Envoy to Earth (15 page)

She seemed pretty proud of it,
but that was about her family having done all that work, he knew. Mainly
because Terry had moved over and made a point of handing him one of the things.
Petra got one too. Ger hadn't realized that the boy was just standing there,
along with Taman, following them around.

"I already entered both of
you into the system. Say, can you deliver some to Count Baker too? Um... I'll
have some other things for him, but... I can get some of these for other
people? If they want them? Your family, Petra?" He looked up at her, and
smiled, but looked away quickly enough that it was clear he was embarrassed.

She looked down at him, took in
his brown clothing, which was plain for the room, and then seemed to be
thinking about it all for a few seconds.

"That would... Go over
pretty well. Some for Richard, Connie and Varley. Count Peterson, Ward, Baker, Printer...
Actually, if you could just get a few for each County? The other lands
too..." She was ticking things off on her fingers, clearly making fun of
the boy, but it was also something that Gerent thought he understood that she
didn't yet. To her mind Terry was offering to deliver magics that were worth
tens of thousands of golds as gifts. Possibly to curry favor with powerful
people.

So adding more would be her way
of gently poking him for doing that. True, he might have been trying to do
exactly that. More to the point, he
should
be. Young or not. He was
going to be a Count some day, and it just made sense for him to make friends,
if he could. It was also clear that he liked the idea a lot.

"I'll need a few hours to
run that all up. Good plan, Petra. I... Is it all right for me to call you
that? Since you're going to be family? I don't actually know all the rules
there." He seemed a bit wide eyed, his young face pale. Like Tim was.

It was Patty that cleared it up
for him, which was good, since Gerent didn't know the rules there either.

"In public you should call
her Conserina Ward, unless you start dating or being seen together as a couple.
Then first names can be used. When in doubt, use a person's last name, like in
fleet or the military. Title too. If they have more than one, like you or
Gerent, use the highest rank first. So Prince Gerent, Princess Taman, High
Servant Erid, and so on. If you don't know, try to find someone who does and
likes you, and take them aside to ask first. If you can't do any of that, then
be as polite as you can and promote upward. There's almost no one that's called
Lord or Lady anything in particular, so those are good ones to use. The rules
are different
here
, naturally, since everyone just uses first names for
almost everything still. If you're making a point of giving away expensive
gifts to everyone like that, I suggest you run and do that though. If Gerent
and Petra will see to delivering them?" She smiled, and gave the boy a friendly
glance, then focused somberly on Ger.

He shrugged, feeling a bit lost,
with all he had to do.

"I'll do it. Petra actually
has teaching duties, which will start again in a few days. So, I agree with
Patty, if you can do it, we might as well start on those now." He was a
bit less than clear but they were all smart people and tracked what he meant.

Terry gave a single solid nod.

"I'll be back in three hours
then. I have those other things too. For Count Baker. I'll bring it all
here?"

Then, without waiting for a
response, he walked off, hurrying, but using his own feet. A lot of people were
floating a bit, at varying heights. Using mentally controlled Tor-Shoes for the
purpose. It was interesting to see. They were probably using their shields for
it, he knew, rather than individual devices. It was disconcerting, after a
fashion. On Earth only the wealthiest people, mainly Nobles, used magic at all
most days. People didn't even have magical lights on their homes.

Some wealthy merchants might, but
that was rare. Here, even small children all used magic freely. It made for an
interesting scene, as people in the other room all rushed around, guiding cases
and boxes into place on Sara's ship. From the way things looked, the woman was
going to have to make it bigger, if she hadn't already.

Yawning, he blushed, and patted a
hand over his mouth.

"Sorry, it's well after my
normal bed time. So, Karen Derring?" He looked around, but had to be
pointed in the right direction by Patty, who grinned.

"You aren't the only one to
change their looks, Gerent. She's there, next to Ali? The extra pretty
blonde?"

