My combat senses awakened me as the bathroom door opened with a creak. The water was still warm, so I had not slept too long. My eyes spotted my maid attendant in the archway. Lareen was in her heavy green dress, “You are back.” She said cautiously, and I detected a note of—maybe happiness.
“Just for the night. I am off on a mission for two weeks in the morning,” I turned the nob to add more hot water, but it had turned cold. I asked, “How do you know when the mage is working to make the water hot.”
“She is not a mage; she just has a spell form that can heat metal,” Lareen said, entering the room and starting to separate my clothes and armor. “Your clothes are filthy!” Her nose was scrunching, trying not to smell them. It was cute and somewhat humourous.
I tried to impress her, “I tried to get them as clean as possible after we fought and harvested the manticore.” She looked up, eyes narrowing me in study, trying to figure out whether I was lying. If I told her there were three manticores, she definitely would not believe me.
She did not call me a liar, and she just nodded slowly. She studied my clothes. “I suppose I can get most of the stains out. Or I can call on Cassie. She has a spell form that can clean anything.” She was talking to herself, absorbed in sorting my dirty clothes.
“Do you have a spell form too?” I asked, moving over to lean on the edge of the tub to face her.
Lareen flushed a bright red, “I do.” She did not answer immediately, and I just stared at her as she worked. She finally revealed, “It is not very impressive. It is actually fairly useless.”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})“I have never heard of any magic being useless. Tell me,” I encouraged her with a smile.
She flushed again, “I…I can dry things. Well, just things with water. I can pull water to my hands from nearby.”
“That is awesome! Can you show me?” I said excitedly. She perked up at my excitement.
“It is just a lesser water affinity spell form,” she admitted. She quickly retrieved a bowl and filled it from the tub. She knelt on the floor in front of me, the bowl of water between her knees. She then pulled a thin stream of water between her hands, forming an orb of water between her palms. “This is all I can control at once.” She was focused on the water, “The spell form is called shape water, but I have so little affinity my volume is limited.” The water turned into a butterfly and slowly flapped its wings as she concentrated, squinting her face in intense focus.
I clapped loudly, and the butterfly splashed to the ground. She quickly used her spell form to return the water to the tub, blushing the entire time. I asked, “How did you come into the service of the Duchess?”
Lareen stood but faced me, “We all went to school at the Imperial Palace in Telha. My father was a Baron, my mother…” She paused, “My mother a servant. If I had been born with a strong affinity he may have recognized me but since I was not…” She swallowed hard. “I was his ninth child and not important.”
“He cared enough to make sure you had a good education,” I noted. Lareen was definitely well-spoken and had a poise to her.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})“All children of dukes, counts, and barons are educated in the palace from age ten to seventeen. I felt fortunate, being sent even though I was a bastard.” I gave her a sympathetic look as she continued, “The seven years we spend there are to show us royal etiquette and familiarize ourselves with our peers,” she said without enthusiasm. I remember seeing a class in the Imperial Gardens when I followed Chancellor Marcel to his house. I guessed by Lareen’s expression and tone her time there was not enjoyable.
I changed the topic slightly, “Does everyone have a spell form?” I asked the young woman. She had loaded a wicker basket with my clothes and set my armor aside to clean later.
She nodded, not making eye contact, “Most. Usually, it is more impressive than a lesser spell form. Those who can cast spells move onto the Mage College after the Emperor’s school.”
“Have you seen the Emperor then?” I asked curiously.
She made eye contact, “Many times. He would stop in and watch classes. Also, we would see him at major functions we would attend. Sometimes, the Emperor favored some of the children, like Duchess Veronica. When she turned twenty-five and completed her time in the Scholarium, the Emperor raised her to Duchess and gave her this new province,” she said reverently.
“How did you come into her service?” I asked.
“Not being recognized by my father, I had few options. Serving a Duchess is the highest station I could hope for. Most of the attendants in the Citadel under Duchess Veronica’s care went to the Emperor’s school. Some graduated with her, and some, like me, a few years after. But we all knew her at the Imperial Palace.”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})“The Duchess is twenty-five?” I asked, having heard her age before and she nodded. “How old are you then?”
“Twenty, twenty-one next New Year’s Celebration,” she said, surprising me. Maybe it was because everyone was much shorter on Desia that I had misjudged her age.
“You look much younger,” I said, expecting it to be a compliment, but she scowled a little. I added quickly, “You are very pretty.” That seemed to save me a bit as she smiled before leaving to launder my clothes.
