by P. S. Power
It was better to have that taken care of.
Part of him really wanted to control the world around him and make it better for himself, but he hadn't loved it when Tam had done that to him. If it was anything like that, then his smallest word had probably always been really hard to ignore, before he had his new magical thing to stop it.
When he smiled, Tor did too, understanding what he was saying, at least on the surface.
The man stood, hunched over, and shuffled to the small door, which he had to turn sideways to get through, thin or not. Once outside Dare made the door vanish, and turned his clothing into brown exercise gear.
"I should go and run now. We meet back here at ten?"
"That's the plan. I should start running again. I hate it, but it pays to be in shape. Especially if things are heating up. I went yesterday..." He seemed to be trying to get out of it.
Dare just started running.
"Do it, or not." That was what a lot of life came down to, didn't it? Everyone knew it.
You either did what was needed, or put it off. That was all. Like going to school, or eating. At least if you had food.
He ran, and after a while noticed that Tor was right behind him, breathing smoothly, even if he hadn't kept up with his personal exercise. This time no one else came to practice with them until nearly eight, after the running and early exercises were done. It was only Kolb too, who smiled at them both, and started working with Dareg instantly, going over grappling techniques.
Then he worked with Tor, but didn't have them work together.
When they were done the man shook his head and winked at Dareg, then tore into everything he'd done wrong. He wasn't any easier on Tor though, even if the man had been a lot better, over all.
"Pitiful, Torrance. We can't afford that kind of lackluster performance now, not if even half of what we've been told by the new people is true. One mistake, one moment of laziness, might get everyone killed. Even if it's all a lie, and they're going to attack themselves, we need to keep on top of things. Practice daily from now on. Get the others to do it, too."
The words weren't hard however, or mean. Just slightly worried. Tor seemed to understand, and though he made a face that seemed less than pleased, he nodded.
"I'll make it happen. Speaking of everyone else, are we going for this High Servant... Um... Stram? Alone, or are we just missing people that should be here already?"
Kolb looked around, but the world was just starting to wake up. It was, by the sun, about time for them to leave however.
He corrected the name first, however.
"Straughan. Kevin. We're missing at least half the team for the day. Dareg, can you set up at your ship? Tor, go with him, and make sure he's armed with something useful. Straughan will have at least a shield. He's been in space, so keep that in mind. The High Servants aren't well armed, but we want to take him alive. I'll go and roust the lazy heads, while you two get things ready. We go in as soon as possible."
If he was annoyed by the lack of bodies at the meeting spot, he didn't let it show, just moving away quickly, at a trot.
Tor looked at him, which meant he didn't know where to go either, so Dare waved in the right direction. It wasn't that far, and they could follow the path outside the river without too many people being in the way yet. Getting to a Tam-unit was already not happening, since there was a long line, but they could get more to eat on the ship. The one protein drink wasn't holding him as well as it could have.
The tall man looked around, and then changed his clothing several times, carefully, so he was always covered, but most of the sweat fell off as they moved. Dare copied that, which would help, he decided. No one would want to ride with him if he smelled bad all day. A shower would have been nice too, but they didn't have time.
Or so he thought. On the ship, after about ten minutes he made a shower in a little room, near the back, and Tor helped him work out how to filter and reuse the waste water. Then they both showered, and ate a large meal, sitting at the same little table that he'd made for Karina day before.
Then, getting bored, he made the craft larger, added seats, for more than enough people, and decorated the place nicely, causing it to look a bit like one of the finer rooms in the palace. Then he just had to sit and wait, since no one was there yet.
"Do you think they can't find us?"
Tor smiled at him and shook his head.
"It isn't that, or Kolb would call to us, on the communications device. My guess is that he had to drag Karen out of bed, and run her under a cold shower to wake her up. A lot of giants need to sleep a lot. I think it's an energy conservation thing. You'll probably have that happening too, as you grow. I... You're going to end up being big, unless you stop that. My subconscious ideal when you were conceived was a bit skewed." He wrinkled his nose, and then smiled. "It's all there, isn't it? I felt like I wasn't very important, so you have command line powers and everyone has to listen to you. I felt small and weak, slow. So you'll end up huge, strong and fast. I felt stupid, and lacking in charm, so you're incredibly intelligent and charismatic."
That got Dare to snort, but he didn't say it was wrong. A lot of it probably just wasn't.
It wasn't the point.
"That's all good and nice, but other than making me a horrible person if I'm not careful, I can't see how it will impact things too much." He was playing, but his father looked at him frankly.
"I'm glad you can see the risk. You have a good start on life, in a lot of ways, but it won't always be simple. Remember, the easier things are for you to start with, the more you owe the world. If you can help, you should. Otherwise, what's the point of it all?"
It was a lesson, the first real one that the man tried to give him on purpose. Dareg bristled a little bit, since he didn't feel like he should have to be there for everyone else in the world. What did he owe them, really?
Then he worked it out. It wasn't that he truly owed anyone for what he'd been born as. No, it had to do with the fact that he had a greater chance to do great things than most did. Tor wasn't claiming that he was honor bound to help others, just that a good person should do that, if they could.
