Young Lord of Khadora (28 page)

“I’m not talking about next year,” stated Bursar Kasa. “If we buy every grain contract we can find, there will be none left for anybody else. The buyers who are waiting to purchase from Khadora Grain Importers will have no grain at all. They will become anxious to purchase from anybody who has grain for sale and they will start sending offers to us. When we ignore the offers, the price will start to escalate quickly. We will not only sell the contracts we have purchased for a healthy profit, but we might get twice as much money for our own contracts.”

“Will this really work?” quizzed Lord Marak. “Won’t people know what we are doing?”

“I don’t know if it will work,” admitted Kasa. “I have not found any records of someone trying this before, but then, again, who would advertise pulling off such a scheme? We still have the Ksaly Company and it would make an excellent vehicle for the grain contracts. Another possible plus from all of this would be prepaid contracts for next year's crop.”

“I do not want to get involved with more prepaid or prearranged contracts,” declared Lord Marak. “It may be smart financially, but it leaves us in a vulnerable position with our enemies. We could be crippled if an enemy destroyed our crops rather than defeat our armies. Do we have the finances to purchase all of the available grain contracts?”

“I’m not sure how much is available yet,” conceded Bursar Kasa. “I have been spending quite a bit of money on your program for buying mages, but we still haven’t gone through Tachora’s money. “We also have treasuries in Glendale and Watula Valley which you have access to.”

“I would prefer to keep them for emergencies,” noted Lord Marak. “If one of our enemies tries to destroy us financially, they will be unaware of those reserves.”

“I can see that you look at things differently than I do,” remarked Kasa.

“Of course, I do,” chuckled Lord Marak. “That is why we make such a good team. You raise our money stores and I’ll raise our armies.”

“Who are these enemies you keep talking about?” Kasa inquired. “The Sorgans and Litari are no longer enemies.”

“That is a hard question to answer, Kasa,” frowned Lord Marak. “Lord Ridak is one, for sure, although he has not acknowledged it yet. I fear the Ragatha will be another. They feel penned in by the Litari and even if we continue to let them cross our land, they will not be satisfied until they own it. There will be plenty more once people find out how far my control has grown. That is one of the facets of Khadora culture that I would like to change. At times I feel as if this culture is foreign to me, like maybe I should live with the Chula instead of the flatlanders.”

“That’s funny,” Kasa remarked, “that is the same thing Fisher says, but, of course, he is half Chula. What do you want with all of these mages? We really don’t even need as many as we have now. I’ve heard that there is so little work for them that they go off on a picnic every afternoon for a couple of hours. Surely, you can trust me to find a better investment for your money.”

Lord Marak was pleased that his Bursar had not found out about his mage training sessions yet. He did not need to keep it secret from Kasa, but her knowledge of things in Fardale was a useful gauge of what was still secret and what was not. If Kasa did not know something was going on, Marak could feel comfortable that his enemies did not know, either.

“I’ll make you a deal,” laughed Lord Marak. “You don’t limit my spending on mages and I’ll allow you to start buying grain contracts.”

“Who am I to argue with My Lord?” chuckled Bursar Kasa. “You have a deal.”

“Excuse me, Lord Marak,” came a voice from the doorway, “but there is a merchant here who wishes to talk directly with you.”

Lord Marak was about to brush the merchant off when Bursar Kasa interrupted. “Send him right in,” she decided.

Marak shook his head and wondered what the Lords Council would say if he made Kasa a Lord, well, actually, a Lady. He dropped the thought entirely when the merchant entered. Marak had never seen anyone dress as gaudily as the merchant and wondered whether the man’s goods were equally in poor taste. Bursar Kasa took one look at the merchant and decided that she had better things to do.

“I think I will go work on my favorite project,” she whispered as she left the room.

The merchant strode in and sat in the chair just vacated by the Bursar. “My Lord,” drawled the gaudy merchant, “I have some merchandise made especially for you. It is so special that I did not stop until I reached your mansion. Why, it has your name written all over it.”

