Chapter 16

Nanet and I went to the capitals land office. That is because when the capital was built all the land belonged to the Baron. That meant no one owned land in the capital, but only leased it from the barony. When they saw me there was much bowing and scraping as they all knew I was a count. There was a map of all the location and building sizes to look over. When I said we would need at least a thousand feet the man pointed out which building met my needs or more. Then I asked about the land next to the workshop and the man looked at me and then the map.

There was a small warehouse there, but it was on the edge of the shopping district. Two medium shops were located there but neither were what we wanted. I looked at Nanet who was smiling “If we lease that land we could simply take those building apart and rebuild them quickly.” The official looked a little worried. “Sir, if you tear those down how long would it take you to rebuild, and will they be suitable?” I smiled and nodded. “Well, I would have to talk to my superiors...” I sighed. “How about I just talk to the baron for you?” The man quickly shook his head and began the paperwork. I didn’t like throwing my weight around like that, but bureaucratic delays for no reason forced my hand.

An hour later Nanet and I were looking at two rather run down one story buildings. Yes they had a bright coat of paint, but a stone mage can feel how bad things really were. They were older than some of the other buildings in the shopping district and a lot older than others. I felt under the building and there was some good stone down deeper. We went in and you could see the way the beams of the ceiling bowed and its overall run down condition.

We headed directly to the carpenters guild to see what they had available. We went through their warehouse and I began spending gold like water for the best they had since this was going to represent Kelton here in the capital. There I ran into the carpenter who worked with me on Glen’s house and he happily joined me in going over the old building to see what they could repurpose.

When he walked in he looked around and said the whole place was loose rocks and firewood. “Lord this is not worth the lease. We have good beams for building with but these walls won’t last as long as the beams will.” I lead him outside and placed a hand on the stone. In almost slow motion the stones turned into gravel and cascaded into the lot in the rear of the plot. “Well that was nice and orderly.” He walked over and tossed the wood around and shook his head. “Look at the insect damage. These beams will have to be destroyed rather than reused, even for firewood.” He said he would return and to leave all the wood in place.

A little while later a long wagon drove up with some burly men in the back who loaded every scrap there into the back before leaving. “So what will you be doing now sir?” Nanet and I smiled at each other and got to work. After raising stone to fill in the gap between the two shops we worked on the foundation. We both liked the work so far and she stepped back while I summoned the old stone back into place that then solidified into solid rock walls. I added subtle pilasters to reinforce the walls as well.

I stepped out when I was done and he looked it over. “I take it you will make the braces for the beams and windows?” I nodded. “Sir your ability, and that of you lady here, are far beyond anything I have ever seen in a stone mage. These walls are perfectly square, straight, and strong. I will make sure to pick beams that will suit them.” He left again but this time it took him a while to return. Men began to move large beams into the interior and then leaned them upright every few feet. I went over each beam and while it looked like I was just stroking the wood, what I was actually doing was increasing the density of each beam. They would be a fraction less than they were cut as, but ten times harder.

Scaffolding was raised outside and men started getting ropes to raise the beams into place. I instead had men stand in place then raised a pillar of the floor to raise the beam safely. They pushed the beam into place and looked at me. “Nanet, you go to the other end and let’s bring the beam down about a foot from the top of the wall.” She nodded and the men cried out as the beam seemed to sink into the wall, which then formed a cap over the end of the beam. We all worked together and the men worked a lot harder just to watch the magic happen. Because we were in the middle of the project the men who would usually be in our places were dropping down the planks of the ceiling onto the beams, and once those were nailed in place the beams that formed the peak of the roof were placed.

When the planks that made up the roof were in place they asked what wood was being used for the roof. I instead had them bring up bag after bag of gravel and they were astonished as I took handful after handful of stones and formed them into slate shingles. They looked closely and realized they were oddly shaped. Then they noticed they couldn’t tug one up after I put it down. I held one up and showed them what I was doing. As I held it up two spikes formed to act like nails to keep it place. When we were done they looked at it all and shook their heads. “Sir, there is a slight gap between these slates. Water will just pour in.” I nodded. “Watch this.” I said and laid my hand on the stone. In a visible wave the stone all merged into a single thin slab of stone. One old man looked at it and shook his head as he pulled up a flask of water. When he poured it on the slate, the water slid off like the whole thing was made of glass. “I’ll bet not so much as a snowflake can stick to this stone.” I smiled and nodded my head.

While I had been outside working Nanet had been inside helping the carpenters put in window boxes and opening the room to more and more light. Glazers were adding glass in the afternoon sun and I felt sick at the sight. The glass was thick, discolored, and wavy. That would be garbage in Kelton. I walked in and with a little work caused the glass to clear up, and smooth out. When the men came back to check their work they were stunned at what they saw.

