“Baker!” The voice was angry, really angry, and not one that he recognized at all. A male voice accompanied by pounding feet and a flash of purple and black Royal Guard livery.
Thankfully that man wasn't attacking him in the palace hallway, not yet, but it was a close thing. The guy, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, about six foot ten and had to weigh nearly three hundred pounds, all of it lean and hard looking, took a partial fighting stance in front of him. The fellow wasn't someone Tor recognized, but that didn't mean much, not with the guard here, they came out of the walls and sometime, when you least expected it, could go crazy like this.
“Um… hello?” Tor said, keeping his voice soft. He had a shield and was armed, but short of using a lot of force, he really doubted that he could take this guy. More to the point, he didn't know why he should have too. Had he done something… or insulted the man?
The man explained as he sidled closer to him. Moving deliberately so that he could attack.
“Are you trying to get her killed? Is that your plan you little useless pace of shit? Take her off to that school and let the Austrans just have her? Fuck! If you want to do that so bad, why don't you just put her on a ship? Did they turn you somehow over there? Is Austran pussy that good? Or is it your new lover Brown? I should kill you right here and make the world a safer place.” The man didn't clench his fist, and had yet to produce a weapon, so Tor guessed that this wasn't an actual death threat, but just this man’s way of letting off steam.
His scary, frightening way of letting go of things.
Tor hoped so anyway and hoped that it didn't really involve too big of a beating for himself in addition, just to help with the venting.
“Ah, well, I didn't have sex in Austra or the way over or the way back, so rest assured it wasn't their sexual wiles or me being turned somehow. I just… you've seen Karina, right? I mean you know what's been happening with her?” It was a good question, since the guy may be… Tor looked for some way the man could have missed what was going on and none of them fit.
The huge man stared at him hard for nearly twenty seconds, just when Tor thought he was going to move in for the kill, he spoke, sounding no calmer, but not actually raising his voice.
“So? Girls get moody! Her friend was killed and she's sad. She's tough, she'll snap out of it on her own in a bit.”
Ah. Well, Tor didn't think that was the case, but didn't really want to fight about it. Then again, did he have a choice?
“OK. So… your wrong. She isn’t snapping out of it and she needs her friends, all of which I took off to school with me, or, well you know the rest. So, I don't know, how do we do this? Are we supposed to wrestle for her now or something? Go outside and fight until I'm a puddle of mush? Debate in front of a judge to see who's right?” Tor was trying to be playful and shake the man's anger a bit, but that, obviously, wasn't going to work. Great.
“Fine,” The huge angry man said through his teeth, short blond hair making his head look nearly bald from Tor’s perspective.
“We'll meet out back over it.” It felt to Tor like that meant something other than sitting in the shade and having some juice, calmly discussing things. Too bad, he really thought he had a good argument or two on this one.
Was it a duel? What did he do now? Tor nearly panicked as the man stormed off, wondering if running away would be a valid option. The stone floor was shiny here, well polished and dark. Tor noticed that when he heard the footsteps behind him, there were six of them. All Royal Guards, all looking at him blankly. Great. So the idea was that he fought one of them, or six? Well, that was a fun option. None of these were as big, but the day Tor could beat six men and women, all bigger and stronger than he was, in a fair fight, he'd…
Tor didn't have anything that he'd do then, it had just never come up as an idea. It would be something though. He just wasn't that good. They took him out back, half leading, half following, probably to prevent escape. There was a hedged area that Tor had barely noticed before and never been into, near the wall around the palace. It stood ten foot high and was paved inside, about a hundred foot square. The Royal Guards practice area? It made sense, they had to have something, right? One of the guards, and older man, came and stood in front of him.
“The tradition is that no shields, armor or weapons of any kind are used.” George told him softly.
Darn. They had an actual tradition that basically said he had to have his butt beaten by this giant? That was hardly fair. Why couldn't they have a traditional bake off instead, like at a country fair? That would be better for him personally. Pie making contest? Or a foot race, he was tempted to make the counter offer, but the second that he took his shield off, still looking for a way out, the larger man danced across the room and hit him with a back fist.
After that, for nearly four minutes, Tor just fought, trying to remember what he'd learned over the years, what Burks had him practice. That he was making contact with the man was apparent, his hands and feet stung from the blows, but they didn't seem to do much. Tor finally found himself picked up by the face and slammed into the stone below him. Thankfully it was smooth. He lost consciousness for a bit, but managed to poke the large man in the eye it his right index finger somehow, going out or not. When he cleared enough to see again he was running around in a circle, keeping just out of the giants grasp. Almost at least.
Tor rolled and kicked out at a knee, which made something shift, the feeling of it ran down his leg, but that was all, the giant didn't do more than shift his weight back.
