To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) (43 page)

A strong sense of pleasure and gratitude flowed through the mental link. “It will be as you say and thank you for accepting me. I will pass the amulet to Jerremy, who is standing closest to me.”

The amulet went from one Accomplished to another and each affirmed his or her intention to be a part of Daniel’s association. He gave them no details about his growing organization. They would learn about that when they were safely away from the Soarers and their zealous use of Truth Speak.

Daniel nodded to his Teki escorts and headed out of the conference room. He had lunch with his parents, Tim, Gina, Silvia, and David. After eating, he met with Carlin, Keenan, and Duncan Hawk to welcome them into his service, became acquainted with about a hundred people who joined since his last visit in the south, and then Conveyed to the Northland Holding, taking with him Silvia and David.

They arrived in his office. “I need to be alone for a little while and would appreciate it if you find something else to do,” he spoke to the couple.

They both drew breath as if to speak and then David glanced at Silvia and nodded. “We will return in a mark,” she said and then they both exited.

Daniel pictured his hand without the personal shield, reached over, and touched the cool stone wall. He summoned the potential for Fashioning and sent his awareness down into the new complex, added a Da Capo, and then cast Hidden Shield. Suddenly, he could no longer sense the new addition through Fashioning and ceased the potential. He cast Find All, and focused where there should be well over a thousand Aakacarns living and moving in the complex below, all he could sense was solid ground. “That chore is done and now for the next,” he spoke softly.

Moving to stand behind his desk, he cast potential at the floor, and opened the narrow hole leading down to where the trumpet of
Tarin Conn lay hidden. He levitated the object lusted after by so many up out of the hole and onto his desk beside the huge bucket of rocks, provided faithfully by Jaim Cutler. This is where the rocks will come in handy and why the order to bring them had not been rescinded. Daniel removed the shields and touched the trumpet, cast Change It, making a duplicate of the crescendo and did the same with the case. He seriously doubted the original owner could tell the difference. Not even with a spell could Daniel distinguish between the objects. This is no copy. It is exactly the same as the original. He then placed the actual trumpet of Tarin Conn back in the case, replaced the shields, lowered it down the hole, closed the opening, and then cast, Hidden Shield, to keep anyone from sensing the crescendo. The Queen and Jonah were the only people he would inform of what he just did. Now all he had to do is take the duplicate trumpet and the flute of Della Lain to Aakadon.

Terroll Barnes sat in dinning area two of the ten located on the ninth floor of the Zephyr Guild, the outer walls of which were made by meticulously spell-binding millions of diamonds into a four hundred cubit high structure, giving it a translucent quality. Half way up the huge building split into twin towers stretching up another two hundred cubits. Unlike his predecessor, who dined alone and often stayed in his office, Terroll preferred to eat with his association members and circulate among them. Bernie, his Chief Aid, sat nearby and kept glancing at the chrono disc on the far wall, a silent reminder of the time. The two-bolt Accomplished had yellow-gold hair, a neatly trimmed mustache, and a keen detail-oriented mind.

“Randall Kamis should be here sometime in the evening,” Terroll informed those who joined him at the table.

The two three-bolt Accomplisheds and the Four-bolt were all Senior Cyclones, the highest rank that can be achieved below Maestro in the Zephyr Guild. Chelton Freemin, a Cenkataaran with three lighting bolts shook his head in disgust. “It is not enough that our guild has been excluded from one of the biggest operations in centuries, now the only member we have officially posted outside of Aakadon is recalled for political reasons.” He sniffed disdainfully through his prominent nose.

“Maestro, our distinguished colleague does have a point,” Simeon Traysellon shared his agreement with his fellow Three-bolt. His shiny bald pate reflected the rainbow light filtering in through the diamond wall.

They both clearly felt free to voice their discontent with the treatment the guild had been receiving since the officially dead Accomplisheds arrived months ago on a truly remarkable riverboat built by a member of the Willow Guild. The thoughts these men expressed were not exclusive to them, most every Zephyr had mentioned the slight, and Terroll encouraged such communication among the members. He wanted them to speak freely to him.

