Chapter: 48 - Potential Conflict (Patreon)

Tala stared up at the Master Sergeant as he loomed over her, irritation clear in his bearing as well as his tone. “Are you daft, girl!? These are magical and highly sensitive. You could kill us all by messing with them.”

Tala cocked one eyebrow. Careful now, Tala. No need to be rash. “I am well aware, Master Sergeant. I am left baffled as to why you thought it wise to interrupt me.” She saw Trent near the far side of the work-yard, eyes wide, jogging their direction, but he was still quite a ways away.

“You’re aware? If you know, you shouldn’t be touching them, girl. Of course, I’m going to stop you from disturbing these infernal things! What if the dimensional Mage had seen you touching her stuff? I’ve heard this one is crazy, child. Don’t go playing with things you don’t understand.”

Tala was now quite confused, and that dampened her fury, if only slightly. She knew that the inscribings on her face and hands had to be visible to this man, and if he’d been watching her at all, he would have seen her empower Den’s wagon full of cargo-slots, as well as the three now charged on this wagon. “What do you think is happening, here, Sergeant?”

The man’s face lost the little bit of the outward concern it had shown, and his voice hardened. “I think a child is poking her nose somewhere it’s going to be cut off.”

Tala closed her eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. Breath Tala. Don’t lash out at the frustrating man.

“Don’t get huffy with me, girly. I don’t care if you are rich enough for inscribed enhancements. You’re not allowed to mess with my caravan.”

Her eyes snapped open, and she felt the rage boiling inside herself threaten to break free. Tala. Calm down. He’s made assumptions and is acting the fool. Don’t prove his assessment of your maturity correct. She took another deep breath, grateful that he hadn’t kept a hold of her. “Sir, you have grossly misinterpreted the situation. I-”

“Don’t you talk down to me, you little spit of slag. You shut your mouth this instant, or I’ll throw you and your family from the roster. I won’t have a stuck-up brat as a passenger in my caravan.”

She opened her mouth, again, but he thrust his finger towards her with such violent intent that she took a step back.

“That’s what I thought. Now, get to the passenger wagons!”

Tala had had enough. She closed her mouth and began lifting her right hand. Yeah, rust restraint. In that moment, Trent arrived. “Master Sergeant Furgel, what seems to be the problem?”

The Sergeant’s entire demeanor shifted. “No problem, Master Trent, sir. I was just dealing with a wayward child.”

Tala could practically feel the heat of her own fury, irritation, and embarrassment rolling off of her in waves, but Trent gave her a small shake of his head.

“Master Sergeant, there seems to be a misunderstanding.” Trent cleared his throat, obviously feeling a bit awkward, or at least projecting such to ease tensions. “This is Mage Tala. She is the dimensional expert contracted for this caravan.”

Furgel looked to the cargo wagons, seeming to notice for the first time that most of the cargo-slot were charged. He then looked at Tala, then back to Trent. “I’m confused. This is a child. She can’t be more than twenty.”

Tala closed her eyes again, and carefully counted to ten, while Trent cleared his throat, and continued. “Ummm… No. This is Mage Tala. I assure you. I was in the caravan with her on the trip here, and she performed this same duty for that venture.”

Tala opened her eyes and met Furgel’s stare. She was able to see the dawning horror in those eyes, even as they flicked to her half-raised hand.

He swallowed involuntarily, then looked back to Master Trent, if only briefly.

“I…I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, Mistress. I’ll be about my work to get us on the road.” Without a backward glance, he scurried away.

Tala took several more, deep breaths, noticing that there were many, many eyes on her and Master Trent.

Trent, for his part, seemed one part horrified, and the other part was fighting to keep from laughing.

Tala saw the fight and felt something within her break. She barked a laugh, her anger gone in an instant as she turned back to the cargo-slots, beginning the empowering of the fourth on this wagon.

Trent took her laughter as a cue and burst out himself. After a moment, he was shaking his head. “You were about to kill him.”

She didn’t take her eyes off her work. “I seriously considered it.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. The paperwork for a justified killing around these parts is a pain.”

Tala flicked her gaze his way for a brief moment. Justified killing? “Oh?”

“Yeah, it takes testimonies and truth detection and all sorts of bureaucratic nonsense.” He hesitated, then clarified. “I’m not saying it would have been justified, by the way.”

She huffed a laugh, again. “Yeah…sure. I know that. I wouldn’t have actually killed him…probably.” No wonder people are so hesitant around Mages. After a moment’s thought, she nodded to herself. Yeah, I have no complaints about them not explaining that at the Academy.

Trent patted her shoulder. “He did have a good guess on your age, though.”

