Then he told them about the delivery service idea. No one seemed to think much of it at first, until the Morgans' jaws collectively dropped open, eyes going wide. Eric grinned and shook his head in disbelief.
“That's… No one could afford to compete with you for years! Yes… if you're willing to take in the Capital and some of the larger cities in your routes… This could be very big. I'm a little sad I didn't think of it first, to tell the truth. I recommend that you do it. If you don't want to though, I will.” The meaningful look he gave the kids made them all take notice and start becoming far more excited about the idea.
Tor got it.
They were being offered a chance at something a Duke wanted too, and it came from their own brother, so they got first go at it. That meant a lot.
Once again his mother asked how much all this would cost, her voice doubtful for some reason and Tor spread his hands on the table top, showing he didn't know. “Really? Since I'm making them for everyone, just the cost of materials. A few bits of copper, something to etch them with for the activation sigil, it's not that much. Say ten golds for twenty of them? Not even that much really, since I've been buying stuff in bulk. I have more than that with me already made, but I wanted to make a gift of a few to some people at the school, so you can't have them all. Still, one for everyone in the family and a few extras in case anyone else in the village wants to try? I'd like everyone to get a chance, since this could be big. I can send more later. I've earned enough to pay for the materials though, no problem.”
Sara looked around, a proud look on her face. She didn't speak until almost everyone was looking at her however.
“Most of the flying rigs and shields are going directly to the military as fast as they're being made, edict of the King himself. There's a waiting list for nobles, and one out of every hundred is being sold to them. Those go for five hundred gold apiece, but only if they agree to wait and buy them four at a time. For a single one, it's seven hundred and fifty gold. You want a shield too and the Tor-shield is the military standard now. Nothing else comes close by half in what it covers you from. Those go for more, about two thousand gold each, but unless you get one from Tor you aren't allowed to own one as a private citizen unless you're members of the nobility or a sworn member of one of the militaries. I guess you all can… Um…” She waved her hand at Laurie, earning a slow head shake. Sara tilted her head, thinking.
“Right, because you're Tor's family. Not even the King would argue with that, right?”
She looked at Rolph who agreed, saying that really, as long as Tor gave them away, he was allowed to provide them to anyone, the idea being that if Tor cared enough to just make a gift, it meant that the people were important.
“That's not new either, it comes from the King himself and is standard for all the top builders. It prevents problems.”
Sara smiled and looked at everyone, but spent more time focusing on Weasel for some reason than anyone else.
“So, it's not just a matter of coin, but short of being a Count or Duke, people allowed to have their own sworn military, no one could do it but you. But really, speaking Noram standard will help a whole lot. You'll have to learn maps and things too. I can have some sent, if you want? Debri house will want to use your services actually, and maybe hire some light cargo moving, come to think of it… We can't have our own cargo movers yet. I mean, we can own the boxes and devices for it, but the people to fly them are too hard to get so far… Really, if you're all willing I'd like to make a tentative offer for small and emergency shipments? I need to clear it with the head of the house, but if she doesn't agree it would be foolish, and my mother definitely isn't that.”
Tor repeated what she said, and even if it was tedious, he did it using both kinds of speaking so that everyone could get used to the difference. Weasel looked at him seriously and asked, in nearly perfect Noram standard, if they could start right then.
It turned out they could, but the lesson had to be given by the Count, Rolph and Sara, because everyone else was busy.
Wedding planning.
Except for Duke Morgan, who decided watching the training would be advantageous, since he had to set up his own unit for that soon. It was just to get out of the tedious planning session, but also was a good point. No one even looked at him too hard over it.
It really wasn't that big of a deal, not for Tor. He sat back and agreed with whatever he was asked. After about half an hour they all started catching on and making more and more outrageous suggestions. Mercy suddenly asked for a water sculpture in the shape of a sparrow, to match her family crest, one that would float in the air like the magic river, and possibly flap its wings. Trice countered with a request for a falcon as well, because after all, Uncle Richard and Aunt Connie would be coming and it wouldn't do to seem to be promoting their family crest over the royal one, right?
Tor felt his eyes glaze. “Um, how big?”
Eyes twinkling Mercy held out her hands about two or three feet apart, then said, “about ten times that big?” She started chuckling and so did his mom, but Patricia looked at him and started shaking her head. “I… I hope you really want that mom, because I know that look and it means that he has an idea.”
He did.
It was just holding water in a static form. That basically just meant moving the water in to an area of space that stopped movement in all directions. By making the field move in a repeated pattern, could he make the wings flap? He got up to leave, and felt a hand on his arm, looking down he realized that Trice held him in place. Hardly fair.
“Hey, no running off until we set all the orders for what we want!” She smiled, but Tor got it. It wasn't about telling him what to do, but about not leaving her alone with these two women that had suddenly gotten very scary and possibly gone insane. So far they'd been agreeing with each other too, so it wasn't even possible to play one off the other, not yet at least.
The big things, of course, were the date, which Laurie suggested at being a year out, but Mercy didn't really care about overly herself, and the location, which was harder. Tor's mother wanted it to be held, not in Two Bends, but Grenwyn, the Lairdgren capital, since all of her extended family would be there.
Mercy tilted her head, a baffled look on her face for a while before finally speaking. Her voice was pleasant and friendly.
“Well, Tor is… A bit famous now Laur. You heard about his relief effort for county Ford? That, the flying rigs, shields and other things… You know, he saved a city from a death plague? Galasia, sewage got into their water supplies… This is all in the last few months too. He's popular right now, and even if he never does another thing, probably will be for a long time. People will want to come. Plus Connie will want to be there. She and Torrence are a little bit of an item, I hear…”
His mother looked scandalized.
“Torrence Green Baker, you did not sleep with the Queen, of all the irresponsible things to do…” Her tone sounded playful, which shocked the hell out of him, she was always so proper. Country proper. That meant she didn't play around with the topic of sex, or really, even mention that it existed. She must be reverting to her old ways or something. He decided to watch her closely in case she suddenly went into a combat rage over the flower arrangements. She never had before, but now he felt suddenly wary.
Tor let his eyes narrow though.
“Um, no. She didn't even offer. She was just nice, and helped me out when I was injured, that's all, and made sure that country born hick or not, I didn't ever feel too lost or out of place in the Capital. Now I'd thank you all to not malign the Queen in front of me again, she's a good woman and doesn't deserve such.” He made his voice dry and so strict sounding everyone stopped and looked at him for a second, thinking he might be really mad.