To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (18 page)

“Six Benhannon Wager-class patrol boats do not a navy make,” Tim commented while taking his seat. He did not bother to stifle his smile.

“Especially when one of them belongs to your parents,” Gina added from the chair beside her husband. The newly-wedded couple often spoke in tandem or like a relay where one hands off to the other. She was not smiling, though her eyes were sparkling with mirth.

The smile Daniel had been restraining broke forth. “The last one to recruit a couple of hundred sailors is a hound pup,” he challenged, stating the consequence for losing they often used back on Tannakonna.

Tim lost the cocky smile he had been wearing since taking his seat. His eyebrows arched up, eyes quickly scanning the room as if he could sense something had escaped his notice, even if he did not know what, and suspicion made him hesitant to accept the challenge.

“I’ll take that bet,” Gina stated confidently. She and Tim had personally recruited at least half of the Benhannon Guard, giving her a reason to feel so certain.

“Done,” Daniel replied and brought his attention back to the other attendees.

Every non-Aakacarn came in their wool uniforms, without helmets, and every Aakacarn came in their silks, hoods down. All of them were now giving undivided attention to their leader. Daniel glanced at Sherree, who gave a quick nod of her head, and he then addressed the assembly. “As you probably already know, my vat is nearly full as a result of donated life force energy, and I have grown new limbs for everyone who suffered loss at Shantear. I am in the process of restoring Condemneds to humanity. Thanks to the swirling of events, over which I have no conscious control, I have managed to restore two thousand people.”

“The level of your vat was only declared, acceptable, ten days ago, how did you manage so many?” Sandra asked. Her green eyes widened, reflecting concern on a freckled face framed by long tresses of flame-red hair. She even spared a glance at Sherree as if surprised his wife would allow him to expend so much energy.

At some point, maybe, people will stop looking at the First Lady as if it was her fault if he over taxes himself. But he could see on the faces around the table that the concern was shared by many, so he decided to alleviate their fears for his health and well-being, and explain. “I began at the first cubicle and worked from there, restoring the poor souls who had been hideously malformed by Balen Tamm. After healing five of those, I came to ones who had been the victims of Vance Cummin,” as was she not so long ago, “you know his alterations have to do with facial changes and the enslavement of minds, and are easier for me to counter. From that point I concentrated all of my efforts on people that could be restored quickly. I also had the help of Accomplished Sero Bagget, who kept resupplying my vat, and is currently enjoying refreshments in the kitchen along with Carlos. So be assured, as of this morning, the level in my reservoir has been deemed, acceptable, by the First Lady and Accomplished Obenport.”

“How many more of the easy ones have yet to be restored?” The always inquisitive Samuel Cresh asked.

“Three hundred twenty-eight,” Jennel answered. It was no surprise she would know the exact number of people in any given category who were in need of care.

“Thank you Accomplished Obenport for that timely answer. As you all know I have been walking around, listening to what various folks have to say, watching people go about their assigned tasks, and not saying much,” Daniel continued with what he wanted to say.

“Nothing unusual about that,” Samuel evidently could not refrain from sharing with everyone.

Daniel chose to ignore the interruption. “My point is, from my walk today, and from the animals in my swirl, I have a fairly good idea of what has been happening over the last seventeen days. I called you here, not for logistical reports or numbers, but to hear from each of you what you believe I and the people in this room need to know. I will have more to say after you speak. We will begin to my right.”

Sherree’s emerald green eyes swept the table and then fixed on her husband. “At times, in the recent past, critical information has been kept from me and you, Maestro. I learned about the attacks at the southern estate after conveying there. I also learned the kingdoms of the world are in an uproar over a Ducaunan Royal Knight of the Realm annexing land in Lobenia, and declaring himself Maestro of an illegitimate guild,” she paused and eyed everyone at the table before continuing. “Aakadon has declared the Atlantan Guild to be illegitimate, equivalent to the Serpent Guild, and the other kingdoms are now talking of preventative strikes against Ducaun. While I understand why these things had been kept from us, you all being worried about Daniel needlessly expending his life force energy; I think it is a symptom of a greater issue. This guild is so large, compared to what it was only months ago, that many people are serving without direction, and are making decisions on their own, especially now that we are no longer escorting Accomplisheds of Aakadon and have evicted the Serpents from Shantear,”
she must have been speaking with Jerremy DeSuan,
“while we do value independent thinking, the choice to make a decision, good or bad, and not tell anyone about it is causing some problems. We need to have better communications. Other than that, the Atlantan Guild stands ready to follow its Maestro.” She ended her statement with a nod of respect, which he returned.

Daniel had meant to tell Sherree about the raids, but had not gotten around to it. He wondered when she learned about the declaration from Aakadon and the threats being made by the other kingdoms. She was correct about the need for better communications, starting with both of them. How many of the people assembled here knew about this development before now? “Agreed, I will address the problem after each person has had their say. Chas, you are next.”

The Sentinel Commander leaned forward, both forearms on the table, and nodded his head. “The Chosen’s Sentinels stand ready to serve. We know from the Seer’s most recent revelations that we could be needed to assist the Lobenians in repelling the legion that has invaded their eastern realm and possibly to assist Van Efery of Taracopa. What we do will depend on how you intend to win the trust of the monarchs ruling those kingdoms, which I just learned is going to be more difficult, judging by what we heard from the First Lady.” The Pentrosan gave a quick nod, indicating he had nothing further to say, and leaned back in his chair.

Daniel had not lost sight of the revelation; that was for certain, but could not ignore other equally important goals. “I have no doubt the Chosen’s Sentinels will have a larger role in the near future as well as the Benhannon Guard. While winning the trust of those monarchs is a goal, I want us to move beyond countering Serpent Guild activity. A war cannot be won by defense alone, as you, Leah, Marcus, and Jeremiah, have been saying. Tarin Conn and Vance Cummin have a strategy to win and tactics we don’t yet know about to bring them the victory. This matter will also be addressed after everyone here has had their say. Marcus, let’s hear from you.”

