Moral Stand (Aether’s Revival Book 7)

The last free day in Icelake was quiet, for which Gregory was thankful. He knew that might be the last time his men had days that weren’t filled with trouble. He and Davis skipped on meeting Trida and his staff at the tavern— it would’ve been a lot of questions about the slavers that Gregory didn’t want to deal with.

They marched back to Coldwood without any attacks or moments of interest. Gregory had things to do during their days off in the town; word of the slavers would be making it to Coldwood, and he wanted to get ahead of the rumors. After breakfast, he went to the guards’ offices to speak with Commander Roberts.

~*~*~

“Magi, have a seat,” Roberts said. “What can I do for you today?”

“I have a copy of a report for you,” Gregory said, placing it on the desk. “Take a minute to read through it.”

Roberts’ lips pursed, but he did as Gregory bade him. Eyes widening as he read, Roberts stayed quiet, wanting to finish the entire report before he said anything. When he finally got to the end, he set the scroll down. “You’ve started, then?”

“Yes. Magus Smitton in Icelake is unhappy, but didn’t push me this time.”

“She will next time.”

“I expect her to. That’s when things will go from bad to worse.”

“I would say so. What about Magus Artok?”

“I’ll deal with him when I have to. I have no idea when I’ll run into the next slaver group. I’d hope it’s based out of here rather than Icelake.”

“To help spread things around. Makes sense, and it also should be. If you ran into one, the other group will be along soon enough. They normally go out and return within a few weeks of each other. With you being gone for nearly two weeks at a stretch, it’s more likely you’ll miss them entirely.”

“That would normally be true. I’ve decided to do my best to not let them miss me.”

Roberts sat back. “Your magic will let you do that?”

“If you’ll have your gate guards tell me when the last set of slavers came in every time we come back, it would help.”

Roberts’ brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Because I can look forward to when I’m coming to Coldwood next. That future would tell me when they come through. I can work on being in the area when they would normally return.”

“You have to maintain your patrol.”

“Yes. The orders are to patrol between the two towns. The only requirements are to visit the two towns at least once a month. But over time, most have taken that to mean a week of patrol on a constant rotation.”

Roberts frowned, but got up to go to his bookshelf. Taking down a book, he came back to the desk, skimming through the pages before stopping to read. “I see… That’s what the orders still on record are. I’ll point out that the routine you’ve used has been in place for over twenty years.”

“Which is why it’s thought of as normal.” Gregory produced the orders he’d received when he left the tournament last year. “Here’s what I was given.”

Roberts took the scroll. After reading it, he handed it back. “You’re right. Is that what you’re going to do?”

“No. I’ll continue as close to normal as possible for now. When the time comes for me to switch so I can trip people up, then I will.”

Roberts closed the book on his desk. “You’re deliberately setting out to stop them?”

“I’m doing my best to enforce the laws,” Gregory said, making sure he was meeting Roberts’ eyes. “Laws are important.”

“How did Trida take it?”

“Like you thought he would, he wants to stay out of it. Smitton was going to let the slavers off for breaking the laws, but is going to enforce the ban.”

“Those men make their living off slavery. They can’t afford to not go out.”

“They can find other work for a year,” Gregory said, not bending on his point. “They’re men who can act as caravan guards or positions where violence might be needed. The world is full of work they can do.”

Roberts didn’t press the issue, instead changing the topic, “Artok won’t be as understanding.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t be, normally. However, he owes me at this point. The first time, he’ll call debts void. It’ll be the second time, much like with Smitton, that things come to a head.”

“I’ll back you… but if things go too far, we’ll both face questions.”

“That’ll happen regardless. What matters is what you’ll do when that day comes.”

Roberts shook his head. “I’ll back you, as long as you give us a shield.”

“That I’ve already started with my stance on the laws.”

“Are you going to tell Artok about the slavers in Icelake?”

“Why would I? That’s Smitton’s problem, not his,” Gregory said with a cold smile.

