Patron

Patron

                Riding in Mike's 'wagon' for the second time, Tadyel was able to appreciate exactly how luxurious it was. Last time she had little to compare it to - only her hard life on the peninsula, and the long trek through the Thrath controlled lands and the desert. Now she had months of reasonable lodgings (and a week of good lodgings) to compare it too.

                The food was good, the ride was smooth, the wagon was cool, and her task was simply to wait out the journey. And, at Vanna's insistence, exercise to maintain her strength. Compared to everything else she had experienced it was almost pure luxury (although she wondered what actual nobles or the rich experienced - Andrav's mansion had been eye-opening).

                Tadyel was on her way back to the Fortress of the Magi. Vanna had insisted that she should take up the opportunity to check up on her people, to be sure that they were okay. Tadyel had pointed out that she really did trust Vanna. In reply, Vanna had asked, "Are you completely sure?" Tadyel wasn't, so she went.

                She was looking forward to seeing them again, as much as she wasn't really close to anyone. There had been little time to bond in the south - between the demands of the Thrath, and the preparations for leaving (and her own efforts to hide food) Tadyel only knew others through work and their trek. She had been mostly silent on the trek, as well; her stash of extra food would have only invited jealousy.

                But they were her people. Those that stood out in her memory most were fellow farmers and the village elders. Wennon, Jyien and Evfey had worked alongside her for years (although thinking of them she realised that Evfey had been amongst the volunteers). Wenjur, Wennon's mother, was one of the elders; alongside Sedd, Nolan and Perel. Tadyel knew them from the village meetings, although only Wenjur had made attempts to get to know her.

                Thinking back, Tadyel was pretty sure that Wenjur had once intended to marry her to Wennon. That plot had changed greatly by the time they got on the road to simply making friends. An extra ally if things went south was helpful. Tadyel had softly refused her. "I'll fight for anyone," she'd said. And she'd done just that.

                The pleasant and uneventful journey came to an end after six days, much as it had when Tadyel had been brought to Green Creek. She chatted with Mike a bit about events in the town, but the most interesting thing she discovered was that he was on the same page as Vanna was - he knew no more than she. "And that, unfortunately, is the way we have to do things."

                After being brought back into the fortress, Tadyel was quickly shuffled off to meet Eden (the Magus who had given her first orders to her). It was only a few short corridors from where Mike's wagon was parked, despite the overall size of the fortress. Guided unceremoniously inside (by just a lesser Magus, sans construct guards) a quick look around let Tadyel know that it was exactly the same as the last time she had been there, months ago.

                "Greetings, Tadyel," said Eden. The short, thickly built blonde looked exactly as Tadyel remembered her. It was eerie. Tadyel had changed a lot - she had gotten a haircut, amongst... deeper things. But Eden was the same.

                "Hi - um, greeting, Magus Eden," said Tadyel respectfully.

                Eden smiled. "It looks like Savannah hasn't done such a terrible job with you then," she said.

                Tadyel looked at her quizzically for a moment, then Eden continued. "I assigned you to her in the hope that you would prove useful. She is my cousin, although no-one can ever tell," continued Eden, with a chuckle.

                "Really?" asked Tadyel. The lithe dark brunette Vanna and the tubby blonde Eden related? It was unusual.

                "Yes. Strangely enough, when we are side by side the facial resemblance is notable... But that has not happened for many years. Not since - well, either Vanna has said enough that you know what I mean, or you do not know, which is better," said Eden. "But...

                "Regardless. Your efforts have been exemplary. You are certainly giving us your all, and your all is good enough. Better than most in truth. We thank you. Your work in our service, under Savannah's guidance, has pulled Green Creek back from a worrisome brink.

                "As such, it is with some sorrow that I must tell you that of your fellow volunteers, five have perished and one has betrayed us. Three remain in our service, and two have completed their tasks and left it. I cannot tell you exactly what has become of whom."

                "What happened to -" began Tadyel.

                "The three the betrayer solely guarded have been taken. The rest have a 'second chance', so to speak. What may, however, worry you is that we have retained all of your people here. They do not wish to be split up," said Eden. "This has led to some arguments.

                "Some Magi wish for your people to be forced to choose new volunteers to cover their numbers; others suggest that - so long as you and any others who actively work for us serve - they should all be permitted to stay. It is an ongoing discussion, and I do not know what resolution we shall reach. I have... gained one guarantee. Should you serve fifty of your people will be allowed to remain here. Not in luxury, of course, but to live. In fact, some have already proved useful."

                Tadyel sat in silence. She hadn't really considered what would happen as the other volunteers died, or succeeded, or... The village would try to stay together; she had known that as well. Not having managed to put things together bothered her a little.