They ran their hands over the glass and shook their heads. “How is this possible?” I looked at him and shrugged. “Glass is just sand, and sand is stone, so a stone mage can work it if they have the talent to.” There was a pane that had fallen and broken so I picked it up and handed it to the glazier as a whole, unbroken pane. He looked at it closely and shook his head. “Never in my life...”

I walked over and looked in the back of his wagon and saw some broken pieces. I picked one up and saw a curious little girl standing there with her mother. They were commoners and I had an idea. I walked over to them and the mother seemed to worry about their even being there. I waved at her and knelt down. “Hi there, I’m Mikael and I work over there. Do you have a favorite animal or flower?” She nodded and looked at her mother who nodded back. “I like roses.” I nodded. I held up a hand with a few broken pieces of glass. “Now I need your help ok? Take my finger in your fist, hold it tight, close your eyes, and picture a rose in your mind.” She nodded, took my finger in both her hands and her face scrunched up. I looked at my hand and the glass swirled and formed a perfect rose blossom.

The mother gasped and the little girl looked at her mother. The women pointed at my hand and then little girl followed her finger. I held it up and the little girls eyes sparkled. “Do you think it’s pretty?” The little girl nodded. I stood up and handed the rose to the woman and smiled. “Take care of this sweet child. She is the future for all of us.” I said as I handed the rose to the woman. I nodded my head to them and went back to work as Nanet called out “Count Kelton, we are all done in here.” The crowd chattered at this and the woman clutched the rose to her chest as people moved towards her. I turned towards them and people noticed the look in my eyes. “Ma’am, if anything happens come to the workshop over there and my Butchers will help you.” The greedy eyes suddenly vanished and nothing but innocent angels gave the woman plenty of space. She curtsied and then hustled her daughter away.

I really hated humanity sometimes.

So in one day we put an entire shop down all at once. After everyone left I began my personally favorite thing to do. I went into the back room and began building a vault here in the capital for the women of the shop. Not just a connecting tunnel but a true vault with a water supply and rooms for at least twenty. A large center room so people could just relax in the winter and goof off in any way they wanted.

When I came up through the office in the workshop Nanet looked at me with frown. “Let a body know when you’re just going to pop up through the floor. Seeing a hole open up in my private office is a bit of a scare you know?” I walked over and gave her a long hug. “Sorry love, I just wanted to make sure some of our movements won’t be watched from outside.” We grabbed a large case of glow stones and went into the tunnels. We placed them against the walls and moved on to keep lighting the way. She sighed at the vault and did a little wiggle dance. “I so missed the vault this winter. The workshop was fine, but for a stone mage being in the stone brings a sense of safety walls just can’t match.” We went around and she loved the layout, the number of rooms, and the fact it had a deep well.

The next day I was actually really tired so I stayed at the inn and relaxed. Any inquiries for me, other than from William or Glen, were to be handled by saying I was going to be busy with things. Shelby had come with me and was laying curled up in bed with me. We weren’t really talking, just laying in bed with our thoughts. “Mikael, what would you say if I went out and found a few women who could work wood?”

I kissed her head and just inhaled her femininity. “I would say to do as you wish. Talk to them and let them see what you have learned. Let them know they can come learn the same, tell any mothers they can bring their children and husbands. Let them know we would embrace them as a part of our community.” She nuzzled my chest. “Then I have a few women that will love to come back with us. We may even fill a wagon as one I know is struggling since her husband, another wood mage, was killed recently. She has three children and there is something about them that tells me they may all be wood mages someday.”

When I finally left the room I headed straight to the new shop. The inside was divided thinly with a small arched door between the two sides. There were even two entrances spaced side apart so neither caste felt impeded by the other. The wealthy side was well appointed with carpets, and richly made shelving. The other side was more practical and seemed almost homey with flax carpets here and there. I was going to hire some people to work at the store but the mages told me I had better put that thought out of my mind here and now. This was the Kelton store so the people of Kelton would operate it. I found being the idea person and letting the women in my life deal with the rest was the best idea.

After only three days in the capital we had built a new store, completely readied it inside and out, and we began stocking the place with everything we had brought from home. We did it one wagon at a time and when we were done it looked amazing. Rather than have shelves filled with lots of goods we kept much of the stock in the vault. This made both stores look a little less needy if you know what I mean. It had the air of “Hey we have a few cool things, want to see them?” rather than “Please come in and buy our stuff. We have so much we are desperate to sell it all.” Once the wagons were empty I stepped back and let word spread that the new Kelton Crafts was open for business.

