Moral Stand (Aether’s Revival Book 7)

Gregory considered the fact that the road was rarely used besides his patrol group. Over the last five months, they’d only passed two merchant caravans and a handful of lone riders on horseback. He thought those few were either brave, desperate, or both.

“Been kind of quiet the last ten days, sir,” Davis said as they rode ahead of the unit. “Just those minor troubles in Coldwood and Icelake. Surprised there hasn’t been a stronger push by Chainer.”

“I’m sure we’ll see it soon. We’ll be intercepting another small slaver band today; that’ll deny them new slaves since we took the posting. I think the question is more when it’ll come and what form it’ll take?”

“Good points. Do you expect more assassination attempts?”

“Yes, but I doubt it’ll be like the last one. I’d bet on at least one group of desperate men paid to waylay the unit, plus targeted strikes at me, specifically… perhaps a move on the eurtik or our squires to try getting me to deal.”

“You really think they’d pay a gang to try attacking us? When we’ve shown we can dispatch bane beast hordes with minimal casualties?”

“Yes. Chainer has never fought a bane beast. He might think the stories are overblown. Plus, people are always a bit more unpredictable than beasts, and they can set traps. I’d guess it’d be at least double our number in men, perhaps even triple.”

Davis went quiet for a minute as he chewed over that. “Why haven’t they pushed in town yet?”

“Roberts is behind us, so doing it in Coldwood is unlikely. If they do anything, I’d wager it’d be in Icelake, where Trida’s captain might try to push us. Justina will stand back and let them try, too. I’m not sure if she’ll side with Chainer actively, or if she’d just stay passive.”

“He’s the most likely one to be bought off. If either magus does move against us, sir, then what? They’re the legally appointed magi of the towns.”

“Defending oneself is always allowable. I just have to let them move first.”

“You’re confident against them?” Davis asked, glancing his way.

“Confident enough. I might get injured, but I don’t think they can seriously harm me, as I’ll be prepared for any attack they might have. I’ll use everything at my disposal to make sure of it.”

“Does looking at the future ever make you hesitate, sir?”

“Yes, especially if it’s anytime the choices mean mitigating pain to the men. Do I stop one of them from losing a finger if it means three more earn devastating knee injuries?”

“Ah. I can see where that might weigh on you.”

“Do I openly come into conflict with Justina and deal with the fallout now, do I pressure her and try to guide her to passivity, or do I placate her and make the decision later?”

“You made that choice already, didn’t you?”

“This time, yes, but I spent most of a morning debating just that point with myself. Foresight can be maddening at times.”

“I never considered the downside that way. Watching you fight, though? That’s amazing.”

“That’s the easiest part of my magic. It’s just flowing down the best path as they come; there aren’t any active debates on what might make things worse five weeks later.”

Davis nodded, considering all the choices Gregory had made because of his foresight. How many of those caused him distress to pick? Davis pondered the silent question as they rode ever closer to the coming confrontation for the day.

~*~*~

It was late in the afternoon when Gregory and Davis rode well ahead of the unit. They were a day early on their normal patrol schedule, which is why the slaver group wasn’t expecting the two horsemen to come around the bend in the road.

Seven rough men stood with five shackled eurtik. The armed men had pushed the eurtik ahead of them, planning on using them as meat shields or as bargaining chips to avoid an attack if it wasn’t bane beasts.

When the leader of the group saw Gregory’s kimono, he spat a curse, “Traveler’s trickery!”

Davis and Gregory slowly approached the group, neither man having drawn their weapons. “Gentlemen, no one needs to die today,” Gregory said grimly. “Put your weapons away, or you will be in violation of threatening a magi.”

The others looked to their leader, who was sheathing his sword. A minute later, the entire group was unarmed, but glaring at him. “Magi, there’s no reason for you to stop us,” the leader said tightly.

Gregory stared at him for a moment; something about him wasn’t entirely human. “Your name?”

“Clive Ratta. These men are with me.”

Has some rat eurtik in his heritage. Pretty distant, but it’s there, Gregory thought, looking over the man’s narrow face and squinty eyes. “That’s fine. I just need to see your paperwork, Clive.”

“We left it at home, Magi,” Clive said tightly. “I’d be glad to show you once we get to Coldwood.”

“Hmm. Your license, too?”

“Yes.”

Gregory let his resonance out to encircle the seven men. He pressed in on them enough to cause them some discomfort. “Lying to a magi is not wise, Clive.”

“We don’t have no damned papers!” one of the men wheezed. “Don’t need none to collar beasts, neither!”

“Incorrect,” Gregory said firmly, letting his resonance grab that man tightly. “The laws are quite clear. Since you’re in violation, you’re to be arrested and taken to Coldwood. Where are the keys to the shackles?”

Clive swallowed roughly and coughed, then sneered at Gregory, having just swallowed the key. “Can’t help you, Magi.”

Gregory shook his head as he stared at Clive. “You have two options, and neither of them is pleasant: vomit that key up, or when my cook reaches us, he’ll make you a concoction that will purge it from you.”

Clive stayed quiet, but his sneer made it plain that he wasn’t going to cooperate.

Gregory sighed. “Very well. You’ve chosen to add more crimes to your sentence; that’s your choice. The person who gives me the spare key will be given a reduction in their sentence.”

One of the men took a staggering step forward. “I have it, Magi.”

