Thirty-First Day of July, In the Year of the Empire 6777 Continued

It is not too late in the afternoon when I finally reach the military office and ask to see the ranking official there. After a short wait, I get to speak with Major Tomalin.

Major Tomalin is a tall older man that appears to be in excellent shape. He wears a military dress uniform here at the school and seems friendly enough now. "Hello, Sir Perrin. How can I help you today?"

Making sure the door is closed, I nod. "Good afternoon, sir. I have something confidential to speak about, would you consider signing a confidentiality agreement just for what I want to discuss with you regarding the military?"

Sitting back in his chair, he studies me a bit. "So long as it is nothing that will harm the Kingdom, then yes."

After he signs the agreement and we both have a copy, I sit down. "Sir, with your permission, I would like to put a barrier around us before we speak further."

With his nod, I cast the spell and maintain my mana feed to it.

"Thank you, Major Tomalin. What do you know about magical rituals?"

Shrugging, he claims, "Not much. People have tried using them before but without a lot of success."

"That would be correct, Major Tomalin. What I want to share with the Kingdom's military is the process of creating successful rituals." Handing the bag of tokens to him, I ask, "are you familiar with building these items of war?"

He looks through them and nods at each. "I'm not an engineer myself, but I understand the concepts."

Standing, I look beside his desk to ensure the floor is unobstructed. Major Tomalin looks as well, then at me.

"Major, please take one of those tokens and through it on the floor there. It will make some noise and light for a moment."

The Major only hesitates a moment before selecting one and tossing it down.

After the noise and light flash is gone, there is a one-tenth sized catapult sitting there on the floor.

"That major is the result of a ritual I have put together to build working models quickly. With tokens prepared ahead of time with the full-sized versions, do you think they would offer any advantage to the military?"

Moving some things from his desk, the Major picked up the miniature catapult. He scrutinizes it, even going so far as to prepare it for firing for a moment. Sitting there, he stares at it for a time. "You can do this with the full-sized versions?"

"Yes. All you would need are all the materials, a copy of the plans to build, one or more mages, a copy of the ritual, and the token to be enchanted. With it, you would create a token that can be carried to battle and constructed as needed in just a few moments."

"If you wanted to go all out, you could use a plan for a fortress, so long as all the needed materials are there when the ritual begins, it would create a token. Toss the enchanted token down where you want the fortress, and you will have it. As a larger building, it might take a little longer to construct, regardless it would be constructed in a small fraction of the time compared to normal."

Grinning, I ask. "Would this be worth something to the military, sir?"

The Major looked at me like he was seeing a ghost or something for a time. Then he finally nodded. "You need to go to the castle."

"Yes, Sir, but I do not know whom to take this to. I have confidential agreements with everyone that knows even a little of what I've created, so it's important to see the right person, I imagine."

"Yes," was his reply, then he stood and handed me the bag of tokens and said to follow him. We went quickly to the stables where he had a carriage hooked up as soon as he could. With him driving, we left the school and headed for the castle.

I followed him quietly from office to office within the castle, getting ever deeper into the building. Finally, we find ourselves in a large, very beautifully decorated room. It looked more like a sitting room than another office. I still did not say anything as we waited; neither did the Major.

After a time standing there watching the low fire burning in the fireplace, someone entered the room. It was a much older gentleman in dress uniform with the rank of General.

"Major Tomlin, it is good to see you again. How is your family?" The General asked with a smile.

Major Tomlin smiled back, "Good evening, General. My family is doing very well, Sir. My oldest plans on entering into service next summer, Sir."

After nodding to the Major, the General turned to me, "Sir Hartson Perrin, Barron of Perrin. A newly created barony just a few days ago after the purchase of a failed barony. Said barony is quickly being put into proper order due to your efforts and coin, which you did not barrow or seek from the Kingdom. Your plans to protect your barony have been noticed and highly regarded. Most new barons hardly know which side of a horse to get on, so your peers already are wondering how to deal with you."

Hardly slowing, he started listing school maters. "You graduated recently with Honors due to impressive work on a spell. As we speak, your spell is undergoing field testing by the Army's medical staff as a stretcher. So far, the reports filled 'Thanks' and credited with saving many lives already. "

Taking a breath, he continued, "At the Kingdom's Mage College, you're an Instructor due to ingenious research and planning."

And on he went. "You're seeking to become a High Mage in a field that all others have given up on as a worthy pursuit."

Sitting down in one of the chairs, he added. "And this is only your twelfth summer."

Then he asked, "Is that all correct, sir?"

Swallowing hard and blushing, I nod, "Yes, that is correct, Sir."

All I could think was how in the world does he know so much about me? And what did he mean about the other barons? The Kingdom uses my 'Floating Carriage' spell to save lives? There it is, the confirmation that I chose the worst thing to research, rituals. I think my head is spinning.

The General smiled at me. "Relax, young Sir. If why you're here this evening is as important as the Major claims, the Kingdom will continue to hold you in high regard."

I just stood there because he did not ask me a question.

The General finally broke the silence. "Please be at ease and have a seat. It's good you know how to show respect. That is always an essential thing, young Sir."

Leaning forward, he asked. "So, you have something to show me? Please go ahead."

"Yes, I do at that, sir." Just as I had explained to Major Tomalin, I explained to the General and handed him the bag of tokens. "You just need to pick one and throw it on the ground away from you. It will cause a flash and some noise."

Picking out a token, the General does just as I instructed. A moment later, a small working model scorpion is sitting on the floor.

I picked it up quickly and handed it to the General, saying, "This is a one-tenth sized working model of the Kingdom's standard scorpion, Sir."

The General scrutinizes it, even testing its tension.

With a smile, he congratulates me, "Extremely well done, Sir Hartson."

Looking past me, he says, "This is the Royal Mage Sir Hartson. Would you please show him this book you have created concerning this demonstration?"

"Yes, of course, General." Taking the book from my bag, I hand it to an ancient man with a highly decorated mage sash. "It is missing light and sound suppression when activated, but everything else is in there, Sir."

Merely taking the book and nodding to me, the Royal Mage takes a seat and begins to study the book. He slowly turns the pages as he is intently reviewing every word I have written. After what seems like the entire night has passed, he closes the book. "General, the work is very well done as expected. It allows one or many mages to prepare nearly any construction ahead of time. The materials still must be available, and the token materials need to scale to the power of the ritual. Otherwise, as Honored Mage Hartson has stated, it only needs two adjustments without further testing. The most amazing thing is that he has found a way to ensure the safety of mages using any ritual. For that alone, this is wonderful work. His application of it to military matters is very appropriate. And as Mage Hartson has worked to keep this very private, this is well worth a great deal regarding security for our Kingdom."