by P. S. Power
"Well, we can't leave you here. I'll take you home. To your home I mean. Or to your inn, you said you didn't live here full time?" He didn't want to look stupid, but the honest truth was he didn't really know how that worked here. He needed to learn, if he was going to bring in tours of people, which was the plan.
Kincaid blinked and finally nodded at him, "thanks. That would be good I think. He should have been here. He might have had a break down or gotten lost. I put word in with my people, but I can call and let them know I won't need a ride. My hotel isn't that far from here. The Bairds? Which... means nothing to you does it?" Shaking her head she started toward the craft, to find that Petra and Dorgal were both standing outside it, looking fierce, dressed in combat leathers. They also both had force lances in their hands, even though most of the crowd didn't seem to get the idea that the little bits of metal might be dangerous.
The Conserina nodded at them.
"Best we leave I think. No one's offered violence, but three different people have tried to climb in with us. I didn't know what their intentions were, so I asked them to leave. I hope that isn't too rude?"
A man in the crowd, who was dressed in a black outfit that was one piece and who held a large recording box with both hands, snorted.
"Nah. It's your private property. Asking them to get out is fair. If they refuse you can remove them with force, same as anyone else. That's the law." The man turned to address Tim directly. "This lady just asked them to consider not being in the vehicle with them until they were 'better known'. The most polite way I ever heard a person telling someone to bugger off." The crowd laughed at the words a bit, and then had to move as Denno's black wheeled vehicle rolled over, displacing most of the crowd, which headed toward the restaurant, rather than standing to watch them talk about where to go next.
"Is there a problem?" The words held concern and came from Denno, from the back window, his head poking out just a little.
Timon nodded, "I need to get Kincaid back to her inn. A place called 'The Bairds'. Her driver didn't show up for some reason. It's suspicious, and I won't leave her standing out here alone."
Petra nodded and Dorgal actually started scanning the remaining people, looking for threats. It was a little strange, at first, except that a wealthy merchant might need to know what to look for in case of attack.
The Ancient shrugged, which changed the position of his head in the window a little, "we can do that. Follow us."
It took a second to load up and reconfigure the vehicle, adding seats in the back and making the whole thing smaller, the picture on the wall ending up right beside the door. Timon started following carefully, making certain no one jumped in the way again. They drove for several minutes to the inn, which was a large building that was a bit plain on the outside, decorated with a bright awning and a few trees and shrubs in planters near the front. There was a covered area for letting people in and out of their vehicles, which was a great idea. Even the palace didn't have that, or Tor's. A man dressed in red and black, who appeared to be some kind of city guard came out and tried to open the door. Nothing happened since there was no handle like the cars had, so Timon touched the front shelf and focused, causing the door to pop open.
"The doorman will see me in safely. Thanks all. I'll be in touch as soon as possible Petra. Nice meeting you Mr. Sorvee. Timon... can I tell the studio that we have your support on this?"
He nearly just said yes, thinking he understood what that meant, after all, even if it cost him a bit of personal hardship, he could transport people easily enough. Still, something about how she said it was off.
"What do you mean?" Maybe she wanted him to do... something. He didn't know, so he asked, which was the only sensible thing he could do, right?
Kincaid smiled at him and waved, pretending to be listening to someone on the box she suddenly held to her ear. Nodding she turned and walked off, leaving him to feel uneasy. No one else had simply walked away like that here. It was a sign. Probably that the woman had some kind of intrigue planned that involved him. At the door she turned and waved to them, the decently muscular man in the city guard uniform, who apparently protected the door as his area of responsibility, turned to stand outside of it to the side, most likely to bar their way if they tried to follow and demand answers as to what their business was. Like a gate guard, after a fashion.
It wasn't a big deal, as long as Kincaid didn't think that she could trap him that way. He didn't speak for Noram after all and if what she wanted, his "support", was that kind of a thing, she'd just have to be disappointed and hate him for it. There was no way he was going to do anything that the King didn't want, not if he could help it.
The trip back to Denno's went well enough and they were all in bed by one-thirty, which was late for him. It would mean a pretty long day, but at least he didn't have to wake up a moody Countess, which was a treat. The bed was fine enough, being a little too cushioned for comfort, the blankets were soft and though the whole thing had a light tan look to it, he was able to sleep pretty well.
In the morning he noticed that there was a glass front sheet on the wall across from him, with a small blue square in the lower right hand corner. When he touched it the thing sprang to life, showing pictures that moved. It was like looking at the event through a window. There were voices too, which reminded him of listening to a communications device back home.
It didn't take much to realize that the people holding boxes toward them the night before had been doing something like this, even if the scene in front of him was of a small blonde woman wearing skin tight clothing, who was dancing, and apparently trying to get him to do the same. He didn't think she could see him, which meant that she was speaking to anyone watching her, not him personally. Just because it might be a thing in Austra, he tried to follow along until the show ended, some twenty minutes later.
As exercise it wasn't that hard, but he certainly did feel awake by the end of it.
Then there was more music and a pair of people appeared, walking in the lot where he'd parked the night before.
