Chapter 4

They both sat on their respective boxes and looked around the cave. Mialana was in no hurry to leave. This was the best news she’d gotten in a long time. First the fevers had taken her parents, then the weight of the kingdom fell on her, and most recently, month after month of overconfident condescending men coming into her palace to try to convince her that all her problems could be solved if she married them. Now here was this man, quite literally from out of this world, who was offering to help her country off the bottom rung of society. He had enough money that they wouldn’t be dependent on Lord Harsk for anything. And best of all he hadn’t asked her to marry him to get it. She picked up an emerald the size of an acorn.

“One thing is for sure, there is no way to move all of this quietly. Once we start, I will need to station a hundred soldiers around this cave. Every bandit in a hundred miles will be thinking of a way to get in. Not to mention all the treasure wagons they will try to rob. I do not see how we can keep this a secret for long.”

David watched the torchlight shine off the emerald in her hand. “It’s not impossible to keep a secret. I’m sure you have some, I’m sure Caelly does too.”

The Queen dropped the gemstone. No one knew about her and Caelly, how did he? “I ... I don’t know what you’re talking about. Caelly is my lady’s maid, my servant.”

“I know, but I’m pretty sure she’s more than that. A little more than just a good friend. I’ve been honest about everything about me, you can be honest about this.”

She looked down at her lap, “No one knows. I do not even know how it happened. When my parents became sick, she was such a comfort. Always there for me. Everyone just thinks she’s a loyal lady’s maid. The aristocracy have always sent their children to court to be friends and serve the royal children. Her parents have a small barony in the northern mountains. She was so innocent and afraid when she came. We were all each other had.”

She went silent and David waited a moment before asking, “So you have to hide it because she’s a woman?”

“What? Why should that matter? As Queen I am expected to produce an heir, but no one cares if I take a woman as a lover. No, what matters is that she’s from such a small province. A Queen and a fourth daughter of a lowly baron? Two generations ago they were just copper miners. What a scandal that would be.”

So, no homophobia here but elitism is going nice and strong.

He tried to explain how things would be viewed on his world. The Queen furrowed her eyebrows, “Why would anyone care if two people were in love with each other? It is no one’s business but theirs. I have restrictions because I am the Queen, but anyone else is free to be with who they want.”

“It’s nice to know you’re so evolved here. But it doesn’t help us out much with moving all this gold.”

The Queen looked down at the chest she was sitting on. Literal tons of gold underneath her.

“What if we do not move it.”

David was confused. “You already said thieves would come looking for it. Even if we don’t move all of it, we’ll need it to pay for things. Someone will find out what’s in here.”

Mialana stood up and started pacing around the room. “I know, but what if we made it safe right here where it is? We can build a castle right over the top of the cave. That way it is protected, and we would not have to spend a year moving it to the palace.”

“Won’t that bother the baron or duke or whoever that owns these woods if a new castle just shows up on his land?” David asked.

She rolled her eyes. This man could potentially help her kingdom in so many ways, but he was so ignorant of her world it was almost comical.

“I own these woods. I am the Queen remember? The crown owns everything from the city to the other side of the forest. And even if they were under the control of the aristocracy, I outrank everyone. I can just give them someplace else.”

“Just like that? You can just take someone’s land away and drop them somewhere else?” It didn’t seem right to him.

“Well, I would have to give them someplace they considered nicer than where they were. But the worst they could do is raise a complaint before the throne. It is not something I can do a lot, kings on the continent have tried it. Raising and lowering someone’s status on a whim, it never works out. They end up with revolutions all the time.” She got up from the chest she was sitting on and closed the lid. David and the Queen closed all the lids and locked them. As they were about to leave, he went back and unlocked one box. She watched as he pulled out a few of the books and then close it again.

Mialana raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shook his head.

“I’ll explain when we get back to town.”

