Chapter 4: Treasures

~~ Delta - Sept/02 - (Earth - March/2095) ~~

Quite a few wizards were accruing some Frequent Flyer points.

While the giants had been isolated and unable to leave, they did know what was going on in the outside world. They had even adopted the same sales structure as Aeron had in Tuath.

When Lee asked how this was possible, they explained when the spell had weakened, several people had tried to get to Tuath. They had gotten to a small village called Edinvale. They were able to stay for about two weeks, but the compulsion to come back had become too strong, so they had to leave.

Two of the women had become pregnant to their surprise to two of the local men, and both had daughters. They made the trip back the same time the following year to trade. It was the safest time to cross the sea. Again, they couldn’t stay long.

A woman in the village told them they had to take her son with them. He kept crying unless she stood near the sea. If they took him out in the boat and headed towards the island, he was better. They guessed he too had inherited the condition they had.

So, his father had to bring him back with them. Another woman had also gotten pregnant on this trip. She did it deliberately. She had noticed the two children that had been fathered in the village, had not been affected as badly as the rest of the people who need to go back.

This went on for several years until they formed a new clan from the children. These children could stay for much longer, and they effectively became the trading clan. They deliberately tried not to breed back into the other clans but with the people on Davinia and each other. This meant they could trade further along the coast of Davinia as well. They also traded for knowledge.

“It is through their sacrifices that we are advanced as we are,” Hador said to Lee. She just marvelled at the resilience of the people who had been trapped here.

Several clans had told Lee they were happy to stay. They had a good life here. Now the spell was gone, they could come as go as they pleased, but this was their home, and it did have good resources. They could also go north into the areas that had barely been explored.

Lee and Kyle were happy to let them stay if they so desired, it was after all their home. Many of the travelling clan wanted to move to Edinvale and Aaron was happy to help them. It was an area rich in resources, and they already knew the people and most had relatives there.

Aaron was happy to set land aside for them, and the people of Edinvale were glad to have their relatives relocate. Lee and Kyle donated some of Rah’s treasures, particularly the coins and bullion to help pay for the move, they called it restitution.

They didn’t need it and thought it only fair. Aeron was happy to have the Giants as well, even though theoretically Kyle was their Wizard.

Kyle was amused that he had subjects. He took to popping in on the Giants who stayed on the Island often. Hador and Michella didn’t move and were happy to have Kyle and his family come and visit. They soon learnt Kyle wasn’t any bigger on fussy ceremonies than Lee was.

The clans who also stayed were happy to keep their Royal family and to know their wizards cared about them.

Lee, Tony, Kyle and Sean had spent some time investigating the new cave system.

Lee informed Kyle that whatever they found was his since it was his island. He disagreed, telling her that this cavern belonged to the Queen of the Wizards. Tony and Sean just grinned and knew they would sort it out depending on what it was they found.

Lee had already removed the other boxes from the mages who had become wizards. Hador and the twins had also retrieved theirs. She was surprised to find Jahn’s box in the vault. She wondered where the box had come from as Alec had said he didn’t have it on him when they found him.

Lee located the other two caches and had little trouble opening them. The first held Rah’s treasures. The group was appalled by the amount of wealth Rah had accumulated here. They decided to send the objects to their cavern on Watson Island and sort through it later.

They would also use the rest to help pay for the Giants to relocate and give a certain amount to Michella to use, to help them upgrade their systems and buy airships and boats so her people could trade.

Tony and Sean had been building shelves and smaller rooms to sort out the different stuff they had already found. They both groaned at all the new things they had to sort out.

As far as the group was concerned, the second cache was the most interesting and the real treasure. It was Rah’s workshop. All four of them found it fascinating. Going by the accumulation of junk in the rooms, Rah had obviously been using it for many centuries.

They found an interesting collection of texts and manuals that they agreed would be good to read. Otherwise, Lee decided to take the lot. She had the boys join with her, and she cut the room out of the current cavern and transported the lot, to inside their cavern.

Tony and Sean were amused to find when they walked out of the cavern, that Lee had simply added the new section to their cavern, and it took up very little room in the scheme of things. The new workshop was now located next to her workshop. So, the main door faced it, and it became an extension.

Sean knew they would make good use of Rah’s workshop and its contents. As he was now a Lord Wizard, he could help Lee. He had been busy reading through her accumulated notes on what she could do. He was amazed at how advanced she was, compared to the rest of them. He had also found he could do a lot of what she could, but not to her skill level, yet.

Lee pointed out there was more material to build new portal rings, and Rah had left them better instructions. She considered this the real treasure. Sean agreed, as he too wanted to get more rings made.

Lee considered the rest of his treasures were just junk. She liked pretty things, but she didn’t need or even want a hundredth of what Rah and Jahn had accumulated.

Lee planned to shift the small ring inside Rah’s second cavern to its own dome outside the Giants primary village called Sven. Jumping via the portals took a lot less effort than doing it without one for most of the other wizards.

Kyle loved this idea, as it made it easier to visit his people as he now considered the Giants and Genteli of Rahia Island.

Lee was introduced to Grayson Mac Peters.

He was the Giants chief historian, and they hit it off immediately. She organised a trip to Harmony so he could get together with Professor Bentley Voltinay and Andy Mc Ray. Apparently, they had gone fishing.

Lee rocked up with Grayson and introduced the guys and then tested all three men and smiled at them. “We need to make a side trip to Watson Island,” she told them.

Mystified, the men agreed. She did let them put their fishing gear away first. She also dutifully admired Bentley’s huge workshop and shed that housed his boat and fishing stuff. Then his humble fishing shack, all twelve rooms of it.

She deposited them in the ceremony room then she went and collected their boxes. As she had guessed, there were mages box for both Bentley and Andy, and she had a rookie’s box for Grayson.

Sean meanwhile collected Gary, and his girls then took them back to Watson Island and deposited him with the other three men. He then put his old apprentice’s box on the table beside the boxes Lee had collected.

The four men stood in shock as Lee explained what the boxes meant to them. They all agreed to take on the responsibilities. Gary was shaking when he placed his hands on his box.

He loved the idea of being Sean’s apprentice. He had missed him since he had become permanent on Harmony. He loved that he could now think at Sean when he wished to talk to him. Even better, he would be able to transport himself and the wives as required. Lee and Sean grinned when they heard the clicks, and it opened for him. The other three men, Penny and Juanita, congratulated him on his windfall.

Lee then explained what she wanted to do on Bentley’s island if they agreed. She could use one of the other islands, but she wanted Bentley to be the custodian for the school and its library with Gary as its principle.

Gary was flabbergasted at this development. Penny and Juanita hugged him and said they would go wherever he was. As they were all ex-army, moving was not something they got concerned about.

Lee informed the girls that as shields, they would like to have them be the Security Offices for the island. The girls agreed, and both decided this was going to be a cushy job, even with kids on the way.