Chapter 19
War Drums
Lord Marak ran along the trail as quickly as he could. He sped into the field where the mages practiced and slid to a halt when he saw Klora, the head mage.
“Is somebody hurt?” breathed Lord Marak.
Klora quickly turned to face the Lord of Fardale. “No, My Lord,” she grinned. “I’m sorry if my message caused you to think that there was an accident, but I was so very excited when I sent for you. We have finally found a solution for your pet project.”
“Do you mean you are able to communicate over long distances?” queried Lord Marak. “Is it done with fast projectiles like we thought?”
“Better!” exclaimed Klora. “The projectile idea worked, but it was too hard to control where it landed. We have found something better, although it also has limitations. We call it an Air Tube. Iscala will demonstrate it for you.”
“Step in closer to me, Lord Marak,” instructed Iscala. “In an open area like this you will need to be close to the Air Mage to hear what is going on.”
Lord Marak stepped next to Iscala and watched her. While he did not see her do anything, sounds started emanating from the air around her. Marak listened carefully to the noises of metal striking metal and scraping sounds. The sounds were certainly familiar, but he was unable to place them. For several moments he listened to the noises and then heard footsteps approaching. As clearly as if he was actually in the room, he heard Seneschal Pito’s voice requesting a bit of food for his midday meal. Lord Marak realized that he was hearing the sounds from the kitchen in the mansion.
“We used the kitchen because I was familiar with it,” Iscala explained. “Another Air Mage is at the other end to receive the Air Tube.”
“Can they hear us?” puzzled Lord Marak.
“If we want them to,” nodded Iscala. “Right now we are operating it in only one direction. I thought we might scare the kitchen help if they heard us, but we have tested it out here and it can work both ways.”
“There are actually three different states that the Air Tube can take,” interrupted Klora. “It can be operated in either direction alone, or in both directions at the same time. It is a matter of pressure in the tube. If the pressure is equalized at both ends, it is a two way Air Tube. If you want it to be only one way, you have only to increase the pressure on the talking end or decrease it on the hearing end. Both actions have the same effect.”
“Who created this Air Tube?” inquired Lord Marak. “Was it Iscala or the Air Mage in the kitchen?”
“I created it,” answered Iscala. “The creating Air Mage must know the location where the Air Tube is to be sent. That is why I chose the kitchen.”
“I did not see you do anything,” stated Lord Marak, “and I was watching you. Was the Air Tube already set up when I arrived?”
“No, Lord Marak,” Iscala explained. “You can not see anything because there is nothing to see. It is actually a very low level spell and does not require much energy to create. It requires practically nothing to maintain once it is set up, but there must be an Air Mage at each end for the duration of the spell.”
“How great a distance can this be used over?” Marak asked excitedly. “Could we use it from Glendale to here?”
“We don’t know,” admitted Klora. “This is the greatest distance we have tried so far. Theoretically, any distance could be achieved, but there are many things to be considered. If the Air Tube is broken momentarily, there can be a slight loss in what you hear. This could happen if a person or animal breaks the Air Tube by walking through it. It will instantly mend itself, but you will have that slight loss. Over a great distance the Air Tube could be broken many times and the quality of what you are hearing may not be worth the effort.”
“What if something is put in the path of the Air Tube, like a fallen tree?” questioned Lord Marak.
“That is not a problem,” replied Iscala. “The Air Tube seeks to reestablish itself just as it does when someone walks through it. It may result in a slightly longer delay before the sound continues, but not that much of a delay.”
“Can all of our Air Mages perform this task?” asked Lord Marak.
“No,” Klora answered. “Only an Air Mage with some water magic can handle the differences in pressure needed to direct the flow of the sounds. It does not require a very advanced Air Mage, though.”
“Excellent,” grinned Lord Marak. “I am going to need three of these special Air Mages right away. All of them need to be familiar with the Meeting Chamber and the room which used to house the Bursar’s assistant. Do not choose Air Mages who are required for research, but the ones chosen must be able to perform diplomatic duties. I am going to station one at Glendale and one at Watula Valley. They are going to be my representatives to their respective Council of Advisors at each estate and I do not want the residing Lords to know of their capabilities. We will call them Correspondents.”
“They are to be spies?” queried Klora.
“Exactly,” smiled Lord Marak. “The third Air Mage will move into the room which used to house the Bursar’s assistant. She will become my Correspondent and monitor the other two. Each remote Correspondent will have a schedule for reporting in. I want to monitor everything that goes on at both estates if we can.”
“I’ll have your three mages ready for you this afternoon,” promised Klora.
“Good,” Lord Marak declared. “I also want you to continue researching this magic, Iscala. It would be good if we could send it to places with no Air Mage on the other end.”
“I doubt that is possible, Lord Marak,” frowned Iscala, “but we will try to find a way.”
Lord Marak spent the next hour with Klora discussing how the other research projects were coming before he headed along the path back to the mansion. A black shape appeared off to Lord Marak’s left and he immediately veered off the path to meet with Fisher.
“You are slipping, Fisher,” chuckled Lord Marak. “I saw you before you tried to startle me.”
“Waiting for better than an hour to talk with you left me caring little for the effect of surprising you,” sighed Fisher. “I have bad news to feed you.”
“The Ragatha?” asked Lord Marak.
“As you suspected,” affirmed Fisher. “Only the numbers are worse than you imagined. Lord Sevrin has pulled troops out of each of the other four Ragatha estates. He is leaving his estates defenseless. He plans to leave little chance for any Fardale victory.”
“But there has been no provocation,” pondered Lord Marak.
“I think the troops were already moving when Lord Zawbry spoke with you,” guessed Fisher. “Lord Sevrin is probably unaware that there has been no provocation, or he plans on there being one before he arrives with his troops.”
“I wonder if Lord Ridak will come to our aid?” quizzed Lord Marak. “If Lord Sevrin’s men attack from the West, he could be caught between Lord Ridak’s forces and ours.”
“I did stop by there on my way back,” reported Fisher. “I don’t know if he will help, but Lord Marshal Grefon was not there. He has not been seen since he left to meet with the emissary, although nobody was concerned about his absence.”
“The fact that he has not returned would greaten the possibility of Lord Ridak helping,” stated Lord Marak.
“Lord Ridak might offer to help and then let you die,” reminded Fisher. “You did not exactly send Grefon off happy.”
“True,” admitted Lord Marak, “but if Lord Ridak refuses, Fardale will no longer be a Situ estate. He will either lose it to the Ragatha or he will lose it to me.”
“You can not just keep Fardale for yourself,” protested Fisher. “He may have given you control of it to run as you see fit, but he is still entitled to a share of the profits. If you try to take that away from him, he’ll crush you quicker than the Ragatha and he’ll have the support of the Lords Council in doing it.”
“I will plan my battle without his help,” insisted Lord Marak, “but he will still be asked to help defend Fardale. If he refuses, I will take Fardale for my own.”