Kestra arranged lodging for six of the guards, the four farmers, four herders, and three cooks. The other two guards would lodge with her and Odelia at Tang's. She provided the coordinates for their inn, then took the guard pair with her to shop for uniform armor and training weapons. Su'ami, through Ralouf and Graemire to Kestra, had already volunteered to make their combat weapons.
While Senior Guard Klo took the time to educate Junior Guard Jensa on the merits of the various armors they were inspecting, Pierce called to let her know that Elder Ming would be sending over his aide that evening.
"He might end up waiting, but hopefully not long," Kestra said in reply. "I've hired some farmers, herders, guards, and cooks, and I'll be bringing over a few to see what their new situations will be so they have a better idea of what to purchase before they are fully moved in."
Pierce sounded thoughtful. "Where did you hire the guards?"
"The slave market," Kestra said, adding, "Four experienced, but maimed, and four youths that the experienced guards are paired with to train. Part of the offer to the guards is that I won't charge them for healing, though they may be on the receiving end of experimental healing methods. They'll be told as much before hand as is feasible, and can reject healing."
During her conversation, a trio of guards in a yellow and white livery entered the shop. She caught the way Klo's drew into herself on spotting them, and the brief falter in her address to her junior.
"Well, that is an interesting use of that clause in our contract," Pierce said, but there was mirth in his tone.
"I was thinking more of the aid they could be to us in testing out new therapies, and so much the better if they benefit, too. That's the main reason I wanted them to have the right to refuse healing ... I'm sorry, Venerable Elder, but my attention is needed. Should I call you back or speak with you this evening?"
The guard trio spotted Klo, and there was a nasty undertone of violence leaking into the expression of one of the livered guards.
"This evening is fine," Pierce answered, and their call ended.
The guard with the aggressive posture grew a sneer on his face as he watched Klo ignore him. He was of middle height, his features a bit flat, and one of the more fit men in the room. If not for his attitude, Kestra might have even considered him mildly attractive.
As it was, she shifted to put Odelia behind her, and watched.
"Well, well, well," the man said, sauntering up to Klo and Jensa. "If it isn't Righteous Miss Kloie! What's a cripple like you doing in an armor shop?"
Klo shifted, opening her stance, preparing for a fight. "My actions are not your concern, Poul."
"That's Guard Sergeant Poul to you, cripple. And I asked you a question. You don't think anyone will be foolish enough to take on a cripple like you? Do you?"
Kestra had seen enough. She pushed out the presence of her levels, used her Reaction to step right into this idiot's face, and coldly asked, "You are interfering in the performance of my retainer's duties, and now you insult me? On your knees, fool, beg for my forgiveness, and I might just leave it to the head of your house to thrash you!"
Poul jumped back in surprise, clawing at his sword even as he tripped over an armor stand. He kept his feet, and got his sword free, but didn't rush in to attack.
Klo privately signaled over the communications device. Kestra took the call. "He's a city guard."
"Y-you're not to attack the city guard!" he shouted.
Kestra put her hands on her hips. "You really are a blithering idiot! If I wanted to attack you, your head would be off your shoulders already! Are you such a faceless buffoon that I'll have to take this to your Guard Captain?"
His two fellow guards were backing up, and one was obviously calling someone. She turned her ire-filled gaze on the man talking. "That had better be your Guard Captain, because if any more of you idiots start brandishing weapons in my direction, I'm dragging the lot of you with me while I storm the City Lord's Donjon to register my displeasure at your gross lack of manners!"
The man's jaw froze open as her meaning registered, and then he nodded, eyes bulging, and his lips started flapping into his communications device.
Kestra swept her glare back to Poul. "Put that away, get on your knees, and start apologizing, you little rat!"
She made a show of sighing and pinching the bit of skin between her eyebrows. She waved her hand at Klo and Jensa. "Carry on with the instruction of your junior, Senior Guard Klo."
"Yes, Great Lady," Klo said, and returned to what she had been doing, holding up admirably well under the pressure something like thirty to forty levels in difference made in the mana around Kestra when she wanted to make herself felt.
Poul, for his part, was shaking, unwilling to put down his sword, and clearly feeling put out for bait by his fellow guardsman.
More than a few minutes passed in that tableau, Kestra having a hard time not laughing at the idiot scared too stupid of her to actually disarm and apologize. However, when she started to lose the angry bite in her mana, she just recalled the vicious joy the man had taken in calling Klo a cripple. It was, in fact, near enough to a gloating glee that Kestra had to wonder just how Klo's shoulder had been torn up so badly and then healed so wrong.
Klo murmured through the communications device, "Great Lady, we're ready to make the purchases you desire."
"Go ahead," Kestra told her.
