Ricky felt like he had nearly reached a point where the sorcery at the Rings had caught up to his capabilities. His fellow sorcerers were much older. He still had a summer and a bit more before he was eighteen. That was fine with him. Unlike Doubli Academy, he had learned the breadth of sorcery that he had never had the opportunity to acquire in Paranty. He also knew that he far exceeded the knowledge and power of any Parantian sorcerer when that breadth was taken into account. But what could he do with it in his home country?

  Time for another celebration? Minnie said, linking to him as the orientation class was just finishing. There will be a surprise waiting for you.

  I suppose. I’ll come home two days from now. That’s my new free day, Ricky replied. He closed the link, wondering what kind of new dessert Minnie would have for him.

  There wasn’t much to do for the next few days. Ricky went on a few tours and perused the Fourth Ring library. The books were more like the ancient library, seriously discussing various aspects of practical sorcery. With Mara’s betrayal, Ricky put his hopes on Duterian sorcery, and he wasn’t disappointed now that he read advanced practices. Most of the authors were Tower sorcerers. Perhaps it was time for a session with Kened Gostok. Ricky had avoided such a thing while he toiled in the lower rings, but he now wanted a better picture of what the Tower offered.

  He bundled some of his old clothes and a few items from the Third Ring and walked home. No one answered the door, so he walked in and went up to his room. He examined his clothes more closely and decided it was time for Minnie to take his measurements and have Tobia buy him quite a few replacements. He had grown bigger since Winter’s Day, but at some point, that would stop.

  The door closing downstairs prompted Ricky to descend to the ground level. He stopped and grinned.

  “Baron Mansali! I never expected to see you here. I didn’t think they would let you return to the Rings.”

  “You know better than that, by now,” Minnie said.

  “I guess I do. It is good to see someone from Paranty,” Ricky said. “How long have you been in Hessilia?”

  “A few weeks. I’m strengthening my network in Hessilia, and I find a partner right under my nose. You three have done remarkably well,” the baron said.

  Minnie looked the most struck by the baron’s compliment, but then she ran the business. Tobia was there for errands, especially with Minnie’s pregnancy. She had another three months to go, and she looked very pregnant. Ricky had seen expecting women enough in Shantyboat Town.

  “Let’s go into the dining room,” Minnie said. “These days a soft chair is no friend to a woman like me struggling to her feet.”

  The dining room was really Minnie’s office. There were enough chairs for them all, including a soft one for Baron Mansali. Ricky looked at all the stacks of papers on the big table and the boxes of papers lining the walls. Minnie had never moved her center of operations to their warehouse, where Tobia spent more of his time.

  “Working more closely with Baron Mansali will change our operations a bit,” Minnie said. “I wanted you to be informed, since you are a partner.”

  Ricky never considered himself a partner in Minnie’s business and never asked for updates. Minnie wasn’t shy about keeping him apprised of the business.

  He sat in on a quick recap of the state of the business, since that information would have already been discussed. Then the baron talked about what could be imported from Paranty overland without going through the port of Torak.

  Ricky immediately saw the opportunity. He never knew Torak importers took such a large percentage of imported goods. “Will Torak let you do this? It seems they will be losing money.”

  “We will still bring goods from other countries through Torak,” the baron said, “so fees will still be paid, but Hessilia from Duteria all the way to the east coast will be open.”

  “That’s two-thirds of the city-states,” Ricky said. “Although the richest cities are in the West.”

  “Underserved markets are our best opportunity,” Minnie said. “We will become an agent firm for the Baron, and he will become an agent for Hessilian goods moving in the other direction.”

  “What are the risks?” Ricky said.

  “The largest one, you’ve already identified. An operation of this size is bound to draw attention, and where there is attention, conflicts can arise. However, I’ve done the same in other countries, just not on this scale,” the baron said.

  “Every city-state has their own twists,” Minnie said. “That has kept the baron from attempting this earlier. With our expertise, we can participate in his expansion.”

  “We are an import-export firm, but there are no ships to sink, so our risk is selling products at a good price.”