I really didn’t worry since our girls could handle anything from panicked mothers to a gang of criminals. So I took that time to talk to the local material supplier for cotton and wool. The first cotton had just come in and they still had a good quantity of wool as well. I also picked up about half a wagon load of clean flax as we were running low. The owner wondered how Shelby was doing and I told him that she was a fully-fledged wood mage and could do things most wood mages only dreamed of being able to do. “In fact she is good enough to teach beginners and was in town looking to find a few more who could come back to Kelton with us.” I also let him know that we now had a store here in town that would be selling our goods. “Like I told you, we would be making cotton a new hit in the capital and we are. Of course we are also buying much of your supply at the same time.”

I then went to visit Kendra and Bella to let them know that we would still supply them with goods, but that we would also be selling direct to the public as well. They both got worried until I told them I would keep certain styles exclusive to their shops. “Rather than see yourselves as competing with me, focus on the fact we will be telling people that if we don’t have what they are looking for, then they ought to come to your stores for a broader selection.” They liked that idea even more. I asked them to come to our store to see some of the new products we had and they insisted we go there after our tea. When we got there a line was formed on both sides of the building. We started to cut the line when someone called foul. “This is his shop numbskull. Want to piss off the head of the Butchers?” the man suddenly tried to make it seem it was someone else that said the words.

Inside the commoners side it was packed and the girls were holding up like real champs. They smiled and waved at me before running to help a customer. On this side of the wall the prices were within the working people budgets. Some things were a little pricy, but the women in Kelton who used to live here helped me create a good balance in pricing all our goods. This mean many of the people here were looking at the prices and figuring what they could buy the next time they came in, though the sales still seemed quite brisk.

I used my position to show both of my guests behind the counters to see how and where we displayed the goods as well as products they might not have seen before. Bella looked at the clothing and realized I mean what I said. There was some overlap but not much, and we had a few things she didn’t. Kendra on the other hand was doing some active shopping since she may own a high end shop didn’t mean she lived a high end life.

We went through the door and found the same scene, but with far more wealth was on display. The two sections that were the most crowded were the spice counter and the glass counter. Some women were in love with the glass figures, while others were stunned by the fact we were selling the sauces in cut glass decanters. The girls were explaining over and over that once they were done with the contents they could come back and get a refill for less that they had paid before, or simply buy a new bottle.

I took Kendra over to the clothing section and even waved at some of the people looking around. Like with Bella she saw a little overlap, a few new things, and that was perfect for both our profit margins. Then her eye was caught by the figurines. “I’ve never seen glass sculptures with such detail. They almost look alive.” I nodded. “We have some new people in our glass shop who are real artists, it’s quite magical to watch them.” She was entranced by a small cat figure and I could tell she desperately wanted it. I looked to Bella and noticed the world stopped when she saw a glass flower.

I picked up each of the figures and took them into the back. The women followed me and I then handed them each a small wood case. When they opened them up the figures were laying in cloth. “These are for the two of you. A gift as a reminder of what we have.” They both blushed like teens and smiled at each other. “We would never forget that Lord, but your gift is still appreciated.” Bella said to me. Kendra just smiled at me and that was worth a thousand words.

As we were leaving a group of spice merchants came walking up. “Lord Kelton, what is the meaning of selling your spices to the public. I thought we had an arrangement?” I looked at them and shrugged. “Really, you seem to think because I sold my goods to you so you could make a profit I somehow owe you?” They stood there for a moment and didn’t know what to say. “We never had any arrangements. I sold, you bought. I am now selling in my store and you can still buy, so it is still the same “Arrangement””. The fat leader’s eye narrowed. “Is that really what you want to do?”

I leaned in close so only he could hear me. “You do know what happens to people who make me their enemy right?” He paled and looked at my now deadly serious eyes. “Do your business, let me do mine, and never cross my path again unless you want things to get very unpleasant.” He nodded so hard his chins waggled. I stood back smiled at them all and guided my business partners away.

“Lord Kelton, would you actually harm them?” I smiled at her and shook my head. “I would never resort to violence unless attacked. However I can bear a lot more political pressure than all of them put together. Anyone they have in their pockets are so far beneath me that all they would get back from their efforts would be ridicule. By warning them off they might survive with their savings.”

The ladies looked at me. “Lord Kelton your products are going to bankrupt them you know.” I nodded. “Let’s just say I was encouraged to remover certain abusive people from the power structure of the barony. It’s fine to make money, but collecting influence and political power off the commoner’s backs is a no no.” They looked at me and I basked in their happy smiles as I took them back to their respective businesses.

