A SOLDIER’S LIFE

BOOK 1: LEGIONNAIRE

First Edition

Written by AlwaysRollsAOne

Erick Thiemke

COPYRIGHT © 2023

Boston, Massachusetts

Acknowledgments:

My Parents for supporting me through the writing process and helping me pursue my storytelling dreams.

My supporters on Patron, thank you for supporting me, motivating me, and helping shape the story.

The community of Royalroad.com for help in editing and feedback on the story as it has progressed.

The story is published by the author from his web serial story: A Soldier’s Life

The cover was generated using AI, but no text within the story contains AI-generated content.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Chapter 2 Legion Training

Chapter 3 Beaten but Not Broken

Chapter 4 Why are Red Goblins Brown?

Chapter 5 Secret Space

Chapter 6 The Long Road

Chapter 8 Bulette for the Win

Chapter 9 Riding Lessons

Chapter 10 Renna

Chapter 11 Knowledge is Power

Chapter 12 Griffin

Chapter 13 Dungeon First Timer

Chapter 14 I Decided I Do Not Like Dungeons

Chapter 15 First Apex Essence

Chapter 16 The Baron’s Son

Chapter 17 Sisyphus’ Rock

Chapter 18 Getting Answers

Chapter 19 Self-Assessment

Chapter 20 Displacement Mage

Chapter 21 Obstruction in the Road

Chapter 22 Other Worlders

Chapter 23 Frog Legs

Chapter 24 Book Shopping

Chapter 25 Choices

Chapter 26 Tavern Brawl

Chapter 27 I Call Dibbs

Chapter 28 The Storm in the Distance

Chapter 29 Making a Friend

Chapter 30 Losing a Friend

Chapter 31 Aftermath

Chapter 32 Swamp Things

Chapter 33 Loot Collector

Chapter 34 Spa Day

Chapter 35 Tribunal and Judgement

Chapter 36 The Praetorian Guard

Chapter 37 Midnight Patrol

Chapter 38 Essence Thief

Chapter 39 Duplicitous Nature

Chapter 40 Massacre

Chapter 41 Discipline

Chapter 42 Growing Pains

Chapter 43 Enemy at the Gates

Chapter 44 Firth’s Brilliant Plan

Chapter 45 Essence and Ignorance

Chapter 46 Castile’s Plan

Chapter 47 Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 48 Rats Again?

Chapter 49 Death Dog

Chapter 50 And All is Laid Bare

Chapter 51 The Outer Wall

Chapter 52 Bad News

Chapter 53 The General

Chapter 54 Escape

Chapter 55 Desperation

Chapter 56 You Got Some Explaining to Do

Chapter 57 Battle at the Aqueduct

Chapter 58 False Salvation

Chapter 1 Wrong Place, Wrong Time

I sat in the cold stone prison cell.  The walls were worn, and the door was aged wood with heavy rusting iron bands.   I was literally wearing a potato sack.  A dark wooden bowl of potato soup had steam rising from it near a stone slab that was my bed.  I was not hungry, though.  It was my second day of residence.  How did I get here?

My nephew decided to have a shotgun wedding in South Dakota…in January.  His high school girlfriend was pregnant, and her father was insisting on it.  I decided to drive out from North Carolina for the wedding.  While I was driving across the state of South Dakota, it started snowing…white-out conditions snowing…my phone was not getting any signal, and my GPS was not working.  It had gotten so bad that visibility was nil, and the snow was accumulating fast on the highway with no plows in sight.  I decided I had to get off the road. 

If you have ever driven through South Dakota, you know there is nothing in South Dakota.  I took what I thought was an exit off the highway and drove down a road looking for a hotel, restaurant, or at least a gas station to wait out the storm.  Well, there were none of these things as I drove a short way down the narrow road off the highway.  I tried to turn around but, of course, got my little Toyota RAV4 stuck.  I sat in the car for about an hour, watching my gas gauge go down.  I started turning the car on and off, heating the car when it got too cold.  I got out every time I restarted the car to ensure the exhaust was clear and then eagerly warmed my cold body and hands for a few minutes. 

Soon, it was sunset, and my gas was getting close to empty.  It was around 1:00 a.m. when I finally ran out of gas.  Fortunately, it was barely snowing now.  I noticed a light in the distance.  I was fairly certain it was not a street lamp, so I bundled up and approached it.  I had to break through the 3-foot-deep snow to reach the light.  It was tough, but when I finally arrived, I found it was a large barn.  I walked around the building looking for the associated farmhouse but didn’t see anything in the minimal light.  I then decided to break into the barn, and I was able to pry the old door open just enough to squeeze in. 

I used the light on my phone to examine the interior.  Eventually, I found what appeared to be some old horse blankets.  At least they smelled like horses.   Being cold and exhausted, I bundled the horse blankets into a makeshift nest and curled up to get some sleep.  I could see my breath, and my fingers and toes were numb from the cold.

I woke up to some light bleeding through the barn door.  I looked for my phone and couldn’t find it, and to my shock, I was also naked.  I didn’t remember stripping, but I had been cold, exhausted, and disoriented.  I began crawling on the floor, looking for my clothes.  I noticed it wasn’t that cold.  The barn door swung open as I was searching on my hands and knees.  A middle-aged woman stood there, and we stared momentarily at each other. 

Weirdly, the first thing I noticed after the woman was that there was no snow outside.  Had I just pulled a Rip Van Winkle?

Well, she screamed and ran to the right.  I tried to get her to calm down, running after her and yelling that I was not going to hurt her, but I forgot I was naked.  I ran out of the barn to find myself standing butt-naked in the middle of a farm.  There was an open stable to the left with some horses, a handful of chickens running around, and a large central farmhouse that had three young men running from it.  I tried to talk to the angry boys, but they didn’t seem to speak English and were yelling at me.  Eventually, an older man came out with a small ancient crossbow.  I knelt and immediately put my hands behind my head to appear as non-threatening as possible.  It worked, as I wasn’t shot, and eventually, the younger boys tied me up, talking rapidly with their parents.  Some words sounded somewhat familiar, but the speech was too fast for me to understand. 

After talking amongst themselves, they seemed to decide I needed to be brought to the police.  They put me in a wooden wagon, still naked, and hooked up some horses.  I then spent the next six hours bouncing around, watching fields of wheat and rye pass by.  My captors didn’t respond to any of my efforts to communicate.  Eventually, we entered a walled city that would fit any medieval setting.  I was quickly escorted into a stone building and into my current cell.  I was given a large, coarse burlap sack with holes for my head and arms. 

No one bothered trying to communicate with me.  But after two days, finally, a man entered my cell.  He wore rich yellow robes with a pristine white shirt and black pants.  He had an impassive face as he stood over me and looked at the half-eaten bowl of potato soup.

The Magistrate introduced himself by handing me a medallion.  I took the fist-sized disc cautiously.  “This device will allow us to talk openly with each other, foreigner.”  I understood him.  So, this world had some type of technology—or magic?  “I am Magistrate Advocate Persius.  Your crimes have been logged.  Do you wish your name to be associated with the writ, or should we leave it blank?”  I was still staring in awe at the amulet when what he said caught up to me.

“Crimes?” I questioned, standing and alarmed.  My words were twisted into an unfamiliar language.  He stepped back but did not seem afraid of me.  I did not look all that threatening in a sack.

He straightened himself, “You have been convicted of four separate charges.  Trespassing, assault, attempted rape, and theft,” he said, reading from the parchment.  “Each crime has a penalty of ten silver.”

My mouth hung, unable to work.  I was in shock at everything happening and the magic device in my hand.  I stuttered, “What?  I had no trial.”

The Magistrate sighed, “A visiting truthseeker already confirmed the crimes by questioning Hydran and his family.  The verdict has been stamped and logged, and the court has paid the fines to Hydran.  You must now return the funds to the court.” 

“Can I talk to the truthseeker to clear my crimes?”  I asked hopefully, studying the disc.

“No, he has already returned to the city.  We only received this translation amulet on loan to explain things to you since you seem to be a foreigner in the Empire,” he said with almost pity in his voice. 

Besides trespassing, everything seemed to be concocted by the farmers for as much wealth as possible.   I wanted to be angry but didn’t think that would benefit me at the moment.  The Magistrate sighed at my silence, “If you can not pay, you can be ‘labored out’ by the court.  It should take two years to pay the funds back to the court.” 

My disbelief was evident, and I think he smirked.  He let it sink in before continuing, “Or you can join the standing army.  Foreigners are welcome, and you will pick up our tongue quickly.  You will be trained, fed, and sheltered.  The pay for a soldier is one silver and eight copper per week after you finish the seven-week training—three times the remuneration of a laborer.”

He expounded further on the benefits of the army, “You look a little flabby but have excellent size.  Whatever your profession prior to your crimes,” he scrutinized my tall, overweight frame, “the army will teach you discipline and help you acclimate to the Empire.  After your debt is paid, you will draw a bi-monthly wage.  Enough to return to your homeland,” he smiled reassuringly.

I hesitated as it seemed he was more a recruitment director than a Magistrate, and I could guess why my trial had not included my presence.  I was assuming I was not on Earth or Earth’s past or future.  My anxiety was holding silence as my mind raced.  I was alone and uncertain how they would treat someone from another world. 

“I will join the army,” I said hesitantly.  My decision was for a few reasons—first, the protection of being in an organization.  Second, I had nothing, so being fed and clothed was an incentive.  The third reason was that I had no idea how to defend myself in this new world, and I felt my best chance of living was learning how to fight. 

The Magistrate smiled like it had been a foregone conclusion.  He was nice enough to answer my questions patiently, as he thought I was from a distant kingdom—little did he know.  I was interested in the currency system to find out how in debt I actually was.  The monetary system followed: one hundred copper coins equal one silver coin.  One hundred silver coins equal one gold coin.  He showed me a silver coin, and it was about the size of a nickel.  A large coin was the size of a half dollar and was worth ten coins.

The Magistrate produced a large stone tablet with silvery writing on it, “You are fortunate that I was here testing some youth.  This is an assessment tablet.  Do you have them where you come from?”

“No.  What does it do?”  I asked, looking at the well-worn stone.

His appraisal of me seemed to fall at my ignorance.  He smiled tightly, “It will check your potential and ability.  The army has minimum standards, but with your size, I think this is a formality.”  I was just shy of 6’1” and somewhere between 240 and 250 pounds.  He instructed me to hold the tablet.  I held the tablet for a moment, and the Magistrate activated it with his magic—definitely magic and not technology.  It glowed, and the silvery script appeared. 

The letters looked vaguely familiar, but I could not read the words, but the numbers were familiar.  The Magistrate told me what each line revealed, knowing that I could not read it if I did not speak the language.

The Magistrate pointed to each line and read it to me, explaining each as he read it.

Physical

Mental

Magical

Strength

21/79

Intellect

25/54

Aether Pool

7/21

Power

22/82

Reasoning

33/59

Channeling

2/55

Quickness

16/49

Perception

44/60

Aether Shaping

0/8

Dexterity

14/55

Insight

18/48

Aether Tolerance

19/50

Endurance

30/87

Resilience

40/71

Aether Resistance

3/19

Constitution

19/65

Empathy

9/21

Prime Aether Affinity

Space

Coordination

10/60

Fortitude

24/87

Minor Aether Affinity

Time

His voice sounded scholarly as he spoke, “This is a very old tablet and may not be precisely calibrated, but it should be close.  The first number is your current score, and the second is your potential as a human.  You are a human?”

“What?  Yes, I am a human,” I blurted out.  Were there non-humans?

He nodded in confirmation, “Now, a normal person typically has a current score between 10 and 25 with a potential between 30 and 60.  The upper limit for a human is 100.  The seven physical stats are very important for your new career as a soldier.  Strength basically details how much weight you can move with your muscles.”  He looked at my overweight frame dubiously.  Not that the Magistrate looked fit himself.

“Your power is how fast you can move the weight.  Quickness is how fast you can move and react.  Dexterity reflects the manual control of your hands.  Endurance reflects how long you can perform physical-related tasks.  Constitution is your ability to ignore the pain and recover from injury.  Coordination is your control over your entire body.”

He shifted in his stance and continued, “Now, the requirements to join the general army are to have a potential of at least 40 in strength and endurance.  So you qualify, congratulations.”  He sounded slightly mocking.  “There is also a more advanced unit, the Legion of the Lion, you have probably heard of our famed legionnaires.  They require you to have a minimum potential of 40 in all physical attributes and also 60 potential in Strength and Power.  I will tell you only about one out of every three complete the training, as it is quite rigorous.”

“What does the rest of the tablet say?”  I asked, fascinated by the device and disregarding my plight.

He looked down at it, “Not important for your new career, but I will explain anyway like I would to a child.  The next column is your mental traits.  Your intellect shows your intelligence, how well you can recall knowledge.  Your reasoning is your ability to understand…” he stopped before translating the numbers further.  Running his finger down the second and then the third column.  “Ah, it’s surprising that you have excellent mental attributes and potential.  Unfortunately, your magic traits are weak; otherwise, you might have been able to enroll in one of the Mage Colleges with a sponsor.  Your affinities are both extremely rare as well.”  There was a Mage College?  And I was not good enough for one.

The Magistrate thought to himself for a long moment, “Ah well, sorry to get sidetracked.  Let’s see…your reasoning is your ability to utilize information.  Your perception is your awareness of the physical world.  Your insight is your ability to decipher knowledge and make leaps of understanding.”  He looked at me dubiously, “Resilience is your ability to resist mental attacks.  Empathy is your ability to interpret other people’s disposition.  Finally, fortitude is your ability to function under mental fatigue and duress.”

He paused to stretch his back from holding the stone, “Now the final column just represents your magic ability.”  He started talking faster to get this over with, “Your Aether Pool reflects how much magic aether your body can hold.  Channeling reflects how fast you can use aether and replenish aether.  Shaping is the ability to mold aether into a usable construct or spell form.  Your Aether Tolerance is how much aether you can channel before sustaining damage to your body over the course of a day.  Your aether resistance is your ability to resist magic and aether backlash.  All things you do not need to worry about as you will never be a mage.”

He smiled congenially, “Now, the final two lines are your affinities.  There are 21 affinities in magic.  Seven common, seven uncommon, and seven rare.  Your two affinities are rare, but the rest of your magical stats are not impressive.  If you were to attend a Mage College, you would be evaluated for all 21 magic affinities as each ranks between 0 and 100 as well.  This simple and old tablet I have only lists your two highest affinities.”           

He paused and let me ask questions, “What would be my term of service in the army and Legion of Lion?”

He couldn’t hide his grin like he had hooked a fish, “Just five years.  All your expenses will be paid by the Empire.  The Lion is an elite unit and will also take outlanders.  But do not get your hopes up; even though your potentials qualify you, only one in three finish the training.  If you fail, though, the only punishment is to be relegated to the regular army.”  He added, “The Legion are the elites.  They get higher pay, better food, and are trained more thoroughly.  As a legionnaire, your pay is five silver and forty copper per week.  Five times a soldier.”

“What does the legion do that is different from the army?”  I questioned.

He gestured grandly, trying to sell me on it, “They serve as the elite troops of the kingdom, guarding mages, serving as royal guards, and elite troops in battle.  The training is seven months, much longer than the seven weeks for a soldier,” he elaborated.

I considered it and decided to apply to the Legion of the Lion.  I thought seven months of training would be much better for my survivability than the seven weeks I would get as a soldier.  I said, somewhat confidently, “The Legion of the Lion.”

The Magistrate smiled and said, “Great!  I will take care of the paperwork.”  I later found out the Magistrate got bonuses of 1 silver for each soldier he recruited and a quarter gold for each legionnaire he recruited.  Maybe the crafty Magistrate had thought he had led me to make my decision for me, but I had my own reasons.  

For the next meal, my potato soup had meat added to it and a half loaf of buttered bread.  I felt like I was a pig being fattened for slaughter now that I knew my fate.  After two days, I was off in a wagon.  I had a sealed letter that had a copy of my statistics.  Some city soldiers escorted me as they brought me to the training camp.  Without the amulet to translate, I felt isolated but tried to stave off the depression by focusing on survival.

It was a six-day trip, and the caravan stopped in small towns every night, adding more potential soldiers or legionnaires each time.  I couldn’t communicate, so I just observed and listened.  Some words sounded familiar if I slowed down the speech and filtered the heavy accent.  I needed to learn the language as quickly as possible, but no one wanted to take the time to help me. 

We had seven guards and four open wagons.  My guards and fellow recruits did not want to take the time to help me with my language barrier.  So, I did my best to pick up words.  When I learned water was called aqua I realized the language was based on Latin, or maybe it was Latin.  I only took three years of Spanish in high school and only remembered how to say was ‘my name is Eryk.’ 

By the time we arrived at the camp, there were 24 recruits, including me.  The main camp was for training soldiers.  It looked like there were roughly 1000 soldiers in training here in groups of 25 as they marched in five-by-five blocks.  I didn’t have much time to watch as 21 recruits from my caravan got out here.  Two other larger recruits and I were brought to a smaller camp, the training camp for the Legion of the Lion, which was located at a large manor nearby. 

My two companions from the trip and I were brought inside a wooden barracks.  About three-fourths of beds were occupied.  We took three of the open bunks.  I immediately went to sleep, mentally and physically exhausted from my ordeal so far. 

Chapter 2 Legion Training

At breakfast, the food they fed us was copious but bland.  I had trouble eating as my new reality was sinking in.  I listened intently to others speaking and heard familiarity in their speech but could not place it.  Some words almost made sense, but the heavy accent and rapid speech made it difficult. 

We had no guards when I walked around the buildings.  That surprised me, but I remained close to my assigned building and watched the older classes training.  They worked on conditioning, fighting with various weapons, and coordinated marches and small formations of sixteen to twenty men.  My stomach roiled as the muscular and fit men performed athletic stunts well beyond anything I was ever capable of.  I had lost weight since arriving, but my gut was still evident, and I was worried about what I had gotten myself into.  Even more so when a man had his arm broken from a club.  I turned away, almost losing my breakfast from seeing the bone sticking out.

We waited two more days before all bunks were filled.  I was given a translation amulet charged at breakfast by one of the magicians who healed injuries and five others who apparently did not speak the native tongue.  The mage was named Damian, and after he gave me the amulet, he showed me how to wear it.  

“You need to keep the cord tight so the amulet remains around the throat.  This way, it is unlikely to get damaged.  They are expensive, and if you were in the regular army, you would not even get one,” Damian explained patiently.

I was relieved to finally have the ability to talk to others.  I held it in my hand, and it looked like a closed pocket watch, “How does it work?”

Damian answered, “Runic discs stacked in oriented sequence and powered by aether.”  I nodded as if any of that made sense to me.

Since I knew Damian was one of the healers from watching the others train, I thought it might be a good idea to befriend him.  “If you have time, I would appreciate some language lessons without the amulet.”

Damian looked me over, “Your body and mind are about to go through a daily gauntlet.  But if you have the energy, find me after dinner.” He left me to my own devices.

With the amulet, it was great to finally talk to others freely.  Most of the men in our 100-person barracks were here because they, like me, had opted to be soldiers rather than laborers to pay off their crimes.  Most of the crimes were not as petty as mine, though, with lots of murderers and violent assault cases.  I also found one benefit of the amulet.  It always translated my speech at the same volume.  So I could whisper a word and listen to the translation aloud.  This annoyed the others in the barracks, so I usually did it outside.

I spent most of my free time connecting the words and developing a vocabulary.  I think the language was related to English, so I rapidly added words to my mental dictionary.  I was unsure if it was because I was a foreigner, my demeanor, or that I just did not speak the language without the amulet, but I had difficulty making friends.  After two days of relative freedom, our barrack was filled, and our training began.

We had seven trainers who also served as wardens.  One of our group tried to escape the second night, and he was promptly put on trial and executed.  The follow-up speech by Silas, the Legion commander in charge, was not pleasant: “You leave the compound without permission of an instructor, and you will be executed.  Know that you can not run.  Our mages,” he indicated seven men in a row, “will track you in minutes.  You choose to be here to atone for your crimes and serve the Empire.”  He made a hand motion, and one of the trainers grimly slid a long, pointed dagger under the chin and up into the brain of the violator.  The defiant look on his face turned to horror as he died.  I promptly vomited and was not the only one.

The scene made me have second thoughts about my choice to join and erased all thoughts of escaping myself.  Two years of hard labor was probably a better alternative.  The dead man’s bed was promptly filled with another recruit.  There were seven barracks.  Each with 100 bunks.  When a barracks was full, the 7-month training began, usually on the first of the month.  Each barracks had seven trainers, and a large estate building housed all the command staff. 

I wasn’t sure how many command staff there were, but Damian, who lived in the estate, said it was over 100, not including attendants.  There were also more than the seven mages who had been on display at the execution, but Damian said their number fluctuated between ten and fifteen.

On the first morning, we ran with a weighted pack before breakfast.  Then, we ate a large meal as our bodies protested the abuse but yearned for sustenance to heal it.  Then, we had a lecture about the Empire and Legion that sounded mostly like propaganda to me.  Our seven instructors schooled us in hand-to-hand combat after the lecture.  The lesson was more about the instructors showing us how superior they were to us.  A number of my fellows got broken noses, dislocated shoulders, or torn ligaments that required healing.  The grim lessons caused a number of painful screams.  On one of my turns, I got an elbow to the face and spit out my two broken front teeth.

My instructor yelled at me, “Get your teeth, trainee.  A magician can heal it back in place, but they would not waste aether in regrowing them.”  I spit blood as I dropped to my knees and found them in the dirt.  Damian washed and carefully lined them up before healing them.  He patted me on the back, and I returned to the training.  Or a better description, a beating. 

After hand combat, we had another meal.  I listened to the others complain as they ate, bonding over their hatred of the instructors but still not accepting me.  I was on the outside looking in, not being able to break into any conversations.  We were brought to a courtyard with a huge barrel of worn, dull swords.  We were each given one of the blades, and the instructor spoke, “All combat can be broken down into different movements woven together.  The speed and power at which you execute these movements make you a competent swordsman.”

Then, we were schooled in sword forms.  We had to learn seven sword forms, each with seven segments.  We practiced with weighted swords, striving for perfect movements.  If we were good, they would give us a heavier sword.  My shoulders and arms were soon aching and struggling to hold the blade.

After a few hours with the sword, we spent time with one of the instructors.  Each one taught another weapon, dagger, axe, crossbow, short sword, two-handed sword, spear, and polearm.  They told us our goal was not to master another weapon but to learn enough to know how to fight effectively against someone with these weapons.  So, we rotated every day between instructors in groups of 15.  After the cross-weapon training, we did some more fitness training till sunset.  Then we had a shower fed by an aqueduct, received healing if needed, and more food.  The bland food suddenly tasted like ambrosia.  We had two hours to ourselves before the sun set and darkness filled the barracks. 

The first few days, I had trouble moving.  My body just stopped responding to the intense fatigue.  The instructors did not scream and yell at me like in the movies.  Instead, they offered calmly worded threats that I would be sent to the regular army if I could not keep going.  That seemed to motivate the other men, so I also forced myself to continue.  Convicted men in the army were usually sent to the front lines and used as fodder.  At least, that was what the instructors told us.  I pushed to keep myself from that fate. 

Most of us slept for our free two hours.  I, however, was outside and worked on mastery of the language.  I noticed one of the only two women in our barracks of 100 practicing with a staff.  Her name was Helena.  After a few days, we started talking briefly while she spun her staff.  The other woman in our group usually moved from bed to bed at night, whoring herself out for favors in combat classes. 

Helena trusted me and after a few days, she tossed me a staff, “You can talk and help practice.”  I caught the staff and painfully stood.

“How can you still move Helena?  And why practice more?”  I approached her.

“You just need to tell your mind that your body doesn’t hurt.  The more practice I get, the better my chance of making it,” she went into a series of attacks.  She slowed, seeing how terrible I was at defending.

After some exchanges, I found she was a good teacher.  A teacher who didn’t like to talk just demonstrated.  Close to sunset, I asked her, “Why are you even here? You seem like a warrior?”

Helena huffed, “Criminal debt.”  She didn’t elaborate.  And I could tell she wasn’t going to talk further on it.  But from then on, I spent my evenings gaining proficiency with the staff.  Getting my abused body to do the extra training was not easy, but I was finding mental resilience to the pain, like Helena said. 

At night, before falling asleep, I always tried my damnedest to charge the medallion myself.  If there was magic in this world and I had a wisp of it, then I could make it work for me eventually.   After two weeks of this, I think I was starting to feel the aether, but I was unsure.

My body was broken repeatedly during training—literally.  We had good healers to repair our injuries.  Torn ligaments, broken bones, concussions, cuts, internal bleeding—all of it was repairable with magic if they got to you in time.  I got healing just about every day and found myself starting to become numb to the pain—which one of the instructors told me was the point.  It was a hallmark of a legionnaire, fighting on when his body was broken.  At least now, I was able to function relatively normally with one broken arm.

After completing three weeks of hell, we were tested on the tablet.  Fourteen of our 100 washed out after the test and were sent to the regular army training camp.  Some of us were surprised, but after I talked with Damian, I found out the amount of resources needed to train members of the Legion of Lion was ten times that of the regular army.  This meant Commander Silas liked to cull the groups early.  He explained this allowed our instructors to focus on the more promising men.

Damian, who was one of the dozen magicians administering the test, let me peruse my results on the paper after they were copied.  Most of the other soldiers just had their results copied and sent away.  Making friends with the man had been a boon for me.

Physical

Mental

Magical

Strength

(+10/+0)

31/79

Intellect

(+0/+0)

25/54

Aether Pool

(+0/+0)

7/21

Power

(+7/+0)

29/82

Reasoning

(+2/+0)

35/59

Channeling

(+1/+0)

3/55

Quickness

(+2/+0)

18/49

Perception

(+1/+0)

45/60

Aether Shaping

(+1/+0)

1/8

Dexterity

(+3/+0)

17/55

Insight

(+1/+0)

19/48

Aether Tolerance

(+0/+0)

19/50

Endurance

(+11/+0)

41/87

Resilience

(+0/+0)

40/71

Aether Resistance

(+0/+0)

3/19

Constitution

(+3/+0)

22/65

Empathy

(+0/+0)

9/21

Prime Aether Affinity

Space

Coordination

(+7/+0)

17/60

Fortitude

(+6/+0)

30/87

Minor Aether Affinity

Time

My physical stats had made good progress.  I was more curious to see my magic skills, which had barely moved, but still, they had moved!  So the hour I had spent every night in bed trying to charge my amulet had done something.  It gave me the motivation to continue the effort.

After the tablet reading, we had a large round of combats over three days to rank the remaining 86 members of the squad.  I placed 48th in hand combat, 37th in sword combat, 77th with daggers, and 29th with sword and shield.  It had been the first time we had been given a shield, so I thought I did well.  I was surprised I had done so well, but then again, most of the men in the barracks had not been warriors before coming here.

Then, in a sort of awards ceremony, the top three placers in each combat got a minor essence of strength or power for a reward.  The small marble-sized balls were dark purple or orange, which the winners eagerly consumed.  What is an essence?  From Damian, I found out there are two effects of essences.  One, they could raise your potential in stat, and the other was they could raise your attribute without having to bust your ass in training.  After just three weeks of training, the bottom three performers were sent to the army camp, reducing our barracks number to 83.  I now knew why the other woman had offered herself at night.  She had been amassing favors to finish higher in the combat rankings.

Talking to Damian, I found each minor essence costs between 1 and 20 gold coins depending on which stat.  Physical stats were the cheapest, while magical stats were the most costly, and mental ones fell in between.   Generally, it took 30 minor essences to forcefully raise a stat up one point without any training.  Unfortunately, minor essences usually have little effect once a stat reaches half of a person’s potential unless the individual also trained it. 

There were also major essences that were about an inch in diameter.  These could help raise stats to about 80% of your potential without having to train.  They were also ten times as effective at raising stats over minor essences, meaning you only needed to use 3 for an increase.  According to Damian, major essences cost between 50 to 500 gold. 

Finally, there were apex essences.  They were the size of a golf ball but were very difficult to harvest, cost hundreds of gold, and could raise someone past 80% of their potential without training.  More importantly, though, apex essences were the only thing that could raise your potential: your stat’s limit ceiling.  These essences were rare, expensive, and reserved for nobility.  Using them on yourself was a crime unless you had permission from a noble called a First Citizen.

I began the next three weeks of training extremely focused on improving my combat skills.  The instructors noticed and gave me more attention in practice sessions.  I didn’t want to fall below the imaginary line that would have me sent to the regular army.  If I was going to survive in this world, I also needed this training.  I found my body acclimating to its new reality, and most of my body fat was gone after just six weeks.

The next tablet test, three weeks later, yielded good results for me.

Physical

Mental

Magical

Strength

(+6/+0)

37/79

Intellect

(+0/+0)

25/54

Aether Pool

(+1/+0)

8/21

Power

(+7/+0)

36/82

Reasoning

(+0/+0)

35/59

Channeling

(+0/+0)

3/55

Quickness

(+3/+0)

21/49

Perception

(+3/+0)

48/60

Aether Shaping

(+0/+0)

1/8

Dexterity

(+1/+0)

18/55

Insight

(+1/+0)

20/48

Aether Tolerance

(+0/+0)

19/50

Endurance

(+6/+0)

47/87

Resilience

(+1/+0)

41/71

Aether Resistance

(+0/+0)

3/19

Constitution

(+2/+0)

24/65

Empathy

(+0/+0)

9/21

Prime Aether Affinity

Space

Coordination

(+12/+0)

29/60

Fortitude

(+7/+1)

37/88

Minor Aether Affinity

Time

The tester only recorded my physical and mental stats, ignoring the magic column again.  I had substantial gains in my physical stats.  I was benefiting from all the weapon practices.  My mental fortitude potential had increased from 87 to 88.  I asked the tablet testing mage about it.  It wasn’t Damian this time, but my goodwill among the mages seemed to have spread. 

He checked the records, “A single point in potential increase is not unheard of.  The tablet’s calibration could be off, or you could have just been on the cusp between values.  You shouldn’t worry about it.  Don’t be surprised if it is back to 87 on your next reading.”  I had waited to be last in line so I could review my scores, and the three mages administering the test packed up the three tablets they were using carefully and left.

Six people were expelled from our barracks after the tablet testing, bringing our number to 77.  I didn’t even bother to figure out who they were.  Rumor spread among us that the goal was to finish with 30 Legionnaires.  The top 6 in our class would be sent to the capital to join the Royal Legion, and the remaining 24 would form a platoon under the command of a mage and be sent on missions across the Telhian Empire.

Combat testing was fairly intense this round as everyone realized they might not make it and have to go to the regular army.  The army was considered fodder to hold the borders.  Life expectancy was not very high.  I finished 19th in sword ranking, 24th in sword and shield, 29th in dagger, and 9th in hand-to-hand.  We were also tested on our marksmanship with the crossbow, and I finished 18th.  Once again, prize essences were handed out to the top three for each event, and three more soldiers were cut—74 of us remained.

We, shockingly, were given a day off.  It was our first free day in six weeks of intensive training finished.  I noticed another man sheading tears of joy when it was announced.

Chapter 3 Beaten but Not Broken

On my day off, I spent my morning swimming in the lake that fed the showers at camp by a small aqueduct.  We ran by the lake on one of our longer runs.  I had made sure it was acceptable before I headed up to the lake, and one of my trainers confirmed I would not be killed for swimming up there.  There was a watchtower up there, and the two guards said I should just remain on the banks under it, and I would be fine.  The last thing I wanted was to be executed for trying to escape.

I was sitting on the bank, admiring my leaner and fit body, when one of the mages came down to the bank with a fishing pole.  Looking up, I noticed it was Damian.  He healed me many times, usually charged my translation amulet, and helped me with the language.  We started talking while he fished as I asked him more questions about magic.

“Damian, what is the difference between a spell form and actual magic?”  I asked while he cast over and over, something akin to fly fishing.

He was very patient with me as he explained, “In order to cast a spell, a mage has to channel aether into a construct.  Constructs come in three forms.  They can be a physical device with an embedded spell form like the amulet you are wearing.  They can be imprinted permanently onto a person’s aether core, although each affinity on a person’s core can only accept one such inscription.  But what really defines a true mage is the last method.  Being able to create a spell form in the air using aether manipulation and manual dexterity.  However, the spell form is created; once you have it, you only need to channel aether into it to generate the spell’s effect.  Give me your translation amulet, Eryk.”

I removed the device and handed it to him while he put down his fishing pole.  He proceeded to disassemble the device, showing six stacked discs inside.  Each disc was comprised of complex runes.  He assembled the device, orienting the discs on a tab, charged it, and handed it back to me.  He continued, “You can see how difficult it would be to write out all six sets of runes, maintain their forms, and then channel aether to cast the comprehension spell.”

“Yes.  I could maybe write one from memory if I studied it for a while, but all six?”  I responded with a new appreciation of mages. 

“There are some simpler spells with only three layers, but it is not just writing them with aether in the air.  You have to do it fast enough that they do not dissipate and keep them all oriented correctly.  Even if someone had a strong affinity, only one in a thousand of those people can control their aether and truly cast spells.  Mages are highly valued throughout the world,” he sighed.   “I am not a true mage.  All my spells are spell forms permanently imprinted on my aether core.”

“Can anyone add spell forms onto their core to cast spells?”  I inquired, hopefully.

“Yes and no.  It is not too difficult as it is mostly intent and will, and having a visual representation of runes also helps.  But you do need to have a strong enough affinity with the magic.  Generally, you need a score of at least 10 in the affinity to imprint a spell form on your aether core successfully.  Less than that, it is extremely uncommon, Eryk.”  He picked up his pole and continued to fish. 

After a while, I asked, “So people generally don’t have affinities over 10?”

He looked over at me curiously, “Generally, everyone is tested when they are fifteen.  Do they not do that where you are from?” 

I remained calm and responded, “No, it is reserved just for the nobility.”

He nodded in understanding.  “A waste.  You never know where the next great mage might come from.  But everyone always has some affinity for at least one of the magics.  It is usually small; between five and six is normal.  Secondary affinities are usually half of their primary.”  He considered for a moment, “If you have never been tested, maybe your primary affinity is strong enough to create a spell form on your core.  If you wish, I can try to obtain an affinity assessment stone when it passes through.  They are expensive and usually only found in large cities.”

“I would appreciate that, Damian,” I replied with a hopeful smile.

He nodded and cast again, “I am actually quite well versed in the process.  I can not create spell forms in the air but have seven different spell forms inscribed on my core.”  He held up his finger to demonstrate, and a steady flame appeared on it.  “This is my fire affinity spell form.  I only have eight affinity with fire, so this was all I could manifest.  Still, it is useful in lighting fires,” he smiled triumphantly. 

His smile fell.  “Your affinities were space and time?”  I nodded.  “Do not get your hopes up.  They are rare magics, which usually means lower strength of the attribute.”

“How strong is your healing affinity?”  I asked.

He smiled at my curiosity, “Generally, it is impolite to ask a person their affinity strength.” He grinned, “My healing affinity is 54.  It is my second strongest affinity.  My spell form can heal another person’s flesh, organs, and bones.”  Damian was one of the best healers in the camp, and I had been administered to him many a time.

I pressed hopefully, “Can you teach me some basic aether shaping exercises?  I have a potential of eight in shaping and would like to improve.” 

Damian frowned, “I thought your shaping was something like that.  In order to create spell form and cast spells like a true mage, it is considered a requirement to have a minimum score of forty in aether shaping.  My own score is twenty-seven after years of practice, and my potential is only slightly higher.  I spent years trying to learn spells and failed.”

Seeing my downcast expression, he tried to cheer me up, “You still might be able to create a spell form, Eryk.  I will see about borrowing a tablet if it passes through.  And I will also teach you the two basic exercises for aether shaping.”

We spent the next two hours as a teacher and student.  The two exercises were focused on visualization and meditation.  Once you could feel the aether, you could manipulate it with your mind in your body.  It was late in the day when we finished, and I thanked him and returned for dinner since I had missed lunch while I was out swimming.  I planned to double up on my calories. 

I kept my routine over the next three weeks and could finally manifest the feeling of my aether in my core with the exercises Damian had imparted.  It was difficult and mentally taxing.  My control was crude, like kneading a dough ball in my core.  My mental exhaustion didn’t help me during morning fitness training the following day, so I needed to temper my magical aspirations.

The next wave of testing was upon us, and I was very curious to see my results.

Physical

Mental

Magical

Strength

(+3/+0)

40/79

Intellect

(+1/+0)

26/54

Aether Pool

(+1/+0)

9/21

Power

(+2/+0)

38/82

Reasoning

(+3/+0)

38/59

Channeling

(+2/+0)

5/55

Quickness

(+2/+0)

23/49

Perception

(+1/+0)

49/60

Aether Shaping

(+3/+0)

4/8

Dexterity

(+2/+0)

20/55

Insight

(+6/+0)

26/49

Aether Tolerance

(+1/+0)

20/50

Endurance

(+3/+0)

50/87

Resilience

(+2/+0)

43/71

Aether Resistance

(+0/+0)

3/19

Constitution

(+4/+0)

28/65

Empathy

(+0/+0)

9/21

Prime Aether Affinity

Space

Coordination

(+2/+0)

31/61

Fortitude

(+1/+0)

38/88

Minor Aether Affinity

Time

The tester raised his eyebrows while writing down my new stats in the log.  I again sneaked a peak at my magic stats and saw a great improvement.  My next goal was to be able to charge my amulet by myself.  I could now communicate in the common tongue without the amulet, but my vocabulary was still limited.  It appeared the language was derived from Latin, but I was not a linguist.  I found out the amulet cost 20 gold even though it was extremely old.  It would not be going with me when I graduated, so I needed a good grasp of the language before then.  Six more were cut after the tablet readings by Silas, bringing our number to 68.

Testing did not go as well as I had hoped.  I finished 23rd in sword ranking, 30th in sword and shield, 25th in dagger, and 7th in hand-to-hand.  We were also tested on spearmanship for the first time, and I finished 3rd.  All of the practice with the staff and Helena had greatly helped.  Helena was the only woman left in the barracks.  The other woman had been cut at tablet testing.  Now Helena was constantly harassed.  She was not in danger of getting raped because if she was, the man would have been executed the next day.  She just had to deal with constant ‘requests.’ 

I would have helped her, but I was outnumbered and didn’t want the small cliques of men to focus their attention on me.  Some men had taken to sharing in each other’s company at night without a willing woman present.  That was not my preference, and I hoped maybe after I graduated, I could find a woman.  I used the intense training to keep myself distracted.

For finishing 3rd in the spear competition, I was awarded an essence!  The awards were announced after three more men were dismissed, bringing our number to 65.  I was worried as I was called to choose my essence.  In the office of Commander Silas, I was asked, “Which physical attribute do you wish?” 

I thought about my shortcomings in combat.  My lower speed and agility are what cost me the most during practice.  So, I needed to choose quickness, dexterity, or coordination.  My lagging stat was dexterity, so I decided on that to increase my accuracy with my blade.  “Dexterity,” I responded after thinking.  Commander Silas thought my indecision was amusing and handed me the tiny faintly glowing yellow pearl—maybe closer to a marble’s size. 

Seeing my confusion, the Commander said, “Just swallow it, savor it if you want.  The first time is always the best.”

I went outside and examined the ball for a long time.  I imagined what kind of power was contained within and how much potential was stored in the small item.  If I wanted to remain, I needed this reward to make a difference in my combat skills.  I swallowed and focused intently on it as it dissolved and entered my stomach.  I focused on the electric shocks in my veins and nerves that caused my muscles to twitch for a few minutes.  When it ended, I did not feel any different.  I do not know if I should have expected more.  I definitely didn’t transform into a hulking warrior.

We had a day off again, and I hoped to meet the mage Damian again at the lake shore, but he never came to fish.  I spent the next three weeks backing off my magic training and getting more rest to focus on my weapon skills.  I couldn’t afford to slide down in the rankings and get cut.  The threat of being sent to the regular army kept me motivated.  After being at the camp for 12 weeks, I went confidently to the tablet testing for the first time.  I knew I had made ground on some of the others and was looking forward to weapon testing after the tablet. 

Physical

Mental

Magical

Strength

(+2/+0)

42/79

Intellect

(+0/+0)

26/54

Aether Pool

(+1/+0)

9/22

Power

(+1/+0)

39/82

Reasoning

(+0/+0)

38/59

Channeling

(+2/+0)

7/55

Quickness

(+1/+0)

24/49

Perception

(+0/+0)

49/60

Aether Shaping

(+0/+0)

4/8

Dexterity

(+4/+1)

24/56

Insight

(+1/+0)

27/49

Aether Tolerance

(+0/+0)

20/50

Endurance

(+1/+0)

51/87

Resilience

(+0/+0)

43/71

Aether Resistance

(+0/+0)

3/19

Constitution

(+2/+0)

30/65

Empathy

(+0/+0)

9/21

Prime Aether Affinity

Space

Coordination

(+3/+0)

34/61

Fortitude

(+2/+0)

40/89

Minor Aether Affinity

Time

I was happy to see my dexterity improve by 4 points.  My dexterity potential even increased by one point.  The tester recording my data seemed to pause when he got to my dexterity.  He went and looked at my past reading and today’s reading a few times before continuing to copy my stats to my records, just shrugging. 

My physical attributes had improved significantly, so I looked forward to the ranking combat.  I wasn’t surprised my magic barely improved.  I usually just played with mana while I was taking a shit now, having given up on my hopes of becoming a mage.  Also, the nightly sessions caused fatigue the next day, affecting my training.  Today, I didn’t pay attention to people being pulled out but noticed only 58 beds in the barracks were filled when we returned and were preparing for the sword ranking portion of the testing.  With our numbers reduced, the testing was only going to take two days this time.

I finished 15th in sword ranking, 19th in sword and shield, 22nd in the dagger, and 5th in hand-to-hand.  It was mostly thanks to my improved accuracy.  Having trained with the same people for so long, I caught them off guard.  We were also tested in the polearm for the first time, and I finished 11th. 

After getting noticeable results, I wished I had earned another essence, but I didn’t.  If we had tested on the spear, I would have had a shot, but there were just too many men ahead of me in the hierarchy of the other weapons.  Only the bottom two soldiers were cut after weapons testing this time, leaving 56 of us.  Helena was still with us, and we still practiced in the evenings.  She didn’t like to talk, but I think she liked my companionship—and beating on me.

So after 12 weeks of the 29-week training cycle, almost half of our number had been eliminated.  Helena hadn’t been cut but was near the bottom of the results.  I talked to her about it, and she wasn’t concerned.  “Female legionnaires are rarer than horns on a horse.  If I made it this far, I will probably make it and get assigned to special duty guarding a minor female noble related to a Duke or Count.”  It was more words than she had spoken in a week and it was all I got out of her.

We had another off day, and I ran into Damian fishing.  I initiated a conversation, “Damian, do you know how we are eliminated based on our results?”

He considered what to say, “The Commander decides based on the tablet testing.  Sometimes it is the lowest summed physical attributes, but not always.  He talks with the trainers and removes men he feels will not be good legionaries.  If you are not working hard, then you are at risk,” he advised. 

“How am I performing?”  I asked hesitantly.

Damian thought for a moment, “You work hard, but of the men, you are 25th or 26th in the summed physical stat pool rankings.  At least three weeks ago, I think that was where you ranked.”

My heart thudded.  If only thirty men graduated, I was close to the bottom of the hierarchy in my physical performance.  Damian added, “The commander leans heavily on the weapons testing, Eryk.  If you are in the top twenty for sword and shield, you will be safe from the tablet cuts the following tablet testing.  The men sent to the capital to join the Royal Legion patrol the city and fight primarily with the sword and shield, so I think that is why he stresses it.”  That alleviated some of my concerns as I had decent skill with a sword now and had just finished 19th in the sword and shield ranking.

Damian added, “The instructor and commander were actually discussing you the other day, Eryk.  You made a sizable jump in your skill since the last testing.”  I nodded as I realized a lot of that had to do with the essence I consumed.  It had given me better control of my blade.  I could see why essences were so valuable. 

Damian returned to his fishing, thinking I was done asking questions.  He caught two decent-sized fish while I relaxed in the cool air under the shade of a tree.

I came up with some more questions.  I rarely had this opportunity, and my fellow soldiers were mostly ignorant.  They were also assholes for the most part.  It wasn’t like a normal army where camaraderie was the goal.  This legion training seemed to be about improving and outdoing your fellow soldiers.  I asked Damian, “What are typical gains between readings for people?” 

He looked contemplative and said, “Between 10 and 14 is normal after the first three weeks, then 6 to 10 each of the following testing periods.”   I considered I was doing ok then.  I might have even moved up faster than most of the others.  I thought I had improved by 13 or 14 points in this last period alone. 

Damian caught a third fish and started packing up.  He said, “I heard they plan to send your cohort on a little adventure.  There have been some red goblin attacks at a village a hundred miles from here, and the Commander decided you all could use the change of scenery.  You are going out on a little training patrol.”  With that, he smiled, turned, and went to cook his fish.

Chapter 4 Why are Red Goblins Brown?

Well, the following day, we learned we were just taking our training on the road.  It was 100 miles from where we were going.  My squad had two woodsmen, two instructors, and two mages assigned to us.  But they all rode horses while we spent our time at the fast march with heavy backpacks, leather armor, spear, sword, and shield. 

When we stopped, we were either eating or weapons training.  Sleeping outside was not fun either, as the temperature dropped overnight, and our packed bedrolls were only thin wool.  We even had to spend 4 hours on night watch duty.  The woodsman and instructors schooled us in those duties.  I spent my free hours with the woodsmen as well.  Helena was in the other squad, traveling a separate route, so I could not get additional staff practice.  The woodsmen showed me basic camping skills and some foraging skills. 

There were six plants I came to identify as edible, filling, and nutritious.  Two were roots that had bulbs that could be found year-round, but you needed to peel and then boil them.  Two were nuts from trees, a little uncommon, very bitter, and made your urine very pungent.  Using the pungent urine to pee around your campsite at night would keep most wild animals from your camp.  The last two edibles were sap from shrubs; both were very sugary.  You had to be careful just to drink the sap from the hollow stem.  Eating the stem would give you massive cramping and diarrhea.  We didn’t see any wild game on our outings, but he did show me how to identify game trails and animal passing.

It took five days to reach a farm that had been attacked.  The mages and instructors rode out to question the farms nearby.  We got a chance to rest, but I walked the nearby woods with the woodsman who had been instructing me.  We found trails with small humanoid prints.  We were lucky as it hadn’t rained and washed away the evidence.  The woodsman guessed the farm had been attacked by 6 to 8 of the red goblins.  We identified the direction they had left in by the trail of chicken feathers and footprints. 

Soon, the mages returned with the instructors.  The family that lived at the farm had moved to a neighboring farm for protection.  We headed out with the two woodsmen leading the way.  The going was fairly slow, and I was put on the left flank, 10 yards out, since I was slightly better at moving quietly.  Another soldier walked the right flank.  The two woodsmen and two of our best soldiers were in the arrowhead.  The main body of the force trailed 50 yards back with the horses, mages, and our trainers ready to support.

One of the woodsmen hand-signed a trap to the lead element.  We all stopped and waited.  It was only two heartbeats later that all hell broke loose.  Two goblins I didn’t notice broke from my left less than 8 feet away.  My first thought was that they looked more brown than red, and then I got my wits about me.  I interposed my sword and got ready to react.

I deflected the wooden spear aimed at me and put the goblin attacking me between the other goblin.  This would give me one foe for a short time.  I tried to bash the close goblin with my shield, but it had already backed away.  The other goblin began to circle, and sounds of combat erupted from our center and right flank.  I figured I would need to hold out for 15 to 20 seconds for our main force to close in and mounted men.  The two goblins I faced were 120 degrees apart and attacked in a coordinated lunge. 

Using my shield, I cleared the spear on my right.  The sword in my left hand mostly deflected the other spear.  It cut my armor near my ribs but did not reach my flesh.  But I was able to move forward past the spears.  Now, between the goblins, I swung my sword in a short, powerful arc, clipping goblin on the right in the head and taking a chunk of the skull with the hit. 

Using the swing’s momentum, I came around quickly to face the other goblin with my shield.  I saw anger and fear mixed in its human-like eyes.  It hesitated, so I pushed forward, deflecting the spearhead down with a shield and using my sword to hack at its arms.  I took off one of its hands, surprising both of us.  As the goblin froze in shock, a quick slash to its neck ended its life.  This all took less than eight heartbeats.  I scanned the left flank, looking for other threats.  Seeing nothing, I turned to help the center.

One of the woodsmen was on the ground with the two soldiers, and the other woodsman was protecting him.  At least eight goblins had them half surrounded, with more goblins coming to assist.  The main force was still about 30 yards back. 

My training was to fall in and support the center, but looking at the circling goblins, I rushed the flank.  I started a heavy run and used my shield to barrel into one goblin, driving it into another.  Unfortunately, my feet got tangled, and I went down in a mess on smelly goblin limbs.  I felt a pain in my ass and assumed I had just gotten a spear in my left ass cheek.  As I rolled away, I was able to slam the hilt of my sword into the eye of a goblin on the ground, crushing its orbital cavity.  I had to release my shield or risk getting stuck on the ground in the tangle. 

Standing, I backed toward my companions.  The odds were better now: six goblins and four of us.  The goblins had noticed our main force.  The goblins coming to reinforce suddenly screamed, “Flee,” and turned to run.  I only understood the goblin speech because of my amulet.  The six goblins turned and started to run.  I jumped to pursue and cut down one immediately with a diagonal slash across its back.  I took down a second slower goblin that had a limp and then paused, realizing I was alone.   I had forgotten my training and pursued the goblins due to my surging adrenaline.  I backed up and returned to the main force. 

The mages came and healed the injured woodsman and our minor injuries.  I had a puncture in my ass cheek and had bled a fair amount, soaking my pants with blood.  My pain tolerance was high from the training, but getting the healing from Damian and drinking some fluid replacement was still a relief.  Looking at the goblin bodies, I felt mildly ill.  I had killed a sapient being.  I did not have long to dwell as the instructors had us moving.

We soon formed a double deep line and moved forward.  Ten minutes later, we came to the goblin camp.  Twenty or so goblins were packing up what they could.  Seeing us approaching, they fled.  We charged when ordered.  I killed two more in the chaos, but they were both clearly females.  The mages shot lightning at a few goblins that had gotten too far away for us to engage in melee.  In all, maybe three goblins managed to escape.

Then, one of the wizards took out a large magic runic shield and tried to suck essence out of the goblins.  It was fascinating to watch as the large device was placed on the body and blue wisps coalesced on the device to form a sphere.  One out of five gave a minor essence.  In total, he collected five essences from 27 goblins. 

I was quickly assigned to assist two woodsmen in tracking and killing the escaped goblins.  Two other soldiers came with us.  After six hours of pursuit, we managed to get only one goblin.  The woodsman had us return in the moonlit night.  The moon on this world was much larger than Earth, and its strong blue light made it feel like constant twilight. 

We had been gone for over 10 hours, and I was exhausted and had bruises and numerous chafe marks on my flesh.  However, I had no time to rest and was debriefed by the instructors upon returning.  I got yelled at for my reckless and undisciplined attacks in the initial contact.  After being told of all my errors multiple times, I was able to retire and quickly fell asleep after some leftover cold stew.

I was able to sleep till mid-morning, mostly because the woodsman had asked not to be woken before then, which meant the three soldiers who accompanied them got the same treatment.  I ate three breakfast portions.  While I ate, I was next to one of the mages.  We got into a conversation.  He told me about the loot they collected, “The big haul was four minor dexterity and one minor strength essence.  The goblins had about sixty copper coins and some iron tools.”  He indicated the pile that had been assembled while I was hunting the goblins yesterday.

Damian added, “The coins and tools will be given to the farmer so he can replace some of his livestock.”

“Is that the only way to make essences?”  I asked him, indicating the runic shield by the other mage.

The mage tapped the shield, “Yes, condensing life force from living beings or recent corpses.  The collectors are expensive to artifice.  You are lucky I wanted to come out here and stretch my riding legs.”  He had a self-satisfied aura that was easy to dislike.

“Could it be used on a human as well?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Both mages gave me a strange look, though Damian did answer, “Yes.  Some cultures believe consuming the essence of your defeated foe is your right.  Others believe it should be passed onto their children, and others think they need the strength to succeed in the afterlife in Pluto’s realm.” 

“You said it could be used on live beings,” I asked the first mage.

He seemed uncomfortable with the question, “Do they not have collectors in your lands?  Or you just from some mudhole in the wild!”  He stood and walked away, taking the collector with him.

After he was a distance away, Damian answered my question, “It can be used on live creatures and has a much higher probability of forming an essence.  It was outlawed in the Telhian Empire and is now only used to execute criminals.”  He pointed at the mage, “He used to work in the big cities doing the executing.  He has probably killed dozens of men with that collector in the last decade.  Ripping a man’s life force from an alive person changes you.”

I nodded in understanding.  I had not quite come to grips with just killing goblins.  It helped that they looked more monstrous than human.  But as a soldier, I was going to have to eventually kill another man.  I was not looking forward to that day.

I turned the topic to magic, “Can you tell me more about the magic affinities?”

Damian smiled and went into teaching mode, “There are three rarities of magic, common, uncommon, and rare.  Each one has seven affinities for a total of twenty-one known magical affinities.  Eryk, both of your affinities fall into the rare rank.” 

“What are the rare affinities?”  I leaned in close to listen.

Damian smiled as he listed them: “The seven rare affinities were space, time, displacement, materialism, void, worlds, and convergence.” 

He shifted to face me, “Space is primarily the ability to create pocket dimensions.  Time is limited control over time, usually speeding up or slowing time around the mage.  Displacement is the ability to teleport.  Displacement mages are extremely rare and valuable in the Empire.  They operate the portals in the larger cities.” 

Damian paused to take a drink.  He still had my attention when he continued, “Materialism is summoning objects from nothing, but it breaks the second covenant of magic that objects can not be created from nothing.  There is a lot of debate about whether the objects are summoned or not created.  Void magic is eliminating something from existence.  It is extremely rare magic, and anyone with its affinity is sent to the Mage College in the capital for study.  Now, world magic is the ability to move between planes.  Traveling the cosmos like a great adventurer!”  He dwelled for a moment on the idea of traveling between the stars. 

“Finally, convergence is the rarest of all the rare magics.  It allows a mage to draw mana from the environment, specifically at ley line convergences.  Essentially, the mage could have an infinite well of aether under the correct circumstances and wield tremendous power!”  Damian finished with a flare of his hands.

Damian stood and was about to leave, “Eryk, I know your strongest affinity is space.  I do not want to get your hopes up, but if you successfully complete the legionnaire training, the commander is considering testing you to see if you can learn the dimensional pocket.  Since you have a low potential in aether shaping, you would have to imprint the spell form on your aether core to learn it.”

“What exactly is a dimensional pocket?”  I asked.

Damian nodded and continued, “It creates a private space from which a mage can put and pull items.  They are usually small, but even a legionnaire with a small space could be enlisted as a royal messenger.  But do not get your hopes up.  When I can get a tablet, we can see if your affinity for space magic is at least ten.” 

Damian reiterated my poor chances, “Most people have affinity ratings under five in their primary affinity.  It is one of the reasons they have not checked you.  They assumed you would have been evaluated in your homeland and, if you had any potential, would have utilized it.  I have not told anyone you have never been tested.”  I was twenty-five, and Damian had said it was common for people in the capital or a large city in the Telhian Empire to have all their affinities checked when they turned fifteen.  Damian was called away to attend to an injury.

I was gaining a lot of benefits from my friendship with the mage.  That he was willing to keep my secrets was a massive boon to go with the preferential healing he gave me.  Unlike most of the other men, I had no scars from all the healing I had received while training.

It was a few more days before we packed up and returned to the training camp.  We had no luck in locating more goblins.  The instructors said they probably crawled down a hole to breed for the winter, and he would have to come back again next year.  We learned the other squad had killed 48 goblins and lost three of their members, who rushed into the other goblin camp.  After returning, we had two days off and were tested again on the tablet.

Physical

Mental

Magical

Strength

(+2/+0)

44/79

Intellect

(+0/+0)

26/54

Aether Pool

(+1/+0)

10/22

Power

(+1/+0)

40/82

Reasoning

(+2/+0)

40/59

Channeling

(+0/+0)

7/55

Quickness

(+2/+0)

26/49

Perception

(+3/+0)

52/60

Aether Shaping

(+0/+0)

4/8

Dexterity

(+1/+0)

25/56

Insight

(+1/+0)

28/49

Aether Tolerance

(+0/+0)

20/50

Endurance

(+5/+0)

56/87

Resilience

(+1/+0)

44/71

Aether Resistance

(+0/+0)

3/19

Constitution

(+4/+0)

34/65

Empathy

(+1/+0)

10/21

Prime Aether Affinity

Space

Coordination

(+1/+0)

35/61

Fortitude

(+4/+0)

44/89

Minor Aether Affinity

Time

I made modest gains for myself, but Damian said I was doing well, and as long as I didn’t get myself killed, I would graduate.  For weapons testing, I finished 11th in sword ranking, 18th in sword and shield, 22nd in the dagger, and 7th in hand-to-hand.  I realized that two of the men killed had been ahead of me in the rankings.  I learned they had done something foolish like myself, rushing alone into combat with multiple foes and no support. 

We were also tested in dual-wield sword skill, which none of us were familiar with.  Somehow, I finished 11th.  I liked this style because I could use my quickness to alter which hand was defending and which was attacking and surprise my opponent.  I also found from all the training I was slightly ambidextrous.  One of the trainers said I had the mentality for a two-weapon style.  Unfortunately, they only taught it here, so we would be familiar with it when facing an opponent wielding two weapons.

Three had been dropped after ability testing, and another five were cut after weapons testing.  This left 46 of us remaining.  The strange thing is we actually started forming bonds.  Putting our unit against a common foe had broken down the walls of competition against each other.  I don’t know if that had been planned, but it made life in the barracks more bearable for me.

We had light training as our instructors had to travel to the army camp.  We were not told the reason.  Forty-two of the forty-nine instructors left for two days.  Only forty returned, and even Damian was in the dark as to why, but he assumed they were taking command of units to reinforce a fort. 

During the lighter training days, I had the opportunity I was waiting for.  Damian excitedly said the estate had a magic affinity tablet.  They were expensive, and this one was only going to be here for two days as it was on its way back to the Mage College in the capital.  He conspired to bring it to the lake so I could check my ability in the space affinity privately. 

His offer almost sounded like a trap, but I agreed.  Damian brought the tablet and said, “I have configured it to display rankings of all the rare affinity magics.  The tablet can only display the common, uncommon, or rare magics one at a time.”  He showed me how it was set to do so.

“Are you going to see my scores?”  I asked as he carefully handed me the tablet.

He seemed to consider and, maybe judging by my anxiety, said, “No.  You can keep the information to yourself.” 

“Then why are you helping me?”  I said with confusion.

He seemed uncomfortable, “I am a bit of a loner.  You are the first soldier in my time here who actually made an effort to befriend me.  You are a decent person, unlike most of the men and women who come here to be a legionnaire as well.”  Well, score one for me for not wanting to die. 

I looked at the tablet.  It was much fancier than the general ability tablet.  “Just like charging the amulet, push your aether into this section,” Damian indicated.   I did as instructed and looked at my scores.  It took me time as I barely had learned the written language.  It was similar to Latin, but it took me time to translate letter by letter in my head.

I think Damian thought my concentration was due to disappointment.  I looked up and asked, “What do the scores mean?”

Damian pursed his lips like he was about to break the bad news to me, “True mages usually have 3-4 affinities over 60, usually all in the same rarity category.  The average person only has one affinity, around five.  The higher the number in an affinity, the more power exponentially.  Ten being base noted for as the recognized minimum to demonstrate power.”

“So any magic affinity under ten is essentially useless?”  I asked, looking at the tablet again.

Damian nodded, “A score of twenty is twice as strong as a score of ten.  From there, the real power starts.  A score of thirty is four times the relative power of ten.  Forty is eight times.  Fifty is sixteen times.  Sixty is thirty-two times as strong.”

I interrupted to finish for him, “Seventy is sixty-four times as strong.  A score of eighty is one hundred twenty-eight as strong.”

Damian held up his hand to stop me, “Correct!  But maybe only one in 25,000 people have any affinity over seventy.  Maybe one in 100,000 have an affinity at 80.  Scores of ninety are unheard of and are two hundred fifty-six as powerful as a ten!  Maybe 1 in a million would have an affinity at 90 or higher!” 

“How do I clear my scores?”  I asked.  He showed me, and I did so and handed him back the tablet.  “Why was this tablet here?” 

“A peasant girl was found with powerful elemental affinities.  She was flying over the forest!  Can you believe that!  I heard she had fire, air, water, and earth all at 72!  Can you imagine how powerful that girl is going to be one day!”  Damian said excitedly.  He asked the question solemnly, “So can you?  Is your space affinity over ten?”

I nodded, and his eyes brightened, “Excellent!  We can start working on learning the dimensional pocket spell if you want.  I can show you all the tricks I learned in my time imprinting spell forms.”  He was extremely excited about the opportunity to pass on his knowledge.

After Damian left, I recalled my scores.  He had never asked me what they were, but he numbers were burned into my memory.

Space

98

Time

90

Displacement

61

Materialism

9

Worlds

88

Void

22

Convergence

74

Chapter 5 Secret Space

As my training progressed with Damian, I missed spending my evenings with quiet Helena and having extra staff practice.  Helena was very rough around the edges, but as I felt more and more comfortable in my new world, the scarred and muscular woman was looking better and better to me.  Then again, she was the only woman I got to see on a regular basis. 

I met with Damian almost every evening as he guided me on the principles of learning a spell and creating a spell form.  He thought I would not learn the dimensional pocket as a spell but instead utilize my innate ability to imprint a simple spell form on my core to create the pocket space.  He assured me that I could eventually create the spell form as long as my affinity score had been over 10.  Some people just took longer than others to manifest it.

Very few people could learn the intricacies of memorizing and casting spells as it took a high skill in aether shaping and memorizing the complex spell forms.  It was also going to be a few weeks before a copy of the spell forms could be transported from the Mage College to help guide my visualization.  He assured me he had sent the request, and it would arrive.

Damian was a patient teacher.  I think he was also very bored in his assignment as a healer to the training legion.  His assistance was invaluable as, at my next testing, I had substantial gains in my magical development.  My gains were so significant that the fort’s commander was informed, and he called me before him.

Physical

Mental

Magical

Strength

(+1/+0)

45/79

Intellect

(+2/+0)

28/54

Aether Pool

(+2/+0)

12/22

Power

(+2/+0)

42/82

Reasoning

(+2/+0)

42/59

Channeling

(+2/+0)

9/55

Quickness

(+1/+0)

27/49

Perception

(+0/+0)

52/60

Aether Shaping

(+2/+0)

6/8

Dexterity

(+2/+0)

27/56

Insight

(+2/+0)

30/49

Aether Tolerance

(+1/+0)

21/50

Endurance

(+0/+0)

56/87

Resilience

(+1/+0)

45/71

Aether Resistance

(+1/+0)

4/19

Constitution

(+2/+0)

36/65

Empathy

(+0/+0)

10/21

Prime Aether Affinity

Space

Coordination

(+2/+0)

37/61

Fortitude

(+1/+0)

45/89

Minor Aether Affinity

Time

He looked over the transcribed numbers on a piece of paper while I stood at attention.  Then he spoke, “Soldier, how did you make such significant gains in your magical attributes in three weeks?”  His icy blue eyes focused on me from the sheet. 

“During our free time after dinner, one of the healing mages had been helping me, Commander.” The commander was a very large man who shifted in his chair, which groaned slightly.  He pulled out some more paperwork and read it.

“Do you think you can learn to create a dimensional space, soldier?  Before you complete the training?” He asked sternly.  I had absolutely no idea.  I didn’t even know if I was close.  I was hoping my ridiculous score in space magic would have helped by now.

“Yes, sir!” I said with confidence, even though it was faked.  He nodded and looked at some more papers.

“Okay, you can work with the healing mage.  Is it Damian?” I nodded.  “Work with him in the morning as well as the evening.  You can have the second daily conditioning phase off.  There are three requests for a soldier with a dimensional storage ability or spell.  One is from one of the Emperor’s sons.”  He looked at me again and focused on my amulet.

“I no longer require the amulet, Commander.  I have a basic understanding of Telhian.” I answered his question before it was asked.  It would have been embarrassing for him to send someone who couldn’t communicate with his commander.

“You are dismissed.  Damian will keep me updated on your progress.” I left the intimidating gaze of the man.

I didn’t see Damian for the two days of weapon testing.  I did much better than I anticipated.  I finished 12th in sword ranking, 15th in sword and shield, 20th in the dagger, 9th in hand-to-hand, and 4th in the spear.  Although my rankings didn’t improve much, I thought my level of ability had closed the gap with those I had previously deemed far superior to me.  I also had a feeling that the commander had tested us with the spear to reward me since it was my best weapon.  I still missed out on an essence reward, though. 

Damian still had not returned, and I asked one of the other mages about it.  He said the Commander had sent Damian to retrieve a spell and would be back soon.  I immediately guessed it was my dimensional space spell.  As training resumed, there were only 43 of us left.  I had been so preoccupied with my own problems that I didn’t notice the cuts from the tablet testing and the combat rankings.  We were quickly zeroing in on the desired 30 graduates.

Getting the second half of conditioning off did not endear me to my fellow legionnaires.  The special treatment actually meant I had to deal with more aggression from multiple directions during combat training.  In the four days before Damian returned, I suffered just as many broken bones, punctures, and lacerations as I had in the previous nine weeks. 

Damian appeared one night after dinner near the lake while I was exercising by myself.  It was quiet up here, and the other soldiers rarely came up here.  He waved a pamphlet as he approached.  “I got the spell and a more recent copy at that!” He said excitedly.  We spent the evening going over the spell, and Damian explained things as best he could.  “I was unable to get the simplified spell form, but we can work from the actual spell instead!”

The best way to describe a spell was complex geometric math.  The spell forms wrote out the formula, and when you funneled your aether stores into it, you got the result.  It meant magic had a massive range based on changing a few variables.  During the rest of the interim weeks between testing, we worked on the spell, and I was actually starting to get an understanding of magic.  It was an obscure understanding, but at least that was something.  My progression was not good when the testing rolled around compared to my prior efforts. 

Physical

Mental

Magical

Strength

(+1/+0)

46/79

Intellect

(+0/+0)

28/54

Aether Pool

(+0/+0)

12/22

Power

(+1/+0)

43/82

Reasoning

(+2/+0)

44/59

Channeling

(+1/+0)

10/55

Quickness

(+2/+0)

29/49

Perception

(+0/+0)

52/60

Aether Shaping

(+0/+0)

6/8

Dexterity

(+0/+0)

27/56

Insight

(+1/+0)

31/49

Aether Tolerance

(+0/+0)

21/50

Endurance

(+0/+0)

56/87

Resilience

(+0/+0)

45/71

Aether Resistance

(+0/+0)

4/19

Constitution

(+1/+0)

37/65

Empathy

(+0/+0)

10/21

Prime Aether Affinity

Space

Coordination

(+1/+0)

38/61

Fortitude

(+1/+0)

46/89

Minor Aether Affinity

Time

At our next tutoring session, Damian revealed my scores put me at 28th in my training group.  He told me I had dropped four positions from three weeks ago.  The good news was the Commander was very interested in seeing me learn a space storage spell form.  He would be in line for a reward if he produced a soldier with a dimensional pocket.

At the weapons ranking, things went terribly.  I was essentially ganged up on as my barracks shared information about my habits and weaknesses.  I finished 22nd in sword ranking, 25th in sword and shield, 34th in the dagger, 14th in hand-to-hand, and 11th in dual wield.  They made no secret of sharing my deficiencies among themselves, so much for building camaraderie. 

We only lost three between the tablet and weapons ranking, bringing us down to 37.  If it was true that only 30 could graduate, then it was going to be pretty brutal to avoid being one of the last seven cuts.  I actually wished I had made an effort to make friends.  The problem I had was everyone was kind of an asshole, and even Helena spurned me for the special treatment I was being given.  They were here because they had either committed brutal crimes or wanted to be at the top of the food chain. 

Fortunately, things finally worked out for me a week after we dropped our numbers to 37.  My dimensional space spell form imprinted. Mentally, it was like a series of gears clicking into place with a slight bout of indigestion.

I had finally obtained my dimensional space!  And it was far more powerful than I imagined.  I tested it for the first time, reaching into my aether core and pushing aether through the spell form.  A translucent cube appeared visible only to me and oriented to my person.  According to the spell description, there was no gravity and no passage of time inside the cube.  Even if the space was active, I could actively allow objects to pass through so people wouldn’t be aware of the space.  It took a lot of mental effort to selectively send objects in the cube’s orientation to the dimensional space.  It was easier just to send everything in the space and not think about it separating things out.

There were negatives.  Keeping the open space cost me aether, and I had a minimum amount to spend to access the cube.  So my pathetic aether attribute of 12 made it somewhat limiting.  When I ran out of aether, the space closed no matter what, shearing off the objects not fully inside the cube. 

I excitedly found Damian, “It works.  I got my pocket space!” Damian’s face showed surprise, followed by joy. 