                "Once you have returned to Green Creek, I will relay further information to you through Vanna. For now, meet with your people. It is unfortunate that I must weigh you down with such things, but I feel it is for the best. Nasty surprises tend to drive people to extreme actions. Having you turn on us would be problematic."

                After a brief pause, Eden added, "You may go. If you would, do not tell your people of our discussion. It might... Cause other troubles."

                Reluctantly, Tadyel nodded. "At your request," she said, then left.

                The lesser Magi (Tadyel didn't recognise them and they hadn't introduced themselves) guided her through the mess of corridors within the fortress. Without them she'd have been hopelessly lost - probably unable to even make her way back to where the wagon was parked. As she walked, she realised that - compared to last time - there were next to none of the constructs around.

                Curiosity got the better of her. "Where are all the constructs?" she asked her guides.

                "Attending to other duties," replied one of her guides.

                "The truth is, we had loads standing around to impress you last time you were here. It ensures that any rumoured impressions revolve around our great might. We're not really worried about that with you, so the constructs are being useful instead of pointlessly loitering," explained the other. The first grimaced slightly.

                "Thanks for that," said Tadyel.

                "You're welcome," replied the talkative guide with a friendly smile.

                A few corridors later the same guide announced, "We're here."

                They had arrived in a section Tadyel didn't recognise. It was similar to the rest of the fortress - offices, store rooms and side corridors branching off almost at random - except for a pair of constructs flanking the entrance to a side corridor. The office directly opposite it was open (unlike most) and Tadyel heard a pair of voices coming from inside.

                She recognised one - it was Sedd, one of the village elders. He seemed to be discussing something with the other voice, which was also male. Tadyel hadn't caught enough of the conversation to know what they were talking about, but it didn't sound intense at all.

                As she and her guides drew up alongside the corridor and office, Tadyel took a peek at both. The side corridor was quite long, with several rooms spaced along it (given the spacing, Tadyel figured they were store rooms) and the far end was a large open space. She could see some tables down there, and was pretty sure that she recognised the elderly pair sitting at one of them.

                The office was small but cramped, with almost endless paperwork heaped up throughout. A lesser Magus stood behind it, talking rather fast at Sedd who stood in front. Off to one side was a woman taking notes - Tadyel was pretty sure it was one of her fellow villagers, in fact. One of the few who could read and write. She was wearing a plain white dress in a similar cut to that of the Magi - a servant style, possibly. The woman's name was Lurne, Tadyel was pretty sure.

                "Aha! Sedd, it is time to cut our conversation short. Your errant saviour and patron guardian has arrived," said the lesser Magus.

                Sedd grunted at the Magus, then turned and said, "Welcome back, Tadyel. To home, such as it is."

                Tadyel bowed slightly. "It's good to see you're okay. And the rest?" she asked.

                "Mostly alright. We lost three because that brat Unthun turned traitor on the magi. They say she found a spellcaster who could remove her curse then spilled the beans to the head of the little village she was assigned to. Then she got chased off 'cause they thought she was full of shit, but. The Magi, they stick to their damn deals," explained Sedd angrily.

                "Yes..." said the lesser Magus, "Please, enough of that. The rest of your people are fine, and I'm sure you are happy to greet them once more. Oh! I am the lesser Magus Aldous, by the way. I'm Vanna's niece by the way. Nephew! I meant to say nephew there."

                Lurne chuckled softly, but Sedd and Tadyel just stared at Aldous for a while. It was Sedd who broke the silence. "Who's Vanna?" he asked.

                "My boss. She's actually okay," said Tadyel. "I don't really want to talk about what I've had to do, though."

                "That's alright. We're glad you are. Living here is... interesting, but good. Some of us do some work, but we are generally left to our own devices. We have access to books and instructors, so many of us are learning trades the Thrath nearly wiped out. As with your boss, the Magi are 'okay'. But we plan to leave in a few years. The existence of the 'constructs' weighs on us," said Sedd.

                "That's great," said Tadyel, smiling. Her smile faded as she added, "I can keep doing what I'm doing for a few years, I think."

                "Good! You're one of the bravest and truest amongst us, even with your habit of hiding food to keep yourself fed," Sedd said, with a grin.

                "You knew about that?" asked Tadyel, a little shocked.

                "Yes. Well, sometimes. You were very good at it. You took from the Thrath, too, so honestly I hoped for your success," replied Sedd. He turned to Aldous. "I'll take her down to the hall now, unless you have a debriefing or something for her."

                "No, that will already have been taken care of," said Aldous. "Off you both go. I have plenty of paperwork to handle here."

                "Hi Tadyel!" said Lurne, as Sedd turned to lead Tadyel out.

                "Hello Lurne," Tadyel replied, with a little wave. Lurne smiled.

