Benjamin Steward

I stepped back from my father's embrace and smiled.

"It has been too long, Benjamin." He said.

"It has only been a few months, Father," I said, almost rolling my eyes. Amos was a bad influence on me.

"I have received very few letters from you, and they have not given me much detail about your life in Bicman. I feared that you were taking extra precautions because that noble was reading the letters you sent, but they were all coded, so that did not make sense either."

I could sense the concern in my father's voice. He was usually very logical and calculating, but when it came to me, he seemed to get a little paranoid. I smiled inwardly.

"Father, I told you in the letters I was fine. The reason I sent so few letters is that the mail takes at least a month to get to you, and although the baron does not make me pay for the use of his soldier to take a message to Malcomp. The message cost from Malcomp to Kimton is absurd.

“Lord Bicman knows I write in code. Did you not get the letter I sent saying that Baron Bicman found a scribe for me so that I could dictate all my thoughts and orders? I am valued there. I am considered second only to him. He does not care about my difficulties. Even now that my scribe is not with us, Lord Amos writes anything necessary or reads everything to me. That is how much he values me."

This caused my father's eyebrows to twitch slightly. For a man who kept his facial expressions always under control, this meant he was extremely surprised. "The baron has taken on the role of your servant."

Now, I could not help but smile, "It's more like he treats me as an equal. He says a true friend he doesn't mind helping when needed."

He sat there with a contemplative look on his face. "This does not make sense. We had reports on his past behavior. How could a person change so much?"

"From what I have gathered, he changed as soon as his family died, and he recovered. There are several different accounts by people in the barony. Some say once his family was gone, he was no longer suppressed by their influence and acted according to how he truly wanted to act. Others say he lost his memory, and so he no longer acts the way he used to. That makes more sense than the first option because when I got there, he knew nothing about being a noble." I paused at that point, but my father latched onto my hesitation like a dog onto a bone.

"But I can tell there is one more." He said.

I sighed, "The predominant belief among the common people of Bicman is that Amos died and was replaced by a Chosen of the Endless One. The people of Karr, who I told you about, have their own beliefs. They call him a Descended. They believe that one of their gods sent him. There is a debate among them as to which god sent him, but among them, there is no one who doubts that he is a Descended. "

My father nodded. "And that is what you believe," He said with confidence.

"It is," I said firmly. I had wanted to fight against it, but there was no other logical explanation in my mind. His ignorance of our society, his slip ups when words that no one else say, his beliefs about how the world should be, the code language he claimed to have created himself, and the wonders that he had invented, all these things pointed to something greater than just a boy who had lost his memories. But these things had to be kept secret, even from my father.

"And so is he now gathering peasants and serfs to rise up in rebellion?"

I chuckled, "No, Father, he is wise enough to know that there is no possibility for the commoners to fight against the kingdom. What's more, he considers his role as Baron an obligation. The reason he keeps the office of Baron at all is his fear that if he left, the people would become subject to a cruel lord. He has no desire to lead, but he has a great desire to protect the people of Bicman and help them prosper. Not for his own gain, but so that he can improve the lives of his people." I said.

"If this had come from anyone other than you, I would have said they were a fool. But you are no fool. I am not ready to believe in the foolish dogma of commoners. I cannot accept that there are such things as Chosen. But I will concede that you have found yourself in the service of an incredible man. I am happy for you." He said.

"Father, I also wanted to speak concerning my last message. Have you been able to find anything?"

"I believe I have. We intercepted part of a message that was sent to an agent of Countess Blackwell. They send their messages in fragments and with different ciphers so that no single message will give away their plans. This one gave the location 'Northern Cove.' It was sent from a slaver in Rabiss. When we first intercepted the message, we assumed it was a meeting place on Rabiss for Blackwell to sell slaves. However, a raid to gather slaves from Bicman makes much more sense since the Council has never participated in selling or buying slaves."

"I just don't understand. Why would the council want the people of their own Duchy to be attacked?"

"Think, Benjamin, How can they use this to further their agenda?"

I thought for a moment and struck on a few ideas. "Even if the king wants to help, he cannot. He has invested too many troops into the war. He cannot move troops away from Falmor and leave himself open to attack. It will show that the king cannot defend his country. They will use it as an excuse to recall the soldiers of Kimton."

Then another idea struck me: "The king just sent four hundred people to Bicman, claiming that it was a service done by the baron to the king. After it comes out that raiders took all the people as slaves, rumors will spread that it was a deal between the King and Rabiss."

