What Milsy Did -26-

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Domestic matters occupy Milsy's morning but lunch time bring unexpected and unwelcome news, that those of Yod have invaded Joth. Rumors naturally fly around the palace and Milsy struggles to concentrate. At the evening meal, Robanar brings further information.

What Milsy Did

by Penny Lane

26 - Distant Drums


Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2017 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.



Milsy greeted Robanar and Terys in the dining room. "Good morning, Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

Terys smiled at her. "Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well last night?"

"I did, Ma'am, though I woke early thinking about some of the projects we have going."

"You are a busy girl, much as Garia is. You must try to manage what you do, lest you become tired and start making mistakes."

"Aye, Ma'am, I understand that." Milsy's nose wrinkled. "Having Her Highness here isn't helping, though."

"Dear, she will soon settle down and you will wonder what caused all the fuss. You will see."

Robanar seemed distracted. Milsy asked, "Sire, is something the matter?"

The King ran his hand through his hair. "As Garia would say, my dear, yes and no. This morning I found a note from the Treasury which I overlooked yesterday evening, it warns of problems with receipts and demands for coin to fund projects." He smiled at Milsy. "One of the projects mentioned was that of the palace clocks, and I do not care to change my mind about having them installed, especially after considering the several words of approval I have heard from the palace staff."

The smile changed to a frown. "But such expense does stretch our treasury and I must needs consult with others about ways to improve our income. On the other hand, Garia's income, to my embarrassment, is now disturbingly close to that of my own. The treasury note complains that more clerks are now employed to attend her funds than attend the royal funds, despite the improvements brought by the use of the Garian numbers."

Terys suggested, "Perhaps it is now time, dear, for Garia to employ her own clerks and accountants. Even though she resides in the palace she does, after all, run the house of a noble, it would be appropriate."

Robanar nodded. "Aye, my dear. I will speak to her after she returns."

"As you say." Terys raised an eyebrow. "Remember, husband, that we have a visitor, and that she will require much of your attention. With both Keren and Garia returning, and, by all accounts, bringing further change with them, we must ensure that the simple matters of income and expenditure do not become lost in the confusion."

"Indeed. It would not do for the palace to run out of coin."

"Sire," Milsy said, "Master Parrel speaks of like problems with the Metalsmiths' Guild Treasury. It seems we are also beset by demands for coin, to fund all the new development taking place."

Robanar winced. "That is not good news to hear, my dear. Is there no remedy?"

"Aye, Sire, the sale of paper is very strong and there is also income from items like forks. The problem is, this is a steady small stream of income and what Master Parrel calls capital amounts are required for, say, the building of a factory. It is the problem of the avian and the egg. First we must build the factory to make the products which we may then sell to fund the building of the factory."

Robanar nodded. "As you say, my dear. We have spoken of similar puzzles in council."

Terys murmured, "Garia has the coin, dear."

"Aye, but we may not appropriate it from her, that would be unjust, would it not? When she returns, we will speak of such matters, until then we will just have to be careful."

Eriana appeared, attended by Gullbrand, Lars and her two maids. She approached the group and curtseyed.

"Good morrow, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Mistress Milsy."

Terys replied, "Good morning, dear. Good morning, Master Gullbrand. I see you have brought your armsman with you today."

"Ah, Ma'am, if I may ask a boon."

"Dear?"

"If Lars may join Gullbrand at table, Ma'am. He does not yet speak the Valley tongue and he finds it difficult as he is alone in the servants' dining hall. Everyone else would be in here with me."

"Why, I suppose so, dear." Terys turned to Robanar. "Dear?"

"He may attend the dining hall for our usual meals," Robanar decided, "though that may not be a suitable place for him when we receive visitors, I deem." He turned to Eriana. "My dear, I may have to reconsider when our son and daughter return from the north, there may be too many for a place to be available for him then."

Eriana curtseyed. "Of course, Sire. I saw spaces for more chairs but I did not remember that some were away traveling." She had a thought. "It is possible that Lars may serve at table, Sire, though he has not been trained for it. My maids may be able to tell him enough to be of use."

Robanar raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? He is an armsman, is he not? I do not think he will be pleased to be asked to wait at table. Tell him, tell him that his circumstances are unusual and that we would not consider table service to dishonor him."

Eriana's expression changed but Milsy couldn't decide what it meant. The Princess turned to Lars and they held what sounded like a tense conversation. Milsy noticed that the eyes of the two maids widened at what they were hearing. Eventually Gullbrand decided that they had delayed breakfast long enough and spoke sharply to Lars, who bowed and became silent.

