by Zack Finley
I had just decided to return to my apartment when there was a flurry of activity at the ‘port site accessing the farming area. Everyone dropped what they were doing and ran to just inside the force field. They set up what appeared to be a bucket brigade. Maude handed a plant to the first in line, he handed it to the next, and so on.
In no time Maude’s plant collection was waiting next to her house. The vegetation came in all sizes. The pots were deep, short and everything in between. She signaled for Jestn to join her. Together they transplanted the assortment of plants into the soil now placed alongside the walls in her new home. The rest of her group returned to mounding soil on the roof.
Maude hugged Jestn to her ample bosom and skipped over to see me.
“You are such a good boy,” Maude said pinching my cheek. Part of me was shocked that anyone on Jaloa did this. Maude was still in her black mourning outfit, but there was a spring in her step.
“Clive is such a grumpy old man, but he does excellent work,” she said waving her hand toward her home. “Very soon I will have my pretties free to live with me. We will have so much fun.”
She turned and went to commune with every plant she brought this trip. They all visibly perked up. Several seemed larger than before, but it was hard to tell. Maude waved at her workers and ‘ported out. I assumed to get another batch of plants.
This gave me a perfect chance to make my getaway. Inoa and I needed to have a serious discussion about Maude and whether she really was harmless. I was starting to feel I’d fallen into a cult by the way Perga and Jestn were acting. It had been all I could do to stop myself from dragging Jestn back into the main part of our Keep. Something was truly weird on the farm.
I picked up the pace of my jog back to the Keep HQ. I needed to schedule some physical training time with the Duchy Guard, I was starting to lose my physical edge.
Argon was merciless when she noticed how out of breath I was after my sprint to the Keep HQ. The only way to stay in peak physical condition was to work at it. Somehow, I’d forgotten that. That I had no idea where we would have found the time before now was no real excuse. I knew lazy mornings were a thing of the past. The guard had an outdoor obstacle course I suspected I’d soon know intimately.
Argon decided there was no time like the present and we ran out of the Keep HQ over to the course.
My mate whipped my ass. I made a better showing the second round but was still a distant second place. I wish I could claim the third time was a charm, but no joy in that. She didn’t quite lap me, but it was mighty close. She then proposed we jog around the Keep walls to cool down. I wanted to call Uncle, but it wasn’t in my nature. I was just glad she jogged beside me to keep me company. I’d like to say we chatted amiably about Duchy matters the whole way around but I’d be lying. I worked as hard as I could to remain conscious and to put one heavy foot in front of the other.
I was saved from more agony by the dinner bell. Argon had been considering a second jog around the perimeter when the bell rang. She decided we needed to hurry back to the Keep HQ to shower. By now showering meant, pouring water on me to wash off the stink. I had no energy left for other considerations. That might change as the night wore on but I was fried.
I realized that Argon wore her armor while I’d only been wearing civilian attire.
As we left for dinner, she clearly had a cat got the canary vibe about her. I expected some knowing stares from a few people at dinner. Not that I was about to deny any sexual prowess, even if it was undeserved.
It was a boisterous evening at the Keep HQ. The kitchen staff had prepared Klee regional favorites. They had some kind of entertainment arranged for after dinner. Virn was expecting a huge crowd at the tavern.
My team mostly glared at me. While generals can drop a change into the command structure, it isn’t always pleasantly received.
Once we had stopped eating Tobron suggested we retire to an adjacent conference room. I hadn’t been in it except to vacuum up jervins. It looked a lot better today with a water pitcher and glasses at each table and comfortable looking chairs. No flowers, but I’d bet that would come soon, knowing Maude.
Tobron stood at the door and waited until we were all in to close it. I was a little surprised to hear a click as he locked it. He did not want us disturbed.
“While I might wish your grace had waited to launch this new offensive, I cannot in truth argue against it,” announced Tobron. “I’ve been concerned about pirates intercepting cargos going into or out of Augun. While nearly all of the Augun traffic is associated with purchases by King Rufix, we would have to react once pirates began to prey upon them.”
I was glad to see fewer glares and a bit more thoughtfulness around me.
“We have been in a reactive mode from the beginning,” said Tobron. “I personally prefer to attack rather than react. Capt. Malek do you have any thoughts on how we can find these pirates on the open sea?”
“It is a little easier than it was,” Malek said, “Anyone north of Augun is a pirate. We can place observers along the coast to report sail sightings. Or we can set ourselves up as bait.”
“Go on Captain,” Tobron encouraged.
“Augun still has plenty of pirates working on its docks. I’m not talking dark sect necessarily, just your run of the mill pirates. If it became known the king was shifting a good part of his treasury to someplace safe, like Klee. That would definitely interest a few pirates. Or it could just be a substantial payment to Losan for food shipments. So far there hasn’t been any interest in hijacking food shipments from Losan to Augun. They must have captured a lot of food when they sacked Kavil and Ylee.”
“Are there any pirate leaning ships left in either Augun, Klee, or Losan harbors?” I asked.
