Goddess of the Moon (Young Ancients: Tiera) (42 page)

The
girl noticed her watching after a bit, and turned around, looking cuter than
she used to. Not different. Not even changed like Sam or Karen. So that meant
the difference wasn't in her friend, but her? She just couldn't imagine that
things had changed that much for her inside, but had it? She did feel a bit
better, but there was a lot of darkness and stress hanging over her still. Tor
and Timon, and Regina. Always that, but... she could really notice others now,
which was a good sign.

"Oh,
hello! Do I need one of these for every level?"

"Um,
probably more than that, though you can hit places that are directly a floor or
two above, if you want. Just adjust the field. You know, think at it? Say, I
um, don't want to presume anything, but... Would you..." Now she was
actually feeling nervous, like that made sense. She just wanted to ask if they
could get together, and if the girl wasn't already busy, she'd say yes, most
likely. It wasn't like Tiera wanted to do anything even. Just talk with a
friend.

The
girl nodded.

"Move
in with you? I'd love to. We might have Maris with us, is that all right? I was
thinking we'd get something on the first level, unless those are all going to
be shops. That sort of makes sense really, so that everyone will know where to
find things. We should have a tavern too, and an Inn. Kurt has his everything
shop, and Maris the Restaurant. We should have a magics shop too, for useful
items like that. Oh, and a whore house. We'll have women like that who'll want
to come, and it will work best to make sure they have good working conditions
right from the start. A barber, since we don't have a magic way of doing that
yet... I need to work out a floor plan. Can I have the whole first level do you
think?"

She
laughed, but Tiera didn't know.

"Well,
why not start marking them as businesses? We'll have to find people to work in
them, but everyone has to do something." That took about two hours, with
them both trying to come up with everything that made sense for their
situation.

They
added some things, including a large space for a food and beverage store, since
not everyone would be able to eat at a restaurant for three meals a day. That
would take real work, making and packaging things, but it was a great idea.
They also had a place for a wine shop, next to the whore house. It was going to
be very nice inside, she decided, since as far as she knew, they didn't have
gold or even script like Austra had. That meant the girls would have to work
for free. Except, of course, they could
also
get pretty much anything
they wanted. They could have enough jewels and gold to make the Queen of Noram
look poor, if they desired.

Tiera
looked at the things going in, and realized they needed a jail too. She put it
right across from the tavern, laughing, since that would help keep people in line.
She also grabbed a little place as a healing center. Then at the far end, away
from the Tavern and whore house, she made a school. That got Sheri to clap her
hands.

"Oh!
Maybe I can graduate?"

Tiera
nodded. It could be a nice one, if they wanted. They could even do a proper
private school, if they could find teachers for it.

That
was what they were doing when Karen and Smythe walked in, herding seven naked
and abused looking people in front of them They were all nobles, and she got
the idea, but actually stripping them like that was a bit embarrassing, wasn't
it?

She
glanced at them all, and thought for a bit. There were four women and three
men. They all looked healthy enough, except for the new bruising and in one
case, a laceration on a man's face. From the bit of blood on Smythe's right
hand, that had come from him.

Tiera
looked at the two in the back, and then pointed to the naked group, addressing
them personally.

"So,
whore house, or jail? We give people a choice here." Well, or they could
work in the food store or wine shop, which she nearly added, but Smythe
laughed, as if he actually understood she was being funny. It was kind of nice.

Still
he ran with the joke.

"Ah,
you already have a jail for them? And, I see, a
house
for them to work
in. Very well. You all stand disgraced. Tiera is the leader here, so her word
is law. Which will you choose? I'd think carefully about that. Also, Tiera, how
long for each?"

She
stopped, since she wasn't the leader here. That was...

That
bossy
girl that kept telling everyone what to do? Ah. The one with all
those magics that she was giving away for free? It made sense. In a strange,
and horrible way.

Tiera
tilted her head and then sighed, smiling.

"I
was kidding about the whore house. That job isn't a punishment, it's a
privilege
.
One none of you have earned yet. All work here is. You have to struggle for the
right to work. For now... you have to kneel outside the jail and ask passersby
if they'll take pity on you and give you something to do. You may have no other
recreation during the day. At night you must sleep in the jail. There is no
guard, but I recommend you do not leave without a job at the time. When you can
impress a person with your work ethic enough that they'll keep you in steady
work, of at least four days per week for six months, then you may leave. No one
will watch you, or enslave you. You either rebuild your honor, or you do not.
Honor and hard work are the only coin here, so I suggest you swallow your anger,
and beg most humbly for the privilege." She waved at the correct building.
"Go now. You have failed, but that doesn't have to last forever. I look
forward to meeting you as real people. Soon."

Smythe
and Karen did not look pleased at all.

The
man even glared at her.

"Is
that wise, Tiera? They could simply run off."

Sheri
giggled and touched his arm, a bit flirtatiously. "Really William? To
where
?
If they do manage to leave, the best they can hope for is a trip back to Earth.
Where they'll be in more trouble than they are
here
. Even then, to do
that, they'll have to wait and impress someone with how hard they can work, to
be worth their travel back, won't they? They aren't criminals, not really. Not
the violent kind at least. Just in disgrace. Letting them have a way out is a
kindness, isn't it? Luckily there's a lot of work to be done around here. If
they were smart they'd read the names on these empty shops, and start figuring
out how to put them together. They'd still need someone to take them on, but an
enticing idea might just work, if they ask enough people." She pitched her
voice so that everyone around them could hear, and then, without waiting, they
walked away.

