Chapter 40

Difficult situations require escaping from our comfortable ways of doing things. Break out of your box. Bring in fresh eyes, if necessarily. Repeating the mistakes of the past is not how to untie the knots of a stalled investigation.

DIC Manual

It was mid-morning in Pixie Hollow. Gan, sleeves rolled up and flour smears on her apron, stood in the yard in front of the house, a bit past the flower bed, looking at the driveway that ran from her house to the King’s Highway. It was a nice bit of driveway, lined with rock and stands of wildflowers. Gan thought it gave a pleasant look to the yard, a nice frame to her work in the garden or doing her laundry. But this day, that was not where her attention was focused. Rob Woodway, dressed in the smock and gaiters he wore while doing gardening work, stood next to a cart with brightly painted sides, flowers and leaves twisting into interwoved geometries against a dark blue background. The driver’s bench was near the front, leaving plenty of room for carrying things behind it. The only thing Gan could see were the handles of several tools. Harnessed to it was a small horse, chestnut in color – and the horse had all of Rob’s attention.

Arriane joined Gan. “What do you think about that?”

“Rather pretty cart. And the mare seems sweet tempered. So this is how you got here today?”

“Indeed. A pleasant little trip. I had already planned to come here before Gweir showed up, but that happening made it even more pleasant. Gweir’s been gone so long, Elaine won’t have time to think about anything else for the next day or two. I’d rather not be in their way.”

Gan raised her eyebrow at that. “Well, you know your sister and brother in law. You’re welcome to spend some time here if you like.”

“Thank you very much, but my sister’s coach should be her in about an hour, and then I shall be off to the White Island for a week. It’s time I check in with the Oldest, anyway. She’s been very nice letting me spend some time here for a while, but I do have duties with the White Circle.”

“I hadn’t realized you were working with them,” Gan said. “I never got to meet the Oldest when I was doing my studies there. Goosequills tend to run in different circles than the White Circle’s magic studies.”

“You might not have met her, but she knows of you, and holds you in high regard as a practioner of practical magics. When she found out you were here, and going to tutor my brother, she wanted me to take lessons in practicals from you. Told me that your type of magic is the basis of all Aos Si magic, and I should learn it.”

Gan’s eyes opened wide. “Now that...that is surprising. I know I’ve done some papers at conferences, but mostly I spent my time being a school teacher. Never thought I’d come to her attention.”

“Could be someone at Goosequill was trying to use her as influence to get you to move to the White Isle and become one of their staff, so she looked into who you were. The White Circle has ways of learning all sorts of things.”

“So I’ve heard. She’d never have gotten to go to the White Isle, I’m afraid. I don’t want to work in a place like that, and I loved working with my students.” Gan sighed. “But she’s right. The basis of all our magic started there. I know the White Circle magic is designed to teach people to join their innate power to one another, so it can be released through the a person trained to use it for a purpose.”

Arriane nodded.

“Practical magic, the basic magic, is using that power for yourself, not joining to another’s, much like the person in a White Circle unit who sends out the magic. It’s often not as strong, but it’s the bedrock of intentional magic.” Gan shrugged. “This is what the Goosequills do, retain the old techniques for practical uses. Both methods are of use. And neither take magical devices, like touchstones. And they both take discipline.” She looked at the young woman. “Sadly, a lot of people are content to buy devices any more. I hope we can keep the old magic alive. So she wants you to know something of both paths? That’s interesting.”

“She surprised me when she asked me,” Arriane admitted. “But enough about me and learning. Let’s go rescue the horse Betts from Rob, shall we?”

The two women closed the gap quickly. The horse, less focused on Rob than Rob was on her, bobbed her head as they joined him.

“Good morning, Rob,” Gan said. “What have you got there?”

“I didn’t mention it earlier, but that’s why a coach is coming for me to take me to Goblin Market. The cart and the horse is a gift from Elaine,” Arriane said. “She thought you need a better way to get to Allynswood, and she knows you don’t like to ride. While we were discussing the best ways to get you to the estate, I remembered about this cart. I used it a lot when I was younger, and suggested it. We checked it out ourselves, and the staff had kept it in excellent shape Elaine was very enthusiastic when she saw it,” Arriane said. She patted the young gardener on the back. “Once we settled on that, Rob here picked out the horse.”

“Betts is her name?” Gan said. “We certainly have room…” but the tone in her voice carried more than a little uncertainty.

“See, Betts,” Rob said to the animal. “I told you she was nice. You’ll like it here, and I’ll be over most days. You’ll be the only horse here, but you won’t be alone. There are two cows and seven goats. You’ll be able to boss them all around.”

Bu flew out of the house and buzzed Rob’s head. “You brought a monster here?”

The horse’s ear flicked, which somehow caught the Pixie’s attention. He flew over to her and landed between her ears. Bets shook her head, knocking the Pixie off.

“There’s a lot of Pixies around here, too, Betts,” Rob said as the little man picked himself off and lifted off into the air to examine the horse at a safer distance. “You’ll have to get used to it. You can boss them if you want. I know horses are immune to Pixie dust.”

