To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) (14 page)

“Are you going to make more amulets?” Silvia inquired as her gaze flicked to the bucket of rocks.

“I expect so, eventually, but those rocks are for an
other project,” Daniel replied.

“Busy, busy,” Gina said, “You seem to have lots of chores. Why don’t you share some with us?”

Because most of them require the powers of an Aakacarn, was the response on the tip of his tongue, yet he did not say so.  It suddenly occurred to him there were things his friends could do. “I need more recruits. Marcus Bower, my Captain-of-the-guard, has gathered five hundred into my service and will be bringing more, yet only so many can be drawn from that region without taking from the musters of other Lords of the Land. I need to draw from the independent jurisdictions.”

“You can pop us over to Tannakonna,” Tim suggested. “Gina
and I can round up volunteers from villages and towns all over the region. As you may know, I am quite famous in those areas.”

He was famous for helping Daniel win the duel against Balen Tamm, fame well deserved. The suggestion had one problem, it being a chore that required a spell caster, and all but one would eventually be leaving.

Gina began shaking her head. “We would be making Daniel swing his ax at the same tree as us. Let’s do this on our own and allow him to work on a different chore.”

“Maybe Simon will take you on the Javelin,” Silvia threw out the notion for all to chew on.

A slow grin spread across Tim’s face. “Not the Javelin, the Wager. Daniel, take us to the riverboat, modify it for our use, and then we can travel the rivers of Ducaun independently, including the Tannakonna.”

Like the steady beat his friend used to set on his pair of drums, he once again set in motion a rhythm Daniel could work with. “That’s a good notion. We could ask my parents to come, they designed the Javelin for Simon, and they might have some good ideas for improving the Wager. Presently it is just a huge plank
-covered hull that floats.”

Gina’s eyes widened, showing her eagerness. “Can we start this project today?”

Daniel nodded his head while setting his priorities and arranging his chores accordingly, the way his father taught him. He summoned potential, projected a hologram of the Wager on his desk, and then solidified it with air, added a Da Capo, and tied it off to the residual life force energy in his hunting knife. “Take this to my parents so they’ll have an idea what they’re going to be working with.”

Tim picked up the model from Simon’s air cushion. “Nice toy, we’ll take it and be about our business.”

“Sounds good, I’ll meet up with you two and my parents later. We can decide on a design and then go modify the Wager,” Daniel said, and watched as his two long time friends stood up and walked out the door.

He focused on Silvia, the weapon on her hip in particular. “My defenders will be using the longbows. For
offensive force, I was thinking about your crossbow design.”

Silvia smiled and removed the weapon from the clip, holding it up. “I made this for ease of use. The miniature bolts can be set and fired rapidly. They don’t have the range of a bow but I can have three targets down before a bowm
an can launch a second arrow.”

“It is a fine weapon,” David ventured to say. “Even so your
fighters need a few more pieces of equipment in order to be effective. They will eventually run out of bolts and will need swords and knives.”

Daniel well understood the feeling of facing an overwhelmingly huge army with nowhere near enough arrows to make a dent in their numbers. He had no intention of sending his people into a situation like that. The things he learned recently about the vat of life force energy in each person, along with other pieces of knowledge he had picked up along the way, have been steeping in his mind, including some spells requiring minimal potential. He had an idea and the success depended on toiletries. He started laughing.

“Seriously, you need more than crossbows,” David said, being totally unaware of Daniel’s line of thinking.

“Look at his eyes. I believe the Chosen Vessel has way more than just crossbows on his mind,” Silvia told him
while setting aside her weapon.

“I do,” Daniel assured them. “Still, I want to borrow your crossbow and a bolt to use as templates, if you will allow.”

The female Teki removed one of the bolts from her belt and placed it on the crossbow. “I will allow, but I get to have first use of the other weapons you intend to make.”

Daniel would need a non-Aakacarn volunteer and so did not hesitate to agree while opening a drawer. “Deal, you will be the first to try each new weapon.”

David leaned forward abruptly, apparently feeling left out, “Hey, what about me?”

“As a recently-wed, you will no doubt be close by when she does the testing, and she might
allow you have a turn with the weapon. That is totally up to her,” Daniel replied, and then levitated the crossbow and bolt up, over the desk, and into the top drawer.

Silvia patted her husband on the knee. “Be nice and I’ll let you play with the new weapons.”

Daniel ignored the friendly bantering of his Teki escorts that ensued and concentrated on the rocks. He shoved the cushion and Sam’s silks off his desk, levitated the bucket over, and dumped the contents on top, then removed two diamonds and a sapphire from the silk pouch he always kept within his coat pocket. Holding the gems in his hand, Change It played in his mind and three rocks turned into duplicates of the precious stones. He touched his gold belt buckle, played, Change It, and a fourth rock turned into a larger gold replica, being bigger because the rock was heavier than the buckle.

Silvia and David suddenly became quiet. Daniel glanced at their glassy-eyed stares. “After everything you have seen me do, this is what has you speechless?”

David finally found his tongue. “Healing people, disintegrating hills, and linking your mind to animals are one thing, but making riches out of rocks, that’s enough to make even a Master-of-the-ring’s tongue freeze.”

Silvia leaned forward
until her nose was no more than a hand-span from the items, and then looked up. “I remember you telling Jared about having access to more gold, yet I never dreamed you could conjure it.”

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. “The estate requires a large sum of money to keep it going and even more is needed now that I’ve been ordered to
build what amounts to an army.”

He went back to work, removing a topaz from the pouch. Each of the gems was about the size of a robin’s egg. Daniel focused, Change It, at one rock, and Hunger, at the pile, thus not only turning the one rock into a topaz, he was able to make the new one bigger than the original by drawing the little worlds with their tiny moons from the pile until the new gemstone was as long and wide as he desired. That size being a hand
-span long and three fingers thick.