Her new guard pair moved to the counter and conversed in low tones with the shop clerk. The poor man couldn't stop shooting terrified glances Kestra's way, so it was a relief in that sense when a man in much fancier yellow and white livery entered the shop.
"What is the problem?" he asked, his gaze sweeping from the wrathful glare Kestra had fixed on Poul to the lone guard, shivering in his boots and unwilling to sheathe his sword, to the two other city guards simply standing back and watching.
Kestra turned her hand palm up and pulled out the Orb of Truthfulness she had picked up from the Reward Store just before taking over the city of Sortalheim. "Identify yourself," she responded.
"I'm Guard Captain Ben Teng of the Hadenshire City Guard. Who are you and what is going on here?" the man returned.
Her orb glowed golden yellow.
"You may call me Miss Kestra. That faceless rat over there decided to harass my retainer, and he insulted me in the process. He's been standing there since I ordered him to apologize, with his sword out like an absolute idiot!" The orb stayed golden glowing. "Furthermore, his words, his actions, and the very feel of his mana throughout have led me to wonder what role he had in the injury my Senior Guard sustained before entering my employ." Still gold.
Klo flinched at the counter, but didn't otherwise respond. Her movement, however, drew Captain Ben's gaze. The startled look that flashed across the captain's face just before he marched up to Poul and slapped the sergeant's sword arm down told Kestra that he recognized her new Senior Guard. "Put your sword away, Guard Poul, and report!"
"Sir! I questioned the cripple about her presence in the armor shop, sir! She refused to answer my questions, sir! The crazy woman jumped at me and claimed I insulted her, sir!" All true enough from a certain perspective.
"Who are you calling a cripple?" Captain Ben very nearly snarled.
"Klo Eleam, sir!"
"Were you harassing former Hadenshire City Guard Sergeant Klo Eleam, Guard Poul?" the captain asked.
"No, sir!" At this, the stone flipped from gold to an umbral glow. The change in lighting made the captain glance around. His gaze fell on the stone, a bit of mana flexed around him, and then his head pulled back on his neck, just a touch, before he shifted his position to keep on eye on Kestra's Orb and his subordinate at the same time.
"Do I have to take you before our City Lord and make you answer that question again?" Captain Ben asked, his voice now soft.
Poul swallowed. "No, sir?" The orb dimmed. It didn't respond to questions, orders, or subjective opinions.
"Were you harassing Klo?"
"No, sir," he repeated, sounding less certain of himself. The orb flared back to the blue-black shadows for lies.
Kestra stopped pressing out her presence, shaking her head in disgust at the stubborn stupidity.
Poul shuddered and bent forward, his mouth working like he was swallowing back bile. The two guards that had entered with him also visibly reacted to the retraction of Kestra's angry presence.
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Guard Captain Ben gave him time to recover, then asked a third time, "Were you harassing Klo Eleam?"
Sounding more intelligent, if not any less rat-faced, Poul answered, "Guard Captain Ben! She's a cripple; she has no legitimate business being in this shop, but she might have been studying it for a robbery attempt--"
The Orb of Truthfulness pulsed with an umbral glow again, and the captain put up his hand. Poul cut off mid sentence.
"You. Are. A liar." The orb glowed gold. The captain asked, "Were you responsible for the injury that caused Guard Sergeant Klo Eleam to be discharged from the Hadenshire City Guard?"
Now eying the orb in Kestra's hand warily, he said, "All ... of ... us ... were in some way responsible." That got a mild golden glow.
Kestra piped up. "Did you deliberately cause an injury or worsen an existing injury, or compel or encourage others to do so, to Guard Klo with the intent to do lasting harm?"
"That's not your right to ask," Poul said, his face twisting when the orb glowed dark again.
"It is my right, and I'm ordering you to answer that question," Captain Ben said.
Poul figured out that he wasn't about to lie his way through this, and shut his mouth.
"Fine. We'll be going up before the City Lord on this matter," Guard Captain Ben said. Turning to Kestra, the captain bowed. "Honorable Immortal, my sincere apologies for this disturbance."
Kestra felt the pivot of decision settle on her. Were she back on Moh and facing a similar situation, she would have accepted that the noble to whom the backstabber pledged fealty would see him sufficiently punished. This was not Moh, however; this was the Myriad Realms, and nobles were not bound to the common prosperity. Reputation did more to secure one's safety than the press of social expectations.
Thankfully, she didn't need to use her fists to make a show of power.
"Before the Heavens, I offer up a quest to the City Lord of Hadenshire of the Sterblich nexus: purge the city guard of those corrupt enough to seek lasting harm to their fellow guards, present and past. Reward: variable from one Base grade mana stone to ten Earth grade mana stones or equivalent items that such stones may be used by the Heavens to create, and the E.X.P. a like amount of such stones may compensate. Rewards not earned shall be retained by the Myriad Realms."
