Ruin & Reliance

by Jeremy Dwyer

  Caemgen followed her and said to the captain of the guards: “I am Caemgen, Chronicler of four hundred twenty-six (426) years. Under the authority of the Oath, I am also entering this castle to observe and record.”

  The captain of the guards said: “I am Captain Duvall, serving at the pleasure of His Majesty, King Hamza Bazavador. I will take you to the king and announce your presence.”

  “That’s not necessary, Captain. I’m not here to see the king,” Judith said.

  “We’re here to observe and record,” Caemgen said.

  “Observe and record what?” Captain Duvall asked.

  “Whatever interests us,” Judith said.

  “It could be anything at all,” Caemgen said.

  ~~~

  Under the cover of darkness, Goyo proceeded through the halls of the castle, climbing the stairs to the various towers, but finding them locked. After many dead ends, he eventually found the throne room, and saw King Hamza Bazavador within, seated upon his throne. Four (4) armed guards surrounded the king.

  ~~~

  Under the cover of false light, Derek followed the man moving under the cover of darkness as he traversed the castle’s halls and towers, until he reached the throne room.

  ~~~

  Judith and Caemgen continued exerting their powers to slow the passage of time and, thus, the speed of light. They followed the man covered in false light as he traversed the castle’s halls and towers. They eventually arrived in the throne room of King Hamza Bazavador.

  Captain Duvall nervously followed them. He knew that Chroniclers were not a threat to the wellbeing of King Hamza Bazavador, but they were a threat to his royal secrets, whatever they might be.

  As Judith and Caemgen entered the throne room – following the man covered in false light – Captain Duvall rushed ahead of them.

  “Your Majesty, King Hamza Bazavador, I present to you these Chroniclers of the Oath, who are here to observe and record, under the authority of the Oath,” Captain Duvall said.

  “I am Judith, Chronicler of twelve hundred forty-five (1245) years,” she said.

  “I am Caemgen, Chronicler of four hundred twenty-six (426) years,” he said.

  ~~~

  Under the cover of darkness, Goyo scanned the room. Since he could not find the land deed to alter, he would have to assassinate its rightful owner, King Bazavador himself. Goyo drew his dagger, which had a pair of hollow points filled with poison. He lunged toward the king.

  ~~~

  Under the cover of false light, Derek projected light onto the man moving in the darkness and preparing to strike. He bent the light to blind the assassin and focused it to burn him. It wasn’t Derek’s duty to protect this foreign king, but he saw no just cause for murder, and the friendly act might afford him assistance.

  ~~~

  Judith and Caemgen watched as the dagger-wielding assassin lost his cover of darkness due to the projection of light. They recorded the unfolding events into their books.

  Captain Duvall drew his sword and sliced off the hands of the assassin, who fell to the floor. Duvall then cut a swath of cloth from the assassin’s clothing and used it to stop the bleeding in case it was important to interrogate him.

  Derek eased his powers of light, revealing himself. However, he kept a beam of light focused on the would-be assassin. “I am Derek, agent of the Ihalik Empire Intelligence Bureau,” he said as he appeared.

  King Hamza Bazavador stood up from his throne and said: “Captain Duvall!”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Captain Duvall said.

  “This Ihalik agent acted against the assassin to save my life. My own guards were caught unaware of the presence of either of them. Are we not practiced in our defenses, Captain Duvall? Do we not have drinkers of the Lujladia waters assigned to peer into the darkness and detect infiltration? I am more than disappointed!” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  “I am rightfully ashamed, Your Majesty,” Captain Duvall said.

  “Interrogate this assassin, Captain Duvall, here and now! We all need to know what is happening!” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  “If I may speak, Your Majesty, and share what I know,” Derek said.

