AR10 Ch17

Chapter Seventeen

“Good morning, Rudit.”

“Is it? Your family returned after dinner, and while it wasn’t required for you to check in, one of you should have.”

Gregory bowed in his seat. “Apologies, Ambassador. I will endeavor to not make that mistake again.”

“For someone born on the fringe, it can be overlooked,” Rudit said. “But I’m disappointed in Yukiko for not considering it.”

Gregory felt the watchers on them and knew this was showmanship, so he accepted it. “Yes, ma’am.”

Rudit’s eyes narrowed. “No defense of your wife?”

“Anything I say will not deflect your ire, ma’am. I could explain why she might not have thought about it, but you’ve surely already considered all of that.”

“No longer rising to defend your wives at the slightest provocation? That is good. This was, of course, merely a test to see if you’ve set aside an enormous weakness. If you do marry a Kroggian, you will hear far worse than that from many.”

“I am aware, ma’am. We will deal with it as needed, but not every comment warrants an immediate reaction. That is too big a lever to hand to any opponent.”

“Very well. Now, let’s discuss the trip. You went out to her family residence. How did her parents take the news of her marrying into a magi family?”

“They were skeptical at first, but my wives mellowed their feelings. Seeing how many of my wives have eurtik features calmed Verka’s mother, and I had to spar Ragnar to show my strength to her father. While I can’t beat Ragnar, I did draw the duel out enough to gain their approval.”

“A duel at their farm? Was anyone injured?”

“Myself and Ragnar were fine. The day we stayed, though, everyone got some training in. Verka dueled those of my wives who use staffs, winning and losing some. I trained with Yukiko and Roshana while Ragnar dueled Jenn. That fight had a few small injuries between them, but nothing Mindie couldn’t heal.”

“I shouldn’t expect an angry high priest to see me, then?”

“No, ma’am. If he is angry when he visits, I would be surprised. I expect he’s having a similar conversation with Ragnar right now. It’s doubtful he’ll visit the embassy over the trip.”

“Hmm… very well. I will be taking two days at the end of the month. Your family will not be hosting your potential bride or any ambassadors during that time. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am. If anyone inquires, we will politely decline and see if they’d be willing to visit when you return to duty.”

“Good. I grow tired of guests visiting when I take days away. It reflects poorly on me, Gregory.”

“I would think it reflects on your skill and cunning, ma’am. They dare not try to get a good deal out of you. Rather, they want to take advantage of the young magi who aren’t as wise.”

Rudit’s lips twitched. “A little clumsy on the compliment, but it was a good attempt. Anything that I should be aware of today?”

“No, ma’am. Nothing out of the ordinary. Jenn will be attending the honor duels today, and I will be taking time to speak with Rafiq after I train the men.”

“He was disappointed not to accompany you, but sending him would have caused problems. Since Ambassador Blit knows an academy slave is here, he might try to find a way to spirit him away or break the enslavement.”

Gregory knew that wasn’t the case. Rafiq didn’t want to be freed— he wanted to return to his wife and child at the academy, even if it meant he stayed a slave. Their watchers likely had no idea, so he just bowed to Rudit. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Get Makkar. We will do the Peaceful Fist now.”

~~~

“How was the trip, sir?” Davis asked when Gregory joined the men in the yard.

“Good. Is the squad ready to train?”

“Yes, sir. Are we working on mounted combat afterward?”

“Yes. Legacy needs the work. I feel bad for him, as it is. A warhorse stuck at an embassy is sad.”

“You won’t be here before he’s too old to do the job, especially not with your wife to keep him healthy.”

“True, but after the posting, there’s no saying where I’ll be headed.”

“You don’t know, sir?”

“That’s years away. Even if I look at it now, it has a high probability of changing.”

“Ah, right. I’m sure it’ll be fine, sir. Your next posting is through your clan, not the mandatory one to the empire, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but those postings are required by the empire, just directed at the clan to fill them. It’ll be interesting to see what the clan does with my family. I know we won’t be together like this again for many years.”

Davis’ brow furrowed for a moment. “Won’t that be hard, sir? I can’t think of finding a loved one and not seeing them for that long.”

“It’ll be difficult. None of us want to be split apart, but this posting only happened because of the Buldoun tournament. Normally, no ambassadorial posting would have so many magi from a single clan. At most, I’d think three of us might be posted to the same place. In reality, though, I’d be shocked if two of us were put in the same place. I’d bet that the clan keeps Clover and Ling together as much as they can, possibly at the academy clan hall or at least in Wesrik. Maybe one at the hall and one at the orphanage… but that’s just conjecture on my part.”

“Those two do seem closer than even the rest of you.”

“Their friendship from before we met them just grew closer.” Gregory glanced at the men waiting for him. “Let’s get on with training, Lieutenant. I have to sit with Rafiq and answer questions once we finish.”

“Yes, sir.”

~~~

“Come in, Gregory,” Rafiq said, opening the door for him.

“Afternoon, Rafiq. I brought tea and snacks.”

“Wonderful. Please have a seat. I’ll get my notes ready.”

Gregory took a seat, setting out the snacks and pouring them both a cup of tea. He was sitting back with his cup when Rafiq finished getting his things in order. Instead of launching straight into questions, Rafiq sipped at his tea and had a stuffed date first.

