Moral Stand (Aether’s Revival Book 7)

Gregory wore a grim smile as he left his room— foresight had shown him an opportunity to do what he’d said he’d do. Today would be the first step in upholding the slave laws the way they were written. If they’d followed them, he’d have no recourse, but because they hadn’t, it gave him his chance.

“Gregory, does something happen today?” Rafiq asked, having his spatial ring absorb his book.

“Slavers on the road.”

“Ahh. Today begins the upholding of the laws,” Rafiq nodded. “I will have to take accurate notes for this, especially since I was sick when we were ambushed.”

“That’s fine. My report will be detailed, as well. I’ll have you look it over before I turn it in.”

“That might be for the best. It’ll let me clearly note the hows and whys from today.”

“Good morning, sir,” Basal said, coming into the tent. “Did you need me?”

“Nope. Just coming out for breakfast.”

The trio left the tent, then Gregory absorbed it. Taking a moment, he looked over the camp; Barny and the sisters were getting breakfast ready while he could hear the men getting their armor on. His actions today would start things that might spiral for the rest of their posting. They’d all voiced their support of him previously, but the weight of it was now firmly on his shoulders.

“Morning, sir,” Davis said, coming their way. “Is something wrong today?”

“We’ll need the sergeants after breakfast,” Gregory said.

“Bane beasts?”

“Slavers, Lieutenant, the ones with the slaves from the village. We’ll be doing a good deed today.”

“While firmly setting a target on our backs,” Davis nodded. “Returning those ruthlessly pulled from their homes is the right thing, sir. I’m not sure how’d I’d feel if they’d attacked first, but if they were just in their village, it’s wrong to capture them.”

“Exactly. It’ll send two messages that are almost ideologically opposite to the north and south.”

“Like we said before, sir, we’re behind you.”

“I know. I’m feeling the weight of that today.”

“What you do is legally and morally the right thing,” Rafiq added. “Hopefully, that helps with the weight of responsibility.”

“It does,” Gregory said. “It won’t make today any better, though. Lots of angry armed men today.”

“Does anyone attack us?” Davis asked.

“No. Not today, at least.”

“But they’re heading for Icelake, too. I’ll make sure to reiterate to the men not to go anywhere alone.”

“That’d be for the best. I’ll continue to look into the future, even in town. Hopefully, we can mitigate the worst that way.”

“It almost feels like a cheat, sir,” Davis chuckled. “You always do your best to make sure we know the worst that could happen. The newer men don’t understand, not really, but the veterans in the unit really appreciate it.”

“I wouldn’t be able to do it this easily if not for Elder Lightshield,” Gregory said softly. “One of the last things he did was show me the easiest way to see the most optimal future.”

“He has our thanks, too. May his soul rest peacefully,” Davis murmured, bowing his head in respect to the dead.

“May his soul rest peacefully,” Gregory repeated somberly.

~*~*~

Breakfast was pork soup that everyone enjoyed, as the cold of winter was fully on them. They enjoyed it even more because Barny had been heating the wine-water mix so it would be warm when served. Having the heat first thing in the morning helped the men brace for the day.

The sergeants took the news well. They were ready to uphold the laws while doing the right thing. After the meeting, they informed their men, who’d been doing the Peaceful Fist to stay warm. With everything done, and everyone informed, Gregory broke camp and then joined for the last bit of the Peaceful Fist before they marched.

Thirteenth bell chimed on the timekeeper in the wagon when the slaver’s caravan came into view. The slow-moving group consisted of two dozen armed men and an oxen-pulled caged wagon. The cage was filled with eurtiks, most of whom looked to have given up on life.

When the unit got closer, the slavers paused, guiding the wagon slightly to the side so Gregory’s men could go past. The slavers wore patchwork armor with thick coats like Gregory’s men were wearing; none of their weapons or gear looked standardized at all.

Gregory didn’t move to pass them. Instead, he came to a stop by the man in the best armor. The leader wore an almost complete set of Buldoun plate armor. Paired with that, he had on a thick fur cloak that possibly came off a bane bear.

“Magi, I’m glad to see you,” the leader grinned. “If I take this whole lot to Icelake, it’ll cost me a good amount of vela for the magus to brand them all. Maybe we can come to an agreement to brand some of them now?”

Gregory glanced back at Davis, who had the men and wagon continue past him— the future went better when the wagon and non-combatants were past the group. If they weren’t, then in a minute or two, someone would decide to attack one of the sisters out of spite.

“Where did they all come from…?” Gregory trailed off, waiting for a name.

“Shelby Dalt, Magi. Not often do I get asked for my name. As for where they came from, a little shit-in-the-ground village a few weeks north of here. New place… well, it was.” Dalt laughed. “Doubt it’ll survive the winter now. Too bad for them; they’d just started on a palisade when we got there. If it’d been up, we might have had to pass it by in favor of other targets. Instead, we get back earlier than expected.”

“I see…” Gregory said. He nudged his horse a little closer to the cage, looking over the eurtik.

A large woman with moose heritage spat at him, but she failed to produce enough spittle for it to work. “Damn you and your empire, Magi! My children will starve now! Does that make your twisted heart joyful?!”

One of the slavers stepped in and punched her on the snout, making the eurtik cry out as she fell back into the others. “Mind your place, beast!”

“Hey, now. Don’t damage the merchandise too much,” Dalt chastised his man. “Sorry, Magi, but you know how they are until they’re branded. You get the ones who don’t understand their place.”

Gregory nodded slowly. “Yes, of course… I count thirty-six eurtik, most of them women with a couple of younger men in the group. Lots of untreated wounds among them, too.”

