Duty Read online

Thankfully there was no attempt to capitalize on that, in the moment. It would be hard to say no, given he’d kind of just hinted at it. Explaining himself would be… Awkward.

  Instead Guide sniffed and looked to the side.

  “Albert Benoist. I’ll remember that. Actually, I’ll make a note of it. Things do come up, so we might have to use your services, in the future. The High Servants only really cover Noram, after all, so it makes sense to have someone in charge of things like that for the rest of us as well. Thanks. The same goes in the other direction, of course.”

  The man bowed at him, which was strange, given they were in Second City, not Noram. Then, that the man had the right accent to be from there was clear. So did Albert. Jeffery and Serro were both from Austra, originally, so sounded very different, having flat accents, with very hard consonants.

  It took scurrying to get back to Smiton then, which, even if he’d claimed he was only going to be gone for eight hours, was far closer to nine by the time he stepped through the red box into County Ross. He half expected anger from the tall man, who was busily making food for a few people, using the Tiera food unit that had been left there. Everything seemed to still be there, with the floating case from the High Servants hovering about fifteen feet from the giant as he moved around, making certain that the military men got wrapped sandwiches.

  That allowed them to take the things with them, which had, apparently, been their own choice. At least Dare waved at their backs as they walked away.

  “It looks like they’re making a push to finish it all tonight. People have been moving in all day, to their new places. The water tower is up and filling already, even. You should report that to everyone, since I think that you can technically get out of here later tonight, or early in the morning tomorrow.”

  That was a lot, though it was clear that people had pulled out the stops that day, while he was gone. Then, they really had been, the whole time. He looked around and then smiled, which got Dare to do the same in return.

  “That’s wonderful. I should get with Enid and make certain they have enough food for the coming seasons. Not that I know how to find her. I can’t leave, as soon as you do, so…” The woman might not be coming back there for her late meal, if everyone was getting set up in their own homes and had food of their own.

  His new pal, Dare, waved to the right.

  “She went that way. You can probably get away with walking in that general direction and yelling for her, to good effect. I’ll hold out here for a bit, so that you can do that? A few hours. I don’t really sleep much, so… I have the time.”

  “Thanks! I’ll try to hurry. Um…” He was tired, choosing not to take any accella for the night, even if he was dragging at the moment. There was nothing to prevent him from feeling uncomfortable at all, in the moment, either. Still, he needed to know where things stood, so did his part, yelling for the older lady.

  “Enid! Enid Weaver!” Al tried to sound happy, so she wouldn’t think he was angry with her.

  It was mid-day, or a few hours past that, so he could see the lines of black and brown houses that were there now, that hadn’t been a few days before. There were other buildings as well, with men in black uniforms climbing all over them, making streams of earth fly into place with waves of their hands, smooth stone appearing where they pointed, forming rapidly enough that he could understand why the men were well on their way toward being done already.

  Five buildings down, from a nice three-story place that looked like someone wealthy might live there, Enid appeared, the activity being seen through the windows from inside first. She was dressed in a brightly colored blue and red outfit, a skirt and shirt with a vest over it. It wasn’t what a poor person would have to wear, even if not the finery that magical amulets could have provided.

  “Master Benoist!” There was a wave and if the woman wasn’t smiling, she still seemed more or less pleasant about her words. “We’re to have the funeral for those that died in the evening, tomorrow, will you be attending? You were asked for, personally, by several people.” She seemed sad for a moment.

  He nodded though. Not that he’d known any of those people. He’d met their survivors, friends and those that worked with them, however, which was enough, really.

  “I’ll be here for it, if I can. I have to work, though…” Sweeping the floors of the club wouldn’t have stopped him from seeing to a funeral before that point, so he couldn’t see anyone complaining about it then.

  The old woman, her face worn around the eyes and mouth, nodded.

  “We’ll be doing that just before dark.”

  Which meant later in the day than it was at the moment.

  “I can be here for it, then. Thank you for inviting me. I… It seems that things are almost set here? I came to see if you have enough food stored away, to get everyone back on their feet, or if you needed anything that I’ve forgotten?”

  He expected her to either say they were fine, or to not say anything, out of pride. Instead the woman walked past him efficiently, her hand patting his arm.

  “Let’s take an inventory? It seems good enough, but we should know for certain.”

  That, it turned out, took several hours, with him trying to write things down as the woman called off how much of various goods they had in the warehouse that had been built for them, by the King’s military. The space was large, and on the far side of town from where he’d set his little emergency base up. When they got to the end of what was there, stored for people to use, later, Enid closed her eyes and bowed her head a little.

  “This is enough. We still have some time to build up for the winter as well. If we can’t, then we’ll still live. Thanks to those who aided us. After this kind of thing… Well, most that die in these fires do it later, from hunger or disease. We have a real chance here. More than that, to be fair. You’ll tell them, those high folk that did for us, that we here in Smiton appreciate it? This, what was done here, it isn’t what we expected.” There were tears in her eyes, which didn’t fall.

  There would be time enough for tears later, the next day, as they stood around the graves of the fallen. People that Albert had never had the honor of meeting at all.

