by Zack Finley
It felt good to be busy but the next day was a scheduling nightmare. I got out my stylus and made my first to-do list on my new paper. First Jeref, then the hospital, then the Klee bank, off to Losan for a late lunch and harbor trip. While we weren't happy to cut our afternoon training session short, we felt visiting Kavil was also important.
Of course, life had a way of screwing with to-do lists.
◆◆◆
Chapter 18
The next morning, we 'ported into the side room at the Bounding Basas to meet Jeref. He had done a fine job lining up bargains in leathers and cloth. We tweaked his list to bring it more in line with Tobron's supply requirements. Jeref said he'd have the entire cargo ready to load on a ship by the end of the day. Argon agreed to pay Jeref for the full cargo in funds from our Augun guild banking account when we confirmed the cargo was on board the ship.
Jeref arranged for us to meet his recommended shipper, Captain Blent aboard the Calibran, at our convenience.
Argon sent me a picture of a large bright blue fish with very large teeth called a calibran.
We walked from the Bounding Basas to the Calibran. If I thought the level of misery at the tavern was overwhelming, the dread exhibited by ships’ crews fearing being left behind in Augun was even worse. There had been no cargos available for days. Ships were getting desperate to leave, and if anyone was happy, I certainly didn’t find them with my app.
The Calibran was one of those fearful ships. Captain Blent was wearing a mind magic amulet, but it provided little protection from Argon's delicate probe.
Blent was a pirate. His plan to take our money and steal our cargo was so blatant that I nearly killed him on the spot. Argon wanted to kidnap and question him, but cooler thoughts prevailed. We agreed to walk away.
Besides not walking into his trap, the only positive part about the encounter was confirming Jeref was not part of it. Blent just wanted a big score so he could get away from the turmoil in Augun. He and Jeref had had many successful business deals, but Blent was now running scared and wanted to leave Augun.
Blent was not aware Argon was reading him and took us on a tour of his vessel while she ferreted out the rest of his plans. He intended to take his ship and stolen cargo to Ylee, the city kingdom north of Kavil and the northernmost city on Shala's list on the western half of the continent. He had considered Kavil, but his contacts there were staunchly anti-pirate and might turn him in to the authorities, especially if word of his piracy ever reached there. He rejected several pirate outposts along the coast due to our cargo. Pirates pay well for weapons and slaves but have little use for cloth and leather.
We thanked Blent for the tour and told him Jeref would be making the final shipping arrangements.
We met Jeref back at the Bounding Basas.
Argon told him we were uneasy with Captain Blent and would prefer another shipper. Perhaps one day we would feel more confident in sharing our findings with him, but we couldn't ignore that he steered us toward this pirate in the first place.
Jeref was disappointed but agreed there were plenty of other shippers to consider. To avoid another delay, he agreed to provide three ships for us to visit the next morning. Should one of those be acceptable, he could have the cargo loaded by midday. He'd let us know how soon after that the ship could sail.
While Argon handled the transaction, I attempted to learn more about some of the issues on Cleon's list from Bounding Basas patrons.
We seemed to be the only strangers in the tavern, but Jeref had spread the word we were working with him. Association with Jeref allowed the patrons to note our presence, but we were no longer the main topic of conversation.
While much of the discussion centered on the antics of the secret police, I could find no one in the room the secret police had detained. It was always a friend of a friend. The level of misery in the room had deteriorated from the day before, as the customers shared reports of more businesses closures.
I nearly missed two men huddled together at a table in the shadows. They were either mages or wearing mind protection because they were invisible to my mind-reading app.
By now, I could taste the difference between a simple spell-based mind shield and one that was part of a more complex spell set. Enchanted talismans nearly always generated a single layer spell. Complex wards were typical of a mage. One could probe a talisman generated spell with no chance of discovery but exploring another mage's ward could trigger a response.
I alerted Argon about the two men, and she confirmed one was a mage and the other just had a simple talisman.
"Why don't you slip in and see what you can see in the non-mage," she sent. "You have to learn how to do this sometime. Be ready to shut down quickly if something goes amiss. I'm sure that mage is monitoring his partner and you don't want to raise suspicions."
I narrowed my mind-reading app to the two men and used the air currents to eavesdrop for a moment before slipping beneath the mundane's mind shield. The two were discussing their unsuccessful search for somebody. They were expanding the search and were splitting up to cover more ground.
Argon was my copilot as I slipped inside the shield. The shield was of excellent quality and would have resisted a casual look. My entry caused no change to Fallon's mental state, which was a good sign it was undetected. Fallon was mundane, and he was a member of the Augun secret police. The mage was his supervisor.
Fallon knew a few more details about the assassination attempt. A huge explosion within the keep collapsed part of the royal quarters. The collapsing structure knocked the king's heir unconscious and crushed him. He died before rescuers could reach him.
The same collapse crushed the king, but he was closer to rescuers. The king’s healer barely saved the king from grievous wounds. Nearly all royal attendants caught in the blast perished as did the king's chamberlain. Rescuers found the commander of the Augun King's Guard in his quarters, dead from a sword attack.
