~*~
Milton's magic shop had remained closed pretty much since the orc attack the night before, although he doubted it had cost him much business. Magic simply wasn't selling as well as it used to. Even accomplished mages like Ferman had been forced to drop their rates because, with magic becoming increasingly unreliable, many people were turning to more mundane ways to accomplish what they wanted.
His own skills were limited. Most of his recent business involved the casting of simple mending spells or magically erasing writing from parchment so the owner could use it again for something else. He was still working on his continual light cube idea, which he thought might prove popular and useful, but he had so far been unable to make the spell duration as permanent as it was supposed to be. His efforts on that project would have to wait. His assignment for the king took priority, and although it was unlikely to gain him any gold, a royal commission would up his standing in the community, well, at least within the community of magic users. He was less confident that it would raise the opinion Mari's father had of him.
He stopped by his shop just long enough to tell Gorbo they might be having guests later. The job Ferman assigned him on behalf of the king was to be the liaison between the city and the Peacekeepers. At first, he wondered why they chose him. He was only an apprentice. But he had also been the first to meet the strangers, a task he suspected he was qualified for primarily because of his expendability. Whatever the reason, the strangers already knew him and, because of Gorbo, Milton was arguably the city's expert on orcs, which might come in handy. He didn't really mind the job, although it would probably amount mainly to running errands.
He approached the Peacekeeper's ship with much less anxiety than he had the first time. It wasn't exactly a known quantity, but it was less unknown now.
People passed him going in both directions as they went about rummaging through the town to retrieve their abandoned possessions—or someone else's. No one was doing any repairs yet. They all knew the attacks weren't over.
He glanced to one side where people were stacking the bodies of the orcs who had not survived their assault on the walls. By tonight, the slain would be nothing but ashes and charred bits of bone. He almost felt sorry for them. Everyone said the wild ones could be vicious, but sometimes he thought they were more like very large and extremely ugly children.
Ahead, he saw the Peacekeepers walking down the ramp from their impressive ship, and he wondered briefly if they might allow him a peek inside. He could not imagine what it must be like, but he felt sure it would be amazing.
He was still staring transfixed in idle speculation when Commander Chang greeted him.
"Hi, Milton, I'm glad you're here. We have some questions for you."
Behind her, Doc and Brax smiled, and Sandra regarded him with a bemused expression. He knew less about her than he did the others, but she seemed all right. In fact, all of them possessed some ineffable aura of wise nobility. He was sure this was not a magical effect, but he could not explain it. They were unlike any adventurers he had ever met before. Most seemed eager for the fray and the treasure. The Peacekeepers were more thoughtful and cautious, traits he considered admirable. Of the four, only Brax exhibited much of the bravado typical of most adventurers, but even that was muted.
"I will answer them as best I can," Milton said. "In fact, that's part of why I'm here. By order of the king, I am to serve as your liaison with the city. If there is anything you need to help you fulfill your mission, ask me and I will see if I can get it for you."
"What we need right now is more information about the threat facing you."
"Well, yes, of course I can help you with that. Um, how much do you know about orcs?"
"Not much," Sandra said.
Brax stepped forward, almost nudging her out of the way. "What she means is that we don't know a lot about the local tribes. As experienced adventurers, we've encountered and defeated orcs many times, obviously."
"Undoubtedly. I did not intend to question your experience." He had no way of judging the rest of them, but Commander Chang must be an extremely high-level magic user to have shrugged off Rennart's spells at the palace this morning. "I have actually studied the orcs in the area as a kind of hobby, I suppose you could say. If I cannot provide you with what you need, a…a friend of mine may be able to."
"Good. When can we meet him?"
"Would right now be all right? He's at my workshop. Oh, and the king is having items collected for each of you that may be of assistance. You may use them as you see fit for the duration of your mission. They are supposed to be delivered to my shop by tonight."
"Magic items?" Brax asked.
"Yes, of course."
"Now that should be interesting," Sandra said with far less enthusiasm than Milton would have expected upon hearing such news. One should expect that magical items from a king, any king, would be quite potent and therefore welcome, even if they were intended as a loan rather than as a gift.
The Peacekeeper commander tilted her head, exposing an ear, which he noted was not pointed. Other than that, she really did look a bit elfish.
"Right now, huh?" she said as if mentally checking her schedule.
"If it is convenient," he said. "I'm sure you are eager to complete your preparations."
"Yes, of course," Commander Chang said in a tone that suggested she wasn't.
"Sandra," she said. "You were working with Sims to set up a repair schedule while we were away, right?"
"Yes. It's all set. Two of the drones will remove and replace what's needed out here and the third will work inside on other repairs. Sims can coordinate it. We'll have to lower the ship because of the gravity, of course. Otherwise it will take them longer to get to everything they need to."
The conversation confused Milton, but he did understand that they were talking about repairing their ship. Perhaps it had something do with preparing it for battle, like outfitting a soldier with armor and weapons.
"Sims," Lisa said into a small box she withdrew from one of the pockets in her one-piece garment, "send out the drones and begin repairs. We're going back into the city. Call me if there are any difficulties or unexpected complications."
"Acknowledged, Commander," a tinny voice replied.
The box spoke! Did it contain an ant-sized imp, perhaps?
"We'll leave soon," she told him, returning the box to her pocket. "I just want to make sure the repairs are underway before we go."
A couple of minutes later, two things emerged from the ship, each walking on four legs and carrying boxes in two forward arms. The creatures were light gray, about the size of a large dog, and disturbingly insect-like.
"What are those?" Milton asked, involuntarily stepping backward.
"Maintenance drones," Commander Chang replied, which failed to clarify anything for him.
"You can think of them as trained huge spiders," Brax added. "They are completely under our control. There's no need to be concerned."
The two trained spiders moved away from the ramp, which then promptly slid back into the ship, the door closing behind it. With a shuddering sound, the legs of the flying behemoth began to shorten, lowering the huge ship until the belly rested only an arm's length from the ground. No one had done any kind of incantation, so despite how inconceivable it seemed, this may have been some innate ability of the behemoth. Could the ship somehow be alive? Or perhaps…. No, for a moment he thought it might be some kind of hidden mechanism, but that was clearly impossible. Magic must be involved.
The spiders moved under the ship to begin their task, whatever that might be.
Milton was not the only one watching them with cautious amazement. People collecting bodies, or moving in and out of the ruined outer portions of the city for other purposes, had stopped to stare. A few peasants who were apparently a bit more excitable than most, fled when they saw the strange creatures scurrying around the ship.
"Milton," Commander Chang said. "Make sure no one bothers
them, all right?"
"Um, I don't think anyone will try, but I'll have a word with the guards at the gate."
~Chapter 9~