“Traitor!” Clive snarled. He tried to draw his sword, but he was suddenly on the ground under intense weight.

“Davis, disarm them,” Gregory said, pushing down on everyone but the eurtiks and the man who’d volunteered. “You, free the eurtik. They were captured illegally and are to be freed.”

The man blinked dumbly, then went to do as he’d been told, no longer feeling the pressure. His orange eyes gleamed slightly, showing off his part-eurtik heritage and making Gregory reevaluate the entire group. Every one of the seven men had small signs of having eurtik heritages; all slight, but there if someone was looking for it.

The five eurtiks slowly backed away once their shackles came off.

“You’re free to return north. I leave this post in six to seven months, and after that, things will go back to the way they’ve been before. Until then, I’ll be enforcing the laws. If they have paperwork, you’ll be taken in as slaves. Without… well, you’re free. I’d go now.”

The four women and one young boy bolted into the trees.

“Chainer will see you pay for that!” Clive hissed.

“He can try, but it’ll end badly for him,” Gregory said when he heard his unit coming closer behind him.

“You; what’s your name?”

“Smitty, Magi,” the supposed traitor said.

“Shackle your former comrades,” Gregory said. “You’ll remain unshackled but unarmed as we march.”

“Yes, sir,” Smitty said, doing as Gregory told him.

“I’m surprised that seven men with eurtik heritages are working as slavers.”

“Got to make money, sir,” Smitty shrugged. “Grandma was a worker down the cheap end. Mom ended up flat on her back, too. I do what I have to, to pay Mom back for raising me now that she’s out of work.”

“Traitor! You’ll get yours!” Clive hissed.

“Most of us are like that. We’re not wanted for other work, so we do what we have to,” Smitty said, ignoring Clive as he shackled his former boss. “Clive had a deal with one of Chainer’s men: we bring in what we can, and we take half the sales. We’d been offered more since… well, you know…” Smitty trailed off lamely.

“The fact that the last group fought me and my men?” Gregory asked. “Yes. I know.”

“We knew if we ran into you, it’d end badly. That’s why we wanted to get into the city today. You’re not supposed to be back until tomorrow.”

“Smitty, get your mother and get out of Coldwood. Clive there will point his finger at you, so it’s best that you get out before he can. It might be tough, but it’s better than the alternative.”

“You’re not going to arrest me?” Smitty asked once he’d locked the last man into shackles.

“I wish I could let it go, but that’ll be Robert’s decision. I have to bring you in. My report will reflect your help. That should give him the room to get you out well ahead of the others. You’ll be banned from slaving for a full year, so stay away from the border.”

“Yes, sir,” Smitty said.

“I can hear the men, sir,” Davis said.

“Once they get here, get these six attached to the wagon and start marching,” Gregory said. “We’ll make it a little later than normal, but a day ahead of what people expected.”

“Report to the commander on arrival?” Davis asked.

“Yes. I’ll sit in the wagon to write out his copy, and I’ll make more copies later at the barracks.”

“Yes, sir.”

~*~*~

“Magi, who are the men in shackles?” the gate sergeant asked slowly.

“Men who broke the slave laws, Sergeant. Take the six in shackles and keep them away from the other one. Smitty helped us and will likely not be staying long. Make sure he’s still processed, but if he gets attacked by the others… I won’t be happy.”

“Yes, Magi,” the sergeant saluted stiffly.

“Davis, the men are yours. I’m off to see the commander.”

Davis saluted, then turned over the captured slavers.

~*~*~

Gregory took a seat across from Roberts. “My report.”

Roberts took a deep breath before he opened the scroll. After he’d finished reading it, he nodded. “This will push matters to a head.”

“That’s my assessment, as well.”

“I have a friend down in Ashton who owes me a favor. I can get Smitty sent there to serve his reduced time. After that, if he does good, he can get hired on. He won’t be the first man he’s turned around to become a solid guard.”

“That’s appreciated. If he stays, Chainer will have him killed. That would be a terrible repayment for his assistance.”

“It would. What’re you going to do?”

“See Artok tomorrow,” Gregory shrugged. “I don’t have a choice in that. I’ll be summoned if I don’t go myself.”

“Will he push you to stop?”

“He might try, but I won’t stop defending the laws. They could easily stop me by just doing what they should, but they don’t even seem to realize that.”

“Most people with power don’t get there by doing what they should.”

“Fair…” Gregory sighed.

“Chainer will have to respond. The family thrives off new slaves coming in so they can sell off their older ones. I did pull their records, and they’re all in order. A few of them might have had wet ink.”

Gregory chuckled. “Pity. I would’ve pushed Artok to deal with it.”

“No doubt why they were updated.” Roberts paused before he sighed. “Be careful, Pettit. You’re one of the rare decent men in power I’ve met. I’d hate to see you killed before you can influence more than a border posting.”

“My wives would be quite upset if I died here, so I can’t allow that to happen,” Gregory chuckled before getting serious. “Things will get ugly, Roberts. I’ll do my best to minimize things, but I can’t stop all of it.”

“Wouldn’t ask you to. Just never let your life be the cost.”

The two men stood to shake hands before Gregory left the office. Roberts took his seat again and pulled a bottle from his desk. Pouring a small shot into the glass he’d snagged with the bottle, he took a sip from it before returning the bottle and empty glass to the drawer. “Best luck, Pettit…”