“And how much do we pay you, Miriam?” Richard asked, still stone faced.
“Um. My salary as department head is $400,000 annually, boss. Without performance bonuses.” She replied, very uncomfortably. “Give us a moment, please.” Richard said. The three of them put their heads together and whispered. Oddly enough, she could swear she heard the words “coffee” and “party” before they stopped whispering and turned to look at her.
“We appreciate you coming to us with this concern, Miriam” Angela got up from her seat and began to walk around the table. “I know you’ve heard the saying ‘no good deed goes unpunished’?” Angela asked, standing next to Miriam and placing a hand on her shoulder. Miriam couldn’t speak, could only nod her head. “Well, I’m afraid you’re going to have to suffer the consequence of bringing this to our attention.” Angela squeezed her shoulder.
Michael set down his pencil and clasped his hands on the table in front of him. “You have three children, yes? All in high school now?” Miriam swallowed a few times before she could speak “Three, yes. Though the youngest won’t be in high school till next year.”
“Well, as a penalty for bringing this issue to us, and convincing us to take such an action, I’m afraid you’re going to have a tax issue. We’re giving you a $1million bonus. For your kids’ college funds. I’m afraid that’s going to put you in a higher tax bracket, though!” Michael and Richard laughed at the shocked and relieved look on Miriam’s face as Angela bent down to give her a hug. “Oh, dear, you’re shaking!” Angela exclaimed. “Guys, I think we went too far. We scared her.”
Both men were instantly out of their chairs and moving toward Miriam, looking concerned and making apologetic noises. Angela lifted her from her chair, and Miriam found herself wrapped in a group hug. Tears began to trail down her cheeks, and she shook her head, still not quite believing what she’d heard. She quietly said “can’t… breathe…” and the three founders instantly released her and took a step back.
“We’re SO sorry!” Richard was wringing his hands and shuffling his feet as he watched his lead accountant cry. “We’re all idiots. You know that. We didn’t mean to make you cry, I swear!” The other two nodded emphatically. Angela began to reach out, then awkwardly pulled back.
“No, please. It’s okay” Miriam said. Gathering her composure and wiping both eyes with her sleeve “It’s just that I was nervous coming in here to recommend such a big income cut. Then I was so relieved when you all agreed. Then when you asked me to stay, and began asking those questions, and talking about consequences and whispering, I was sure you were going to fire me. Then you said “million dollars for college” and … I think it was just more of an emotional roller coaster than I was prepared for. But I’m fine, really. And thank you so much!” She sniffed one last time, wiped her eyes again, and proceeded to hug each of her bosses. “I think I need to sit for a minute” she said. And did.
“Sure, sure. Take all the time you need!” Angela said. “And please, we really are very sorry to have tricked you like that. We won’t do it again, I promise! The whispering, by the way. We were talking about going out for coffee after this to plan Alexander’s upcoming birthday party. Which I hope you will attend?”
Miriam smiled at this. “Of course I will!” Alexander was like their little company mascot. Often running around the office with toys, hopping into people’s laps as they worked, or begging for sweets from the suckers who couldn’t resist.
Richard had taken his seat again, having assured himself that she was ok. “Miriam, can you clarify something for me? Something you said earlier?” She turned toward him “Of course, boss. What is it?”
“Well, you mentioned that two of our consultant developers weren’t taking salary. Something about in-game benefits. What are the details?”
Miriam actually laughed at that. It felt good. For everyone in the room. “The MacAlister brothers. Couple of nut-jobs. Great coders. I mean, excellent. Among the best in the business. And they’re both big gamers. They’ve been playing Europa since launch day. They lead opposing guilds in the game. Very competitive. Anyway, the payment they asked for was a few acres of land and a castle for each of them. To use as guild headquarters. Close enough that they could easily raid each other’s guilds. There have already been a couple pretty spectacular fights.”
They all chuckled at that. “Thank you, Miriam. And again, our apologies. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off. Go tell your kids they’re all set for college. Your son can play the game just for fun now.” Richard smile at her.
Miriam nodded her head and thanked them as they all rose to leave
****
Deciding that the captain and the guard were much better suited to scouring the city for the last three PWP, Alexander and his group decided to walk Lydia home and then retire for the evening. Tomorrow they would look into the logistics of making a run to the Broken Mountain.
Having seen Lydia to her shop, the rest of them retired to their lounge. They mostly sat in silence, until Fitz drifted into the dining room to make a snack from dinner’s leftovers. The others joined him, and they ate in companionable silence. Fitz broke the silence and said, “I’ve decided to remain here for a while. I’ll make some improvements to the place, and you lot obviously need looking after. Plus the food is much better here than at the guild,” he winked at Sasha, who giggled and blushed.
“Well, there are guest suites on the second floor,” Sasha offered. “You can choose one and stay as long as you like!”
The wizard shook his head. “Thank you, little one, but a wizard needs his privacy. I’ll figure out a place for myself, don’t you worry.”
“Fitz,” Alexander looked to the wizard. “Can you make portals? As in, long distance, stable portals? We’ve got to undertake a trade mission for the king tomorrow. We need to get to Broken Mountain and back in a day.”
