Technomage
Book 1
Chapter 1.1. I'm home
12th day of the 5th month of the year 50143
"Knock, knock," came a knock at the cabin. Without waiting for an answer, the door opened. A steward entered.
The cabin was a small single room. It had a single bed, a table with a chair near the porthole, a closet, and a washstand with a small mirror. One lamp on the ceiling illuminated the whole room.
At the table sat a middle-aged man, of average build and height, with short, dark-cropped hair. He wears gray pants, a light-colored shirt, and a leather vest. Mike de Graaf, that was his name.
When the steward walked in, Mike turned to him, and the man bowed.
"Sir, we are arriving at the capital port in half an hour," he informed him.
"All right, thank you," Mike replied with a nod. The steward bowed once more and left, closing the door behind him. A few seconds later, there was a knock on the next cabin.
Soon this long and exhausting ride would be over. And he was glad of that. Mike looked at the clock on the table. Clock hands showed 6:50 am. The ship arrived in port a little late. It had originally been planned for 7:00 am.
For a cargo-passenger ship, it has a rather melodious name, Litany. And it operated between the capital city of Abern on the Abern River and the town of Rhyne at the mouth of the Aheron River. The journey from the Rhyne to the capital took ten days with all the stops. And it went through dangerous coastal waters.
It didn't take long for Mike to get ready. He woke up early and prepared in advance. He did not have much luggage with him - a traveling bag and a small suitcase. Five minutes later, wearing a gray coat and cap, he went on deck.
There was a heavy fog on the river. It was impossible to see anything further than twenty meters. Because of the poor visibility, the riverbank was not seen. There was only a gray haze all around. And there was no wind, but because of the humidity, it felt piercingly cold. The temperature was no higher than 7 degrees.
The deck was almost empty. Passengers were beginning to come on deck. The usual passengers in Litany are merchants and government employees. Merchants accompany their cargo, while government employees travel between cities on their own business. Mike also is a government employee in active service.
"UUUU-UUUU-UUUU," Litany's horn sounded. After a while, an answering "u-u-uuuu" hearing in the distance.
Mooring didn't take longer than ten minutes. The ship arrived in port.
Northern Capital Port was one of only two capital ports and the only one that received passengers. The port could accommodate no more than four ships at a time. But usually, ships did not stay in port. Now there was one other ship in port beside the Litany.
The gangway has lowered. Together with the other passengers, Mike went down to the pier and proceeded to the port building. He had to check in and go through security. The port building is tall, three stories high, with a spacious hall inside. The waiting area, cafeteria, screening, and registration areas are all here.
Inside, Mike headed to the screening area, which served everyone arriving at the port. The registration area, on the other hand, handled departing passengers. Mike picked out the available security officer at the counter. He handed him his documents - his passport and ticket - and then placed his travel bag and suitcase on the scanner.
"Good morning."
"Good morning," a young dark-skinned guy in a military uniform and glasses answered him. He took his passport first. At that moment, Mike felt a small surge of energy emanating from the guy. He touched his glasses and inspected first Mike and then his passport closely. Satisfied with what he saw, the guy put aside his passport, took the ticket, and began to fill out the paper form.
"Do you have any prohibited items for import?" He asked.
"Yes, there is an import permit," Mike replied, handing him the document.
The guy got surprised when he heard Mike's answer. And he became even more shocked when he read the document. This was not the first time when Mike had seen such a reaction. Especially when he was not in uniform, he was often mistaken for a civilian. He was supposed to wear a uniform, but Mike was more accustomed to civilian clothes. Besides, he stood out much less from the crowd in it. So, the inspector's reaction was not unexpected.
The guy took Mike's passport once more and scanned it carefully. Then he set it aside and put his hand on the scanner. Another surge of energy and the scanner came to life. A strong energy field began to emanate from it. The scanner under Mike's things began to glow with a faint bluish light. After a few seconds, the light changed to a pulsating red. And a small crystal display screen showed the contents of the luggage.
"Wow," the guy whispered as he looked at the screen, then turned to Mike. His eyes widened with surprise. "Sir, I need a confirmation signature from you," he addressed Mike in a slightly shaky voice.
"Sure," Mike answered him.
He raised his hand, and at chest level, he began to move it as if trying to draw a picture. The guy felt a small surge of energy. A complex signature slowly started to form in front of Mike's hand. After a dozen seconds, the sign was ready. To ordinary eyes, it looked like a simple glowing sign. But if you can look with a magical vision, you will see a complex three-dimensional energy structure.
The inspector sighed in relief when he saw the finished signature. He recognized it immediately.
