As Gregory left Tudyk’s office, he heard people talking downstairs. He overheard the word “eurtik,” so he walked softly toward the stairs to hear more.
“A magi with a full squad of the dirty breeds?” a man snorted. “What’s the world coming to when magi go soft on the animals?”
“That’s the same magi who took the slaves from the Blushing Maid. If he has breeds in his unit, I doubt he’s using them the way they should be used.”
“Ugh, no. Couldn’t pay me enough to fuck one of them furred beasts. Don’t care how big their tits are.”
“Not all of them had fur,” the one man snickered. “The scaled one had a tongue that could wrap around you a few times. Talk about impressive.”
“You’re going to make me gag,” the first speaker said. “Might as well slip into the stables at that point.”
“You just ain’t adventurous. Besides, if you breed them enough, their kids eventually become human.”
“Must be why you like them.”
“You saying my mom was a breed?!” the second man snapped.
“Would explain your perversion.”
“You want to step outside?!”
“I’m not that kind of boy, either,” the first man laughed.
“Fuck you, Keslin!”
“I just told you no, Poltar.”
Gregory made sure he made noise as he started down the stairs, wearing a neutral expression on his face. The two men jumped slightly upon seeing him, both of them backing away from the stairs. Gregory gave them nods, but made sure to remember their faces and names. “Morning, gentlemen.”
“Morning, Magi,” they replied, saluting him.
“Did my men get sent off to the right sergeant to be advised on their patrol area?”
“I saw them with the sergeant, sir,” Keslin said. “Believe they left already.”
“That’s fine. I can easily catch up to them.”
“I need to get going, myself. Excuse me, sir,” Poltar said as he quickly left.
Keslin glared at the back of the retreating guard.
“He’s certainly eager to get on with the day,” Gregory chuckled as if he had no idea about their conversation.
“Speaking of, I need to meet up with my sergeant. Please excuse me, sir,” Keslin said, taking that small opening to flee.
Gregory looked at the old man behind the desk who’d turned to watch. “I thought they were having a conversation, but it sure broke up quickly.”
“Those two are trouble,” the older man said.
“Retired guard?” Gregory asked upon reaching the desk.
“Thirty years. At least I can help by directing those who need help,” he shrugged.
“No reason to stay home?”
“Wife prefers me out of the house until sunset. Thirty years of that made it a habit for us both.”
“At least you have an understanding?” Gregory asked.
“Better than fighting all the time. This way, she makes me dinner,” the man chuckled.
“Find the good where you can,” Gregory grinned. “I’m Gregory Pettit.”
“I know, Magi. I’m just an old guard, but my name is Garf Wineson.”
“Wineson? Sounds like you should’ve been involved with the distillery.”
“Related, but not part of that family,” Garf shrugged. “Besides, I wanted to help people.”
“I know how that is,” Gregory said. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“It was my pleasure, sir. Never knew a magi to stop and chat with an old man like me.”
“A clanmate of mine will more than likely be posted here next year like I am now. Any of them will be just as friendly as I am, unless people give them trouble.”
Garf’s eyes drifted toward where the other two guards had gone. “Trouble, sir?”
“Yes.”
Garf clicked his tongue. “Some people will never learn, even if you hit them with a big stick.”
“True enough,” Gregory sighed. “One can hope, though.”
“You and the commander both feel the same. I don’t think it’ll happen in my lifetime.”
“All change takes time,” Gregory agreed. “How do I find my men?”
“They would’ve started by the tanner’s, which might be rough for a few of them. The smell is terrible. They’ll move east from there, so you’ll want to…”
~*~*~
Gregory rode through the streets at an easy walk. The few people who met his gaze, he gave a smile and nod. Most just bowed their heads, not meeting his eyes.
Where did the change happen? Gregory wondered. Myths speak of Aether and his followers helping everyone, but early histories speak about magi being the might of kingdoms… they became war leaders, like Toja. It was during the rise of the emperor that magi became the highest caste of society.
Gregory was mulling over the idea when he heard a whistle blast from ahead of him. Head snapping up, he didn’t see anyone causing a problem. The whistle blew again from ahead, but also to the side.
Gregory booted his horse gently, making her pick up speed. The whistle was the guard’s way of calling for help. As he sped toward the first whistles, a couple of others blasted out a different pattern, clearly responding to the first.