“Thank you for giving me a moment,” Rafiq said when he finished the bite.

“Of course. I’m not sure how interesting it will be, but I know you have your task from the sage.”

“It is still gratifying that you come to me, and I don’t have to seek you out to ask.”

“I would never make you do so. There are those who would be angry to have to sit and report to you, but those people are far from who I am.”

“Yes, it has been noted before,” Rafiq said, his muzzle creasing in a slight smile. “Are you ready to begin?”

“Sure.”

“You went with your wives to the family home of your bride-to-be, Verka Mohadottir, right?”

“We went with Verka and her brother to their parents’ home.”

“Ragnar Ivarson, the youngest high champion in quite some time. He took Bloodrock in the last war, and was the one who brokered the marriage. There are enough accounts of the deal already, but I should ask now that some time has passed, are you still okay with this pending marriage?”

“Yes. Luckily, my wives are willing to accept her and see if we can convince her to emigrate to the empire. Ragnar’s plan was for me to give her an Aether-blessed child, possibly with foresight. That would be tricky; Verka has her own magic, and most magic favors the mother’s line. But the chance at a foresight user in Krogga is why this is even happening. At least, that’s what older magi believe. If we can get her to love us, we might be able to convince her to come with us back to the empire. Why would she give her child to Krogga if she lives in the empire?”

Rafiq made his notes, then ate another date before continuing. “That is a solid point. Which magi suggested that course of action? I don’t believe you mentioned it in that detail before.”

“Elder Ironhand.”

Rafiq jotted the note before looking thoughtful. “That makes sense. Foresight can shape a nation. He’d want to ensure Krogga doesn’t get foresight. How was the trip to their home? You left as seven magi. I can’t imagine there weren’t problems with the Kroggians.”

“With Ragnar and Verka with us, it was mild. It was easy to imagine the animosity would have been far worse if we were alone. Even with the goodwill we’ve established here in the city, it wouldn’t have spread too far beyond the walls. As it is, we had a few pointed questions when we stopped at a village for a meal.”

“But no incidents?”

“None.”

“How did her parents take it when seven magi arrived with their children?”

“As well as they could. There was worry and suspicion. My informal spar with Ragnar to prove my strength to their father helped, though I believe my wives offering to help cook did far more than my duel. How many magi would be willing to cook in their place?”

“Not many. Now, the spar between you and Ragnar. I’d like to hear more, please.”

Gregory went on to recount his spar, then the spars the following day. That led to what they did besides that, and Rafiq’s pen paused.

“All seven of you helped with the farm?”

“It helped complete the work faster and gave us more time to win the favor of the family.”

“Ah, but even then… magi farming? The closest the empire gets to that is the Eternal Blossom clan, but even they don’t get their hands dirty.”

“To be fair, the only ones getting their hands dirty were Jenn and I. I’m a fringer, and she comes from a smith family. We didn’t find it odd. Oh, and Mindie helped feed and heal the animals. Can’t forget that.”

“Of course not. It isn’t like you to forget your wives’ contributions.”

The questions ran out a little while later. Gregory didn’t leave. Instead, he pulled out a Shoji board for them to play while they finished the tea and snacks. The spies grew bored and departed as the game went on. Gregory exhaled in relief when they did.

“Unobserved for a moment,” Rafiq said softly.

“It’s rare and getting rarer,” Gregory muttered. “I don’t know how Lightshield handled it or how Laozi manages it still.”

“With difficulty, I’d presume.”

“Right,” Gregory chuckled. “How have you been?”

“As good as I can be. I do the work given to me by the ambassador and then have time to do whatever I wish. The time away from my family is slowly weighing on me. I look forward to returning when the time comes. Luckily, I have the other staff to speak with, and that helps. The majority of them are generational staff at this point.”

“Generations of slaves growing up as staff here,” Gregory grunted. “And that isn’t enough horror. They have to deal with true monsters at times.”

“Yes. They are grateful that these five years will be ones of calm and peace.” Rafiq hesitated, then cleared his throat. “A few of the men might have offered to buy runes.”

Gregory’s gaze sharpened. “To what end?”

Rafiq dipped his head. “I know why you ask and that it would be a far different question from others. It might have been suggested that a few of the staff could be purchased and then taken outside the embassy to be freed. Some of the youngest staff are interested, but no one is sure how the request would be taken by Makkar. Uncertainty holds them back.”

Gregory exhaled slowly. “The men want to do this out of their pay?”

“Yes. I think you can guess which of the men and women out of the three units would feel strongly about it.”

Gregory was sure his men with strong eurtik heritages would be part of it. “They will need to approach Makkar themselves. Whatever they do, they should not mention the intent to free the eurtiks to Makkar, not directly. Freeing a slave, even here in Krogga, would be seen as a crime to the empire. I don’t want to have to discipline them for doing the right thing.”

Rafiq dipped his snout. “I will pass word along.”

“I’m proud of them. You can let them know that, too, seeing that I can’t officially acknowledge what they are doing.”

“Understood.”

They lapsed into silence as they continued to play the game. Gregory was proud of the men and women of the guard units. He hoped that all of them understood— if even one of them objected, then it would have to be officially looked into.