  It did really seem that he was done there, he had to consider. As he walked Enid back to her new home, which was very nice looking and then carried on to where Dareg was manning the food device, not having to work at the moment, since no one else was there, he tried to think about what would be needed to do next.

  Finally, he just smiled at Dare, still holding the papers with the tally of goods on it, for some reason. A thing he waved a bit.

  “They have what they need, it seems. As long as there isn’t another massive emergency like this. Um… The funerals for the five that died are being held tomorrow evening. I’m planning to make a showing.”

  There was a nod from the very tall man then.

  “You should report this then.”

  Al laughed a bit.

  “To who, though? I can see that there are people that need to know, only… Do they want me to tell them about it? I could… I don’t know, send a letter or something?” He felt very unimportant, as the words came out. As if his only value there had been in the early portions. Even then, anyone could have done the same thing.

  His new friend, Dareg, went still then and after a moment took a breath.

  “Really, you need to get with everyone on this. Johan Targ, first. He sent you, in the first place. Then you two can plan out who else needs to hear from you, directly, compared to him doing the work. You should probably press him to do that part, as much as possible. The High Servants don’t get a lot of wins, day to day. This was a success on a good scale. Still, you should get with Farlo and Gary Ross, directly. Since you know them, personally. You worked with Alphonse on this, too, so keeping him in the loop is a good idea. Taman and Tor, since no one will think to tell them they did a good job, directly. It’s part of being what and who they are… They do amazing and helpful things and eve
ryone just assumes their efforts are normal, when they really aren’t.”

  Albert nodded.

  “Tiera Havar and her Ruel, as well, I’d guess. They both came and helped directly. I can thank Trice from the store in Harmony when I take things back to them. I need to do the High Servants first. This is a lot of people. I like your plan though. Get Johan to do it.”

  Dareg nodded, not leaving, or even pulling a speaking device at all. That meant Al had to get his handheld out and tried to stand straight, instead of pulling into himself, like he wanted to do. Then, after a moment of searching, he found the right name to connect with Johan. Commander of the High Servants.

  After nearly two minutes, the man appeared on the device, his face bland seeming. Until he noticed who was there. Then he managed a smile. It seemed real, instead of being forced out of politeness.

  “Albert? How are things going?”

  He nodded, trying not to stammer too much. It was going to happen a little, since he wasn’t that comfortable with the important man, even if he tried to call him by his first name most of the time, making them seem closer than they truly were.

  “We’ve re-provisioned Smiton in County Ross. I have a tally of what they have, for that. Um, here.” He waved the papers again, as if they were important or the man would care about it at all. “The King’s forces have buildings for everyone to live in. Good ones, from what I’ve seen. I’m probably heading out tomorrow, given that. They don’t need me here anymore. The funeral for the five who perished is at just before twilight, tomorrow. The transport box will still be in place here, until the Ross family moves it. I need to work out how to get the emergency box from Wildlands Station.” At least he figured that Dareg would need it back. Everyone would. “I have a lot of magic to return to people. I’ll pass our thanks to them personally, when I do that. Then I’ll spend the next few days locked in my room, drunk.”

  The other man didn't judge him for saying what he did. There was simply a nod.

  “Understood. Still, stay ready to move, if we need you? Since you can be sober inside a few minutes now, that, being drunk, isn’t a good excuse for not helping others, is it? At least I keep trying to tell my own people that. Of course, with you I can actually expect good results. I’ve heard great things of you, in the last days, by the way. From more than one source. Count Ross got with me personally, just to thank me for being clever enough to find you. He hardly even implied that the High Servants have been failing at every turn, which is rare for us. So, thanks for that. What do you have planned now?”

  At first Albert nearly snapped, since he’d given his plan, then he realized that the man was just double checking the evening’s calendar.

  “Dare and I have decided that you need to call most of the important people over this. The King, Count Ross and the others, Tor, Taman and Tiera, the wizards, since they all came to help. Plus, they’re all incredibly important and we can claim that the High Servants were in charge, if you do all that. Baron Havar and Trice from the magic shop are people that I should handle, I think. I’ll get with Dareg and his wife, since Dare is right here and making you call him seems over the top given that, don’t you think?”

  The man on the handheld rolled his eyes then. It seemed a bit playful, or even goofy. Charming, instead of conveying being put upon in any kind of real fashion.

  “Fair enough, on most of that. You have an inventory of goods though? That’s… efficient, actually. We don’t normally get that kind of service, to be honest on the topic. I should get a copy of that. The King and Count Ross will want one as well. Is it on scroll pad?” The man seemed interested in that idea.

  Which Albert understood. If it was on one of the stone tablets, he could have used his handheld to send the data over directly by linking them up. As it was, he’d be best off getting one of those and rewriting the whole thing, rather than making paper copies. It would be a lot less work.

  “Nope. On paper, since it was what we had on hand. Out of the supplies Tiera made for Smiton. I’ll get that to you as soon as I can. Probably… In the morning? I don’t know if I can find that kind of thing, until I get past a magic shop.” Except that Dareg reached into his left-hand side pocket and pulled a familiar writing tablet and a white stone stylus out. Holding them as if he meant to share.