Gregory took a corner sharply, which made a woman hurrying the other way press back into a building. He threw out an apology, then found the problem. Two guards were backing away from a group of rough-looking men.
“S-stop right there,” one of the guards said shakily. “Just walk away, and we’ll forget all about this.”
“You should’ve paid your debts!” one of the men spat. “Too bad you dragged your fellow guard into it. Run off. No need for you to get involved.” The speaker had aimed the last part at the second guard.
“Damnit, Harold!” the second guard hissed. “I told you to stop betting more than you had!”
“Go on,” Harold said. “Bring the others back as quickly as you can.”
“They’ll cripple you before we get back.”
“Just desserts,” Harold said tightly, but then saw the magi in orange bearing down on the group.
His wide eyes got the leader of the rough men to look back. “Magi! Run, boys!”
The five men bolted away, splitting up as they went.
The two guards didn’t give chase, so Gregory slowed his horse, not bothering to chase them, either.
“M-magi, t-that was good timing…” Harold said shakily.
“What happened?” Gregory asked, as he hadn’t heard the conversation.
“Debt collectors,” the second guard said. “Come on, Harold. It’s time to report in. You’re a liability and in danger.”
Harold’s head dropped. “Yeah… Commander’s going to ream me.”
“You deserve it. You almost got us both crippled or killed.”
Gregory watched the two men start to walk away. The second guard pulled out a whistle to blow another pattern, and the replies came swiftly. “Huh… Hope my men don’t have that kind of excitement today. Then again, the debt collectors knew I was a magi and bolted, so it’s doubtful they’d go after them,” Gregory mused as he started toward where his men should be posted.
~*~*~
Gregory left his horse in a stable, deciding to walk with his men as they did their patrol. Glasson had split them into two groups of three instead of the standard two-man patrols, as there were usually only two sets in the area that they were in.
Barely an hour into joining them, a guard came jogging up to the group Gregory was with. “Magi, sir, the commander wants to see you.”
“Must be because of the incident earlier,” Glasson said.
“Likely. Keep up the good work.”
“Yes, sir,” Glasson saluted.
It took Gregory a while to walk back to the command post. He didn’t see the need to get his horse for what he thought would be a brief meeting on what had happened to the guards.
Garf gave him a nod, motioning to the stairs.
Gregory knocked on Tudyk’s door, entering the moment he was told to. “Commander?”
“Pettit, thank you for coming back so swiftly. You were involved in the incident earlier with my men?”
“I caused the aggressors to flee,” Gregory said. “Just my kimono was enough, apparently.”
“No one wants to anger a magi who’s here to make a name for himself,” Tudyk said. “I’d like you to take a walk with me.”
“Where to?”
“Rich Treasures, a gambling establishment.”
“That’s where your man became indebted?”
“Yes. There’s a reason for the rules against doing so. He’s being pushed out of the guard for what happened today. I can’t let a blatant near-attack on one of mine go without a response, it would set a bad precedent.”
“Because it would invite them to put more pressure on others.”
“Exactly. Now, considering the reaction of the attackers when they saw you, I’m asking— formally— for your assistance with this.”
“Just me, or my men, too?”
“Just the two of us. I doubt they’ll act rashly.”
“Projects confidence when it’s just the two of us there.”
“I never did hear what your magic is, so I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to help much if things did go sideways.”
“Foresight,” Gregory said. “I can’t do what they’re probably afraid of, but if it comes to a fight, Commander, I’ll be fine.”
“Foresight? I thought that was one of the myths of Aether. Is it useful in a fight?”
“I’ve only lost one fight where I was striving to win with all I had. That was against one of my wives in our first year at the academy. I regularly spar with my entire unit.”
Tudyk sat back, then chuckled. “Very well, then. If you’re willing to assist, we can go.”
Gregory nodded. “I hope it’s just a talk, but if it goes wrong, they’ll regret it.”
The pair walked toward their destination. The townsfolk who saw them were surprised. Tudyk didn’t leave his office during the day very often, so when he did, it was worthy of rumor the following day.
The gambling hall wasn’t busy when they reached it. Gregory didn’t find that odd, as it wasn’t even midday, yet. The place had subdued nods toward wealth, clearly favoring those who had some money, but weren’t exactly well-off themselves.
The woman behind the counter was smiling when they entered, but it was soon replaced with worry. “Commander, Magi… how can I assist you?”