Eriana said, "Sire, Ma'am, Lars is reluctant to do as I command, for the reasons you suggested. However, he has agreed that it may be better than the alternative."

Terys replied, "He will understand in time, I think. For now, he may sit with Gullbrand, as we have just agreed. Now, let us take our seats, I am becoming hungry and I would think the King is too."

As they moved off to find their seats Tarvan hurried into the room to join Milsy as she found a place at one of the other tables.

"Good morning, Milsy. Sorry I'm late."

"Good morning, Tarvan. You just missed an interesting conversation, though I have no idea what it meant."

"Oh?"

Milsy told him of the confrontation and then went on to other matters as the food was served.

"The King is also worried about the Treasury, Tarvan. The amount of extra expense our projects cost is becoming a problem."

Tarvan nodded. "Aye. I doubt any of what we - and Lady Garia, of course - have done was considered when the King drew up his budget for this year. The extra work we have caused, having cabinets made for the clocks, buying the materials for clocks and wires, has to come from somewhere."

"Do they not have some kind of reserve?"

"Of course, but that is there in case of things like fires or floods or some other kind of disaster. I doubt any of it was intended for new ventures like those we have done in the palace." He grimaced. "Our guild has a like fund, though some of that may be used for starting new projects, until they can fund themselves. Unfortunately, most of that fund was used building the furnaces which will take time to repay the outlay. It was also used for the new paper factories, but those have long since repaid for themselves, as have the extra resources we needed to produce forks for everybody."

Milsy lowered her voice. "Is the palace a suitable place for making our experiments, Tarvan? Should we not consider moving out, somewhere like Pakh Lane, perhaps? That would relieve Their Majesties of some of the expense of having us here."

"That could be... awkward, Milsy. Did you forget who you resemble? I doubt either King or Queen would consent to you moving to anywhere outside the palace, unless it be back to Dekarran."

Milsy grimaced in turn. "I regret that sometimes I do forget, Tarvan. There are both advantages and disadvantages to living in the palace, as you know. Resembling Garia is a different kind of problem for me, though. Should I let my hair grow longer, do you think? Perhaps some face paint, to make me look different? Tell me, what do you think will happen when she returns to the palace? Will my services still be required?"

Tarvan shrugged. "I could not say, Milsy. Lady Garia has been away for some weeks, there have almost certainly been developments or other changes as she traveled. Her own hair style may have changed! I think that you will have to hold yourself in readiness for at least a few days after she returns, before the King may consent to any change in your status - or appearance." He flicked a finger at the royal table. "Besides, you have other duties now, apart from your guild work. Are you not to learn more of Her Highness?"

Milsy looked around them. Their table was not crowded this morning but several of the palace staff were in clear earshot.

"I'm not supposed to be spying on her, or anything like that, I'm merely to use my natural abilities to interpret what little she has told us," she replied with a warning glance. "Since she mostly speaks in that odd language of theirs, I haven't been able to find out much at all. I'm not sure the King is going to be impressed by what I know, Tarvan."

"Oh."

"Let's talk about something else. Do you remember that experiment I was doing with the distance switches?"

"Aye. There is some problem?"

"Aye, and it is a strange one. We can take a look after breakfast if you're not busy."

"As you wish, though I should not spend too much time in the laboratory today. What sort of problem is it?"

"Well, you see -"

* * *

Tarvan scratched his chin. "You're right, it is odd. How are you managing to make that solenoid click when the two circuits don't even touch?"

"No idea. I think I'm going to have to leave that one until Garia gets back. I'm sure we both have many questions for her, don't we?"

"Oh, aye! As we have experimented we have uncovered many strange things she did not mention, but of course she might not have known to mention them at the time. We know, also, that her knowledge of this subject is not great and that there is probably much more that those on her world could teach us. Still, it is only a few more days and then she will be with us again, perhaps to solve some of these mysteries. Are you looking forward to seeing her again? I know I am."

"I am, Tarvan. I met her for just a few brief days and under very strange circumstances but she has a certain air about her, does she not? I know that I was sent here because of a physical resemblance, I just hope that when the time for playing a part has ended I will be found worthy enough to work with her."

He grinned. "I think you should have no fear of that, Milsy! You may not have all her knowledge - yet - but you have other abilities Palarand needs. I'm sure you two will enjoy a long friendship once things settle down."

She was doubtful. "If you say so."

Tarvan cast his gaze around the huge chamber. "I don't think we've made too much mess in here, have we?"

"As you say. I have tried to keep to the two benches that were cleared though we have used some more space on the floor."

"Batteries and bags of coal. The improved steam engine and generator." He spun. "What about -?"