A golden glow traveled up Kestra as the Living Scrolls confirming her quest and the payment in mana stones flashed a blue light across her eyes.
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Across the city, as Lord Ying Johan was finally sitting down to read the newest comedy from Veranga Tal, his vision was obscured by a Living Scroll.
♦•♦•♦ Quest: Bring Justice to the Hadenshire City Guard ♦•♦•♦
Members of the City Guard of Hadenshire have betrayed their comrades at arms, breaking trust, crippling the righteous, and encouraging corruption.
Requirements: Restore faith among the City Guard of Hadenshire that righteous actions will be rewarded and the corrupt punished.
Rewards:
- Depends on Completion
- EXP: 1% to next level + Completion Bonus
♦•♦•♦ ▲▼▲ ♦•♦•♦
After reading through the Living Scroll, Johan's eyes bulged, and he yelled for his Guard Commander.
The comedy remained beside his reading chair for several days before one of the Donjon staff shelved it, mistaking the title, Winter's Sprites, for a bestiary.
Discovering that would fall to the next staff librarian, many, many years later.
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Klo completed the purchase of armors, conflicted about her new service, to put it mildly. She was a guard; she wasn't supposed to be guarded. But, she also wasn't any where near her Great Lady's level. She wasn't able to guard her Lady. That her Lady had a plan for them was apparent, and that her Lady was only just setting up her House was also apparent.
Pairing a whole, green youth with a crippled, but experienced elder was ... unique. The idea that they might be healed, well, Klo hadn't held out hope for that before, but after feeling the guardian weight of her Great Lady's presence she was beginning to believe.
As they walked to Tang's Hospitality, her new com-de chimed with her Lady's private call.
"Yes, Great Lady?" Klo answered.
"You handled that faceless rat very well, Senior Guard Klo. I will be praising you before the others when we meet up tonight. I will also be apologizing to you all, for failing to set some basic expectations. If I'm reading you right, you're a bit conflicted over how I stepped in?" The questioning lilt at the end of the Great Lady's statement invited comment, and Klo had been out of the City Guard for a few years now.
A few horrible, ruinous years.
She had lost some of her polish, and it showed in the fact that she took up that invitation. "It shames me that you felt the need to step in," she said.
The Great Lady nodded beside her. "I have no intent to step on your face, Senior Guard. Part of the expectation I need to clarify is that you are here to guard my people, not me. I rose to my power quickly, so I still need to establish my reputation. Until that reputation is well established, I am going to respond aggressively to challenges to mine own, among which are you and everyone else I hired today."
That last phrasing rang in Klo's mind so strongly she barely heard the next few sentences the Great Lady said. Hired. Not contracted, but hired; Respected.
"I also remind you that I hired you and the other Senior Guards for your experience, not your capabilities. My view point is that you are instructors, and right now your juniors are fresh and raw.
"The reputation I intend to establish is that I am a very good friend, and a very. Bad. Enemy. I will concede that, by the standards of the Myriad Realms, I may go about that in a less than civil manner."
Unconsciously, Klo's back straightened and her shoulders, as much as she was able, squared.
The Great Lady concluded, "Be that as it may be, I will not apologize for stepping on a faceless rat who dared to spit at one of mine. I will, however, apologize for getting in the way of you getting to step on that rat. In my defense, I offer up that he was a really irritating rat."
The plaintive disgust in that last statement made Klo choke on a laugh, because, yeah. Poul wanted so much to be feared that being called merely irritating would make him writhe in rage. Had done so, actually.
Had pushed him to prove his viciousness by shattering her shoulder blade and then pouring lowest grade healing potions into the mess. She had nearly died from the stamina consumption.
Their captain hadn't been Ben Teng, but a Poul relative, and Klo hadn't believed she would be heard if she shouted out the injustice done to her.
A comradely hand landed on her shoulder. Her Great Lady said nothing, and gave her the courtesy of not looking at her, but that hand on her shoulder was a promise.
The shoulders that had curled remembering the pain of the wrong healing uncurled.
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They went to Tang's first because it ended up being closer to the arms and armor shops they had been looking through. The tavern at Tang's Hospitality had acquired the oddity of a burly, white robed healing acolyte sipping milk while trying to look inconspicuous.
Kestra walked up to him and asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"
"Yes, Miss. Do you, perhaps work for an Honored Transcendental Kestra?" the acolyte asked in return.
"That depends who sent you and on whose authority," Kestra responded.
"Elder Ming, at the request of Venerable Elder Pierce."