She shrugged and they left the cave, making sure it was locked again and the thorn bushes were pulled back over the door. Caelly and Jaym were happy to see them come back out. The guards relaxed a little but maintained a watch on the woods.

The Queen and Caelly walked off ahead of everyone else back to the carriage. The young maid was full of questions, but Mialana reassured her that everything was ok and that she would explain everything in time. Caelly accepted this but wasn’t happy about it. The Queen had never kept anything from her before. Ever since she had come to the palace at fourteen, five years ago, they had been the closest of friends. There were no secrets between the two of them. What had this man said in there that her friend couldn’t share with her?

They soon reached the road where the carriage and the guards’ horses waited for them. Mialana asked the guard that had been keeping watch there to ride back to town and assemble the Queen’s council. He bowed, mounted his horse, and took off towards the city. Soon only a cloud of dust showed the way that he had gone.

Everyone climbed back into the carriage, and they were on their way.

Caelly tried to engage the Queen on the way, but she was lost in thought and wouldn’t respond to her. The new man from Am-err-icka was showing his servant the books he had brought out of the cave with him. They looked like they were full of pictures of bees and foxes and horses. The little boy was transfixed by the pictures. His master was trying to explain to him something about the words printed next to the pictures. She couldn’t read them. If she was honest, she couldn’t read much of her own language either. No one ever wrote to her from home and the Queen explained anything she needed to know.

Jaym couldn’t believe it. His master said he would teach him how to read! The pictures in the books helped. He had never seen drawings that looked so real. Master David said it would get harder the more he learned but he wasn’t worried about that, he wasn’t afraid of hard work. He sounded out the words along with his boss, “A is for apple, B is for bee, C is for cat...”

He looked up at the others. The Queen was looking out the window with a small smile on her face. She had seemed very nice on the trip out to the forest, now she was even happier. She would look at the books every once in a while, and her smile would get even bigger. Caelly had been kind to him back in the palace, showing him around and answering all his questions. Now she was upset about something. He didn’t know what, but he could tell she was mad. Living on the streets made you keenly aware of when someone had had enough of you. It was always important to know when someone was about to call the city patrol.

The book in his lap drew his attention back. There was a picture of something called an elephant, what a strange looking creature! Could there really be things like that across the sea? Some of the older boys had gone on to be cabin boys on the merchant ships. They only ever saw the galley and the latrine. None of them had ever mentioned anything like this. Where had his master gotten these books? Did they have elephants in Am-err-icka?

By the time he had made it to “Q is for Queen”, they were back at the palace. It took a long time to get through each picture. Master David made him sound out each letter until he had it right before he could move on to the next one. They pulled in under the same archway from before. The soldiers dismounted and came to attention next to the carriage. The Queen got out first, followed by Caelly. Master David took the book back from him and then they got out. Queen Mialana whispered to her maid, and she marched him off into the palace. Before, she had directed him with a touch on the shoulder, but now she grabbed his hand and pulled him after her. Jaym hoped whatever was bothering her went away soon if this was how she was going to behave. At least they were heading back in the direction of the kitchens.

David followed the Queen through the palace. They went the opposite way from the throne room. He was sure they were out in one of the wings of the building. They were soon in a small room with a large rectangular table at its center. The Lord General was already there along with several other people he didn’t recognize. Everyone stopped talking and turned to bow to the Queen as she entered the room. She acknowledged it and directed everyone to sit at the table, taking the seat on the far end. David, she pointed to sit in the chair to her left. General Greeg took the seat to her right and the rest settled in no particular order. The Queen went around the table introducing the various ministers and advisors of her inner circle.

First was Kera Sedden, the Minister for the Treasury. She was an exceedingly thin middle-aged woman. To David her skin looked like an old leather couch, dry and cracked, but he could see a sharp wit behind her eyes. Next was Pold Colner, who turned out to be the High Priest of the Mother. That was surprising, he had the look of a former athlete that was past his prime, thick neck and broad shoulders with a red bulbous nose. His white robes of office were stretched tight on his wide frame. He was followed by more pencil pushers and functionaries until Rael Lokke, who was sitting on David’s other side. Rael was the Queen’s Minister of the Trades, the point of contact for all the guilds in the city. He nodded to David as the Queen introduced him, his shoulder length black hair pulled back in a ponytail. He was a fit handsome man in early middle age, he smiled a little too much for David’s liking, but he seemed like a decent guy.