The violence left no one in charge and chaos ensued. Arbos, the head of the secret police took command after the disaster, but even his men thought he went too far in his purge. Especially since he had found no one responsible for the assassination.
Rumors circulated through the keep this week that healers from the Augun Mage Guild were now assisting the royal healer. Rumors were all over the map, some saying the king had regained consciousness while others claimed the king had died. Fallon had learned not to react to either premise.
Fallon and his supervisor were hunting for a royal servant thought to be away from the palace when the explosion hit. Fallon figured it was another fruitless chase, but at least it seemed related to the assassination attempt.
The random application of torture and mind rape to hunt the guilty was not something Fallon wanted to be part of anymore.
I slipped out of the contact and monitored Fallon to confirm his mind remained steady. I kept an ear to the two men's conversation and monitored their mental aura to make sure they still were not taking an interest in us.
We shared the entire mind scan with Inoa and Tobron. Inoa immediately forwarded it on to Cleon.
We received word back to find out why no other heir had stepped forward until the king recovered.
I slipped back into Fallon's mind as the two men prepared to leave the tavern. Fallon was not very knowledgeable about royal life. Until the assassination, he spent most of his time bribing people around the docks to learn about pirate activities. He didn't know his mage partner at all and was only on this manhunt because he knew the docks.
Secret police who asked too many questions were among those who disappeared.
We let him go and returned home only to get an urgent request from Inoa to meet her at the public portal for the Klee king's offices. She sent us the teleport details and said she was under orders not to share what was going on, but all would be clear soon.
We trusted Inoa had our backs and 'ported to the new location. Inoa and Cleon were there to greet us. Cleon escorted us up a
flight of stairs and through a door guarded by several sentries. We lost Inoa on the stairs but she messaged all was well, and we would compare notes later. She assured us Cleon would look out for us.
Cleon showed us into a large conference room filled with people.
There had been plenty of conversation when the door opened, but it cut off when we walked into the room. Every eye in the room pinned us.
Other than Cleon, we had never met any of them. All had some form of mind shield. I suspected King Ruton and his mother were the two seated at the head of the table; their small gold circlets provided a hint about who they were.
One reasonably fit man in an elaborate uniform with lots of medals sat near the king, and I assumed he was the commander of the king's guard. There were no others in uniform seated at the table, but there were nearly 20 uniformed men and women standing against the wall interspersed with people in business attire, likely bureaucrats, or spooks.
Cleon asked us to sit in the only empty chairs. He took his place against the wall behind us.
Argon softly held my hand under the table. It settled both of us.
The silence stretched for a few seconds too long before King Ruton thanked us for coming. An older gentleman, I took to be his chamberlain, introduced the others at the table. He assumed we knew who the king and queen mother were and who he was. Names meant little to us, so we had little context about who these people were.
We messaged Inoa and Tobron for help, and they quickly sorted out the people for us. We had a virtual who's who of all the major players in Klee politics.
The commander took charge of the proceedings summarizing the information we had provided to Cleon. Several in the room reacted to the news, but it was clear this was now old news to the king and queen mother.
I was a little surprised he got it right, having seen what happened at high-level briefings in my old life. Since they had all of our intel, it left us wondering why they wanted us there.
The commander asked if we had anything new to add and we said no. Thinking our part was over I prepared to get up, but Argon squeezed my hand and mentally advised me to sit back and relax. The chairs weren't very comfortable with my crossbow poking me in the back, but I got the message.
King Ruton said he was very concerned about unknown factions creating unrest by staging assassinations. Augun had changed from being a city and country with a robust economy to an economy in free fall within weeks. He feared that if his grandfather did not mend quickly, Augun might not recover for decades. If the king died without naming a new heir, it could lead to further anarchy. He feared his family ties to Augun could drag Klee into the chaos.
Ruton was also concerned if the assassins were expecting to benefit from the chaos they might already be targeting other kingdoms, including Klee.
This news caused a stir in the room with some turning to their neighbors to discuss what this might mean.
"I have asked the king's guard to prepare for such a contingency. We will need the help of our entire community to foil any attempt. Right now, we do not have enough information to do more than increase our vigilance. I will expect you all to assist the commander when he calls upon you. Now is not the time for interdepartmental bickering, we may be facing a major threat to our society and the time for that type of small-mindedness is behind us," said Ruton. "We cannot allow information about a possible attack on Klee to get to the wrong ears. Be discrete and keep this information confined to those within this room."
With that, he took his mother's hand, and they left through a door behind them.
With their departure, the room exploded in loud talking as everyone was trying to speak at once. Cleon whispered in our ears the king wanted to a private moment with us and he escorted us out of the room. I doubt anyone noticed our departure.
We met with the king and queen mother in a small sitting room nearby. Cleon remained with us, but there were no others present.
The queen mother must have used a glamour to hide her swollen red eyes while we were in the main meeting but now her grief was obvious. She clutched a wadded handkerchief in one hand and grasped her son's arm in the other.
