What happened instead amazed him more than a little. A lot more.
Terlee had just finished making the oatmeal and toast for everyone, what they ate each day in the morning, and oddly enough even the royals said they had on a regular enough basis so that it didn't seem strange to them, when she asked him a question.
“Is' kay fr'me ta'fly too?” She said so fast that Tor forgot to translate in his head and just spoke out loud, surprised she'd even asked for herself. Normally the girl, with her long, incredibly straight black hair and pale skin, managed to hide behind it when talking, even to him, but today she didn't, looking him dead in the eye. For Terlee that was like offering to fight Count Thomson bare handed or something.
Tor just blinked for a few seconds.
“Is it OK for you to fly too?” He smiled at her and nodded excitedly. “More than OK! I can not only teach you how, today if you want, but give you your own flying gear and a shield so that if you ever do crash or something hits you, it won't hurt. I have enough for everyone in fact, if… anyone else wants to try?” This came out in his normal accent so no one outside of the family really got it, but they all suddenly erupted, a wall of sound that caused the royals to jump, except oddly Count Thomson, who just smiled.
The giant man nodded at the girl. “I can show you how, if you like? It may be easier to learn from someone that isn't family at first. Tor's good, one of the best actually, but he's liable to be too nice to you. Flying is fun, but there is a bit to learn, and it takes some practice to master.”
Tor half expected Terlee to bolt from the room, or at least hide, or maybe, just maybe, ask him to translate for her. Instead she took a deep breath and nodded.
“S'th… I mean, that would be very nice sir. Thank you.” The words came out slowly, but clear enough that everyone in the room looked at her funny, except for Laurie. From her there came a snort.
“Flying through the air though? Well, I suppose it is faster than walking, but I'm going to have to see it first, before I totally trust the idea. How much do these devices cost anyway?”
Tor… froze. He knew that a clothes dryer went for about eleven gold, at least it had at school. Past that no one had mentioned cost anymore, probably to keep his mind off of the fact that he wasn't getting whatever was owed yet by Debri house. Not that it mattered that much. That would come around or it wouldn't. He needed enough for him and Trice, but he'd earn it somehow. He glanced at her and reached over to squeeze her hand, noticing that the whole room had turned to stare… at his mother.
Smiling she shrugged and looked at everyone in the room.
She said everything twice, first in Two Bends dialect then in Noram standard.
“Kids, your father and I have… Well, you'll all be told the whole tale in time, but for right now we've decided that all of you need to learn to speak properly…” She floundered a little after that, trying to come up with reasons why, since most of them had never been more than forty miles outside of Two Bends and everyone inside that area spoke like they did.
Timon, or rather, Weasel, Tor corrected himself quickly, tilted his head.
“S'all aight… Alright. May I ask why?” He stumbled over the words more than Terlee had but Sara clapped happily at his effort. After half a beat Tor did too. He gave her a little seated half bow. It looked funny with him being so small and in brown and tan homespun, but he'd gotten it about right anyway, Tor noticed.
For a Countier to a merchant. It seemed to be on purpose too. Amazing.
Scrambling Tor stood up.
“Um, two main reasons for right now. If you want to go to the wedding, which may be away from here, probably in the Capital, since that choice normally goes to the bride's parents and this isn't their place, you need to be able to communicate with people clearly.” Like his mother he said everything both ways, correctly first, then in standard so that the guests could understand it too.
Then he told them about the delivery service idea. No one seemed to think much of it at first, until the Morgans' jaws collectively dropped open, eyes going wide. Eric grinned and shook his head in disbelief.
“That's… No one could afford to compete with you for years! Yes… if you're willing to take in the Capital and some of the larger cities in your routes… This could be very big. I'm a little sad I didn't think of it first, to tell the truth. I recommend that you do it. If you don't want to though, I will.” The meaningful look he gave the kids made them all take notice and start becoming far more excited about the idea.
Tor got it.
They were being offered a chance at something a Duke wanted too, and it came from their own brother, so they got first go at it. That meant a lot.
Once again his mother asked how much all this would cost, her voice doubtful for some reason and Tor spread his hands on the table top, showing he didn't know. “Really? Since I'm making them for everyone, just the cost of materials. A few bits of copper, something to etch them with for the activation sigil, it's not that much. Say ten golds for twenty of them? Not even that much really, since I've been buying stuff in bulk. I have more than that with me already made, but I wanted to make a gift of a few to some people at the school, so you can't have them all. Still, one for everyone in the family and a few extras in case anyone else in the village wants to try? I'd like everyone to get a chance, since this could be big. I can send more later. I've earned enough to pay for the materials though, no problem.”
Sara looked around, a proud look on her face. She didn't speak until almost everyone was looking at her however.
“Most of the flying rigs and shields are going directly to the military as fast as they're being made, edict of the King himself. There's a waiting list for nobles, and one out of every hundred is being sold to them. Those go for five hundred gold apiece, but only if they agree to wait and buy them four at a time. For a single one, it's seven hundred and fifty gold. You want a shield too and the Tor-shield is the military standard now. Nothing else comes close by half in what it covers you from. Those go for more, about two thousand gold each, but unless you get one from Tor you aren't allowed to own one as a private citizen unless you're members of the nobility or a sworn member of one of the militaries. I guess you all can… Um…” She waved her hand at Laurie, earning a slow head shake. Sara tilted her head, thinking.
“Right, because you're Tor's family. Not even the King would argue with that, right?”
She looked at Rolph who agreed, saying that really, as long as Tor gave them away, he was allowed to provide them to anyone, the idea being that if Tor cared enough to just make a gift, it meant that the people were important.
“That's not new either, it comes from the King himself and is standard for all the top builders. It prevents problems.”
Sara smiled and looked at everyone, but spent more time focusing on Weasel for some reason than anyone else.
“So, it's not just a matter of coin, but short of being a Count or Duke, people allowed to have their own sworn military, no one could do it but you. But really, speaking Noram standard will help a whole lot. You'll have to learn maps and things too. I can have some sent, if you want? Debri house will want to use your services actually, and maybe hire some light cargo moving, come to think of it… We can't have our own cargo movers yet. I mean, we can own the boxes and devices for it, but the people to fly them are too hard to get so far… Really, if you're all willing I'd like to make a tentative offer for small and emergency shipments? I need to clear it with the head of the house, but if she doesn't agree it would be foolish, and my mother definitely isn't that.”
Tor repeated what she said, and even if it was tedious, he did it using both kinds of speaking so that everyone could get used to the difference. Weasel looked at him seriously and asked, in nearly perfect Noram standard, if they could start right then.
It turned out they could, but the lesson had to be given by the Count, Rolph and Sara, because everyone else was busy.
Wedding planning.
Except for Duke Morgan, who decided watching the training would be advantageous, since he had to set up his own unit for that soon. It was just to get out of the tedious planning session, but also was a good point. No one even looked at him too hard over it.
It really wasn't that big of a deal, not for Tor. He sat back and agreed with whatever he was asked. After about half an hour they all started catching on and making more and more outrageous suggestions. Mercy suddenly asked for a water sculpture in the shape of a sparrow, to match her family crest, one that would float in the air like the magic river, and possibly flap its wings. Trice countered with a request for a falcon as well, because after all,
