Moral Stand (Aether’s Revival Book 7)

There were two more bane beast attacks over the next month of their patrols. Both butchers had been happy to make more jerky for him, though they did ask if they could buy some so they could sell it themselves. Gregory now had far more jerky than he and Rafiq could both use in a couple of years, so he let them keep enough to offset the cost of making the jerky he was going to keep.

Thera folded into the unit seamlessly with Polka and Dot, matching them in every task except speed in running messages. Sergeant Glasson asked Gregory about possibly courting her, but she declined when he asked. He’d been upset, but took it in stride— a couple days later, he was back to normal.

~*~*~

Gregory used foresight to show him how the day would go, then replayed the bane beast attacks his unit had fended off since starting his posting. The pair of bane moose had been the worst— Gregory could only deal with one, leaving his men to handle the other. That fight left three men with some injuries, and one with broken ribs. They’d left him in the barracks two weeks ago and, with the alchemical aids Gregory gave him, he was healed when the unit returned to Icelake.

Breakfast came and went before Gregory was out the door to take care of errands. Rafiq walked with him, as the first stop Gregory had was the butcher. Rafiq was glad for the jacket when the cold wind blew through the town.

“Going to talk techniques with Kona?” Gregory asked.

“Yes. She requested that I stop by when you picked up the moose jerky. You’ve made sure to build goodwill with the magi by continuing to gift them jerky?”

“One of the hearts went to Justina. I figured she’d like that even more than normal jerky.”

“Doubtlessly she did, considering she summoned you.”

“I hope it’s just to thank me and not something else.”

“We haven’t seen any of the slavers going out or coming back yet.”

“According to what the commanders said, there’s already a group out that should be coming back near the solstice. It just means we’ll need to try running into them.”

“That will begin what you wanted to do this year,” Rafiq nodded.

“Which is why I hope the jerky mellows the magi. The first group we hit and enforce the laws on, will negate a lot of that goodwill.”

“From what we’ve heard, it’s two large groups twice a year, then several smaller groups that hope to catch the rare single or pair that are farther from their villages.”

“I’ll need to look a week into the future to see if the bigger groups come back during our patrol or not. We might need to rush or slow a patrol to make sure to hit them before they reach the town. I don’t want the town guards getting involved in any dispute.”

“Hmm… a wise precaution,” Rafiq nodded.

“But for now,” Gregory said as they got close to Cutting Block, “we pick up the jerky, and you get to chat with Kona.”

“It is nice to talk technical concepts with someone who loves the work.”

~*~*~

Gregory left Rafiq to continue talking after he picked up the jerky; he still had other stops before he visited the magus. The first was the bank to get pay for the unit. The manager was happy to assist, transferring over the money to Gregory— he’d once again used his own vela to pay the men that morning, intending on replenishing his own coin with it.

After that, he went by the clothier who’d been handling the jackets. He checked over each one before storing them in his ring and, having seen their quality, he gave the owner a bonus for his efforts.

With everything else finished, he finally made his way to the magus’ manor as the twelfth hour chimed. Justina might be a little perturbed that he’d not shown up immediately, but Gregory wanted to get his other errands done just in case she took more of his time than he expected her to.

When the butler led him to the study, Gregory took a seat, accepting the tea from the maid. When Justina didn’t appear right away, he began to lightly meditate. If she wanted to make him wait in repayment for his tardiness, he could make the most of it. He let his resonance flow out— not enough to be noticed by the maid, but enough that he was aware of the room.

He felt the bugs that were currently nibbling on some scrolls that’d been lost behind one of the bookshelves. A brief consideration to stop them came and went as he sat there. The scrolls couldn’t be important in the haphazard state they were in, so he figured letting the creatures continue their feast was fine.

A brush of aether came from near the closed door, so Gregory pulled his resonance back, smiling when it opened. “Magus, I’m sorry for my delay in seeing you,” he said, heading off any comments she might make. “I had to make sure the pay chest was filled. I also wanted to make sure my gift from Block made it to you. If not, I was going to bring it myself.”

