Maker of Fire

Imstay King and General Bobbo, at the palace in Is'syal

"May Gertzpul take her to the coldest abyss of the nine-times damned," he slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair so forcefully that it broke. He blinked at the broken arm, blank-faced for a breath, and then bellowed, "damn her, damn her, damn her!"

Bobbo was waiting on his knees at the doorway, hand over his heart. He pondered that his timing could have been better. Imstay in a fit of temper was a bit difficult to manage.

The King noticed Bobbo's presence at the door to his receiving room and waved at him to get up and come in. "Do you know what she's done this time?" Imstay yelled.

"I assume this must have something to do with the tax assessments," Bobbo made as broad a statement as possible. Given that the Queen was auditing more than just the tax assessments, it could be anything that was upsetting the King.

"It's Kushamar," the King closed his eyes and groaned. Kushamar was his uncle, one of the two that Aylem dismissed as Heldfirk's tutors. They were also the generals of the right and center. Imstay was very close to his uncles on his mother's side. Because of his fondness, Imstay looked the other way when his uncles bent the kingdom's laws.

"Three low and petty assessors accused Kushamar of moving his boundary stones," Imstay snarled. "My uncle says they falsely accused him and tried to blackmail him so he took them into custody, but they attempted to escape and two were accidentally killed. The one that got away was Udayhar, Lord Fusso's youngest."

"Lord Fusso's youngest and low petty assessor aren't two things that go together," Bobbo remarked in a very calm and even voice. "To be fair, Fusso and Kushamar aren't two things that go together either."

"Exactly," the King got out of the broken chair, moved it out of the way, and got another chair to sit in. "Please, have a seat, Bobbo. I'm so wound up I'm forgetting my manners."

"My thanks, Mighty One." He grabbed a lowly stool and sat down on it facing the King. "So let me see if I have this right. Three assessors found boundary stones that had been moved, so they confronted Kushamar about it. He tried to bribe them and they refused, so he tried to do away with them. Fusso's boy was the one who got away, injured but still alive."

"No, that's not what Uncle Kushamar said."

"When Lord Kushamar is set in the Well of Galt and eleven high priestesses cast the charms of compulsion and truth on him, which version of this do you think will be the correct one?

"I'm hoping I could prevent that," the King sighed.

"So what does the Queen have to do with this?"

"The Queen was here when Udayhar's servant came in, riding a horse no less, like a low-caste," the King related. "The Queen flew to where Udayhar was hiding, wounded and unable to travel any further. She asked General Lynhaydras and two of her subordinates to accompany her."

"Witnesses," Bobbo surmised.

Imstay nodded, "the Queen is many things, but foolish is not one of them."

"Is Fusso's boy still with us?"

"Of course he is," Imstay snapped. "The number of patients the Queen has lost as a healer can be counted on the fingers of just one hand. Once he recovers from the blood loss, he'll be fine."

"The boundary stones?"

"They were not where they should have been. When Lynhaydras followed the new illegal boundary of his land, she found an unregistered breeding farm operation. The Coyn all had charms of compulsion as well as inhibition and control."

"Five offenses, three of which can't be dodged," Bobbo whistled. "Your uncle would have been wise to accept the fine for moving the stones, again I might add, rather than try to bribe a son of Fusso. I don't think Kushamar can be saved this time. The best you'll be able to arrange is the charm of death or a beheading, and maybe the preservation of his estate for the sake of his children."

"There's got to be a way," Imstay wrung his hands. "Help me find a way, Bobbo. You're sharp. You could solve this."

"Attempted murder of Fusso's youngest and the violation of one of the Laws of Landa? Mighty One, neither the southern lords nor the shrines will let this one slide. If you try to save him, you'll have a war on your hands against your own subjects. Your uncle has gone too far this time. No one can save him. My advice would be to beg the Convocation for a painless execution for him."

The King answered with a scowl.

"Of course, you're not going to hear this from me, because I would never suggest anything underhanded or illegal," Bobbo looked at the ceiling. "Kushamar would be better off hiding somewhere on his brother's lands or maybe his youngest son's new holding that we just added to the kingdom. But I would be stricken dead by Gertzpul to freeze in the coldest pit of the abyss before I would suggest such a thing."

