Chapter 35: Side Projects 1
Landar,
Week Two, Firstday, Morning
I thought about the coming day as I sat at my desk long before the sun rose. Seventhday’s ‘debriefing’ had felt more like a roast, as Edna had ripped our team apart. Our weaknesses were laid bare for everyone to see. Lack of communication, an unwillingness to be bold and check the side passages once we discovered there were traps, an unwillingness or inability to deal with traps, and of course my foolish blundering into a trap anyway.
There were more, far more hurtful and personal insults the old woman had levied at us individually but those had been our issues as a team. There two twin solaces though, each was useful as it was true, and every team had felt the wrath of her displeasure.
And though I didn’t like it, it was helpful. I was right, we do need a rouge type as part of our team. Someone that can deal with traps, knows how to handle tricky non-hit them with a hammer until it's not a problem anymore, type situations.
When I thought back to how I had asked Tanya if she wanted a job, I winced. Not at the job offer, I still believe that was wise. But instead at the fact that the memory was tied to the fact that the third unusable building had burned down to its foundation.
Gragon had stayed behind to help supervise fire fighting details to help prevent the fire from spreading as I had to excuse myself for my seventh day verbal beat down by edna the witch. But when I got back and witnessed the excruciating reality that Apple Core Court was not two tenement buildings and a mildly singed stone work foundation?
There were a few choice words. Generally Gragon to me, but I had said a few myself.
I have to find something nice as a reward for him. I thought, as I leaned back in my chair and sighed at the day, and week, to come.
Want me to add it to the list boss?
Please do, thank you Sid.
In the end however, it presented more of an opportunity than a problem. Gragon had explained that, once he had inspected the foundation, it was much more intact then he had originally thought. Without the weight of the building bearing down on it, he’d be able to effectuate repairs far easier. And building a new building from scratch, while more expensive, allowed us to take liberties with the design.
Problems becoming opportunities. You know what they called that in my old world, Sid?
Yes, but I suspect you want to think it at me anyway.
I smiled. Thanks buddy. Yeah, a growth mindset. Maintaining it is certainly a chore though.
“Now, what to do about that gangster guy,” I said out loud to my empty room. I had thought about just breaking down his door and ripping his base apart the second Brimhat had shown me where it was. “But gangsters are a lot like hornets. If you kill one, more will come. If however, you feed it poison and it brings it back to its hive, you’re likely to kill them all in one go.”
You want to poison them boss?
“Nah, not really.”
Oh, we could try that boiling them alive thing you talked about. There was a water tower above that building we could boil, and then flood their base with it.
“Too messy. Also I only said that crap to intimidate those guys. If they had surrendered right then, nothing would have happened. But they were stubborn. Even sleazeball was only trying to get into position to hit me with whatever that smoke fist spell he used was, he wasn't actually thinking of giving up.”
How do you know? Sid asked, genuinely curious.
“Well, I could see it in his eyes, hear it in his words. His body language was all over the place. Maybe there was a small part of him that wanted to give up, but most of him didn’t. He wanted to run away and get out of there, I don’t doubt it. But he didn’t actually want to face consequences for his actions, or negotiate their surrender. He was just buying time.”
Oh. That’s . . . lying is difficult for me to understand. Not in its concept, I understand that. But in what it looks like when you flashbags do it. Why do you ‘say’ with your body one thing, and say with another? It's like your body is telling the truth, but your words are lying flat out. It makes little biological sense evolutionarily.
I shrugged. “Humans are strange. I suspect most sapient creatures are. And lying for most of us is something we’re conditioned not to do. It's hard to do it convincingly. Even if you end up fooling someone, they usually walk away knowing something was off about the encounter and they grow suspicious. It's why mail fraud was so big back home on earth. No one wants to face the people they’re scamming or stealing from. It's uncomfortable. I think for now, what we’ll do is sit tight and watch.”
So do what he did to you?
I sighed, and got up from my seat. “I’m not going to put spys on his house or anything. But i’ll go visit myself, see what I see. No need to take action right away. And I'll ask father if he can increase patrols in the area from the guard. See about keeping any reprisals down to a minimum.” I stretched and felt a satisfying pop in my back before relaxing with a sigh.
“Come on, we have a busy day ahead of us.”
***
Week Two, Firstday, Afternoon
Classes were over, and I had a lot of work to do. Body enhancement had given me a work out, and principles of enchantment was a struggle to stay awake through. But thankfully Victor was a good partner as always, and kept me awake with his excitement about new spells he was learning from Sakura’s group.
Apparently eastern spell circuits were simpler, but typically were more efficient and their effects were more powerful as a result.