Milsy said, "Even our original master clock has gone, the parts to be used elsewhere. All that is left is some holes in the wood that Bassen tells me are easily filled."

"Aye. It makes sense to me, now, that the master clock should be near the Great Clock. I understand that Bayorn is even considering linking the two, now that the world has not ended. And your re-use of the battery box, to make part of the repeater cabinet, that was very clever. Now we can run the wires to the Large Training Room as the captain desires, and possibly further, down to the barrack blocks and stables."

Milsy hesitated. "I think I'd like to take another look at those plans of the palace, Tarvan, before we make promises to anybody. We still have this long wire problem to understand before I would consider doing anything that ambitious."

"Aye, you are right." He grinned. "We can wait a few days, surely, until our questions are answered."

"But then, I have no doubt that we will be faced by new projects. There will be little time for clocks, though I deem that the palace guildsmen could probably do what is needful."

"As you say." His attention returned to their immediate location. "I wish we could have found time to have a look under some of the other benches but there just wasn't time, we have been far too busy."

"Aye." Milsy frowned. She pointed. "What about that wooden box of yours?"

Tarvan shook his head. "Another mystery. When Lady Garia explained how such cooling boxes worked I understood it perfectly but once constructed it has never worked and I have no idea why. I'll just have to wait until she returns and tells me what I did wrong."

"We have a few moments, Tarvan. Why not explain it to me and see if I can find an answer?"

"As you wish."

The two walked around the benches to stand beside the box.

"These coils," he pointed, "are intended to contain a liquid which is supposed to boil and to freeze at lower temperatures than water does. For this experiment, Lady Garia suggested alcohol, though there are apparently other liquids which may be more suitable. The liquid runs round here and then inside the box, where -"

* * *

The two returned to the Family Dining Room for lunch, both instinctively looking at the clock to be certain it was still working.

"That's good," Tarvan remarked. "I know the men had to change the batteries today and it seems that everything worked as it should."

"As you say. I did my best to make sure that the batteries in their boxes could only be inserted one way, and that both doors couldn't be opened at the same time." Milsy gave Tarvan a knowing look. "You know and I know that somebody will find a way to make something go wrong whatever precautions we take."

He gave her a wry grin. "Aye. It is something that every apprentice is made to understand, that whatever you may do, some idiot will find a way to undo it. That's why we make sure that anything we make can be taken apart and repaired or rebuilt by a competent guildsman. I was not impressed by Bayorn's clocks when I first saw them but I understand his reasons, to prevent the untutored, guildsman or no, from interfering when they should not."

"Aye, but those were easy enough to understand once I saw the insides."

"Easy for you, you mean. Ah, the King and Queen."

Everybody stopped and bowed or curtseyed as the royal couple entered. Almost immediately following them came Merek, who looked shaken.

"Sire! I have grave news."

Robanar turned. "What is it? Is it Keren and Garia?"

"No, Sire, I have news from upriver. Shall I tell you now or will you wait until after lunch?"

"Speak now, speak softly. If it is grave news I would know immediately but we must not alarm these others."

The two leaned their heads together and Milsy could see Merek explaining something. Robanar straightened up abruptly.

"What!"

"Sire, please. I do not believe there is immediate danger, we are far away from the attack."

Robanar beckoned. "Explain."

There was another huddle. The last few diners entered the hall and stood uncertainly near the door, since the exchange had alarmed everybody inside and it was plain on their faces that something had happened. Finally the King turned and held up a hand for attention.

"My people, Captain Merek has just given me some grave news. Seven days ago, the city of Joth was invaded by those of Yod." There was a gasp from many in the room. "A number of the city watch were killed in the attack. The message we received is but an early warning and gives few details more."

Robanar took a breath. "Do not be alarmed. We are far from Joth and, even if those of Yod essay an expedition to Palarand, it will take them time to organize it, time which we will use to rouse our defenses. Be easy in your minds, go about your duties and I must warn you all not to spread rumors about what I have just told you. We do not need unnecessary alarm in the palace at a time like this."

He looked around at those present. "Let us eat, I am hungry. Merek, I'll need you this afternoon and I'll have to send for Forton, of course. We must needs raise the levies as quickly as we may." He spotted Eriana. "My dear, we have just received unpleasant news but it should not directly affect you or your party. Shall you sit by me?"

Eriana curtseyed. "As you command, Sire. If I may ask you to explain as we eat? I know nothing about the countries of the Great Valley."

Milsy felt Tarvan take her arm and lead her to one of the other tables. "Come. This should not concern us directly either."

