“If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

Martin Luther King JR

A week later, after the initial shock of the monster’s release from the depths of the Lodestone, life settled back to some new form of normalcy. As always there was so much more to do and so little time to do it. There were however several large changes for us as a family. Firstly, we had petitioners now. It was no longer Archbishop’s visiting us but the townspeople with requests, concerns and expectations of what we could and would do for them. Thankfully there were not enough for us to have to listen to them every day but there were enough that it took a morning each week for us to answer them all. Thankfully they had often already been brought up to other members of our extended family so we generally knew what people would be asking for before they asked and had answers ready to be revealed but every now and then a surprise slipped through.

We sat on our small thrones at the end of the hall as the leader of the sentinels approached our mini-thrones. We did not sit up there alone but we were the only two with seats. Surrounding us stood mother, Lady Acacia, Grandfather and Grandpa. Father refused to spend his morning standing around when he could be doing other things he said. The first petition of the morning was about to start.

First up was Sentinels. Their leader was a large man, possibly a former sailor or even pirate judging by the earing and tattoos. He towered over the rest of his group, three somewhat smaller fighters and his height made us appreciate our raised dais all the more. They didn’t waste any time getting to the heart of the matter. “We want all the materials and money from the monsters harvested when they escape.” He declared his position. One we had already been aware of our answer already prepared we left it to our Senechal Smit Silvertongue to respond.

“As long as Arawn Silversword is there to bail you out, we keep the monster cores. The rest is up to you to transport and bargain with the crafters for your cut of the profits.” So he stated our official position. Their problem was that they still needed supervision for a multitude of reasons. Firstly we had to ensure nothing escaped. Secondly, Grandfather had to step in several times to either save or finish off the monsters when they failed to do so. On those occasions, they were happy enough with the assistance to give up the monster cores. It was all the other times he could sit back and do nothing that they objected to giving up a significant portion of the profits.

“That hardly seems fair when we are doing all the work. Half the time, he sits there doing nothing but napping.” He sounded a little aggrieved at the laid-back style of observation Arawn favoured.

“Do you deny that you have not needed him?” Smit avoided taking up the discussion on how exactly they were being protected. The other three sentinels looked a little sheepish, clearly having been saved, retrieved or otherwise kept from harm by our Grandfather’s interventions.

“No. But that is hardly the point I’m trying to make.” He had not quite given up arguing for the monster cores.

“Then until his presence is no longer required this is the cost the Silversea family will be charging for their protection, not only of your individual selves but the town itself. Without it, you are risking not only your own lives but the lives of your friends and family for the sake of a little profit.”

“It is hardly a little profit.” He argued unbowed by the arguments.

“Then what price would you put on your parents’ lives?” he cuttingly replied. Despite his obviously chequered past it appeared that his family at least lived on the island. The benefit of having a seneschal was that you did not have to make all the arguments. Merely weigh in on the end decisions.

“Again not . . .”

“Until Adal Silversword believes you ready to stand sentinel alone the island and town will continue to need reassurance this is not up for debate and the cost will continue to be the cores.” He answered unwillingly to budge.

“Your Grace?” He asked Bishop Bailie, who stood off to the side of the hall. But he refused to be drawn into the request or go against our patriarch’s wishes.

“Sir Jacques is willing to supervise the sentinels for the cost of the cores.” He towed the family line supporting us in our decision and refusing to undermine the working relationship we were building.

“Your Lord and Lady?” He made one last appeal but it all seemed fairly sensible to us and we saw no reason to disagree with what had already been decided.

“We concur.” We replied in unison. We had practised it under the tutelage of Lady Acacia, who was insisting on increasingly formal language, especially in formal settings and for good reason.

Etiquette Lv1

It was worth the extra time we spent learning the words for the formal language. Any experience was good experience, even if it did not always result in instant levels.

Next up were the town guards 14 men and women stepped forward to raise their case. “We need to be paid if we are going to do this daily. Volunteering for a day or two was important for the safety of the town but we cannot afford to do so any longer. We have our own lives we need to go back to or we need to get paid.” The spokesperson stated his case.

He raised an important point. We couldn’t expect people to give up their livelihoods to protect our citizens for no recompense. But at the same time, we would not pay for them from our own pocket. We could not afford another score of individuals on our payroll if they were somehow not making money for us. Our town did not have enough visitors to charge for entrance to pay for them from that. At least not yet.