I was sitting in the workshop office thinking about anything I might need to get before heading home when one of the ladies popped out of the tunnel and looked around. “Sir, the baron and baroness are in the shop!” I hopped up as she spun around and ran back into the vault. I jogged, not ran, to catch up. I got there only a few moments behind her and saw that the nobles were in the commoner’s area nodding to commoners who didn’t know how to deal with the situation. I walked over and bowed to William and Genny as Ethel held little Dan in her arms. “Your grace, it is so good to see you. Welcome to our new store.” He nodded and looked around. “We heard that you had opened a store here in the capital and thought we would come see for ourselves what kind of goods you were carrying from our second home.” I guided them quickly through our common goods and then guided them into the second store, all to the relief of the commoners trying to buy goods.

“Now this side of the store is for more luxury items better suited for the nobility and merchant class.” When Genny and Ethel saw the glass sculptures they were captivated. “Lord Kelton, when did the glass works begin to create such beautiful works of art?” I smiled at their sparkling eyes. “We just recently began to produce them. A few new artists showed themselves so we decided to include their works in our sales. Does anything catch the eyes of you two ladies?” Genny asked to look at a kitten that had been frozen in time while cleaning its face with a paw. Ethel asked to see a bunny that was sitting up and looking around.

When Daniel reached out to touch it he accidentally knocked it out of her hand and it hit the floor. When he saw it shatter he began to cry and the two ladies looked on aghast. I blocked their view for a moment and pulled the glass figure together and when I stood back up I held a perfect little bunny in my hand. “Be careful little man, the bunny is very delicate.” I then tickled him under the chin and his eyes lit up as he recognized that only uncle ever did that. He bounced in Ethel’s arms and reached for me. I took him in my arms and gave him lots of tickle kisses as he mussed with my hair.

The people looked on trying to figure out how I was able to do this to the baron’s son. “How is my little godson doing today?” I said to make everyone understand this child was family to me. He flapped his arms while giggling and I couldn’t help grinning like a fool. I kept him in my arms as Ethel and Genny looked at the many different figurines. “Ladies, feel free to pick out one each as a present from the people of Kelton to our family here in the capital.” This got smiles from them, and many approving looks to me.

I took the boy over to the baron who was looking on from the spice area. “Your grace we are developing some new twists on sauces you will find quite exciting. You and the ladies ought to come and try these new ingredients since we aren’t making enough to bring here yet.” I said and he looked very interested. “We are now developing sauces based on mushrooms, berries, and other fruits to add sweetness, tartness, and even an unexplored mellowness.” I asked the lady behind the counter to grab a bag of mildly seasoned jerky. When she brought one out I opened it up, pulled out a piece, and gave it to Danny who snatched it and began happily chewing on it. I them passed it over to his dad who did the same thing.

While I chatted with William the women shopped and ended up picking out many things. I handed William back and took their parcels in my arms. I followed them out to the carriage and handed off the packages to the footman. “Lord Kelton would you mind coming to the palace for dinner tonight? I have a few things to discuss and dinner would be a wonderful time to do so.” I nodded and bowed to them as they got in and left. When I went back in people acted very differential to me and the women even curtsied at me with small smiles. There’s nothing like seeing a man who loves children to make a woman melt, especially when they have rarely seen it.

That evening I was presented to the Baron in the residence area of the palace. The servants recognized me from home and treated me much like they would in Kelton. Dinner was a relaxed time together and William couldn’t wait to hear about these new products. I told him that the new water mages were making a huge difference in life in our town. Both Genny and Will were amazed at the idea of food being so dry to be able to be powdered and still be edible. I told them we were thinking of coming back with the water mages, now that we had the store, and buying a lot of fruits and vegetables fresh for drying here before taking them home.

Genny called forth the head cook who came in looking a little nervous. “Please be at ease, we wanted to talk to you about something Mikael is doing in his town. It seems they are not drying food in the sun, but using magic to completely remove all the water from mushrooms. What do you think of that?” Well then the cook and I talked about flavors, and a hundred other factors till she was gushing about the possibility of getting some to try. I told her we were also going to be trying the same with other foods and her eyes glittered at the possibilities. “The baron already allows us to have the powder from the bottom of the meat barrels. After we separate all the salt out it makes for great flavoring. The idea that we could make soups and stews with such intense flavors is like a dream.”

