whatever poor guard comes within speaking distancecalculusdragonOctober 15 2009, 22:25:36 UTC
Temeraire was getting tired of flying in short spurts, waiting around then flying after the caravan until he caught up to the tail end. It didn't make a lot of sense to have to follow the shaman so closely, but he wasn't about to go off on his own when everyone else was with the caravan. After a while he decided to just walk along with the caravan for a while, imagining the market and Jericho. It was too bad he didn't have any money, and anyway he wasn't sure how much time he'd have to explore, with the big battle coming up.
Then Temeraire suddenly had a Brilliant Idea. He walked a little closer to everyone else than usual and called out to the nearest guard, "Excuse me, Guardsman, may I speak with you for a moment?"
Maxwell was taking his turn leading a pack animal, which spooked at the sound and proximity of Temeraire, naturally. He placed his hand on the animal's neck to calm it, whispering soothing words in a soft voice. Then he turned to answer the question posed to him. "Yes, of course." Because, really, how did you say 'no' to a dragon?
"How much do you get paid, to be a guard? I am very curious about the system of money here," he said, trying to disguise his real purpose a bit, feigning casual interest.
That was... not what he'd been expecting. "It is a great honour to be chosen to protect the Royal family. That trust is worth more than any monetary compensation." It was the right thing to say. Also, he'd never actually ha anyone ask him how much he made before. Was that even proper?
No one had ever told Temeraire that it was improper to discuss monetary matters. And he would never had gotten paid at all, if he had not thought of it himself, after having gone to China. Maybe the guard was working for his board, like Temeraire did before he realized that this was not fair.
"Do you mean you do not get paid?" he asked, head tilted to the side. Great honors were nice but exactly useful.
Guy was, of course, silent, during this whole conversation, though he was nearby. He gave Maxwell a curious glance, at this -- he'd like to know about the system of money here too. Seemed like a thing worth knowing.
Maxwell gave his Captain a slightly uncomfortable look, but when he received a nod and a shrug, the Ranius equivalent of 'do whatever the hell you want', he looked back at Temeraire. "I am paid six thousand Drem lin a month, with generous allowances for living, food, armour and weaponry." With the added benefits, as well as the free perks he received, it was more like getting seven thousand, at least. The dragon wasn't considering attempting to get a job working for the Royal family as a guard, was he? That was just... no.
Temerarie had no idea what a Drem was, but six thousand sounded like a good number of them and the guard didn't look particularly unhappy or skinny, so it was probably fair. The allowance for Temeraire's food would have to be much more, and it would only be fair if he was paid much more than a single human guard, because he could do the work of many and anyway a pavilion large enough to fit him would cost a lot more than the equivalent for a human.
"And the Prince is looking for help fighting in the upcoming battle everyone is talking about, correct?" he asked, forgetting about his supposed reason for asking.
"The... King and the Prince are always looking for reliable soldiers willing to advance the position of the human nation." A dragon... wow. Aside from being absolutely terrifying, it would be a truly astounding addition to King Richard's forces if he could be trusted and controlled. That being said, how exactly was one supposed to control a dragon?
"Hmm. Perhaps I should speak to Prince Frederick, then. Of course, I do not want to make any hasty decisions about a war I have no stake in yet. I was a Colonel back home for a while, you know. I had an epaulet and everything," he said proudly. Of course he probably wouldn't have gotten the commission in the first place if the powers that be had realized he was a dragon and not a man, but that was besides the point.
The word epaulet was translated by the tree as 'shoulder fringe' since there was no equivalent in Rowan, and that continued to confuse Maxwell, though he tried not to show it. "That is... a most impressive commission to receive. Your King must have had a great deal of respect for your abilities." Whatever those were. Could this dragon breathe fire? Was it rude to ask? Maxwell wondered if that fell under the umbrella of 'militant informational gathering' or not.
"Well, I suppose it was really General Wellesley that I impressed. I have never actually met the King of Britain, who I serve. I have met the Emperor of China, of course, and also the Prussian king. But yes, I led a militia regiment and everyone was very surprised when they realized I was a dragon and wanted to give my commission to my captain, Laurence, instead. But in the end we both had one, and the other dragons, because it was only fair. Excidium had the highest rank, though, since he is much older and more experienced dragon and his captain is Admiral Roland who commands the Aerial Corps."
He lowered his head sadly a bit, thinking of Laurence and his friends.
"I've... upset you?" How could you tell? He didn't exactly frown. He looked less happy, though. His demeanour seemed very different. Maxwell wasn't sure what else to say. All of those names and places meant nothing to him, which should not be surprising, since Temeraire was from another world.
"No, I am quite all right." He wasn't, but he forced himself to raise his head again. It wouldn't do to waste time falling into despair, not when Laurence was alive and there was even the slightest chance of getting back to him. "I miss my old companions, that is all."
"It is an inevitability of war that we should be left missing those we care for." The worst part, in Maxwell's experience, was not the losing of the actual friend. It was telling mothers their sons were not coming home, telling wives their husbands were lost forever, telling children they would never see their fathers again. He didn't miss his friends for the sake of lost friendship. He missed them for the sake of lost potential.
Temeraire had, during this exchange, unconsciously moved closer to Guy.
"I suppose that is true. I have lost many members of my crew and of course humans must go away from their families to fight. But Laurence has always been there with me," well, almost always, "and it was Rowan that took him away, not a war."
Temeraire knew logically that blaming the entire world for this was silly, but he could not help being angry and he had not yet found any specific person or thing to be angry at.
Then Temeraire suddenly had a Brilliant Idea. He walked a little closer to everyone else than usual and called out to the nearest guard, "Excuse me, Guardsman, may I speak with you for a moment?"
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"Do you mean you do not get paid?" he asked, head tilted to the side. Great honors were nice but exactly useful.
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"And the Prince is looking for help fighting in the upcoming battle everyone is talking about, correct?" he asked, forgetting about his supposed reason for asking.
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He lowered his head sadly a bit, thinking of Laurence and his friends.
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"I suppose that is true. I have lost many members of my crew and of course humans must go away from their families to fight. But Laurence has always been there with me," well, almost always, "and it was Rowan that took him away, not a war."
Temeraire knew logically that blaming the entire world for this was silly, but he could not help being angry and he had not yet found any specific person or thing to be angry at.
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