"Hmmm," the King sat back and thought. "Yes, of course, you would never even think such things, Bobbo. Too bad Lynhaydras already has him in the Black Tower of the Citadel. So, now that we've discussed the mess with my uncle, why did you stop by? I'm guessing you are looking for the things from the maker of fire's cave?"

"Actually, yes, Mighty One," Bobbo nodded. "I was thinking it would be a good tactic to return to her what we salvaged before I asked about an inventory of her possessions. You know, to give the appearance of dealing in good faith."

"I will have them delivered to your house tomorrow. See if you can find out why she's got her head wrapped up in bandages."

"I will try," Bobbo sighed and shook his head. "You could always ask your Queen. She should know."

"Not funny, Bobbo."

"I meant it seriously."

---

Emily, Healing Shrine of Mugash

Lisaykos allowed me to walk by the end of the current rotation but only if she or one of the gang of three was around to keep an eye on me. The hardened leather skull protector and bandages would stay on through the end of the next rotation but I could at least get around by myself; however, Lisaykos would not allow me do anything for making paper other than watch.

To be truthful, it would have been difficult for me regardless. The tub was too tall for me to bend over to scoop the pulp into the mould and deckle, which were wider than I was. The felts were stacked on a Cosm-scaled table so I couldn't even reach without something to stand on. Lisaykos put me in a chair so I could watch. Looking at the scale differences reinforced how out of place I usually felt living with these well-meaning but clueless Cosm.

Wolkayrs set up the trip hammer in the south garden such the water that spilled out of the water scoop went into the irrigation system. The trip hammer worked so well that the soaking fabric scraps and lime turned into mush in a matter of hours.

Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi were the ones who got to get wet and up to their elbows in mush. I was a bit envious. The trial run of making paper was a success though the mould was a bit wobbly. Wolkayrs said it needed some internal bracing to make it stiffer.

The first papermaking session was livened up when the Queen and General Bobbo arrived together on their mounts. The general unloaded two leather bags and brought them over to me. He did a proper obeisance on his knees to me and Lisaykos, in the middle of a graveled path no less. I pitied his knees.

The arrival of the Queen and Bobbo temporarily halted the paper process. Wolkayrs and Thuorfosi took a break while Bobbo, still on his knees, started to unpack one of the two bags with great care.

"This is everything that the King's scouts salvaged," he said to me. He handed me a cloth-wrapped item that I needed two hands to hold. The second it landed in my hands, I knew what it was. I put it in my lap and untied the string keeping the cloth around it. It was that big piece of quartz I collected the day the Queen visited my hot spring. I picked it up to inspect it for damage. I was amazed to see there was none. I had left all the crystals wrapped in leather inside my backpack. Apparently, that was good enough to save this lovely piece.

"One of the scouts tried to steal that and several other crystals," Bobbo remarked. "The King has a strict policy that no thieving is allowed in his army. The scout was executed, which is the usual punishment for soldiers who steal."

I was a bit shocked by that revelation. It was just a lump of rock, after all.

"You're a wealthy woman, Emily," Lisaykos remarked. "The size and quality of that crystal is good enough to sell to one of the shrines. Why are you giving me that look, little one? That crystal would easily buy you a farm." I guess my disbelief showed on my face.

Bobbo gently lifted the big prism of quartz off my lap and wrapped it back up. Putting it to the side, he pulled several more wrapped crystals from the bag, though none as big as the first. Unwrapping all of them left everyone awestruck. It crossed my mind just then that I might have gotten shortchanged by the traders in Uldlip. I had no idea the Cosm valued crystals this highly.

"The piece that grades from pink to green is amazing," the Queen said, lifting it from my lap. "This would make a good personal crystal for invoking charms. Will you sell it to me, Emily?" I think my jaw hit the ground, bounced out of the garden, down the road, and into the river.

"Let's discuss that later," Lisaykos began wrapping crystals back up, handing them to Bobbo who put them back in the bag. "I believe Emily needs some time to understand the value of what she's got here. I certainly had no idea the King managed to salvage this much from the rubble."

Bobbo turned his attention to me. "Great One, why did you collect these?"

I picked up the tablet I brought and wrote: "trade goods for Uldlip."