Tor finally got enough of his sense of self back to try and go after the man smoothly and actually try to target the weak points as more than an afterthought. Then he did better. Not well, but the harshness of the beating he was taking damped down a bit. And it was a beating. For all the he was hitting the guard twice for every once he was hit himself, he could barely stand and the other man still looked fresh and ready to continue. Even after two good solid strikes to the groin the man stood relaxed and poised, moving on him again.
Finally Tor had to just do what he could to survive, biting, kicking and scratching, advanced techniques and dirty tricks. At about ten minutes something happened, a blow to the back of the head, and everything went dark.
Tor woke looking at the sky, no one touching him at all. Well, at least the guy hadn't kept beating him while he was out. Standing on shaking legs, wondering if defensive wetting was still a good option, Tor faced the man again and raised his hands to continue. The man sneered at him. At least Tor thought it was a sneer. It might have been something else, based on what the guy did next, which didn't involve killing Tor at all.
“Alright, I'll cede the issue to you, but if you get her killed, I will come for you. Oath or not. Bet on it.”
Then without pause he stomped off again. Limped off. Tor decided not to follow him this time. Standing up straight he rubbed his jaw. Three teeth had been knocked out in the front, which hurt, and his right eye was swollen closed. With his left he angled slowly, hoping he didn't have to fight anyone else under their really painful tradition. George the Royal Guard handed him back the amulet with his shield on it.
Oh, right. He had amulets for stuff.
Yay.
He hit the healing one and most of his body stung for about half a minute, his mouth stung for almost five as the teeth regrew. The device couldn't regrow a hand, but it regrew teeth just fine. Tor had no clue why that was, but it worked for everyone that way. Even teeth that had been missing for years. When he felt better, he looked down at his shirt, and changed it so the bright blood and scrapes weren't there anymore.
“So…” He said to the remaining six guards. “Um, I don't exactly have the book on this particular tradition. Why exactly am I alive again?”
There was a low chuckle from the group as if he'd said something funny instead of pointing out an obvious truth. The other guy could have simply killed him.
“Heh, yeah. Well, it's like this Tor,” one of the younger guards, a guy of about twenty told him a small smile on his face. “When two of us get in a fight, or have a disagreement, we can't really just go at it like normal people. Then one or both of us would end up dead each time. We're people too though and things come up.
“So Veren and you fought, but you didn't give up even when beaten, showing you were willing to die to back up whatever your part in this was. He wasn't willing to kill you over it, so he ceded the match to you. We kind of have to do it that way, I mean otherwise the best fighters would always win and they're not always right. It was a battle of wills, not fists, and you won.”
Oh.
That made sense then. Hopefully no one else felt as strongly about the whole thing as Veren did though. Healing device or not, too much more of that and Tor would just die. It was clear he needed a lot more work on his fighting skills. Painfully so, or it had been, but Tor’s memory was good enough in that regard.
Then everyone just left. That was it. No big thing, no hard feelings. Fight, resolve the issue and leave. It was efficient, but kind of strange feeling. He kept expecting his mother to pop out and chastise him for being a common ruffian or something. Instead he went inside and everyone acted like nothing had happened at all.
Heh.
Really they were waiting for Burks to come back and say that the truth device could be beaten or couldn't be, but that didn't come until after dinner that night. It was another grand affair, each guest with two servers, all wearing their sharp green clothing, which matched the table cloth and napkins and about twenty courses were served, each tiny, at least on his plate. Rolph, who sat directly across from him, had more, but Denno, two places over had about the same. It was a favor really. Tor knew that he couldn't handle all the food if the plate was loaded each time himself and doubted that Brown would do that much better.
Really it was ridiculous, the meal finishing off with four different deserts, then cheese and drinks. Tor was so full he had to stick to taking small sips of water at the end, but hadn't wanted to embarrass anyone by not eating it all. Then, as they sat and talked, Count Lairdgren made his way in.
Now, he, Tor thought as he regarded the man, looked exhausted. Tired enough that he didn't bother with a preamble at all. It was bizarre really, given the situation, but Tor couldn't find it in himself to blame him. Not looking like he did.
“It will work. I couldn't find a way around it, not at all. I'm sure there is one, but I doubt my brother here will have had time to experiment and figure it out.” Grinning he pulled out an amulet, the sigil glowing green.
Tor blinked. All of the amulets should have a pink sigil on them. It was in the shape of a “T” with lines through it on a diagonal. “T” for truth. Reaching out to the bit of focus stone, the wrong color too, being too brown for the soil around the Capital, Tor got what the field did. It glowed and turned black on command. It was a trick? That seemed likely, but what was the point?
Burks set things up quickly, Denno in a chair towards the side of the room along the outside wall, and the amulet activated. The glow was mainly white with hazy yellow strips, not the cream and golden yellow it was supposed to be at all. Denno wouldn't know that, but everyone else seemed to just take it in stride as well. Interesting.
