He cleared his throat. “I could, at your request, return with you as ambassador of Keelwell.” Fherrin placed her hand on his folded hands. “No, Roth. It will be too dangerous.”

  He turned to his wife and said, “I could help him, and besides, I would be near Keenor as well.”

  She bit her lip and looked over at my apprentice, who was staring outside the window, lost in her own thoughts. She didn’t meet Rothilion’s eyes but said, “Of course, I was just being selfish.”

  He patted her hand, and they stared deeply into each other’s eyes.

  Not wishing to break a romantic moment, I still had questions.

  “In addition to overseeing the Royal Guard, are there other things I am responsible for?” I asked.

  “How much did they explain?” Rothilion asked.

  “There was a lot of back-and-forth between the King and his father, who was a kind of peacekeeper in the room.”

  “That would be like him,” Rothilion remarked.

  “I learned that I am now next in line to the throne on the death of the prince,” I added.

  Rothilion visibly relaxed. “I am glad they told you that much, at least. It was not my place to share. Okay, with that knowledge, I can answer any of your questions. Please ask me anything.”

  “What is the deal with protecting the Lodge and yet interceding for the poor?” I asked.

  He smiled. “That would be a point that the King’s father brought up. It is also like him to think of others, especially the less privileged.” He commented.

  Rothilion continued. “You basically serve three functions. Protector of the Lodge as head of the guard and armies, Voice of the People in bringing concerns to the King and Court that they might otherwise ignore because it is beneath them or their ambitions, and as enforcer of Elven culture and tradition.”

  I grimaced. “That last one will be an issue.”

  He nodded in agreement. “There is not much we can do about that one at the moment. Even with a century of direct instruction, you may have trouble with subtle Elven ways. But the first duty is easy enough, and the guards already have a system in place. If you agree with it, they can carry on the same as they had a few hours ago before your role materialized.”

  “And what about the middle duty?” I asked.

  “It is funny that you refer to it that way, because it is often referred to exactly as that. You stand between the least of us and the greatest of us and ensure that justice prevails.”

  “How do I do that?” I asked.

  “You may speak at any time in Court. You may interrupt the King, you may call for witnesses, speakers, research, any resources across the kingdom are yours to command in line with this middle duty.”

  I pursed my lips and realized I had just mirrored the king. “I still don’t fully understand.”

  “I would not expect you to yet. But think about it this way, you know what you were doing for your irregulars and the poor in the lower boroughs?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Do that here as well. We elves are more like humans than either of us is like dwarves in this regard. There are no homeless among the dwarves. None out of work or starving.”

  I nodded. “Yes, my Dwarven guard captain also said something about this when we discussed opening a new school just before I was called by the Duke to come here.”

  Rothilion smirked. “So we can add ‘headmaster’ to your list of notable titles.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Remember what I shared about the young irregular who saved the city when we were at supper?” I asked.

  “Of course. His name was Ears.”

  I smiled sadly. “Yes, he had a gift, a kind of second sight where he just knew things. The academy we are building in the 7th borough will be a school that will shelter, feed, educate, and train the young and orphans of the city.”

  “Where is it to be located? The embassy is in that same area, although on the other side of the river near the Duke’s estate in Silver Grasses.” He asked.

  “If you depart your surrounding trees, walk to the river and look right, just past the bridge, there is a large block area of stone buildings. We have acquired it all and are rebuilding it.”

  “I know the location. It is near the university and in one of the safer areas of that borough, but a cult had taken it over some years ago, as I recall.” He remarked. “So, the work you are doing in Keelwell can overflow into our kingdom. We have orphans, widows, and the elderly without means. There are many who donate to help them, but no agency exists to assist them. In a race of eccentric independents, as one of our authors once labeled us, we do not look out for the most vulnerable of us.”

  He looked at his wife. “Fherrin does volunteer work with a group from Keelwell that is part of the Holy Orders. They minister to the sick, feed the hungry, and offer clothes, counsel, and, of course, bring their faith along into our communities.”

  “How is it received?” I asked Fherrin.

  “Differently based upon individual preferences. Some converts are ardent supporters and believers, while others join to help the less fortunate. Still others scorn the work and suggest that nature be left to run its own course.”

  I thought about all of this for a few minutes and came to a decision. “Rothilion, I accept your offer of assistance. Let me know if I need to do anything formally. And Fherrin, you will be in the hot seat as much as he is, and given your softhearted ways, probably are already seen as such by some. Would you serve as a liaison for me here as I work on understanding my middle duty?”

  Her eyes teared. “It has been a prayer of mine for decades to help create this very thing. Of course, I accept.”

  “Great!” I said, “Now we just need to figure out how to fund it.”