“You’re kind of a jerk, too.” She gave him a fake glare.

Trent laughed, again. “I’ll leave you to it.”

She grunted, then as Trent turned to walk away, she let out a breath. “Thank you, Master Trent. That was kind of you to intervene.”

He didn’t stop but spoke over his shoulder. “Always happy to help, if I can. I expect to hear how you used that map, by the way. I heard some interesting rumors from the eastern gate, and I’d love to test the truth of them.”

Tala grunted. Great.“Maybe, tonight.” She finished empowering the remaining seven cargo-slots and walked over to climb up on Den’s wagon.

She saw Furgel casting furtive glances her way and decided not to judge the man too harshly. He’d been a bit of a jerk, but he’d been well intentioned. And you were going to what? Restrain him? Yeah, that’s what she had been planning. Just restraining.

She began thinking about their journey and the city defenses they were leaving behind and had a thought. If I’m actually going to be engaging with Terry, I’ll need a way to get him into Bandfast. She needed a collar for an arcane pet. Well, rust. “Den?”

“Mistress?”

“How soon do we leave?”

“Less than an hour, why?”

Tala thought for a long moment, then nodded. “I’ll be right back.” She took off, not quite jogging, but nearly, heading for Artia’s shop.

Less than half an hour later, she was back at Den’s wagon and very frustrated. Apparently, somehow, all the ready-to-hand collars had been purchased. Artia only knew that, because a buyer had contacted her as their ‘last check,’ and she’d sold the only two she had to the messenger.

On the bright side, apparently the messenger had implied that the buyer was leaving this morning, so in all likelihood, he was in her caravan. I’ll have to hunt him down…or try. Maybe, Trent knows something? It was a topic for later.

Now that she was back, and clearly in an irritated mood, Den asked after her even as she climbed up. “I’ll be fine. Let’s just get on the road. Yeah?” After a moment, she sighed. “But thank you for asking.”

“Of course, Mistress.” He smiled. “We’re just about ready.”

“Let me know before we go. I’m going to lay down for a bit to clear my head.” She pulled out her wide-brimmed hat and placed it over her face as she lay down on the roof to do just that.

A commotion drew Tala out of her rest almost as soon as she’d laid down. What under heaven? She sat up and looked over to see a man had set up at table on the far side of the work-yard. He was calling out. “Change your copper, change your silver, change your gold! Don’t leave without making a profit on your metals.”

Right!Tala had completely forgotten that. Come on, Tala. That would have been colossally foolish.

She rolled, vaulting off the side of the wagon and dropping to land in a crouch. She felt the ending-berry power within her dwindle a fractional amount. Huh. I’d have broken a leg…or something. She stood and walked over to the man. Thankfully, it didn’t look like anyone had seen her land.

She pushed her hat into Kit and snagged her coin purse. She wasn’t the first in line, but those before her moved quickly. When she came to the front, she handed over every coin she had.

“Total worth is five gold, seventy-five silver.”

The man opened the pouch and quickly counted it before nodding. “Seven gold, eighteen silver, and seventy-five copper. Acceptable?”

Tala nodded. She’d done the math while waiting in line. “Agreed.”

She pricked her finger to confirm, and the amount was added to her account. Maybe, I should just come straight back, with all the coinage I can find… Probably wouldn’t be a time effective way to make money, though. At least, it wouldn’t be until she had enough money that such things weren’t effective uses of her time. Probably why the rate stays so high. If everyone was able to easily bring their coinage, the percentage would drop dramatically.

She walked away, feeling happy. Easiest money I’ve ever made. No obligation, no work, just a short walk.

As she was moving back towards the cargo wagon, she heard a group arrive behind her and turned to look.

Grediv was riding a horse, followed by two men. One man was obviously a servant, and the other was just as obviously a Mage.

Tala almost gaped. The Mage following Grediv was at least six and a half feet tall, and the poor horse he was riding was clearly straining under the broad load. Given that he was a Mage, it almost went without saying that he wasn’t overweight, but he was clearly muscular, and that combined with this build was enough to irritate the normal-sized horse.

Grediv saw her and turned her way. “Mistress Tala!” He waved.

Is he growing out his beard? It did look like the Archon had about two days of growth across his face. She pulled on her gloves and returned the gesture, greeting him as he drew near. “Master Grediv. Good to see you, again.”

The two Mages swung down off their horses, handed the reins to the servant, and approached Tala on foot. “Mistress Tala, this is Rane. He will be joining you on this trip.” Grediv turned to Rane. “Rane, this is Mistress Tala. I’ve told you about her, and you are to treat her with the utmost respect, yes?”

