Chapter 15

The rest of the trip ran smoothly.

Trae and Kat with some help from the lads completed the road. They made record time and arrived in Clawton late in the evening on the fourth day. They pushed it a little since they were close and the party were happy to be swapping camp beds for real ones sooner than they expected.

Trae and Kat stayed in their wagon and to their amazement, the lads preferred to stay in their tent. They said they were more than comfortable in it with their mattresses and they didn’t have bed bugs. David and Mark elected for their favourite tavern. The group was able to camp beside it, and they had permission to use the paddock for the lankys and the camlas.

David, Mark and the lads went off to the Ranger Station to check if a group were close to being ready to travel back to Catton. Mark and David also got Paul and Tom registered as Rangers. As soon as the Captain in charge realised all four of them had magical items he had no problems having Paul and Tom added to the patrol staff.

The men were not generally given assignments as they simply reported in to the stations at each city, once a patrol was completed. They could pick up information of people wishing to be escorted and organise a time and place for the people to meet with them.

Trae and Kat did some shopping and Trae organised the selling of his ten lankys. Either they could stay until the auction the next morning, or he could hand the selling of them over to an agent. They decided since they had a bit of time they would leave after the auction.

Trae didn’t sell any of his other produce. He knew he would get better prices in Hilton. He did leave a few presents on the desks of the bosses of several manufacturers and major repair businesses that dealt with travellers and electrical systems just before they left.

Since they were staying the extra night, they reluctantly agreed to have lunch with Deirdre’s family at her and Tristin’s request. Philippa still wasn’t talking to either of them but Tristin and Deirdre made them welcome as did her mother, father, Devin and younger brother, Edward.

Edward was due back at the University. He was twenty-one and studying management. Kat commented that they would be only planning on staying a week in Hilton. She then had to explain that they were going to visit her grandfather, Master Raymond Cutter.

Trae wasn’t happy when the Duchess asked them to escort Edward and Deirdre. They were planning to do some more blinking and having two more people along wasn’t in their plan. Trae mentioned that the siblings could travel faster by auto. He had his wagon full of produce and it would be a slower journey.

He didn’t mention that he could easily afford an auto but he did have the lankys and the cuttails to consider. They would have to stay with him and Kat since the lads couldn’t take them back without the wagon. Then he had an idea.

‘Kat, how would you like to travel in a flatbed?’ he sent to her.

‘What is that devious brain of yours thinking now?’ she answered in the same way.

‘I can let the lads take our wagon back with the cubs and then we won’t have to worry about them. I can soon set up a flatbed like our wagon,’ he told her.

‘If that’s what you wish to do then I’m fine with it Trae,’ she returned.

“When were you thinking of setting off?” Trae asked Deirdre.

“Day after next,” she replied.

“Fine that will give me a day to organise the new transport, we will pick you up early. Be packed and ready to go,” Trae told her.

Duchess Dalila was delighted with this news and informed Trae she was happy to contribute to the costs since they were doing her a favour. Trae just smiled at her. He didn’t expect her to but it was nice that she had offered.

Devin, surprised them when he said, “Shame the old flatbed we have doesn’t work anymore. I’d had the front altered so it seated us all and we could put the luggage that these three could come up with in the back. It stopped working four years ago and I can’t seem to find anyone to fix it.”

“Can I see it?” Trae asked with interest.

“Yes, why not. Will you excuse us boys, my love?” Devin said to his wife.

Dalila chuckled, “Go, you men and your machines, I’ll never understand them.”

Edward happily included himself as ‘one of the boys’ and followed his father, Tristin and Trae out to the carriage house. As they walked, Devin explained, “I was able to buy an auto but it’s rather cramped if we travel long distances. I wish someone would find some more Quaz crystals here. I hear that some have turned up in Wing City and it has caused quite a stir.”

“How so?” Trae asked with interest.

“Rumour has it the old Guild Lord had to step down. She couldn’t fix the items they have. I’ve been told she had a meeting with a Master from the University and the Lord’s items wanted to go to him, so she had to give them up. It has made a lot of people happy.”