“I practically invented portals!” Fitz said. “I can build you one here in the compound in the morning, though I’ll need the king’s permission. I’ll link it to the Broken Mountain portal, and you’ll be able to transport goods directly back and forth as you like. But I don’t work for free! I want Dwarven ale with every meal. And some rare spell components that can be found there!”
“Bwahahaha!” Brick reached out a hand to the wizard. “If ye can save us two days each way travel time and transportation costs each way, I can provide ye ale by the keg!”
With that, the adventurers went to turn in. They still had more than 24 hours left in this immersion cycle, but it had been a long day, and they had instructions to continue testing how well they sleep in the game.
Chapter Eleven
A Short Homecoming
Alexander awoke just after dawn the next morning. He used the shower in his suite and dressed in his best looking caster gear. They would be going to see the Dwarves of Broken Mountain today, and he wanted to look sharp.
He stepped through the French doors onto the balcony to breathe in the morning air. The morning was still quiet; only a few servants, vendors and merchants moving around. Alexander stretched his arms above and breathed deeply, then coughed and spluttered in surprise. In the back corner of the gardens, what could only be described as a wizard’s tower had grown overnight. At 5 stories tall with a pointy peaked roof, it looked to be made of the same stone as the walls. It looks as if it is built right into the corner of the walls!
Alexander trotted downstairs and out the front door. As he was exiting the house, he saw the captain walking in the through the gate. They met in the middle of the courtyard, and both stood silently staring at the new addition. After a moment, Brick came out to join them.
“I warned you not feed the wizard,” the captain grinned.
“BWAHAHA!” Brick’s irrepressible laugh had both men shaking their heads.
“The king woke up this morning, had a sip of coffee, looked out upon his city, and as you can imagine, was quite surprised to find a new wizard’s tower poking its nose a
bove the wall. He sent me a messenger asking me to fetch Master Fitzbindulum at his earliest convenience. Normally this would be the sometime after lunch, but I believe for this, we’ll wake him a bit early. You want the honors, or shall I?”
“Uhh… I woke him yesterday. And I need him to make a portal for us this morning so we can make our run to Broken Mountain for the king, so I don’t want to anger him. He’s all yours.”
The captain looked hesitant. After all, as Alexander had thought to himself yesterday, it is not the best idea to poke a sleeping wizard. Plus, there didn’t seem to be a door to knock on.
Sasha solved the problem for them. Walking out and seeing the newly risen tower, she immediately surmised who was responsible.
“Fitz!! You crazy old wizard, what have you done?” she shouted up at the tower. There was no answer from the wizard. “Fitz! Wake up! Come down here this minute!” Still no stirring from the wizard, though Rufus did appear in one of the upper windows to wave down at them. Sasha laughed and waved back. “Rufus! Go tell that lazy old coot that breakfast is ready. Eggs and sausage!”
Not 10 seconds later there was the flash of a teleport in the garden in front of them, and a bedraggled looking wizard strolled toward them. Not stopping to greet them, he grumbled something about turning people to toads as he strode past them and headed into the house.
“I’m actually surprised he didn’t just teleport right to the dining room. I’ll bet by day’s end he has that set up,” the captain chuckled.
They all followed the wizard inside, and sat down for breakfast. After Fitz had had time to shove a plateful of eggs and several sausage links down his gullet, the captain spoke up. “Our King has requested your presence. Apparently some fool went and built a tower without asking permission.”
“Bah! Details!” The wizard mumbled and he refilled his own plate, then another. Taking both in hand, he disappeared in a flash.
“So, what do we think?” Max ventured. “Did he just get breakfast to go and head back to bed?”
“The wizard may be grumpy, and is probably crazy, but even he would not ignore a summons from the king. My guess is, that second plate was a bribe for the king to obtain permission to keep his tower. The king would never make him take it down, of course, but there are forms to observe. Fitz will have to apologize, and promise to behave. A promise he’ll keep until lunchtime. Maybe. It’s an old dance between those two.” The captain smiled and continued to eat.
“Speaking of old,” Lainey began, “just how old IS Fitz, anyway?”
“Fitz has served the lords of this land since it was first settled. That was more than six centuries ago. Before that, he was already well known as the founder of the Mage’s Guild. The guild goes back more than another thousand years. What he did before that? Who knows?”
“Ha! When he told me he was the retired head of the Mage’s Guild, I thought he meant, like, last year. Or last decade!” Alexander laughed.
The group finished their meal, and were about to clear the table, when Fitz reappeared. He began to load up his plate yet again. Everyone was silent, watching him. “Sasha, dear. The king sends his compliments on your cooking.” He waggled his bushy eyebrows at her. “Well, he didn’t actually SAY any words. He just shoved food in his mouth and made a sort of grunting noise. But it definitely sounded like approval!”
Sasha laughed. “Please thank the king for his kind compliment for me.”
“Well, I must be off to work,” the captain rose to leave. “Wizard, I’m told you’ll be making a portal for Master Brick’s emissary mission this morning? Since the king was clearly not much for talking this morning, I’ll relay his message that he’d like you to make that a priority. He’s expecting important guests tomorrow, and would like to have dwarven spirits at his table.” He waved at the rest of the group as he left the room.