“See, more of their mana goes into the effect they produce rather than in shaping the boundaries and rules of the spell. Direct application of their will is typically how they shape most spells. It's more intellectually exhausting, requiring greater concentration to maintain. But it's also more efficient. Of course that’s just with evocation magic like Fire Bolt, or Mana Arrow.``
He had explained everything he had learned from Sakura’s group while we worked on the different cycling and mana manipulation techniques the Professor was still teaching us. When he came over to see our progress he proclaimed “You're both close. You should have it mastered by the end of the week. Then we can get on with actual enchantment work. Well done. Particularly for a remedial student like yourself Mr. Landar, it is quite impressive work.”
As I left the class I didn’t know whether to feel elated, or insulted. So I allowed myself to feel a little of both.
I went and found Tanya in her quarters. They were a few doors down from my own, and consisted of practically the same set up as mine. An austere room, with little in the way of frivolity. Then again she did just move in, I thought as I waited for her to grab her things.
“Where are we going?” she asked. “I just finished getting settled, and now I'm leaving?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not making you leave, we’re just going to go visit a few other members of the team. That’s all.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Right . . . the team.” She looked apprehensive. It was understandable, she was in a new unfamiliar place. With rules she didn’t quite understand yet.
I started walking and having grabbed her utility belt, she followed. She was wearing the same raggedy clothes as yesterday
“Where are we going?”
“To see my brother in law.”
***
Roland frowned down at me over folded arms. “Really?”
“What do you mean, really? Of course really. We need someone who can deal with traps, and she needs an arm.”
Roland sighed, then opened the door. “Fine, come in. But no promises.”
A few minutes later we were drinking hot tea put on by Tabitha, while Roland looked at Yolanda’s arm. Or, rather what remained of it.
“Hmmm. How did you say you lost it again?”
“Accident as a kid. I think. I don’t really know. Parents never really said.” She blushed as he poked and prodded at what were clearly old scars.
“Alright, alright. And how old are you?”
“Why do you need to know that?” Tanya looked almost offended by the question.
“Because, age is important in these kinds of things. The younger a person is, the easier it is to use faith magic to bring back lost limbs. Restore function to damaged ones, and the like.” She looked pained, and his expression softened a bit. “Do you know how old you are?” She flinched and he nodded. “There’s no shame in not knowing. There are more than a handful of drudges that don’t know their birth year, let alone birthday.”
“Will it make this more difficult?” Tabitha asked as she placed a cup of hot tea in front of younger girl.
“A bit. But no worries, I know a diagnostic spell that will give us at least some basic information including her age.”
I take it you didn’t find anything in the city’s system records then?
No boss, sorry. A few run-ins with guards, and a note about her being initiated as a teen rather than as a child by the church. But that’s it.
Dang it.
I kept my mouth shut as Roland cast his spell. A soft yellow light emanated from his hands as he held them out in front of her, the light scanning her from head to toe like something i’d seen at electronic shops back on Earth.
“Alright. Looks like you’re seventeen years old. Give or take a month, you were born sometime in the middle of winter so your birthday should be soon.” Roland explained as he picked up his own cup and drank happily. “Most orphans and street kids as they grow up, simply use the closest major holy day or festival. Helps keep track of things, and gives them something official to look forward to. But it's up to you. Feel free to choose whichever date you'd like. Heck, you could make today your birthday if you want. I’ll record it on the city’s System too if you like. It’ll help when you go to do things like get a job, or apply for living space within the tenements. If you go that route.”
“Eh, I don’t think i’ll be livin there again, if I can be helpin it.” Tanya said, her expression had shifted from embarrassment to contemplative as she stared into her tea. “Do you think you can uh, fix me arm then? Father?”
“Oh, I'm not a priest. You don't have to call me father.”
“Well, not yet anyway.” Tabitha rubbed her very swollen belly happily.
“The long and short of it is, yes. I can help get your arm back. But it’ll cost you Landar.”
“I uh, don’t have a lot of coin just yet.” Roland shook his head.
“No, not money. Favors.”
“Oh,” that was a language I could speak every day all day. “Right. I take it you need peoples help then?”
Roland nodded. “Several. My boss at a minimum, probably a few of the priests as well. They won’t be large favors, but there will be a lot of them. That is if I organize it. However, we could go to Sigvald about it directly. Then you wouldn’t necessarily owe individual priests or clerics favors, but the priesthood itself.”
“And that could pose challenges in its own right. I understand. Hmmm. But I trust Sigvald. I think that might be the better way to go. Can you make the arrangements Roland? I have a lot of other stuff on my plate at the moment.”
“Yeah. My boss and I meet with Sigvald tomorrow. I can bring it up after our meeting and see what he thinks. An official favor from an academy student means little, but someone with your newly acquired rank, well, a favor or two in the back pocket wouldn’t go amiss I'm sure.”