“Hey,” Bu said, landing on the gardener’s head. “We were here first.”

“Betts isn’t a monster,” Rob said, patting the animal’s neck. “She’s a great cart pony, and this cart’s just the right size for her to pull. She will let you ride her, but she rather pull.” He turned to Gan. “When they told me to pick out a horse for the cart, I knew she was just the right one.” He beamed Gan a smile, rather proud of being able to do what he thought was best for his new boss.

“A horse? And why do I need a horse?” Gan asked, looking askance at both the horse and the cart. “They’re both beautiful, but if I need to pull a load, I have a perfectly good wagon and two cows.”

“Oxen are slow,” Arriane said. “And you’ll be going up to Allynswood multiple times a week once you start your lessons. And it’ll make it a lot easier to get to Goblin Market when you need to shop or check your Dragon Web messages. Your wagon is so big for that type of work. The cart will be better and more comfortable. And Elaine plans to take care of the extra feed and care. Whatever Betts needs, Rob will make sure she gets it.”

Gan stroked her chin. “Maybe you have a point.” She turned to Rob. “So you know how to take care of horses?”

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Arriane giggled at that.

Moxie, attracted by the noise, flew to Gan’s shoulder, holding a cookie crumb. She looked at the laughing woman, and couldn’t figure out what set her off. “Is there something wrong with her?” She took a bite of her treasure.

“I don’t think so,” Gan said to the pixie. “Wait and watch. I want to know, too.”

“Oh, if you had only been around with we were younger. Rob used to run to the stables every time he snuck away from the gardens,” Arriane said. “The thought of him not knowing about horses just struck me as so funny. He knows as much about the horses at Allynswood as the chief groom.”

“Maybe more,” Rob said. “New chief groom talks a good game, but I don’t know how much he likes horses.” He continued to sweet talk to the horse.

“So, I don’t have to worry about that, at least,” Gan said, moving closer to the animal. “So you’re Betts?”

Rob, watching Gan move close, slipped a piece of carrot into her hand. She nodded, and began to croon a little tune before offering it to the animal.

Lovely Betts,

pudding and pie,

If you stay here,

please don’t cry.

Blowie will listen,

the goat dance high,

the Pixies will watch

until Rob comes by.

Betts accepted Gan’s offering, and Gan petted the animal, who seemed content.

“Song magic?” Arriane asked. “I could feel it, you know.”

“A little practical application. Just a little to smooth the way. I just want her to feel content,” Gan replied. “Let her know she’s welcome.”

“She seems pretty content to me,” Rob said. “And if introductions are over, I’m going to go get her settled down and show her the pasture. She’d rather do something than just stand around and listen to people talk. ” He got into the cart, and with a shake of the reins and a gentle command, drove off to the barn.

“Gan did the same thing to us, when she came here the first time, sang wonderful words about bread and soup and pie and being welcome. And bread,” Moxie said. She gave Gan another a neck hug. “It was wonderful. I’ll never forget that day. Especially the bread.”

“Speaking of bread, I bet it’s time to take my bread out of the bake oven. I’ll make us a fresh pot of tea, Arriane. Then maybe I’ll make some cookies. Sugar cookies. How about that?”

Moxie cheered.

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At DIC headquarters on Sunderland, Haran listened to Tansy’s footsteps retreat from the opened door, as she left him to go back to her desk. In front of him was a medium sized office, dominated by a large desk filled with stacks of papers, a pen and ink set and a large tea mug. Along one of the walls there were cabinets filled with more papers, and a few books. On another, there was another one of those excellent maps the Dragonkin made, this time of all the Sunlit lands where the Dragonkin had a presence. The walls, like all the walls he had seen, were of some sort of fused stone, a technique the Dragonkin favored, and the room was as well lit as if it were outside by careful application of Dragonfire lighting technology. The one thing he almost didn’t see was the gray Dragonkin sitting behind the desk, watching him calmly as he took it all in.

Then something made his mind tingle, and Bryony popped clearly into view.

“I had heard that gray investigator families had a trait that could make them hard to notice,” Haran said. “First time I’ve experienced it. It’s not invisibility, is it?”

“No. It’s more akin to just making us disappear from your mind’s notice. Anybody who has a resistance to it sees us fine.” Bryony stood up and shook Haran’s hand. “Welcome, Haran, and sorry. I was rather lost in thought. I sometimes slip into that mode when thinking. I guess it’s my own body trying to protect me when my mind is elsewhere.” Byrony sat back down.

Haran gave the Dragonkin a big grin. “That’s kind of useful. I wish I could hide from some of my co-workers that well when I’m trying to think. Well, I made it as fast as I could,” Haran said. “What can I do for you? I have no idea what to expect. We’ve never done anything like this before.”

“It’s all new ground,” Bryony said, nodding. “We’ve never done this before, either. We’ll both be feeling it out and experimenting with what works best for both sides. But our joint operation went rather smoothly. I think we can mesh together well.”