  “Please do,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty. This assassin was operating under the cover of darkness when I first observed him in the central bank’s Trading Center One building on Haza’Kedro’Maral Island in the Pirovalen Ocean. I followed him into the Trading Center Three building, where the world map is located. He went into the records room and located a book containing land deeds in the vicinity of the southeastern region of Waderav, bordering the Duchy of Yutaka. I was able to observe which tract of land was of interest to him, and the page of the book, which indicated that you, King Hamza Bazavador, are the rightful owner. The assassin made pencil markings on his arm with the geographic coordinates of that land,” Derek said.

  Judith and Caemgen each recorded this new information into their books.

  “He intended to steal the land rights from me, then? That is an especially profitable region, with high quality soil. Who does he serve?” King Hamza Bazavador asked.

  Captain Duvall grabbed the assassin by the throat and forced him to stand up straight. “Who do you serve? Who sent you to steal the king’s land?” he asked.

  The assassin – Goyo – said nothing.

  Captain Duvall raised his sword and pointed it toward the assassin’s spine, pressing only hard enough to cause pain. “If you do not answer me, I will cut your spine and leave you as a cripple. You will wish that I killed you, but I won’t,” he said.

  “You can force him to answer, Captain Duvall. However, you cannot force him to tell the truth. Guards, summon a telepath to verify the assassin’s answers,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  One (1) of the king’s four (4) armed guards left the throne room and returned five (5) minutes later with another man – wearing a blindfold over his eyes – standing by his side.

  “Dubaku at your service, Your Majesty,” the blindfolded man said.

  “Dubaku, interrogate this assassin,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  The blindfolded man – Dubaku – drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from his vial and was energized with the powers of telepathy and empathy. He probed the surfaces of the minds of those around him, although a man and woman were both inaccessible to him. “Chroniclers – two (2) of you – are here. I cannot read your thoughts,” he said. Dubaku directed his telepathic powers to the others and soon found the assassin. He probed further, scanning the man’s mind to learn his deepest secrets. “His name is Goyo and he serves Baron Amidio, who now rules the Duchy of Yutaka. Amidio ordered him to alter the land deed and expand the duchy’s borders thirty-six (36) miles westward and nineteen (19) miles northward,” Dubaku said.

  “We will send this assassin back to Baron Amidio, with a warning, that I, King Hamza Bazavador, am aware of his intentions. His mission to alter the records of the land was followed by a failed assassination attempt. Baron Amidio is to write an acknowledgment of this message, sign it and send it back to me by an unarmed courier. Otherwise, I will assume that he is planning to attack me or steal from me again, forcing me to deploy an army against him,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  “Your Majesty, I volunteer to escort Goyo, to be certain that the message is delivered,” Captain Duvall said.

  “Permission granted, Captain Duvall. Do not return to me without the writ of acknowledgment from Baron Amidio,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  Dubaku continued probing the minds of those around him. He found secrets within Derek’s mind, as well. “Your Majesty, there are other matters of interest,” he said.

  “I will hear them, Dubaku,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  “This Ihalik spy, Derek, was assigned to investigate fraud in the central bank. The Ihalik Empire has lost profits due to illegal pricing and counterfeit gems in their contracts with the central bank. His service to you was incidental to his m
ission,” Dubaku said.

  “I prefer incidental success to failure for any reason, Dubaku. You will remain by my side and alert me to any intruders my guards fail to detect or intercept,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  “Yes, Your Majesty. It will be my honor to serve by your side,” Dubaku said.

  “Captain Duvall, leave at once and take this assassin with you,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Captain Duvall said.

  “Your Majesty, I must return to performing my service to the Ihalik Empire, of which you are now aware,” Derek said.

  “Understood. Please return to your duties. You have served me well and without obligation, and for that I am grateful. However, I recommend you take this opportunity to go to Waderav and observe closely. I suspect that the corruption of the central bank extends there. My own investigations throughout the centuries have led me to believe this. I can tell you no more with certainty,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  “Under the authority of the Oath, I will accompany you to Waderav,” Caemgen said.

