Elizabeth Tales of the Triad book 7

By R J Murray

John's family has decided to join the Triad. His great-granddaughter is the first to come to school on the Citadel. John's big concern is how the other students will react to having a Goblin in their class. Elizabeth is also a problem, believing herself to be above others as the granddaughter of a Queen. Her open rebellion is triggered by another students betrayal. She runs away, stealing a scooter and crashing in the mountains of Tamarkand.
She joins with a ruler who is openly antagonistic to the Triad and John in particular.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R J Murray
• Release date: Dec 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311084620

R J Murray

R J Murray was born on a small farm in central Kentucky in the early fifties. Growing up in the country gave him a love of nature and a dislike of shovelling manure, as well as the certain knowledge that goats were smarter than dogs and cows were dumber than rocks.After moving to Florida with his family, he returned to Kentucky each summer with his siblings and first heard about organic gardening as a teenager. Manure finally had a purpose. Winters were spent attending school on Florida's east coast and he returned to Kentucky after graduating from High School in 1969, where he got a job flipping burgers while he attended the local branch of the University of Kentucky. His free time was spent reading Science Fiction from the Golden Age, hunting, fishing and gardening. Hobbies have included history, spelunking, geology, as well as many different home crafts such as cross stitch, leather work, making mail armour and baking. At age fifty-nine, he accepted a challenge from his wife. (With your wild imagination, it should be easy for you.)He wrote his first novel in fifty eight days, changed the title many times, and ended up with a manuscript of two thousand pages which eventually became the first books in the series, Tales of the Triad.

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Elizabeth

Tales of the Triad Book 7

R J Murray

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2013 R J Murray, All rights reserved.

Smashwords License Statement

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

To our son Matthew

1982 - 2013

Other books by R J Murray

Fantasy Series 'Tales of the Triad'

The Event

Dragons and Wizards and Goblins Oh My!

The Departure

Lyra

The Dark Lands

Emma

Elizabeth

Science Fiction

Kingdom of the Sky

Conquest (KotS2)

Militia – Berserkers

Fantasy Humor

Wizard for Rent

DISCLAIMER

Any resemblance between the characters in this book and any person, alive, dead, undead or mutated is truly amazing. It is also a coincidence, not planned or anything, like most of my writing. I just put down what the voices in my head tell me, honest! It's just that, lately, there have been a lot more voices and many of them were really cute. I couldn't help myself. I was always a sucker for cuteness.

ALSO

For those among you who thrill in seeking out error, either in geology, astronomy, or any of the other science fields I have abused in my writing, please remember that this is a work of fiction, fantasy and my wild imagination. That doesn't mean you can't find errors (I find them all the time, usually after I send the book in to print), it just gives me a really good excuse when you do.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 – A New Team

Chapter 2 – The Dwarf sees the Light

Chapter 3 – Apprentice

Chapter 4 – Friends and Enemies

Chapter 5 - New Territory

Chapter 6 – The Gnomen Empire

Chapter 7 – Side Tracked

Chapter 8 – Cloners

Chapter 9 – The Czar

Chapter 10 – Turncoat

Chapter 11 – Fairytales and Reality

Chapter 12 – High Tea

Chapter 13- Confusion

Chapter 14 – A New Kingdom

Chapter 15 – Queen Elizabeth

Chapter 16 – Death and Taxes

Chapter 17 – Home Again

Chapter 18 - Ancient History

Excerpt from Book Eight

The Science Behind the Magic

Chapter 1 - A New Team

The castle was a hub of quiet activity as usual, many people in military uniforms moving quickly about the routines of government. Pat felt out of place in her wizards garb with so much military around. She knew where she was going, at least. She headed up the stairs toward the Royal floors, stopping as needed to show her ID to the guards, a formality since there was little normal guards could do to stop a Wizard . She wasn't stopped by anyone for anything else, as most wizards had open access to the leadership of the kingdom. She finally stood before the door she needed, the nice young man holding the door open for her as she entered the outer office. The door shut behind her as she wiped her palms on her skirt, somewhat nervous about what she was going to ask. She took a breath and slowly released it before she knocked.

Enter.

The desk was orderly, yet piled with papers, books and crystals. The woman behind the desk was young, with long red hair and bright green eyes. Those eyes sparkled as she looked up and saw who was knocking.

Pat! So nice to see you again. Pat had grown since Jenny had last seen her. Tall and willowy, Pat was almost one hundred and eighty centimeters in height, her curly hair now shorter, clear of her shoulders.