Couldn't they see the obvious differences or was it that everyone else was just better at hiding their shock than he was? It didn't matter really, so Tor hid his own realization as best he could. If it was about fooling Denno, then he'd go along with it for now. But not without some kind of back-up information. Tor dropped into a deep state, cleared his mind and focused intently on Burks, who was doing the same thing, he found. He was reading Denno instead of just using the Truth device. Why? Tor didn't know for sure, but kind of suspected that the Count had actually found a way around it, one Denno could have used, so was going to try this instead. A pure reading would be harder and potentially more accurate, though why he hadn't done a better job faking the way it looked Tor didn't get at all. Was it a sign to him or… Tor had to fight shaking his head, it really didn't make sense at all.
“Alright Denno, would you please state your name for us all?” Burks said it like asking his own brother his name made sense, but Brown didn't blink.
“Dennorian Algiers Brown.”
A full and slow second after the lie the field turned an off black, almost dark smoke color. Instead of lancing through the field, it grew slowly like a cloud. It looked totally wrong, his units put out a stark black and shot across the field suddenly, looking like a rift had opened in space. This effect was cruddy by comparison. It made him want to roll his eyes, but he decided to go with the ruse for a bit, to see where it led.
So Tor didn't hesitate, leaning towards the man.
“Um, Lie? Denno, what was your given name, not what you picked for yourself.”
“Six.” The man said, smiling a little.
“But we all thought that we deserved actual names, so we each picked our favorite color. The rest came later, when we decided that most people would respect us more, think us more like them, if we each had two names. I was married about a century or two after that and took my wife’s name for a while, hence the Algiers.”
This time the field stayed clear and shone brightly.
Burks nodded, but it may not have been in agreement, but rather a way of letting Tor know that he felt his focus on the subject.
Burks kept asking questions then, without pausing.
“Denno, can you tell me how long you were held captive by Glost Serge?”
“Not really, between seven and ten years?”
Another lie.
“Not true, try again please.”
Denno took a deep breath and did something, relaxed his body, but also dropped into a deep memory of an earlier time, Tor didn't get it all, but the idea was clear, the man would tell the truth, but about the wrong event. Clever. Dead smart really. Most people wouldn't have that ability. After all, who had several long periods of incarceration to fall back on?
Oh, an Ancient.
It made sense.
“Twelve years?” It was a question, but this time the field didn't flicker, Burks hadn't triggered it at all.
Tor focused harder then as the Count asked questions carefully, letting most of the lies slip through, but trying to read what the man was hiding, directly from his thoughts. It was pretty clear to Tor really. Denno was held prisoner by Serge and Daria, for refusing to order hit teams in on all their enemies. For nearly a whole year.
One. Single. Year.
When it came to the larval, it had been him alone that built the army of them, not Glost Serge, not anyone else. Because he planned his own… purge? One that would remove every obstacle to his own… rule. For the entire world? It was hard to tell exactly, there were too many parts, too many undertones and shifting ideas, but that was a big part of it and he'd definitely grown the clones himself. For his own purposes. He felt threatened by someone and was responding, that was clear at least.
It was a bit of a different story to be sure.
To Tor’s amusement, the break out had been real, though half the guards actually worked directly for Denno himself, not the Premier and definitely not his daughter. A slightly smug feeling crept into the man’s thoughts as he gained skill in “fooling” the device. It was a waste of brain power and led him into thinking about even more than he would have normally. The main bit Tor grabbed was that he wasn't alone in his plan and that someone else, another of the Ancients, was in on it with him. Tor couldn't tell who, but the underlying point was solid and clear.
Well freaking heck.
By the time they finished, everyone in the room seemed far more relieved than not, even Burks who immediately clapped his brother on the back. Moving behind Denno he gave Tor a look, it wasn't mean or anything, but he got the picture. Sell the game. Make their brother believe he'd beaten the device.
Wonderful. He wanted to sigh and possibly slap the man for not being honest with them, but just in case, he had to back Burks play, didn't he?
Tor stood, walked in front of the man and knelt on the floor, bowing until his head touched the cold black stone.
“I have wronged you with my questions. I let my own paranoia and fear cause me to persecute one innocent of such. I know that I do not deserve forgiveness, but please know that I am truly sorry for having said the words or having the thoughts.” Tor stayed in place, letting just a faint sheen of tears come into his eyes.
“Oh! I… Well.” Denno suddenly stammered both pleased and a bit baffled about what to do.
“Well, of course you had questions! Who wouldn't? Please don't feel bad about it, no harm done and you have a good test that allowed me to show my friendliness. Please, if it's allowable under your ways without harm, get up little brother.” He stood and took Tor’s shoulder to help him rise. As that happen a single tear crept down his face.
It was real enough. Tor felt the betrayal sting him, prick his very heart. It was foolish, but Tor had let himself buy in to the whole “little brother” act and now it hurt to have the lie given to the daylight.
