22
The trip back to Valdis Maj was uneventful, though they did take a lot of teasing when they would go off together for some alone time.
The Jinn families who were hosting them insisted on throwing a small engagement party for them when they reached the first village on their way back, and they received small gifts from almost every member of the caravan.
It was truly touching, and Malea made mental notes to create something pretty for each of the ladies in the caravan while Kurt would make something useful out of glass for the menfolk.
The caravan had provided safety for them on the way to fulfill their mission and was doing so on the way back. The Jinn traders deserved thanks and, perhaps, some reward for their assistance. Kurt and Malea had talked it over and decided to make it happen.
The dragons had told them to share the wealth with those who had helped, and they would do so.
There was so much, there’d be plenty to go around and still leave Kurt and Malea with a tidy sum with which to start their lives together.
They’d decided to start planning their wedding once they got back to the city so their adopted family and friends could have input.
They didn’t want anything too big, but a party that included their virkin friends and a few of the dragons was a given.
Malea still had that belt full of gold, so she spent more freely on the way back, doing the job she should have been doing the whole trip.
She sought out miners and bartered with them for their colorful gemstones, adding more to the small sack that she kept with her at all times.
She managed to purchase some deep purple amethyst that she suspected would be deemed good enough for the King, himself.
She bought a lot of lesser stones as well, filling her little satchel with gems of all qualities so that even the young apprentices back at Master Goldman’s hall could have some real gemstone rough to cut as they perfected their skills.
By the time they got back to Valdis Maj, she had spent most of the mixed metals in the purse she’d been given, and a good portion of the gold, but she still had quite a bit left.
She wasn’t sure if Master Goldman would be glad to have his gold coins back, or mad that she hadn’t spent it all and come back with more gemstones. She supposed she would find out.
As it turned out, Master Goldman was happy with everything she’d done.
He accepted his gold back with alacrity and looked at each and every stone she had brought with her in an hours-long meeting the very night of her return.
He’d marveled at the stones the dragon had gathered, exclaiming over their quality and clarity.
And when he’d seen the dragon’s tear, gifted to Malea, he’d practically sobbed himself.
She’d never seen her Master speechless before, but that dragon’s tear had done it.
He’d handled it with reverence and studied it in silence for long, long moments.
Finally, he gave it back to her with a joyful happiness that she had attained such a prize.
After that, he sent her off to bed, telling her she would be meeting with Mistress Isolde the next morning.
Malea knew she’d also be reuniting with Kurt.
He’d gone to Isolde tonight, to report to her first, just as Malea had sought Master Goldman.
They’d decided to wait until they’d made their reports and things had settled down before sharing the news that they were engaged.
They wanted to tell Isolde first, so that might be possible tomorrow, if they found the right time.
If not, they’d do it the next day, for sure.
The following morning, after seeing Mistress Isolde and being welcomed back home by the apprentices, Kurt and Malea went across the connected backyards to give their reports to General Brighton.
His headquarters was directly behind the glass shop, with a gate in the wall between the two yards large enough for a dragon to fit through.
It was seldom closed these days, and the two returning spies had no problem getting into the giant stone temple unseen from outside.
The temple had been easily converted into the army headquarters back when the wastelands had been annexed onto Valdis and the alliances with the dragons to the north had formed.
The conversion of the old temple had been finished by the time Isolde and the General had married, and there were dragons in and out of the area all the time since then.
The visiting Draconian dragons often stayed at the headquarters, if they didn’t stay at the castle, and of course there were the resident ice and snow dragons that partnered with the General and Isolde, respectively.
In fact, Salveer stood watching them, his reflective scales catching the light like living crystal when they entered the General’s large office.
As Kurt and Malea approached the giant desk behind which the General sat, Salveer lowered his great head in a gesture of solemn greeting.
Keera and Arch were already perched nearby, their wings tucked neatly and their expressions proud.
They’d flown ahead and had probably already given their reports.
“By all accounts, you two have done very well,” General Brighton said, his deep, resonant voice, echoing against the stone walls.
Kurt straightened. “The weapons are melted. The mage is dead. Balreal’s plan is shattered.”
“And you both survived,” added Keera with a little chirp of triumph.
“That we did,” Malea said with a tired smile.
“You’ve done more than survive,” Salveer said. “You’ve changed the tide of a war before it even truly began.”
“Reports from the field say that both sites were reduced to ash and pools of metal. I’ll be sending an engineering group up there to get the metal and bring it back so it can be forged into useful things here and not left lying around for the enemy to use again,” General Brighton told them.
“The metal smith guild is very happy at the prospect of receiving an abundance of metal that has already been through the forging process to remove impurities. Transporting it will be the hard part, but some of our dragon friends have agreed to help break it up into more manageable chunks by melting it for the craftsmen who will direct it into smaller molds. It will be quite the undertaking.”
Kurt just bet it would be, but he didn’t say anything. He was used to the way the General spoke and knew there was more to come.
“As for the mine, once the metal is removed and the rest of the diamonds are collected, the dragons want to collapse the entrance and do their best to obliterate the site. The King agrees. A wagon full of diamond fragments arrived last night under cover of darkness and was brought directly to Master Goldman’s hall.
It waits for you there, Malea. You and Master Goldman will be the first to sort through the pile, and he has detailed instructions for distributing them at the King’s command.