“We know your concerns and will see to some financial remuneration. However, we do not need every gate manned every day and night. Two on each gate takes the fourteen of you however if we just man the northern, southern and one eastern gate as a town we can afford to keep six of you employed every day. Whether you choose to do this full-time or part will be up to you to discuss initially. Although I’m sure, the sentinels could do with extra men and have more immediate remuneration from monster materials.” He laid out our official position.

They stepped back satisfied that they would be getting paid and to discuss how they wanted to arrange the six positions between the 14 of them. This was not actually all of them, as the rest were still standing guard on the gates. For most of them, it would be easy money for not that much work. That being said if they were ever needed, it might cost them more than they carried in their coin pouch.

This brought us to our third petition. “It is all very well putting guards at the gates and manning the walls when the gates are closed but that would not have stopped the Mosau eels from slipping into the lake and into the town from the shore.” A third petitioner declared. “We need a fourth wall. Otherwise, we are not safe.”

The town had initially had to defend itself against the animals on the land it had never had to defend itself from the water but now that they had seen the monsters of the deep the townspeople no longer felt sufficiently secure in their defences and wanted another wall. Again we had already been aware of this demand and had drawn up plans, but again we were not going to do this for free.

“We have listened to the wishes of the people and will build a fourth western wall for the town.” Aleera and I spoke together to general cheers from the small crowd of petitioners.

This was also the perfect opportunity to balance the books.

“However, to pay for the wall, we will have to insist on a tithe in line with the tithe to the Lodestar Church.” We announced the catch. There was silence in response to our decree. They could hardly be happy about that, but in order to pay for the wall and the guards something had to change. Also, this way if complaints arose we could refer them to the petitioner's requests, and there were likely to be complaints. A tithe was nothing new, but the people had not paid one to Ponente since reaching the island. However, they had tithed a tenth to the church. We were requesting the same. For them to start tithing a tenth to the Silverseas in return, we would build the wall they had requested and pay for the town guard.

The townspeople started to discuss our proclamation, while it was not something that they were jumping for joy over they realised the need and it was difficult for them to complain over it as it was ostensibly to pay for what they had requested. In reality, it would pay for a significant amount of the wall, but our extended family was going to have to heavily subsidise it with magic from our family, stone from the Silverstone branch, metal brackets from the Silverkin branch, roofing tiles etc. It would take a lot of work, but it would hopefully be worth it—our own mini harbour.

. . .

The second major change to our daily lives was the church. The new Bishop was a lot more engaged in well everything. He would attend our petitioning session and would often offer advice and support or even alternative options should our ‘subjects’ find ours not to their liking. Always taking the opportunity to teach the faith. We were not yet attending church on a weekly basis but he would stay behind after petitioning sessions to teach the pair of us. Either the philosophy of balance in all things or the history of both the Compass Kingdoms and the Lodestar Church. While Mother was still not a fan, Lady Acacia advocated that it was important to better understand the human institutions that covered the compass continent.

“The church teaches that each compass direction has a guardian, the Anemoi, who will appear in times of need. Boreas for the North he guards the human kingdom of Tramontana alongside the giants of the Northern Steppes against the ice giants that might invade south into the compass.”

“Have you seen him?” I asked, intrigued as to whether this was real, mythical or poetic licence on the part of the church.

“No, there has been not been an invasion in over a hundred years. Next up we have Kaikias, the guardian of the northeastern Kingdom of Greco. However, the dwarven kingdom runs under the northern mountains. He is thought to have helped push back the orcs into the Lodestone from whence they came.”

“There might be orcs underneath our island as well as the Mosau Eels?” I asked alarmed.

“That is unlikely as their domain is below that of the dwarves in the North Eastern part of the continent.” He dismissed my burgeoning fear. Before moving back to his lesson about the Anemoi. “Apeliotes is the guardian for the east. The Kingdom of Levante. He holds back the Leviathans.”

It was difficult to say without travelling or secondary sources what was a myth and what was reality. I mean I had already met an elf and Mosau eels who was I to say what was fact and what was fiction without witnessing it for myself?

“Euros is the guardian of the southeastern kingdom of Scirocco. He supports the gnomes in their battles against demons.”

“Demons?” I was freaking out a little bit, why was he leaving the western kingdom of Ponente to last. This did not sound so much like history as a horror story. I was beginning to appreciate my mother’s penchant for failing to take us to church.

“If you would let me finish we can come back to questions later.” He chided. “Notos is the guardian of the southern kingdom of Ostro.”

