What did you do when a tall, thin, Countess goes to her knees in a room full of people? Tor didn't know, three things ran through his mind almost at once, the first was to help her up. That made some sense, after all, she was a Countess. Ticking her off could not be a good plan. The second was that in this position Tor was actually taller than she was, by over a foot.
Heh. Shorty.
It was the third thing was the one he said, not really knowing where it came from, it just kind of popped out. “All right dog-girl, what the hell have you been doing with my underwear?” He crossed his arms and tapped his right foot, basket dangling from his right hand.
Her people all stiffened and so did she at first, for nearly half a minute. Finally she blinked and started to chuckle which turned into a full laugh, hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. After a minute she blinked and wiped at her eyes.
“God Tor, I thought you were blind and out of commission, I should have known that something as trivial as being permanently blind wouldn't stop you. I saw your eyes though, and they were cooked white, just solid. How…” She stared at him, but didn't stand yet.
“Fixed it. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and found my clothes and toothbrush gone. I had to borrow these and given how new they are, and that they actually fit, I kind of think they might have looked better on Varley. Anyway, we can deal with that in a few minutes, now, stop being silly and come give us all hugs. I brought some of your friends here to see you.”
Rising slowly, she walked over and gave him a hug, then one to everyone else, though she paused at David. He had to reintroduce himself to her, since she didn't recognize the giant in front of her as the little boy she'd met once or twice before. He got a hug though. While she was doing this, Trice started messing with the box, her back turned to the room. When she turned she held a small brown bunny in her arms.
She grinned.
“One armed girl with a bunny and pie, if that doesn't say we come in peace, then you've probably lost it, yeah?” Cutely the little rabbit popped it's head up then, pink nose twitching and looked directly at Holly. After a few seconds it ducked back deeper into the crook of Trice’s right arm.
Looking in the basket Tor shrugged.
“One and a half pies, if we can count something that smooshed as a pie. Maybe a fruit pudding? Well, it should taste about the same. Peach strawberry? We heard you liked it.” Tor smiled and tried to look like everything was all right and that four women, all bigger than he was and generally well armed, hadn't just tried to beat him up. When had people attacking him become so common place? Tor wasn't even shaking. The bunny was, so he even had something to compare to.
Steady as a rock. Weird.
They moved to another room, that somehow hadn't been trashed already, meaning that these people didn't always greet their friends like this. Either that or they didn't get a lot of guests. Other people probably got served drinks and told they looked nice. Not that he did, but it would have been good to hear anyway. Well, the one guy had seemed all right at least, though he still acted like he didn't know what to expect. Really, who could blame him? They ate the pie from bowls, Holly apologizing for not having any frozen cream, because it was just too hard to get ice in this time of year.
That earned her a snort from Tor.
“You have about a hundred temperature plates capable of making ice. You just need an insulated box to put it in. If you let me see my trunks I can set one up for you, maybe a few, if you want…” Tor really wanted to climb into his own clothing and steal away one of the personal equalizing amulets. They could set up some temperature control plates for the house too, while they were at it he let her know, by way of a bribe to let him have his things. Everyone else in the room stared at him. Well, that wasn't exactly true. His friends didn't, not even Petra.
Holly did, but he was talking to her, so that could be explained away as normal enough if a little intense. Her eyes were a stormy gray that he always associated with crazy people for some reason, though it wasn't true overly. Not really. All the Printer people stared too however, which made him feel uneasy, like they wanted to attack again or something.
It didn't help that all the women in their identical uniforms stood behind Holly stiffly, as if ready to fight for her again, even as they ate pie. But what kind of nut job brings you pie and then attacks? Well, not the kind Tor was, that was for sure…
Damaged or not the peach and strawberry worked well together. The crust was a little more dense on the bottom than Tor would have made it, but that could just be the humidity here, right? Holly ate silently for a while, finally pushing her bowl away and sighing hugely.
“So, how are we doing this? Am I supposed to turn myself in now, or… God I don't know what else. Treason charges? It's theft at least. I knew it when I took the stuff. Just thinking you might not be making any more, well that didn't give me a right to run off with it, did it? I just, I didn't want the Wards to get away with killing Danny like that. We loved each other, arranged marriage or not. If I could have traded places with him, make it me that died, instead of him, I would have. I'd do it now. It just seems like the Wards have something cooked up to get them out of trouble, place the blame elsewhere, probably using Master Tor as a shield to protect them. I mean, they were just waiting for you to show up so that they could make peace? How likely is that?” She crossed her arms meaningfully.
That earned a funny look from Trice who started to cross her own arms, then realized that didn't work too well at the moment. She looked angry for a second, then explained.
