To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) Page 8
Efferin began rubbing his hands together and then brought them down on the table with his fingers interlocked. “Maestro Reese, you are to send fifty flocks of Senior Soarers, along with fifty teams from the Sun Guild, the mission is to take control of Shantear. The Stone Guild will also send a team. I believe tunneling will be required. These will all be sent on riverboats. The Zephyr Guild will provide Accomplisheds for the wind driven boats and the Willows will use their new waterwheel-driven boats. The water route is hundreds of spans out of the way but it will be much quicker than any passage over land, especially with spell castings being employed.”
“Your will be done,” Reese replied with a sigh. He clearly had little stomach for such a fight so soon after the latest battle.
“Your will be done, Grand Maestro,” Lena Beyers replied. Her iridescent eyes focused briefly on Terroll as if she was curious as to how he would react to twenty-two hundred highly experienced Accomplisheds being sent to confront his former student.
“It will be as you say, Grand Maestro,” Cransur replied for the second time in this meeting.
David Svennar shook his head as if he did not quite believe he was being ordered to send another twenty of his associates into harm’s way. It would take all seven Maestros to override the order and bring an end to this idiocy and three of them have already bowed to the will of the Grand Maestro. “With reservations, I will comply,” he stated, not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it legally sufficed.
This was a bold step and Terroll could only see disaster ahead at the coming confrontation. “I think we should try diplomacy first. A confrontation like this could lead to many deaths on both sides,” he tried to make them see reason.
Efferin’s eyebrows arched up as if he was surprised by the need to clarify what should have been obvious. “This is aggressive diplomacy. Your former student has responded to every flock of Soarers and Senior Soars sent by Maestro Reese to arrest him with harmless spells that rendered them unconscious, caused a mark or so of memory to be lost, and nothing damaged but their egos. While the rogue has no problem with killing the likes of Serin Gell and other members of the Serpent Guild, he has gone out of his way to keep from harming anyone associated with Aakadon.”
“So you believe Daniel Benhannon and his illegal guild will not resist arrest or perhaps teleport away rather than shed the blood of our associates,” Janna shared her conclusion.
Efferin nodded his head. “I do and the assault is only one part of my plan. Another part will intensify the pressure on the rogue from a different angle. Hanja Toweran, the Accomplished of Aakadon to New Oben, is to deliver a message to Queen Clarees. The message will be, Daniel Benhannon, the Royal Knight of the Realm of Ducaun and his muster of thousands, assisted in the eradication of a major Serpent Nest within Mount Shantear, but the renegade again broke faith with Aakadon and has declared the mountain to be the property of the Atlantan Guild, which has been unanimously determined to be illegitimate by all seven Maestros and the Grand Maestro. Either the renegade Accomplished is acting on his own accord or he is a Royal Knight obeying the orders of his Queen. Aakadon is taking steps to deal with the matter at Shantear; we leave you to deal with the politics between Lobenia and Ducaun. Beware; Daniel Benhannon has armed his muster of commoners with Aakacarn weapons that slowly kill them, draining their life forces, as they kill his enemies. This message will also be given by every Accomplished stationed in all the capitals and major cities to every noble of the world.”
Talmon rubbed his chin speculatively. “Benhannon’s seizing of Shantear will be perceived as Ducaun annexing Lobenian territory. This will put Cleona in a bad position, far worse than what her placing Ducaun on a war footing has caused. Some of the kingdoms might actually invade her realm, justifying the move as a preemptive strike. The lords of the land in those kingdoms might well demand action, fearing their own lands at risk of being annexed.”
Efferin smiled broadly. “Precisely, our forces will surround him at Shantear, he will be reluctant to attack us and he might well be ordered back to Ducaun by Cleona, either to defend against invasion or to reassure the other monarchs she is not using her spell-caster knight against them.”