It took a bit for his mind to
make out what he was seeing. The woman didn't seem real, which threw him off.
He found Alyssa first, even if she were taller and thinner than she had been. Her
chest was still ample, and while a bit thinner, her face tended toward a
natural heart shape that was pretty enough. That was Tor's wife, so he knew her
too, if not as well as some people. Patty separated his hand from Petra's, a
little obviously, and dragged him over, with most of the people staying back.
That was nice. He was feeling a little overwhelmed by the press of bodies, as
fun as it was to see everyone again.

Petra was right behind them, but
everyone else stood and discussed other matters. Even Taman, who seemed to be
taking an active role in the whole thing, even if she was only seven.

When they got to Ali, she smiled,
and so did her older sister, Conserina First, Karen Derring. The lovely woman
was
also
a Knight of Noram and the commander of the High Servants, a
non-martial order dedicated to aid. Which, he realized, was something that he
needed. Whole bushels of it, if possible. So he bowed, going low, holding out
the letter for her. It was the last one he had on him, nearly. She plucked it
from his fingers and opened it, then read it quietly for about a minute.

"Just an update from the
King. Some minor trouble with some of the Servants.
Of course
. They all
know that I'm stuck here, so they aren't properly scared right now. Pet, can
you go and beat a few of them for me? That or drag them here, so I can do it?
King Richard is about to pull his hair out over it. Some of them are using
their positions to politic, which... Well, technically it isn't forbidden, but
they need to see to their
real
jobs first." Then she looked at
Gerent, and smiled warmly. A wave of interest came from her then. It triggered
an instant response from him, that made him feel very friendly toward her, he
realized. Not like how he normally felt with very pretty women, which was a bit
shy.

It was strange and odd. Magical,
nearly.

Ali cleared her throat.

"Karen has been changed so
that she dumps out chemicals that make people like her. Keep that in mind when
she asks you to run errands for her. It's pretty hard to say no. Do it however,
or she'll get used to thinking of everyone as her personal slave." There
was no glare with it, a rather personable smile being on the younger girl's
face instead. Ali was only about seventeen, he thought. Not old at all. She
made solid eye contact with him too, flirting enough that he understood what
she was doing.

Then she moved in and gave Petra
a hug. There was none for him, even if Patty had moved closer and intertwined
one of her arms with his left, and was hugging it to her chest. Protectively.
Probably so that Karen wouldn't grab him up for chores just then.

Alyssa looked at Patty and then
back at him.

"So, who's your friend,
Trice?"

Petra rolled her eyes, and looked
at the scene closely, then moved in and hugged Karen, doing it a lot more
warmly than she had Ali.

"My fiancé. Gerent
Lairdgren? I think you've met?"

That started several minutes of
squealing, and hugging, since Ali Baker was warm and friendly as a rule. People
stared and recorded them on their little devices, but she didn't seem to be
concerned with that in any way.

When she calmed down, Gerent
found that he'd been transferred to
her
arm, somehow, and that he was
being taken away, as Petra talked with Karen, who was, it turned out, her old
school roommate. Patty followed along, her eyes scanning the whole place
carefully. Like a guard for the King.

His sister-in-law let him go
after they got near a corner, and turned so that she was facing him directly.
Close enough that he was nearly certain he was supposed to kiss her. She didn't
move either, which made him feel uncomfortable. Not that he wouldn't touch her
or anything, since noble rules said he sort of needed to, if she wanted that.

"I need to ask you
something?" Her voice was a little breathy, uncertain and hesitant, almost
scared sounding.

Patty snorted.

"Seriously Ali? You see him
for ten minutes and try to get him into bed? Not that you
shouldn't
,
but... really, wouldn't that work better in private?"

The girl, who had a bit of a
reputation for not being hard to get into sexual situations, made a similar
sound back and then grinned.