Soon it was his turn to be introduced to the Queen’s inner circle. “This is David Winston from Dal-las in Am-err-icka. He is going to be my, um, Minister for Education and ... Modernization. He’s come here from far away to offer his service and I have accepted. I want to help Wellon become a respected nation and he is going to help me do it. He has knowledge of things that none of us have ever heard of before.”

There were quite a few looks exchanged around the table at that. They were all for helping Wellon become more prosperous, any success would increase their standing in the world too. Everyone looked to David, wondering what he was going to do, the Queen’s description was vague at best.

“First of all, Rael, I need you to get the guilds organized for a new construction project. I want a new castle built in the eastern forest. It will need to be big enough to house several hundred people at once.” The Queen looked to her Minister of the Trades, who was already scribbling quickly on the papers in front of him. She was about to continue when Minister Kera cleared her throat.

“I’m sorry your majesty, but there simply isn’t enough in the treasury to build an entire new castle from scratch. Not without cutting funds from your charitable programs.” She all of a sudden had a sour look on her face, “Or without getting a loan from Lord Harsk.”

David wasn’t surprised at the grumbling in the room at that statement. He knew how he felt about Lord Harsk, it would seem others felt the same. The Queen’s smile lit up the room, “There will be no need to ask that man for anything, and no need to cut funding. The cost of the construction will be covered.”

Kera narrowed her eyes, “As you say, your Majesty.”

Mialana took pity on her money manager, “I’m not putting the country in debt Kera. And I’m not speculating either. The money is there, I just won’t say more about it at this time. The biggest problem will be labor. This city used to have almost five hundred thousand people in it. Now we’re lucky if we have even half that. The fevers the last few years haven’t been kind to us. We may have to reach out to the outer provinces for workers.”

“What about immigration?” David asked.

“What about what?” Rael responded, “What’s immigration?”

David couldn’t believe it. Wasn’t this an island that conducted a lot of trade? How did people move around here? “Immigration is when people leave a country to live somewhere else. What happens when your ships dock in other ports? There must be people there that want to leave.”

General Greeg spoke next, “Oh, there are always people hanging about, wanting to ship out. But the merchant ships are there to do business, not take on random passengers.”

Rael and Kera nodded in agreement to this. David couldn’t believe they couldn’t see where he was going with this. “So, bring them back with you from now on. You’ve lost a lot of your population, there’s people around the world that want to move somewhere that has more opportunities for them. Do I have to draw you people a map?”

Everyone was very indignant at that. All except the Queen. Mialana watched the conversation play out silently. She appreciated her advisors, they were good at their jobs. But they were all too complacent. Doing things the same way they had done them since her father had been King. In her opinion they could all use a bit of shaking up. She had watched him teaching Jaym in the carriage on the way back. An orphan that until a week ago had been living on the street had been able to grasp what was written in the books David had brought with him. It was the simplest of books, to be sure, but if he could be taught that much then he could be taught more, and others among her people could master the other things he had brought with him. If only her closest advisers were as open to new ideas. They would have to learn too.

The Minister of the Treasury was the first to answer, “How do you propose we get the merchant captains to take on a bunch of vagabonds?”

“The Queen could command them to I expect, if it came to that. If not, then tell them to set their own prices. If a passenger can pay the rate, then bring them on board. Aside from that, you have a navy, don’t you? Send them out to different places. Pack a few trade goods along to try to make some money if you need to. But use them to spread the word. Have the sailors tell anyone they meet that there’s a place with space and jobs available. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about getting enough passengers after a while.”