“You are assuming more than what is perhaps prudent,” Maestro Cransur interrupted, drawing every eye to him. “Daniel Benhannon may choose not to leave Shantear, whether ordered to do so or not, and then what? Would you have Aakadon’s flocks and teams camp outside indefinitely while his associates conduct their business as usual, teleporting at will to wherever they need to be?” Runyen paused, glancing at each of his peers before focusing again on Efferin. “That message you intend to send to Clarees and the other monarchs could trigger a major war with ten kingdoms attacking Ducaun. Being a Maestro, I will see your will carried out, Grand Maestro, as is my duty, but I caution you to move carefully lest we end up triggering a war we cannot stop or find ourselves battling the Creator’s Chosen Vessel.”
The quiet that followed the remarks lasted until Efferin cleared his throat. “Your caution is noted. We will proceed carefully, be assured. There may be a few incursions into Ducaun after the message goes out and the kingdom may suffer a little before my plan fully takes root, but I am confident any monarchs who send in their armies will withdraw them when ordered by me to do so. Peace will be restored without all of Atlantan going up in flames.”
“What about confronting Benhannon?” David Svennar asked. “If he and his associates do not flee, the standoff cannot go on indefinitely, what will happen then?”
“I have looked into Daniel’s eyes on multiple occasions and have read his soul,” Efferin replied, brimming with confidence. “The rogue will not harm our people even if it comes to your Accomplisheds tunneling into the mountain. Maestro Reese was outnumbered and caught by surprise, although he had been warned, but this time our forces will be on guard and ready to use spells suitable for capturing any outlaws they encounter. If we do not use lethal spells, neither will Benhannon,” he stated with a certitude clearly designed to alleviate any concerns about the wisdom of proceeding with his plan. “There is one present who has not yet acknowledged his guild’s part in the plan,” he added.
All eyes focused on Terroll, who had not yet acknowledged the Grand Maestro’s will in regard to the Zephyr Guild sending Accomplisheds on the mission. He had no more choice than Svennar. “With reservations, I will comply,” he stated, but could take some comfort from knowing Shantear was over a hundred spans east of the river and his associates would probably go no closer to the mountain than that, the same would be true for Runyen’s Willows.
“Naturally,” Efferin remarked and then took up other matters scheduled for discussion.
Terroll wished he possessed one of Daniel’s communication amulets and could get word to him about this new development. He sat through the rest of the meeting, added little to the discussions, gave statistics when asked, and noted Lena and several other Maestros eyeing him throughout. The session ended and he headed back to the Zephyr Guild.
How many of his peers feel better about Efferin’s plans now that they believed there would be little to no bloodshed? Terroll could not be certain and whatever the answer, he vowed to do his utmost to mitigate what Daniel had done and to keep Efferin’s response from resulting in disaster. Meanwhile, Rondara was no doubt waiting to hear the results of the meeting and hopefully had suggestions on how to proceed.
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The walls of Daniel’s office were light blue, the floor pale gray, and the ceiling white. Fires burned in six silver lamp-stands spaced evenly from corner to middle to corner, and had probably been lit by Jaim Cutler, who was out in the hall guarding the door. Silvia, David, Chas, and Simon were seated in the wooden chairs in front of the desk. All of the furniture was made by the Chief Aid back when he and Daniel were still just friends. Sherree, Martin, and Jeremiah sat on solidified chairs, each conjured by the occupant. Carlos contented himself with leaning against the wall to the left of the door with his a
rms crossed over his chest.
Daniel sat behind a cherry-wood desk, upon which was a bucket of rocks. He smiled and placed the offering from his doorkeeper on the floor. A while back he requested a bucket of rocks, ever since then the young Sentinel always had one on hand whenever Daniel came to work. The enthusiastic fellow had witnessed the contents being turned into precious metals and gems and sometimes being used to feed various transformations like crescendo-powered-amulets for the patrol boats. The offering was his way of being helpful. It might be time to rescind the order, Daniel pondered, seeing as it was not likely he would be creating anything through spell-casting for a while.
He had no idea why Jennel took off after being asked to join him, yet knew she would not have done so without a good reason. Her actions were further proof he did not control the minds of the people he restored from the spell, Condemnation, as he was often accused of doing. He could do little about the false accusations and so put them out of his mind, for the time being.
