To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (45 page)

Sherree shook her head, not understanding the hesitation. “What more proof does Her Majesty want?”
It was not bad enough Clarees has probably alerted Aakadon of Daniel’s presence in New Oben, the Queen is still not satisfied the threat is real.

“That question I can answer,” Brandon replied with pride in his tone and an upward tilt of his nose. “She will be satisfied when two trusted officials see the threat with their own eyes and testify before her and the Hall of Ministers, after an Aakacarn spell ensures our minds have not been tampered with. I and General Righter will be the witnesses. Captain Tollkay has been taken into custody by the Royal Guardsmen, just so you know, and General Righter should be here shortly. It is a little late in the day to begin a five day ride, but we think it best to start out right away. It might be prudent to have your horses saddled so we can depart when the General is ready.”

Sherree looked to Daniel, who was smiling. “Cousin,” he said, “You will see Kall’s camp and the siege at Polatca well before dinnertime, thanks to Simon.”

“No aid can be that resourceful,” Father commented, firm in his knowledge of the various routes and means of transportation for both land and sea. Captains of industry and trade often stayed at his hotel and Sherree knew he was well acquainted with their business, especially their account keepers who paid the bills.

Daniel winked at his Chief Aid. “I have learned never to underestimate Simon. There is a reason the Accomplisheds of Aakadon considered him to be a prodigy.”

The Chief Aid gave a tight smile at the praise. “Estimates of my abilities aside, I can do as my Maestro says, and in about half the time he suggested. How long we take depends on the amount of time Sir Brandon and General Righter wish to spend at each location,” Simon informed Father.

“I don’t understand,” Brandon confessed. "No horse or ship can move that fast.”

Sherree decided to end the suspense her husband and Simon were attempting to build. Honestly, they could be such boys at times. “Simon is going to cast a spell that will transport us close to those locations, yet far enough the sound of our arrival will not be heard.”

A faraway look appeared in Father’s eyes and they grew wider at whatever he was seeing. “Son, think of the fortune in shipping we could make.”

Now he uses, “Son,” in reference to Daniel, who laughed and reached out his hand. “May I borrow a gold coin?”

Father blinked, clearly not expecting a loan request. He slowly withdrew a coin with the Queen’s face prominent on one side and a rendering of the palace on the other. He gave it to Daniel.

“The pool will do,” said the Maestro, and Sherree smiled, knowing what he had in mind.

“My husband is not insane,” she said after seeing the quizzical and worried looks on the faces of her family. “Just come and see why Father’s dream of making a fortune is so funny.”

They went out, beyond the terrace, and over to the pool. Daniel held the coin in one hand while holding the other out toward the water. A rainbow of light, only the eyes of an Aakacarn could see, flowed from the tips of his fingers and touched the surface, which began to bubble and churn. Much faster than Sherree could have done, and beyond the ability of human eyes to behold, the miniscule worlds with tiny moons spinning around them combined and rearranged to match that of the coin, only many thousands of times over. Suddenly in the bottom of the pool were piles of gold coins stretching from end to end and not a drop of water. She knew for a fact there were more miniscule moons in a single gold coin than in an entire jug of water, which was why the pool wasn’t filled to the brim with coins.

Daniel handed the coin back to Father. “Have one of your trusted servants count out ten thousand coins and please have them ready for Cousin Brandon to take to the Queen along with the documents after we return. Oh, you can keep whatever is left as interest on the loan.”

Father’s jaw had dropped open and it took a few moments for him to get it working again. “But there must be a hundred thousand coins in the pool. Are they real?”

“As real as the one in your hand,” Daniel replied, and then fixed a more solemn expression on his face after showing off. He must be spending way too much time with the Teki. Sherree studied him as he continued with what he wanted to say. “Father, I understand a certain amount of custom was lost when news of your Daughter’s association with me came about. Keep the gold as compensation for that loss and however much more may be incurred because of me.”

“She even makes censure, disgrace, and shame seem appealing,” Sharon mumbled softly, though loud and clear enough to be heard from a short distance.

Sherree hugged her and at the same time cast the spell, How Do You Feel. Her sister was healthy and so was the baby. She ceased the spell at the same time the embrace ended. “Sharon, you are gorgeous, have a wonderful husband, a beautiful boy, and a lovely daughter about to enter this world, not to mention a sister who can duplicate any jewel that catches your eye. By most anybody’s standard, everything about your life is appealing and you made it happen without offending a soul. That is more than could be spoken about me.”

Sister blinked. “You said daughter. I’m having a girl?”

Sherree nodded. In Lobenia, giving birth to a female is highly desired, since the royal crown always rests on the head of a woman, and more ladies hold positions of respect in this kingdom than in any other.

Daniel signed the papers, using his legal Lobenian name and his title as Maestro of the Atlantan Guild, and gave them to her, so Sherree wrote the signature of the First Lady beside his, and the formalities were complete. Now all they had to do was fetch the required proof. She smiled at what her mother might think if she were to use the word out loud.

General Righter, wearing the royal blue uniform of the military, arrived and was standing on the terrace. Simon pointed in his direction. “Now that our other passenger has arrived, we can begin the tour. How about we go over to him? A pool with gold coins, piled several cubits high, from end to end, might just catch his attention, and I don’t think we really want to waste time with lengthy explanations.”

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Simon was pleased his friend managed to gain acceptance into Sherree’s family and glad he sent his avian scouts ahead of everyone else. Most of his pleasure came from the fact that he was still in the thick of things where his actions mattered and Daniel was given the means to achieve his goals. Simon eyed the General and Lobenian Knight and then Daniel, who clearly expected to be a part of the tour. “Lord Jenna, may I borrow a horse from your stable?”

