To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) (16 page)

“Close your eyes!”
Daniel sent to all four birds just before the expected flash, followed by a thunder clap, which announced the departure of the Aakacarns.

Mouser was suddenly in the sky, flapping above the treetops, and putting plenty of distance between her and the terrible noise. Daniel conveyed reassurance through the link to all four birds as they darted away in different directions. Hoot was the first to calm so he sent his awareness into him and coxed the owl back to the clearing. He sensed the others turning back on their own yet chose not to pressure them into doing s
o, leaving them free to decide.

Through Hoot, Daniel examined the clearing, noting the plants, ferns, clovers, seeing them as distinctly as if he actually stood in the middle of the clearing. A notion he pondered a long while back came to the forefront of his mind and he warned his feathered friends and sent them flying off in whatever direction they desired. With Serena gone to Kelgotha, the scouting mission was now complete. He had no intention of asking his scouts to follow the Aakacarns to that blasted region.

Daniel withdrew his awareness from the birds and played, Conveyance, in his mind while picturing the clearing Hoot had shown him. Three heart beats later, he stood amidst the clovers and staring up at the surrounding elms. It worked! He summoned the potential for, Find All, and sent his focus out five spans. Most of the forest critters, foxes, mice, rabbits, squirrels, and the like, were still moving away from the clearing, the majority no doubt fleeing the earlier spell cast by Serena and her team. The rest of the inhabitants were close by and most of them now fleeing again, this time from the noise of Daniel’s arrival. He sensed a large group of people, horses, cows, goats, chickens, and many other animals associated with a town, farms, and ranches about two and a half spans to the west. Thirty-two sasquatches were within a hundred strides from where he stood, attempting to encircle him. These beasts were no doubt left behind by Serena. Daniel smiled, summoned potential, and soon had all of them linked and acknowledging him as their new Alpha. He impressed upon them certain new behaviors, humans were not food, to be avoided, and were extremely dangerous, even the small ones.
You are free
to live, reproduce, and go wherever you choose,
he told them, like the other sasquatches in his swirl. Each one of his new allies sent back a sense of willingness to comply and the desire to head back to their beloved swamps, which he granted, knowing they would lend him help when needed. He summoned potential and appeared back in his office.

A scream, a grunt, and the sound of quick shuffling feet caused Daniel to spin on his heel with Sleep Time, summoned and ready to be focused. Cutler had backed to the wall to the right of the door, Chas stood with his arms up as if to fend off a blow, and Sergeant Keenan began rising up from a crouch position. Wide eyes narrowed as the shock on their faces quickly turned into recognition while Daniel ceased the potential for the spell he nearly cast at them.

“I rang the bell, when you didn’t answer..,” Jaim began to explain.

“I told him we prefer to wait in here,” Commander Herling finished the explanation.

Daniel nodded. “I’ve no objection, so long as you know this sort of thing is likely to happen again.”

Sergeant Keenan cracked a smile, slim, yet a show of amusement none-the-less. “I will keep it in mind.”

“I am glad you are here,” Daniel began and motioned toward the chairs. “Have a seat, we have much to discuss.”

He sat down behind his desk as Jaim went back out and the Commander and Sergeant did as they were asked. Both men eyed each other as if wondering which should be the first to speak. Chas gave a quick nod toward the Royal Guardsman.

“David informed me you want to spar with us,” Keenan said after glancing at the lighting bolt on the hilt of Daniel’s sword, the only part visible from his perspective. “It is important for us all to stay in fighting form, and while I admit to being a better than competent wielder of the sword, I am no master.” 

Chas licked his lips and eagerness shined in his eyes. “I am no Master-of-the-blade, yet know the forms and have been training to that end. I would consider it an honor to spar with you.”

“Good, the Sergeant can come at me while you and I try to match forms, it will be a better work out, and even more intense when whoever you choose to be the third man joins in the sparring.” Daniel felt the need to stay at the level Cale Tomei brought him to, if not surpass it.

Chas leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “I understand you intend to add hand-sized crossbows to our offensive force. What other weapons did you have in mind? We’ve made twenty practice swords and the only real blades here are those of the Royal Guardsmen and your
own. We have twenty four bows, four of which belong to your parents, Tim and Gina.”

Daniel had made the twenty bows days ago along with hundreds of arrows. He wondered if anyone thought to collect the shafts from the battle field. “I will make a hundred bows and five thousand arrows today and tomorrow I’ll make the crossbows. That is a start.”

“A start, yet not near enough to defend this holding. You and the Aakacarns are the true strength here,” Keenan gave his bald assessment. “Word is the Sutton Guardsmen have backed off the border.”

Daniel explained about the base constructed a mere five spans north of where they sat. “And so it appears General Kall intends to maintain a strong presence in the area.”

