75 White

Shame.

Mandy felt it weighing down on her like a wet blanket. Again and again, she was haunted by a memory of her reaction to Mindy's excitement. The very idea of returning to the Frontier, of facing another Beast Wave… just thinking about it made her bones hurt, as if they remembered being broken.

She felt vulnerable. So very vulnerable. But to reveal her fear and vulnerability to Mindy, of all people! How could she face her younger sister any more?

No! She had to regain her senses, regain control! She had to be the older sister and protect Mindy!

And Mandy already knew the best way to protect that excitable younger sister of hers; simply take her away from danger. Didn't she see how the other kids here thrived? Didn't she see how safe and happy they were? They were running around without fear! They were wearing clean clothes, gaining weight, and nobody needed bandages or plasters every day! She could have that too; Mandy was willing to work for the Meadows Household in whatever capacity they'd take her, if only the pay allowed her to support her sister…

But Mindy rejected her! She was completely devoid of any gratitude!

Why? Because of her precious airships that she couldn't leave behind?

Mandy had seen Mindy's 'airship'. It was a mere hot air balloon that held up a lantern! Even if she had two of them instead of just one now, how could she reject her own sister in favor of her toys?!

She'd offer to help Mindy build a hundred such air balloons here if it would help, but unfortunately, Ashdale law wouldn't allow it. Any aircraft in Ashdale airspace had to be from qualified shipyards, authorized by various departments, licensed and registered with a full navigation report… and more. That much Mandy understood from talking with Charlie's dad.

What else did Mindy say about the Beast Waves? Tier 5 Wilds were attacking, now?

Mandy began to think of ways to hold Mindy back here for her own safety.

***

Meanwhile, Remian and Mindy had a blast. They started off with a stop at Deutero bank to withdraw some cash, then armed with 50,000 Lir in bank notes and coin, they stormed into the town's main commercial center.

Oddly enough, the first place they both wanted to go to was the library, where books were rented for reading, bought or sold. Six stories of books, scrolls and Inscription workshops for rent held them up for six hours straight. Both of them ended up spending most of it on the fifth floor, which was mainly basic magic books. They also visited the sixth floor, which was where you could rent an Inscription workshop (and pay for ingredients at just-below-retail prices), the fourth floor (skill books, including engineering and airship mechanics), and the third floor (maps, general information).

They came away with two full backpacks of books. Not only did they buy a couple of thick technical engineering manuals that Arnold requested, a trio about farming and livestock for George, and a full set of sixty thin and illustrated basic language learning children's books for the clans.

Their greatest prize from the library; 'Basic Earth Magic At Home' by Peter Fellows, Master of Geomancy. That one seemed to be mainly about domestic land use, like farming, loosening or hardening soil and leveling terrain to prepare for construction. There was even a spell for fixing broken plates and mugs.

They had lunch at the cafeteria outside the library, then went on to a nearby smithy.

Andros was there, trying to convince a work-gang of five burly guys to join his Burning Steel Forge.

They asked, "Why would we want to go there? Fresh air and sunshine isn't good enough; you have to remember we'd be in a forge most of the time!"

Andros' reply? Two simple words, clear and succinct; "No taxes."

Really? The lord of the land asked nothing from him?

In the past few weeks? Only to smelt raw ores into bars and a few customized weapons. The fun part? The demands were the same no matter how big the forge became.

They signed up immediately. In this scenario, the work asked of one man could be shared among ten, or a hundred smiths. They would henceforth basically be free to do whatever else they wanted, and everything else they made was theirs to sell for profit (minus the cost of the production).

"We're going to have to talk about that, one day…" Remian sighed, as he and Mindy discreetly watched Andros move on to another bunch of smiths; this second batch looked much younger, probably just apprentices. Still, he spoke with enthusiasm. "We should ask more from the Burning Steel."

"We're already asking them for a lot of labor and parts. They practically already work for you. Just do another part-ownership thing." Mindy shrugged.

Remian scratched his head, wondering if that really was the best idea. Was he going to end up part-owning everything? Was that even possible?

Did he even qualify to be called the lord of the land? With Shadowflash still missing and presumed dead, Remian was the one who ended up dealing with all the challengers coming their way. Maybe the perks came with the responsibility?

They made a stop by the industrial zone and put in an order for various airship parts to be delivered to the Roving Albatross early tomorrow. Seeds, equipment, imported materials they couldn't find at the Frontier... there were going to be a lot of goods delivered to the Roving Albatross by tomorrow.

But at last, evening came. Remian and Mindy returned to face Mandy at dinner.

***

"How did you like Ashdale?" Mandy asked, as soon as they got back.

"It was… nice." Mindy said, guardedly.

"We should stay here." Mandy got straight to the point. "You like it, don't you? In terms of safety and future opportunity, this is a much better place than the Frontier. Think of it as a big upgrade!"

"We have to go back." Mindy shook her head. "Mandy, you have to see what we've built! What we've done! We have…"

The argument began anew.

"School…"

"Airships…"

Remian tuned out the rest of it, sighing to himself. Best he stay out of this one…

But the girls wouldn't let him. Mandy barked, "Remian! Help me out here! Talk some sense into my sister! She listens to you!"

"Remian!" Mindy turned to him. "We have to go back! We can't stay here! Tell her!"