“How large is the space?” He asked.  My space was large, a cube, ten feet to a side.  I knew he would be impressed but decided on caution.

“How big do you think it is?  What is a good size?” I prompted a reply.

“A cubic foot would be exceptional!  But six cubic inches should be enough to get you a messenger position,” he said, anxiously awaiting my response. 

I paused.  The actual spell book I learned from created a space of about a cubic foot, so my space was about 1000 times that volume.  I guessed it had to do with my 98 space magic stat.  If I revealed this, would I end up married to some princess?  Or would I end up being enslaved to a king transporting illicit items for him?  I decided to go for the middle ground and keep my true talent secret for now.  “It is just over a cubic foot, maybe one and a half feet to the side,” I revealed.

“We should go to the Commander immediately!  He will want to hear this!  And he will probably test you to confirm what you are saying is true.”  Damian was bouncing all the way to the manor and kept telling me to hurry up. 

In front of the Commander, it was as he said.  I was tested to confirm that I did have a space the size I mentioned, roughly eighteen inches.  The Commander’s smile grew as everything was confirmed with experimentation.  I also found out that I was even more fortunate.  Because the space was formed as a spell form ability and not a spell, it was permanent.  If I had used a spell, then my link to the space could have been broken with a dispel magic or if I had been knocked unconscious.  All the contents would have been ejected in that case.  Now, the only way to access the items in my space was to kill me to cancel the spell form.

The commander spoke, “The Emperor’s son’s request has already been fulfilled.  The other two requests in the Empire are still open.  I will send word of your potential and wait to hear back.”  He seemed eager as he started writing the letters.  According to Damian, the commander was in line for a sizable bonus.  He spoke while writing, “There is great news for you.  Once your assignment is approved, you will be promoted to full legionnaire under the Lion’s banner.  You will start receiving payments.  Of course, we should get you fitted for your legionnaire’s gear.  You were probably not told, but your salary will be withheld to pay for the gear.  Seventeen gold in total.” 

My jaw dropped.  That was astronomical compared to the 40 silver I owed the farmers.  “Don’t worry about it.  You are gifted a full set of gear on your 5th anniversary.  So, if your gear is intact, you will get the coin back.  You will probably earn more than 5 silver, 40 copper as you will also be a specialist.  But that will depend on your assignment.” 

I did the rough math in my head.  That 17 gold was over 310 weeks of pay!  I didn’t know if I should be angry or not.  As we left the Commander, Damian tried to soothe me.  “Don’t worry.  You are allowed to take loans out against future pay up to 5 silver a week.  The equipment payment is just to let you know that it is owned by the Telhian Empire and not yours until you complete five years of service.”  That did make me feel slightly better—actually, no, it didn’t.  “So keep it in good order and don’t borrow too heavily.  The annual interest is low, but it does add up.” He finished by clapping me on the back. 

Great, I was in an Empire that was aware of how to use compounding interest against you!

The next day, during training, the Commander came out and watched.  It was the first time he had watched our particular class, and everyone tried to impress him.  When my opponent got a head strike on me with his pommel, causing a bloody laceration and concussion.  The instructor rushed in and reprimanded him, and this left our group stunned.  No one had ever been reprimanded for a good, non-lethal strike.  It was, of course, because I was now valuable to the Commander.  Damaging his little piggy bank was off-limits.

Four days later, Damian found me after breakfast.  “Word just came down.  You are going to be assigned to Mage Commander Castile.” He didn’t seem too enthused delivering the news.

“So what is the problem?” I asked, sounding worried by his tone.

“She is a bit of a problem solver.  She takes on the most difficult assignments.  Her legionnaires are top tier, but due to their dangerous missions, they frequently need to replace legionaries.” He had a grim look on his face. 

God fucking damn it!  I was assigned to the suicide squad!

Chapter 6 The Long Road

I was sized for my legion armor.  The tailor was a bit handsy as he made up a mannequin to match my size, “If you don’t want to be bleeding from a hundred chaf marks, stand still!”  He warned me a hundred times.

“Don’t you just have premade armor?”  I asked while he checked my chest.

“Inhale as much air as you can,” he ordered.  When I did as told, he answered my question, “The regular army gets the lesser gear.  Men of the Lion get the best.  The armor is made of auroch hide and soaked in a boiled resin.  I then fit it to your likeness here,” he taped the mannequin with his measuring stick.  “Of course, if you want to sit in for the mannequin, I am more than willing.”

“No, keep measuring,” I grumbled as he checked my inseam for the third time.

Three days later, my armor was delivered.  We had practiced in pieces of the armor before, but now I have the complete kit.  It reminded me strongly of Roman legion armor.  Besides the rivets, the helm was the only other metal on the armor.  We learned in our training that the resin-treated hide was just as hard metal.  The resin also had a red pigment in it.  I guessed the red was for intimidation. 

I decided to try on all the regalia.  Our undergarment was closer to a diaper with a drawstring, but it supported the package well.  The dark red padded tunic was next, and I felt like I was in a dress and ready for a dance.  Heavy woolen socks, followed by black leather boots, covered my feet.  The regular army only had sandals and had no socks to boot.  I had heavy linen pants that did not need to be worn if the weather was too hot.  But the pants helped with the chaffing of the buckle-on knee to shin greaves.  The greaves had some padding, but it needed to be replaced regularly.

Around the waist was a heavy belt that held up the skirt.  The skirt was composed of soft overlapping leather straps that allowed you to run easily in full kit or ride a horse as well.  It also had hardened leather strips to cover the groin, which I was happy about.  The buckle-on vambraces only covered the forearm and wrist.  In training, our instructors had constantly stressed the vulnerability of the elbow joint and the armpit.

The scale mail chest piece had overlapping pieces of the red leather resin plates.  It looked extremely badass and would have been great if I did not need to rely on it to save my life.  It was actually easier to get on than you would think.  You put it on like a shirt and use the cinches to get it comfortably snug.  The back was the only solid and inflexible piece on the chest armor. 

The kit came with a beeswax and mink oil mixture so it could keep its luster and shine.  I wished I had a mirror now that I was fully kitted out.  The other members of the barracks just looked on in jealously.  I ignored them.

It had the strong odor of leather and beeswax filled my nose.  It was also not comfortable, and I would have to thank the armorer.  I spent time adjusting the leather strips in the helmet to get a good fit.  Truthfully, it felt like I was dressing for cosplay and not about to go out into a world filled with creatures of fantasy and legend.

A day later, the Commander pulled me from training.  I was unceremoniously promoted into the Legion of the Lion seven weeks ahead of my training class.  Damian spent time with me in the morning reviewing my duties to Mage Castile.  “You are to be a porter for potions and the unit funds.  Since dimensional spaces do not have time progression, you will carry various potions for the mage’s company.  You will still be expected to fight, but only at the mage’s discretion.”  He smiled weakly, “There is good news. I hear each man in the company is allowed to use his preferred weapon.”  

Most mages in charge of a unit had everyone wield specific weapons, so they looked uniform and could function in unit formations.  Castile apparently wanted her unit as effective as possible, so she allowed men their preferred weapon to fight with.  The rest of the news was not good.  Mage Castile typically replenished two to three legionnaires a month—a fairly high fatality rate in my mind.  

My orders came, and I was to make the best speed to the Western Boutan front to connect with Castile’s company.  I would be traveling with part of a regular army detachment headed to a fort located there.  I would be the only legionnaire in the group.

I was marching alongside 124 men down a dusty road two days later.  I was wearing my new leather armor, and soon, the polished leather was covered in dust, and my sweat and body odor muted the fresh leather smell.  The Captain of the army unit moved to walk beside me, and we talked for most of the first day of the march.  He informed me we had about a week of marching before reaching our destination.  He also freely shared what he knew.

“The Western Boutan front was the border of our kingdom and orc lands, with the troll swamp lands sandwiched in between.  It isn’t the trolls that required constant subduing, though, it was the marsh goblins and troglodytes.  The trolls bred slowly while the other two races bred prolifically, and surging populations attacked the border every few months,” Captain Lucien lectured me.  

I asked, “Why don’t we eradicate the source?”

The young Captain shrugged, “The land was mostly swamps and useless to humans.  It also serves as a barrier to the Boutan orcs.   Also, there were so many underground marsh settlements.  Eliminating them would be dangerous, and they would miss some, and they would breed back to a nuisance over time anyway.”

Every night, we made camp, and I set up alone.  My legionnaire kit had a small personal tarp tent, a cook set, rations, and a bedroll.  All the equipment in the backpack weighed over fifty pounds.  Walking in the new leather and carrying the backpack had me experiencing new pains and chafe marks in places I didn’t care to discuss.  We always camped outside of small towns at the end of a day’s march.  I wanted to fill up my dimensional space with my kit but thought it best not to advertise my ability.  

I was able to eat from the soldier’s meal cart and conserve my hard rations.  Due to this, after setting up my tent the first night, I moved the ten pounds of rations into my dimensional storage, lightening my pack nicely for tomorrow’s thirty-mile march.  The food wasn’t too bad.  Some type of sweet cabbage with potatoes and celery.  There was minimal salt seasoning, but it was still filling.  None of the soldiers seemed inclined to talk with me, even at meals.

I was up and packed at first light everyday, well before the soldiers.  Even though they were not carrying backpacks, they were in much rougher shape than me.  Complaints flew freely when the officers were out of earshot.  I just kept to myself, not wanting to put in the effort to make friends I would never see again.

The Captain chose to walk with me again on the second day, and I made an effort for a conversation by asking him about himself.  Captain Lucian was the third son of a career army officer.  His father commanded a garrison in one of the large cities.  He was young, and this was his first command.  He was going to command the overnight watch at one of the smaller forts on the border.  It was an easy assignment, according to Lucian.  After one year, he would be recalled and promoted.  I asked Lucian what he considered a hard assignment.  He told me about the active war fronts.  There were constant skirmishes with the other human, elven, and orc kingdoms.  Defending and expanding those borders was a constant sink of soldiers.

I asked him if women were allowed in the army like the Legion.  His response was calculated.  It had been tried but always failed eventually.  The Legion had more discipline and did a much better job of policing themselves.  That was all he said on the subject.  

The days on the road started to blur.  I spent my nights alone in my tent, oiled my armor with the beeswax mixture from my kit, and sharpened my two spears and short sword.  I practiced what Damian had taught me for aether manipulation.  I wished I had another spell form to work on.  I had enough high affinities to try to manifest a new ability.  My displacement affinity was at 61.  Displacement was essentially teleportation.  The problem was Damian had told me teleportation magic took a lot of aether to use, and aether was one thing I did not have.  

On the third evening, I started practicing with the spear.  I figured it was best not to get too rusty.  Captain Lucian came over and practiced with me.  He was good from ten years of experience.  I was still able to hold my own.  When we switched to blades, his sword skills far outclassed me.  Thankfully, the captain was open to teaching me, which I appreciated.  The soldiers watched us as we practiced, but if they were not ordered to train, they would just rest from the long day’s march.  

After six days and nearly two hundred miles, the sprawling fields and woodlands transformed into dead wood and foul-smelling stagnant pools.  We had reached the edge of the Agorian Swamp.  We reached a square wooden fort on the morning of the seventh day, but the soldiers I was marching with were going to a larger central fort another ten miles down the road.  That was where my orders had also told me to report.

The pace picked up as the destination grew close after long days of marching.  The end meant rest to the men.  The central fort was massive when we approached it.  It had forty-foot-high stone walls.  Stone walls in a swamp indicated there had been a lot of expense in building this fortification.  It was massive inside as well.  The bailey was filled with two-story buildings that were civilian businesses.  On the road, Captain Lucian had described the lower part of the fort as having enough variety to keep a thousand soldiers happy and collect their free coin.  

Captain Lucian pointed out a smaller stone building near the citadel on the far side of the bailey.  “That is your destination.  The Legion offices for the fort.  Every military fortification has a Legion office, but this region rarely sees members of the Legion, so I am not sure what is inside.”  

I walked past the shops slowly before heading up the earthen ramp to the Legion building.  I passed two brothels, a general store, three taverns, and one inn.  The businesses were active with off-duty soldiers.  I had no coin, so I moved to meet my new mage commander.

The symbol of the Legion of the Lion was on the door.  When I entered, a middle-aged woman was in commoner clothes behind a long bar.  A few tables were in the room, and only one table had two men in worn and faded Legion leather armor.  One graying man pointed at me, “Are you the new porter?”  He asked gruffly.

I nodded slowly, as I figured out that described me pretty well.  The man stood, knocking his chair to the floor with a thud.  He drained his tankard, “About time.  Magus Castile left two days ago for Formica, a large mining town nestled south of here in the Ironspine mountains.  Wylie will get the horses ready.  We will leave shortly.”

Still a little in shock at the informality, I was silent.  The older man looked at me, evaluating me.  He finally said, “Name is Firth, Elaina can bring you back to the storage room.  Resupply your pack and take anything else you want.  Castile is not someone to be kept waiting, so be quick about it.”  

I did not tell them that I did not know how to ride a horse.  I figured I could figure it out on the way.  I had gone on a trail ride or two as a kid.  The woman motioned me to the back room, unlocked a heavy door, and then left me.  I went inside and found two rows of deep shelves stocked with everything a soldier could possibly want.  I turned back, and she was gone.  Could I just take anything I wanted?  Would I be charged for the items like my armor?  Was there some type of registry?  I slowly closed the door and started walking the aisles.  One aisle had just foodstuffs, and the other aisle had clothing, gear, and weapons.

I didn’t have much time, and I was told to resupply.  That seemed like an open-ended order…

Chapter 7 Welcome to the Legion

I looked at the door a few times before deciding to go for it.  The forty-foot-long corridor had two wide aisles and deep shelves packed with gear.  A lot of the gear had a layer of dust.  I grabbed two large Legionnaire backpacks and went to the provision aisle first.  My dimensional space was immune to the passage of time, but all these items already had a long shelf life.  The shelves were neat and orderly as I started filling the two packs.

One 5 lb sack of peppercorns, three 5 lb bags of sea salt, five jars of berry preserves, six 5 lb sacks of flour, two large bags of dried mushrooms, two large bags of potatoes, a bag of onions, two massive blocks of hard cheese, a dozen thick links of hard salami as large as my forearm, two 10 lb bags of sugar, and four sealed jars that I was fairly certain were yeast.

After checking the door, I moved both of the stuffed and extremely heavy food backpacks to the dimensional space.  Then, I grabbed two more backpacks and went to the clothing aisles.

Two heavy black oiled cloaks used as rain gear, Two heavy black wool cloaks with soft linen linens used for warmth, two heavy wool blankets for horses, six underwear, one dozen pairs of wool socks, six light undershirts, four linen pants, six leather belts, and two pairs of boots that were already broken in.

The clothes were bulky and filled the two backpacks, so I sent them to my dimensional storage after rechecking the door.  At the end of the aisle were large twenty-gallon casks.  Most were marked as water, but a few were marked as rum or whiskey.  I looked at the doorway again.  It was still closed.  I shifted one rum and one whiskey cask into my dimensional storage and then two water barrels.  I only had enough remaining mana to open my dimensional space one more time.  I thought it best to conserve it even though I wanted a lot more in this warehouse. 

I suppose I should actually carry something out as well.  I grabbed a satchel and a few more things, a black leather bound book with lined sheets to use as a ledger, small vials of ink and quills, a bag of apples, and a large bag of candied nuts to snack on.

I walked down the weapon aisle, adding some knives for cooking and two nice short swords, when the legionnaire poked his head in, “You ready?  The horses are out front.”  I nodded and hustled to him.

“Do I need to show what I took?”  I asked, indicating the room.

“Nah, not out at a crappy outpost like this.  Most of the shit in here is spoils of war.  The legion patrols the trade routes north of here, and stuff just finds its way here.  In the larger cities, you need to be more careful.  Marta just lets us take whatever when we come through here.”

“I thought her name was Elaina,” I asked, walking out with him.

“Elaina and Marta both run this outpost for the Legion.  Marta is a retired legionnaire.  Elaina is her daughter,” he informed me.

I followed him outside, where the other legionnaire was already mounted.  The man who had come to get me mounted a horse, leaving me a large red mare.  Two large empty saddle bags were draped across the rump.  The two soldiers started laughing as I tried to mount the horse, still wearing my backpack and satchel, and holding my spears.  Finally, the older of the two said, “Wylie, help him, or we will never leave.”

The younger man came off his horse and helped me fill the saddlebags and secure my spears, and three short swords so I could mount the horse.  “This is a fine mount, well trained.  I sense you are not familiar with riding.  Firth will not have the patience to wait, so I will do the best I can to teach you as we go,” Wylie consoled me.

I was soon uncomfortably in the saddle and trotting out the fortification.  I asked Wylie, “I didn’t know the legion rode horses.”

“Most don’t,” he replied.  “You need to move with the horse, become one with it.  Otherwise, you are going to have a miserable ride.”  He spent the next hour teaching me on the ride how to handle the reins, move with the horse, and guide it with my heels.  The horse was definitely well-trained.  He picked up the earlier conversation when he thought I looked somewhat capable on the horse. 

“The legionnaires are not large battle-fighting units.  We are more guards for the royalty and mages.  Our charge is Mage Castile,” Wylie paused, considering what to say, “She has a bit of a chip on her shoulder.  She takes on the dirty missions and gets things done.”

I decided to broach a concern, “I heard that the fatality rate among her legionaries is high.”

Wylie winced, “Yeah, you could say that.  There are twenty-six of us.  The veterans have been around for a while, but the raw recruits tend to get themselves killed or severely injured.  You don’t need to worry, though.  With your ability, Castile will keep you out of the most intense combat—maybe.”

I shifted in my saddle, starting to get uncomfortable and finding no way to alleviate it.  Firth turned to us and had a grin I didn’t like, “Let’s teach the boy a light canter.”  He spurred his horse forward, and Wylie shook his head and followed.

When I got my horse moving, I bounced around like crazy.  I could not find the new rhythm.  The weapons, although secured, were swinging slightly and tapping my back.  When Firth mercifully stopped, my inner thighs were burning and cramping.  He motioned for us to get off and walk.  I collapsed to the ground, unable to hold myself up as my legs cramped uncontrollably.  Firth chuckled, and Wylie smirked slightly, “Don’t worry.  You will get used to it.  Firth isn’t the bad sort.  That was just over an hour.  He will let you walk it out and make you do it again.”  And we did. 

I fed my mare an apple from my satchel every time we went walking.  I named her Ginger after her reddish-brown coat.  She was definitely well-trained and seemed to like the name.

The swamps began to fade into scrub plains, and mountains appeared in the distance.  Firth turned and said, “Sorry, recruit.  We are going to push to Formica to get there before dark.”

The town was a sprawl of buildings with no wall surrounding it.  A large pen of horses was on the edge of town.  That was where we went.  “Show the recruit how to care for the mounts,” Firth commanded with a hint of impatience.  He then turned and left for one of the larger buildings. 

Wylie showed me how to unsaddle and groom the horses.  Also, where to look for chafe marks to treat with a salve.  Once he thought I understood, he patted me on the shoulder, “You got it, good luck,” and he left me to it.  It took almost an hour to do the three mounts.  I gave Ginger an apple, which caused all the horses to line up requesting one as well.  I had to cut the apples into quarters to get all of them, and I only had three apples left when I was done. 

It was late in the evening, and I guessed I should head for the large building that Firth and Wylie went to.  Entering it, I found a large common room.  Legion soldiers were lazing about and drinking.  I did not see either of my road companions, so I asked the nearest legionnaire where I could find mage Castile.  He looked me over and pointed to a door in the back. 

I knocked on the door, and a harsh female voice said, “Enter!”

I opened the door to find a middle-aged woman hunched over a map on the table with two legionnaires flanking her.  She gave me a hard stare, “Yes?”

“Legionnaire Eryk Marko reporting,” I said somewhat uncertainly.  As my training had been cut short, I had never gone through the protocols or etiquette for someone in the legion.

“About time.  Delmar, go get the company’s potions.”  One of the men left the room, and the mage paged through some sheets on the table.  She finally stopped at one.  Looked at me and said, “Seventeen inches?”

I assumed she was referring to the size of the space.  That sounded about right.  I nodded.  She continued, “Good.  Your most important job is to hold the potions for the unit.  They will not lose their efficacy in dimensional storage.  Also, you will hold the unit’s funds and accounting logbook for unit pay and expenses.” 

The man she had called Delmar returned.  He had a small black wooden chest and placed it on the counter.  He opened the chest and pulled out wooden slotted trays.  The potion vials were round with a large cap.  On the cap was a lot of script.  I didn’t have time to examine it before I was ordered to place the two trays with 25 potions each into my space. 

I did so, and after they disappeared, Mage Castile smiled, erasing the age lines on her face, “Excellent.  Adrian, get the unit’s ledger and chest.”  The man left once more and returned with a much heavier chest.  “Eryk, add these,” she ordered. 

Much like the potions, the coins were seated in trays, like poker chips.  One tray was full of large gold coins, and the remaining five trays were small silver coins.  I did my best to estimate how much a 17-inch cube could hold and not get over that amount.  The thin ledger was last, and Castile watched me hawkishly as I added the book.

With everything in my space as a tight-fitting cube, I looked up at the smiling mage.  “Excellent, now retrieve one of the blue-green potions,” she ordered.  She held up her hand, “Just the one potion.”  I thought about it, and she gave me a hint, “Search your dimensional storage with your mind.  Choose just the item you want to bring out—highlight it if you will.  I can tell you are opening your entire dimensional space every time you put an item in.  That is a massive waste of your stored aether, and you don’t have any to waste.” 

I was getting a lesson in magic.  I only had about 12 aether and had used two aether every time I accessed my space.  I did as she asked and focused on the tray of potions and then just the single potion.  I reached out and willed that one object out of the dimensional space.  It appeared in my hands. 

I smiled brightly, realizing I had done it and used only a fragment of the aether.  Before, it was like I was opening a closet and routing around it.  This was closer to just reaching in and taking the object off a shelf.  Much more efficient. 

Mage Castile smiled as well, “Good work.  Practice removing and placing potions.  In battle, you should not hesitate in pulling the correct potion.”  Her face went serious, “Delmar, here is our logistics officer.  You will be accountable if anything is missing from the unit funds or potions.”  She pointed to the other officer, “This is Adrian.  He is responsible for the men’s duty assignments.”

“Come, kid,” Adrian said.  “I will get you settled.”

I was almost twenty-five, so I would not say I was a kid, but I did not argue.  He introduced me as the unit’s new porter in the large common room.  A lot of eyes studied me.  I had the unit’s money and healing potions, so I was definitely a person of interest.

We went upstairs and into one of the rooms.  Two bunks were in here, “The army usually uses this building, but Castile kicked them out.  Get some rest; we leave at first light.”

“Where are we going?”  I asked.

“We are looking for a Baron’s son in the mountains.  His little adventuring group was hunting for a griffon nest.  Wanted to give his father a griffon egg for his birthday.  Instead, we are probably looking for his remains,” Adrian told me truthfully.  He smiled, “Don’t worry, only one nesting pair was spotted in this region.  It’s not like we will have to deal with a flock of the buggers.”

He left, and I went and picked up my backpack and got my bedroll.  The bunks were just planks, no mattresses.  I rolled it out and undressed.  My thighs were raw from the ride, and the muscles knotted.  I tried to rub them out, and two fellows entered the room.  Their things were already on bunks.

“Damn, mate, if you need some time alone, we’ll be back in half an hour,” one of the men said.

The other guy laughed, “Half an hour, Felix?  I bet this one just needs five minutes.”

“I am just trying to loosen my muscles.  It was my first time riding.  Name is Eryk,” I tried to end the banter.

“Just joking.  I am Mateo, and this is Felix.  We are to keep an eye on you and help you settle in.  Adrian said you were raw and even pulled before you finished training?”  He sat on the hard bunk.

“Yes, I was shipped off as soon as I got my dimensional space,” I continued to stretch while talking.

Felix spoke next, “Well, you got into a fine unit.  It has a bad rep due to our high mortality rate, but that is mostly the new recruits,” he put his hand over his mouth like he was saying something secret.  “Don’t worry, Eryk.  We will keep you safe and sound.”

They set up their own beds and were soon lying down.  I took out the candied nuts and started eating.  It was late, and no one offered me a meal.  My two roommates took liberties, and soon, the nuts were gone. 

We talked about the unit; the best part was that Mage Castile had her own siphoning shield for creating essence.  She kept all the magical essences for herself but rewarded the men of the legion with all the physical ones and some of the mental ones.  The men were also paid ten silver a week instead of the normal five silver and forty copper.  Although, Felix seemed to think that was mostly due to Adrian wanting to make his bookkeeping job easier. 

I ate an apple before falling asleep and wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Chapter 8 Bulette for the Win

Felix woke me, and I tried to stand.  My legs would not cooperate, and I collapsed to the floor and used my arms to pull myself up.  Mateo chuckled at my discomfort.  I slowly got my legs working and could feel every raw area of skin from yesterday’s ride.  Felix offered some advice, “Use the horse salve on your chafe marks.  It smells mighty pungent but works just as well on you as your horse.”

I started packing up, but Felix stopped me, “No need.  We are just going along the range to the south and looking for signs of the griffons.  If we are lucky, someone will spot one flying around, and we can trace it to its nest.”

I shambled outside and saddled my horse Ginger, with some help.  Setting the girth straps took some skill.  Too tight, and the horse would get chafed.  Too loose, and you were not going to remain in your saddle.  Breakfast was a meaty mashed potato porage.  Only fifteen men rode out with mage Castile.  Mateo explained, “The others will also ride in the other direction, looking for signs.  This is our second day searching.  The griffons were last seen about nine days ago taking a sheep from a farmer.”

I wanted to cry when mage Castile took our column to a heavy gallop.  My body was being pounded day after day and had not had time to heal.  I wished I had a healing spell instead of a stupid dimensional space spell.  Thankfully, after about six miles, the road ended, and Castile slowed her horse to a walk as we remained parallel with the mountains.  Now, at a walk, Felix could talk to me again.

“Damn, Eryk.  If I didn’t know better, I would say an ogre was making you his bitch by the look on your face,” he chuckled as a few others heard and laughed at his joke.   

I responded in a clear voice, “I’m sorry.  I didn’t know you were an expert on the subject.”

After the men processed, the laughs started raining in, and mage Castile turned around to see what was so funny.  It was Adrian who spoke nearby, “The raw recruit just gave Felix the verbal beating of his sad life.”  She just nodded and focused forward again.  It was a good amount of time before things calmed down.  We were all looking to the mountains for signs of the griffon.  

Another soldier spotted a carcass that we rode toward and dismounted.  Five legionaries moved to make a perimeter.  I wasn’t sure what to do, so I followed the mage and four legionnaires to the carcass.  One of the legionnaires knelt close, and I got just close enough to get a whiff.  Visually, I could handle the sight, but my olfactory senses were unprepared, and I quickly vomited my breakfast.  Apparently, losing my breakfast was not unexpected.  The others looked green but held it down.  The kneeling man spoke, “Four days old…good chance it was one of our griffons.  It ate the organs and chewed off a haunch.  Probably to bring it to the nest.”

I got enough of my faculties back to move upwind and asked, “What the hell was that?”  I was talking to myself, but the tracker stood and answered me.

“It was a stone bear.  Fairly common around here.  Maybe 1200 pounds.  Most likely killed by a strike through the spinal cord at the base of the neck from above,” he spoke, and I moved close, and he spent time explaining what details led him to his deductions.  Everyone else had wandered back to their horses, and Castile looked to be considering what direction to head.

We were riding on the same path a short time later, and I ate my last two apples and gave the cores to Ginger.  It was mid-day when our troop stopped for lunch.  Everyone had packed a small lunch except for me.  My roommates had told me to leave my gear behind, but I was supposed to pick up a prepared meal from the unit’s cook—I didn’t.  At least I had my satchel and had some apples earlier.  Mateo took me to stand sentry while everyone relaxed, and the horses drank water at a stream coming down from the mountains.  Seeing my predicament, Mateo gave me some slices of sausage and cheese from his own lunch.  I took a few drafts from his canteen as well.  

“So, how long will we search for griffons?”  I asked as he explained how to maintain the watch and which direction I should be focused on based on the other sentries’ positions.

“Castile doesn’t give up.  She is probably using divination magic every few hours.  She will find either the griffons or the body of the baron’s son,” he said.  He suddenly stood and focused on something in the distance.  I looked where he was looking.  The ground was surging into a mound about a quarter mile away.  

“What is that?”  I asked softly.  Mateo blew a whistle around his neck.  I guess I needed a whistle.  Everyone looked where Mateo pointed.

The mound started moving toward us.  A few seconds later, we were rushing to our mounts.  Mage Castile was screaming, “Bulette!  Get on your horses and spread out.  Make for Formica!”  

I mounted a nervous Ginger and started galloping back the way we came.  What the hell was a bulette?  If it was scaring the mage, then it had to be bad.  I didn’t have anyone to talk to as our group was spread wide apart as per orders.  I looked back, and the damn thing was getting closer.  

Many of my companions were pulling away…all of them were.  I was dead last.  I urged Ginger to a run, and she complied, sensing the danger coming at us.  I tried desperately to find a different riding rhythm at a faster pace.  At least my surging adrenaline completely muted the pain.  My growing fear made it hard to focus, and I started bouncing out of synch with my mount.  Ginger leaped expertly over a large shrubbery.  When she landed, I went forward, not ready for the jarring landing.  I do not know exactly what happened next other than I was on the ground rolling, and Ginger continued to race away, now free of her passenger.  My first thought was I had given her all those damn apples, and I thought we were friends.  

I stumbled to my feet.  I was alone.  Everyone was at least a quarter mile away or more.  I turned to face the mound of earth moving toward me.  Something that resembled a shark fin emerged in the center.  Was this an elemental earth shark?  I pulled out my only weapon, a short curved dagger in my belt.  All my other weapons were secured to Ginger. 

The ground erupted in a shower of earth and stone, and a massive creature was flying through the air and planning to crush me.  Time seemed to slow as my death was clearly before me, my muscles paralyzed at the sight.  An armored quadruped that looked a mix between a rhinoceros with the massive head of a snapping turtle soon blotted out the sun.  I met my fate by opening my ten-foot dimensional cube, waiting as long as I could, and then shifting as much of the bulette’s underside into my dimensional space.  The earth thudded around me, everything went dark, and I was covered in fluids and knocked to the ground by the force of impact.   I was alive and inside the cavity of the beast.

The beast seemed uncertain about what had just happened.  Its mass twitched around me, and it tried to move.  I had gutted it, though.  I was trapped in its hollowed chest cavity, but the beast no longer had essential organs—like a heart.  My dimensional storage would not activate as the cost of pulling in so much bulette flesh had drained my aether.  The fact that either mass or a creature resisted being forcibly pulled into my storage was good to know—albeit after almost being crushed.  After a short time, I started digging in the earth with my dagger to tunnel my way out.  Thankfully, the fluids softened the earth and made it feasible to quickly gain my freedom before suffocating.

I squeezed out under the hard shell and looked at the armored beast.  It was a lot bigger than I remembered.  The beast had an armored hide, short stubby legs, and massive black digging claws.  It reminded me more of a tank than anything else.  I could see why the mage had decided to retreat. 

I oriented myself to the mountains and started walking back to Formica.  When I had recovered enough aether, I dumped the 10x10x5 section of the bulette on the ground, spreading out like a squelching deflating balloon.

I did not think bulette blood was considered a good topical agent for all my raw and bleeding chafe marks.  I came to a wide stream and decided to wash up.  I remained vigilant as I stripped naked and began the process of cleaning everything.  I focused on my leather armor as I had plenty of clean clothes to change into.  I managed to scrub almost everything out of the material.  It appeared our uniform was treated with something that made cleaning blood out of it easy. 

This got me thinking about a lot of the clothes I had taken at the fort.  They all were well-worn, so I guessed they had come off of dead legionnaires.  As long as they were clean now, I could handle the thought of wearing a dead man’s clothes.  When I finished, I dressed in my damp clothes and armor. 

The bulette stomach had occupied the top half of my dimensional storage and had not disturbed all the other things I had placed in my dimensional storage.  It was getting close to sundown as I sat on a rock, wet, tired, bruised, abused, and—alive.  I took out a ration bar and munched on it, getting prepared to leave when Ginger came trotting up to me and drank unconcerned at the stream next to me.  I shook my head, “Oh, now you show up!  Well, I am out of apples.”

Chapter 9 Riding Lessons

As I rode back to the mining town, my clothes and armor dried off.  The blood acted as a great detergent, and my clothes smelled nice and earthy—although I presumed not all the fluids that had soaked me were blood.  Ginger seemed to be expecting an apple to return to me, but the only thing I had that she might enjoy was a jar of berry preserves.  When we paused, I fed her the jam, and her long tongue cleaned the heavy jar clean.  It was about two quarts of jam, and my horse definitely had a sweet tooth. 

I did not see anyone from my legion as I walked Ginger back to town.  When the town came into view, a rider came out to meet me.  It was Mateo, “Damn, Eryk.  You are alive?”  

I fished for a response, “Yeah, got thrown from my horse and made my way into a river.  The ground shark-turtle thing did not seem able to swim.  It eventually left me alone, and my trusty mount returned to me.”  I patted Ginger’s neck.

Mateo was speechless.  He just looked me over and finally said, “Mage Castile has called in an earth mage to help.  For now, we are fortifying the town.  You can rub down your mount, get something to eat, and see Adrian for your defense position.”  

He rode back to the town next to me and continued, “The other detachment found the griffons.  They are nesting about 20 miles north into the mountains.  No sign of the baron son’s party yet.  We can not make a move until the bulette is sorted out.  Those things are a menace, and it is surprising that this one is so close to the mountains.  They usually hunt in the plains or along the border of dessert since the earth is softer, or so Castile says.”  He admitted, “I do not think she has actually fought one before, though.  They are quite rare.”

I remained silent as we got closer to the scent of cooking meat got my stomach rumbling.  Mateo pointed out where the townsfolk were setting up and the building where Adrian was organizing the defenses.  I rubbed down Ginger and grabbed something I would describe as a thick pita filled with roasted veggies and thinly sliced meat.  I ate as I walked to talk with Adrian.  It almost felt like I was a veteran after just one day.

Adrian quickly brought me down to earth, “Eryk, you fell off your horse?  Castile would have found your corpse and killed you again for that.  Since you are alive, you will not be joining the defense.  Instead, go see horse master Lucien.  He will train you nonstop until he is satisfied you will not fall off a horse again.”  The pita stopped halfway to my mouth.  He turned and walked smugly to a fortification.  

I walked the defenses and knew all this preparation was worthless as the bulette was dead.  Not something I was going to tell everyone and reveal my secret.  I grimaced at the thought of endless riding when I was already walking bull-legged, and my inner things burned like a merciless fire.  I took the advice of using the horse salve on my raw and partially scabbed skin.  It felt like putting alcohol on an open wound, and I was sure it would leave a scar.  

Lucian was not a kind man.  Every second of daylight, I was learning to care for Ginger or riding her.  My body was never going to heal at this rate.  What irked me the most was that Ginger loved all the attention even though I was suffering.  I even found some apples in town to give her; as Lucien said, a happy horse was an ally.  I was starting to gain some semblance of skill at grooming, riding, and farriering.  After three days of horse torture, the earth mage finally arrived with his apprentice.  

The man looked like a typical wise wizard with a long, white beard and and heavy robes.  I was currently learning how to jump while mounted under Lucien’s strict guidance when he arrived and was told to take a break.  I watched as the wizard rode in on a white stallion, and his young female hooded apprentice had a small black mare.

They went right in to see Castile.  Lucian muttered, “Guess we will be leaving in the morning.  Rub her down and get some rest.”  I gratefully rested in my bunk alone and napped for the remainder of the day.

The unit was assembled in the morning, and Castile said, “We are leaving on a dangerous mission.  Bulette are a scourge.  None of you have fought one before, but they are faster and stronger than should be possible for their size.  They can jump forty feet in the air and crush you in an instant.  Their jaws can cut you and your horse in half in a moment.”  She let her diatribe sink in.  

“These two earth mages are going to turn the earth to stone and trap the beast.  We will not have much time to get spears forced under the armor plates before it breaks free.  Be decisive and attack when ordered.  I will attempt to blind the monster with darkness and fire.  That is the plan.  Mount up!”  Castile swung up to her horse and led the way.  She certainly emanated confidence.

The earth mages were right behind her.  I was ordered forward to ride in the lead element.  All the soldiers around me were extremely tense, so I tried to match their nervousness.  As we walked, Castile spoke, “This is Legionnaire Eryk.  He escaped the bulette by going into a river.  He said the bulette would not follow him in.”

The white-haired mage’s eyes went up, “True, the beasts don’t swim, but do not fear water.  Like rock turtles, they just walk on the bottom due to their density.”

Had I just been caught in a lie?  I tried to roll with it while not telling a lie, as I knew mages had such spells from when I first arrived in this world.  “I can just tell you from my experience.  The beast emerged from underground; before I realized it, I was soaked.  It left me alone after that.” 

The old mage seemed to contemplate my words and just nodded slowly.  Mage Castile made introductions, “This is High Mage Dacian.  He is one of the Empire’s most powerful earth mages, if not the most powerful.  He was just telling me this was his sixth bulette hunt.”  Great, I had an expert on bulettes dissecting my story.  I bowed my head slightly toward him but did not change my story.

Lucien came up from behind, saving me from further scrutiny, “Eryk, I want you to practice sprints with your mount over the uneven terrain.”  I gave the middle-aged man an exasperated look but turned to do so.  I think he took pleasure in administering drills that hurt my body—although today, I did not feel quite so beaten as my body was recovering quicker.

The procession made a steady walk with everyone tense and on the lookout for the bulette.  At this pace, I was not even sure if we would reach where I left the carcass.  After Ginger built a light lather, Lucien had me stop my sprinting practice.  Adrian came up next to me, “Eryk, Horsemaster Lucien said you are doing a fine job.  Mage Castile has decided you are to remain under his tutelage for the foreseeable future.”  I let out an audible groan. 

Lucien reached over and patted my back, “Do not worry.  Once Lucien has trained your horsemanship to a suitable level, you will just be helping him take care of the mounts.”

“Do I at least get a pay increase?”  I asked, but it was just banter.  This legion unit seemed much more informal than I was expecting; it was more like a group of mercenaries.

“Sure, if Lucien dies and you take over the role of horse master for the unit.  You make as much as a second already,” Adrian stated.  A second was like a lieutenant, directly under mage Castile in the command structure.  Adrian and Delmar were the two unit’s seconds.

“How much does a second make?”  I asked, having never actually been told how much my pay was. 

“Castile pays her men six silver a week.  If you have been with her for five years or more, it is eight silver.  Delmar and I earn ten silver.  The company’s magical porter earns ten as well.  The horse master, arms master, and armor master make an additional one silver a week.”  Adrian spoke conversationally.  He then added, “Castile is generous, Eryk.  You will have the opportunity to be rewarded for your exceptional service.”  He rode away. 

My roommates had already told me about the essence bonus.  As it was getting close to dusk, we finally spotted the corpse of the bulette.  We all spread out at half a mile, but soon, mage Dacian ended the prep and rode forward.  The unit followed.  Basketball-sized beetles were swarming the bulette. 

Mage Dacian swore, “Pig-fucking marrow beetles.  They will have ruined the carapace.  It also looks days dead, no chance of an essence.”  He looked pointedly at mage Castile.

Castile asked the older mage, “What could have killed it?” She ignored the high mage’s anger and scanned the skies.  “Definitely not a griffon.  Dragon, maybe?”

Dacian calmed quickly, realizing perhaps another apex predator was around.  He said, “The dragons should all be in the southern reaches as it is mating season.  No, whatever killed this bulette probably surprised it.  Besides the bite marks in the shell from the beetles, I don’t see any damage.”  He walked around the corpse, sending earth spikes through the beetles, clearing their outer shell. 

After two circles, he spoke again, “At least the claws will be salvageable.”

Castile dismounted, “I apologize for dragging you out here for nothing High Mage.”

He waved her off, “It happens.  It wasn’t a false alarm either.”

Castile offered, “Since you were unable to get an essence from the bulette, maybe you want to join the griffon hunt?”

The old mage looked up perplexed, “No, I don’t think an old earth mage would be of much help.”  He looked at his apprentice, “Apprentice Renna.  Go with mage Castile.  Try to learn something about running a detachment of soldiers.”

All eyes turned to the cloaked young woman.  She pulled down her hood to show shoulder-length red hair and crystal clue blue eyes.  She might have been attractive except for the scowl and her paleness.  She did not protest, “Yes, Master Dacian.”  I had flashes of his padawan talking to her Jedi master. 

Dacian turned to Castile, “I am traveling back to Varvao.  Send her there when you are done with the griffons.  She has potential, so make sure nothing happens to her.  Once she is trained, the Emperor has plans for her.  She has strong affinities for all four of the elements.”  Dacian mounted and road away just like that.

I remembered the story of the peasant girl with high affinities in all the elements.  I guessed this might be the girl as she looked in her mid-teens.  But that had been a few months ago.  How much could she have learned in such a short time?  She did not look happy being left behind.  Castile turned to the unit and eyed all of us.  She pointed, “Felix.  Mateo.  The girl is your responsibility.”

Felix rolled his eyes and surprisingly talked back to mage Castile, “I thought we were watching the raw recruit?” 

Castile’s eyes narrowed, “You can watch both pups.  Do a better job that one almost got himself killed,” she pointed at me.  It seemed discipline was relatively lax in the company. 

We spent four hours freeing the claws to be sent to High Mage Dacien in Varvao City.  Then, we all returned to the Formica.  A very perturbed red-haired young woman now occupied the open bunk in our room.

Chapter 10 Renna

When we got to the bunk room, Mateo asked Renna, “Top or bottom, your mageness?”

The young woman did not appreciate his humor, ignored him, and took the free bunk above mine.  She opened her satchel and pulled out two large tomes.  Although I had gotten a lot of experience speaking the language, I only recognized some basic words.  The alphabet was somewhat similar to what I was used to.  Most of the letters were written strangely, but it was close enough for me to read, albeit extremely slowly.

On examining one title, I found it was a book about learning how to learn spells, and the other text focused on manifesting innate spell forms for your affinities.  Renna was focused on the second, so I asked, “What affinity are you trying to develop an ability for?”

She looked at me with some surprise.  “Earth.  That is why I am traveling with master mage Dacian.  I already tapped my air ability.  Once I gain my earth affinity ability, I will be assigned to fire mage next.”

I asked, “Were you the young woman with all those elemental affinities over seventy?”

Renna smiled shyly, “I can not believe I am famous enough for even a legionnaire to know who I am.”

“I did not know your name, just that there were a number of people excited about your potential.”  I tried to keep the conversation going as Renna seemed to back away, “What ability do you have with your air affinity?”

She had put on a bright smile, “Flight!” My roommates were quickly interested in the conversation, asking her dozens of questions and overwhelming her.  She admitted her ability gave her flight as fast as a horse, but her aether stores only allowed about 20 minutes of flight.

“That is still amazing.  I can only store items in a dimensional space,”  I responded.

“You are a porter?  That is rare!”  She looked dubious suddenly.  “Show me.  Make something appear out of thin air.”

I pulled a tray of coins out, watched her eyes bug out, and put them back.  My roommates also had magic envy—or maybe the tray of large silver coins was a lot of money for them.  

“How big is your space?   Do you have any other abilities?”  She asked, sitting next to me on the lower bunk, now interested in me.   She was sitting really close to me so that our hips touched.

My face felt hot, and I thought Mateo was going to say something, but I gave him a hard glare, and he kept quiet.  I answered her, “A man never reveals his size on the first date.  And I don’t have any way to learn a new ability.  I had the help of a spell book for the dimensional space.”

“I was given a tuning stone,” she reached into her satchel and started searching.  “Just channel your aether into it, and the stones will light up if you have an affinity over 15.  That is considered the requirement to manifest an ability.”  I remember that Damian had said the cut-off was 10 to learn an ability but did not challenge her knowledge.  Renna produced a circular disc from the bag and held it up.  Three circles were inscribed on it, and each circle had seven gems.  I wanted to use it, but not in front of everyone.  

I asked, “What do the gems represent?  I mean affinity-wise.”

She pointed at each one as she explained, “The inner circle is the rare affinities, the middle circle is uncommon, and the outer circle is common. This book lists them all, and these are the associated stones.”  She went through and identified all the stones. 

Shaping Magic (Rare)

Space

Time

Displacement

Materialism

Worlds

Void

Convergence

Unaffiliated (Uncommon)

Charm (Mind)

Illusion

Clairvoyance

Protection (Guardian)

Necromancy

Celestial

Abyssal

Elemental Magic (Common)

Fire

Air

Water

Earth

Lightning (Energy)

Spirit (Healing)

Nature (Plant)

Renna smirked and took the device, and I felt the aether leave her into the device.  It was the first time I had felt someone else’s aether, and I think that was because our bare arms were touching.  The gems that lit up for her were Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Nature.  Five of the elemental magics.  The air stone also pulsed over and over again, almost like it was blinking.

Renna pointed at it, “That pulsing means I have already developed an ability with my affinity.  Flying around the woods does get you noticed,” She mussed.  She handed me back the disc.  My roommates also seemed extremely interested in my effort and craned their heads. 

I made a sad face, “I am still learning how to channel my aether.  I can not activate devices yet,” I lied. 

Renna put the device on my pillow, “You can practice tonight.  The disc is quite durable, so don’t worry about breaking it.  Do not lose it; I have to bring it back to Master Dacien.”

A loud knock at the door came.  Delmar, Castile’s other lieutenant, entered.  “Now that the bulette crisis is past, we are back to the normal routine.”  My roommates groaned, and I was not looking forward to the next.  “Weapons training will be done two hours before dinner.  Eryk, you are still raw; no weapon specialty was noted on your paperwork.  What do you prefer to fight with?”

I hesitated momentarily, “Dual wielding short swords against humanoids and a spear against monsters.”  Delmar’s brow creased, but he nodded as a smile formed.  Felix slapped his forehead like I was an idiot. 

Delmar said, “Not a dumb one then, eh?  Fine.  Three hours of practice for you, Eryk split time between the two.  Firth can teach you the spear, and Konstantin can work with you on your dual wield.”  Mateo winced like he had been punched. 

After Delmar left, Mateo said, “Firth is an ok sort.  Konstantin is a real piece of work.  One of the best fighters in our platoon.  He does not talk much and hates working with others.  His last sparring partner died in the Cyclops campaign.  He volunteers for solo scouting missions, and we are all grateful for it.”

A short while later, I geared up and went outside with two short swords and two spears.  As I entered the training yard, the platoon was training with their weapons in an orderly fashion.  I was surprised as everything we had done so far seemed to be done nonchalantly.  This was serious practice.  I was directed to a man matching my height and whose biceps matched his thighs. 

“You are the raw recruit?  Let’s see if you can learn enough not to get yourself killed then,” the gruff man intoned.  He was not a bad teacher.  He was extremely strict and did not like to repeat himself.  I learned more in 90 minutes from him than I learned in three weeks at the training camp.  I had bruises and shallow cuts to mark every time I did not follow his instruction in detail.  I was told to see the company medic before my spear training. 

We actually had two medics, Linus and Malcolm.  Malcolm was more of an assistant.  He gave me some of the horse salves for the bruises and large leaves for the cuts.  They smelled like peppermint and acted like an antiseptic for infection, held in place by a wrap after they were soaked in hot water.  Unfortunately, they would not prevent scarring.  I really wished we had a healing mage in our company.

Firlth had me work my spear on a makeshift training dummy.  He went over the common tactics for attacking beasts and defending myself.  He was not as good an instructor as Konstantin, as he believed in repetition.  My hands were already callused but still ached and bled slightly after a few hundred parries and thrusts.  

I took a large bowl of mostly meat stew to my room to eat lying down as standing was painful.  The room was empty, and I quickly used the tablet.  I channeled my aether, and it glowed brightly.  As expected, the inner circle had six gems glowing.  The only one absent was materialism. 

The middle circle had a single gem lit.  It was the protection (guardian) rune.  That meant I had over a 15 affinity in that magic sphere.  The outer ring also had one gem glowing, and it was the most joyous sight I had ever seen.  It was the spirit (healing).  I could manifest an ability to heal.  My eyes quickly returned to the center ring.  The space gem was flashing, which was expected because I had manifested my dimensional storage space.  A second gem was also flashing, indicating I had manifested another ability or spell-like effect. 

It was the convergence gem that was flashing.  Convergence was the magic affinity that dealt with drawing power from ley lines—at least, that is what I was told.  I heard steps in the hallway and stopped channeling aether to the device.  My convergence affinity was 74, so that meant I should have a powerful ability, but what was it?

Chapter 11 Knowledge is Power

Mateo was coming back from dinner with Felix.  They were loud as they hit their bunks, discussing a card game they played during the meal.  “Where is the mage?”  I asked.

“Still eating.  She is down in the common room,” Mateo said.  As I rolled painfully to my feet, he then advised, “Do not get too close.  Mages, even pretty ones, are look, but don’t touch, Eryk.”

“It’s cool.  I just wanted to ask her some magic-related questions.  You know, between mages,” I said with a knowing smile as I stiffly walked out of the room, wincing with each step.  

The stairs were hard on my legs, and I almost fell.  Fucking Konstantin had targeted my right hip flexor to teach me how to cripple an opponent.  The muscle was all knotted, and I rubbed it to get it working when I reached the bottom of the stairs.  The common room was mostly empty because it was late, and we had an early start.  Renna was studying one of her books at a table by herself, and I sat across from her.  She was young.  Late teens, I would guess.  She looked up at me, making eye contact, but did not speak.

“I wanted to ask some questions about the book you are reading.  And here is your disc back.  I got it to work, and it was as I expected,”  I said, sliding the artifact across the table.  She put it in her satchel.

“What questions do you have?”  She closed the book and gave me her attention.

“What is in the book?  Does it detail the common spell forms you can make from each affinity?”  I asked, knowing the title was about all twenty-one magic affinities.  

“Yes, it does.  Having the associated spellbook does greatly aid in the process.”  She pulled out a thin spellbook that I did not catch the title of, “I am trying to learn one of the more difficult spell forms for the earth affinity.  It is called harden rock.  Extremely useful in construction.  Also paired with the High Mage’s earth-to-stone, it makes trapping burrowing creatures easy.”  Renna explained.

“What about the other common spell forms?  Like fire?”  I asked, slowly getting to the information I wanted to know from her.

“It depends on your affinity strength.  With my high affinity, I will probably be asked to form my fire spell form into wave of flame or flaming meteor.  Both are very difficult to learn,”  Renna said with a tired voice.  “I will not know until I am assigned to a High Mage specializing in fire.”  I felt sorrow for her.  Even though she was powerful, she did not control her destined spell forms.  She was being directed to learn what they wanted her to know.

“I am sure you will do it.  You have the talent and affinity for it!  I mean, you can fly!”  I praised her.  “What about healing?  What are the typical spell forms for that sphere of magic?”  I asked.  Was I being too obvious with my interest?  I needed to know, though.  There was a risk of manifesting an ability much weaker than your affinity could manage, so I wanted to reach for the limit.  Although, I didn’t know my affinity for healing magic, other than it was over 15.

She opened the book and paged to a specific page.  I looked at the writing and was frustrated.  I could read it, but my brain was still very slow in translating the script.  I would have to puzzle out each word one at a time and then read the sentence like a first-grader.  Thankfully, I had someone to read for me, “The are three tiers.  The lowest tier has three options listed here.  Mend bone, knit flesh, and diagnose.  This lowest tier is for those with affinities under 20.”

She read for a while, then said, “The next range is for those with the affinity between 20 and 50.  It has three possible aspirations for manifesting a spell form.  A cure wounds that also affects organs and all flesh but does not do well with broken bones.  A purify, which is weird.  According to this, it can remove poison, disease, and even cleanse your bowels.  The third one is calcify; it repairs and hardens bones.  The highest tier is for affinities between 50 and 70.  The first is a powerful heal.  It heals everything, flesh, bone, and disease almost instantly.  The only other ability noted is called rejuvenate.  It turns back the aging clock slightly.”  

She looked up from her book.  “Not all spell forms are listed in here.” She turned over the book in her hands, “This is just what the mage college suggests as being the most useful.”

I nodded, “Sometimes it is fun to wonder what it would be like if I had high affinities for other magic spheres,”  I explained my interest.  I asked about celestial affinity next, listening intently as she read and explained.  Then, I went to my true goal, the affinity for convergence.

“Convergence?  That is extremely rare.  Not even sure if there is anything in here.”  She flipped to the correct page.  “The lowest tier is just helping recover aether from the environment.  At Ley Line Nexus, the mage essentially has an infinite draw of aether.  They would be a terror in a dungeon.  As long as they don’t burn out their aether channels.”  

“Anything for higher tiers, for a stronger higher affinity?”  I tried to hold back my excitement.  

“Uh, let me read.  Give me a moment,” She was having fun and liked our interaction.  I guess I was kind of flirting with her.  “The mid-tier for convergence suggested here is some type of aether sight.”  That is definitely not something I had gained.  She continued, “Wow, the highest tier is called assimilation.  It allows the mage to maximize their benefit for consuming essences.  It makes absorbed essences ten times more effective—maybe even more!  Now, that would be useful!”

Yes, it would, I thought.  Is that why the only essence I had absorbed had been so effective?  I had gained four quickness and even raised my potential in quickness by one in three weeks after consuming the essence.  But the lesser essence was only supposed to give a relative effect boost of one-twentieth of a point.   However, it was agreed the first ever essence someone consumed had a greater effect.   But did my gains have to do with my affinity in convergence being so high at 74?

I asked about charm affinities next but was only half paying attention to Renna when she looked it up.  After she reviewed them, we went to the room to get some sleep.  I lay there thinking and heard her shifting all night in the bunk below me.  I had given her the lower bunk to make it easier for her but regretted it as the entire bunk shook when she moved.  She probably was not comfortable sleeping on the planks without a mattress.  I took my heavy blanket and passed it to her below.  She hesitated before taking it and getting more comfortable. 

It was cool but not cold.   It was pitch black, and I removed one of the horse blankets from my dimensional storage.  I lay there wide awake, staring at the ceiling.  I needed to get more essence.  Mage Castile had an essence array—the artifact shield used to extract the essence from recently killed creatures.  Her legionaries were rewarded for outstanding performance, so maybe I could get some.  But I also needed an ability tablet to see my growth and test it out.  Shit, if I didn’t know they could track me, I might desert.  For now, I was trapped for five years of service.  At least as long as all my debt was paid off, I would be free after that. 

I fell asleep dreaming about my two unknown affinity ratings.  How high were my healing and guardian affinities?  They seemed too perfect for my career as a soldier.  I needed to get access to a magic affinity tablet again.  I also needed to practice reading to get familiar with the different characters.  Reading like a seven-year-old, deciphering each word one at a time, was frustrating. 

It felt like I had just closed my eyes when a hand slapped my bed, “Wake up, you two.  Breakfast will be served shortly, and Castile likes to leave at dawn.”  It was Mateo who was smiling brightly at my discomfort.  “You should not take Lucien’s blankets for the horses, Eryk.  He does not like that.”

I gingerly climbed down from the top bunk.  I was stiff, and moving was painful.  I packed my things and stumbled down the stairs after Felix and Mateo, sending the blanket to my space when I knew I was not being looked at.  Renna was slightly slower than me.  The common room was crowded, and everyone was packing saddle bags and forcing down food.  I went to the meal table and got a large pocket pita again filled with meat and melty cheese.  I was also given another sandwich wrapped in a waxy large leaf.  I was told it was my mid-day meal. 

I drank heavily from the water barrel and filled my canteen as well.  Outside, the sky was just starting to break with pink hues.  I quickly saddled Ginger and was one of the first ones ready to leave.  Just as the large sun appeared in the distance, we moved out.  I was directed to ride behind Castile and her two lieutenants, Adrian and Delmar.  Renna increased her pace to ride next to me. 

I talked to Renna about magic but focused my attention on her, asking her about her life before becoming a mage.  With Mage Castile being in earshot, I did not want to give any hints of my specific interests. 

Renna grew up in a small village.  Her father was a sheep herder, and her mother made wool yarn.  She described the long process from shearing, cleaning, sorting, carding, and spinning.  I pretended to be enthralled with her descriptions and asked in-depth questions about the process.  A few hours later, we were at the base of the mountains, where the team indicated they noticed the griffins returning with a kill two days ago.

I asked, “If they are already returning with a kill, doesn’t that mean they are feeding their young?”

It was Konstantin who answered my question from behind, “No.  Too early in the season.  The mated pair take turns hunting while the other guards the clutch of eggs.  Justin may be an idiot, but his pathfinder, Marius, is one of the best.  They came early in the season to scout out the nests and then move in after they were laid.  It should be another two months before they hatch.”

Castile nodded to Konstantin for the information and then addressed the company, “We are leaving the horses here.”  A wave of groans came.  I was also dreading the climb.  “Lucien, Donte, and Benito will stay with the horses.”  The horses would also have trouble in the steep climbs and make too much noise.

Donte and Benito nodded and dismounted.  I was a little upset as I had been training to be a horse master, but I guess since I carried the company’s potions, I needed to be with the lead element.  Mateo helped me pack my backpack for two days as we just wanted the essentials to keep the pack as light as possible.  When we started the climb, I had trouble keeping up, not because I was out of shape but because I was so bruised. 

Renna was in worse shape than me.  She was sucking wind and slowing our ascent up the game trails.  On difficult sections, she would use short bursts of her flight ability.  It got everyone asking jokingly for a ride.  Castile eventually had everyone end the comments as they began to border on lewdness.

When we reached a summit, Castile let us eat our lunch.  I collapsed hard and devoured my meal.  Renna sat with me, but we didn’t talk.  We just ate.  Orson, one of the scouts, pointed in the distance.  A few miles away, a griffin was circling another peak further into the mountains.  Damn, that looked so far away. 

We descended into a narrow valley, and Orson found a maybe a month-old campsite.  I asked him how he determined that.  He showed me the fire pit, the decomposition of the shit in the woods, and the regrowth from where the adventurers cleared space for their camp. 

We didn’t pause long before heading to the far side of the wooded valley.  Konstantin was next to me, and I asked, “Why haven’t any of the creatures attacked us?”

“Our party is too big.  They are scattering before us.  They are out there.  Do not wander off alone,” he warned me. 

I nodded as the valley ended, and we started to make another ascent.

Chapter 12 Griffin

As we made our way up the next mountain, Renna paused to pee out of sight of the company.  I was tasked with keeping close to her by Delmar.  So I stood sentry while the embarrassed young woman did her business.  When she emerged, I switched with her, and she was embarrassed with having me around the corner.  I choose a different rock to hide my business behind.  I decided to try experimenting with my dimensional space while I relieved myself.  I tried to remove just a five-foot cylinder of the stone that I was painting in front of me.  It took time for me to get the visualization, and then...

I stumbled back, dizzy, and accidently urinating on myself a little.  I looked up, and a five-foot round opening extended ten feet into the mountain.  My aether was drained, though.  The same thing happened when I killed the bulette.  I guessed the aether investment depended on the mass of the object.  Since I didn’t have enough aether, it just cut off the object where it was.  The edge of the round hole was extremely sharp.  I also had a large stone cylinder in my dimensional space.  Would it take all my aether to remove it?  Or was the drain mostly from removing the object?  I had no aether to test right now, so I finished, cleaned up as best I could, and joined Renna, who was bright red and avoided eye contact.  Three men had waited for us, and we caught up to the main group.  

As the sun set much later in the day, we set up camp on the rocky ground under an overhang to hide us from above.  I had night duty guard rotation with Mateo and Felix.  We had the worst shift—right in the middle of the night, breaking up our continuous sleep.  We heard some rocks tumble down from far above, but nothing disturbed our camp during the night.  In the morning, Mage Castile addressed us as a group. 

“The nest is about three miles toward the rising sun.  When we get close, be on alert.  The griffins will attack when they feel they are threatened.  We will handle them one at a time.  I will ground them with magic, and we will attack them together.  Beware of the powerful lunge on the ground.  Even with their wings restrained, they will be quick.”  She followed her short speech by giving the order to march.  I was placed in the middle of the company with Renna for protection. 

The morning was cold, and my aches and pains were subsiding as my body was adapting.  Renna was quiet as we walked in silence.  The forward unit found a large game trail that appeared to head in the direction we wanted.  We stayed on the trail, and the summit where the nest was located was in sight. 

The company stopped at a cave, and Konstantin was talking animatedly to Castile.  I am assuming he had already scouted the cave, and I moved closer to listen. 

Castile queried Konstantin, “Do you think he descended?”

Konstantin shrugged, “They definitely camped at the entrance and could have gone to the griffins or into the dungeon.”

Delmar swore, “What the fuck is a dungeon doing out here anyway?  How is there even enough aether to feed it?”

Mage Castile did not seem irritated at all.  She answered calmly, “The ley lines run deep and sometimes bled out in unusual places.  The question is, where did the baron’s son go?”

Adrian spat on the ground, “The dungeon would have been suicide.  I could see that idiot Justin trying it.  I say we return and tell his father he died in a wild dungeon.”  Castile arched her eyebrow at her lieutenant.  He threw up his hands in defeat, “Fuck.  We are all going to die.”

Mage Castile spoke with command, “We will camp outside the dungeon entrance, and we will do as planned.  We will kill the griffins, search the nest, and collect the eggs.”  She looked at her two lieutenants.  “If we don’t find the remains of the baron’s party, I will consider entering the dungeon to look there.”

Delmar nodded, and Adrian grunted unhappily.  Orders were sent down the line to enter the cave.  As we entered, torches were lit, and we filed in.  About seventy feet into the cave, it stopped with a black oily flat surface.  The area before the chamber had an abandoned campsite.  Seven single-person tents, a large fire ring, and bedrolls were left inside the tents with some backpacks.  Adrian swore again and said in a low grunt, “Those fuckers definitely went into the dungeon.”

The tents were large and nicer than ours—so were all the bedrolls.  Some legionnaires started claiming better equipment.  I moved to a tent near the black wall and tossed my pack inside.  Mateo was close and smirked, “You can definitely take it, Eryk, as long as the original owners don’t show up.  Just realize that tent and bedroll weigh twice as much as your legionnaire-issued gear.”

Renna set up her tent next to mine and seemed kind of shy about it.  My new tent was definitely big enough for two and had flaps for privacy.  But maybe I was being too optimistic.  As everyone settled in, I asked, “So, what do you know about that.”  I pointed at the oil-slick-looking wall in front of Renna.

She paused, unpacking her gear, “Just what I read.  I grew up in a small village, and my education so far has focused on learning spell forms and how to cast spells.” 

Renna sat on a stone.  “Dungeons are concentrated aetheric essence given sapience.  The ley lines that run under the earth carry vast amounts of aether.  The aether bleeds out and permeates the world.  When it builds up in an area, the aether mutates creatures and creates passages and rooms.  The monsters changed are very strong.  But they always produce an essence when a collector is used on them.  This,” she pointed to the black wall, “Is how they attract the adventurous type.”

“So the dungeons are alive?”  I asked Renna.   “Should we be camping so close to that?  Is that the entrance?”

Adrian joined us, sitting next to Renna, “Yes, that is the entrance, Eryk.  Dungeons are alive, but the creatures that enter are killed, absorbed, and then repurposed.  Dungeons only appear at ley line nexus points.  This one appears to be an anomaly.”

Castile joined us as well, “The lines run deep, and not all have been mapped, Adrian.  There could be a nexus beneath us.”  

I pulled out some food and started eating, content to just listen.  Adrian focused on Castile and added, “The monsters inside are strong.  Only idiots travel into the dungeons seeking a big payday.”

Castile seemed annoyed with Adrian’s reluctance to explore the dungeon.  “Do not worry, Adrian.  If we go in, you can remain outside and guard the camp.”  That made Adrian wince as it was a backhanded reprimand.  

Castile turned to me, “Dungeons are blessings and curses,” Adrian was nodding in agreement.  “They can stretch for miles into the earth, always going down.  Whatever being controls them, they try to entice adventurers to explore them.  All the creatures give essence, and the dungeon leaves prizes.  Usually precious metals or recreating objects they have absorbed in the past.”  This all sounded very familiar.  Maybe not ideal video game mechanics, but the general idea was there.

I swallowed some salty jerky and cheese and asked, “What benefit does a dungeon get from drawing in adventurers?  Can you kill a dungeon?  Stop it from working?”

Castile answered, “Yes.  Destroying the solidified aether core is possible.  Usually, the adventurers guild would evaluate a dungeon’s usefulness before going to that step.”  Castile stood, “When someone dies in a dungeon, the dungeon benefits by absorbing the gear and the corpse.  It helps them get stronger and expand.  If the dungeon is smart, it will balance the lure and guillotine.  Finish your food.  We have enough daylight to move on the griffin nest.”

Orders were given, and six men stayed behind.  That meant mages Castile and Renna were going with seventeen legionaries.  It was great to drop the heavy gear.  I carried a spear and had my two short swords tied to my back.  I wanted them out of the way in case I needed to run.  We moved out down the game trail, and after an hour, Konstantin screamed, “On the sun, it’s diving!” 

We all turned and focused upward.  It was difficult to see, but something was definitely getting larger.  I took cover behind a rock and angled my spear up.  The griffin was big with a thirty-foot wingspan.  It was targeting Mateo, and I thought he was a goner as massive talons extended out.  Castile cast some wispy black lines that zipped toward the creature and wrapped its body and wings.  

The creature screeched in anger as it suddenly had trouble flapping its wings.  The creature crashed into the ground and slammed into someone I couldn’t identify.  Orders were suddenly being shouted.  “Attack!”  “Blue-potion!”  “Encircle it!”  “Keep an eye out for the other one!”  Oh, the potion request was for me!  I grabbed the potion from storage and ran to the downed man.  My only focus was getting the potion into his mouth.  The violent sounds of combat rang nearby, but I did my job.  The man’s bones started moving into the correct place.

Castile kneeled next to me a minute later, and I looked up.  The griffin was bloody and in its death throes.  It was calling for its mate.  Castile said, “Give him a second one.”  She stood and ended her spell as she scanned the skies.  

Someone pointed in the sky.  It was the other griffin.  Orders were shouted as we prepared.  Everyone was much more confident now.  The griffin didn’t come.  Instead, it landed in its nest.  Soon it was flying away with two eggs clutched in its legs.  Delmar cursed, “Stupid birds are smarter than they should be.  There goes the mission’s bonus.”

Castile didn’t seem concerned and just took out her device to harvest essence.  She used it on the corpse, and the essence pearl that formed was much better than anything I had seen prior.  Castile said, “Greater constitution essence.  Delmar, this is for you,” she tossed it to him.  I thought that was interesting.  Delmar supported Castile, and Adrian argued with her in regard to the dungeon.  “There could be more eggs.  Eryk.  Empty your space and go check the nest.  Konstantin, go with him.”

It made some sense as my space was the best way to get the egg safely.  Still, why me?  What if the griffin returned?  I would be on my own.  Konstantin put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me forward.  I emptied the legion’s property and made my way to climb up the frigging mountain.  The dead griffin was being harvested as I walked past it.  The climb was not fun, and Konstantin didn’t help as he made me go first.  I assumed it was best for the new guy to get attacked first.

The griffins had chosen a steep peak to nest on.  I was learning how to free climb on the fly.  Going up was not that bad—I was more worried when I would have to go down.  I reached the nest first, and there were two eggs and a lot of bones in the nest.  I immediately moved one of the eggs into my storage space, leaving one egg.  A few seconds later, Konstantin was up behind me, “Looks like we got lucky.  Hopefully, the griffin didn’t abandon a dead embryo.  Can you get it into your space?”  I nodded and did so.  

Konstantin was examining everything in the nest.  Tossing things over the edge as he sorted through everything.  When he was done, he shook his head, “No human remains.  A few horses but no humans.  Also, they tend to tear off the clothes of humanoids before consuming the flesh.  This pair has not killed any humans.  Ok, I will see you back at the cave.”  

He swung over the edge and confidently descended the steep mountainside we had just spent hours climbing.  I rested in the nest, pulling out food and water from my dimensional space before following him down the mountain.  I was much slower than Konstantin.  Thankfully, the other griffin never returned.  

Hours later, when I reached the dead griffin, it was picked clean from the legion’s harvesting efforts.  Konstantin was waiting for me.  He had probably been watching me descend for hours, so he had not completely abandoned me.  “Looks like griffin steaks tonight.  Come, boy, they should have at least saved us the choicest cuts for doing all the work.”  We made our way to the cave, and even before we got there, I smelled the unmistakable scent of BBQ.

Chapter 13 Dungeon First Timer

Three legionaries guarded the entrance of the cave.  Inside, the men were all working to process the griffin.  One man was sorting feathers; another cleaned the talons and teeth, and another cut meat into thin strips to smoke them into jerky.  As I looked around, a feather pillow hit me in the face, and I caught it before it hit the floor.  “He is back!” yelled my attacker.  It was Lucien, the horse master.  The soldiers parted to let me reach Castile and one of her lieutenants.  The expectant soldiers watched as I approached.  I placed the pillow on the ground and materialized the egg on top from my dimensional storage.