We talked till quite late and then William asked me to stay the night and I felt it wasn’t just an offer but a request. I of course accepted and I was escorted to a wonderful bedroom and the young lady there offered to take my clothing to be cleaned overnight and brought back in the morning. I followed custom and quickly changed into a night gown that was laid out on the bed already. I took the chance to wash off as there were no baths like in the workshop. As I stretched out the door quietly opened and in the dim light a figure walked over and when she slid in next to me I pulled Ethel into my arms and kissed her deeply.

The morning was quite bright and wonderful the next day. Last night was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for the both of us. It was a tempest of kisses, tears, passion, tears, and then kisses. Ethel told me that being in the shop made her desperately miss living in Kelton, the people she knew, the friends she had made, and the feeling of love she felt. She knew she couldn’t leave the capital because she was dedicated to Genny, and Genny couldn’t move back to Kelton, but that still put her in a position where she couldn’t be completely happy.

I let her know that I understood her position very well. Bethany had the same feeling until one day she knew she had to leave for the good of everyone. “Would you have a place for me if I left like she did?” I shook my head and looked into her eyes. “There is already a place for you in Kelton and in my heart Ethel, never doubt that. I don’t say this to seduce you from your family here, but you need to know you also have a family in Kelton.” She then fell asleep in my arms and I loved holding her there.

As I woke up I saw my clothes were already laid out for me so I washed up and was taken to see Will in his office. “So how did you deal with Ethel?” I shrugged to this. “It was a wonderful night if that is what you mean. Other than that is between her and I.” Will nodded slowly and sighed. “If there wasn’t the situation between you and Genny I would send them to live with you again.”

He rubbed his forehead. “Things are far better than they used to be, but Genny never really fit in well with life of a baroness. She hated it when she was little, and Bethany did her best to cover for her. Then she was hammered by politics after we were married and she didn’t think she could trust me. Now she is doing her absolute best, but I can see it wearing her down.” He looked at me and I could faintly see shading under his eyes. “Can you imagine seeing someone you love slowly fraying at the edges of her soul just to prop you up? I love having her support, but at what cost?”

“Then send her back to live in Kelton. Yes I have some issues with Genny, but do you think I would let that destroy my whole family?” He looked at me and I stared right into his eyes. “Do you see me as that weak brother? The only thing is she will have to understand where I am coming from. I want her to live with all of us too if the capital is tearing her, and you, down. Hell, it will give you an excuse to get out of here too and get back to reality and Bethany’s cooking too.”

We both laughed and he took a deep breath before relaxing into a long sigh. “Are you sure?” I nodded. “Call her in right now and tell her to pack her bags if you want. I was planning on leaving in a three days to make sure the shop is off to a good start so she can just follow us home.” He hung his head and I know I saw tears fall. “Now it may take a few days to get some ladies here to help out around the house but I am sure there may be one or two already here you could trust for a shoulder to cry on if you know what I mean. They are family just like I am.” I saw his should shake and he nodded. “I would like that Mike, I really would.” He choked out and I made sure not to look at him in his vulnerability.

Once he got himself under control we hugged and I told him to talk to Genny about her return to Kelton, and to break it to her that things would be a little different. He agreed to tell her while I headed to the shop and asked for volunteers to help as a personal guard and support for the baron. I almost ran out of the palace and headed straight to the workshop. When I got there I found all of my people just sitting around talking and relaxing.

“Everyone, we have a new development. The Baron asked to have the Baroness and his son come stay in Kelton again, and that means long term. This means we will be needing to have some of our people here volunteer to stay at the palace and act guards and family support for the baron.” Two of the ladies raised their hands instantly. “We were selected as part of that group by Bethany and Jessa before Genevieve moved back. So if you will let us, we will take that duty happily.” They looked at each other and nodded with smiles. “Well that worked out a lot better than I expected. Now we just need to get replacement drivers.” Three of the new women raised their hands. “We are all used to driving lumber wagons so a cargo wagon is much simpler. If you trust us to do it we will gladly do the job.” I gave them a stern look, then broke into a smile. “Ladies I trust you to come into my home, into my school, and into my family. Know that I will always protect you with my life from now on, and I will trust you with mine.” One ladies hand went to her mouth as she stifled a sound and nodded rapidly with tearing eyes.

After making more purchases we were loaded and ready to go, all we needed was to know if Genny was ready. I decided to visit the palace and was just about to leave when the coach I had made pulled up and a very happy Genny hopped out of the coach with Danny on her hip and a smile on her face. She was dressed like any of the women here and walked over to me and gave me a hug. “So big brother, when are we headed out?” She said with a smile. I pulled her in and kissed her head. “We were waiting for you before hooking up the oxen. I’ll give Balor the word and we will be headed home.” She nodded and looked around at everyone chatting with each other.