Chas nodded his agreement and drew a heavy breath. “They are preparing for war, no doubt about it and a likely invasion, the timing being the main question. Lynel Kall is not the kind of man to take foolish risks and if he believed your friends from Aakadon, I admit to confusion as to why he is still here. Pentrosa will be seen by all as the aggressor and he has already noted the legion laid low by spell casting. He would take heavy losses and be charged with starting the war if he invades. It makes no sense unless he is not the one making the decision.”

Daniel sat back in his seat and rubbed his chin. “General Tallen’s reinforcements are less than four spans away and the Northwestern Legion should be here shortly before dark. The longer Kall holds back, the greater the force he will have to face when he crosses the border. I think you might be right, Kall may not be the primary decision maker.”

Sergeant Keenan cleared his throat. “No matter the reason, a permanent presence of the Sutton Guard, with a third legion as back up, so close to the border, will require Ducaun to keep enough military forces in the area to counter it. The effort could tie up three of the Queen’s seven legions.”

The assessment would be accurate if the person making the decisions on the Pentrosan side knew who they were facing. Daniel did not want to leap to the easiest solution, that would make him no better than
Tarin Conn.

“Of course my military opinion does not take into account your abilities, Sir Daniel,” Keenan went on to say. “You transported us from the very spot they have built their fortress. You could pop over there and reduce the thing to rubble just like the stone fort built by Accomplished Togan.”

The Sergeant had a valid point, Daniel could destroy both legions, and it scared him a little just how easy, from a spell casting stand point, killing them would be. “The Pentrosans have every right to place however many troops wherever they choose within their borders. Commander Herling is correct, Kall will sustain heavy losses if he crosses that border, but until then I will not strike at him or his forces.” Daniel made his position on the matter plain.

Chas gave a quick nod of his head. “I agree with you and look forward to those weapons to train with. One advantage we have is all of our people are in superb physical condition, this saves a lot of time, and I don’t think we have much of it before the fight comes to us.”

The Sergeant’s eyes narrowed. “The battle is not upon us, in that I sense no immediate danger. Even so, my experience as a soldier agrees with the Commander on the need to prepare quickly.”

The man had a battle sense so keen Daniel wondered if someone in his linage had been a Seer. “Agreed, we also need to coordinate with the forces at
Fort Casum, and may need to allow the coming reinforcements to camp within our walls,” Daniel added.

Chas frowned, clearly not happy about the idea. “While you and your fellow Melody Wielders are here, we can accommodate them, seeing as you can cast spells to grow food.”

The Commander had good reason to be worried about supplies. “The legions are all well equipped and this one should not need to consume the resources of this holding.” The Sergeant of the Royal Guard informed them confidently.

“A good thing, seeing as I don’t know how long the Aakacarns plan to stay,” Daniel admitted. If they had hoped for a definitive response on how long they could depend on the Accomplisheds for assistance, he had no answ
er; perhaps Sherree would know.

Keenan and Herling left the office and Daniel barely had time to contemplate his next chore when the bell rang. “Enter,” he called out.

Doorman Cutler stepped into the room. “Lord Jonah and Sergeant Zaccum are here to see you, Sir Daniel.”

Daniel had been expecting the pair. “Show them in.”

Royal Guardsman Ursen Vallun entered first carrying a cedar trunk on his right shoulder. The powerful man not only possessed the strength of an ox, he also served as the bonesetter for the company. Stitching up wounds was another one of his services. With a nose that appeared to have been broken more than a few times in the past, massive arms, and thick fingers, few people would suspect the man actually had a delicate touch. Since many of his patients were awake during the procedure, the pain experienced during the bone setting and stitching likely affected their perception of his skill.

Jonah entered, followed closely by Sergeant Zaccum. “Place that over there to the right,” the Ducalin ordered while pointing his finger.

Vallun did as instructed. “Is there anything more I can do for you?”

Daniel focused on the guardsman. “Thanks for your help Ursen. Go lounge in the common room for awhile. I need to speak with Lord Jonah and then he will probably need you to take the trunk to his room.”

“It will be as you say, Sir Daniel,” replied the bonesetter, who wasted little time heading into the common room with Jaim Cutler. No soldier complained about being ordered to relax and take a break.

“Sergeant Keenan invited me to spar with you,” Zaccum stated with a smile reflecting a certain eagerness to participate in the proposed match.

Daniel gave him the customary nod of respect. “I look forward to it. Perhaps you can set things up while Lord Ducalin and I have a brief discussion.”

“An excellent idea,” Jonah ad
ded his approval of the notion.

Zaccum saluted. “It will be as you say, Sir Daniel. I will go prepare for the bout, but taking on three opponents at once is going to be a challenge, you need to know I will not hold back, and I doubt Keenan and Herling will either.”

Daniel smiled. “I would be disappointed if any of you did.”

Zaccum nodded his head and exited the office, leaving Daniel and Jonah alone with the trunk. The Ducalin opened the lid, revealing a cedar casket inlaid with gold, It was a cubit and half long, one cubit wide, and one cubit deep. On the lid, in gold script, were the stylized initials
,
D.L.
,
Della Lain. Daniel had recreated the amulet that perpetuated the shield when he first took it from Jak Taltin and knew the trumpet inside to be safely shielded as well.