It was time to focus on the people in front of him. “Do you all understand why I claimed Mount Shantear on behalf of the Atlantan Guild?”
Simon nodded his head. Silvia and David kept their faces blank and no doubt cared little one way or the other about the reasoning. They served the Chosen Vessel and probably reckoned the move to be part of the swirling of events that centered on him, which might actually be the case. Daniel could not deny the possibility.
Martin, whose life has so far spanned over a century and a half, yet appeared to be in his early forties, leaned forward. “I understand the Maestros and Grand Maestro of Aakadon grew negligent over the years, losing track of the flute of Della Lain, along with the spells maintaining Tarin Conn’s confinement beneath Kelgotha, and also failed to secure the Crystal Chamber. Your reasons are clear enough to me,” the Ecoppian born Accomplished stated. “I admit as a former citizen of Aakadon to having once had a blind trust in my Maestro and the Grand Maestro. I believed the august leaders of our Aakacarn society held the fate of the world well in hand and suspect the current residents still believe that to be the case. As a former Oceanic of the Aqua Guild, I can tell you few Aakacarns will believe your word over that of Geran DuSorin or Efferin Tames and will only see anything we do or say as defiance.”
Jeremiah, the former Senior Soarer of the Eagle Guild, cleared his throat. “It was a bold move, one that is sure to have repercussions,” he began without a show of emotion, neither approving nor disapproving. “All of us associated with you will be considered of a feather. Our word on the failure in leadership perpetrated by the rulers of Aakadon, used to justify the acquisition, will not be regarded as trustworthy. Most anyone who is not a member of the Atlantan Guild will be inclined to believe whatever fiction Efferin Tames publishes.”
The decision to claim Shantear for the guild was made quickly, without consulting anyone, not even Sherree whom Daniel loved dearly. Martin and Jeremiah’s assessment of what the reaction in Aakadon would be only stood to reason and Daniel knew both Accomplisheds to be correct.
“You are the Chosen Vessel,” David stated as if that fact alone was sufficient to justify the move. He shrugged his shoulders, much the way Tim Dukane would have, and then added, “Anyone who does not serve in your swirl must give way or face the consequences.”
“That’s right,” Silvia voiced her hardy agreement.
Sherree’s green-eyed gaze had rarely strayed from him since awakening in the quiet room within Shantear and Daniel knew, though she had not said so, that she was worried about his decision, among a host of other things concerning him. “Do you understand why I made the claim?” he asked his wife, his lover, his friend. She was all of those and more.
Her pupils opened wide so as to give her a greater scrutiny of him, which often meant she adored him and wanted to be alone with her newly-wedded husband, a feeling he shared. Yellow gold eyebrows arched up, signaling worry with a hint of irritation, and her pink lips parted and closed as if she was about to say one thing and then thought better of it. “I understand perfectly. You do not trust the leaders of Aakadon, Efferin Tames in particular, and his actions and dereliction of duty caused you to make the spur of the moment decision,” she replied and then let out a sigh. “I just wish you had given me an inkling of what was on your mind. Did you consider the consequences of that decision? Did your idea go beyond not having enough trust in the Maestros of Aakadon to guard a chicken from a fox?”
He had used similar phrasing before when people were trying to persuade him to turn custody of the flute of Della Lain, the crescendo onto which the Da Capos for some of the remaining spells on Tarin Conn are tied, over to a Maestro in Aakadon, which he ended up doing. Unlike that development, he would not change his mind about Shantear. “I stood at what Silvia calls a pivot point, where making the right decision is crucial. The idea came to me while we were going to meet Reese and his team from Aakadon in the staging area. I knew by instinct that claiming Shantear on behalf of the Atlantan Guild was the right thing to do. It was very similar to how I feel when composing a spell. I work the notes and rhythms over and over again in my mind until something in my soul signals me the piece is finished and that it will accomplish the task for which it was written. Well, I got the same sense about claiming the mountain.”