As he held out a chair for her she asked, "Are you so sure, Tarvan? Suppose the King asks you to go to war? You are of the right age."

He straightened, alarmed. "I never thought of that. Um, I do not know, Milsy, how such things are decided." He smiled. "I deem I would not be in great danger if I was called to do my duty. Remember what I once said? If I had not met Lady Garia I would probably still be hammering arrow heads. True, it has been some while since I last beat out such items, but I think that is the kind of service they would require of me."

"I forget you started out as a true smith," she said, "but surely you are more than that now. Come, sit and we can work out how best we may serve our country while we eat."

As the servants set out the first dishes he asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, we know things about electricity, do we not? There may be some way which we can make use of it should anything happen."

Tarvan was dubious. "I don't know, Milsy. You are thinking of some kind of signaling device, are you not? Even if we could design something it would take time to make and test, and it would require enormous lengths of wire which we do not have yet. Of the things that Lady Garia has given us so far, I think the most useful would be the semaphore, but that does not use electricity. Telescopes? Aye, of course. Steam engines... I do not think so, unless they could be used to pump out flooded ditches or something. There is certainly no time to consider other uses. Forks? Aye, every soldier should take a fork with him, it will make eating his food so much more convenient."

Everybody at all the tables could talk of nothing else, which was no surprise to Milsy. However, most discussions went round and round since the available information was so limited. When everybody rose, Merek joined them for a moment.

"Captain? How may we help?"

"Mistress, you spoke some few days ago concerning an alarm system for the palace."

Milsy got the point immediately. "You want something put in place in case there is trouble."

"Mayhap. What we have learned so far may come to nothing since we are so far away, but since we do not know the reasons why those of Yod did this thing we must make plans. His Majesty has asked me about the security of the palace and grounds and I remembered your comment about alarms using electricity. If you would provide plans for that which you described, together with some estimates of men, time and materials needed to install such a system." He held up a hand. "I do not think that we need to install such a system immediately, but it would be useful to know what would be required should His Majesty decide to proceed."

Tarvan raised an objection. "Captain, this morning we discussed the shortage of funds for the projects we have already undertaken."

"Ah. Do not concern yourselves over costs, Master Tarvan. If we do decide to install such an alarm system in the palace the cost would be met from war reserves. If Yod were to come so close to Palarand, other rules would be used to determine any spending required."

Milsy asked, "Can we at least make a prototype system, Captain? I can't tell you how much it would cost, or how long it would take, until I know what such a system would consist of."

"Aye, of course. But remember, we may never require a new alarm system at all. What we already have may prove sufficient. It has done so in the past."

She nodded. "I understand, Captain. We'll see what we can do."

Tarvan said, "You'll see, you mean. I am off to Teldor in the morning."

"Aye. Oh." She gave a small smile. "It will give me something to do in the evenings, I deem."

"Until His Highness and Lady Garia returns. Once that happens you won't have time to sit down and think."

"That's the truth."

Merek looked startled. "His Highness and Lady Garia! I had momentarily forgotten their party." He shook his head. "They should encounter no trouble, I deem. They have many armsmen with them and the King has insisted that they are provided with an escort from every noble they stay with along their way home. Since Dekarran will be the last, I cannot believe that His Grace would not provide them with a large and competent escort."

"Captain, will they know about Joth in Dekarran?"

"I assume so, Mistress." He frowned. "I will check with the messenger just who has been informed. Of course, His Majesty will be sending out warnings of his own to all nobles. It will be necessary since it is they who will provide the larger part of the levies he mentioned."

"Thank you, Captain. Um, I believe the King awaits your company."

Robanar and Terys were standing waiting by the door. With a nod to Milsy and Tarvan, Merek turned and followed them out into the corridor.

Tarvan turned to Milsy. "Shall you manage? Should I put off my journey to Teldor?"

She waved an arm. "Don't worry about me, Tarvan. You should go. Those wire factories could be important to any war effort."

He looked unhappy. "Unless they all get closed down and the men drafted off to fight."

"Oh! I never thought of that. I don't know much about what will happen, I can't remember any time that Palarand has been at war."

"Indeed not, most of the Great Valley has been peaceful for many years now. The most recent problem to concern Palarand was that of river pirates, but that did not involve levies being raised or anything like that."

"Still, you must go to Teldor, Tarvan. As the King said, we don't know what might happen and nothing might. We could all be getting upset for no reason."

"As you say."

The two went to the laboratory and puzzled over their existing problems with little result. Finally Milsy gave up and spent some time attempting to design the required alarm system, based on what they had already achieved with the clocks.