Kestra smiled. "Let's head up to the Honorable Transcendental's room, shall we?"
The acolyte didn't look all that certain, but went along with Kestra, her two guards, and Odelia. In her room, she pulled out the orb, had him confirm his bona fides, and then handed him the oath of secrecy.
"You should have been informed of the requirement to swear this oath," she explained.
That seemed to actually calm his concerns, and the acolyte swore the oath.
As soon as that was done, she said, "This next part is covered under the death-before-disclosure section of all of your oaths of secrecy." She made eye contact around the room, swirled up silence, and then pulled the acolyte over to the main anchor by her tower.
She called Pierce and said, "Venerable Elder! It was quicker to see to your aide first. He has been teleported over, where you arrived."
"Oh, thank you!" came the distracted reply.
"Have fun settling him in!"
Kestra turned back to her entourage and asked, "Shall we head over to the other inn?"
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The other inn was called the Pig in a Poke, and Kestra had rented out one of the communal bunk rooms for her servants, figuring it would be more secure. The communal rooms had bunks to accommodate up to twenty people.
Joeb had left the two higher leveled herders with their new herds in the stockyard, after assuring Kestra that he didn't expect any need to guard against theft so much as to ensure their herds had someone present in case of a sudden illness. She had him leave his communications device with the herders, just to be sure they could call for help if they needed it.
Once she was sure everyone was present, Kestra shrouded the room in her Control Air based silence ward. It was speech time.
"A faceless rat among the City Guard decided to harass Senior Guard Klo while we were looking over some of the armor options in Hadenshire. She handled the rat with the dignity and poise I will be expecting from all of my guards, neither rising to his taunting nor giving up a nail's width of her dignity, or mine.
"Now, that rat claimed anyone who would hire her was a fool, to which I took personal exception. After all was said and done and the rat dragged off by his captain to account to the City Lord for his actions, I apologized to Guard Klo for not preparing her for how I will handle any such situation.
"As I told Senior Guard Klo now I'm telling all of you: I did not hire guards for my protection; I hired guards to protect my people. I rose quickly into my power, and I will be aggressive in building up the reputation needed to ensure that the idiots who would casually abuse others understand that coming after mine will leave them with only ruin. That 'mine' now includes every one of you who have agreed to be my retainers.
"The people I come from have a long tradition of holding the heads of houses to what we call the Noble Obligation. That obligation is to work for the common prosperity of our people. That starts with defense, with standing between you and the monsters of this world, and when that is seen to, the Noble Obligation expands to ensuring that the rewards of your efforts will not be unjustly taken from you. You will labor for the good of us all; that is why I've hired you. But! You will also have the opportunity to labor for your own benefit, and so long as those personal labors do not bring undue risk or bring harm to mine I will defend you in the doing, and I will offer you my aid as is appropriate.
"Along those lines, I have hired Venerable Elder Pierce of the Lost Ways Healing House to aid me in researching healing methods. As part of the contract between us, for so long as the Venerable Elder is my retainer, he will heal you as best as he can if you are hurt while in my service. Further, at least once each year he will examine you for your general health and to provide a healer's observations on your current cultivation. You may refuse these examinations, though if you accept, the results will be held confidential between you and the Venerable Elder.
"Some of the research will include restoration of wrongly healed old wounds. None of you are required to aid in this research. If any of it might aid you, we will disclose as fully as we are able the risks of the experimental methods and the expected results, and you will have some time to consider whether you find those risks worth taking. The only consequences of your choice will be natural ones; I will not permit anyone to coerce you to make their choice for your long term health.
"This research has yet to truly begin, though, so, Senior Guards: until you are restored to full vigor, you are instructors first, guards second. You have selected your juniors to pass on the wisdom of your experience. That is your first duty; it is not to be the first shield between harm and our people, but to be the last." Kestra paused to sweep the guards with a stern gaze. She knew how hard it could be to let the less experienced step up and earn their knocks.
"Yes, Great Lady!" Klo barked back, quickly echoed by the other Senior Guards.
"Very good," Kestra said. Then she smiled at everyone and said, "Here's one of the secrets you'll be keeping close, now. Guards Xian, Huishar, Quistis, Thacker: you will remain to guard this side of the portal. The rest of us are going to take a tour of where you'll be calling home."
The difference between when Kestra made her first gate into her private realm and now was, as was so commonly said in the Realms, like the difference between Heaven and Earth. Then, she had been on her knees, her body exhausted and her mind on fire from the effort. Now, it opened as easily as she exhaled.
Just to be safe, though, Kestra set down one of her anchors. If she had to close the gate for any reason, she could use her anchor as a reference to open a new one.