Sherree’s father turned to him, left eyebrow raised as if surprised by the request. “Accomplished Trenca, I was given the impression horses would not be necessary, that you have faster means of transportation.”

Simon glanced at the Maestro before answering. “I do in deed have a faster means of getting myself, Sir Brandon, and General Righter to the region, yet it would be best if we arrive out of hearing range of our enemies. Since this requires more than a few spans of traveling, horseback seems the best way to cover that distance.”

“You seemed to have left out some names,” Daniel mentioned in a quiet tone that often meant he was serious and not engaging in playful banter.

“Maestro, there is no reason for you or any of the others to come with us,” Simon replied, and then decided that statement alone would not be enough to convince the former mountaineer to stay behind, especially since his nature was to jump into personally solving a problem. “Each object transported by means of the spell you composed makes a loud whip-crack like sound, coming and going, and the sound is amplified as the number is increased. The simple fact is, the more people and horses I bring, the louder the noise, and the farther away from our two destinations we will have to arrive.”

The intensity in those dark eyes softened and Simon knew he had won the point even before Daniel opened his mouth to speak. “Now you all see why I made him my Chief Aid, he has a way of anticipating what needs to be done, and offering well thought out solutions. Okay, Simon, take up my chore.”

“Your husband does chores?” Sharon asked in a quiet voice. “Like a common laborer?”

“On Tannakonna, chore is synonymous with duty. Daniel is granting me the privilege of taking up his duty on my own,” Simon explained.

The discussion wound down and it was time to get on with the mission. The grooms had a steed saddled and ready by the time Simon arrived at the stables. He mounted Springer, a beige stallion, and rode out between the Knight, and the General, both of which were on black geldings.

The family matter had taken long enough for Griswold and his flock of buzzards to get close to Kall’s encampment. At a suggestion from Simon, the big black scavenger took to the air, flying enough spans to ensure the sound of arrival would not carry to the wrong ears. After a short time of soaring above the forest, a small clearing in the middle of a grouping of oaks came into view. “You will briefly experience total darkness and feel nothing at all. The void only lasts a few moments and then we will suddenly be at the desired location,” he informed his companions, and then summoned the potential for Conveyance and focused it through his baton.

Darkness swallowed him and then spit him out in the circle of oaks along with the two men and three horses. “Thank you Griswold,” he called out while raising a hand in greeting to his friend perched on a branch that extended well into the clearing.

“That was extraordinary,” General Righter dubbed the experience.

Sir Brandon grinned. “Just think of using this as a means of placing troops in advantageous positions. Wait, did you just show gratitude to a buzzard?”

“Yes,” Simon replied, and then headed off in the direction of the enemy encampment. The two men began following him after a few moments of hesitation. They clearly and wrongly had expected him to elaborate.

The General and Knight spoke softly to one another while Simon cast several spells, allowing him to scan in a one span radius for any ordinary humans and Aakacarns, being careful to keep the energy low enough so the harmonics would not be felt by any Serpents. The spell, Find All, also allowed him to sense what was beneath the ground, and made him aware of all the tiny insects. The ants held his interest the most. He had learned from Daniel to seek out the queen rather than waste time linking to her subjects, which often numbered into the hundreds of thousands, although the Maestro mostly worked with hornets, bees, and wasps. The principle was the same.

As he rode, Simon linked his mind to the queen of one colony of ants after another. Each of the tiny monarchs communicated by giving sensations rather than words, and those impressions expressed a desire to be of help. “Move to the south and have your colony feed on the edibles in the wagons,” he sent the thought to each queen, and the spell interpreted his words into a language only they could perceive.

Some of them were carpenter ants and eager to go eat the wood of which the supply wagons were made, not just the contents. The tactic should prove inconvenient and most annoying to Kall and his forces, something that tickled Simon.

“I notice you are quiet when away from your Maestro,” Sir Brandon must have finished his conversation with the General, or why else would he be interrupting an Accomplished? Just because an Aakacarn is sitting quietly does not mean he is doing nothing, yet the man continued to intrude. “You even dare to speak to him as an equal, one might say almost playfully so, according to Cousin Sharon.”

Clearly, this line of talk will not end without addressing the observation
, Simon realized. “Daniel’s presence can be overwhelming at times and few people are comfortable speaking to him as a normal human being. I am one of the few who can, even though staying in the background is my usual want. I am not much for speaking out in public and only cheeky with him in a private setting. If that satisfies your curiosity, it might be well if we quiet down, and dismount. Kall’s forces should be visible over the next hill. Sentries have been posted and there are scouts all around us.”

“I have seen no sign of scouts,” General Righter seemed skeptical.

Simon looked the man in the eyes. “That is because they are not close. I am sensing their presence through a spell the Maestro composed and that is why we have been veering right and left rather than traveling in a straight line. Three men are headed in this direction but we have time enough to do what we came here for, if we do not tarry long.”

“Forgive me, Accomplished,” Sir Brandan spoke softly. “It is the brown suit that makes me think of you as a young account keeper. I did not mean to interrupt your spell-casting.”

Simon gave an understanding nod of the head and then dismounted. They left the horses behind and went on foot up the hill. Kall’s camp was an orderly sprawl in the woods. Tents were in between trees. To the west were mounds, the sleeping quarters of the Accomplisheds, currently nine hundred ninety-seven, and mostly empty. The Serpents were known to form them over night and then restore the ground to normal before moving on, unless they choose to leave behind a sign that they have been in the area. The vast majority of the Aakacarns were near the central mass of the camp at the command pavilion. Over to the east, supply and chuck wagons were tended by thousands upon thousands of support personnel.

“The estimate of fifty-five thousand fighting men seems accurate to me,” General Righter spoke in a voice barely above a whisper as he peered through his opticals.