AR10 Ch18

Chapter Eighteen

Things quickly settled into a routine again. Rudit and Makkar would be taking time off in a few days, with the rule about no visitors known by the entire family. The men hadn’t approached Makkar about buying the slaves yet, and Gregory resisted the urge to try seeing that future. He wanted to have as little knowledge about it as possible in case he was ever questioned. His brief chat with his wives the morning after speaking with Rafiq had Yukiko agreeing that they should stay out of it, if possible, for deniability.

Everything else was calm, even when Jenn dueled Donic Vulgoson. The champion gave her a good fight, but she still won. Her enchanted sword, letting her change the blade, was the edge she needed to beat him. Mindie had to heal Donic’s neck, as Jenn finished the fight with what would’ve been a decapitation if they’d used steel instead of training blades and sheathed swords.

~~~

Sitting with his wives after looking at the future, Gregory was melancholy. When he sat beside Clover, she rubbed his back. “Greg, are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Angala is going to be at the duels today. It just got me to remember that she recently lost her mom.”

“Is she okay?” Jenn asked.

“She’s taken up the spear and has been training with it,” Gregory said. “There’s no champion today, but she comes to ask if I will duel her.”

“It’d break the rules we established,” Yukiko said softly.

“I know. It’s good and bad, but I can spin it to work.”

“Will it hurt the family?”

Gregory thought about it, then used foresight to see his conversation with Yukiko later. “No. I can play it off as pandering to the Kroggians and, if needed, even trying to demoralize her.”

“You’re not going to do that,” Mindie said.

“Of course he isn’t, but he can say he was trying,” Roshana said.

“It’ll come down to how things go. He’ll need to win decisively for him to use that excuse. We know he can, but to manage that and not actually demoralize her will be a thinner line,” Ling said.

“Greg?” Yukiko asked.

“I can manage it. It’ll feel like tough love to her,” Gregory exhaled. “If I hedge at a special duel with Elder Annadottir, she’ll make sure no one pushes Greta for more.”

“Very well. We’ll work around it if our enemies try to use it later. How is she, though? You didn’t answer that question.”

“Emotionally torn up,” Gregory said softly. “She’s working through it with the spear. I’m sure she’ll find her way past the pain. The focus she’s putting into mastering her weapon is helping her heal in her own way.”

“I’d hoped that Ragnar not mentioning giving the spear to her meant that Ava had survived,” Mindie sighed.

“Yeah… me, too,” Jenn said.

“War’s cost is always in lives,” Gregory said softly. “I can’t remember things from before, but I can feel those words deeply.”

“You’re right. That is the lasting price of war,” Yukiko said. “We should get our meditation done before all the watchers arrive.”

The others agreed with her, settling their minds to reach their aether caverns to do Armsmaster Squares with their flames. After they finished, they still needed to work on resonance strengthening before breakfast. If they were going to change the world, they couldn’t lapse in training. They’d need all the strength they could get when it came time to support their husband.

~~~

Gregory sat down with Rudit after breakfast. After filling her in on the embassy, he broached the topic of Angala. “There will be a deviation during the honor duel.”

“Explain,” Rudit said.

“Angala Avadottir, daughter of Ava Hurnadottir, comes to the ring as the duels are ending. She requests a match with me, even though it’s against the rules we’ve established.”

“She is refused, then?”

“I am considering accepting her request,” Gregory said. “The council member who is there supports me and makes sure people understand that it is not going to be allowed again.”

“Why?”

“Ava was the sole champion who fell during the duels at Bloodrock. Angala was given her spear, as is the tradition in Krogga. That had Anagla set down the axe and take up her mother’s spear. She was growing strong with the axe, but is not as proficient with the spear. She wishes to get a gauge of her ability with her new weapon.”

“I fail to see why you’d agree,” Rudit said, but her eye twitched.

“If I tread a thin line, I believe I can instill doubt in her all while continuing to act like we are building goodwill. Seeing a good fighter demoralized will take some of the bluster out of the watchers.”

“Hmm… an interesting idea. Why should it matter if she is demoralized? She isn’t a champion.”

“If she gains proficiency with the spear, I think the champions who fought alongside Ava will speak for Angala. She might become one. We don’t know how Krogga makes their champions, besides it being a secret. It is known that they can promote warriors to become a champion, though, and that is why defeating a potential champion before they even begin to tread the path would be to our advantage.”

Rudit’s smile was real as she nodded slowly. She wasn’t smiling because of Gregory’s supposed plan, but at the devious way he was phrasing his real intent. Anyone who truly knew Gregory would know he was lying. He wasn’t the kind to intentionally hurt someone who’d just lost their mother, but the reasoning was good enough that it would bolster his loyalty to their watchers. She’d lodged an official complaint with her superiors over being under as much observation as she was. The official reply would come soon, and she was sure it would deny that the empire was doing so. If she was right, though, the extra spies would dwindle, giving Gregory and his family a little more breathing room.

“Very well, Gregory. I will want a full report when you return. Have Yukiko go over it with you, but only after you’ve written it. You need to learn how to present your arguments better in official transcripts.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Before we get to the Peaceful Fist, I wanted to ask your opinion on who should be ambassador when I take days away again.”

Gregory was quiet for a moment. He’d already held the post, as had Yukiko, so he discounted the two of them. As much as he loved Clover, he discounted her as ambassador, too. She was a joy and energetic, but she was only truly focused when she did alchemy, trained, or… did other acts. Clover wouldn’t do well with all the paperwork and minutia of being the ambassador. That left Mindie, Roshana, Ling, or Jenn. Ling and Jenn had both been assistant ambassadors already, so he was slightly disinclined to suggest them, leaving him with Mindie or Roshana. Between the two of them, he thought Roshana would be better suited as the ambassador, but he could also suggest Mindie take the role of assistant.

“Gregory?” Ruddit’s tone was slightly stern as she prompted him.

“Roshana in your role, with Mindie in Makkar’s,” Gregory said. “I apologize, ma’am. I didn’t want to just answer. I gave it the thought it should have.”

“Why them?”

Gregory explained his reasoning to her.

“Not terribly thought out. If you don’t discount Ling and Jenn, does your answer stay the same?”

“I’d suggest Ling in your role with Roshana as assistant.”

“Why?”

“Ling is studious and detail-oriented. She’s calm and thorough and always double-checks things. She won’t be flustered if an emergency happens, which is a highly important trait in an ambassador.”

“Hmm… You wouldn’t give her Clover as an assistant?”

“If Ling was ambassador, I think Clover could manage as the assistant, but Clover’s skills aren’t with paperwork.”

“Aptly noted. I believe Ling has been coaching her on her reports for the last month. There has been notable improvement without a clear reason.”

Gregory looked away, not replying.

“And I see that I am right,” Rudit chuckled. “I will have Ling sit in my stead this time. Do you know why I keep changing who is doing so?”

“To help us better grasp the role of leadership,” Gregory said. “Even if we never sit as an ambassador or assistant, we can use the experience for other postings. A city magi, while not as prestigious, must still account for a lot of paperwork. Having a taste of such things here prepares us for later.”

“Did Yukiko explain that to you?”

“It was discussed as a family after the first time, ma’am,” Gregory said, not exactly answering the question.

“Do my tests bother you?”

“No, ma’am. Hard paths make the best magi, as our clan founder used to say. We want to be the best magi in the clan and empire.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Gregory, or you might find unknown people assisting you to those paths.”

“If it means we become stronger, then we will weather those challenges, ma’am.”

“So young and confident,” Rudit sighed. “Go get Makkar. We have to do the Peaceful Fist before you leave.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Greogry said, bowing before doing as he was told.