"I'll have to leave you now," Tarvan said. "I have to make sure my packing is complete before I leave in the morning."

"Oh, okay. I'll see you at dinner?"

"Aye." He grinned. "Okay?"

Milsy looked flustered. "It just came out, Tarvan! I don't know what made me say it, but it sounds right, does it not?"

"It did and it does. I think that is one word from Earth which is already accepted around the palace."

"It wasn't the first and I strongly doubt it will be the last. See you later, Tarvan."

As Tarvan walked off Bursila turned to Milsy. "I have learned many, many new words since I came to the palace, Mistress. Some are new ones, some are undoubtedly from Earth and others are old words given new meanings."

Milsy stopped and thought. "As you say! Our speech might sound very different in a few years time if this continues. I do not know if that is good or bad."

"Some of the new words are necessary, Mistress, such as electricity and battery, but is there nobody who orders our words? It did not occur to me before, but who decides such things?"

"No idea, Bursila. Mayhap there is some Questor somewhere in a chamber that looks like the study next door -" Milsy pointed, "- who decides if a word is good or not, I do not know. Perhaps that is something that someone at the new college should consider."

She looked around the room and then at the drawings on the blackboard. "I've had enough of this, Bursila, and I find I cannot concentrate. Let us go and change. Mayhap by the time we get to the dining room there will be more news."

* * *

Because she had changed early, Milsy was one of the first to arrive for the evening meal. She spent her waiting time watching the servants setting out the tables and chairs, inspecting the clock and admiring the clear glass in the courtyard doors. A few more people turned up and then Eriana appeared, leading her party.

"Milsy! Good evening."

Milsy and Bursila curtseyed. "Good evening, Your Highness. If I may be of assistance?"

"You cannot help me, I regret. I am having trouble adjusting to such a strange place. I never imagined a building could be so large! Earlier we became lost attempting to find Gullbrand's chamber."

"Ah, I know what you mean! When I first came to the palace -"

Hmm. I don't think I'd better tell her about my mapping expeditions, Captain Merek would have a fit if the Princess decided to do the same thing!

"- I had a lot of trouble, too," she finished smoothly. "Fortunately, there are usually enough servants around to help you find where you want to go."

"You are right, that is what happened to me, some cleaning woman was able to point the way. Now," she changed the subject, "tell me, do you know aught of this latest news? At lunch I was not able to obtain a clear description, His Majesty was too preoccupied."

"I'm afraid that I probably know little more than you do, Highness. I'll tell you what I do know, though. Along the Great Valley, the countries are arranged in a long line, each in a bend in the river."

"Are the bends so large, then, or are the countries so small?"

"I am told the river winds all the way from side to side, so they could be reasonably large, aye." Milsy shrugged. "Highness, I do not know what you would consider large or small."

"Hmm. As I only know Einnland, I could not really say." Eriana favored her with a rare smile. "It was not a sensible thing to ask, was it?"

"As you say, Highness. Well, it's like this. Palarand is said to be big, since the river moved during a great storm two hundred years ago and cut through the part that joined it to the north side. That meant that the loop which went around Palarand would eventually dry up. The two countries either side of here, Kendeven and Brikant, decided to join with Palarand since they would soon be all one bit of land. None of the other countries are as big as Palarand, or so I have been told."

"Ah, I see." Then Eriana frowned. "But what of Joth?"

"All I know is that Joth is a long way along the river, behind several other countries from here. Those who attacked it are said to come from Yod, which is even further away." Milsy shook her head. "Tarvan explained some of this to me but I'd probably need to see a diagram, a drawing -"

"A map, you mean?"

"Aye, a map, that's right! Otherwise talk of countries and bends in the river means very little."

Eriana pointed at the clock. "Yet you can think of something like that."

Milsy grimaced. "But I had somewhere to start from, Highness. I had already taken apart and rebuilt other clocks before I designed that one. The countries of the Great Valley, well, I know the names of some and that's about all, I'm afraid."

"That is more than I do, Milsy." Eriana looked frustrated. "I require information, and everyone is too busy to provide it to me."

"I would offer to help, Highness, but presently I am as busy as they. With Tarvan departing tomorrow for Teldor, I will have little time to spare for anyone."

"Where is this Teldor? Is it part of Palarand, then?"

"Aye, Highness. To reach the part of Palarand that is not in the Great Valley you must needs cross the Sirrel to Dekarran, which is a great castle that guards the valley of the Palar. That's on the north side of the river. I was born and brought up in the castle there, so I know that much. If you then travel up the valley of the Palar, less than a day's travel will bring you to Teldor. In the summer, in clear air, you can see Teldor from the top of the castle walls."