I did some yoga before drying and putting on clean linens. I planned to use the amulet tonight but decided to wait until Lareen was asleep and in her small room. It seemed odd that the Empire’s best-educated young men and women were made into servants. It just seemed like a major waste. My stomach rumbled, and I went down the back stairway to the kitchens to swipe something.
The kitchen was busy with activities preparing for dinner, and I was ignored. I could probably wait for dinner, but I had missed lunch. I quickly identified an older man who seemed to be directing the chaos. “Cook, can I get a little something? Anything is fine to hold me till dinner.”
He looked me over, “Lareen’s charge? Back in one piece, I see. Give me a minute, and I will prepare you a plate.” He weaved through the cooks, sliced a large baked potato in half, pilled on a mound of shredded meat, and then covered it in a white sauce. He put two massive rolls on the side and returned to me with the plate. “Will this hold you for a few hours till the evening meal, legionnaire?” He had a friendly smile. The plate easily had over five pounds of food on it and smelled amazing.
I nodded, “Can I get some butter for the rolls and something to drink?” I asked, my mouth watering in anticipation.
The cook snapped his fingers, and a full-sized stick of butter was on my plate a few seconds later from another cook, and a pint of ale appeared in my hands. The Citadel guards were more organized, and the cooks seemed to be increasing their production as well. “Thank you—” I didn’t know his name, “I am Eryk.”
“Clyde,” he held out his hand, and we shook wrists after I put the mug down. “Lareen is a good woman; she speaks highly of you, legionnaire. More so than what the other attendants say of their charges.” I was speechless. I nodded dumbly, picked up my mug, and left. I should have figured servants talk to each other.
I took my plate to my room, and twenty minutes later, the plate was clean, my belly bloated, and I regretted my life decisions. I had been lying on the bed, rubbing my belly and trying to will the pain to recede. Lareen walked in with my clean clothes and noticed the plate, “I would have gotten you food if you asked.”
“It is fine,” I waved her off. “I do not think I will need to eat dinner. I will just stay here and not move for a few hours.”
“If you are sure, I can let the staff know,” I nodded, but I probably should have waited. Lareen was gone and returned a few minutes later. She busied herself cleaning the bathroom while I waited on the bed for my stomach to push my meal into my intestines.
I drifted off once or twice and missed Lareen saying something. She repeated herself, “Since you are not going to be at dinner, is there anything else you wish to do this evening?” I looked out the window, and some light of the day remained.
I thought for a minute and asked, “The Duchess has a library. Am I allowed to use it?” Lareen’s face showed disappointment, but she nodded affirmatively.
“Yes, your armor is clean. The bathroom is clean, and your clothes are ready for you. I can bring you to the Duchess’ library if you wish,” she said, somewhat bothered. I complimented her on her work, but she still seemed a little perturbed.
I followed her to the Duchess’s wing of the Citadel. The library was the room adjacent to the office where Castile and the Duchess met me this morning. The library was impressive. It was three stories tall, and rectangular, and one wall was entirely paneled glass looking into a small garden below. I could see into a few other rooms across that did not have curtains drawn. All the rooms were vacant, though. Two wide wooden staircases on either side went all the way to the third floor. Each floor held hundreds of books. More books than I had seen in my time in Desia so far. The familiar scent of aged paper assaulted my nose.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Lareen said as I stared up. “Most of the books were left by the Mage who once ruled here. He was a bit of a collector. He even sent expeditions to look for lost libraries and to other Empires.”
I walked the shelves with Lareen trailing me. Most of the books on the first floor were in Latin. When I reached the second floor, things started to become muddled. Only one in four books was Latin. The third floor did not have a single book whose binding I could read.
“Are you looking for a particular topic?” Lareen asked.
“You are familiar with the organization?” I asked, surprised.
Her face hardened, “I know how to read and spend some of my free time in here,” she said, annoyed.
“Can you show me where the books on spell forms are located? And maybe other kingdoms on Desia as well?” I asked.
“The magic section is that alcove,” she pointed confidently. “The histories of the other kingdoms are on that wall.” She pointed at an entire wall of books over ten feet high with a ladder to access the higher books.
I walked to the wall and began scanning titles. “Are there any maps of all of Desia? I was wondering where Stone Mountain Island is located. The goliath warden was from there.”
Lareen went confidently and pulled three wrapped scrolls. She unrolled them while I stood over her shoulder. Maybe I was too close as her hips pushed back into mine. I ignored the contact and studied each of the maps as she unfurled them. The first was just the Telhian Empire. The second was a map of the continent. The third was the world of Desia. I was surprised at how big the planet was. The map was fairly detailed, and if the key was correct, the equatorial line was over 26,000 miles. Was that bigger than Earth? I did not remember.