One of the ministers whose name David couldn’t remember was aghast at that. “You would have us just invite foreigners into our land to take over?”

He rolled his eyes, “They won’t take over anything. The people looking to move will just want a place to be safe, to raise a family, and have a decent job. They’ll adjust to how things work here.”

This did little to satisfy the man. “How do you know? It’s never been done before.”

“I come from a country of over three hundred million people, and other than a tiny percentage, all of their families came from somewhere else at some point. It’s far from perfect, but it’s managed to stick around for two hundred years working that way.”

None of the assembled bureaucrats knew what to say to that. Three hundred million people? No country could hold so many. A few looked to the Queen, not quite daring to question why she would bring this lunatic among them. Mialana herself was shocked to hear how large David’s country was. No wonder he could amass so much treasure before coming here. Her advisers were certainly shaken up now.

“I would rather not force the merchant captains, but I will command it if I have to.” She looked at Rael, “Pass the word among them, and the navy captains as well, to do as David Winston says. After that, work your way around to the guild houses and get them started planning the new castle.”

The handsome man bowed his head to the Queen and gathered his notes. Minister Sedden still looked suspicious as to how they would pay for everything but kept her tongue. No one raised any more objections and the Queen looked at David to see if he had anything to add.

“One more thing Minister Lokke, you deal with the different guilds so I’m guessing you’d know the answer to this better than anyone here. Who teaches everyone in the city? Is there a college or university where people study?”

Rael leaned back in his chair, “All of the guilds have members that study new ways of doing things to advance their trades. What are you looking for?”

“People good with languages. As many as you can find, and people that are used to teaching children. Send them to me as quick as you can, if you please, along with some printers and engravers.” He crossed his fingers a few of them would be quality teachers.

With nothing more to discuss, the Queen rose from the table and the gathered administrators left one by one. With a quick bow to the Queen, David hustled to catch up to the High Priest. The broad-shouldered man could still move quickly when he wanted to. He’d been hearing people mention the Mother since he arrived in this world. The head of the religion should be able to explain who she was.

“Mr. High Priest, sir? Do you have a minute?” He was out of breath by the time he caught up to the man.

Pold stopped and let the others pass him as David came closer. “Of course, David Winston. What can I do for you?”

“Just David, please. I was wondering if you would be nice enough to explain a few things for me? About religion.”

The priest smiled and slapped David on the shoulder, “I can try at least. Come with me.”

He rubbed his stinging shoulder and followed him down the hall from the conference room to a small study. The jovial holy man went to a side table near the window and poured two glasses of amber liquid. He took one of the armchairs and motioned David to take the other. Both men took a sip, to David it tasted like weak bourbon. Not his favorite, but not bad.

“Go ahead and ask your questions young man. But I’ll warn you, I may not be the best person to ask.” He took another drink and settled into his chair.

“But you’re the High Priest. Shouldn’t you know everything?”

The older man laughed. “Truth be told, even I’m not sure how I ended up with this job.”

David listened as the High Priest explained that he’d been a champion boxer and wrestler in his youth. He’d been proud of his accomplishments. His family, however, was not. As the third son of a well-placed viscount, more was expected of him. His choice had been to shape up and pick a respectable profession or be cut off entirely. The priesthood was an easy enough job, he had no problem speaking in public. Many of the other priests and priestesses had won plenty of coin off him when he competed. That combined with his natural affableness and his noble birth let him rise quickly through the ranks until, before he knew it, he was the High Priest of the Mother in Wellon.

“If I’d had my way, I would have kept on with boxing. I won enough that being cut off financially wouldn’t have been too bad. But my mother, you see? It would have killed her to have the family shamed with a scandal like that. So here I am, the least priestly man to ever put on the robes of office. Sure, I do my best to see the church right, but if you’re looking for answers from on high, I’m not sure I’m the man to find them for you.”