“Well, I'd been sent with a message for Tor, and a strong suggestion from Maria that I'd been wrong about him and was being cruel to a good person. Actually she called me a Doretta to my face and told me to fix it while I still had the chance. That came even before that box of stuff you sent with the letter you know. They wouldn't let me destroy the things either and when I started explaining that you were just trying to buy my affection and said I wouldn't have it, Maria nearly tossed me out on my ear. Marvin lectured me for half a day on how I should appreciate having a friend like you and thank whatever my people held sacred that I hadn't killed you. Come to think of it, they'd both been a little awkward about the whole “let's hate on Tor” thing for a long time. I think from before I got there. They both claimed they didn't try to have you killed, though I think Maria did have Laval kick you down those stairs. She said it wasn't supposed to kill you, just make Alphonse feel bad. After the poisoning though, they both seemed to think that it had gone way to far… Though really, I just thought they were faking that part. I would have, if I tried to have someone killed. Why advertise, even with your friends?”
That tracked with what they'd told him at least. That didn't mean they were innocent of anything, but putting them on trial was a lot better than going to war. If they were guilty, they could just kill them. If they were innocent, well, then they could help everyone find who was really guilty, maybe. It was better that way, wasn't it?
Tor thought so, and so did Petra, since it was her brother and she was halfway fond of him at least, if not Maria. Holly obviously wanted to take all the stuff she'd gotten from Tor and use it to raze Warden if she could manage it. Kolb cleared his throat at her, but David shook his head.
“Nah, Kolb, I get it. I kind of want to do that too. But Countess Printer, our anger isn't rational. It isn't good. If we don't let them defend their name when they ask, then it's just murder. I say we have the trial, find them guilty and then kill them. That way we'll know that what we deliver is justice or at least looks a bit like it.” His eyes were half hooded, playful it almost seemed, except he didn't laugh afterwards, instead he just exchanged nods with Holly.
What happened really depended on the King’s response to her theft, didn't it? She asked Princess Veronica if she had any thoughts as to what would happen, which got her to produce the letter from Richard. She did it very formally, standing and walking to her and presenting it with a full bow, holding it out from a respectful distance with both hands. Holly went white, but made herself read it. Near the end she gasped, her eyes going wide and a little afraid for some reason.
She didn't read it out loud, but passed it back to Varley for her to read. Then it got passed around the table for everyone else, Tor going last. He was fine with that really, it gave him a chance to finish his pie. It had a slight tang that he hadn't noticed at first, but realized had to be lemon juice. It was a complex and subtle flavor set.
When the letter got to him he read it casually. It didn't say a lot really, that Tor didn't already know.
It started by saying that she was incredibly lucky that Tor viewed this as a friend merely having borrowed some of his things without asking, and just being willing to leave it at that. The theft of three point two million golds worth of devices would normally garner the death penalty otherwise, even for someone of her station, which was casually mentioned by the King.
It made Tor glad it wasn't theft then and kind of vowed to just assume that nothing ever really was. Things weren't worth a life. Not ever.
Sighing, he realized that meant the military hadn't stolen his home either then. Though some of them had still been jerks.
Near the end the King suggested that County Printer should pay for the devices, which was probably what had gotten the gasp, or, Tor found, the bit under that, which ordered her to not attack County Ward until the King OK'd it. Well, that made sense, but could the King afford to stop her from doing it if she ignored her? Not through force of arms. Not with a war going on with Austra. Tor wondered if that meant that he'd be responsible for any messes Holly got into then? It was… well, not fair, of course, but… Tor had been the one making that many devices and leaving them lying around after all. She'd just “borrowed” them.
Tor just sighed and shook his head a little, hoping it didn’t seem sad or put upon. He felt that way a little, but the situation wouldn’t change just because he didn’t like it.
“Right. So Holly, obviously we don't want this to become some big problem or anything… Reading between the lines it's clear that the real issue here is all about not killing people without a good reason. So… um, not to be all ordering anyone around or anything, but is that OK for now do you think? We try to set up a trial first and if that doesn't work… Really, we need an investigation first though, don't we? If we just take the Wards in now, we pretty much just have to kill them, guilty or not. The circumstantial evidence is all there. I mean, they look guilty enough that I just kind of presumed they were. Only…” He blushed and looked down.
“Only I already thought that both Captain Wensa of the Royal Guard and Trice had tried to kill me, and turned out to be wrong both times. The evidence was there for that too, only it wasn't. Not really.”
That got silence from around the table, Trice staring at him for a full half minute without saying anything.
“Me?” She looked hurt.