“No, they left once they figured the scheduled fireworks was canceled. None were solidly in the pirate camp, but since we took control of the docks in all three locales, they weren’t getting a legitimate load,” said Malek. “King Rufix followed our lead as did other shippers. There are plenty of legitimate vessels, so no need to trust someone in the pirate camp. But it does mean the shady crews are now roaming the ocean with ships, hungry and looking for easy money.”
“Is there no other way to locate another ship at sea than to sail around aimlessly hoping to catch a glimpse?” I asked. “Do we have anyone friendly with seabirds?”
This caused a surge in the discussion, but no one had an established relationship with any birds. That might change as they thought of the advantages but not soon enough to make a difference today.
“They will probably stay close to shore,” Capt. Malek offered. “We all stay close to shore unless there is a reason to leave it. They will be looking for prey, they will not be trying to hide.”
“If we slowly crawl up the coast just in sight of the shore would we spot any pirates?” I asked.
“If they’ve pulled into an inlet for water or provisions we might miss them,” Malek explained.
“Then we crawl up the coast close enough to spot any other vessel shore side. Let’s get some experience with some pirates before we dangle ourselves as bait,” I decided.
“Do Jaloans have something that lets them see things that are far away more closely?” I sent Argon.
“Far scopes,” she sent. “They are rare, though.”
“Do we have any far scopes,” I asked. Capt. Malek reluctantly admitted he had one.
“Do we know where we can purchase any,” I asked Marfo.
“Let me get back to you,” Marfo said.
“We need several, even better we need to find someone who can make them,” I said.
Capt. Malek said, “I inherited mine from my grandfather. I have no idea where to find a replacement.”
“Have you ever taken it apart?” I asked. I could see the horror on Malek’s face but if Clive could see the lenses maybe he could replicate them.
“Of course not,” Malek said.
“We’ll give Marfo a day or two, but we may ne
ed to get a look at your lenses. I suspect by now Clive could replicate them if he knew what they looked like,” I said. Malek looked pleadingly at Marfo. I hoped they’d find another source.
Clive suddenly looked interested. He likely didn’t realize the role glass played in a far scope.
Inoa changed the subject abruptly. “We should probably equip all of the Duchy guard and any mundanes going out on this mission with the latest evolution of our Duchy sigil.” She held up a small thin clear crystal.
“If we place this into their bodies it will serve the same purpose as an emergency teleport,” Inoa continued. “It will power a teleport spell that will bring them to our HQ Hospital. Right now, we see four triggers: if someone attempts to break the Duchy geas, someone tampers with the implant, if the person receives a life-threatening injury, or with a three-word mantra. We see something easy to remember like ‘Duke help me.’”
Loma added, “The mind shield amulet will still be needed at least for now. We actually don’t want people to realize they have the implant. The implant will be continually topped off from their body’s own magic generation. We’ve tested the implants. They are not affected by mage cuffs, so I am tempted to put them in everyone, mage or mundane. The only problem with mages is they may well sense the implant.”
“No,” I said. The whole room looked at me.
“We need to tell them the truth. They are not children. Ensure everything is covered under geas protection. Tell them what this special protection will do. Tell them if our enemies learned anything about it they might be able to block it. Tell them they can choose to receive this protection or not. If not, that is okay, but they are not cleared to go on missions outside Duchy controlled areas. Without it, they could put others at risk. Anyone who goes on these missions, including us, will have the protection.”
“If any on the Duchy Guard decline, we can’t assign them to the Klee HQ or warehouse as they frequently patrol the streets,” said Cleon.
“I’m sure you can find something for them at the Keep or perhaps they would prefer to return to Jamal’s crew. We’ll face that if we must. I’m really concerned if our people turn us down because they don’t trust us,” I said.
“I’m sure my crew would love to have the option of not dying should they fall overboard,” Capt. Malek said. “I haven’t lost anyone overboard in years, but sometimes bad things happen at sea. They have been thrilled with their mind shields, though I’m not really sure why that is.”
“I’ll have a contract ship moored off the pier and send the crew on holiday. The Duchy Guard can practice using ship’s boats to approach and board it. Once the Malan gets back we can try some more exciting scenarios,” said Malek smiling at Cleon.
“We’ll get enough implants grown and programmed,” Loma said. “We will probably recommend taking a few batteries with you as well.”
“Tobron, do you have much experience with fighting pirates ship-to-ship?” I asked.
“No lad, I don’t. We always hunted them in their lairs. Mostly because we didn’t have a ship for anything except transport. I do know we don’t want anybody falling in the water. Those fishies are mighty fierce, and always hungry,” said Tobron.
Tobron stood up to leave, releasing the rest of us.
Cleon slid over to sit next to Argon and me. “I’m assuming you want to lead this adventure,” Cleon said.
Cleon was still not happy with me. I decided to clear the deck. “Do you have a better way to address the problem of pirates and slavery?” I asked.
Cleon sighed, “No I don’t. I guess I was hoping we had a few more weeks to get the new members of the guard integrated together. But dad is right if we wait too long, more innocent people will die unnecessarily. To my mind, we have no good options. I could sure use more trained combat troops before we tackle a large nest of them.”