                As she was being led out, Tadyel was pretty sure that she caught a faint "She remembered me! Told you!" coming from the office.

                Well, seems someone gets along with their 'captor', thought Tadyel.

                "I can guess what you're thinking. Well, at least what you're feeling," murmured Sedd as they walked. "We're getting along well with our captors. And we are. They're strangely happy to help us. Our presence is paid for by the efforts of you and the others, and we do some work so we are 'owed' more, but... For a people happy to do something so terrible, they are far too kind. It's jarring. A few of us, especially the younger, can't quite understand that kind of contrast."

                The store-rooms they walked past were filled with goods - a few things the villagers had brought with them, but mostly other supplies. One was well stocked with food (Tadyel recognised it as standard Magi fare, much like what she had eaten concealed within Mike's wagon). A couple of villagers were poking around in one; they gave a friendly wave as the pair past.

                "I tell them the story of the friendly Thrath. When you're young, it's a tale warning you to never trust a Thrath. But when you're older, it also ponders a particular question: which was the Thrath's true nature? Could it be both, at once? Unfortunately it's a rather complicated point," posited Sedd. Tadyel was fairly certain the tale in question was pretty straightforward, and Sedd's philosophical meanderings seemed silly.

                "Or perhaps I'm wrong, as my nephews insist," conceded Sedd. They entered the larger area Tadyel had seen from afar. "This is our common area and hall. Those of us who can't work or do much else loiter here. Which means that my fellow elders are around here somewhere. Aha! Hello Perel!"

                "Sedd! And Tadyel," replied Perel. She rose from her seat and started to make her way over, her grey coat the same as ever. "Wenjur and Nolan are, I suspect, busy with some horizontal folk dancing."

                "Um, really?" asked Tadyel awkwardly.

                "They found out that they had a lot in common on the journey," said Perel with a wicked wink. "Or perhaps I'm kidding."

                "She's kidding," said Sedd. "They're most likely both napping in their quarters."

                "Spoil an old woman's fun! You drove your husband to his early grave with that kind of seriousness, Sedd," exclaimed Perel.

                Sedd sighed. "She's like this when she doesn't need to keep a serious face up, so I apologise if this is the first you've seen of it. Without the Thrath to worry about she's gotten a lot worse," he explained.

                "Okay," said Tadyel, still awkward.

                "I'm sorry, love. Here we aren't under threat, even if our hosts are horrible people, so I'm squeezing fifty years of light-spirited fun into the time I have left. I - we, actually, are truly thankful for what you're doing for us. I was surprised to learn that you would keep working for them... but it gives the rest of us a great opportunity," said Perel. "Let's take some seats. I think everyone will want to say thanks at some point, even if just in passing."

                "Thanks. I mean, you're welcome," said Tadyel, as she was guided to a nearby table.

                "I do think it says something about you, actually, that you were the first one to raise her hand," said Perel, as they took their seats. "A very good thing."

                Although a little slow to start, Tadyel's day back amongst her people quickly picked up speed. Those who passed through popped past to thank her, but soon enough a crowd of those with nothing better to do had formed around her and along the table.

                At one stage, Wennon and Wenjur were among that crowd. Tadyel was unable to resist the urge to ask Wenjur, "Were you trying to hook me up with Wennon before we began our journey?"

                "Well, that is," said Wenjur awkwardly, "Yes. I was. It was obvious because I desired it to be so, of course. But..."

                "I told mum that I was interested in Evfey," interjected Wennon. "And also to let me handle it myself. Which went a lot better! We got engaged before she left."

                Oh, Tadyel thought, I hope she's not one of the dead.

                 "We're getting married next week," said a woman who had suddenly appeared behind (and hugged) Wennon. Tadyel looked up, and was shocked to see that it was Evfey.

                "Hey Gel," she said with a wave. "They let me come back here after I burnt something down. Apparently you're something of a star? I think you are technically partly responsible for those I was responsible for getting to stay, or something. So thanks!"

                "I - that's. Weird?" said Tadyel, a little confused.

                "It was part of my original arrangement. I could come back if I did something big for them. I, um, burnt down an old sacred building near Red Forest and got seen doing it. They say it caused a big hoorah about refugees, which is what they wanted, so all good. What have they had you doing?" asked Evfey.

                "I... Don't really want to talk about it," said Tadyel. "It's not... No-one died in the fire, right?"

                "No, of course not. I couldn't do something like - oh. Oh, Gel," said Evfey, sympathy dominating her voice as she realised what Tadyel had likely been tasked with.

                "Am I missing something?" asked Wenjur, curious.

                "I - um, I think Tadyel's had to kill someone," said Wennon. "Possibly more than once. Probably refugees like us, too."