  “And protection during the shipments?” Ricky said.

  The baron’s eyes lit up. “As soon as the goods are transferred in Hessilia, we will hire sorcerer and conventional guards. Battle sorcerers are generally idle in Hessilia these days, and caravans can use the additional help between the cities.”

  “The Hessilian equivalent of angry storms,” Ricky said.

  “Exactly,” the baron said.

  “I agree, for what it’s worth. The final decision is Minnie’s,” Ricky said. He looked at Minnie. “Will you need more investment?”

  She blushed. “Maybe a bit more. I won’t risk all your funds or all ours.”

  “I offered to contribute, but Minnie wants the operation to be Hessilian in all ways. I can see her point, and that mitigates a political risk.”

  “Count me in as long as Vincent Crabacci gets to keep his money.”

  “Vincent?” the baron said before understanding came to his face. He laughed. “Vincent is alive and well and about to graduate from Doubli Academy, did you know?”

  “I didn’t,” Ricky said, smiling.

  “He has visited Dimani a few times,” Minnie said. “Don’t worry about him. I will need a few months before you leave to procure fresh papers.”

  “You can get them through me,” Baron Mansali said. “It’s the least I can do. Saganet laughed for some time when I asked him to cooperate with your instructions.”

  Ricky nodded. He thought of Saganet and Effie. “Oh, I didn’t realize it, but she is pregnant, too. You are both due a few months apart,” Ricky said.

  “I remembered,” Minnie said.

  “I lead a reclusive life, you know,” Ricky said.

  “We know,” both said in unison.

  “How is your power-linking going?” the baron asked.

  Ricky gave him a description of his healer work, but he didn’t mention the deep-mind-alignment he shared with Healer Kokorak. “The Fourth Ring is where Duteria’s sorcery and mine finally meet.”

  They talked a bit more about the Ring. Baron Mansali had remembered a lot. Minnie didn’t want to walk around in public, so she had dinner delivered, and that included the dessert Ricky had expected. Tobia finally showed up to continue their discussions. Ricky looked outside at the dimming light and rose from his seat.

  “Do you have to go now?”

  Ricky nodded his head. “For the past two years, I can only walk to and from the Rings during daylight. It’s a habit now. There never were more attacks, but one never knows. King Leon can suddenly remember that I am at the Rings and might try again.”

  “It never hurts to be vigilant. There are some offices where that is the rule, especially the ones closest to the docks.” He smiled without mirth. “Oh, by the way, Loria has graduated Doubli and has gone to live in Sealio. She currently lives with one of my sons. Hopefully, she can find herself.” He sighed.

  “I hope she does, too. I hope Mara Torris likewise becomes a better person, but I doubt she will.”

  “Mara Torris is still my daughter’s acquainance. You have prompted me to be a little more vigilant about monitoring Loria’s affairs.”

  Ricky said his goodbyes, but Tobia chose to buckle on a sword and walk with him to the First Ring portal.

  “I like the baron, but can he be trusted?”

  “When I first met him, I thought he had stolen power-linking from Duteria. I thought that gave him an unfair advantage and many people in Tossa looked down on his family. Now I know he was just another sorcerer who learned what he needed to and left the Rings to seek his fortune. It happens all the time. He’s a businessman and makes tough decisions, risky ones when he buys ships that others have thought lost. He has been honest with me, more than honest. I count him as a friend.”

  Tobia seemed to relax. “Sometimes Minnie gets caught up in the emotion of a new product or new opportunity. We haven’t made money on every trade, I’ll tell you,” Tobia said. “I didn’t want her getting involved with Mansali unless you agreed. You know the man, and that’s good enough for me.”

  “Vigilance is still called for. New ventures are always risky, right?”

  Tobia grinned. “Right.”

  “I’d get into the security business, if I were you, Tobia. Gruntal produces great guards and battle sorcerers, I hear.”

  The grin didn’t fade. “You are so right. It did pass my mind when we talked about it this afternoon.”