"That
isn't
my
question, thanks so much, Trice. Besides, Tor wouldn't like that, since Gerent
is his brother. Even if adopted. I asked him, you know? Because there's no
blood connection, but it still stands. Which is a shame. Especially since I
could have both him and Petra, if not for that, at the same time." She
went dreamy seeming for a few seconds, then shook herself. It was all planned
it was clear, to make her seem air headed and like all she wanted in life was
sex. Anyone thinking that wasn't paying attention however. She was also a
builder. A wizard that created magical amulets, young or not. "No,
Gerent... I was hoping that I could get you to take some things to my older
sister? Heidi? I know that you're horribly busy, but..."

She didn't go on, just screwing
her mouth up and then shaking her head a little.

"Honestly, I don't think I
have anything that you want or need in exchange. She's Countess Derring, so you
should meet anyway."

That explained her nervousness,
didn't it? She wanted him to do things, but they didn't really use coin in
Harmony. Everyone just kind of got in line and was given what they needed or wanted,
if he had been told correctly. The thing there was that everyone seemed willing
to work too. At least they were loading the ship fast enough.

"Not a problem, I don't
think. Terry has me delivering some things to Count Baker, actually, to
everyone else too, nearly. So... I need to work out a plan as to how I'm going
to get things around. Aid first, and then double back around for the personal
things, letters and packages. I'm leaving in twelve hours. Eleven now, so if
you can have whatever it is ready by then?" He yawned again, which got her
to smile and dig at her neck.

"Ah! Maybe I
do
have
something to trade you for! Here, use this." It was a plain piece of cut
rock, polished on two sides, made into a disk. It was a plain gray, with small
pores in it, and had the word awake scratched into the surface in fairly decent
hand. It was on a fine gold chain, one that seemed to be made of braided wire,
rather than tiny loops. The whole thing was dropped in his hand and she
mimicked a tapping gesture. The universal sign that you were supposed to just
use a magical item.

He did it, wondering if it would
explode or something, but he just felt alert, suddenly. Like someone had
replaced all the tired in his body with energy. Blinking he smiled and tried to
give the amulet back, only to have the girl close her hands around his,
trapping the thing inside.

"No, keep it. I have loads
of them. I made it." She seemed proud of that fact, and he realized, that
she
should
. There were about a hundred really good wizards in the world,
or now, in the two worlds, and about half of them lived there, in Harmony. It
skewed the perception, since everything there was wondrous and a miracle, but
this little amulet was just as grand as anything, if not as flashy. "You
still need to sleep, but if you have to go for a few days without, this will
let you, without feeling tired. Is that a good enough trade?"

He nodded, and then dared to give
her a little hug. It was a friendly one however, not sexual.

"Considering I'm just
running errands for everyone anyway? Sure. It will
help
though. If I can
keep a clear head, maybe I can actually stay on top of all of this? I need more
bodies. Do you think that your sister, Commander Derring, will lend me some of
her High Servants? I have a promised commitment of some school kids from
Printer too, but nothing has been firmed up yet. Ideally I should be able to
just drop things off and have the aid delivered to everyone, but right now I
doubt that will happen. I'd probably put it down and the cases would just sit
there, with no one even using them. If they aren't stolen first." There
was a time when, if he'd found a box full of magic,
he
would have walked
off with it, wasn't there? Not that long ago, even. Now he didn't need to, but
the poor and desperate had to play by different rules, at least if they wanted
to ever be anything other than that.

So he needed help. From
somewhere. That probably wasn't going to be from the High Servants, he
realized, as the event wore on. Karen wasn't pleased with them at all, and had
been serious in her request of having Petra beat them into shape. To that end
she called for someone, a young man that arrived about half an hour later,
covered in a fine sheen of perspiration.

"Forgive my tardiness. I was
deep on Captain Debri's ship, loading, when you called. I thought I could get
here faster, but there were others in the way." He bowed, and made it
humble enough that Karen just waved it away.

"Don't worry Erid. I know
that you were working. Which is part of why I want you here. Lairdgren here is
running the aid delivery and allocation for Earth. The whole thing. He
mentioned wanting help. Would that I could give him a thousand of
you
,
or more, but I only have the one so far. Would you go with him and see that he
has whatever support you can offer?"