Chapter 26: Wednesday. Fixing Things Not Done Before

I woke up Wednesday morning with a headache and needed coffee badly. It was very early. Probably nothing on my desk yet. But I would check while I was on the way to breakfast.

There was nothing on the desk. No changes from overnight. Carl was healing very well when I left and Riska was arguing with the doctors that he should be allowed to leave. And like doctors everywhere, they told him to sit still and behave. My last sight last night was Natalie and Lech telling him to shut up, lie back and behave. He wasn’t happy about that.

The lounge was busy. Ogernaut was hopping from the Bar to back to the kitchen and three gnomes were doing food service. The coffee was great. Thank God for coffee. And scrambled eggs. And honey ham served hot. And orange juice.

“Master Hank. Thank you for looking after Xyzzy for us. We are not used to being treated as royalty.” The serving gnome said.

“All of my people are royalty in my eyes. And I will not suffer them being treated any less.”

“Two of the Royal Medical physicians were here all night tending to Carl. At Setno’s orders. We heard that Prince Arno himself said that we were important. That means a lot to us.” The gnome said.

“Carl means a lot to me. As do you all. You signed the charter. You are important.”

“I must get to work. As our master said, “everyone deserves equal treatment””. He said that with a smile.” And that means I must serve others quickly as well. Thank you again, Master Hank.” The gnome said as he walked to another table.

Seeing a familiar face walking into the space and looking around I waved Setno over to sit with me.

”Setno, I need a meeting with Arno either this afternoon or this evening. Subject is medical care for Fae and humans. Is there a trauma center for people with injuries in the new capitol? And how do we get effective emergency transport for the injured to there. This is for first treatment and then long-term recovery care and normal health maintenance as well. Multi species.” I said while finishing breakfast. “Co-ordinate with Natalie and Jeffery and Paul as to how much money we need to set it up and get it running. And find what we need for all our sentient friends. All Sentient Fae as well as mage and normal humans.”

“Yes, there is a center for the Royal Family and court. I guess you want it to be opened up as an emergency treatment for all, and that may take some nudging. Wealth talks in the fae world.” Riska said.

“I know. So, I want people to know that the Lambert Clan Amulet means much as well. We are not reluctant to pay the bills for all of our people. And I mean all species of Fae. We may even need someone to tend to Dragonets.” I said.

“That’s pushing the boundaries a bit.” Setno said.

“If they are willing to bleed for me, I am willing to make sure their wounds are treated. And I won’t really be patient with obstructions.” I said.

“Understood, Lord Lambert.” Setno said with a smile. “Understood.”

After breakfast, I went back upstairs to the room where I last left Carl and Riska. And heard a fussing voice in the hallway. “I’m Ok. I need to get out of here and go to work”

“Riska, you can go to work when the doctors give you a complete clearance and not before” I said walking around the corner.

Ever see an Elf frown? Not at all like the Keeblers. “RIska, I want your honest answer. Are you at a hundred percent of ability right now? Seventy percent? Sixty percent?”

A gruff smile. “Sixty. But I am able to work at the bar.”

“The bar misses you, and the patrons miss you. But they want at least your ninety percent. You will remain here under doctors care until you are able fulfill the expectations of your clients.”

“Yes, lord Hank.” He said with a grimace.

“I will not have Arno say to me that I am allowing his people to work while injured in my service. Do we understand each other?” I asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two Elf doctors looking at us with a strange look. Smile? Mixed with respect? I don’t know. I need to figure out what it means.

Walking over to Carl, I saw he was also fussing with the nurses. But he heard me with Riska and looked at me with some embarrassment. “I’ll be good, Master Hank”.

“I know you will, Carl. You are not as hardheaded as some are. I am very proud of having you in my Clan. How are you feeling?”

“I am feeling very well, Master. The Elves are taking excellent care of me. But I worry that the traps in the Volga will be ignored while I am here.”