"Sorry, sir. It's just the job," the guy began to apologize.
"It's okay, I understand," Mike replied.
The guy turned off the scanner. He made a mark on the ticket and stamped it. "Have a good day, sir," he said, holding out his papers.
Mike took his things and went through the frame of the big scanner, and it glowed in a pulsing red light. He turned back to the guy.
The guy looked at the crystal screen of the big scanner.
"It's okay, sir, you can go," he said.
"Thanks," Mike answered him and headed for the exit.
After Mike left, two of his coworkers approached the guy.
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"Trouble Dey?" One of them asked.
"No, it's okay," answered Dey, the guy who inspected Mike.
"So, who was this human?" The other asked him.
"Captain Michael de Graaf," answered Dey.
"De Graaf? Of the same de Graaf's?"
"Yes, of the same de Graaf's," answered Dey with an affirmative nod.
"Nonsense," said the first. "He looks like an ordinary human. He's not like us. How can he be one of the..."
"But it's true. I checked his documents well. And the magic signature was correct."
"Yeah, but..."
"Trey, from where were you transferred to us like this?" Interrupted Dey.
"From Ai Tian," he replied.
"Trey, you're new here and don't know much. So, remember this. Even if he has light skin and not similar facial features, he's still got the blood of the de Graaf's in him. Although I agree with you, it all looks weird."
There was a plaza behind the port building, specifically for those arriving and departing. Mike stopped, looking around the plaza. The heavy fog still makes it very difficult to see. The street lamps were no longer lit, as the sky was a light gray. As far as Mike could see now, there were a dozen horse-drawn and self-propelled carriages in the plaza. It was practically empty. Three of the carriages were public from the capital's regularly scheduled routes. Information about this showed by coloring with a brightly glowing route number and the names of stops. Several carriages were available for hire. They had greenish "free" lights on them. The rest were either not active or private.
There weren't many people in the plaza outside the building. A few of them Mike had seen back on the ship. In one corner of the plaza, next to the port building, was a mounted patrol of four men. They were swiftly surveying all who passed by.
The law forbids travel on personal horseback in the capital, be it horses or other creatures. The only exceptions were patrols or by special permission. It was simpler for carriages and wagons. People needed only a license to drive them.
One horse carriage standing in the square looked suspicious to Mike. It was quite far away, at the edge of the plaza. The fog prevented him from seeing it in detail. Two sat in the coachman's seat, hiding their faces with hoods, and one in a hat stood beside the carriage and smoked. Several times, Mike noticed the three men looking in his direction, most likely at him, and talking to each other.
After finishing his survey of the plaza and waiting for a minute, Mike selected one of the available carriages and headed for it.
"Good morning. Are you available for hire?" Mike asked the coachman. He was a large middle-aged man with grayish skin.
"Yes, free," the man replied. "Three silver coins. Not going out of town."
"All right," Mike replied.
"Give me your stuff. And pay up ahead, too."
A few minutes later, Mike was leaving the square in a carriage. It was a long ride, halfway across the capital.
He hadn't been in the capital for more than a year. And now, he was looking at the changes that had taken place over that time with interest. Unfortunately, there weren't many of them. Most of the changes were in stores. There were many of them on the main streets. Some of them closed, and new ones appeared in their place. Most of the stores had brightly colored signs and banners. At night, the light from them somewhat outshone the street lights. The streets became flooded with bright, vibrant colors.
Mike didn't like those kinds of streets. The scattered energy from the brightly colored signs was very distracting. Besides, it was also of different types.
Several times he noticed new buildings replacing old ones. Most of the buildings were stone, mostly three to five stories. The law forbids building more than five floors in the capital. The reason was simple - buildings had to be lower than the tops of trees and not interfere with air traffic. There were many trees in the capital: in parks, along the roads, and even between the buildings. And all of them were evergreens about 15 meters in height.
The main streets in the capital are wide, stone-paved for two-way traffic, with sidewalks on each side and street lighting poles. The side streets are narrower but also paved with stone.
So, they drove for about twenty minutes. The fog had almost melted by now and was out of the way. Mike sat in the front seat, with his back to the coachman. Through the back window, he could see the road behind them. Several times he spotted the same carriage. It seemed to follow them at a fair distance. Mike turned to the coachman.
"Dear Sir, stop at the nearest working café. If you wait twenty minutes, you'll get more coins."
The coachman thought for a few seconds, then replied.
"All right. There's one cafe nearby. Three silver coins if I have to wait for you."
"Agreed," Mike agreed.
A minute later, they stopped in front of a café.
