World Sphere - 224 -

Chapter 224:

Kiara sat beside me, her head level with mine as she gazed at the woman. She was prepared to use her powerful tier four confusion ability on her if she showed any signs of threat. I smiled and, instead of accepting the drink on the table, pulled my own from my dimensional closet and sipped it. “You asked for this meeting,” I indicated, signaling she should explain.

“I need you to drop all charges against Kyle,” she said directly. “I have given you ample reason to do so.” She opened her hands in a welcoming gesture.

“Actually, I paid for my own spells,” I said, slightly amused.

She frowned, put a finger to her temple, and then focused back on me a moment later. “I see. What is it that you want then?” She was excellent at hiding her temperament, and it had to be from extensive practice.

The woman had an air of authority about her, and I didn’t want to anger her as I suspected she could make my life very miserable in the Passage. The next closest Passage to Skyholme would take a month to reach with the Maelstrom. “I don’t understand the necessity for dropping the charges. The fine is much less than the spells would have cost.”

“Ah,” she said, relaxing in her plush chair and giving me the look you'd give to a naïve child. I felt something brush my aether fortress like a probe. Being linked to Kiara, she swatted it away from our shared mental space and rumbled a deep growl. Lady Elowen looked mildly surprised but continued. “Contracts. House Day, run by my father, is currently the seventh-largest dealer in aether crystals in the Passage. The fines are not the issue; it is the temporary suspension of our House’s interests that concerns us. Other Houses will look to leverage this incident against us for their own gain. I admit my son is a fool. He was upset you won the auction and was embarrassed when he couldn’t deliver them to the young woman he was courting.”

No matter how much I thought I was wealthy in Skyholme and the Sphere, I knew I was ant when it came to the amount of mithril, adamantine, and aether crystals that traded in the Passages. With House Day being an aether crystal broker, I could possibly leverage it to my advantage, but Lady Elowen just told me she was the seventh-largest broker. The attendant had called the Day House the eleventh most powerful in the consortium. I just wanted to wash my hands of this.

“I don’t consider myself petty, Lady Elowen. Consider the matter dropped,” I said, standing to leave. I was a cynical person and would much rather have the family owe me a favor than have me owe them one if I requested some outrageous compensation.

A brief shadow of surprise passed across her face. “That is most magnanimous of you, Storme Hardlight.” I could see her mind working. “Our House is having a gathering this evening, and Kyle can make you a formal apology in front of those gathered from the Houses. I also have a daughter who is much more—diplomatic than her brother.”

While seeing Kyle humbled in front of his peers was tempting, I did not do politics. “I have bad luck at gatherings of powerful people. I hope that my business transactions will not be impeded while I am here?” I bowed and left.

“Father, didn’t get anything for being attacked,” Kiara said as the elevator descended. She seemed more puzzled than anything.

The heavy aether pistol appeared in my hand, and I held it out for her to inspect. “I came away with a new toy,” I said as I sent my metal senses into the weapon. It was an incredibly advanced weapon. In the grip was a grid of dozens of small tier-seven aether crystals. The trigger seemed to be aether tech in controlling the amount drained from the crystals via a small knob on top of the weapon. It was easy to figure out which sections of the weapon were aether tech because the hair-thin wires were covered in adamantine. Due to the scale, there was not much adamantine in the weapon, but knowing how brutal the metal was to work, I wondered how it was made.

There were seven runic rings embedded in the barrel to focus and assist in the aim of the pistol. The runes on the rings were small but perfect as I inspected them—maybe machine-made. I could only guess at the effectiveness of the weapon and how many shots could be fired before it needed to be recharged.

The odd thing was that the only way I could recharge the pistol was through an exposed rune at the bottom of the grip—like the weapon was meant to sit in another device to be charged. With my aether control, I could do it myself, but it felt slippery, and I would need to go slowly. It would take me days to replicate the weapon, and there were some parts of the aether tech that I didn’t understand.

Before the elevator reached the ground floor, the weapon was back in my storage. Two city guards met me as I exited the building and told me they would escort me back to my skyship. I stayed on the main thoroughfare and only stopped to pick up a nice belt and holster made from a shadow drake hide. The hide was sourced from a dungeon, a few days from the Passage. I needed to produce the pistol so the craftsman could harden the leather with their magic to fit it perfectly.

I found everyone onboard the Maelstrom when I climbed the ramp. “I can't leave you alone for a second,” Bleiz grumbled.

“Didn’t Remy explain what happened?” I said, unsurprised by his snark.

“That you pissed off someone months ago, and they tried to get revenge? Seems to be habitual.” Bleiz retorted good-naturedly.

“Not in front of Freya. And I was never in any danger. They might have infinite wealth, but their combat skill are very lacking. The guards I fought were very soft.” I sat contentedly on a crate in the cargo bay. I tapped the crate. “Remy. Updates on trading this?”