“No one told you? Lots of clues. Let's see, you knew that I wouldn't wear a shield right after a meal back then, and what rout I'd take to get back to my room. The person that kicked me down the stairs was about the same size you are and had seen Wensa enough to fake being her. Which you could easily do. With the poison… come on Trice, it was placed in my room, on my bed, and the juice came directly from your parents estate. Plus, you know, you're an expert on poisons and stuff, or at least expert enough to take a crack at me. Yeah, it would have been stupid to do it that way, but you kind of looked like a reasonable person to blame, especially after telling everyone that you wished I'd died and attacking me in public like you did.” He hadn't started out sounding that way, but bitterness filled his voice by the end. Sure, it wasn't her fault, the King had made her say all that stuff, but that didn't mean that Tor felt fine about it just for knowing that. Taking a second, he closed his eyes and sighed.
“See, Holly? It's easy to get side tracked and blame the wrong people. Now, I'm not saying this means that Martin and Maria are innocent, but…”
Petra interrupted him.
“Marvin.”
“What?”
“My brother, his names Marvin, not Martin. Kolb's name is Martin.” She grinned at him, even while he felt like burying his head in his hands.
Crap! He'd called the man Martin to his face at least six times when he'd been there. Well, if that didn't make him feel stupid… So obviously he wasn't the one to run an investigation into this, was he? Not if he couldn't even get the names right. Instead he nodded and committed the name to memory. Marvin Ward.
Who ran investigations like this for the kingdom anyway? When he asked everyone looked down at the table for a while without speaking, it was Countess Printer that finally answered him with a bit of a shrug. The answer was, that for the last ten years or so, when such things became needed for upper level nobles, William Smythe had run the investigations.
Smythe of Westend.
Supposedly he was even good at it, the best in fact, though the idea didn't fill Tor with any kind of confidence. The man had tried to kill him and would have if he hadn't been able to get that weapon away from him and blind him in return.
Kolb, bald head shining a little in the evening light that came through the window, smiled, one of his wintry ones that always made Tor wonder if he planned to kill someone.
“He's out of commission for now. Luckily for him. I suppose we could let him investigate himself first… Not that we really need to. It was a clear act of treason trying to kill Tor. If he'd managed it, our military would be crippled for months. In the palace even… Actually I'm kind of surprised he's still alive. A bit of an oversight on your part Tor.”
Tor stuck his tongue out.
“What do you expect? You trained me to run away. The only reason I didn't there was because I was blind already. Even at that I tried to crawl away to avoid him. “Crawl away slowly” just isn't a very good battle cry. I…” Sigh. Why did everything have to be so difficult all the time? He knew what had to be done, but it seriously wasn't fair. Not at all.
“I… suppose I could fix his eyes. His hand is gone, I don't think I can get it to regrow or anything…” That was true, he'd looked into the idea for Trice, but so far nothing seemed like it would work. “Really though, if I do that, what are the odds that he'd just try to kill me again? Are there any other investigators available?”
If there were, Smythe was in charge of them.
The rationale everyone explained to him made good enough sense from a royal perspective. Smythe ran the military, so if a Count had to be called on their behavior, the guy running the investigation needed as much protection as possible, or else they could be intimidated into buckling under due to threats, or possibly be bribed. Smythe was, apparently, known for a lot of things, which included having been a powerful warrior in his youth, a good military strategist and also, apparently, un-bribable. He lived in the palace for free, in a simple servants room, didn't have a family to threaten, and his only “vice” if it could be said to be one, was his penchant for wearing those cream and yellow robes of his. Apparently that wasn't the uniform for the position, it was just what he liked. Well, that and a spot of Tor killing now and again.
He was even known for being friendly and kind in general. Fatherly even. Everyone agreed on that point. Even the ones that had seen the man blind him.
That earned the room a snort from Tor, but he didn't comment. The first time he'd met the guy he'd seemed nice enough, but then the next he set a commando squad after him who tried to capture and/or kill Tor. The time after that they didn't speak and this last time… Well, obviously the guy had issues somewhere in his head.
What got Tor was that, while everyone else in the room, except for Kevin, the man in black that had opened the door, seemed to feel that Smythe should be put to death for attacking him, they also thought that Tor should fix his eyes and get him to investigate the Wards. Kevin stayed out of it, looking pale and a bit frightened by the day’s events. He stood near the back of the room and had started shaking more than a little. Finally Tor got up and went to him, gently placing his hand on the older and larger mans arm.
“Alright there Kevin?”
“I… well, this has been a lot to take in. It's not what I expected at all for today. I just answer the door and make sure the staff does their jobs, set schedules and deliver ma'am her meals. And then suddenly, rooms are flying around and the crown is demanding millions of golds from us. People are sitting around talking about killing a man and at the same time saying you should fix his blind eyes first with magics that would probably cost more than any one person holds? That's… It's not sane is it? You don't heal a man, just to kill him later or…” The man kept shaking and looked down.