                "Yeah. I'm okay though," insisted Tadyel.

                Evfey came around the table and gave her a hug despite her words. "If you say so," she said with a frown. "I guess we shouldn't talk about it."

                "Why not?" asked Wenjur. "Oh, I suppose Tadyel doesn't need to talk about it."

                "I don't think everyone would be happy to know that the hospitality of the Magi has been paid for in blood, mum," said Wennon.

                "So. What do you do when you're not doing stuff for the Magi?" asked Evfey. "Do they have you working a job as well?"

                After Tadyel described (in significant detail) her work as a clothier in Green Creek (and after a while, also how her cover pretended she was a noble) Evfey and Wennon talked about what they were doing as well. The Magi had them, as well as the other farmers, working on hidden fields elsewhere in the fortress. In return, they and the other villagers were given more to eat and access to more of the Magi's books (although no-one was ever allowed near the magic books, which made up a lot of the library). A few villagers had even become a little knowledgeable about the history of the Magi.

                Her former workmates wandered away after a while, and Wenjur with them. Tadyel was kind of worried about Wenjur - she seemed to have lost her shrewdness at some point, and was instead just a shrew. Or perhaps Tadyel herself had changed.

                Lunch came before she had really expected it, and the evening meal felt like it was only moments later. She saw almost all of the village that day; most came to thank her, some to thank her and chat. She was seen as a hero by most, and by a few as a saviour. She told a few of her new life, but none others learnt of what she actually did for the Magi. Wennon was right - not all would be happy with the price paid for their comfortable lives. And even Wennon had not guessed its extent (though Tadyel suspected Evfey had).

                Only one other conversation she had that day truly stuck out, amongst the 'thank you's and 'you're my hero's (although those, when from the children, were wonderful). Tadyel wasn't really sure why it was particularly notable. She didn't know the villager in question, but it wasn't surprising that he was interested enough to ask questions about all the stuff she'd told everyone else a few times.

                Reflecting on it a little, she realised that it was because he seemed to know who she was really well even though she didn't know him. He asked some questions that kind of meant he must have asked one of her workmates about her a lot, or something like that. Wenjur was a likely culprit, in fact. It was almost a little creepy, but probably just hero worship. He didn't have love, or even obsession in his eyes. He had said he was learning to write - that might be it. The 'Tale of Tadyel'. The thought made her smile.

                After the dinner (supposedly larger than normal and in her honour, although Perel lampooned the suggestion extensively) Tadyel bid farewell to those she knew then everyone else at once, and headed back to Aldous's office.

                The lesser Magus was still awake, scribbling away on another document. Lurne was absent (she'd joined in on the 'celebration'), but a man Tadyel didn't recognise was standing by to give assistance instead. He wore servant-style dress that was similar to Lurne's, though obviously tailored to him.

                "All done then?" asked Aldous, looking up from his work. He like he had been working hard all day - it made Tadyel wonder if he was responsible for more than just her people.

                "Yes. Thank you for allowing this visit," said Tadyel. She bowed forwards slightly to show her thankfulness.

                "Eden's in charge of that. I just keep track of everything going on here - which is more than I really care to keep track of. Darian will guide you back to Mike so you can get on your way tonight," said Aldous. He waved two fingers, and his assistant stepped forwards.

                "Follow me," he said, and headed out the door.

                Tadyel waved at Aldous and followed. As she and Darian started making their way through the corridors, she asked, "Are you from one of the other refugee groups?"

                "No," answered Darian. "I am - not a Magi, but my family are. Like your superior, but I do not hold an honorary rank. I made a mistake that was harmful to our work some years ago, and I must work as the lowliest for ten years because of it."

                "That's harsh," said Tadyel.

                Darian shook his head. "The mistake I made was severe enough to set construct creation back by several months. I am lucky to have the opportunity to regain my standing at all."

                "You stopped the constructs from being made for a while? That's - that's a good thing for me, you know. For my people."

                "There are other factors at work - and if the Thrath are not stopped, we shall all experience a very 'bad thing'."

                The pair entered the room Mike was parked in, prompting Darian to add, "Your ride."

                "Thank you," replied Tadyel. Other factors? she thought, What could those even be?

                "Good luck with your work," said Darian, before turning and leaving without further word.

                "Hoy!" called Mike, from atop his wagon. As Tadyel made her way over he added, "I'm well rested and ready to go, so hop on in."

                "Hello," replied Tadyel. She clambered into the wagon, and Mike closed lid of 'goods' down over her.

                "And off we go! Did you meet everyone you wanted to? Was it worth the twelve day trip?" asked Mike, as his wagon started rumbling along.

                "Yes," called out Tadyel. "It was."