“Some of the manufactures also boast that they can now make delivery of some of their back orders. We’ve had a flatbed on order for four years. I might even be able to get a new battery for the auto. It doesn’t stay as charged for as long as it once did since its battery doesn’t have the crystals in it.”

Trae took a liking to the flatbed. As Devin had said, they had modified the cab, so it had two bench seats that sat over the drive equipment with a short dashboard in front. The cab and the rear section were fully enclosed with thin lacquered timber sides and a metal frame.

The cab had two doors on both sides that had slide-down windows and a glass front windscreen that angled back slightly. The back section of the flatbed had been shortened, so it was now 3m long, 2.5m wide and 3m high.

While Trae’s wagon was a little longer, he knew he wouldn’t have any issues with fitting his modifications thanks to his Dimensional Space spell. Also, if he was going to bring the twins back with him, this vehicle would be better suited. Otherwise, he was sure Kitty and Sampson would love to ride on the back seat for future trips.

Davin then showed Trae how everything worked. Trae was fascinated. It was very similar to his Puller so he doubted he’d have any trouble driving it. It also went a lot faster and Davin said the coastal road was in better condition than the road to Catton was.

Trae grinned at him, “Not anymore. Kat and I fixed it. This traveller would like our new road. Can I buy it?”

“If you want it, it’s yours but as I said, it doesn’t work anymore,” Davin replied.

“Oh, I think it will work just fine for me,” Trae reassured him and crawled under the traveller to the batteries. Reaching into his fanny pack, he retrieved several crystals. He placed several, 1cm square by 5mm thick pieces on each of the four batteries. He then added his repair spell and his cleaning spell.

He decided that he’d add the protection spells after he did the other modifications and crawled back out from underneath. He went to the cab, checked the dial that indicated the level of charge and found that it sat over in the fully charged section. Trae happily started the vehicle.

Davin and Edward were surprised when they heard the flatbed purr into life. Trae turned it off and got out. “You said your auto needed a bit of a look at too,” he said to the surprised Davin.

Davin happily showed him the two autos that he owned. Trae did his little trick and informed Davin they should now run a bit better. In the long shed, Trae spied two Pullers that were larger than his were, so he fixed them too.

“There you go, I think my repairs should pay for the Flatbed, do you agree?” he said to Davin.

Davin gave him a long look and chuckled. “You’re the one aren’t you?”

Trae put his finger to his lips and made the shoosh sound and Davin laughed harder. “Fine, considering you saved my little girl and you are now doing us a big favour, I can keep a secret. Edward and Tristin that includes you two,” Davin said seriously.

Tristin had already guessed Trae was not an ordinary Ranger and since he had saved his wife, he agreed readily. Edward blinked a few times as he rolled the conversations he had heard that day around in his head. “Wow! It will be hard but I will try my best, Lord Quintin.”

“Just Trae or Ranger Trae if you prefer,” Trae replied.

“Ranger Trae, I do like that title and I’ll feel more comfortable using it. It’s what Deirdre calls you, so it sounds alright,” Edward replied.

“I can live with it too since that is officially my profession, other than being a farmer and a Mage of course,” Trae told Edward with a smile.

“I was hoping to do some advanced courses this year but I’m not sure how I’ll get on. They haven’t handed any new items out for some time, so I wasn’t sure if it was worth even testing for the classes,” Edward told Trae as they headed back to the house.

Trae touched Edwards hand in passing and then stopped. He looked at the lad again now they were out of the sun. “May I touch you?” Trae asked the lad seriously.

Edward nodded and then felt an odd little shiver when Trae touched his temple. Trae smiled, “Interesting, I can see why you like management and law subjects. I think you should do the classes.”

Edward was tickled. “Thank you, Ranger Trae. Hey, since you have the traveller fixed, can we leave a bit earlier?”

“We have to go the lanky auction in the morning. Kat and I were hoping to be gone by lunch, could you and Deidre be ready by then?”

“Yes, if we get there a couple of days earlier than when we had originally planned, then I will have time to sign up for the testing for the other classes. I’ll make sure that Deidre is ready to go,” Edwards said.