Right. Good point, that wasn't sane. For his part, Tor had mainly been avoiding even thinking about the issue. He wasn't going to kill Smythe himself, but didn't want to be killed either. Fixing his eyes felt like a bad plan for that very reason. He'd taken off the man's hand, which had to mean that if the guy could, once he'd healed, he'd be coming after him again, right? The Counselor was a warrior after all, old as he was. And deadly clever. He'd nearly managed to kill Tor while he was wearing the best shield available.
True, Tor didn't have a lot of choice at the time, but anger wasn't very rational, not as a rule. As to the rest he just didn't know. Obviously County Printer wouldn't be paying him millions of golds. For one thing, he didn't know what he'd do with it even if he had it. He literally didn't have a place for it. Not at all.
What should he do?
“OK…” He said, not really thinking first, the words just tumbling out like they sometimes did. “The gold… Well, instead of paying that all at once Holly, how about you set up a small delivery of it for me at need? I don't need to have it all at once or even really at all, unless you won't give me the gold I have in my trunks? Then you have to pay up!” He smiled at her and winked. “But really, I don't need that much. How about we…”
What? He didn't have a clue. What did he think they should do with the money? If he'd been able to finish school, he probably would have eventually learned about economics. How to run a building shop if nothing else. He kind of wished Rolph, with his accounting skills, was there to help him. He'd know what to do. School? Could he finish that? Only if he had one to go too.
“Right, so, why don't we support the Lairdgren School, since we both went there, scholarships and stuff and, maybe… Start another one here in Printer?” Tor looked around expecting people to tell him it was a stupid idea, but he'd learned a lot in school, and while it wasn't all good, there was value in learning.
Holly stood and bowed.
“As you wish. How much do you want annually? For your personal draw?” She said, sounding slightly cold.
“I… I don't know. Maybe five hundred gold? I probably won't need that all the time though and I may not need it each year at all, honestly I probably won't, could you keep it for me, until I need it? Is that all right?” Tor hated how meek he sounded, but she looked angry. Well, she had until he spoke the amount, then she suddenly smiled.
“Really?” Holly ran around the table and hugged him in a less than dignified fashion, picking him up off the floor. “We can do that! I thought you'd want a million a year or something. God Tor… you could break us forever if you took it all at once. The interest could sink us even this way. Not that I don't deserve it, but the County doesn't. My wrong doing shouldn't hurt them. What do you want for the schools?”
That, he decided would have to wait. At least until he had the time to build the new school buildings or have it done, and then they'd have to find teachers and all that. Maybe Hardgrove, the dean at Lairdgren would have suggestions? They also needed to get kids into place. A lot of students had left Lairdgren when the war started, seeking military glory or other stupid things like that. Like anything good came of killing? He said all this out loud which started him laughing after a while. That earned him some puzzled looks.
If he felt like that, then what did he do about Smythe? Well, the only real solution seemed to involve him talking to the man and seeing what could be worked out.
There was suddenly so much to do. And almost none of it had anything to do with building. He was a builder… That's what he should be spending his time on, not this garbage. Tor stood and stretched, then plunked back down. So what should he do first? He asked the room and oddly enough it was Kevin, the butler, who answered.
“Sir… if it's all right for me to make suggestions?” The man began, but didn't say anything else.
“With me? Always. I know I'm not so brilliant I shouldn't listen to other people. I may ignore you, but that shouldn't stop you from saying what's on your mind. Or hitting me in the back of the head with a rock until I listen, if I'm doing the wrong thing… What do you have for us?” Tor expected a suggestion that they all bathe, or ready themselves for dinner, something like that, but what the man said next was a real surprise.
“It seems that you have an organizational problem sir. Right now you need to reestablish contact with Count Ward and his lady, and assure them that the proceedings are going forward and that currently you plan an investigation first. I know that if I were personally accused of a crime, I would find that to be greatly reassuring. Especially if I were claiming innocence of it.
“At the same time you, personally, are needed for the common defense and that, if I understand correctly means working undisturbed? Given everything, I think you should delegate some of these tasks. Visit with Ward first, as that is a matter of honor, then establish a working base and send others out to do most of these things for you. Hire a man to manage the school funds and scholarships for instance. That should leave you at least slightly more time to work.”
It was a plan, a good one, but he didn't know how to make it all happen. He didn't want to work out of the palace and didn't have a home to go back to, did he? The military had taken it over. A wave of despair came over him then, which turned into anger. He had to close his eyes and calm himself before he could even think correctly. When he opened his eyes, everyone else was across the room looking worried.
“What?” Tor said, his tongue a bit thick feeling suddenly.
Trice giggled, earning a glare from the room.
“What were you just thinking about?” She said as if it made sense as a question. The tone was serious for all that she was smiling at him.
