Moral Stand (Aether’s Revival Book 7)

“Glad to see you are punctual, Adept,” Artok said, getting out of his carriage.

“I always strive to be early, sir.”

“Hmm… when you’re dealing with your superiors, that’s best. However, if you’re dealing with lessers, you should make them wait for you. It sets the tone of who is in charge.”

Gregory bowed. “Yes, sir. Thank you for your knowledge.”

“A trifle,” Artok smirked. “We will go in and sit in the lounge to enjoy the refreshments offered. We also need to inspect all the slaves to make sure their brands are correct. You will handle that for me while I wait for the owner. After you finish your examination, you are to take a tour of the facility and check every room to make sure there is no contraband of any kind. When you finish, you may choose a slave or two to unwind from the work. Deliver a scroll to my manor before you leave on patrol tomorrow. I only want to know any problems you found, not anything more.”

“Yes, sir.” Gregory bowed again.

Artok led the way into the Golden Collar. The same partial mink eurtik who’d been there when Gregory last visited was again behind the desk. “Magus Artok with an assistant, here to inspect the business.”

“Everything is ready for you, Magus. All other visitors have been removed so you can take your time. I will inform the owner that you have arrived,” the receptionist said, her voice soft and her eyes cast down at her desk.

“Good,” Artok smiled, then walked past her into the lounge.

Gregory trailed Artok, keeping his face impassive, but he dipped his head toward the receptionist. The lounge was full— eurtik of a wide variety of heritages stood in it, waiting for them. When the two magi entered, everyone bowed to them.

“My usual,” Artok said when he reached the bar. “Adept, what did you want to drink while working?”

“Rosem wine is fine, Magus,” Gregory said, having gone to the bar. “I’ll be back for it. I’ll begin my inspection first.”

“Diligence is good. I’ll leave before you finish, so remember your tasks.”

“I will accomplish everything you need, sir.”

“Excellent.”

Gregory turned back to the assembled staff. Doing a quick count, his lips pursed. While it was possible for an establishment like this to have exceptions for the number of slaves they could have, he thought the number here was excessive. He’d have to pull records to verify that the Golden Collar could have so many, and he was sure that would alert people.

Later. For now, focus on the tasks ahead of you. Maybe we can have Roberts get the records…? The commander could put the request in. It might not be as obvious as me doing it, Gregory thought.

Taking a deep breath, he moved to one side of the room. “I will work my way around. Once you’ve been checked, please sit.”

The first person was a male bull eurtik. The man was massive, his horns sawed off a handspan from his skull. His shirt had no upper lacing, so his brand was exposed for Gregory to check. A bit of relief went through Gregory that the first person was male. His hand gently rested on the brand; the feeling of aether pulsed under Gregory’s hand in time to the eurtik’s heartbeat.

“Done,” Gregory said.

The bull took a seat where he was, bowing his head. “Thank you, Magi.”

Gregory kept the wince from his face, but being thanked for checking a slave brand felt wrong to him. Might as well thank me for enslaving you… I know it’s not what you meant, but it’s terrible, he sighed internally before stepping to the next worker.

Gregory made his way slowly around the room, checking each brand. He kept his eyes up on their faces mostly, only looking down so he could place his hand correctly. None of the slaves met his gaze, not even Thera when he got to her. He hoped she’d be amenable to his suggestions after he was done. Halfway through his task, he paused when a bombastic man in rich silks came striding into the room.

“Magus, welcome back to my humble establishment!” the owner’s voice echoed off the walls with the sheer volume used. “I’m glad to have a man of your importance standing here to make sure I am in compliance.”

Artok chuckled. “Phineas, your hospitality and willingness to work with me in my audit is always appreciated. Let me introduce my assistant this year: Adept Gregory Pettit of Aether’s Guard. Pettit, this is the owner of the Golden Collar, Phineas Chainer. His brother runs the Silver Collar in Icelake.”

Phineas gave Gregory a grin, then a wink. “Remember to take your time to thoroughly inspect everything, Adept. My business is closed for the entire day to ensure the audit goes smoothly. All staff will remain in this room unless you or Magus Artok take them out. This way, you know I’m not withholding slaves from your audit.”

“Only a fool would,” Artok laughed. “Shall we go discuss things in your office?”

“Yes, yes, of course. Did you want to select one of the slaves to make sure your glass stays full?”

