shield back, which had the others trying not to stare at him suddenly. A thing that came to him a bit slowly. His head hurt and that did make it harder to think, so he rolled his eyes and pulled the healing amulet out. Then, he held his tongue when a wall of white pain hit, until he was simply better again.
The bald man seemed pleased enough.
"That isn't wrong, and we will go over all of this later. You did well though, given everything. You should get cleaned up. Gerent, you and Bill here have an appointment to see about making this place look a bit less like someone bombed it? Dare, I should be around in the evening, for dinner. Plan on that with me, unless you get a date?"
A tall woman, who had been standing well back, moved in and gave Kolb a big hug.
"Happy King's Week!"
The man smiled like he was in a desert and she was a glass of water.
"Holly! I was hoping to run into you. Long time no see!" He sounded strange. Like he actually was happy or something. Not that the scar faced man was miserable all the time, but dour wasn't too far off for his resting expression. That, or hard.
Now he seemed pleasant and relaxed.
Whoever Holly was, hopefully Kolb's girlfriend, or something close to it, from the way he kept touching her, he didn't get to find out, since she was taken away almost instantly. Dareg had an odd feeling that the dinner plans had just been canceled. That was fine actually, since it would probably take him most of the day just to make his way around a few times and keep on top of everything.
That, it turned out, was just about the right thing to think. He did manage a nice long shower. That being needed to soak the drying blood off, and walked toward the main row of houses to find that the new focus stone buildings weren't up yet, but the building had stopped and instead all of the Space fleet workers were dressed up in brightly colored outfits, ones that matched. They were being guided by Johan and High Servant Erid. When he got to them finally, the men both bowed.
Erid took a deep breath.
"I know that the buildings need to go up, but the crowd is going to get unruly if we don't have some kind of official presence, so I told them to change their outfits. They can manage things, I think? They have to take turns doing it on the ships, and all have shields on."
Looking closer, it was clear that all the new buildings had walls and a roof, and from what he'd seen before probably had most of the insides done already. He glanced that way and Erid actually blushed.
"We didn't have time to do much inside. Things will be needed in each space, tables for the restaurant, beds for the girls' house, that kind of thing. The bathhouse is ready, but we have one already. Unless we should open that one too? I... Hadn't thought of that before, but there are enough people for it, and it would be a good test of the plumbing system. We had to use magica
l pumps and filters, so..." Then he started in on a five minute explanation that the man should have known wouldn't have made any sense unless Dare could see it.
Finally Dareg nodded at the man in white and bowed a bit.
"That was the right call. It might be good to have that up? Some kind of water pond for people to bath in, too. It's hot enough for it, and a lot of people are just sleeping out, so anything we do that way will be a blessing, I think. We might want to use magic for that. Do we need a full time pond?" He didn't know and was just asking, but everyone seemed to think it sounded nice. Especially if it was big enough to swim in.
Cleverly he left that to Erid, who walked off, right then, like it was some kind of personal mission. Johan, for his part gestured at the Space Fleet people in their bright blue and red outfits, which came complete with silly hats. That was a sign of office no one could deny. After all, the big three cornered things weren't a fashion statement.
Dare finished his sandwich, which was made of roast cow. It was good, and had what seemed like fresh tomatoes on it. Lettuce too, for all that seemed a bizarre thing to pair with bread like that. It was good though and filling, so he didn't complain.
Tam-unit had suggested it for him.
There were some problems, but he was able to fix most of them himself, pretty easily. Twice it just took throwing some coin at things, to hire workers, and once it was basically helping to open a second restaurant, which took over the first floor of the free inn. They made the thing grow several levels higher for that, topping out at seven. He did the work, very carefully, but it had been nearly as hard to get that done as making the pod house door vanish.
There were also at least six fights, which, he decided, to handle there, if possible.
He mentioned this to Johan, who had come to get him after the third one.
"If they don't have weapons, or at least weren't using them, then they go and sit for a day in the cell. If they do real damage, or use something more than a hand of fist, we pass them to the city guard. Drunks get healed and sobered up, if we can, and put in a private cell off the restrooms if we can't. That kind of thing. It's a party, so people will make mistakes. Basically they just need to fix them, and not let it happen again. We aren't the government after all." He didn't add what would happen if they did, since it would probably just be a repeat of what had before.