"Teldor is so close, then?"

"Um, Dekarran is very high and it sits on top of a great rock. I have no idea how high it must be but I do know that there is a tower there from which you can see a long way in every direction. It is from there that Teldor can be seen. In fact, I believe that you can even see Joth from the top, should the weather be clear." Milsy added, "Highness, my station was in the lower parts of the castle and I can only tell you what others have told me. One day, I would wish to return there myself and learn more, but for now that is about all I can tell you. My apologies."

Eriana stared at Milsy. "This is so annoying! Milsy, I cannot expect you to tell me more than you know and I do not know how much you know. Everyone is busy because danger threatens but no-one can tell me what the danger is!" The stare turned into a glare as she ground out, "It seems I have no choice but to wait."

Having heard the Princess shout in the corridors Milsy was unsure whether she ought to make a hasty withdrawal or not. Remembering that she only answered to the Queen, she curtseyed and took the opportunity to step back.

"Highness, it is what we all must needs do. I trust the King, he will keep us all as safe as it is possible for him to do. Mayhap some new information will come when the King or Captain Merek arrive for the evening meal."

Fortunately for Milsy, it was Merek who appeared first, having an intense discussion with Vern. The Quadrant banged his chest with a fist and departed so Milsy took a chance and approached him, with a curious Eriana following. Attempting to manage the conversation, Milsy spoke first.

"Captain! As you know, I had no chance to learn about the countries of the Sirrel when I lived in Dekarran. Would it be possible, do you think, that I could look at a map? Surely there are such things in the palace."

Merek looked up and saw Eriana closing in on Milsy. "I regret, Mistress, that will not be possible today. All maps of the Great Valley have been borrowed by the Guard while His Majesty considers the situation."

"Of course. If I may ask, what is the situation? We have learned nothing more since lunch time. Has any further news arrived? I do not seek any detailed information, merely to learn what danger there might be to Palarand itself."

The Captain nodded. "I understand you, Mistress. Highness, you will also seek some reassurance about matters you probably have little knowledge of, but alarm you."

Eriana agreed, "As you say, Captain. I know not of Joth or any country in the Great Valley other than Palarand and Plif, and even those two are still mysterious to me."

"Indeed. Know you both, then, that Joth is an island country beyond Smordan. From Palarand, one would travel first to Brikant, which is now part of the Kingdom of Palarand, then cross the Sirrel to arrive at Brugan. From Brugan one would cross the river once more to get to Virgulend and once again to reach Smordan."

At this point Merek lifted up his hand and began mentally counting while moving his fingers.

"Aye, that's right. Beyond Smordan, as I have said, lies Joth, and then it would be Forguland and beyond them Ferenis. If one should cross the Sirrel west of Ferenis that would bring you to Yod, but Yod is presently at war with Ferenis." He lowered his hand and looked at the women. "So you see, what has happened is a long way away from Palarand, several days travel. Yod is three countries away from Joth and Joth is four countries away from Palarand." He shrugged. "As for new information, there is yet little. Naturally, we seek to understand why those of Yod have done this thing and what their next move, if any, might be."

Eriana asked intently, "Is there any danger to ourselves? Or mayhap to the Prince?"

Merek tried to defuse her anxiety with a smile. "Highness, as I have explained, they are a long way away. I cannot see any way in which either ourselves or the Prince's party would be in any danger. You may rest assured that we are taking all the precautions that we may, to ensure that Palarand stands ready should Yod attempt to come closer to us."

"Precautions?"

"Highness, we will raise the levies, by which I mean that a selection of able-bodied men will be collected from all parts of our country and made ready should war approach. They will be issued uniforms, armor and weapons and a certain amount of training may be given if the weather permits."

"Ah, I see. A war call, we would name it in Einnland, though there we would be fighting one town against another. Thank you, Captain."

"My pleasure, Highness. I regret that I am unable to offer either of you any more at the moment, as you can see we are all scrambling to discover what this unexpected move might mean for us all. Perhaps once we have more definite news, and more definite ideas what our responses might be, I will be able to explain in more detail."

"Thank you, Captain," Eriana said again. "Of course, I am merely a visitor to Palarand so what has happened should not concern me directly. However, I am the daughter of a King and it is natural that I would wish to know what happens in the lands around me, wherever I am."

"As you say, Highness." Merek thought and turned to Milsy. "Mistress, it has occurred to me that His Majesty might have need of your special abilities."

"Me? Captain, I know nothing of the arts of war. Though Garia and I look alike she has those abilities, not me."