“I'm sorry.” Tor said again, giving the man a hug so that his face wouldn't give the whole thing away, he didn't let go until he had control of it, mostly at least, about a half minute later.
No one else in the room said anything, but they all bowed, showing how sorry they were for their own part in the events, though no one feeling as bad about it as Tor, at least to their eyes. Well, that was fine, Tor decided, his self-respect and honor had been sacrificed long ago anyway. If he looked the fool here, then it wasn't a big deal. Everyone had seen it before anyway, hadn't they? He felt a little bad for Ali, since as her husband, his shame or embarrassment was hers too, but she just smiled at him and moved in to hug Denno as well. It became the popular activity in the room for the next few minutes, each of the girl taking a turn except Mutta, who just gave Tor a knowing look, as if saying she understood his weak male mind had forced him to act like that. He was tempted to stick out his tongue at her but refrained, just in case he wasn't mentally damaged and what he'd done was actually near what Burks had planned.
They broke up shortly after, the King taking Denno aside for his own apology and Connie coming to hug him and say how pleased she was that everything was all right between Denno and himself.
“Such questions have to be asked. I don't want you to ever stop, but it's also important to admit errors when they happen. To see you do that so quickly, without concern for your own ego or appearance… It's humbling Tor. Even without being told, you once again have shown the best in noble society, what others only aspire to.” This was heartfelt and the tears in her eyes were real enough, proud of him, not just a show.
“Thank you. Can we… meet later?” His voice went quiet and a little shaky, probably because he was very afraid in that moment.
Not with the obvious, that the Queen would think he was propositioning her. That was exactly what she was supposed to think. God he wished it were really that instead. No, the fear was that his grandfather might want to keep what he'd found out a secret from the King and Queen. But if that was the case, his plan was about to go awry. Tor wasn't an Ancient, he was a Knight of Noram and that meant defending his land and its people, all of them, to the best of his abilities. Right this moment it meant telling the King and Queen about what had happened.
It wasn't without risks though. Burks could call him a liar or even have him killed for it, and all he had was the truth. Not that his grandfather had ever been less than open and honest with him that he'd known about, but then until mere moments before he'd really thought the same was true of Denno Brown. Deep down at least. He'd had questions, but had really wanted there to be good answers that someone like him just wouldn't know.
Worse, Denno would want to turn the world into Austra. Wasteful, ugly and oppressed, led by a madman. That right there, that the Ancient was trying to do this at the same time that his own land was being led by an insane killer, should have told him that his way wasn't the best. If nothing else you wanted your rulers to not be crazy, and hopefully to actually care about the people. Or at least be willing to fake it really well.
But which of the other Ancients would be in it with him? Burks? That… didn't seem likely at all. That an older version of himself with that much more experience might fool him, even as he read his field, well… it was possible. It didn't prove that he had and Tor didn't want to believe it, but it could have happened.
Lara Gray?
She hated men and couldn't admit it to herself, which could make her hard to deal with for Brown, who had that inconvenient manliness between his legs, but it was just possible. Especially if she thought she could turn the tables and win the world over to her way. She'd said as much to Tor once.
White?
She'd seemed so nice. More, it was clear that both the older men on their trip had been at least a little in love with her for some reason. More than was reasonable with a sister. Even an adopted one.
The rest he didn't know at all.
Black was the Tellerand Ancient, and Tor thought he was a man.
As for the rest he knew nothing. Not even which color lived where. That would really have to be learned fast. Though, honestly, it wasn't Tor’s problem, was it? If Denno wanted to rule the world, Noram would have to fight, probably against hoards of Larval. Goody. That would be a bloodbath. The Noram military couldn't be beaten by the clones, not in combat, so the assassins would simply refuse to meet them there and stick to just slaughtering people at random until everyone else gave up. If they moved in secret and just took out little villages the people wouldn't be able to resist at all, until the common person just gave up.
The idea was horrifying.
But Tor didn't have to deal with that yet. Really, even if he did, taking an explosive weapon and pointing it at Denno's head would stop his personal plans well enough. Unless he'd made copies of himself too. Tor took a deep breath, which only helped a little and waited on the Queen, who looked shocked. But only for a few seconds. She leaned into him and whispered softly that they could meet in the water garden later for a “walk”, at one in the morning.
That would do. It was just past eleven thirty then, and Tor had to get everything ready first. Talk to Burks and make ready for whatever plan was offered, just in case it actually required something from him.
On the way out his grandfather raised a hand and waved him into a side room, then stood facing him, that way it would be nearly impossible to read his lips from anywhere else in the room. Tor silenced the conversation for them and shook his head before speaking.
