To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) (17 page)

Daniel ceased the potential and handed the original items back to
Duncan. “Thanks,” he told him and turning to the former Major said, “Commander Herling, choose your weapon.”

Chas came over and picked up his new blade, made a few swings, no doubt to get a feel for the balance, and then faced his trainees. “Recruits, choose a blade and scabbard.”

They all rushed forward and soon each person had their own sword, even some of the staff not part of the eighty-seven fighters.

Carlin slapped squinty-eyed Lu Zannis on the back. “I told you he could do it,” the Corporal said and then spit a wad of tobacco on the ground to his left.

“I never said he couldn’t,” Zannis muttered. “You said he made bows and arrows out of nothin, I said he caint. See, he made the swords out of dirt not nothin.”

While the guardsmen spoke among themselves, Daniel walked over to Chas. “I should have done this yesterday.”

Herling smiled while sighting down the blade of his new sword. “Today is well enough, now the serious training begins.”

Daniel proceeded to make practice swords, modeled after Carlin’s, and then all of the bows and arrows he promised. If the Pentrosan’s invaded, these recruits now had something to fight with. As Keenan had said, this was just the start. Daniel still had the rest of Silvia’s revelation to consider, the threat, whichever way he chose, is going to grow exponentially, he needed to step up the pace, and hopefully recent increases went a long way in meeting the challenge. His blood on the flute of Della Lain was another matter. He reached inside his coat and felt the bump between his ch
ain mail and cotton undershirt.

Silvia made her way to center court, jug in hand, maneuvering around people who were waving swords and longbows, to where Daniel stood surrounded by Royal Guardsmen and the leaders of the Chosen’s Sentinels. She wondered if he knew about the name his recruits had adopted. Commander Herling, Lieutenants S
uKendall and Benkorren, along with Sergeants Tanner, Cossings, Calver, and DuArren, were staring at his grim face. She hated to add more to the burden on Daniel’s shoulders yet a new revelation haunted her mind and she wanted to share what she saw right away.

The tall Ducaunans were polite and moved aside when they noticed her diminutive form trying to get through their midst. Among her fellow Teki, she stood slightly smaller than most women, four and a half cubits. In present company she possessed the height of a child. The only people in the holding who were of what she considered normal height were David, Samuel, and Chas Herling. She did not count the Aakacarns, other than her cousin, whom she no longer thought of as being dead. He is currently serving the Chosen Vessel, a technicality that would save her from the troop chief’s wrath if word were to get back to the Reshashinni. Anyone found to be an Aakacarn among a troop of the Teki is considered to be dead and declared so by the chief. In an age where the Creator’s champion walks the realms, traditions that get in his way must be set aside. It had taken her awhile to arrive at that conclusion, having done her best to avoid Sam when their trails
unexpectedly merged days ago.

Daniel’s eyes flicked in her direction and he spoke a few more words to those around him and then walked toward her while the others went off to do whatever he told them. She held up the jug of water given to her by Miriam, who rightly insisted her son would be thirsty, and handed it to him.

“Perfect timing,” he said, smiling, after drinking most of the contents. “Spell casting is thirsty work.”

She supposed it was, even so the casting of Melodies is not what she came out to discuss. “I have had another vision.”

His smile vanished. “Shall we take a walk?”

She nodded and they worked their way beyond the crowd and out among the hickories, maples, beeches, walnuts, and a small number of cherry trees. The yellow pines were by far the tallest, well over a hundred spans high, and the most prevalent. He looked up and she followed his gaze. A nest of falcons sat high up near the top of the nearest pine, and the next tree they passed had one as well. Looking around she noticed nearly all of the tall trees had raptors resting or nesting in its branches. “You are drawing what you need.”

Daniel nodded. “I believe so. Ruth told me this would happen, not the animals specifically, about what I need being drawn into my service.”

Silvia knew first hand the insightful powers of her father’s mother. “I know of no greater expert on the subject. Are you linking with them?”