Cheers erupted, echoing in the cave.  I felt like the hero returning from the war when all I did was climb a summit.  Lucien was behind me and whispered, “The pillow was for you, dolt.  Griffin down feathers.  Already boiled and dried by Mage Castile.”  

Mage Castile picked up the egg and held it to her ear, listening.  Everyone went silent in anticipation.  A moment later, she announced, “It is alive!”  more cheers.

Lucien mumbled, “Would have made a good omelet, though.” 

Delmar snapped at him, “Expensive omelet, horse master.  That egg is good for at least twenty-five hundred gold on the open market to a griffon tamer.”

“Good mounts should remain on the ground,” the horse master retorted.

Delmar gave him a hard stare and then said, “Agreed!” they both laughed.  

Castile looked at me, “You did well, Eryk.  Go see Adrian for a bonus.” She waived to the corner of the cave.  “Take the pillow.  Another reward the men granted you,” she smiled suspiciously.

I approached Adrian at a flat stone being used as a table with the potion racks and coin trays in front of him.  He opened the ledger and looked up, “Eryk...you have a bonus here from Mage Castile.  Two large silver.” he took two large pieces of silver and handed them to me.  I was a little stunned.  The egg was so valuable, yet all I got was twenty silver.  

Seeing my disbelief, he smiled, “Once the griffin parts are sold, you will get another bonus.” he checked the ledger, “Probably three gold.  Don’t look surprised.  The Empire only lets Mage Castile keep 10% of the harvest.  She will give half of what she gets to the legion members.  That is after she resupplies the potions.  Most Mage Commanders give nothing to their soldiers, so be happy.  That pillow you are holding,” he pointed.  “That is a griffin feather down pillow.  Worth a gold on its own.”

I felt the pillow and it was soft, and the case was silky smooth.  As I felt it up, Adrian chuckled, “The men voted to give you the pillow because they said you moan and groan all the time.  Although they gifted it to you as a joke, I suggest you hang on to it and sell it when we reach a larger city.  Quilters prize those down feathers.”

I flushed in mild embarrassment, but I would lug the three-pound pillow with me if it was worth a gold coin.  That was why I guessed no one wanted it.  Three pounds was a lot of weight to carry out of the mountains.

“Go get something to eat,” Adrian said, smiling ruefully.  “You are going to need it.  Mage Castile wants you in the dungeon party.  Put the potions and these trays back into your dimensional storage.”

My thoughts jolted.  Dungeon party?  Why me?  I walked to someone cooking skewered chunks of griffin flesh over red coals.  He handed me two of the sticks, and I started eating.  The meat was amazing, and it took my mind off the dungeon problem.  It was salty-sweet meat and melted in my mouth.  The cook smiled, “We had some Kraken salt left and a few spices.  It is an instant marinade.”

“Kraken salt?”  I asked while devouring the meat.  I hoped to get more.

He laughed, “Yeah,  it is distilled from Kraken’s blood.  A byproduct of alchemists.  One of Mage Castile’s vanities.  She breaks it out when we celebrate,” he paused and switched his tone to slightly more ominous.  “Or sometimes when we are about to do something that might get some of us killed.”  He looked at me seriously, “A kind of last meal.”

I reached for another skewer, and he slapped my hand, “Two each.”  Then he reconsidered and handed me a third skewer.  I walked to my tent numbly and found Renna studying her book using a light stone. 

Renna looked up as I sat.  “Sorry to hear you are going into the dungeon in the morning.  Mage Castile announced the six delvers going before you got back from the griffon nest.”

“Just six of us?” I asked, suddenly more concerned.

“They tested the dungeon entrance.  It only accepts a fixed number of people at a time.  After that number has entered, the doorway prevents others.  The dungeon limit could be seven, so the baron’s son may be alive inside,” Renna said doubtfully.  I sat next to her, with my anxiety rising.

“Why are we even going in?  I thought the dungeon absorbed corpses after people were killed.  If the baron’s son is dead, we will not find any evidence anyway.  And it has been a month since he was missing.  He must be dead already,” I grumbled while finishing my griffin meat.

Renna had a sympathetic look.  “Mage Castile is strong, and she is taking her best fighters.  Well, her best fighters, not including you,” she giggled, trying to break my sour mood.  “Delmar has been into dungeons before, and he is going.  I heard them talking, and he said the dungeon had safe areas in it where the creatures would not attack you.  I think the plan is to search those safe areas for the baron’s son.”

“So you are not coming then?”  I asked the red-haired mage aspirant. 

“No.  I have not learned any spells; as you know my only spell form is flight,” she replied softly.  “I would not be of much assistance in a dungeon.”

I finished my meat and relaxed against the stone wall, and Renna scutted beside me.  The cold stone on my back felt good.  The looming black, oily surface of the dungeon entrance nearby put a damper on my mood.  Renna’s knees were touching, and I knew her closeness to me was a good sign.

My fantasies were ended when Castile announced the dungeon team had four hours to rest up.  There was a brief period of silence before I asked if Renna could read to me again.  She took out the book, and I asked about affinities unrelated to me before asking about the time affinity.

Renna turned to the page, “Time…only one is listed for each range of affinity.”  I waited expectantly while she read.  “The easiest to learn is something called time sense.  It lets you always know what time it is.  That is probably useful in dungeons.  Did your affinity with time gem light up on the disc?”

I lied to the young woman, “No, I am just curious.  I also like listening to your voice.  What are the other two?”  She blushed at my words. 

She returned to find her place in the book, “The mid-tier spell form is called hasten self.  It allows the mage to move faster, very useful!”  I briefly fantasized about being able to weave through an army, moving at lightning speed.

Renna continued, “The highest-tier spell form listed is called slow aging.  It allows you to slow the aging of an object or person.  But it fades over time.” She put down the book and thought, “Wow, that would be amazing.  It’s too bad the time affinity is so rare.  I would guess the Emperor has a mage casting this on him constantly.  He has been the Emperor for what, three hundred years?”  She turned to me, her emerald eyes studying me.

“I don’t know,”  I replied warily.  I knew absolutely nothing about the Emperor as I was not from this world. 

“Yeah, I think his three hundredth birthday celebration was three or four years ago,” Renna said, thinking.  “I have never seen him in person,” she softened her voice.  “I am meeting his eleventh son after I form all five of my spell form abilities.  We are to be married.”

The air was suddenly very thick.  I did not know what to say.  I wanted her to read on, but I also felt I should console her.  She would probably live in luxury, so should I feel sorry for her?  I finally said, “Three hundred years old and only eleven sons?”  That was clearly the wrong thing to say.  I tried another tactic, “If you are so important to Emperor, why did High Mage Dacien leave you with us?”

Renna huffed, “The Emperor has seventeen sons still alive.  I do not know how many have died over the years.  As to High Mage Dacien, he only cares about growing his own power.  We came out here to get the apex earth essence from the bulette.  It is the only way he can grow his earth affinity now, with apex earth essences.”  She shifted uncomfortably.  “The High Mage is probably one of the five most powerful mages in the Empire.  He can pretty much do what he wants.  As long as he answers the Emperor’s call to war.”  She stared off into space, “I am sure if I die, they will just find another wife for the Emperor’s son anyway.”

She had a morbid view of her plight.  “How old are you anyway?”  I figured an Empire year was pretty close to what I considered an Earth year from my time here.

“Nineteen this December,” she replied.  She looked younger, but I took her word.  There were ten months in the calendar.  Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December.  It was another clue as I remembered that there were originally ten months in the Roman calendar.  I was pretty sure the alphabet was Latin.  I thought I was transported to an alternate reality where the Roman Empire thrived in a world with magic.

I nodded at Renna and smiled, which she returned.  “What else does it say about the time affinity?”  I tried to return her attention to the book and killed the moment. 

So she reluctantly read the next passage and summarized, “The highest affinities can do something called time stop.  It appears it creates a bubble of slow time around the mage, where the mage moves at normal speed.  Anyone entering the bubble will be affected by the slow time.  It takes a lot of aether to maintain the bubble, though.”  My affinity was 90 in time.  Was there another suggestion that was even more powerful than these suggestions in the book?

I nodded, “I think I should get some rest.”  I left her, crawled into my tent, and got my new pillow underneath my bed.  It smelled like the outdoors.  I really had missed pillows.  It did not take long to fall asleep.

It was too soon before I was awakened.  It was Mateo, and he was gently shaking me, “Eryk.  They are getting ready.  I was told to wake you.”  He was being too polite, and it seemed he felt bad for my fate.  He left, and I moved the pillow into my dimensional space.  If there was a chance it would be my end, then I was taking the pillow with me.

The other five people entering were Mage Castile, Delmar, Konstantin, Linus, and Firth.  I felt out of place in the group of experienced older legionaries.  They looked determined and not at all nervous.  Mage Castile addressed me, “Stay near Linus and do whatever he tells you.”  She walked into the black oily wall, and it seemed to stretch around her, and then she vanished, and the wall was smooth again.  Everyone else moved through, leaving me standing there.

Adrian yelled, “Hurry up, legionnaire.  They will think you are running away if you don’t show up soon.”  I turned to rush into the wall, and it stretched around me.  It felt like I was falling into a pool of warm jello.  And then I fell face-first onto a stone floor.

“Watch out, raw recruit.  The first step is always disorienting.  Pick yourself up, put your pants back on,” Delmar said with some humor.

I stood, and my pants were on as I checked them, so I was confused.  Konstantin laughed, “Boy, he was just referring to the fact this was your first time getting fucked by a dungeon.”  I was not too fond of the attempt at humor.

Chapter 14 I Decided I Do Not Like Dungeons

I checked my gear.  I had brought one short and one spear.  My pack had just water and food.  I had two knives on my waist as well.  Castile was inspecting the walls with some script on them, but it was not Latin.  Konstantin moved next to me, “You always enter the dungeon at walking speed.  Even if you run into the entrance, it takes some getting used to.”  He indicated the walls, “We read the script yesterday.  It says the dungeon allows seven to enter.  So there might actually be someone alive in here.”  He continued, “We think all the monsters are insects.  Spiders, centipedes, beetles, and roaches.  At least that is what the ones who came before noted on the wall there.”

“Thanks, Konstantin.”  At least someone was telling me what was going on.  As Mage Castile was still studying the writing, I wondered, “What language is that?”

Konstantin harumphed, “Orc.  And an old orc dialect as well.  This dungeon had not been explored in a long time before that nitwit entered.  And yes, the baron’s son was here.  The length of time this dungeon has been alone means the critters inside are going to be nasty.”  He spoke softly, “If it all goes to shit and you are the last one standing, run as fast as you can to the entrance,” he whispered seriously.

I had a million questions, like why was Konstantin being so nice suddenly, but Mage Castile waved us forward.  Konstantin and Delmar walked at the front as we descended a rough rock-hewn corridor.  The corridor suddenly opened up.  It looked like we were entering the outside as stars could be seen above us, and the night sky was all around us with very bright stars.  

“Everyone be quiet,” Delmar whispered.  “We are in a massive chamber.  Those are not stars.  They are fire beetles.  Not overly dangerous, but dungeon ecology usually means something preys on them.”  Suddenly, a buzzing sound started, and the stars grew brighter and brighter as the beetles flapped their wings.  The massive chamber began to light up, showing a rough rock-strewn floor and a ceiling covered in stalactites.

Everyone was on watch, looking for an enemy.  I felt the ground tremble, and I was not the only one.  Everyone’s eyes were searching the ground.  Castile swore, “The fire beetles were an alarm for something.  It is coming.  Spread out!”

I stood there dumbly while everyone else moved apart.  Someone pointed, and I saw the rocky soil collapse on itself and then erupt upward thirty feet away.  A massive crawfish-looking monster emerged.  Someone yelled, “Ankheg!”  which meant absolutely nothing to me.

I held my spear at a ready position but did not think my twig would have much effect on something so large.  Castile cast her wisps of black ropes at the beast.  The monstrosity turned on her and blasted a rain of glowing green water at her.  The fluid washed over her, hitting an invisible shield and splashing everywhere.  Konstantin was already flanking the restrained monster.  The green water was steaming where it hit the ground.  I guessed it must be some type of acid and noted to myself not to get in front of the creature.  I got my senses and rushed to the flank of the monstrosity as well.  

It is not every day you get to fight a twenty-foot-tall burrowing crawfish.  Maybe it was more ant-like.  It has some nasty mandibles, so getting behind the creature seemed wise to me.   Everything was happening so fast.  The straining beast was slowly snapping the black tendrils of smoke cast by Castile.  The clang of metal on chitin rang through the air as everyone tried to penetrate the shell.  I angled my spear between two plates and leaned in with my body weight.  The tip of my spear entered, and the spear sunk a foot deep.  

My victory was short-lived as the beast broke the black restraints, and one of the body-sized claws snapped toward me.  I fell backward, letting go of my spear but keeping my head as the clawed arm snapped the air where my head had just been.  Ok, I decided I definitely did not like dungeons.  Someone yelled, “Second coming from behind!”  What was going on?  My vision was blocked as I tried to figure things out.  Another voice yelled, “Watch the acid spray!”  

I drew my short sword and one of my knives and rushed toward the injured one.  It was oozing from a dozen puncture wounds and struggling to remain upright.  I thought we needed to put it down before engaging the second.  I ran up its carapace because I had the great idea of getting close to the head and stabbing it from behind—and it could not attack while I was on its back.

I realized in the back of my mind how I had been conditioned to fight even under circumstances that seemed dire.  I did not fear injury, and my goal was to end the threat before I was killed.  I ran up the shiny carapace, gaining confidence with each step.  I needed to get my blade between the chitin plates behind the head.  Just two more steps...my boot slipped on the angled, shiny shell, causing me to fall quickly to the left.  My knee slammed hard into the shell, and I dropped my short sword in favor of using my two hands on the dagger to aim it at a gap in the armor.  I succeeded in lodging it in the shell.  This saved me from falling underneath the beast that started thrashing to get me off.

I hung on to the handle as the motion of the beast’s death throws started to whip my body with it.  My focus had been on this one beast, and I had not been aware enough to understand everything else that was going on around me.  Now as I was being thrown about, I could see Mage Castile and two legionnaires fighting the other ankheg.  One of my fellow soldiers was slumped over in obvious pain.  My ride slowed as the goo that made up the ankheg’s blood stopped flowing from its wounds.

I pushed off hard and landed into a roll to gain distance.  My shoulder was in pain, and I had definitely strained the shoulder socket, and I was lucky I had not dislocated the shoulder as well.  I stood and moved to help with the other ankheg.  Konstantin spoke, “Stay back.  It is handled.  Brave, but stupid boy.  The beast was finished if you just gave it time.  There was no need for a killing blow,” he walked past me to watch the end of the other battle.  

Castile, seeing I was free, yelled, “Fool!  Eryk, get a healing potion for Linus!”  I flashed to the injured soldier and rushed to him.  It wasn’t my fault.  I was ordered to follow Linus’ orders.  In the absence of orders, I helped fight as best I could.  

I knelt and pulled the potion from my space, and helped the man drink it.  He had a relieved look on his face as his injury healed and the pain faded, “Got caught in a claw.  Got a wee bit crushed.”  He coughed up some congealed blood, the potion doing its work.  The second beast was now in its death throws as well.  We had won, and everyone was alive.  Linus was going to take some time for the potion to do its work, but other than that, everyone was in one piece.

Mage Castile removed her collector shield and placed it over the ankleg.  It activated smoothly, and an essence ball formed in the center.  Castile announced, “Major essence of constitution.”  She moved to the other beast and repeated the process, “Major essence of constitution again.”  Everyone looked on as Mage Castile looked at everyone present.  “Linus and Firth,” she finally said, handing the essence to the eager men. 

Delmar announced, “Not much worth harvesting that wouldn’t take a long time.  I say we let the dungeon reclaim them as is.  It will make the respawn process quicker, but I hope to be out before then.”

Linus spoke with a rasp as his lungs were still healing, “We are not going to do that again?”

Mage Castile considered, “No.  We will delve as deep as we can and then retreat.  We will call for an experienced delve team if we don't find the person.  Our team is not balanced enough for this dungeon, and we are a person short of the party limit.”

Delmar had a sour look, and Castile mollified him, “Relax, Delmar.  I know you did this for a living, but we are not equipped for it and will run out of potions before long.  I want someone to capture a fire beetle and everyone else to search this large chamber.  I see the one exit opposite where we entered.  There should also be a prize in here somewhere for defeating the two monsters.” 

Everyone spread out, and I remained in the center with Delmar and Castile.  I listened to them talk.  Delmar stated, “Tough first room for a dungeon, and those ankheg were stronger than the norm.  I don’t see how they got past them.  Maybe their party was killed, and the sole survivor just ran to the exit and will be in the next safe room.”

Castile gave him a withering look, “Delmar, those were respawns.  The carapace was too shiny for them to be ancient.  I have been in my fair share of dungeons, too.  You are smarter than that.”  Delmar flushed in embarrassment. 

Konstantin came with one of the fire beetles.  He held it by the wings as it flared its light in defiance.  She took the collector shield and used it on the live beetle.  An essence formed, and the three of them were surprised.  Mage Castile looked up.  There were hundreds of fire beetles.  “It is a minor perception essence.  If only one in ten of those beetles yields one, this could be quite the harvest.”

Konstantin swayed her thoughts, “They are only on the ceiling.  Got lucky catching this one.  I do not think getting them down will be easy.”

She nodded reluctantly, “Ok,” she tossed Konstantin the essence.  “We would need to use the collector on the live ones in order to get a chance at an essence as well.  Delmar, start making preparations for the next room.”

Firth came up a short time later with a small stone chest.  He had a huge grin on his face.  Delmar scolded him, “Fool.  It could have been trapped.”

“But it wasn’t,” he retorted.  “Seven gold are inside.”  Delmar eyes went up in obvious surprise.

Castile took the coins with slyness, “That is one for the Empire and one for each of us.  No word leaves your lips about this.”  She looked pointedly at me.  I nodded. 

As we rested at the passage further into the dungeon,  Konstantin sat next to me, “She chose this group because she trusts us.  You are an unknown, Eryk.  Follow our lead, and this delve could be profitable for you.”  He mulled next to me in silence, and when I did not say anything, he stood and walked away.

My impression from their surprise was that seven gold was a lot for a first room in a dungeon.  An hour later, after Linus said he was good to go, we all stood and made our way to the tunnel. 

It opened into another large chamber with fire beetles.  Everyone swore as the beetles lit up the large room.  We were at a bridge and had to cross to the other side.  But there were dozens of other bridges crisscrossing the chamber.  Konstantin swore, “Fuck, I hate spiders.”  I looked again; those were not bridges but webs.  Imagining what size spider needed to be to create those, I decided again that I did not like dungeons.

Chapter 15 First Apex Essence

The crisscrossing bridges looked different now that I knew they were part of a spider’s network.  As the chamber lit up from the low buzzing fire beetles, I didn’t see any spiders.  I looked over the edge of the bridge.  Below were shadows and more crisscrossing bridges, “How deep does it go?”  I asked quietly.

Konstantin looked as well, “I don’t want to find out.”  I think it was an attempt at humor, but it was lost due to the situation we found ourselves in.

Delmar got everyone’s attention, “We do not know what type of spiders we are facing.  Most likely, their fangs will inject a paralytic poison.  So do not get bit.  Strike the eyes.  They have two large eyes and six smaller eyes.  Damaging the eyes will usually stun them momentarily.”  And that was all the prep we got.  My spear had broken in the ankheg, and I was gripping my short sword tightly and on high alert.

Mage Castile was scanning the ceiling and considering her options.  “Eryk, give the potions to Linus.  There are three cure poison potions in the racks.  I want them in his hands.  I believe the spiders are underneath us, under this very bridge.  They are probably waiting for us to start to cross.  I am going to check now.”  Everyone suddenly got nervous and backed away from the edges.  Mage Castile closed her eyes briefly, then said, “Five large spiders are under the bridge.”  Knowing how many spiders made it worse, and the tension rose.

“What is the plan?”  Delmar asked the mage, his normal claiming and confident presence not evident. 

“Someone is going to sprint across the bridge.  It will be a decoy to draw them up.  If the person gets caught by the spiders, they will most likely just be paralyzed.  We should be able to reach them before they are wrapped in webbing and hauled away,” Castile said without any emotion.  I had a bad feeling.  I was the least skilled fighter and probably going to be selected.

Konstantin stepped forward, “I will do it.”  My heart soared in relief.

“No, it will be Eryk,” Castile ordered.  I tensed, not quite believing what I had heard.

Castile then explained the attack plan, “There are five spiders and five of us.  The bridge is almost forty feet wide, so it is best to draw them all out at once.  We will each engage one in combat as they come around to attack Eryk.  When someone finishes theirs, they can help someone else.”  Everyone seemed so confident I capitulated.  I started stretching.  My knee was very sore from the fall off of the ankheg, and my shoulder still ached from the last battle.  The good news was the bridge was wide and the chamber well-lit by the hundreds of fire beetles.

I lined up in front of everyone.  I realized I had been sweating profusely and took a long drink of water.  Delmar and Konstantin were right behind me.  I was thinking of two things.  The first was that my surging adrenaline had made all my aches disappear, and the second was secrecy be damned.  If I needed to use my dimensional space to kill a spider, I would not hesitate.  Delmar finally instructed, “Walk until you see the first one, and then run as fast as you can.”

I nodded and walked.  The bridge quickly got sticky under my boots, like I was walking on dried soda in a movie theater.  I surmised it was old webbing on the surface that was causing the sound.  The stone bridge started vibrating...the spiders were moving underneath us, preparing.  I heard a clicking sound and saw the first spider legs coming from my right.  Legs as thick as my arms moved to bring the giant hairy spider into view.  Spiders did not need to be this size.  I ran as instructed, my heart already pumping.  I heard Konstantin yell, “Got this one.”  

I sprinted across the bridge, maybe 250 feet, and with relief, entered the opening on the far side of the chamber.  I spun quickly and took in the site.  In the middle of the bridge, everyone was engaged with a spider.  Had the plan worked?  I counted five spiders...well, four, as Castile’s spider was wrapped in black whispy chains and pulled over the edge.  She then produced a wand and began to fire arrows of blue light at the spider Firth was fighting.  I had not liked being the bait, but the plan had worked.

I decided to rush in and help.  Delmar was engaged to the spider closest to me, and I hacked the leg with my short sword.  The leg cracked like a lobster shell and was severed.  The spider swung around on me and tried to lunge.  Instead, Delmar got his long blade into the abdomen and jerked hard.  Yellow mucus flowed out of the wound, the spider twitched in pain, and the legs curled in on themselves, dropping the spider where it was.  Delmar did not wait and turned to help the others.  

The battle was over in less than a minute, and I didn’t even reach anyone else to help.  Castile was already applying her collector shield to a spider.  The quicker you did the extraction, the better chance you had at getting an essence.  There were only four spiders as the Castile had tossed hers over the edge.  Everyone gave an essence.  Castile had extracted one apex essence of dexterity and three major essences of dexterity. 

Everyone huddled around on alert, waiting for the loot to be assigned.  Castile took the largest essence and put it in my hand.  I was so shocked I did not see who got the other essences.  It was much larger than the minor essence I had consumed back in training.  I put the ball into my mouth and felt it dissolve as goosebumps spread across my body in reaction to it.  I had to keep swallowing to get the aftertaste out of my mouth and the sticky feeling in my throat. 

Delmar started cracking open the abdomen of a spider.  It was a gooey mess and smelled horrific from where I was.  I watched in fascination as he removed a soccer ball-sized object.  He looked over at me, “Spider spinneret.  They are worth a good three gold each.  Castile said I could have them all if I carried them out myself.”

Firth had found the stone prize box again.  Inside were three potions.  All cure poison and no coins.  They were generic cure poisons, but being dungeon made, they were quite valuable as their shelf life was generally centuries compared to alchemist potions that were only good for a few months.  I was once again asked to hold all the potions in my dimensional space, the new potions included.  Linus was teasing the fangs and mumbling about not bringing any empty containers for the venom.  He finally reported the type of venom the spiders contained to Castile.  I heard him say a generic poison, with no paralytic compounds detected.  When Delmar had his spinnerets, we started to move out.

I drank the rest of my canteen while everyone else moved to the far side of the bridge.  I hastened my steps to catch up to them.  Konstantin slapped my back, “You did well.   You got lucky they did not try and block your path.  She was impressed with your effort,” he indicated the apex essence.  “Just try to keep yourself alive long enough to make use of it.”

I nodded, falling into step beside my—mentor?  I was still curious why Konstantin had softened on me.  Did it have to do with the griffin nest somehow?  Also, I had just consumed an apex essence.  They were used to increase a person’s affinity.  If my manifested convergence ability did let me milk essences for all they were worth, what type of benefit would I get from it?  My nerves and skin were still tingly, so something was happening.

It also was not lost on me that I had been told apex essences cost fifty gold or more.  And Castile had casually handed it to me like a snack.  I quietly asked Konstantin, “Does she hand out apex essences often?”

He looked at me seriously, “No.  That was only the ninth one she had given to a legionnaire in my eight years with her.  We got lucky this dungeon has been neglected for so long.  I am guessing that is why the baron’s son risked it.  This dungeon is probably bursting with aether, and the first few runs will yield powerful essences.  Even the respawns.”  We were a good distance away from the others, and he whispered, “She is trying to buy your loyalty.  Do not look surprised.  She has bought the loyalty of most of us.  You should be happy she thought you were worth the investment.”

Delmar, up ahead, shouted, “It is a safe room!”  We all crowded into the small room that was twenty feet round.  More orc writing dominated the wall, and a stream of water descended from the ceiling into the floor. 

Castile tested the water and said, “Konstantin, scout ahead.  Still no sign of the seventh?”  Delmar was searching the room and shook his head no.

We all sat down while Konstantin headed into the next corridor.  We had only two short battles, but everyone looked exhausted from the life-and-death encounters.  Delmar dropped his smelly spinneret backpack next to me,  “Carry it for me, and I will give you a gold coin?”

He had told me the four spinnerets were worth twelve gold, and he was just offering me one gold.  I wanted to stay on his good side, though.  “Payment up front,” I said cheekily.   He frowned but produced the coin he had received from the ankheg.  I pocketed the coin and sent the gold coin to my dimensional space with the other one.  I was becoming wealthy—two gold coins and two large silver!  The spinnerets were heavy, but I figured it would just be till we returned to the horses.  I would be paid a gold for a day’s worth of heavy labor.

It was a good half hour later before Konstantin returned, and we all huddled around Castile as he reported, “The next dungeon room is another large chamber.  It is down a long descending corridor,”  he broke into a massive grin.  “And I found the baron’s son.  He is alive.” 

Chapter 16 The Baron’s Son

Konstantin wore a grin as he continued.  “The little boy got himself trapped on an island in the center of the chamber.  There is a lake and island accessible by stepping stones.  Some luminescent fish lit up the water, giving the chamber a blue, ethereal light.  The water is also home to giant aquatic centipedes.  They can not reach more than five feet out of the water, according to the idiot on the island.”

Castile asked sternly, “So you talked with Justin Cicero?  How is his health?”

Konstantin grinned, “He tried to order me to save him.  He said he had a commander’s rank in the army and had the right to command me.  He has been catching and cooking the glowing fish with his fire magic.”

Delmar asked, “How did he get trapped?  What happened to his adventuring party?”

Konstantin frowned, “He lost one man to the spiders.  It was his healing mage.  A spider came from under the bridge and got him from behind.  The water centipedes have a strong paralytic cloud attack.  His two heavy fighters inhaled it, fell into the water, and drowned while they were crossing the stepping stones.”

Firth asked, “What happened to Marius, the pathfinder?”

Konstantin shook his head, “He did not say.  But if the dungeon only allows seven people to enter and we number six, then it is safe to assume Marius is also dead.”

“What information do you have on the water creatures?” Castile asked.

Konstantin grunted, “The glowing fish light chamber and water, like the fire beetles did in the prior chambers.  The six centipedes are all about ten feet long and can easily be seen moving in the water.  But instead of legs, they have one hundred fins.  They are really fast, and that is why I think Justin’s team was surprised when crossing.”

Mage Castile frowned, “My shadow chains do not work underwater.  Will they attack along the shoreline or just when crossing the stepping stones?”

Konstantin shook his head, “There is no shoreline.  The chamber opens right to the stepping stones.  The island in the middle has a shoreline— about thirty feet circular.”

“What is the likelihood of getting all of us to the island with the baron’s son?”  Castile asked.  Konstantin was shaking his head no.

Delmar suggested, “As long as we don’t breathe in the paralytic gas, can we sprint to the island?”

“No,” Konstantin said.  “The stepping stones are about five feet across, and it is about five feet between the stones.  If you stop on the stones, then you will likely get quickly swarmed.”

Castile heaved a sigh, “We have one instant ice potion.  It will freeze all water in a fifteen-foot radius.  If we can catch enough of them in the ice, we should be able to eliminate all of the water threats.  It will take the dungeon at least two days to respawn them if we do not exit.”

Delamar asked, “Who is going to hop on the stones, draw them all in, and freeze them?”  No one moved to volunteer.  A long, heavy silence ensued.

Castile finally tried to entice someone, “Two essences of their choice to the volunteer we harvest from the water creatures.”  Still, no one volunteered.  But I was thinking what everyone else was thinking.  You can not use the essence if you are dead.   Mage Castile upped the offer, “Three and whatever is in the reward chest for the room.”

Firth started to fidget.  Delmar cocked his eyebrow, thinking Firth was going to cave and volunteer.  “I will do it.”  All eyes turned to me.  “I already got some experience with the spiders being the bait, and you all will have my back,”  I said confidently.  Or at least I thought I sounded confident.

I slowly removed the potions from my dimensional space, and Mage Castile pulled the aqua-colored potion out.  “We got this as a gift from a merchant for rescuing him from a gnoll war party.  Keep the lid off, and throw it in the water when all six creatures are within range.”  Delmar and Konstantin had something akin to ice spikes that they applied to their boots so they would not slip on the ice.  

We all walked down the long tunnel.  As we approached the end, a blue light highlighted the room.  When we reached the end, it was actually quite beautiful.  The water glowed a soft blue, and the stepping stones were round and dark gray, heading out to an island in the center.  A young man stood on the island studying us.  “You back, soldier?”  He yelled excitedly.  “At least you brought help.  Ready to get me off this island?”

I didn’t like him from the second I heard his voice.  To make matters worse, I was about to risk my life for him.  Konstantin walked up to me, “Don’t worry about catching them all.  Get to the second stone and toss it when the first one attacks.   When they emerge,  hold your breath as long as you can.  We will be right behind you.”  He patted my back reassuringly.

I nodded but was questioning my self-preservation thought process.  It was a good ten minutes of preparation with the man on the island screaming the entire time for us to hurry up.  Castile told me to avoid falling into the water after I dropped the potion.  She jokingly said they wouldn’t have time to chip me out of the ice before I died. 

I could see the snake-looking creatures in the water.  The glowing fish scattered from in front of them as they swam.  I took a breath and leaped to the first stepping stone.  I had expected it to be stable and nearly fell when it wobbled underneath me.  Ripples of water spread from the stone, calling the creatures to me.  I got my feet quickly under me.  The creatures raced toward me incredibly fast.  Two were trailing far behind, back near the island.  I waited, a short sword in one hand and the potion in the other, for them to get close.  

Konstantin yelled, “Get to the next platform!”  I had forgotten the plan to get to the second platform when I stumbled.  I needed to give everyone room to fight.  I ran and leaped.  The wobble of the platform had me not getting a great push-off, and I came up a little short.  My bad knee slammed hard, and I heard a crack in my knee as my lower body splashed into the water.  Water filled my boots as I scrambled to get on the platform.  Somehow, I didn’t spill the potion, but the knuckles on my sword hand were smashed and bleeding as I rolled onto the floating stone. 

An insectoid head appeared above water.  I swung my sword as the centipede spewed a foul mist into my face.  My blade cut its face rubbery face.  I swung twice more, hacking away.   The exertion meant I couldn’t hold my breath much longer.  I tossed the potion into the water, unaware if all the swimming beasts were close enough yet.

I watched in fascination as the water crystalized and the ice started spreading rapidly.  Konstantin landed behind me, and I inhaled in relief as I needed the air.  The foul mist had not fully dissipated, and I felt the paralytic taking hold.  It was hard to move and breathe, but my fellow soldiers were around me and hacking away as the centipedes were trapped in the ice.  Then my feet felt cold, but it was not the paralyzing mist.  My boots and pants froze, and then I was a statue.  My frozen clothes from the waist down held up my paralyzed body.  I watched as five of the six centipedes were trapped in the ice and hacked to death.  

The last one lunged up onto the ice, and its long body slid toward me.  Delmar intercepted it and hacked into the body, stopping it.  Firth walked into my line of sight.  “Damn, if I knew it was going to be this easy, I would have volunteered myself.”  He tapped my forehead.  “Hey, Linus, how long before he moves again?”

“About a minute, I believe,” I heard from behind me.  He was correct as I felt my movement slowly return.  I slowly and painfully sucked in the precious air.  If I had known the paralysis would have extended to my lungs, I would not have volunteered.   

I gasped, went down on one knee, and tried to remove my boots, as I was now worried about frostbite.  As I wrestled with the boots, the baron’s son came to us across the stones and reeked something fierce.  “About time.  Give me some food, and you can hand me my essences from those creatures, mage.” 

I had only gotten one boot off so far but looked up to see the Mage Castile staring at the man who was in his twenties with weeks of haggard grow on his gaunt face.  Delmar stepped between the mage and the baron’s son, “Over here, First Citizen Justin.  We can get you some rations.”  Delmar escorted Justin back up to the safe room before the confrontation with Mage Castile erupted into something. 

Mage Castile stood over me as I rubbed my bare feet, trying to get the feeling back.  I was still on the ice-covered second stepping stone.  “Nice work, Eryk.”  She leaned down and placed three essences into my palm.  “Three apex endurance affinities.  All six were apex endurance essences.  The baron’s son took the reward chest as it materialized on the island,” she said regrettably.

“He can just take the chest?  He didn’t do a damn thing!  What about his claim on the essences?” I asked, annoyed, starting to feel some life in my bare feet. 

Castile pursed her lips, “He is a First Citizen.”  My confused look had her add, “They fall under different laws.”

“As a mage, are you not a First Citizen as well?”  I asked.

Castile humphed, “No.  You can only be born into first citizenship or raised by the Emperor for service.  Otherwise, you need to be a descendent of a member of the First Legion.”

I had more questions but did not want to show my ignorance,  “So what is going to happen with Mr. Personality?”  I asked Mage Castile.  She huffed in a short laugh at my nickname.

“I will give him these three essences and tell him that was all we collected.  He didn’t see me collect them all as he was too busy opening the chest on the island and securing whatever was in it.  He will probably doubt me, so consume those quickly.  You may get some indigestion as you are only supposed to take one essence a day, but if you don’t take them all now, that nitwit will confiscate them.  Stay down here and take one every hour.  I will see you in two hours.”  Castile nodded at me, then she turned away and started walking back to the safe room. 

Konstantin was the only one left at the passage heading up.  He spoke, “Since the reward chest appeared in this room, there will be no other threats.  When you feel up to it, walk down to the next chamber and take an accounting of it.  If Justin asks, we will tell him we left you behind to scout.  Do not enter the room, though, just note what you see from the passageway so you have something to tell Justin if he asks.  The dungeon’s ecology will prevent the creatures from leaving their designated room.” 

“Couldn’t we just kill the monsters from the passageway then?”  I asked, trying to find a loophole.

Konstantin shook his head in disappointment, “I thought you were smarter than that, Eryk.”  Instead of elaborating, he turned and left.  I was left barefoot and alone on the floating stone with three essences in my hand.

I looked around and put the first essence into my mouth, thinking about what he meant.  Then it struck me.  The ankhegs were underground.  The spiders were under the bridge.  And the centipede fish were in the water and only came close after I leaped onto the first stone.   All of the monsters had only attacked after we entered the room.  I surmised dungeons protected their creations from making killing them too easy. 

I confirmed I was alone.  I sent my wet, cold socks to my dimensional storage and brought out dry socks.  I put on the icy, frost-covered boots.  I had a lot of time, so I decided to check out the island in the center of the chamber.  I hopped to it and almost collapsed every time I landed.  My knee was in serious pain, and I think I cracked the patella.  On the island, I found the mess the baron’s son left—piles of shit, fish bones, dirty clothes.  The smell was horrendous.  I looked at the far side of the cavern.  I still had a lot of time before I needed to return to the safe room.  I knew curiosity killed the cat, but it couldn’t hurt to take a peak.  As Konstantin said, I just needed to remain in the passageway.

Chapter 17 Sisyphus’ Rock

I reached the far side of the chamber on the floating stepping stones.  I wished I still had the healing potions in my dimensional space.  I would have gladly taken some punishment for using one.  But I had not been asked to store them after the fight.  My knee was swelling, and I hobbled into the tunnel and looked back at the stones.  Maybe this was not a great idea.  I winced at the thought of hopping back across the stones.  Perhaps I would hobble down to the next room and come back.

I had a strong limp as my right knee got so stiff it was difficult to bend.  As the light faded behind me, a new light at the end of the tunnel appeared in front of me.  I was close, maybe 60 feet from the next room.  I continued to the opening into the next chamber.  Standing in the passage, I looked into the room.  It was a smooth, conical stone dome.  Lines of greenish light, like veins, lit up the dome.  The lines seemed to pulse in a rhythm.  I stuck my head inside to look at the wall around the door.  Huh, the lines were made by fist-sized snails trailing a glowing goo behind them.  These were the first non-insects I had seen in the dungeon.  I didn’t know what it implied.

The floor of the domed room was flat and consisted of brown dirt with some mounds near the center.  I guessed they hid whatever creature guarded the room.  The curious thing was I did not see an exit around the room anywhere.  Was this the final room in this dungeon?   Maybe the snails were the monster?  Would they all fly together to giant snail…ok that was a stupid thought.  The first chamber had burrowers, so this chamber probably had burrowers, and the mounds in the center hid the creature.

I stared for forty minutes and then took out my second apex essence and ate it.  Castile had said to wait at least an hour between.  Shit.  Castile was not joking about indigestion.  I started making short belching sounds accompanied by an attack of mini hiccups.   My stomach roiled, and I broke out into a cold sweat, and I sat down against the wall and then lay down till the feeling passed.  I kept an eye on the room, waiting for my stomach and pulse rate to return to normal.  I was definitely going to save that last apex essence for much later.  I pulled out some water and drank heavily before putting it back in my storage.

I stayed seated until, and in my estimation, it was getting close to the end of the two hours Castile gave me.  I decided it was time to go.  Besides the snails making slow progress along the dome, I observed no movement in the chamber.  Taking one last look at the room, I wondered if maybe there was a doorway to the right or left that I couldn’t quite see.   I decided to take a quick check.  That way, I could say I scouted the next room if the baron’s son questioned me.  I leaned in further, on alert, ready to run, remembering the ankheg had spit acid.  I didn’t see anything and cautiously got a little further in.  I looked up, searching the wall of the dome.  Nothing.  I moved to go the half step back and felt for the passageway.  What…it was a solid wall.

My heart started racing as I felt the wall.  I had barely entered the room—if even at all.  Maybe it was invisible…some type of illusion.  I slid left a few feet and then right on the wall, feeling the wall for the passage.   I felt a tremor under my feet and swore.  Why didn’t anyone fucking tell me a dungeon could lock you in a room?  Now, I was going to die to whatever horrendous insect swarm came after me.  I drew my short sword, pulled a shield from my dimensional space, and turned to face whatever spawn crawled from under the earth.

The ground in the center of the chamber was rippling, and the body of a massive black scorpion erupted.  The stinger swayed fifteen feet in the air, and each of its two claws was as big as a person.  I waited with a racing heart.  I could win by sending part of its body to my dimensional cube as I had done with the bulette if it was just one Schwarzenegger-sized scorpion.   Nothing else came, and I started moving along the wall.  The scorpion located me and turned to follow my movements.  It seemed cautious.

Maybe it was stunned that only one person had come to challenge it.  It tested its claws with reverberating snaps in the air.  The hovering stinger did a hypnotic dance in the air as its eight legs brought it slowly forward.  I prepared my dimensional space…fuck!  I still had the stone pillar stored in there!  New plan.  Drop a big rock on a big bug.  I increased my pace along the wall, and it finally charged me.  

I did my best to time the stone.  The edge of the stone materialized at the end of my sword arm from the storage, extending ten feet forward, looming over the confused bug.  The stone hung in the air for a moment before falling.  One of the claws extended and reached for me.  I rolled away, but it was not necessary.  The cylinder crushed the body of the scorpion, and internal fluids splattered in every direction.  I was covered in metallic-smelling bug juice.

I focused on my aether and swore.  The mass of pulling the object had drained all my aether in one go.  I scanned the room, thinking my bad luck would have a second scorpion show up.  The stinger started to fall like a fallen tree toward me.  I tumbled out of the way as it pierced the ground…It would have missed me by a few feet, but it is better to be safe than sorry.  The slimy fluids covering me were now coated with dirt from my roll.  I spit something fowl from my mouth.

I slowly walked around the chamber and found a shoebox-sized stone chest in the center of the room.  I breathed, relieved.  Konstantin had said that if the reward chest appeared, all threats would be handled.  I put down my shield to inspect the box.

The box was similar to the others we found when defeating the previous monsters.  I moved cautiously past the scorpion, wishing I had an essence collector to use on it.  I was about to open the chest when I remembered someone mentioned traps.  I used my sword tip instead to flip the lip open.

Huh, twenty shiny gold coins and what looked like a pendant.  A silvery chain was connected to a hexagonal brass coin.  The coin has an array of fine lines and small blue gems embedded at intersections on both sides.  It was similar to the patterns that made up the discs on the translation amulet I had during training but much finer and more intricate work.  

I picked up the obvious magic item.  It felt light in my hand, more like the density of plastic than metal.  I thought about wearing it and channeling aether into it, but since I did not know what it did, I decided to store it away with the gold coins.  

I walked to the dead scorpion and wondered what kind of essence the beast would have yielded.  I touched the carapace, thinking I could possibly pull the essence to myself with my ability.  I focused and tried for a few minutes before giving up.  I couldn’t feel anything happening and felt silly for trying.  I thought better at leaving the empty chest and stone cylinder.  If they came down here to check this room, I figured to erase as much evidence as possible.  Although the giant crushed scorpion still oozing fluids was a dead giveaway.

Unfortunately, my aether didn’t recover enough to put anything in my space.  I buried the chest as that was the best I could do.  I hobbled back to the water chamber.  Hoping across the stones this time was not fun, and I fell on each landing as my knee would not bend properly.  When I got to the far side, I quickly stripped and began to wash my clothes and armor in the water. 

All the tales of glory in combat never mentioned the after-battle cleanup.  Cleaning up the mess after a fight was never pretty, and this was the second time for me, the messy bulette being the first.  The glowing fish seemed attracted to the gore being washed into the crystal-clear water.  They were not carnivorous and just seemed like fat trout with glowing scales.  I wondered how they might taste and wished I had a fishing rod.

I was in my undergarments with everything laid out to dry when Konstantin came down the tunnel to check on me.  “It has been four hours, Eryk.  Are you down here bathing?”  Humor laced his voice.  “Castile was getting worried.  And I have some bad news.”  He was staring at my swollen and red knee and knelt to inspect it. 

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense.  Is the cave the home of a dragon?”  I asked while I started putting on my wet clothes. 

“No, much worse.  Castile is sending you to escort Justin Cicero back to his father,” Konstantin admitted.  “She is giving him the griffin egg, and you are to store it in your space so it gets there safely.  She is doing it so she can get the leech away from her company.  Report to the Legion headquarters when you reach Varvao.  They will tell you where to find our company.”

“How far is Varvao?”  I asked, concerned.

“Three hundred and fifty miles.  Give or take.  But there is good news.  Your little mage friend is going with you,” Konstantin chuckled. 

“Renna is coming with me?  Is that a good thing with the First Citizen being with me?”  I asked, thinking of her safety. 

“Most likely, he will not touch her.  Rumor is she is promised to one of the Emperor’s sons,” but he didn’t sound confident.  He pointed at my knee, “Let Linus know, and he will give you a potion to heal up.”

I had finished dressing and was working on my armor.  “Why are you being so nice to me, Konstantin?  You do not have the best reputation among the others.”

Konstantin spat into the water.  “I am tired of seeing young men like you die.  I can not tell why I thought you were different and deserved my mentoring.  Maybe one of the gods is pushing me to keep you alive.  I do not know.  Just accept it.”  He turned and walked up the passage.   

I packed my things up and hobbled up the passage.  When I reached the safe room, there was no one there.  I hobbled all the way back to the entrance to the dungeon and passed through at a walk this time.

Delmar yelled, “About time, Eryk.  Get some food and pack up your gear.  We will be heading out shortly.”  I looked around the chamber, and the tents were all rolled up.  Justin was arguing with mage Castile, and I decided I did not need to become involved.  I got some food and went to eat it next to Renna.  Renna saw me coming and had a sad face.

“Sorry, Eryk.  Your fancy new tent is over there, but you are going to be carrying it for him.”  Renna shook her head.  Well, at least I had my old tarp tent.  Now I got to be a pack mule.  At least I had wormed out of carrying the spinnerets.  Maybe I would have to return the gold coin. 

“It is what it is,” I said to Renna.  Linus came to me and handed me a healing potion.  Konstantin must have already talked with him.  I sat on the ground next to Renna and drank the potion.  It was like a warm feeling spreading through my body and numbing me.  The heat increased around my knee.  I could feel the aether of the potion working and the swelling going down.  It was a few minutes, and I could bend my knee easily again.  I had had magical healing before by mages.  This was different as the mage’s healing was focused, while this potion was more like a swarm covering my body and then focusing on the injury.

I chatted with Renna for a while, telling her about the dungeon.  Mage Castile finally approached with Justin Cicero, Firth, and Wylie.  Castile said, “When we get back to the horses, you three will escort First Citizen Cicero and Mage Renna to the city.”  I had a lot of questions, but Castile spun and left clearly not in a good mood. 

Justin held out the griffin egg, “Put this in your space, legionnaire.”  After I put the egg in my space, he just walked away.  I could see the other members of the company eyeing us.  Justin had seized the prize, and the malice was palpable.  I would have to ask more about how the First Citizens fit into the Empire I now served.  What was the First Legion? 

Wylie and Firth, approached me.  The older soldier, Firth, spoke, “Looks like we will be babysitting you again.  At least you get to ride.  Benito will have to ride pillion with someone when we leave until we get to a farm to get him a new mount.”   Soon we were all headed out of the mountains and back to the horses.

Chapter 18 Getting Answers

As we walked through the mountains to reach the horses, my pack weight had doubled.  The good news was the healing potion had done more than just heal my knee.  All my aches, pains, and scabs were gone.  Delmar told me a simple healing potion I had taken cost about five gold and could heal soft tissue injuries and mend bones.  A full healing potion, ran about fifty gold but could bring someone back from the brink of death and align and repair broken bones.  Our company had eight simple healing potions and nine full healing potions. 

He was knowledgeable on the subject and said potion’s ingredients only cost about 20% of their value, but the alchemists needed to be exceptionally skilled.  That was why magic porters were in such high demand since the valuable potions wouldn’t expire in my dimensional space.  Doing the math, a single full healing potion was worth what I would make in ten years as a soldier!

I nervously asked if I would be charged for the simple healing potion.  Adrian laughed, “Only if you drink one without permission.”  I relaxed slightly, and he continued, “Castile does everything she can to keep us alive.  A lot of mage company commanders have a healing spell.  Castile does not, so she spends quite a sum on potions.  We may take all the shit missions, but we also get more in return.”  It was definitely something for me to think about.

The First Citizen was carrying nothing but his sword and belt pouch.  Firth and Wylie shared the load with me, but Justin Cicero still had four times as much gear as a normal legionnaire.   The other men were weighed down with griffin meat, so we were not the only ones suffering.  I stayed close to Firth as we traveled to ask questions.

I asked Firth, “So what is First Citizen?”

He turned back to see the man walking in the midst of the company with a cockiness that irritated everyone around him.  Firth said quietly, “They can trace their lineage back to the First Legion.  The First Legion consisted of some four thousand men who arrived from another world and carved out the Telhian Empire.  Only about three hundred survived the Founding Wars, but their descendants are the only ones who can own land in the Empire.  They control all the seventeen provinces of the Empire with an iron fist.”

He checked on Justin Cicero again before continuing, “Even being a descendent of a member of the First Legion does not grant you the right to be considered a First Citizen.  There is a substantial tithe required to the Emperor.  Some of the nobles only elevate the inheriting son to the status of a First Citizen.  Others, like the Ciceros, have enough coin to elevate their entire brood.”  He looked at Justin and said quietly, “They even do so knowing their child is an idiot.”

I processed Firth’s words.  It made sense with the blended terminology of Rome and Medieval Europe if travelers came from all eras.  Was the direction one way?  Maybe there was a way back to Earth.  “Did any of the First Legion ever return back to their own world?”

“Dragon’s piss, Eryk.  What do I look like a scholastic?  I have no idea what happened some two millennia ago,” Firth rasped with good humor.

Later in the hike, I asked, “Have there been other arrivals from other worlds?”

Firth shrugged, “Is your homeland so small you don’t have myths about them?  They appear and are brought before the Emperor and are never heard from again.  I do not think there has been one in the Telhian Empire in three hundred years.  But you should talk to a mage or scholastic, not me.”  I nodded and figured three hundred years someone brought the idea of noble ranks; barons, dukes, ect.  Maybe even earlier than three hundred years, as Firth’s grasp on Telhian history was pretty weak.

I was silent for a long time.  On a long, slow climb, I inquired, “Why can a First Citizen command so much power?  He just took the griffin egg from Mage Castile.  He didn’t do anything to help get it.  And the essences from the dungeon as well.”  I asked, hoping to clear some things up.

He laughed, “That is because the First Citizens can requisition anything they want.  As long as we are not fighting or in danger, that is.”  He looked back, checking on Justin again, “Don’t worry.  Mage Castile will log what he took from us at the Legion office.  Justin will at least have to pay fair market value to the Legion for what he took from us.  We may even see a small bonus if they are feeling generous,” he winked.

“What about the dungeon room chest from the water room?”  I asked, remembering the contents had been part of my deal for being the bait and freezing the monsters.

Firth pursed his lips, “We never saw what was in the prize chest.  We can not make false claims under the spell of a Truthseeker, and as a First Citizen, he does not need to submit to a Truthseeker, so he got away with that one.  I am sure Castile will make it up to you when we reunite with the company.”  He leaned in close, “Castile and the company are going to race to Vartadria to register the new dungeon.  We just have to make sure Justin Cicero takes at least seven days to reach Varvao.”

This was a lot of subterfuge going on.  “What do we get for registering a new dungeon?”  I asked quietly.

“The company should receive a five thousand gold reward from the Adventurers Guild once it is confirmed,”  he grinned madly.  “It falls outside of Legion business, so we should see the whole reward.  If Mage Castile keeps to her regular pattern, then half the reward will be divided amongst the twenty-six of us after replenishing our potions.”  He patted me back while cracking a wide grin.

Firth ensured no one could hear him before adding, “I heard Justin order Mage Castile not to report the dungeon, but she is going to do it anyway.  She is extremely angry about this whole situation.  We save his fucking life, and he has the gall to take our prizes.  This Justin Cicero is one of the worst First Citizens I have ever dealt with.  Most at least have common sense and courtesy.”

“If I did get the gold, could I buy my way out of the Legion?  Gain my freedom?”  I asked while we waited for the others at the bottom of a steep descent.  I figured 2,500 gold was almost 100 gold for each man in the company.

“No, you are locked in for your five-year contract.  With your ability, they may pull some tricks to keep you locked in, so be careful.  I have seen it before.  The best thing to do is not draw attention to yourself,”  Firth admitted.

“How long have you been in the Legion of the Lion?” I asked as we started walking with the group again.

“Sixteen years next November.  Don’t look surprised.  It gives my wife and five children a  steady stream of coin.  And I get to use the brothels across the Empire without getting hassled,” he said good-naturedly.

I didn’t understand what would make someone enroll over and over again to risk their life.  Was it the adrenaline rush?   The path got easier as we began our final descent and could see the horses.  Renna joined us as the trail was now wide enough for more people.  She told us of her flying excursions around her village and how they had found and conscripted her.  She talked a lot about flying and what it was like.  The freedom to go in any direction—to do what you wanted.  I could tell she felt constrained in her current position.

The horses and legionaries were all there when we arrived.  They had fought off a half dozen wolves one night, and one of the horses had to be put down, making us two mounts short.  Castile talked briefly with Justin before heading off Northeast, two men riding pillion.  Justin came to our small group, irate and swearing.  He ordered, “We make for Formica to resupply.  Then we will make the best speed to Varvao.”

Firth and Wylie took their time getting their mounts ready and did not speed up, no matter how much Justion swore at them.  It was only a ten-mile ride to Formica, but we did not get there till evening.  I followed Firth’s lead and dragged my feet as much as possible.  We stayed in the same room with Renna that night, and in the morning, we took time purchasing supplies, eating breakfast, and saddling the mounts.

Justin was not stupid enough to travel alone through the lands, and I was also keeping his griffin egg safe in my dimensional space.  Maybe when we reached one of the major roads in two hundred miles, he would take the egg and sprint, but Firth planned to take him on an arcing route, avoiding the main road as long as possible.   On the first day, we made only twenty miles of the three hundred, and I was sure Justin was now suspicious of our intentions. 

He approached me after dinner that evening, “Legionnaire.  I want you and me to ride on alone.  My father’s birthday is soon, and I want to make sure I make it in time.”  I went to piss after and consumed my last apex endurance essence.  Thankfully, no indigestion.

Firth had schooled me in response, “Sorry, but I have been ordered to protect the Mage Renna.  I can not leave her.”  Her face turned red as I stated it.  He definitely knew we were stalling.  We had a 300-mile trip, while Castile needed to go nearly 500 miles through more dangerous and rough terrain.  Wylie was sure she would find an outlying farm to get horses for the men without.

On our second day of riding, Wylie scouted out some roving swamp rats he wanted to avoid, so we took a four-hour detour.  This was how each day proceeded.  We rode cautiously in roughly the right direction but avoided all possible conflict and spent an hour in the evening to find a defensible position.  Thankfully, it was early in the season, and most of the more dangerous monsters had not migrated north with their prey, according to Firth.  During the days, I did get a lot of experience with my horsemanship skills.

Camp life did suck on the journey as the night watch was divided between Firth, Wylie, and myself.  Some nights, Renna would sit and talk with me quietly.  Justin complained something fierce every evening about our slow progress. 

On the fourth day, we ended up fleeing a troglodyte war party of five.  Firth made sure we galloped in the wrong direction.   On the fifth night, we were attacked by lesser shadows and had to get the fire burning bright for the entire night to keep them away.  On the sixth day, we circled wide of a diseased treant.  A treant was a massive living tree, and this one had no leaves and visible rot.  It took us eight days to reach the walls of Varvao, fleeing every possible creature.  Justin appeared to be a coward, unwilling to fight any monsters.  Since he was a First Citizen, we would have been forced to defend him if he did fight, but he was willing to flee every time. 

Renna paused at the gates before leaning into me and whispering, “I hope our paths cross again.  Remain safe in your travels.”  She then rode to reunite with High Mage Dacian. 

Justin’s parting words were not as pleasant, “Give me the fucking griffin egg so I can take a portal to Olheus.”  I gave him the egg, and he stormed off, leaving us the mount he had borrowed and all his gear. 

“Are we done with him?”  I asked Firth.

Firth shook his head, “For now.  I doubt he will be too happy after he finds out that Castile beat him to report the dungeon.  But I suspect he already knows.”

“How much power does a baron’s son have beyond being a First Citizen?”  I asked as we rode through the gates ourselves.  Firth was leading us to the Legion office and barracks.

“Well, there are seventeen provinces and sixteen Dukes to run all the provinces besides the Emperor’s personal province.  Each Duke has a Count in charge of each city and five to ten Barons that manage regions of their province.  I am guessing there are maybe one hundred barons in the entire Telhian Empire.  Some are more powerful than others.  Baron Cicero supplies all the horses to the standing army and the Legion.  That is nearly two thousand new riding mounts and an additional one thousand war mounts yearly,” Firth explained. 

Wylie added, “A lot of us knew Justin’s pathfinder, Marius.  He used to be in the Legion and was a good man.  I think part of all this was Castile getting some payback for us for his death.”  Firth was nodding in agreement. 

“It would have been easier just to leave him in the dungeon,” I said seriously.

“Mage Castile doesn’t like to fail.  She sees everything to the end.  You will learn that soon enough,” Firth replied.

“So what do we do?”  I asked.

“We report in, and there should be a message from Castile on where we are to go to meet up with them,” Firth said as he dismounted in front of the Legion office in the city.

Chapter 19 Self-Assessment

The Legion office was more of a tavern than a formal building.  A dozen men in legionnaire armor ate at the tables.  Another dozen men and women in civilian clothing were eating food and drinking.  I could tell most were legion by their well-muscled bodies in the more comfortable clothing.  This city was much larger than any city I had been to date, so the two dozen legionaries inside should not have been a surprise. 

I followed my mates to the bar, and Firth ordered four ales and paid for them.  He handed us each one and took two for himself as we went and sat at a table.  We got a few looks, but no one talked to us.  I asked Firth, “So what do we do now?”

“After we finish these,” he held up his two mugs, “I will go shower, hit the local brothel, and then I will check for messages from Castile.”  

He sipped on his ale, and I was a bit speechless.  It seemed like we should have checked for messages first.  I asked, “Can I head out and check out the city?”  

Wylie said, “No problem.  Be back here in four hours.  You might want to shower first.  You do not realize how much you reek.  You smell like shit, horses, and sweat.”  He pointed down a hallway, “Showers are that way.  They will wash your clothes and treat your leather armor.”

Firth said seriously, “Don’t run off, Eryk.  It will not take long for the Legion Hounds to track you down.  The punishment is always a public death.”  With that wonderful news, Firth was off to the showers.  I followed slowly and stripped in front of a boy who put all my things in a box with the number forty-four on it.

He bowed, “Your items will be ready in two hours, legionnaire.  You didn’t take your coin pouch,” he pointed at it.  It was empty, but I unclipped it anyway and carried it with me.  I guessed he did not want anyone questioning missing coins.  There was a cold shower to scrub the dirt off to start, then a hot soaking pool, and then you finished with a scented oil rub.  I didn’t spend much time in the hot soak even though it felt good because I was anxious to get into the city.  I also found it odd to sit in a pool with half a dozen other naked men.  They were all familiar with each other and in a deep conversation about methods to fight a hill giant.  

After the soak, I dried, and there were three scented oils to choose from—lavender, honeysuckle, and coconut.  I went with the honeysuckle.  I had not seen Firth, so he must have raced through to baths to get to the brothel.  My clothes were not ready, and I only had access to a linen robe while I waited.

I went into a closet, pulled out my simple clothes from my space, filled my coin pouch with my gold and silver, and went out the back door.  I walked to the streets, and after two questions, I was headed toward the trade district.  My pouch bulged under my pants, and I always kept my hand near it, mindful of thieves.  

The city reminded me of something akin to an open market with rows of tents selling everything under the sun.  What I really wanted was an essence collector or a stat assessment tablet.  I asked and was directed to a small elaborate fountain in a cul de sac.  The cul de sac didn’t have tents but actual shops, magic shops.  The security was higher, and maybe a dozen city guards milled around the fountain.  I had only seen sporadic pairs of city guards in the general market, so the fourteen here showed how important the cul de sac was.  

I entered the bookstore first.  A few patrons were browsing the shelves, and a middle-aged woman with a distracting mole on her chin asked me, “Can I help you?”

It was hard not to focus on the hairy mole, but I met her dull-brown eyes and asked, “I am looking for a book to teach my niece to read.  She just started and needs something intermediate.”  She beamed at me, thinking I was helping a young girl.

“I have a few things, although you might want to try one of the general stands in the market as well,” she said as she motioned me to follow. 

She pulled out three books she thought were reasonably straightforward to teach a person to read.  I negotiated the price to ten silver from thirteen as all the books were old and worn.  One book was the history of the Telhian Empire for kids.  The second was children’s stories of brave men and women of the Adventurer’s Guild fighting the orc hordes.  The third book was an actual dictionary.  I just needed to practice my reading of Latin.  I thanked the woman and moved back to the fountain.  I would have purchased a book on magic, but that would have cost too much gold. 

I tried asking one of the guards if anyone sold essence collectors.  He curtly responded, “You can only buy them from the Empire shops.  Their sale is highly regulated.”  I apologized as I backed away, not realizing a collector was that difficult to obtain.  I suppose if you could use one on a live person to collect essence, then the restrictions made sense.

I considered getting my dungeon amulet appraised, but I might draw attention to myself if it was exceptionally valuable.  Instead, I was able to find a tablet reader to rent in private.  I could go into a room, activate the tablet myself, and see how much I had developed.  I was more interested in getting my magic affinities assessed. 

Tablet readers were apparently expensive to purchase and even to just rent.  I paid an entire gold to access a stat and magic affinity tablet.   I did both so as not to be too suspicious.  My physical, mental, and magical stat reading went incredibly well.

Physical

Mental

Magical

Strength

(+2/+0)

48/79

Intellect

(+3/+0)

31/54

Aether Pool

(+2/+0)

14/22

Power

(+2/+0)

45/82

Reasoning

(+4/+0)

46/59

Channeling

(+4/+0)

14/55

Quickness

(+3/+0)

32/49

Perception

(+2/+0)

54/60

Aether Shaping

(+2/+0)

8/8

Dexterity

(+5/+3)

35/59

Insight

(+3/+0)

34/49

Aether Tolerance

(+1/+0)

22/50

Endurance

(+10/+8)

66/95

Resilience

(+1/+0)

46/71

Aether Resistance

(+1/+0)

5/19

Constitution

(+4/+0)

41/65

Empathy

(+1/+0)

11/21

Prime Aether Affinity

Space

Coordination

(+2/+0)

40/61

Fortitude

(+4/+0)

50/89

Minor Aether Affinity

Time

I remembered my last reading over six weeks ago.  Since then, I have consumed a major essence for Dexterity and three apex essences for Endurance.  Although my magical values had improved, my aether went from 12 to 14, and channeling went from 11 to 14.  My aether shaping had maxed out.  This was why I would never be able to cast spells, according to Damian.  In order to write spell forms with my aether, I would need at least 30 in my aether shaping statistic.  I could tell how poor my ability to control my aether was now that it had been some time.  I just did not have the potential to be a true mage.

On a more positive note, my physical stats greatly improved.  Strength (+2), Power (+2), Quickness (+3), Dexterity (+5), Endurance (+10), Constitution (+4), Coordination (+2).  I think my potential for endurance also increased from 87 to 95.  That confirmed in my mind that my spell form for the convergence affinity was locked into maximizing what benefits I received from consuming an essence.  It should have taken dozens of apex essences to raise my endurance potential by just one point.  It still felt like my gains were maybe too much since I was not training twelve hours a day as I had been at legionarie training.  Was I missing something?

Did my time in the dungeon play a role?  I was told the closer my ratings got to my potential, the harder it would be to increase them.  I had been pushing my body harder but for much shorter amounts of time. 

A knock at the door said my time was almost up.  I set up the magic affinity tablet for the rare magics first and channeled my aether.  The tablet displayed everything I had expected.

Rare Magics

Space

98

Time

90

Displacement

61

Materialism

9

Worlds

88

Void

22

Convergence

74

There was no change to any of my affinities that I remembered.  I quickly burned the numbers into my memory.

I reset and switched the tablet to elemental affinities and channeled my aether into the tablet.

Elemental Magics (Common)

Fire

0

Air

0

Water

0

Earth

0

Lightning (Energy)

8

Spirit (Healing)

19

Nature (Plant)

0

My heart dropped a little.  My healing affinity was just 19.  I should be able to learn a spell form to help with my healing, but it would not be exceptional.  Still, any healing spell form would be greatly welcomed.  The knock at the door came again, and I rushed to the last reading, the uncommon magics.

Unaffiliated Magics (Uncommon)

Charm (Mind)

5

Illusion

0

Clairvoyance

0

Protection (Guardian)

30

Necromancy

0

Celestial

0

Abyssal

0

I reset the tablet and stood.   Nothing earth-shattering, but I still had my massive affinities in the rare magics.  I wished I had a book to figure out what possible spell forms I could get for my protection affinity.  I also knew there were apex essences out there that could increase my magic affinities.  Renna had said High Mage Dacian was questing for the apex earth affinity essence.  I wondered if my convergence ability to maximize essence also extended to magic affinities.  It had to.  Could my convergence spell form maximizing gains from essence force my potentials past 100?  From what Damian had told me, 100 was the limit for humans.

The door opened, and the proctor motioned me out of the room.  Another person had paid and was waiting.  I thanked him and walked out into the street.  I spent a silver coin at various food carts as I walked the magical market in the cul de sac.  I still had twenty gold from the dungeon chest, but I was not sure if I should spend it.  My knowledge was just too lacking.  I would probably overpay or get something I did not need. 

It was also close to four hours, so I decided to return to the Legion Hall.  I figured I would have more time tomorrow to browse the markets.  When I entered the hall, it was evening, the number of Legionaries had tripled, and the tables were full.  Wylie waved me over to a table with Firth and someone I did not recognize—a blonde man in leather armor.

Firth spoke, “We were just about to scour the city for you, Eryk.  This is Prefect Bacchus.  He runs the message dispatch.  He just gave us our orders.”

Wylie interrupted with an angry spat, “We are being sent to the Western Front.  The City of Macha.  Fucking Justin Cicero must have pulled some strings to fuck over Castile.”  Prefect Bacchus’ eyebrows went up in surprise.  The Captain looked like he had a rod shoved up his ass.

I asked, “What does this mean?  The western front is the Kingdom of Bartiradia, right?”  I had looked at some maps but was no expert.

Prefect Bacchus turned the sheet in his hands, “It is fifteen hundred miles from here.  The borders are constantly shifting.  Mage Castile has been asked to reinforce the city, not fight on the battlefront.”

Firth leaned back in his chair, annoyed, “We heard that before.  Pegasus Campaign, Defense of Amatalhos, Emperorer’s Diplomacy Mission to the Heptarchy.  They always say this mission is a chance to relax, just like taking eggs from a hen.  Then that fucking hen has five-inch claws and a five-foot tongue that can strangle you.”

“True story,” Wylie interrupted but then laughed to himself and took a long pull of his ale. 

Prefect Bacchus stood and nodded to the three of us, obviously uncomfortable with the informality.  He said, “The portal will be open to Macha just after the mid-day bell.  Do not miss the opening.”

After he left, Firth swore, “Fucking rich sons of the favored,” referring to Bacchus.  “That ass has never seen and will never see battle in his entire enlistment and will make ten times the coin what we do.”

After spouting off some more obscenities, Firth calmed down, but I had a weird feeling it was more of an act than being truly angry with Prefect Bacchus.  Personally, I did not see the difference between risking our lives against monsters or another Kingdom.  I wisely kept my mouth closed.  Firth looked at me and said, “No horses on the front.  We are not calvary.  Before you get to the bunks tonight, get our gear from the horses, Eryk.  Wylie, complete three packs of provisions for us before you lay down.”

Firth took a long pull, “I am going to kick the rumor mill tonight and see if anything useful falls out.  He looked around the room, stood, and joined a table of intoxicated legionaries still in armor.”

I went to get a meal and at it at the counter.  I was still a bit famished.  The barkeep slid me another ale, and he asked, “You are with Castile’s company?”

I nodded while stripping a chicken leg with my teeth.  He seemed to consider, “Is Linus still with them?”  I nodded again as Linus was our medic.  He smiled, “He saved my life.  Give him this when you see him.  Tell him Nolan is still alive and kicking.”  He produced a bottle of amber liquid from under the bar.  I took the bottle and nodded in understanding.

After the meal, I went to the bath and found bin forty-four.  My clothes and gear were clean.  I carried it to the stables and found our packs neatly arranged on shelves.  I pulled an apple I had brought with me and walked to Ginger, my horse.  “Sorry, lady, this is the end of the line for us.  We had some really good times.  You are a good horse.”  I rubbed her down one last time.

I spent the next two hours going through the bags and packing our gear into three backpacks.  When no one was around, I moved the books, luxury tent, and bedroll into my dimensional space.  Each of the three backpacks weighed about sixty pounds when I finished.  I lugged them inside to the common room, and a drunk and conversing Firth told me to bring them to bunk room seven. 

The bunk room was empty and had four beds, all floor-level.  I dropped a pack on each bed and took the fourth open one for myself.  The mattress was canvas stuffed with some type of soft straw and smelled like sweat from the last user.  I almost preferred sleeping on the ground. 

I still fell asleep in short order.  Wylie woke me when he entered and tossed three heavy packages on the ground, rolling a pack to the floor and then quickly falling asleep.  Firth didn’t show up till much later in the evening, clearly drunk.  He slept next to the backpack I had prepared rather than tossing it on the floor.  I rolled over and tried to get back to sleep.

