“You’re him, aren’t you?” the guard asked with wide eyes.
“Him? I don’t know. I’m me, but then that begs the question, aren’t we all him, or me?”
The guard just blinked for a moment. “MacDougal?”
“Yup, I’m him,” Sean smiled. “We’re heading out to visit a friend. Can we?”
“Uh...” the guard hesitated, then looked toward the guardhouse. “Yes?”
“Thanks,” Sean smiled. “Have a good day. Go ahead, Arliat.”
Arliat pressed down on the gas and the car accelerated forward at a slow, steady pace. Every guard on the gate, and the few others who were coming and going, watched with wide eyes.
Sean rolled his window up as they left. He had it almost closed when a sergeant came rushing out of the guardhouse, shouting. Sean chuckled, “Just keep going.”
Arliat nodded and gave the car more power.
Sean looked in the mirror, his smile dropping away as he watched the sergeant ream the guard. Asshole... we’ll be back and you’ll have another chance.
~*~*~
The guards on Flamehair’s estate were wide-eyed as the car rolled up to the gate.
“Roll down your window,” Sean told Arliat. “You’ll be doing this a lot.”
Arliat got her window down and waited for the guard to come around to her side. “MacDougal, here for his meeting.”
“This… this is the horseless carriage?” the guard asked with awe.
“This is the passenger version of that. I call it a car,” Sean grinned at the man. “Can we?” He motioned at the gate.
“Oh, uh... yeah. Carl, open the gate.”
“Roll it up,” Sean murmured to Arliat. “Good job. When we go back to the city, I’ll do the talking. A sergeant started screaming at the guard who let us through. If that asshole wants to play, I’ll play.”
“Yes, sir,” Arliat said softly. “I can try to handle it, though.”
Sean gave her a smile as she got them rolling again. “I’d let you normally, but I’m sure this is just going to be shit and not something reasonable. We’ll skip the bit where the asshole will upset you and go right to me.”
Arliat’s lips twitched and she nodded. “As you say, sir. I just want to do everything I can in my job.”
“And you are. You did great driving us here, by the way. If we don’t have any troubles over the next day, I’m going to let the car go faster. You’ll have to watch how much you’re giving it.”
Arliat sat up a little straighter. “Yes, sir.”
“Hmm, I need to make a gauge for that…” Sean trailed off, thinking of making a speedometer.
Arliat didn’t reply, knowing he was off in his own head. All of the staff had seen him tune out at times, and they’d been informed by his wives to let him think when he did.
The drive to the main manor was short, so Sean didn’t stay lost in thought for long. When Arliat set the parking brake, Helga was out of the back before Sean had moved. Sean waited, and then Helga nodded and stepped away from his door.
When Sean stepped out, the butler opened the doors and stared at the car. Blinking a few times, he managed to keep his expression mostly controlled. “MacDougal, welcome to Flamehair manor.”
“Verterm,” Sean greeted the man, “thank you for the welcome. Where do you want her to park it?”
Verterm sniffed at his handkerchief, then motioned to the side of the building. “If she’ll take it around to the back, the staff there will see to her while you see the Dame.”
“Around back, Arliat,” Sean called to her.
Arliat waved and got the car rolling.
Verterm looked Helga over, his eyebrow twitching. “This is your assistant?”
“Helga is my guard,” Sean said. “Goes everywhere I go.”
“I see. I’ve never seen full mithril armor before. Odd that she doesn’t have a weapon.”
“She has them,” Sean smiled. “They just aren’t visible.”
Sniffing at his handkerchief again, Verterm nodded. “Very well. Follow me, please. The others should be gathering now. You came at the perfect time.”
“Glad the guards on the gate didn’t give us any grief, then,” Sean said as he entered the home.
“Yes, They have been… unpleasant as of late.”
“Hopefully, it’ll clear up soon,” Sean said.
Verterm led them into a parlor. Flamehair was already there, sitting in a high-backed padded chair. Across from her were a trio of people— two men and one woman. All of them were redheads just like Flamehair.
“Ah, there he is,” Flamehair said, smiling. “Aspirant Sean MacDougal, welcome to my home. Let me introduce my extended family to you— Knight Kell Flamehair, Knight Saval Flamehair, and Lady Charu Flamehair. So you are aware, Lady Flamehair is the head of the family in Westpoint, and her sons are her close advisors.”
Sean bowed his head to them. “A pleasure to meet you all.”
Saval was staring at Helga. “Mithril armor?”
“She’s my guard,” Sean said. “I value my life highly.”
“And hers, apparently,” Kell snorted, “but she carries no weapons.”
“She has a couple of weapons on her,” Sean replied with a hard smile. “She won’t need them in a friend’s house, though.”
“You do not look as impressive as I’ve been led to believe you should be,” Charu said.
