Chapter 10

Memories of Mages and Wizards in a Bottle.

We didn’t know the history of the Mages captured in the crystals that I had stolen from Nagy five years ago. Of the twelve “humans” that he had been holding for Karudorich, (who was in a separate crystal in a vault in my bedroom) nine were Mages spanning from the early thirteen hundreds. Three of them were Wizards. Helen did some deep diving into the history of those prisoners and discovered a rather interesting history revolving around them. A history that was a little frightening.

The most dangerous one was a Englishman. Richard Lambert (not a relative that I knew of) was a big noise wizard in England, Scotland and Wales. He led the Witches revolt that inspired Elizabeth to sign the execution order of 1594. This was a rather tempestuous time in English History, which had followed on the successful repulse of the Spanish Armada (aided by English Wizards and witches who had been loyal to the crown). The revolt was a total grab for power by a Wizard who felt that English royalty (beginning with Fat Henry) was a corrupt and abusive monarchy that he felt he could replace and assume the power of the British Throne. His maneuverings had sought to undermine the rule of the Royal family and had resulted in the execution of Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and a host of other assorted mistresses that Henry had before he got too fat to copulate. Mr. Lambert was a skillful political beast and hid in the background doing whispers into the ears of a young Elizabeth. That was before he was caught up in his different mechanizations and then placed in a Crystal by a man acting on behalf of Elizabeth. Our good friend Karudorich.

That crystal containing Richard Lambert was lost with “Good Queen Beth’s” death in 1603. Evidently it was smuggled to Karudorich who then put it in his basket of trinkets.

That was one of the crystals that we had placed within the Crystal Palace.

You want to have a challenge? Place a 15^th century psychopath in a crystal cage who insists that he should rule everyone and everything. And have this sort of thing go on for years. Richard was one of the more stubborn (Stupid?) of the crystal captives who sincerely believed that 1; he should be released (Didn’t know how, but he demanded it regularly) and 2; That he should be in charge.

Cindy, Arial and Celie were busy as could be imagined with running the communication within and outside of the Crystal Palace and taking “suggestions” from all the Human and fae captives. And Richard’s influence waned quickly when even the nine other magic endowed humans felt he was full of brown sauce. He had a hard adjustment to being in close order with people who didn’t listen to his demands as though he was endowed by God.

In the early days of the Crystal Palace, we had tried to be reasonable. Ever try to be reasonable with a child? Paula finally gave him a lesson in behavior modification one day after a particularly acrimonious discussion with Richard, Cindy, Arial, and Celie about the issues of control and management.

She pulled his crystal out of the assembly. And set it on a shelf for ten minutes.

The reinsertion was a shock to Richard Lambert. Paula explained to him quietly that she also had a cigar box, and that he could go into that again. Unless he wanted to behave in a civilized twentieth century manner with respect to women.

“How dare you” were the first words out of his mouth. Followed by another ten minutes in the cigar box.

“Girls, is there anything of value that this character contributes to you there in the palace?” Paula asked. “Can you see a single thing he has that is of value?”

“I think we all need to reach to Hank and have his input.” Cindy said. And of course everyone agreed. (Something about the pass the buck behavior.)

Which is where I came in.

I remembered that day four years ago when I put on an armlet and sat down in the lounge. We were still building the New Mexico estate, and the Crystal Palace was still in Augusta. And I needed to talk to someone who had my same last name.

It was a short conversation. He yelled. I waited until he finally ran down, expecting me to comply with his demands, and I pulled his crystal. I sat for ten minutes and conversed with Cindy, and Ariel, and Celie. And then I plugged him back in. Before he could say anything, I demanded he shut up and listen.

“My name is Henry Lambert. I have the power to pull your crystal, break it in half, grind the pieces into dust and scatter it across the basement. Do you understand me?”

Silence.

“IF you are indeed my ancestor, I am ashamed. Perhaps I should do that to prevent anyone from tracing the lineage from me to such a blackarm.”

Shocked silence.

“I’m using small words. Do you understand me?”