Daniel split the gold buckle in half, reformed it into a golden cap on the end of the topaz, and then cast, Potentializing The Baton. The lighting bolts on his shoulders tingled as the spell assessed his potential and created the type one level four crescendo with seven bolts of amplification. Now for the amulet, he tinted the first diamond red, left the other one clear, and reshaped the other half of the buckle to create a rounded sett
ing. As he did with all spells meant to be permanent, he tied the Da Capos to the residual energy in his hunting knife.

The bell rang and in walked Jaim Cutler, at least he rang first. “Accomplisheds DeSuan and Trenca are here to see you, Sir Daniel.”

Daniel did not even look up. “Let them in. Accomplisheds, wait, watch and learn.”

He placed the red-tinted diamond, the clear diamond, and the sapphire into the gold settings. Daniel summoned potential and infused spells into all of the gems and for the final step he fused the tri
-gem amulet onto the crescendo.

The ever inquisitive Simon could not resist asking the obvious question, “Why did you just attach an
amulet to a crescendo?”

Daniel chuckled. “I don’t want to be called every time someone wants to use the toilet.”

Both Accomplisheds were standing and staring and neither seemed to understand the answer. Jerremy shook his head as if giving up. “What does that have to do with the other?”

“According to Oceanic Varroon, every sink, bath, and water cabinet in this compound requires an Accomplished to draw water. I’ve no idea how long you and your colleagues intend to stay,” Daniel explained. “One thing is for sure, I don’t want to run every time someone needs to use the toilet.”

Simon began laughing, David started in, and Silvia moments later. Jerremy’s eyes widened in alarm, “You modified spells. I mean, I know you can do some remarkable things, but this could be dangerous.”

Simon sobered up immediately. “To modify is to die.”

Daniel focused on the sandy-haired Aakacarn. “Harmon Gramm taught you well.”

“The Instructor is a hard man, yet in this he is correct. There are reasons conformity is strictly taught in Aakadon,” Jerremy stated emphatically.

They were correct, Aakacarns who dared to modify a spell would likely be injured or even killed, not so an Aakasear. Simon had been informed of Daniel’s nature, yet old teachings tend to stick stubbornly in the mind. As it is, they both jumped to the wrong conclusion. “I did no modification of spells in the making of this. Either one of you could do it. What I have done is called innovation,” another bad word in Aakadon, “I simply built on some old ideas. The spells, Spout a Leak, Heat Water, and Chill Water, are within the gems in one gold setting, unusual but nothing dangerous. The crescendo is made the way we were taught in Aakadon and I put both objects together in order to power the spells. I am calling this a Crescendo/Amulet Fixture, CAF, for short. I’ll make a CAF everywhere water needs to be drawn in this compound. That way even the non-Aakacarns can use them without draining their limited life force energy.”

Jerremy’s eyes began blinking rapidly, as if his brain was going into high gear. “But that’s, that is unheard of, what made you think of it?”

“Della Lain, her unique use of amulets started me thinking about them as more than communication devices,” Daniel readily admitted.

The Serinian stared at the CAF and then nodded his head. “One amulet attached to the casket on the flute of Della Lain caused anyone near it to be ill and another provided a shield. It is also true commoners can use communication amulets. But adding a crescendo to power stronger spells, that is brilliant. I would enjoy seeing you install the first CAF, if I may?”

Daniel stood up with the CAF in his hand. “Let’s go now. Silvia, you can be the first non-Aakacarn to draw water. Come, the kitchen is the place to start.”

Simon hesitated. “I did not see you glow when casting those spells or even the potential hitting the focal point. How did you manage that?”

“Your observation is correct,” Daniel replied without answering the question. The Accomplished was so inquisitive it would take all day to respond as one inquiry led into another, and on and on. “Are you coming?”

Simon glanced back at the cushion of air lying on the floor, moments later it vanished. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

They passed through the dining area where Samuel sat eating a hardy breakfast of pancakes and bacon at table three. Jeremy came to an abrupt stop. “You gave him a new hand.”

Simon spared him a glance, “He did, and a new physique as well.”

Samuel grinned while chewing, winked at the Serinian, and continued eating. Daniel went straight into the kitchen and over to the sink without commenting, seeing no reason to verify the obvious. Folks gathered around him, including Marge with her long dark hair pulled back ponytail-styled. Jerremy and Simon evidently finished their conversation about Sam and came in when Daniel was about to start the installation. He placed the CAF on the sink and fused it into place. “Silvia, touch the clear diamond for water and the sapphire at the same time to chill it. Touch the clear diamond and red one for hot, and touch all three for warm.”

The Teki acrobat stepped forward and touched the diamond, water flowed from the spout, she touched the sapphire and placed her other hand under the stream. “Chilled water,” she announced, and then moved her hand from under the stream and lowered another finger, touching the red diamond. Steam rose up as the water accumulated in the basin. She touched all three while placing her free hand into t
he stream. “The water is warm.”

Daniel placed the palm of his hand on her forehead and cast, What Is This, focusing in until he could see her vat of life force energy. The reservoir of a non-Aakacarn, as interpreted by the spell, is small and filled with clear liquid; hers was filled to the brim. It worked! She had cast a spell and the drain on her life force was so small it could not even be seen through Change It. He supposed the drain would become more apparent the longer she touched the gems, and so frequent exposure to spell casting would have to be monitored so as not to prematurely shorten the lifespan of the user. Even so his theory worked, non-Aakacarns can safely cast spells with the aid of an amulet powered by a crescendo.

Marge leaned in, eyes widening with delight. “Sir Daniel, this is a wonderful device.”

Daniel glanced at her. “I’m glad you approve. More CAFs will be ready soon and I hope to install them throughout the holding.”