"Welcome to Morning in the City, with your hosts Kolas Moyes and Mitch Richmonde." This was said by a deep voice that sounded manly, but wasn't one of the people standing there. At least their mouths didn't move.
"Last night patrons were treated to an unusual feast here at a local hotspot, the Noram themed eatery called "The Royal Table". Witnesses reported not only seeing Kincaid Rue, but Denorian Brown, as well as several Noram nobles. When asked about the events no one at the establishment would speak on the matter, except to say that they were presenting a new menu with greatly improved gourmet offerings. Sources inside the kitchen informed us that one of the visitors gave the chef nearly twenty thousand credits worth of fresh produce and that this is to become part of the normal fare." The man talking looked at the man speaking looked at the woman and smiled.
"You'll be happy to know that I managed to wrangle an invitation to breakfast. Let's go inside!"
Timon watched, feeling slightly amused as Carlos and Quavel, who turned out to be named Robert in his real life, managed to speak about their "patron" without ever giving away who it was exactly that was delivering the goods for them. That didn't really fool anyone, since his arrival the day before with a load of fruit and vegetables had been seen as well. Still, it was polite of them to have tried, he figured.
After getting a shower and dressing in his work clothing he tried to turn the glass off, which made the images change instead. It took a while to get through them all. There were a few images of his craft even, though not many, over all. He got bored counting at four hundred and fifteen, the different scenes repeating some time after that, he thought.
Noticing that he was touching one lightly colored square over from where he started, which instantly fixed it, making the thing go to a gray black again, the sound leaving at the same time. It was fascinating, of course, just not something he could afford to spend a lot of time on. Not yet. Maybe some other time he co
uld learn more about this strange land. In a way he needed to, since he was planning to open up travel to it. Only a fool would try to do that without all the information he could possibly get.
He found something interesting then, as he walked down the stairs to the main room. Brown, for all his age and wisdom, was not an early riser at all. It was nearly nine when Dorgal came out of his room, his lone chest being carried with some effort. Waving without a word he ran to get his own chests and since they followed along on their own, helped the merchant with his. It was awkward to carry his half, given the height difference. It had to be done, since the man was a passenger. Even if he wasn't strictly paying.
They loaded up quickly, then stood, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did for nearly an hour. Finally Timon got the letter for Brown out of his second chest and went inside to find someone to hand it off too. That was harder to do than it should have been, because at first no one was around, and then, when a guard in tan came, the man asked them to wait. Politely, but it was still a strange way of doing things. He came back a few minutes later, holding several small envelopes and a black compact.
"This one is for you sir. The Revered One asked that you be given it. Here, let me show you how to use it. He suggested that might be helpful?" There was a hesitation to the words as the black box came out.
"That would help a lot, thank you. This isn't a thing that I've used before. We do things differently back home."
The lesson didn't take long, since it was decently familiar in idea. You had sigils for different tasks and just hit it to activate. There were codes that could be put in to contact other compacts, using numbers. He was shown how to record pictures as well.
"There's more, but that's the basic stuff. If you use it too much it will need to be charged. That... I think you have to be in Austra for it, but you can do it in almost any home, like this..."
There was a thin thread that came out and a flat plate the size of a coin that rested against a plate on the wall. Timon nodded, wondering how many times a day people here had to do that. The guard handed the whole thing over and then gave them a box that they were assured had food in it. He didn't look, fearing that it wasn't going to be a pleasant thing at all, but thanked the man for his kindness.
They started to take off from the yard, but the same guardsmen ran out, waving to them.
"Sorry! I forgot. You need to take off from the bay, or else the automated systems will try to shoot you down. You aren't a registered flight, so keep that in mind. If you go over land flying too high, it won't go well."
"Ah. We'll make sure we don't do that then." Timon wondered what other things he didn't know about this place.
It took a while to find the water, and he made a point of getting a few miles away before taking off, and flying in a large circle around the place, heading to the north. He was a little hungry so got Dorgal to open the food box, which showed strange packages inside. On the good side they were things that could mainly be eaten with one hand, sucking the paste or gel from inside as he flew. That was about the only good thing about it. There was bread as well, but it had almost no resemblance to anything that he'd ever made. Its texture was odd, almost as if partially undercooked. It fed them, so he decided not to complain. He'd just be certain to bring more food with him next time.
"It will be awhile before we get to Afrak, a few hours I think. Then I want to deliver the letters I have to Gray and be gone. Have you ever met Princess Abby?"
The merchant shook his head, still eyeing the last of his food dubiously.
"Eh... no. Not yet. I'm friends with the Prince, but that doesn't get me invited to dinner. Class differences and all that. Alphonse says that she's incredible. I have to admit I'm a bit jealous. She can be with him in a way that I never can." There was silence after that, which got Timon to glance over. The man was staring at him, his face slightly drawn and stricken.
Because Tim wasn't an adult and his ways were a bit more strict than what nobles or city folk followed when it came to same gender pairings. Or having more than one person in your life that way.
"That has to be hard. My point though is that she's one of their best, from what I've seen. My grandmother, Gray, she... well, I think it's fair to say that she hates men. Be ready for that. She might just ban us both from her lands. If we can manage it, we shouldn't linger there. I just don't want you to base all of their land on one unpleasant person." There was a grin with the words, and a head shake.