“I understand”

“Good. Now shut your mouth and listen. Four hundred years have passed. People in this century have different behaviors. You need to learn them. Magic has also progressed. We have a library that is open to all members of the Palace. I suggest you read it. I suggest that you realize that we can suck out of you any knowledge you have, print it in ledgers, and store it for future reference. We do not need you. You are an open box that has old goods that are past their date. You have knowledge that is past its time of value. You are nothing in this time and place. And your continued existence is dependent on my being generous. Queen Beth is gone dust in Westminster. Your body is dust, gone in a grave. We are looking to find ways to restore you to a body, but you need to know that it will not be as you were. You are an intelligent ghost. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. And if you continue to behave as you have been, I will end you. I have the power. You have nothing. Now go back to your quarters and think about that. Ladies, if there are any other issues from this person, contact me and I will execute the sentence.” I said, and then pulled off the armlet.

That was my first encounter with Richard Lambert. We had made progress in the four years since. What I didn’t know was that he was what everyone was afraid of.

It took Helen almost a year to compile the hidden and destroyed records of that era of history. And it was an ugly volume. Witchcraft, Wizards, and fae were rampant across Europe and the British Isles and had the social behavior of rats. No, that’s insulting to rats. But a couple of things rang out. First, the different churches (did you know that there were three different Catholic Churches? And that there were two protestant ones? And that’s just the big, organized ones) were all competing for Tithes. They sought money from royalty, nobility, and citizenry as “Their right as God’s holy messenger.” And the different religious organizations were all looking for economic control in the vacuum left behind with the destruction of the Templars. What people didn’t realize was how much royalty costs. And that they will steal or borrow money from anyone. And if they are in debt too far, they will slay the bankers.

Which Richard Lambert was seeking to do with his pressuring of Elizabeth after the Armada was dispatched. Payment for services rendered. Which is why Charles had Richard put into a crystal. As a favor to a member of his council who was from France. Some fellow named Nagy. Who had it done by his servant, Karudorich. And oh, by the way, Richard’s magical knowledge was then stripped from him while he was in Karudorich’s gentle hands.

Eventually, Richard adjusted. He even cracked a few jokes. But we all knew that he was anxious to resume the life that was interrupted by our friend Karudorich. He did eventually thank us for giving him the counterfeit life he was enjoying in the crystal palace. And he was a sponge. He soaked up magic, politics, human social conduct and every other item he could get access to. He was a smart, unprincipled, unethical, and totally dangerous man. If he wasn’t a Mage, he would be a successful politician. In any age.

Rough weeks of Training

The weeks following Halloween, and the publication of the Dragon Corp Charter within Clan Lambert had been a taxing experience. Especially after Jeffery and Riska had both offered to step in as “Training officers”. The tempo of exercise and tactics and methods of extraction and opposition neutralization were almost too taxing for the Dragons and the Dragonets (as well as the sprites, gnomes and other creatures within the Lambert Clan). They kept hearing “Sweating in training beats bleeding in combat.” This was said so often that it became the mantra for all the Fae creatures. And the sneaky tricks that Riska employed even shocked Jeffery on occasion. The grumbles among the Corp about the tricks and speed of response tests fell on deaf ears when Jeffery regaled them with tales of his own incursions and reactions. Soon things settled into a pattern of three dragons, six gargoyles, six dragonets, and six Sprites on deck, alert for any request for service. And with two dragons, four gargoyles and four dragonets plus associated Sprites, Gnomes, Dwarves and even a sprinkling of Elves doing additional training. The schedule was to rotate each team up into reserve and training. Three days up, followed by two days training for those in reserve. This was Jeffery’s idea. Until they got up to speed that Riska and Jeffery both felt was satisfactory.

And returning to the active status was a relief after two days of Jeffery and Riska’s kind of “Training”. No one believed that action could not be more intense than the training regimen.

Thanksgiving in England. London

“it’s another of the Colonists damned holidays. It’s a wonder that they get anything done at all with these four-day weekends”

“Now Edward, they really do have a lot to celebrate. They didn’t have to carry colonialization on their economic back like we did. So, they are able to be self-entitled with their host of artificial holidays.”

“I realize that. But they are so damn accommodating with their daily celebrations. It’s no wonder where the Irish went, given the sort of display of partying that they are so generous with.”

“What’s really bothering you, Edward?”

“We need to know more about this “Clan.” The upset Duke replied.

“We should already know quite a bit. They have been around for five years now.”