“Really, that was the best you could do? I'm surprised everyone in the room wasn't laughing at it. A green sigil? I know it's your color… but still, it’s a bit obvious isn’t it? Also, it's cream and golden yellow, it matches Smythe's favorite robes, not white and pure stark yellow. More of a golden rod. Don't tell me that you just scrambled it up last night either, it was the wrong color of focus stone to be from here. That was something you've had. Probably faked up to pass any tests you had to take using one. Not trying to act all superior, but you can do a better job than that. Little kids can do better than that. If you don't believe me, let's quick make a wager and send the idea to the school. If we don't get three that are better, I'll make one for you myself.” Tor didn't smile, it was serious enough. It was one thing to make a copy of his work, or even change it to make it better. That had to be welcomed no matter who did it.
But making something so bad… and just so you could keep lying?
Who did that?
A liar did, that's who.
“All of that and what you take away that I made a poor duplicate of one of your pieces? Please tell me you picked up some of the rest…”
Tor didn't roll his eyes, but he did snort and started reciting what he'd gotten.
“Then when he let slip the bit about another Ancient being in on it with him, well, I didn't know what to think, but I figured that was why you wanted me to pretend to apologize, that or you just want to keep the peace. Hard to do if someone wants you dead though, or at least out of the way. Did you get who it is?” Is it you?
Tor really wanted to ask, but couldn't. What if it was the truth? Then they'd have to fight and really, Tor couldn't win. He'd do it, but it would just end with his own death if it ever came to that.
Burks was still dressed in green, except for his black shoes, the jacket was heavy and so were the trousers, which spoke of strength, but the buttons were wood, polished black and no belt was visible. He froze for an instant, almost too short to notice and swallowed.
“I didn't catch that much even. I feared it. That, however, isn't the same as knowing. Not at all. People sometimes confuse the two things. Its common even. That's why accusation must never be assumed to be fact. But you aren't accusing, just saying what you perceived.” He looked at Tor seriously.
“I'd prefer you not tell anyone about this yet.” The tone was serious, but it was a simple statement, not a request.
Tilting his head to the right, Tor replied.
“I'd prefer to not have to deal with stupid shit all the time. Crazy Austrans killing people. Crazy Ancients that can't even run a single land properly trying to take over the globe, or whatever the hell his plan is… I know that he thinks someone is threatening him, that’s why he’s doing it, whatever the heck he’s up too. I'm a simple school boy. Or I should be at least. At most I should be plotting some complicated device right now for my next build. You know what I'd prefer? That when I go to tell Connie about what happened, you'd come along and make sure she and Rich know you aren't working with Denno, aren't betraying anyone at all.” Even if you are. The thought when unsaid, but it must have passed across his face.
Sighing Burks did nothing for a long while and Tor just stared at him, until finally he nodded.
“Alright. When and where.” It came out blankly, calmly and sounded so reasonable that Tor just told him about the meeting, glad that Burks was going to be reasonable about the whole thing. After all, if they both went and told what they'd found, the King would probably back the Ancient’s plan, whatever that was. Rich really respected the man after all.
He didn't even think about it being a bad idea until the jolt ran through him, Burks holding a small object in his hand that didn't seem to do anything but make things go dark. At first he thought it was stealing his energy somehow, but in the end he just fell, not getting up again for a long while.
The prison was small when he woke, feeling around he found the wall almost in reach and the others after barley moving. He felt a ledge as he sat on the ground, the black space too dark to see in at all. Patting his chest he kind of expected his amulets to all be gone, but they were there, so using the glow of the various little sigils, he found the hand light and tapped it, which brightened the space considerably. It was just a supply closet not a real cell at all. Unfinished wooden shelves held clothes and rags for cleaning, soaps of various kinds and brushes, as well as rack for broom and mops, even a shovel, though Tor didn't know why that would be needed indoors. He found the sigil that would let him walk through a solid object, it glowed deep red and just has a line with a single arrow passing through it. Starting to hit it Tor stopped and tried the brass knob instead on a whim first. It was unlocked. So… not a prisoner at all?
It was also morning, meaning he'd been out for a good while. Ten hours or so at a guess.
The light through the large window gave it away. It was even the same room that Burks had pulled him into. God… Connie! He'd told Burks about the meeting… Tor ran, not knowing at all where he was going or who to talk to at all.
“Um, help? Help? Someone? Royal Guards? Emergency… It's… It's urgent!” That last word had four liveried people running into the room with weapons drawn. Embarrassed and not knowing what could be happening Tor explained everything. Before he'd finished the part about waking up in a broom closet, one of the guards yelled.
“Secure the building! Secure the building! Arrest Count Lairdgren and Master Tor! Secure the family!”
Arrest him? Well, that wasn't going to end well if they tried. He'd had bad experiences with going peacefully before, so no one was taking his weapons or shield now and if they thought they were…
The man in purple and black just shrugged.
“Sorry Tor, but he can look like you…”
Oh, right. That. Well, if they had to arrest the other him, that was fine then.