So he nodded, not knowing what he could add to the world yet. What he could do was try, and to keep doing that, if it was at all possible.
Before he had to get too deep into the lesson of not being evil, which they were eventually going to get to, the others finally arrived.
It was Johan, Erid, Commander Derring, and Bill there with them. Kolb stalking behind them. The only ones looking to be awake were the men. Karen seemed much the worse for wear, her pretty face beaten and bloody.
That was odd, as well as concerning. Bill had a red mark on his neck, from being choked. From the size and shape it was probably Kolb that had done it. The marks worked for both of them, when he tried to map out what had happened in his mind.
Instead of using a healing amulet, Karen just looked at the ground, sheepishly. Bill was tight looking, but not filled with shame, and he snuck sullen glares at Kolb when the man wasn't looking directly.
The High Servants weren't involved in that, and for some reason Dare had to doubt that Commander Derring was open to being beaten like that for sleeping in. She was in charge, at least that day, so if she wanted to go later, they simply would.
She also hadn't healed, and he knew for a fact she had both a shield on, as well as a healing amulet.
That got him to snap his fingers.
"There's a way to take down shields from the outside?" He said it to Tor, who nodded, seeming slightly troubled at the scene. The man handed him a small white thing that at first he thought might be a pencil.
"This will do that. It's all it does, so keep that in mind."
He got that bit, and looked at Karen, who was still acting ashamed.
Working it out, Dare tried not to smile. It wasn't funny, as much as awkward, after all.
"So... Commander Derring was having sex with her new Squire, while her main H
igh Servants were being side tracked... Helping someone in actual need?" They weren't beaten after all, and it was hard to get Erid not to work constantly. Johan wasn't bad that way either, so he wasn't shocked when Kolb nodded his head.
"Right on each count. Timon will be along in a few minutes. He got busy working, but it won't take him long. He said it was an organic style grow, so he'll be here in a few moments."
That it seemed was a literal thing, since about five minutes later he ran into the ship, and closed the door with a wave at it.
"Sorry, I'm working on a new shield adaptation. Jump shields." He didn't explain the idea, and really didn't have to.
Not for Dareg. He just smiled, since it made pretty good sense. The ability to jump would be really useful if you could use it properly. Not that everyone would be able, but even going from the Earth to the Moon, or Mars, that way would be useful for a lot of people. Taking a ship took a lot longer, since you had to get it around and wait for other people. As the events of the day were showing him.
Tim looked at the scene closely, ruffled his short hair, and then smirked at Bill.
"It isn't that sex is bad. Even with Karen. She simply isn't supposed to use her powers and position as a Knight to abuse her Squire. Even if you liked it at the time, it's against the rules."
Which made some sense to Dare, so he nodded, then went to the window, looking around carefully, before jogging to the captain's chair and taking off. It was a controlled thing, and he looked around carefully to make sure he didn't hit anyone trying to come in or leave at the same time. They were fine, but not checking would be foolish.
Rather than go into space however, Tor just pointed to the west.
"That way. It's only about three hundred miles. Then up the coast a bit?" He glanced at Timon, who nodded firmly.
"That's it. It should take about twenty minutes. We can use that time to help heal Karen and get a bite to eat."
The man had designed and built the ship they were in, so knew what it could do, meaning he had meals for everyone that wanted to have one a few moments later. Karen used her own amulet, once it was suggested, and Tor helped Bill with that, in case there was other damage that he was hiding. After all, it was pretty clear that he'd tried to fight with a shielded Kolb, and done well enough that the man couldn't just ignore him, which was impressive.
Dareg couldn't have done that against a person with a shield on, he didn't think. It could have been Kolb being mean and punishing the smaller man for sleeping with his Knight, but that didn't feel right. Something was a bit off there, but he was missing far too much information to put it all together. They all got to change clothing however, at Kolb's suggestion, so that they'd match.
"We're working with the High Servants today, so work robes. The ones with the flowing trousers and tunics. Gold metallic trim."
That wasn't exactly right, but no one resisted the idea. It would be claiming that they were real High Servants, which should be illegal for them to do, but even the Commander of the group didn't complain about it. She also hadn't worried that her own brother, David, had done the same thing. When he'd come to report to Kolb. Not her.
Now all of them were in the uniform of the High Servants, making a false claim to that title, in order to sneak up on someone. That meant they either had orders to do that kind of thing, which could only come from the King, or they were breaking the law, as if it didn't matter.
No one seemed bothered by the idea either. Only him. That wasn't right however. Even if Kolb, being an Ancient, had special rights to do things like that, and Tor was a wizard and above the law, Bill should have been nearly ready to collapse in fear. Squire or not. That wasn't so well placed that he couldn't hang for that kind of thing.
He was calm however, and other than looking at Kolb still, like he wanted to kick his behind. That was, possibly, natural, but it shouldn't be enough to distract him from the deceit of the costume change they had going on.
