“That sort of thing isn’t what a high lord is supposed to be doing.”
“High lord me wasn’t part of that. On the other hand, International Service me was on the other side of the proposal checking to see if the proposal met the needs of the Republic.”
“Did you keep them straight?”
“High lord me kept wanting to take International Service me out for a drink to loosen things up, but I kept things straight.”
Chapter 5.
The Lower City
Gunag looked at the ancient almost ruin and frowned. At first glance, the building would be totally inappropriate as an embassy. The build was a ten story stub of what had been a taller building in the ancient past with bits and stubs of the tower that it had been. The tenants were families on the upper stories and offices and small shops on the lower five stories. The first few times that Gunag had passed the building, he had ignored it, until he looked closely and on the front of the building, stone worn by time were the seals of House Genros and Valberos intertwined with each other. The building had been owned by his Houses at one point. Noticing that, he looked more closely. When he did, he found all sorts of interesting things. For instance, the elevators still worked. The walls were maintained and the roof was solid. When he talked to the ancient elf that was responsible for taking care of the place, the building had had a generous mana allowance even before the restoration of the mana service. The location was excellent, being three cross streets from the Residence and near three portals. After Jorge’s wedding, he returned to give the building a good going over. Itham Orimaris, the ancient caretaker grinned as Gunag came into his office. “You have returned, young lord.”
“I wanted to ask who handles the rentals.”
“Amrynn Eilxalim at the office handles those matters.”
“Is his office in the building?”
“On the tenth floor. Are you looking to rent an office?”
“I want to know how things work here.”
“That is strange for someone from the House.”
“I was looking to buy the building.”
“Milord, we were told that we would be getting a visit from you for your grandfather. Did not the lady give your lady the list of the properties that were your grandparents’?”
Gunag laughed. “I am already responsible for this building, aren’t I? We’ve been rather distracted and my lady had the ledgers and paper dropped on her. She’s been looking at accounts, but not the properties themselves. We knew about the estate, but we haven’t had a chance to run down the rest. I was looking to see if I could purchase the building for somebody else.”
“I would see Amrynn about the rentals. There is space available both on the lower floors and the upper floors. There are other buildings that Amrynn manages for the House.”
“I think I will have to make a trip upstairs. Has anyone spoken to you about getting phones installed?”
“Some people from the phone office have made feelers, but I told them that it wasn’t my place to approve something like that. I take it that you want telephones.”
“I certainly do. Let me go upstairs and talk to the manager.”
Amrynn grinned as the rather uncouth orc came into his office. He had been warned by the family about its prodigal and that he might visit. The orc with elvish tinges said, “Elf Eilxalim, I am Gunag Ironhead. Ettrien Valberos is my grandfather and I have been handed his properties, including this building.”
“Welcome, Lord Gunag. The House did say that someone from Lord Ettrien’s family would probably be looking into things. You are rather a surprise.”
“Grandfather Ettrien is my mother’s father. His drinking buddy, Grandfather Dorug is my father’s father. I tend to take after my father, and my sister after my mother.”
“So, I suppose you want to go over the ledgers.”
“Not today. Actually, I was hoping to see if the building could be sold or a space rented with a long term lease.”
“That is rather sudden. Why are you looking for space?”
“I will tell you if this goes beyond me prospecting.”
“How much space would you want?”
“Two full floors and about ten apartments. There is nothing urgent about this.”
“That may be possible. A tenant is looking to move into the new tower that the Carayarus built.”
“I was there at the opening. I imagine that the Ralotris are looking for tenants and arranging deals.”
“They have, making some good offers. So you come from the Republic. Can you tell me what life is like there and why you came to the Empire?”
“That is complicated. It started when I was tossed in the slammer on the mound for busting up a bar. Then I was dumped in the middle of a little war.”
Ilvisar came into the office and said, “I see that you have met Gunag, Amrynn. He’s catching up on the things that mother dumped on him.”
“We were just getting started, milord. So far he has been sharing his adventures.”
“Has he gotten to his sister’s wedding yet?”
“Not as yet.”
“Estelar was there and said that it was a lot of fun, with some crazies and a steam tractor.”
“Did aunt send you, Ilvisar?” Gunag groused.
“Mother and aunt are having a chat with Lady Tollings. Lady Tollings is a bit concerned that you were having problems dealing with property purchases in the Lower or Cloud City. She would like the new embassy issue resolved fairly quickly.”
“I wasn’t going to involve family in this. Then it turns out that my grandfather owns this building.”
“He owns this building and several others. Mother is glad that you are house shopping.”
“This is for my boss.”
“Your boss wants to move the Residency out of House Aravaris.”
“He does. Or rather he’s concerned that the Republic has a home of its own rather than whoever replaces him having to rely on his relatives. The admiral is looking to return home at some point.”
“Since you and Derry probably aren’t planning to leave the Empire, setting you to looking for a place was shrewd. Why this place? It is rather old.”