He did point out he was the short one, just in case it came up, which made the guard in front of him nod. They knew that already, but still, it could be hard to tell without both there for comparison.
It was tense for a while, Connie came rushing in with the rest of the royal family, all sputtering and sleepy, asking why he was being arrested and if he was why hadn't someone tried yet? Karina hugged him and had Ali on her arm, so no one had been harmed at least. Starting from the beginning he covered everything, Denno, Burks wanting him to be silent on the matter, the whole bit. Even the meeting with the Queen that he didn't show up at, where he planned to tell her all this.
“Oh? I'd hoped for more, silly of me I guess… At least you had a good reason for standing me up. I was about to be cross with you over it.” She pouted a little, which got her a slightly annoyed glance from Tor.
“Alright.” Tor walked forward and kissed her hard. She blinked at him still puffy and face lined with marks from her pillow.
“There. Now focus please, my grandfather is… I don't know what he's doing, to be honest. Is Denno gone?”
They both were, and so was one of Tor’s fast magical carriages. With a ten hour head start they could be anywhere by now. Almost anywhere on the planet, literally.
“Why?” Tor said far more calmly than he felt.
Everyone looked at him, but Rolph shrugged and spoke quickly, “Well, my guess is that he had a plan and you were about to ruin it. Now that plan could have been anything, but I'm guessing it wasn't about world conquest or Count Lairdgren would have just told us about it and presented his reasons. If they were good enough to make it worth doing, we'd probably back him. He's the Green man after all. If they weren't good enough, he probably wouldn't bother with it himself.”
Richard nodded, and Karina snorted loudly, giving them all a morose look.
“It can't be too bad, he ran away, but he didn't kill Tor, or even hurt him, just put him to sleep for a while. Best guess is he isn't even working against us, he just isn't ready for our input or help. It's his family, so maybe he just doesn't want outsiders involved?”
They could speculate all day, fret and worry, but until they had a real plan, Tor decided to go back to being a regular school student. Burks could find him there if he wanted him. It should even be safe enough, after all, Burks hadn't hurt anyone, not really. Tor was going to have a real discussion with the man, but no one else needed to worry, most likely.
“Absolutely not.” The voices came as one from both Rich and Connie, both seeming suddenly united in their decision.
It was understandable. Something odd had happened and they'd been lied to, so now they didn't want to risk their children. Tor could even get behind it, he told them, but then he mentioned that he, at least, would have to go back. His classes…
The King crossed his arms firmly over the soft looking sleeping shift he wore.
“Don't matter at all. Tor, it's very kind of you to attend school to be close to your new wife and we all understand that, but Lairdgren owns the school. Now I doubt that being here would be any safer, but we certainly can't risk putting you all back there either. Perhaps,” He looked at all of them and nodded firmly.
“Yes, a vacation. For the rest of the term. We'll send you all… Hmmm, well, somewhere that no one would think to look for you, not even Burks. I don't have a clue where that would be, but we'll figure out something.”
Tor shook his head sadly.
“Seriously, I'm never finishing school, am I?” For some reason it came out sounding sad and soft and no one laughed, which had been the intent.
They were ordered, an actual royal decree, if not one written down, to go get something to eat and leave the planning to them. The guards stayed with them and escorted them all to the dining room, where bowls of oatmeal, toast and boiled eggs were quickly delivered. It was all fine, but the situation seemed wrong. They were being sent on a sudden vacation? He got that meant going into hiding, but where and why? Burks wouldn't harm them, would he?
How would you know? Tor asked himself, considering some hard facts. Think about it, he'd planned to lie, that's why he made a trick truth device. What did he have to lie about? Whatever it was, it wasn't meant to fool Tor, not with the piece of crap he used the night before. So who? The King and Queen? Was it just an amusement or precaution for the future? Was it for the Count at all, or had he made it for someone else? That he made it was fact. Tor had felt him all over it. It hadn't even been borrowed from his original field, but was a novel build. That meant time had been involved and planning.
Sloppy, careless, planning.
Eating the oatmeal without seasoning Tor noticed that everyone else seemed excited, not scared. Not annoyed, which was closer to what Tor really felt himself. Except Karina who watched him closely the whole time. Finally, waving a piece of toast at him she asked if he was feeling all right.
“What? Fine, considering I woke up in a closet. I just… We just found out that someone is trying to take over the world and he's escaped with the help of the top advisor to the kingdom. Why am I the only one worried here?”
Rolph took a drink of tea and considered the whole thing for a second.
“Probably because someone is always trying to take over the world. Sure, Brown's got more experience than most by far, but… well, as a group, the Ancients kind of already have control of the world. If they back him, then he has it, and nothing we do would make a difference. If they don't, then they'll take care of it and he'll lose.”
It sounded calm and confident, but was it really that simple, what if Denno and his side won? What would happen then?