***
As soon as we were out of Roland's house, far enough away for no accidental eavesdropping, I cleared my throat. “How do you feel about all this?” I asked, trying not to sound pushy. I knew that some people with disabilities often grew to have their identity wrapped up in the ailment or injury. There were, for instance, some deaf people who refused to get surgeries that would restore their hearing, because they love belonging to a community of deaf people.
I wasn’t sure if Tanya was in such a circumstance.
“It's great!” She said hurriedly. “I love the idea of getting me arm back.” Suddenly her expression shifted again, from excitement to one of trepidation. “But it sounds like it’ll cost you a lot. And uh . . . well. I can’t pay you back.”
I waved it off. “You have skills. Skills I need on my team. Beyond that, you did me a service that I haven’t yet repaid in helping me navigate the minor gate situation last week. If anything, I owe you a favor.”
“Yeah sure, but . . . this is a big favor. Right? Me showing you around town ain’t as big as all this. Using magic and the like, to give someone an arm back? Askin gods for help for gutter mud like me? Why?”
I chanced looking into her eyes, and there I saw the unsaid accusation. What do you want? What do you want me to do? What are you going to make me do?
Right then it clicked. The baggy clothing, acting younger than she was, lying about her age, and dressing and acting boyish. It was all in an attempt to protect herself from the predators that no doubt stalked the drudge-slums that she grew up in. Predators like that Sleazeball from the other day. He was going to sell those girls like it was nothing.
The air around me grew a few degrees colder, and the winter wolf inside my core shifted and growled low in my mind.
I shook my head. “I don’t think I can explain what I am going to get out of this. So, why don’t I just show you?”
***
The petty market was up and running.
It wasn’t running well, but it was operating.
Three simple stalls, made of poorly leveled wood frames held dozens of products. From firewood, extra food, and small doses of weak potions that served as medicine, and one of the stalls was entirely dedicated to our new window frame design, and the flower glass that the drudges I worked with had created.
All three stalls were manned by the elderly and infirm who insisted on staying at the court rather than living with me as servants on campus.
The stalls were made, stocked, and staffed. But there were hardly any buyers. The drudges had little to no money of their own. Though what they did buy they did so with wooden coins. The lowest of the kingdom's currency below even copper pennies. Usually it was on dried food they could take with them while on work duty.
But occasionally you saw someone buy a weak healing potion for a single copper. Most drudges I found out by asking, usually saved a week's worth of pay to afford it.
Still it was working, and the people of the court and the few surrounding tenements that saw people forced to walk through the court's courtyard in order to get anywhere, were spending what little money they had there.
Function was what I was looking for, for now. We’ll worry about improvements later, I thought as I pointed out the milling around crowds waiting for their serving of dinner. The stew smelled like it was almost ready.
I tossed in several dozen pieces of jerky and assorted veggies I had stolen from the on campus kitchens. Servants, and wealthy students often left a lot of food waste just laying around. Why would I let it rot when it could fill hungry bellies?
“Do you see?” I said to Tanya in a low voice that only she could hear over the crowed of expectant and hungry workers.
“See what? People waiting in line for watered down stew?”
I frowned. “Look at their faces for just a moment. What do you see?”
It took her a long moment, as she scanned the faces of the crowed. Dirty, disheveled, and uncombed hair and facial hair hid what I was trying to show her, but it was there.
“I uh . . . They’re all smiling.”
“Not all of them. But, yes. Largely most of them are. They’re also talking to each other. That first night I was here, and ate with them? So few chatted amongst themselves. Families rarely ate together, each person taking their food and sitting alone or with those they trusted. But now, well. Look. Families eating together, friends chatting, and though they’re hungry and tired none of them are desperately so. We’ve given them something, something that was taken away from this court a long time ago.”
“Smiles?” She said it more like a question then a statement.
I shook my head. “Yes but that’s not the key point. They were missing something that every civilization needs at its very core in order to get people through the day to day slog that is life. The hard times, and the cold nights, bruised egos, and dangerous work.”
“What is it then?” She asked in a near whisper.
“Hope. And you, my friend. Can help me grow that small ember of hope that has already made this, into something far greater and far larger. Something that, hopefully, no pun intended. Will show my grandfather, the nobles of this kingdom, and the royals, and especially the drudges of this city themselves, that there can be a better way. One lit by hope.”
“I, uh. I . . . “ She looked down at her missing arm. “My family abandoned me. Kicked me out because I couldn’t work and earn for the family. I was a burden. But they only did that because If they hadn’t, my siblings might have starved.”
“A terrible thing to be forced to do. Truly. But sadly, it is not an uncommon story. Will you help me make it less common?”
Tanya smiled then, for the first time. Not a smirk filled with self protective smugness, or a mask to hide her fear and disarm those around her. For the first time I saw her genuinely smile.
“Yes.”