“I… That's amazing. I can see. Nothing hurts anymore either.”
Richard didn't coddle the man now, laughing instead.
“Good, then get up, get a bath and start working. I expect a full investigation, as fair and impartial as always.” The King turned to look at the much younger builder.
“Tor, I'd like you to act as Smythe's assistant for this, as needed. Arrange for safe travel and do whatever else is required.” It was made as a request, but Tor saw the purpose, it was both to let the old military leader get used to him and to show that when given an order Tor obeyed, without question. Well, why not?
“Of course.” He said without hesitation. If nothing else it would let him keep tabs on the man for a while, though Tor decided to keep his shield on as much as possible, and carry an extra poison detector at all times.
Then they left the older man to get ready and pulled the guard off the door. If he was going to attack Tor again, well, he would. They needed him, so it was a risk one Torrance Baker just had to take. The King walked with him back towards the room they'd started in, his pace slowed so that the smaller man wouldn't have to run the whole way.
“Are you staying with us here?” He asked conversationally.
“No, I have a house outside the wall on the south side, where the temporary market set's up? It's right next to the new ice manufactory. Can't miss it. Also, Collette Coltress is staying there for now, since she's running the new business and Petra Ward is staying so that… Honestly, I think she just likes me. Or, well, she may be making sure I help her brother as I can too. Really, Smythe is our trump card there. I…” Tor stopped and looked at the giant royal, standing back to see his face.
“How do you all live like this? Everyone working for someone else like this I mean? Petra works for you and Kolb, but also her family, as would be expected of course and still seems to like me, for real I mean… I checked a few times. Collette is one of your spies, along with Trice, Sara Debri, and probably her mother at a guess. If you have them, you probably have her older brother too, Kris? Merchants at that level can go anywhere in the kingdom, so it makes sense…” The King went blank mentally again, but little bits of anxiety were leaking out, punctuated with words and ideas as Tor spoke. Something occurred to him and he laughed suddenly, making the King start a little.
“Oh… It was fast and brilliant work, I didn't even realize I was being played like that! Holly Printer foisted a spy on me I bet! Or tried to, Swarley Jones? Probably not a highly trained one, but yeah, I'd bet he's being paid to report on me. Stupid. Well, I apprenticed him to Kolb, so we need to get word out to him not to let anything slip. She could just ask if she wanted to know something… so it won't do her a lot of good. ”
“Yes, we caught on to that one. The one we nearly missed was Sorlee Farmer, that was a brilliant placement, don't you think? Crafted specifically to you even. A little farm girl forced to whore herself, from so near your own home village that only you could hope to understand her? She even fits the type of girl you like in looks. Then that thing with her family losing the farm? There's training there at least. She's good. I was considering trying to pick her up myself once her work with you is done. Or… You could work her into a civilian air transport service? That would put her all over the kingdom. Yes, we should make use of her if we can.”
The idea rankled. He'd helped her as best he could out of real kindness and even offered to keep her out of being a prostitute. Was everyone a freaking spy then? Who's was she, he wondered and then put it together. Who would want to keep an eye on him that knew him well enough to set up something like the deal with Sorlee? It was complex and targeted to him so perfectly…
“My mother?” He asked, his voice slightly awed and a bit annoyed.
“Ah, no Tor. She works for your sister, Tamerlane. She does seem to have a knack for it though. Count Thomson is marrying a real gem there. If I would have known more about her I would have arranged for her to meet Alphonse. Well, if Ursala Thorgood falls through for him you have some other sisters, don't you?”
Terlee? But… She was so shy that she could hardly talk to strangers! How did she, when did she… It didn't make sense. For a moment he wondered if the King was having him on, but the truth of it leaked out of the giant. His sister set a spy on him? That wasn't a new thing either, she'd been working on things like that for a while, hadn't she? Before he'd even known their family had noble connections at all.
“So, is anyone I know not a spy for someone? I mean a real spy. I always figured that Rolph would tell his parents and sisters about me, if you wanted to know, even before I knew who he was really, but that's just conversation, unless… does he have peepholes all over the place?” Tor mugged a little and glanced around The King started to pat him on the back but hit shield and pulled back nodding.
“No, the kids serve their own interests only. We talk, but they aren't used like that. I do worry about Karina and her friends, they have too much influence over her for any of us to feel good about I think. Also, Ursala Thorgood doesn't seem to have any interest than her own as far as my people can tell. Or spies on you. Gerald and Gemma are free agents too, so far, except what you know about them, Squires now and that, so they'll answer to their Knights. Let's see… your family? Most of Two Bends I'm sure, though we worked out a deal with a few people about twenty years back, to keep tabs on Laurie. The mayor there, Smith I think his name is? And the woman that runs the store, I can't recall her name off the top of my head. That's how I knew to send a scholarship your way. Best three hundred and seventy-five golds I've ever spent, getting you into school. As an investment it's paid off… I can't even calculate how many fold. Possibly the worth of the whole kingdom already. You didn't just save my family from death dust, but probably kept the whole realm together, the civil war that would have come after our deaths would have destroyed us for a long time.”
So, nearly everyone he knew was a spy? Ah. Tor walked away in a daze only to find the King standing in front of him suddenly. Those long legs let him move when he wanted to.
“Now don't be silly about this Tor. Almost everyone you know genuinely likes you. Especially the spies. They've witnessed your kindness, felt it themselves, and seen you reach out to help people, regardless of station, even when it's nearly killed you. Besides, it's a part of our life. If you're a noble, you have spies around you. The general rule is, well a little uncouth, but it's the way it's said,” The King didn't seem very embarrassed though he tried to act it. “Fuck the women all you can, and send the men to war. Though I hear the ladies version is different, with role reversal on the sex part and sending people on errands. Rather nicer actually, don't you think?”
Great, so what did he do now? Start asking everyone who they were watching him for? Did it really matter? God, he wasn't trained for this at all. Maybe he should really go live alone off in the woods? Either that or stop caring for people all together. That was stupid though. Spies or not, they were people, and as such deserved respect and care, even if it was hard to trust them now.
The first words out of his mouth when he got back to Rolph and Connie was a bit blurted and loud.
“Did you know that everyone we know practically is a spy?” He asked the room in general.
No one laughed, but Rolph did put down his pen and looked at him.
“Of course. Why do you think Sara was so eager to stay with us in the same building when we could have built her a place of her own in about an hour and a half? One a good bit nicer too? Running water and her own bath if she wanted? Keeping tabs. Ursa stayed with us because she was scared and figured that no one else could protect her half as well as you would. She's right of course. Shields she couldn't have gotten even on the black market yet, teaching her to fly and giving her a place to hole up that was pretty well impregnable. Plus, with everyone seeming to come after you it left the rest of us safer in a way. Why go after a mere Prince or Countess when there was that tempting Tor to try for?” He tilted his big giants head and nodded.