Envoy to Earth (2 page)

"Well, that might not go
over so well. We need to change." Talking to a box wasn't sane, he knew,
but it
had
been his best friend for a long time now. Not doing it would
just be rude. Before he let the craft move, or even climbed into the
comfortable pilots seat, he altered the floating box so that it was all a
shining and polished black with gold metallic trim. Then, after a moment, he
closed his eyes and did the same for himself. Shining black silk, with gold
piping along the edges. It was simple clothing still, but fit him at the waist,
since he was decently lean now. The boots on his feet were all one piece, but a
shining black as well. It probably looked ridiculous, but he thought it was
fine. Not that he had a mirror. That reminded him to run a comb through his
hair. He had one, made by the wizard Sam.

"You know, for a hermit you
sure have a lot of magic." It wasn't a new thought for him, since almost
everything he owned was made of the stuff. Hundreds of thousands of golds worth
of magic, all right there, around his commoner neck. Gifts, mainly. Most of it
from his new family, or their friends.

Then he just sat, not having a
clue what to do after that. He looked right, and was presentable enough, he
thought. His hair was a deep brown, and shoulder length, and his eyes blue.
Other than that he had no clue what he looked like. His face was smooth, since
he'd shaved, but without a mirror. It was an old skill that his early life had
taught him. You just ran a hand over the skin to see if it needed more
attention, that was all. It was a bit messy, but not hard.

"So, where to go?" He
looked at Boxy, but that was no help. He never spoke, or hadn't started doing
that yet.

If Gerent stayed in the wilds
alone much longer he didn't doubt it would happen. It really was time for him
to get moving. To do... Something. Anything useful to the world. He had
promises to keep, and while planting had been one way to do it, that was done
for a while, unless he found more seeds.

Settling into the soft pilot's
chair, he put his arm on the rest, letting the silver control bauble that floated
just above it at the front fill his hand. It was the same temperature that he
was, so it just felt smooth, and like metal, but comfortable all the time.
Pulling it up slightly his craft moved upward rapidly. Faster than before, he
thought. It was either that the whole thing had become stronger, which was
possible, since magical fields could grow, sometimes, or he'd gotten sloppy,
not practicing regularly. Since it was probably that one, Gerent used it as an
excuse to practice, before going anywhere that people might see him. He landed
and took off again ten times, going slowly, and trying to make sure he did it
perfectly each time.

Then he rose and just set off,
wondering where he was headed on his visit. He wasn't even truly certain he
knew what direction he was going, so he just smiled to himself, flying at a
speed that would have him at an ocean inside a few hours, no matter what
direction he'd picked. The world beneath him blurred a bit, he traveled so
fast, but there was no noise. He just slid around silently, like a ghost in the
sky.

After about an hour, give or take
a time that his mind refused to fill in for him, he saw a large walled city
below. Blinking, and checking out the open landscape around it, he thought it
was Roslyn. The County Ross capital. Hovering over it, high above, he wondered
if he should land. Finally he decided against it. He didn't know anyone there
really. Oh, he'd met the Count and Countess Ross, but they weren't people that
he thought of as friends, in particular. Just people that he'd met, once or
twice, at parties.

That got him to turn around and
fly back toward where he'd come from. Not to go home, but if he were going to
not visit people that he'd met, but didn't really know, that meant going to a
place where he actually had contacts. There weren't a lot of cities in the
world that fit that bill, and the only one that he could think of at that
moment would be the Capital. Not that he was going to land at the palace and
just stomp in, unannounced. That would be insane.

Still, both Tor and Timon had houses
there, and... Collette was there. He thought. They were friends, weren't they?
She'd even had sex with him, a few times. That was about as close to anyone as
he'd ever been. Of course, he'd also just left one day, not telling anyone
where he was going, or what he had planned. No one had tried to get in touch,
so it might not be all that important. Collette Coltress was a busy person
after all. Important in her own right. Not like him, who just gardened and
played at being someone of note.