"Of course, Mistress, but it is not of the arts of war that I speak, but of the other needs of those who must organize the war. I know, from looking at yonder clock, that you can discern the underlying principle behind what was a mechanism strange to you, I wondered if you might be able to do the same with, say, the plan of a field of battle."

Milsy was surprised. "Why, Captain, I really could not say. I never considered such a thing! Of course, if His Majesty considers that I may help to provide for the safety of himself and his subjects then I would be honored to do so."

Merek bowed. "Thank you, Mistress. Since Lady Garia came among us we find it necessary to remind ourselves that our women folk may offer much more than we previously assumed."

At that point Robanar and Terys appeared and Merek gave Eriana and Milsy another bow before joining the royal couple. Eriana spun to Milsy.

"What means he? I have heard several speak of Lady Garia but she is not here. She is -"

Before Milsy could reply Robanar held up a hand and the room turned to give him their full attention.

"My people! Many of you will have heard at lunch the alarming news we received, that Yod had invaded Joth. I can give you further news, so recently arrived by messenger that only myself and the Queen have yet read it. It seems that those of Yod have taken the city of Joth, ignoring the whole of the rest of that land. In taking the city, they expelled all of those living within the walls to fend for themselves outside. It seems they arrived by river late in the evening when most were preparing for bed or already in it. The letter says that most have been found some kind of shelter against the cold weather and are being fed by those who live in the rest of their lands. Some," and his expression darkened, "are reported missing and they do not know if they were killed during the fighting or are held prisoner by their enemy."

The King sighed. "As yet there is only speculation as to why those of Yod have done this thing. Since taking the city those within have used the walls against any attempt by the Jothans to regain it, yet they make no effort to increase their hold on the countryside but seem content to merely await some other event. For ourselves, there appears little danger at present but you can be certain that we will keep a very close eye on the happenings upriver.

"Since we do not know what those of Yod intend, so far from their own lands, we find it necessary to begin the process of raising levies." Robanar's look was now of frustration. "This is the wrong time of year for such endeavors but we have no choice since we dance to another's tune. Do not expect much to change, my people, inside the palace or outside it, for some time. As the older of those among you may remember, raising any army takes time and organization, and we have only today begun that process."

He ended with a smile that was only partly forced. "For now, we are all safe, even my son and his party. However, the normal activities of the palace must continue, and that includes the taking of food. Come, let us sit."

Eriana visibly fumed. "Milsy, I must attend the King. I do not know if what he has told us is helpful or not."

"As you say, Highness."

Eriana moved off to sit, once more, at the King's right hand. Gullbrand turned to Milsy.

"Mistress, I must thank you for your reassuring words. I understand how difficult it must be when distant events happen and there is no means of knowing how they will affect you or your country. Unfortunately, such circumstances merely serve to shorten Her Highness's temper."

"As you say, Master. I'm sorry I could not be of further help."

Gullbrand shrugged. "We are all in the dark together, Mistress. When we learn more, then we may be able to make any decisions that are necessary."

Milsy's eyebrows rose. "Do you mean that Her Highness would leave? Go back to Einnland?"

The expression on Gullbrand's face was interesting, because it was not one that Milsy expected to see.

"Ah, Mistress... that would be unlikely... for several reasons. Because of the danger, I do not think Her Highness would desire to travel beyond the city and, in fact, she could not return home before the spring because of the bad winter weather at sea and because her ship cannot be repaired until the weather improves. For those reasons, I would expect her to decide to remain in the palace as His Majesty permits."

"Ah! Of course, you will forgive me. I know nothing about matters concerning the sea."

Tarvan appeared then, making his usual late entrance. He received a casual wave from Robanar as everybody found their seats.

"Anything interesting happen then?"

"Aye! The King has made another announcement concerning the invasion of Joth. It seems -"

* * *

Milsy had her arms wrapped around Tarvan's middle.

"This is as it should be, and I do prefer a man who is taller then me, but I do sometimes wish that I were but a little taller! A handsbreadth, perhaps."

Tarvan's arms, of course, gently enfolded Milsy's shoulders.

"You are just enough for me, dearest. I do not think your height is any rein on your abilities, do you not agree? It is what is behind those brown eyes that makes you what you are, not the length of your legs, I deem."

Milsy sighed. "As you say. I do not desire to be tall, merely not quite so short."

"If you had been any taller, you would not have been able to play the part of Lady Garia, though. Think on that, dearest. It was your shortness that opened the door to a whole new world for you and I am eternally grateful for that fact."