  “I agree with doing that, too.” Ricky took a deep breath when they reached the portal. “Tomorrow I get placed in a specialization. It will be battle sorcery, without a doubt. You can pray to Botoy that I succeed.”

  “Minnie and I always do, although we are more partial to Hassa.”

  “Two gods have got to be better than one,” Ricky said as he waved goodbye and headed to the Fourth Ring.

  ~~~

  Chapter Fifteen

  ~

  R icky faced a panel of four sorcerers.

  “What would you choose for a specialty?”

  “I don’t know,” Ricky said. “If you had a program in political sorcery, maybe that. I’ve been involved in such things before.”

  “A spy?” one of the sorcerers, a woman, said. She lifted a paper. “You are infamous in Paranty for turning traitor, and you are still a teenager.”

  “Perhaps,” Ricky said. “I feel I worked towards saving Dimani from an invasion from one, and possibly two, countries. My friend is Dimanian.”

  “Sorcerer Griama of the First Ring? He is not the sorcerer you are.”

  “I didn’t say he was,” Ricky said, “but I can still claim him as a friend.”

  His inquisitor snorted and put the paper in a folder. There were more papers in the folder than Ricky expected.

  “I have a request from Healer Tameru Taragoya that we place you as a healer candidate.”

  Ricky shook his head. “I have talent, yes, but I don’t have the interest. To be a competent healer takes years of dedication. I don’t feel I have that kind of dedication to give. I informed Healer Taragoya of that.”

  “He mentioned that time is all you lack to equal Healer Mirano Bespa, your countryman.”

  Ricky wondered if he had a country, but he thought of the proper reply. “I am still the heir to the duchy of Naparra. That appointment hasn’t been rescinded, as far as I can tell,” he said.

  “You seek to rule rather than to serve?” a man said.

  He gave Ricky an encouraging smile. Ricky knew the peril of assigning attributes to people, but based on the questions the sorcerers had given him, he thought he could accurately place each sorcerer in their faction. He hoped the divisions weren’t that stark in the Tower.

  “A person can do both,” Ricky said. “I am a proponent of integrating sorcerers into society. Vorria does something similar to Hessilia.”

  “There is less integration in the city-states than you may realize, Sorcerer Valian. We have only the three alternatives. However, I propose we place you as a battle-sorcerer and allow you additional courses in Industry. As for political sorcery, that is something you can pursue in the Fifth Ring. Studies in the Fifth are much more flexible. In the Fourth, we work on strengthening your power, and in the Fifth, we hone that power,” the smiling sorcerer said. “Does the panel agree?”

  “There is the alternative of expulsion,” the woman sorcerer said. “Perhaps Sorcerer Valian should seek his training elsewhere.”

  The other three sorcerers protested. Ricky stared at the woman, who looked away. He wondered if she had ties to Paranty.

  The panel voted in front of Ricky with the woman voting against Ricky’s course of study as a battle sorcerer.

  “I took the liberty to write out classes and sessions for this term. We do things a little differently in the Fourth Ring and even more in the Fifth. I scribbled a few other classes you might be interested in. My preliminary schedule permits you to play broomball.” He winked at Ricky. “I played a little when I was younger. The Fourth Ring Master interviews every incoming sorcerer,” one of the other sorcerers said. “Welcome to the Fourth Ring,” he said and put out his hand.

  Ricky shook the hands of all but the woman on his way out. She turned her back and looked out the window at the Third Ring.

  A sorcerer standing out in the hallway pointed Ricky in the direction of the Fourth Ring offices.

  Ricky sighed. He had guessed he’d be meeting some form of resistance from here on out. The woman was the very first to castigate him for his role in saving Dimani. He pursed his lips and shook his head. He would show her that he didn’t deserve to be expelled for something that happened before he ever entered the Rings.

  He stepped into the master’s office and looked into a familiar face.

  “Kened, uh, I mean Master Gostok,” Ricky said.