Jonah struck a regal pose. “On behalf of house Ducalin I am entrusting the trumpet of
Tarin Conn into your keeping.”

Daniel stood and came around his desk. “I accept the charge.”

He summoned the potential for, Fashioning, bent down, touching the floor. His senses went deep down into the bedrock, where he then created a chamber slightly more than a cubit and half long, one cubit wide, and one cubit deep, and then opened a shaft leading up to the floor of his office.

“Ah, you are going to bury it,” Jonah spoke up after suddenly seeing a hole beside the trunk. He could not have seen the potential being focused. In fact so little had been used, it was unlikely neither Simon nor Samuel would have seen the hair-thin beam.

Daniel nodded affirmatively, placed a Da Capo on, Fashioning, and then levitated the casket out of the trunk and down to the chamber below. He added another note in the harmony line of, Shield All, titled the new version, Hidden Shield, and then focused the potential at the cedar box. The spell had the ability to take on the properties of whatever is around it. Anyone scanning this area would only perceive the surrounding bedrock and be completely unaware of the hidden chamber. He tied this spell off onto the residual life force in his hunting knife and then used, Fashioning, to fill in the shaft, making it seem as though nothing had been altered in the slightest.

“Excellent,” Jonah gave his official approval and closed the lid of the trunk. “You and I are the only ones who know the new location.”

“I think we should keep it that way,” Daniel agreed.

Ursen returned after being asked to do so and took the trunk to Jonah’s newly assigned room. The Ducalin followed Daniel out to center court, the common area faced by each of the four buildings. All of the Royal Guardsmen and the eighty-six fighters in training stood waiting to see the coming match, Chas needed no training. Daniel’s three opponents stood far apart with wooden swords in their hands. Daniel removed his sword belt and handed it to clean shaven Duncan Hawk, the youngest Royal Guardsman, one who had proven trustworthy in
the recent past.

Low-browed Corporal Carlin came forward with a practice sword. “It would be an honor if you would use mine.” It was one of the two owned by the deceased traitor, Cale Tomei.

Daniel had not paid attention to who took possession of the traitor’s equipment, yet had no objections over who ended up with these. He knew the weight and balance, being fully accustomed to their use and needed no time to familiarize with either of the two wooden blades. “This is perfect,” he said, took hold of the offering, and then moved to the center of the now crowded ring of spectators.

Keenan moved in from behind with an overhead swing, Zaccum came in low from the left, and Herling came straight on with the sword form, Eagle in the Heights. Daniel met him with Twisted Rapids and spun left, bringing his blade down and around, deflecting Zaccum, and then leaped sideways into Dry Leaves Stirring. The move caught Keenan and Herling by surprise, sweeping both blades out wide. Daniel instantly switched into Serpent Uncoiling, striking Zaccum, who had tried to stab from behind. Keenan and Herling moved apart, each staying opposite from eac
h other with Daniel in between.

The work out was the goal so Daniel did not go at full speed, something that he decided would come later. For now he wanted the exercise. Cale had been much faster and these men, competent as they are, seemed to be moving at half speed. They did not have the extra life force energy Daniel had and that gave him an advantage. He allowed the bout to continue for another tenth of a mark and then increased his speed to the level u
sed when facing a blade master.

Springing Tiger struck Keenan’s chest dead center in the blink of an eye. Herling moved smoothly into Fanning the Flames. Daniel leaped into the air, countering with Falling Rain. Blade met blade at an angle that sent Herling’s sword flying off to the right, a split second later Daniel landed, stopping his sword a finger-wid
th from the Commander’s throat.

“I yield,” Chas managed to get out in between gu
lps of air.

“He isn’t even breathing hard,” Carn Bencain commented while leaning toward Jana.

His wife nodded. “Maybe Sir Daniel needs a few more opponents?” Both of them had volunteered to be fighters and seemed eager to acquire the necessary skills.

The crowd applauded while Daniel returned the practice blade to Corporal Carlin. “Thanks for the match,” he told Keenan, Zaccum, and Herling.

Nineteen year-old Duncan Hawk, only a year younger than Daniel, stepped forward with the belt. “Your sword, Sir Daniel,” he said and eyed the people in blue uniforms. “They seem eager to have weapons of their own.”

Daniel looked at the crowd and agreed. “May I borrow your sword and scabbard?”

Duncan’s eyes widened at the request, yet he did not hesitate to remove the requested items and hand them over. Daniel held the sword up in his right hand and the scabbard in the left, “Stand back,” he ordered, and then waited as everyone hurried to obey, even though they could have no idea what he intended to do, only that it required room. He summoned the potential for, Change It, focused at the ground in the open area. Dirt began to move and coalesce into two hundred individual shapes, forming into a hundred duplicates of the Guardsman’s sword, except on the hilts, which had the falcon in flight clutching a lighting bolt, and also on the hundred new scabbards.