"Money in advance," the coachman told him. Mike handed him the coins and headed for a table in the café.
Usually, the café had tables both inside and outside on the street. And despite the morning, several tables outside were already occupied. A waitress approached Mike.
"What would you like?" She asked.
"A hot coffee without sugar and a muffin," Mike answered her.
"Just a minute, I'll bring it now."
While he was ordering, the carriage that was followed him passed by. The same two hooded men sat in front. The carriage passed the café and turned into the nearest side street.
A couple of minutes later, the waitress came with a coffee and a muffin.
"Here's your order," she said. "That'll be two silver coins."
Mike had a quick breakfast and returned to his carriage.
"Same address," the coachman asked.
"Yes, 46 Shadow Street," he told the driver.
"We're at the location," the coachman said, stopping the carriage at the mentioned address. Mike picked up his things.
"Have a nice day."
"Have a nice day," the coachman replied, jerked the reins, and the carriage moved on.
Mike stayed on the street alone. The carriage that was following him stopped in the distance. Quickly turning into the passageway between the houses, Mike headed down to the next street. Those who followed him would have to dismount. On the next street, Silent 53, was his house. He only needed to walk a little.
As he approached his house, a mounted capital patrol caught up with him on the street. Four riders carefully surveyed everything as they moved down the street.
Mike turned around, and no one else seemed to be following him. He walked quickly toward the house, a stone two-story building. He had inherited the house from his parents, who, like him, were from the Clan de Graaf. But now Mike lived in it alone. Before he left, he had dismissed all the hired servants. To keep the house in order in his absence, the clan sometimes sent a housekeeper.
He walked to the door and placed his palm on the scanner on the door. An energy surge and a bluish glow appeared under the palm of his hand. After a couple of seconds, it turned greenish. Mike put the key in the keyhole and opened the door. He was at home.
On the first floor, there was a spacious hall with stairs to the second floor. To the right side of the first floor were the living room, kitchen, and dining room, and on the left side were four servants' quarters. The house accommodates up to eight servants. On the second floor, on both sides, were two bedrooms, a cabinet, and a restroom. But the left side stayed unoccupied for a long time. Mike used the right wing.
He put down his suitcase and travel bag, went to the window, and looked out onto the street. He didn't see anyone suspicious near the house. Mike walked down the hall, looking into the dining room and kitchen, then into the servants' wing. Everywhere was clean and orderly. Then he went upstairs to the second floor. He needed to unpack.
He went into the cabinet. There was a semi-darkness around because of the tightly curtained windows. He found the light switch by the door and, concentrating a little, gave it a small energy pulse. The overhead lights came on at a quarter brightness. The lighting in the house, as everywhere else in the capital, was mostly electric. But it was all controlled by magical crystals.
There was a fireplace in the corner of the cabinet, and next to it laid a stack of wood. Mike decided to fire it up. He quickly lit it and sat down in the chair nearby.
After half an hour, the room was warm, and Mike felt like he was finally starting to warm up. Then he decided to take care of the correspondence on his desk. A lot of it had piled up over one year. Mike spent almost an hour sorting and reading the correspondence. On several letters, he decided to write back immediately.
When he finished, he took the leather briefcase from a suitcase and went down to the hall on the first floor. Again, he went to the window and looked out onto the street. The street was already quite lively. Mike stood by the window for a few minutes. Passers-by, a few carriages, but he didn't see anyone suspicious.
In the center of the hall lay a wide woven carpet. Mike carefully rolled it aside. Underneath it, he could see a huge pentagram drawing inscribed in a ring with various writings nearly three meters in diameter.
Mike pulled out a leather pouch of crystals from his briefcase. Ten round crystals of various shades. He examined them carefully and placed each one in its hole in the floor, five outer and five inner. Then went to the center, where there was another small pentagram, stylized as the face of a demoness with a predatory grin. Sighing heavily, he made a wound on his finger with a penknife, and a few drops fell on the small pentagram. Mike waited for the blood to soak in. And then, he lowered to one knee and placed his palm on the same spot.
"Well, let's get started," Mike said with a sigh.
"Protective field," the energy surged, and the outer five crystals began to glow one by one. Then a faintly flickering protective field appeared around the pentagram.
"Connection," another energy surge. The inner five crystals, in turn, began to glow faintly. A few seconds passed, and all the crystals continued to glow faintly.
"Established," Mike said with relief.
"Transfer," all the crystals began to increase their luminescence.
At the same time, Mike's figure gradually became transparent until it disappeared altogether. At that moment, the crystals ceased their glow. The protective field fell, and Mike was no longer in the hall.