Standing, the Captain of the Benhannon Guard would be taller than Daniel and sitting or standing was broader in the shoulders. His dark hair and eyes were typical traits of a fellow Ducaunan. The man was clean-shaven and had a wide beak of a nose. He cleared his throat in preparation to speak. “The Benhannon Guard is four hundred strong here at the Northland Holding, sixteen hundred at your Southern Estate, and currently sixty at the Benhannon Naval Facility. We have three Guards serving with an Accomplished to protect the queen, the same number assigned to each of the seven commanding generals, the twenty of your fellow Royal Knights of the Realm, and six of the twelve Lords of the Land willing to trust us.” He had begun with numbers already known to Daniel. Hopefully he had more to share.

“What I think you and everyone at this table should know, Sir Daniel, is that we need to increase the Guards protecting the dignitaries, a full squad at the least, and build a force large enough to respond when the Queen orders the private musters to work with her legions, especially after learning about the declaration and threats from my sources in Ducanton since our last conversation.” Marcus stated.

He evidently had a greater vision of troops in blue filling out the Royal Legions than he and Daniel had previously discussed, proving they had both been giving the matter some thought since their last talk. That discussion had taken place nine days ago and no mention had been made about these new threats. Chas was eyeing the Captain of the Benhannon Guard as if surprised something so vital had not been shared with him, but not Leah or Lassiter. Those two had taken the news so calmly Daniel was convinced they knew before today.

“Your idea of increasing the number of guardsmen protecting the dignitaries of the realm makes sense in light of this new information, new to some of us anyway. The original plan was for the Aakacarns, disguised as members of the Benhannon Guard, to provide the protection and the real guardsmen were for back up. But that was before I declared myself the Maestro of the Atlantan Guild, before claiming Shantear, and before we were officially declared illegitimate,” Daniel replied. “Practically everybody in the world knows I have established my own guild, so the reason for the Accomplisheds wearing wool rather than silks is gone. The Aakacarns should go back to the garb of their profession, where those under protection agree, and the number of Benhannon Guardsmen assigned to each dignitary should be increased to twenty with a sergeant to lead them, especially with the Serpents becoming more aggressive. You and I can discuss how large the muster should be and the speed at which information is passed on to me at a later date,” he gave his decision.

“It will be as you say, Sir Daniel,” Marcus replied with perspiration saturating his brow, and well it should. He gave a quick nod of his head and was clearly ready for the next person to speak.

Daniel fixed his gaze on the Account Keeper and Jared stood up as he often did when called upon to speak at such gatherings. A lean frame made his slightly above average height seem greater than it actually was. The thick dark hair on the sides and back of his head was neatly trimmed and the bald area on top gave him an aura of dignity. His coat and trousers were brown wool and tailor-made, immaculate as his white silk shirt with a touch of lace at the cuffs, each of which were linked by a golden falcon.

“All of the estate and guild accounts are well funded due largely to the replication spells being cast by Accomplished Reginald Bercop, the Benhannon Estate Provisioner. I agree there is a need for better communications and apologize for my part in keeping information from you; it was my business contacts that provided facts from abroad. That said I have some concerns regarding the members of Benhannon Guard and the Chosen’s Sentinels. Some of them have families and are worried about them, particularly those who have been recruited from Taracopa and a few from Battencay. Marcus knows about these concerns and can affirm that this is a small but growing problem. That is what I think you and everyone in this room should know,” Jared stated, nodded his head, and then sat down while wiping his brow.

Daniel had been so caught up in the responsibilities of being a Royal Knight of the Realm, a Lord of the Land, the Chosen Vessel, and countering the moves of the Serpent Guild while avoiding the seemingly never ending obstacles placed in his way by Efferin Tames, that the question of what to do about the families of his followers had not occurred to him, until recently. He had briefly spoken with some of the Condemneds restored to humanity before going on to the next patient and most of them expressed concerns about the welfare of their families. The brief interviews made him think of the people already in his service who might share those concerns and spurred his creative thinking on how to solve the problem.

“Apology accepted and I am glad you brought up the subject of families, Jared, and I have thought of a way to help,” Daniel replied. “We can build a town on the southern side of Lake Benhannon and any members of the Guard or Sentinels who desire to do so can bring their families to live in my jurisdiction. It is not yet possible for us to protect every family scattered across Atlantan.”

Jared smiled, no doubt relieved by the acceptance of his apology and pleased by the response to the problem. “That would be a welcome solution. I know of several hundred men who would be eager to bring their families to live within your jurisdiction.”

“I agree,” Marcus was quick to add his voice.

Simon cleared his throat to gain attention and half the people widened their eyes as if they had forgotten he was there. “I volunteer to see that the town is created, a place where your tenant farmers can sell their crops, and buy whatever is available. As it is now they either make what they need, come to your estate for the item, or must travel a day to buy the product in Ducanton, and then another day to return home. This could work out well for everyone involved. I will also go to Cana and work out something to expand the settlement into a town where any Sentinels here who are so inclined can move their families.”

“That is a splendid idea,” Chas agreed so quickly Daniel figured the man was worried about his relatives still living in Pentrosa. If so, he had reason to be concerned.

“It is worth doing,” Leah added her opinion.

“At the rate this guild and the muster are growing, Cana and Lanta will end up being cities before long,” Sherree stated while at the same time naming the new town.

She is the Lady of his estates and so Daniel had no problem with her choosing what to call the town, although he was curious. “Is there a reason you have chosen that particular name?” he asked.