"We were not prepared for the information you shared with Cleon last night about Augun. We hoped you were wrong and sent several agents there to investigate. They confirmed the unofficial information you supplied. The Augun Mage Guild was nearly empty, and none of our old contacts answered our communication attempts," said King Ruton.
"When Inoa, the most powerful mind mage in the kingdom, verifies your statement and confirms your trustworthiness, some were disappointed I chose not to take your revelations on faith,” Ruton glanced at Cleon with a look of apology.
"We should have had some earlier word of this attack, but so devastating was its scope most who would have contacted us either perished or were caught up in its aftermath."
The queen mother's quiet sobs punctuated the recitation.
"The commander will lead the effort to guard against a similar assault here. Without knowing who is responsible, I fear if the same group wishes to send Klee into similar chaos we will be hard pressed to stop them," said Ruton.
Argon was as puzzled as I was about where this was going.
Ruton stood up and began to pace.
"I cannot stand by and let my grandfather die and Augun continue plunging into anarchy," Ruton said. "If your information is correct, we may only have a narrow window of time left to act. Even if one of my cousins steps forward as the new heir, he will not have the power base needed to end this crisis. Only the current king of Augun can do that and only if he is well enough to lead."
While we agreed with his observations, it was still a mystery what this had to do with us.
"Cleon tells me you have some bizarre interest in acquiring Mad Toffad's Keep. While he thinks his father's fascination with the place has led you down this foolish path, he believes you are sincere in your desire to start a new steading." Cleon looked uncomfortable at the king's words.
Bingo, I felt the surge of hope from Argon as we began to see where the king was going with this.
"My forces already have a difficult task before them. Defeating an assault by an unknown enemy on Klee must remain their focus, no matter how much my mother and I want to rescue my grandfather." Ruton returned to his chair as his demeanor changed and he became more resolved.
"But I can ask you. I understand you are both highly skilled warriors with serious magic skills. We need someone who can sneak into the Augun king's sick room and teleport him here. Healers in Klee are significantly superior to those in Augun. If you can get him here, we will have healers standing by to heal his life-threatening injuries."
Thud, there it was, our new mission parameters. Sneak into an alert and highly fortified location, kidnap the king, keep him from dying from his old injuries, and bring him home for treatment. Even the SEALS might turn this one down. But, mind magic and teleportation were tools they didn't have, yet.
After that, it was just a negotiation, which I left with Argon as I considered what we needed to know in advance.
My mind was racing and I pulled out my stylus and a pad of paper and began to furiously make notes: layout of the king's keep; method for letting king know we were the good guys; healing training for Argon and I; sneaky magic; breaking through castle wards magic; non-lethal knock out magic for both short and long range; potential distraction magic; some type of healing amulet to keep the king alive during transport; a spell that makes people decide to go somewhere else; invisibility magic? We needed a bunch of magical dirty tricks.
As we prepared to do this the hard way, I didn't abandon the principle of keep-it-simple-stupid. I asked if the Klee Mage Guild leader could contact the Augun guild and offer to send us to heal the Augun king.
If the current Augun government invited Argon and me into the sickroom, most of the mission's complexity faded away.
The king agreed. In case that wasn't successful, he promised his troops would coope
rate with helping us prepare. He left Cleon as our main contact.
Cleon escorted us from the room, promising to let us know whether the guild got lucky.
We left to meet Alba to train in magical healing.
Our healing magic got a thorough test drive when we accompanied Alba at the local hospital during her rounds. I was still unfamiliar with Jaloan internal organs. Alba had some illustrated texts. I learned Jaloans, and Earth humans look more alike on the outside than they do on the inside.
While we were studying with Alba, Cleon sent word that we would be breaking in the hard way. The Augun guild didn't respond, even after a high-ranking Klee guild member ‘ported to Augun to confirm it was a serious offer. He couldn't find anyone at the guild to give the offer to. So much for keeping it simple.
We needed to have at least a rudimentary understanding about how to keep the injured king alive before setting out.
I had a harder time grasping healing concepts than Argon. This was partly because I lived with two conflicting realities. While external bodily functions such as breathing, eating, sex, pooping, and peeing were similar between Jaloan and Earthen bodies. Inside, not so much. I used Alba’s illustrations to anchor my understanding of Jaloan innards. With that map, I began to race forward to catch up with Alba's medical teaching.
While I wouldn't be doing major surgery anytime soon, I was great at listening to the body and encouraging it to heal itself. The hospital staff was disbelieving when I helped a young man regrow his arm. That was supposed to be extremely difficult, but nobody had told me.
I thought the man was going to adopt me. He introduced me to his mate, his children, and even his parents. I was so embarrassed I didn't know what to do. The man had been a dockworker and lost his arm in an accident while offloading a ship. Even some of the hospital staff began treating me as if I was a saint.
Alba brought me down to the real world. She said the hospital usually didn't have enough health magic to spend it regrowing an arm. Mages working at the hospital spent most of their healing magic in triage, getting the most good from the limited amount of magic available.