Lord Marak shook his head and mentally promised to get even with Kasa for inviting this merchant into his study. He looked up, puzzled, as he saw the merchant get up and close the door. “Just what do you think you are doing?” Lord Marak spat out. His senses were immediately alert and he found his hand on one of his belt knives.

“I’m affording us a little privacy,” declared the merchant with an entirely different voice, one which Lord Marak recognized.

“Fisher?” Lord Marak whispered. “Is that you?”

“I can see that I am going to have to start using a code word just to get in to see you,” Fisher chuckled. “You were about to throw me out, weren’t you?”

“Worse than that,” Marak laughed. “I wasn’t even going to let you in. Where have you been? You disappear as quickly as you appear.”

“I have been out shopping for you, My Lord,” bowed the merchant. “I have brought you some treasures. My wagons are loaded to overflowing.”

“And what goodies have you been spending my money on?” chuckled Lord Marak.

“I have procured enough cloth to outfit an army,” boasted Fisher, “a blacksuited army. I also have wagons loaded with mages.”

“Mages?” beamed Lord Marak. “Then you have done well, my friend. How many mages?”

“I have purchased or arranged to purchase over six hundred mages,” declared Fisher. “But, alas, I have only brought the mages from one estate with me, though. They take up much more room than bolts of cloth. And how they eat!”

“This is exciting, Fisher!” exclaimed Lord Marak. “You must show me. Which estate was fool enough to get rid of their mages?”

Lord Marak rose and headed for the door while Fisher answered. “Most of the estates are more than willing to part with their mages, My Lord, but one had an especially good crop. I believe the name of the estate was Lituk Valley.”

Lord Marak stopped short with the open door in his hand. He gently closed the door as he stepped back into his study. “Are you serious?” he asked. “Is she one of them?”

Fisher grinned broadly as he nodded. “She is, My Lord,” he promised. “I have not told any of them where I was taking them, so she does not know you are here.”

“Does Lord Ridak know?” Lord Marak asked. “I just threw Lord Marshal Grefon out of Fardale because he threatened to use her against me. Oh, if you could have been here a day sooner. I have sowed the seeds of a war over her.”

“I am sorry, Lord Marak,” Fisher replied solemnly. “We left Lituk Valley the same time he did. I am sure he noticed your mother getting into the wagon, but nobody knew where the mages were going. In fact, Lord Ridak demanded that he not be told, so he would not be able to answer your questions should you ever ask.”

“He saw her leaving?” mused Marak. “Then, he was just trying to provoke me. He wants the Situ to crush me so he can have Fardale for himself. There will be a war with the Situ no matter what I do.”

“I’m afraid that is inevitable,” sighed Fisher. “You were never meant to succeed out here, you were meant to die trying. Remember one thing about Khadora, my friend, there are no Lords whom you can trust. There are only Lords you can control or conquer. Go, tend to your mother. We can talk later.”

Lord Marak nodded and embraced his friend and then ran out of the mansion to the waiting wagons. The mages were all out of the wagons stretching their cramped muscles. Glenda saw Marak right away, but she kept looking towards the surrounding troops as if she was afraid they would beat her for straying too far from the wagons. Marak ran over and picked her up and twirled her around.

“There is nobody here to fear, Mother,” he exclaimed as he kissed her. “I am the Lord of Fardale and no one will harm you or anyone else. Come into my mansion and bring the others. You shall dine as you have not dined in years.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged her son. Marak saw the other mages, most of whom were slaves, looking around the estate for the slave compound and figured it was time to end their fears.

“Mages of Lituk Valley,” Lord Marak shouted, “I am Lord Marak of Fardale and I welcome you. I know you are tired, frightened and hungry and we will alleviate all three conditions shortly. First, let me tell those of you who were slaves at Lituk Valley that you are no longer slaves. Fardale places a very high value on your talents and we invite you to experiment with your abilities. We do have mages here that are trained to help you with any stumbling blocks you may have with your abilities. Secondly, I will order a feast to ease your immediate hunger. As for continued hunger, there is no such thing in Fardale. You will always have more food than you can eat. As for accommodations, we have new facilities waiting for you and more will be built as the year progresses. Now, all of you come into the mansion and get cleaned up for a feast.”