“Oh, I’m not looking for anything that spiritual. Just the basics on how religion works here. Who is the Mother, that sort of thing? I’m new here. I don’t want to say the wrong thing and offend someone.” Religious offences were the easiest to lead to deadly repercussions.

Pold looked massively relieved. “Oh! Now that I can handle.”

It turned out the religion of Wellon was moon based. The Mother was the personification of the white moon. She controlled the tides and was considered to be mostly good. The red moon was represented by the Father. This deity was mercurial at best, evil at worst, depending on how strict your beliefs were. As Pold told it, no one prayed to the Father, and if it was a night where only the red moon shined, only the worst sorts of people went about their regular business. Red nights were times to be quietly indoors. Worship was fairly simple, good things were touched by the Mother, bad things by the Father. No holy days, aside from the occasional eclipse. Important doings were reserved for when the white moon was full, or especially when the white moon was full, and the red was absent from the sky.

“Most people aren’t really that observant. There are temples of course, though there isn’t much to them. Hard to make everyone gather in one place when all they have to do is look up at the night sky wherever they’re standing. The other priests and priestesses in the order are there to provide guidance when it’s asked for. Prayers are sent to the Mother when you need something, and there’s no stronger curse than sending the Father after someone. But it doesn’t dominate much of anyone’s time, for which I’m grateful. You get the odd kooks now and then that think the Mother is personally watching out for them. But there’s people that still think the world is flat too.” Pold laughed at that and poured himself another drink. David politely declined when Pold held the bottle out to him. “Myself? I don’t know honestly. I doubt every plague and late season frost is called down by the red moon, but I can’t prove for sure that it isn’t either. So, I smile and pray to the Mother that everything will work out all right. No harm in it.”

David had died in a car crash and been sent here, he guessed by aliens, so he had to agree with the reluctant priest. The moons influencing people’s lives wasn’t that farfetched. With how this world developed, maybe his aliens and the Mother/Father were one and the same? Not that it helped him one way or the other. He was glad Pold wasn’t a zealot, who would cast doubt on everything he said because it contradicted some religious scripture. After finishing his drink, he thanked the High Priest for his time and got up to leave. The former boxer reassured him that he could come back to talk any time and poured himself another round.

Caelly was waiting for him in the hall with Jaym in tow. “Her Majesty has decided to provide you with a place to stay that isn’t the Leaping Horse. Come with me.”

Her tone was much colder than David had heard her use before. Jaym frowned at her but shrugged when his master looked at him. He didn’t know what was wrong with her either. The girl led them back out to the carriage they had taken earlier.

“I thought you said the Queen was providing us with a place to stay.”

The lady-in-waiting scoffed at the question. “She is. That doesn’t mean she has to give you a room in the palace. Be grateful she is kind enough to do all that she has.”

The girl fell into a sullen silence and David and Jaym were left to wonder where they would end up. The carriage rolled out from the archway without guards this time. It turned out to be a quick ride this time. They were soon slowing to a halt just a few streets away from the palace grounds. Caelly waited for the footman to open the door and was helped down. David got out on the other side and saw that they had stopped in front of a large stone townhouse on a quiet street. The cobblestones in the road were well maintained and he could see a few well-dressed residents taking the air.

The house they had stopped in front of was three stories high with several chimneys visible. There was a bay window to the left of the front door and many more windows to either side and on the upper floors. It was all white and beige stone except the front door which was painted a dark green. As he walked around the carriage the door opened, and a young man exited the house. He bowed to Caelly and the footman but was unsure about David.

“This is Boland, the caretaker. He’ll walk you through the house and show you where everything is. This is David Winston, Boland. The Queen has decreed that he will be taking over ownership of Ilex House. Please do your best to accommodate his needs.” She turned to David as she was climbing back into the carriage, “The Queen will summon you when she calls the next council.”

She climbed in without another word and the driver got the horses in motion. In moments she was gone. Leaving David and his servant on the street with their meager pile of belongings. The young caretaker stood at attention waiting for orders. David picked up his backpack and the gunpowder barrel, while Jaym grabbed the rest.