Chapter 20 Displacement Mage

I slept heavily even with the noises my roommates made in the night.  Wylie woke us in the morning.  Firth told us not to leave the Legion office building.  I went to the baths and soaked in the hot tub for an hour as I was the only one there.  I had come to get my clothes washed for free and changed into my Legion gear.  The box I was given this time was numbered thirty-six and was much smaller.  After my long soak, I waited for my clean clothes to be returned.  

When I took the box, I paused as this wooden box was a perfect size.  It closely matched what I had revealed to be the size of the dimensional space.  I moved the box into my space, appropriating it for the greater good.  From now on, I would no longer have to guess if I was exceeding my storage limitations—at least, what I told everyone it was.  I would use the box for Legion business.  I did not know how I had not thought of this earlier.  Rather proud of myself, I went to the common room.  Wylie gave me a hard time about spending two hours in the baths.  On the table, we all repacked our gear.  We were trying to squeeze in the food Wylie procured.  

“Eryk, we are going to the war front.  You always want to make sure you take as much food as possible,” Firth advised.

“As much good food as possible,” Wylie added.

“A legionnaire marches on his stomach, Eryk.  We are going to be working in the army camps, and their food is terrible.  Horde what non-perishables you can, when you can.  If you can squeeze any spices into your little magic space, do it now.  They are worth their weight in gold in a siege,” Firth said.

“Siege?  What are you talking about?”  I asked, suddenly unsteady.

“The rumors last night are the Kingdom plans to push deep into Empire lands and surround Macha.  The Emperor is going to allow it to draw as many enemies into the land surrounding the city as possible before wiping them out with a secret attack.  At least, that is what I garnered from the twenty men I drank with last night.  Then again, we are practically on the other side of the Empire, and what these drunkards know might be dragon shit,” Firth said calmly. 

After our packs were set, Wylie led me to the Legion goods warehouse.  It was completely different than last time when I took what I wanted without supervision.  Now Wylie filled out a requisition sheet.  He waited for it to be reviewed and then answered a dozen questions about why he needed pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, dried rosemary, and paprika.  Wylie eventually received large glass containers filled with spices.  I asked about Kraken salt, and Wylie laughed, “These spices are a gold or two each.  Kraken salt in one of these containers, maybe 100 gold.  Alchemists make it, and you can not find it in a Legion supply room.”

The attendant who was putting the large glass jars with our spices on the counter added, “Kraken salt is about a gold an ounce, quite literally worth its weight in gold.  The last Kraken to be slain was some four years ago.”

Wylie quipped, “I know.  I was there.  Can you squeeze all these into your space?  Our cook will be happy to get them, and you will be a taste bud hero.  Since they come in glass containers, we can not pack them.”  I was able to fit all six containers in the crate in my dimensional storage.  We added small leather bags of sea salt until the crate was filled, and I told Wylie I could not store any more.  

As we walked to find Firth, I asked, “So, are there not any supplies out in the city of Macha?”  

“Luxury goods are rare on the front.  The problem is the time it takes to reach the city.  There is only one Displacement Mage in each city, as the affinity is quite rare and the spell is difficult to learn.  They have limits on how much they can transport.  Also, once the siege begins, the enemy will set up an array around the city, preventing the use of the portals,” Wylie said conversationally.  

Firth waved us over, and we put on the packs, each one weighing over seventy pounds now.  That did not include our leather armor and blades.  I had two short swords and two short curved blades.  I was not carrying a spear but planned to add a few in my dimensional space.  We followed Firth to the street and toward the upper city.  Firth said, “If you see Vincent Cicero, keep your mouth shut.”  Firth was talking to Wylie and not me, but I got the message.

The clothing of the people started to get more and more opulent as we followed Firth to the portal.   The square where the portal was had a full company of legionaries guarding it.  That told me it was too important to leave to city guards or the army.   It was a large stone archway situated on light gray stone.  The gray stone had black runic markings on it.  The archway itself was a plain black stone. 

In front of the portal were a number of people loaded down with gear.  Most looked like merchants, but there were a few soldiers.  Firth went to one of the legionaries guarding the portal and handed him our orders.  The man inspected them carefully and then waved us forward.  Firth said, “When the portal is activated, move quickly into it.  It is like a dungeon gate in that you will be slightly disoriented after you pass through.  Try not to fall on your face this time,” He grinned at me.

We did not have to wait long.  I was talking to a merchant from the Kingdom of Nausis, far to the south, when a loud bell chimed twice, and everyone faced the portal.  There were maybe forty of us in total.  A mage in bright yellow robes went to a small monolith under the guard of a pair of legionaries. 

Firth chuckled at my intense focus, “Never seen a portal opening before?  You must be from a backwater kingdom.”

The mage placed both hands on the pillar, and the air started buzzing with electricity.  I watched as the black stone around the portal started to glow blue, and the runes underneath us matched the blue light.  The archway shimmered into an image that looked blurry or like a heat haze.  Two bells sounded, and everyone moved forward.  I was pulled with everyone else and walked into the arch.

It was the same as walking into and out of a dungeon.  On the other side, the air was heavy with moisture, and the buildings were much more drab, favoring a grayish wood.  I did not have time to study the buildings as Firth was already walking toward a tall citadel made of blue-gray stone.  I followed him, and dozens of soldiers from the regular army were inside the bailey.  Some were drilling, and some were resting.  They did not look war-weary to me as I followed Firth into the fortified building. 

He turned left into the first room, and I noticed the first legionaries I had seen to date.  I recognized Orson, Mateo, and Felix.  I went and sat with them, dropping my pack.  “Eryk, you survived the First Citizen!”  Felix said with a smile.

“Did everyone in the company make your trip safely?”  I asked, sitting on a bench.

Orson chuckled, “Donte lost a finger to giant snapper, and Flans broke his leg falling off his horse when we battled some centaurs.  Other than that, it was an easy ride.”

Mateo choked, “Easy ride!?  Fifteen hours a day at a steady pace?  I can barely walk.”  I snickered a little, remembering how much grief I had taken from the men with my own soreness.  They even gave me an expensive pillow as a joke.

“So, what is the news on this mission posting?” Wylie asked.

Orson looked perturbed, “Three legion companies are in the citadel.  We are to rotate foot patrols northeast and southeast.  The soldiers will cover the road due east toward the Empire, where any skirmishes are likely to happen.  There is mostly woods northeast, but there have been a number of sprites causing mischief.  The route southeast is boggy.  Just giant frogs but a few days ago, a bullywug was spotted.”

“What is…”  I started to say.

Orson, one of the company scouts, answered before I finished asking my question, “Sprites are small faires that can go invisible.  Bullwugs are frog men.  Both are a pain in the arse in their natural habitat.”

“So, what direction are we patrolling?”  I asked.

“Southeast,” Delmar said, joining the group.  “Mateo, Eryk will be bunking with you.  Show him where.”

Mateo gingerly stood and indicated I should pick up my pack.  I started following him but noticed Lirkin, the company cook.  I paused to unload the glass jars of spices and leather bags of salt from my dimensional storage, “Damn it, boy!” he started, “Your talents are wasted carrying around those life-saving potions.  Whenever you want a double portion, just ask!”  He said jokingly as he checked the jars.

I would have to thank Wylie for this boon.  I still had the bottle of amber liquid for Linus but had not seen him yet.  It was also in my dimensional space.

We walked out into the city, and it was mostly soldiers.  A lot of the shop fronts looked abandoned.  Mateo answered, “This city has been handed back and forth for the past three hundred years.  The regular people have an instinct when it is about to happen again.”

Mateo went into a store that was clearly a bakery.  A large, cold oven dominated half the back wall.  Mateo explained, “Not enough room for everyone in the Legion Hall in the citadel.  At least not if you want to sleep peacefully.”  He pointed up the stairs, “Three rooms up there, each has two beds.  Felix and I have one room.  Konstantin is in one room, and the third is currently empty, but the beds are children-sized.”  He left me, and I climbed the stairs and found the kid’s room.

The beds were small, but I pushed them together, and if I slept diagonally, I would fit.  I dropped my gear with a loud thud and got to work moving the beds.  Konstantin appeared in the doorway, “If you are going to make all that noise, then you have the energy to practice.  Grab your two blades.  There is a small yard in the back.”

Great.  My plans for a nap were crushed; instead, I was about to get a sound beating under the guise of training again for apparently waking up Konstantin.

Chapter 21 Obstruction in the Road

Konstantin was easier on me than I expected.  We focused on the two-weapon style to take on two opponents at once—two human opponents.  Konstantin noted he only fought with two blades against a single opponent or monster.  You needed to be ambidextrous and also be able to control the blades independently.  It was not easy, but Konstantin thought I had the capacity to learn.  We focused on using the off hand-weapon as the parrying and defensive weapon. 

When we finished, I was covered in dirt and sweat and greedily drinking from a waterskin.  He told me, “If things play out as expected, the Bartiradians will invade in force and attempt to capture this city.  They are mostly human, but you can expect elves and dwarves to be in their number.  The elves are agile gits, and the dwarves hit like a horse.”  He took a long pull of a waterskin.  “And do not be swayed by the beauty of their women.  I almost lost my head staring into the mesmerizing eyes of one once.”

“Damn, I didn’t know you preferred dwarven women,” I joked with the older scout.

Konstantin backhanded my chest with his canteen softly, but the practiced motion caused a gout of water to splash into my face, “The elves, boy.  The elves.  But I did have a dwarf once.  The women are as hairy down below as above.”  He stood and walked away. 

I walked through the city of Macha, but there was not much left.  Most of the shops were abandoned and mostly empty.  The regular army left the boarded shops alone but openly walked into the open shops looking for abandoned goods to appropriate.  I made it to the gates and walked out in the humid air.  One of the soldiers at the gates looked at my legion leather armor and then ignored me.

The land around the walls had dozens of small houses, most with overturned fields of quickly harvested crops, probably too early in the season.  The road east toward the enemy looked to be concrete and well-maintained.  I gazed down the road at nothing before returning to get some sleep in the sticky hot air. 

The two small beds I pushed together smelled like ammonia.  I closed the door and pulled out a heavy blanket to lay across the mattresses and my griffin feather pillow.  The sun was setting but did not take the humidity with it.  I could not get comfortable, so I lit the lamp in the room and pulled out the book on the history of the legion. 

It took a lot of work to re-wire my brain to read the Latin words.  At least I used the spoken language daily and had a decent grasp of vocabulary.  I spent the entire night, till sunrise, working on the text.  I managed about twenty pages. 

I learned that the First Legion had arrived from another world—I assumed Earth, about two thousand years ago.  The book talked about the heroes of the First Legion who conquered the lands and made them safe.  They were apt fighters and powerful mages.  That last part did not make sense until I translated what their powers were.  The members of the legion had strong affinities with space, time, convergence, and displacement!

This meant I was not magically gifted or some prodigy as I thought.  Instead, whatever forces brought me here affected me in the same way.  A knock sounded loudly at the door, “Wake up and gear up.  We need to be at the gate in half an hour for the patrol.”  It was Konstantin, and he moved to the next door to wake the others.  I moved the pillow and book to my storage but just left the heavy blanket on the bed.  I had sweat a puddle during the night and wouldn’t mind leaving the damp blanket out, hopefully to dry.  I hung it near the window.

I gathered my gear and strapped on a pair of short swords.  I thought about requisitioning a spear from the army but decided against wanting to carry it on patrol.   Mateo and Felix walked with me to the gate as Konstantin had already gone ahead.  The legion was assembled minus Adrian, Castile, Lucien, and Kolm.  Kolm was our pseudo-blacksmith.  They were working to secure supplies in the city for our company, and the rumor was they were trying to secure better sleeping accommodations.  Personally, that was the first time I had slept in privacy since I had arrived in the world, and I did not mind staying there.

Delmar stood in front of the remaining number of us, “We have a twenty-mile loop to do today, men.  Make sure your canteens are full.  The insects are bad the further we travel along the wetland, so even though it is hot, I suggest you use neck and head wraps.  We will encounter horse-sized frogs.  The biggest danger is if they grapple you with their tongue and pull you under the water.  If a comrade is grabbed,” he looked over the men, “attack the tongue—they will be more likely to release the victim.   Then focus your attack on the body.” 

Everyone nodded and moved their daggers on their belts for easier access.  Delmar seemed to think before adding, “A bullywug was seen a few days back.  If we spot one, we will form up and retreat back to the city.  They travel in large hunting groups and may have nested deep in the bog.”

Konstantin handed me a clean wrap and showed me how to wrap it to protect my neck and head.  He did the same for two others in the company that did not have one.

We started walking, and our two scouts, Orson and Konstantin, moved forward.  Firth walked next to me.  After twenty minutes on the road, we all spread out in twos and threes.  Firth talked to me, “It is true.  The army is amassing at the border and will push to Macha in a few day’s time.  We are going to be stuck in a fucking siege.” 

Firth was not at all happy.  “So Justin screwed us over?”  I asked.

He harrumphed, “Nope, one of Castile’s other enemies in the Adventurer’s Guild, I think.  They are probably hoping she dies out here in the attack, and they can pocket the finder’s fee for the dungeon.”

“How many enemies does mage Castile have?”  I asked as I sucked on my canteen.  It was already half empty, and we had not been gone for three hours.  I think I was going to have to try and pull water into it from the barrels in my storage when we stopped for a rest.

Firth laughed, “About five that I know about.  Probably that number again of ones I do not know about.  Most are not enemies, just people who really do not like her.”  Firth adjusted his small pack, “Mage Castile was at the top of her class at the Mage War College.  That didn’t sit well with the sons and daughters of the First Citizens there.  It all snowballed after that.  I joined her about three years after she was assigned a company of legionaries.”  He looked back at the people walking, “About half of us are still here.  Castile has done right by us.” 

He leaned in and whispered, “I have received over two hundred essences from her in my service.”  I guessed that was impressive for a soldier, and it was a massive fortune when you added up the value.  I could see how Castile bought the loyalty of her men. 

Three hours later, we stopped to rest at a series of boulders along the roadside.  The road looked like it had been made by pouring tons of rocky soil and packing it down.  There was now a swamp or bog to our right and left.  I wet my scarf from my canteen and rewrapped it around my neck and head.  It must have been too hot for the insects to come out today, as I had not seen any, but the wrap helped with the heat.

Delmar sat on the rock next to me, “You should not waste your water like that, Eryk.  If we get in a fight, that water will be like the elixir of gods after it is over.”  I nodded at his wisdom.  I moved into the shadow of a boulder.  I focused on the water in my space and the canteen in my hand.  I needed to stick my finger into the canteen but grinned madly as it filled.  Not only did it fill, but it was also cold water!

No one saw me, and I took three long pulls to get the canteen to half empty in case someone asked for a drink from it.  We continued our patrol and came to a T-intersection.  I read the signs.  The city of Oliscalmape was down one road, which was part of the Telhian Empire.  The direction we were headed was to the city of Guiracas, in the Kingdom of Bartiradia.  I figured out the numbers and distance…it was 98 miles to the enemy city, so there was not much to worried about just yet.  Oliscalmape was 75 miles away. 

I was slightly disappointed we had not seen any giant frogs yet.  I just wanted to see what they looked like up close.  Delmar had us resume, and we started circling back to Macha down a different road.  After mid-day, Konstantin and Olson came down the road jogging.  They reported to Delmar, who looked down the road and then back the way we came.  He called everyone together, and the scouts kept a lookout.

“The scouts find an obstacle in front of us.  An ogre is about half a mile down the road hunting the giant frogs.”  He looked over everyone who had started to tighten armor straps and pulled weapons.  “It may have moved off by the time we get there, but if not, we will form a shield wall and fire at it with range.”  Five men with bows nodded and cycled to the back of the formation. 

“Ogres are not bright but hit with deadly force.  Eryk, stay in the middle of the formation and be prepared to treat wounded with Linus.”  Delmar pulled his shield off his back and moved to the front with five others with large shields.  It was like magic how the company suddenly marched in step with each other and formed a square as we approached the encounter. 

The ogre was still there and saw us approach.  It had two large corpses of frogs it had been feeding on in the road.  The wind had shifted and was blowing right at us.  It smelled like bile mixed with the shittest-smelling fart ever.  The ogre stood, and my jaw fell.  It was easily over ten feet tall and had to weigh more than a horse.  Its yellow-brown skin was covered in patches of hair and dirt. 

Someone said, “Fuck me.” 

Another person quipped, “You do not want that thing ramming you.”  He was indicating the ogre’s penis, as the monster had no clothes.  I had not noticed it yet because the height of the brute was so imposing. 

Weirdly I was not afraid at all.  The dungeon had beaten the fear out of me.  We also had over twenty men to just one ogre.  The ogre reached into one of its kills, pulled out an organ, and shoved it into a massive maw.  That was a maw—not a mouth.  The gore as it chewed splattered everywhere.  Then with bloody teeth, it roared red spittle into the air.

Wylie was to my right and muttered, “I hope he was not calling friends.”

Delmar gave the hand signal, and we walked forward as a unit to engage. 

Chapter 22 Other Worlders

Delmar advanced at a steady pace while the ogre finished his scream.  My thought was the ogre was either challenging us or trying to scare us away from his kill.  The ogre grabbed a massive rusty sword from the ground.  “Fuck, he has a weapon, and it is not a club,” someone stated the obvious.

Linus, the medic, asked for a healing potion in preparation, and I grabbed one and handed it to him.  Delmar called out, “Scrap the shield wall.  I will distract it and get its back to you.  Cut the Achilles or hamstring tendon!”  Delmar went into a jog and easily deflected the ogre’s overhead swing into the dirt.  As he did so, he tried to move behind the beast as arrows peppered its chest from the front.  Now that we were only 50 feet away, the smell had gotten insanely irritating, so much so that my eyes watered.  I was in the center of our formation and the second line of attack if the men in front were injured or killed.

Delmar had cut the ogre’s thigh and gotten behind it.  The ogre spun on Delmar, putting its back to us.  The forward line rushed forward,  and a series of arrows impacted the ogre’s back, but I could see they barely penetrated.  The ogre roared and swung wildly at Delmar.  A spear pierced the hamstring of the ogre, and both calf muscles had multiple cuts, but it had a thick hide and steel-like hamstring.  

The ogre was bleeding freely.  The ogre suddenly charged Delmar, who nimbly sidestepped the ogre but was caught off guard when the ogre flung the massive sword into his chest as he passed.  The weight of the blade crashed into Delmar, throwing him off the road and into swampy waters.  The men abandoned the cautious attack and threw themselves at the ogre before the ogre could get to the downed Delmar.  A dozen men swarmed the ogre.  I saw one man, Mateo, jump on the back and stab the ogre in the shoulder blades with a long dagger.  

Surprisingly, the ogre agilely reached back, grabbed Mateo’s arm, scraped him off, and threw him thirty feet into the bog.  That was the last surge of the ogre’s strength as it dropped to its knees.  Spears and blades rang down, focusing on the ogre’s head, and it whimpered like a child and tried futilely to block the heavy rain of strikes on its head.  It collapsed, but I was already running into the bog to check on Mateo.  Linus was seeing to Delmar already giving him the healing potion.

Mateo was groaning when I reached him.  “Anything broken?” I asked, kneeling in the dark soupy water.  

Mateo sat up, and I smelled a wall of stench.  It was like the ogre had skunked him.  “No…well, maybe a rib.  The shoulder is a bit messed up but not a broken bone.”  He stood, and I backed away, holding my nose after I made sure he could walk.  He smiled victoriously, “The landing was pretty soft…”  he started sniffing the air and then looked at his armor.  The mud that had coated the ogre’s back was now smeared across his leather armor, pants and face.  “Ah, shit.”

I said, “Exactly!  Stay downwind of everyone.”  I moved away to see how Linus was doing with Delmar.  Linus had Delmar on his feet.  The potion bottle was empty, and Delmar had blood on his face.  “Do you need a second potion?”

Delmar smiled, blood-outlined teeth, “Would be a waste of a potion.  I am good to get back and see a healer.  Sword just clipped me.  I can walk.”  Linus was with him, and I was a little upset as my boots were now waterlogged from checking on Mateo.  The conversation turned to the dead ogre and frogs.  It would have given a nice strength essence if we had a collector.

The ogre had a few harvestable parts.  The teeth only sold for a few dozen silver, not worth the effort as we would not have an alchemist to sell them to in Macha.  Ogre fat could be made into good insect-repellent candles, and we joked that we already had Mateo for that.  The stomach could be made into an excellent and durable sack with a good tanner.  No one was in the mood to cut it out, so we left the ogre unmolested in its death pose.  The frogs were useless besides the meat, and no one was going to trust the meat after the ogre had torn into them.

The walk back took longer as Mateo and Delmar were moving slightly slower.  We encountered three giant frogs through the stretch.  We killed one with arrows, and the other two fled after receiving some injuries.  We were not equipped to chase them into the bog.

I was missing Ginger, my horse.  The walking had not been too bad until my boots got filled with muddy swamp water.  I had dumped the water out, but Delmar had us moving again, and I did not have time to sneak away and change to dry socks.  After seven miles, I could feel the calluses on my feet peeling off.

When we got back to the city, there was no fanfare for our return.  Delmar dismissed us and went to report to Castile.  We returned to our makeshift sleeping arrangements at the abandoned bakery.  I peeled off my boots and socks, taking a fair amount of skin with them.  The flesh was raw and bleeding.  I was sitting on my bed, and Konstantin walked by.  “Eryk, next time that happens, wring your socks out.  Better yet, bring extra socks and switch your socks with a dry pair.”  He inspected my feet,  “I will have Felix bring you a meal.  We are only on the walls tomorrow from sunrise to sunset, no patrol.”  

“Is the regular army doing the patrol?”  I asked, rubbing my feet with the horse salve from my pack. 

“No, another legion unit is handling it.  We go out the day after, swamp patrol again,” he sounded happy about it.  “Tell you what, Eryk, no training tonight.”  He laughed as he left at the annoyed look on my face.  I thought about drinking one of the healing potions I carried for the company but just sighed and lay on my bed after stripping down to my underwear.  The humidity was still making me sweat, so I drank cold water from my canteen.

I wished I could take a shower, but after a twenty-mile patrol, half in muddy soaked boots, I was just exhausted.  I pulled the history book out of my space and started reading again.  Felix arrived with my food and asked about the book, but I had already prepared an answer.  I told him I found it in the children’s room.  

The food he handed me was simple: small boiled potatoes and ham steak.  The portion was very generous.  Felix sat and ate with me, “Mateo is on the roof.  He took a shower and still stinks a fair bit, so he is not sleeping in the room with me.  Linus is getting him something to clean his armor.  Most likely, he is going to get out of wall watch tomorrow because no one wants to smell him,”  Felix said, chuckling.  

After he finished his meal, I turned on the oil lamp and continued reading.  After the First Legion arrived and carved out its Empire, the First Legion continued to expand its borders.  The expansion slowed as the legionaries did not pass down the powerful mastery of their magic affinities to their children.  Still, many legionaries were long-lived and set up their families to control the Empire and protect its people.  The children’s book started to go into the propaganda of all the good the Legion did with their knowledge and magic.   Roads, aqueducts, improved non-magic construction methods, and structured law.  I passed out reading late into the night, unable to spend two consecutive nights without sleep.

Konstantin woke us again by banging on the doors.  He took a lot of pleasure in the loud morning call.  We got large cheese loaves filled with thick beef gravy.  It was like a massive Hot Pocket.  I learned that as legionaries, we received better and larger portions of food than the regular army.  Felix told me not to gloat about it, or it would likely result in a brawl.  Besides, he joked that we were outnumbered seven thousand to one hundred in the city.  It wouldn’t be a fair fight for the regulars.

The wall duty watch had a purpose.  Adrain explained that this was the one-hundred-yard stretch we would be expected to defend if the city was attacked.  The stretch of wall was from the gate tower to an archer tower.  The soldiers got to do their watch up in the towers, shielded from the sun, while we sat on the wall in the heat.  There were just twenty-one of us for the wall duty.  A lot of our legion members were being tasked to help elsewhere in the city.  Since we did not have any skills of note, we got to sit on the wall.  We split it into three shifts of seven, with Delmar, Adrian, or Konstantin serving as commanding officer for each shift. 

I took the first shift to get the rest of the day off.  I planned to try to finish the book this afternoon and get some sleep, but Konstantin found me as I left the wall, “Eryk, you are with me.  We are going on a patrol.  Do not worry, it is short.” 

I followed him outside the gates, and he said, “We are going to walk the perimeter of the wall.  It will give you some familiarity with the city.”  As we walked the wall, Konstantin talked about likely attack routes against the walls.  The strongest defensive points and the weakest.  If I had not been so exhausted, I would have asked questions, but as it was, my energy level only permitted me to listen.

It took two hours to walk the outer city wall, and I was slightly fearful we were going to follow it with dual-sword practice.  Instead, we went to the same cart where we got our breakfast, and Konstantin left with his late lunch in hand.  It was a large loaf again but stuffed with diced sausage and vegetables this time.  I wondered if Konstantin took everyone on a personal walk of the city.

I had the afternoon to read and finish the book.  The end of the History of the First Legion was slightly chilling and gave me pause ever to reveal myself as a traveler from Earth.  A few members of the First Legion had lived for almost a thousand years.  Whenever a stranger arrived from another world, they were brought to the Emperor for a reward.  The storybook I read was maybe a hundred years old, and most of the story read akin to a myth rather than actual history.  In my time here, I had not heard anyone mention the practice of finding and hauling travelers before the Emperor for judgment.

It made sense, though.  Travelers, if they had the same massive affinities that I had, then they would be a danger to the rule of the Emperor.  Had I managed to slip through the cracks?  I went to get dinner at the cart before the sunset.  I found Linus and handed him his bottle of brandy from Nolan.  “Nolan is still alive?”  I nodded, and he popped the bottle and sniffed.  “Want to have a drink with me?”

“Definitely!”  I followed him into a tailor’s shop where he was staying.  We started drinking in the common room.  His bed was in the back.  We quickly whittled the bottle down, and I kept enough of my faculties about me to ask Linus about travelers.

He scoffed, “Don’t think there has been a recorded person from the First Legion’s world in two hundred years.  Then again, it is a massive planet!  Where did you say you were from?”

“Duchy of Tsingia.  Came up with a lumber trade caravan.  Did some stupid shit, and bam!  I am a legionnaire!”  I barked out, laughing.  My research had told me the Duchy was a small human kingdom 1500 miles to the south.  All I really knew was where it was on a map and that its primary export was lumber.

“True that!”  He toasted.  “I was working as an animal physician.  Killed the Baron’s prized bull—complete accident.  And bam, ten years in the Legion to pay him back!”

I stumbled back to my room.  I was half afraid Mateo would have taken my bed, but thankfully, it was empty, and I collapsed hard.  I had learned a little.  Linus was a commoner and did not know if you had to report other worlders to Magistrates.  He assumed yes but had not heard of a reward for doing so. 

I was woken too soon by a pounding on my door that echoed in my head.  Great, my first hangover since arriving was not a small one.  “Move it, Eryk,” Konstantin yelled through the door, “Entire company is on patrol today.”  I pulled the feathered pillow over my head for a moment to drown him out, and then I sent it to my dimensional space and started moving. 

Chapter 23 Frog Legs

My mouth was dry and cotton-like, and my head pounded.  You would think in a world of magic and alchemy, they could make alcohol that did not give a hangover.  This was by far the worst hangover I ever had as well.  Give me two six-packs instead of half a bottle of brandy any day.  I managed to get ready and get to the gate in time.

Castile was dressed in legion garb instead of mage garb at the gate for the patrol.  Her leather chest piece was shaped to her curves, and she even carried a short saber.  I was hurting too much, and the sun was too bright to ask anyone questions why.  I located Linus, and he seemed perfectly fine and greeted me with an annoying smile, “Mornin Eryk.  Take this, crush the stem, and suck out the syrup.  You will feel better shortly.”

It looked like a dandelion, but the stem was as thick as my finger.  I did as advised and crushed and then sucked.  The taste reminded me of aloe and cinnamon.  Linus was right.  The pressure on my head faded first, and then my eyesight normalized.  The dryness in my mouth remained, and it added a bitter, sticky aftertaste, but that was a small price for regaining functionality. 

I learned the flower was called Morning Glory and was grown by skilled nature mages because it required aether to thrive.  A single stem costs six large silver but has multiple doses.  It just needed to be consumed shortly after picking.  I would be adding a few to my dimensional space in the future as the stasis effect should keep them viable.

As we formed up, there were only two missing people for the patrol, Mateo and Delmar.  The ogre had injured both, and I had not seen either of them at the wall yesterday.  Castile led us out of the gates, and I ended up walking next to Firth.  He complained about the lack of quality in the brothels in the city.  He looked to be in his early 40s, and I wondered if he was actually upset with brothels as he claimed or just liked to hear himself talk.

We walked in pairs, spaced about ten feet apart.  My feet had healed enough to not cause an issue.  I had pulled two spare sets of socks out of my dimensional storage for the patrol just in case I needed them.

As we proceeded, the road and surroundings gave me Deja Vu from the previous patrol.  Castile was at the front with Adrian, her lieutenant at her side.  I was too far back to hear what they talked about, and I tuned out Firth as we walked.  

It was the same as yesterday—no encounters until we reached the spot where we had killed the ogre two days ago.  The body had been pulled into the swamp, and insects the size of my fist swarmed over the corpse.  Mage Castile pulled out a scroll and used it to cast a flame spell to burn the insects and the body.  The ogre fat caught fire, and a blue-black smoke started to get thicker and thicker into the air. 

The smoke smelled terrible, so our short column rushed past to continue our patrol.  Firth commented, “No large predators or scavengers in the area.  Otherwise, the corpse would have been gone by now.”

I joked, “Maybe they couldn’t stand the smell either.”  Firth laughed and then went into a long story about how some of his brothel partners smelled.  The only thing his story did was reinforce my reluctance to partake in the brothels.

A large frog hopped into the road, and Castile bound it with her shadow chains.  It was quickly killed with spears and rolled off the road after Castile failed to get an essence from it.  This patrol was so much easier with a mage with us.  “Why didn’t Castile come with us on the first patrol?”  I asked Firth.

Firth commented, “She was probably in a meeting with the other two Legion company commander mages.  Mages operate outside the normal army command, only Legion officers can command them, and none are currently in the city.  I actually think she requested for us to patrol the southern road.  Rumor is the local baron’s advisor thinks the bullywug spotted recently was part of a dungeon release.”

“Dungeon release?”  I questioned.

“It sometimes happens, though its fairly uncommon.  It only happens when the dungeon ecology is so screwed up that the dungeon has to release some of its monsters.   It is probably just the fancy of the baron’s advisor, though.  Delmar thinks the bullywug was either a solo hunter or an exile, not a dungeon release.  If there was an unbalanced dungeon out here the Emperor would send the Praetorian to destroy it.  Either way, we are trying to find a frog man in a swamp full of giant frogs,” he laughed.

“Praetorian?”  I asked.  I had heard them mentioned before, but I just thought they were the Emperor’s personal guard.

“You really do not know much about the Empire.  The Praetorians are the Emperor’s elite mages and warriors.”  He paused and added, “And assassins.”  I realized it was another piece of the Roman culture as the Praetorian Guard was considered the Royal guard in my remembered history.  This Praetorian had evolved into something else in a world of magic.

“Are the Praetorian First Citizens?”  I asked after walking for a while, staring in thought at ominous dark clouds over the swamp.   

Firth paused and said a little too harshly, “No, they are not.  They are usually selected from the Lion Legion, from what I know.  No First Citizens serve in the Lion Legion,” Firth said.  Lightning flashed from the dark clouds deep into the swamp.  Castile had the column stop while she studied the odd lightning in the distance.

I overheard conversations from the others.  Castile was trying to determine if the storm was natural or magical in nature.  We waited for minutes, and two giant frogs came bounding toward us from the direction of the storm.  They were fleeing and did not look to be attacking us.  We formed up into shielded groups to face them.  One unit speared and hacked one of the frogs to pieces.  The other frog passed over the road in a large leap and kept going, clearly afraid.

Castile announced, “Mark the road with the direction of the storm!  Then we will make haste back to Macha.”  The men went to work cutting rotting trees to stand into the road.  It was just two poles, but they would line up in the direction of the heart of the storm.  As we worked, we had to deal with sporadic life from the swamp, a half dozen frogs, and one massive thirty-foot-long snake. 

The frogs went down quickly, but the snake had tough scales, and Castile’s shadow chains could not hold it.  When the snake broke her chains, it swallowed Donte.  Castile took out her wand and targeted the missiles on the head while we all hacked at the body.  After it was killed, it was a rush to cut Donte out.  He came out sputtering, swearing, and spitting—and then vomiting.  Castile looked at the storm and talked with Adrian as she readied her essence collector for the snake. 

Adrian yelled, “Skin it!  Fangs are not poisonous, and we are taking those as well.  You have thirty minutes to finish if you want a bonus!”

Seven men stood guard as the rest of us attacked the snake.  The hide was almost two inches thick, and I asked no one in particular, “What is this good for anyway?”

“Mostly saddles,” Wylie responded, covered in blood.  “I come from a family of leather workers, and this will make some durable and fancy saddles.  We will cut it into strips the width and length of a person.  Each strip should fetch two or three gold—but maybe not in Macha with all the skilled craftsman having fled.”

We all worked hard, and each of us had a strip of flesh to carry back.  We rolled them up and attached them to our backpacks.  I guessed the weight was around 40 pounds, so the awkward bundle was not going to be fun to carry.  I flashed back to carrying the spider spinnerets in the dungeon.  Adrian took the fangs and no snakeskin.

“Cut open the rest of the digestive tract,” Castile ordered before we left.  She wanted to see what the snake had been eating.  The storm appeared to be getting larger, but we worked fast and found three partially digested giant frogs and one humanoid.  According to Konstantin, the humanoid was a bullywug, not that I could tell, as the flesh was mostly gone from digestion.  That was all we found, and Castile, Konstantin, and Adrian examined the bullywug in detail. 

At least the train of fleeing animals had finally stopped.  They finally ordered a quick march back to the city.  When we marched, it was like a game of telephone, getting the words from our leaders at the front.  The rumor passed down the column that the bullywug was not from a dungeon, looked like a runt, and had probably been exiled from its clan.  The larger rumor was that Castile thought the storm cloud was not natural. 

The seven miles to the city were not pleasant for any of us.  The snakeskin’s added weight and awkward weight distribution made it get painful on our backs.  When we reached the gates, Castile reported to the guard captain for a few minutes.  Before we were allowed to enter, three carts guarded by ten mounted men left the gates down the road.  Konstantin was standing next to me, “They will take the rest of the skin and probably as much flesh as they can for the siege.  Pity, we will not see a copper of it.”

We got a lot of looks from the remaining citizens and regular soldiers as we followed Castile to the tanners on the far side of the slums.  The smell of the tannery told me why it was placed all the way over here.  Adrian talked to the grizzled tanner.  Castile was already leaving, heading back to her residence in the city.  According to Firth, she only came to show her face to the tanner to get a better deal for us.  Mages were respected—and feared.  Still, Adiran did not seem happy with the final result. 

We were ordered to stack the bundles of snakeskin outside the tanner and were free to go.  I found out we would all be getting 55 silver each for hauling the forty pounds of skin seven miles.  I thought it was a good deal for the amount of work involved—my back would heal in a day or two.  Wylie said it was terrible since a saddle made from the skin would sell for over twenty gold to a noble.

A few of the legionaries were headed to the upper city to use the baths there.  They cost an outrageous silver coin, but we were all filthy, and the water was cleaner than the baths in the lower city.  The four of us, Wylie, Donte, Felix, and I, decided a silver coin after our small windfall was worth it.  We would celebrate surviving another day.

Chapter 24 Book Shopping

We returned to our assigned residence to drop our gear and armor before heading to the baths.  I found Mateo in my bed sleeping.  The smell from the ogre was faint but still hung in the room.  He rolled over drowsy, “Sorry, Eryk, I was sleeping on the roof, and it was just too bloody hot today.  I will be out by evening as I have night watch at the north gate.”  

I sniffed the air again.  “No problem.  You can keep the room.”  I grabbed my backpack and loose gear.  I left the heavy blanket on the bed, considering it lost to the scent of ogre.  I went to the bakery’s first floor, pushed two tables together, and unloaded my gear.  There was an old woman across the street who had advertised doing laundry for soldiers for a copper.  I found some clean, light linen pants and a shirt abandoned by the baker, stripped down, and changed.  Felix was already coming back down the stairs, ready for the baths.  

Felix laughed, “Mateo slept in your bed while we were gone?  Just too cruel.”

“I will just set up to sleep on these tables tonight.  Adrian thinks we will be moved soon to a villa of the local baron who fled,” I said, relaying the rumor I had overheard.

“It’s true,” Delmar said, walking into the bakery.  “The baron’s advisor is preparing it for us to move into.  Probably making sure he is taking everything valuable out to say later it was stolen.”  He turned to me, “Eryk, I have this for you from Castile.  It is to make up for your loss in the dungeon.”  He handed me a pouch, and I took it, expecting it to be heavy with coin.  It was light, and inside was an essence.  Delmar smiled, “The gargantuan constrictor essence.  An apex essence of constitution.”  

He patted me on my shoulder, and Felix muttered, “Lucky bastard.”  I pulled the golf ball-sized essence and let it dissolve in my mouth while I put together my dirty clothes in a bundle to carry across the street.  I could feel a now familiar run of aether surging through my body, enhancing my body.  I shuddered from the cold electricity for a moment and gathered myself.  The feeling was becoming euphoric and dopamine-inducing, knowing I was getting stronger.  With Felix, I went and visited the washerwoman and talked for a few minutes.  She was old and frail and lived with her daughter, who had four pre-teen kids.  The father was killed a few years back.  The woman offered to wash a set of clothing for a single copper.

Maybe it was because I felt bad for her situation, but I paid five copper for two sets of dirty clothes I had but asked they be washed twice and in clean water.  She eagerly accepted, and the kids went to draw the fresh water.  Felix said as we went to get Wylie and Donte down the street at their accommodations, “That woman will be forcing her daughter on you when you go to pick those clothes up.”

I jested, “Sorry you didn’t think to do it?”  

“They will wash my clothes at the bath with scented soap,” he indicated his sweat and gore-stained clothes.  He pointed over his shoulder at the old woman, “If that family isn’t fleeing, then they have nowhere to go.  Or maybe the old woman can’t handle the trip.”  He paused, “You did a good thing.  I will let the others know to give her some work.”

We met up and walked to the upper city, which was even more abandoned than the lower city.  Most of the abandoned buildings were boarded up.  The bathhouse was open and fed from an Aqueduct.  The attendants inside were all young women and not delighted to see my companion’s clothes.  These were the washerwomen who would take our clothes.  They collected our silver coins, and then we stripped in front of them to give them our clothes.  I tried not to show any shyness as I handed my linens to one of the young women.  She handed me back an abrasive sponge and a cube of soap.

“See any you like?”  Donte chided no one in particular.  

“The brothel is down the street, you dolt,” Delmar said, walking in with Adrian and Konstantin.  “If you cause trouble here, Castile will mount your arse on a spear.”

We all moved into the showers to scrub as the three new arrivals were attended to.  The showers were just a light stream of cold water, but I took the opportunity to use the abrasive and soap, thoroughly cleaning myself and ignoring the others.   My body had transformed in the months I had been here.  I was lean and muscular.  I briefly wondered what it would have been like in my past life if my body had looked like this.  Once clean, we moved to sit in the heated baths.  Wylie jumped in, causing a splash and waves followed by curses from the men already in the recessed pool.

Not many nobles remained in the city, and from the look of our company, I guessed they were mostly soldiers or other legionaries.  Once the water settled with the curses at Wylie, conversation resumed.  I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the heated water.  Our commanders and Konstantin joined the pool, and the conversation turned to Legion business.

We were moving into an estate near the baron’s orchards and personal gardens inside the north walls.  If the baron ran the city, then where the hell was he?  I asked that question, and Delmar replied, “Normally, a count runs a city, but the last count was assassinated, and the Emperor appointed no new count.  Baron Hephestus is just a temporary appointee.  He is currently with the Emperor’s army about four hundred miles from here.  Ready and waiting to come to the rescue of his besieged city.”  Mockery laced his voice.

Firth, who was also here from our company, asked, “What is with the storm we saw?”

Konstantin answered, “Probably nothing good.  It was definitely not natural.  Castile and the other company commanders are deciding if they want to investigate.  Has to be over ten miles of travel through the swamp—no road.”

Wylie barked, “I hope she doesn’t volunteer us.  Swamp water is not good for my skin.”  He got a few chuckles, and a few men not from our company left the hot pool.

Konstantin stood and cracked his back, “Eryk, I will see you in the yard in an hour for practice.  Best not to get too rusty.”

My jaw would not work as he left, and everyone laughed, so maybe Konstantin was joking.  Soon, Adrian and Delmar started giving orders to everyone for either weapon practice tonight or to help with preparations for the move to the villa.  I asked about my practice with the spear, as I was supposed to be training in both.  Delmar noted Konstantin was proficient in the spear as well.  Great.

I exited the bath and went to the next chamber to find middle-aged women rubbing oil on the men.  There was nothing sensual about it as the men did their own front and the women did their backs.  I stood by a basin, started, and finished before a woman could do my back.  I found my clean clothes and sandals and left. 

I took a wrong turn and found myself in the trader’s district of the upper city.  Half the shops were empty, but a few still had life.  Surprisingly a bookstore was still open as the sun was just setting.   I wandered in, and the man reading a book looked up.

“I am surprised you are still here with the enemy likely to attack the city,” I said conversationally. 

He inspected me, “Guessing you are a soldier by the square shoulders.  It is all the same to me, Telhians or Bartiradians.  It would cost too much to pack up and move, and I am getting too old for it.  Are you here to look or purchase, young man?”

“Do you have a book on spell forms?  On how to learn them?”  I asked.

“I do.  Which affinity are you looking for?”  He stood thinking I might be a customer.

“Healing if you have it.  How much would it cost?”  I asked, hopeful.

He looked me up and down and sighed, “Normally ten gold, but under the current circumstances,” he mussed, “I will go as low as five gold.  Not a copper lower,” he smiled, but he did not look like he thought I was capable of the coin. 

“Do you have the protection affinity as well?”  I asked, reaching into my pouch and getting the coins from my dimensional space.

“Eleven gold for that book.  It is an uncommon affinity, and the copies are harder to come by,” he noted as he went to the shelves and found both books.  “These both are basic low-affinity spell forms for these affinities.  They are old, and there are other versions for different manifestations, but this is all I have currently.”

I looked both books over.  They were both old and worn.  They detailed a few basic spell forms for the affinity but did not seem to have the spell forms suitable for any affinity over forty.  As he noted, they were just the basic spell forms.  Renna’s book was much more detailed and covered all the affinities but did not have notes for the learning spell forms, just descriptors for choosing a spell form.  Her book probably referenced textbooks for learning the specific spell forms. 

The book was designed to learn without actually using an actual spell.  It simplified the process significantly compared to learning from a spell, but the advantage of learning from a spell was minimal chance of making a mistake.  I had Damian to guide me when I learned my dimensional pocket ability from the actual spell, but I would be on my own for this.  Hopefully, I had learned enough from my time with him.

I confirmed the healing affinity first.  It had three basic options, self-healing, body cleansing, and boundless endurance.  I nodded and put it on the counter.  The protection affinity book also had three spell forms detailed.  Protection from the elements, wind barrier, and aetheric armor.  I put the book on the counter.

“I will take them both,” I said, producing the sixteen gold.

Surprised, His eyes went up, “And he doesn’t even haggle.  Your accent gives you away as a foreigner, but I suggest you save some coin next time and play the game of the merchant.”  He took my coin anyway.  I had just five gold coins remaining.  I could not purchase rare affinity books if the uncommon book was already eleven gold.  I had already spent what amounted to a fortune that my Legion mates knew I did not have. 

I left the shop and turned into the first shop that sold food.  The books went into my space, and I purchased two large meat pies in fired clay dishes for an entire silver.  I should have gone to the company kitchen or bought food in the lower city as it would have been much cheaper, but I was in a good mood.

I awkwardly carried the warm pies all the way back to the bakery I was staying in.  When I got closer, I found Mateo heading to his night shift at the gate, and he helped himself to one of the pies.  They were family-sized, and I probably could not have eaten two anyway, even if my stomach was telling me I could.

I got to the bakery, and the old woman called me over to take my clean clothes.  They were all clean and just damp.  My guilt at their family’s predicament had me handing them the other meat pie.  It made me feel good, and as Felix predicted, the woman wanted to introduce her daughter to me.  I escaped by getting my dinner at the inn serving the Legion food down the street.  I was famished, after all.

Chapter 25 Choices

I returned to the bakery after I had my fill of cold chicken and spiced apples for dinner.  Konstantin was waiting impatiently in the yard.  I realized it had been over two hours since he had left the bath before me.  I joked, “I thought you had been joking since we had just had a bath.”

“Joking?  You are the least skilled combatant in the company Eryk.  Maybe the entire Legion.  If you want to live through a battle, you need to focus.  You have chosen the most difficult path for a primary.  Dual wielding requires ambidexterity—and the ability to split your thought process.  Defend with one weapon while attacking with the other.  And then surprising your opponent by switching which weapon is doing which,” he lectured harshly.

He tossed my two training short swords.  “We will continue to work with two short blades until you have gained competency.  Then, we will work with a blade and a parrying dagger.  From there, we will work with you on strengthing your ability to split your mind and independently wield any bladed weapon in either hand.”   

Even though I had been late and he was upset with me, Konstantin was surprisingly patient as we practiced.  In the middle of practice, he disarmed me of my right sword, forcing me to fight with just one sword in my left.  I was left-handed and decided to make light of the situation by quoting The Princess Bride.  “I have something to tell you, I am not left-handed!”  I switched my sword to my right and launched an attack I thought would surprise him.  He used both blades to lock my sword down and away and elbowed me in the chin.  I bit my tongue and tasted blood.

“What are you talking about, you dolt?  You are definitely left-handed.  But we are working on correcting it,” Konstantin snickered as I spit blood. 

“That would have worked better or at least been funny if you had seen the—play,” I continued to spit blood to find out the damage to my tongue. 

“If you had not been talking, you would not have bitten your tongue when I struck your jaw,” he commented while going for water.  “Only goad your opponent if you know you are better than them.  For now, assume everyone is better than you.”

We worked on my ambidexterity.  Konstantin admitted he only dual-wielded weapons when facing a monster or a single opponent.  When faced with multiple weapon-wielding opponents, he preferred a small shield.  However, he did not carry a shield when he scouted for the company due to its added weight. 

After I was sweating and exhausted, Konstantin moved on to the spear.  I was just using a staff as Konstantin had me review the basics and make slight corrections.  I thought he would have made an excellent instructor at the legion training camp, but I was not going to stoke his ego right now.  It was time to learn what I could from him.

I was filthy and exhausted when he released me.  He definitely worked me into the dark because I had been late.  I spent some time setting up my bed on the tables, more than a little peeved of having my room skunked out by Mateo.  I went and grabbed the oil lamp in the room and also confirmed the ogre scent lingered.  I thought about sleeping in the other room with Felix, but he snored, and even exhausted, I wanted to study anyway.  If anyone caught me with the spell form book, I would profess to finding the book in the bakery.  

I had learned spell forms in two different ways so far.  The first was the natural way my body innately made it.  This happened when I utilized my convergence affinity to squeeze as much out of my first dexterity essence.  From my understanding, I grew my attributes substantially from every essence I consumed.  Minor and major essences were not supposed to affect potential, but for me, with my spell form, they did.  It would be a huge boon as long as I could consume more essences in the future. 

The second time I learned a spell form was from the spell book for dimensional storage.  The spellbook was very similar to a spell form, just more complex than it needed to be.  I also had Damian guide me on the process.  Damian mentioned what a true wizard was able to do.

When a mage cast a true spell, they constructed the temporary spell forms in the air with their aether control and manipulation.  Each spell required between three and six layers, and then you activated the spell construct with more aether.  Damian had told me it was extremely difficult to learn to cast true spells, and few people had the intellect, dexterity, and perception to cast them.  Even the translation amulet I had worn was actually six spell runic discs stacked on one another.  I could not imagine creating all of those constructs with my mind.

The two books I purchased supposedly simplified spell forms to make learning and imprinting easier.  The easiest way to describe the process was tattooing the spell form permanently on my aether core—each affinity could only take one tattoo, and the size of the tattoo was relative to the magnitude of my affinity.  There was just not enough space for affinities under ten to imprint a spell form easily.  It was possible, but the effect was usually minor.

I reviewed the protection affinity options in the first book.  The three spell forms in the book were protection from the elements, aetheric armor, and wind barrier.  I started to examine the descriptions of each to see if one was good enough to choose as my spell form.  I realized there were more options beyond these.  That was because the healing book I purchased and Renna’s book had different options. 

Protection from the elements was the simplest of the three.  It kept the air around your body at a comfortable 70 degrees.  Well, it did not say 70 degrees specifically.  It just said comfortable, like a dry spring morning, so I filled in the blanks.  The description included walking on a glacier or in a desert in complete comfort.  The spell even drew a tiny one aether per hour, well, for me, that was a lot.

The next spell form was aetheric armor, and it required you to have an affinity over 25 due to the complexity of the spell form if you wished to learn it.  This spell form created an invisible skin on the mage that absorbed hits, draining the aether at a rate of two per strike.  At least, roughly two per strike.  My translation was a bit fuzzy when it came to the math.  

The last one sounded useful as I read it.  Wind barrier actually hardened the air in a disc shape.  It only cost a single aether to cast, and the barrier dissipated if it was strongly deformed.  But it could still stop an arrow before breaking.  The issue was the barrier took about two heartbeats to form (two seconds) and was fixed in place.  It would lose cohesion after about ten seconds as well.

So, should I try to learn one of these as my one spell form for protection affinity?  I wish I knew what all my other options were.  Aetheric armor sounded useful as a soldier.  Life-saving even.  The protection from the elements was a great utility spell for a soldier and possibly life-saving.  It had cool notes like keeping the rain off you as you walked and drying your clothes if you did get wet.   Wind barrier had some cool notes that you could cast multiple wind barriers and make steps to climb walls as long as you didn’t run out of aether.  

Felix came down to use the privy on the first floor, “Crap, Eryk, get some sleep and stop reading about the First Legion.”  He did his business, and I switched the books in case he checked on his way back up.  He went back upstairs, never checking what I was actually reading.

I decided if I had to choose one of these, it would be aetheric armor.  I wanted to see if another mid-tier protection spell form was better for me before committing.  From my experience, it would take me four to six weeks to learn it, and I was not sure if I would have the time or privacy to do so.  I switched to books to look at the healing affinity spell forms.

This book offered three; self-healing, body cleansing, and boundless endurance.  These were different from Renna’s book.  Boundless endurance was the easiest to learn.  The spell form utilized fat stores in the body to quickly replenish the muscles.  This would be a terrible choice for me.  Not only did I have little body fat now, but I had also consumed three apex essences of endurance.  The body cleanse was very tempting.  It removed foreign objects from the caster, including poisons, disease, and cleaning your bowels.  This was basically a chance to never get sick.  I remembered you needed to have symbiotic bacteria in your gut for healthy digestion.   The text did not address if these bacteria were unaffected by the spell effect.  The problem was that the spell form suggested having at least an affinity 35 in healing to learn it.  My affinity was only 19.

The last choice, self-healing, suggested a minimum affinity of 20.  The healing was limited to the mage and could not affect others.  Damian’s healing ability could heal other people, but only soft tissue.  But it looked like this version could heal soft tissue and bone.  It was exactly what I wanted for my healing affinity.  Maybe it was selfish not to seek an ability capable of healing others, but I didn’t care.  The extent of the healing determined how much aether was needed.  

Mateo stumbled into the bakery, back from his watch, and I swore at my idiocy.  It was almost morning, and I had spent the entire night translating and reading.  I was caught in the excitement of possibilities.  Mateo ignored me and climbed the stairs.  I put the book away and got comfortable for my thirty-minute nap.  Konstantin came stomping down the stairs with Felix and woke me.  I rolled to a standing position and started to dress.  Konstantin said, “Breakfast first and then to the wall.  You have the first shift and the rest of the day off.”

Breakfast was cold rice and beans with a sweet hot sauce.  It was the same food as the regular army, as our kitchen was being moved to the estate this morning.  Although the other men in my company complained, I joked the food was not too bad.  It had nice contrasting textures, the rice was a little gooey, and the beans a little crunchy, but at least the thick, sweet sauce covered it up.

When we reached the wall, Konstantin was in charge on the wall for the eight of us.  I was shocked to find two of our company’s archers, Pavel and Regis, were holding a competition.  They had set up three dummies out away from the wall.  Each of us would get twelve shots.  The loser of each round would have to go and retrieve the arrows.  Konstantin was the best archer among us but did not participate.  Was there any weapon Konstantin was not good with?

The contest started with a lesson on the short bow, how to properly string the bow, and care for the composite short bow made from glued layers of horn, wood, and sinew.  Pavel showed us what made a good bow and how to inspect arrows for damage and then gave us a ten-minute lesson on shooting.  Everything was too well rehearsed for this to be an impromptu session. 

I guessed right when Konstantin announced, “There are seven of you, and we have six extra bows in the Legion.  The six of you with the best shot will carry a bow while stationed on the wall; the remaining man will be the runner for arrows.”  This was not a great incentive, so he added, “And the best shot today will be given a pouch of the seasoned griffin jerky.”

I had not sampled it but heard it was excellent, and by everyone’s sudden focus, the game was on.  Each round, we would shoot ten arrows each.  And there were going to be twelve rounds total.  An arrow in a straw dummy was one point.  An arrow in its centerline was two points.  The centerline was a red stripe painted from head to groin.

The dummies were fifty yards out and spaced about ten feet apart.  Felix went first, earning seven points.  Pavel was second, earning eleven points.  Whether or not it was fair to have the archer participate in the contest was not up for debate.  I was third.  My first shot hit the dummy in the center of the head, and everyone whopped in praise.  Then, I missed my next nine shots.  I gripped that I was left-handed and forced to use a right-handed bow but did not receive any sympathy as twenty minutes later, I was trudging out in the sun to collect eighty-four arrows.

As the second round began, I noticed Konstantin and Regis giving advice.  This was not some light-hearted competition.  They were finding the most proficient members of the company to be archers on the wall.  My turn came, and I scored five points, still the worst among everyone.  My draw fingers were also slightly numb, and I wished I had one of the special gloves the archers were using.

I improved in the next rounds, scoring 6, 6, 8, 7, 8, 7, 7, 9, 10, 8, and 8 points.  Only when I scored ten points points by getting two arrows on the centerline did I mercifully not have to go and retrieve the arrows as I tied with someone else and was given a reprieve.  We then spent time as a group inspecting each arrow for damage before packing them for the next watch.  They were going to have the same competition to find the most competent archers.  I was not selected to be one of the bowmen, but Pascal won, and he shared his griffin jerky. 

I headed back to the bakery.  My clothes were soaked with sweat and dust from all the work I did collecting 924 arrows.  Granted, most were in the dummies, but my hands were raw and full of splinters from pulling them out of the straw.  My left shoulder blade ached from pulling the short bow one hundred and forty-four times, and the calluses on my fingertips were peeling off from new blisters forming underneath.  Maybe it was a good thing I was not selected to be an archer for the wall.    

Mateo had been to the baths in the morning and was coated in perfume.  We still joked we could smell ogre ass on him, but we decided to let him come with us for a drink with some of the other men in the company.  Konstantin said we would be moving into the villa late tonight, so it was going to be an early dinner in the tavern rather than eat the army food.  I gave the old woman five coppers and my two dirty clothes on my way to meet the others.  I was dressed in clean linens.  I only wore a belt with a dagger and my coin purse.  In my purse were twenty-seven copper and three silver.  More than enough to enjoy the evening.  If the pattern held, tomorrow would be a long march to patrol the swamps.

As we headed to the tavern, my companions were Firth, Mateo, Felix, Wylie, and Kolm.

Chapter 26 Tavern Brawl

The mid-afternoon sun was blocked by ranging clouds as we walked.  The plan was to escape the humidity in the tavern, which was a massive stone cellar.  Firth had heard of it from a local.  Probably one of his women at the brothel.  It was in the lower city.  The streets were fairly lean of people as we walked.  More and more fled west every day, squeezing the city of regular people.  

Wylie asked, “Any news on the reward for reporting the new dungeon?”  

The older Firth, always informed, “Nope.  They probably hoped we would all die out here so they don’t have to pay out.”

Mateo interjected, “It is the Adventurer’s Guild that pays.  It will take them a week to travel there.  A week to explore it.  A week to return.  And then ten months to review their notes before they pay out.”  That got a lot of chuckles, but I was unsure if it was directed at the Adventurer’s Guild or bureaucracy in general.

Felix sounded appalled, “So we are not going to see the gold for a year then?”

Firth told him directly, “Just worry about staying alive.  When it gets paid out, Adrian said each man is looking at between 50 to 80 gold.  It will happen, just be patient.”

Kolm, our company pseudo-blacksmith, said, “I am going to get some enchanted boots so my damn feet never hurt again.” This started everyone on their wish list for what they would buy.  Surprisingly, Firth said he was going to send it all back to his family and not spend it in a brothel.  It would set them up for life and get the kids a good education.  

Wylie asked, “What about you, Eryk?  What are you going to do with your peasant fortune?”  

I hesitated, then said, “I think I will get on the road and head back to my own country after my term is done and spend it there.”

Firth smirked, “The Telhians are not so bad.  A little more racist than most Kingdoms, but you are human.”  He paused and pretended to look at me seriously, “You are human, Eryk?  Did anyone check?” He said in mock seriousness.

Felix, “I don’t know.  His cock looked a little large in showers last night.  Maybe he is half-orc.”

Wylie joined in on the fun banter, defending me, “It only looked large because you compared it to your own, Felix.  It was completely normal.”

The good-natured jarring went back and forth until we arrived and descended stone steps into a large basement under what appeared to be a lumbar warehouse.  The large room was well-lit, with dozens of tables and many men sitting...not many women I could see.  The servers were middle-aged women moving among the tables serving city guards, locals, and a few men of the army.  Firth pointed at an empty table, and we headed over as he said, “I was told to order the house stew with goat’s milk bread.  They have a soft ale and thick stout ale for options.”  

As we sat, one of the servers took our order.  The house stew was a massive bowl of vegetables and various meats.  It was enough to feed a family of four.  As I ate, I figured the stew was just whatever they had left over from the previous day’s meal in the kitchen.  I got the pale ale and was not a fan.  It was extremely bitter.  The goat milk bread had a thick crust and dense texture, but it soaked up the stew juices and became amazing on the taste buds.  I ordered a second serving with the stout, somehow finding a way to pack it all in.  The stout was heavy but not as bitter.  My two stews, two loaves, and two ales ran me 14 copper.  I tipped four copper coins.  Tipping was not a normal practice, but it was understood and appreciated by the middle-aged woman serving us.  When we finished the meal, the cards came out.

I just observed while the others played.  It seemed almost like UNO.  The first player to get all the cards out of his hand, won.  The cards were marked with Roman numerals, which was strange since the magic tablets used Arabic base ten numbers.  The numbers were only written slightly differently, and I had already gotten accustomed to them.  Wylie and Felix were trash-talkers the entire game.  I thought a lot of effort was invested in a game with no coin at stake.  

I guessed the cool, dry underground stone room was maybe half full, 120 patrons or so.  It was just after mid-day, so maybe it got busier at night.  A woman in skimpy clothing came out and set up on a small stage.  She had a large harp and strummed it before singing.  She had a beautiful voice, and I focused on her for the entire song with my eyes closed.  The words were not Latin but flowed marvelously together.   When she stopped, I asked, “What language was that?”

“Probably elvish.  I wasn’t paying too close of attention,”  Firth said, his eyes and focus across the room.  Then, there was a loud crash a few tables away, drawing everyone’s attention.  A local had spilled his ale on an army regular.  The curses started flying freely.  And then fists.  

I asked, “Are we leaving?”  

Firth chuckled, “No.  We will wait for the city guard to ask for our help and then join in the fun.”

I didn’t understand until the fight started spreading, and a man in a city guard uniform came to our table, “If you are Legion, then we could stand for some help.”  He didn’t wait for an answer as he waded in.

Firth laughed and said, “This was what she said would be dessert.  Come on.  Focus on the regulars.”  I think that meant the regular army.  Soon, half the room was in a brawl.  I followed my friends and got an elbow to the stomach to start.  I promptly showed him what I had eaten for lunch.  As he backed up, covered in vomit, I grabbed the man’s hair and drove his forehead into my knee.  My knee hurt, but the adrenaline was flowing, and I had just lost most of a very good meal, so I was a bit angry.

I stayed toward the rear, cleaning up the perimeter as I watched my company wade through the other men.  It was like they were adults dolling out discipline to children.  Firth, who looked to be in his forties, was doing the most damage.  He would incapacitate a man with two quick jabs before spinning the dazed man over to the town guards.  I had learned a lot in legion training but was rusty with my hand-to-hand skills.  It took me a few strikes to my body before I got angry and let loose, the instincts drilled into me from months of training.

When it was over, I had a bloody lip and some bruises on my body, Wylie had a swollen black eye, and Mateo got a knife stabbed in his shoulder.  It was a small knife for cutting fruit.  We had not really won as we were more like the enforcers during the fight.  By my estimate, fifty town guards hauled away about thirty regular soldiers and ten locals.  Firth was talking to a guard captain while complimentary ale was brought to the rest of us.  I needed to wash the acid vomit taste from my mouth, so it was appreciated.

Watching Firth talk and remembering how he fought, I asked, “Does this happen a lot when Firth takes you out?”

Felix commented, “More often than not.  But he is always expecting it and gives us a heads up before it starts.”

I thought about Firth.  He spent a lot of time away from the company in larger cities, supposedly visiting the brothels, and maybe he was.  But he was always the most well-informed legionnaire, just as much as Castile, Adrian, and Delmar.  But he didn’t talk with them like Konstantin did, so where was his information coming from?   He was also older than Adrian and Delmar, so why was he not one of Castile’s lieutenants?  He was just as good of a fighter as them.

It all seemed very fishy to me.  I thought about asking him but instead planned to ask Konstantin.  I trusted him enough to see if he knew anything, and Konstantin was probably the most observant man in our company.  I drank the entire mug in a long pull and stood, “I am going to check the shops.  Try to find some good deals in the ‘city is about to be attacked clearance section.’”  Mateo got the joke first and laughed as I waved goodbye and left.

Instead of going directly back to the bakery, I went to the bookstore in the upper city.  I wanted to see if there were other books on spell forms for the protection affinity.  The owner was happy to see me but only helped marginally.  There were other books, but he did not have any of them for protection.  He did have a higher affinity healing book, but that would not help me anyway.  I was happy with the self-healing spell form and was not even sure I could learn it.  My affinity was 19, and the minimum suggested was 20.  I would still try.  I was going to leave, but he stopped me, “I don’t have the other spell form books, but I do have a spell reference book.  It describes the lower affinity spells for protection.”

“I can not afford to purchase it, but can I look at it for a few minutes?”  I asked hopefully.  He considered and nodded.  I think any spell could be imprinted as a spell form on a core.  They created books on spell forms for the most useful spells to make imprinting them for people with high enough affinities as easy as possible.  I took the spell list book, sat in a chair, and carefully paged through.  It had a fancy script, making it hard for me to read.  At least it had an index.

There were two branches, the protection branch and the guardian branch.  The protection spells focused on the self, while the guardian focused on others.  I ignored the guardian side of the index.  I quickly found the arcane armor spell.  The spells were listed in the rank of difficulty, so all the spells above in the index should be available to me with a 30 affinity.

Protection from Scrying

Immunity to Non-magical flames

Faithful Spectral Hound

Ward of Concealment

Ward Against Undead

I went to the ward of concealment first, but it was not for a person.  It concealed an object in an invisible field.  The ward against undead was stationary, too.  Used to prevent the undead from entering doorways.  Spectral hound sounded promising, but it was more of a guard dog while you slept and couldn’t attack.  Protection from flames, I discounted immediately.  The last one was a possibility.  Protection from scrying would prevent people from tracking me.  I could leave the legion before my five years, and they would not be able to find me.  Two problems with the choice.  I had no spell forms to guide me to imprint the spell, and it would probably take a long time to get the spell forms and learn them.  I would probably be better off just finishing my five-year term.  

I thanked the owner of the bookstore with a ten silver tip.  I went to the same meat pie shop and got two pies again.  When I picked up my clothes, I gave one of the pies to the old woman’s family.  I also explained that I was relocating to the upper city and would not require her services again.  She was disappointed and said I was a nice young man and hoped I lived a long and fulfilling life.  I thanked her for her blessing and went to find Konstantin.

He was not in the room he was using on the second floor.  As I came down the stairs, Olson, the other scout, entered, “Have you seen Konstantin?”  he asked.

“No, I just checked his room.  I do not know where he went,” I replied.

Olson grunted, “Well, pack up your gear.  Konstantin and I are to track everyone down and get everyone up the estate.  Dinner will be ready there in two hours.  Castile wants to address everyone, then.  The directions are simple.  Just follow the main thoroughfare to the castle.  Then, keep the outer wall to your right.  You will pass through a guard checkpoint into the inner courtyard orchards.  The estate is on the far side of the trees.  If you get lost, just ask for directions to the orchards from the city guard.”

“Head there now?”  I asked.

“Yes, Eryk.  If you get there first, you might be able to get one of the few private rooms,” he said, a little irritated he had not found the other scout. 

I started packing as quickly as possible.  I moved the still-hot meat pie into my storage when he left.  Private room?  Hell yeah.  I could talk to Konstantin later.

Chapter 27 I Call Dibbs

As I made my way down the main thoroughfare, lugging a sixty-pound pack, I decided to take a quick stop in the Legion Hall.  The other two companies and half of our company were stationed here.   I wanted to see about requisitioning some gear, mainly a new spear.  After training with a stick last night, I was anxious to get a real spear back in my hands.  

I noticed Linus in the common room, and he waved me over, “Eryk, how are you doing?  Heard about your little scuffle when Mateo came in to get his wound looked at.”  A three-inch knife had stabbed Mateo in the shoulder in the fight.

“How is he doing?”  I asked.  

“Fine, we closed it up.  Has Castile talked to you yet?”  Linus asked, his face slightly creased in concern.

“No, I was headed up to the estate to pick a bed.  Olson said we were moving up there, and dinner was in two hours,” I slowly said, thinking that maybe something was wrong.

Linus’ eyes went wide, “Bastard!  He said he would tell me first.  There are only three private rooms after Castile, Delmar, and Adrian take the larger rooms.”  He was about to leave but paused, “Castile will tell you tonight, I am sure.  But I heard you are going out with Mage Durandus’ company tomorrow.  They do not have a porter.  I was sorting potions you were going to be taking with you a few minutes ago.”

“Why?”  I ask, confused.

“I will let Castile explain it.  It should just be for the day,” he had a guilty look as he rushed off to pack his gear. 

I went to the armory and was told I could grab what I needed, and it would be recorded in the log as I left.  I walked by the unstrung bows and paused.  There were a dozen, and a few of them were worn and had blood stains on them.  Would they really let me check out a short bow?  I had learned a little this morning, could pick the best of the bunch, and knew each was worth a good amount of gold from Regis.  

I strung one of the thicker ones, tested the draw weight, and nodded.  I could feel my sore muscles, but it was a good pull weight for me.  I unstrung it and grabbed four spare bow strings from a box and a quiver with seventeen arrows.  Quivers, I learned we were either small or large, 17 or 34 arrows full.  The small quiver was for mobility, and the large was for extended battles.  But Regis mentioned that when they pack the quivers, they put the better arrows in the small quivers.  The arrow lengths were the same since the Legion only used short bows.  I would have checked each arrow, but I didn’t have time.  I was racing against Linus for a private room.

At the rack of spears, I quickly selected two regular spears.  The pilum were the throwing spears used by the regular army.  The pilum was only for piercing.  A regular spear had a more durable shaft and a spearhead that could pierce and slash and was shaped like a leaf.  I would have to come back for a shield tomorrow.  It only took a moment for me to check out, and they didn’t even comment on the bow.  He even helped me bundle everything together with twine to make it easier to carry.

Loaded down with all the gear, I made my way to the upper city.  I thought more than a few times about putting the heavy gear into my storage space rather than carrying it, but I suffered through it in case I was spotted.  I think I beat Linus out of the Legion Hall, but I rushed down the street toward the orchards since I couldn’t be sure.  I probably looked a fool, but I would hopefully be a fool in my own room.

The main road ran about a mile before meeting up with the inner city wall.  I kept this wall to my right and soon found the gate, trees easily seen beyond.  The city guards here had special tabards on.  When I approached with my gear, they did not even question me as I passed.  I turned and asked, “Am I the first one?”  I realized I probably sounded like a little kid hoping to be the first in line for ice cream.

The older guard nodded with a grin, “Castile’s company by the armor?  We were told you were coming.  Yes, you are the first one through this gate.  There is another gate toward the Count’s castle, though.”  I was surprised they were so friendly, and I would have been polite and chatted, but I could see Linus fast walking toward us with his own massive pack.  I turned and walked the stone paths across the orchard.