Varley munched her own toast and swallowed politely before speaking.
“Then honestly? We'll probably all be dead. Can't leave spare royalty lying around, it gives people ideas. That's really what happened with the first Cordes, wasn't it? He reigned for nearly a thousand years, but finally someone overthrew him. It wasn't twenty years until his grandson sat the throne. Though, if I have it right, the Green man had a hand in making that happen.”
“Nearly a thousand years?”
Varley looked at Karina who agreed and told the tale, history being one of her fields of particular study.
“Yes. He was an Ancient too, but not like the others we've met, a different kind, big like we are and with combat rage, though he controlled it pretty well. Like you Tor, if the legends are right. Decent enough leader, though it started to get to him I think, he started passing nonsense laws about sex, making it illegal except in marriage and that kind of thing. Really crazy. That's what did him in, all his nobles rose against him and took him out of power. Killed him too. Kind of gruesome, they weren't really sure what could really end him, so they did everything, hung, stabbed, poisoned, cut his head off, burned the body and then put the ashes over four different moving bodies of water. Really goes to show that you need to be careful of what laws you pass, doesn't it?”
They chuckled and so did Tor, not wanting to bring everyone else down. The real fact of the matter was that he kind of felt like there was no purpose to all this. Go on a vacation? Why? To rest up for the inevitable Larval army? Suddenly he felt like just going to sleep and waiting for it all to be over. It would be too lazy to actually try, but it would be worth doing if even one more thing went wrong in his life. As it was he had work to do and no idea when he had to be ready by, or what exactly he had to be ready for.
Would he have to fight Burks? It seemed like a painful idea for him. The man was family, more demonstrably than anyone else in the world, they were close. How could he do that? He couldn't even catch the guy if he ran away, not on foot. That would have to be worked on. What if he had to face the other Ancients? It was impossible of course. All he could think of to do was cheat and have so many back-up plans that eventually something worked on them. He also had to take out the Larval before they became a real threat.
The idea sent a chill down his spine. Tor wasn't afraid of them, no more than was healthy at least. No, the problem was that stopping them really meant killing them. They'd had to chop off the arms and legs of the seven that he'd defeated in a dual just to keep them from killing everyone. After they'd lost. That was only seven. What would he do about seven hundred?
Worse, he'd probably have to face the Austran fast craft too and he didn't know how much more speed he could get out of a carriage. Maybe double? That still left them with about six craft faster than what he had by far and about ten or so that would be about thirty percent faster. He could have good shields for it, so at least there was that. It might make a difference in a fight. It really wasn't fair at all.
Because some Ancient was possibly working with Denno, Tor couldn't trust any of them. Well, not without reading them clearly. From what Burks had said, if anything he'd told Tor had been true, it seemed that the other Ancients didn't have the same blocks regarding magic as Brown. That meant, probably, that they'd be aware of it as a real threat. They could even have ways to thwart him in place, things he didn't even understand. How could he beat that?
Really, he couldn't.
But he could try to get things ready for everything he could think of. Whatever the others could come up with too. Tor started realizing the white china dishes were being taken away suddenly and everyone else had kept talking, even as he drifted off somewhere. Kind of rude of him, he knew. Oops.
A fresh cup of brown and bitter sludge had been placed in front of him, so he checked it for poison with a detector on one of the consolidated amulets and then drank it quickly. It was used for hangovers and battle rage side effects, but Tor didn't think he'd qualify for either right now. Maybe it was just in case? A preventative or because no one knew how the sleep device worked and they wanted to be safe?
Varley kept staring at him, her desire to ask what he was thinking so loud that he nearly heard it with his ears. What was he going to do?
“I don't know.” Everyone else looked at him then, but Varley nodded getting that it was really an answer to her question. He elaborated for the others, since Rolph and Ali looked concerned. Karina looked slightly amused, which meant she was feeling a little better. At least all the current mess was helping someone.
“I feel… I feel like I have to fix all this. That Denno and Burks are my family and that if they're messing up, it's up to me to make it right. At the same time, I barely know either of them and, you know, Burks is basically who I'll become in a lot of ways… So if he’d doing something bad, does that mean I will sometime too?” Tor shrugged, a sullen thing that got concerned looks from everyone and a kick under the table from Karina, one hard enough to make his shield trigger. Right, she was the gloomy one her, no good stealing her position.
“So, if I feel like I need to fix all this and make it right, barely knowing them… what is he feeling? I mean, really, what would I do if one of my own brothers was trying to take over the world or one of you? I just can't imagine it though. I guess I'd try to make sure you just couldn't and talk you out of it. I don't think I could kill you or anything. So, uh, please don't go crazy and try to destroy us all or anything?”
Karina was still effecting all black, and her black hair was still lanky and flat, which made a passable disguise, but wasn't that good overall. Tor stared for a bit, until she stared back at him grinning.