After
all, Sheri wasn't just cute, she was
right
. They might turn to crime,
but getting free food and goods wasn't a problem there, as she kept thinking.
That left only assault, and it was pretty clear that none of those people had a
shield on at all. If they lost air pressure, those people were going to die.

Tossing
her head a tiny bit, her short hair not moving at all, she glanced back at them
quickly. They were all on their knees, and the one man that stopped to listen
to them, Tiera realized, was her father. Farlo wasn't far behind either, but
both shook their heads and walked away. No one wanted to work with lazy people
after all.

When
they got to the far end of the main hall, which was very nicely sized, being
about fifty feet in diameter, though still a bit dark, Karen laughed.

"And
here
I
was going to just kill them all. We went and suggested,
diplomatically mind, with Sir Smythe doing all the talking so my anger wouldn't
be an issue, that they might wish to help with the work, and that we could
provide help finding things to do. These seven didn't get the idea in time.
That's
a different thought though, telling them to beg to work. Earn their honor. It
won't work for most crime, but you did put in a jail. No jailor though?"

Tiera
shrugged.

"We
don't have a guard, or really have need of one yet. We should get those people
shields though. If something happens, I don't want dead bodies around. Some
healing too. We don't need to be the bullies here. Not more than we have to be
for people to learn." She realized that might be insulting, about three
seconds after she stopped speaking, but Smythe just made a face.

Then
he waved at them, seven amulets in his hand.

"I
can take these back to them I suppose..." He turned to, but Tenet was
walking along, looking like he had a purpose.

When
he saw her he stopped.

"We
need people to help with the making of Lake Two Bends. Tess and I named it.
It's huge, and we borrowed a food magic thing to make water, but we need people
to help with it." He looked right at her, which normally she would have
taken as him insisting she do it. Which made some sense. It was really
important after all, and he knew her, so why not? They had to have enough water
for bathing and cleanliness or things would go wrong,
fast
.

William
smiled a bit and held the shield amulets out to the boy.

"Do
you see those naked people down there? A few of them might do that work. If
they don't do it right, or work hard, then send them back here. They're being
punished, but only in that they need to convince people they're willing to do
their part. Are you willing to take on this task?"

He
looked a bit worried, but nodded and took the shields, knowing what they were.
It wasn't like those people would harm him. Not even if they could. Tiera still
felt a bit uneasy, but let the child handle it.

She
didn't even stay to watch or anything. Except that, knowing about the project,
she probably needed to go help with it.

"Well,
I need to get busy myself then. I can dream up real laws or something while I
shovel sand. Lake Two Bends? Really?" Smiling a bit, she waited for Ten
and the three people, who were all women, to come back down the hallway and
walked with them.

"I'll
come with? This is one of the most important projects we have after all.
Everyone
should be volunteering for it." She was just talking to her brother,
but one of the disgraced people snorted.

"Laying
it on a bit think, aren't you?" It sounded snooty, even though the woman
was short, being only six-four or so. Tiera kept walking, not saying anything
for a bit.

When
she did, she felt relaxed and not angry or upset at all.

"Oh,
probably. Still, you'll see this isn't a kid's backyard pond. We're working on
the first major water supply for the entire planet." She hoped. If it was
a puddle, she was going to be a bit red faced, wasn't she?

It,
delightfully, was vast. So huge that Tiera felt a bit of awe when looking at
it. The space was nearly as large as the whole of the new city so far. Under
ground, and all of white, perfectly smooth, glass. Except that there were
little rooms built in, with balconies on them, for some reason. It had some
lights already, but was still so big it was mainly dark.

Sara
saw her looking.

"Those
are the spaces that go up to the surface, so that we can pump water. We'll
probably have to make some kind of underground pipes for that to work, but we
can do that. We'll use magical pumps for the actual work portion though. We put
gravity in here to help keep the water in place. I don't know what it will do,
otherwise, but I don't want to find out in here." She was speaking and
Tiera heard her, as well as Tenet and anyone else listening, with occasional
words interrupting. The naked people just looked confused. Until they were
given boxes to fill and shown where the place they were digging from was.

Then
they all took turns filling the boxes and taking them back to Sara, who emptied
them into the machine, which made a stream of water that was about six inches
around, which poured out of the food alcove. At least as long as the sandy dust
was put in constantly. They worked, and worked, and finally about ten hours
later, were relieved by a group of fighters from school, there to keep
everything going.

They
got walked through it all, but only needed to see it done once.

No
one asked about the naked people, or even stared at all. They already knew,
Tiera was willing to bet. It wasn't like they had a lot of news otherwise.

The
women who'd worked were taken by the restaurant, and given something to eat,
but Tiera had to do that herself, since no one was there.

"You
can use this device, if you need food. Please make sure the hopper in the back
is full before you leave. Tell the others that too. There's a store down the
way, I suggest you go and ask after some clothing? We don't have a magic shop
ready yet. You may have to work for them. Really, if you're all smart, you
should have full time jobs by this time tomorrow."

Then
she left, her brother following along after her.

As
soon as they were back in the house though, he wandered off, having just done
as much work that day as almost anyone. He was probably tired. Bored too.
Getting sand was
not
thrilling.