I noticed the trees were not apples but peaches or maybe nectarines.  I was not going to pause to find out.  The path led straight to the estate.  The estate was a stone two-story building.  It was not huge and surrounded by flowering trees.  If I remember correctly, I think it was a guest house for visiting dignitaries.  I made it to the large door and barged inside.  I paused to find Delmar in the foyer.  I was sweating and burdened.  He cocked an eyebrow questionably.

“I was told there were a few private rooms?”  I explained, “It is first come, first choice, correct?”  

He chuckled, “Yes, the ballroom that way had fifteen beds dragged in.  Most of the servant rooms on this floor have three beds, but...”  he caused for dramatic effect.  The maid’s room off the kitchen has one bed and...”  he did not finish as I moved toward the kitchen to the right.  I could smell the food being prepared and moved through the doors.  The door was narrow, and I struggled, probably comically, with my weapons and gear.  I must have looked the fool.  I burst into the kitchen to find a shocked Lirkin, our company cook, working by himself.  

“Eryk?  I take it you are not here to help.  I think what you are looking for in the hallway there,” he said with a knowing smirk, pointing with his knife.

I went to the hallway, dropping my pack so I could fit in the passage.  I found a narrow stair to the left going up and a door to the right.  I opened the door, and it was a closet-sized room.  A bed took the entire left side, and a small desk and armoire to the right.  Maybe three feet were between the bed and desk, but I had a large window shaded by a massive tree on the tiny wall.  I tested the mattress, and it was the most comfortable mattress I had felt in all my time in this new world.  

I got all my gear inside and collapsed into the mattress.  I sighed as it formed around my body.  A floral fragrance wafted up from the mattress, probably the perfume the maid had used.  The room was not nearly as humid as outside, and I would keep the window and door shut during the heat of the day.  I started to unpack my things, claiming the small space for my own.  

The armoire was full of woman’s dresses and a change of bed sheets.  The dresses were all identical and probably her uniform as a maid.  The bottom was full of woman’s small clothes.  I guessed whoever she was; she was not important enough to be given time to pack her things.  I found her perfume and personal possessions in the desk drawers.  Besides using a puff of perfume to check the scent, I stored everything of hers respectfully away in the bottom of the armoire.  

I leaned my weapons against the closed armoire: two short swords, two spears, the bow, and a quiver.  I would use the desk and bed, and that would be it.  I put my heavy pack on the small desk and planned to use the bed until dinner was ready.  Instead, Lirkin called, “If you don’t mind, I would appreciate your help Eryk.”

I sighed and went to the kitchen after removing my armor.  I heard Linus talking with Delmar and then heard him rushing up the stairs.  I was glad I was not the only one acting childlike.  Then again, these would most likely be our sleeping assignments for the next few weeks.

I was actually helping Lirkin prep for breakfast.  He had dinner under control.  Roasted lamb with an apricot-cinnamon glaze.  A couscous with diced tomatoes and roasted garlic on the side.  My mouth was watering as I peeled potatoes and then kneaded dough for him.  I was happy to see all the jars of spices I had liberated from Varvao were in the kitchen.  

The best part of helping prepare the food was sampling it.  I soon heard others entering and Delmar directing them.  Lirkin noted, “The larder is down those stairs there,” he pointed.  “It wasn’t completely stripped, and if you want to cool off, it is very cool and dry down there.  Just don’t be getting drunk from the casks of ale and wine,” he smiled knowingly.

I finished the last potato.  I still had to rinse the skins next, and then it would be marinated with vegetables and spices for a portable lunch tomorrow.  The potatoes would be diced and fried with eggs and peppers for breakfast.  I asked, “Lirkin, why didn’t you take the room off the kitchen?”

He grinned madly, “I took a child’s room on the second floor.  The bed is like a cloud.”  I admit that made me jealous.  My bed was soft, but it was for a servant.  The good thing was I was isolated from the company and would have privacy to study and quiet to sleep.

Adrian came in an hour later and called for dinner, and we brought it out to the men in a fancy dining room.  Everyone was crammed at the table, made to seat 12.  I got jeered because I got the maid’s room, and I was covered in flour.  As plates were filled and people ate, I noticed Castile was the only one not here.  When we finished eating, a cask of weak ale was brought out, and large mugs were filled.  Then Castile made her appearance with everyone satiated and happy.

“I hope everyone is settled in and happy with your inn accommodations,” she said to cheers.  She smirked, “Well, if the other companies want to hog the Legion Hall, they can have it!  We will live in luxury on the hill!”  More cheers.

She got serious, “The Dungeon discovery is confirmed.”  Silence and then cheers.  Every name of my role has been submitted.  You can collect your share at the Adventurer’s Hall in the capital under a Truthseeker.”  Mild cheers.  She broke into a massive grin, “Everyone is due 75 gold and 68 silver.”  The place got extremely loud at the pronouncement. 

“Now to business.  Tomorrow will be our last patrol south.  We will eventually switch to work with the city guard on overnight patrols.  During the day, we will keep our rotation on our section of the wall,”  she paused to let it sink in. 

“Our new accommodations also will require us to patrol the orchards at night.  We will rotate which four men stay here and which sixteen go to the city to help the city guard every night,” she explained.  The math meant six people got the night off.  Well, probably four because I doubted Adrian and Delmar would do patrol work, but maybe I was wrong.  Not so much cheering. 

Delmar stepped forward.  “Since you will all be well rested, we will pick up our standard conditioning and weapon training.”  This got a chorus of boos.  “I will post the times in the foyer!”  He yelled over the cacophony of heckling.  “Dismissed!”

Castile caught me, “Eryk, you are with me for a moment.”

Castile took me into a study where all the books had been stripped off the shelves.  She smiled weakly, “You have done well so far under strenuous circumstances.  I have an assignment for you.  Mage Durandus’ company will explore the storm tomorrow, and I am loaning you out to him.  He does not have a porter, and we have pooled potions for him to take.”

This sounded terrible.  Trudging through the swamp infested with giant frogs…what if we got surprised by one of those massive snakes?  I asked weakly, “What is the storm?”

Castile frowned, “We do not know.  It has not dissipated and could be a number of things.  An aether geyser from a ley line.  A summoning.  A new dungeon forming.  A powerful being playing with magic.  Whatever it is, we need to ensure it is not dangerous to the Empire.”

I just nodded and was told to be at the Legion Hall at first light.

Chapter 28 The Storm in the Distance

I took an oil lamp back to my room in a haze of thought.  I was being passed off to another company like a traded commodity.  That storm was also miles into the swamp with no easy access.  It would not be a one-day trip unless the mage had some magic to make it so.

I was happy to find my room locked from the inside.  The window did not have a lock, so I jammed a dagger in the seam and leaned my weapons against it just in case before pulling the blinds.  I stripped to my underclothes and lay on the soft mattress with a groan of satisfaction.  I placed the lamp on the small shelf over the bed.  I pulled out my griffin pillow and my clean blanket.  I got comfortable and then took out the spell form book for healing.  All nice and comfortable, I started to study.

The spell forms were to help guide the process.  The true process was about intent and what I wanted the permanent presentation of my affinity to be.  The critical factor was not manifesting the wrong spell form.  Once it was done, it could not be undone, and I would have to live with it.  I studied the book intently, losing track of time.

I woke with a start.  Delmar was banging on my door, saying I needed to get moving.  I had studied well into the night and had not gotten a lot of sleep.  I sent everything to my space and unlocked the door.  An impatient Delmar was waiting, “Come on, Eryk, I am to be your escort to the Legion Hall.”  He looked around, “Did you not pack last night?”

“I was told it was just a day trip,” I said defensively, even though I knew it was not.

“Dragon’s balls,” he pushed into the small room and started packing for me.  He set up my pack with the necessities and said, “Get three days of hard rations at the Legion Hall.  Make sure they are all wrapped and sealed in wax leaf.  The last thing you want is to get sick out there in the swamp.  Take two canteens, one large and one small.”  He held up my small all-metal canteen.  “Use this small one to boil your water for five minutes before drinking or have Durandus purify your water.  Otherwise, your arse will be spewing for days.”  He looked at my array of weapons, and I looked guilty when he noticed the bow.

He inspected the bow, and I offered weakly, “Thought I would have time to practice.  This bow has a left-handed grip, so I thought it might help my aim.”  That was actually true, but most bows could be used by either hand.  I found this one had grooves for a lefty.  Maybe it was the custom, or the last owner had altered it.

“Konstantin said you were a terrible shot.  You had trouble hitting stationary targets and would be hard-pressed to hit a moving one.  It is a nice bow, but leave it behind.  Your strings will probably get too wet to use it anyway.  Leave your two short swords as well.  They will weigh you down, especially if you have to swim.” He handed me my leather chest piece, “Leave the rest of your armor here.” He finished packing and gave me the now much lighter pack.  He had completed everything in five minutes.  I had a bed roll, one spare set of clothes wrapped in my oiled legionnaire cloak, my tarp for a tent, three pairs of socks, the two canteens, and flint and tinder.

As we walked in the dark to the Legion Hall, Delmar talked, “Durandus likes order.  He expects his men to march in time and maintain silence on the move.  Do your best not to anger him.”

“What type of magic does he wield?  And why was he sent here?”  I asked, preparing mentally.

“Excellent questions.  Durandus was once a soldier in the army.  Under duress in combat, he developed a powerful air magic spell form that shielded him inside a bubble, making him invincible for a time.  After that, he was assessed and sent to the Mage College.  He came out a powerful water and air mage and was given the command of a company.  He is here because he made an enemy of a duke.  That usually happens when you tell a First Citizen no.”  Delmar did not elaborate and just walked.

We made it before first light, and in the common room, a number of legionaries were in full gear with half packs, waiting.  Delmar dragged me to the larder and ordered, “Six ration bars sealed in wax leaf, three bags of dried fruit and nuts, and that sausage.” He pointed at a large link.  The civilian behind the counter sensed the urgency and got everything together.

Everything was on the counter, and Delmar helped me pack it.  “The sausage is your breakfast, the bags of fruit and nuts; eat between meals to keep your energy up.  And Eryk, try to come back alive.  Getting a good porter replaced takes months,”  he joked, smiling and clapping me on my shoulder.

I went out to the common room and found Durandus’ four lieutenants getting everyone assembled for the march.  Delmar had not been kidding when he said we would march in ranks and silence.  I realized how spoiled I had been in Castile’s company.  Our company was more like a family, and this seemed like a formal job, but maybe the other men would lighten up when we took a break.  Durandus approached me, and I studied him and him me.

He was tall, maybe 6’2”, and he had immaculate clothes and a meticulously trimmed beard and stash.  That was only notable because all of his men were clean-shaven.  It made me self-conscious about the face nest that I trimmed infrequently with a knife.  “Store these,” he tapped four racks of potions.  I quickly looked at them.  Ten lesser healing, ten cleanse poison, ten greater healing and ten stamina recovery.  It was a fortune’s worth of potions, and they all had expiration dates on their wax seals.  I now knew this meant they were made by an alchemist and not from a dungeon.  Dungeon potions never expired.

I moved the potions into my storage, and everyone moved outside.  I guess they had been waiting for me.  As we started moving, I munched on the sausage.  The first thing I noticed was this company had forty men.  I thought a mage detachment from the Legion of the Lion had around twenty-three to start.  To me, this seemed like a large company.  I inspected the composition: ten archers, ten men with full-body shields, ten men with round shields and swords, and ten men with spears.  Everyone carried a short blade.  I was made to walk at the rear of the formation so I didn’t mess with their practiced organization.

Durandus walked in the front and set the pace.  I was kind of the tail of the formation and wondered why Durandus didn’t send out any scouts.  That became obvious three hours into our march.  The mage ordered the shield wall forward and the spear men at the ready.  A single giant frog was two hundred yards down the road.  It moved into the road and look intently at us approaching.  Durandus ordered a flight of spears, and as they struck, he fired a bolt of lightning at the frog.  Two swordsmen with shields went forward to confirm it was dead.  The encounter took less than five seconds.  As we marched past, the spearmen collected their weapons.  The frog was left smoldering on the side of the road.  I deduced the mage had some type of scrying of far-sight spell or spell form. 

I was impressed with the coordination and speed of the company.  Where our company was filled with experienced individuals who worked well as a team, Durandus’ company was a fighting unit.  Durandus knew healing spells, so I suspected the men were not skittish about getting injured.  We reached the two poles in the ground that lined up the storm’s location.  They were not needed as the dark clouds and occasional lightning remained.  I checked the alignment anyway, and it looked like it had not moved in the two days since I had been here.  

We were allowed to rest, and I gratefully sat and pulled up my ration.  The wax leaf was wrapped around the block.  The block’s exterior was a dry baked cracker covering a dried mixture of fruit, meat, and grains.  It took a lot of water to wash down the dry, dense ration.  I remembered the meat pie in my storage; it should still be warm, but I would save it.  I also ate a bag of the trail mix since Durandus was still studying the swamp and the storm in the distance.  No one talked to me as I ate, and they just whispered amongst themselves so as not to disturb the mage.

I felt like I was on an island.  I was just the extra guy they needed to carry their luggage.  Suddenly, Durandus came to a decision.  He was leaving the six men at the road to guard gear.  The rest of the men would be heading into the swamp.  I waited, smirking a little as Delmar had already cut my gear down to the minimum needed.    

We started our trek with four spearmen leading the company through the waters.  The water was not deep where Durandus directed the men to walk, and I asked him, “Can you see how deep the water is with magic?”

 I had forgotten to keep quiet, but he replied, “Yes, I have a water sense and sense life ability.  We will not be surprised and will take the easiest route.”  I almost asked if his life sense ability worked on undead, but with his stern and somewhat condescending tone, I ended the conversation without asking. 

The swamp water was lukewarm, and I thought it odd that I didn’t see any fish or smaller frogs.  Just an endless wave of insects.  But I found the insects left me alone if I was within fifteen feet of the mage, so I made an effort to stay close to him.  Even wading through the water in armor, the men attempted to maintain their disciplined formation.  I also figured out that Durandus’ company was selected for this mission because his spell skill set was the best for the environment.  I just hoped he realized water conducted lightning and didn’t fry all of us by mistake. 

It was slow progress, and after hours of trudging, we were maybe halfway.  The evening sky was coming behind us, and the dark storm was in front.  Being closer, I was certain the storm clouds were expelling rain as well as the occasional lightning strike.  The roil of thunder was still muted but progressively louder the closer we came.  At least the storm appeared to have scared away all the monsters, as we had not seen a single one.

We climbed onto a small island maybe fifty feet across, and the mage-ordered defenses set for the night.  At least I could just sit in the middle of the island and eat.  Durandus studied the storm near me, and I asked, “Do you know what it is yet?”

He looked at me, “Unfortunately, I do.  A storm giant is raising a mountain from the swamp.  Probably to form a lair.”

Chapter 29 Making a Friend

I paused as Mage Durandus was still gazing at the storm.  I asked tentatively, “So we are done?  We scouted.  Found the reason for the storm.  Are we going to head back now that we know what is causing it?”

He did not respond for a long moment.  Then Mage Durandus said slowly, “No.  I think we will investigate further.  There appears to be only one giant.”  He turned and left, moving to his tent, which his men had erected for him.  He was definitely not a conversationalist.

I was left there wondering, what is a storm giant?  It did not sound good.  A giant that could call lightning and raise a mountain in a swamp did not sound like someone I wanted to meet.  I went and set up my tent in the middle of the island.  One of the shieldmen was doing the same, “Leonidus,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Eryk,” I responded, grasping wrists with him.  “So why does everyone have a stick shoved up their ass?”

He scrunched his face as my analogy didn’t quite translate.  “You mean, why is no one talking to you?”  I nodded.  “It takes a while for them to warm up.  If Durandus was not around, we might be more prone to conversation.  I overheard you talking with Durandus and that he wants to keep going.”

“What is a storm giant anyway?”  I asked, finishing my tent set up and laying my oiled cloak on the damp ground to protect my sleeping bedroll.  I was planning to change into my dry clothes so I could sleep comfortably, but Leonidus motioned me to wait.

“Give the mage a moment to think.  He will dry everyone’s clothes before we sleep.”  My eyebrows went up.  He finished his tent and said, “Never heard of a storm giant before.  We have fought hill giants on two occasions.  One grabbed my shield mate and ripped him in half,” he uncomfortably shuddered at his memory.  

We didn’t talk for a while as we prepared our respective sleeping areas.  Delmar had been right on what I needed to pack.  I started gathering twigs and dead wood for a fire.  Leonidus stopped me, “No fire.  Not out in the wild.  Draws the creatures in, and we hate fighting in the night.”  He took a small black pouch out and tossed it to me.  I opened it to find a glowing oval rock inside.  I looked up, curious.  He answered my unspoken question, “It is a glowstone.”  My face was still blank.  “It has stored aether in it.  Gives enough light at night to take a piss without tripping over every damn thing.  Durandus got everyone one, so night marching was easier.  You can borrow mine for the night in case you need to piss.”

“Thanks.  How long does it last?” I asked, putting it back in the bag. 

“It lasts a few days.  Durandus recharges them.  Kyle, one of our bowmen, can do it too, but he is usually a pain about it and tries to get something in return,” he replied.

Since Leonidus was talking, I asked, “After the giant frog was killed, I didn’t see him give the essence to anyone.”

Leonidus sighed, “Yeah, we heard Mage Castile hands out the essence.  What Durandus doesn’t consume himself, he sells.  He has a large estate near the capital.  He wants to marry a First Citizen.”  He leaned in close and spoke, “About two months ago, a duke offered him his daughter if he paid the tithe on her behalf for her to gain the status of First Citizenship.  He refused, saying if he was going to give away half his estate for a woman, she better not look like a pig.”  Leonidus checked to make sure the mage wasn’t coming to smite him, then said, “At least that is how we heard it happened.”

He had some soft jerky and cheese as I ate my dry ration.  As we got more comfortable with each other, he offered, “I am guessing that is why he wants this storm giant.”  He explained his thoughts, “The essence it would yield probably had a magic affinity to it.  He wants to improve his power over the aether affinity for lightning.” I nodded, remembering High Mage Dacian was hunting the bulette for the same reason.  The powerful just wanted more power.

I noticed one of the other legionaries had a metal fishing line and a small spell form that sent a blue shock down the metal wire to stun the fish.  Leonidis noted that it was Kyle who could also charge the stones.  Kyle worked with a partner who had a net, and they quickly had six fish for themselves.  The fish were flat and black and swam on the bottom of the muddy swamp, so that was why I had not noticed them during our travel in the muck.

Contrary to Leonidus’ advice, they started a fire, cooked their fish, and then extinguished the fire.  They did not offer any to anyone else.  Leonidus did say Kyle was a bit of an asshole.  I drank half a gallon of water to get my dry ration bar down.  Leonidis showed me a trick for the wax leaf.  You cut it up into four sections and then rub the wax off.  It left a soft fibrous sheet good for wiping your arse.  He admitted that some legionaries got the ration bars just to make toilet paper and tossed them away, not eating them.

As the sun set, it was as predicted, Durandus came by and dried everyone’s clothes.  The water was not evaporated but pushed toward the ground, causing a puddle underneath you.  The smaller bugs of the swamp seemed to wake up as the light disappeared.  The humidity lessened slightly, but I was still sweating non-stop.  I folded my sleeping roll around me.  I pulled out the glowstone, refilled my canteen from my storage space, and then pulled out the healing affinity book to study. 

I risked it because I felt some urgency.  Locking in a spell form was more likely to happen in a stressful situation, and there was no more stressful situation than fighting for your life against a giant.  I still managed to get a fair amount of sleep as I did not have to participate in the watch rotation.  The cold water in my canteen was a godsend as I sweat through the early night. 

I had just put my book away to sleep when a shout came from the sentries.  We all scrambled to put on armor and move to aid the ten men on watch on the perimeter.  A massive island was moving toward us in the moonlight.  Durandus stood ready, and one of the archers announced, “It is a giant tortoise.  Hold positions, and it should pass without attacking.”  We were all tense as the island loomed closer and finally veered away. 

Getting back to sleep did not take long for me, knowing we had good sentries on watch.  The camp noise woke me, and I dressed.  One man was handing out salve for bug bites.  The men who were on watch took more than a few.  Now that the sun was rising, the small bugs were fleeing, and the large fist-sized insects buzzed.  I was one of the first to pack up and unwrapped my breakfast ration bar.  I was already sick of them, but a few men had gotten their own rations wet on the walk through the swampy water.  I ate half of it before switching to the trail mix.  My canteens were empty by the time I was done eating. 

We soon moved on toward the flashes and low thunder.  I guessed it was just over three miles remaining.  We trudged through the water, following the mage’s direction.  The air turned misty and then to rain.  The closer we approached, the heavier the rain became.  I did not think approaching something that could control Mother Nature like this was wise. 

The ground switched from swamp to mud, and we started to climb a mud-slick hill.  The rain was heavy at the top of the mud hill, but it gave us a view down into what I would describe as a caldera.  This was not a volcano, but that was the shape.  No rain fell inside, and we all stood dumbfounded as a giant of a man, easily over twenty-five feet in height, called down and directed lightning into the expanding earthworks.  The lightning stuck, and the earth surged and rolled away like a wave.

The mage seemed to consider our next action.  I was just glad the monstrous giant had not spotted us.  Finally, the mage said to no one in particular, “He is not building a lair.  No, he is digging for something.”  Our heads barely peeked over, but he signaled everyone back.  He called his four lieutenants to him for a strategy session.  I was not privy to the words exchanged.

Orders were given.  We were to wait on the mud-soaked lip of the crater.  When the storm giant was resting, we would attack.  It was terrible because we ended up in the heaviest rain on the lip of the crater, and I took out my cloak, but that just meant all my dry clothes were not going to be protected from the heavy water.  I huddled in my cloak, hoping that whatever the attack plan happened to be, it would go well.

The storm giant seemed tireless, and I could feel the muddy earth surge underneath me every few minutes as he moved it.  If the mage was correct and he was searching for something, I wondered what it might be.  It started getting dark, and a whisper came down the line, “He is resting.  Shield Wall Ready!”

No one had told me what my role in the fight would be.  Staying at the back and handling the wounded sounded like a good plan to me.  I even pulled two of the full healing potions and one of the lesser to my hand from the dimensional space. 

The shield wall headed straight toward the giant with the spearmen behind them.  Mage Durandus followed this group at a distance.  To the right, the swordsmen lead the way with the archers behind.  It was clearly a flanking maneuver by Durandus.  I moved behind the archers.

The giant noticed us and stood and watched, unconcerned, as we made our way down the muddy slope.  Keeping their ranks in the rocky mud was difficult, but they did an admirable job.  The sky roiled above us and grew thicker.  A lightning bolt flashed down toward the shield wall, but the man it struck glowed, and the bolt raced into the ground, not affecting anyone. 

So, the mage did have a plan.  If the giant’s lightning ability did not work and we were close to the range, we could have possibly taken down the towering man.  I could tell the failed attack had emboldened the shield wall as they drew short swords.  The giant seemed to consider and then picked his own weapon off the ground.  A weapon was an understatement.  It was as thick as a man and nearly nine feet long.  The giant twirled it easily, and you could hear it whistle in the air, even in the storm conditions.

A second lightning strike occurred amongst the archers.  Once again, it had no effect, going into the ground, but I noticed Durandus stumble slightly.  Was the spell drawing aether?  That could be bad if it drained him before we engaged.

The shield unit reached the bottom of the crater, and the spears were thrown on command from the ranks behind them, and only two penetrated the giant’s thigh and chest.  He roared in anger and charged the shield wall.  The giant built speed, and instead of swinging his sword, he went into a feet-first slide.  His massive frame bowled through the shield wall and even past the spearmen.  He had taken a few slashes but quickly stood.  The mage was now directly in front of the giant, a malicious grin on his face. 

He roared as he swung the massive sword, and Mage Durandus stood confident.  A ball of energy flared around him before the sword connected.  Then that ball of energy, and the mage in the center, was sailing through the air two hundred feet to my right.  Far away from everyone.  The giant pointed at the archers, and a lightning strike came down again.  This time, the man it struck exploded and tossed the men who had been around him to the ground.  My ears were ringing, and I had some gore on me from the exploded archer.

I was halfway down the mud-soaked crater.  The shield wall was quickly forming again to face the giant, with the spearmen rotating to the back for another volley.  I needed to decide if I should get the potions to the archers or go and try to get Mage Durandus back on his feet.  If I lived through this, I decided I never wanted to fight a giant again.

Chapter 30 Losing a Friend

Our mage was out of commission, and it looked like the storm giant was unhappy with our interruption of his rest from digging.  I hustled down the slope and slid on the mud to the downed archers.  With the three potions in hand, I quickly administered them to three different men who appeared alive on a quick inspection.  I was too focused to be affected by the gore and strewn body parts as I worked.  The metallic smell of blood filled my nostrils, but that was because I had pieces of flesh on my face and armor. 

Getting more archers back in action, in my mind, was important.  I wanted to move away from the congestion of soldiers in case the storm giant decided to explode someone else with a bolt of lightning, so I worked quickly and then separated myself from them as they recovered.

The archers were already organizing and started firing arrows again.  I quickly looked and noticed the storm giant attack with an overhead swing.  The blow from his sword crumpled the soldier with the tower shield, driving the legionnaire into the ground with a sickening thud and crunch.  I imagined it as a foot crushing an aluminum soda can.  

Shit.  There was no way I was going to risk getting close to the giant to use my dimensional space with that sword’s reach.  I started running away from the battle.  The mud made it difficult to sprint, but I built up some speed.  I just hoped the freaking mage was still alive when I reached him.  With the screams of men and the clash of battle at my back, I ran.  I pulled out two full healing potions out of my space.

I tried to mimic the storm giant’s slide as I reached the mage.  The ground may have been muddy, but it also had many rocks.  My canvas pants tore, and the rocks dug into my flesh, but at least I stopped in the perfect position to administer the potions.  

Fuck!  He was bleeding from his mouth and eyes.  His arm was at the completely wrong angle, too.  I would be wasting two potions on him if he was already dead.  It looked like blood was still flowing, so maybe his heart was still beating—fuck it.  I popped both seals on the vials and poured them into his throat.  He gurgled, and then he started coughing.  Before the healing got too far, I wrenched his arm back into the mostly correct position.  He grunted in pain but didn’t wake.  

I could not wait for him, and I was off running again.  I thought about running up the muddy crater and into the swamp but decided maybe we could win if the mage got back on his feet.  Also, with the giant’s long legs, it would be very easy for him to catch me in the swamp. 

As I ran, a flying head nearly hit me on my sprint back to the archers.  I recognized the head as it flew by.  That was Leonidus with a shocked expression on his face.  I looked at the main combat; only three shieldmen remained and six spearmen.  Nope, one of the shieldmen was missing the top of his shield and his head.  The body crumpled with no brain to give it direction.  Rest in pieces, Leonidus, my friend.

The storm giant had dozens of arrows in him and half a dozen spears.  He looked like he was speeding up and not slowing down.  His rich red blood flowed from his wounds, but when you are twenty-five feet tall, you have a lot of blood to spill.  Two archers I had not tended to were dead when I reached them.  Another groaning archer took a healing potion as I forced it down his throat.  The swordsman unit was still intact but had not advanced on the storm giant.  

I couldn’t blame them; their smaller round shields were useless against a telephone pole-sized sword.  Even the body shields of the shield wall were useless.  They could have hampered the flanks of the giant and helped their companions but had remained here.  I guessed it was because Durandus was not here to give orders.

Finally, everyone who was alive was attended to.  I figured out that the archer who had exploded was the archer unit’s leader, one of the four lieutenants.  The storm giant had chosen the optimal target.  Since it had this much intellect, I was reconsidering staying.   I watched as the giant executed the last shield and spearmen and slowly turned toward us, bloody and angry.  I had dropped my own spear long ago when I had been knocked to the ground by the lightning bolt.  Well, maybe not that long ago, I laughed somewhat wildly uncontrolled in my head.  It had been what, maybe two minutes?  Fuck, I was losing it as I did not think I was going to live through this.

Then the ground under the giant heaved, and tendrils of muddy ice started to work their way up the giant’s legs.  Durandus was back on his feet.  Well, mostly on his feet.  He looked unsteady as he directed his magic.  The giant called another lightning strike down on the mage, and it dissipated into the ground, not affecting him.  He took a step toward Durandus, and I thought there was no way ice was going to hold the storm giant.  That was not the mage’s plan.  Durandus had made massive mud ice cubes on the giant’s bare feet.  

The giant stumbled at the awkward footwear.  Durandus screamed at us, “Advance, you fools!  This will only hold him till I run out of aether!” They hesitated for only a moment before obeying.  The remaining archers were building up a steady rhythm of arrow strikes, even if the arrows barely penetrated.  I was a spectator and moved up the slope of the crater to get some weapons from the fallen archers, as close-range combat was not on my mind.  If the giant reached the mage, running would be my only choice.  Hopefully, the giant would be too injured to pursue.

Duramdus had not used any lightning attacks on the giant, which was probably smart.  If it could call lightning itself, it probably made sense it was immune.  The giant was struggling but was getting closer to the mage, who was not remotely healed yet.  His arm was still hanging loosely, and he was swaying on his feet.  The giant paused a heartbeat, considering the advancing swordsmen, the mage, and the pesky archers.  He made a decision that surprised everyone.  He flung his massive sword helicopter-style at the tight formation of swordsmen. 

I heard the whoosh, whoosh as it spun, and two men were hit squarely.  One man was cut in half, his intestines spraying the field, and the other was struck by the handle and thrown away in a crumpled mess.   The blade did not slow as it continued into the row of archers.  The blade had rotated, so it struck flat-side into the concentrated archers.  Men screamed as they were flung aside like rag dolls.  I was in shock and paralyzed as the hope of victory seemed snatched from us.

The mud-ice prison was creeping up the giant, who was now on his knees.  The remaining swordsmen were close to the giant, and we had four archers still upright.  “He is immobilized and unarmed!”  Durandus yelled weakly.  “Finish him!” 

I was spurred to make a decision.  I grabbed a bow, and two quivers moved to help the archers.  When I reached the downed men, I pulled out more potions to heal who I could.  Now that the sword was gone from the giant, I could get close to the monstrosity and kill it with my dimensional space if the opportunity presented itself.  The last six swordsmen engaged just out of its reach, and the archers fired steadily.  One arrow pierced an eye, and the giant lunged in anger to grab a man, uncaring about the sword blades stabbing his massive hand.

The giant fist squeezed, and the man popped and oozed out of his armor like crushing a grape.  The dead soldier was also now a projectile.  The giant looked at the mage quickly before throwing the body at the closest swordsman, who had no chance to dodge.  The throw’s speed told me he would not live through the impact.  Both bodies rolled thirty feet before skidding to a stop in the mud.  The giant made the hand motion for lighting again, but what he called was tiny compared to before.  The swordsman struck had no defenses, though.  Mage Durandus was too focused on encasing the giant to shield him from the lightning.  The swordsman did not explode, just crumpled to the ground, charred and smoking.  

I gave an injured archer a potion.  We had three swordsmen and five archers remaining.  Mage Durandus was focused on the giant who was waist-deep in frozen mud.  The giant looked pitiful in his rage and started slamming his fists into the icy mud.   But it was like concrete, and he only took small chunks off with his bloody fists.   If he did free himself, we were all fucked.  I looked at the mage; he looked pale and no longer had the energy to scream orders.  

I took my bow and quiver and joined the fight.  At thirty yards, I missed my first five shots.  I was rushing and not aiming as my heart beat crazily in my chest.  The other archers were searching for arrows in their companions’ quivers.  Each archer had two small quivers, a total of 34 arrows, to start, and now they had run out.

I finally hit on my sixth shot.  It was a shoulder strike that barely penetrated.  I was useless as an archer.   I dropped my bow and moved toward a spear nearby.  With the creature immobilized, I moved to its flank, looking for an opportunity.  It was not needed as the giant slowed, leaking from dozens of wounds.  It was all about making sure it bled out now.  The archers continued ranged attacks until we ran out of arrows.

What we did to the creature wasn't pretty.  But it eventually stopped moving.  Durandus ordered a man to stab his uninjured eye.  He moved cautiously, and the sword sank in without resistance or movement.  We had won the fight.

I looked around the battlefield and promptly vomited.  It was not from the gore but a pent-up emotional release of being alive after running on adrenaline for endless minutes.  The landscape had body parts, and innards were everywhere.  The mud was red with the giant’s blood, which had apparently run out.  The shieldmen and spearmen bodies had been brutalized.  It was a literal meat grinder.  My canteen was up at the lip of the crater, so I just spit to get the taste of vomit out.  Durandus hobbled forward eagerly with his essence collector in his hand.  His device was only the size of a dinner plate, smaller and more intricate than the one Castile used.  

He placed it on the chest of the giant.  The device worked, drawing in a blue etherally smoke from the body.  The mage murmured in delight, even though only seven of his men remained alive.  I knew by its size that it was an apex essence, and I guessed by its strong glow it had a magic affinity.  It disappeared in the mage’s mouth as soon as it had fully formed on the collector.  His broken body savored the essence as it was consumed.  

I sat down heavily.  I may have played the role of support, but we would have all been dead if I hadn’t gotten the mage back on his feet.  We would have all been dead if the giant hadn’t also been near aether exhaustion when we launched the initial attack.  I couldn’t fathom why the mage risked the lives of forty men for an essence.  

After the essence was consumed, Durandus started giving orders.  “Give me the rest of the healing drafts,” was the first.  He consumed half of them before giving the rest to the injured men. 

Durandus then moved among his dead men and used the collector on them.  I could tell the men found this slightly off-putting.  We all just worked on stripping the bodies of their gear and getting ready to bury the men.   Durandus pocketed every essence he was able to collect.  

I looked forward to going back to the city.  We were not returning, though.  Now healed and functional, Durandus addressed everyone still alive.  We had one spearman, who had lived through the massacres, five archers, and three swordsmen.  “Well fought today against imposing odds.  That was a creature of immense power, and our teamwork brought it to its knees and ended its life.  Now, for the good of the Empire, we will spend a day trying to figure out what the giant was digging for.   If we do not find anything in a day, we will return to Macha.”  I think I was learning to appreciate being in Mage Castile’s company.

Chapter 31 Aftermath

The mood was somber as we grabbed our packs from up on the muddy ridge while Mage Durandus searched the storm giant and where he had been focusing his digging efforts with magic.  The stormy sky slowly cleared, and the sun started sporadically showing through the clouds.  The men left back at the road would know we had succeeded when there were no more storm clouds.  Exhausted from the fight, it took a lot of energy to climb the muddy slope multiple times to get all the packs down.  As Durandus recovered his aether, he healed himself and the most severely wounded men.  

After setting the camp up, the grizzly job of digging the graves started.  Durandus told us to bury them on the far side of the crater, well away from the dig site.  The soft, muddy ground made it feasible with our terrible tool set.  We made crude shovels from destroyed shields and spears.  The dead men were stripped of their legionnaire gear, placed in shallow graves, and then covered.  The ten of us were exhausted as the night rolled on us with no warning since we were essentially in a massive hole.  We lost daylight earlier and faster than expected.  Durandus was still studying the dig site well into the night and got irritated when disturbed.  

I did not even bother setting up my tarp tent.  I just laid out my oiled cloak and bed roll.  Others did the same, and the night watch was going to be a single person at a time, a one-hour shift each.  I was even woken to take my turn.  Not that you could see anything other than Durandus with glow stones mounted on spears driven into the ground at the dig site.

The morning came, and my hip and thigh throbbed.  The rocky slide that had torn up my canvas pants and the damaged flesh was probably infected.  As the camp stirred, a legionnaire noticed and said, “Have Durandus heal that.  His aether should have recovered by now.”  I nodded and took out a meal bar, unwrapping it and nibbling on the cracker outside.  It was like a dam of hunger had burst, and I consumed the bar rapidly with a canteen of water.  It was one of the best meals I had ever eaten, but I knew it was just my body telling me I was starving for calories. 

After the meal, I limped over to the mage and asked him, “Mage Durandus, can you heal my leg?  I think it is infected.”

I waited patiently while he continued to stare at the ground.  Finally, he spoke with some excitement, but not looking at me, “There is an entire city covered under the swamp.  A city built for giants!”  He knelt in the mud, pressed his hand to the earth, and whispered to himself, “What was it searching for?”

I asked again, “Can you help with my leg?  I think it is infected.”

He looked up, irritated at the interruption.  He put his hand on my thigh, and I felt the familiar feeling of aetheric healing.  I focused on it as the warmth spread and dirt and tiny stones were pushed out of the flesh.  I thought I had cleaned the wound well, but I was wrong by the amount of material being ejected.  Next time, I would save a potion for myself.  When he was finished, he returned to studying the ground with whatever magic he was using.   I returned to the others who were setting up their tents and going through all the gear from the comrades.  Laying out weapons, personal items, and bulky gear in three piles.  The two men looked up, their faces black with dirt.  My own face could not look much better.  One man said, “Besides the coin purses, you can take what you want.  We will get the coin to their families through the Legion Hall.”  I retrieved the spear I had brought with me.  I dropped the spear when I had been thrown back when the archer exploded in front of me.  I selected a second spear, the best one of the bunch the others had stacked together. 

As I selected the spear, the other man commented, “You did well.  We would all be dead if not for your actions yesterday.”

“I am glad someone thinks so,” I looked quickly at the mage to indicate who I was talking about.  

A grunt of agreement, and then he said, “We never experienced a defeat like this before.”  I would not contradict him, arguing that it was a victory since the giant was slain.  It certainly felt like we had lost.  “We have sustained heavy injuries before, but Durandus usually heals us right after the fighting.”

The other man added, “And he has never been injured that badly in battle.”  He picked up some small black bags in a pile.  He whispered to me, “Want some glow stones?  If you pawn them, they are worth over a gold piece, and we will not take them all.”  I still had the one from Leonidus but bent down and scooped up seven.  The stones were the size of a small chicken egg and maybe four ounces each.  He smirked and nodded as I brought them to my pack.  I felt like he was offering me a reward for my efforts in the fighting.  Two pounds of glow stones was a fair amount of weight, so they would be added to my dimensional storage later.  I returned and sat with them.

“Do you think we will be heading back tomorrow?” someone asked another man.  I was happy that they were talking around me.  Surviving the near-death experience had brought me into their trusted circle.  

“Probably.  He might have spells to see deep into that muddy earth, but he doesn’t have a single one to dig,” his fellow said with some malice directed at the mage.

I asked, “Does he always loot the legionaries for essence when they die?”  They looked at each other and then back at me.

One shook his head, “No.  Well.  Usually, a dozen monster corpses keep him busy, and we rarely lose anyone.  I have been with him for almost four years.  Although we rotate the men in our company, I think only nine,” he paused thinking, “no ten have died in all that time.  Most of our missions are escorting some baron or baroness between cities.  We typically just see a wandering monster or a few bandits.”

I nodded.  “I am filthy.  I am going to bathe in the swamp,” I laughed at the absurdity of it—going into murky water to get clean.  “Can you come and guard me for a short while?”  Both men struggled to their feet, and a few men joined us. 

We stripped and bathed in pairs while the five others remained on watch.  Four men remained to watch over the engrossed mage.  The filth was real, and even bathing in murky water, I was thrilled to get cleaner.  I pulled some things out of my hair that I cared not to identify and just flung them away. 

I thought about taking one of the dead man’s pants or even pulling one from my storage.  We had only stripped the bodies of armor and possessions, not clothes.  We buried them with their clothes. 

The man I washed with tried to start a conversation, “This water is not bad.  I remember passing a swamp as a child with leeches as big as my fist!”

I noticed one of the black bottom-feeding fish scurry away from my feet, and I swore and kicked at it.  Stumbling back, my foot caught on a root, and I fell in.  The man laughed, but I did not appreciate his humor.  He was one of the archers I saved with a healing potion.  He continued to talk, obviously trying to make me uncomfortable, “You know, now that the storm and lightning have cleared, I bet the giant frogs will return with the other predators.  Your company killed a big snake?  Wonder if there are any more in the swamp?”

I played his game and acted nonchalantly.  “Yeah, took all twenty of us to bring it down, and it swallowed two men during the fight.  They barely survived.  With any fewer men, and without our mage, they would have drowned in the snake’s gut.”

It worked as he suddenly became more observant of the surrounding water.  I finished cleaning as best I could and returned to my tent.  I pulled all eight of the glow stones into my dimensional space.  I was not going to carry the extra two pounds out of the swamp.  Around mid-day, with nothing left to do, I milled about the piles of equipment since everyone had now picked it over.   

Each of the dead men had their prized possessions whittled down to a small sack for their families.  At least I would not have to help carry them out.  Well, so far, I did not think I would have to.  I probably would if asked.  It felt too much like robbing the dead to me.  This was not a fantasy game where one looted people.  Still, I searched for something more edible to eat.  I had one bag of trail mix left and the ration bars.  One canteen smelled like wine, but I was not in the mood.  I found some wrapped sausage, which I munched on while I ate.  I also found the heavy metal fishing line with the hook the soldier used.  I pocketed it. 

The soldiers had packed fairly light, so there was not much of interest.  I added a small sewing kit; just a wallet of needles and heavy thread, a small jar of horse rub for chafing, and a small, wonderfully crafted wooden flute wrapped in an oiled cloth.  I couldn’t play a lick, but maybe I would find the time, and it was a beautiful instrument.  It would have been a shame to leave the flute behind weather in the elements.

As I returned to my tent to rest, the mage finally broke his gaze and returned to our camp.  He seemed to be seeing it for the first time, his daze broken.  He was completely healed and only looked slightly pale from lack of sleep and aether usage. 

“We will be returning in an hour.  You can pack everything up.”  He looked over at the pile of gear I was standing at.  “Take what you can carry.”  With those words, he went to his larger tent that had been set up by the men and started to eat his own rations.  He deeply thought about whatever he had found and ignored everyone as we picked up the camp. 

An hour later, Durandrus packed up his tent and carried his backpack out of the swamp.  The rest of the men were too burdened with gear to help him.  We were going to have to stay the night on one of the small islands. 

The mage was distracted as we made our way through, and twice, the men in the lead fell into deeper waters.  Both times, Durandus had to save them with his magic from drowning with their heavy packs.  When the sunset, Durandus chose an island, and we began to set up camp.  As we did so, one of the giant frogs found us.  A man had been shitting on the island’s far side, and the frog grabbed him and pulled him in and under with its rope-like tongue.  Durandus scrambled from his position, but the frog was already in deep waters with its prize.  Durandus fumed, “You are all getting sloppy!  In dangerous terrain, it is three!  Three men at all times together!”  He continued yelling at the legionnaires, but they were numb to the verbal assault.  When he was done with his tirade, they returned to camp duties, mourning the loss of their companion in silence.

I realized the man taken was the one I had bathed in the swamp water.  Well, he was right about one thing.  The predators of the swamp were returning to their territory now that the storm had been dispersed.

Chapter 32 Swamp Things

The loss of another legionnaire hung heavy on the company.  The remaining men were splitting the night watch, and we were all bundling our tents toward the center of the island.  I was asked to participate in the second watch and agreed without hesitation.  I was going to share it with four other men.  The air remained humid, but the temperature had dropped significantly.  Mage Durandus had only dried himself before going to sleep.  He informed the men that he was still recovering from using his aether to heal the men.  We would have to sleep in wet clothes tonight.  

I slept heavily, even soaking wet.  I was roused in the middle of the night and felt yesterday’s aches.  Durandus had only healed the skin and cleared the infection on my leg.  My muscles were still sore.  Since there was a chill, I wrapped my bed roll around me while I went to serve on watch.  We sat, and the watch was explained in a whisper, “We will each cover an arc of a quarter island’s shore.  Your arc is here,” he pointed out in the moonlight the range of my focus.  “The water is still, and the moonlight is strong.  Focus on the shoreline and look for ripples in the waters.  If you see anything just tap me and point it out.  I will decide if the alarm needs to be raised.”  

We positioned ourselves on a rotting log on one side of the camp.  The other three men took the other side of the camp.  It was about fifteen minutes before my partner whispered, “Eryk, right?”  I nodded in the moonlight.  “I am Brutus.”  

“Nice to meet you, Brutus,” I whispered back.  “How long have you been with Durandus?”

“About two years,” he whispered back and was quiet for a period.  “I always thought having a company mage with healing would be good.  It did not help that the giant was splattering us with one swing.”  

I recalled Brutus was the lone survivor of the spearmen.  He had received a massive blow to his skull and been knocked out and revived after the fighting.  “We should just be happy we survived and get back to the city,”  I whispered back.  Two loud clicks from the other side of the camp had Brutus turn his head quickly.

“Hold up a minute.  That is a signal for a possible attack,” he remained still, and we both listened hard.  After five minutes, a single click came, and he relaxed, “It happens two or three times during the night.  We have a strong moon tonight, but the dark still plays tricks on the eyes.”

I looked up at the moon and studied it.  Unlike the moon I was accustomed to, this moon was twice the size and had deep blue coloring.  Maybe it was covered in water because it had a glossy look.  “You shouldn’t stare at it,” Brutus said.  “It will ruin your night sight for a few minutes because it is brighter than the surroundings.”

“Is the moon covered in water?” I asked as he was proved correct.  Everything looked much darker as my pupils reset.  

“I think so.  It is called Neptune’s Tear.  Neptune controls the tides and storms,” he said, tensing, shifting, and pulling a dagger,  “Quiet!” he rasped as he focused.  I saw it, too.  There were ripples in the water on the shore.  He stood and produced his glow stone bag.  I pulled one from my dimensional space.  I had charged all of them, so I knew it was ready.  He moved to the right, “If I see something, I will throw the glowstone at it so we can fight with more light.”

“I am ready as well,” I whispered back.  Brutus tapped twice on his spear with his dagger, signaling the others on the watch for a possible enemy.  I gripped my own spear tightly, trying to see movement in the blue-gray-lit swamp.  I started to get an uneasy feeling rising in me.  “Do you?”  I questioned.

“Yes.” he tapped twice more on his spear.  “The smell is getting stronger.”  I inhaled deeply, and the stench of the swamp was stronger.  I hadn’t noticed.  “It might be the giant tortoise again stirring up the swamp waters nearby,” Brutus said hopefully.

“Should we wake everyone?”  I asked, trying to find movement.

Brutus started to say, “Yes,” then the alarm went up on the other side of the camp.  Metal banging together.  “Go help them.  I will watch this side of the island so we don’t get attacked from behind.”  I hesitated for a moment before running through the camp to the other sentry position.  The tents were stirring as I passed them.  

A scream of pain from where I was running to, “It has got me!  Cut it!”  I hurried, thinking it was a giant frog tongue pulling a man to a watery grave again.  I took my light stone and threw it toward the screams for help.  What I saw did not make sense to my eyes.

A mound of vegetation had wrapped wrist-thick vines around a man’s legs and was pulling the man toward itself.  He had lost his bow and was stabbing the vines with a dagger.  To my left, the other pair of sentries was hacking away with short swords at a similar mound of plant mass.  The swamp thing was attacking us like in a bad horror movie from Earth.  I ran and stabbed the body of the one pulling the archer in.  He screamed at me, “Cut the fucking vines!”  

He was only a few feet from the body of the monster.  The tents were lit with glowstones, and the other men would be here soon to help.  I started stabbing the vines pulling him, but it did not break them.  His foot reached the mound, and the vegetation moved aside for his foot to be pulled inside.  Glow stones were tossed around the fight, and two men appeared next to me and began to hack the vines with swords.  Chunks of gooey plant parts started flying off the creature from the assault.

We were making progress.  A vine lashed out from the creature and slammed down into a swordsman’s shoulder with an audible crack.  His knees buckled, and he dropped his short sword and struggled to pull a dagger with his other arm.  Finally, Mage Durandus arrived and moved to cast a spell at our creature.  A lightning bolt flared in front of me, blinding me and forcing me back a step with a minor clap of thunder.  

“No lightning,” rang across from a soldier in the other fight.  “It is a shambler.  Lightning only heals it!”  

I was blinded but heard the mage swear, “Damn it, shambling mounds, should have known.”  

I stepped away as I attempted to find my sight by blinking rapidly and listening to the struggle.  The loudest sound was the scream of the archer being pulled in, and I could hear his bones breaking.  I blinked my sight back to see the man inside the mound, his body crushed in the mass.  His screams mercifully ended when a vine forced its way into his mouth, filling his throat.  

I could see the frost on the ground as the mage started to freeze the creature as he had done with the storm giant.  The creature tried to lash out at the remaining swordsman, with the archer’s life now ended inside its body.  Brutus yelled from the other side of the clearing, “Got another one over here!”  

With my spear ineffectual, I grabbed the short sword from the legionary who dropped his when the vine whip broke his shoulder.  The mage had frozen the creature and was out of his range, so I rushed to help Brutus.  On the other side of the camp, the creature was dripping with swamp water as it moved onto land.  Brutus’ light stone shadowed the mound to make it look even more menacing. 

Brutus was backing up toward the camp, not engaging.  He looked at me, “How is it on the other side?”

I told him, “Mage Durandus has one captured in ice, and the others are hacking the other one.”

“I do not know much about these things,” he admitted.  Our scout was the one who knew lightning healed them.  “What do you say we keep backing up until we reach the others for help?”

“That sounds like a bloody brilliant plan,” I remarked at the smartest thing I had heard in a while. 

Another man was grappled and pulled inside one of the creatures.  They couldn’t kill it fast enough, and the mage was occupied freezing the other one.  His panicked cries and then screams ended in under a minute.  

We backed halfway to the others when the fighting started to die.   A call that it was dead reached us.  Mage Durandus yelled his creature was contained and for everyone to finish off the one in camp.  

Mage Durandus came to our aid first, and the ground frosted over as he began his spell.  Soon, we all surrounded the creature and waited for the vine-like limbs to freeze before hacking them off.  I joined in, and soon, the mound was nothing but a big pile of green vines and sap.  We were all sweaty and covered in the sticky goo.  Another victory in defeat—two men lost to gruesome deaths. 

The scout said, “The frozen one is still alive.  We should hack it to pieces.”

Durandus countered the order, “No, it is more likely to give an essence if it is alive.”  He took out his plate-sized essence collector and placed it over the pile of goo.  It flared for a moment, but nothing formed.  He frowned.  He moved to the other mound, and our group of seven moved with him.  This hacked mound also gave nothing but a flash.

“Damn it.  It should have given something!”  Durandus voiced angrily.  I think because the soldier was trapped in the remains, he thought either the shambling mound or the dead soldier would have yielded something.  His last hope was the living mound, frozen in place with a body trapped inside. 

The scout advised, “Durandus, we should just hack it to pieces before you attempt your harvest.”

He waved him aside, “It is contained.  If the ice casing cracks, you all can move in and slash it to death.”  We all moved in close, and I was facing the trapped man whose face was twisted in pain and agony with a vine shoved into his throat.  That could have been me.

Durandus held the disc out and began the process.  Apparently, it took longer on living creatures because it was still glowing after a few seconds.  The mage’s face was expectant and smiling.  That was when the ice coating shattered, and a heavy vine instantly slammed into his body and threw him out into the swamp.  A heartbeat later, we were hacking away at the not-so-frozen creature.

The scout yelled, “Brutus, go get the mage.  Eryk, use a potion on him!  Go!!”

I didn’t tell him all I had were ten cure poison and two stamina potions remaining.  I just moved with Brutus into the water.  I hoped there were no more of these creatures.  I still had my dimensional trick, at least.  “How far did he fly?” I asked.

“Don’t know, space out about ten feet, and we will walk away to look.  Walk slow and stay alert.”  I took out a glow stone and held it high as we walked in waist-deep water.  We were almost thirty feet from shore, and the safety of being in a group.  My anxiety grew, and a silvery reflection at my feet startled me.  It was the essence collector.  I oriented my dimensional space to the area and moved it into my space without bending and going into the water to pick it up.

A minute later and almost seventy feet from shore, we found Mage Durandus floating face down.  Brutus hesitated and then waded toward him and flipped him over.  “He is dead.  Must have been knocked unconscious and drowned.  Terrible fate for a water mage, to drown.”  He did not sound too disappointed.  I thought the mage’s death was karmic. 

Chapter 33 Loot Collector

Watery blood filled Durandrus’ mouth as he floated between us.  “Do we bring him to shore?”  I asked Brutus.

Brutus considered and searched him.  He found the mage’s pouch with essences he had accumulated and a small coin pouch.  He considered for a long moment before saying, “Shit.  Damn, Truthseekers would talk the theft out of us if we took anything.  Let’s bring him to shore and see what Flavius wants to do.”

We floated the body to shore, and men came and helped us drag him up to the small island’s center.  They had already buried their companion’s two bodies in the island’s soft soil.  Flavius was the archer-trained scout who was taking command of the remaining men.  He looked at the body and just rasped angrily, “Greedy bastard.  It finally bit him in the ass.”  He looked up and addressed everyone, “Ok, we are going to haul the body back to the road.”  He picked up the mage’s pouches.  The essences will be divided among us, and the coin will be sent to his estate.  Did you find the collector?”  He asked Brutus and I.

Brutus answered, “No, could have gone anywhere.  Eryk was holding the glowstone aloft the entire time we searched, and we didn’t see anything.”  I kept a straight face, and Flavius grunted.

“Okay, we will search for the collector in the morning.  If we don’t find it by mid-day we will head to the road,” Flavius announced.  He pulled the string on the essence sack.  “Since essences collected on campaigns are administered at the discretion of the commanding officer in the Legion, I will be handing these out!”  There was a chorus of affirmations as the seven of us circled around him. 

Flavius took his cloak and placed it on the ground.  He slowly dumped the marble-like essences onto the cloak.  There were thirty-seven smaller marble-sized essences, three golf ball-sized essences, and seven more in between those sizes.  “For those of you who have never consumed an essence before, the small ones are minor essences, the middle-sized ones are major essences, and the three large balls are apex essences.  Each one is ten times more valuable than the prior.  Now these,” he took the three apex essences, “are required to be turned into the Empire.”  He moved them back into the pouch.

Someone asked why, and Flavius replied, “First Citizen privilege.  They buy them all to use amongst themselves.  You don’t want a Truthseeker asking you if you consumed one.  Although working for Durandus these last few months, the laws are pretty loose.” There were murmurs of agreement among everyone.  He had taken the apex essence of the storm giant and consumed it right away, and that must have been his pattern in the past.

“Now the question is most of these minor essences are from our comrades.  Do we want to consume them or return them to their families?”  Flavius asked us.  An argument ensued.  Two men really wanted to consume them, and two wanted to return them to their families, not that we could tell which essence belonged to whom.   In the end, we added one minor essence to each bag of personal possessions, leaving nine small essences and seven medium essences.  

Flavius continued, “The color of the essence determines which aspect of self it is related to.  The darker colors are all physical traits.  The lighter colors are the mental aspects.”

Flavius slowly went through the colors from memory:

Strength

Dark Purple

Intellect

Light Purple

Power

Dark Orange

Reasoning

Light Orange

Quickness

Dark Green

Perception

Light Green

Dexterity

Dark Yellow

Insight

Light Yellow

Endurance

Dark Blue

Resilience

Light Blue

Constitution

Dark Red

Empathy

Light Pink

Coordination

Dark Pink

Fortitude

Light Red

Of the nine small essences, four were strength, two constitution, and three were power.  The seven larger, major essences were five strength, one empathy, and one coordination. 

Curious, I asked, “What about magic-related statistics?”

Flavius thought for a moment.  He slowly spoke, “I think aether essences are a milky pearl-like.  Channeling I have seen before.  They are glossy black.  The others,” he focused and shook his head.  “I read it too long ago to remember.  I just remember one was clear like glass.”

“What was the one Durandus consumed from the storm giant?”  Another legionnaire asked.

“Probably the common lightning affinity.  I did not see it.  All the magic affinities have some glow and animation to them.  These physical and mental,” he indicated the ones on the cloak, “Only glow softly in the dark.”

Everyone looked anxious.  Flavius said, “We will pull chips for the order of selection.  Once for the lesser and once for the major.  The two extra lesser extra will be determined by the lowest two chips on the third pull.” 

The chips ended up being a deck of cards from a pack with the Roman numerals on them.  One through seven was pulled.  I pulled six for the lesser essence.  On my turn, I took the dark orange essence for power.  The next draw was for the lowest number.  I got one, but it did not matter; only strength essences remained, so I took one.  The final draw was for the major essence, and this was the big one.  I wanted the pink coordination essence, but I drew the number five. 

Brutus got a two on the draw, and when his turn came, I offered, “Brutus, I will trade my two minor essences and my fifth selection for your turn?”

Everyone listened as Brutus asked, “Which one are you planning to select?”

With all eyes on me, I said, “The pink coordination.”  Flavius’ eyes betrayed him, and he had also planned to select that.   I did not get a read on the others.  Brutus nodded slowly and handed me his card, and I gave him my card and the two essences.  I selected the pink essence and put it into my mouth immediately.  As it dissolved, it had a salty taste to it, but it may have just been the dried sweat from the hands of the people handling it.  The familiar cold, tingly lighting washed through my body. 

Others started putting their own essence into their mouth, and I almost warned them about taking multiple ones.  I think some people planned to sell them, or maybe they worried about consuming the essence of a fallen comrade.  When the selection ended, Flavius announced, “It is a half-day trip to the road.  It is going to be much more difficult without Durandus to guide us.  Get six hours of rest, and then we will pack quickly and search for the collector in the light.  Eryk and Brutus, you are on watch for the first two hours.”

I was about to say something but then remembered while everyone had been fighting, we had been backpedaling and drawing the third shambling mound toward the others.  We did the least amount of fighting of everyone here.  As I stood in the morning’s light, standing back to back with Brutus, I asked, “Are essences important?  Are they the soul of the being you take them from?” 

Brutus answered slowly, “Some people think so.  The orcs in the west in the Boutan Caliphate, for one.  They consider it a great honor to consume the essence of their conquered enemy.  The teachings of the Telhian Empire are that a person’s essence is sacred before they die.  Once they die, the essence is for their family to do with what they will.  Usually, it is used to strengthen the children if it is collected.”

A few men started snoring, and we could see the larger insects going to feast on the corpses of the monsters.  I asked, “Why was everyone so upset when Durandus harvested the bodies of the men?”

“Because he would have sold it and not given them to the families,” Brutus said steelily.  “In the Empire, it is also not common practice to harvest your own men, even in times of war.  Outside of Legion Mages and Mages of the College, only the Temple of Minerva has priests with collectors within the Empire.”

“How do Legion Mages get away with harvesting people and consuming apex essences?” I asked, trying to understand and listening keenly.

“The mages of the Legion and the Mage College are the true power of the Empire.  Anyone that can learn true spell casting is revered,” Brutus said, surprised.  “How is it in your home country?”

I panicked because I didn’t know how they treated mages in the Duchy of Tsingia.  I could only find the country on a map and knew they exported lumber.  I had not told anyone in this company where I was from, so maybe I could just make something up.  “The same.  The mages are a class above the common folk in Tsingia.”

“Tsingia?  You are a long way from home.  What brought you up here?  There are a lot of foreign men in the army, but they are uncommon in the Legion ranks,” Brutus said, and I could hear the curiosity in his voice.

“Bad luck.  How about you?  Why are you in the Legion?”  I tried to focus the conversation on him.

“Me?”  He laughed, “I am the bastard son of a bastard son of a Baron who owns nothing but barley and hops fields.  I was taught to fight, and rather than join the Baron’s guard, I joined the Legion.  It pays better, and I will get my pension after twenty years.”

“Pension?”  I asked, turning to face him.

“Yes.  You continue to draw your weekly salary bi-annually.  Did you not know?  Are you a conscript, then?  I think you are still eligible.  When I retire, I will find a wife and raise Tegairosian goats.”  He smacked his lips, “Their milk makes the most divine cheese.”

I told him the truth, “I was railroaded into a guilty verdict and forced to join or work as a laborer.”

“Railroaded?”  Brutus asked, unfamiliar with the term.

I huffed, “It means I was given no other viable choice.”

“Eryk, my friend, that describes most of the army and half the Legion,” he laughed.  “So you must have trained at western Legion camp then if you were conscripted?”

“I guess.  No one told me what the camp was, and I was too focused on not getting sent to the army.  How many camps are there to train legionnaires?”  I inquired of my new friend.

“Just two.  The western camps and the camp in the capital for the volunteers,” Brutus informed me.  We were silent till we were relieved. 

When we were called off watch, and two men took our place.  I packed up my things rather than get four hours of sleep in the hot, sticky weather.  The sun was out today, and it was going to be a miserable walk through the swamp to the road. 

The others who had not been on watch wrapped the mage tightly with his personal possessions.  They made small floats from empty canteens to tie to the body.  I retrieved some glow stones that were abandoned due to their weight to bring the total in my dimension space to eleven.  Flavius asked if I could take some of the dead men’s personal possessions into my space since they were small but heavy bags, and I agreed.

Flavius declared the sun was high enough to search for the essence collector, and we walked a grid pattern with everyone in the area where the body was found.  I asked Flavius, “Why is this so important?  Doesn’t the Empire have dozens of these things?”

Flavius clucked irritated, “That was not a normal collecter.  It was a dungeon-created one.  Smaller, lighter, and supposedly more efficient than most.  Like all dungeon artifacts, its value is hard to measure.  It was Durandus’ most prized possession.  His brother is going to want it back as well.”

I looked questioningly at him, and he clarified the misunderstanding, “Durandus’ brother is a mage in charge of another company.  I only met him once, and he has the most foul temper.  While Durandus was self-serving, he was not cruel.  His brother is.”

We searched till mid-day like Flavius promised.  Then, we marked the island and the direction in which the body was found in case someone wanted to try their luck in the future.  Flavius thought the Legion might send a mage to search or even Durandus’ brother would come himself.

We moved in a diamond formation through the swamp.  Floating the body in the center with three men ready to respond in any direction.  It was a painfully slow process as we were weighed down with too much gear to swim, so we had to find paths no deeper than the chest.  Even with the man in the lead having a spear to check the depth, he sometimes stumbled and fell into deep water.  It was a rush to save him from drowning every time.  After the first incident, we tied a ten-foot rope to the lead man to help with the rescue.  I was lucky, as I was never asked to be the lead man in the formation.

We got lucky and only encountered one giant frog and that was when we were resting on an island.  A man was grabbed but resisted being pulled inside the maw of the frog.  We swarmed the frog and slew it.  I twitched slightly since I now had an essence collector and could have used it on the frog.  From the collector’s noted value, I decided to keep my possession of it secret. 

The sun was already setting when we reached the road, and our wet and sore bodies collapsed into the rocky dirt.  It had taken much longer than we thought it would, and we all had twice as much gear as when we started.  Flavius said we had arrived but had come out on the road too far south.  We didn’t rest long before Flavius had us moving again north toward a comfortable bed.

A half mile later, we approached an area of charred bodies in the dark.  They were all frogs, and this was where we had left the men to guard the discarded gear.  The gear and the men that Durandus left behind were not there.  “They must have returned to Macha,” Flavius announced.  “A bath and bed are close men.  Just a few more hours.”  Our spirits rose even though we knew we still had miles to go. 

Chapter 34 Spa Day

Our soaked and filth-covered bodies walked down the road.  Four men carried the mage in a litter made from two spears.  We rotated carrying him as night set in, and the watery Blue Moon bathed us in its light.  Every man had a glowstone ready to be released to illuminate a foe if one showed itself.  Flavius had us moving quickly, and the city walls came into view after a time.  Relief flooded my own body at the sight.  

I had turned over a lot of thoughts in my mind on the trek back.  Should I have revealed myself and risked myself to kill the storm giant with my dimensional space?  Men would have lived, and Durandus would probably be alive.   The horror of the speed at which the storm giant killed almost twenty shield and spear men flashed through my mind.  Experienced men.  No, I would have most likely died if I had tried to get close enough.  The storm giant was twenty-five feet tall.  I could not have displaced enough of his body to win the fight in a single blow.

We reached the gate, breaking my thoughts, and Flavius yelled up to the tower, “Durandus’ company is returning!”

“Gates do not open for anyone until first light.  Order of the general!” came a return shout.  

Flavius swore, “Dragon’s Breath!  Seven men with the body of a mage.  Open the gates, or I will rip them off their hinges and beat you senseless with it!”

There was a lot of movement in the tower, and then a different soldier weakly said, “They went to wake and check with the general.  Just a few moments, legionnaire.”

It was closer to fifteen minutes before the gatehouse door swung open, and a man strode out half-dressed, “What is this?  Durandus is dead?”  his voice was coated with disbelief, anger, and worry.

Flavius said, “I will report to the Legion command.  May we enter, general?”  It was not a question, as we just started walking past.  The general swore and cursed his men for not letting us in right away, but it appeared more of an act to appease us.  

I had a long walk all the way to the other side of the city to reach the villa in the inner orchard.  As I passed the upper city baths, I checked to see if they were open.  The door was not locked, but there was no one around.  I helped myself to soap and a scrubber as I went into the shower and scrubbed the filth off.  The water heading to the drain remained murky with dirt for long periods.  I located dozens of bug bites I never remembered receiving.  

Whenever I thought the water was clear, I would find another patch or crevasse of dirt.  My hair was terrible, a greasy, dirty mess that had gotten too long.  The members of Dureandus’ legion had all been clean-shaven when we started.  I was the misfit with the poorly trimmed beard.  I had seen numerous barbers, so maybe I could do that in the morning.  Finally, sure I was clean, I moved to the baths.  They were not heated, having cooled to a lukewarm temperature overnight.  I relaxed into the water, not caring, and promptly fell asleep.

I was awakened by a trio of young women whispering and staring at me.  I remembered that they were the group of women that had taken my clothes and washed them the last time.  The water had cooled even further.  I spoke clearly, “My clothes can be burned, but my armor needs washing.”  I placed seven silver coins on the lip of the large communal tub.  “Turn the heat on for the water, wash my armor, and get me a new set of clothes.  Do a good job, and there is a silver tip for each of you.” 

One of the braver women came forward and took the silver.  “We will turn on the heater runes, legionnaire.”  She was young, in her late teens, with dirty blonde hair and soft freckles, pretty in an average way.  It had been too long since I had been with a woman, and my desire rose, and I embarrassingly hid it.  

I felt guilty of the impropriety of it.  “Bring me a double breakfast and see if a barber will service me while I soak,” I asked another young woman.

She nodded, “We just prepare and clean the baths up in the morning.  The mistress should be here shortly, legionnaire.” 

I groaned inwardly as I was expecting a verbal fight with the woman for breaking into the baths in the middle of the night.  My skin was pruned, but I promptly fell asleep again as the water heated up from whatever magic did it.

I was awoken as two of the young women came in carrying trays of food and drink, and a much older woman followed, showing signs of gray.  She had a tight and unhappy face.  Hopefully, coin would solve whatever blunder I had made.  She said, “You entered my baths past the curfew, legionnaire.  Care to explain yourself?”  No, not really, I thought.

I inhaled and spoke slowly, “I was filthy after almost dying a half dozen times in the last two days.”  It was closer to a dozen times in the last week.   “I needed a bath, and your doors were open.  I have paid for my time in the water and will pay that again if I leave here happy.”

“He paid seven silver, mistress,”  one of the younger women said, trying to help.

The mistress softened.  She still did not look pleased but consented to my presence, “Very good then.  Your barber will be sent for,”  she hesitated.  “You will pay him from your own pocket.”  She left, and I dug into the food and drink.  Warm wine, fruit, somewhat stale bread, herb-infused butter, and something that appeared to be fresh hummus.  I did not taste it as I consumed everything.  

I suddenly realized something.  After the man had been caught by the frog while shitting, I unconsciously held it in on the return through the swamp.  I rushed out of the water to the privy as I urgently needed to make room for the massive quantity of food and wine I had just consumed.

A voice echoed outside the privy, “Your barber is here.”  It was one of the young women who was giggling at the embarrassing noises I was making.

I finished up, and a middle-aged man smiled as he spoke, “My services are yours.”

“Clean shave, hair cut and...” I almost added an eyebrow sculpt, but that was a vanity from a different life.

The shave was done with a foamy mixture that smelled of sandalwood.  He used a straight razor, and he shaved my neck first.  Having another man go across your throat with a blade is a different experience.  He probably sensed my unease as he started talking about his family.  The shave was finished, and he applied a balm.  The scent was beeswax and cocoa butter.  I asked, “What is in this?”

“Aloe, jojoba oil, shea butter, and honey bee wax dissolved in chamomile extract,” he replied as he combed and cut my hair.  I relaxed, feeling months of growth being removed.  Most legion companies were clean-shaven and well-groomed when I saw them in the few cities I had been to.  Castile seemed to let us do whatever we pleased.  It was like we were the black sheep of the Mage Legions. 

When he finished, he used a mirror to show me, which I liked.  My off-black hair was finger-length and styled.  I asked, “How much for the shave and your entire kit?”  He looked confused as he put his tools away in a large leather satchel.  “You have another set at your business, I assume?” I added.

“Yes, but these are my traveling set,” he said worriedly. 

“How much to replace them?”  I asked, not relenting.

He looked in his bag slowly and added up the value.  “Seventy silver,” He looked at me. 

I pulled a gold coin from nowhere and handed it to him, “This should be enough then?”

He still did not look happy at losing his profession’s tool set.  He said, “I forgot the perfume.  It is worth half a gold on its own, and I only use it on my female clients.” 