Since you already know about them and have an eye for such things, I believe he’s going to ask you to sort and grade them.
From what I understand, you have a rather large task ahead, but there is no rush.
Master Goldman has advised the crown that the best way to handle such a large influx of high-quality diamonds is to parse them out slowly, so no one realizes exactly where they came from.
In fact, he’s already working with the mining guild Masters to plant stories of a major diamond strike at one of the remote mines to cover the outflow of diamonds from his hall. ”
Kurt looked at Malea, noting the way her eyes widened. “That…sounds like a big job, General.”
“It is, but as I said, it doesn’t all have to be done at once.
Considering the reports I’ve received on the sheer quantity of diamond that they’ve been finding at the mine site, it could take months of your spare time, or even years.
Discuss it with Master Goldman, and remember, there is no hurry,” General Brighton said, looking at her kindly.
He was a soldier with a big heart, and he’d become the father of all of Isolde’s orphans when he’d married her, even if he was a bit gruff when he was acting as the General and not the man, as he was at the moment.
“Sir, what about Balreal?” Kurt couldn’t help but ask. The fact that the warlord was still out there, plotting, didn’t sit well with him.
General Brighton frowned, sighing before he spoke again.
“Good question. We will keep looking for him, of course. For right now, his operation has been crippled, if not destroyed completely. I don’t expect him to just go away completely, but we’ve bought ourselves some time, I believe, before he becomes a problem once more.
Hopefully, if we keep our ears to the ground in the meantime, we can learn more about him and his aims.”
“The mage wanted to kill dragons. He ranted about Balreal promising him he could,” Malea reminded the General.
“Yes, that is troubling. But there are bigger targets in the far north as well. The Citadel is always under pressure, and since allying with the fair folk enclave, we’ve become involved in its protection.
So has the Draconian monarchy on their side of the mountains.
I foresee more cooperation between the two kingdoms to make certain the Citadel remains undefiled, but that will start with discussions between King Alric and King Roland of Draconia.
I believe they intend to meet face-to-face sometime in the near future, though it hasn’t been settled yet whether King Roland will come here or if King Alric will go there.
Either way, there will be a great deal of preparation among the fighting forces for either eventuality. ”
“I expect so,” Kurt said, agreeing.
“I understand you came back with a huge haul of obsidian, as well as other sorts of colored glass formed by long-ago volcanoes. Isolde is very pleased with you, Kurt,” the General noted. “For that and for your skill in handling the situation up there. For that matter, I’m pleased, as is the King.”
“Thank you, General,” Kurt said humbly, truly glad to have this man’s praise.
“I may be calling on you both in the future, but for now, you’ve earned a rest and time to pursue your crafts other than spying. What you brought back with you will keep you both busy for some time to come, I suspect. Enjoy it and know that we are all very glad that you’re both on our side.”
Taking his words as dismissal, Kurt and Malea turned to go. But, it seemed, the General had one more thing to say.
“I expect you’ll be going back to Isolde’s now and breaking the news to her that you’re engaged.”
Kurt and Malea both whirled around to look at the General who was pretending nonchalance while not doing a very good job of hiding his smile. Kurt spoke first.
“How did you know?”
“I run the kingdom’s intelligence network,” was all the General would say, though his smile grew wider. “Congratulations, you two. Now go tell my wife. I know she’ll be thrilled for you both.”
“Thank you, General,” Malea said, beaming at him as she reached out and took Kurt’s hand.
Then, smiling broadly and walking hand-in-hand, they left the General and his army’s headquarters behind.
Their virkin friends were flying over their heads as they walked back across the two backyards and went to find the woman who had given them both a purpose in life.
Isolde had stepped in when their own parents had died.
She had taken them in, albeit years apart, and taught them important skills.
She’d given them a trade, a new and enormous family, and skills to navigate life and serve the kingdom they all loved. She really was the best.
Just as the General had suspected, Isolde burst into happy tears when Malea announced that she was in love with Kurt, and he with her, and that they were getting married.
Isolde gave them her blessing, knowing the two were well-suited to each other.
She began speaking of the wedding with Malea, and the two women eventually shooed Kurt out of the room so they could make plans.
Kurt went to the secure work room that had been set aside for the obsidian and colored glass he’d brought back from his journey.
Arch went with him, the two males sticking together while the females talked about dresses and invitation lists.
Apparently, Keera was delighted to be involved in the wedding planning, according to Arch, and she was going to put forward some ideas of her own for the ceremony.
Kurt just shook his head. He never could have dreamed, when he’d been a boy and had been so scarred by the loss of his parents and siblings, that life would have turned out like this for him.
Not only had he found a new life filled with purpose, art, skill and friendship, but he’d found love with Malea, when he’d least expected it.
Not to mention that he counted at least three dragons as friends and had a virkin pal who seemed to like being around him.
His life had been touched by magic in so many ways, it would be hard to believe if he hadn’t lived it.
From such humble and horrible beginnings to this.
He sat back in front of the large worktable where the precious obsidian and other volcanic glass had been laid out and marveled, just for a moment.
Then, he sent a prayer of thanks up to the Mother of All and got to work. He had plans for this bounty. Things he wanted to make and original designs to devise.