Chapter 30

Dinner was quite lively.

Micky and Ronan showed both Hetty and Ricky the jewellery they had selected and asked if they thought it would do. Both agreed the pieces were in alignment with the girls’ primary disciplines and complimented them on their choices.

Ricky even mentioned that he hadn’t seen either set before, and he was glad that they now had new owners who would appreciate them. He then mentioned that he had sent a note to his grandmother and informed her he wished an audience on an important family matter.

He had no idea how long she would take to get back to him, but if she played her usual games and took more than two days, they would go see her uninvited. He asked Hetty if there any important functions on in the next couple of weeks.

Hetty grinned, “How about a Ball?”

“Who is throwing it?” Ricky asked.

Hetty’s grin grew broader, “Why, your Grandmother, silly. It is her three hundredth birthday and your one hundred and fiftieth. You will need to take a present since you are family. I doubt she will have one for you.”

“What discipline is her strongest?” Ronan asked.

“Hum. Angeni has a four gemmed diadem like all of the other Queens, and she has a medallion. The ring isn’t magical even if it looks like it is, and she wears it on her middle finger.”

“She is Lore like me. My dad and his dad were both Earth. So, dad was surprised that I was Lore until he remembered that Angeni was. She also has Nature, Energy and Psychic.”

“Actually, the ring I took from Simon was the same combination and a nice design. Do you think that and a small chest of Quaz crystals will make her happy?”

“Will the ring work for her if she puts it on?” Micky asked.

“Sure, her entity will be happy to accept it since she doesn’t already have a ring and even more so if it is inert like it is now. No entity to kick out,” Ricky told them.

The girls couldn’t come up with any better ideas.

Feeding baby dragons every four hours wasn’t that hard when you had four people to help.

The girls were pleased that Ricky remembered to find a box and fill it with sand, so the dragons had a litter box. The dragons were just as happy to use it. The girls were surprised when, for breakfast, Ricky put down a large bowl of camla milk.

The three dragons eyed it warily, but Shadow with some urging from Ricky got bold and tried it. As soon as she was happy lapping at the milk, the other two joined her. Ricky told the girls that he used to give it to Silver for breakfast and then she got camla or longear for her mid-morning snack and lunch.

For dinner and supper, he had the choice of woollie, snuffler or rohan meat and he’d give her some roasted root vegetables too. Silver had also loved his roasted beernuts as a treat and still did.

These meats and vegetables were already filling his larder since he had time-lock preservation spells on them like in the treehouse. He would keep them topped up from his garden, his small herds and some hunting.

He could feed a dozen people for a month and still have leftovers. Hetty was always spoilt for choice. They were reaping the benefits of his hard work for breakfast, as Hetty had cooked them a smash-up meal. The cured snuffler was superb. The dracolings were happy to eat the cooked strips too, as they were each with their bond parent.

Ricky was still annoyed that he would have to build his herds back up again after winter. His garden would need even more work to get it back to rights and ready for a spring crop. The loss of his winter wheat not being planted was also annoying. He had become quite the farmer of late.

Ricky sighed and wondered if he would be back there for spring. He had been contemplating for some time the construction of a small house in the paddock with the lake. And then getting someone to live there permanently to look after his property when he was away.

The population on the island had grown, and more people passed through every year. He couldn’t leave the area unsupervised for years like he used to. It was one of the reasons that he hadn’t been on any long trips for some time.

It was an idea that may need to be implemented if his life did change the way he suspected it would. Ricky wasn’t happy about being more exposed to the public, but something was going on that he felt needed his attention right now.

The business with the guns was still bugging him. Ricky had no idea what time frame Lord Jay had been working in regarding when he wanted to use the guns; let alone a place or a reason why he would want to use them. He had a suspicion, but he would need to talk to Angeni.

“Hetty, what’s the situation with the availability of crystals in town?”

“Not good, even with the increase in sales you have let me distribute. Sometimes I think I’m the only one with crystals to sell. I’d hate to think what would happen if a magician found our cavern when they were scrying.”

Ricky closed his eyes and said a spell under his breath. He sat still for several minutes, his eyes were flicking back and forth under his closed lids. He chuckled and murmured another couple of spells and then smiled in satisfaction.

His eyelids popped up, and he grinned at Hetty. “You have had some spies, spying on you, my girl. Not to worry they will have a hard time finding this house in future. I have also increased the wards on the house and included a small shield that covers it and the cavern.”

Ricky tapped his finger on the table as his thoughts wandered. “What do think will happen if the market suddenly gets a glut of Quaz crystals?” Ricky asked Hetty.

Hetty barked out a laugh. “I’d love to see that happen. Maybe a glut and then when things settle down, we could increase our sales again and hopefully convince more people to buy from me. It’s not like you need the coin and we do have crystals to spare.”

“I have that room downstairs full of boxes of crystals. I was going to ask you if we could move more. Your cavern seems to have gone a bit berserk of late. I was also going to ask if you could get me an assistant to help me around here.”

“Yes, and yes. Ronan do you know this city very well?” Ricky asked.

“No, I’ve never actually been here. Lord Jay had a base on Sigma Island, and otherwise, he was on his property that is south of Mineral City. He owns large tracts of land in the area.”

“So why get the guns dropped in River City?” Ricky asked.

Ronan shrugged, “I can only guess it was because one of Kerr’s ships was bringing them and he was now based in River City, not Mineral City. Lord Kerr may not remember how often he met with Lord Jay. I know that he has been at Jay Manor many times over the past ten years.”

Ronan grimaced, “Lord Jay had some rather unusual fetishes and habits. He knew I didn’t like how he treated the females that Lord Kerr brought to the house and I was often sent on some mission for him when he has company. The smell of human blood makes me go woozy.”

“So, who would be at the manor right now?” Ricky asked.

Ronan furrowed her brow. “The dozen or so basic house servants, four or five of Lord Jay’s trainees and Sir Varis. He was the Fayle that originally owned the lands Lord Jay acquired. Nasty man, he acted as Lord Jay’s steward.”

“He also knew that I was a Shifter, and I was sure that it was only because I was Lord Jay’s primary personal servant that he didn’t touch me. I now suspect that he also practised blood magic with Lord Jay. His stench made me ill. I think Lord Jay spelled me to not smell him.”

“Interestingly, I don’t believe that Lord Kerr did. At that time, he just delivered the goods that Lord Jay ordered, and he never stayed more than a night. It was common that I left with him after his half-yearly visit.”

“I was always sent to Sigma Island to check on the house there. Lord Kerr never bothered me, I was just a passenger and had nothing to do with him otherwise. The Manor near Point Alpha isn’t as extensive, and Lord Jay doesn’t own as much land.”

“Lord Jay only keeps eight permanent servants there and his steward. I’d stay two or three weeks, catch up on whatever business needed to be cared for and then I’d be compelled to go back to Lord Jay.”

“Ricky, why is that I’m a High Wizard? I could have helped those people that I know Lord Jay was hurting, but I didn’t. That doesn’t seem like how a High Wizard should behave.”

“Did you ever try?” Ricky asked gently.

“I ... I... , “ Ronan rested her arms on the table, put her head down on them and started crying. Ricky and Micky both leapt from their chairs to go hug her.