“We will make arrangements to get those serviced. But you need to be focused on recovery.” I said.

“He’s responding to our treatment very well. We had not taken the time to see how well our medical procedures would work with Gnomes. They are usually reluctant to allow us to work with them. But I can see that there are some similarities in treating wounds and injuries that are almost universal among Fae.” Eckard said. “We probably should expand our medical research to include them as well, and not let them continue to be isolated.”

“Doctor, is there a multi-species trauma center in the capitol?” I asked.

“No. But I can see that one probably is needed. Funds would be difficult.”

“Not if I can help it.” I said. “If one of my people bleeds for me, I intend to see a bandage on the wound.”

The two doctors looked at each other. I guess I was speaking strong again. But damn it I was angry. I should have thought about this before. “Closing the barn door after the horse has run out?” Damn, dad, I wish you were here I thought to myself as I walked back to Natalie’s office.

Fae Conversations

“Xyzzy, He addressed you as “Carl?” Isn’t that insulting?” Eckard asked.

“Not to me. Many of our names are confusing and complicated in his language, and what we do is tell him what to call us. I hear from others that he almost never forgets, and if he must ask again, he apologizes.” Carl replied.

“He is titled Lord, but he does not act as one. I have heard many strange stories about this place.” Piscal said. “This is what the court was buzzing about. Plain, Honest and Open. Not many are like that, especially in court.”

“We are different. The mages and Wizards feel it too. For us, such equality is refreshing. What is most refreshing is that he always gives us benefit of a doubt. First mistake is “a learning experience”. No one makes the same mistake twice.” Carl said.

“Harsh treatment?” Eckad asked.

“No. He asks the magic questions of “Why did you do it this way? What were you thinking? And now that you know, what would you do different? And how can we fix this?” Every mistake is a teaching moment. We learn here. The whole conversation is about trust and improvement.”

The two elves looked at each other. “I wonder who gets first shift at the new trauma center?” Eckard said quietly.

“I wouldn’t mind. Lots of different types of well-behaved people. Good break from court.” Piscal said.

“I can see how you would be right. Who do we get for nurses?” Eckard asked.

“Goblins. Accurate, focused, committed. And probably no nonsense from patients. Even from elves.” Piscal said with a smile.

“Hey now, don’t go siccing goblins on me as a nurse.” RIska said, overhearing the conversation. “Lambert is pain enough.”

“Riska, you would never argue with Goblins about having treatment given that you” Eckard said. “But with some of us, Goblins are the right treatment.”

Plans

Arno got back to me at ten o’clock. He had time for me in person in his office at three o’clock today. Works well for me. And I needed to get together with Jeffery and see what he came up with for indirect fire. The more I thought about it, the smarter it sounded. Most wizards don’t bother with three sixty shielding. They put it between themselves and the assault. I never did because I had power to burn and I didn’t know better. Thank you, Pat, for being so lax. After a return to the Desk and a hello to Delores and a message check, I went to Natalie’s office to see what documents I had to sign. And to check on monitory reserves in Brazil.

“Hank, our reserve in Brazil is only about thirty-five million dollars. Uncommitted reserves that is. Why do you ask?” Natalie asked.

“I want to put a Trauma center for Fae and Humans in Brazil near the Arch. I want it to be staffed full time with trauma beds and normal beds as well. I want it to be open to Fae and Humans, and I want it to be open to all regardless of breed, or station, or power. The reason I want it there is it’s two jumps from Arch Park, where this mess happened, and I don’t want to ever have to deal with available space again.”

“Ok. I guess you thought this out already. And I suppose that Arno is on board with this. And who are we going to get to staff it?” Natalie asked. “Or will we work that out as we go along?”

“Yes. To all of the above.” I said with a smile.

“I take it all back boss. You really are a fifty-year-old pain in the ass.” She said with a smile.

“Naw. I do it right. Never the ass.” I said.