Artok looked over the ones Gregory had already finished checking. “You two,” he pointed to a pair of wolf eurtiks, “attend me.”

The women rose gracefully to their feet, keeping their eyes downcast as they crossed the room. Phineas nodded, commenting on Artok’s keen eye for talent. A minute later, the four of them were gone.

Gregory’s face shifted to disgust for a fraction of a second before he had his mask back in place. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “once I’m done and go to inspect rooms, you’re free to move about here as you will.” He saw the flashes of surprise and gratitude on their faces before they covered up their feelings once more. “I’ll also be making sure to inspect the kitchens around lunchtime and will likely need extra assistance with that. This way, food can be provided to all of you before I go back to other duties. Any questions?”

No one spoke up, so Gregory went back to checking brands. It took longer than he thought it would to make it all the way around. The last one was the partial mink eurtik receptionist, who reddened slightly when his hand rested over her brand. Gregory was surprised at her reaction, as none of the others had blushed. It was possible the mink was just a receptionist and not part of the serving slaves.

“All done. Thank you,” Gregory said softly. “You know the staff as well as anyone, right, miss?”

“Yes, Magi,” the mink replied.

“Please have the best cooks selected to help me at noon. Also, I give you permission to leave this room to find me if there are any problems. Understood?”

“Yes, Magi.” The mink flushed again. “What would you consider worth interrupting your… inspection?”

The way the woman hesitated in her last word made Gregory pause. “I’ll leave that to you, but I don’t want any messes. I’ll be working room by room, not stopping to dally. I do need a helper, though…” He trailed off as he looked over the room. “Thera, attend me, please.”

The panther eurtik rose from her spot, getting to his side quickly. “Yes, Magi?”

“You’ll lead me to every room on every level, minus the owner’s office. We’ll be checking for any contraband. Get a way to take notes for me; you’ll be documenting everything I need noted.”

“Yes, Magi,” Thera said as she stayed still. “I will need you to accompany me to the lobby to do that.”

“No. Go get what you need, then come back.”

Thera walked away, swiftly returning with a clipboard and charcoal pencil. Gregory gave her a nod, then looked over the room.

“I’m leaving…” Gregory froze, then sighed. “Miss, your name?” he asked the mink.

“Astar, sir,” she replied.

“I’m leaving Astar here as my proxy. Listen to her, but also bring any concerns to her. Thera, I’m ready. Lead the way.”

Thera bowed. “Yes, sir. Do you want to start in the lobby?”

“Skip. I’ll do that as the very last room.”

“Yes, sir. It’d be best to start with the rooms the customers see.”

Gregory followed Thera out of the lounge, letting his mask fall off as the door shut behind him. “Thera,” he called out as she reached the first door, “call me Gregory, please? At least while it’s just us doing this. I don’t want to ransack each room, but I have to inspect them. Any advice or help you can give to make this less invasive for everyone would be appreciated.”

Thera blinked, then glanced up at him before quickly averting her gaze. “If that is what you want, Gregory.”

“And you can look at me. Honestly, it makes me feel bad if you can’t even look in my direction. I’d have to stand behind you the entire time, otherwise.”

Thera snorted, her muzzle creasing into a smile. “As you wish. As for me helping you search without it being invasive… I know who had contraband placed in their rooms today. We do not keep those things ourselves— we know the consequences of it— but during an audit, the owner always places things in a few rooms.”

“Why? Wait… don’t answer that,” Gregory sighed. “Finding no problems would lead to a more intensive search. Finding a few trivialities makes it easy to pass off as if I really did search.” His lips turned down. “I only saw slaves in the lounge. Are there no other staff?”

“Only a few, sir. The head chef will be in the kitchen while the guards will be in their rooms.”

Gregory’s eyes glittered briefly. “Hmm… I’d bet the guards’ rooms aren’t searched that often.”

Thera’s eyes widened, but she stayed quiet.

“We’ll do them last,” Gregory said as he entered through the door Thera had opened for him. “After all, I’m just being thorough in my inspection that way.”

“Gregory… that will cause problems,” Thera said softly.

“Not for me. I’ll just have been following orders,” Gregory chuckled. “Shall we?”

Thera followed him into the room, her heart beating quickly. No magi had ever done more than briefly glance into the guard’s rooms. It was the slaves that had to be checked on, not the humans. But if he’d been told to search every room… a smile came to her again. Gregory was different, and she wondered if he would stay past the inspection.