  “Under the authority of the Oath, I will remain here with the king,” Judith said.

  ~~~

  Captain Duvall drank anew of the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean from his vial and was energized with the powers of strength and speed. He took hold of Goyo and bound the assassin’s arms behind him. Duvall then escorted Goyo out of the throne room. Derek and Caemgen followed them as they exited the castle.

  CHAPTER 24: Rise of City and Suspicions

  In northeastern region of the continent of Revod, inside the castle that served as the military academy for the Jenaldej Empire, the resource coordinator, Nathan, sat at the desk in his office, reviewing accounting books. He drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from his vial to be energized with the power of calm, rational thought. Nathan then constructed updated mathematical models based on the data, correlating reported productivity rates as well as inventory levels. The resource coordinator wrote the coefficients to his equations on pages of a new book.

  Nathan stood up from his desk, opened his office door and walked through the halls until reaching the office of Imperial Prince Trahaearn. Finding the door closed, he knocked and the door was opened.

  “Is this an urgent matter, Nathan?” Imperial Prince Trahaearn asked when he saw the resource coordinator standing in the hall.

  “It is potentially urgent, depending on the cause of the discrepancy. It is definitely urgent that we come to an understanding of the cause,” Nathan said.

  “Come in and brief me on the matter,” Imperial Prince Trahaearn said.

  Nathan entered the office and Trahaearn closed the door.

  “What is this discrepancy you mentioned?” Imperial Prince Trahaearn asked.

  “I’ve been monitoring our productivity rates in the extraction and refinement of every variety of gemstone. Our inventory levels are three point zero seven (3.07) percent higher than our yield rates minus our consumption rates indicate we should be,” Nathan said.

  “So, there is a miscalculation either in our productivity rates, our usage rates, our inventory levels or some combination of those numbers, correct?” Imperial Prince Trahaearn asked.

  “Logically, that is the most likely cause. However, even that is highly unlikely, due to the repeated calculations and checks on all levels. At first, I thought it was more likely that we failed to allocate the precious gems to their intended purpose, due to delays in later stages in the pipeline. However, even that did not account for the excess inventory levels,” Nathan said.

  “So we have inexplicably high inventory levels of precious gems, after eliminating all other sources of error?” Imperial Prince Trahaearn asked.

  “Yes. That is the challenge. If the inventory levels were too low, we could investigate the matter as theft or fraud against the Jenaldej Empire. However, I’ve never seen the levels being too high. This means we have the responsibility to prove that our various regional managers did not commit theft or fraud against our trading partners by failing to deliver on a sale,” Nathan said.

  “The Ihalik Empire’s financial council would not hesitate to file a complaint at the first sign of even the slightest shortage or delay on our part. If they had a trading dispute with us, we would already know,” Imperial Prince Trahaearn said.

  “We’re going to have to investigate internally,” Nathan said.

  “I agree. I know who to send,” Imperial Prince Trahaearn said.

  “What would you have me do to assist the investigation?” Nathan asked.

  “Nothing directly. For now, return to your office and examine the matter more closely. Calculate its full scope, and develop procedures to monitor our inventory levels and productivity and usage rates more closely, so as to notice even the smallest errors as they occur,” Imperial Prince Trahaearn said.

  “I will begin working on that at once,” Nathan said.