“When do you want it?” She asked.

“Not today. Too much going on. I’ll remember to take you up on it sometime” I said.

She blushed at that. “I meant about Arno, the trauma center and medical.”

“I want it last week. Also, we probably should have first aid training for all of the people here.” Seeing Natalie smile, I figured I missed something. “I guess I missed that memo?”

“Medical training was part of the combat training that Peter initiated last year after your folks died. And the only one who has not been through it is...” Natalie gave me a sly smile which did not make me feel happy. Embarrassed? Yes. Happy? Not even.

“Ok. Ask Peter to put me in the next class.” I said.

“He only has refreshers available. All the first-time classes have been done since January. We do an eight-week refresher course for everyone.” She said with a smile.

“Ok. When do I have it?”

“Next Monday. Here.” Natalie said with a smile.

“Put me down for it. Ok. Now let me leave and do lunch. I have a meeting with Arno at three.”

Catch up with an old girlfriend

This would be a major help for those in the Palace. And for those of us on the outside. Shared experiences. We need to explore that idea further.

I talked with Cindy for another hour before she decided to chase me away. “Hank, you have a meeting coming up. You and I can talk tomorrow. I promise I will be here. Grin.”

But no longer than I can help it, I thought to myself.

Meeting with the Prince

Walking through the Arch to Brazil, I was surprised to see four Dwarves, in Armor, with an Elf a short distance from the gate. I was saluted by all the moment I passed through, but the appearance of so much protection did get my mind’s eye. “So, Corporal, why so many at the gate.?”

“Setno’s report to Prince Arno said that the proximity of the gate to Fae Fair grounds and to here was very short. The idea that someone might breech the second gate from the first was something we had not yet considered. And since he was putting additional resources on the Gates at 1030, he felt we should do the same here. We are not hostile. But we do realize that protection against hostile that came through you is not a negligible concern. After all, we have had it go the other way once as well.”

“Probably a good idea. I don’t want to discourage travel between areas, though.”

“We will work to keep travel easy. But we also remember we need to increase security for all the local town gates as well. Safety is a result of attention coupled with intelligence.” That’s one of Riska’s favorite sayings.”

The walk was short and to Arno’s office, not the court. So, the ceremonial stuff was minimal. But there were two Elf guards in the office anyway. Which made sense to me.

“Arno, I was happy to hear from you. I am sure that Setno reached out to you.”

“Yes he did. The answer is NO. We are not going to build a Trauma center for all species here on this end of Brazil.” He said with a scowl. But after a few moments, he continued, “That’s because we have already done it.” He said with a smile.

“I beg your pardon?” Arno had sandbagged me?

“Last night, after you were attacked, Setno reached to me as the situation developed. I immediately provided him with two physicians from court who had experience with Elves and Gnomes. Both of whom have also sent me reports. This morning, he sent me a third dispatch with your requests for a Trauma center to be located close to the gate with room for several persons of dissimilar race and breed to be able to be treated at the same time. This was to be Trauma and Urgent care facilities. Not the non-critical care sort we have in the court. But a place where the treatment can save a life.” Arno said with a smile. “We started repurposing a building near the arch for just that purpose last evening. I was told that the beds are already in. The surgery center will be finished this afternoon. I guess you didn’t read the memo.”

I was flabbergasted. I guess it showed. And then, Arno started to laugh. Loud, and strong and with tears rolling down his cheeks. I looked around and saw the two Elven Guards with smiles as well.

“OK. Arno, you got me. Now what contributions can I make here as well?”

“Latest medical supplies for bandages, surgical instruments in bronze or ceramic, and training for Human treatment. We are assembling the rest for the Fae here already. My friend, we both were caught off guard on this. I hadn’t even built a Trauma center here even after the war. No one in the royal court ever really thought about Dwarves or gnomes or goblins or even Elve causalities in a conflict. We just moped along. Your man Jeffery has been pumping Setno with ideas for weeks. And this crass action has brought reality to focus on the risks. I almost am in another debt to you for pointing this out.”

