To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) (56 page)

Daniel knew his Account Keeper did not trust the Accomplisheds of Aakadon, especially after being interrogated by a Soarer of the Eagle Guild. Even so, the thinking was identical to his own on both the trustworthiness of his allies and about the likelihood of spies. “I agree with both of you,” he announced.

Chas worked out the details, contacting Accomplisheds and officers, assigning tasks, deciding who would be involved in the initial assault within the mountain, and what groups would serve in a third strike along with the reserves. Daniel assigned Sandra Treena to lead the third assault. He and Simon used Teach Me to give the visuals of the tunnels and chambers each Accomplished would need to convey to their assigned locations. Seventy Accomplisheds were assigned to the southern Estate and seventy to the Northland Holding to help the Benhannon Guard with the defenses. Ten Accomplisheds were chosen to defend the small but growing navy base and the Emissaries were all alerted. All other assets of the Atlantan Guild were dedicated to the task of evicting the Serpents infesting Mount Shantear.

While Commander Herling went about preparing for the assault, Captain Bower worked on the defenses, and Sherree volunteered to bring Leah up to date. Daniel went to his room and changed into his silks. They were certainly more comfortable than his uniform and Reginald had sized them perfectly. Daniel placed his diamond
-bladed knife in the sheath and went down into the vast underground assembly area designed by Jerremy DeSuan and Franklin Togan. Lightning Squad was there along with Sherree’s Quicksilver and Simon’s Vapor. The two of them arrived moments later with Silvia and David. “The First Lady conveyed us from the Northland Holding,” the Seer informed him.

“I am glad she did,” Daniel replied and then nodded to Simon, giving him the go ahead to convey them, seeing as it was the Chief Aid’s resourcefulness that made the trip possible. In the space of an extended blink of the eyes, they were in the Atlantan Guild camp more than half way up
mount Jessup.

“Maestro, those silks look good on you,” was the f
irst words out of Leah’s mouth.

Lassiter nodded his agreement and his grim face managed a twitch that could be interpreted as a smile. “We have been fully briefed on the up coming mission and each of us knows our parts. I will be leading the visible strike and am pleased to know my Maestro will be leading the Spin Off within Shantear.”

Sherree and Simon continued the conversation while Daniel’s gaze swept the entire camp. One hundred fifty Accomplisheds took up a lot of room but three thousand one hundred fifty Sentinels made this place appear to be a small town. There were too many trees for any extensive dwellings, so a large number of individual solidified huts of air filled the space in between the massive trunks. He waved greetings to every person who made eye contact with him and then focused his mind on events to come. Evening was two marks away and he would soon be involved in yet another meeting.

“Strike Commander Lassiter, there is to be no mention of Atlantan Guild forces beyond what is here or talk of what else we have planned in front of Reese and his team,” Sherree stated firmly.

Jeremiah gave her the customary nod of respect. “I understand, First Lady, and have so informed each person under my command, as the First Accomplished instructed.”

Daniel listened to the conversations going on around him while his command staff spoke of the coming battle. The title, Maestro, was most often used by the Accomplisheds, and Sir Daniel, came from the tongues of his Sentinels. Both groups glanced at him frequently, since the vast majority could sense his presence and point in his direction from anywhere in the world. These people were loyal to him and he trusted them completely. Leah conducted the spell that brought all his associates to Jessup and he wondered what their ally’s reaction had been upon seeing them. He turned to the First Accomplished. “What did Talmon Reese do when this army of blue suddenly appeared before his eyes?”

The image conjured in her mind must have been amusing. It brought a smile to Leah’s face. “The Maestro of the Eagle Guild is a master of self-control and acted as if our numbers were exactly what he expected them to be. Tobermin is a different story. The man’s eyes nearly popped out of his head and the inhaling of air through his nose could be heard half way across the camp. I have no doubt the Grand Maestro has been informed of our numbers and has issued orders concerning us.”

Daniel did not trust Efferin as far as he could throw him, seeing as even half that distance is way beyond the limit of the man’s credibility. “Am I wrong in believing the stay-of-warrant signed by Maestro Reese can be overridden by the Grand Maestro?”

