Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 57

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 57
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Wordcount: 2500
Commissioned by Sivantic.
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Tempted as I was to speak against the bauble, I held my tongue and instead devoted myself to analyzing it and its components. There was the urge to ask outright what defenses could be used against it, but I kept my silence and looked Harold’s way after committing the creation’s inner workings to memory.

He seemed perturbed by my words, a frown crossing his wizened face, and his brow furrowed with deep thought.

Still, he said nothing and merely placed the bauble away.

A compass that can divine the general location of anything and anyone the user wishes.

Such a thing would be better destroyed, but now was not the time to further complicate my relations with the rulers of this land.

Harold spoke after putting the bauble away.

“It seems that the second artifact will be used best along with the simple wands that we’ve already sent out. On our flying ships, they can be used to find and destroy the infested, while the wands can be used to provide security.” Harold gestured for me to follow him. We left his workshop and ascended into what was more like an assembly line. Numerous individuals in robes toiled upon work tables. Uniform, they sat beside one another, and each one assembled something different. No. They were assembling different stages of the same artifact. I recognized the scheme after that. “We’ve done our best to emulate the methods you laid out for mass production. I’m afraid the tower is too small, but we’re working on another secure area as we speak.”

“The As’Kari used it to mass produce medicine. This is much greater in scale.” I had shared the idea to increase stockpiles of medicine in the As’Kari. Typically, the herbs and barks they’ve identified are found, dried, and stored until needed. Then, they are ground up, stirred with nectar, and then administered in hot water to those who need it. I took the measurements of the concoction, dried even the honey, and made it so that only hot water was needed. Then, I had it produced in stages, each step broken up, so that one only needed to attend to a single task. They implemented that concept here. “I feel that I’m offering little else besides praise.”

“I am humbled to accept it nonetheless. However, we require your aid. We have made the necessary calculations, divined how much power we have at our disposal, and found ourselves wanting. We will not be able to produce the amount needed to protect the territories at most risk.” I took note of his words. It seemed that Harold truly read through all my notes. He and his people were implementing triage. They were looking at the regions most affected by the infection and targeting them for the first deployment of their countermeasure. Not only that, but they gathered the information needed to determine which regions needed aid the most. “If you would share some of your power, we can use it to create more of the artifacts. We will store it in many stones, none large enough for use in conflict, and just enough to bridge the gap.”

Instinct told me to deny Harold’s request, but I pushed it aside.

Harold had not lied to me, and he had been working against the infection with all his might. His sole purpose seemed to be the pursuit of knowledge, and he served the crown to fulfill that desire. Not once had I noticed him look at me with envy, or see me as lesser, and he had been ecstatic to learn. Though he looked like an elderly man, I saw in him a great and willing student that wished to do everything in his power to help others.

So, I went against instinct and nodded.

Fears arose within me as I followed him. This tower was his castle. A place where he had all the time in the world to prepare, and I was going to give up some of my strength to aid him. What if he lied at this moment, stole more than he said he could, and saw me weakened enough for him to capture? Kan’Is’ words, telling me that if I was ever captured by another tribe, he’d find a way to rescue or kill me, as I would be used by other tribes to bolster their strength even as a husk.

Should I really believe that Harold would not do such a thing when I had met him less than a month ago?

Everything I knew of this world, and the people of this land, told me to refuse and leave.

But I followed him nonetheless in hopes that I was wrong.

We entered a small room, and inside, on five pedestals, were five smooth stones akin to fortune-teller balls. Each one was rounded, smooth, and about the size of a fist. Harold approached the first and placed his hand upon it.

“The process is simple. You press your power into it as you do with a staff. Slowly and carefully, without overwhelming the material structure, then once it is full… your hand will be dampened. Any excess is turned into water to prevent the contents from bursting the vessel.” Harold placed his hand on one, then closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath as a pallor took him. When he took his hand from the orb, he looked exhausted and leaned on his staff for support. I moved to support him and he accepted my help. “You should feel how much each requires to fill by simple touch. They should all be the same.”

I gave him a nod, then I decided to reach for all four, ready to withdraw my hand and retreat the moment they took too much. Should I be betrayed, I could cut through the threads, then I could run away with most of my strength intact—

The orbs filled in an instant, while I considered my escape attempt, and the amount it pulled was barely noticeable.

Right.

I’ve spent the last few days powering the Tree of Light and have rested since then.

“Wonderful! A grand showing, my lor—physician.” Enthusiasm seemed to get the better of Harold’s tiredness for a moment, but soon enough he found a seat in the room. He stared at the filled orbs of power with a tired, but happy gaze. “With this, we can produce enough to protect most of the front. I assure you on my honor that these orbs will not be used to any other end. Your oath against killing will be upheld so long as I hold breath.”

Harold nodded and I returned it, ready to leave it at that, but after a moment, I extended my hand towards him.

He blinked at the gesture.

“I believe that in these lands, this is a sign of respect?” The As’Kari did not shake hands, but the nobility of this land did when meeting equals or someone that they respected. Harold was one such man in this realm. After all that I had seen and witnessed here, I was slow to offer respect. But there were people who simply wished to live, or to pursue their own goals, separate from the crown. More importantly, I should not blame this man for wrongs that he did not commit. “My hope is that your efforts bear fruit, and that you find that which you search for.”