“First of all, the location is good. The building is well maintained and sound. The top of the building could use some work, but that can be used by the Republic to create an entertainment space and best of all, I’m not involved in an Imperial tangle because I have to cover for the admiral and looking to buy a house.”
Ilvisar and Eilxalim laughed. Gunag looked at them and said, “On the other hand, we will have to be careful or the admiral will set the Themaers on the building.”
“The Themaers?” Eilxalim asked.
“You probably have heard that Lord Themaer builds cities. He learned some things from his father before he was taken by the Ravathyra. Lord Themaer’s father is a world renowned architect with a reputation for crazy buildings. The Ravathyra tavern is one of his buildings, rather tame. Some of his constructions in Chatsrey are not so tame. I’m hoping that the Empress doesn’t do something that annoys Mrs. Tollings. That could start things off.”
“What do you mean?” Ilvisar asked.
Gunag told the pair the stories of the Crystal Palace and the Anvil as they laughed and laughed.
House Aravaris
Harald looked at the message, frowned and then went looking for Jilly. She was in the garden with Geral eating lunch. They looked at the admiral and Geral came to attention. “Is there something we can do for you, sir?”
Harald handed Geral the message. “Tom wants to know about some groups protesting against the navy. Both of you are fairly recent graduates, so you might know something.”
Geral grinned. “Before we came here, your grandson asked us to look into groups like that. We brought up all the paperwork, since we could talk to people in the new gods cult and send messages without anybody looking at us. I don’t think that we were looking at protest groups in upper schools.”
“Good. I suspected that you would have a handle on the problem.”
“What’s going on, admiral?” Jilly asked.
Harald sighed. “Apparently navy recruitment is down, Drannor told Tom about the issue and Tom is looking for some intelligence.”
“He should talk to Swifty.”
“Good point. By the way, have you seen Bennie?”
“He is at the Hall of the Justiciars. They are disposing of the cases of those suicide bombers today.”
“He wants to know what will happen to that girl he rescued. That is an amazing change for him.”
“I know.”
“Where are Gunag and Derry?”
“They were in the Lower City this morning. You may have a proposal from them soon.”
“That’s good news. I may be called back to the Republic for a time.”
“They want you to help with the recruiting?” Geral said.
“That, and other things. In any case, I may need to go.”
Chapter 6.
The Hall of the Justiciars
Bennie fingered his coin purse. He had been visiting the Hall of the Justiciars every day since the wedding trying to see Laerdya and had not been allowed to see her. Today, the ten that had been sent to the wedding were going to be disposed of. Bennie had 800 gold from his allowance and the money that he had gotten from Ayre in exchange for the information about Gunag. He hoped that it would be enough to purchase Laerdya. Then he was going to send her to his parents so that she would be free of the Empire and the catastrophe that she had been dropped into. Letting his purse drop, with more than a bit of trepidation, Bennie entered the hall.
Filia turned to Lymseia and said, “He came.”
“Young Mr. Findley? Are you surprised?”
“Not at all. He was defending the girl after preventing her from pulling the cord.”
“Something that all of us, even those of us who were not attending the wedding are thankful for.”
“Shall we let him purchase the girl?”
“The plan was to have these folk dispersed into the families. The girl could be at risk.”
“I think not. Jilly is there at the residence and you know what hurting someone’s True does to one.”
“Findley is not even an elf.”
“I have had some thoughts about that and the Plateau. If the boy makes an attempt to purchase the girl, I think that we should let him succeed. If the bond is True, as unlikely as it seems, he will risk all to protect her.”
“I leave it to you. I wish that we had more time to discuss and plan.”
“Her majesty wants the ten out of sight as soon as possible.”
“What about the lady who sent them?”
“We know where she is, and so does Jorge.”
Lymseia had an evil grin as she said, “The lady had better hope that Shael keeps Jorge distracted.”
“That is true. Let us see what happens here.”
Kelvahn stood up, took out a writ and said, “I have been instructed by the Imperial House to write writs of trespass for these ten individuals as a result of actions taken in the Imperial Park On the fifteenth of Daelbyrne during the wedding of Lord Umevan and Lady Biqen. As a potential consequence of their actions, many lives could have been lost. As that and other considerations, the Empress has asked that a fine of a thousand gold be placed on all the trespassers. Since the trespassers have no House or family known to be here in the Empire, the ten have been collared and have been put up for sale to cover the fine as best as possible. The auction will commence.”
Bennie couldn’t help himself. He blurted out, “They were victims!”
The rest of the folk looked at him and the Chief Justiciar said, “Shouts outside the auction will not be tolerated, Mr. Findley. Shall we proceed?”
Bennie was forced to sit and watch as one by one, the ten were brought to the block and auctioned off. None reached the thousand gold of the fine and Bennie suspected that there some collusion going on between the bidders. Finally it was Laerdya’s turn. The bidding started at a hundred gold and climbed. Bennie bid up as one by one the other bidders dropped out. Finally, it was him and the lady from the bakery. She bid seven hundred and ninety gold and Bennie screeched, “Eight hundred!”