Daniel’s eyes peered up into a beech. “I am doing so as we walk. Go ahead and tell me of your recent vision.”

She bit down on her lower lip, not enough to draw blood, and then relaxed. “You and
Tarin Conn are in a marathon. He is running spans ahead in the distance and moving farther ahead of you by the moment, you are on hands and knees, and barely crawling at all. Daniel, you must move faster.”

That turned his head away from the trees and earned his undivided attention. “It takes time to raise an army. Of course you would see him as being farther ahead. He has a thousand year head start on me. I have gained five hundred volunteers in the south since your last vision and a pair of recruiters who will be heading out shortly to bring more into my service. Does your new vision take that into account?”

Silvia found it difficult to move beyond her prejudice concerning Aakacarns, not against Daniel, against all of the others. Much as the Melody Wielders troubled her, she knew the war could not be won without them. “Yes, this vision is fresh and takes into account what you have drawn up until now. You are mustering an army, one that has no Accomplisheds in it except yourself.”

“Sherree is with me,” he r
esponded much too quickly.

Silvia did not bother hiding the smile. “Yes, she most definitely is,” she agreed and then lost the good humor under the weight of what more he needed to hear. “The others are still committed to Aakadon. You will need Aakacarns in the coming war and I do not see how to find any that will be strictly loyal to you. Even if such spell casters can be found, I’m not sure you can defeat
Tarin Conn and his forces without the backing of Aakadon.”

Daniel’s dark eyes focused on her with such intensity she felt he could see deep into her soul. “I’m not foolish enough to dismiss the revelation of a Seer, so I will accept what you say and will trust even more in Ruth’s knowledge of the Chosen Vessel. What I need will be drawn to me, yet I admit to having no notion where to recruit Aakacarns not affiliated with Aakadon, and have no idea how to gain the support of the Maestros, and especially that of Efferin Tames.” Frustra
tion filled his baritone voice.

They were half way to the Westside wall when Artisan Marsha Obennen, a one-bolt Accomplished of the Stone Guild caught up to them. “I promised you a tour,” she said, speaking directly t
o Daniel while ignoring Silvia.

This was not the first time people of Aakacarn or noble birth treated her as if she did not exist and so Silvia continued the conversation, ignoring the interruption. “I can see, Chosen One, why you hesitate to trust the residents of Aakadon and wish I could counsel you to stay clear of them, but you will have to find a way to secure their cooperation, if not an allegiance.”

The golden-haired Accomplished at least glanced at her before commenting. “You should not hesitate in trusting us. Once the Maestros come to understand who and what you are, you will have the full backing of Aakadon.” She seemed so sure of their acceptance. Silvia wished she could be.

To his credit, Daniel did not laugh in the Artisan’s face. Silvia had strong doubts concerning the leaders of the Aakacarn city, and knew he did as well, even after hearing he needed to secure their cooperation. The Chosen Vessel had been forced to rip apart the Silencing that had restricted his ability to do what he must, a restriction placed on him in Aakadon. “Perhaps Maestro Barnes will be approachable, I trust him more than most.” Daniel replied slowly, as if giving the matter some thought.

Marsha gave a firm nod of the head. “That is something to build on, a significant step in gaining the needed support. I am sure you can trust Maestro Svennar as well. In fact, why don’t you travel with us? We will be heading to Port Valeen late tomorrow morning. Accomplished Trenca has a river boat, reputed to be the swiftest ever built, it can sail us into Aakadon.”

Daniel’s brow wrinkled into a frown. “So soon, I thought you would stay awhile and then go back to
Lake Tomlin to finish your project.”

Marsha began shaking her head even before the words were out. “Serin Gell confiscated all of our amulets, so we must go to Aakadon to file our reports. If we were in any kingdom other than Ducaun, there would be an Accomplished in all of the major cities and we would have been able to go to one, as it is, we have no other recourse. We could stop in Ducanton, but Master Artisan Togan and Senior Soarer Lassiter believe we should sail to Aakadon without stopping. And as for the Tomlin Project, I have some doubts about how much longer Aakadon will spend resources studying the sunken city in light of your arrival,” she paused, staring up into his eyes like a child seeing her first Teki performance. “You are the Chosen Vessel and destined to lead us in the fight against
Tarin Conn and the Serpent Guild.”

