To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) (42 page)

Gina’s lips formed into a smile, apparently pleased she had been promoted right along with her husband, and possibly looking forward to the challenge. She leaned forward. “Be prepared to make a lot of patrol boats because Tim and I are going to bring in scores of people to crew them.”

Daniel was pleased by her display of confidence, especially since it was backed up by past performance in recruiting. “I want suggestions on viable locations to construct a port of our own.”

“Your mother and I can help with that,” Ronn Benhannon volunteered. “Since the creation of your miniature crossbows and daggerlances, we have ceased training on the longbows which have fallen out of usage.”

“We have recruited a crew of our own, beginning with Duncan Hawk, the young Royal Guardsmen who accompanied us on our journey south. He has also resigned his old position and wishes to serve you,” Miriam Benhannon announced.

Daniel was pleased to have the young guardsman as part of his muster. “Duncan is a good man, I am sure he will serve you well, and me by extension. As for the longbows, I agree with your assessment. Chas, Marcus, do either of you wish training on the weapons to be continued?”

Commander Herling shook his head. “The only use I have for the longbows is to cover the fact we have daggerlances from the uninitiated. I can do without them.”

Captain Bower nodded his head in apparent agreement with the Sentinel commander. “I will keep what I have on hand for decoys, as my esteemed colleague mentioned, but there is no reason to make more or continue training on a weapon we are unlikely to use in an actual fight.”

The meeting ended with everyone in agreement. Chas and Marcus exited together, deep in conversation about the best way to coordinate the defensive and offensive forces. Gina and Tim exited with Daniel’s parents, both pairs excitedly discussing the navy, currently two boats strong, and what the port should look like.

“That went well,” Leah commented.

“We have made progress,” Daniel agreed and then fixed his gaze on the female Teki. “How goes the foot race?”

Silvia came forward. “While Tarin Conn is still far ahead, you are at least on your feet and running.”

Daniel decided to take what he could get, no point in asking specifically how far behind he was.

“Sir Daniel,” Cleona’s voice sounded in his head.

“I am here, my Queen,” he replied mentally and silently signaled to Leah and his Teki escorts that he was receivi
ng a message and then sat down.

“The other nations have placed their legions against the borders we share with them, causing me to move my legions accordingly. Our own Lords of the realm are upset and suspect you took control of my mind during the healing process, which is outrageous. I know my own mind. The fools are just looking for an excuse to disobey me, even after I informed them you have never given me an order, and we have not communicated in months. I will deal with them, don’t you worry,” there was a mental pause as if she just sighed. “Many people seem to believe the Grand Maestro is the true Chosen Vessel and you are nothing more than his tool, not much more than a glorified errand boy who has turned rogue. Efferin seems to be encouraging the idea and has declared sanctions against Ducaun after I refused to deliver you to him. He ordered Fenton and Randall to return to Aakadon. Accomplished Chen will be on the first boat out within the mark and Accomplished Kamis, I understand, has already set sail from Zoltair. Nobles of the realm,
Lord Payden Sharmine of Keffer Greens and Lord Gabriel Tamkin of Valeen, foremost among them, are angry over the embargo. It seems no nation will do business with us except Taracopa, which is also experiencing an embargo for different reasons. Some Lords of the Land believe all of the troubles we are currently experiencing are your fault, including those pulses coming from Tarin Conn. Only Taracopa is maintaining full diplomatic relations with Ducaun, ten kingdoms have cut us off completely, Lobenia has recalled all but one ambassador, leaving Boris Samna only because Queen Clarees and I have been friends since childhood, and she has moved one of her legions for political expediency to the border we share with Lobenia and Battencay opposite of Bolover,” Cleona explained in a rush of thought.

“How can I control your mind when I have no head for politics and no idea what it takes to run a kingdom?” Daniel sent back along with a sense of calm. “We knew folks would not like our decisions,” he sent and then went on to tell her of the Serpent Nest in Mount Tirana, the missing legion of Pentrosa’s Sutton Guard, a
nd much of what has transpired.