Haran saw the chair in front of Byrony’s desk, took off his pack and sat down. “Right now we’re investigating what’s going on? We think something is afoot, but have only a few clues. Is it all connected? I know the DIC handles police functions. But do you also handle intelligence for the Dragonkin government? That’s my special area. Ferretting out the clues and trying to put the picture together. The King’s Guard handles the rest.”

Byrony steepled his fingertips together. “That’s just what we’re trying to do, put the big picture together. Police work, intelligence gathering...they’re often one in the same,” he said, not exactly answering Haran’s question. “Or at least they overlap. Fraud, unregulated smuggling, breaking up trade wars and so on require keeping an eye on things. We need to know what’s going on underneath the surface. And if it’s bad enough to make Gandaran twitch, we can’t know soon enough.”

“No doubt,” Haran said, nodding. “Well, you have whatever my skills can do for you, long as you know I will be checking in from time to time with the White Circle.”

“That’s acceptable,” Byrony said nodding. He got up out of his chair. “It was part of the agreement between the White Circle and us. I will say that I hope a fresh set of eyes and outlooks will help us figure out something we can use. I am...” He finally noticed the bag and pack Haran had dropped to sit and he frowned, his spike glowing just a little. “They didn’t stop to put you up anywhere, but dragged you straight here?”

Haran shrugged. “Straight from the Dragon Web station. A nice young first year named Greenwood Grayscale met me there, put me in a coach, and dropped me here. Tansy Redwood said something about me being housed on premises, but she didn’t know anything for sure.”

Byrony sighed and rolled his eyes. “I tell you, sometimes our people have no brains. I’ll have to have a talk with the DIC chief at the station about appropriate plans. More proof that this is all so new to us. I’ll talk with Rust. She’s from Logistics, and does amazing things, and thank the Lifegiver, she’s part of the team we’re putting together. I’d like to put you up in something better than one of those little dorm rooms we use for lower rank DIC who do a tour at Headquarters. We will all need to have some space to refresh ourselves. But first, since you’re here, why don’t you leave your things here and we’ll go meet the team.”

“Sounds good,” Haran said.

The pack and bag were stashed in one of Byrony’s cabinets, and they left the office to go down a small corridor that branched off from the back of the main room.

“Did they remember to give you the key? A small touchstone card?” Byrony asked.

Haran patted his pocket. “They did indeed. I got to watch Zedna and Tansy almost have a fight. Are those two always like that?”

“More that you want to know.” Byrony activated the door and the two stepped through. Haran noticed it felt like another no space jump. Part of him wondered how spread out the various places in DIC Headquarters was, but didn’t say anything.

They stepped into another very bright room, larger than the main office. There were doors that led off in various directions, offices and labs. The room was dominated by tables with charts behind them, and piles of papers and what Haran guessed was evidence, since it didn’t make much sense otherwise. The center of the room was dominated by an assortment of tables and desks.

Heads turned as they walked in, and a rather heated discussion between a gray dragon and a Daoine man stopped abruptly.

“So you made it,” said a gray Dragonkin wearing a bright green tunic. “Welcome to the madhouse, where we work together to put a puzzle together, even without having all the pieces.”

“The best type,” Haran said, bowing slightly.

“Haran, meet Asper Bloodstone, one of my best field men. He’ll be popping in between fieldwork and work here,” Byrony said. “The woman sitting in the corner behind a stack of papers and a calculating table is Rust. Wave hello, Rust.”

Rust, the only non-gray Dragonkin in the room, waved a brown arm the air, and went back to checking figures.

A Dragonkin wearing a DIC uniform with the jacket unbuttoned, stood up from his seat, and walked around to the front of his desk, and leaned against it. “Haran, huh, like in the city?”

“My family was from there,” Haran said. “But don’t ask me why my family took that name. Never thought to ask my father, and now I can’t.” He shrugged. “It works. Everybody has to be called something.”

“Truth,” Bryony said. “Haran, meet Yosh Boudin. I’ve worked with him a long time, and he’s an excellent investigator. He does that irritating question routine all the time, but amazingly, it’s opened a number of doors over the years.”

Haran gave him a nod.

“Lero Bluestone,” Byrony said. The young Daoine man looked up from where he was working on a piece of equipment.

“Yes?” Bluestone asked.

“Meet Haran. Bluestone is our equipment expert. If something can be made to work, he can do it. If you’re trying to figure out how something was made, he can do it. He’s rather invaluable to the team.”

“Good to meet you, Bluestone,” Haran said, nodding.

Bluestone waved, and went back to his work.

Haran was introduced to several more people before being led to the back of the room. A gray Dragonkin, a little shorter than most of them, sat there, watching the proceedings with bright eyes, and little expression.

“And finally,” Bryony said. “The master of this place. Master Investigator, meet Haran of the White Circle.”

Haran smiled, and offered his hand. Master Investigator gave him a long, deep look that made Haran almost shiver, as if he were being probed. Suddenly, a warm wash ran over him, and he felt he had passed some sort of test. The Master Investigator took his hand. “Welcome! Let’s see what we can find out. Time to investigate.”