A mischievous smile lit the wizard’s face. “Aye, I’d like to lay hands on some of that myself!” He clapped his hands together and jumped up from his chair. “Right! Where would you like me to place the portal? It’ll be a permanent structure, so think carefully.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know much about portal design. How much space do they need? Is there a backlash area when they open?” Alexander asked.
“Well, come with me boy! I’d be a poor mentor if I didn’t take the opportunity to teach you a thing or two. First, step closer. I’ll teach you the most important spell you’ll ever learn.”
Expecting a repeat of yesterday’s painful experience, Alexander stepped forward and closed his eyes, preparing himself for the pain. Instead of a hand on his forehead, he felt a thumb on each of his eyes. There was a brief tingling sensation, and then a warmth that spread from his eyes into his brain. “Open your eyes,” Fitz instructed.
Alexander opened his eyes, and was amazed by what he saw. Everything glowed with different colors and varying degrees of brightness. The dining table had a dull and even green glow to it. In comparison, Fitz blazed so brightly he was difficult to look at.
“It’s called Mage Sight,” Fitz explained. “It allows you to see the magic that flows through all things. If you’re quick enough, it will also allow you to observe the structure of spells as they are cast, or if they are infused into something. This will help you in learning how magic works. It should help you to learn new spells as well. Look at Sasha and focus.”
Fitz looked at Sasha. “Sasha dearest, thank you SO much for breakfast. I was nearly starved after building that tower. Would you mind terribly casting a heal spell on our boy so that he can observe it?”
Alexander focused on his friend as she reached into her mana pool, which was a dark blue in color. As it rose up, it seemed to attract a lighter blue energy from the air around her. Was that what raw magic looked like? As she drew it though herself, it changed to a bright green. Nature magic, maybe? Life magic? She cast it at him, and he felt the tingle as the green magic was absorbed into his own body. He explained out loud what he’d observed.
“Good! Good. Very perceptive for your first time. You were distracted by the pretty colors, and didn’t note the actual structure of the spell. And yes, that was life magic. Don’t worry, you’ll get better with practice.” The wizard headed out the door. “Let’s find a good spot to establish the portal, and then you can observe while I create the control pedestals and then cast the activation spell.”
The two men headed outside, followed by Brick, who was fascinated and wanted to watch. He convinced the wizard to give him mage sight as well. They eventually settled on a spot in the back courtyard between the stables and greenhouse. The open space gave them room to move horses and wagons or large groups through the portal if necessary. It was conveniently close to the stables, and the ramp that led to Brick’s storage cellar.
“Ok first, boy, use the earth magic spell I gave you. I want you to raise two stone pedestals up from the ground. Let’s say 20 feet apart. Each one should be about 10 feet high. Ideally they’d be made of obsidian if you can find it. It holds magic the best of all natural stone. Go.”
Alexander used his earth magic and his mage sight to gaze deeply into the earth. Below the stones of the courtyard he sensed a tunnel. Likely part of the sewer network that ran below the city. Further down he sensed a whole maze of more natural seeming tunnels that ran in every direction and sometimes curved back upon themselves. A maze? No! Of course! Lava tubes! This whole city was built in a crater, after all. An old volcano that had been dormant for years beyond counting. Alexander kept searching. Because where there were volcanoes, there was… there! Obsidian. Tons of it.
Alexander cast his earth spell into a deposit and separated out about a two-ton chunk. He coaxed it up toward the surface, being careful not to disturb the lava tubes below him. It was a slow and difficult process. He found himself sweating, and his legs ached. He paused to take a few deep breaths and drink a mana potion. His earth mover spell was a channeling spell, and moving that much weight of solid stone up through the earth drained hi
s mana pool quickly.
“Aye. And now you’ve learned another lesson. All magic has a price. Earth magic especially. Magic does not completely negate the laws of physics. A mage may move something heavy with his mind, but the effort will drain both his mana and his stamina. As you get more experienced, and higher levels, this task will seem easy. But for now, take it slowly. We have time.”
Brick being a dwarf, he had a certain amount of natural earth magic ability. While Alexander rested, Brick asked Fitz to teach him how to shape the earth as well. The wizard took a good look at the dwarf. Then touched his head. “The ability is already there, dwarf. You just have not connected to it yet.”
He removed his hand, and Brick looked momentarily dazed, then extremely happy. “Thank ye, wizard! I feel as if some part of me had been missing, and I dinna’ even know it.”
Alexander focused his sight again, and got the obsidian moving. He very carefully moved it to the side so that it would not break into the sewer tunnel, then brought it up further. Finally, the stone in the courtyard seemed to liquefy, and the giant block of shining black stone rose up in front of them. The stone underneath reformed, and Alexander let out a gasp and collapsed.
“Well done, boy! And smart thinking, not breaking the sewer tunnel. The king would not have been pleased. I think that’s enough for you, for now, I’ll take it from here.”
The Greystone Chronicles: Book One: Io Online Page 25