Many of the mages looked around in astonishment and others laughed and hugged each other. Lord Marak did not notice any of them except his mother. He gently took her by the hand and led her into the mansion. Seneschal Pito had observed the speech and was already issuing instructions to the household staff to make ready for a feast. People ran everywhere as they rushed to make Lord Marak’s words ring true. Guest rooms were opened up so the mages could freshen up, change, or just rest. One of the Visiting Lords suites was set up for Lord Marak’s mother as her permanent residence.

“This is going to take some time to get used to,” Glenda said with tears still in her eyes.

“You will be amazed at how quickly you will adjust,” laughed Lord Marak. “We are doing some exciting things with our mages, Mother, and I want to get you and your friends involved as soon as possible.”

“We will be very receptive to anything we can do to help you, son,” Glenda declared as she reached inside Lord Marak’s shirt and felt for the necklace. “We can see the way the people here idolize you and that tells us you are a good ruler. Let them rest for a day and provide them with food and clothes and they will be ready to perform miracles for you.”

“It is miracles that we are going to need,” admitted Lord Marak. “There is so much I want to say to you that I don’t know where to begin.”

“There is also much that I have to say to you,” Glenda replied as she dabbed her eyes. “I do, however, know where to begin. I love you, Son.”

Lord Marak’s eyes welled up as he hugged his mother. “I love you, too, Mother,” he managed to get out before silence claimed the room.

“Of course, it’s a misconception,” declared Klora. “People have long associated Sun Magic with light and heat. Growers bring in Sun Mages when they have crops which have suffered from lack of both, but have you ever wondered how a Sun Mage works when the sun is not available to provide power?”

“I thought the power of the sun was always available,” admitted Lord Marak.

“Wrong,” instructed Klora. “The Sun Mage is really able to control the natural forces of light and heat without the presence of the sun being a factor at all. They can work their magic through the darkest night or in the deepest cave. This is important, Lord Marak, because as soon as you start to see a Sun Mage’s capabilities in the proper light you will begin to see the vast potential for the unleashing of raw power.”

Klora turned and focused on a dog-sized rock in the center of the field. “Watch the rock while I demonstrate,” she instructed.

Lord Marak and his mother, Glenda, stood with the rest of the newcomers from Lituk Valley and watched the demonstration. As Klora concentrated, the rock began to glow; first, red and then white. The rock began getting smaller as the top appeared to liquefy and run down the sides. Within moments the rock was nothing more than a puddle in the field.

“That was just the force of heat,” declared Klora, “and it is only a minor display of the power one mage can harness. This is what the same power can do with light . . . ”

The puddle of molten rock began to glow white as the brilliance steadily increased. Soon the center of the field was filled with an illumination so bright that it hurt their eyes. Lord Marak and the others closed their eyes tightly, but the brilliance persisted through their closed eyelids. Turning his back to the display, Lord Marak called a halt to the demonstration.

“That was like looking into the sun itself!” Lord Marak exclaimed. “How did you discover this?”

“It was partly your fault, Lord Marak,” Klora laughed. “You ordered me to bring water to the Chula shaman whenever I saw them in our fields. While they guard their magic jealously, some of their comments got me to thinking about where our powers come from and why there are different disciplines. I don’t think there are different powers, just different affinities.”

“Do you mean that a Soil Mage and a Sun Mage draw their power the same way and the only difference is how it feels to them?” asked Glenda.

“Exactly,” smiled Klora. “While I feel the heat and light of the energy, you feel its substance, its physical structure. Focus on that rock over there and concentrate.”

Klora indicated a smaller rock off to the left and the crowd moved about so everyone could see it.

“Now,” Klora continued, “focus on its center, the very center, but keep yourself aware of its surface. It should feel as if you are the very center of the rock and your hands are stretching out to caress the surface.”

“Yes, yes, I can feel it!” exclaimed Glenda.

“Good,” soothed Klora. “Now slowly, but firmly, pull the surface into the center.”

Lord Marak and the others watched in astonishment as the rock actually grew smaller. It did not get tiny, but it was visibly smaller.

“I can’t move it any further,” sighed Glenda.