"You sound so logical sometimes! Cannot a girl dream? I will be ever grateful to Lady Garia for the chance that brought me here from Dekarran but mayhap women see the world differently than men do, Tarvan. I think that whatever we may do, we will always dream."

Tarvan nodded. "Aye, sometimes I dream but mostly I consider reality, dearest. It is reality that tells me I will depart the palace early tomorrow morning to begin my journey north. You can do all the dreaming you desire while I am away."

"Aye. Just be safe, Tarvan. Yod may be far away but there are other dangers nearer to home. The ferry may sink, or a grakh may come -"

"Those are the natural dangers anyone may face, dearest. Why, even inside the palace you know that accidents may happen."

"As you say, Tarvan. So, if you intend to depart early, you had better go and get some sleep now. Shall I see you at breakfast?"

"Probably. If I am that late, though, I would not desire to tarry. Good night, dearest."

"Good night, Tarvan."

Their lips came together.

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Comments

And thus

Military/defense research budget/grants are formed. Very useful in technological progress

Nice one Penny

The many threads are coming together nicely.

(And the Index/Appendices entries have been updated)

J

Anmar fix

Always soooooo welcome.

Milsy is rapidly gaining the inner circle of Palarand.

She will be a force to be reckoned with in a year.

I would love to see a tale where Milsy dives into all that knowledge Garia brings back.

She will be lost to Tarvan for at least months!

You may get your wish

You may get your wish, although at this rate, by the time I get round to writing it you'll have forgotten what happened in the first place.

I can't offer any promises, though.

Penny

Of course

There is a substantial gap between having the knowledge and the technological and industrial ability to utilize it, for instance, reusable orbital rockets and super sonic retropropulsion aren't new concepts, they are almost as old as rockets are themselves, but they have only recently been achieved.

Even without the more advanced stuff

... she will be like a bear with honey.

Yes, a lot of stuff is down the roads a bit but understanding the basics should keep her enthralled.

Remember she will have to learn English and she will be begging Garia to teach her.

With her apparent IQ though,

With her apparent IQ though, she could probably learn off of videos with subtitles

Yes and no

Language can be a weird thing. There are different intelligences and she may or may not have the knack for it. There are plenty of people with lower intelligence but pick up languages readily and vice versa.

But yes 'sesame street' or any children's reader is the starting point.

Well she picked up reading

Well she picked up reading and writing quickly. Though you are correct, they are different. Big issue will be material science, as it can make a huge difference in what you can do

Always like these stories,

Always like these stories, that open up the other stories with Garia and the Prince in them. Lets us see how some of the many changes that Garia has given to Palarand affect the people and the country -- in a good way.

Milsy has not wasted any time

Milsy has not wasted any time proving her value to the Crown and country, a big change from being a kitchen worker. With Garia returning shortly, things will fall into line with the main Somewhere Else Entirely (SSE) story - at least until the Baroness returns once again to Blackstone - will Milsy's story continue and fill in the blanks?

SEE (and all it's spin offs) is one of my favorite stories (yeah multiple reads). Thank you for sharing the world you created!

Jeri Elaine

Homonyms, synonyms, heterographs, contractions, slang, colloquialisms, clichés, spoonerisms, and plain old misspellings are the bane of writers, but the art and magic of the story is in the telling not in the spelling.

Future Milsy

When I originally decided to write this, I thought only to fill in the gap between Garia departing for the north and her returning, with perhaps a little tidying up afterwards.

It seems to me now that there could be more mileage in following her story a little longer, though that may present me with some other problems - time, for the main part, plus co-ordination.

I'm already planning more Eriana and it looks like Maralin will be both in that tale and in Julina's story. There is the faint possibility of more Garia, after her return, but I need to think what the objective might be for that one, a fairytale romance and a marriage to a Prince was easy by comparison.

The problem, as you might realize, is that the more threads there are, the harder it becomes to weave everything into a consistent whole. Julia and I have gotten away with it so far but whether we can do that for the future, who knows?

Penny

Initial startup costs

Jamie Lee's picture

Nothing like what's happening with the guilds and at the palace has happened before Garia arrived, and no one knew to calculate startup and experiment costs before things went crazy.

Garia gains some from each fork sold and some from other things, but much goes into paying for making the items. So how does the palace gain its coin, payment from the guilds and other countries of Palarand or another way?

Eriana continues showing what Keren will soon discover, Eriana is not a suitable woman to become the future queen of Palarand. She is short tempered, treats those below her station like something she stepped in, and feels she must know things which don't concern her.

Milsy becoming an analyst for Robanar will be something new for her, but if anyone can help with plans it's her.

Others have feelings too.