“I surprise a lot of people,” Sean shrugged. “Charie invited me to speak with you.” He grabbed one of the chairs and moved it to sit a little closer to Flamehair and across from the other three. Taking his seat, he smiled. “What can I do for you?”
Saval eyed Sean a little warily after Sean moved the large chair with seeming indifference. He exchanged a glance with Kell, who nodded slightly.
“My great-niece has spoken a lot of how much you’ve done for the family,” Charu said haughtily. “She has gone so far as to summon us so she can present something that will, what did you say again? ‘Change the way we work’? Many have claimed to have had insights and breakthroughs, but none have truly changed our family.”
“This will, and it is thanks to Sean that we even have this opportunity,” Flamehair said. “Now, are you willing to listen, or do we have to use the family tradition?”
Charu’s eyebrows rose and her lips compressed. “You think to challenge me, child?”
“If you won’t listen, yes,” Flamehair smiled. “I’ve grown more than you can possibly begin to guess.”
“Grown more insolent, at least,” Kell snorted. “Refusing to service multiple homes on a whim?”
“I will listen,” Charu said, motioning Kell back. “If you fail to impress me... well, my daughter could easily replace you here.”
“If I do impress you, you will listen to me in my entirety,” Flamehair said.
“Agreed,” Charu smirked. “Tell me.”
“A showing is required,” Flamehair said, standing up. “I have had Verterm arrange things. Please follow me.”
They all left the parlor behind, the three nobles curious as to where they were going. Sean wasn’t curious about that, as he knew what she was going to show them. He was curious how they would take it, instead.
Leading them into the latrine room, Flamehair motioned to the seat. “If you’d care to check that the box is waiting to be cleaned?”
Charu motioned Saval forward. “Check.”
Saval moved to the seat and glanced in. “There is waste.”
“Step back,” Flamehair told him. “Now, do you see this gem?” She pointed to the ruby beside her hand set near the door.
“Of course,” Charu replied.
“I need you to touch it. Don’t use any energy— just touch it with your bare hand.”
Charu went to her side and pressed the ruby. A sudden bright light and warmth came from where the seat was. Eyebrow going up, Charu motioned Saval to go look.
Saval moved closer and looked inside, then blinked slowly for a moment. When
he stepped back, he hesitated. “It’s... clean. Even the ash is less than I expected.”
Charu’s lips thinned and she went over to look.
“The runes that are now inside the box work far better than our traditional way,” Flamehair said. “The six of them make quick work of any waste and, from what I can tell, the empowered runes will last for well over a hundred uses if fully charged. It takes one of our normal cleaners a hundredth of their energy to charge it from empty to full.”
Charu spun on her heel to look at Flamehair with suspicion. “That can’t be right.”
“It is,” Sean said. “I invented it with the help of Magus Giralt.”
“Magus Giralt?” Charu asked with raised eyebrows. “Hmm... He is an accomplished fire magus. It is a pity he refused to marry into the family. Well, if he had a hand in it, it might be possible.”
“He had the barest help from Magus Giralt,” Flamehair said. “Sean is the one who has created all the new wonders you’ve no doubt heard of.”
“I have yet to see any of them myself,” Charu said with a shrug. “Rumors.”
“You just saw one,” Sean said, his patience thinning. “By the way, Charie has the sole right to produce and sell those runes. She can hire others to make them for her, but all of the credit is hers.”
Charu stared at him. “You gave her sole production rights?”
“Leverage,” Sean smiled. “Now, are you going to be civil?” The room was silent and, as Charu was clearly thinking, Sean leaned in toward Flamehair. “I thought of an addition to the latrine. It’s stupid to not have considered it before, honestly. The paper is a bit rough and unpleasant for you all, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Flamehair said, confused by his topic.
“I’ve gotten so used to just using Shaping to make ours softer that I didn’t think about it,” Sean told her. “There was another device I know of called a bidet that could clean you afterward. It used water to spray the area clean.”
“Oh? But doesn’t that still leave you with needing to wipe?” Flamehair asked.
“Naw. I’d combine it with the hairdryer on a low setting and it’d clean and dry you in quick order,” Sean said.
Flamehair nodded. “Yes, I can see where people would want that. Do you think you could alter mine so we can test it?”
“If you have some metal and gems on hand, sure,” Sean shrugged. “Maybe a handful of minutes?”
“What?” Charu asked, cutting in. “You are going to Shape something in just minutes?”
“Well, yeah,” Sean said. “I want it to work right, or it’d be done in less time.”
Flamehair’s relatives looked shocked.
“Can you have Verterm bring me the stuff?” Sean asked Flamehair. “I’ll get it rigged and then you can show your great-aunt what you’ve been trying to show her.”