“We want a word with Jewelson,” Tudyk said flatly.
The double doors into the gambling hall proper opened, revealing a large elephas eurtik. His grayish skin tone and flappy ears were very prominent features. “If you’ll follow me, Commander.”
Tudyk nodded, leaving the shaken woman behind the counter to go with the man. Gregory gave her an apologetic smile before he went after the others.
Taken up to the top floor, the wealth of the establishment was clear here in the rich wood, golden lamps, and plush rugs. The man who’d retrieved them opened the last door on the floor before stepping aside for them.
Gregory triggered foresight before entering the office. He kept it running two seconds ahead, enough that he’d be able to react if needed. The man who’d brought them up closed the door behind them, staying in the hall.
The only other person in the room was a man with clearly non-human features. His sharply pointed ears would’ve made Gregory think elf if not for his human eyes. The man gave Gregory a long look as he and Tudyk went over to the seats near him.
“Commander, you brought an initiate to our meeting?”
“Your men fled from him when they were after mine earlier.”
“Because attacking a magi is a death sentence. My men know better than that.”
“But you still sent them after one of mine.”
“Commander, business is business. We gave him many opportunities to fix the problem.”
“How long?”
“Nearly a year. The last two months, he didn’t even bother to make minimal payments. I can’t let debts go uncollected; it would ruin me.”
“You had him in debt for a year, yet never brought it to me?”
“What would you have done? What you’ve no doubt done today: removed him from the guard. Now, he’ll have no way of paying me back. All you’ve done is make him not your problem.”
“How many of my men are indebted to you?”
“Small debts, but they’ve always paid up the next month. There’s no need to out them.”
“My men will be informed that your establishment is restricted starting tomorrow.”
“That will cut into my bottom-line, Commander. Surely, we can come to an arrangement.”
“If they fall two months behind, inform him so he can take steps,” Gregory interrupted. Both men turned to face him. “It’ll let him handle anyone who causes a problem and lets you keep your stream of revenue.”
Jewelson grinned. “I like you, Magi.”
“I can’t let the fact that your men went after one of mine so blatantly go,” Tudyk said. “I can agree with Pettit’s idea for the future, though.”
“It’s about respect, right? Your man disrespected me, but I could’ve sent my men to his place after dark. Because I got angry, I disrespected you. Not my finest moment, and when they came running back here to tell me what happened, it calmed me down.”
“Magi do that to people,” Gregory said.
“No. Normally, they just kill people,” Jewelson said. “You didn’t chase them or kill any. Why?”
“I didn’t know the full story, and the men ran when I arrived. I stayed to make sure the guards were okay.”
“Caring for the men first? Rare for a magi. Commander, let’s bury this hatchet, shall we? I’ll let it be known I erred. Bring a squad in here later and make a bit of a scene. I’ll come down and apologize for my men, we shake hands, and then it’s done. We’ll do what the magi suggested going forward. Deal?”
“I know you have other businesses, ones that I should be stepping in to stop, Jewelson,” Tudyk said, “but I can’t find the worst ones, and the ones I do know haven’t crossed the lines… yet. But for this… yes. Deal.”
Jewelson stood up from his seat. “Well, at least something good came from today. I’ll see you after the shift change for the guard?”
“After dark, when the hall is busy.”
“That’s fine with me.”
Tudyk and Gregory stood.
Jewelson extended his hand to Gregory. “Pleasure. Pettit, right?”
“Gregory Pettit,” Gregory introduced himself.
“Doubt we’ll ever speak again, Pettit, but I’m Fluendil Jewelson. Since we didn’t get the introduction before business began, I wanted to make sure we did before you left.”
“I doubt we’ll ever speak again, either,” Gregory agreed, shaking the half-elf’s hand. “Good day.”
“Good day,” Jewelson chuckled.
As they left the gambling hall behind, Tudyk looked thoughtful. “Why the compromise?”
“Best for everyone. If you went after him for all your men, it would become much worse for the town. The guards need to have an outlet, but it needs to be controlled. Might be time to remind them that debts are against the rules, but not overtly call them out. A reminder every year should be enough to keep all but the worst in line.”
“Hmm… Never known a magi as relaxed as you, Pettit.”
“My clan is much the same as me. Other clans… not so much.”
Tudyk barked a laugh. “I believe you just understated that by a large margin.”