"What exactly do you want me to do?!" Remian protested.

"Throw away her airships and make her stay here!" Mandy demanded.

Mindy's face went white. Her fist clenched. "Use the slave bond to force her to come back!"

Mandy's face went white. She actually stepped back. The look on her face…

Remian was stunned. Mindy's reaction… Mandy's reaction… both of them struck him like lightning. How… how did it come to this? But it was too late. What had been said could not be forgotten. What was done could not be undone.

That horror. That fear. Mandy was looking at him like she was facing a monster. Why? Wasn't all that already thrown out? Didn't she understand him by now?

Was it because he did not immediately side with her against Mindy? Was it his fault?

But he couldn't force Mindy to stay. He couldn't destroy her airships. He needed them too badly.

"Wait. Just wait." Remian closed his eyes. This was so wrong. Everything going on was all wrong. "First things first; we need to dissolve the slave bond. I'm never going to use that to force Mandy to do anything."

The cold, deadly silence continued. Nobody said a word for a while.

"Mindy, get Charlie, please. We need expert help on this one." Remian requested.

Mindy shot Mandy a suspicious look.

"Please." Remian softened his tone.

Mindy reluctantly left Remian facing Mandy alone. Mandy was a tumult of different expressions changing from one to the next in seconds. At length, what she said was, "Are… are you sure?"

Charlie was not in a mood for any more argument. "Watch me."

That was all he said.

***

That night, the Meadows family had another guest 'expert' come over to help out.

Her name was Lydia. She was a Priestess with powerful Life magic who specialized in emancipation. She had a strong face, a strong handshake, but a playful smile.

"If you could all help me out, this could go much quicker." Lydia requested. "The Magi of House Meadows have a tall reputation. May I presume that you would not leave a poor priestess to struggle against the slave-bond all alone?"

"What do you need?" Charlie asked.

"Mana. I need mana support."

Charlie's parents, his sister, his brother, his brother's wife, two nephews, a niece, Charlie himself, Remian and Mindy all chipped in. Standing at the center of a formation carved into the floor under the carpet of the living room, Lydia was impressed by the sheer volume of mana she was receiving from them all. "Great! This should be over quickly!"

Getting a slave-bond out of a person was much harder than putting it in. The latter required only a specialized device. But removing it required nothing short of magical surgery. In many ways, it was like physical injuries - causing a stab wound was easy; healing it was not.

That bond was like a thorny net over a slave's heart. Lydia basically had to pick it apart bit by bit, extracting and dissolving it area by area until all of it was removed. This was painstaking, time-consuming and energy-intense work. Even a specialist like herself took the better part of four hours to clear it out.

Yet finally, it was done. By that time, Charlie's family, Remian and Mindy had rotated no less than six times, taking turns to provide support and rest. Charlie's nephews and niece had gone to bed halfway through, on Beth's orders. Mindy stayed through.

Mandy thanked everybody for ten minutes non-stop. She was trying very hard not to cry, but her successes in that endeavor were less than stellar.

As she was expressing her heartfelt gratitude, Lydia pulled Remian aside and said, "You surprise me."

"Why?" Remian asked, frowning.

"I saw it. Or read it or heard it, whatever. That final clause to the slave contract." Lydia nudged him. "You're quite a romantic."

Remian eyed her for a bit. She was pleasant enough on the eyes, but, "Uh… sorry, but… aren't you a little too old for me?"

Lydia's eyes narrowed. She punched his shoulder, hard. "Oh? Is that how you want to play it? You know, I have a sister around your age, her name is Phoebe; she's very popular with the boys…"

Remian grimaced, rubbing his shoulder. "If she's as violent as you, they probably worship her out of fear."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Anyway. Come call me again if you have any other slave you want freed, no questions asked. I'll give you a discount. You can even send for me if you have a large group of them."

"What if I had hundreds?" Remian asked.

Lydia froze. She bit her lip. "I said no questions asked, but… are you serious?"

"Watch me." Remian said.

Lydia glanced around. "I'm guessing they aren't here."

"They're two days south of here by airship." Remian told her. "We're flying there tomorrow on the Roving Albatross. Departure time is set at 11 in the morning."

"I'll be there." Lydia said, then flashed a quick grin. "And I'll bring my sister."

"Uh, that won't be necessary."

"Oh, it will. Mana support, remember? I think it's very necessary." Lydia cleared her throat. "It could take a few weeks, maybe months depending on how many there are and how much support I can get. I trust you'll be taking care of us during that time."

"We'll see to your needs." Remian assured her.

***

"So… what now?" Mandy asked him after Lydia left.

"Now you're free to do whatever you want, stay wherever you like. You're free." Remian said.

"I… I want to help you. You've done a lot for me. But I can't go back. I just can't."

"So, don't. Help us from here." Charlie suggested. "My family actually owns Meadows General Store. My brother runs it. If you can handle the sales of the goods from the Frontier, we could get better prices selling at retail than selling the goods to dealers. That means more profit for all of us."

Mandy glanced at Remian. "What do you think?"

"We wanted you to do that with the Guild Shop anyway, back at Frontier Town. It's much the same thing isn't it?" Remian asked.

"Yes… but no." Mandy hesitated.

"You'll get the hang of it." Remian assured her and patted her on the back.

Then he turned from her and walked away alone.