Dareg didn't bother however, dressing in a blue version of the same thing, with black boots. It was what Straughan had last seen him in, after all. That would make less of a mental impact than him being all in white, less than a week later.
No one asked him why he was doing it that way however. Tim nodded, and actually glanced at Bill with a troubled look on his face.
At the coast they turned north, finding the large city of Ford not too far off from where they'd come in. It really was close, and while not as grand as the Capital of Noram itself, it was a nicely sprawling city that reminded him a bit of Canton. The ocean was on the wrong side, and it was a bit less green around it, but it was similar. There were even boats in the water off the coast, easily visible from the air.
The city itself was made of white stone, not gray wood, so that was different, and the sun was out, which wasn't impossible in Canton, but was a good bit more rare. At least if this day was any kind of sign that way.
Dareg didn't know where to go, once they were in the city, but Karen, rallying from her punishment, pointed toward a large, walled compound.
"Count Ford's place. He and his wife are in the Capital, but we need to report in there, if we're acting in his County. Land and I'll call him up and see if permission is possible. I should have done that already, but I was distracted."
She glared at Kolb, but High Servant Erid nodded, somberly.
"I'd imagine so. Abusing those under you must take a lot of focus and concentration." It was said almost as if he weren't passing judgment on her for her failure. As if it was just a thing.
Karen made a face at him, but then ignored the words and started her call, using a small handheld that was identical to the one that Dare had.
The Count was, thankfully, up for the day and not angry to get word from her.
"Conserina Derring? How wonderful to hear from you! Are you arranging a visit later? We're at the Ford Capital house. We don't have a lot of room, but we can make some for you, I'm sure." He seemed to mean it, and had recognized her instantly, so he was a person known to her.
"Thank you! Actually, I fear that I need something else from you. I have a runaway High Servant. It's a dark thing, not doing his duty like he's supposed to. We're in Ford right now, to pick him up. It could be a miscommunication, so it probably won't require him being killed today. I can't swear that it won't however, if he truly knew what he was doing, or if something worse is going on. Kevin Straughan?"
The man, who Dareg couldn't see, landing on his lawn as he was, made a small, disgruntled sound.
"Damn. His grandfather was so pleased that he seemed to be getting his life in order, too. The son adopted Kevin, oh, thirty years back? I... I know that I shouldn't ask this, but I don't suppose you could keep this quiet? Even a death would be easier to cover up than him being cashiered. His family is well placed enough to make problems for me, if things aren't handled perfectly. Maybe I should come and oversee things? I could be there in a few hours, if you don't mind waiting?"
Dareg stood up, and walked over to the handheld, waving to the man in the little window there.
"Hello. I'm Prince Dareg. From Harmony? Would you be all right with us getting the fellow and bringing him to you? No one will hurt him or anything. Then we can question him on what he's been getting up to, and you can stand there and shake your head in shame if he was just skipping out on his duty. That way you don't have to lose as much time, and he won't be hit with his Count being right there to start with. That would freak me out, if it were me being called to answer like that. I'd pretty much assume I was about to die. Since we don't really know what's going on, we should probably go slow and easy at first? Really, other than getting him back to work, it might be that not much happens to him at all, past a scolding or two." Which wouldn't make Tiera happy, but was probably about what would be taking place if the man wasn't actually trying for an armed takeover of the High Servants.
The giant, and even in a picture it was clear he was one of those, smiled at him.
"That might
work better for me, yes. Thank you, Prince Dareg. I've been looking forward to meeting you soon. You're Tor Baker's boy, aren't you? I've been trying to track him down, now that he's back. Invitations and all that. Timon Baker, and their wives, as well."
Not knowing if Tor or Tim wanted to talk to the man right then, he just nodded.
"Get with Timon first. He's going to be in Austra next week, so has the smaller time window that way. Unless you can visit him there? I can get you to and from, so that won't be a problem. I'll be making the trips anyway, so if you want to make the journey, get with me first. Really, that goes for just about anywhere on the planet. I'm working on the spaceports, so I have to travel a lot." It was the plan anyway.
The man smiled, going even bigger.
"Well, I don't know if I can get invitations like that, but I won't turn down free travel if you're offering. Few will, I wager! Should I tell everyone, or is that offer just for me?"
He had to think about that one, but after a few moments, realized that making friends with powerful people probably wouldn't hurt.
"Everyone, but you get to have first chance at it. Well, you, and any world leaders. I'm pretty much on tap for emergencies however, so if you could pass the word on that?" It would make him look good and most of the time real crisis situations were very local.
That would make it seem like he was being very helpful and useful, but probably keep him to making only ten or so real trips for that kind of reason per year. Tim winked at him, getting most of it, and Tor beamed, since he was already doing what the man had just suggested. So did Count Ford.
"I'll see to that. How wonderful of you. I see that you're taking on the family tradition of good works. People will be thrilled to hear that, I'm certain. Now, is Kevin at Straughan House?"
That turned out to be the case, so the man gave them directions to it, which Kolb marked on a small map, which looked to be a perfect replica taken from above. It even had the correct house on it, in its own Barony.
Tor waved at the thing and nodded.