Rondara Kapes glanced at the lunch partners and shook her head. “So they do not need us to fill their sails with wind to speed the journey, what reason do we give them for including any Accomplisheds from our society on the mission?” the Four-bolt inquired in a calm tone devoid of sarcasm. Her black silky hair shimmered in the light as her ovoid eyes focused on Terroll, who was in the middle of c
hewing his last bite of turkey.

He swallowed and focused on her. “Politics is the reason you will be selecting nineteen Cyclones to accompany you on another mission I am not at liberty to discuss at the present time. If the other guilds want to travel on riverboats modeled after the one built by Accomplished Trenca, pushed by a waterwheel, rather than boats driven by the wind, I say let them. No guild has suffered a greater loss of Accomplisheds to the Serpents than the Willow, they have always been excluded from missions of significance, and finally one of their members has made something great, taken part in catching Serin Gell, and helped in the taking down of his Nest.”

Rondara nodded her head and her eyes seemed to brighten, yet she did not allow her lips to form a smile to reflect her apparent amusement. “The current thinking is; if a Sapling can accomplish so much, just think how much more a Forester or Senior Forester can achieve. Be that as it is, I will have that list of Cyclones for you by the end of the day.”

Terroll stood up. “The way my aid keeps glancing at the chrono disc, I can see he is trying to remind me of several appointments that begin at half past thirteen. I am going up and take half a mark to prepare, so enjoy your meals and we will meet formally at the eighteenth mark.”

“It will be as you say, Maestro,” they all quickly replied while giving the traditional nod of respect.

Terroll made his way out into the hall, down the corridor, to a sliding door, which slid open when Bernie cast
the appropriate spell. They stepped within the small room and the platform began to rise smoothly up the shaft to the top floor. The Chief Aid long ago mastered the wind spell that controlled the lift in such a manner. From there they went to the office of the Maestro. Bernie took a seat behind his desk in the outer office. “I will be meditating until the next appointment. You know what that means,” Terroll both informed and warned him.

“It will be as you say, Maestro. Emergency cases only,” Bernie replied and picked up some papers.

Terroll casually cast a spell to open and then close the door after entering his office. He looked up and froze in place, unable to move. Years of experience and iron control had kept him from showing any further sign of being startled.

“Good afternoon Terroll,” said a tall young man in the field uniform of a Ducaunan Royal Knight of the Realm, while casually leaning on the desk, upon which sat a bulky silk sack. The seven golden lighting bolts on his sir coat and helmet confirmed all of the reports about his increase in potential. He had a sword with lighting bolts on the hilt and scabbard on his right hip and two knives on his left, one completely encased in black leather, and the other looked to be the same one the former mountaineer always carried. Terroll suspected the
hidden one to be a crescendo.

Extraordinary efforts were being made by the Grand Maestro to force the Ducaunan Queen to send Terroll’s former pupil to Aakadon and here the young man stands. “Greetings to you, my friend, have you come to request admission to the Zephyr Guild, if so, I will be glad to have you?”

Daniel smiled broadly and reached out his hand. “Can’t a former student stop by to see his old tutor?”

Terroll shook hands with the young man. “It becomes a tad difficult when the one tutored has exceeded the skills of the teacher and is the Vessel Chosen by the Creator to lead the coming conflict against
Tarin Conn, especially when Efferin Tames considers that former student to be nearly as dangerous as the Dark Maestro.”

“Be that as it is, the Queen and I are preparing for the very conflict you spoke of,” Daniel replied. “I wish I could say the same for Aakadon, the current leadership of which seems to prefer being a hindrance.”

There were some things Terroll needed to know or at least wanted to have confirmed before this conversation could go further. “How did you get in here and more importantly, how did you heal those Accomplisheds who were formerly Condemneds? It is said you altered Tarin Conn’s spell.”