“Rumors will probably reach him before you come back to town again.”

“I fully expect them to. I’ll be summoned at that point. That’s the future though, and it’ll wait until then.”

“Is there anything I can do for you today?”

“Just inform your gate guards by this evening about answering my questions when I come to town.”

Roberts stood up. “I will.” He extended his hand to Gregory. “Good luck, Pettit.”

Gregory shook his hand. “Thank you, Roberts. Have a good day.”

~*~*~

With that done, Gregory went to the stops he normally made to restock on the bonuses for his unit. He was smiling when he stepped into Golden Crusts— the scent of freshly baked bread and pastries filled the shop.

“It’s always pleasant in here,” Gregory said as he went up to the counter.

“Magi, a pleasure to have you back. I was a little concerned that you didn’t show up this morning.” Erik Moda, the owner, said with a relieved smile.

“Things are going to be thrown off schedule in the future,” Gregory shrugged slightly. “Life can be unpredictable.”

“Can it ever,” Erik laughed. “You want your usual, Magi?”

“That would be preferable. I also wanted you to know not to prep them ahead of time anymore. I think our routine will be disrupted. I’ll still be coming in to get the usual from you, but I’ll send word when we come back to the city so you can do it without there being any waste.”

“Thank you, Magi,” Erik bowed slightly. “Most wouldn’t think about that.”

“Before meeting my wife, I might not have, either. Yuki taught me all I know about business, including profit margins.”

“She has my eternal thanks.”

“Mine, too,” Gregory laughed.

“I’ll go bring the order up,” Erik grinned as he went into the back.

~*~*~

The rest of the day was calm. Dinner was delicious, with Barny having worked on pot roasts all day. The veggies were tender but firm, the meat was succulent and tasty, and the accompanying bread was perfect to sop up the leftover juices.

Gregory called a meeting of the command staff after dinner. That had the men hold off on leaving to visit the tavern; they all wanted to know what had prompted the meeting, so they waited for their sergeants to come back to tell them.

Gregory told the sergeants about his talk with Roberts to start with. Then, he let them know what his foresight had shown him about the next set of slavers. That took longer, and had a few of them shaking their heads.

“Can you change that from happening?” Townson asked.

“I’ll have to check tomorrow. My aether’s drained tonight,” Gregory said. “I want the men prepared for tonight and tomorrow to be the last of our calm days.”

“We’ll take care of it, sir,” Bunson said.

“I can’t believe they’d be that petty,” Donald sighed, “or that stupid to think there’d be no reprisals.”

“People only see what they want,” Glasson growled softly.

“To defy a magi…? They must have a deep relationship with Artok,” Milton murmured.

“That’s the biggest concern,” Davis nodded. “We’ll be ready for a meeting tomorrow, sir. Whatever we can do to make sure that tragedy doesn’t happen.”

“I’ll look at it tomorrow, along with the normal day,” Gregory said tiredly. “I’m fairly certain that Artok will summon me before we leave after we come back to the city.”

“What’ll you do about the solstice, sir?” Townson asked.

“I’ll use the barracks bath no matter which town we’re in. Artok will uninvite me after this.”

“Will he push you?” Glasson asked.

“He owes me too much for that. He’ll call debts paid for this. Like Smitton, it’ll be the next time that they decide I’m too much of a problem to not rein in.”

“What do we do if they move against you, sir?” Davis asked.

“Stand our ground,” Gregory said. “We’ll have been enforcing the laws while they aren’t.”

“Yes, sir. We’ll inform the men.”

Gregory stood up, looking from man to man. “Enjoy yourselves the next two days. You all deserve it just as much.”

“We will, but we’ll make sure the men are safe, first,” Bunson said, the others agreeing with him.

When they left, Gregory sat down at his desk. Closing his eyes, he wondered how bad things would get in the next few months. He’d do all he could to keep his men safe, all while navigating the anger and resentment they’d be causing.