“Thanks, we will see you around lunchtime. I have some things I need to do if I’m swapping conveyances, so Kat and I had better get going,” Trae said, and they went inside so he could collect Kat. He was now glad she had talked him into using a Rider so she could wear a dress to lunch.

He was going to have some fun fixing up the new flatbed.

They left soon after with promises that Edward and Deidre would be ready.

The de Vaal’s lived on the Hilton side of Clawton and they were located about 5km out of town. As they drove the flatbed back to the Tavern, Trae wrinkled up his nose. “What is that smell?” he said.

Kat giggled, “The wind must have changed, I believe that they must have their Rubbish Dump out this way. It is quite amazing what people in the cities throw away.”

They then saw a sign that indicated the Dump was coming up on their left. Trae realised he had missed the sign on the other side of the road when he was talking to Kat on the drive out in the Rider. Kat was astonished when he put his indicator on and turned to go to the Dump. “What are you doing?”

“You said people throw lots of things out. I need materials to build the new compartments, so what better than using stuff people have already discarded.”

“You’re going to build our travelling home out of rubbish?” she said in disbelief.

“Your Pater says, one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure,” Trae quoted at her.

“Yes, but he doesn’t go to a Rubbish Dump to get his treasures,” she replied.

“What happens to the stuff people try to sell but can’t be bothered waiting for someone to buy it at their sales?”

“Ah, I see. But seriously,” she said.

“My delightful Kat, for the most part, I just need the materials not what item it currently looks like,” Trae replied as they neared a pit that was half filled with the refuse from the town. Trae could see that it was a treasure trove for a Mage.

He could see a graded road and a flat area that let people pull up in their carts or transporters to throw out their rubbish. There wasn’t another soul in the area and this suited Trae. He pulled up, so the broad side of the flatbed blocked any new people coming into the dump from seeing what he did.

He happily got out and had a look at the collection of material he had to play with. He was quite astonished by what he found. He wondered why they didn’t sort their rubbish better. There were a lot of metals he was sure they could have reused but hadn’t. Old furniture and house building materials made up a fair portion, as well as general kitchen and garden waste.

Trae opened up the back of the Flatbed and using the steps, he entered it. The sides were not as sturdy as he liked and he wanted to reinforce them. He decided he would move the back doors and partition it in into two halves, as he had done with the wagon.

He had learnt that as long as some space existed between the two sides of the partition, his magical doorways could enter any size area he wished to create. He repositioned the two 1.2m wide by 1.8m height sliding doors on the passenger (left) side and near the centre of the side.

He added two fold-down steps the length of the two doorways. The Flatbed wasn’t as high off the ground as the wagon was, so it was easier to step up into it. He placed the magical doors in the partition, so you took two steps in, turned to the dividing wall and stepped through.

He got a bit more adventurous this time and made just the one space that could be accessed from either magical door. He split the space into a large storage area, two modest bedrooms, a kitchen, a seating area, a dining area and a bathroom with laundry facilities.

Kat got into the action by removing items from the dump, such as a table, chairs, bed frames, old linen, kitchen items and so forth. She restored them for Trae to move into the space. She was having a lot of fun and like Trae, couldn’t believe a lot of what people had thrown out.

Trae found most of the items he wanted in the dump and had little trouble manufacturing a couple that he was missing, to complete his rooms. He still hadn’t worked out why he could create plumbing that came out of the dimensional space to the underside of the vehicle but he could, so he just went with it.

For a lark, he tried a ‘Gold Retrieval’ spell and had to stop it when he couldn’t hold the mounting collection that was amassing in his hands. He retrieved a medium sized box similar to the crates he normally used, reinforced it and then did the spell again. He had to use magic to move the box into the storage area.

He decided to do the same to collect any silver and copper from the dump. He had to make two boxes for the silver and six for the copper. He detected some other interesting elements and filled three other boxes with an assortment of ingots.

“I’ll have to remould the metals so we can move them in a more conventional manner later,” he told Kat. They were both surprised by how much he had retrieved.

Kat chuckled, “Well, you did say one man’s junk.”

They entered the new space again and looked around to see what they had missed. Since they planned to leave the wagon intact, they didn’t wish to strip its current setup, just remove their personal effects and the items they planned to sell.