My father rubbed his chin, "That is a possibility. I will send a message to the king. The council is closing the noose. It is time for a counterstrike. We will send a message to Vaspar and have the Count send a message to Bicman with what we know."

"Can our navy stop them?" I said, already knowing the answer.

"Our navy is weak and slow compared to Rabiss. We also do not know when they will arrive, so we cannot patrol properly."

"If we flee south, many of the people will die due to starvation even if we spread out across the country. Also, now that Amos has instituted mandatory military training for all men over fourteen and armed them, many will refuse to leave."

"What has he done?"

"A few months ago, Amos and some men stumbled across Rabiss Slavers, who had been shipwrecked near the cove. I now believe they were scouting the area for the upcoming raid. Four of his men died, and one was tortured to the point of insanity. Lord Bicman was able to flee. He gathered all the soldiers he could and killed the raiders. Since then, he has feared another attack. He also fears that his men will be called up to fight in our current war and be used as fodder. He Instituted mandatory military training for all men over the age of fourteen. Every member of what he calls the Bicman Defense Force has their own spear and will be trained to fight in armor when he can make it.

"He has armed his commoners? Does he not fear that the people will rise up in rebellion?"

"He believes that the only reason his people would rebel is if they feel oppressed by their baron. He has written laws specific to his barony that even he is bound to. One law is what he calls 'The right to keep and bear arms.'"

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"That is a very bad idea." My father said firmly.

"I agree, but the baron will not budge on this. Any man or woman who is trained has the right to keep a weapon in their home."

My father shook his head in disapproval, but I continued, "This may be what saves Bicman. Captain Draves went back to Bicman to prepare the people for the attack. A caravan of food and metals is also traveling north. He will build defensive structures in each village and stock each one in case the raiders try to siege our forts. The raiders will arrive to find prepared people."

"Those raiders have been training their entire lives for this. A barely trained group of peasants will have no chance. I want you to remain here."

"No, Father, I was taught duty and honor by you. I will not forsake my duty just because the situation is desperate."

"I understand. I am proud of you, son. We will discuss this in more detail later and see what we can do to help. Now, without revealing the secrets that you have been keeping from me, tell me how life has been going up north."

Amos

When I returned to the inn, I found a letter waiting for me. It was from Baron Sophis's associate, Baron Yamis. He invited me to dine with him this evening. I have to admit I was tied to all the social functions. I was always trying to make sure I said and did the right thing, but at the same time, my barony needed the money. It was my duty to generate enough money so that we could last until the next harvest. I did not doubt that we would need to buy more food to support all the people.

So, I spent the next few hours writing stories. They were all short stories, but that was okay because even my short stories sold well. I would need wood planks and leather. My servants were good at sewing and gluing the books. I would see if I could spread the idea of book clubs here. In a year, I would like to start spreading my publishing houses to other cities, and one in such a large city as this would be amazing.

At the appointed time, I arrived at Baron Yamis's manor. In the yard, two boys about thirteen were playing with wooden swords. Actually, playing might not have been the right word. They were really going at it, and I think their skills were better than mine.

A servant opened the carriage, and I stepped out. "Lord Bicman, I presume."

I did not have Benjamin with me to give introductions, so I simply nodded.

"If you would please follow me, I will show you the sitting room."

The sitting room was quite nice. Several chairs had maroon cushions. I was getting good at identifying the various cushioning stuffings, and I could tell this was horsehair. As a connoisseur of fine cushions, I would have to say I was quite pleased.

It was only a moment later when a large portly man stepped into the room. He had a stern face on as he looked me up and down.

"Baron Yemis, It is a pleasure to be invited to your home. I have a letter from Baron Sophis for you."

He read the letter quickly and said, "So you are a famous artist in Vaspar who has been invited to Kimton to paint the duke. Sophis recommends that I request a portrait myself because he believes that once the city sees the duke's painting, you will only have time to paint the highest of nobility. He is rarely wrong. He also recommended that I invite you to accompany me to any social gatherings. Therefore you will attend the Blasec Ball with me tonight. You appear adequately dressed, so we can leave as soon as we have dined. We can start on the painting tomorrow."

This guy was bossy to the extreme, but hey, if I got introductions out of it, I was all good.

Dinner was served a half bell later, and the whole family was present. He introduced me to his two wives and seven children. I totally forgot everyone's names as soon as they were said. It was the quietest dinner I had ever attended. All the children, from the oldest to the youngest, sat straight back and did not speak. No one spoke. I had never heard a pin drop, but now was the perfect opportunity to see if the idiom had any validity.