It was, he figured, still pretty
early when he got to her house. Tor's palace, actually. Collette lived there,
her ice manufactory set up almost next door to it, outside the city walls. The
place was impressive still, and if they'd been hit by the storm the day before,
it hadn't done much to the buildings inside the thirty foot high wall. In fact,
there was a nice green lawn, neatly trimmed and groomed, in front of Tor's, and
off to the right hand side of the wall, there was a small forest growing
already. The trees there were doing well, and the small lake that he'd built
was still full. It even looked like the orchards were standing. Not that they'd
have a lot of fruit yet, being too young for that, but the trees had leaves,
which was a good sign they weren't dead.

Settling like a leaf, not
bothering to hurry, he noticed that there was a woman in a pink workman's
outfit, along with a large straw hat, in front of the manufactory, looking up
at him. There was only one person that would be dressed like that there, so he moved
the craft over slowly, and then climbed out. The lovely blonde woman made a
visor of her hand, as if trying to make out who he was, the sun in her eyes.
Even as he walked closer, smiling a bit, she didn't say anything.

That probably meant she was a bit
miffed at him then, didn't it? He thought so, but her voice was polite, when
she spoke. Professional, but friendly about it.

"Hello! We're just about to
open the doors for the day. Do you need ice?" It had a happy enough lilt
to it, but seemed off.

Collette wasn't the kind to do
things like that. To play games and pretend that she didn't know him, just
because he was a jerk that had left without warning. Oh, she might kick him in
the groin, or call him names, but act like
that
? It didn't seem like her
at all.

"Not really. As for the ice.
I was wondering if you'd like to get lunch later?" His words came out
sounding deep and powerful, and he was, Gerent noticed, a good bit taller than
the lady, now. Given that she was a noble giant, that was saying something. No
wonder his limbs had been hurting so much for the last months. She was six-five
or so and he was looking down on the top of her hat. It had a nice pink bow on
it, near the front.

"Well! What a kind offer,
sir. Have we met before? I'm sorry to say that I don't recognize you... Blinded
by the sun, you understand." Her words held a lot of worry, suddenly. She
didn't know who he was, but failing to recognize him, if they'd met before,
could be a real problem. If he'd been a real noble, at least. Luckily for her,
he was just him.

"Gerent Lairdgren? You
know... your boyfriend?"
That
was an overstatement, but was funnier
than just standing there awkwardly. When in doubt, it was almost always best to
put on a show for people.

Collette blinked several times, her
mouth falling open. It looked good on her, given her naturally pink lips had a
bit more color that day. She tilted her head and then shook it, just a little.

"Gerent? I... Honestly, I
still don't recognize you! Is this a disguise? I... you sound different,
too."

He nodded, and then gestured down
at himself.

"I've been off in the
Wildlands, planting, for a while. I guess I kept growing? Tor said that I
should become what nature intended, but I don't own a mirror, so I have no clue
what I look like. Good enough for that meal later?" He smiled, Boxy
floating behind him. It left him feeling more self assured, since it meant he
had at least one friend still.

Rather than answer, he was
tackled into a warm hug. It was close and comfortable, not angry, or stand-offish.

"Of course! I hope you like
apple tarts? Everything is made from apple right now, since that's what the
Timon devices make. I'd kill for a peach. I hear that the palace has a Tiera
food device that will make almost anything, but ever since everyone went away,
they stopped inviting me to lunch. Amazing how that works." She grinned
about it, her face pleased.

That was a thing that he knew
about at least. Both kinds of food devices, though he hadn't had access to
either of them. Tim's made a lot of food, taking dirt, rocks or almost anything
else and changing them into flour, sugar, beef steak or apples. Tiera's magic
was better, as far as variety, making almost anything, like Collette had
mentioned, but only one plate of food at once.

"I have some vegetables with
me. In Boxy here." He blushed, having just referred to his carrying case
by name, but she didn't ask about that, just looking surprised.