Justina’s expression switched from light annoyance to neutral. “I see… I was taking care of paperwork that had been put off too long. I hope the tea was satisfactory.”

“Delightful. I was just finishing this cup.” He set the saucer down.

Justina took her seat and motioned the maid to her. “Pour.”

The maid bowed as she quickly refilled Gregory’s cup, then made Justina one. With her task done, she bowed again, then backed up to the wall. Justina never even looked at the eurtik, her gaze resting on Gregory the entire time.

“You caused a bit of a ruckus in Coldwood a month ago. It stopped me from using you to conduct my audit of the Silver Collar.”

“My apologies, Magus. I only did as I was instructed by Magus Artok. The fact that the guard took such offense was shocking. Considering he was high on bone spark at the time, it isn’t too surprising.”

“Hmm… yes. Jack Slim was an addict by all accounts, noted for killing aether users in Buldoun, and even a magi in a legal duel. He ended up with that nasty burn from that duel.”

“He was quite belligerent on that fact. In the end, it didn’t help him.”

“No, it didn’t. You severed his spine with a wakizashi, it is said. Do you not prefer the naginata?”

“I do, but I’m skilled enough in other weapons that I can use them when needed.”

Justina laughed lightly. “‘Skilled enough’? You took no wounds, yet killed a man who was on bone spark wielding two long knives. Tell me, Pettit, do you always downplay your accomplishments?”

“I don’t consider killing a man on drugs to be an accomplishment, Magus,” Gregory said softly. “I’d have preferred he listened to me, instead.”

Justina sipped her tea, watching him. “I see. You bought with your own vela a slave from the Golden Collar; a panther eurtik who was one of Chainer’s most skilled. What have you done with her?”

“Put her to work for my unit.”

Justina’s lips twitched briefly into a knowing smirk. “Your men must have a high opinion of you.”

“They do,” Gregory said, not correcting her incorrect assumption.

“Well then, I won’t ask to buy her from you, then. Someone had offered to cover costs if I could purchase her.”

“I would have to decline if you asked, Magus.”

“Very well. I do thank you for the jerky and heart I received last week. It was delicious. The quality was among the best I’ve had. Block informed me that he’d have more for sale this time.”

“I offset the cost of him preparing my jerky by letting him keep some for sale. I was sure he’d have a buyer; I’m almost certain you’re getting it at just above cost, too.”

“Of course. What good is being a magi if we don’t use our position for the things we can?”

“I ask myself that most days,” Gregory said. While he was in full agreement, he meant it far differently than she did.

“You’ve had a fair amount of bane beast attacks, too. No eurtik attacks yet, but those normally come after the solstice. I doubt any that attack you will be in marketable condition, but just in case, remember to brand them.”

“Of course, Magus. I will adhere to the laws.”

“The young are always so eager. Just remember, it takes time to grow into your power. Just the other day,” she paused to pull her medallion out, “I made it to my official tier.” The first ring of her medallion glowed cyan.

“Congratulations, Magus,” Gregory said with a smile. “I look forward to the day I can say the same.”

“It will take time, but if you keep training— even when you’re a magus— you can see growth like this.”

“I will do my best to do that.”

“Will you be here or Coldwood for the solstice?”

“At the moment, I believe we will be arriving back here for the solstice. That will depend on other factors, of course.”

“You do have that week off, so if you are in Coldwood, you do not have to rush back here.”

“I didn’t know that, Magus. That might change my plans entirely. Thank you.”

“I thought the previous magi might have forgotten to tell you. He was very drunk at the Golden Collar during your meeting, if I heard correctly.”

“That is true. He was very drunk and distracted.”

“Well then, now, you can plan accordingly. If you are here,” Justina said with a smirk, “I do happen to have some yuzu fruit for a bath.” Her eyes tracked over his body. “I would be more than happy to let you join me.”

Gregory kept his face impassive, minus his eyebrow that went up. He had managed to stop his immediate refusal from coming out. Justina felt like the vindictive kind of person, so he had to use the bit of political savvy he’d learned from Yukiko. “I don’t know what to say, Magus. It’s an offer I wouldn’t have expected, considering your standing.”