“You are doing a fine job of scouring the Serpent Guild from my realm, keep up the good work. Twenty-eight hundred is a fine muster, about a tenth of what Lord Bolover has, and my husband’s father will be glad to know you have destroyed a major Serpent Nest that has been festering unknown for years within his jurisdiction. He has nearly as many guardsmen as Bolover. My navy has twenty-seven vessels patrolling the
Taltin Sea and I can confirm your Captain’s report about the huge fleet that seems ready to launch from the Fon Kayan coast. That said; I believe the massive build up is merely an effort of the Grand Maestro to make me stand down from a war footing and send you to him. I will do neither. This does not mean we can afford to ignore the potential threats, particularly since General Kall and his legion are yet to show themselves. Much as I would like to see you, I think it best if you stay out of the capital for awhile, give me time to show people I rule Ducaun and no one controls my mind,” she sent along with the strength and determination of will that made Daniel seem indecisive by comparison.

The connection ended and he briefed Leah on the current political events. “I think we need to train some Accomplisheds to be emissaries and assign a pair to be near the Queen, various lords loyal to her across the kingdom, your fellow Knights of the Realm, and the legion generals,” she put forth the idea.

Daniel leaned back in his chair, holding back his first thought, not wanting to reject her notion too quickly. “Why do we need Accomplisheds to be diplomats?”

Leah shook her head. “Not so much to be diplomats, although the people we choose should have those skills. The main reason for the assignments would be protection and communication. As it stands today, the Serpent Guild could teleport a traveling circle into Ducanton and kill Queen Cleona. They could eliminate the entire Ducaunan command structure within a single day. Daniel, there could be invisible assassins in place as we speak. If you and I were to exchange amulets with each Accomplished assigned, we will be able to communicate important information instantly across the realm. It currently takes days and sometimes weeks for orders, inquiries, and verifications to travel back and forth across Ducaun. General Malcus of the Northwestern Legion would be able to get a message through us to General Loomis of the Southeastern Legion in moments.”

Daniel was suddenly glad he chose to listen rather than dismiss her idea out of hand. “I agree with your reasoning and believe the former members of the Eagle Guild to be the best candidates for the task, at least for now. Be that as it is, this is not something I can make happen without Cleona’s royal seal of approval.”

Leah grinned. “I just gave more proof of my independence of mind. You obviously did not want to do this at first” she rightly guessed, “All you have to do now is go and convince the Queen. I am sure she will see the need and be anxious to get our Accomplisheds into place.”

Daniel began shaking his head. “I have been asked by Her Majesty to stay out of the capital until further notice. People seem to think I have undue influence over her mind.”

“So she must die because simple minded people do not understand what is at stake?” Leah replied, losing the grin and replacing it with a hard-eyed stare.

Daniel relaxed and placed both hands behind his head. “Not if we send Jared to propose the set up. Our association’s Account Keeper comes and goes from the capital frequently, his reputation as a shrewd negotiator is well known, and he can get an appointment to see the Royal Treasurer, who can get him in to see the Queen.”

“What about invisible assassins?” David asked while stepping away from his position by the door and coming to stand next to his wife.

“Do you expect Jared to convince your Queen to allow wolves into her palace?” Silvia politely inquired.

“I expect to do what I should have done months ago, which is to focus my awareness into Loper, get a sense of his keen ability to smell, and see if I can compose a spell to make it possible for an Accomplished to sniff out what our eyes and find-spells cannot detect,” Daniel replied. “Leah, go choose the emissaries, Silvia, please ask Jared to come in here, and David, tell my parents I am shielded and currently about as safe as is humanly possible.”

They all acknowledged his instructions and went about their assigned tasks, leaving Daniel alone with his thoughts. Moments later, Jared came in and was given his assignment.