Leah’s head began to shake before she spoke the words. “No, you have rightly assessed the situation and can assume the stay will be honored for the exact length of time they need you.”

Daniel smiled. “And now you know Sandra’s force is not coming just to deal with the Serpents.”

“Our allies are here,” Simon informed them while pointing to the southwest.

Maestro Reese, Vice-Maestro Tobermin, Barnabas Galloway,
Janice Footner, Rondara Kapes, Lucia Trotta, and Ralpen Pentrago walked calmly through the encampment, ignoring the Sentinels, and eyeing the Accomplisheds as if memorizing the faces. They would probably be taking names if not for the fact that none of the Atlantan Guild Aakacarns in sight had ever been to Aakadon. Leah Barryn, Jeremiah Lassiter, Sherree Jenna, and Simon Trenca, were here and already known to them, so they would learn no new names on this visit.

Tobermin stepped forward, ahead of the Aakadon party, and stood right in front of Daniel. “I see the masquerade is over and you are openly flaunting the fact that you have established an illegitimate guild,” he spoke in a tone dripping with contempt.

Daniel gazed down at the five-bolt Accomplished. “I have accepted the fact that I am the Maestro of the Atlantan Guild. As for the legitimacy, I am the Chosen Vessel, and what I need to defeat Tarin Conn is drawn to me, regardless of how you in Aakadon choose to perceive my accumulation of assets,” he calmly replied. The man opened his mouth but Daniel had more to say. “Your Maestro is afraid to accept me into his guild for fear I will eventually challenge him and take the leadership; he is not the only guild leader to feel that way. I am a seven-bolt Accomplished, an Aakasear, and even your Grand Maestro fears I will challenge and replace him. As for flaunting, you were the one who first spoke of the need to see our capabilities. It is not my fault if our numbers are greater than you anticipated.”

The rest of the Aakadon party drew near. Talmon remained quiet, yet only a fool would believe he did not order his second in command to speak first so the Maestro could study the reply. Daniel looked right at Eagle Guild leader. “I have no interest in challenging you or Efferin, difficult as it is for either of you to believe. Both of you cling to power like a baby sasquatch to his mother and cannot conceive of me not sharing that same desire,” the words earned nods of agreement from Lucia Trotta and Rondara Kapes. “Be it as it may, I cannot win the war I was chosen to fight without the cooperation of Aakadon and you cannot win without me, so we better find a way to work together,” Galloway, Footner, and Pentrago, began nodding their heads. Daniel decided to give them more food for thought. “Think about this, if I had not assembled the people you see here, there would be no hope of you getting to the Crystal Chamber. Leah has told you about the Serpent Base, which is the reason you are in this camp right now, and I believe your help in planning the assault is more important than how you feel about what I have done.”

The Vice-Maestro’s face turned bright red, his mustache twitched, and he puffed out his chest, but was smart enough not to summon potential. “We only have Barryn’s word concerning an alleged Serpent Base in Shantear. What proof do you have beyond words?”

Simon stepped forward and a few moments later a solid three dimensional image of
Mount Shantear appeared on the ground. “The fact that you are standing on Lobenian soil should lead you to conclude we can get to Shantear, scout the area, and create this current, highly detail map of the mountain,” he declared and then faced his former mentor. “Accomplished Galloway, will you verify the accuracy of this conjuration?”

Barnabas came forward, after receiving an affirmative nod from Talmon, and then bent over and studied the image. “Good work,” he spoke softly to Simon and then straightened up. “I have studied numerous maps of the world, depicting each season, and can say this is an accurate image of what Shantear should look like at this time of the year. I can also say this is not a map from the Willow Guild library,” he added and then went on to point out the technical differences. “In short, I conclude the person who made this map has visited Shantear recently.”

“Thank you Senior Forester,” Talmon entered the conversation. His eyes met Daniel’s. “For the record, I do not approve of the establishment of this Atlantan Guild, as you named it, no matter how justified you consider yourself to be in forming it, and even if you are the Chosen Vessel, uniting rogue Accomplisheds is illegal. Be that as it is, you are correct, we must find a way to work together, and the fact that you called us to help plan the assault encourages me to believe a way can be found.”