When Baron Yemis rose from the table, so did everyone else, even the few who had still been eating. Then, I sat in the sitting room for half an hour, waiting for Baron Yemis and his wives to get ready. While I was sitting, one of the teenage girls came in. I couldn't remember her hair, but she bowed politely and asked if I needed anything.

"Actually, yes," I said with a smile. "I need someone to draw. Would you mind sitting down?"

She looked confused but complied. I pulled out a small notebook that I kept in my inside jacket pocket and a charcoal stick from the other pocket. The girl's eyes went wide at the sight of me pulling things from my hidden pockets.

"Now, I want you to tilt your head slightly to the right. Perfect."

I began to draw a small sketch of the girl.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Salina," She said softly.

"Ok, Salina, I need you to smile."

"Father said a woman should be demure at all times. Smiling is an unrestrained expression."

People are so weird.

"Okay, well, to each their own, I guess. We don't want you to get in trouble with your father. So just sit there and be extremely demure."

I was just finishing up the small sketch when The baron came in. He frowned when he saw his daughter sitting like a statue on the chair.

"What is going on here?" He said in his usual gruff manner.

I stood up and handed him the sketchbook. "I needed something to draw while I waited, and your daughter just so happened to come in the room at the time."

He looked it over and nodded. "How much do you want for it."

"Please, Lord Yemis, consider it a gift. In the poorer county of Vaspar, I decided to be quite generous with my talent and offer my sketches for ten gold crowns. However, in a more prominent society such as this, I would most likely charge the regular price of fifteen gold crowns a head. If you are amenable to it, I would love to draw you and your wives to the ball tonight."

"Yes, for work such as this, that is quite a reasonable price."

I smiled inwardly. The sketches I did at the parties were done with both ink and charcoal. If he thought this was good, I couldn't wait to see the reaction I would get at the ball. I tore off the piece of paper and handed it to him. He didn't hand it to his daughter like I thought he would but instead told her to leave us, and we left for the ball.

The fact that the two women were ready in half a bell was a testament to the women of this household's ability to overcome insurmountable tasks. Even with all the modern conveniences and the lax dress code, it took my mom and sister at least an hour to get ready for anything. Actually, I had heard other nobles complain that it took their women hours to get ready.

When we arrived at the ball, Baron Yemis immediately brought me over to meet a tall, stately man. I had not even had time to set my supplies down. It was a little embarrassing to be introduced to someone while still holding my supplies. When I got the chance, I was going to have someone make me a briefcase.

"Count Fenro, I would like to introduce you to a friend of our mutual acquaintance.”

“And which acquaintance might that be?” He said in a demanding tone.

“Baron Sophis."

This caught the man's immediate attention, and he looked me up and down.

Yemis continued, "This is Baron Amos Bicman of the Vaspar County. He is quite a famous artist there and came to paint the Duke. Look at the image he drew of my Salina." Baron Yemis said while handing over the sketch.

"A very fine work. Tell me, Lord Amos, how much is the cost of your paintings?" Count Fenro said.

"To ensure that the work I do is my very best, I let the person who receives the work determine its value," I said.

"A novel approach. I approve. I would like to invite you to my estate tomorrow so that I might receive one of these paintings."

I could see the slight disappointment on Baron Yemis's face at the request, so I hurried to explain. "I usually do my paintings in multiple sittings. For instance, I will be painting some of the background and outlines for Baron Yemis tomorrow, which will be for about two bells in the morning. Then I can head to your estate. When I get to the faces, I will need about four hours of your time, but it can be split into multiple sessions. Once the face is painted, I can use someone of about your size to paint the body with your clothes on it. How does tomorrow at first bell past noon sound?"

"That will be splendid. Now, let me introduce you to my wife."

For the next two hours, various people led me around the room and introduced me to almost everyone. When I was finally able to sit down, Lord Yemis and his wives were waiting for me.

"Ah, it was a pleasure to meet everyone, but I have to admit I am glad to be off my feet," I said as I sat down.

Pulling out my paper and tools, I began to capture the people in front of me. Much like in Vaspar, people were constantly passing behind the table, surreptitiously trying to glance at my work. And so the night continued in my favorite way. I got to draw many people and, more importantly, make a lot of money.

By the end of the evening, the chandeliers had been lit. And the candles on the wall sconces glowed with light. I finally had to end it when I ran out of charcoal, and my inkwell was almost dry. I had worked furiously to complete as many as I could and was able to complete seven pictures with multiple family members in each. I made more that night than in two nights at Vaspar. My calendar was also booked two weeks out with evening social events. Maybe being here wasn't going to be so bad after all.