“Um, the military taking over my house. It's kind of ticking me off. I mean, I was thinking of it as mine, but apparently no one else did. Oh well, I guess I just need to start over somewhere, when I get a chance. I don't need much, but well, later. There's too much to do right now for me to whine about things, right?”
Everyone nodded, though Kevin was starting to back out of the room. Everyone else held their ground well enough. Had he looked that ticked off? Wow, he must seem deranged for people to respond like that. He apologized and closed his eyes, seeking as much calm as he could muster. After all, if he was acting like a jerk or something, or looked crazy, he needed to fix it. After about five minutes he opened his eyes, only to find that everyone else had sat and was staring at him with similar funny expressions on their faces.
“Ah… I wasn't in a thinking trance or anything. If I'm supposed to produce a brilliant plan or something now, you're all out of luck. Well, I think that Kevin had some good ideas. He can be in charge of the school stuff. Holly, would you see that he's paid fairly for his work on that? I should focus on getting the ball rolling in the poison investigation, if the King doesn't have that underway already. If that isn't overstepping what I'm supposed to do I mean. Other than that, well anyone have an idea of where I can go to set up a base for this? I'd rather not stay with the Wards, before anyone suggests that. It would look a little bit like favoritism or something. Same with staying in Printer or Thorgood, even though none of those have been offered. The Capital, well, could I rent something in town maybe? Or… buy some land do you think? I can build fast enough. It doesn't even have to have water on it. I don't know…”
Tilting her blond head, her slightly large nose and full lips giving her face a lot of character, Holly blinked at him several times as if he was speaking a foreign language and finally started nodding. Without getting up she reached over, a large lean across the table, and put her shielded hand over his own.
“Tor… You just went into a combat rage. The aura… how did you stay so calm?” She sounded impressed, and a little scared.
Petra grinned.
“I've seen him do it before, when we were in bed together at Count Thompson's. I'd told him about some of the lies Maria had spread about him three years ago, before she left school and he did something similar. I thought he was going to kill me at first, but he just sat and closed his eyes like that and it went away. I think it's because of all the building work he does, the discipline letting him control himself, even when pushed like that. I don't know for a fact though.” She smiled and him, her white teeth flashing in smooth dark skin.
“If it is the case then I want to learn building too. Could you imagine the power a warrior would have if they could learn to harness the rage like that? Targeting things on purpose, not just lashing out?”
It made sense and felt right, but Tor didn't really know. Varley looked a little put off by it, so he tried to set her at ease, telling her that he was fine now, and forcing a smile. He really was too. His head felt a little stuffed, reaction to having been in a combat rage, but he'd live. It was just a thing after all. She made some non-committal statement about it, but obviously still seemed worked up. Tor couldn't see why, but Trice did.
“Hey, Varley, don't go blaming Tor there, it wasn't him being indiscreet, that one was all Petra. Who really should know better… Tor's the guy from the country that doesn't know all the rules, not her.” The glance she gave the dark girl was amused, not upset at least.
Petra smiled and looked around playfully.
“Oh! I guess I phrased that one wrong didn't I? I haven't had sex with Tor yet at all. I was on guard duty, sort of, and was sitting on his bed so that we could be under the silence field thing of his while we talked, that's all, which is why I didn't try to hide that part. Totally innocent.” Then she licked her lips seductively while dropping her chin and making her eyes go half hooded, an overdone thing that made her previous, and totally true, words seem like a lie.
Everyone else at the table laughed. Tor just shook his head and asked if anyone knew what that stuff for combat rage reaction was called, and where he could find some? He added, while they were at it, if someone could get him a guidebook that explained the silly rules of the nobles, so he didn't start a war or wake up one night with Varley trying to trim off body parts that he'd barely gotten to use, just because someone made an offhand comment? No one laughed at him for saying it, but then they wouldn't, not with him having just been showing combat aura.
Holly went to see about the first part, but everyone else just chuckled gently, awkwardly not making eye contact with him, watching her leave. Right, he was helpless and clueless little Tor. He wanted to raise an eyebrow at them all, but had never actually mastered doing that. Instead he just sighed dramatically and tried to look much put upon. It was close enough to reality so he thought he probably did a good job.
Varley started talking to him and wasn't being all cold or standoffish, so she must have accepted Petra's statement. That or the whole thing had been a game for her to begin with. From the way everyone else reacted he kind of thought that might have been the case.