"You have food? I mean, that
you got in? Like a crop?"

"Only from my little garden.
Here..." He cracked the lid, which showed about a hundred pounds of
various things, in different interior bins.

Collette suddenly kissed him,
standing on her toes to do it.

"Onions? You even have
melons in there! If you took that to the market you could sell it for its
weight in silver right now. I don't suppose you brought it to share?"

He nodded, smiling. "Yeah. I
had to get it in yesterday, so some of it needs to ripen still. There was a big
storm. About three hundred miles from here, did you get it?" He was
curious, but she just shrugged.

"No? There was some wind,
but nothing storm like. Let me get everyone set for the day here and then you
and I can go and chat. It's really good to see you. I've been worried about
you." There was a bit of a dark tone to her words and face then, but she
just turned and started getting her men ready for the day. There were seven of
them, all dressed in brown, four with carts, loading them with large cold
blocks, for deliveries. It didn't take her long, since it was, as she pointed
out to him, just making and delivering ice.

"It practically takes care
of itself, but someone has to make certain all the coin gets collected
properly. Not that it's hard." Wiping a single hand down her front, she
moved closer to him, and put an arm over his shoulder, reaching up to do it.
"Now, let's go and get inside, out of this heat."

He nodded. Not that he was
feeling it at all. Her light blue eyes were distracting, he realized. They
always had been, but she was staring at him a bit more than she used to.
Looking away, and back again, every few moments. Like she was really pleased to
see him. Or at least Boxy.

Either way, it was better than a
scolding.

"Here, climb in and we'll
get you back directly." Again he winced, since she wasn't going to see
Boxy as a person. He knew that, but it was a hard habit to break. It was his
fault, for turning the thing into a pet in his mind like he had. Collette
ignored it again.

It took about a minute to get
into the craft, and about half that to get to where they were going, even barely
moving along the large cart path. He made sure the thing crawled, so that he
didn't accidently hit anyone. People could still just step out in front of you,
so it paid to be careful in the city. The last thing he wanted was more death
on his hands.

He waited politely for Collette
to climb out and unloaded his floating box friend, who glistened charmingly in
the bright sun. So did he, most likely, being dressed almost the same way. With
a touch and a thought he turned the craft off, but missed the grab, which meant
bending over to pick up the amulet, as it fell. That got tucked back around his
neck, still on a simple string. Tor wore all of his things that way, but Tim
normally used fine silver chain. Gerent copied the older of the two that way,
because it was cheaper. He'd been given use of all Tor's coin, but hadn't
really felt comfortable with the idea.

Besides, the man had given most
of it away. There might be more now, since he owned a lot of businesses, but it
still made sense not to be greedy with it. It wasn't his, and could be taken
away if he abused the privilege. Not that anyone had ever mentioned that part
of things, it simply made sense to him. His entire life, and everything he
owned now, was a privilege. An honor that was bestowed on him, for no
particular reason. If he didn't fight to keep it safe, then he was a fool.

Collette took him by the hand and
led him inside. The palace was, well, a real one. As grand as what the King had
in the city behind them. Really, done all in cream and gold at the moment, this
place was a tiny bit nicer. Only a little, and made to look smaller at the
moment, but still huge. That was probably done on purpose, because showing up
the ruler of the entire land wasn't a great plan, day to day. Collette was
smart enough to see that. Gerent knew, because she was describing it all as
they got inside the grand door.

"Almost everyone is back in
their own county right now. I stepped the size back when everyone left. I...
Will you be living here now?" She didn't sound upset by the idea, but he
shook his head.

After all, he had his own house,
didn't he?

"I might visit for a bit,
but I'm not relocating. Is it all right for me to stay here even? It's your
house, after all."

She snorted.

"Tor's, and you're his
brother. I'll be lucky if I don't get turned out on my hind end. Of course, I
do
hear a rumor that we're dating now? That's reassuring, after you just took off
like you did. In the Wildlands, you say? For half a year?"