“What base race is he holding back?” I muttered quietly to myself rather than interrupt. But he heard my mutters and responded anyway.

“The Cyclops.” He answered before continuing. “Lips is the guardian of the southwest kingdom of Libeccio turning back Sirens from our shores.”

Sailing looked like it was becoming an increasingly dangerous profession. Hopefully, the Sirens stayed in the southwest much like the other base races he had described.

“Zephyros is the guardian of the West. Of your own proud kingdom of Ponente.”

“And who does he defend us against?” I asked worriedly.

“Leviathans. The same as in the east obviously.” He answered perplexed by my lack of general knowledge. Again I had always assumed that when the maps marked off areas as here be sea monsters it was along the lines of medieval maps adding a little colour to their creations and covering up their lack of knowledge. Perhaps this wasn’t the case.

“Finally, we have Skiron the guardian of the northwest who defends the human kingdom of Maestro although the Elven Empire takes up the majority of the northwest with their Great Forest. He helps defend against the trolls that sometimes surge forth.”

After a long pause, I started to speak, “Fact or fiction, I’m struggling to understand which is which.”

“Ultimately some of this is a matter of faith, Gods, guardians or ascended mortals who can say. We, mere mortals, keep them in our prayers as they hold back the mythical beasts that might devour all of the compass. I will teach you to the best of my ability both what I know and what I believe.” He answered.

Why are they all men? Where are the female guardians? What beasts? Are they really a threat? Are there no nice mythical beasts? I had a long list of questions to work my way through that he promised to answer in more detail later. Although he did confess that he was not from Ponente but actually from Tramontana. This explained the topaz nature of his eyes and his somewhat Nordic features although he did confess that he had somewhat let himself go from his barbarian heritage since entering the church. The problem he said was all the fine food and not enough fighting.

. . .

The third major change to our lives was the depths themselves. It was proving highly profitable if a little perilous with monsters emerging every other night from the new entrance. Arawn had confirmed that although there was more movement near the northern exit the goblins he had discovered deep in the depths were not yet aware of the exit and any deaths might lead them quicker to the exit than if we had simply left them alone. The thought of yet more monsters was hardly inspiring but it sounded like this was the world I lived in I had just been unaware of the dangers of the deep.

Though we had yet to delve. A variety of monsters had made their way out of the depths. First, it was the Mosau Eels then a huge spider the size of a small car appropriately called a Goliath Spider. I was surprised judging by the size of its corpse that it had been able to squeeze its way out of the exit. Luckily it killed with size rather than poison or speed and had been easily defeated.

At least the Sentinels paid for themselves and the town guard counted as volunteered time for the most part. The tithe we were collecting helped to pay for the other half of their time.

Still, the largest change to our daily lives was that everyone was a little more militant now. Uncle Aaron the Blacksmith was doing a brisk business ensuring that everyone now had a weapon to hand. My modern sensibilities worried that with everyone carrying a knife around crime and fights might increase alongside the ensuing deaths but that had not been the case so far. Of course, it helped that we now had an actual magical healer on the island so perhaps they had but they had been healed up afterwards. On the other hand, our population was small with everyone knowing everyone else our community was closer and tighter. We did not live in isolated bubbles of work and home without tv and the internet to suck out our souls it felt like people engaged with one another a lot more but that might just have been my attempt at romanticising my medieval situation. Either way, there had been no sudden deaths in the town from the openly held weapons.

The fourth and final major change to my life was that a few more of my secrets had become common knowledge among the townspeople. The most magical of which was that they now knew I could fly. The story of our flight by foot from the monsters and then my flight by air returning them to be decimated or led over the edge of the cliff had circulated throughout the town.

Initially, the rumours may have been spread by the diver’s daughters but when confirmed by the clergy it only raised my myth higher. The benefit to this though was that I could fly back and forth from town. The most important part of this other than the sheer fun of flight was the time it saved me on a daily basis. Need to get to the top of the mountain, fly there. Need to get to church for a lesson from Bishop Bailie, fly there. Need to check on the Sentinels, fly there. Need to escape from the rest of your family for a moment of peace and quiet, flight was a fantastic escape method. Not that I could recommend that one any longer as it would always come back to bite you in the butt later. Still, the fact that I was a magical flying boy was no longer a secret and I planned to make the most of it. That and the levelling up of a Tier 4 skill was nothing to be sneezed at, especially when it was so easy to do.

Flight (LV1 –> 4)