“We are in agreement on that,” I said, “I just am not sure that will happen. I’d be really happy with a handful of trained battlemages, too.”
“I may be able to talk King Ruton into loaning us a few battlemages for the showdown,” Cleon said. “Until then, we’ll just have to do what we can.”
“When is your physical training?” Argon asked.
“Sunrise each morning,” Cleon answered.
“We’ll be there starting in the morning,” she replied.
“Good to have you,” he said, getting up to give Clive a shot at me.
It was bad enough being totally out of shape in front of Argon, but now the Duchy Guard too? I was going to be one hurting puppy before this was done.
Clive asked, “Why do you think I can help with a far scope?”
“I think you could conjure the main pieces of one,” I said, looking around. Argon handed me a stylus and paper.
“One end is a bigger but thinner piece of glass about this size. The other is a smaller but thicker piece of glass. It is the shape that gives the glass power. The glass is thicker in the center and thinner at the edges. If you can make several of each size, we can see if they will make a far scope.” I really wished I could remember more about making a telescope as a boy scout. We’d used lenses, cardboard stock, and duct tape to make a rudimentary telescope. But we didn’t make the lenses.
Malek had agreed to retrieve his grandfather’s far scope from his cabin when the Malan pulled into Losan for her load of metal and ore. I realize we had a better chance of making one than we did finding someone to make one for us. I could also see if my tinker could do something with this.
We left Inoa and Loma talking agitatedly together. Cleon and Alba said their goodnights and ported to Klee HQ for the evening. Argon and I went to find a seat at Virn’s Tavern.
We were in luck, Tobron was holding court at a large table with a few empty chairs left. Otherwise, the place was nearly filled to capacity. Clive was talking with Virn. I suspected they were discussing future changes to the tavern. I was a little surprised Virn was with us as his mate and younglings arrived with today’s group. Several of the kitchen staff were helping out, serving drinks and cleaning tables.
After Clive returned to our table, I saw Dors tap Virn on the shoulder and point to the door. Virn didn’t need asking twice. He left promptly, leaving Dors running the tavern for the evening. By now we had an overflow crowd sitting in the dining hall. That didn’t seem to be a problem as people were quickly waited on, no matter where they perched. I stuck to brew, but Argon was sipping graal. Tobron and Clive were both drinking faral.
Everyone seemed to be celebrating. What, it wasn’t clear, perhaps just that we were all finally here at the Keep. It made me miss being able to gauge how things were going by using my mind-reading app.
That made me notice the one person without a mind shield. Poor old Klid was sitting in the corner wishing he could have a brew. He didn’t have any money and didn’t realize the tavern was a perk of being part of the Duchy.
I flagged down a server and asked her to make sure the poor guy got a drink. I explained he was new and probably thought he had to pay extra. She assured me she’d handle it.
I then contacted the com hub and reminded them Klid needed a mind shield.
Argon and I stayed for a while longer, but both of us realized that dawn would be worse if we didn’t get to bed early. We bid goodnight to those still there, but it looked like Clive and Tobron intended to stay until the place closed down at 11 p.m.
We must not have been the only ones with an early morning because the tavern started clearing out as we were leaving.
I was right, dawn came too damned early. I decided there was no need to take a shower until after the exercise. I left my armor and wore my battle dress and noticed Argon did the same. I was tempted to ‘port over there, but when Argon started jogging down the steps, I followed. As she said, an early morning warm up.
We jogged up just as Cleon was calling formation. We tagged on in the back row. Erik had come to the Keep to take charge of our new guards. He quickly inspected the troop and led us a
ll on a jog around the Keep walls. At least it started as a jog. After he determined we were sufficiently warmed up, it became an all-out run. Argon kept up easily, and I was damned if I’d fall behind. I barely noticed a few of the guards falling out because my narrow focus was Argon’s butt. Where it went, I went.
Erik was good. While I suspected those, who fell out would receive remedial training assignments, he did not berate nor even acknowledge their failures. The rest of the guard glared at them, though. I knew I would be pissed to have members of my squad drop out when higher-ups didn’t. It reflected badly on the rank and file.
Erik then sent us two at a time through the obstacle course. Argon beat me again. And again. And again. I wasn’t as winded today but was still woefully out of shape.
After the third run through the obstacle course, Erik led us on another run around the Keep. This time we were plenty warmed up, and we started flat out. At the three-quarter mark, Erik began to slow the troop to lower our blood pressure and return our breathing to normal, just in time for breakfast. While the troop reassembled for morning orders, Argon and I jogged back to the Keep HQ.
We were among the first in line. We filled our tray and sat at the big table. I noticed when the guard came in for breakfast, those who’d fallen out during the run were at the back of the line. Any time someone else joined the line for breakfast they had to step out of the line and let the new people go ahead of them. Eventually, they got their breakfast but were forced to sit at a different table from their fellows. Once the main group was done eating, the special table bussed everyone’s trays.