  ~~~

  Nathan opened the door and left Imperial Prince Trahaearn’s office, closing the door behind him. He then returned to his own office with plans to begin an even more precise examination of the numbers related to the situation. He drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from his vial to be energized further, and his powers of calm, rational thought were at their fullest. Nathan then began making new calculations and designing bookkeeping processes and personnel allocations to more readily notice discrepancies in the Jenaldej Empire’s precious gem reserves, production, consumption, delivery and sales.

  ~~~

  After waiting and resting for a day on board the Industrious Metal Miner North Eleven, Commissioner Wallace exited his cabin at daybreak and roused his twenty (20) armed guards. Once they quickly readied themselves and accompanied Wallace, he visited Commissioner Hannah in her cabin.

  “You’re very prompt, Commissioner Wallace. As the many suns rise, so do you,” Commissioner Hannah said when she opened the cabin door to greet her colleague.

  “Of course I’m prompt, Commissioner Hannah. Time is of the essence. We need to receive the design services we paid for, and have the architect complete the construction of the city,” Commissioner Wallace said.

  “Let’s bring the captain and the navigator. We need them to chart a course to the construction site,” Commissioner Hannah said.

  Commissioner Hannah walked out on deck, followed by Commissioner Wallace, who was accompanied by his twenty (20) armed guards. They entered the wheelhouse and Captain Gijsbert was there, along with Romey.

  “You’re already awake, even before Commissioner Wallace. Impressive,” Commissioner Hannah said.

  “Time and tide wait for no one,” Captain Gijsbert said.

  “I wake up even before he does. A woman who sails the seas has to be ready at all times,” Romey said.

  “You’re ready? Good. Because I don’t wait for anyone, either. Captain Gijsbert! Romey! Come with us. We need to return to the architect and give her a charted course leading to the construction site,” Commissioner Wallace said.

  “Lead the way, Commissioner. The sooner this gets done, the sooner I get my signed contract,” Captain Gijsbert said.

  Romey picked up the atlas from the table in the wheelhouse and carried it with her.

  Commissioner Wallace, accompanied by his twenty (20) armed guards, exited the wheelhouse and disembarked from the ship. Commissioner Hannah, Captain Gijsbert and Romey followed him into the Port of Kemalorin and back to the alchemy shop where Fantine worked.

  Commissioner Wallace knocked at the door and it was opened by Niven.

  “Commissioner Wallace, please come in,” Niven said.

  Commissioner Wallace, his twenty (20) armed guards, Commissioner Hannah, Captain Gijsbert and Romey all entered the alchemy shop.

  The Chronicler Ximenez saw them and recorded their arrival into his book.

  Fantine held up a sapphire in her right hand and then drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from her vial with her left hand to be energized with the p
ower to manipulate crystal and stone. She closely examined the low-level structure of the sapphire once again.

  “Well, Fantine? I trust you are ready with the design,” Commissioner Wallace said.

  “The design is complete, Commissioner. Now, we need to go on site and begin the construction process,” Fantine said.

  “Romey, chart a course to Western District Nineteen (19). That will be the location of this new city and the irrigation canals,” Commissioner Hannah said.

  Romey drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from her vial and was energized with the power to listen to the sound of the stars. She consulted the atlas to get the exact coordinates of Western District Nineteen (19) along the Ihalik coastline. She then concentrated to learn the solar paths and positions and used this information to chart a course. She wrote this course down using a pencil and a notebook she carried with her.

  “I would like to see that course you charted,” Ximenez said. He walked over to Romey and examined what she wrote. Ximenez then copied the charted course into his own book.

  “I have retained the services of Captain Arata, and his ship, the Sandstone Cutter, to transport the constructor. Make a copy of that course and we’ll follow you there,” Fantine said.

  Romey then made a copy of the charted course on another page in her notebook. She tore the page from the notebook and said “here you go” as she gave the page to Fantine.

  “Niven will be coming with me. Once the city and irrigation canals are constructed, he will image the result using lightkeeper crystals. This is important for detection of possible fractures as well as proof of correctness,” Fantine said.

  “Are you now telling me you have doubts about the reliability in your design or construction process? Are you truly ready to begin this work, architect? What did we pay for? Did we pay you too soon? I thought you said that you stood behind your work, or am I mistaken?” Commissioner Wallace asked.

  “Just relax, Commissioner Wallace. Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Commissioner Hannah said.

  “Relax?! If there is any flaw in the design or construction, lives will be at risk!” Commissioner Wallace said.