"I don't suppose you've ever met my mother either?" It didn't seem very likely, but he was in for a surprise there.
"Ah! Yes. Your sister Tamerlane as well. Both rare beauties. Though your mother was rather upset at the time. It was at a duel to the death, between Tor and Count Rodriguez. The man had... Well, I'm sure you know the story. It was just after that. Tor stood victorious, of course, which frightened me more than a little, personally. I was actually shaking, trying to act like I wasn't. I'd spent more than a full year mocking him, and threatening to do him harm, and he'd never done more than stammer at me and make his leave. Then he walked out onto a death field, and insulted a sitting Count, goading harshly, until the man challenged him instead of young David Derring, which was about the bravest thing I'd ever seen. Made me feel the coward I'll tell you now.
"And then he defeated the man, a true giant in gleaming armor, so easily it was almost a farce. I'd thought that I'd scared him, my cousin Marco and I, looming over him as we did, saying biting things. I hadn't realized that he'd held his tongue and hand to protect us the whole time."
There was silence for a bit then, and when Timon glanced over again he saw the man was trying to drink something from a strange bottle. He made a face, and kept going. They still didn't have water with them.
Dorgal sighed and raised the bottle.
"So, there I was, shown very clearly that I was a buffoon that had danced with death over and over again, unknowing, being fooled by appearance as I was. Then I saw her. A lovely girl that looked about my own age, taking Tor to task and seeming ready to flay the very skin from his bones with her rage. Your mother. I was surprised by that, her youth, and even more to learn she was a Conserina. I did what I could to smooth the situation then, but I fear my words did little to help. Still, Tor did manage to survive the day intact, so perhaps something useful was done?"
Timon did his own sighing and flew above a cloud bank, making the water vanish. The mirrored craft moved silently for a while, until about ten minutes later. Then he looked over and nodded.
"That was my mother. Grandma looks just like her. I don't mean that in a light way. It's not a family resemblance, they're the same person. On the outside at least. I can't say I like my grandmother from the few times we've met."
They talked about a lot of things as they flew, including what kind of things they might find in Afrak, but not about anything important after that. Not even why Petra Ward had been with them. It was something they needed to discuss however, since she was in hiding. The thing there was that for all he knew Merchant Sorvee was in on the plot to take over the Kingdom. That or he might be beholden to those that would require him to share such information as a Conserina's whereabouts if he knew them. When they saw the bay, with a ship in the port, a great wooden thing the like of which Timon had never seen, with sail down and resting, he knew that he'd have to speak.
"Dorgal... I know that we've just met, but you said you were my brother's friend, so I must ask a favor of you."
The man next to him nodded, not looking at his face at all, just staring out the window blankly.
"You wish me to leave off the Prince and not to meddle with his heart?" The words were dark and deep, coming reluctantly.
"What? No... How is that any business of mine? No, no, nothing like that at all. Alphonse is an adult, and Princess Abumanitalli is my great niece, but also more than enough to deal with such things on her own if she doesn't want you involved with her future husband. Not that at all." He sighed, trying to build hi
s courage back up, having been knocked off guard like that. "I must have your silence about where Petra Ward is. Until she returns home. I can't tell you why that is, so I have to ask you to trust me. It's important, and not a small thing... Can you do that?"
For all he knew the answer would be no. There was no law that said anyone had to listen to him, and Dorgal didn't have some great love for his brother either, that was clear, friend now or not. That didn't mean he was a bad person though. Maybe there was a chance he could hold his tongue? If not... Well then he wouldn't leave Vagus.
Not quickly at least. The trip home without Timon's help might just take him years from there.
The man stared at him for a while, no expression visible, not even a cunning look, which was his most common expression as he figured out new ways to make gold from the world around him. In this moment he just regarded the boy next to him and didn't blink.
"I can't imagine why you'd want to hide a Conserina. Who told you to do that?" The question was probing, too much so to be a casual thing at all. "Would it be your brother? Or perhaps your father, or Lady mother? No..."
He kept his eyes locked on the side of Timon's head, then shook his own after a while.
"No, it has to be someone greater than that, doesn't it? The King? Perhaps the Queen? I know that she's Tor's lover, so I suppose it could be from there. Why though? Why would someone want Petra Ward out of the way, and not killed? Treachery is the only answer... A threat so great that only removing her to the safety of Austra will serve. There are only two groups in Noram that would require that great of an action." He thought in silence for a few moments and finally spoke with a level of assurance that told Timon a lot. More than Dorgal could have known.
"Timon, is there a plot against the crown? A thing so dark that simply knowing that Conserina Ward is alive would give away the King's hand." There was a smile then, a twisted thing that had no humor in it at all. "Well, unless you were to be working against the King and if that were the case your own brother would be fighting you I think. He loves the King and the Prince, as well as the rest of their family. No, I can't see you doing that at all. What I've seen about you is more honorable than that by far. If with more of a merchant's heart than I've seen in the rest of them, which gladdens me. That means that one of them told you to protect her. Or begged you to."