  “We rotate the Master position every year or so. My time as a councilor abruptly ended. It happens,” Kened sighed. “They offered me the Fourth Ring, and I knew you’d be here under my watch, so I’m glad to serve the Fourth Ring and have you in my classes. Sit down, and let’s chat.”

  “I don’t mean to complain, but do you know the woman sorcerer on the evaluation panel?”

  “I do. She’s a Parantian, just like you.”

  “And a member of the Sun faction?”

  Kened’s eyes flashed. “She is. What about the others? I’m interested.”

  Ricky correctly classified each one. “I’m sure it isn’t always that easy,” Ricky said.

  “No, but if you ask the right questions, you can find the faction of any Tower sorcerer in five minutes, I would guess. You know I’m a Green.”

  “And I would have classified you one when I first met you.”

  Kened chuckled. “So are you,” he said.

  “I agree,” Ricky said. “That woman wanted me expelled.”

  “Under orders from King Leon, I would imagine. Does that surprise you?”

  Ricky shook his head. “I’ve had open enemies before.”

  “Let’s have her be the last one you face in the Fourth Ring.” He put out his hand. “Ros wrote out a preliminary schedule? That’s his job on the panel.”

  Ricky gave the paper to Kened. “For the most part, a good selection. I will put you down for advanced principles of growth, not just plants, by the way, and preservation. I’ll bet you can figure out some of the others by doing some study in the library. In the Fourth, you are expected to increase your powers. Just filling out that skinny adolescent frame of yours will do more than what you will learn here. How long do you plan to stay with us in the Fourth?”

  “Is there an expectation?”

  Kened shrugged. “With you, who knows? You stayed longer in the Third than I thought you would, but your broomball league probably influenced your timing.”

  Ricky grinned. “It did, and my stint in the Ring Hospital.”

  “Battle sorcery should be similar to the Third Ring. If it were me making the decision, I would have put you in Industry and have you take a few Battle Sorcery courses, but that’s not the way things work in the Fourth Ring. Enjoy yourself and don’t be a stranger. I’m sure there are questions about the Tower that hadn’t occurred to you before. I want you to get that rating, and then you can do whatever else you wish.”

  “Is that an order?”

  Kened chuckled. “I don’t give orders; I give advice.”

  ~

  Much to Ricky’s disappointment, the battle sorcery classes were taught at a lower level than Ricky’s. He had expected to learn much, much more, but his ancient battle sorcery book was more advanced than what he currently sat through.

  On the other hand, the industrial sorcery classes challenged Ricky. He found himself back in Kened’s office after four weeks in the Fourth Ring nearly at the end of the day. He looked out the master’s windows and saw the first glimpse of tender fruits beginning to show on fruit trees in the Fifth Ring garden.

  “Sorry, I am busier than I’d like to be. Shut the door,” Kened said. He sat at his desk and entwined his fingers, leaning forward.

  “Can I switch disciplines?” Ricky asked.

  “I expected you to ask a couple of weeks ago. Do you think you can pass the battle sorcery classes?”

  “All but the strategic class. I know the magic. I could teach the teachers,” Ricky said.

  Kened chuckled, as he was wont to do. “Then challenge the teachers. If you pass, we can load you up with Industry classes.”

  “Thank you,” Ricky said.

  “Thank yourself. You still have to pass the classes. Do you have a plan for implementing industrial sorcery when you become the Duke of Naparra?”

  “I do, but a lot has to happen before I can do that,” Ricky said.

  “I imagine it does. Now, if you don’t mind, I have students that are in actual trouble. A tryst gone bad, I’m afraid.” Kened made a shooing motion, and Ricky bowed.

  “Thank you for your precious time.”

  “And thank you for yours,” the master said with a twinkle in his eye.

  Ricky challenged out of his very next class on projecting fire.

  “I knew you were better than what you showed,” the teacher said in an armored classroom.

  “I’ll show you something I discovered on my own.” Ricky picked up a practice wand and extended a tendril of fire about fifteen feet away. “Back up to the wall behind me,” he said as he cut off the thread. It continued into the tiny ball of flame and exploded with a modest but satisfying sound. “That is scalable.”

 

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