“Ok, Boland, please show us around.” He bowed and went up the steps to open the door to the house for them.

The entryway was opened up to the second floor, he noticed a large chandelier above them. Dark hardwood floors stretched out in all directions. There was a large sitting room on the left, a staircase going up to the second floor on the right. A long hallway ran straight ahead to the back of the house. There was intricately carved crown molding in every room he could see, all painted white. The wallpaper was way too busy for his taste, full of floral arrangements and leaf patterns. Young Boland walked them through the house, the sitting area at the front of the house led into a library, followed by a dining room with a table big enough to sit twenty.

The caretaker explained that the kitchen and servants’ quarters were downstairs. The second floor held an office and the master suite. The rest of the bedrooms were on the third floor. There was an attic for storage and additional servants’ quarters. Out back was a small walled garden and stables. At the back of the property by the stables was a small carriage house.

“Why is the house empty? What happened to the owners?” David asked while they toured the kitchen on the lower level.

“The family died of the fevers m’lord. They were older and had just finished updating the inside of the house. No other family to take it on, so the Queen took possession when they died. Lots of houses like that in the city. I was assigned to look after it until another family bought it from the crown.” They found out that the caretaker was twenty-four, only slightly younger than his new boss. He had been in service in the palace when he had been asked to take over the management of Ilex House.

“What will you do now?” Every time he turned around it seemed; David was faced with a new social situation where he had no idea what he was expected to do. Would he have to hire a new caretaker if this one was employed by the Queen?

For the first time, Boland seemed nervous. “I ... could go back to the palace if you wish to bring in your own staff m’lord.”

“No, no. That won’t be necessary.” He reassured the younger man. “If you’re willing, I’d be happy to keep you on, at least until I’m settled here.”

“Thank you, m’lord.” He breathed a sigh of relief. A lot of servants would think he was crazy. The palace was the peak of service, working with the highest of high society. But he liked it better here. It was quiet and he would prefer to only have to work for one person.

“Are there any other servants in the house?”

Boland shook his head. “No, m’lord. It’s just me. Everyone else either died of the fever or went to work for other families. I’ve been here for two years. There’s room for six horses in the stables but only one is left, the others were taken by the crown. Apologies, sir, but the pantry is empty as well.”

He couldn’t cook so he took his meals at a tavern in the next neighborhood over. His main tasks were to maintain the garden, fix whatever needed it around the house, and feed and water the horse that was left.

So now David had a place to stay that wasn’t owned by a man who hated him. It was bare bones, even by the standards of this world. No food, one horse, and one young man to do everything. David knew he wouldn’t be able to cook here, and he didn’t want to have to walk six blocks away every time he wanted a bite to eat. He sat down at the prep table in the kitchen to think. He could ask the palace for assistance; the Queen would certainly oblige him. But it didn’t sit well with him to have to go crawling to the crown whenever he needed something. He was supposed to be the one helping them.

“Jaym, you can find the Leaping Horse from here, right?” he asked.

The boy smiled and nodded.

“Good. Go and get Rosha. If she can step out for a few minutes bring her back here.” She was the only other person he could think of that would know where to go to get some food in this town. Worst case he would get a fire going in the garden and cook boy scout style. At least then he wouldn’t burn his fancy new house down using the stove.

While he waited for his eager ward to come back, he went up to check out the master suite. There was a good-sized sitting area with a couch, a couple comfortable looking armchairs by the fireplace. A small table with two chairs was set up near the front windows. Double doors led into the bedroom itself. A four-poster queen sized bed rested against the back wall of the room. Wardrobe cabinets and dressers lined the walls. Windows on the left wall let in plenty of light. He tossed his backpack and sword belt onto the bed. Until he got the rest of his things out of the cave, it was all he had. He unbuckled the flintlock pistol and dropped it on the bed as well.