Rather than argue, I said, “You can keep the perfume.”  He finally nodded, somewhat happier as he pulled it out and took the gold coin.  He walked out in kind of a daze, like he lost something precious to him.  I was alone in the room, and the leather satchel went into my dimensional space. 

Personal grooming was in my future.  I realized I was accepting my new life.  I had not realized up till the bath, but the shock and changes had greatly diminished my desires.  Now, they seemed to be returning.  There was still no way I was visiting a brothel.  I walked to the open dressing room to find my armor clean and oiled and a set of new linen clothes folded neatly next to it. 

They were not as heavy as the canvas ones that were normal Legion wear but would work for now.  I dressed and found the older woman in charge.  I had to change a gold coin for silver since I only had one silver left.  I gave her ten silver, seven as agreed, and one silver for each of the three young women as promised.  After nearly dying, spending what wealth you had was easy.  Enjoy it while you can—I think I was developing a soldier’s mentality.

The sun was mid-morning when I reached the orchard.  I was whistling the Star Wars theme song as I entered the villa.  No one was in the entry hall, so maybe they had gone off patrol or wall duty?  I had no idea what day it was.  I went into the large ballroom where most of the beds were set up and found five men resting.  One sat up, and it was Felix.  “What the fuck?  Have you come back to frigging haunt us?”

“No.  I just got a shave and haircut,” I said, trying to sound offended.

Felix shook his head in disbelief.  “They said Durandus’ company was decimated, and they returned in the middle of the night.  That was like ten hours ago.  Castile, Delmar, and Adrian went to question the survivors.  Since you didn’t return here and we didn’t get a runner, we all thought you were dead.”

“The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated,” I quipped.

Firth came out from the kitchen, “You better get your arse to the Legion Hall in the city.  Castile is going to rip you a new one for not coming directly to her when you returned.” 

“Shit.” I dropped my armor, spears and gear and took off running.

Chapter 35 Tribunal and Judgement

As I made my way back at a steady run through the city to the Legion Hall, I planned to tell Castile I returned late and didn’t want to wake her.  Or maybe I should just go with the truth and tell her I fell asleep.  I had planned to tell Delmar or Adrian when I returned to the villa, but now I was up shit’s creek without a paddle.  Two legion men stood guard as I entered and slowed to a walk.  At least I had built up a significant sweat in the morning humid weather, so it looked like I had rushed here.  In the common room, I found everyone.

Flavius and the five men were seated at a long, dark oak table.  Across from them, Adrian and Delmar stood behind Castile, and two men I didn’t recognize sat with her.  One of them was definitely the commander of the other mage company, as he had the same rank symbols as Castile.  I slowed and realized I was not even breathing heavily from the sprint of nearly a mile, so I faked some heavy breathing.  All eyes were on me, and I guiltily noted all the men I had returned with still wore filthy clothes and were caked in mud.  I could even smell their unwashed bodies from twenty feet away as it filled the room.

Mage Castile did not look angry, but maybe she did look amused at my entrance and appearance.  It was the man who I couldn’t place who spoke, “Are you legionnaire Eryk?”

“I am.”  I came to what was attention for being in a Legion formation.  

The other mage who I did not recognize, said, “Since we do not have a Truthseeker here, let us confirm their story with him and close the matter.  The defensive plans for the city are in turmoil without Durandus and his men.  We need to start planning and make a request for another mage from the Legatus Legonis.”  

Castile didn’t seem to care at his words and studied me.  The first man spoke irritably, “He has repeatedly denied my requests for a fourth mage company.  I do not think he will send anyone, Gregor.”

The mage, who I assumed was named Gregor, replied, “We must ask.  Durandus was the center of our defense planning.  Neither I nor mage Castile can handle the load on the defense.”

Castile stopped them both with a slap of the table.  She focused on me, “Tell us about the storm giant attack Eryk.  In your own words.  And be brief.”  Her eyes told me she did not have patience today. 

I relaxed slightly as it appeared my mage commander was not directing anger at me.  “Durandus got us there, and we found the storm giant digging.  He waited until the giant was resting.  Maybe he thought the giant was out of aether.  I don’t know.  He sent the shield wall supported by the spearmen to attack it and distract it while our swordsmen and archers flanked it.  The storm giant called down lightning, and it had no effect.  The giant charged the shieldmen when Durandus tried to encase him in ice.  The giant plowed through the spearman, casting them aside to get to Durandus.  I think Durandus thought his shield spell would protect him from any attack.”

I took a moment to remember.  “It did, but the giant’s sword launched the mage 150 feet, his protective ball intact.  I don’t know when it failed, but he hit the ground and was knocked out.  The giant blew apart the archer formation with a lightning bolt.  And proceeded to kill all the shield and spear men.”

Mage Gregor asked with narrowed eyes, “And what were you doing during all this?”

“I used some potions on the archers and then rushed to give Durandus some healing potions.  It got him up again, and he was able to immobilize the giant, and we were eventually victorious.  Durandus collected the essence of the giant and consumed it immediately,”  I ended the bloody tale quickly.  

Mage Gregor asked, “And where is the essence collector, legionnaire?”

I was not sure if this was a trap or not.  So, I choose my words carefully.  “We fought something called a shambling mound on the return trip.  The mage thought he had immobilized the last creature and was going to take its essence.  It surprised him and threw him into the swamp with the device.   We think he was knocked unconscious and drowned.  The next day we all,” I indicated the six men, “spent hours searching for it.  During the search, we couldn’t find a trace of it in the swamp.”  This was true since I had put it in my space when Brutus and I found Durandus’ body. 

Gregor seemed agitated, his eyes narrowed and brightened slightly, “I want his dimensional pocket searched!”

Mage Castile got angry, “He is under my command authority and does not have to submit to a search from you.”  

“I want him searched as well,” the other man added.  I was confused.  Was he a mage too?   Castile looked at him and was not happy.  Gregor had a smug look on his face from this victory.  This must be some type of power struggle now that Durandus was dead.  The man continued, “Castile, you called the mage tribunal.  That is two votes to one.”  I guessed then that he was also a mage but did not command a legion company.  Well, if they could force open my dimensional space, I was fucked.  I had a few hundred pounds of supplies in there—and the collector.

Castile looked hard at me, no sympathy but maybe regret.  “Eryk empty your space on the table.  You bring the wetted sand,” she pointed to a legionnaire by the door.

Confused, I walked towards the table of tribunal members and put the four potion trays on the table.  Only ten of the cure poison remained.  I looked at Adrian and Delmar, who had impassive faces but made eye contact with me.  Their eyes seemed curious.  I decided to add all my coins as well.  Three gold, ninety-one silver, and twenty-eight copper.  A wheelbarrow of wet sand was rolled in.  Castile said, “Fill your dimensional space with the sand, Eryk.”  This was the test?  

Thankfully, I had taken the box when I was in the Varvao baths.  I moved to the wheelbarrow, outlined the section of sand I wanted, and moved it inside the box in the dimensional space.  Castile nodded regretfully,  “Good.  Put the contents of your space again on the table—everything. And then move back,” Castile ordered.

A block of wet sand appeared, and it maintained its shape.  I moved to stand behind the Durandus’ men again.  A giddy Gregor carefully cut through the sand in slices with a long, thin dagger.  After he had finished, the third mage asked, “Any voids in the sand?”  Gregor threw a handful of sand across the table in frustration.  Castile seemed shocked nothing was found as well.  Did she already think I was hiding something?  Well, I was hiding a lot of somethings.

Castile relaxed and smirked, “I will note that Eryk does not have the collector then.  And Gregor, even if the collector was here, Durandus’ brother has a claim to it.”  I felt a chill because it appeared the collector was valuable enough to be wanted by a lot of people.

I do not know why I asked, but I did, “Why is it so valuable?”  

The three mages turned toward me, and Delmar grinned at my idiocy for interrupting and asking.  Castile answered without drawing out the drama.  “It always yields an essence in a dungeon from any creature.  Durandus’ made most of his wealth from it.”

I played stupid, “Should we have spent longer looking?”  Flavius, who was sitting with his back to me, twitched. 

“Yes.  You should have!” Gregor barked.  My thought was mages are all kind of bitchy.  Even though my company was known to lose a fair amount of men, at least Castile seemed reasonable.

The questioning of me turned to the fight with the shambling mounds, and I answered two dozen questions consistent with what I remembered of the attack and Durandus’ death.  I even told them about the company dividing up the essences, minus the three apex ones.  Finally, Castile announced, “It is ruled Durandus died by his own stupidity.”  Gregor reluctantly seconded, and the other man confirmed.  Castile scribbled out the verdict on a parchment and rolled it up.  I assumed it to be an official record of how the mage died.

Castile stood, “You six will be divided among the two companies.  Eryk, see Adrian before heading to get some sleep.”  Castile walked out.  The other two mages went their separate ways as well.

Delmar scooped up my coin and walked to me with Adrian.  He grinned as he approached, “Damn, Eryk.  We sent word to the villa that you were dead.  We didn’t know until the trial started you still lived from the men under questioning.”  He clapped me on my back. 

“Yeah, I stopped at the baths and fell asleep in the water,” I said, and Delmar just shook his head in disbelief.

“There is fifty-five silver in your room at the villa from the snake hide.  You may have to kick someone out of the room when you get back—after all, they thought you were dead,” he chuckled.

“I actually was up there, and they told me to come down here,” I admitted. 

“Well, since you are all prettied up, I am assuming you plan to go make a dalliance or two,” Delmar handed me my coin slowly.  “But you did not pack my spinnerets out of the mountains.  He took one gold coin from my stash,” smiling as he did so and leaving me with Adrian.  Damn, I was hoping he had forgotten about that.  He paid me a gold coin to pack his monster parts out of the mountains, but I had been tasked to carry the First Citizen’s gear instead.

Adrian stood in front of me and asked, “Castile wanted me to ask you about the remaining men from Durandus’ company.  Any good legionaries among them?”

I nodded, thinking, “Flavius.  He was one of the archers but also a trained scout.  He was the only one who knew about the shambling mounds.  He told Durandus that lightning healed them after he attacked.  Brutus is the only other one I talked to at any length.  He is a good fighter and has some smarts.  When the mounds attacked one side of the camp, he remained on watch on the other side, and a third one did show itself, so he prevented us from being attacked from behind.”

I added, watching the men mill about in the Legion common room awaiting their fate, “They generally were not too welcoming to outsiders.  The six men that we left on the road with our gear—I did not talk with any of them.”

Adiran heaved a breath, “Durandus’ company was made of volunteers, not conscripts.  They chose the life in the Legion.  They trained at the Legion Camp just outside of the capital.  When they complete their training and are assigned a Mage or duty, all the missions would be within the confines of the interior of the Empire and not on the borders.” 

He considered my words for a moment longer, “So, just the two?  No others?”  I nodded; he turned and left to talk to the filthy men.  He yelled to me as I was almost to the door, “Be careful where you spend your coin, Eryk.  According to the Firth, there is an epidemic of crotch crickets in the city.”

Crotch crickets?  I didn’t ask for clarification.  I was exhausted and needed some sleep.  I made my way to the villa and found my gear where I had dropped it.  In my tiny room, I found the fifty-five silver on the desk, and my things looked to be in the exact same place as I left them.  I locked the door, barred the window, pulled my griffin feather pillow out of my storage, and collapsed on my bed.  I was asleep in seconds.

Chapter 36 The Praetorian Guard

When I woke, I was disoriented.  I opened the blinds, and it was still light outside.  Was it the same day?  Had I slept through the night, and it was the following day?  I sent the pillow back to storage and left to go to the privy.  Lirkin was in the kitchen baking and preparing food.  “Ah, pretty boy!  Did you come to help with dinner?”  

I figured I was going to get these comments about my shave and haircut for a while.  Although I already had a five o’clock shadow.  “No.  Is it the same day then that I returned?”

“Yes.  Konstantin said to let you sleep the day away now that you are groomed like a First Citizen,” he chuckled and tossed me a bun fresh out of the oven.  I bit into the sweet bun stuffed with spinach, cheese, and egg.  I burned my mouth a little, so I chewed slowly and took small bites.  I just stood and ate as Lirkin cooked.  “Can you get one of the twenty-gallon casks in the larder and bring it up for dinner?  Castile said we are celebrating our first un-dead legionnaire in the company.”

I frowned at the joke.  I had learned there was real undead in this world.  Animated skeletons, wraiths, liches, ghouls.  Things that went bump in the night did go bump in the night and wanted to kill you.  Undead usually resided in dungeons, but I heard an island was supposedly full of the creatures in one of the great oceans.  I went down to the cellar and picked up the two-hundred-pound cask.  I was a little unsteady climbing the stairs as it was freaking heavy.  At the top of the step, I rolled it on the floor.  “Was the sled-cart broken?”  Seeing me, Lirkin asked curiously.  Of course, there was a cart.  It was a large two-wheel dolly that I had walked right past at the bottom of the stairs.  

“No.  I felt like testing my strength,” I said, and Lirkin smirked.  “Where is Konstantin?  I am surprised he has not woken me himself for training.”

“Out in the gardens.  Not toward the orchards, the other side of the house.  He was training out there.  I heard we were done with swamp patrols but were going to start doing night patrols in the city.  Adrian has the duty assignments.”  Lirkin said and tossed me another bun as I left.  I deftly caught it one-handed and tossed it lightly while it cooled.  The ballroom had a few men resting in it, and I got some whistles and catcalls.  Well, screw them all!  See if I would offer them a chance to use my barber’s kit.  Konstantin was in the gardens and was training with Brutus and Flavius.  I walked over to them, eating the bun.

The two men from the Durandus’ had cleaned up, they were even clean-shaven.  It looked like Konstantin was testing Brutus’ spear skill and Flavius’ sword skill.  They paused to drink as I asked, “Are these the only two we took from the remains of the Durandus’ company?”

Konstantin barked, “These were the only two you recommended to Adrian.”  They trusted my opinion that much?

Brutus responded, “You are the reason we got stuck in this fiery abyss, Eryk?  I don’t know if I can ever forgive you.  Soft beds?  Noble’s wine?  Fresh meat every meal?  I think we are no longer friends!”  We clasped wrists.  Flavius shook my wrist next.

Konstatin tossed me a wrapped spear.  “Since you are all chummy, let us see you fight each other.”  It was spear and shield practice against Brustus’ shield and spear.  I was outclassed.  Brutus was an excellent spearman and used the shield well.  Then, I was paired against Flavius’ sword and shield.  I fared much better, and it was about even for killing blows.  Of course, Flavius’ specialization was the bow, not the sword. 

Konstantin joined in, and we did some two versus two rotating partners.  Konstantin sometimes wielded a short sword and a parrying dagger or a short sword and shield.  The parrying dagger was deadly as it could catch the spearhead and prevent you from pulling it back, giving Konstantin an opening.  Brutus fell victim just once, while I fell multiple times.  We were called to dinner like kids from the playground when the sun was setting.

I had my fair share of bruises and a slight limp, but the pain no longer bothered me.  It was a constant part of my world now.  Brutus and Flavius went ahead, and I had a chance to talk with Konstantin.  He started, “Glad you survived that mess.  Heard about it from Delmar.  Just know Castile didn’t think Durandus was that much of a fool.  She sent you with him to evaluate the company for her, not almost get killed.”

I was a little taken aback by his defense of Castile.  I didn’t argue the point.  Instead, I asked a burning question, “Firth seems to know a lot about everything.  How come he is not one of the lieutenants?”  We continued to pick up weapons in the plaza and store them, and Konstantin did not respond for a while. 

Finally, he said, “That is because he is a spy.  As am I.”  I stepped back, and Konstantin chuckled.  “Not an enemy spy, you dullard.  He works for one of the Praetorian Guard.  I do not know which one.  I work for one as well.” 

“So, you two are spying on Castile?” I asked uneasily.

“Partly.  We just make sure the mage commanders have the Empire’s best interest in their actions.  Castile knows what we are, and so does most of the company.  I think Flavius works for a Praetorian too, but I’m not sure who he works for.” 

We finished with the weapons.  “You would have found out eventually.  Anyway, I am thinking of recruiting you.  The issue is you are a foreigner.  I am not sure the woman I report to would accept you into her service,”  Konstantin admitted. 

It was a lot to take in.  It made sense that the Empire wanted to keep track of its most powerful assets.  I was confused, but at least Konstantin was talking.  “Who are the Praetorian Guard?”

“The Emperor’s most loyal servants and followers.  Mages, warriors, merchants, nobles, and even some commoners,” Konstantin said.  I sensed he was seeing if I was interested in becoming a spy, agent, or asset—or whatever he was.  He continued, “The armies keep the borders secure.  We keep everything within the borders secure.” 

A lot of things did not make sense.  The apex essences that Castile handed out for one.  I was hesitant to ask but needed to know, “I thought apex essences were reserved for First Citizens.  That is what everyone keeps saying.  Yet Castile and Durandus…”

“True.  You can only sell an apex essence to a First Citizen according to the law as it is written.  It does not say anything about giving it away, though.  It is why many in the Empire leave to join the Adventurer’s Guild.  That way, they can return to hunt for and ship essences to other Guild Halls outside of Desia to sell,” Konstantin informed me.  I had only heard of the Adventurer’s Guild and had never actually seen adventurers or one of their buildings.  I guessed the Empire preferred to use its Legion companies in place of allowing adventurers within their borders.

“So Castile was not breaking the law when she gave me the apex essences in the dungeon?”  I returned to my primary confusion.

Konstantin shrugged, “Mages have a lot of free rein.  The Emperor needs to keep them happy.  The mage companies of the Legion are the glue of the Empire,” he admitted. 

“How many mage companies are there?”  I asked, extremely interested.

“You are awfully inquisitive this evening.  Are you sure you are not a spy from a foreign land?”  He asked seriously before slapping me on my back and laughing.   But he still didn’t answer my question before we entered the dining hall to join everyone for dinner.  The food and wine were copious, and I got saluted too many times to count about returning from the dead.  They welcomed our two new members as well.  The wine flowed freely, and the cask was emptied quickly. 

Adrian came up to give orders and got a lot of boos for spoiling the mood.  Being on night watch in the upper city was not going to be fun.  Sleeping during the day and then walking the streets at night was going to be the new norm for the next few weeks.  The baron’s advisor in charge of the city was moving more of his men to the lower city as break-ins were on the rise, so we were covering the upper city for him. 

To maximize coverage, we would be working in teams of four.  My team, unsurprisingly, was Konstantin, Felix, and Mateo.  I had frequently been bunked with Felix and Mateo.  And Konstantin had taken a healthy interest in me, and now I knew the true reason why. 

Adrian finished announcing the patrols but added, “Eryk, Brutus, and Flavius have tonight off!”  which was met by mock boos.  “They need their beauty rest and the time to see a barber.”  Some loud jeering erupted from the room.  “Since it looks like we will be saving the city in the dark, start to get your sleep during the day.  We will be adding black-out curtains to the ballroom.” 

I doubted the wisdom of sending soldiers out after consuming alcohol.  It was a little suspect from my viewpoint.  They were dismissed with the call ‘to gear up and sober up.’  Patroling started in two hours. 

I was already well rested, and I barricaded myself in my room.  I had the glowstones, so I would no longer need the oil lamp for light.  With my griffin pillow supporting my head, I got serious about working on the spell form for healing myself.  It had a lot to do with intent when you imprinted a spell form.  I did not want a lesser form of the ability that only healed flesh.  I wanted the healing spell form to be able to repair my organs and bones if needed. 

I trod carefully in my attempts to create the spell form for healing until I smelled breakfast.  I packed up and went to the kitchen and helped Lirkin by cooking a lot of bacon.  Squads came in from patrol, blurry-eyed and hungry.  Sometimes, they grabbed food and left.  Sometimes, they told us about their night.  Chasing burglars, escorting drunk nobles home, searching abandoned buildings, and primarily being visible to the people.  That was the big reason we were patrolling.  They wanted people to know that Legion men, the elite warriors of the Empire, were on the job.

As they shuffled off, I helped Lirkin stage lunch and then went to get in on the ‘sleep-during-day, walk-around-in-the-dark schedule.’

Chapter 37 Midnight Patrol

Forcing yourself to sleep in the morning, even in a dark room, is difficult.  I had one of the best rooms in the villa temperature-wise, but I still could not get comfortable.  I knew what the problem was—the stupid healing spell form.  I wanted to learn it sooner rather than later.  Even with what I had learned from Damian, I was having trouble feeling my way through the process.  

I considered if the resistance was just because I did not have enough space to add the spell form.  It felt like squeezing a grapefruit through a hole meant for an orange.  Maybe that was a terrible analogy because now I was wondering if oranges were available on Desia.  Perhaps if I counted oranges, I could fall asleep...

A loud knock woke me, and Konstantin’s too-joyful voice was on the other side, “Dinner is in fifteen.  We leave for patrol fifteen after.  Gear up!” I sat up and was confused.  Had I slept the entire day?  I had been exhausted.  I checked my curtain, and it was late evening outside.  After cleaning, I started to strap on the armor.  I decided to carry a short sword and dagger on my belt.  

As I walked into the foyer, Konstantin was stretching, “Good weapons choice.  If we do have to chase anyone down tonight, draw the entire scabbard, not the blade.  The last thing you want is to die by tripping and falling on your own sword.”  I worked to adjust the belt so I could pull the sheathed short sword out easily.  Mateo and Felix showed up all smiles, having obviously slept well. 

Konstantin nodded and walked, and we followed.  “We are on patrol in fours, so if we divide up, we can remain in pairs.  Never go anywhere alone, always in pairs.”

“Got it, never leave your wingman,” I quipped.

Konstantin gave me a hard look, trying to figure out the meaning of my words.  “Eryk, you will be my wingman,” Konstantin said with a smirk before continuing.  “We will patrol in a diamond formation.  The point will scan forward, the right and left will scan their side, and the man in the rear will check behind them every minute.”  The explanation was for my benefit, as Mateo and Felix looked bored.  I had already learned this in training but paid rapt attention anyway.

As we walked out into the city, I was the point on the diamond, Mateo to my left, Felix to my right, and Konstantin behind me.  Konstantin talked the entire time, and the other two were bored as they probably heard everything he was saying last night.  Konstantin taught his scouting and observation skills as we walked. 

He was an endless stream of knowledge.  He talked about the structures, noting everything from the construction methods of buildings to what each shop sign indicated they sold inside.  I assumed it was for my benefit since I was not from the Empire.  Whenever we met a civilian, we talked to them briefly and told them they were past curfew and to get home.  After the interaction, Konstantin quizzed us on the encounter.  What they were wearing, their story, why they were out, their body language, and what we thought their true reason was for being out past curfew.

It was information overload but extremely useful.  All the mental exercises were taxing, and I was glad when we finally returned to the villa at first light.  Lirkin had breakfast for us, and after eating a few servings and listening to others returning from patrols, I was ready for a long sleep.  Of course, Konstatin noted that I was to be at weapon practice after the mid-day meal.  I secured my room, and instead of studying, I slept.

The following eight days proceeded the same.  We patrolled at night and returned for breakfast and sleep.  After lunch, we did weapons training and calisthenics, and then I retreated to my room to study the healing spell form book.  We started to have an informal dinner as a company just before the four-person teams went on patrol.  Never again with any wine, but always with a weak ale.  I think I remember weak ale had enough alcohol to kill bacteria, which is why it was so prevalent at meals.  But I was uncertain if I remembered this fact correctly from my history of Earth. 

Konstantin never talked about his side profession as a spy for one of the Praetorian Guard.  I was curious to ask how the Praetorian and Empire treated out worlders these days.  My best guess was it had been a few generations since an outworlder arrival was public knowledge.  A few hundred years had seemed to push it more into myth than fact.  Talking with Linus at dinner, I learned of the possibility of how I managed to remain unnoticed.  Linus knew a few tales of arrivals, and large groups were always arriving all at once.  The First Legion was the largest arrival in recorded history, but there were others where dozens of people arrived at once. 

I do not know what made my transportation to the World of Desia so unique, but I felt that keeping to myself was still my best course of action.  I wondered how arriving in a land full of violent orcs might have gone for a group in the past—or appearing on the island of the undead.  I had gotten extremely lucky—or something had guided my arrival.  But why?  I was nothing special—definitely not hero material. 

“What do you think of that?”  Konstantin interrupted my internal thoughts.  I looked left at a boarded-up shop, he indicated.  I did not see anything at first.  Then, I noticed the bottom half of the panel had been moved, as evidenced by a small line of differential weathering on the door.

“Someone recently removed the board covering the bottom of the door and didn’t place it back exactly the same,” I commented first. 

Mateo asked Konstantin, “Do we enter?”

“Yes.  We only enter if we suspect something is amiss.  That is enough evidence.  Mateo and Felix, go to the back of the building and wait there in case someone runs.  Eryk, use your heavy dagger to pry the panel,”  Konstantin gave his orders. 

I tried to be quiet as I worked.  It was not difficult; I could have removed it with my fingers.  I surmised it had been pried off many times prior.  This was only the bottom half of the covering for the door.  I could reach and test the handle, but the door was still locked.  Konstantin pushed me aside, and after just a few seconds, it clicked and swung inward.  I whispered, “You have to show me how you did that.”

He did not respond but indicated I should use my glowstone and go first into the shop.  I ducked below the higher board with my shortsword drawn and the glowstone in the other hand.  My stone illuminated the shop in shadows and appeared to be a clothing shop for women.  It was a high-end shop located in the upper district. 

Konstantin followed me inside and motioned for me to be quiet as he scanned the room.  After a moment, he indicated faint tracks in the dust on the floor.  They all led to the same doorway.  Konstantin whispered, “Basement.  We will listen for sound at the door.  Walk slowly, and do not make the floorboards creak.”

He had already continued into the shop, deathly silent.  I tried my best not to make any noise, but for some reason—where Konstantin seemed to weigh nothing and passed over the boards without a sound—every step I took had the floor give a squeak or groan.  Konstantin did not say anything and reached the door.  We listened for minutes as the stuffiness and lingering day’s humidity made my sweat bead and drip from my face. 

Then we heard it—very faint voices.  They sounded far away.  Konstantin seemed to understand what was being said, and I just remained frozen, waiting for an order and trying to listen.  I figured we were dealing with looters or squatters.  After a good ten minutes, Konstantin leaned in close and said, “I will go first.” He tapped my dagger, “Draw it; you will need it.  I picked out at least four voices.”  I wanted to ask how he could have heard anything, but he reached for the door and opened it very slowly.  There was sufficient light coming through the door to see the stairs clearly. 

With it three inches ajar, he paused, drew his own dagger, and carefully cut a string I had failed to notice.  I guessed it was a trip wire for an alarm.  He opened the door the rest of the way, and the voices were now much clearer to my ears.

“How many men are in the lower city?”  A husky feminine voice asked.

“We have twenty in the lower city and another thirty in the upper city,” a male voice responded.

“Have Oliver and his men arrived yet?” The husky voice asked another question.  Konstantin took a step onto the stairs and started to descend. 

“No, he might arrive tonight along the aqueduct route under invisibility,” the same male replied.

“Damn it!  The march starts in the morning, and they will lock down the city when they hear,” the woman said angrily.  “I need those fifteen men.”

Konstantin was almost at the bottom of the steps, and I took my first step onto the stairs.  I realized I was holding my breath and exhaled slowly as I took the next step.  My third step caused the wooden stairs to whine softly under my weight.  All talking stopped, and Konstantin rushed his last two steps and turned left at the bottom of the stairs toward the voices.  I sped down as well and was going to follow him, but a man came from the right chasing Konstantin. 

Konstantin was already fighting, so I assumed we had enemies here.  I lunged the rest of the way, plunged my dagger into his neck, and pushed him back the way he had come.  I swore as I looked in the direction I had pushed the dying man.  A half dozen bedrolls were on the floor, and people were rising.  I counted three.  I figured to tell Konstantin why I was not at his back, “I have four to the right!”  I only had three opponents left, but it sounded better as Konstantin’s side increased the fighting intensity.

I waded into the room and stabbed a man in the throat who was reaching for a sword.  It was more of a lucky strike as I had aimed for his chest.  I wrenched the sword lose, causing blood to spray.  I briefly stared into the man’s wide eyes as he grasped his throat and rolled away.  By the spurts of blood, I had severed at least one of the carotid arteries.  If he didn’t have magical healing, then he was dead. 

The other two men were armed with long swords and eyeing their shields, leaning at the base of the wall.  I wished we had gone and got Mateo and Felix before coming down here.  I was matched against two skilled men with much longer reach blades than myself.  My advantage was that I was wearing armor, and they had linens on.

I decided not to risk fighting them.  I tried to outline two small fist-sized blocks where both their hearts were.  I could pull their hearts into my dimensional space and kill them since they were within ten feet.  I quickly got frustrated as I could only establish one region at a time.  I focused my effort on the most confident appearing swordsman.  He was within ten feet, and I moved his heart to my storage. 

I got slight vertigo, letting me know my aether had just bottomed out from moving the small object.  He screamed, clutched his chest, and collapsed in a smooth motion.  Even though I was confused that I was out of aether from such a small object, I could not hesitate and launched myself at the last man.  His shock at seeing his companion fall without a blow quickly disappeared.  His long sword cut the air as he turned his body into a fencing pose and edged toward the wall to retrieve his shield. 

I moved to cut off his route, and that was what he had expected.  I was fooled as he moved quickly in the other direction in a lunge.  I parried the thrust, but it glanced off my leather chest piece slightly, leaving a gash in the leather.  He was already retreating by the time my short sword came at the opening.  I only nicked his forearm, but a steady flow of blood started.  He flexed his sword arm and winced.  I had gotten some muscle on the cut. 

He considered his shield again but then switched the long blade to his left hand instead.  I could tell it was awkward and unpracticed in his other hand.  I launched into my attack, and he defended while retreating.  It gave me a chance to take the shield for myself.  I knew this fight was now over.  Konstantin was still fighting, so I needed to help him by ending my fight quickly. 

I pressed with the shield.  He tried to use his superior reach to score on my legs, but my speed allowed me to strike his chest before he retreated on a failed swing.  My strike had parted the outer layer of the pectoral muscle, and he was wincing, just trying to hold his blade.  I thought he would surrender, but he rushed me again.  The sword attack was weak on my shield, and I hacked his neck on the side, certain it was a killing blow by the depth of my blade.   I left him to bleed out.  I stabbed the man whose heart I had taken in the throat on the way by to conceal how he died. 

On the other side of the cellar was a stalemate between Konstantin and a short woman.  She had a buckler and a shortsword.  She had one wound, a gash on her upper shield arm.  Two dead men were on the floor.  One had distinctly pointed ears, meaning he was the first elf I had laid my eyes on.  The other dead man was human. 

“Any others?”  I asked as I joined Konstantin’s side.  He looked at me, and I think he was surprised I was not wounded—or maybe that I was alive at all.

“Not in the cellar.  We need this one alive.  I believe she is the commander,” he said, and her eyes narrowed at Konstantin.  She looked resigned to her fate, but rather than surrender, launched herself forward, tossing aside the buckler in an effort to distract Konstantin.  I only meant to parry her blade, but she impaled herself on my sword.  I awkwardly rushed my shield to protect my head from her final blow.  Konstantin aided me by hacking her swinging arm, killing the momentum of the blow to just cutting lightly into my pauldrons. 

My blade pieced near enough to her heart to kill her.  “Shit,” Konstantin swore.  The dwarf woman was dead.  He started searching her body and, not finding what he wanted, started on the rest of the basement.  “Eryk, see if there is any access to the sewers from this basement.  They mentioned something about the sewers earlier.”

I walked the outer walls and checked the floor.  The dead men’s eyes seemed to follow me as I went and gave me the chills.  I felt nothing for taking their lives, which surprised me.  Maybe having been close to death a few times myself was numbing me to it.

I returned to Konstantin and reported, “Nothing on the walls or floors that seems to grant access.” 

“Troll shit!  She said nearly fifty of them were in the city, but nothing to tell us where!”  He made a decision.  “Keep searching.  I will post Mateo and Felix upstairs and get more men here.  I have to tell Castile there are at least 43 men in the city and more traveling along the aqueduct tonight under a spell.”  He quickly grabbed his weapons and swore as he stomped up the stairs, “The Bartiradians are already in the city!”

I was left alone with seven corpses of the Bartiradian army infiltrators.

Chapter 38 Essence Thief

I was left in the basement as Konstantin rushed up the stairs.  I heard him yell for Mateo and Felix.  It was not long before the two men came down the stairs.  Mateo looked at the carnage and said, “Centaur shit, Konstantin is a bloody monster.”  He addressed me, “We are to get the front door completely open and wait in the street.  Konstantin said you should continue to look for clues on the whereabouts of the others in the city.”  They did a quick walk-through of the basement before heading back upstairs.

I could have told them that I had killed five of the seven, but I don’t think they would have believed me.  It was quiet and a bit spooky with the dead eyes of the soldiers in the basement.  I had killed actual people.  That should have shaken me, or at least how easily I had done it without any hesitation.  This brutality was my new reality.

I counted the bedrolls, and there were seven to match with the seven dead.  Then I searched the bedrolls, finding nothing in them.  I covered the bodies with them because it seemed like the right thing to do.  I tried pulling the essence collector from my storage, but my aether was insufficient and was still recovering. 

I searched as ordered, but all they had down here were supplies and weapons.  It looked like mostly food and casks of water.  Strangely, there were no supplies that I would equate to being tailor’s goods for sale upstairs.  Maybe the owners did not use it for the business?  I stopped thinking about it as I was no detective.   

But I did need to find out why my aether bottomed out when I took the man’s heart.  As I was thinking about it, I pulled the shields and weapons into a pile.  I guessed they would be sent to the Legion Hall’s armory as they were good quality.  Maybe I should search the bodies again?  Konstantin had done it quickly.  I started with the elf, uncovering him.  The ears were not too pronounced but were pointed.  Maybe a half-elf?  His face was angular, and he looked on the thinner side. 

I searched his body and found two secreted knives, but his musculature looked somewhat frail.  Were all elves weak?  Maybe he was a scout and not a fighter.  I found a coin pouch, but that seemed odd to have on you when you invaded a city.  Inside were five large coins: one gold, two silver, and two copper.   Large coins were ten times the value of small coins, so this was a sizable sum.  They were all stamped with a five-headed hydra on one side and writing that was not Latin on the other side.  I could not read it.

I don’t know how I felt about robbing the dead.  I tucked the pouch into my pocket for now.  He had jewelry on as well, two rings and one earring.  I checked for runes but did not see any, so I assumed they were not magical.  It reminded me I still had my magical pendant from the dungeon in my dimensional space that needed to be identified.  I stood and looked at the dwarf woman next.  She had tried to sacrifice herself to kill me. 

I checked again and had just enough aether to pull the essence collector from my dimensional storage.  I debated the risk.  What if others came, and I did not have enough aether to return it, and it was discovered?  Was I even okay with harvesting dead people for essence?   And how much aether did it take to activate the device?  Was there even an essence to take?  It had been almost twenty minutes since they had been killed.  How long did you have to harvest a corpse after killing it?

Fuck it.  I took the device out of my dimensional space and inspected it closely for the first time.  I laughed aloud as it looked closer to a sterling silver plate the women won at Wimbledon.  The runes were magical, and I could sense they had a purpose, even just holding the metal disc.  I placed it on the chest of the dwarf woman and channeled my aether. 

It did not take much, just a kiss of aether to activate.  A light blue mist quickly pulled into the plate from the body, and a large orange orb formed.  Damn, and apex essence of reasoning if I remember correctly!  The dwarf woman had been all corded muscle, and she gave a mental essence, not a physical one.  I only hesitated for a moment before popping it into my mouth. 

I got a brain freeze and felt dizzy.  Vertigo caused me to trip on the body and fall.  The floor felt like the safer place for the next minute as I bathed in the euphoric changes.  Next time I consumed a mental essence, I would ensure I was sitting down.  I guessed that maybe it was ten times more intense for me than others since I was able to milk the essences I consumed for more power. 

I covered the body and turned to the elf.  I placed the collector on him and activated it.  The same effect occurred, and a golf ball-sized sphere formed on the plate.  The only problem was the ball was rich brown with swirls of gray and black.  I had to be a magical apex affinity essence, but I did not know which affinity.  I could not consume a second essence so soon.  Castile said to wait an hour between, but maybe, with my spell form enhancing my gains, I should wait longer.  Maybe an entire day.  I pocketed the essence and moved a little excited onto the human male between the elf and the dwarf. 

I placed the collector again; this time, a large marble formed from the blue smoke.  It was dark purple, meaning it was a major essence of strength.  One of the most common essences.  I planned to go to the other side and collect more essence.  But clear thuds of footsteps walked across the floor above me. 

My heart thudded, and I tried to send the collector back to my space.  I didn’t have enough essence to transfer it.  Should I hide it in the room?  Someone was on the stairs descending.  I forced the plate inside my chest armor.  Damn it.  The hard leather was formed to my body.  I sucked in my gut and stood as relaxed as I could as Adrian, Linus, Flans, and Brutus moved into the room. 

Adrian looked on both sides of the stairs and asked, “Why are the bodies covered?”

I spoke softly while holding in my gut, “Because I found their eyes staring at me creepy.”

Adrian snorted and shook his head, “It gets easier.  Did you find anything?”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the coin pouch, “I only searched the elf and the dwarf.  Just some coin,” I tossed him the pouch. 

He caught it and tested the weight.  Then, he tossed it back to me, “Keep it.  Castile will be here soon.  You can stand guard in the street till she arrives and then go and get some rest.  Konstantin said you fought well.”  He chuckled, “He actually said you fought better than expected, which probably means you impressed him.”  They started searching the bodies and the room again, and I went upstairs and into the street.  It was still a long time till dawn.  The oil street lamps gave the city a dull light.  Mateo and Felix were flanking the entrance and at attention.  I stood to one side. 

Mateo asked with interest, “Did you really take down five by yourself?  That was what Adrian said.”

The collector was making me slightly uncomfortable, but it was manageable.  I shifted slightly, “It was all luck.  I got one at the bottom of the stairs, and another was just waking up.  The fifth one actually impaled herself on my blade rather than be captured.”

Felix whistled, “Five kills in one evening.  We need to come up with a nickname for you.”  I then had to listen to the two toss nickname suggestions back and forth between them.  When I tried to give my own input, they told me a person could not help choose their nickname.  It had to be bestowed on them by another. 

Silent Sheep, Madien’s Thief, Pocket Puncher, Ghoul, Night Prince, Graceful Fork, Foreign Spear, Thundering Demon…

The names went on and on.  I was confused as no one else in the company had a nickname I knew.  Mercifully, Castile returned with Konstantin just moments later.  She paused to address me, “Good work, Eryk.  You can go get some rest.” 

Mateo and Felix started to move with me, and Konstantin rasped, “Just Eryk.  You two remain here on guard.”  They entered the clothing shop, and I walked away, leaving two very disappointed legionaries.  There was still about four hours left before dawn.  As I walked, I finally had enough aether to move the collector back with the essences and could relax.  I probably would not take such a risk again.

At the villa, I found a swearing Lirkin in the kitchen.  “Eryk, there are rats in the cellar.  The anti-vermin wards must have expired.  I need help eliminating them.”  My jaw didn’t work as I thought I was going to get some time to rest and study.  “Come on, Eryk, the bastards are eating the tubers and grains.”

I nodded reluctantly.  “Do you want me to cut the tails off after I kill them and present them to you as proof so you can grant me a reward?” I said, trying to sound cheerful about the quest offering.

“Why the fuck would I want rat tails?  Do they eat rat tails where you are from?”  Lirkin sounded slightly mocking.  “Just kill them and see where they are getting into the basement larder.  I saw a mortar mixture in one of the outbuildings.  Your reward will be not having to eat meat chewed on by a rat.”

He went to get the mortar, and I went into the basement with a glowstone from my pocket.  I heard them immediately, but they hid from my light.  I searched the perimeter wall and found two holes in the base of the walls.  I moved the casks out of the way to get easier access to both of them.  How was I supposed to catch a rat?  I walked through the room and started to see them as their tails disappeared.  They were definitely in here. 

Lirkin returned with a bucket of gravely and powdery mixture.  He inspected the two holes in the walls, “This one we can plug with mortar.  This one is the drain.  The grate is missing.  With anti-vermin wards, no one probably thought to patch this hole and replace the grate.”  He considered.  “I will let Kolm know.  He can bang out a replacement grate at the forge in the citadel.  Let us block it with a crate for now.”  We mixed the mortar with water and filled the other hole.

“I have to start on breakfast.  I am sure you have the rat problem well in hand,” he patted my back and went up the stairs before I could respond.  I spent hours chasing rats in the basement, crushing three, but I could still hear more of them.  It was driving me insane.  I got an idea and put a small pile of grain, cheese, and meat in the corner lit by a glowstone.  I backed away to the extent of my dimensional space, ten feet, and waited.  I had regained enough aether to try this. 

Ten minutes later, the first cautious rat moved to the pile, and then, a second, I queued up the space to send the rats to my dimensional space together.  Both rats popped out of existence, and I felt intense backlash as my aether bottomed out.  It was even more intense than when I took the man’s heart five hours ago.

I sat with a migraine, trying to figure things out.  Anything alive appeared to have resistance to being put into my dimensional space.  Maybe that resistance didn’t matter since my space affinity was so high.  I always won the contest of wills.  Was there a related mental attribute that played a role in resisting?  Maybe resilience?  Maybe it is the magical trait of aether resistance?  Questions that I would need to answer.

I listened for a long time and did not hear anything.  I walked up the stairs triumphantly with the three dead rats.  Men were already getting breakfast from the kitchen as they returned from patrol.  I was mocked as some demonic slayer of the Bartiradian Army.  The name that Felix and Mateo settled on was Lota Morte.  It roughly meant washed away by death, or clean death.  Lirkin consoled me and said it would only stick for a few days before everyone forgot about it.

I ate my fill of a porridge topped with honied nuts and fruit.  We also had thick bacon on the side.  Not the usual strong effort from our cook, but he was busy with rats most of the morning.  

I ended up in my room after filling myself on the breakfast offering.  I had one more thing I wanted to test.  I waited anxiously for hours, and when my aether was half full, I opened the window and expelled the rats from my dimensional space.  They fell five feet, were briefly stunned by the fall, but then scurried off.  Well, that was very interesting.  It barely took any aether to bring them out, and the rats lived.  They were unharmed from their stay in my dimensional space.

Chapter 39 Duplicitous Nature

As I watched the disoriented rats scurry away, I should have realized that the griffin egg I collected had allowed me to bring live objects into my storage.   Castile had confirmed it was viable after I removed it, and then I transported it for the First Citizen.  The only difference was it did not bottom out my aether when the egg went into my dimensional space.  Still, it was good to see live rats scurry away and know the other griffin egg in my storage was probably viable.  It opened the possibility of moving an entire person or monster to the dimensional space and knowing they would be alive when I retrieved them. 

The bell rang for lunch, and I had not gotten any sleep.  I joined the line in the kitchen for sliced roast beef in a thick gravy with a side of candied carrots.  I took my plate, filled to overflowing, to the gardens where we would have weapons practice directly afterward.

For the last week, Brutus had been helping me with my spear, and Konstantin was helping me with dual-wielding.  I think Konstantin was planning to have me with the short sword in my right and and the parrying dagger in my left today.  He kept changing the weapons that each hand wielded to work on my ambidexterity.  

As the company ate, Adrian and Delmar came into the gardens.  Delmar led, “No weapons practice after the mid-day meal.”  The pronouncement was met with cheers.  Even though everyone knew it probably meant we had other duties coming.  “Instead, we are going to search every boarded-up house in the upper city,” the cheers went silent.  “The other Legion company is handling the lower city.”

Someone barked, “What are the lazy regulars doing?”

“Keeping an eye on the remaining citizens and guarding the wall.  The Bartiradians have started their march from the city of Guiracas,” Adrian snapped.  “They will arrive at the walls in three days.”  I realized that confirmed what the dwarf woman had said last night.  She said the march was going to start today.  Everyone was suddenly silent.  The reality of our situation was settling in.  Everyone in the company knew the plan was to hold up in the city.  When the Bartirdians fortified for a siege, our noble rescuers would come and wipe them out.  It all seemed good on paper unless you were the ones holding back the tide of enemies and waiting to be saved.

Delmar got everyone settled down and announced three teams of eight to do the searches.  My group was adding Firth, Wylie, Pavel, and Regis.  We only had an hour before starting, and I lamented not sleeping this morning and would be running on adrenaline for the evening and into the overnight patrol.  I had been too anxious waiting for my aether to recharge to test on releasing the rats.

Linus stopped me, “Eryk, run down to the city.  In the Legion Hall, there should have been a shipment of potions from the portal opened by the Displacement Mage this morning.  Go retrieve them.  We are going to divide them among the three groups.  There should be seventeen simple healing and three full healing.  Also,” he thought for a moment, “One rack of healing salve, one rack of stamina potions, and four water purification potions.  Castile paid for all of this, so do not let them short you.  Hurry!”  

I rushed to put my armor back on and ran down to the lower city and the Legion Hall.  I was not even winded when I entered the building and headed to the back where the Legion warehouse was located.  Unlike picking up weapons, the potions—and now also the foodstuffs were tightly monitored.  Two civilian males were behind the desk.  “I am here for Castile’s shipment of potions.”  One of the men went and got the racks and brought them out.  One small rack had the water purification, all four potions.  The next was the complete rack of ten stamina potions.  The third rack was full of ten of the minor healing potions.  The healing salve was next and had all ten.  When we got to the fifth rack, I inhaled sharply.  It only had five of the lesser healing potions.  I was missing three of the major healing and two of the minor healing potions. 

The man slid me the log book to sign off on receiving the potions.  The logbook noted the potion order as being complete.  I stated, “There are some potions missing.  I need two more simple and three more full healing potions.” 

The man spun the ledger around to read it and carefully counted the potions he had brought.  He turned to his partner, “Marx, do you know anything about this?  We are missing two lesser and three greater healing.”  The man, Marx, took the ledger, counted the potion racks, and compared them to the ledger.  I could tell it was an act, but how deliberate and orchestrated his actions were.

Finally, he said, “No.”  He looked at me, “Check with the other company commander.  He was in the here when the shipment arrived and took everything he ordered.” 

I was calling bullshit.  I looked at the ledger again.  “Are these your signatures by the ledger saying the potions arrived?  You logged them into the store room, yes?   Then get me my potions.  I need to get back to the upper city soon.”  I let my irritation grow as I continued. 

Marx did not look happy, “You should talk with Mage Gregor.  I believe I noticed him taking the potions from the shipment.” 

I growled in irritation, “Where is the mage?” 

The first man, whose name I did not have, spoke, “He is staying at the Cock and Hen down the street.  It is the nicest inn in the area.”  He looked apologetic.  Should I have been afraid of confronting a mage—maybe.  I stacked the remaining potions and moved them into my space in one action.  I left and did not sign the ledger book to their protests. 

The Cock and Hen was easy to find.  The sign had a proud rooster standing over a pair of chickens.  I thought the sign indicated the name should be Cock and Hens but did not dwell on it.  I entered to find a few familiar faces in the common room.  Men from Durandus’ company who were now assigned to Gregor.  I saw Gregor at a table with books spread before him and some maps.  I approached, and he slowly looked up, waiting for me to speak.

“The men at the warehouse said you mistakenly took Castile’s potions,” I stated loudly and clearly.

Gregor appraised me, “No, there was no mistake.  I just took back the potions I had supplied to Durandus’ failed mission.  Since he is not alive to reimburse me for their use, Castile, who suggested the exploration, can reimburse me.”  He said it calmly, like it made sense.  Our confrontation was getting the attention of the legionaries in the room.

Damn it.  Did Linus know this was going to happen?  Was this why he sent me?  I looked around the room at the fifteen or so legionaries.  They all appeared curious as to the outcome of the confrontation.  I backed down as I did not want an escalation, “I will relay your reasoning to Mage Castile.”  He twitched slightly as I turned and left. 

I fast walked to the villa and found Castile, Adrian, Delmar, and Konstantin talking.  Adrian, Delmar, and Konstantin were each leading one of the eight-man search teams.  “Do you have the potions, Eryk?”  Delmar asked.

“Most.”  I faced Castile, “Mage Gregor said you owed him potions and took them before I arrived.  He took two simple and all three full healing potions,” I answered. 

Anger clouded Castile’s visage, and thin black tendrils of smokey shadow appeared around her.  She said steelily, “I will handle this.  Start the searches.  Adrian, I will join your team on Fortuna Street.”  Castile left with a determined walk.

Konstantin muttered, “Hope neither ends up dead.”  He addressed me, “Eryk,  let’s divide the potions you did get and move out.”  It took just a few minutes for Adrian and Delmar to take what they needed, and then I went to get my weapons and shield.

I took a medium-round shield with me.  House-to-house searches sounded slightly dangerous, and I had been exceedingly lucky in my first fight.  When we left, I walked next to Konstantin.  “Did anyone get the enemy they said were using the aqueduct to enter the city last night?”

He shook his head, “The upper city guard sits on the route, and there is a gate across it.  They assured us no one came through.  We searched two other businesses last night and found nothing.  They were talking about a sewer route, but all the entrances are gated and guarded.  The city guard will search the sewers tomorrow.”  

“Do you think they heard us enter and were trying to lay a false trail?” I asked, and Konstantin laughed.

“If they heard us, then we wouldn’t have surprised them, and both of us would be dead.  The elf was a mage, and Castile thought he was decent at that by the equipment he had on him.  You were not the only one lucky last night.  Things could have gone much worse if I hadn’t killed the mage first.  The dwarf was a commander; she had a tattoo on her forearm indicating so.  I think she was in charge of this secret assault.  Adrian thinks they meant to sabotage one of the gates,” Konstantin added doubtfully.

“What do you think was their objective?”  I asked the veteran.

He thought for just a moment, “They probably planned to target someone specific.  One of our mages or a general.  The sewers run under the whole city, so maybe they planned to use them to reach their target.”  He reached inside his armor and pulled out a small bag.  “The soldiers didn’t yield much in terms of essence.  They must have been dead too long, but it was unusual the mage did not yield something.  I have two power and one dexterity from Castile.  All minor essences.  You killed the majority of them, which two do you want?”

I looked at the two dark purple and one dark yellow marble-sized spheres in his hand.  I took the yellow sphere and one dark purple.  I realized that Konstantin would expect me to consume one immediately, but I was fairly certain I would get negative feedback as it was too soon since I consumed the apex reasoning essence. 

I put the dexterity essence in my pocket.  I made a show of consuming the power essence but actually sent it to my storage.  I added the dexterity essence to storage as we moved out.  Konstantin popped his own essence into his mouth.  “I would have preferred the dexterity,” he muttered and mockingly continued, “But you definitely needed it more than me.”

We searched our first shop, prying the boards off and going through the house.  I handed out glowstones to everyone to make the process quicker.  I was unsure if I would get them back after mentioning they were from Durandus.  Firth’s argument was they should have been sent to the Legion Hall warehouse and available to everyone.  So, he argued that I had saved them the trip of heading to the lower city to get one.  Everyone agreed with his argument, and Konstantin looked to be sympathetic but smirked and kept the one I lent him as well.  Glowstones were a bit of a luxury item at a little over a gold coin each.  I now had four remaining. 

We searched two residences, a cobbler shop, a butcher, and a furniture maker.  We did not find anything.  It was near darkness, and Konstantin announced, “We will head to the villa and get dinner before continuing.”  Some good-natured groans erupted, knowing we were not finished for the day. 

As we walked through the orchards, a town guard came rushing up behind us, “Legionaries!  Come quick!  The Displacement Mage has been attacked and killed!”  I looked at Konstantin, who had the ‘I told you so’ look.  This was terrible news, as a Displacement Mage was needed to operate the portal stones on both ends of the connection.  Most cities had just one since they were rare—and I believed that was the case for Macha.

“Let’s go.  Guess they couldn’t wait to set up an array around the city to cut us off from the rest of the Empire,” Konstantin roared and jogged after the anxious city guard, leading us to the scene.

Chapter 40 Massacre

We ran at the hustling guard’s pace to the upper city’s far side.  For some reason, everyone formed up into ranks as we jogged.  Wylie loudly asked a question for everyone to hear: “Where were his legionnaire guards?”

Firth grunted, “He should have had at least a dozen.  My guess is they are all dead as well.”

Konstantin, leading us, shouted back, “He had fifteen.  I checked this morning and warned them of the enemy in the city.”

We turned to a wide street with opulent buildings of white marble highlighted with black granite.  We had not patrolled this part of the city, and the polished stone made for an impressive site.  Even the road was made from textured gray granite.  Regis muttered, “Damn.  In my next life, I want to be a Portal Mage.”  

“If Janus bestows you that blessing for the life of debauchery you have lived, I might as well not try to be so pious any longer!” Pavel grunted.

“Who is Janus?” I asked no one in particular.

Firth responded, “You don’t have gods in your lands, Eryk?  Janus is our god of Rebirth.  The god of endings and new beginnings.”

I had heard some old Roman gods worshiped and even passed by a few temples in the cities, but I had never heard people worshiping them openly before.  Maybe in a world of magic, their miracles were less important.  Even though the guard leading us was sucking wind, we could all talk easily at his slow pace.  I asked, “How many gods do you worship in Telhian?”

Firth barked with mirth, “You do not worship the gods.  You respect them and ask for favors.”

Wylie added to my knowledge, “There are maybe thirty faces of divinity the First Legion brought with them.  But the only true god you will ever see is an ancient dragon delivering its vengeance on a city.”  There were murmurs of agreement.

We slowed to a walk as we could see a number of our legion company milling outside one of the residences.  There did not appear to be any current threat, as they were just guarding the building and keeping people away.  Konstantin went inside, and we talked to the other members.

“It is a blood bath in there.  They broke through the wall in the basement,”  Lucien said to us.

Orson added, “Foul magic, just ripped the men apart.”

Firth asked seriously, “How many of ours dead?”

“The mage and all of his men, maybe twenty in total when you include his family.  But there are so many body parts around it is hard to count,” Orson added. 

“Did they kill any of the Bartirdians?” Wylie asked.

Olson nodded.  “Eighteen, I think, maybe nineteen.  They retreated back into the sewers after they killed the mage.”

Konstantin came outside, “Eryk, you are needed inside.”

I started walking, confused, “Which potion?”

Konstantin shook his head no, and said, “Castile is going into the sewers.  Go see her.”  I swore in my mind.  Every time there was a dangerous mission, I was involved.  I would have been better off lugging rocks in a quarry to pay back the farmers.  I might have ended up crippled, but at least I would have been alive. 

I entered the house and passed the entryway; blood and gore made the floor slick and slippery.  I paused at the carnage that covered the once gorgeous polished stone walls and floors.  They were not kidding.  Bodies were ripped apart at the torso.   The site didn’t faze me as much as it would have just a month ago. 

I was immune to the metallic smell of blood.  The dead eyes of the men still gave me the chills, and I avoided making eye contact.  I was waved into the basement and found Adrian, Delmar, and Castile talking by an opening in the wall, emitting a foul odor.   Large stones from the wall were strewn on the floor.  By the rancid smell, it was definitely an access to the sewers.  Castile looked up, and I dreaded what she was going to say.

“Eryk, I need you to harvest the essence from the men here, just the enemies.  I do not have time to do it myself.  Here,” she handed me her essence collector, and I was confused.  Happy would be a better word, as I was not going into the sewers.  I turned over the disc that was twice the diameter of mine in my hands.  Castile snapped, “Do you not know how to use it?”

Panic welled up.  Was this a test?  Did she suspect I had taken the essence from the others?  I played stupid, “No, I have never used this,” I indicated the device I held.  “The only magical item I have ever used was the translation amulet in training.” 

Castile studied me for just a moment, eyes narrowing slightly.  “Were you able to charge the amulet?”  I nodded.  “It is the same.  Just keep the center of the collector between the heart and head, rest it on the body, but keep it level.  If you don’t, the formed essence will roll off the disc.”

She did not give any more of an explanation as she went into the opening, followed by Delmar, Adrian, Konstantin, and two members of the city guard.  There were three bodies in the basement, and I moved to the first one.  He had been wearing fine chain mail, but it had not saved him from a spear to the heart.  Not that using a spear inside the confines of a house would have been my first choice. 

I laid the disc and was interrupted as Firth came down the stairs, “Did they already head in?” 

“Castile was leading them into the sewers,” I pointed at the destroyed wall.

“I will not let them have any fun without me,” Firth grumbled as he made his way to the opening.  If Firth thought trudging through other people’s shit was fun, I needed new friends.  The other men started moving the bodies of the dead legionnaires and the mage and his family outside.  I used the collector on the enemies and ended with one apex strength essence.  Three major essences, one each of power, endurance, and quickness.  And ten lesser essences that were a mix of strength, constitution, and endurance.  I put all of them into a bag.  Fourteen of eighteen bodies had given an essence. 

I started helping move the bodies.  Outside, there was a cart to take them away.  Wylie noted dead bodies in a city during a siege spread disease, so we needed to get them buried outside the city before the enemy arrived and surrounded the walls.  I noticed Mage Gregor walking toward us on the road with nine of his men at his back, walking in a three-by-three square.

Orson, our company’s other scout, went to talk with him since all our leadership was kneedeep in shit.  They were too far away to overhear, and I continued back into the residence to remove more bodies.  I asked Wylie, “Do we have to clean up the blood too?”

“No, when Castile returns, she will hire some citizens to do it.  The Empire owns this building.  The Displacement Mage just gets to live here as part of his extensive compensation,” Wylie said while we carried the top and bottom half of a body outside on a bed sheet.  The residence was extremely lavish from what I had seen in my time so far in the Telhian Empire.  The furniture was exotic wood, the library was filled with leather-bound books, every room had a woven rug, and the bedrooms looked almost modern to my eye.  Of course, everything was marred by blood and body parts.

When we got outside on this trip, Mage Gregor was getting animated, and from the wisps of the conversation, he did not sound happy that Mage Castile had traveled into the sewers to search for the assassins.  I think he was mostly worried about being the only mage left to defend the city from the approaching army. 

On the next trip, we went upstairs and grabbed the last body.  I recognized the man, and it was the third judge in the Tribunal I attended when I returned with the remains of Durandus’ men.  “It looked like he was killed defending his family,”  Wylie muttered.  I noticed the blood stains of bodies already removed by others.  We loaded him onto a bed sheet and carried him outside with the others.

Four of Gregor’s legionaries went into the basement as we brought the mage’s body to the cart.  Gregor left with the rest of his men.  I still had Castile’s essence collector on my back and was curious to know what the mage would yield.  But it seemed Castile’s policy was only to harvest the enemy, not our own.  I asked Orson, who was cursing up a storm after Mage Gregor left, “Orson, should I harvest all the bodies for essence?  Castile only told me to collect the enemy.”

A highly irritated Orson replied, “Castile believes if you take the essence from a person, they are weaker when they are reborn into their next life.  If you want to give your essence to your family when you die, just let her know.  She will arrange it if she can,” Orson replied hastily before going into the residence and following Gregor’s men.  Twelve men of the company stood covered in blood while civilians took the carts away. 

There was some uncertainty, so I offered, “How about six of us remain here, and the rest go to the villa to eat and clean up?  When you are fed and clean, come back and relieve us.”

I picked the men I knew to return first.  Brutus, Mateo, Felix, Pavel, Regis, and Wylie.  It felt awkward being the least experienced person in the group to give an order—or maybe it was a suggestion.  They followed it, and we were left.  I told three men, Donte, Benito, and Linus to go to the basement and stand guard over the passage. 

I remained outside with two legionaries I had not talked much with, Blaze and Caius.  Blaze was the best archer in the company, and Caius was not too far behind.  Caius was also deadly accurate with a pilum out to fifty paces.  We stood in the sun while brushing away flies, trying to land and lay eggs on our blood-soaked uniforms.

Caius asked, “Did you actually kill five men to Konstantin’s two?”  There was a note of disbelief in his voice.  I had learned that Konstantin was probably the best raw fighter in the company.

“No, just four.  The last one killed herself,”  I replied, trying to sound modest.  

Blaze injected, “She was so dazzled by your skill, she just jumped on your blade?  Maybe we should put you at the front of an army, and you can conquer the world for the Empire, the great Lota Morte!”  He said in good-natured teasing, using the nickname I had been saddled with.

I countered, “She was the last one standing and did not want to be captured,” I said softly, reflecting that I did not think I would be brave enough to sacrifice myself in such a manner.  I had to respect the dwarf woman. 

Silence reigned for a while until Mateo and Felix came strolling down the road.  I released Blaze and Caius to return to the villa.  I guess I was somehow in charge.  Brutus, Pavel, and Regis returned next, and I sent them to the basement.  Wylie came a half hour later, eating a large bun sold on carts in the city.  He handed me one from inside his armor with a big smile.  I gave him a curt thank you as I left to be the last one to return to the villa.

It was late evening, and I thought I deserved to take a side trip to the baths.  I had only walked maybe fifty yards when a shout came from behind me, “Castile’s back.”  I froze mid-step and slowly returned.

As they emerged from below, we all kept our distance as the smell was horrendous.  “Where is everyone?”  Castile asked.

I answered from a safe distance, “I sent half the men back to wash and eat.  When they returned, the others went.  I was the last one.”  I pulled the pouch and held my breath as I approached and handed her the essences and her collector before backing away.  I then continued, “Fourteen essences from the eighteen dead men.”

Castile nodded, “Fourteen of eighteen.  A good ratio for how long they were dead.  We were very unfortunate only to yield three of seven from yesterday.”  She held my eyes, and I sensed her evaluating me.  She broke the stare and announced to the men who did not travel with her, “They collapsed part of the sewer, so we could not pursue.  They have a very strong air mage with them.  We will need to continue searching the city till we find them.  We have three days before the enemy surrounds the city.  We can not have that air mage inside our walls waiting to strike.” 

She turned and walked down the road with her chin high like her shit didn’t stink.  The other urine and feces-soaked members followed, and I was glad that I had my own room at the villa. 

I took a different path, not wanting to walk in their wake.  I headed toward the lower city baths just in case our leaders thought to stop in the upper city baths.

Chapter 41 Discipline

The lower city baths had a number of regulars and civilians.  As I entered, they eyed me in curiosity in my bloody legionnaire armor and clothes.  There was only a large communal shower here—no hot soaking tubs.  The young boy attendant approached me.  “Three copper for a rinse and seven to wash your armor and clothes,” he informed me. 

“Do you have any soaking tubs?” I asked looking quickly over the array of naked men showering.

“Sorry, legionnaire.  We only have two private tubs, and both are in use.  Everyone is here because the water rationing will start soon,” the young boy said. 

I nodded and stripped down.  I handed him two large coppers, “Please make a double effort on the cleaning.  Do you have an oil for the leather?” 

“Yes, legionnaire!  I will take care of it,” he snatched the coins and bundled my gear and clothes together.  I went to reach for one of the scrubbers and used soaps, but the boy said, “Wait!  I will get you a new scrubber and block.”  The boy moved my things to a back room and returned with an abrasive brush and a new block of hard soap.  The brush was not new, just clean.  The ones on the communal shelf I had been about to grab had small growths of black mold.  

I gratefully took the clean abrasive brush and a new bar of soap.  This bar was free of prior users’ hair embedded in it.  The next time I used the common baths, I was bringing my own soap.  I moved to an open shower.  I was taller than most men.  The average height of men in the Empire was around 5’7”, and at almost 6’1”, I was tall compared to the men around me.  My shoulders were square from my training, and they moved aside as I walked to an open spigot.  The soldiers around me were muscled but lean as I stood between the two of them in the cold trickle of water as I began to scrub. 

A regular with short black hair to my right asked, “We heard the portal mage was killed.  Is it true legionnaire?”

“It is.  This blood I am cleaning off of me is from the cleanup.  We got about half the infiltrators, but some remain in the city,” I replied without thinking.  I realized I should have restrained myself from giving too much information.  The Displacement Mage had been under the protection of Legion men, so it was a failure on our part to protect him. 

The guard on my other side grunted hoarsely, “They will begin rationing at the next meal, trust me.”

“So soon?  I heard the Bartirdians are still a week away.  We can still get shipments along the road,” the guard on the other side added.

“Unlikely.  The men in the east tower at the Trader’s Gate say their griffin riders scouts can already be seen,” the gruff guard replied.  I knew we expected the army in about three days, but I remained silent and listened to the soldier’s banter.

“The west gate is packed with those with enough sense to flee,” another soldier offered.  “We have been searching the wagons and confiscating half their food.”

A guard on the other side questioned, “The general is allowing that?”

“He is paying them a few silver, but he ordered it done.  I am more concerned that the entire staff at the Summer’s Flowers has left.  Best brothel in the city,” another man griped.

“You mean the only one you can afford!” barked another man who had to dodge a scrub brush.  The conversation devolved into what constituted a good brothel.  I finished scrubbing.  My clothes were not finished, so I went and sat in another room with cold stone benches to air dry. 

The young boy who washed my clothes handed me a towel and apologized, “We are no longer burning wood to heat this room and the water.  Give me another hour to finish cleaning your clothes and armor.”  He rushed away, and I waited.  I heard the echo of conversation from the showers but ignored it.  When my clothes and gear were brought, I tipped the boy another large copper for his effort.

He had wrung out my clothes, but they were still damp.  I made my way to the villa, and the city seemed to accept its inevitable fate.  Several civilians were leaving toward the west gate with large packs on their backs.  Without the portal mage, resupplying the soldiers was going to be impossible.  Konstantin had said when they surrounded the city, they would have set up a magic array that would have prevented the portal stones from working, but I guessed they couldn’t wait. 

By the tension and thickening fear in the city, the Bartiradian assassination of the Displacement Mage had done more than just cut us off from the Empire.  The city guards at the entrance to the upper city had been doubled.  I reached the villa to find a flurry of activity.  The company was hauling in casks of water and food from the Citadel nearby.  I approached and asked, “What is happening?”

Mateo answered, wheeling a cask into the villa, “The Citadel guard is being moved to the upper city by order of the Baron’s Advisor to protect the residences of the nobility from inevitable looting.  They abandoned their barracks in the Citadel, and Lirkin told us to grab everything we could before they realized they needed it.”  He laughed, wheeling the wine cask inside. 

Was this an every person for themselves siege?  I did not think we would last too long if it turned out that way.  I went to my room to drop my gear and started helping everyone.  Our villa was in the orchards and gardens adjacent to the Citadel.  The Citadel was the central fortification of the city.  It was also the residence of the count who ruled the city and where he housed his royal guards.  The last count was dead, and now an interim baron was running the city.  It was my understanding that the baron left the city to join the army that was going to rescue the city and wipe out all the Bartiradians sieging it. 

It all sounded extremely complicated and may make a great tragic play, but I would have preferred not to live through it.  I dropped my gear in my room, stripped my armor, and went to help.  The Citadel was only a hundred yards from our villa, and I went into a heavy oak door in the fortification.  I followed everyone else down into their storage room.  It was massive, easily a hundred feet long and forty feet wide. 

The stone shelving was polished, and hundreds of crates, bags, and casks lined the series of shelving.  Large glow stones in the ceiling lighted the space.  Wylie elbowed me softly, “Come on, Eryk.  We need to grab as much as we can before they realize it.”  I picked up a sixty-pound sack labeled as flour and walked back to the villa.  The line of men carrying and pushing foodstuffs had stopped outside the villa.  Castile and the company leaders had returned from the baths and were staring at us. 

Delmar spoke for the group, “Just what the in a demon’s asshole do you think you are all doing!”  His voice started soft but gradually increased into a scream.  We were a bunch of kids with their hands in the cookie jar. 

Regis was at the front of the line and spoke, “Lirkin said to grab what we could.”  It did not sound very convincing.  Castile looked over the line, made eye contact with each person, and then went inside the villa, not saying anything. 

A quick conference between Delmar and Adrian, and then Delmar spoke, “Bring it inside.  BUT NO MORE TRIPS unless ordered.”

I walked into the kitchen to bring the flour down to the larder.  Castile was talking with Lirkin in the corner of the kitchen.  I didn’t linger to overhear and went and deposited the flour and then retreated to my room. 

I secured the room and tried to study my healing spell form book, but fatigue overtook me, and I fell asleep with the book in my lap.  A loud banging on the door woke me, “Eryk, food.  Dress for patrol.”  The voice belonged to Konstantin.  I suited up and met everyone in the large dining room as we did the nightly ritual.  The food was a dense bread with a thick stew.  The stew was mostly meat with a few purple potatoes.   

As we ate, Castile climbed up on the table, surprising all of us as she paced its length, obviously unhappy.  I had never seen her angry, so maybe she was angry.  After walking two lengths, she spoke, “We are in Jupiter’s shit storm.  The heart of it!  You know I appreciate the initiative, as stupidity can get everyone killed.  The actions today were idiocy beyond compare.  The lower city is as tight as a witches’ arse, and the looting will begin tonight.  Keeping order is going to be a full-time occupation for the city guards and army.  THEN I COME HERE AND FIND MY OWN MEN LOOTING THE CITADEL FOR FOOD!” 

Ok, she was definitely angry by her tone, and I was not the only one shocked.  She paused in the complete silence and calmed, “Not only did I already secure enough food for us to make it the month, but the citadel guards could have attacked and killed one of you and had just cause!”