Silvia suddenly realized what she had failed to recognize in the behavior of everyone Daniel had restored from Condemnation, they all seemed to want his approval and appeared hesitant to go contrary to his wishes, but would that be enough to secure their loyalty to him? She overheard Jerremy and Sam reporting to their mentors as she passed them on her way to see Daniel. His decision concerning the flute of Della Lain was made known and they accepted the matter as being settled without further discussion. She hoped this meant they would support him over Aakadon. The regular folks restored by him reacted the same way. Perhaps his swirl is able to draw enough Aakacarns and non-Aakacarns alike to match the enemy forces, time would tell. She still felt he was crawling when he needed to be sprinting, her Sight told her so, yet she wished it would show in greater detail what specific tasks should be done.

“A great Seer once told me that not everyone will view me that way,” Daniel spoke in grim tones, as though stating a fact he no doubt wished could be otherwise. “Be that as it is, I have many tasks ahead and a trip to Aakadon is not a good idea for me at this time.”

Marsha nodded her acceptance. “Commoners may have a difficult time believing in you, but the people of Aakadon will recognize and welcome you. To insure this, it might be wise for us to go ahead and prepare them for your eventual arrival.”

Daniel seemed to be staring straight ahead at nothing in particular, as if lost in his thoughts. Moments later he focused on the Accomplished. “How can the Maestros ignore the reports of loyal members of the Stone, Aqua, and Eagle Guilds?”

Marsha’s pretty face lit up in a grin, eyes wide and radiating pleasure. “They would not and that is my point. Once we have testified to our leaders, proclamations will be made and all of Aakadon will be ready to hail the arrival of the Chosen Vessel.”

She truly believed the Aakacarns would accept Daniel, Silvia could see it in her eyes and hear it in the tone of her voice. All of the Accomplished of Aakadon in the holding wore their scarlet on black silks, yet for a moment, a vision flashed in her mind of Marsha Obennen wearing silver on blue silks and a silver belt and buckle with the falcon in flight clutching a lighting bolt emblem in the center of the oval.

Daniel tossed her an amulet of his making. “Let me know their reaction to your report,” he said and then peered up into a hickory before returning his attention to her. “You promised a tour, why don’t we start with walking along the walls?”

Marsha reached inside her cloak, depositing the amulet in a hidden pocket. “Come this way, the wall is as good a place to start as any.”

They followed her around trees of the valley and right up to the thirty cubit high wall. The inner portion had a ledge for sentries to stand and look out at the land beyond. Stone steps were at various intervals. They climbed the nearest set, and stood staring out. “The tree line is a hundred strides away,” Daniel commented, and then glanced up at the hickory above them. Silvia had no doubt he just added the five hawks clutching t
he upper branches to his swirl.

Marsha did not seem to notice his quick action, speaking as if nothing happened. “Sergeant Keenan told us to clear the area, saying, the enemy could chop those tall trees down, landing them on the wall, and then walk right up and into the holding. We considered his opinion and did as he suggested. The closest pine to us now is about a hundred cubits high and would fall two thirds short of the wall if someone decided to chop it down. He also mentioned how having a clear field would make it easier to target anyone on the attack.”

Daniel’s eyes shifted right and left. “What did you do with the trees?”

“Accomplished Trenca has been using them to make the furniture for your holding, doors, tables, chairs, wardrobes, and bed frames,” Marsha replied. “He is by far the most gifted Sapling of the Willow Guild I have ever worked with.”

Daniel smiled and nodded his head. “Simon is a wonder. As a Talented he was considered a prodigy.”

“I am not surprised to hear so. It is said your parents designed the Javelin for him,” Marsha said while leading them down the steps and toward the west gate.