Rane, for his part, seemed embarrassed by the command. “What do you expect me to do normally?” He stuck out his massive hand towards Tala.

Tala shook the offered hand, noting several oddities about the man. He was likely even taller than she’d first thought, and he was easily as broad as the horse he’d been riding. He was an Immaterial Creator, and he seemed to specialize in kinetic energy, or the energy of movement. His power density was almost as high as Trent’s, though he was closer to Renix in age. He was handsome in an awkward sort of way, even accounting for a faded series of scars that speckled his entire face. Tala might have mistaken them for pox scars, except that she’d those before. These looked more like someone who had grown up in a smithy, without practicing proper safety.

“Well, aren’t you just travel sized.” Rane shook her hand gently. “You could just fit in my pocket.”

Grediv grabbed his own face with both hands as he turned away in obvious consternation. Tala looked up at the big man and sighed. I kind of hate you. “I wouldn’t try it, big guy. One of us is likely to get hurt.”

Rane was smiling, opening his mouth again, when Grediv turned back around. “Enough, Rane. That. That was what I was expecting you to do.”

Rane closed his mouth, coloring with embarrassment. “But…Oh.”

Grediv sighed. “Mistress Tala, I apologize. Please don’t judge him by-” His eyes flicked to her side, looking at the belt pouch, then they moved over to the knife. He closed his mouth and looked at her from head to toe. “Mistress Tala. Do you remember our conversation about taking care with certain…items? I believe the soulof the matter was that you’d wait a while. Yes?”

Tala quirked a smile. “It just sort of happened.”

“That’s a lie, Mistress Tala. You can’t-” He glanced around, then lowered his voice to a volume that even Rane couldn’t have easily heard, standing right next to the man. “You can’t bond something to your soul accidently, it requires your permission. What were you thinking?”

She didn’t lower her voice. “I was thinking that I need to get stronger.”

Grediv opened his mouth, then closed it. Then, he scratched his forehead, frowning in irritation. “Mistress Tala, I was going to ask for your assistance with something, but I’m not sure I can trust your judgement at the moment.”

Tala cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Grediv nodded. “I have a short job outside the city to the north. The caravan will be heading the same way, and it will have to delay until I’m done anyways. I’m going to clear your path. Are you willing to come along?”

Tala gave him a flat look. “I’ll pass.”

Both Rane and Grediv turned to her, seeming incredulous. Grediv was the one who spoke. “Why?”

“Because that sounds likely to get me killed. I like you well enough; you’ve been kind to me; but something they send an Archon to deal with? Pass.”

“You shouldn’t be in real danger.” He glanced at her. “Certainly not with that power still in your system. I need a distraction so I can perform the proper invocations.”

And I didn’t even feel his mage-sight pushing against the iron salve this time…Did he just see it through my palms or eyes? “So, you need someone for a magical beast to play target practice with. Do you realize how unappealing that sounds?” Hey! I’m getting smarter every day.

“It’s not target practice. The mountain cyclops uses a club, not anything ranged.”

Tala was flabbergasted. “You want me to fight a mountain cyclops. Are you out of your mind?” She’d had to fight to keep from raising her voice. “If it was anything less than an adult, you wouldn’t ask for an assist. An adult could pulp that ox with a casual kick.” She pointed at one of the oxen hooked to a wagon. I think I have that right… She didn’t have that extensive a knowledge base to draw on. Another thing a master would have corrected, I suppose… “How am I supposed to distract it?”

Grediv shrugged. “Seems like a good idea to get you some field experience.”

She gave him a deeply skeptical look. “You’re insane. No.”

“I’ll pay you eight gold ounces.”

Tala hesitated. That’s a lot, Tala. You got barely more than that, after you took out a thunder bull… This can’t be as dangerous as that, can it? “Ten, right now.” She held up a finger. “And you best have the means to get rid of that thing, because if you get me killed, I will find a way to come back and haunt you, Archon Grediv.”

Grediv grinned. “Ten, then.” He pulled out a tablet, holding it out to her.

Tala looked down and saw that it was already set up to transfer ten gold ounces to her account from his. Well, rust. I was played.

* * *

Tala and Grediv were walking at a brisk pace, north of the city, heading almost directly back towards the pass.

“Is the caravan really going to go back through the pass?”

“It’s dangerous, because it can be anticipated, but the drop in magical density is so much faster that it makes the trip, overall, much safer than if they went around the mountains to the west. The next caravan will have to use that route, though.”

Tala grunted.

He glanced her way, then back towards the wall already fading into the distance behind them. “You know, bonding an item is serious business.”

“That’s why I’ve only done the one.”

