of the devices and two more for the next batch. He decided that people might actually want these, or at least take them as casual gifts. He tested them by walking in and out of the house several times. It felt nice, inside or out, with only a few seconds fluctuation to let him know that the temperature had changed at all. Perfect.
He strung five on some hemp string he had in the trunk so they could be worn as amulets. He didn't have any more thread, so he just pocketed five of the other small copper plates. He made a simple stencil and lacking any acid, quickly made a small design on each bit of metal by rubbing some sand he found in the garden over them. It wasn't deep, but it showed the sigil clearly enough and shouldn't wear away too easily.
At about noon a knock came at the door. Too tentative to be Rolph, who would have just walked in, so Tor went to the door to find a tidy and extremely good looking man standing with an arm load of clothing. The man was taller than Tor, but only by about five inches, which would have made him tall in Two Bends, but short for even non-royals around the Capital from what he'd seen on the trip in the day before. He had black hair and a thin build, maybe in his late twenties and looked really familiar. Almost eerily so… Maybe he'd seen him the day before somewhere? That kind of thing where you noticed a person, but didn't really see them?
“Sir? Master Alphonse suggested that these clothes be brought to you, for your outing later this afternoon?” The man walked into the room and seemed surprised that the bed was made.
“Sir? Did someone come and make up your room already? I thought I had the job for the week…” He gestured with his eyes at the bed.
Tor shrugged.
“Sorry, no… I just didn't sleep last night. Made these instead. They keep you cool or warm depending on the temperature around you.” He held one up to show the man. “Here, take this one and try it out. Let me know if you can think of any improvements on it, alright? It was kind of a quick build. I don't want to leave gaps or anything.”
The man took the plate and clicked his heels together, put it on and hit the sigil, then stood waiting. Tor smiled and told him he'd need to at least try it outside or maybe in the kitchen where it was warm. It must be oppressive in there given the heat, Tor knew, even in Two Bends, a lot farther north, the ovens heated the room a lot this time of year. The man agreed with him and asked if he'd like something to eat before or after he bathed and dressed.
Tor got the hint, he'd better move to get ready or the man would have to fuss at him or… Whatever people with jobs like his did. He didn't think they'd yell at him, at least unless it was really important, but Tor didn't really know. He asked if food could be set up for after the bath adding please enough times that the man gave him a happy smile.
The man left, letting him run the bath himself, which felt cool to the touch. On a whim he put on one of the new heat equalizing things and noticed that the water felt… wet. But that was all, not hot or cold. Not after the first second or so. He took it off, not wanting to get the string all damp and made himself get ready. He felt tired, but who wouldn't? He'd been up for over a day already.
When he came back out the gentleman stood next to the large desk that had a full plate of food, most of it fruit, laid out for him. A soft half loaf was on a small separate plate along with some cool butter and a small paddle to spread it with, made of silver. It looked like real silver to him at least. Tor really wasn't an expert on such things. They had stainless steel eating utensils at school and Tor had been leery of them at first, since the metal made the food taste a little funny to him compared to the wooden spoons they used at home most often.
Before Tor could thank him the man stood extra straight and looked ahead without making eye contact.
“Sir. I have tested the device as instructed and found it excellent sir. I stood in the heat of the kitchen feeling no warmer than I do in this room. Outside in bright sun the temperature wavered for a brief instant, then held as if in a cool basement…” The man smiled and took a deep breath. “Most effective sir.”
Tor waved at him tiredly. “Sorry, I'm a little tired, I'm just Tor, not a sir or anything, I didn't catch your name…”
“Burks sir.” The man smiled and took the amulet off, trying to hand it back.
“Oh, no… That's yours… Um… Keep testing it for me, will you?” It occurred to him that he didn't know the guy well enough for him to feel comfortable taking gifts yet maybe. It was one thing to give presents to his friend's family, but perfect strangers could be a little too much. Did you give gifts to servants? It seemed reasonable, since they were doing things for him, but he didn't know if it was acceptable or not. Having him test it got around that altogether, and really, if there was a problem with it, he could let him know. Feedback was important if he wanted to improve. Tor knew he had a lot to learn still. Probably more than he could imagine.
The man bowed and stood by Tor's side, waiting while he ate, which was awkward. When he finished the man looked at him with a small, polite smile.
“Um…” Tor didn't know what to do. The servant seemed to pick up on the cluelessness and pulled a small brush from a cabinet that had totally missed being noticed until that time, looking like part of the wall, then ran the brush over the velvet arms of the black and blue material that he wore. Pronouncing him as looking fine, the man left, seeming happy enough with how things had gone.
That was good, Tor didn't have a clue how he was supposed to act around servants. For most of his life he hadn't even known that such people existed outside of stories told by the odd traveler, and then only once or twice. People had talked about such at school, but this man was the first one he'd ever really interacted with. Life in the Capital was sure different.
The clothing that Rolph had worn as a child of eleven fit disturbingly well, if slightly looser on Tor than was intended for the original wearer. It looked good, he thought, even if meant for a kid. He walked out into the hall looking for his friend, not really knowing the time or how long it would take to get to Debri house for their meeting. Too bad the King didn't like flying inside the city limits. It would have made things way faster. At least today they wouldn't melt in the back of a carriage. Bored was better than bored and too hot.
He found Rolph sitting next to a fascinating looking girl in a large room next to the dining room. It was an excellent room, even for this lavish place. White stone floor and cream colored furniture. The girl wore a scarlet red dress that had to have ten layers of material, covering her totally, except the arms, which were bare, showing pale skin that went with the long blond hair on her head. She wasn't pretty, not exactly at least, her cheeks too round for that. In fact the rest of her was awfully round as well.
If she wasn't the fattest person he'd ever seen it was only because… no, she was by far the heaviest person he'd ever noticed. That probably meant that she was wealthy. Poor people couldn't afford to eat more than needed. Not that anyone wearing a dress like that would be poor. If they were they could just sell it and have enough to keep them going for a long time. She looked a few years older than either of them, but not too much. Early twenties tops. Tor walked into the room when a lull came in the conversation. The girl looked up and smiled charmingly at him when he entered. She had a nice looking smile. Friendly and sincere.
Smiling hugely Rolph nodded to him.
“Here he is now, dressed to impress even.” Standing he held a hand towards Tor and bowed. “Ursala, this is my good friend, Torrence Green Baker.” The move was reversed then and he bowed slightly towards the still seated woman on the cream colored soft bench in front of them.
“Tor, this is Ursala Benevolence Matild Thorgood. My fiancee.”
Chapter six
Both of the people on the padded bench looked at him seriously and then started laughing. He didn't get the joke, if there was one. His face must have looked funny or something. That he could understand, after all he hadn't known anything about a fiancee and he'd lived with Rolph for nearly two and a half years now. If he didn't know that, what else didn't he know? Then again, was it his business? He'd thought that Rolph shared most everything with him, but…
The big man stood and clapped both hands on his shoulders, reaching down a lot to do so.
“It's an arranged thing, a deal our parents made when I was four and she was seven. But now…” He turned on Ursala and crossed his arms. “Since someone managed to get in a family way, things are going to be a lot more complicated.”
The gears in his head spun slowly being tired and caught off guard like he was, but Tor finally put it together.