Flamehair gave him a smile. “Thank you, Sean. This will only increase my debt to you.”
She had her Fairy go inform Verterm as Charu got over her shock.
“And when this fails to work?” Charu asked.
“If it works like I want it to, it’ll be in such high demand by the nobility and upper merchants that you’ll be able to set your own price and keep them in line,” Sean said.
“I asked what if it doesn’t work,” Charu said tightly. “I will have her step down.”
“Fine, but you’ll step down as head of the family for this section of the Queendom in favor of Charie if it does,” Sean said.
“Five minutes?” Charu asked with a smirk.
“From the moment I have the materials in hand,” Sean nodded. “Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Charu laughed, feeling the weight settle on her.
Flamehair didn’t gainsay Sean— she just smiled bemusedly as her great-aunt challenged him. She knew what had happened to everyone who’d bet against him.
~*~*~
Sean stepped back from the toilet. “Done.”
“Just in time,” Charu snorted. “Now to test this supposed device. How does it work?”
“Simple enough,” Sean said. “The sapphire there will cause warm water to clean you. It’ll pivot back and forth to make sure to get everything. The ruby will make hot air blow. If one is being pressed, the other won’t function, which is good. Otherwise, you’d have a real mess.”
“Everyone out of the room,” Charu said.
“No,” Flamehair said softly. “I wish to make sure the test is accurate. I will stay here with you. Besides, I also want to test it.”
Charu’s lips thinned and she nodded. “Very well. Everyone else, out.”
“I think Helga should stay,” Flamehair went on. “She is his observer that we did, in fact, test it.”
Lips thinning more, Charu snorted. “All the men, get out. Now.”
Sean was glad to leave the room, and Kell and Saval joined him a second later.
A minute later, Saval glanced at Sean. “You really think that will work? Master Shapers would have spent days crafting something that complex.”
“Oh, it’ll work. I could have made it better with more time, but it’ll work. The question is whether or not she’ll give it an honest test.”
Kell’s nostrils flared. “You insult her honor?”
Sean gave the man a flat look. “No. I don’t know her, so I don’t know how honest she is. If you say that she is, I’ll accept your word. But to me, it really looked like she just wanted to remove Charie so her daughter— your sister— could take over the city position.”
“Insult has been given,” Kell said with a grim smile.
Sean rolled his eyes. “Fucking hell. Are you simple?”
Kell’s smile grew. “And insulting your better, as well.”
Sean exhaled slowly and shook his head. “I hope Charie doesn’t get upset with me… Sure. As soon as this is done, if you want to push it, I’ll duel you. You won’t like it.”
“Kell is a master swordsman. He has only lost a few duels,” Saval said idly. “Even the Bloodheart family has acknowledged his prowess.”
“Interesting. I’m friends with Toivo. Are you his equal?” Sean asked Kell.
Kell’s lips thinned. “Given names again? Have you no sense of propriety?”
Sean just shook his head, staying quiet while they waited. Instead, he listened to the muted voices of the women, as he could still hear them. His lips twitched when he heard Flamehair exclaim how wonderful it felt. When Charu went, he struggled to keep his face impassive— her shock and surprise were effusive.
The door opened a minute later and Helga led the other two out of the room. Flamehair was looking smug and Charu looked shaken.
“Mother?” Kell asked.
“I…” She trailed off. “MacDougal, I…”
“Yeah, pretty good, right?” Sean grinned. “I can make it better if you give me more than five minutes. If I refine it, I bet I can make the energy usage lower, at the very least. Efficiency is good.”
“Mother?” Saval asked, concerned.
Charu drew herself up and looked at her sons. “Charie will be the new Lady Flamehair once we return to Westpoint.”
Both men stared at her in utter shock.
“Thank you, Charu,” Flamehair said. “I will stay here, though, and let you continue to run the family from Westpoint. I will ask only that you speak to the others to elevate me to Lady. Once this device has been refined and patented, I will bring it to the family so we may begin increasing our standing to what it should have been all along.”
Charu swallowed and nodded. “I should have listened to Archlet and not Sharpeyes.” She turned to Sean, raising her chin slightly. “MacDougal, I apologize. You have won, but Charie has opted to refuse the position.”
“But she’ll end up with greater sway and will advance in rank,” Sean grinned. “I’ll take that as a tradeoff, since Charie wants it.”
“I just took offense to things he said,” Kell said, looking a little uncertain now.
Flamehair blanched. �
�Sean?”
“I might have suggested that I was unsure if she’d be honest,” Sean said. “He took it as an insult and challenged me. I called him simple and he doubled down.”
Flamehair covered her face. “Sean, why?”
“It was an honest question,” Sean shrugged. “She was being a bitch and I thought it’d be possible that she’d be less than honest. When he got huffy, I reacted.”
Noble Solutions Page 18