Daniel reached into his pocket and removed the crystal he had taken from
Mount Shantear. “Here is your physical proof of our visit,” he stated and handed it to Talmon Reese.

The Maestro studied the fist-size piece of quartz and nodded his head. “Let the meeting begin.”

Sherree formed a command post made of solidified air around them, complete with a round table and chairs. Simon recreated his image of Shantear on the table while everyone took a seat. The First Lady sat beside Daniel in the chair to his right while Talmon sat to his left. Consequently, each representative of the Atlantan Guild followed Sherree’s example, seating themselves to the right, and the Accomplisheds of Aakadon began seating themselves to the left.

“The cave entrances are here,” Chas started the briefing, and each of the seven openings began to glow, courtesy of Simon. “And this one leads to the Crystal Chamber.” He went on to give them the number of Serpents assumed to be in each location that were likely to swarm out once the battle began. “And so you see what must be overcome in order for us to secure the Crystal Chamber. If any of our teams of Accomplisheds reaches the chamber ahead of yours, they have been ordered to locate and inform Maestro Reese, who can be transported directly into the chamber with whatever assets he requires.”

The Accomplisheds of Aakadon began suggesting strategies, offering tactics, and pointing out that horses would not be necessary due to the ability to teleport to the battle zones. Daniel sat back and watched while Jeremiah, Leah, and Chas, did most of the talking on his behalf. Many of the ideas were good and the First Strike Commander incorporated them into his battle plan. Tobermin made a few more suggestions, as did Ralpen Pentrago, Barnabas Galloway, and Rondara Kapes. These were also worked into the battle plan.

Talmon tapped Daniel on the shoulder, drawing his attention. “You transported an army of non-Aakacarns to be in a battle where swords and crossbows are virtually useless. Either you intend to use them as fodder or there is more to them than meets the eye,” the Maestro mentioned a huge detail none of the other Accomplisheds of Aakadon apparently bothered to ponder, probably because they had dismissed the soldiers as mere commoners.

“I am an Aakasear and we tend to think creatively when it comes to spell casting,” Daniel prefaced his answer. “A Sentinel’s dagger can launch a lance of light that penetrates anything that is unshielded and the crossbow, in addition to launching a bolt, can send a stream of fiery pebbles at whatever it is aimed at. I assure you, Maestro, the Chosen’s Sentinels will be casting spells at the Serpents.”

Talmon gave a quick shake of his head, glanced upward, and then refocused on Daniel. “You have broken so many rules, laws, and customs that I do not know why I am surprised you would give such power to commoners,” he paused, briefly, and glanced at everyone else involved with putting together the battle plan. “I do not fully approve of what you have done, but will admit, in this particular situation, I am glad you did. We would not have a chance at reaching the Crystal Chamber otherwise,” he had enough wisdom to see the necessity. He handed the crystal back to Daniel. “Let us leave this planning session briefly so you and I can discuss the nature of the Dark Maestro’s prison.”

Daniel had no objection to honoring Talmon’s proposal, so informed Sherree, and then went outside with the Eagle Guild leader while those at the table worked on incorporating the capabilities of the Sentinels into the final battle plan. He and Talmon came to a stop beside the trunk of a sequoia where the Maestro of Aakadon took a deep breath and began the discussion. “There was a certain amount of speculation in our last meeting concerning how Della Lain cast her spells and little about the nature of the crystalline structure, the actual vault where lies Tarin Conn. Did you learn anything during your scouting of Shantear to expand on what we discussed?”

Daniel had no idea what spells the Maestro would be using once inside the Crystal Chamber, but had learned enough on the scouting mission to say what he would do if the castings were his responsibility. He held out the crystal. “This is what I believe is embedded in the vault, potential cannot be focused through it, and so if I were you, I would be thinking of a way to penetrate the structure. These quartz crystals not only stop
Tarin Conn from focusing his full might out into the world, they also prevent potential from being focused inward.”