“I know just what to say and to whom,” the Account Keeper stated confidently, while rubbing his hands together, and then headed out the door with an apparent eagerness to get started o
n this new and important chore.

Daniel focused his awareness on Loper, who was hundreds of spans to the north, and gave the wolf no instructions or requests. He simply linked with the canine as the furred scout patrolled the Northland Holding, warm under a shaggy coat, loping through the snow, and sorting out the scents on the wind with Lessa running alongside him. Experiencing the world through the senses of a wolf gave Daniel a new perspective and the sensation inspired him. A Melody began to take shape in his soul, after a short while he thought of how to play the new tune on a guitarn, and added a six note harmony. He titled the new Symphonic, Running With The Wolves, withdrew his awareness from Loper, and cast the spell upon himself. Not only could he smell the scents in the room and the various aromas wafting in under the door, his sight and hearing were vastly improved. David exhaled from the other side of the room, him and his wife having returned from the carrying out their assignments, and it sounded as if the
man had blown in Daniel’s ear.

“What? You are staring at my husband as if he has just done something rude,” Silvia’s voice boomed as if she had spoken at the top of her lungs right into Daniel’s ear. “Are you alright? Why are you covering your ears?”

Daniel ceased the potential for, Running With The Wolves, and his senses went back to normal. “I am right as a spring rain. I just composed a spell to sniff out invisible intruders and it seems to enhance my other senses as well.”

“Is it for Aakacarn use only or can we gain this ability too?” David asked, his eyes widening in anticipation.

Daniel nodded his head. “The spell is an extremely low-powered Symphonic, meaning I can infuse it into an amulet and folks like you can use it with minimal drain on your life forces. I’ll shape the gem like a wolf head to make it easy to distinguish from the shield amulet and you will both get a pair. I will see to it more are distributed to our other non-Aakacarn members. Believe me when I tell you, you will not want to wear them often. However, everyone on guard duty and at least one person in each patrol should use the amulets.”

Silvia grinned. “We look forward to using the new device.”

“Maestro,” Artisan Marsha Obennen of the Stone Guild called in his head. This is the first time she communicated with him in such a fashion. He had given her an amulet to let him know how well she was doing at preparing the citizens of Aakadon for the arrival of the Chosen Vessel. The distress he sensed coming from her indicated the news would not be good.

He signaled for the pair of Teki to wait while he proceeded with the mental communication. “Accomplished,
David Svennar is the Maestro of your guild, I have no guild,” he felt the need to make clear. “What do you want to tell me?”

Anxiety flowed ahead of her words. “I have failed to convince even a single member of the Stone Guild that you are the Creator’s Chosen Vessel. They all believe Efferin Tames to be the more likely candidate. All of us, even Oceanic Martin Varroon, have been declared dead and have not been allowed back into our guilds after being questioned by our respective Maestros. Most of us are living in Caster Hall, only Accomplisheds Jenna and DeSuan have been allowed back into their guilds and even their movements have been somewhat restricted. Daniel, everybody here believes you control our minds, and so our careers are effectively over. If we could, each and every one of us would return and serve you in whatever capacity we can.”

Daniel could not say the news came as any great surprise, not after what he learned from Sherree and Cleona. The only new thing was the desire of those Accomplisheds to serve him rather than their now former guilds. “You are not a failure. The task was simply greater than expected and frankly, I never believed persuading the citizens that I am the Chosen Vessel would be easy, only possible. Are the others from the Tomlin project with you right now?”

A lessoning of anxiety came through the link along with a sense of growing curiosity. “Yes, even young Jerremy is here, having stopped in to share lunch with us. The only person missing is Accomplished Jenna.”

Daniel needed to be absolutely sure of each person’s commitment before he acted. “Marsha, I will accept you into my service, and will soon come and get you after I complete a few projects. I also have certain promises to keep. I want each person among your group to use the amulet I gave you and tell me directly of their intent to enter my service. Once I know where everyone stands, arrangements for transportation can be made.”