“If I still only have two days…” I nodded, and he looked upset at being rushed. “I can unload everything, but not at the best prices. Was it House Day that you pissed off?”

“I didn’t piss anyone off. I just talked with one of their representatives, and we agreed to drop the matter,” I said, exasperated. Everyone was acting like this was my fault, and it was annoying me.

“A merchant from House Day sent a missive stating he was interested in purchasing our goods. Should I respond?” Remy asked.

I weighed the idea of letting them overpay for our goods as a thank you. We really did need the coin for the magitech. I was still waiting on a mage justice to find me and confirm I was dropping all charges. As if my thought had summoned her, the same mage justice was standing at the bottom of the Maelstrom’s ramp. “Justice Faerael, that was quick.” I walked down the ramp to greet her.

“I am efficient,” the elf woman said with a slight smirk. “I am here to confirm you wish to drop charges and make sure you have not been coerced or influenced to do so.”

“I met with Lady Elowen and thought it best not to make waves on our brief stay here,” I replied. I felt a wave of magic flood over me to confirm my words, and she nodded satisfactorily. “The Quintet’s judgment in your favor was 53,404 gold, but that is now forfeited if you are certain you wish to drop the charges.” She was thinking I might change my mind now that I knew the fine amount.

It had me reconsider briefly, but I had given my word. Remy looked the most pained of my companions. “Why is it so high?” I asked as I recalled she had given me a much lower estimate. Lady Elowen likely didn’t tell me the whole truth.

The mage justice tilted her head slightly. “Interference with city guards raised it to a tier four offense. The pair of guards who should have been alerted and responding to the encounter have been stripped of rank and exiled from Elespolis. Although you are dropping your assault charges, House Day will have no choice but to let Kyle Day take full accountability for the bribery or be sanctioned as a House.”

This was swift and harsh justice. “What is to be his fate?” I asked, slightly curious.

“His letter of judgment is being delivered as we speak. He will be teleported to Hanover, six hundred miles from the Passage. If he ever returns, he will face a life of servitude in the Passage’s mining operations. If you are certain,” she produced a heavy vellum page with text and runic writing on it, “place your hand here.”

As I laid my hand on it, an imprint of my hand formed on the vellum, and the mage justice rolled it up. She left me with a warning. “His mother will likely give Kyle Day significant resources to survive. He is a petty person. I suggest that if you see him outside the Passage, you kill him immediately. He will likely retain his three bodyguards.” The mage justice disappeared, a small pop left behind as air filled the void.

I looked at Remy. “I don’t know what House Day reaction is going to be. Don’t deal with them and sell everything tomorrow.” The pain in his eyes at not getting the best deal was there, but I felt it was best to finish our business and leave.

I fed the cats on the bridge and Adrial was upset that Kiara was able to come to my aide while she was not. I sat in the captain's chair and pulled out the aether tether spellbook. With this spell, I could apply tether to my loved ones and my companions. I had thoughts of summoning Adrial and Kiara to my side instantly to join a fight. It would take evolution to add more than one tether, but it would be worth it.

The ship was active all night as Remy ordered the Skyguard in the cargo hold to prepare for a busy day tomorrow of unloading the

The next day, Freya was upset I wouldn’t let her leave the Maelstrom to explore the city. I was upset as well, as I wanted to explore the auction houses, but we hadn’t heard anything from House Day, and I suspected they were upset that they were still being punished even though I dropped charges against Kyle Day. The Bleiz and my Skyguard escorted Remy to finalize deals and by the afternoon, a steady stream of stevedores and merchants arrived to confirm inventory and load crates. Remy looked on apoplectic.

“How did we do?” I asked to take him out of his daze.

Remy looked at me. “The artifacts sold best, but I still think I could have gotten 20 to 25% more if we had let word spread about the quality. The frost mead sold for twice what I was expecting, and we should have brought more unique foodstuffs. There is a massive demand among the elite in the Passage. Imports barely keep up with consumption, and there are millions of wealthy consumers throughout the Passage,” Remy said reverently.

“Bottom line?” I asked.

Remy handed me a ledger sheet with immaculate handwriting. He spoke as he pointed things out. “This column is just what I was hoping to get for the good. This is column is the sale, this one the local taxes and this column is revenue.” I scrolled down to the summation and nodded. Most of the revenue came from my artificing work, but other goods had done well in terms of margins according to Remy’s projections.

“It will do,” I said, handing it back. Almost 300,000 gold was a substantial sum to be added to what I had in my dimensional closet.

It took hours to clean out the Maelstrom, and the entire time, a pair of the justice’s guards stayed behind to watch us. I didn’t see that as a good sign and was already thinking that next time I come to the Sapphire Passage, it would be in a different ship and in disguise. At least with the ship being cleaned out, I was able to reclaim my cabin.