“No debt. We both need to think about our people, and I want to contribute to the economic load of building, maintaining and staffing this. But it must be open to all Fae and Humans.”

“It will be. Your Charter has taken us all by storm. Hank you are the best and worst thing I have ever encountered. Best because you bring great and long overdue improvements. Worst because I have a shit load of work to do to get some of my more hidebound people to listen and learn.”

“Well, you sandbagged me this time. I guess I deserve it.” I said.

“My friend, it is so good to see you surprised. You do it to me often enough.” Arno said. “Now get back to your place and run your own little kingdom.”

Walking back to my Arch, I could not help but remember all of the things that I had heard about “Heavy is the crown on the head” sort of stuff. I really was king. And I had to make sure that things worked well. I had people who did things in my name for everyone’s good. I had to praise them and let them know I appreciated that. All at eighteen. SHIT. “Natalie, have you filled out my Draft Card?”

“Yes, Hank. And the local board has not classified you yet. But your birthday is for number 320 on the draft, so regardless, in peacetime, you are pretty insulated. We don’t have to build you a Magic Mage Deferment.” Natalie said via Lech.

Thursday.

I caught up with Jeffery in the Lounge late in the morning. He was working on a map of the Arch Park. He had the entire area broken down by location sectors based on one-meter squares. Like an artillery map. He said he got that idea from the defense of Khe Sahn, where they mapped the surrounding area for artillery and air power. Only we had much smaller squares to hit.

Paula and Amelia and William were digging into the archive we were building and were looking for methods to either loft energy to a location or bounce it off the shields. The only problem with the latter was that our shield around the park went vertical to an altitude of over 50,000 feet. And since it was out of air traffic are, we didn’t have the issues of flying objects running into it. Now if it was a dome, rather than a vertical, we could try to shoot the inside curve and reflect to an area below. Or from behind. Like a pool table only vertical and not on a level plane. But that would take a lot of practice to get it right. Still, Jeffery felt it was worth the investment in planning. No more charging people directly if we could drop them from above or behind. This planning, along with charging artifacts, lasted all day.

Thursday night, we celebrated Riska and Carl being released from their beds. Magic plus magical medicine worked wonders. Both were at “ninety percent” according to the doctors. They joined in the celebration in the Lounge. Both elf doctors got a little drunk, so we put them to bed upstairs. Hearing Riska telling everyone how Carl’s working around the corner of the shed keeping the three Mages focused on him made everyone realize that our quiet, and unassuming person was a real hero.

“Just don’t be heroic too often. We don’t want a replacement for you.” Peter said.

We all agreed.

It had been a good day in a lot of respects. But we were still playing catchup and defense. We had to change.

Volgograd, USSR.

Georg Nagy was not having a good day. The recon team he had sent to Georgia had not gotten back with him. Four days and nothing. No communication, no mail, no information about the level of success. Nothing. A vast and empty hole. “I guess I will have to wait until the Sunday bitch session to hear what happened.” Nagy thought to himself.

Jacque Pernar and that fool Rudoph Ressernham had been very coy in their talking with him since the council meet. Neither of them wanted to allow any further pressure on that brat in Georgia. Both were embarrassed that Cecile Henrard was in a crystal and that Karudorich had been imitating her for months. Stupid fools. And their admission that the Fumeral was not intrinsically unsafe only kept money going into the American’s pockets, and not allowing artifacts to leak out of Iceland anymore. Things were a lot simpler when the czar was in power before those Leninists forced change.

A massive mage retaliatory strike was needed. The wizards would not interfere, they were too isolated in their own little ways. And that fool from England was a total tool. And finding out from the Crippled Witch from the US that there had been a collection of diaries and information from all of her sales for the last two hundred and fifty years was a true shock. Forcing a truth spell on the bitch finally yielded what her plan and sales had done. So many plans disrupted by an espionage that was driven by Mages wanting some fresh pussy to sink their dick into, and nobody thought to question the slaves as a possible leak. The hubris was unbelievable.