He shook his head. “You’ve only used an Archon star on one. You’ve only bound your soul to one, but all four of those items are bound to you.”

“Four?”

“Pants, tunic, pouch, and knife. The knife has the strongest connection to you, by far, but the other three are tilted towards your magic, and away from anything else.”

“Why are bonds dangerous?”

“Because they influence both parties.”

Tala almost stopped walking at that. The cargo-slots…I’m bound to twenty of them… What does that even mean?

“True, you have more of a sense of self, so you won’t be pulled as far from your original as they will, but you will still be altered. It will be in little ways. You likely won’t even notice them.”

Tala grunted. “Nebulous danger weighed against tangible gain. I know which wins out in my books. It can’t be too dangerous, else we couldn’t use cargo wagons and such.”

“Fair point, but you should still be careful.” There seemed to be something he wasn’t saying. Knowing him, it was something he couldn’t have said. He didn’t seem like one to hold back.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

There was another long pause as they trudged up the road at a fast walk. Finally, Grediv broke the silence again. “Why the knife?”

“Hmm?”

“Why use the Archon star on the knife?”

Tala shrugged. “It felt right. When I was looking through artifacts, the knife seemed to call to me, like it belonged with me, and I saw where I could insert the Archon star on it, first.” She shrugged again. “As I said, just felt right.”

He regarded her as they walked, before finally sighing. “Well, what’s done is done. You don’t need to put any more stars into the knife, by the way.”

She looked at him. “Oh?”

“I imagine you’ve thought of doing it. It wouldn’t change anything, given the nature of your stars. For others, they couldn’t even attempt it. The star established your bond, you just need power to strengthen it. Even with that, you can only go so far as you are, but that’s approaching knowledge you aren’t ready for.”

Tala grunted. “So, just feed it power? What about calling it?”

He frowned, and she briefly explained about her soul exercises. Her explanation left him shaking his head. “You are going to kill yourself, Mistress Tala.”

She swallowed. “So…”

“Oh, you’re fine, but I would have bet good money that you’d tear your soul in half without it doing a thing.” He grunted. “I suppose you’ve some strength to you.” He laughed. “No surprise there, I guess.”

“So…?”

“You can continue those exercises. Shouldn’t hurt you the way you’re doing it.”

She let out a relieved breath. “Good to hear.”

“With enough power, the knife will grow and develop. Eventually, it will be ready to change, becoming more of what you need, when you need it.”

“What does that even mean?”

He shrugged. “It’s different for every item and for every Mage. You’ll have to wait and see.”

“So… I shouldn’t bond other artifacts? Other items?”

He gave her a flat look. “If I say ‘No’ will you listen?”

“If you give good reasons.”

He groaned. “You really should strengthen your soul more, before you spread it out to multiple bonds…Can you at least give it a month, before you bond anything else?”

“I’d do better with a strength requirement, rather than an arbitrary timeline.”

He regarded her, then let out a small laugh. “Fair enough. When you can do that exercise with your knife a dozen times without feeling strained, I’d bet you’re ready for another bond.”

“A dozen? I can wait for that.”

“Somehow, I doubt you will, but we can hope, right?”

Tala grinned. “Glad to set proper expectations.”

“You know, it would be better if you made a real Archon star and were elevated first.”

“I’ll consider it.”

They crested a rise, and Tala stopped, looking down at what lay in the valley, below.

A giant, at least thirty feet tall, stood in the center of the wide, long valley laid out before them. It was wider in proportions than a man and the eye in the center of its forehead was an obvious indicator of its nature. A club almost as long as the humanoid was tall was braced on its shoulder as it waited.

To Tala’s mage-sight the beastly humanoid radiated power like the sun. To her surprise, aside from being able to see the nature of the various aspects of magic within the creature, there seemed to be an underlying hue to the power. “Why does it have a strange color to the magic?”

Grediv looked at her in surprise. “Those are impressive inscriptions. That is an easy way to identify power level. I, myself, don’t see it as a color, but from what others have told me, who have similar spell-forms, it follows the standard rainbow scale in that manner of seeing it.”

“It’s orange.”

“Yup, it is more powerful that some, but still near the bottom of the scale.”

“Why have I never seen this before?” Or, wait… Is that what I saw around Holly? Master Himmal? And the Midnight fox?

“Because below red is infra-red, and I’d bet that nearly everyone and everything you’ve beheld was in that range, or kept you from seeing, entirely.”

That was an interesting prospect. “So, this is more magically powerful than anything I’ve ever seen?” Yeah, the midnight fox had a red aura to it.

“Most likely.”

Tala sighed. “I asked for too little, didn’t I…”