Shield's Lady

out to make my fortune here in the west. The bank I established has proved quite profitable. The locals are shrewd in some ways but quite unsophisticated in others.”
    “Spoken like a typical easterner,” Gryph muttered as he slowly put a wedge of bread into his mouth and chewed.
    “I’m afraid it’s true,” Etion said mildly. “Westerners proved fairly easy to manipulate in business, although I’ll admit they’re learning. In any event, given the foreseeable future, I tried to make the best of matters. I learned as much as I could about western history, including the legend of the Shield class. It was, I soon found out, all bound up with the legend of the origin of prisma. I quickly discovered just how extremely valuable and rare prisma is. I decided that my goal would be to corner the market. But other than that which already exists as jewelry or weapon kit locks, the stuff is impossible to find. And then I learned that the only way to get more of it was to uncover something called a prisma crystal ship.”
    “I didn’t even believe such ships existed until recently,” Sariana put in.
    Rakken nodded. “I know. The locals have a built-in tendency toward drama. They love a good story. For quite some time I was sure the tale of the ships and the Shields’ ability to work prisma was just the stuff of legend. But I needed to know as much as possible about my subject, so I pursued that legend. I ran into other problems when I tried to find out the Shields’ version of the story.”
    “Let me guess,” Gryph said. “You couldn’t get one to talk.”
    “You are an extremely closed-mouth lot as I found out when I finally made a journey to one of the frontier provinces. Strong, silent types. At least when it came to discussing your past. No cooperation at all. But I persevered.”
    “How did you root out Targyn?” Gryph asked with genuine curiosity. “He was supposed to have died gloriously fighting off a pack of bandits.”
    Sariana gave him a sidelong glance. “Apparently Shields like a good, rousing tale as much as everyone else around here does. You had no problem buying the legend of Targyn, I take it?”
    Gryph shrugged and winced when the small action caused the twist’s straps to jerk. “To tell you the truth, everyone was greatly relieved that Targyn had disappeared in a noble battle. He was becoming a problem.”
    Etion arched his eyebrows. “I can guess why. He’s a rather obsessive individual, isn’t he?”
    “Nuttier than a rackle seed cake,” Gryph agreed.
    Etion nodded. “He’s fanatically interested in Shield history.”
    “And in his own future?” Sariana asked dryly.
    “Quite correct,” Rakken said. “The man has apparently devoted a lifetime to exploring the possibilities of working prisma in unique ways. He obviously must have had some natural talent to begin with, but one must credit him with being willing to develop himself.” Rakken looked directly at Gryph. “He is very strong when it comes to working prisma, I take it? Stronger than most Shields?”
    “Most Shields don’t attempt to turn prisma into a usable weapon,” Gryph said with seeming carelessness. “It’s dangerous enough as it is.”
    “Could you do what he plans to do?” Rakken insisted.
    “Detonate prisma in a controlled manner?” Gryph shrugged. “I doubt it. Not without killing myself and everything else within a radius of several hundred kilometers. If you want my opinion, I doubt that Targyn can do it, either.”
    “He thinks he can.”
    “The man’s insane,” Gryph reminded him.
    Rakken drummed his hands on the table. “I see. To be truthful, you relieve my mind somewhat. The last thing I want to do is blow up half the continent. I was almost sure Targyn couldn’t manage to control the prisma he found, but one has to be cautious.”
    Gryph said nothing, but he caught a quick, questioning glance from Sariana. She was remembering the theoretical possibilities Gryph had mentioned to her when he had told her why the missing prisma cutter had become Shield business. Just because a theory had never been tested didn’t mean it wasn’t valid. There was little comfort in telling oneself that the theory might possibly be wrong.
    “I only need Targyn to neutralize the material of the crystal ship we’ve found,” Rakken was saying calmly. Once that’s done I understand the prisma will be in a usable state. Is that correct?”
    “Essentially,” said Gryph. “Who found the ship?