  “Or… I can do that now, apparently. It will take me a bit to write it all out. Let me get to that now? Or… well, I have people to call first. I don’t know the best order of things that way.”

  Johan, brushing at his short, light colored hair, chuckled a bit. It made him seem older. Wise, nearly.

  “Call everyone first, but keep on top of the other things. People are more impressed by communication than almost anything else. Timely paperwork is something like fourth or fifth on the list. Thank you, Albert. I’ll get to those calls now, myself, after pointing that out to you. I, and all of the High Servants, stand humbled by your selfless actions.”

  There was a bow, toward the device then, which Al returned, going low, since he wasn’t important to anyone at all. Commander Johan Targ was, clearly.

  “Not a problem.”

  The screen went dead then, meaning he was free to get in touch with some other people. Though Dareg figured that getting with Alphonse was a good plan, he picked Kari, himself. It only made sense.

  The red headed Ancient smiled at him, when her face showed up. Her tan skin worked well with the rest of the picture, leaving her cute, instead of overdone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello! It looks like we’re mainly done here in Smiton, so you won’t have to come and stand around for hours on end in the morning. Thanks, by the way, for being willing to do that for me. Oh… We’re still setting up that outing at club Eternal in a few weeks, so make sure you free up some time in your schedule and get the others in for that.”

  Instead of scolding him for acting above his station, talking to a Princess of Noram in a familiar fashion, Kari clapped her hands.

  “That sounds fun. I can have… Call it ten people with me?”

  He nodded.

  “Sure. It’s a dance club, you can bring a hundred if you like. Just make sure at least one or two of them is a woman who’s willing to dance with me and it will be something special, I guarantee you!” He managed to seem almost charming, saying that. At least he figured that was the case.

  The Ancient stuck her tongue out at him in a playful fashion. Like she was a little child. It was cute, but odd.

  “Only one woman? I know at least four who have been talking you up in the last days. I imagine it will be more than that, by a month from now, if you keep up what you have been. Good though, I’ll stack the deck in your favor that way. Save a dance for me, if possible. Talk to you soon!”

  “Soon, Kari.”

  He felt uneasy, as he got off the device, since her husband was right there and what they’d been saying was a bit familiar, given their one meeting. Easy and as if they might know each other too well. Dareg simply helped three of the military men find something to eat for their late meal, since it was getting dark. Most of them were walking back, having finished their projects.

  The man in charge of the water tower waved to him and walked over, stopping to bow about ten feet away.

  “We’ve finished our tasks, Prince Dareg. Albert. Unless you have something else for us to do?”

  He didn’t really, so shook his head.

  “There’s a funeral tomorrow, at just before dark fall. Other than that, I think we’re done here. Thank you. The work that you and your men did here is nothing short of incredible. I was thinking that we might have mud huts at the end of a month or two of work and instead you’ve provided small palaces that anyone would be proud to live in.” He bowed again, going low.

  Everyone else did it as well, including Dare.

  The other man had to remind him to make all the needed calls after that, of which there were more than he would have suspected. They all had to be done in his own person, apparently,
instead of Dare doing half the work, which would have been useful. Not the other man’s job at the moment, it seemed.

  Still, an hour later he was sitting at one of the tables, writing the list of goods out on the scroll tablet, then getting help sending it off to everyone that needed it. Which included Alphonse, for some reason. At least the man had asked for a copy. When the thing was handed back to his friend, he sighed.

  “Well. This was a job done then, wasn’t it? I hope that I did some good. Not that anyone else couldn’t have done it just as well, of course.”

  Dare nodded at him, then.

  “You know, that’s not really true. Still, even of those that could have done it, only one man in all the worlds did. Even when those that have sworn oaths to give such aid failed, you came and did what you could. It made a difference, too. People are alive now who wouldn’t be, without you.” There was a soft chuckle then. “Which means that you’re in for it now, of course. You made a mistake, being the hero of the moment and not leaving at your first chance. Now everyone sees who you really are, or at least who they think you are. That means you’re going to be the one that everyone goes to when they need help.”

  It sounded unlikely, though Albert nodded, just in case he was wrong. He hated being wrong, really. Even if he did it fairly often, in the normal course of his life.

  “Well… I don’t work that much, so I guess I can help out on occasion, if anyone needs me. I have to admit that I feel almost proud of myself in this. Almost. Not enough for it to go to my head or anything, of course.”

  There was another nod then.

  “Good. Now, you mentioned transport huts a few times. What’s your plan there?”

  “Um… We could put one in at Wildlands, right? I mean, if they’re going to go and build things like this when people need them, that’s worth doing. I don’t know what you want done with the emergency one that you lent County Ross.” He didn’t have a clue what the other man had available that way. The thing had to be worth nearly as much as a Jump ship. Possibly more. That gave him an idea. “Oh… I also should have one in my front room, in case I want to travel for free without having to walk the mile and a half to the port to use theirs. That makes sense, right?”