“Easy enough, we'll get Rolph to lease you some of the Wildlands on an indefinite basis. When you set that river up that you told us about, you can run it past your new house, so water won't be a problem. Rolph said you could build easily enough with that new compression device and earth moving equipment? That way you'll “own” it as much as anyone owns anything and can use it for anything you like. Maybe even your own school? Definitely get enough for your own town at least. “Torville” or maybe “Torington”? Both would be within the normal naming conventions I think, don't you?” The Princess knew one thing about Tor at least, and it was how very much he hated everything he made being referred to as the “Tor” whatever. She was teasing him he realized after a bit, feeling slow and stupid. He smiled at her and smothered a yawn. It wasn't a real one either, just being meant to show how boring he thought the teasing was.
She chuckled and looked at him sweetly. Then yawned for real, which got him to yawn back.
Holly brought him a carafe of brown sludge that tasted like the bottom of a shoe, or at least he imagined that to be the case, and along with that she brought a thick brown leather bound book, one that just said “Manners” on the front in faded black ink. Amazingly, Tor realized as soon as he opened it, the book actually told him a lot of what he needed to know.
“Can I keep this? I mean, just until I read it, I'll return it, of course.” He asked so eagerly he realized it must be rude, because Holly got a very strained look on her face then. He tried to school his own and not seem over enthused. It really would be a help though. A huge help, if half the things in it were correct.
Holly nodded and told him that would be fine. It was an heirloom, so she wanted it back at some point, but… Tor promised instantly, not making her finish the statement. That she'd even let him look at it was an honor, if it was something that had been in her family for a long time. Trying to remember the protocol for such things, Tor stood and bowed to her, which got her to rise and bow low as well, matching him, tears in her eyes. Everyone else just looked uncomfortable.
Except Kevin the butler who beamed at him and bowed too.
Dinner was to be in two hours, at nine, and they were going out to eat at a local restaurant, one Holly assured them wasn't really nice enough for royalty, which meant that the people were honest and kind, instead of just servile. Varley laughed at that and said it sounded wonderful.
The only problem was that Holly really didn't have his stuff. Not at her house. She'd sent it all off to her military's main training base, some fifty miles away.
Of course, Tor thought, that just figured didn't it? It even made sense, because it was harder to take back nine or ten thousand scattered amulets than ten boxes of them. So as far as that went Tor was still in the same place as before. He didn't even have his own toothbrush, or any way to buy a new one.
Maybe he could trade some of his gadgets for one in town? This was really starting to wear on him he realized. He felt exhausted from it and more than a bit put upon. Things weren't important, but they could be handy and it felt like a little more could be done to make him comfortable too.
Tor didn't let it show. Smiling he asked if what he was wearing would be suitable for this place, trying to act casual about it. He'd only ever been in one restaurant, and that hadn't gone well, so he didn't hold out high hopes for this one, but he didn't want to push the people there into attacking him either.
True, it would probably just be with words and hostile glances, not fists, but still…
Also he needed to find out who was paying for it. Was he supposed to cover himself? That would be interesting to say the least. Maybe they'd let him wash dishes or do the baking to cover it? Better, maybe they needed a magical device or two? He didn't think he was supposed to cover everyone, not really, but some of the people were with him, right?
Yes, technically, Varley was in charge, being the highest ranked person there, but that didn't seem right either. Everyone else retired to various rooms to change clothing, so Tor just sat and read from the book in front of him.
To his surprise, it actually covered this very situation in decent depth, right there in chapter three.
The person inviting another was stating, by making the invitation, that they were paying for it. The “gratuity”, something Tor had only a vague concept of, was to be covered by the person (or in this case, persons) invited. Right. Well, having no money was a problem then. Would it be all right for him to leave an amulet as a gift? What would a server at a restaurant like? And did he need something for everyone that worked there? The person cooking the food of course, but there was always kitchen help and people needed to clean, right? Tor just didn't know. Well, he'd do what he could and hope it wasn't insulting. Maybe they'd cut him slack if they realized how lacking in information he was? If need be he could throw himself down and grovel. It wouldn't be fun, but the book did say it was always a good fall back, if you messed up too much.
Now all Tor needed was something to work on physically. Obviously he had nothing.
Kevin, it turned out, saved him, by asking if he could work in glass. It wasn't a problem at all, glass held fields pretty well really, if the builder or copier was good enough to use it, so he actually had something by the time they all left, just taking off on foot.
Thank goodness, because after everything he would have probably tried to refuse if they'd wanted to stick him in a carriage behind a team of four or something. Horses were fine, but carriages didn't get along with him too well, making him feel trapped and sick as they bounced along. Horrible. As was the rule when walking with royals, Tor, considerably shorter, had to almost run to keep up, but managed all right for all that. He'd had practice after all, years of it. Chasing Rolph around at school, along with his daily runs.
The restaurant was interesting enough inside, simple decor that reminded him a lot more of Tom Smith's house than the palace or even his place. His old place, he corrected, trying not to let every thought show on his face.