“That’ll cost us some money, but with this lot, it’ll be worth it even if a few die from their wounds. Can we come to an arrangement on you branding a few of them? That way, one of my men can take them in before the magus comes out of the town for the others.”

“Hmm…” Gregory made a thoughtful noise, as the wagon and non-combatants had gotten far enough away. His men had stopped just past the slaver caravan, mindful of what they’d been told earlier. “I just need to see your paperwork, Dalt.”

Dalt frowned, staring at Gregory. “My what?”

“Your paperwork. You do have the proper forms for capturing slaves, don’t you?”

“What paperwork? We’ve never needed paperwork. Is this some kind of shakedown, Magi? If you want money, just ask for it like the others have.”

“You’ve bribed magi to look the other way?” Gregory asked with a raised eyebrow.

Dalt suddenly went quiet as the pressure from Gregory’s aether spread out. “I… I… no. M-must’ve misheard me, Magi,” he stammered. “Bribing a magi is a crime.”

“Yes it is, Dalt. I’ll have to have my ears checked in Icelake. Now, about the paperwork. You have it?”

Dalt’s eyes hardened. “What Aether-damned paperwork?! I’ve been capturing these beasts for a decade and have never needed paperwork!”

“That long with no paperwork? Hmm… How many times have you brought slaves into town during that time?”

Dalt’s jaw snapped shut again, grinding his teeth together. “I don’t recall, Magi,” he gritted out.

“I’ll just have to look it up in Icelake, then,” Gregory said calmly. “To reiterate, you do not have the legal forms to be out capturing slaves, correct?”

“No, sir!” Dalt hissed through clenched teeth. “What’s the fine?” He was still convinced that this was just Gregory’s elaborate way to get a bribe out of him.

“Fine? There’s no fine,” Gregory said. “Under the slave laws, if someone doesn’t have the proper form, the solution isn’t monetary compensation. It’s suspension of their license to capture slaves, and any illegally-obtained slaves in their possession are to be released.”

“What?!”

“You will be invalidated from being able to capture slaves for the next year. All of your men will be in the same bind. You’ll need to find alternative work for the year. On top of that, you are to free the eurtik in the cage.” Gregory spoke clearly, his aether spreading farther and tightening around all the slavers.

“Dalt, what the fuck?” The slaver who’d hit the woman grunted as the pressure built around him.

“I don’t know!” Dalt spat.

“You should’ve taken the time to read the laws before you took up this endeavor,” Gregory went on. “Magus Smitton will be displeased that you failed to keep your paperwork in order. This incident will reflect on her, too, for not having checked over the last decade.”

Dalt’s lips became a rictus of anger. “You think she’ll be mad at us? Are you simple, Adept? You’re cutting into her profits, not ours. She would’ve made a lot off this haul.”

Gregory smiled wider. “Are you suggesting that the magus knowingly aided you in breaking laws?”

This time, Dalt didn’t respond. He just glared.

“Ahh, so you’re not… maybe you do understand things, then. Now, who has the keys to the cage?” None of the slavers spoke up, so Gregory doubled his resonance, forcing everyone to their knees. “Who. Has. The. Keys?” Gregory enunciated each word slowly.

“Dalt!” one of the slavers gasped.

Dalt’s glare went to the man before he struggled to pull a key from around his neck. He dropped it in front of him and sneered up at Gregory.

Gregory shook his head as he got off Legacy. He patted the gelding on the rump, sending it toward his men. Picking up the key, he walked calmly to the cage, the eurtik in it staring at him in open shock.

“Why?” the woman who’d been punched asked.

“Because laws are laws. If they aren’t upheld, then are we truly civilized?” Gregory replied as he unlocked the door of the caged wagon. Opening it, he stepped back. “Come on.”

The eurtik slowly climbed out of the wagon. A few stared at the slavers, who looked to be struggling to stay on their knees. Anger flared in a few eyes as the eurtik saw their chance to repay their injuries.

“Don’t,” Gregory told them firmly. “If you attack them, I’ll have to take you to Icelake. Don’t injure them, or I will be forced to act. As I said, the laws need to be upheld.”

The couple of eurtik who’d been considering it quickly walked past the slavers. A couple of the more injured needed help from their fellows to get into the woods. The moose eurtik stayed back, making sure the others had gone first.

“Who are you, Magi?”

“Gregory Pettit, Aether’s Guard. I’m stationed here until the summer. The laws will be upheld.” Meeting her eyes, he shrugged. “If they had the paperwork, you’d still be going to Icelake. For now, you have another chance to remain free. Tell your village that it’s not safe to be so far south.”

Pressing her fists to her chest, the woman bowed to him. “May Aether bless you, Magi. I never thought I’d see the day when a magi didn’t force us to serve.”

“Go. You have an hour to flee before I move on.”

With a nod, the eurtik ran into the woods after her fellows.

Gregory turned back to Dalt and his men. “We’ll be staying here for a bit. When I deem it time, you’ll be marching behind my unit until we reach Icelake. There, you, will be detained. Dalt you’ll inform the guard of your men’s names so that it’s recorded that you are all barred from capturing eurtik for the next year. Understood?”

Dalt’s eyes burned with hatred. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Gregory walked past the men he was holding in place with his resonance. Reaching Davis, he mounted Legacy. “Lieutenant, half the men are to trail them; none of them are to leave. If any try, you are to subdue them with any means needed. I’ll be at the front with our staff. Today’s not going to be an early day.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Davis saluted, his lips twitching into a proud smile. “Glasson, Milton, your squads to the rear.”

“Yes, sir,” the pair said before marching their men back to take up the rearguard.