Justina set her cup aside, then crossed her legs as she leaned forward slightly. “Just tell me a few weeks before, Pettit. I’d want to make arrangements if you are going to ring in the year with me.”

Gregory bowed in his seat after setting his cup down. “I’m flattered. I’ll have to see what the schedule looks like leading up to that week. My answer will be given in advance, as you ask.”

“Good,” Justina said, standing up. “I have other work to take care of. Enjoy your tea; the butler will show you out.”

Gregory bowed to her again as she left. Picking his cup back up, he decided to finish his tea to make it look like he was in no hurry to leave her home. I’d rather lose a finger than spend the solstice with you, Justina, Gregory thought. It would be disrespectful to my wives. I’d prefer to share the solstice with Rafiq, then dream of my wives and a dear friend.

~*~*~

Gregory had set aside the Justina problem by the time he reached the courier’s office. He gave the man behind the desk a smile as he entered. “Good afternoon, Klee.”

The part-deer eurtik jerked upon hearing his name. “What? Oh, Magi. How can I help?”

“I have a package I want sent out.” Gregory approached the desk, depositing a chest. “It holds bane meat for my wife.”

Klee looked at the chest, then pulled out the form Gregory would need. “Just fill this out and bring it back to me, sir. Err… which wife, sir?”

Gregory accepted the form. “Mindie. She’s the closest. Thank you, Klee. How have things been?”

“Uh… fine, sir?” he said slowly, off-kilter with Gregory acting like his friend.

“Good. How much will sending the chest cost?”

“Considering the size, sir, I’d estimate it to be two hundred vela. If you want it to travel faster, then up to five hundred.”

“What does that entail?”

“The express will use a spatial magi or two to get it closer to your destination; that should cut a few weeks off the travel time. We normally suggest it for perishable goods. If the meat is already jerky, then there’s no need.”

“It’s jerky,” Gregory said. “No need to send it faster.” Filling out the form, he made sure it was all in order. “It’s just quality jerky, and I want to make sure she gets it before she leaves her current posting.”

“Oh. It won’t take nearly that long to get there, sir.”

“Good.” Gregory put his ink and pen away, taking the form and vela to Klee. “I take it I haven’t had any mail yet?”

“No, sir. As soon as any comes in, you’ll know.”

“That’s fine. I was just hopeful.”

“Did you marry her while in the academy, sir?”

“Yeah, I did.” Gregory’s smile was soft as he thought back to his weddings.

“First time separated, then?”

Nodding, Gregory focused back on Klee. “Yeah… it’s harder than I thought, but with the rigors of patrol, it’s also moving quicker than I feared.”

“I hope you get to see her as soon as your magus posting is up. Six years away would be crushing for me and the wife.”

“Just this year,” Gregory chuckled. “We’ll be posted at the Kroggian Embassy together.”

Klee smiled, then winced. “I hope you both survive that posting, sir.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Gregory grinned. “All of my wives will be posted there with me.”

Klee shook his head, chuckling. “I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse, sir.”

“A blessing. It’s why I’m here— it had to balance out somehow.”

“But isn’t the Kroggian Embassy enough punishment to allow that?”

“I don’t know,” Gregory said softly. “I’ll gladly endure anything to be with the women I love.”

Klee paused in checking over the form. Looking up, he saw the look on Gregory’s face and nodded. “I can understand that. I’ll pray to Aether for all of you.”

“I appreciate it,” Gregory grinned, then set a fifty vela coin on the desk. “My thanks, Klee. Get your wife something nice. Small, thoughtful gifts are always a good idea. My father taught me that long ago.”

Klee blinked a few times, then pocketed the coin. “I will, sir. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Have a good day.”

“You, too, sir.”

Klee sat there as Gregory left, stunned by the generosity the magi had shown him. Shaking his head, he went back to work; Gregory’s chest would be the first one loaded onto the wagon when it headed south. Any magi who was that affable was an anomaly, and Klee hoped that Gregory would never change.