Chapter 263: Accountants

Chapter 263: Accountants

With a small flash of light, several people appeared on the teleporter at Rowan Keep. They paused momentarily, looking around at the new construction and half-built walls. Four of the men were bodyguards. The other three were imperial bureaucrats. As they stepped aside, three scribes, one groom, and the first of ten horses appeared. The bureaucrats could be easily recognized by their more expensive clothing, shoes not made for walking outdoors, and perpetual scowls. They seemed to have the same look regardless of who they worked for. Falcar wondered if it was some uniform.

One turned and looked at the teleporter. "This is certainly insufficient for a fortress of the proposed size."Embark on an odyssey to the core at Nøv€lß¡n#★

Captain Falcar was standing to the side of the teleportation stone. "Greetings, travelers. I am Captain Falcar of the Emperor's Legion. May I be of assistance? This is a larger stone than the average for a rural Legion Keep. Normal stones are 10' to a side and hold 10,000 mana. We are blessed with a 15' stone that can hold 100,000 mana, and we keep it fully charged to provide quick travel to and from Rowan Keep."

The man who had spoken snorted slightly and walked to the smiling captain. "Thank you for telling me things I am an expert in, Captain. I am Theordis Thancton, accountant for the Office of Accounting of the Emperor's Legion. I and my associates are making a surprise inspection to observe of the ongoing construction. I am amazed you can accomplish so much with such a small teleporter. Are you sourcing some of your materials locally?"

Falcar made a small eye movement that told a lurking soldier to report to the centurion before smiling again at the Imperial bean counter. "Baron William is paying for all of the materials and the improvements' cost. He has chosen to source the materials locally since he owns all of the local materials."

Theordis snorted. He had friends and family in the construction business. He hated local sources of materials. If he had his way, the Legion would never use them. "We will need to replace this teleporter with at least a twenty-foot stone, if not twenty-five. With less, a garrison big enough to fill this can't be shifted as needed."

Falcar's bland smile became a thin line. Every person in the bureaucracy felt they were an expert on how the Legion should be run. He was happy to see his Centurion arrive.

"Luckily, travel has been very minimal lately. And our supply of mana is very good. We can shift men and horses as fast as every ten seconds if the stone on the other end can keep up. Good to meet you; I am Marcus, the commanding Centurion of Rowan Keep. I am also surprised to see you. Shouldn't a notice have been sent so I could provide you with proper lodging and transportation and prepare the documents you needed to see?"

Theordis brushed a bit of dust from the shoulder of his black velvet jacket. "The dust here must be just terrible. No need for documents today. I am here to find the flaws in construction that invariably appear as local contractors try to skimp on supplying the Legion with their best services. My colleagues are here to talk to the Baron about his taxes and his requirements for imperial storehouses. Just ignore us, and we'll all get along fine. I'm sure you understand."

Theordis was trying not to be impressed by the construction but couldn't resist saying. "Unless the enemy has a capable Earth Mage who is better than what you have in the fortress to stop him. Any fortress can be destroyed by magic. That's why you need a good contingent of the Legion, competent mages, and a large enough teleport stone to handle the job."

Georges said nothing but beckoned the three to follow him. They went down to the thirty-foot level and along to a section of stone just being laid. Two people were concentrating on their work, carving runes into the stone. Nearby was an alchemist tending a vat of molten silver, and an artist sketched runes in colored pencil ahead of the two rune carvers. The stone they were working on was perfectly white marble. The stone of the walls at this level was a dark grey with small silver flecks. The scribe made a note of the tier 2 materials and pointed them out to his superior. Theordis needed to know where they were getting this stone. Tier 2 materials were generally only mined from a hundred or more feet into the earth.

Georges pointed to the runes. "If someone brings an Earth Mage to tear down my walls, they better be tough enough to handle a God."

"An invocation? Are you putting an invocation on the entire fortress walls? That's madness. Make an altar to Mars and give him a dozen bullocks in sacrifice each month! "

A smile appeared on Georges's face, showing his amusement. "Mars has his good points, but I want protection for my walls. Nothing is better than Hermes for that."

Theordis rolled his eyes. "Madness and a waste of time, and it makes a mockery of Mars. All Legion fortresses are dedicated to the God of War. No, this won't do. You can't waste all this time and money venerating some lesser god of shopkeepers and flower delivery." Around him, all sound died down. The two rune crafters stood up.

The first dusted off his once-white uniform and settled a fancy hat on his head. His uniform looked remarkably like that of an Imperial Courier. "Now, now. No need to be so ignorant about things. I'm sure it's just poor upbringing that prevents you from seeing just how cool Hermes is. He gets a lot of respect around here. He's a god who listens to shepherds, shopkeepers, and cunning pranksters. Also, messengers, which I'm sure includes the Emperor's Couriers, of which I happen to be one. When you consider that commerce and money keep the empire moving, you might re-think the importance of a God of Shopkeepers."

The other person stood, a young woman with striking good looks and flashing eyes. She glared at the intruders angrily. No dust or dirt clung to the long white gown she wore. On her neck, she wore a symbol of Hermes. "And I'll be happy to help with your re-education if I ever have the opportunity. Your words are rude and will be remembered." She gave them a look that sent a shiver down the imperial functionaries' spines. They turned and left hurriedly.

Later that day, one of the Legionnaires came down to pass a small bag with two silver pieces in it to Suzette. "Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but a very worried scribe and soldier asked me to give this to you in the hopes that you'd make an offering from them to Lord Hermes. They don't want you to have a bad impression of them, despite who they work for."