Excuse me Lady Jenny, may I ask you a question? Pat stood at Jenny’s office door, looking uncertain whether she wanted to be there or somewhere far away.

Jenny smiled when she saw Pat, now a hard working and dedicated young woman rather than the scared, slacker schoolgirl she had been. She leaned back in her chair and waved Pat into the office. Come in and sit down. I didn't know you were back. How did the roads go?

Very well and much faster than when we first started. We're at the capitol so the main roads run from the sea to Snowballs Chance and from the Kingdom of the Two to the mountains. We have a few smaller roads done as well. Maze, Sid's replacement, is doing well in the village too.

Are you going back? Jenny waited as Pat looked down at her feet.

I want to. That was what I wanted to ask you. Many people who were in my class at school are just as I was before. You know, sort of selfish and ignorant. Do you think it would be all right if I took a few of them with me for, like, a summer? If they could see what I saw, maybe . . .

Jenny smiled; glad Pat had changed so much in the last few years. I think that is a wonderful idea. We have so many places that are still living at the edge of starvation that we just can't get to them all. Volunteers have been pretty scarce for a hundred years or more and we only have so many wizards.

But we have lots of wizards here! There are a dozen in school right now!

Most are children, eight under the age of twelve. Other than those, how many have been born while you were attending school? Jenny asked.

Pat thought about it for a minute before answering. I don't know. Hundreds?

Six in twelve years. One every year or two across the Triad, including the Elves and the Dwarfs. Mostly Minor Wizards with a few like you, Lesser Wizards. Emma was the first Full Wizard in three hundred years. Only three of these Wizards born since you've been in school have your strength or power either. One is a healer, one is a flier and the other is a scanner. Wizard births are rare here, so they are almost nonexistent everywhere else. Getting young people interested had been difficult until you came along. Jenny waited for Pat to digest the information.

I was drafted, remember? I didn't want to go out there at all. When I was finally out there, it was scary but I felt like I was finally doing something important. Pat paused, organizing her thoughts. I learned a lot, that's why I want to go back and take some of my friends with me. Not just Wizards either. I want to take some of my normal friends too.

Do you want to go back to Tamarkand?

I think we should go somewhere that is really in bad shape, like Emma's home was before Master Sid got them to change. Maybe even somewhere dangerous where they can see what it's really like without the Guild. Nobody here really understands how these people live, not till they get out there and see for themselves.