She paced the table, “Lirkin, you are relieved of cooking duties.  Lysander will take over.”  The whole table groaned, and I knew that was because I had often been informed that Lirkin was the only decent cook among our number.  He had cooked for a baron’s son before joining the legion. 

Castile stopped the groans with a look and continued, “The regulars will be on guard at the sewer entrances.  We are not going into the sewers to find the Bartiradians.”  No one cheered because there was a feeling there was going to be a ‘but.’   “We will be continuing our night patrol of the upper city, and until the army comes to siege the city, you will each also be patrolling the lower city for five hours during the day.” 

She began pacing again and announced, “No one leaves the villa without permission, and no one travels alone in the city starting now.  We believe maybe twenty Bartiradians survived the attack on the Displacement Mage.  Some were injured, but the signs we found in the sewer indicate they have a healer and powerful air mage amongst them.  Those who witnessed the carnage saw what the air mage could do to a body.  We believe,” she spun slowly to look everyone in the eye, “they will try to kill the other two Legion mages in the city.”  She was referring to herself and Gregor.  She continued, “Konstantin believes they are smart and will work to thin our company before attacking me directly.”

She let that sink in before she stepped gracefully off the table onto a chair and then the floor and walked away.  Adrian announced patrol groups and their routes through the city.  “Eryk, Brutus, Mateo, and Wylie.  You have Veritas Street from the main road to the west gate.”  My confusion could not be hidden.

I interrupted Adrian, “I do not understand.  Who is in charge of our group?”

Adrian smirked and looked me in the eye.  His dark brown eyes showed mirth, “You are.  When a group is announced, the leader is the first person mentioned.  We think you can handle it.” 

Damn it.  This was because I took charge outside the residence of Displacement Mage after the cleanup.  I looked at the three men around me—I guess under my command.  Brutus and Wylie had huge grins on.  Mateo looked bored.  I processed and then ordered,  “I want everyone equipped with a short sword, buckler, dagger, and spear.  Bring a small canteen of water only.”  I pointed at Mateo, knowing he liked to mix a little alcohol in to give his water flavor.  “Be back here in fifteen minutes.”

After three weeks in the company, I was already being given responsibility beyond carrying around potions. 

Chapter 42 Growing Pains

While my squad went to gear up, Konstantin walked over to me.  He was surely coming to give me some wisdom, but instead, I pleaded, “Why me?”

He arched his eyebrows in amusement.  “Eryk, you showed yourself to be capable multiple times.  In the dungeon, surviving Durandus, in the basement against Bartiradians, and then directing the men to a rotation while we explored the sewers.” 

“I have only been with Castile for a few weeks.  Everyone has logged more time than me,” I argued.

“Eryk, you are in charge of just three men doing our safest patrol route.  We are giving you the easiest, most docile pony to ride.  If you fall off, then Castile can minimize her losses,” Konstantin explained.  “Now you can keep two healing salves and two minor potions in your space.  Everything else is coming out.  When you get back from patrol, see Delmar, and you can store them again.” 

I removed the potion racks, took the four potions out, and put them back into my space.  Konstantin then gave me the expected wisdom, “Eryk, keep to the main street and never split the group.  Keep all four of you together at all times.  Most of the buildings in the area you are exploring are abandoned and empty.  The regulars should have swept them all during the day, so do not expect much action.  If you find anyone past curfew, just question them, and angrily order them home.  A legionnaire yelling at them is usually enough to set fire to their pants.” Konstantin muttered as he walked away, “Although you did fall off your first horse.”

Mateo and Wylie arrived together, followed by Brutus.  We headed down through the orchards and past the checkpoints.  The city guardsmen were tense as this would be the first night the city was aware the Bartiradian army was marching. 

On the main thoroughfare, I ordered, “Brutus to the front.  You are best with the spear.  Mateo, to the left because you are right-handed.  Wylie, you are on the right because you think you always are.  I will be in the back, diamond formation, spear’s length apart.”

Wylie retorted, “If you can name one time I was wrong, you can have the last of my griffin jerky, Eryk.”

Mateo laughed loudly, “Oh, let me count the times!”

“Mateo!  Come on; we are friends!  No, helping the new pack leader here,” Wylie pleaded jokingly.

“Give me the jerky, and I won’t help him,” Mateo laughed, but Wylie pulled a wrapped bundle from under his chest piece, took a piece for himself, and tossed it to Mateo.  The bag was circled around the four of us until it was empty.  The griffin jerky was one of the best things I had eaten since arriving in the world of Desia. 

We reached Veritas Street, and the sun was setting.  There was not much daylight left, “Let us head down and stay in the middle of the street.”  The curfew required everyone to be inside after sunset.  As we walked, civilians hurried home, most carrying bundles with them.  The oil street lamps had been lit, but only every other one.  It was a way to ration the oil in lieu of the siege. 

At sunset, we started stopping people and questioning them.  I found myself doing the same thing Konstantin had done when he trained me.  After each encounter, I would ask the men questions.  I found it was a good way to discover something I may have missed.  We walked up and down the our patrol route.  At the west gate, seven city guardsmen were stationed at the barred city entry point.  The guardsmen could also see us walking the entire route, so if we got into trouble, they could help us.  I really was on the kiddie patrol route.  And I had no trouble with that at all.

I remained in the back all night but cycled the other three.  After a while, checking behind me every thirty steps became a habit.  Sometimes, I checked in between as well to make it appear random.  That was one thing Konstantin had repeatedly said, ‘on patrol, do not be predictable.’  To go along with that, we did not walk the length of the road back and forth but sometimes turned around and headed back. 

On one such quick turn, we caught a man rushing across the street.  Wylie sprinted after him and caught him before he reached an alley since he was burdened with a heavy load.  It appeared he had a bag heavy with silver cutlery, candlesticks, and two medium mirrors.  The mirrors shattered when Wylie tackled him.  He was definitely a thief, and we dragged him to the guards at the tower to handle him.  That was our only real excitement for my first night as a patrol leader.  

As the crack of dawn appeared above the city walls, we headed back to the villa.  We had slightly burnt bread and watery oatmeal filled with candied fruit in the kitchen.  The whole company was suffering.  Wylie chirped, “I hope not all the cart vendors fled the city.  If they did, I am going to starve.”  He still forced down the food, lathering the bread in a quarter inch of butter.  It wasn’t Lysander’s fault.  The only thing he knew how to do well was boil and mash potatoes.  I admit it was an apt punishment for looting the stores of the citadel. 

Adrian gave me all the potions to store in my space to extend their shelf life.  I would have to pull them again before the squads went on night patrol.  Adrian said Castile’s squad found two of the Bartaridans hiding in an attic.  Both were killed by Castile and the men with her, but if they had all split up into pairs, it was going to make finding them all extremely difficult.  It was obvious Castile wanted the threat of the air mage to be dealt with soon by her efforts.

The lower city patrol was another part of our punishment, but it was not as bad as it sounded.  Each unit had to make a zig-zag trip through the lower city, about a four-mile route.  After being on our feet all night, it would not be too much fun, but it would only take about two hours.  I volunteered my squad for the first route.  Mateo grumbled discontentment, but it would allow us to get continuous sleep and edible food in the city for the rest of the day.

The patrol went quickly, and we got mystery meat pies from a vendor.  Brutus was sure it was horse meat, but Mateo argued it was a rat.  Since the chunks of meat were so large, I ruled in favor of Brutus.  It was still better than what Lysander was preparing for lunch.  I actually think it was a conspiracy, as there was no way someone could be that bad at cooking.  Mateo warned me not to complain, or I would end up helping Lysander do the cooking.

When we got back, I reported to Delmar so he could send the next squad out.  I retreated to my room and secured the door.  I got comfortable on my bed and pulled out my four essences.  It had been long enough that I could assimilate another one. 

They felt solid in my hands as I rolled them.  I had the large one, which was an affinity for one of the magics.  The dark purple major essence of strength and two minor essences, one dark yellow dexterity and one dark orange one of power.  I knew I was going to try the magic affinity essence even before I pulled them all out.  I sent the other three back and held the ball.

Black and gray swirls flowed around the surface of the brown ball.  It gave the ball life while it emitted a strong glow.  Holding it, I could feel the power within, yearning to be consumed.  I dropped it into my mouth and felt a warmth spread from the ball throughout my body. 

At first, it was euphoric, but then my muscles spasmed.  I rolled in the fetal position and shoved my griffin feather pillow into my face as I started screaming in real pain.  It felt like I was being pulled apart.  No, something was trying to fill me, and there was no room—so it was making room.  

I started swearing violently into the pillow as my body started sweating uncontrollably.  My muscles clenched, and it was too painful to move significantly.  I was helpless as I tried to ride out whatever was happening.  I thought about screaming for help but kept the pillow over my face.  I was starting to feel fairly certain my heart would explode as I could hear it pounding in my ears at a tempo well beyond a safe limit. 

My bladder released without me being able to hold back.  I managed to keep my bowels contained, at least.  Minutes passed, and I finally started to feel the pressure alleviating.  I rolled out of bed and dragged the bedding to the floor to try and save the mattress from the urine.  My clothes were drenched in sweat.  It looked like I had saved the mattress—no wet spots.  The cold stone floor also felt very nice on my heated body.  I curled into a ball and passed out.

I woke late in the day with a thirst I had never experienced before.  I drank the large canteen, filled it from my space, and drank it again before my thirst satiated.  I stripped and put on clean, dry clothes, then bundled the filthy urine-stench clothes and blanket into a roll.  I would be slightly embarrassed having them washed, but it needed to be done.  I also smelled beyond ripe.  I almost could not stand my own smell.  It almost matched Castile and the others emerging from the sewers. 

I sat at the desk as I pondered my life choices.  I think I understood what had happened.  It had been simple when I thought about it.  The magic affinity, whatever it had been, was one I had not had.  I had an effectual zero in the attribute.  So, the essence had made a space for itself on my aether core.  Even now, I could feel the change when I used my limited aether manipulation skills.  The expansion of my core still felt raw, and my aether core was healing itself with the new addition. 

I really wanted to know what I had gained by racing to a tablet, but we could only travel in groups when we left the villa, and it would get back to Castile that I had used a tablet.  I would have to wait.  I definitely needed to get to the baths.  I opened the door and eventually found Lucian, Linus, and Benito would go to the upper city baths with me.  After they caught a whiff of me, they kept their distance from me as we walked.  I was looking forward to getting clean once again.

Chapter 43 Enemy at the Gates

As we walked to the baths, Linus asked from a safe-smelling distance, “How was your first night in charge, Eryk?  Did you have to chase someone into the sewer?”

I was walking behind the group so they didn’t have to smell me, “Something like that.  I mistook a bedpan for a clothes-washing basin,”  I fabricated a tale similar to something I heard Firth tell about one of his trips to a brothel.

They started laughing and thankfully dropped the subject.  I listened to their tales of their overnight patrol.  Nothing too exceptional happened, they stopped three break-ins and turned the criminals over to the city guard.  The holding cells were over capacity in the city, so the prisoners were tasked with constructing barricades to be used in the city. 

We arrived at the baths, and I embarrassedly asked for my clothes bundled in a blanket to be washed.  The young woman recognized me from when I broke in over a week ago after returning from my swamp excursion.  

I pulled her aside to explain why my clothes were filthy, “I am sorry about this, but my legion mates tossed my clothes and blanket in the pig pen.  I could not get them clean.  An entire silver bonus if you get the smell completely out,” I said pleadingly.  Her eyes brightened at the incentive, and I noticed she was the only one working.  “Where is everyone?  Were there not three of you last time I was here?”

She nodded, “They left with their families yesterday afternoon.  About half the city is gone now.  My parents died two winters back, and my only other family is in Bartiradian lands.”  

“So you are alone in the city?”  I asked the young woman, curious.  She was plain-looking but not unattractive.  I guessed her age to be close to Renna, about 19.

“I live with my older brother, who is a guard in the lower city,” she said, blushing slightly.  She focused on my clothes, scrunching her nose at the smell, “I can boil the bundle with lye, white ash, and oil scents.  It worked on the last group you had come through here smelling this foul.”  

“Great!  Can you wash what I am wearing separately as well?” I said while removing my clothes.  She seemed uncertain as she was the only one working and had a lot of piles of laundry to do.  I produced two silver coins, one for the bath, one for her bonus, and one large copper as an additional bonus, “Please?” I asked, handing her the coins.  She nodded, and I did catch her eyes look down for a moment.  I still was not accustomed to the fact that nudity was not a taboo in the Empire.

She handed me a new bar of soap and a clean scrubber.  Unlike the baths in the lower city, everyone got new soap and a clean scrubber in these baths.  “Thank you.  What is your name?”  It actually seemed a little absurd to ask her name in my state.

“Carina,” she said shyly, tossing my clothes in a woven basket, trying not to touch the foul-smelling ones.

“Thank you, Carina,” I said with a friendly smile and moved to the showers.  My companions had already cleaned off in the showers and moved into the communal hot soaking tub.  I spent a much longer time scrubbing my skin raw to remove the scent of whatever the apex magic essence did to me.  I settled into the heated pool with the others.  I think I had been successful in removing the odor from my body. 

My skin was raw from the scrubbing and a bit sensitive to the hot water, but the heat was divine on my sore muscles.  The training did not get me sore any longer, but my spasming muscles from consuming the magic affinity essence had done a number on me.  My body felt like the first day in the legion training barracks.  I was quite good at hiding my soreness, but settling into the water, and I let out an audible sigh.

“You should just visit the brothels, Eryk.  Too much work in pursuing the young bath girls.  And then, half the time, you have to deal with their irate lovers,” Lucian advised with a smirk.  Lucian was the horse master for the company and taught me to ride.

Benito remarked with mirth, “Yeah, you rubbed yourself red, and I doubt that she wants to deal with a tomato of your bulk.  She probably prefers a smaller and more handsome package,”  he indicated himself.  Benito was the shortest man in our company at about 5’5”.  He preferred a body shield and a short sword in combat to serve in the shield wall. 

Linus, our company medic, said, “Our young friend has more sense than the both of you.  Benito, you spent nearly half your silver from the snake at the brothel!  And the other half getting cleansed of the crotch crickets!” 

“It was still worth it!” Benito pouted, “For Mars’ blade, we might not see the end of the week.  I prefer my coin spent and my urges satisfied.”  Benito’s reminder of our dire circumstances killed the verbal jousting.

My companions left and informed me they were headed two buildings down for food.  I could meet them there, and they wished me luck with the young woman.  It was not Carina who came and told me my clothes were ready but the older woman who ran the bathhouse. 

She scolded me, “My girls can do better than a muscled brute.  I would prefer if you and your Legion men avoided my baths altogether!  I suppose the enemy is going to sabotage the aqueduct when they arrive, and my baths will be shut down.  Until then, legionnaire, I suggest the lower city baths!”  She dropped my two wicker laundry baskets at my feet to emphasize the point I was not welcome.  I take she did not like soldiers for some reason.

I dressed and noted that my clothes and blanket now had a strong floral scent.  Carina did an excellent job.  I decided, the Mistress of the baths be damned, if I wanted to take a bath in fancy upper city baths, I would. 

I met the others at a small café style restaurant.  They were eating something akin to a thick taco, and I joined them.  I mentioned, “Life seems too normal for a city that is about to be attacked.”

Lucian spoke as he ate, “The civilians don’t care.  This city has been passed back and forth a dozen times in the last hundred years.  When the fighting starts, they will hide in their basements, come out when it is all over, and resume their lives no matter who controls the city.”

It made sense now why that bookstore vendor did not care to flee.  I asked, “So, they will not loot the city if they conquer it?”

Lucian was shaking his head in the negative, “If they did, then it would be hard to find civilians who wanted to settle in the city so close to the border.  It is just the soldiers that pay the price in the border expansion wars with the Bartiradians.  You could almost call it a war with civility!”  He laughed at his joke.

“Now, when we fight the orcs of the Boutan Caliphate, that is a bloody war of attrition,” Linus added to the conversation.

Benito contributed his knowledge, “We haven’t fought the Boutan orcs on the northern peninsula in a century.  If we leave them alone, they will keep to their own.”

Lucian disagreed, “Their Supreme Cleric has been pushing his people to settle the plains across the ocean to the west of the Telhian Empire.  Even though the swamps separate our lands there, trust me, there will be war soon.”

Benito laughed, “When have we ever not been at war?  The Emperors have been trying to conquer all of Desia for two thousand years.  Besides, the Esenhem Elves block the land passage to the peninsula.”

“You are daft, Benito.  Have you ever heard of a boat?  How do you think they settled the western plains?” Lucian spoke in disbelief.  I had not talked too much with Benito, but he did come off as a bit of an idiot. 

Linus focused on me with a knowing smile and asked, “So, Eryk.  No luck with the young bath attendant?”

I rolled my eyes at the question, “The Mistress of the baths warned me off.”

The entire group started laughing.  Lucian so hard his face turned red.  Linus consoled me, “Well, this is the upper city, Eryk.  She probably only works in the baths to land herself a wealthy patron.  We are just men who swing big swords.”

Lucien laughed, stood, and slapped me on my back, “Some bigger than others.  Let us get back to the villa before Castile sends out a search party.”

We had eaten enough to avoid Lysander’s dinner tonight.  My overnight patrol remained the same, and the night got interesting as a fire was set in one of the warehouses on our street not long into our patrol. 

The first story of every building in the city was made from stone and mortar.  The second and sometimes third floors were wood.  The warehouse that was burning could not be saved, and the fire brigade was focused on just containing it and preventing it from spreading to other buildings.

As the fire brigade arrived, I ordered my men, “Let us keep an eye out in case this was set as a distraction.  Keep in the center of the road, and do not watch the fire burn.”  Maybe I was being paranoid, but something felt off.  I moved us toward the city’s outer walls so we wouldn’t be in the path of the smoke. 

Brutus felt it, too, “Seems awfully convenient to have the warehouse burn down,” as the flames started to reach higher and higher, and would easily be seen from anywhere in the city.

Two loud, shrill whistles rang out from a few streets away.  That was the signal the Legion used to alert others that the enemy was near.  Faint sounds of combat could be heard even with the fire and men trying to contain it nearby.  Everyone looked to me for direction.  “Form up tight behind me.  Fast jog,” I ordered as I broke into a jog, heading toward the sounds of combat.

We ran to the main thoroughfare and toward the upper city.  It was just three streets down when we ran into the fighting.  It was one of our patrols.  The legionnaires were engaged with a dozen men.  “Full Run!”  I screamed as I bolted forward, ignoring the formation.  My scream was to draw the attention of the attackers to give our men some relief.

On quick inspection, one of our men was already down, and two looked severely injured.  The legion men had their backs to the building, protecting the downed man.  A spear flashed from over my shoulder, and then two more.  Two of the three spears connected with the assailants.  One was a chest strike, and the other a hip strike.  Both targets collapsed and screeched in pain.  With a spear in them they were effectively out of combat. 

The odds were much better, seven of us versus eleven of them.  I had miscounted, there were actually thirteen enemies.  I didn’t throw my own spear.  Instead, I preferred to charge with it.  My target was one of the attackers closer to our defending men.  He was distracted, and I took him through the side, losing my spear two feet into his oblique and exiting out his belly.  I released the spear, unable to retrieve it, and pulled my short sword, deflecting a slash from another man. 

My men reached us, and in the dim light of the oil street lamps, the carnage of battle waged.  My focus was not to let any of the enemy behind me.  I was able to identify the four men we were trying to rescue.  Orson, Lirkin, Blaze and Caius.  Blaze was the man who was down.  He was trying to hold his neck while blood oozed from the wound.  

I didn’t think as I yelled, “Form a wall around Blaze!  Give me time to get to him.”  As if by magic, the six legionnaires pushed the attackers back, and I was able to kneel by Blaze and get him both the lesser potions from my storage space into his mouth.  The blood was slowing, but I didn’t have time to help further, as the effort to create space for me had gotten Brutus injured.  It looked like Lirkin had a serious thigh wound, and Orson was fighting one-handed.

I joined the fray, and it turned into an exchange of blades.  Another squad of men was running toward us, led by Firth.  I could hear not what he was screaming, but the remaining attackers ran.  I returned to Blaze and checked on him.  He was unconscious but breathing, and the neck wound looked completely closed.  The company medic, Linus, knelt with me, “I already used all our potions.  What do you have left?”

“Just the two healing salves.  Only good for closing surface wounds,” I produced them and handed them to him.  It wasn’t long before Firth came back from his chase. 

Firth addressed Orson, “How many attacked you?”

Orson responded immediately, “Thirteen.”

Firth did a mental count, then spoke, “Five got away then.”  Firth started inspecting each of the men as I helped Linus with our wounded.  When he was done, he sounded irritated, “Only five of the eight were Bartiradian soldiers by their clothing and callused hands.  The rest were men that were probably insurgents assisting them from inside the city,” he concluded.

Orson ordered the enemy to be moved together in a pile, and then we returned to the villa.  The news was not good.  Another squad had been attacked, and Flans was killed.  The number of injuries also put a huge dent in our potion stock.  Castile, Delmar, Konstantin, and Adrian had not returned yet either.  They had tasked themselves with hunting down the air mage. 

Toward morning, our leaders returned.  They returned and had obviously battled with the state of their equipment—blood, cuts, and filth covered their clothes.  As one of the squad leaders, I was called to report on the events of the night.  No one was happy with losing Flans.  Castile did not blame anyone, though.  We were almost out of potions, which was extremely bad.  Durandus had been the only healing mage in the city.  

Adrian told us about their night, “We found the air mage.  He got away and collapsed the aqueduct just outside the city.  We managed to kill the seven soldiers with him, but he fled into the country outside the walls.  If no one else fled the city, our best guess is that around ten Bartiradians infiltrators are left in the city now.  Hopefully, the air mage does not return.”

Castile made some rapid decisions, “We will combine patrols for the night watch.  Day patrols are canceled.  Lirkin can resume his duties.  I want rotations to the city wall, Adrian.  The enemy should be arriving soon, and I want to know when.  Send a message to Gregor and let him know I want to meet him here at the villa.  Linus, take Eryk and see if any apothecaries are still functioning in the city, and get what supplies you can.  Get all the potions to Eryk’s storage before you leave, and send me an accounting later.”  Castile left to talk with Delmar and Adrian. 

I went with Linus, and we scoped out the city’s apothecaries, but all had fled the impending siege of the city.  Linus broke into one shop and was disappointed with what he found.  All he found was some red aloe that could be used as a topical disinfectant. 

We returned to the villa.  I gladly went to my room to rest.  There was some relief to see Lirkin cooking merrily and whistling to himself.  I secured my room and stripped off my armor.  In the fighting hours ago, I was shocked to find that I had taken a shallow cut to my bicep.  The blood was dried, but I did not remember receiving it during the fight.  I closed my eyes and tried to replay the fight in my head.  There!  In an exchange, I remembered that I had deflected a swing with my buckler and felt a sting, but I did not think the blade reached flesh then.  I felt better remembering how I received the injury and thought about how I could avoid the same mistake in the future.

I cleaned the injury and used the red aloe we had just procured.  It was going to leave a nice scar.  I did not study the healing spell form; instead, I decided to get as much sleep as possible.  A knock woke me for dinner, and I gladly went to eat with everyone else.  Even with the improved fare, the mood was still somber with the loss of Flans last night.  The mood got darker when a city guardsman rushed into the villa to alert us that the lead elements of the Bartiradian army were visible from the walls.

Chapter 44 Firth’s Brilliant Plan

I was seated between Brutus and Wylie when the city guard announced the enemy had arrived.  Brutus murmured, “Damn, they must have run here to arrive so quickly.”

Wylie gave his opinion, “No, it is probably just the lead elements.  Two days and mounted men could have easily made a hundred miles on the road.”

Brutus jested, “While as long as the horses can’t fly, it won’t matter.  The regulars can hold the walls.  It will all come down to how many mages they brought with them.  Eryk, you were not here when Castile and Gregor were arguing over the city’s defense.  Durandus may have been a greedy fool, but he was a powerful wizard.  From the shouts raining down the stairs, I guess things are not pretty.”

Wylie added, “Do not worry, Brutus.  I am sure Castile has a plan to keep most of us alive,” he added jovially, while shoveling food into his face.  I disliked that Wylie said, ‘most of us.’

During the meal, Castile left with Adrian for the lower city to further strategize with Gregor and the Army’s General at the Legion Hall.   After dinner, my patrol was merged with Firth’s patrol to give us eight legionaries.  Firth took the lead, so I was removed from having to think too much.   We did not talk much as we walked.  I was slightly caught off guard when Firth did not lead us to our assigned patrol route of Venus Street and Vesta Street.  Instead, we went into the lower city, and Firth guided us into an alley. 

He talked softly to the seven of us, “I know where some Bartirdian collaborators are.  I know you all want to get some revenge for Flans’ death.”  Murmurs of agreement answered him.  “Good.  Now we will go in and search the house for the unaccounted-for Bartiadian soldiers.”  Nods of agreement and excitement swelled among our number.  Firth added, “Hold your blade unless attacked.  No killing unless necessary.” 

We left our spears in the alley, and Firth’s plan was simple.  Four of us would rush to the second floor, and four of us would search the first floor and then the basement.  I was part of the second group with Brutus, Mateo, and Wylie. 

We walked out into the street, leaving our spears in the alley as they would be difficult to use in a house.  Firth walked four houses down and indicated a door.  The houses in this section of the city were well maintained but not opulent like our patrol routes in the upper city.  Brutus and Mateo rushed the door together and shouldered it open, storming into the dark house.  Those of us who had glow stones held them for light. 

Footsteps and curses could be heard on the second floor.  Brutus went right, and Mateo left as they started their search of the first floor.  I found the basement door while Firth and the others thundered up the stairs.

The basement was locked, and as I shouldered it, I could hear harsh whispering below.  Just great, we had struck gold.  I was at the forefront again.  I heard fighting on the second floor as I struggled with my own door.  Mateo arrived and heaved to no success.  He pulled a hand axe on his belt and began hacking around the hinges, taking chunks of the door with each swing.  Wylie and Brutus arrived as well, the first-floor search complete. 

I whispered loudly, “Definitely some people down there.  Last time, there were seven, and we took them unaware.  They know we are coming.”  I looked at our small bucklers and wished we had taken the medium shields for the patrol.   There was no time.  The two hinges were free of the frame, and we removed the door from the other side. 

A quarrel bolt thudded into Wylie’s stomach as the door cleared the opening.  Brutus did not hesitate to go first, tossing his glow stone and racing down the stairs after the man who shot Wylie.  Mateo was behind him, and I quickly kneeled next to Wylie.  It looked like a straight gut shot.  “Don’t move Wylie.  Just lay down; you don’t want the head shifting around inside of you.  After the fighting, we can get the last healing potion from Linus and get you patched up.”   He nodded and moved to get comfortable. 

I focused on the fight.  I hurried down into the basement.  A man with a crossbow was dead at the bottom, with a slash from shoulder to hip, and a stab wound in his heart.  The wall was to my left, so the entire basement was open to my right.  Brutus was cutting down another man, and Mateo was engaged with two more.  A fourth man on the far side desperately tried to load a crossbow but didn’t seem to know how.  I rushed the crossbowman, and one of Mateo’s opponents broke to stop me. 

It cost the man a slash from Mateo on his shoulder, but that was all the help he could give as his other opponent pressed him.  The man blocked my path, and his shoulder wound was not serious.  I needed to get to the crossbowman quickly, or one of us was going to take a bolt.  Two exchanges with the man blocking me told me I was not getting by.  I bull-rushed him, taking him by surprise as I drove his sword up and drove my shield into his face.   I had assumed he would fall back and give me a path to the ranged threat, but the asshole grabbed my clothes and pulled me to the ground with him.

I released my short sword and went to my belt for my knife.  He had the same thought, and we tried to hold each other at bay with one hand while trying to stab the other with a dagger.  I was stronger and had the body position.  The fear in his wide brown eyes as my blade pressed into his throat shook me a little.  I was killing without hesitation.

A man doesn’t die when you cut his throat.  He bleeds and drowns in his own blood.  I had to hold him down or risk his vengeance with the blade.  I held him at bay as he choked on his blood and sprayed it into my face as he fought till his end.  During my struggle, Brutus had finished his man and stabbed the crossbowman in the chest.  Brutus hit a lung, and the crossbowman was foaming at the mouth as he struggled to breathe and desperately held the wound closed to prevent blood loss.   

Mateo’s opponent was injured and now outnumbered.  My own foe was dead, and I stood, and all three of us faced the last man who slowly backed toward the stairs.  A twang of a crossbow and then a thud to my back spun me around hard.  Mateo swore, “Fuck, he must have had a healing potion.”

I went down hard on my knees, a bolt tip protruding from my chest a few inches.  It had struck my right shoulder and passed partway through me. 

I quickly got my senses, though.  I told myself I had endured pain this intense before.  My right arm was useless since the bolt had ripped through the muscles in its path through my body.  Mateo had returned and was ending the man who had shot me, and Brutus was handling the man close to the stairs.  We won—I could rest.  I reached and touched the tip of the bolt protruding from me in slight disbelief and shock. 

My first thought was it was sharp.  My second thought was, why did he have to shoot me?  There were two other targets.  In a daze, I turned to ask him, but Mateo had killed him with a blade under his chin, and into his brain.  Mateo saw me approach and explained, “I am looking to see if he has any more healing potions on him, Eryk.  He has to.”  He frantically searched the man’s pockets and was getting frustrated.

I knew I was in mild shock, but my mind was crystal clear, “He doesn’t have any potions on him, Mateo.  He was a healing mage.  There are no vials around his body.  He didn’t take a potion to heal himself, he used magic.”  Mateo swore and stood, seeing the truth of my words.

Brutus joined us and was inspecting the bolt through my body.  I ordered him, “Go and find Linus in the city.  Wylie needs that healing potion.  He should also have a healing salve.  We can pull this out and close my wounds with it on both ends.”  He hesitated, but I said angrily, “Go, Brutus!”  He nodded, turned, and ran up the stairs. 

“Mateo, go upstairs and help Firth and the others, it sounds like there is still fighting up there.  I will be fine down here.”  I sat on a stool next to the dead healing mage to prove my point.  He rushed up the stairs a few heartbeats later.  My only thought was—healing mage?  I only heard muted sounds from two floors up.  I pulled my collector out of my space, painfully bent over, and placed the disc on his body.  He was slumped against the wall, so the disc was angled as I activated it. 

The familiar blue mist left his body and coalesced into a sphere.  I marveled at the white misty pearl with swirls of gold and silver.  It was beautiful.  Then, it rolled off the collector and across the room.  Shit, Castile had told me that would happen.  I was too injured to get the body prone, though.  My luck was terrible as the sphere rolled right between two crates filled with coal. 

I walked cautiously and stiffly, as too much range of motion really fucking hurt.  The shock from the injury and my training had killed the pain momentarily, but it was slowly magnifying with time.  I found a broom and used the handle to tease the ball out from between the crates.  I held it in front of me and admired it, getting lost in its soft glow and the movement of the metallic swirls.  The allure of the power it contained was muted slightly by how I had obtained it.  The wooden stairs shook as someone descended, and I sent the apex essence and the collector to my space.  I could have gotten more from the warriors if I had not dawdled.  

It was Firth coming down the stairs, and he voiced his anger on seeing my injury, “Bloody harpies tits, three injured.  Castile is going to be pissed.”

“I sent Brutus to find Linus,” I said with effort. 

“Good man,” he looked around the room.  “Well, that makes eight total.  This might have been the last of them in the city, so there is that.  Didn’t expect to find them here, though.  I just hoped to get information on where they were hiding from the collaborators.”  He shook his head, “Let us get you upstairs with Wylie and Lysander.  Lysander got stabbed in the thigh, all the way to the bone.  He can not walk.”

I hobbled up the stairs carefully to find Wylie lying on the kitchen table, still with a bolt sticking out of his stomach, and Lysander sitting with a bloody wrap around his leg.  Wylie chuckled, “Come to join the infirmary?”

I gingerly pulled a stool and sat carefully.  “Yep, looks like no one died.  Should we wrestle for the last healing potion?”

Lysander scoffed, and Wylie clucked with mirth, “The way our night has gone, it was probably already used on someone else.”

Linus came rushing in a few minutes later and assessed all of us before dealing with Wylie first.  He cut the shaft, pulled it through, and then administered the last healing potion to him.  He came to me next, “Eryk, that was a broadhead quarrel.  It missed the bone, but your muscles are cut to shit, and the bleeding might drain into the chest cavity.  If you have trouble breathing, let someone know immediately.  You need a full healing potion for the extent of the damage.  If we used a lesser potion, then the muscles might not knit themselves back together properly.”

He turned to Lysander, “You will not be doing any cooking on that leg,” he smiled at the terrible cook.  “One of the lesser potions should heal you up as just one muscle was sliced.  Castile keeps one on her person; if not, we will find one in the city.”

It was almost two hours before Castile, Adrian, Delmar, and Konstantin arrived.  They had been hunting for the very men we found.  Castile was beyond angry at Firth.  She knew the healing mage was still in the city and planned to capture and use him during the siege to heal our men.  Now, he was dead. 

I did learn that two hours was too long to wait to harvest essence, as Castile did not even try.  After Castile yelled at Firth in a lengthy tirade, she said to everyone present, “I am going to go beat some potions out of Gregor.  Get these two to the villa in a cart.”

As dawn broke, I was seated in a wagon being pulled by a mule.  Lysander was sleeping in the wagon bed and somehow snoring, even with the bumpy ride and his wound, he was still able to sleep.  I watched the civilians braving the morning streets to stare in awe at me while sitting on the tail of the wagon.  I still had a frigging crossbow bolt through my shoulder.

Chapter 45 Essence and Ignorance

When we got to the villa, Konstantin had a fine saw to slowly cut the rear of the bolt off.  I was extremely uncomfortable waiting for the return of Castile.  My breathing started to get strained, and the wound tightened, making any movement painful.  I understood they wanted to wait to remove the bolt until they had a healing potion, but it wasn’t very pleasant, and being stoic was taking a lot of mental energy. 

I awaited Castile, but it was Linus who returned with the healing potions.  Lysander was treated first.  It was a quick rub into the open wound, and then he drank the remainder.  I was a bit more of a project.

Linus looked at the bolt.  It had been cut off in the back, “We are just going to pull it the rest of the way through Eryk.  The blood has coagulated a lot in the three hours, so it is going to be painful.  Take this and drink it later,” he handed me one of the cure poison potions.  “Bite down on this,” he handed me a thick piece of leather.  “You do not want to break your teeth when you clench them.”

“Was the bolt poisoned?” I asked with the potion in my hand and putting the leather strip in my mouth.  

“The healing potion is going to focus on the tissue and correct the damaged muscle.  Normally, it would also handle any infection, but that bolt has been inside you for hours.  So, after I pull it, we will pour the potion into the wound rather than have you drink the cure poison potion.  The cure potion is just insurance as the healing potion may not have enough aether left to cleanse your blood after it heals the wound.”  He explained, “A potion works its way out from where it is administered until it expends its aetheric stores.  Usually, drinking it is fine if the wound is not too severe, or you could take two potions.  We only have one,” he held it up.

He didn’t wait any longer and just reached out and pulled.  My body held the shaft for a moment before it pulled out.  I grunted, holding in a scream as that was what a stoic man should do.  If I had been alone in private, I would have definitely screamed.

Linus worked quickly, getting my armor off and clothes as my wound oozed dark blood.  He quickly cleaned the area with water and then red aloe.  He then carefully opened the hole wider with tongs to make sure no potion was lost.  That hurt more than anything so far, and I let out a cathartic scream—forgetting all about being manly.  He carefully poured the entire vial into the wound, and I felt the warmth spread and the muscles heat as the magic worked to repair them.  

After a few minutes, Linus inspected the work, “You look good.  Three inches lower, and you would have been in trouble.  Let’s check mobility.”  I went through ranges of motion, and the shoulder was tight, but I had no issues.  Linus reminded me to drink the potion of cure poison in an hour or so and left.  

I locked my door again.  I was lying on my bed with the griffin pillow under my head.  I was rolling what I thought was an apex healing essence in my hand.  I was only hesitant to consume it because of the nasty surprise the last apex essence had given me.  What if my theory was wrong and the pain was not from a new magic affinity establishing itself on my core?  Could I go through that again?  Also, I was not even sure this was a healing essence.  It just came from a mage that could heal.  

A knock at my door disturbed me, and I sent the pillow and essence to my storage.  I opened the door, and Firth was there, “You know, Eryk, if you keep locking yourself in here, people are going to create rumors about what you are doing in here alone.”  

I shrugged, “Sleeping without having to listen to a symphony of snoring is worth it.”

Firth got serious, “Just wanted to apologize for the patrol.  I was not expecting the Bartiradians to be there.”  He handed me a satchel, “some food, and you have off from tonight’s patrols.  You are on the wall at first light, though.  Get some rest.”  He turned and left.

I realized it was midday, and Firth had brought me lunch.  There was even a pouch of griffin jerky in there.  We had been told it was all gone.  I resumed my previous position with the essence in my hand and munched on the jerky.  When the jerky was gone, I popped the essence in next, committing to it.

I braced myself for another unpleasant experience.  Instead, as the essence dissolved in my mouth, my skin cooled, and I got goosebumps.  The coolness spread to my breath, and I shivered.  The feeling slowly disappeared, and that was it—much more manageable than my last affinity essence.  I was fairly certain that had been a healing essence.  I couldn’t differentiate the affinities on my core, but it definitely added to something already there.  That also confirmed that I had awoken a new essence with the brown apex essence. 

I immediately pulled the healing spell form book out of my storage with a glow stone.  The light from the covered windows was not enough to see clearly.  I had studied this book for almost two weeks and had been frustrated.  As I reread and studied the forms in the book, I felt it was possible.  I put the book down and reviewed everything in my mind that Damian had taught me when I imprinted my dimensional space.  Then, I returned to the reading.  Making sure I was being careful about my intent and picturing the simplified spell forms from the book.

A knock and Mateo’s voice came from the door, “Eryk, dinner is served.”   I heard him walk away and was grateful he had alerted me.  I had been studying for hours, and my eyes were dry and aching from the effort.  I cleaned the room and joined everyone.

Felix blurted, “Look, he is absolutely glowing!”  Panic welled up—maybe my change was noticeable.  Instead, it was just a joke about my large amount of alone time in my room.

Mateo added as I sat beside him, “He does smell funny.  Does he smell funny to you, Pavel?”  Pavel was on my other side and took a big sniff.

Pavel considered his words, “I do detect a faint scent of perfume.”  Everyone started laughing, but Pavel had a good nose.  The perfume from my bed’s prior occupant tended to linger for a while on my clothes.  That was the end of the joking as Adrian started to assign the night patrols.  As Firth had told me, I had the night off.  No one seemed upset about it.

I returned to my room after visiting the privy as they geared up.  Securing myself once again, I resumed my studies.  It was late into the night, and I kept weighing whether or not I should get some sleep; then it happened.  I was blurry-eyed and exhausted, but my need to learn to heal after being shot in the back was too much.  It felt like all the pressure I had been trying to force into me had just been released; the dam had broken, and I was now satisfactorily filled.  I knew I had a new spell form, and it felt like I had correctly imprinted what I wanted on my aether core.

I took out a knife and cut a thin line on my forearm.  I focused on the wound and my aether core together and pushed my aether into it.  The thin line of red remained, but the flesh underneath pulled together.  I wiped the blood away and found just smooth skin.  Well, hairy skin but no cut—no scar.

I became a little masochistic as I cut and burned myself a few times to get comfortable with the healing ability.  Closing a minor cut took less than a relative point of aether, a deep cut, maybe an entire point of aether.  I was not stupid enough to damage muscle tissue or organs during my impromptu testing.  When I finally fell asleep, I felt much better about my chances of surviving my legion tenure.

At first light, Konstantin banged on my door, “Eryk, you have slept enough.  Wall duty after breakfast!”  I scrambled to clean up and felt like an idiot for not storing the book last night.  I had gotten so caught up in my testing that it had remained on the bed.  I sent it with the pillow to my space and dressed.  I took a short sword and the bow I had requisitioned with me as I made my way to breakfast.  I did not need to carry the arrows as there were bins of arrows on the wall. 

Everyone was tired from the patrol and was mechanically eating.  It was not long before five of us headed to the wall.  Konstantin leading with Pavel, Regis, Malcolm, and myself.  I walked next to Konstantin and asked, “How were the patrols last night?”

“The upper city was fairly tame.  The city guard had a number of issues in the lower city,” he said calmly as we walked.

There were a lot of citizens about—much more than normal.  I asked, “Why is everyone so active so early today?  Is that a sign of trouble to come?”

Konstantin nodded, “Nice observation, but no.  There is a curfew from mid-day to sunrise.  Everyone needs to get everything done in the morning.  Especially get water.  There are only four wells in the city.  Be glad we are not tasked with guarding them as the civilians draw water.  The wells can barely support the population.”

We reached the wall and climbed the stairs to our section.  I asked another question of Konstantin, “Why only five of us today?” 

Konstantin smirked, “Eryk, this is what happens when you spend all day in your room.  We are only on the wall for show and to give the regulars a spell during the heat of the day.  Five men are enough to do that.  If there is an attack, we will group at the Legion Hall with Gregor’s men.  From there, we listen to the mages on where to go.”

Fortunately, today was cloudy as we reached the top of the wall, and the morning had a cool, humid air to it.  I was astounded at what I witnessed in the distance.  Beyond the abandoned farms and buildings outside the walls below us, a pair of mounted griffins flew over an army.

“Shit,” was all I managed to say.  Hundreds of Bartiradians were setting up a sprawling camp.

The others laughed, and Konstantin gave his feedback.  “The griffins are not the true threat if that is what you are thinking, Eryk.  Any flying mount is useless on the ground, and almost any strike on their wings brings them to the ground like rain in a storm.  They are used as scouts and to relay messages when magic arrays prevent magic sending.”

“Still, it would be amazing to ride one,” I said, watching them glide in the skies just over a mile away. 

Konstantin grunted in what sounded like disappointment at my fascination.  Pavel said, “You are too fat!  All those riders are women and weigh less than half your beefy frame.”

Konstantin affirmed the fact, “It is true.  Griffins may be large but tire quickly with a heavy rider.  Those riders are most likely slender elves and most likely women.  That has been my experience anyway.” 

“Is it the same for the Empire?  Do only women ride griffins here?”  I inquired.

Konstantin seemed in a talkative mood.  “Griffins are kept as pets for hunting.  Some people do fly them.  The Emperor doesn’t like them.  He has a cohort of drakes ridden by the Draconic Legion.”

“How do you get selected for that job as a legionnaire,” I asked jokingly.

Konstantin grunted, “They are more for show than combat.  Fancy-suited legionaries to fly over parades or march in them.  Taming a drake isn’t as hard as a true dragon, but half the men in training die to their own mounts.”

“That is not true,” Regis voiced loudly.

Konstantin shrugged, and Regis continued, “I was almost selected for training.  I had the attribute requirements on the tablet reading.  I was just afraid of heights back then.”

“You still are!” Pavel teased his fellow bowman.

“What are the stat requirements to train as a member of the Draconic Legion?”  I moved closer to the tower for shade as the clouds evaporated.

“Besides the normal potentials, they look for forty-seventy in quickness, dexterity, and coordination.  They also want a high empathy score as it helps in dealing with animals.  My empathy is thirty-seven, and its potential is even higher,” Regis boasted.

I thought this might be a good time to get answers on what attribute scores were good.  “What does it even mean?  I never saw a tablet reader before coming to the Empire.  Why is it based on one hundred, for instance?  Can you pass one hundred in potential?”

Konstantin stood, “Damn Errk, what kind of backward village did you come from?”  I didn’t answer.  He scoffed, “I can forgive your ignorance, I guess.  All Empire tablets are calibrated for humans.  The epitome of human ability is determined at birth.  If you are perfect in an attribute, they say your potential in that attribute will show as one hundred on the tablet’s potential.  Never seen it all my years, though.”

Pavel butted in, “They say the Emporer has attributes over one hundred from consuming apex essences.”

Konstantin looked annoyed, “With how many essences he consumes, it is not surprising.”  He looked at me.  “The other races, if they use a tablet calibrated for a human, can have potentials over one hundred.  I have seen a male elf evaluated with 122 in aether shaping and and a female orc with endurance and constitution over 110.”

Pavel, Regis, and Malcolm were also listening intently.  I asked, “So what is average for a human?  In terms of the attribute and potential?”

Konstantin grunted, “There is too much variation to say definitive values.  I would guess that most men’s physical values are in the twenties, with potential in the forties and fifties.  But if you stop training, they are just as likely to go down unless you fortify them with an essence.”

I was not the only one with a confused look on his face.  Konstantin laughed, “Ah, one of the great secrets of the wealthy and First Citizens!  No harm in telling you.  Maybe an example is best.  Pavel, let’s say your strength is 30, and you have a potential of 70.  You train for months and raise your strength to 50.  If you take any strength essence, you will keep that 50 in your strength for years without putting in much effort.  Without taking an essence and ending your training, your strength score will fall back to 30, maybe even lower if you are lazy.”

All of us were silent.  Konstantin had a massive smile as something flashed in Regis’ eyes, he started to speak, but Konstantin cut him off, “Exactly, Regis.  That is why Castile divides up the essences the way she does after talking with Adrian and Delmar.  She tries to spread the attributes around to fortify the company’s scores.”  His smile grew, “It is why we are one of the strongest of all the Mage Companies in the Legion.”

There was a long pause of disbelief before Pavel asked, “Why is this not common knowledge?”

Konstantin laughed, “It is to those who can afford essences!  Also, the more people know, the more valuable essences become.  I am sure in some lands, it might be common knowledge; in other lands, they like to keep people ignorant.”  He looked pointedly at me.

As we walked back to the villa after we were relieved, I found I had a lot more respect for Castile and our commanders.

Chapter 46 Castile’s Plan

After we returned from the wall, everyone removed the gear and went to sleep in the ballroom where their cots were.  They had been on an eight-hour night patrol and then five hours on the wall watch, so they were exhausted, unlike me, who was excited as I had just imprinted the healing spell form.  I wanted to confirm that I could repair bones but was not dumb enough to break one to test my ability.

I changed out of my armor and helped Lirkin in the kitchen adjacent to my room for a time.  I was thinly slicing a cold roast so it could go in a pita-like bread for lunch with marinated vegetables.  As I was helping Lirkin, Delmar found me, “Eryk, we do not need you to hold the potions.  We do not have any more healing potions, and the remaining stamina and cure poison have been distributed.” I nodded in understanding.  “You can ask Lirkin here what perishables to store for now.”  Delmar left, and Lirkin was already thinking.

“Never been on the inside in a siege,” he was in deep thought.  “Something that will spoil and will not be available during the siege,” he continued to think.  “I know!  Butter!  It goes rancid in the damn bloody humid heat.  You all consume five bricks at every meal, and most of the milk cows in the city will be slaughtered for meat.  I will get you some freshly churned butter from the Citadel.”  He was excited, “Keep it a secret from the men; otherwise, they might nag you.  How much space do we have to work with?”

I showed him on the counter, gesturing with my hands.  A brick of butter was about three by three inches and six inches long.  The box in my space was a fifteen-inch cube, so we estimated seventy blocks of butter.  That was going to be a lot of calories.  After lunch, I took a nap and, as promised, was awoken to add a lot of butter to my storage.  Lirkin brought two hundred blocks from the Citadel, and I could fit the seventy expected blocks in the crate I reserved for legion goods in my dimensional space.  The rest of the butter would be used in the next week for cooking. 

I went to train in the gardens rather than remain in my room.  Now that the city was under siege, Konstantin spent all his free time in the city kicking for rumors like Firth did.  Everyone was training on their own, as our leaders were preparing defenses and meeting with the general and city guard captains. 

I reviewed the seven movements of the seven sword forms.  Then I stretched for a good hour to cool down.  I finished with some bow practice.  We had some straw dummies set up, and I was shooting from thirty yards.  “Who gave you a bow?” Regis asked, watching me score a hit half the time.  Regis was one of our company archers and had helped everyone during the archery competition on the wall to see who would wield a bow during an attack.

I actually had three bows now.  Two in my storage space salvaged from Durandus’ men, and this one I got in the Legion Hall armory.  “I figured it couldn’t hurt to practice.  We only trained with a crossbow in training.”  

“Eh, a crossbow doesn’t take much skill.  Bows are superior because they are not as heavy, have a better rate of fire, and are not as bulky as the crossbow.  Do you want some help?”  Regis offered.  

“Definitely,”  I replied.  Regis was very helpful with my pull and release.  I tended to hold the arrow too long to aim.  For the heavy pull weight of the composite short bow, I needed to draw, aim, and release in a single heartbeat.  Regis advised for smaller targets, I could aim, but for people-sized targets, you just aimed and released as the rate of fire was just as important as hitting in a battle.  At first, I got worse, but then I rapidly improved.  There was some growing familiarity with the bow, but I was also getting a feel for aiming.  I practiced till my fingers started bleeding.

Regis offered, “I have an old arm guard if you want it.  I only have right-handed gloves for drawing.  All our company archers are right-handed, but you can probably find an old glove in the regular army archers if you ask.”

“Thanks for the help, Regis,” we clasped wrists. 

Regis advised, “If you want to be trained to be a real expert in marksmanship, talk to Blaze.  He can hit a moving target at a hundred paces!” 

We both went to dinner prior to the night patrol.  Adrian read the duty assignments for the evening, “Eryk, Brutus, Felix, and Mateo.  You four are on guard duty at the gate to the orchards.  The guard captain there will tell you what needs to be done.” 

“I thought we were in teams of eight?”  I asked before he could continue. 

“Just one patrol tonight now.  We are mostly guarding inner city gates to give the city guard some sleep after the increased activity.  The days in the lower and upper city are getting busy for them,” Adiran answered as he read off the other groups.  Konstantine led the group of eight.  By the look on his face, I guessed, like Firth, he had other plans tonight than doing his assigned patrol route.

I considered Konstantine’s offer to join the Praetorian Guard.  Konstantin and Firth always seemed better informed.  That would be a huge benefit.  My hesitation was rooted in the fact of revealing my affinities.  From collecting essence from two dead mages, I learned that collectors seemed to form an essence based on a mage’s strongest affinity.  If they knew I had a 98 affinity in space, would the Emperor or a First Citizen think the essence I could give them was more valuable than what I contributed as a soldier?  Supposedly, the forming of an essence from a living person was outlawed in the Telhian Empire.  I was skeptical that the Emperor followed his own laws.

I focused on my duties.  With my squad being in charge of guarding a gate, I had them take larger round shields over the bucklers.  We were stationary so that the weight wouldn’t matter. 

After a short walk through the orchards, we reached the small gatehouse at the inner city wall.  We passed through this very gate every time we left the villa, and the guards were familiar with us.  Two guards in the uniform of the Count’s Citadel were stationed here.  I approached and said, “We are here to take over your duties for the night.”

With a few days’ growth and haggard eyes, the older man gave a curt nod, “Thank you, legionnaire.”  He banged on a door inside the wall, and two of his men stumbled out.  They had definitely been napping.  “Let me show you how to close and bar the gate,” he said, gesturing me inside the room.

The guard room had a table and six chairs.  The older guard said, “The cask over there is lemon water.  Always keep two men on watch.  We have been seeing more looters in the upper city in the last few days, but do not pursue them.  Your job is to protect this gate since it gives access to the Citadel through the orchards.” 

He brought me over to the gate mechanicals.  The mechanism was a simple winch that lowered an iron gate inside the archway.  There was a quick-release lever that would drop the gate instantly.  A heavy block could also slide over the lip, making raising the gate by force impossible.  A rope was also attached to a bell mounted high on the wall.  Sounding it, would mobilize the city guard barracks in the upper city if we rang it.

After the city guard left, I announced, “Brutus and I will start on watch, and Felix and Mateo can get a nap in.”

Felix advised me otherwise, “Everyone is going to be passing through this gate from the company, Eryk.  I don’t want Adrian or Castile to see us neglecting our duty.”

I was confused, “The gate captain just told us we only needed two men on watch.”

Felix and Mateo laughed.  Felix said, “Adrian does the duty assignments and expects us all on duty.  You have not been with us long enough to see the company discipline.   When Lirkin screwed up, Lysander being made the company cook was a mild punishment.”

Mateo added, “Once Malcom fell asleep on watch in the wild.  The entire company stayed with him the next six nights to ensure he did not fall asleep.”

“That was in the Dragon Spine mountains.  We were hunting down a legionnaire on the run.  Why anyone would try to pass over the Dragon Spine is beyond me.  It was freaking freezing every night.  Worst week of my life,” Felix added.

Brutus joined the conversation, “Durandus was the same way.  He expected orders to be followed immediately and unflinchingly.  Though it appears the discipline is lax in our company, it is not.”

Felix and Mateo nodded, taking it as a compliment.  And Felix pointed down the road.  Some people in dark clothes moved under the gas street lamps further down the street.  “Probably looters he muttered.  I think we are going to see a lot of traffic.”  As if prophetic, five city guards came after them in pursuit.  

Brutus muttered, “Not long before the city descends into chaos.  At least between the regulars and city guard, they almost outnumber the civilians.”

We watched the activity from a distance.  Around midnight, Castile, Adrian, Delmar, and Orson returned.  Konstantin was leading the eight-person patrol and not with them.  They just nodded as they passed and returned to the villa.  I guess if you were in charge, you could work half the night.

Felix and Mateo were talking quietly about what they planned to do with the gold they would receive from the dungeon discovery.  Brutus and I were on the on the other side of the arch.  I broached the curious subject, asking softly, “Brutus, what do you know about the Praetorian Guard?”

He looked at me and said, “I am not one of them or an agent of one if that is what you are asking.”

I nodded, believing him, but asked, “How are they viewed in the Empire?”

Brutus seemed to think about how to respond, “They are considered loyalists.  The Emperor’s secret force of powerful intellects, mages, and warriors.” 

“Would you join the Praetorian Guard if asked?” I asked my friend.

He had a shocked look, “Firth asked you?  He seems like a loner.  I thought he just worked as a Praetorian agent and was not one himself.  But then again, you never know.”  As to my question of joining, Brutus said indecisively, “Probably not.  I just want to complete my twenty years and get my pension.  Praetorian servants serve for the long term.  It is also the closest you can be to being a First Citizen.  So there is that.”

I thought about it and said, “It was Konstantin who approached me.”

Brutus eyes went wide, “Really?  Two agents of the Praetorium in one mage company?  Usually, there is just one in case the mage goes rogue.”

I was interested, “Who was it in Durandus’ company?”  My curiosity focused on why he had not stopped the mage earlier.  “Why did he not stop the attack on the storm giant?”

Brutus huffed at the memory, “Tauro.  He led the archers and was the one the storm giant exploded with the lightning strike.”  He continued after a pause, “I don’t think the Praetorian agents interfere with a mage unless they intend to kill him.  I think they are only there to kill the mage if they betray the Emperor or Empire.”

That was something I might be really good at—killing mages.  I joined the Legion for protection and to learn how to defend myself in my new world.  It got me thinking that maybe I should join the Praetorian for the same reason.  It seemed sensible if I could avoid having my affinities read when I joined. 

Perhaps before I do that, I should read up on the Duchy of Tsinga, where I professed to be from.  I was sure they would ask me questions about my homeland.  There was also the fact that Konstantin said foreigners were usually not allowed into the Praetorian Guard or as agents.  So maybe any desire I had to join would be moot.

Just as the sun started to light the sky, our relief came.  It was the same older city guard from last night.  I guessed he had to work the post from sunrise to sunset since the Citadel Guard was stretched so thin with helping the upper city guard maintain order.  Delmar told everyone to remain after breakfast when we arrived at the villa.  Castile was going to address the company.

It took an hour for everyone to get back.  A few people had minor injuries, the worst being Kolm, who broke his ankle jumping off a roof.  One thing Linus did have was painkillers.  Linus just planned to wrap the ankle tight and have Kolm take the painkillers if he needed to fight.  Otherwise, he would get to remain in the villa to heal and rest.  Others were already joking that they planned to jump off a roof in pursuit of a street urchin as well to get off duty.

With everyone present and attentive, Castile addressed us, “I wanted everyone to know my plan on how we are going to get out of this.”

Chapter 47 Calm Before the Storm

We all listened intently as Castile was going to voice our salvation.  The company had a lot of faith that she would have a plan up to this point.  Castile paced slowly, “We will be stationed at the Trader’s Gate if the enemy marches on the city.”  Some men groaned at this announcement.  The Trader’s Gate faced the assembling Bartiradian army.  It would be in the path of the attack. 

Castile silenced everyone with a wave of her hand, “Mage Gregor and myself will be in the gate’s tower.  We are going to be countering the Bartirdian mages.  The company’s archers will be with me; everyone else will be stationed inside the tower on the ground floor.  If it looks like the walls might fall, we will retreat to the inner city wall.  We will move to defend the orchard gate with the upper city and citadel guards.”  This got some grunts of approval.  Not having to sacrifice ourselves at the Trader’s gate. 

“If the inner city wall is in jeopardy of falling,” she continued, “we will retreat to the Citadel.  If the Citadel is going to fall, we will jump to the aqueduct and use it to vacate the city.  Last night, we hauled up planks to bridge the section of the aqueduct that was collapsed by the Bartiradian mage,” she finished.  

No one seemed upset with the plan, even though it sounded like many things could go wrong.  Our primary objective as men of the company was keeping Castile alive.  If she died, we would be under the command of the nearest mage.  That would be Gregor if he was still alive at that point.  That would probably be a bad thing.

Castile let her words sink in before continuing with some scorn in her voice.  “Duke Tiberius plans to ride at the head of his army from the City of Caranhagan and rescue us.  He will march when the Bartiradians launch their first attack on the walls of Macha or in seven days’ time from today.”  Everyone present had already heard the plan but not the details. 

Adrian stepped forward, “When you report to the wall today, I will give you a tour of the gate tower so you can be familiar with it.  I will also go over the retreat route to the inner city walls.  Same groupings as yesterday.”  I groaned as I volunteered for the first watch yesterday. 

It was not long before I was walking with Adrian, Konstantin, Pavel, Regis, and Malcolm.  I fell in beside Konstantin and asked, “How was the patrol?  No one mentioned anything at breakfast.”

Konstantin grunted, “We searched a few houses.  Didn’t find what I was looking for.”

I was silent, waiting for him to tell me what he was searching for.  When he did not elaborate, I asked, “And what were you searching for?”

“Missing people.  There is something in the city taking them and probably killing them.  We were investigating the houses of the missing people.  It is probably a shapechanger of some type.  With fewer people in the city, the disappearances are more noticeable.”  Konstantin walked on unconcerned. 

“What did you find in the homes?”  I inquired.

“Nothing.  They were all abducted in the streets.  Usually sneaking around in the evening.  The city guard lost the two men investigating two nights ago, so Castile was asked to help.  She sent me.  I think the child that Kolm was chasing on the rooftops might have been the monster.  It moved too fast to be human.”  Konstantin elaborated.   

“There is a monster in the city?” I sounded kind of shocked.

Konstantin huffed, “When isn’t there a monster in a city?  We don’t have the Truthseekers or the Legion Hounds to investigate, so it is up to me.”

“Legion Hounds?” I asked. 

“The trackers of the Legion.  It is usually a squad of four to six legionaries that specialize in tracking beasts, runaway soldiers, and missing legionaries,” Konstantin explained.  “I was a Hound for a while before joining Castile’s company as a scout.”

“What about the Truthseekers?  I have never met one,”  I asked, trying to learn a little more. 

“They have mastered a spell form in the clairvoyance magic affinity.  It lets them discern when someone is telling the truth.  Some mages also learn the spell, but the best Truthseekers always imprinted the spell form on their aether core.” Konstantin patiently explained to me.

“Do you have any spell forms?”  I asked the warrior.

“You don’t ask a man that, Eryk.  But I do have two.  You need at least one to become a Hound, and no, I am not going to tell you what they are.”  Konstantin said lightheartedly. 

“I do not see how that is fair.  You know mine already,” I joked back, trying to tease it out of him.

“Do I?” Konstantin had a serious tone.  “I know you have a magic box, but is that all you have, Eryk?  You don’t offer up secrets if you do not have to.  Telling you I had two spell forms could have been a lie.  But now you think I have a secret or two up my sleeve,” he smiled.

We walked for a while, and I decided to guess at one of his spell forms, “I already know one of your spell forms, Konstantin,”  I said casually.  “You can move objects.”

Konstantin skipped a step and was silent as we walked, not responding.  As the wall came into sight, he asked, “It was the door I opened?  I think that is the only time I used my spell form in view of anyone in years.  Damn, Eryk.  Sometimes, you surprise me for being a country boy.”

We reached the base of the tower, and instead of climbing up to the wall, we went inside.  Castile and Adrian were inside the tower talking quietly.  They must have come here while we were gearing up after breakfast.  Adrian noticed us, and Castile climbed the stairs in the tower. 

Adrian began his lecture, “The crates over there are the arrow bundles.  If you are not on the wall, you are runners for our archers.  Our legion archers only!”  Adrian spent a few minutes at the crates, “These arrows on the left are the junk arrows.  The arrows are imperfect, and we will use them for trash attacks.  These on the right are the best arrows we have and are with a black and white stripe near the notch,” he pointed out the paint markings.

He moved to the other side, “These casks are sugar lemon water.  You will fill the canteens of the archer in the tower from them.  We still have to source our food from the Legion Hall.  Either Delmar or I will send runners.”  There was a heavy table with seating for sixteen people; that was the only furnishings in the tower room.

Before he headed upstairs, Adrian told us about the retreat route, “If the wall is going to be taken, we will escort Castile to the Legion Hall first and grab prepared supplies there and then retreat to the inner city walls.”

Pavel asked, “Do we really have time to stop for supplies?”

Adrian smiled at the man, “Never been in a city being overrun?  Once the walls are breached, forming their army inside the city will take time.  The regulars also have dozens of barricades planned and prepared to slow their advance through the streets.  We will have time, and only a few of the invader’s forerunners will reach us while we stop.”

Pavel said, “That sounds like you plan to have the enemy within the walls.”

Konstantin answered for Adrian, “If they want to breach the city, there is not much we can do to stop them.  At least, now that we lost Durandus.  Our job is to hold out long for the Duke to arrive.”

I muttered, “That sounds like a terrible plan.”

Adrian mimicked me, “Agreed.  But we will work with what we are given and do our service to the Empire.”

We climbed the stairs to the tower and found Castile staring out across the deserted buildings toward the army in the distance.  Adrian asked her, “Anything new?”

“No, still just five mages, but there has to be more in their camp.  They are blocking me from getting closer,” Castile sounded annoyed.

Adrian turned his attention to us, “So here are our fourteen archer positions and the barrels where you refill their arrows.  Castile will be in this tower, and Gregor will be in the tower on the other side of the gate.”

Pavel and Regis in our group checked out the field of view, and I walked to the parapet and looked out on the field.  I was surprised as the army looked twice the size as yesterday, and I counted six—no seven griffons in the air over their camp.  I missed some of what Adrian was saying and didn’t realize it when Castile suddenly stood beside me and said, “It is impressive.  The might of an army of men.  But one mage with enough power could bury that army in a heartbeat.”

“Great, so we are not going to have to fight then,” I said hopefully, but I knew she was not indicating herself.

“No, there will be a fight.  The Emperor himself is the only mage in the Empire who could end that army.  His mastery over void magic is the most frightening thing I have ever seen,” Castile murmured as she continued to study the enemy.

I boldly asked, “Why did you let our company get trapped in this city?”

Castile didn’t respond immediately, and I thought I had offended and angered her.  Adrian was leaving, and my squad was heading out onto the wall for their watch. 

When everyone was gone, Castile answered my question, “Mages are not as free as you believe us to be.  We can not deny an order by the Emperor or any Duke.  That is why I take the most desperate missions—at least that way, I can somewhat control my fate.” 

“It does not seem like fighting here in an unwinnable battle is controlling your fate,” I offered in return and was expecting a harsh rebuke.

Castile tensed slightly.  “No battle is unwinnable,” she said softly, and I do not think she was referring to the army gathering outside.  She turned, and we made eye contact.  “It is all how you go about fighting the battle.  Perhaps one day you will understand that, other worlder.”  Castile turned and walked down the tower’s steps, not saying another word.  I was too stunned to say anything.

Regaining myself, I spun to make sure no one had overheard her call me an other worlder.  No one had been close, and she had said it softly.  When did she learn?  Did Adrian and Delmar know too?  Konstantin had not figured it out, or he would have turned me into his Praetorian Guard master.  I wanted to follow Castile and ask her questions, but Konstantin was already calling for me to come and enjoy the hot sun. 

I joined them on the wall.  I needed to find some time to talk to Castile alone in the future.  I looked out over the wall—hopefully before the Bartiradians killed me.

Chapter 48 Rats Again?

After the wall watch, I tried to find Castile to talk with her, but she was not at the villa.  The other men thought she was with Delmar in the city, making more preparations.  After lunch, I took a nap in my room as I needed the rest, even with my anxiety about Castile’s knowledge—or maybe guess she was guessing I was an other worlder?

My dreams were filled with nightmares.  Konstantin presented me bound and gagged before an ancient-looking woman who was the Praetorian Guard he served.  Delmar ordered me to attack the invading army by myself while completely naked, with just a bow and no arrows.  Adrian sent me into the sewers to look for the last two Bartiradian soldiers we suspected of being in the city.  Castile immobilized me with her shadow chains and then used her collector on me to harvest an essence.

I woke in a hot sweat in my bed.  My sheets were soaked, and I drank an entire canteen of water to replace the water.  My sweat was not just from the dreams, though.  I walked out to the kitchen, and it was stifling, and none of the ovens were being used.  It was still a few hours to dinner, and Lirkin was not around.  I went out back to find a few men sitting in the shade and joined them, “Is it just me, or is it extra stifling hot out today?”  I said, sitting with Brutus and Felix under a cherry tree.

Felix piped up, “Nope, it is not just you.  Castile left an hour ago with Adrian and Delmar.  She thinks the Bartiradian have set up a weather array around the city.  Guess they plan to cook us alive.”

“What?  I thought they were not going to hurt the civilians?”  I wiped the salt stinging my eyes away.

“Most have left the city already.  Most likely, they can only get it so hot in here.  It is probably just a scare tactic,” Brutus contributed.

Felix spat a filmy mass of something he had been chewing on, “Well, I am already scared, so it is working.”  

Brutus said, “Heard Konstantin talking to Lirkin in the kitchen.  He is planning to go into the sewers tonight to look for the monster in the city.  He thinks it is a lycanthrope.”  I realized one of my nightmares may have been from overhearing the conversation while I was sleeping.

“Lycanthrope?  You mean a werewolf?” Felix asked.

“No, Konstantin thinks it is smaller than a werewolf.  He thinks maybe a wererat or werebadger.  He found two spots it was heading in and out the sewers today,”  Brutus elaborated.

Felix drank deeply from his canteen to clean his mouth, “Does Konstantin ever sleep?” 

“He is napping right now.  Plans to put together his sewer squad at dinner,” Brutus took the canteen from Felix and drank.

I joked, “So if we skip dinner, we won’t be selected?  Guess I am not feeling hungry.”  We all laughed and went inside.  I invited them to the basement larder to cool off, and we found Lirkin down there doing his prep work for dinner.  The heat had not penetrated here yet.  We all helped him prepare the food.  Cold sandwiches and vegetables marinated in vinegar and olive oil.  Olive oil was a luxury item as the only orchards existed around the capital, according to Lirkin.  He only found one small cask liberated from the Citadel stores and planned to use it all.

We helped carry up dinner to the dining room, and everyone had a sheen of sweat and looked miserable.  Konstantin was talking with Delmar, and I did not see Adrian or Castile.  The mood was subdued as we ate.  Castile and Adrian entered and took some food as well.  Castile spoke before Adrian announced the deployment for the night. 

“This is the magical weather of the Bartiradians.  They are trying to soften us up a bit.  I suspect they will try to freeze us when the sun sets.”  Some groans echoed among us, including me.  “Bring your thermals with you on gate duty and patrol,” she continued.  “Adrian and I will be moving to the Legion Hall after tonight to be closer to Trader’s Gate to respond faster in the event of an attack.”  Everyone was silent as we assumed our days in the comfortable villa were numbered.  

Adrian stepped forward.  “We will continue to keep you quartered here.”  Some sighs of relief, “Tonight we have four inner city gates to watch, and Konstantin is taking five with him into the sewers,” a panic rippled through the men, and some swore softly.  “It is not that bad, men.  The city has half as many people, and the damaged aqueduct flow has been flooding the sewers, cleaning it out some.”

Wylie chirped, “So you are volunteering?” 

Adrian held up his parchment and made a show of crossing off a name and writing a new one.  He announced, “Konstantin’s squad is Wylie,” the men laughed as Wylie’s mouth had gotten him in trouble.  “Brutus, Mateo, Felix and Eryk.”

Really, frigging selected again?  I did the only thing I could and asked a stupid question, “With the aqueduct damaged, how are we going to get clean when we get out?”  Apparently, it was not as stupid a question as I thought it was, as there were murmurs of agreement.  Adrian looked to Castile, who went contemplative for a moment.

Castile smiled thinly and said, “The Citadel has its own reservoir for its baths.  I will arrange for you to use the Count’s baths when you return.”  That got murmurs of appreciation.