There were three continents on the map. And dozens of large islands. I was leaning into Lareen to look closer when she exhaled and pointed a finger, drawing my attention to a place on the world map. “It is here.” I followed her finger and, in small script, Stone Mountain Island. According to the key, it was not a small island, about five hundred miles across. And it was completely on the other side of the world. Maveith had gotten as far away from his people as possible. Not wanting to continue pressing into Lareen, I gently moved the reluctant woman aside to study the map.
I studied the map enthralled. I wanted to memorize every detail to add this to my dreamscape. I went back and studied the other two maps as well before stepping back. Lareen was waiting, flushed. I needed to be alone in the library. “Lareen, thank you. I am going to spend a few hours here. Can you…get me a crate of apples? Bring them to my room so I can pack them for the trip.”
Lareen looked around, confused. “After you get them, you can join me back in the library. I just don’t want to forget about the apples for the horses.” Lareen nodded, disappointed, and left, and I quickly went to the magic section. It took a moment to replace the time affinity spell form book. There was no book for void affinity or worlds affinity. There was a book for displacement affinity. It was just as monstrous a tome as the time affinity. It was three compiled volumes as well. I should have given Lareen something more involved to keep her occupied.
I paged through it, sitting next to the shelf with a glow stone for light. Turning each page, focusing intently. My heart was racing at the chance of being discovered. I got to the end and replaced it on the shelf. I stood and stretched. I searched for a book on my dreamscape amulet, but after ten minutes, I gave up. I moved to the wall of books on other kingdoms in the world. Maybe the lines of nations changed over time, but I was looking for one nation in particular—Tsinga.
I found three books on Tsinga. One was the history of the Duchy of Tsinga, the second was a bestiary for Tsinga, and the third was focused on the religions of the region. I was halfway through the first book when Lareen returned.
She walked over to me, smiling, “I got you your apples in your room. Anything else?”
“I am just going to look through a few books, then head to my room. I am expecting a long ride tomorrow.” I replied but was focused on the book. Lareen went and stood by the door. I was tempted to look for books on Other Worlders, but with Lareen watching me, I just paged through the three books on Tsinga and two books on the Kingdom of Keisinia. The Duchy of Tsinga used to be part of Keisinia but was now independent.
I returned the last book and hoped to find time to return. “I am done,” I announced. “Thank you.” I approached Lareen with a sincere smile. We returned together to my room.
“Are you sure you do not want something to eat? You said you would take meals with me in your room?” She reminded me as I inspected the crate of apples. She had gotten over a hundred apples.
“That sounds good. Something light and that you would like,” I said, holding up an apple to the light. “These apples are perfect.”
She smiled and left, and I quickly moved all but ten apples into my dimensional space. Ninety-two apples. Lareen returned with a bottle of wine, a roasted chicken, and some candied yellow carrots. She made another trip for place settings. And then we sat and ate. I was eating the greasy dumbstick a little messily, and she laughed at my contented noises.
“What?” I asked, savoring the crispy skin and dark meat.
“You have no decorum, legionnaire,” she giggled.
“Well then, teach me. How does one eat with the Emperor?” I put down my drumstick and placed my palms on the table.
Lareen smirked, “You asked…” The next hour, I was schooled in the proper way to eat with someone who had higher social status than me. Most of it was waiting for them to take the first bite. One ridiculous thing was that if the Emperor did not try a course at dinner, then no one could. Lareen remembered one dinner she was at when he was not hungry, and no one got to eat anything. It was fun as she teased me about my mannerisms and my posture. It almost felt like a date. The sun had long set by the time the meal was finished. Lareen cleared the dishes to the kitchen, and I went to bed.
I put the amulet on under my shirt, waiting for her to return and go to her quarters before using it. It seemed to take forever, but she finally returned. I think her hair was wet as she went into her small room.
I immediately went into my dreamscape. Oscar was happy to see me. I only had one task tonight. I wanted to add all the things I read in the library to the shelves in the amulet. I started by working on one wall and enlarging the three maps. I studied them briefly, making sure everything looked good. Then, I added the spell form book on the displacement affinity. Then, there were three books on Tsinga and two on the Kingdom of Keisinia.
I gave Oscar a pat, and if my theory was correct, I was about to get one major migraine when I returned to the real world. I inhaled and exited the dungeon. I hated that I was right. My head throbbed, and my eyes felt intense pressure behind them. I groaned and rolled to my right, surprised to find someone next to me.
My hands explored a naked Lareen under the covers with me. “Do you want me out of your bed?” She asked softly.
“No,” I replied and kissed her, pulling her body on top of me.