Jenny stood and led Pat out of the office, heading for Guild Hall. Sid is leaving in a week for a new village. Let me see if he is willing to take on a few helpers.

~~~~~~~

Maria squirmed in the back of the wagon, looking at the countryside ahead and the range of mountains they were leaving, the road high alongside the peaks. She was bored and sore after more than a week on the rutted roads since leaving the ship. Riding along the metaled roads of the wizards at first, it hadn’t been quite so bad, but the roads deteriorated rapidly once they made the turn west. Is this really a good idea? She asked once again. It was not something anyone wanted to hear ever again. She had been complaining ever since they got out to sea, the Citadel and Fair Haven disappearing into the mist behind them. It was too late by then, of course.

Evangeline looked at her and grinned. Maria had been the one who was all excited when she was still in the school dormitory. She had gone from room to room with Pat talking about an adventure in the Outlands. It was your idea, remember? You talked us into coming.

Sid sat in the front with the driver trying not to listen to Maria. He sighed. He had agreed to this so it was his fault he had city girls in the wagon with him. At least Pat had a clue, but the other three, well, they would have it bad for a while. The village was close, the last village before the mountains range which divided this country from the empty lands to the west, Sid was grateful that the trip was almost over, at least until Maria got a good look at her new home. Sid was sure she would start moaning even more then. The mountain roads had come close to the peaks in only a few places, mostly staying low on the flanks but those few were dangerous places to be. The road was narrow and more than once Sid had used levitation on the wagon when he thought they were going over the edge. It was going to be mentioned in his next dispatch to John as an urgent need along with the fact that there was a natural field in the mountains that blocked com links. Sid hoped it was natural, at least.

Maria stood in the back of the wagon, holding on to Sid to keep from falling down as the wagon hit the bumps and holes in the dirt track as they came down to the flatland around the village. The road ended here, at the gate of the last village in Tamarkand before the wilds. What's that? Refugee camp or the city dump?

The daub and wattle wall was hiding most of the huts at the moment, but as the wagon turned into the rutted path and entered the gate, the true extent of the village could be seen.

Why are we stopping here? You said the place we would be living was close! Maria looked around the huts and spring mud, her nose wrinkling as the aromas greeted her, looking for anything that would explain why they were stopping.

Sid turned and smiled at her. This is our new home. Welcome to the Outlands.

Maria's mouth opened and she sat down hard in the wagon. I knew this was a bad idea.

Whine later. Sid said with a grin.

The village was like the dozens of others in the region. The wall of wattle and daub was more for privacy than protection, barely eight feet tall and yet quite capable of stopping even the most determined eight year old. It would never stop an armed man if he wanted to get in. The huts were small, one or two rooms with a small storage shed attached, no windows or very small ones with shutters and no glass. A few huts contained three rooms, the older families adding on and the sons inheriting a bigger place. Most huts had a bench or a chair sitting outside for the man of the house to have his evening pipe and a small libation with several men getting together in the dusk to chat about the day’s work and what was left to do, not any different from dozens of other villages Sid had lived in.

In this village there was no community baking as happened in several places Sid had served. If there was no woman in the house, the men learned to bake and cook or went without bread. Some of the older women did take in sewing and laundry for the single men, but few were willing to cook for them.

Sid's house was different. Two stories in height plus a full basement and root cellar, it dwarfed the rest of the houses. It sprawled across one end of the village, a neighborhood in itself. The house was concrete and steel with what looked like a slate roof, the whole thing painted and textured to look like wood and stone. The house was always the first sign of the Guild's power and what it had to offer a village and it was always erected in secrecy and darkness. One day, it was just there, sprung from the ground at the hands of a work crew the size of the village itself, who vanished the next day leaving this edifice of the Guild behind. The house was also workshops and storage for the herbs, jars, bottles and boxes needed in the trade. Add in the separate kitchen, bedrooms, office, library and bathing area and the place could best be described as just plain massive.

The wagon continued to the far side of the village before the driver reined in the team of horses and set the foot brake. Sid jumped down, walking toward the house to unlock the door. Once the front door was propped open, he walked back to the wagon and started getting the girls down.

Start hauling the smaller things inside. The sooner we get the wagon empty, the sooner we bathe, eat, and get some sleep. he said with a grin. He had been grinning a lot lately, trying not to snarl at the constant whining from the new people, his usual good nature strained to the limits. In addition, all the grinning had made his cheeks hurt.

Pat was already on the ground, bags in both hands. She headed inside to dump them in the first storeroom and headed back out, dodging Sid and the driver as they carried in the first of the large chests. She saw the other three standing by the wagon and shook her head.

Are you going to stand in the mud all day? If you want to eat or sleep today, you need to get that wagon empty. Grab your bags and follow me.

She took her stuff and waited for them to find their bags before she headed back inside. Once inside she led them up the stairs to the bedrooms.

Throw your stuff in the second one and come back down. We'll sort rooms out later. She tossed her bags on the floor before heading back down to the wagon.

With Sid and the driver carrying the large items and the four young women carrying the smaller items, the wagon emptied quickly and soon the teamster was a speck in the distance.

Sid washed his face in the kitchen as he explained what was going to happen next. I need to see the village elder first, to let him know I'm here and you need to clean the floor. Put your stuff away after you finish cleaning and no magic where it can be seen. I don't plan to be long but he may have questions so don't wait for me.

I'll get some food going as soon as we get clean. Pat volunteered. Sid nodded and left, the three others leaning against the wall in the hall to let him pass.

We have to clean? Terry asked. She was a lesser wizard, one of Maria's friends who had asked to go as well.

We have to do everything. Nobody else to do the work but us. We can't let the villagers know who we are or why we're here. We talked about this before, remember?

Yeah, but I figured Sid would get some servants from the village when we got here. Maria answered. This is a big house too. It'll take forever to clean.

I'll start on the stairs. Evangeline said, taking her boots and stockings off. Bare feet won't carry more mud around and it's easy to wash feet. After that its shoes and boots for outside and slippers inside, just like home.

The others followed her example and it only took a short time to clean the hall and stairs. The mud room took a little longer, but it was made to catch mud, and had done its job quite well.

Unpacking everything Sid needed to run the herb side would take days to get straight and placed where he wanted it, but personal items were much quicker. Pat made sure the big items were in the right room and headed upstairs to put her things away. Terry and Maria were already making the beds so they could rest after the trip and Pat let them. They were not use to this and she was.

Evangeline was sitting by the mudroom cleaning the shoes when Pat came down the stairs. She smiled at the effort the Elf was putting into each pair, mud and dirt unwelcome in any Elf home. Pat had put her house slippers on after cleaning her feet and skidded a little on the damp stone floor as she headed for the kitchen to see what she could fix for dinner. Something simple for today, biscuits and gravy, fry some ham and something to drink should do it. She opened the small door leading to the root cellar, taking a knife from the chopping block as she passed to cut down one of the smoked hams she knew would be hanging there.