There was no answer from the bakery lady and the Justiciar looked at the other bidders. “Any other bids?”
The room was quiet. “Very well. Mr. Findley, you are the winning bidder. I want to let you know that you are responsible for the girl and certain things will not be tolerated until you are free of your collar, yourself.”
“I understand, Justiciar.”
“Can you cover your bid? If not, Elf Reymyar will have the girl.”
“I can cover the bid.”
“You have your own fine to consider.”
“I will bear the debt. There were important things as stake here.”
“Then the auction is ended.”
The guards opened the cage the ten had been placed in and Laerdya ran to Bennie. “You saved me! I knew that you would!”
She hugged Bennie and then spun away in a dance. “This worked out so well.”
“This isn’t over,” Bennie groused. “Now we have to arrange for a place for you until I can send you home.”
“You would send me away?”
“I think that I have to. There really isn’t a place for you here and you could be in trouble. I think that you need to learn of the world as it is, and I can’t do that here.”
“So long as you don’t want me kept away forever, my savior. Let us go out of this place.”
Bennie and Laerdya left the hall, walking past a grinning Filia. Lymseia joined her with her purchases and said, “I need to get this bunch to the bakery.”
“Not the house?”
“The bakery. It will be easier for them to adapt in the bakery. I see that the girl latched right on to Findley.”
“Yes she did. That is a good omen.”
House Aravaris
Harald looked at a rather quailing Bennie and said, “I would not have believed that you could be more foolish than you have been, but then you go and purchase a slave girl, presumably to warm your bed and then tell me about it? You must know that telling me this would not make me happy.”
“Admiral I did not purchase the girl to warm my bed.”
“You don’t want to score?”
“She is sixteen. I do not rob cradles.”
“Then why did you purchase the girl?”
“She needs somebody and that somebody is apparently me. I saved her and I feel responsible for her.”
“That is a big change for you, Mr. Findley. How did you get the coin to purchase the girl?”
“I would rather not say. It did not involve anything that could be considered classified or illegal.”
“I will let that go, unless I have reason to change my mind about that. That money could have gone a long way toward paying your debt.”
“I know. There were more important things at stake.”
“What are your plans for the girl?”
“I would like to arrange to have her sent home as soon as possible.”
“Will your family accept her?”
“I believe so.”
“She can share space with Jilly until you can arrange passage to the Republic. Until then, she can assist Jilly and Shelara. One last thing. This was a good thing you did. A surprise, but a good thing.”
“It has been a surprise to me as well, admiral.”
“Dismissed. You have a telegram to send home. I have been recalled to the Republic for some discussions and my wife will probably insist on taking the girl, so sending the message promptly would be a good thing.”
“Yes, admiral.”
Bennie left and Gunag came in. “I think that I have a proposal for a space for an embassy.”
“Who are we going to be dealing with and how touchy are things going to be?”
“We are dealing with me and they shouldn’t be touchy at all. It turns out that I own some buildings in the Lower City, or rather grandfather does and I was looking at one near the Residence. There are twenty apartments unoccupied at present and a bank is looking to move their offices to the new Carayarus-Ralotris building, so two floors will be available. I have the proposal here.”
“Good. I can read it on my way to the Republic.”
“What’s going on?”
“The navy is having recruitment issues and Tom wants to discuss them with me. So you and Derry are going to have the shop for a bit.”
“You can use the boys.”
“That may be part of the drive. So, tell me more about the space you are looking to move us into.”
“The building is a bit interesting as it predates the mage wars, but it lost its top five floors somehow. On the other hand, the elevators still work and the building has a good mana allotment. As I said, the building is near the Residence and the fae embassy and convenient to three portals. So discreet chats are possible. Since the floors that are available were used by a bank, they can be secured if necessary. The apartments aren’t in a block, but the building has security and is quiet. If I can, I’ll take you around before you go to the Republic.”
“I’m afraid that my schedule is full. Has Derry seen the building yet?”
“Not yet. We’ve been missing each other since the wedding. I’ll take him through.”
“Keep looking. There may be reasons that the department will turn the proposal down, or Congress will.”
“Because I own the building, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t even know that when I started to look closely at the building. I included the rent that the bank was paying and the Republic is getting a discount if the lease is longer than ten years. It’s all there in the proposal.”
Harald laughed. “That sort of thing isn’t what a high lord is supposed to be doing.”
“High lord me wasn’t part of that. On the other hand, International Service me was on the other side of the proposal checking to see if the proposal met the needs of the Republic.”
“Did you keep them straight?”
“High lord me kept wanting to take International Service me out for a drink to loosen things up, but I kept things straight.”
“I’ll run this by the Secretary. There isn’t a rush on this.”
“I know. On the other hand, the sooner it’s done, the sooner we don’t have to worry about it.”