Tom was the mayor of Two Bends, the little farming community not needing anything with a fancier title than that. Even that was mainly just to let Tom feel good about doing a bunch of extra work for free. Judging disputes over chickens and organizing road repair, that kind of thing.
The wood inside looked like the kind found on the beach, drift wood. It was smooth and weathered, the color bleached to gray almost. In front of the tables there were odd benches, each big enough for two people. Tor hadn't gotten to any protocol about who sat where, but Holly fixed that by waving him in next to her. He slide into place carefully, which he could manage easily not being as overgrown as the others, who had to fight to negotiate things correctly. David and Petra nearly fell over backwards, because Petra moved to scoot them in while David apparently decided to move back for some reason. No one laughed, but helpful suggestions were called out. Things like “work together” and “just sit down already” came from nearby patrons, all of them sounding well meaning. Apparently this had happened before.
Often.
The food was strange, ocean fish, clams and mussels. Things Tor had never eaten before and really didn't like now that he had. At first he thought it was a joke, when giant insects where brought out on a large steaming platter for each of them, but looking around he saw that people at other tables were in fact digging in. Well, this was their place. If giant insects were dinner here, then that's what they'd eat. Trying to not look too much like a bumpkin, he covertly watched what Holly did and copied her. It seemed safest, this being her choice of eating establishments after all.
There were bibs to protect their clothing and everything.
Was that normal for fine dining?
It kind of made sense, only wealthy people would ever eat at such places and they had nice clothing to protect. He tied one into place quickly, because the thought of ruining the silk shirt he had on kind of terrified him. It belonged to a Princess after all and he didn't have the funds right now to replace it.
They didn't speak of anything consequential during the meal, just bits of small talk, the weather in various places, if County Ford would have a drought again this year, which didn't seem likely, and bits of Printer city gossip, added by their server, Jasmin, each time she came to bring them things or check on them.
She was older, about forty or so, near Kolb's age probably, though she looked older than he did. The more royal blood you had the younger you looked for your age, in general. It was true, but the idea very nearly made him laugh out loud. By that standard he'd have the most royal blood of anyone at the table. At eighteen he looked barely fourteen at the best of times.
Jasmin had a kind face that wasn't, and probably never had been, pretty. Too long for that, but she had smile lines instead of a perpetual frown and a happy enough lilt to her voice.
“Ooh. Here’s one for you then ma'am,” Jasmin addressed Holly directly. Half her age, but still the Countess Printer, due to a horrible hunting accident three years before. Oddly enough it was the same one in which Tovey's dad had died. They were chasing a deer up a loose hill and it collapsed on them, burying them alive. A horrible way to go, being buried alive. Tor had been close enough to it himself once to kind of sympathize.
“Dan Baker come in earlier and tol' us bout hows he traded with a wizard for some pies. Got himself a red magic light he claimed! We were all saying hows magic light is expensive and no how would a wizard trade one for pies. Dan's good, but they're still just pies, right? But then he just whips it out!” This caught the attention of the group next to them who'd obviously been listening in. They were a mixed group and even had several youngsters with them, all looked to be from a merchant family, by the way they were dressed. Nicely, but not so well Tor felt like he was out of place. They chuckled at what she'd said, getting a slightly strained look from Jasmin.
“Whipped out the little light I mean. Hardly big as a coin, but lit up the whole room! I was afraid for a bit that it would kill us all or something, but it was just a light. No one knows why it's red like that though. Easier to make ya think?” She smiled again and looked around the table warmly. Instead of answering her Holly leaned over and, not quietly, asked why he'd done that with an odd smile.
“Well, you know, no money. So like everyone else does when their broke, I traded what I had.”
For some reason that got a big laugh from Jasmin, and one nearly as loud from the table of eavesdroppers. At least Tor understood why they weren't talking about anything important here. The second it was said it probably would have become known throughout the whole kingdom. Well, eventually at least. Still, as long as he knew that, it was a nice enough place. Not fancy by royal standards, but the nicest restaurant he'd ever eaten in. Giant bugs or not. What he'd eaten turned his stomach a little, so he tried not to think about it.
After desert Holly passed the woman two silver coins and got a hand full of copper in return.
This was the part Tor dreaded.
It was obvious that he was the one supposed to give the tip, since he was the guest at the head of the table. By doing that Holly had named him the head of the little visiting group, at least in her mind, Princess there or not. Jasmin hovered a little, and looked around, as if wondering if she had the places right, probably since he looked so young. Reaching into the little cloth bag Tor had borrowed from Kevin, he pulled out ten of the devices he'd made. Then took a deep breath.
“Um, I know they don't have sigils on them, but they activate just like a regular amulet. They're just temperature equalizers, mainly but… here, Jasmin, would you put this on?” Grinning she did it with a wink, as if he was playing with her or something.