All the payments were deposited in an account that Remy set up at the conglomerate bank in the Passage. The card was keyed to Remy and I would have to be added as the primary holder. With the last crate offloaded, counted, and hauled away, we were free to depart. I had half expected another visit from either Lady Elowen Day or Justice Faerael, but neither arrived.

We all crowded onto the bridge to see the sights as I piloted the Maelstrom. I had to circle the edge of the Passage to reach Temescrest city on the other side. The vast pit that was the Passage had an infinite depth, lined with millions of lights. The moving lights were skyships and starships traveling between the inner and outer Sphere. Each structure built into the walls had its own light as well. Docks for ships, farms, residences, factories, and processing plants were plentiful to support the cities on the inner and outer rims.

Remy had secured a platform for our small ship on one of the taller buildings in Temescrest, which he expertly directed me to following the traffic pattern. “It looks expensive,” Freya said from the bridge as I gently set us down.

Remy looked slightly guilty. “It was, but it has some of the best security in the city. It is more of a hotel for tourists, but I figured we could stay on the Maelstrom for the next week while we talked to vendors.”

“Why do you need magitech? Why not just buy another skyship with the gold?” Freya asked.

“Remy, if you think the security is good, get us a suite then. Remy you can explain to Freya what magitech is,” I deferred to his expertise since he had been studying it since I told him about the trip.

Remy looked excited to reply to his knowledge, and I sent Bleiz to pay off the docking fees while I locked down the Maelstrom, using my metal shaping to sabotage the ship and prepare to retrieve the aether crystals. If no one was going to be left on board, I was taking the synced crystals with us.

“Freya, aether tech blends aether and technology.” Freya rolled her eyes at Remy. “Technology uses two things that aether interferes with, gravity and electricity. Any devices made with those principles need insulator and runic controls to function within the Sphere.”

“Why not just find a really good artificer and not use technology at all,” Freya said, looking at me.

Remy smiled like he had caught Freya in a trap. “Technology is much better at storing information, for one. I read that entire libraries can be stored in crystals the size of my hand. There is tech that can make math calculations in seconds that would take me days. There…” Remy continued talking as I left the bridge to remove the aether crystals.

The building we had landed on was called the Ascendant Sphere, and was apparently a chain of hotels run by the dwarf House of Hearthfire. Remy was right in his appraisal in getting a room, much less a suite, I opted for. While the docking fee was modest, the six-room suite was almost nine hundred gold a day. I rationalized the expense due to the added security.

The suite was lavish with twenty-foot curved white ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, and tasteful furniture. Adrial and Kiara went straight to the window to watch ships, people, and creatures flying through the buildings below us. We even had a partial view of the Passage below. Every now and then, a massive metal ship emerged or dove into the tunnel. Since the Passage itself was thousands of miles across, we could only see ships clearly when they were close to Temescrest. I used my telescopic eye spell to zoom in on distant ships. They were mostly metallic, and I assumed they could leave the Sphere. This was actually the perfect place to level up this spell.

I settled into one of the chairs and found it firm, supporting my body perfectly. It pulled heat from my body until it reached the ideal temperature. I tried to find the controls with my metal sense, but the only feedback I was getting was organic. I tried not to dwell on it as I pulled out the aether tether spellbook to study for a time while everyone else wandered the suite in astonishment. Remy was still trying to explain aether-tech to Freya as the Skyguard searched the rooms. Bleiz entered last, having scouted the floor we were on.

Bleiz settled into the chair next to mine and immediately jumped up as it tried to form to his body. Remy laughed, “It is a docile mimic, specially bred to be vegetarians and maintain this shape.” I was unsettled as I knew mimics were deadly creatures, but this chair was so comfortable.

Bleiz looked at the chair and shook his head, committing to not using it again. “Are the beds mimics too?” He asked worriedly.

Remy went to a large book on the table and paged through it. The book detailed the amenities in different languages. Since Skyholme spoke Sphere standard, it was the first language in the book. Remy found what he was looking for. “No. But there are simple artificed thermal controls.” Bleiz looked relieved and sat at a high-back black wood chair.

Freya said excitedly as she took over paging through the book from Remy. “We can order food from the suite and it will be delivered to us! Can we order something?”

I consented with a nod as this felt a bit like a vacation now. “Order something for everyone. And it better be a meal and not boxes of chocolate candy,” I warned.

That turned out to be a mistake, as Freya ordered a huge variety of entrees and desserts. I scolded myself for not thinking clearly. Remy had told me food was very expensive in the Passage. When the food arrived, the well-groomed dwarf server in all white clothes handed me the bill as five other dwarves similarly attired brought in a train of platters. The total was the cost of four nights in the suite!

I didn’t show the bill to Remy as I handed over the platinum coins. Tomorrow, Remy and I will be spending hundreds of thousands of gold on aether-tech anyway.

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