“Not nearly enough. My biggest worry concerns the Memory stones that were seized from Nagy. I am wondering if this Hank Lambert is the remake of Lord Richard Lambert. From the thirteen hundreds.” Duke Edward replied.

“Gads. That man was an absolute horror. To witches and everyone else. He’s the reason for the order from Elizabeth to execute the entire clan. And he almost destroyed all of the Mages, and Wizards in Scotland and Ireland. Those that didn’t bow down and worship him.”

“I know. When Karudorich put his brains in his little crystal bottle, along with the rest of the Lambert Clan, it stopped the witch’s revolt of 1533. But just barely. And that got the rest of us in such bad odder that we have had to hide ever since.” Edward responded.

“What makes you think that this “Lambert” clan is him rising again?” the Marquesses asked.

“That damn report from those fools in California. This Hedge wizard, Chris Guage, said that the Lambert Clan had built a new “Crystal Palace” that all of the imprisoned ones could collaborate in. While they maintained their individual “rooms”, that the key objective was to liberate the people from within the Crystals and regenerate a new body with modern knowledge. He admitted he specifically spoke to Richard Lambert to get his assistance on some runes that were in a translation spell.” The Duke replied.

“Can you imagine a new body with his knowledge and power? It would be a disaster in the modern world. Imagine the grudge that he has against us for having him stripped in the first place? We would be wiped out.” Marquesses replied.

“Heatherington making any progress on the diplomatic side?” Duke Edward asked.

“Some progress. It seems that there is a Mage in their state department that is independent of the colonial group headed by that Reggie fellow. He hinted he might be able to pry something out of Webster.” Marquesses replied. “Failing that, we may have to send some assets to question him.”

“Before we do that, perhaps a different tact is required. We know who Lambert was close to. We know who the Mage was that was apprenticed to. His teacher should know more about this man. Can we set up a question team to find out? Send a few Hedge Witches with the right tools and do a midnight raid?”

“I think we can do something like that.”

“Lets’ do that. And maybe set up a bit of a retrieval for this person that they have engaged as their government contact. The fellow in Washington.” Duke Edward suggested.

“That’s a dangerous idea. This fellow was high up in their government. Wouldn’t it be better to suck him dry in his office, set up a heart attack, and write him off as an accident?”

“We would have to send a runic helm to do that. I don’t know any hedge witches we can find to do that.” The Duke thoughtfully replied.

“We don’t have any more intermediate Mages that can do this sort of exercise.

“Who do you suggest? Nagy lost most of the real capable people in his raid attempt. The only survivor of that disaster is hiding in the Caracas mountains and refuses to come out and go anywhere. And he has no intelligence value with respect to his experience. His fifteen seconds in conflict is a nightmare.” Edward responded.

“How about that Kenneth Poole fellow that was in SAS. He’s freelancing now. Perhaps if we approach him and his comrade, we can entice him to do a grab in Washington. That kind of a task might appeal to him, given his ego. We can set him there and have him do a drain and leave.”

“You know that using commercial resources is risky”

“For them. Who would believe that a lord of the Realm is plotting to grab a fool yank administrator? Plausible deniability old boy.”

“Don’t call me old. I’m not the one who knew Sir Walter Raleigh in the days before his haircut.”

“Didn’t you emerge about that time? I forget.”

Routine Delivery Gone Awry

Mayfly was the Sunday evening delivery of power to the four-carat diamond ring that Patrick Hamilton wore on his right-hand ring finger. In the trade he made with Hank for allowing Natalie to move back to Augusta from Atlanta and be his attorney, Hank promised to recharge the diamond regularly. To do this required a visit to the power shop, or to have the power shop come to Pat. Which happened every two weeks. Or more often if Pat felt he needed topping up because of trips or extensive work with runes and spells to be engraved by him, or by the elves and dwarves at Lambert Jewelers. It had been a very profitable arrangement for both sides. (Right out of paragraph four of the Clan Rules.)

Mayfly was one of the Sprites that was first to get a new Wristlet. She didn’t mind being a guinea pig for Clan Lambert. She had always been a careful writer and Deamonous used her often as his “Scribe”. Dragons don’t do good with pencils or penmanship. Mayfly did. So, she got first dibs on almost all the things that came to the Dragon Corp.