"Good choice," he nodded. "Small and portable with high value, just the right thing for someone on foot." He packed the crystals back in the bag and turned his attention to the other bag. "I would love to know the story behind these," he pulled out my bear cub boots.

"Found dead bear cub," I wrote. "Skinned it and kept the feet. The forest is a hunt or be hunted place so I made boots that leave bear tracks." Everyone was floored by that statement except the Queen who just smiled to herself.

Bobbo was the first to recover his wits. "Then there are these things which look like sky metal," he laid out one of my throwing spikes, my planishing hammer with a now-broken handle, my cast iron frying pan, a bag of square iron nails, and two pieces of the iron ring from the Gramme Machine. My hand went for the planishing hammer, to inspect the striking surface of the head for damage. Then I picked up one of the ring pieces, wondering how much iron I would have to make to recast the ring.

"I was intrigued by the two pieces of metal that look like they were once a ring," Bobbo said. I just nodded my head. I didn't want to go down that road of what would be a painful explanation.

"What was it for? Did you make that?" Bobbo wasn't going to give up.

I was surprised when the Queen replied: "It's the same stuff as sky metal but it was made from rocks that Emily found. It was part of a machine that made the same sort of energy as lightning, but on a smaller scale."

"What?" Bobbo was shocked by what the Queen said, as was everyone else.

"When you were a kid, did you ever pull your fingernails against the inside of a wool blanket while under the bed covers to see those little sparks?" the Queen asked.

"Who hasn't?"

"Well, those are the same thing as lightning. Only the magnitude is different. Emily has a machine that can make that energy."

"She makes lightning?" Bobbo was aghast.

"No, nothing as dangerous as that," the Queen explained. "She uses it to make different potions and compounds, like one of the ingredients in the instant fire sticks. That's one of the reasons why the explosion at the cave was quite the catastrophe. Now she has to make a replacement for that machine before she can make instant fire again, as well as some stuff I would like to get my hands on called chlorine bleach that can make linen really white, or a potion called lye which makes a soap that isn't harsh but cleans better."

"Blarg," Bobbo said in a subdued voice and then looked at me. "You are one of those crazy genius artificers, aren't you?" I didn't know how to respond to that so I just shrugged.

Bobbo exhaled and dug back into the bag. He pulled out a three-wheel pulley and several carved stone molds for buckles, pulley wheels, rings, and hooks of different sizes. He picked up the pulley, which had a crude wood body, brass pulley wheels, and an iron pin, "I assume the other half of the pair is lost, yes?" I nodded yes.

"What is that?" Wolkayrs was intrigued by the pulley.

"It's half of a block and tackle set," Bobbo explained, handing him the pulley. "There's supposed to be another like it. They come in pairs. You pass a rope through the pulley wheels and you can lift many times your own weight. Coyn use these to load wagons and move things they can't lift."

"That's not bad work," Wolkayrs inspected it. "Great One, what did you use for glue?" He handed it back to Bobbo while looking at me for an answer. I wrote: "cheese glue."

"Good choice," Wolkayrs chuckled. "Smelly but strong."

"Might I ask," Bobbo picked up the throwing spike, which looked tiny in his meaty hand, "what is this for?" I motioned for it and he gave it to me. I looked around for a target, then wrote: "Watch the round end of the pivot post on the trip hammer." I handed the tablet to General Bobbo, waited for him to finish reading, and then threw the spike into the pivot post. It was off by about two centimeters, but it was good enough. It was fun watching everyone's jaws gape.

"Well, that could ruin a person's day," Bobbo commented. I swear I could see wheels and gears turning behind his eyes. "That's everything from the salvage operation. At the time, we didn't know where you were or when you had left." Of course, I caught the implication that they knew who I was and where I lived, which made me angry all over again.

"So what in Giltak's name are you making here?" Bobbo gestured at the papermaking set-up.

"It's called paper," Lisaykos replied. "Cheaper and faster to make than parchment, assuming we can get it to work. Today is our first try. Wolkayrs, could you show the General how this works?"

So General Bobbo spent the rest of the afternoon making paper with his overtunic off, his undertunic sleeves rolled up, getting wet and pulp-spattered, and having the time of his life. I ended up dozing off sitting in the warm sun while Lisaykos and the Queen talked about some big scandal involving a string of crimes by someone called Lord Kushamar.

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