~~~~~~~

Sid watched as the village men and a few youths plowed the fields, the oxen pulling hard in the rough harness. The new harness introduced only eighty miles away had not reached this place, nor had anything else he had introduced. He scanned the fields, seeing barley planted along with a few root crops. The soil was not too bad, but it was not as rich as it could be. Evidence of burning was scattered along the edges of the plowed fields and everywhere on the unturned soil. Sid figured they burnt the fields before plowing to clear them, just as they had done other places he had been. He personally thought it was still too wet to be working the soil, although they seemed to think it acceptable.

He watched as one of the plowmen got close to this end of the field. When he reached the end and began to turn the oxen, Sid asked for the headman.

At's me but I got no time to talk. Gotta get this done. Like many others in this kingdom, the man spoke a form of English, but certainly not the same blended and mutated language as Sid spoke at home on the Citadel. Sid and all Guild members were trained in languages plus Sid had three centuries of practice in the Outlands. He had no trouble communicating. He was not sure how the new girls would do.

I understand. You need one more set of hands?

You the herb man? You offeren to help? He seemed surprised.

Yes I am. Foods important and I'm going to live here too so I can help with the fields for now. Need to work on my fields too, if you could let me know which one of them is mine.

Names Josiah. Your field’s right behind that big manor house you got. We'll be breakin ground there tomorrow but if you're willin to help we can get it done a bit faster. You done this before?

Yes. I can handle a plow, plant seed, scatter grain, pretty much anything you need. I have a wheel planter with me for larger seed like beans. Makes it faster for those. Sid smiled, stood with an agreeable friendly stance and a soft expression on his face. Meeting the new men in the village was well practiced by Sid, his years in the field making things easier for him.

A wheel planter? Never heard of it. Josiah didn't look too impressed, but he wasn't hostile.

I used it a lot in my last village. Took half the time to get the beans in the field and only took one person per field. Even had some little girls doing it. Sid oozed helpfulness.

Well, we plant beans after the grains in so you can show me later. Be nice if it works. You take the second plow and I can put Harmon on something else. He yelled at Harmon, a skinny boy about twelve who was having a hard time keeping the plow straight. He gave up the plow to Sid with a smile and ran to help with breaking up the bigger clods of dirt left behind.

Sid put the leather strap over his shoulders and lifted the plow. He shook the leather, whistled loudly and the oxen began to move. He kept to the left of Josiah and felt the heavy iron plow dig into the top soil. It was going to be a long afternoon.

~~~~~~~

He's been gone a long time. Should we go look for him? Terry asked, peering out the window toward the village proper. Long shadows from the mountains had reached the village making a premature twilight.

No. We don't leave the house till he lets the village know we are with him. Strange girls wondering around a village are not safe and strangers are not trusted. He will be back when he can be so we should eat and go to bed when we're ready. Pat answered. She knew she was going to get a lot of questions, things these girls should have asked before they left the Citadel. Then she realized that she had already told them some of these things. They just hadn't listened.

They heard the front door open almost two hours later, the sun now at the horizon, somewhere behind the tall rocky crags to the west. They all stuck their heads around the corner, curiosity taking over. They could see Sid through the open inner door, looking tired and dirty as he took his boots off on the mud porch.

What were you doing out there? They have you tied up or something? Maria asked.

Making friends and helping break the fields for planting. Is the ofuro up and running?

Yes it is. We already bathed so go ahead and clean up. I'll have something for you to eat when you get done. Pat answered.

Thanks. Sid headed in to bathe, his clothes coming off as he walked.

Pat looked at the group, now yawning widely. If you guys want to go to bed, I can wait up for him. If he is plowing then he will be up by dawn and out again. We may not see much of him until he's ready to plant and then we’ll help him with that. Be a few days of working in the field with him so the village gets use to seeing us.

In the field? You mean the dirt, like farming? Maria seemed surprised once again.

Evangeline looked at her with a smirk. You ever plant seeds anywhere else but in dirt?

I never planted anything before.

Except her butt at the dinner table. Terry said in a very soft voice.

Pat rolled her eyes and turned back to the kitchen.