  Rothilion tilted his head. “I don’t think you understand. You have access to all the King’s Lodge in the course of your duties. That includes the Lodge’s treasury, which, I must admit, is quite substantial. Funding will not be an issue, merely your justification of it.”

  I thought about the Gray Tresury and the Archmage’s Tower treasury. I could only imagine what the elves had collected across an even longer span of time. I had more than I could use now. I remembered that I had yet to unload the chests of platinum from the Gray Treasury that sat as a kind of bookend on a shelf in my study. It made me smile.

  The carriage began to slow down. When it stopped, Rothilion motioned for his granddaughter, my apprentice, to exit first and open the door for her new master.

  I stepped out into a clean, albeit less remarkable part of the Elven capital. The trees were still large and magnificent, although not as large as they were around the King’s Lodge.

  Five of the guards fanned around us, and one moved quickly to the winding stairs at the base of the tree and ascended them at a jog.

  “He is going ahead to let the homestead wardens know of your arrival,” Rothilion stated. “But there is no reason for you to wait at the bottom of your own stairs for their arrival.”

  “But isn’t this my mother’s homestead?” I asked.

  “It was hers until you were made a nephew of the king and Seneschal of the King’s Lodge. It is now your homestead by right of ascension, and she is an honored guest here.”

  “So I just took over my parents’ summer home,” I said. “Mother will love that.”

  “If there is strife-” He began.

  “No, no. I was just being sarcastic. They will be thrilled for me and also fear for me. There is no strife.” Looking at the home I added, “But we may need to move into larger quarters. It is smaller than I imagined from their stories. I was brought here as a baby for some purpose or other, but I do not have any memories of it.”

  We began walking up the winding stairs that, like most things with the Elven tree songs, seemed to grow out of the tree.

  Rothilion continued. “The King will add this to the royal network, which will allow you magical access to the King’s Lodge and grounds. It can also be enlarged and better defended. In fact, I am certain the guards will insist on a permanent presence here.”

  We didn’t make it all the way to the top before an Elven family of four met us partway down. They were thrilled at my visit and stunned at what they had been told. The wife was a dear friend of my mother’s, and she had so much she wanted to share. The Elven children were older than I biologically, but still young by Elven standards. They had twins, a boy and a girl. Rothilion praised their fortune. Twins were a rarity and a true blessing for a race that did not have many children despite their extraordinarily long years.

  One of the guards came forward, and I recognized him as the captain who had kept me company in the chamber before all this craziness happened.

  He stopped and greeted me with a sharp, quick bow of his head. “Seneschal, will you be staying here tonight?”

  I smiled at him. “I will, captain, thank you for asking.” And then I whispered, “Are you sorry you didn’t locate that pointy spear when you had the chance?”

  He looked shocked and then, seeing the laughter in my eyes, remarked. “The night is still young, Seneschal.”

  I laughed out loud. “That’s just what the dwarven captain said to me!”

  “I will have to meet this dwarf. It sounds like we have much in common.” He said with a grin.

  “I’ll see to it,” I said.

  I was shown to my room, which was personally decorated by my mother to be their master suite, complete with an amazing view, a warm bath, and a small study. My intention was to start very early in the morning and help ensure that the supplies and work were well underway.

  For now, a bath, some deliberate reading, and sleep were what I needed.

  I had several books with me that were gifted by masters. My intention, at this point, was to learn a transportation spell, a defensive spell, and the offensive spell Scorching Light. Of the three, I cannot learn Scorching Light without either a text or instruction. But other options were available to me in books.

  I learned the most powerful Counterspell possible, which was Counterspell IV, previously. Now my choices, as I saw them, involved Isaac’s books and either learn a Blood Armor spell for protection or one of the two teleportation spells. The transport spells included the third attunement summoner spell, Limited Teleport, or the fourth attunement spell, Lesser Teleport. I would love to learn the group spells, but my knowledge won’t let me pick those fifth-level spells up yet. I’d hate to spend four points when three would do, but the weaker of the two only let me teleport to prepared locations, and the other let me teleport anywhere I had seen or been with some degree of risk added that was all but eliminated in the Limited Teleport spell.

  I had both available in rings, but calling it up on my own is important and could be life-saving.

  I decided to invest in the more powerful Lesser Teleport spell. It took me five hours to master, and I barely got four hours of sleep, but I felt it was worth it.

  The AL whispered into my ear. Enchanter Gwydion successfully learns the Fourth Summoner Attunement spell Lesser Teleport. That leaves you seven points remaining.

  I was very tired, but I knew that things were about to heat up. As I faded into sleep, my last thought was that I couldn’t wait to see what the next day brought me.

  If I had only known…