Her new wristlet was an example. It had combined shields. It shielded against magic, ballistic objects, fire, and a whole list of offensive things. It had a charged jewel to provide storage for power in excess of any of the other Sprites. It also had a new rune that Paula and the elves and the Crystal palace had developed called a “Sees-All” Geas. In testing it allowed Mayfly to see all of the artifacts and jewels with any enchantments. And bad things, like obsidian blades and arrow heads. Things that could hurt or kill a Sprite.

It also had the ability to let a Sprite (who already had amazing hearing) find and focus on sounds that were beyond the normal hearing. Which was what happened when she approached Pat Hamilton’s residence to recharge his stone

As she was approaching Pat’s home she heard sounds of distress. And the sounds of other people there. Victoria (who was Pat’s nurse and familiar) was sobbing, and Pat was saying “If you hurt her, it will be the last thing you will ever do.”

“If you answer our questions, we will stop. If you don’t, she’s going to feel a lot worse when this blade opens her up like a ripe watermelon and her guts fall out. This is obsidian, not some normal steel. It will go through shields like butter.” The one said.

The book on Dragon Corp tactics for Lambert Clan said that Sprites were to be the scouts, and to make the judgements based on what they saw, heard and felt. And that there were no mistakes. Ever. Just learning experiences. This was a learning experience. Mayfly took a deep breath and then:

“Karen, this is Mayfly. I am making a delivery and something’s wrong. There are two people in Mr. Hamilton’s home and they are hurting Victoria. What do we do?”

“Just a minute. Let me dial in Deamonous” Karen replied.

“What do you hear? What can you see?” Deamonous asked.

Mayfly replied with what she heard, and what she saw through the window. Two men, one holding a knife against Victorias throat, and one standing next to Pat Hamilton, who had been Hanks’s patron and was his partner in the jewelry building business.

Deamonous announced to the group sunning in the Fae Park. “Ok, people. It looks like a Hostage situation. Two bad guys and two principals. Office space in a home. Gargoyles first, then Dragonet.” Everyone responded to the alert.

Deamonous continued “Gargoyles, Pat’le and Pat’ma you are up. Dragonet Cinderax, you are up. I will do follow on if you need me to. Karen, once the guys have secured the room, you drop in and make Pat happy. Mayfly, thank you for the up-to-date images, I need you to keep an eye on the outside of Pats home as well as let us know if there are any others.”

And that’s how it happened. The small gargoyles appeared. One in front of Patrick’s chair and the other immediately behind Victoria. And they immediately froze the two offending humans. They both fell over. Cinderax appeared next to the desk and backed up to the door, able to see both two frozen offenders from a vantage point. Karen followed a moment later.

“Patrick, I apologize for our unexpected intrusion, but we had heard that these two people were being rather rude to you. I hope you are not upset at us picking up the trash and taking it out” Karen said to Patrick’s shocked face. “I’ll have these removed and we can talk. Mayfly is watching the outside to make sure we are not disturbed. If that’s all right with you?”

Patrick looked at the two men lying on the floor. This was a totally unexpected occurrence, and he had absolutely no reference for it. “Sure. What’s to talk about?”

“How did these guys get in, and what do we need to do to prevent this from ever happening again?” Karen asked.

Karen then continued to talk with Pat and Victoria about their recent experience. All the while with a small and polite Mayfly sitting in the corner, keeping watch.

After Action Report

“Folks” Jeffery began, “Every combat action needs careful examination to see what could be improved. It also tabulates the Level of effort needed, the resources needed, and how to be dispatched.” Jeffery said to the Dragon Corp as a group. “So what possible improvement could we come up with here?”

Cinderax made a reply. “Lady Karen came through when we had the prisoners secured. Then we had the issue of doing a search of them before we moved them to Augusta. In looking at the previous battle logs, where the guys broke into 1030, there was a shield wrapped around them at their skin level, and it then expanded out to strip them naked. Lady Karen did that as well. I think all of us Dragons and Dragonets should practice that trick to prep any and all prisoners for shipment. That way we can make sure that they have no power artifacts or weapons before we bring them into a secure area.”

“Excellent suggestion, Cinderax. That was a hole we left out of our training program. Are there any others?” Jeffery said.