“I have been in this room before and transported directly here. As for the restorations, the process is more complicated, requiring a number of spells, but essentially and simply put; I restored them by modifying the spell composed by the ancient Aakasear. The only way I could think of to give them back their free will was essentially to command them to do have one. From that time forward each individual has been making his or her own decisions independent of me. Even their decision to return to Aakadon was made on their own without my influence. If I had my way, they would have been in my Northland Holding to help defend against Pentrosa’s brief invasion. By the way, there is a legion of the Sutton Guard poised to strike, and I have no idea where it is,” Daniel surprised Terroll with the frankness of the reply. The young man used the term, Aakasear, admitted to modifying and using spells composed by
Tarin Conn, including teleporting directly into this office, and offered up no apologies for doing so. He deserved to have the same courtesy extended to him.

“I feel you should be made aware of some facts,” Terroll made a decision that could get him arrested. “
Everyone healed by you is under suspicion and believed to be under your control, especially since you used the Serpent Guild spell to heal them, a conclusion made and reported by Vance Cummin, a Senior Soarer quoted by Talmon Reese in the last meeting of the Maestros.”

“Vance Cummin is high up in the Serpent Guild. I have recently restored a Soarer who can confirm
the man admitted his ambition to be the next Maestro just before casting Condemnation on her,” Daniel spoke up. “Do not trust anything Vance Cummin says.”

“I will start by saying that I believe you. Be that as it is, no one will accept the word of a person restored by you over that of the Senior Soarer, I am sorry to say, especially with you making the accusation of him after I told you what he reported. Most everyone will believe you are simply besmirching his character in order to ruin the credibility of his words,” Terroll replied, believing it better to reveal the truth of how the news would be perceived rather than letting the young man be deluded into thinking anyone here would view hi
s accusation as being credible.

“Some people believe Efferin is the Chosen Vessel rather than me. Their belief changes nothing other than to make my chores harder than necessary. I have told the truth about Vance Cummin and those who disbelieve will eventually discover for themselves what is true, hopefully before it is too late for them to act,” Daniel replied, showing no sign of surprise. This is a man who has learned to accept what is, rather than waste time wishing things could be different, much more mature than the young man Terroll discovered on the top of Mount Tannakonna not so long ago.

“I would consider it a great favor if you do not reveal the information I am about to impart. The Tomlin project has been cancelled because a great deal of Aakadon’s resources is being used to find you rather than continue exploration of the sunken city. A team from the Eagle Guild is ready to move against your estate if Efferin Tames decides it is the only way to bring you here. A special team has been dispatched to Kelgotha consisting of the Eagle, Sun, and Aqua Guilds, due to the harmonic emanations. They have sent one hundred Accomplisheds from each of the three guilds in addition to five Senior Soarers, five Coronas, five Oceanics, along with enough Foresters of the Willow Guild to transport them up the Gosian River in twenty boats designed by one of their Accomplisheds. The strike force will disembark and head into Ecoppia and try to bring an end to the harmonic pulses. People all over the world are frightened and demands from every nation are flowing in daily for we of Aakadon to do something about the problem,” Terroll revealed specifics that should only be discussed among his fellow Maestros.

Daniel nodded grimly. “I take back what I said; Aakadon is contributing something to the conflict. Be assured no one in Aakadon will hear any of what you just revealed to me. You are chief among the few Accomplisheds I trust in this city.”

Terroll took some comfort in being one of the trusted few. “Twenty Accomplisheds from each guild, led by Talmon Reese will soon be heading to Mount Shantear to strengthen the shield holding Tarin Conn,” he said and then smiled. “I have had two meeting with Accomplished Jenna, who is a fellow believer in your being the Chosen Vessel, and also one who claims to have been restored by you. At some point you gave her an opinion to pass on to me. I hope you do not mind that I proposed a Grand Symphony be performed to increase the potential powering the shield as if it was my own idea. Your opinion is highly suspect at the moment and mentioning Accomplished Jenna as the source of the communication would not only cause immediate rejection of the idea; it would place your young friend in a bad position.”