Still, if I don’t know on Sunday what happened to my recon team, I guess I have to send a larger force. I better start to recruit now. Twelve should be enough. And I will go with them this time. No sense leaving it to idiots.

Friday Morning. Plans for me.

Friday, I was a slug abed. I just didn’t want to get up. So it was almost ten o’clock before I got to Delores’s office to check my desk for notes. And found only two on the desk. One was to see Natalie. The other was to sign off on some checks. I knocked on the door and was told to come in.

“Well, good afternoon, boss. When do I get to sleep late on Friday?” Natalie said with a smile.

“Any day you want. But you get to leave early Friday to wherever you go so you can have a clean walk of shame on Saturday.” I teased.

“We’re going to the park there in Augusta tomorrow, I’ll have you know.” Natalie said. “And Brinstan wants to talk with you. Something about a message from earlier this week.”

“Ok. Where is she?”

“In the warehouse. Something about watching how the Gnomes do inventory.”

Walking to the warehouse is a short trip downstairs and across the hall. And in the corner next to the first cell, was my adorable little dragonet. She swiveled her head to look at me when I walked in and began to walk across the floor.

Simple as that. Right? Rigggghhhttt. Then reality bit me. From Natalie’s partner in crime and punishment.

Next stop, ping on Peter. I wanted to check on his progress on Abigail Anders. If she wasn’t yet a body, perhaps she could be a source. Of course, as slimy as she was, Peter may demand a retainer.

Did you ever get caught with your hand in the cookie jar when you were a kid? That’s what I felt like. Only worse. Brimstone had always been honest with me and I had forgotten to tell him that I was going with his Sister. Or his female partner. Or whoever that relationship was.

“I’m going to his own home to talk with him, I thought he would be offended and territorial if another male arrived.” I thought to him.

“My partner and I have a pledge to the members of Clan Lambert to protect you at all costs the best we can. While she is usually self-assigned to Paula, I am always assigned to you. It would be breaking our pledge to Clan Lambert to not accompany you on this trip which may be the most dangerous one you have ever taken. We will go with you without Geas, and without any hint of dishonesty to offer him this opportunity to preserve his life safely. Unless you order us directly not to.”

Never, never, never, never argue with a dragonet. If they cannot get you with logic, they will get you with a guilt trip. I have discovered that they, Gargoyles and that darned double headed eagle were logical to a fault and emptied all emotion out of their arguments to put the emotional load on you.

“We have to stop and pick up your old collars. He may need a jump to get to here and then to the Arch Park.” I said aloud.

“Good idea. My new one is fully charged. The older one will suffice. It won’t fit his neck. Brynstan said he could hold it.”

“I like your new one. It’s not as shiny silver as the other one.”

“Titanium with ten two hundred joule stones. And all shields link constantly. And there is even a “Don’t see me” and “Don’t look at me” spell on them when I want to enable them. And the Geas that makes me look like the large dog you like.”

“Wow. I guess you are taking this seriously. I am sorry I don’t pay as much attention to things as you do. Let’s collect the old collar and a few things and tell Natalie where we are going and get your partner and Saturday we will get out of here and visit her uncle. Or is it your uncle in Law yet?”

“Don’t change the subject. Saturday is a good interval We can get things prepared and no, he’s not an in-law. And I’m happy that you understand that.”

So tomorrow, that’s what we would do. In the meantime, I had a lot of chores to do.

Starting with finding a place to put a Dragon. After pulling Jeffery’s map, it was decided by everyone that we would erect a temporary pavilion on the meadow grass down by were the creek went back underground. It was on the south end of the property, furthest from roads, backed up to an abandoned quarry, and had woods and trees and no people around.