Harold took my hand in both of his and shook mine profusely.

After that, I departed from the tower of mages.

Knowing fully that I would never see it or its wonders ever again.

…

The journey took two weeks, and it was a journey spent mostly in solitude. The crew of the ship was small and professional, and each person devoted to the service of the child. There were fewer than twelve of them, all women. The first two I met were leaders. One was the head maid, and the other was the head of the rest of the crew. They fed the babe milk along with thin porridges with the flesh of desiccated, weaker monsters.

The head maid, Jessica, had opposed my proposal, until I told her it was my duty to ensure the child’s strength.

And, I was having her fed with the same meals that I had as a child.

The woman’s brow had furrowed in consternation at my words, the beauty she exuded marred by frustration, but she schooled her features and accepted.

In but a week’s time, the baby began to cry more regularly, move with greater alacrity, and stare with wide eyes at anything and everything.

She was of a strong lineage and gifted with a body that could reach the greatest heights.

Of course, even as a child, she would need more than milk, even from twelve potential nursemaids.

After that matter was settled, I stayed on the deck in my tent, and tended to Cornelius along with my other belongings.

Cornelius felt at home aboard the ship, as he was suited for flying for long periods of time, and he ate and watered himself when we descended for the night. I had to find smooth stones to crush into fine sand to clean him. Thankfully, river stones could be crushed in mass and placed into a pit to provide for him, especially once I warmed it. He would spend evenings buried in the sand, enjoying warmth, while shaking himself within it to use friction to cleanse his body. After the first few nights, he showed signs of molting once again, and according to records, this molt will result in a ten percent increase in size.

In a few years’ time, he will lose the ability to fly, and his wings will transform into a softer shell above his abdomen that permits greater weight to be carried on his back. Beetles of his species, with their size and magnitude, could be used for conflict, but they are often better used to carry supplies and people to where they are needed. When large enough, they carry entire cities on their backs through the Great Desert, and at that point, they need cities to feed themselves.

I will need much to provide for him in the future.

A future where I shall go forth into this world, discovering what I can, and helping people as I did. Cornelius’s back can carry much, but my plan was the creation of a hospital that can provide aid. People such as Harold can find their place in it. It will be a place much like the tower of mages that I have seen. A place where solutions to diseases and plagues can be created and deployed quickly where needed. I can even trade with the As’Kari for their gigantic desert wasps, and they can launch off the back of the moving city, and give aid quicker than Cornelius can walk. We can even hunt down the many monsters of this world, and teach the people we meet to make use of them in our passing.

I have a handful of decades to gain the funds, influence, and power for such an endeavor, but there was no better course of action to take.

There remain many places that need help, which I may be able to provide.

The group that I followed, filled with prisoners, told me of their homelands. The stocky, short man of another race had told me of a king who sleeps eternally. The archer of the group spoke of vast, emerald forests where people succumbed to the whims of spirits in hidden groves. Whispers at the docks told me of a land where people had horns like deer and emerald scales, as well as forked tongues and eyes like serpents, and that they were dealing with a horrible dependency on something that sounded similar to opium.

This world is vast, filled with many peoples, and there may be many who may be convinced to believe as I do.

That the power we hold, and the possibility that it gives, is more than a tool of war and conquest, but a means to better the lives of all.

As I ruminated on this, as I took stock of the contents of my tent, footsteps approached.

Along with the sound of soft breathing.

The child was growing frighteningly fast, and in another month, I was sure that it would be able to walk.

“Jessica, what brings you here?” I stayed away from them, and let them do their duties. I checked on the child twice a day, at the break of dawn and when the sun set. The nursemaids and servants attending to the child had already swaddled her with care and attention. I took the role of a personal physician more than anything else. The look of worry on the maid’s face drew my attention away from checking on my scrolls depicting monsters. I intended to venture back into the Great Desert and hunt some beasts. “Is something wrong with the child?”

Jessica opened her mouth to speak, but instead, a word came from the babe’s lips.

“Phys-cian!” Like a child calling out ‘dada’ for father, the title used to address me left the lips of the child. I got up and held my hands out to examine and hold the child. Jessica obliged but watched carefully, at a loss with the sudden development. My mind raced with possibility. Was the child like myself? Another person born of another place and time entirely? I held the child upright and met its blue gaze… and it laughed and giggled in my grasp and extended its hands towards me. I felt a gust of wind from her grasp. No. It was unlikely that she was the same. When I first felt the power I newly gained, I felt nothing but fear for it. It did not eliminate the possibility, but more tests could wait later. I offered the child my hand, and she giggled as she took hold. Tight, but more controlled. The strength was still there.

This child was going to grow at a faster rate than I anticipated.

Much change needed to be made to accommodate this.

“She is maturing at a far faster rate. The lessons planned will need to be accelerated. Teach her your language, and I will teach her mine. I estimate lessons for practical matters will need to begin in a few weeks.”

Jessica nodded at my words, before looking at the child she held.

“Will she… continue to age?”

Ah, that was a reasonable fear.

“Once she reaches maturity? No. And thereafter, she will remain forever at her prime unless violence or disease takes her.”

Much needed to be accounted for for this child to have a chance at living a normal life.