“It's right pretty, thank you!” She said, as if she was actually admiring the disk of red colored glass. It was actually kind of pretty, he had to admit. He pointed and mimicked tapping his own chest to get her to turn it on. When she did it started to glow inside. The light shifted and moved, going from a blue color to a bright yellow which stabilized at gold. Then it just stayed that color, shifting around only a bit.
“Oh!” Trice said. “Now that's pretty! Make some up for me and Sara?” She said automatically, then remembered that they weren't engaged to be married any more it seemed. Tor just shrugged and got one out of the bag for her.
“You really are a wizard? Sir, I didn't know… laughing at you earlier, I was just…” She blushed and looked like she was going to pass out. The amulet shifted in color gold to red and then a deep, almost ugly purple. It mixed with other colors, green mostly. A bit of orange mixed in, but not nearly as much as all that.
Shrugging Tor winked at her in a big and obvious fashion, trying to put her at ease.
“You were taken in by my boyish good looks maybe? Don't worry about it. Happens all the time. One of these for each of the people that works here? They'll also keep you comfortable temperature wise. It should help in the kitchens I think.” Jasmin ran to get everyone, asking them not to leave, her amulet going nearly pure green.
Looking around, Trice put one on and activated it. When she looked around it was an almost black color which didn't match the look on her face, a sunny smile, but as she looked at Tor it changed, a pale pink shooting through it, growing stronger as she watched it, until, for a moment, it became all pink.
“Why do the colors change?” Awe in her voice she looked away from it briefly.
“They loosely follow your mood. The darker colors are darker emotions. Bright red rage, pink affection, yellow happiness, blue means you’re thinking, really the normal meanings for colors. It's just a feedback mechanism, something I'm working on for another project.” The light too. It wasn't exactly right, but if anyone bothered to look, when activated they became a half sphere of glass, in appearance, not just flat slabs. The glowing distracted from that. Now if he could just link the parts and appearance to the movements of a hand…
It was a start at least. He grinned at Trice who's amulet went back to pink and became shot with yellow just at that moment. Chuckling she looked down at it and smirked a little.
“These will sell. Even without the temperature equalizers on them. Make a few hundred of them and by this time next year the rabble will have Karina sucking you off to try and get some.” The words dropped out of her mouth so smoothly that half the table hadn't noticed what she said, but her amulet turned a dark green with a pretty blue swirl. Whatever that meant.
Tor ignored it.
At least now thanks to his recent experience and learning he knew what she meant by that. The sucking off part at least. The “rabble” meant nothing to him. Street people? Varley grinned and asked if there were any spares. He handed them out, finding it interesting who took one and who didn't. The restaurant people all took one and made happy sounds, like it was better than gold to them, which was kind. Most of them were happy about it, he saw, bright yellow being the most popular color. Some green crept in. Was that people wondering if they'd get money too? He hoped not, because this was all he had for them. Varley's was nearly pure blue, a bright color that Tor had expected to be there. She was wickedly smart, she even felt intelligent when he'd tried to sense her field. That's basically all this did, respond to a small portion of a person’s field and change colors.
Easy really once he'd thought about it.
As they walked back Holly stared at him for a long time, finally taking his arm, a little awkwardly since he was pretty short and she was taller than Petra, who was six-foot-six or so.
“I'm sorry I took your things without asking. I can tell it's made problems for you, things I hadn't thought of at all, and now you’re giving away things worth hundreds, maybe thousands of golds just to keep things flowing correctly, because of my… error. I'll make it right. I promise.” She looked down at her feet, but kept walking.
How she planned to make it right he didn't know, his head was still a little stuffed feeling and it was a little hot still, even though it was dark out. Tor wanted to hit himself in the head, but just put on one of the new amulets instead. Duh. Heat equalizing field right there, if he wasn't too stupid to use it. A wave of coolness slipped over him then. That was much better. He didn't bother looking down at the light, since it was pretty obvious to him what it would be. Petra, who had a pink and yellow glow between her breasts flowed over and pointed though.
“Um, what does black mean Tor? Death? I'm pretty sure you're still alive… Or doesn't it work on you? A little unfair if that’s the case,” she said, yellow and gold suddenly taking over the center of her piece of glass.
Looking at the large girl Trice shook her head, amulet mainly black too, but Petra didn't take the hint and kept asking. Finally it was Kolb that told her to stop, a smile on his face, his voice easy, but still firm enough that the girls eyes went wide.
“Um, yes sir.” She answered, years of practice making the response nearly instant, but she was also an adult, so she didn't have to simply obey, did she?
“But… what does it mean?”
David Derring grunted and looked around at her, then at the ground as he walked.
“Easy enough Pet. Black means despair. Everyone knows that.”