Silvia closed her eyes, which suddenly appeared to be scanning the inside of her lids, took a deep breath, then a short time later shook her head and opened her eyes. “I see darkness covering half of the continent. Daniel, this is the situation right now. Four kingdoms have willingly, but not yet publically, formed an alliance with Tarin Conn, Zune, Pentrosa, Demfilia, and Fon Kay. Darkness is falling over Ecoppia from the anvil peninsula to the Troas Mountains. Battencay is being swallowed up as I speak and so is the southern half of Taracopa. A dark cloud is forming in the Serinian Channel. This I see and so it will be, you must secure and win the trust of Queen Clarees of Lobenia and King Van Efery of Taracopa before mid-summer or Ducaun will fight alone in the war of the champions. You must place your trust in the man who wears the pyramid ring.”
“Not unless the wearer is me,” Daniel replied jokingly. The only thing he trusted about Efferin Tames was the man’s determination to hold onto power at all costs.
“While I would support you in the office of Grand Maestro, the idea of you being elected by the seven Maestros, even if you successfully challenge and defeat Efferin Tames, would be highly unlikely. Frankly, the notion is absurd.” Jeremiah apparently did not realize Daniel had been joking.
“I was not seriously considering taking up that chore, especially in my weakened condition. The real point of my remark is, I have been declared a rogue, would be subjected to arrest on sight, and therefore cannot afford to trust anyone in Aakadon, and least of all the Grand Maestro. The few people in Aakadon who might still talk to me would likely be taken into custody for having the conversation.”
“You fixated on only one of the huge challenges Silvia has revealed, my love,” Sherree pointed out. “Monarchs take a dim view of the royal knights of foreign lands entering their realms and laying claim to even a smidgen of ground, let alone an entire mountain. No matter how justified you feel in claiming the territory, I have met Clarees and know winning her trust will not be easy after such a move.”
Daniel’s motives for staking the claim were pure and justifiable, at least to him, but he had to admit his adorable wife had a deeper insight on the matter than did he. “I thought we could convey to New Oben, under your power and guidance,” he hastily added. “You, me, and Carlos would enter the capital at some point in the near future, explain what happened, Clarees would agree, and all would be well.”
Jeremiah chuckled, this he considered a joke. “I have dealt with more than a few monarchs in my former career and can assure you a quick trip and a few simple words by you would not mollify a single one of them. Queen Clarees is more likely to see you as an invader who has come to New Oben for the purpose of forcing her to accept the presence of
a foreign power on her soil, whether she approves or not.”
Sherree nodded her head in agreement with the Strike Leader. Martin licked his lips, leaned back in his chair of solidified air, and then added his opinion to the mix, “You have done nothing directly to give Van Efery cause to distrust you, especially since your estate is one of Taracopa’s best customers. Even though business opens a lot of doors, once word of you claiming Lobenian land as your own gets out; he will definitely be concerned over a face to face meeting with you. The king is in the middle of a civil war and the last thing he needs to worry about is a foreign power carving a chunk out of his kingdom while his loyal forces are otherwise occupied.”
Daniel had no intention of staking a claim in Taracopa. “Establishing a holding in Van Efery’s kingdom has never entered my mind. He has no reason to be afraid of me, of us. The Atlantan Guild does not need any part of his lands.”
Simon stood up. Perhaps he was tired of sitting. “You could have said the same thing about Clarees of Lobenia before that stroll down the hall at Shantear, my friend.”
The sandy-haired Chief Aid had a point, Daniel admitted, the Queen of Lobenia and the other rulers of the world had no reason to trust him. Even if they accepted his word initially, how could they trust that he would not change his mind and decide he needed some of their territory at a later date? “Shantear is ours. I will not allow the Serpents to reclaim it. The leaders of Aakadon have time and again demonstrated their inability to fight this war in any meaningful way, focusing most of their attention on finding ways to make my chores more difficult, and only occasionally helping. I will not diminish the reputations of the Accomplisheds of Aakadon who fought by our side at Shantear, but will say it was the only time any of them helped rather than being a hindrance in the war of the champions.”
“I can see and understand why you feel this way,” Martin spoke in a soft tone, clearly meant to be assuring. “But the Seer has made it clear you must trust the Grand Maestro.”