“Hey! Why look at me? You think at this table I'm the one most likely to go side slip and try to make a massive power grab? Hardly fair at all. I mean, if you want to see who the most likely person to do that here is, I suggest you look at the guy with the super weapons and all that.” Then she made a little humming noise under her breath, a playful little sound meant to distract from her implied insult.
Tor shrugged.
“A point, but I was thinking about disguises, not anything else. I… Well, I have a device for that, but I've never gotten to use it.”
Everyone else reacted, though in different ways. Ali sat up and looked baffled. She was charming and very friendly, to everyone, but her intelligence wasn't the highest ever. She largely made up for it by keeping silent though. It worked for her and she tried hard, which really should be enough. Tor was in charge of the rest, at least until she got up to speed.
Rolph however acted like he already knew that such a device existed. Maybe he did, or suspected it at least. In all the world, he was probably the single person that really knew him best. Karina shook her head at him and… laughed.
“Only you Tor! No one else I know would have brand new and powerful magics sitting around and not take them out to play with them. You know what your problem is? You're spoiled.” A spread of hands, each larger than Tor’s by forty percent at least was used to deflect from the responsibility for his current rotten state.
“I'm spoiled? I…” It was his turn to sound baffled and concerned.
Had he been running around taking liberties and being demanding and not even realized it? Or grown so soft and used to luxury that everyone saw him as weak and useless? Before he could go on to long she continued.
“Yeah. It's the magic. You're so good at it and so much faster than everyone else that you don't even value it. Not really. You make stuff and treat it like it was some costume jewelry a little kid made for mother or as if it was just a hobby. I'm not saying you should be greedy, give it away by all means, I couldn't afford your stuff otherwise, but don't treat it so casually.” Then she took a deep breath and actually looked slightly scared for a second.
“Also… and please don't get mad at me for saying this Tor, but… You, personally, are not responsible for Noram. At this table, almost everyone else is more responsible for that than you are, I could even argue Alissa as being your equal there and not have to stretch much! In the chain of who needs to be working hardest to fix this, you’re like… way down the line. Like two or three hundred people down really… You come into play first as a Knight, and there are thousands of those really.”
Rolph sat straighter and nodded, looking at Tor hard.
“Damn straight. I'll grant you going off to save some distant relative, that was noble and a good example for the rest of us, but this latest stuff? No. Now it's time for you to step back a bit and support us in doing our jobs, which right now is supporting the King and Queen. Maybe even Count Lairdgren if he hasn't gone all evil on us. I doubt he has, but if not, getting in his way will probably just mess things up. Half of this going off is just because dad and mom don't know what's required right now.” He threw a glance to Karina that looked grateful, as if he hadn't wanted to be the one to bring it up.
So, he was a jerk?
He'd been taking on too much and acting above his station? Tor kind of wanted to get mad about it, tell them that what he'd been doing was important, and that of course he was the one responsible for everything, but it wasn't true. Not at all.
Really, what was he in all this? Some school boy that made some things? A friend of a few important people? The tiniest and worst noble ever? None of that really said, “hey, let's put him in charge” did it? It was true then, wasn't it? He was over bearing, pushy and self important.
He buried his head in his hands and put his elbows on the table, the black velvet of the tunic pulling across his shoulders a bit.
“Your right. Gah. I'm a moron. Sorry, I've been overstepping for a long time, acting like I was important when I'm not. Can you all forgive me? I've been insufferable… I-” Tor jumped as a small hand found his back. Ali.
“That's not what they said. No one said you weren't important, they said that you weren't responsible for Noram. The world too. No more than anyone else. You keep doing a lot of good things, stuff that really helps people, but you aren't getting to enjoy your own life at all. I know part of that's my fault. I shouldn't have made you stay married to me. I should have let you go once… he was dead and couldn't hurt me anymore.” Alissa's voice had gone quiet, soft and a little sad at the end so he reached out and took her hand gently.
“Made me stay married? I seem to recall fighting for the privilege rather hard at the time sweet. Don't think for a second I regret that. Besides, this is my life. It's confusing and terrifying and most of the time I feel overwhelmed, but that's just what I get. I'll make do.”
Varley threw her hands up in frustration, her voice a little sharp when she spoke.
“But that's what we’re talking about! This isn't your life! It's Burks Lairdgren's life! It's my father’s life! Tor Baker is just a talented, kind and good looking boy that should be busy having sex with as many women as possible and trying to figure out what he actually wants to be. You keep acting like you're more than that and someone’s going to end up killing you Tor.” She took a breath to continue.
“So, build your magics, help us out, please, but stop taking the weight of the world on your shoulders or it's going to crush you!”
It all sounded like great advise, past the yelling, it had the ring of conviction and truth too. Tor just didn't know if he could actually understand what the meant. Could he even go back to just being normal?
Was that even a thing?