"Positive!" Julie nodded firmly. "I don't want any glory, no responsibility, and no credit. I had too much of that when I was workin' for the Empire, you know what I mean? Me and the boys talked it over, and we decided-"
"The boys?" Badaxe interrupted, frowning.
"Um... that's another thing we forgot to mention, General," I smiled. "Big Julie isn't the only new addition to Possiltum's citizenry."
I jerked my head at the circle of men holding back the crowd.
The general blinked at the men, then swiveled his head around noting how many more like them were scattered through the crowd. He blanched as it became clear to him both where the Empire's army had disappeared to, and why his men had been unsuccessful in stopping our return to the capital.
"You mean to tell me you-" Badaxe began.
"Happy Possiltum citizens all, General!" Aahz proclaimed, then dropped his voice to a more confidential level. "I think you'll find that if you should ever have to draft an army, these new citizens will train a lot faster than your average plow pusher."
Apparently the general did. His eyes glittered at the thought of the new force we had placed at his command. I could see him mentally licking his chops in anticipation of the next war.
"Big Julie!" he declared with a broad smile. "You and your ... er ... boys are more than welcome to settle here in Possiltum. Let me be one of the first to congratulate you on your new citizenship."
He extended his hand, but there was an obstruction in his way. The obstruction's name was J.R. Grimble.
"Just a moment!" the chancellor snarled. "There's one minor flaw in your plans. It is my intention to advise the king to disband Possiltum's army."
"What?" roared Badaxe.
"Let me handle this, General," Aahz said soothingly. "Grimble, what would you want to do a fool thing like that for?"
"Why, because of the magician, of course," the chancellor blinked. "You've demonstrated he is quite capable of defending the kingdom without the aid of an army, so I see no reason why we should continue to bear the cost of maintaining one."
"Nonsense!" Aahz scolded. "Do you think the great Skeeve has nothing to do with his time but guard your borders? Do you want to tie up your high-cost magician doing the job a low-cost soldier could do?"
"Well..." Grimble scowled.
"Besides," Aahz continued. "Skeeve will be spending considerable time on the road furthering his studies... which will of course increase his value to Possiltum. Who will guard your kingdom while he's away, if not the army?"
"But the cost is ..." Grimble whined.
"If anything," Aahz continued ignoring the chancellor's protests. "I should think you'd want to expand your army now that your borders have increased in size."
"What's that?" Grimble blinked, "What about our borders?"
"I thought it was obvious," Aahz said innocently. "All these new citizens have to settle somewhere... and there is a lot of land up for grabs just north of here. As I understand it, it's completely unguarded at the moment. Possiltum wouldn't even have to fight for it, just move in and settle. That is, of course, provided you have a strong army to hold it once you've got it."
"Hmm," the chancellor said thoughtfully, stroking his chin with his hand.
"Then again," Aahz murmured quietly, "there's all the extra tax money the new citizens and land will contribute to the kingdom's coffers."
"Big Julie!" Grimble beamed. "I'd like to welcome you and your men to Possiltum."
"I'm welcoming him first!" Badaxe growled. "He's my advisor."
As he spoke, the general dropped his hand to the hilt of his axe, a move which was not lost on the chancellor.
"Of course. General," Grimble acknowledged, forcing a grin. "I'll just wait here until you're through. There are a few things I want to discuss with our new citizens."
"While you're waiting, Grimble," Aahz smiled, "there are a few things we have to discuss with you."
"Such as what?" the chancellor scowled.
"Such as the Court Magician's pay!" my mentor retorted.
"Of course," Grimble laughed. "As soon as we're done here we'll go inside and I'll pay him his first month's wages."
"Actually," Aahz drawled. "What we wanted to discuss was an increase."
The chancellor stopped laughing.
"You mean a bonus, don't you?" he asked hopefully. "I'm sure we can work something out, considering-"
"I mean an increase!" Aahz corrected firmly. "C'mon, Grimble. The kingdom's bigger now. That means the magician's job is bigger and deserves more pay."
"I'm not sure I can approve that," the chancellor responded cagily.
"With the increase of your tax base," Aahz pressed, "I figure you can afford-"
"Now let's be careful," Grimble countered. "Our overhead has gone up right along with that increase. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if..."
"C'mon, Gleep," I murmured to my pet. "Let's go see Buttercup."
I had a feeling the wage debate was going to last for a while.
Chapter Twenty-Six:
"All's well that ends well.
-E. A. POE
I WAS spending a leisurely afternoon killing time in my immense room in the palace.
The bargaining session between Aahz and Grimble had gone well for us. Not only had I gotten a substantial wage increase, I was also now housed in a room which was only a little smaller than Grimble's, which in turn was second only to the king's in size. What was more, the room had a large window, which was nice even if it did look out over the stables. Aahz had insisted on this, hinting darkly that I might be receiving winged visitors in the night. I think this scared me more than it did Grimble, but I got my window.
When I chose, I could look down from my perch and keep an eye on Gleep and Buttercup in the stables. I could also watch the hapless stable boy who had been assigned to catering to their every need. That had been part of the deal, too, though I had pushed for it a lot harder than Aahz.
Aahz was housed in the adjoining room, which was nice, though smaller than mine. The royal architects were scheduled to open a door in our shared wall, and I had a hunch that when they did, the room arrangement would change drastically. For the moment, at least, I had a bit of unaccustomed privacy.
The room itself, however, was not what was currently commanding my attention. My mind was focused on Garkin's old brazier. I had been trying all afternoon to unlock its secrets, thus far without success. It stood firmly in the center of the floor where I had first placed it, stubbornly resisting my efforts.
I perched on my windowsill and studied the object glumly. I could levitate it easily enough, but that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted it to come alive and follow me around the way it used to follow Garkin.
That triggered an idea in my mind. It seemed silly, but nothing else had worked.
Drawing my eyebrows together, I addressed the brazier without focusing my energies on it.
"Come here!" I thought.
The brazier seemed to waiver for a moment, then it trotted to my side, clacking across the floor on its spindly legs.
It worked! Even though it was a silly little detail, the brazier's obedience somehow made me feel more like a magician.
"Hey, kid!" Aahz called, barging through my door without knocking. "Have you got a corkscrew?"
"What's a corkscrew?" I asked reflexively.
"Never mind," my mentor sighed. "I'll do it myself."
With that, he shifted the bottle of wine he was holding to his left hand, and inserted the claw on his right forefinger into the cork. The cork made a soft pop as he gently eased it from the neck of the bottle, whereupon the cork was casually tossed into a corner as Aahz drank deeply of the wine.