It looked like I would not be able to talk with Castile, and instead, I would be wading through shit and piss tonight.  Konstantin brought the unfortunate ones who were following him off to the side.  “We are looking for a wererat in the sewers.  It has killed at least four within the city in the last week.  Most likely, it is feeding a brood, so it is imperative we find the nest.”

Thankfully, Brutus asked the question I was thinking, “Should we be worrying about this during the siege?”  

Konstantin’s glare made me glad I had not asked the question.  “Wererats can become a plague in no time.  One can become a dozen in a month.  Now to the hunt.  We are going to stop in the Citadel.  We will be coating our blades in silver.  In case you were not aware.  Normal steel can cut, but it heals rapidly as do all lycanthrope species.”  

Mateo focused a question on the hunt, “Is there going to be more than one?  Are they hard to kill?”

Konstantin nodded at the sensible question, “As long as they are struck with silver, they will die like any other creature.  Silver is a strong poison to them.  Now, I selected this group because you all have glowstones.  Make sure Eryk tops off their charge.”  Stones started to be held in my direction, and Konstantin continued, “Although only one has been seen in the city, I suspect there are more.  Not many, but more.  My best guess is whatever their food source was, it has dried up since many of the citizens have left, so it was forced to take people from the streets to feed its young.”

Konstantin then advised us, “Leave your lower body armor and get some wraps for the top of your boots.  You don’t want them filling up with sewer water.”  We all suited up and went to the Citadel.  

The silver coating of the blades was simpler than I had thought.  The smith had a boiling vat of thin adhesive.  Our blades were dipped and then quickly had silver dust added to the blade.  It was set on oiled stones to dry for a few minutes.  When I got my short sword and dagger back they looked like they had been coated in fine glitter. 

The smith advised us, “The glue will deteriorate in about a week.  But even before then, the silver will be deposited in wounds made with the blade.  It is much more effective than dipping a blade in molten silver to coat it.”

Konstantin added with mirth, “And it takes a lot less silver, so the lords can save a little coin.”

As we stepped outside the Citadel, it was as Castile had predicted.  The temperature had plummeted.  It was close to freezing, and the city was bathed in a rising fog.  Konstantin paused at seeing it, “Ogre’s piss.”  He signaled for us to be silent, and we all listened intently in the night air. 

After a minute, he voiced his concern, “The Bartiradians are going to attack tomorrow.  Should have realized all the aether they were burning to cook us was for a reason.  One more cycle of a hot, humid day and cold night will make the fog too thick to see twenty feet in front of you.  If they were attacking tonight, then it would have already started.” 

Wylie added his thoughts, “I vote we give them the city and let them take care of the rat problem.”  We laughed, but Konstantin’s hard eyes made us stop.  It looked like we were going into the sewers whether we wanted to or not. 

The access we were entering the sewers had a barred iron gate.  Two city guards stood near it, and one nodded to Konstantin, “We were told to expect you.  Thank you for taking care of this legionnaire.  Virgil was a good friend of mine, and I want him avenged.  His wife thanks you as well.”  Konstantin just nodded and went through the gate, and we followed.

With glowstones out, we moved into the sewers.  The sewers were about six feet wide, with a two-foot channel of murky water flowing in the center.  The smell was rancid and reminded me of urine mixed with acidic vomit.  We stopped at the first intersection, and Konstantin used a scarf to cover his mouth and nose.  He handed us each one as well.  It was coated in something; all I could smell was a strong, minty scent.  We now looked like a bunch of bandits trying to rob the sewer.

Konstantin went into teaching mode, “Notice the flow of the sludge.  You can follow that to the refuse chamber.  There will be four or five city guards there guarding that entrance.  If you get separated, head there to get out.  Most of the entrances are barred, with no guards to let you out.  The only other threat I know down here is the green slimes.  They usually stay in the channels and are harmless unless you touch them.  They can dissolve your skin after a few minutes.  Just leave them alone, and they will not bother you.”  With those words of wisdom, we followed Konstantin into the winding tunnels. 

This did not seem so bad.  I had thought we were going to walk through sewer waste.  “Look, a slime,” Wylie pointed out with his glow stone.  An amorphous, murky green blob was crawling along the filthy channel. 

Brutus was ready to swing his blade, and Konstantin barked, “Hold, legionnaire!  You do not want to lose the silver coating on your blade.  Slimes are important to the city as well.  They help compost the waste, kill rats, and contain disease.  Leave it be.” 

We continued to follow the flow of the waste and spotted a few more slimes.  We came to another intersection.  This one is blocked by a gate.  On the other side of the grate, the sewer no longer had a channel down the middle.  Konstantin produced a key, played with the lock, and the gate swung open.  I was not sure he actually used the key as he had shielded us from its use.  I guessed it was just for show, as he used his spell form.

He turned to us, “We are going into the lower city sewers.  There are a lot of side rooms from basements of the old city before they built the sewers.  They should have all been sealed off, but many of the walls have collapsed over time.  I believe the wererat is nesting in one of these.  Look for small passages, loose bricks, and anything odd.”

Konstantin stepped into the passage, and he was ankle-deep in green-brown muck.  He started walking, and we all followed reluctantly.  Mateo stepped on a submerged slime and slipped backward into the waste.  We would have all been laughing at him but were instead spitting and cursing from getting splashed.  I had been two men back and was fortunate not to get any on my face.  Others were not as lucky. 

Konstantin just shook his head, “Slid-step as you go.  There are slimes in the sludge and probably a few deep voids in the floor as well.”  Mateo cursed that the advice was offered a little late.

After a number of turns at intersections, I was thoroughly lost and happy that I knew all I had to do was follow the flow if I got lost.  We started encountering the side chambers like Konstantin had mentioned.  The first one had cots set up in it, and there was mold growing everywhere.  Konstantin spoke, “This has not been used in years.  Probably a refuge from the last time the city was taken.”  We searched the room anyway and only found some cracked pottery. 

The next entrance was just a few bricks missing at the bottom of the sealed room.  Mateo, already filthy from his fall, was volunteered to check it out.  He got a slight scare from a slime on the other side but no other threats.  It was a small room on the other side with shelving covered in dust.  A few rusted tools, and that was it.  These side rooms only flooded during torrential rains, but the slimes cleaned them well.  Konstantin seemed sure his quarry was in this part of the sewers, so we continued to search. 

We searched over a dozen alcoves, old sealed-off basements, storage rooms, and overflow chambers.  We were covered in things I care not to talk about.  Even though the muck level never passed my knees, the splashing and wicking action had my pants soaked.  The wetness seeped into my underwear as well, and I was ready to be done with this. 

We turned at a Y-intersection, and Konstantin rasped, “Found you, you little devil.”  He turned to us, “Just caught sight of it.  It ducked into the side archway ahead!”  Even the prospect of a coming fight was welcome as long as we could get out of the nastiness of the sewers and hours of trudging through other people’s shit.

Chapter 49 Death Dog

Konstantin quickly laid out a plan,  “I will go first.  Keep silent until I shout and then rush behind me for support.”  Okay, maybe that was not much of a plan.  Konstantin slid forward through the murky brown water toward the arch.  It was obvious the creature knew we were coming because of our glowstones casting light and shadow.

The archway looked to be composed of a wall that collapsed inward.  Large stones littered the floor as Konstantin stepped up in the entry.  At least we would not be fighting in the sewage water.  He moved on high alert, scanning the shadows in the room beyond. 

I could see wet marks on the stones that definitely did not look human, more like large animal tracks.  Konstantin entered, followed by Brutus and then myself.   Behind me was Wylie and Mateo.  It was another sealed-up basement in the lower city.  I watched Konstantin’s sight line follow the wet footprints to the far wall.  He made no move to follow them and instead gave us the signal to go right while he started left. 

There was a lot of debris on our side: broken wood, broken glass, moldy sacks, and cracked ceramic jars.  I was looking for a trap as I moved but did not see one.  Wylie and Mateo were moving behind Konstantin on the other side, and behind me was Felix.  We circled and met Konstantin on the fall wall.  Konstantin quickly found a large panel of wood painted to match the stone wall. 

We all stood ready as Konstantin and Brutus gripped the edge and pulled hard.  The large plank crashed down, stirring up a blinding dust.  Brutus tossed his glowstone inside immediately.  The passage looked like it ran for a while into the distance.  Konstantin swore, “Succubus’ tits.”  He turned to me, “Eryk, go and check the pit trap in the center of the room.  I smell something foul from it.  Do not fall in.”  I noticed Konstantin no longer had his bandana covering his lower face.

I turned and confusedly looked for a pit trap.  It appeared our wererat was an artist.  There was a canvas painted like the floor and covered over.  I pulled it aside and shed light into the pit.  The drop was about ten feet, with a dozen rusty spear shafts facing up.  A handful of slimes were working on two corpses that I could now smell even through my cloth mask.

I informed everyone, “Konstantin, two dead.  They have city guard uniforms on.  The slimes are working on them.  Not much left.”  I turned to him, “How did you know about the trap?”

Konstantin was still looking down the corridor.  “The footprints.  They were not as wet in the light as the ones from the entry.  I assumed they were painted on something.  Also, the ratman let me see him.  He assumed I would race after him.  I assumed it was a pit trap.”

Everyone was impressed, including me.  I guessed the two dead men had pursued in haste on spotting the wererat, falling for the trap.  Konstantin had not and approached cautiously, even with his prey in sight.  Brutus asked, “Seems awfully smart for a monster.  Are we to expect more traps?”

Konstantin stood and looked at everyone, “Remove your masks and pocket them for now.  You are going to need all your senses as we go in further.  I think this passage connects to another old basement.  Our quarry will be there.  I have not seen signs of a second ratman.”  He looked again, “That confuses me for the number of bodies it has taken in the last few days.”

That was all he said as he moved in.  Was he insinuating there were more creatures or that the threat was larger than anticipated?  Somehow, I ended up behind Konstantin as the others had taken a quick look into the pit trap.  Without my mask, my nose twitched.  Konstantin smelled foul, but so did this passageway—like rotting meat.  He held his hand up and activated a trap with his telekinetic skill.  A bear trap-like device covered in sand went off. 

The cloud of sand it created made me close my eyes and cover my mouth.  I got the wrap to my mouth to breathe through it.  Konstantin was frozen in front of me.  He slowly exhaled as he had held his breath.  He started moving forward again and pausing multiple times before continuing.  I think he was using his ability to move objects to check for traps. 

The corridor opened up, and Konstantin paused at the entrance to a larger room.  I could see movement in the room through the shadows.  The creature had been crafty so far.  Were there more surprises for us?  Konstantine gave the hand signals for two left, and two right.  I passed them back, meaning whoever was last in line should go forward as Konstantin was right now. 

On entering the room, piles of cracked bones were in one corner.  Moldy sacks, crates, and bottles were scattered throughout the room.  Konstantin was moving toward a hunched-over body.  It suddenly stood and hissed, red beady eyes graced a scarred rat face on the body of a man.

It was cornered, and it knew it.  I continued left as ordered to flank it.  A mound of clothes erupted, and a beast leaped at me.  My eyes crossed momentarily as it was a massive black wolf with two heads.  The monster closed quickly, and Konstantin yelled, “Do not get bitten, Eryk!”

Foamy red saliva jaws came at me, and I did the only thing I could think of to save my life.  I took a chunk out of its chest, and blocked one head with my shield and the other with my short sword.  The wolf’s head crunched my blade, breaking a few teeth, but its momentum pushed me onto my back.  Blood erupted from both mouths as they tried to reach me.  I heard the whacks of my companions hitting the beast on top of me, but I knew it was dead already. 

Konstantin was yelling, “Get it off him!”  The weight was removed, and I got to my feet, ready to fight.  The wererat had been decapitated, and I did not see anything else moving.  Konstantin was next to me, “Did it bite you!?  Eryk!  Look at me!” He forced eye contact, “DID.  IT.  BITE.  YOU?”

I was covered in the blood that had leaked from its mouth, but it had not bitten me.  I was slightly dazed from my aether bottoming out, getting crushed by a massive wolf, and the adrenaline of combat.  Felix talked to Konstantin, “It looks like it was already injured.  Missing a chunk of its flank that has scabbed over.”

“I don’t think it bit me.  One head was blocked by the shield, and the other caught my sword.  The blood is from its mouths.  It must have had internal injuries,” I said, wiping the smeared blood off my face and spitting the taste out of my mouth. 

Konstantin looked worried and told the others, “See if you can find any access to the old stairs up to the surface.  Look for any water.  Eryk needs to wash that blood off.”  His voice was a little panicky, which made me panic.  Konstantin never panicked.

“What?”  I asked as Konstatin handed me a small flask to wash with. 

“That is a death dog.  It is not called that because it has two heads but because they are diseased beasts.  One bite, and your flesh will rot in days.  The cure poison potions we have will not work on it.  We will have to get a cure disease potion from Gregor.  If he has one…”  His voice trailed off.  

I got lightheaded.  I realized the foamy blood from the mouths would have washed the saliva onto me and into my eyes, nose, and mouth.  I removed my armor to wash better, but I knew it was pointless.  Mateo found a barrel that appeared to be water washed down from the streets, and I used the murky water to wash as best as possible. 

Konstantin was agitated and voiced his assessment, “The beast must have wandered into the sewers somehow, and the wererat befriended it.  It was feeding it the humans it was killing in the streets.”  He indicated the chewed bones. 

Wylie voiced, “Found it.  It was bricked over, but it is here.” 

Konstantin rushed over and swore.  “They used a cement.  No time to tarry.  You all carry Eryk’s gear.  Eryk, follow me.”  I was naked from the waist up as I followed a fast-moving Konstantin out of the sewers.  He was clearly worried. 

As my aether recovered, I focused my healing as we sloshed through the muck.  He was right—I could feel a wrongness in my throat when my healing probes touched it.  My healing would not eliminate the disease.  I could heal the injured tissue it infected.  So, all I needed to do was keep healing until the disease exhausted itself.  That was a relief!  I tripped on a rock or slime and fell into the muck.  Konstantin looked back, “Come on, Eryk, no time to rest!”

The next time I was volunteered to go with Konstantin on any mission, I was going to protest.  I got up and caught up.  The others were falling behind.  We got to the gate, and Konstantin waited for the others and ordered them to find and bring Castile to the Legion Hall.  I raced after Konstantin through the fog-shrouded city.  We entered the Legion Hall minutes later, and a few of Gregor’s men told us to get out and wash up before returning.  Konstantin just barked, “Get Gregor now!”

A sleepy, bleary-eyed Gregor appeared minutes later.  Konstantin did not waste time, “Mage Gregor, if you have any cure disease potions on you, we require one.”

He put his hand to his nose, “Did you bring the entire sewer in here, legionnaire?  Castile already owes me more for the additional healing potions.  I am not giving up my only cure disease potion,” he growled as he sat down, and someone brought him a hot drink.

Konstantin’s forearms flexed over and over as he balled his fists.  He held himself in check as we waited for Castile.  It was about fifteen minutes before she came into Hall.  She walked up to me and looked at me for a long moment, “Fuck, he is infected.  Gregor, give me the cure disease potion,” she said impatiently. 

“Castile, we divided the potions equally, and I already gave you more of the healing potions.  I may need it for myself,” Gregor said, unconcerned about my fate.

“It was a bloody death dog, Gregor!”  He looked sharply at me, eyes going wider.  “It got into his eyes.  He has very little time before he is permanently blinded!  Give me the fucking potion!”  While they were having a shouting match, I started to focus, slowly pushing healing aether into my eyes. 

Gregor did not budge, and Castile pulled her wand.  It was the one that cast blue missiles in the dungeon.  She threw it at him.  It hit his chest and clattered to the floor.  “That is worth twenty potions.  Give me the potion!” 

Gregor bent over and retrieved the wand from the floor.  “I will be back with it.”  He did not hurry as he left.

Castile turned to the legionaries in the room, “Prepare him multiple baths in the horse troughs.  He will scrub himself clean in each one.  Then, he will consume the potion.  Hurry!”  She ordered, and the half dozen men raced to it. 

The three water troughs were barely big enough for me, but I made use of the impromptu bathtubs.  The cold water scrub was welcome.  The first tub ended a murky brown.  The second was a light milky white from all the soap I had used.  The third was going to be a rinse.  I had just settled into the third and final tub when Castile walked out.  It was very early morning, and the cold air was turning to humid air as the Bartiradians switched their weather array.

We were the only two people in the stable area as there were no horses.  She sat on the edge of the tub and looked into the water briefly before handing me the potion.  I drank it immediately.  With my healing sense, I could feel the redness aura of the disease getting washed away.  It was a relief as my healing ability was not able to counter the disease.  Castile did not leave, though, and just sat there.  I broke the silence and asked, “Why do you think I am an other worlder?”

Chapter 50 And All is Laid Bare

Castile’s dark gray duster cloak was draped behind as she focused on the far side of the stable yard.  I was in the largest trough but suddenly felt confined and trapped as my question hung unanswered.  Finally, Castile said, “I am going to tell you a story.  I do not wish it repeated.” Still staring straight ahead, her hand graced the top of the water in the tub.  Her hand skated across the surface, and I tensed as it passed over my lower body, but she never looked down, just straight ahead.  I nodded, as that was what she was waiting for.

She started her tale with a quiet whisper only I could hear, “When I was a little girl, my mother told me of my grandfather.  He was from a place called Madridspain.  He came into his magic late in life.  But he was powerful.  He could teleport almost an entire mile.  He could draw aether directly from the ley lines and travel along the ley lines with amazing haste by combing both abilities.”  She shifted her weight, and I found myself staring up at her stoic profile just above me.  

She heaved a sigh,  “I never met him, but my mother talked about him and his amazing magic.  His most impressive magic was an obliterate spell.  He could banish people out of existence.  It was from the void sphere of magic, his strongest sphere of magic.”  She paused and looked down into my eyes, “He was called to the Emperor’s service.  He was to be made a court mage and wed to a duchess, a First Citizen, and my grandmother’s marriage to him was to be annulled.  He told my grandmother he would go to the Emperor and reject his offer.”

Her eyes returned to looking in the distance.  “My grandmother got a letter a month later saying my grandfather had died fighting the enemies of the Empire.”  Her tone was laced with doubt.

She sighed, “When I was tested on my coming-of-age at a tablet and was found strong enough to attend the Mage Academy, I did so.  My mother warned me never to show my true strength, or I might end up like my grandfather.  I followed her advice but also spent long nights in the library reading everything I could about other worlders.  I never found notes on another one from Madridspain, which surprised me.” 

My heart started beating rapidly in my chest.  At this moment, I could move Castile’s heart into my space and end her.  Instead, I tried to remain calm, shifted in the water, and asked,  “What else did you learn?”

Still looking forward, I saw her smile, it looked odd on her normally impassive face.  “I learned other worlders always arrive in groups according to the Empire records.  They always have access to multiple affinities of the rare magics.  And that the Emperor always calls any other worlder with void magic as his strongest affinity to his service.”  She looked at me, “Do you know what happens when you use an essence collector on a mage with a primary magic affinity over fifty?”

“No.  What happens?” I asked as innocently as I could.

“An essence is always formed in relation to that affinity—always formed,” she stressed.  “The Emperor is the most powerful void magic user ever recorded.  My grandfather was not the only void mage sent to serve the Emperor who met an unfortunate fate.  The public records are stricken and hard to find, but even then, I found over twenty in the last three hundred years of his rule.”  Castile stood, removing herself from the edge of my tub. 

“You never answered my question,” I asked stupidly.  “Why do you think I am an other worlder?”

She smiled coyly, “You should talk more with your legion mates, Eryk.  They would have told you I am famous for three spells.  Shadow chains, dispel aether and the all-seeing eye.  You have seen me use my shadow chains.  My dispel aether is powerful as it allows me to dispel another mage’s aether as they try to form a spell.  You have also seen me use my all-seeing eye a few times.  I summon an invisible aetheric ball that I can send anywhere to scout.  My eyes see through it.  It can pass through walls and can be sent hundreds of feet away from me.  I was using that spell on the wall yesterday,” she smiled at the panic in my eyes.

“And what have you seen with your all-seeing-eye that makes you think I am an out-worlder?”  I asked weakly.

She snuck a peak in the water again, and I felt myself flushing red for some reason.  Her small frame gazed down at me like a colossus, “You did not get the single room by accident, Eryk.  I figured you would feel safe inside it to reveal your secrets and asked Linus to tell you first about the move to the villa.” 

“What?  Why would you do that?”  I asked as I thought about taking Castile’s heart again.

“It was the dungeon.  I sent my eye to check on you and found you bathing in the waters furiously, trying to clean yourself and your armor.  I assumed you went into the next chamber and fought another monster.  I immediately ordered everyone out of the dungeon as I did not want the First Citizen to take whatever prize you may have recovered from the final monster in the dungeon.” 

“So you want that prize for yourself,” I asked a little frostily.  I did not even know what the pendant did.

“So you did recover something?  Interesting.”  Her eyebrows arched in thought, “No, you can keep whatever coin and prize you obtained from the dungeon.”

“Then what do you want?”  I asked, thinking there was maybe a way out of this.  “Are you going to turn me over to the Emperor?” 

She laughed harshly, “Why would I do that?  It would gain me nothing but a pat on the back.  I want you to know we are on the same side.” 

She started to leave, and I asked, “What else did you see with your all-seeing-eye?”

She smiled knowingly, “I know you like the griffin pillow the men gave you.  They think you sold it, so keep it hidden.  I also know you studied a healing spell form and can now heal yourself of flesh wounds.”  My mind raced to all the things I had done in the privacy of my tiny room, with the door locked and the window blocked.  She could not have been watching me all the time?  Not in the middle of the night, when I…

“Did you get an essence from the elf mage?” She interrupted my thoughts. 

“What?  The elf from the Bartiradians?”  I asked numbly.  Castile’s eyes were hard, her smile gone, and stared through me.  “Yes,” I admitted.  “It was brown with swirls in it.”

Her eyes sparkled at my admission, “Do you still have it?  What size was it?”

“No, I consumed it.  It was an apex essence,” I admitted. 

“Pity, High Mage Dacian would have given a fortune for an apex earth essence—an opportunity lost.  Know, Eryk, powerful mages always give an essence.  The chance of an essence coalescing rapidly decreases after thirty minutes.  Before that tipping point in time, I got to that mage, and no essence formed, so I strongly suspected you had Durandus’ collector.  I admit I was confused at the Tribunal Trial.  Your control over your dimensional space is exceptional to have brought out that perfect cube of sand.”

She smirked, “It was after the failed essence from the mage that I started to watch you even more closely.”  She sized me up in the tub again, “If we escape this city, we can talk again about your other affinities.”  She turned and left me in the cold water. 

I was stunned.  I had been found out—I think.  Castile knew about my larger dimensional space.  I never confirmed I was an other worlder for her, though.  I dunked my head under to feel the cold water one last time.  I dressed and checked the work of the cure disease potion.  I did not want to take any chances of having my eyes rot out of my skull.  It worked as the potion had eliminated all traces of the death dog disease. 

Walking the streets back to the villa, the hot, humid weather was oppressive, easily past 100 degrees (Fahrenheit).  The Bartiradian mages had turned up the temperature again today, so I suspected the fog was going to be much denser tonight, and Konstantin was sure they planned to attack.  I entered the villa just before the mid-day meal, and everyone was just waking up from their nap after patrol and getting lunch in the kitchen.

Flavius spotted me first, “Crap, Eryk, Pluto must hate you to keep turning you away from his domain!”  Everyone crowded in on me to hear my tale of battle, death, and being revived once again by Castile after trading one of her prized magic artifacts for my cure disease potion.  As I wove my tale, I made sure to stress Castile’s sacrifice in front of the men.  She deserved that much.

Benito praised, “Just like a story of myth, except in yours, it is the woman that saves the man!”  This got a whole bunch of jabs at how unmanly it was for a woman to sacrifice so much to save a plain legionnaire like me.  I just wanted to get some sleep in my not-so-private room.  Castile was at the Legion Hall—so maybe she could not spy on me from so far away…

Adrian broke up lunch, “Everyone, get some sleep.  We are all headed to the Trader’s Gate before sunset.  It is likely there will be an attack tonight.” 

A few men on punishment details spent their afternoon fortifying the villa under Konstantin’s direction.  We were not planning on defending the villa but actually retreating to the Citadel if the inner city wall fell.  The three men were being punished for going into the city alone.

I found myself in my tiny room.  I decided to send all my possessions into my dimensional space.  No one was paying much attention to me, and Castile and Delmar were at the Legion Hall, and Adrian probably was headed there as well.  No one would notice my room was clean.  Also, Castile already knew my space was larger. 

I slept restlessly with dreams that everyone in the company was watching me as I slept.  Mateo woke me with loud, continuous banging on my door.  “Come on, Eryk.  It is time to go and stop the entire Bartiradian army while the regulars watch and sip ale.”

I geared up in my full armor, and sliding on the metal helm felt oddly comforting.  I carried a short sword and dagger on my belt and a medium round shield.  If I wanted to throw a spear, there would be pilums on the wall.  All three of my bows were in my dimensional space as I was tasked with ferrying arrows to the real archers. 

I looked over my small room for the last two weeks and felt I might not see it again.  I left the room nice and tidy.  Brutus, Mateo, and Felix waited for me.  Everyone else had left.  Brutus handed me a satchel, “Lirkin prepared everyone two days’ rations and two canteens of lemon water.”  I checked to find two canteens and seven bundles wrapped with string, “One is your dinner.  If we don’t hurry, Adrian will send the Legion Hounds after us.”

We made our way to Trader’s Gate in the oppressive heat of the late day.  To distract ourselves, we talked about our favorite foods.  Mateo liked something that sounded like pulled chicken smothered in a spicy, sweet sauce.  Felix liked something akin to a corn tortilla with carmelized cheese on it.  Brutus was happy with a dessert made from heavy cream and spirits.  It needed to be made cold and served cold as the cream was whipped into a thick consistency.  My favorite food, sadly enough, was fried chicken—with all 11 herbs and spices.

Adrian eagerly sent all four of us latecomers to the wall to take watch.  My friends blamed me for having to spend the last two hours in the miserable heat of the day.  As the sun set, it was like a switch had been flicked, and the air conditioning had been started.  Almost immediately, wisps of fog began to rise from the fields separating the wall and the enemy encampment.   As the temperature plummeted, the enemy was soon obscured by a thickening fog. 

Adrian walked over to us, “Get down in the tower.  The regulars are coming up now to man the walls.  Do not get too comfortable.  I have a feeling they are going to test us tonight.”  We could hear muted horns in the distant army as if Adrian were prophetic.

Chapter 51 The Outer Wall

I remained on the wall as the cool night air helped the sweat evaporate from my skin.  The coldness caused goosebumps to appear on my exposed skin, and I shivered slightly.  I studied the field of fog and could see lights appearing in the enemy’s camp through the rising haze.  The activity was increasing and soon was completely obscured by the thickness of the fog.  Konstantin barked, “Eryk, get below in the tower.”  

I looked around me, and a dozen of the regulars were on the wall; eight had simple longbows.  These were not the expensive composite short bows the legion used.  As I walked by the regulars, I could sense their tension.  Most of these men would be dead if the outer wall fell tonight.

I descended the steps on the wall, and the city looked eerie as the buildings were fading away in the fog.  I entered the tower to find everyone spread out in the room, catching some nap time.  Konstantin threw me a heavy blanket from a crate with a mirthful smile, “I think it is going to be an exciting night.  Get some rest.”

I moved to a wall and used the blanket as a pillow.  My head missed the comforting embrace of my griffin-down pillow.  Brutus sat next to me and did the same with his balled-up blanket.  Konstantin sat on my other side, but he had brought his bedroll. 

With my eyes closed, I asked the air, “So how bad is it going to get?”  I knew it was Konstantin who was going to answer and waited.

He did speak after a moment.  “We are outnumbered three to one.  If they breach in their assault tonight, they will run rampant through the city.” 

I nodded.  I decided to consume a minor dexterity essence.  I pulled the dark yellow ball from my space and popped it into my mouth.  It should have been long enough since I consumed the apex healing essence not to have any essence indigestion. 

Konstantin rasped, “You are just taking that now?”

I came up with an excuse, “I was thinking of selling it.”  My nerves in my hands and feet started tingling with electricity.  “But with the coming battle, I thought it best to use it now,” I added but never opened my eyes.  

Konstantin decided to give me advice, “I told you earlier about fortifying attributes.  I do not know if you have consumed a dexterity before, but you are young and fit right now.  Try and get at least one essence for each physical attribute before you get too lazy.”  His voice was laced with wisdom and mirth at the same time. 

Brutus asked, “How long does an essence fortify an attribute?”

Konstantin answered on my other side, “Years—at least a decade from my experience.  Castile’s last lieutenant, Donte, who retired, saved a dozen minor essences of the constitution in his time.  He thought he could hold off old age if he took one every six years.”

Brutus had some disbelief in his voice, “Would that actually work, stay young forever with essences?” 

Konstantin laughed, “No, but it does help you fight off disease and illness.  You still age normally, but Donte thought otherwise.”

The conversation continued between Brutus and Konstantin but focused on spear tactics.  It was an information exchange about techniques employed when fighting multiple foes.  I tried to pay attention, but my eyes had been shut, and I fell asleep. 

The tower rocked and woke me to dust drifting down.  “Catapult!” was sounded from above.  A shout came down the stairs, “Ten bundles of waste arrows!”  It was Delmar’s voice, and I jumped up to grab two of the imperfect arrow bundles.  Six of us responded, and we brought twelve bundles up the stone stairs. 

In the tower, our company archers were blindly firing into the fog.  The tower rocked again as I went to fill Regis and Pavel’s arrow barrels.  Castile was standing and focused out into the fog.  I was heading back down the stairs when Gregor’s voice from the neighboring tower bellowed, “Now, Castile!”

Castile looked agitated at the order but pulled a scroll from her duster.  I was behind her, and the scroll was layered with spell forms in silver metallic ink.  It was way too complex for me to even begin to fathom.  Castile channeled her aether into the scroll, and a stiff breeze formed from behind us.  It began to increase to a massive gale as Castile’s hair whipped around her.  The archers’ hair under their helmets also blew in a mess, but they did not stop firing. 

I looked, and the fog was rolling back toward the army camp like a wave of white.  The land below us was being revealed, with the strong light of the blue moon now visible in the sky.  There were dozens of enemies with scaling ladders revealed.  Delmar yelled down the stairs, “Switch arrows, bring up the good stock!”  I heard activity and waited for the men to rush up with the better arrows before descending.

Our archers started targeting men one hundred and fifty yards from the wall.  Blaze, our best archer, was just pulling and releasing.  Although I lost the arrows in the low light, I could see the lead men carrying ladders stumble and break their stride.  Adrian hissed, “We used our trick too early.”

A sweating Castile rasped back, “I know, Gregor is a fool.  Get what kills we can before the fog returns.”  Castile was focused on something else with her magic, but I could not tell what it was.

The tower shook, and Delamr announced, “No need to fear the stoneworks is reinforced with aether.  But if you see one of those rocks coming at you, duck!”  This got some chuckles from the archers.  Adrian was directing his best archers at certain targets to slow the advance. 

In the other tower, Gregor yelled again, “I have a mage!  Straight away from the gate, Castile.”

“I can not help; I have two mages sneaking up on my left with the ladders!”  Castile barked back, irritated at her mage partner’s whiny tone.

“Griffin, a shout rang from the right,” and all eyes scanned the sky.  I could see it, a milky black shape flying high above, out of arrow range.  Now, it was diving on us, approaching quickly.

Blaze yelled, “Castile!  Give me a boost.  It will be within range soon.”  Castile paused her actions to cast her wispy black tendrils around an arrow Blaze was notching. 

A ball of fire appeared, highlighting the griffin and the rider as it dove toward the tower.  Castile quickly waved her hands and clapped them, the light vanished.  “I dispelled the fireball.  Now Blaze!”  He aimed for a pair of heartbeats, following the griffin that was trying to escape after its failed attack.  He unleashed the arrow, and the large dark shape let out a piercing cry and began to plummet rapidly. 

“It is going to crash into the city,” Blaze announced and returned to firing out onto the advancing scaling ladders.  Delmar swung around and noticed me standing there watching the action.  I thought I was going to get yelled at.  Instead, I received orders.

“Eryk, take two others and make sure the griffin and rider are finished,” he barked, returning his attention to the approaching army.  I turned to obey, and just before I descended the stairs, a three-foot boulder slammed into Regis, crushing him and continuing into the city with him plastered on it.  A lightning bolt struck Gregor’s tower, causing everyone to be blinded momentarily.  I blinked and followed the griffin as it spiraled into the city.  Getting an idea of where it was landing, then I rushed down the stairs.

I quickly looked and picked two men with spears next to them, “Brutus and Felix!  With me!   We have to confirm a griffin and its rider are dead.”  I rushed out the door, and the two made to catch up with me.  Exiting the tower, I oriented myself and waited for the two.  I moved at a light jog, figuring the quicker we got there, the more disoriented the beast and rider would be from the hard landing. 

Felix was next to me, “If it landed on a roof, it would be a pain to get up there!” 

Brutus got next to me on the other side, “Did Blaze shoot it down?”

“Why are you asking?  What does it matter?”  I asked with my eyes focused ahead, figuring out where to go.  The streets were empty, but large wooden barriers in alleys were ready to be deployed, which hindered us from taking shortcuts.

“We have a large silver waged on whether or not he would shoot one down,”  Brutus admitted.

“You owe him the silver.  There!”  I pointed.  A large creature struggled in the dark shadows of a narrow side street.  “Glowstones out!”  I said, racing forward. 

The griffin was trying to stand, but its wing bent downward, and a bone protruded from its front right leg as well.  “I do not see the rider,” Felix commented as we approached swiftly.  The beak of the griffin snapped at us as we approached.  Brutus and Felix flanked the creature with spears in hand.  I noticed a figure in the alley behind the griffin.  The figure was wrapped in a dark cloak and was using the wall of the building to stand.

“I see the rider.  The griffin is blocking the alley to protect it.  See if you can distract it long enough for me to get past.”  Brutus lunged at my comment, and I moved in the opposite direction.  Felix added in his own spear work, and they slowly pulled the griffin away from the alley opening into the street.  The rider, seeing this, started hobbling away down the alley.  I moved to take advantage of the gap and raced forward. 

The griffin lunged at me, clawing with its talons and snapping with its beak.  I managed to get past it because the beast could not move well with the broken leg.  Brutus drove his spear into the beast’s neck.  It went deep, and Brutus yelled, “We got it!  Get the rider!”

I sprinted into the alley to catch up with the rider.  The smell of urine was prevalent.  I thought, for being injured, the rider was moving decently fast.  I caught up to the rider and hacked into their back with my short sword.  Just before my sword connected, she spun, parried my blade with a dagger, and rolled away into a crouch. 

My glowstone was out, and I could see her features now with her cloak in disarray.  They were right; the riders of the griffins were small, elven women.  The elf woman was maybe 5’3” but with a small frame outlined with tight black clothing under her dark cloak.  Konstantin was right about their beauty as well.  Large emerald eyes were on a heart-shaped face.  Golden-brown hair graced her head, and it was pulled back into a tight ponytail.  Her fierce and determined visage marred her beauty on seeing me.  “I will kill you, legionnaire!” She spat threateningly.

Some blood trickled from her lips after her threat, and I wondered how badly she was injured from her crash.  My training told me all her weight was on her right leg as her left was injured.  Large booms sounded toward the outer wall, and she smiled wickedly at me, “Your city will return to us, and the duke’s army will not save you!”  She taunted me and slid a step back in retreat.

I was finding it hard to attack her.  She looked like a female teenager, albeit with pointy ears.  My past life instincts told me this was just a girl.  I relaxed slightly and stood.  Maybe she would be okay with being taken prisoner?  “Can you just…”  She dropped her dagger and pressed her hands together.  A large ball of fire formed between her hands.  Fuck. 

I stepped forward to get her within the ten-foot range of my dimensional space.  I had to angle the cube down to get her into an open portion of the cube.  My mind churned what to do—remove her head?  Her heart?  In an instant, I had outlined a box around where her heart was.  I saw her as a young woman, not an enemy, and it felt wrong, so I enlarged the box to her entire body and sent her into storage.  There was a brief tug-of-war moment as she resisted going into the space, but she vanished.

As expected, my aether bottomed out, and I got slightly lightheaded from emptying all my aether.  Well, it worked, but what was I going to do with an elf girl trapped in my dimensional space?  I turned and returned to Brutus and Felix, who were stabbing the griffin.  It was almost dead, barely moving and bleeding out.  “I got her!  Let’s get back to the tower.  Those explosions do not sound good.”

Injured men were already retreating from the outer wall as we entered the main thoroughfare from the Trader’s Gate.  We went against the crowd but quickly found our company carrying Castile away from the tower.  Konstantin spotted us, “Back to the Legion Hall.  The enemy has too many mages!”  We fell in with our company, but I noticed we were three men short as we ran from the outer wall.

Chapter 52 Bad News

I quickly found out Castile was being carried, not because she was injured, but because she was exhausted.  The only glimpse I got of her was of sunken eyes that were a struggle for her to keep open.  I tried to figure out who was missing as we moved to the Legion Hall.  

I went through the archers in my head and did not see Caius, one of the archer specialists in our company.  That made sense since he was on the wall.  The other person was…Lysander, our backup cook.  Was it wrong that my first thought was joy that I would never have to eat his cooking again?  

The Legion Hall was lit with oil lamps as we all rushed inside.  Delmar ordered, “Those packs and weapons there,” he pointed at one wall stacked with dozens of packs and weapons.  I moved with others to shoulder one of the burdens.  It was a pack full of quivers and packets of rations.  I assumed they had been stored here in case we needed them on the outer wall.  Now that it had fallen, we would use them at the inner city wall.  

Castile was placed on the table as Adrian added, “Everyone eats and drinks.  We move on in fifteen minutes.”

I moved to sit next to Pavel, one of the archers.  “What happened in the tower?”  I said while eating some thick, salty, sweet crackers on one of the tables.

Pavel was dripping with sweat.  He sounded tired as he repeatedly flexed his forearm, probably exhausted after firing dozens of arrows.  “We managed to halt the flood of scaling ladders.  As the fog started to return, Blaze shot down one of the griffin riders.”  Pavel took a long pull from his canteen in a pause.  

“Regis and Caius were hit with attacks.  Killed on impact,” Pavel’s voice sounded hollow as he had been paired with Regis.  They bunked together and shared a lot of patrols together.

After giving him some time, I asked, “So, how did the outer wall fall?” 

He brought out one of the wrapped meals Lirkin had made us.  I left my satchel in the tower when I went to find the griffin.  He handed his meal to me, and I unwrapped it.  Thick-cut glazed bacon chunks were between a dense bread smothered in butter and thin strips of red marinated bell pepper strips.  I ate it while he started to open another one for himself.

“After the griffin went down in the city, the Bartirdians pressed forward with all their men.  The fog enveloped them as they advanced, and we started firing blindly into the fog.  I guess our mages did not have any more spells to push away the fog.  Their archers got in range, and Castile and Gregor screened us from their arrows for a while, but Gregor’s aether ran out first,” he shook his head.  “When the enemy realized it, they attacked his tower with explosive magic.”

Adrian sat down on the other side of me, and picked up the tale, “The tower that Gregor was in was quickly overwhelmed by the attacking mages.  Castile did her best to thwart their casting, but there were too many for her to defend our tower and dispel their magic.”

I guessed, “And she probably could not see well in the fog either.”

Adrian smiled tightly, “No, Castile had no trouble seeing in fog.  There were just too many spells being cast at us.  She exhausted herself trying to protect Gregor before his tower collapsed.”  While chewing on something, he continued, “When Castile was swaying on her feet, Delmar and I picked her up and carried her away.  The fog was thick enough that the regulars did not see us pull out of the tower.  We really had no choice with the state Castile was in.”

Pavel put his food down, “How many mages do the Bartiradians have?”

“At least nine assaulted the walls at our position,” Adrian said, standing and finishing his food.  Lysander barged into the common room.  He had been left behind to watch for the enemy advancement.  I was happy to see him—as long as he never cooked for me again.

He shouted, “They have formed beyond the gate already and attacked the first barricade.”

Adrian swore softly, “They are moving too fast!”

Delmar had gotten a stretcher to carry Castile, but she sat up and waived him off.  She swung her legs down and stood unsteadily.  She spoke with command, “They are moving recklessly into the city.  The regulars will inflict heavy losses on them.  We will spend our time getting ready for them on the inner wall with the city guard.” 

Delmar looked across the room, “Eryk and Brutus!  Flank Castile and make sure she makes it to the villa!” 

I shrugged on the heavy pack and moved to Castile, “I can walk!”  she rasped as she moved outside into the foggy streets.  The fog was clearing, though, and I was not the only one to notice.

“They stopped fucking with the weather,” someone shouted. 

Adrian shouted, “Do not tarry!  Move to the inner city!  Once that fog clears, the rest of their griffin riders will see us from above the city.”

We shuffled off, and even though Castile did not want the help, we still crutch-carried her to speed up her progress.  Castile weighed almost nothing between us.  Castile started talking to herself as we moved, her anger flaring.  “Defend an entire city with three mages!  Duke Octavian is going to pay for this ridiculous assignment.”

I decided to tell her what the rider said, “Castile, the griffin rider I took care of—she said the Duke was not going to save us.  They know what the plan was.”

Castile barked at me angrily, “Of course they do!  It was a stupid plan!”  I sensed her anger and thought it better than to add any more input from me.  We hustled through the misty streets lit dimly by the blue moon and oil lamps. 

I noticed a few groups of soldiers and city guards starting to pull out more barricades.  Brutus noticed as well, “Well, that is a good sign.” 

Castile looked up, “No, the outer wall fell too quickly.  The city guards were to have all the barricades in place for the regulars to retreat through the city while bleeding the Bartiriadian’s advance.  If too many regulars fall on the outer wall, they will retreat quickly through the city.”

We reached the familiar inner gate with the orchards beyond, and Delmar ordered us to take Castile to the villa and guard her.  I dropped my pack, and Brutus did likewise.  The orchards seemed eerily quiet as we practically dragged Castile between us.  My back ached a bit when we finally reached the door, “Not upstairs.  Put me on a cot in the ballroom,” Castile ordered. 

The legionnaire cots were still set up, and most were messy.  Castile selected the nearest one and collapsed onto it, asleep in moments.  I motioned Brutus to the large entryway into the room.  I closed the door, and we both stood on one side so we could whisper to each other while Castile slept. 

“How long will it take her to recover her aether?”  Brutus asked me. 

“I am not sure.  It takes me more than half a day, but I am guessing my aether pool is much smaller than hers,” I whispered while using the wall for support.

We watched Castile sleep and waited in silence.  I felt the need to get some rest myself and hoped we would be relieved soon.  Konstantin and Orson, our two company scouts, came after about six hours.  Konstantin informed us, “The enemy has secured the lower city, and they are pushing through the streets rapidly.  Delmar expects them to reach us in less than a day.”

“Do we head back to the gate?”  I asked.

“No, you can get a few hours of sleep.  Lirkin is in preparing meals.  I will wake you two, and you can bring the meals to the gate,” Konstantin said.  I started to head toward my small room, and Konstantin grabbed my arm, “Sleep in here, Eryk.  I don’t want to be yelling for you if I need you.”

I found one of the cots with some seemingly clean bedding.  It even had a pillow, unlike most of the others.  I started to remove my armor, and Brutus tapped my shoulder and shook his head, no.  I guess we were sleeping in armor.  The pad was thin and smelled like grass mixed with wet socks.  I put my head at the other end, and it was only mildly better smelling.  I missed my soft mattress with its faint floral perfume smell, and griffin-down pillow. 

I thought about dragging the mattress from the small room out here, but instead, I tried to get comfortable on the tiny cot, but the looming threat of the Bartiradians tearing through the city made it difficult.  Tossing and turning, I tried to find something to think about to distract my mind from the threat. 

My mind kept turning to the body in my dimensional storage.  The elf woman I had placed there because I was reluctant to kill her.  How was I going to remove her from the space?  She would tell other people what I did to her—but then again, she was in stasis.  She was also forming a fire spell in her hands when I placed her there.  Would that spell still be forming when I removed her from the space?

Then there was also the possibility that if I killed her and then used the collector on her, I could get another essence with a magic affinity—possibly fire.  Castile had told me I had consumed an earth essence.  I had zero affinity before consuming the essence, and the pain of adding the new affinity to my core was unpleasant and painful.  Consuming another affinity essence that I had an attribute of zero in was not something I was ready to do again at the moment.

I do not know when I fell asleep, but it was not enough for how long I slept.  Orson shook me awake, “Help Lirkin bring meals out to the men at the gate.  Send back four to me to get some rest.”

Lirkin had baskets filled with meals.  Each basket had two straps, making them an ad-hoc backpack.  Lirkin noted, “There are about forty meals.  Give the extra to the city guards at the gates.  The hard apples should be saved for later.”  That was all he said as he kept preparing food.  He was using the cooking to distract himself from the impending fight. 

We walked through the orchards, and the clear morning sky had trickles of smoke from the lower city.  I was expecting more destruction and commented, “There is not much smoke; maybe the enemy is not pressing.”

Brutus shrugged, “Their mages are probably keeping any fires under control.  They want to capture the city as intact as possible.  The less damage they do, the happier the civilians will be when they assert their rule.”  That made sense.

We brought the food into the tiny gatehouse room.  A half dozen of our company were sleeping in here.  Our entry woke them, and they decided fresh, cooked food was more important than their sleep.  As the men took the food, I went to the gate.  Two barricades were in front of the gate, and most of our men were behind the second one.  Looking up to the top of the wall, the parapets on the inner city wall were narrow, just a few feet wide, and four of our archers were up there. 

Adrian was nearby, so I informed him, “Orson said to send four men in to rest.  Castile is still sleeping.”  He nodded and sent Mateo, Felix, Kolm, and Lysander to the villa. 

“Where do you want me and Brutus?” I asked, looking out into the quiet city streets.  A barricade was about 200 yards down the main street, with men in city guard uniforms standing behind it. 

“Second barricade here is fine.  Once the Bartiradians reach this position, we will hold the gate to let the regulars and city guard retreat into the orchards.  We will fall back to the Citadel ourselves.  I do not think we are going to be able to use the aqueduct to escape,” he said with heavy words.

“Why?” My voice cracked a little from being dry and surprised.

He pointed up, and I saw five griffins circling high above.  “They probably only have scouts on the route, but as soon as the griffins see us, they will send their cavalry to intercept us.”

“Can we not leave in the cover of darkness?”  I asked hopefully.

“Most likely, one or two of those riders has an artifact or spell to see in darkness.  The word from the regular army general is they are scouring the city for the downed griffin rider you killed.  Where did you leave the body?  I am surprised they have not found it,” Adrian asked with interest.

“Huh,” I said heavily.  “Why was the elf someone important?”

“One of their general’s sisters.  Or at least that is what the cryptic message from the regular soldier indicated when he reported a few hours ago.  Don’t worry; once they find the body, they will calm down a bit before pressing forward.  Hopefully, the Duke’s army gets here quickly.”

Of course, the elf I had trapped in my dimensional storage was the sister of the general scouring the city to find her and seek vengeance against the soldier who killed her.

Chapter 53 The General

A tall, muscled elf walked through the partially destroyed Trader’s Gate.  A mithril helm of his ancestors framed his stern face.  General Clalyn Glavien paused and watched his men search the lower city’s houses.  A mixture of men, elves, and dwarf soldiers entered each house and pulled out any occupants.  After questioning them, they were allowed to return inside and bar the door.  His men were checking the civilian’s hands for calluses and confirmed they were not soldiers.  They would be brought to the camp outside the walls if there was doubt.  It was imperfect but much quicker than bringing in a Truthseeker for each suspect.

Macha City was going to be secured long before the Talhian Duke arrived.  Clalyn’s mages were already fortifying the outer walls to welcome the Duke when he arrived with his army.  He walked further into the city, smelling the faint odor of smoke and ozone laced heavily with the dampness.  His three personal guards trailed behind him, alert for any threats.  A human male soldier raced to the General, causing his guards to tense.  He gave them a hand sign to relax as he knew the soldier, “General Glavien.  The downed griffin is not far.  If you follow me, I will bring you to it.”

His heart ached, and he ignored the sweat that had been sitting in his eyes and followed.  The walk was short as promised, and he quickly came to the corpse of the griffin called Moonclaw by his sister.  He knelt and petted the soft feathers along the neck of the beast as he had done a hundred times before when he visited his sister in the rookery for the griffins.  Moonclaw had been the runt of the clutch but had grown into an impressive mount for his sister.  He had been incredibly docile for his species, easily the friendliest griffin he had ever known.

The guards and soldier let him pet the flying mount and waited for him to grieve.  His elven clan, the Glavien, had left the Elven Kingdom of Esenhem almost a thousand years ago.  The Esenhem elves did not see the threat of the Telhians.  His father did, and the Telhians were prejudiced against all non-human races.  So his father migrated to the Bartiradian Kingdom, and his descendants have served in the military ever since, fighting the Telhians.  For those with the Glavien name, it was considered a right of passage to fight the expansionist Telhians.  

He objected to his younger sister joining the Skyriders.  Raelia should have served as a minor mage or assisted at the war college.  The front lines were not for her.  But Raelia wanted to fly, follow her brother, and contribute to the Neverending War.  She had amazing empathy and some small skill with magic; air, and fire being her strongest attributes.  “Clalyn?”  One of his guards, who had been inspecting the scene, broke his focus on petting the dead creature. 

General Clalyn Glavien stood sternly, “Have they found her body yet?”

His guard, an old elf and friend named Alhar, shook his head no, “Her blood trial went into this ally and further up the street and just disappeared.”

“So there is still a chance?” The general let his voice crack slightly, licked his lips, and swallowed. 

Alhar gave an indecisive look, “The legionnaire we captured told us they were without a healing mage, and we cut off their access to resupply before more healing potions could be sent.”  He inhaled, “The griffin clipped that building there,” he pointed.  “And crashed hard into the street.  The hard landing would have seriously wounded her.  She carried some healing potions,” he offered hopefully.

Clalyn finished, “If they took her prisoner, they would have seized her potions, and then she probably would not last long and would be in serious pain based on the blood trail.” 

One of the griffins scouting above landed not far away, and the rider dismounted and moved to the General, “The fog has cleared, and it is going to be a difficult path through the city with the barricades.  No signs of your sister, but the remaining legionnaires are at the inner city wall.”

The General nodded sharply, “So there is only one mage remaining?”

“For the legion, yes.  We have seven non-combatant mages from the civilians rounded up already,” Alhar answered next to him. 

The griffin rider added, “The weather mages have inconvenienced the Duke, and we surprised them with how quickly we took the city.  They should be able to slow the Duke’s army and give you at least two days to secure the city for its defense.” 

The rider waited for an order.  Clalyn nodded, still distracted, “After your mount is rested, pass word, keep an eye out for the remaining mage.  That is our last true threat in the city.  She managed to frustrate our contingent of spell-slingers during the assault.”  He gave it a brief thought, “I prefer to see her captured for public execution, but if she endangers our mages, end her.”

The griffin rider nodded and returned to her mount.  “Alhar, show me where the trail stopped.”  Alhar nodded and led the General, trailed by the other two personal guards, to the small street. 

“It was here,” the guard, who was a master tracker, said.  “I searched the area, and not a trace of blood anywhere past this point.  Mage Finnius has been summoned, General.” 

Mage Finnius?  The illusionist could replay whatever happened here.  Did he really want to see his sister’s fate played out before him?  He had lost two brothers to the Neverending War.  He nodded slowly and waited for the mage.  He began to inspect the likely place where his sister had been killed.  He noticed squads of his soldiers protecting his position by stationing themselves at the intersections. 

Mage Finnius arrived.  He was a balding middle-aged human with a slight stutter, but he also had excellent illusionist skills and some clairvoyant affinity.  When combined, he could replay scenes that happened in a particular area less than three days past.  Alhar instructed him, “Set the area of your spell here to here.” 

Finnius began his work of chaulking out the boundaries of the spell with the silvery chaulk.  The larger the area, the more aether the mage would take to cast his spell of viewing the past.  It was a good hour of setting up the containment area.  When he finished, he addressed the General, “C-Clalyn.  I have enough a-aether for about f-five minutes.  I can adjust the s-speed and replay the image as you d-direct within that time.”  The mage was sweating from his work and was still tired from the assault last night.

“Proceed,” Clalyn directed.  The spell forms on the ground glowed in the blue aetheric light, and Finnius sped through the images till a flash of movement occurred.  Clalyn had sorted the images even at high speed and already knew what had happened; his throat tightened, and his skin went cold.  The mage rewound till the start of the action and played it at normal speed.

Raelia was fleeing down the street.  Her leg was broken, and she was bleeding from a head wound and her mouth.  She either had bitten her tongue or had internal bleeding.  Alhar offered unhelpfully, “She must have bit her tongue on the landing.”  A look silenced his friend as the General no longer needed his input.  The fate of his sister was known to him.

Finnius slowed the play of the image and watched as a legionnaire entered the area and attempted to slash Raelia in the back.  Raelia spun and defended herself masterfully.  She had one of the best combat senses of any soldier he had ever seen and smiled.  Raelia stood and began speaking to the legionnaire who had pursued her.  Finnius’ magic did not give sound, just images.  But Clalyn smiled, knowing the vehemence his sister would have yelled at the legionnaire.  Even with her dying breath, she would oppose the Telhian Empire.

The images were clear and life-like, “Freeze it, mage!”  Clalyn ordered.  He moved into the spell’s area, carefully stepping over the silver chalk lines, and studied his sister’s face, frozen in time.  Rage on her face directed at the legionnaire and probably from losing Moonclaw.  She loved that griffin more than anything else in this world.  She had been reckless as the enemy mages cleared the fog.  Griffin riders were never to engage the enemy, only scout and deliver messages when magic sending was not available.  She had flown too low to the Gate Tower to give reconnaissance against orders or maybe to attack.  Foolish Raelia, always trying to prove herself.  He studied her face—remembering every detail as it was probably the last time he would have the chance.

“Play it slowly,” he ordered, and the illusion moved in front of him.  Raelia was fighting the pain and cupped her hands to create a spell form for a fireball.  Clalyn smiled, remembering how proud she had been when she cast that spell for the first time.  And then she was gone.  He spun on the mage about to ask him to rewind the spell, but the legionnaire was still there with a pained look on his face.  Finnius paused the spell again so the General could study the image of his sister’s executioner.

He stepped in front of the legionnaire, a tall human with sweaty black hair peeking out of his steel legion helm.  He had brown eyes, a square jawline, and a look of disbelief on his face.  “Rewind and replay again, mage,” he ordered Finnius. 

The mage obeyed, and Clalyn studied the legionnaire as his sister repeatedly disappeared behind him.  Replaying the actions of the killer in front of him.  Finally, the spell expired, Finnius exhausted of aether.  He turned to Alhar and his other two personal guards, “We have a very dangerous enemy.  A Legion soldier with a spell form from the void magic affinity.”  His voice was hard.  Void magic had erased his sister from existence, and he would have his vengeance.

Alhar understood as he had also watched the legionnaire not create a true spell to vanish Raelia.  He turned and announced to the dozen captains around the General, “His range should be limited, so when your men find him, do not get within twenty feet.”  The other two bodyguards nodded as did the captains of the other units nearby.  Alhar asked the General, “Do you want me to handle this?”

Clalyn considered the request.  Alhar had been a Ranger, assassin, and scout for nearly three hundred years.  He could have commanded his own forces, but instead chose to serve and protect the son of Alliston Glavien, Clalyn’s father.  Alhar could be sent and seek vengeance for Raelia.  Alhar had also trained Raelia and been like a father figure to her.  He assumed the stern Alhar was probably eager to do just that.

“No, I want to see the look in his eyes when he joins my sister in oblivion.”  He murmured.

Chapter 54 Escape

My eyes kept wandering to the sky and the griffins.  After five hours of studying the flyers, I think there were nine total.  They patrolled in a team of five and then in a team of four, switching every two hours.  I assumed the team of four was missing one member.  Did I feel guilt at being responsible in part for the missing griffin?  No, we were at war and fighting for our lives.  The fact that I could not kill the young-looking elf-woman weighed on me.  I knew elves were much older than they appeared, but I still related her to a young woman from my past life, and my instinct was to protect her.

A few hours into my post, Konstantin was standing next to me at the barricade.  Brutus and Felix were at the other end of our barricade.  Konstantin asked, “Eryk, do you remember when I took you around the city when we arrived?”  He was talking quietly, so only I could hear.

“Yes, you showed me the weaknesses of the city’s defense,”  I replied in a whisper, wondering where he was going with this.

“If you had to leave the city by one of those weak points, which would it be?” Konstantin questioned me.  It was his typical teaching moment question.

I gave it some hard thought; the perimeter of the outer city wall was miles long.  The south and east had the invading army.  The aqueduct to the northwest headed into the rocky hills was probably my choice as the ground in that area was covered in large scattered and quarried stones, making it difficult terrain.  Calvary could not move, and many of the stones were large enough to hide among.  The original escape plan was to walk along the aqueduct into the hills.  The aqueduct was about forty feet above the rocky terrain below and about ten feet wide, meaning the griffins would easily spot us.  It was not the best route since we were concerned with the flyers spotting us.  “Still the aqueduct.  Drop from it and move under it to escape into the hills,” was my answer.

Konstantin nodded, “Not bad.  They will have scouts on the ground, but probably only a few, as their efforts will be focused on securing the city.”  Konstantin was silent for a while before asking, “What do you think about the washout from the sewer?”

“You never showed that to me, and you said it was full of slimes,” I noted.  Also, the idea of trudging through shit and piss again was not my first choice.  But I would do it if it was a guarantee to save our lives.

“It actually empties about two miles south into the swamp, but you would have to submerge and swim under the water for almost a hundred yards from what I have been told.  The army encampment is also close to the exit.  There will be scouts on the ground near the aqueduct, but I agree the aqueduct is still our best option.”  Konstantin seemed to be thinking, and some commotion behind me had me turn.  

Castile was in full legionnaire garb and walking among the men.  Her face was slightly more gaunt, but her stoicism had returned after a long recovery sleep.  The metal legion helmet looked odd on her, and Konstantin explained, “She does not want to be targeted by the enemy, so she is blending in.”  As if in response to Castile’s appearance, a griffin flew lower, and some archers responded on the wall above to chase it away.  The arrows fell well short of the griffin, but it gained altitude anyway.

Castile, Adrian, and Delmar moved to the first barricade to look down the street and into the city beyond.  Adrian explained the situation to Castile, “The enemy has paused their advance.  They will attack the barricades again in force tonight.”

Castile asked, “Why are they waiting?  The regulars and city guard are outnumbered.”

Delmar answered, “They are slowed down because they are searching every house as they go.  I think they found the body of the griffin rider they were searching for because they stopped pressing through the city.  They did take heavy losses in their haste to get past the barricades.  I believe they will attack at night because their elves and dwarves have excellent low-light vision, giving them an advantage.  The messengers say the humans in the Bartiradian ranks are just harassing the barricades to wear out the defenders while the elves and dwarves are resting.”  

Castile nodded and went into a focused state I now understood was her sending out her all-seeing-eye.  We all waited for her to return from her scouting.  She was sweating a little bit, and it was not from the sun.  Using her aether seemed to stress her.  From Damian, I knew a mage was limited in how much aether they could use in a day based on their aether tolerance.  Castile seemed to be close to her limit.

She suddenly blinked like she had something in her eye and breathed heavily, “They are still bringing their army into the city.  They are fortifying the outer wall as well and rebuilding the Trader’s Gate with their mages.  We can not get trapped in the city with them.  We will leave tonight; we have already failed the assignment.”

Adrian seemed shocked, “Are you sure, Castile?  You might be named a coward if we leave before the inner city walls fall.  Duke Octavian will use that against you.”

“As soon as Durandus got himself killed, this assignment was doomed to fail,” Castile said sharply.  “What are our options for leaving the city tonight?”  Castile asked the men present.  

Adrian called for Orson, the other scout, to join them at the barricade.  Brutus, Felix, and I were in the background while Castile, Adrian, Delmar, Konstantin, and Orson discussed the company’s options but were close enough to overhear.

Orson offered the first suggestion, “We could go over the north wall and head northeast and then circle north to west.  The woods are thick, and it looks like the enemy has avoided them due to the pixies.  Also, their griffin spotters would be useless to find us in the trees.” 

Delmar disagreed, “It would take us too close to their outriders.  They would surely spot us and send cavalry to pursue us.  I do not want to be running on foot through those woods at night.  The pixies are bad enough, but running on foot from men on horseback would make it a terrible flight.”

Konstantin offered, “I think the best plan is still the aqueduct.  Eryk suggested we get outside the city wall and then make our way through the boulder field under the aqueduct as cover.”  Castile briefly turned to look at me.  “It would be much slower movement, but we would have some cover from the griffins.”

Adrian added his thoughts, “Maybe during the height of their attack on the barricades tonight, the griffins will be too distracted to notice us.  How many scouts do you think they have in the boulder fields and on the aqueduct?”  

Orson answered, “None on the aqueduct unless they are invisible.  We can see out to maybe two miles from the Citadel’s tallest tower.  Among the boulders?  Maybe as many as a dozen.  But best guess, half that.”

Konstantin offered another option, “We could hide in the sewers and hope the Duke retakes the city.  At least it will be defensible.”  Castile had a sour look, and no one else looked thrilled at the prospect either.  Whether that was because we would be in the sewers, being essentially cornered, or relying on the Duke to rescue us was not voiced.

I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer and asked, “What about the regulars and the city guard?  Are we just leaving them to defend themselves?”  A half dozen upper city guards were at the gates behind us, mixed with our company but out of earshot.

The group all turned hard eyes on me.  I guess my input was not welcome.  Castile explained it to me, “The regulars will be taken prisoner and sent back to work camps in the Bartiradian Kingdom.  City guards will be made to work in the city doing repairs but will eventually earn their freedom after a few years.  That has been the Bartiradian policy.”

Castile stepped close to me and looked up into my eyes with a hard stare, “The captured legionnaires and legion mages of the Empire will be executed publicly.”  Castile let that sink in before adding, “We are a symbol of the Telhian Emperor and need to be made an example of by showing our defeat publicly.”

“That was not something they mentioned in the brochure when I signed up,” I griped softly.  I had thought the absolute worst-case scenario would be we would surrender and be prisoners of war.

Castile ignored my comment and asked the others, “How many of Gregor’s men reached us?” 

Adrian pulled out a slip of paper, “Eleven, seven combat capable and two in rough shape.  They are all in the Citadel now recovering.” 

Castile nodded.  “Leave them there for now.  If we use the aqueduct escape route, we will collect them then.  Can the two injured men move?”

“No,” Delmar answered, “One has a shattered leg, and the other has some head trauma.  They brought a few of the simple healing salves with them but used all their healing potions.  We would need stretchers to get them out.”  Castile pursed her lips at the news.  She seemed to be considering her options, looking down the street. 

“The aqueduct it is.  At the peak of the fighting tonight, we will move to the Citadel and climb down to it.  I can screen us for a few minutes from the griffin riders while we descend to the boulders.  Make sure the men are well rested.”  Castile turned and went into the orchards, with Delmar following her.

Adrian ordered Brutus, Felix, and I to the tiny room in the gatehouse.  Inside, we found nine men trying to sleep.  I found my way to an open spot on the floor with some blankets and tried to get some rest.  The small room was a mix of sweat, body odor, and mildew.  The smells did not bother me.  The heavy breathing, loud snoring, and whispered conversations made it difficult to fall asleep. 

I closed my eyes, but all I could think about was getting captured and hung for being a legionnaire.  Somehow, I drifted off.  It felt like I had just shut my eyes when I was woken to eat and take my next watch.  The meal was bread, hard sausage, and cheese.  All washed down with lemon water. 

Brutus sat next to me as we ate.  “She is just like Durandus.”

I asked, “Who, Castile?  Why do you say that?”

He chewed while he talked, “All mages are alike, I guess.  She is planning to leave the regulars and the city guard to defend the city themselves,” he answered.

I defended Castile, “What can thirty legionnaires and one mage do against an army?  Besides, I think Durandus, Gregar, and Castile were sent here to die anyway.  Living through this clusterfuck would be an accomplishment.”

“Clusterfuck…”  He tested the word.  “You have some unique sayings in Tsingia.”  We ate our food in silence for a while before Brutus added, “I changed my mind.  Castile is not like Durandus.  He would have been only concerned with getting himself out of this clusterfuck.  Castile seems to want to get her entire company out with her.”

Adrian called for us to come to gate duty.  As I exited the small room, a steady stream of injured regulars passed through the gate into the orchard.  Delmar was talking with a city guard captain not far away.  The look of concern on his face told me something was up.  The sun was starting to set, and it looked like the Bartiradians were increasing their activity in the lower city. 

We were positioned at the gate, behind the first of the two barricades, and Delmar was now talking with Adrian, and they both started to talk with legionnaires.  When Adrian reached us, I could tell the news was not good.  He talked to us quietly, “Word has reached us that the regular army plans to surrender tonight if the Duke has not arrived by sunset.  The general knows he can not hold the city against so many enemy mages.  The Bartiradians control the entire lower city and will quickly run through the upper city if the army capitulates.  At first dark, we are moving to the Citadel.”  He looked at the disappearing sun, “About thirty minutes from now.” 

Adrian left us to talk to Felix and Mateo on the other end of our barricade.  Brutus whispered, “Okay, maybe Castile saw this coming.”  He turned around and looked into the orchard where dozens of wounded soldiers lay.  He looked back at the city, “The Bartiradian mages will have recovered their aether as well.  I do not blame them for surrendering.”  He was forgiving the regular soldiers.

As twilight faded, flashes of light and thunder roiled from within the city below us.  Adrian turned and studied the flashes in the waning light.  They were much closer than I expected, less than half a mile away.  Thunderous booms echoed with the flashes.  Adrian motioned some city guards forward to replace Felix and Mateo, and they left to head back into the orchards.  He did the same for us.  I could also see our archers on top of the wall heading down as well, with no one replacing them. 

Konstantin waved us inside the gates, “Move to the Citadel.  We are regrouping there with Castile.”

Brutus and I walked past the soldiers in the orchards who gave us spiteful looks.  It was obvious we were retreating, giving up on the city.  I felt guilty about it myself.  But knowing the army was likely to surrender soon, I let the guilt wash off.  These men would be taken prisoner, according to Castile.  If I was captured, I would be hung publicly. 

We entered the Citadel and followed others up the stairs into the large audience chamber.  A raised throne dominated one end of the room.  Massive glow stones lit the chamber in silver sconces.  Castile was walking slowly around the chamber with Delmar on her hip. 

The remainder of Gregor’s men were stirring from their bedrolls, getting ready to leave.  I recognized a few faces from Durandus’ men who had joined them.  Castile moved to check on two men who had not risen.  She gave the one with a bloody headwrap a potion from her robes. 

Even from this distance, I knew it was a lesser healing potion.  She must have been saving it for herself.  Everyone was assembled after thirty minutes.  Men were bringing in our packs and setting them against the far wall. 

As the legionnaire to whom Castile had given the potion stood, Castile turned to everyone.  “We are going to move to the aqueduct and make our way out of the city.  I will be able to screen us from above for a few minutes.  The goal will be to move to the damaged section of the aqueduct outside the walls and descend the ropes.  We will follow the aqueduct to the reservoir and then make haste to connect with the Duke’s army.”

Delmar stepped forward, “We expect the army to surrender shortly, which means the city guard will follow shortly after.  Haste is important.  Strip Artorius of his legion gear and bring him to one of the chambers.  We can not carry him.  He will have to tell the Bartiradians he is a baron’s son,” he indicated to the man with the shattered leg. 

One of the men quipped, “See Artorious.  You have a tower fall on you, and before you know it, you are a First Citizen and telling us what to do!”  A few of the men chuckled to make him feel better, but we were leaving him behind, and it would not take much for the enemy to figure out he was legion.  It was a death sentence.

I managed to find my pack in the jumble on the wall and shouldered it.  Adrian and Delmar were giving orders to the new men.  We were soon moving through the Citadel in pairs, Brutus being mine.  We entered a dimly lit ballroom and went to a balcony overlooking the aqueduct going into the city.  The blue moon lit the expanse before us.  The rocky, difficult-to-pass hillside ran miles into the distance, the aqueduct looking like a narrow raised road cutting through the hills in the quickly fading light. 

The northern forest was to the right, and I could see a number of lights on the edge of the massive trees.  The Bartiradians clearly had a number of men at the edge of the forest, and I was glad we had not chosen that route.  We were expecting some scouts in the rocky terrain, but hopefully not too many.

It was a good thirty-foot drop to reach the aqueduct from the balcony, and Konstantin was already directing men down ropes.  From my understanding, this was the easiest access point to the aqueduct.  If we took to the aqueduct further into the city, then the griffins would spot us more easily.  Castile was on the balcony scanning the skies for griffins as we made our way down.  We were shielded from them for now, but they would easily spot us as soon as we moved away from the Citadel. 

After I descended myself, I was directed to remain close to the Citadel wall by Adrian.  Soon, all thirty-five of us were on the aqueduct under the balcony.  The night air was humid and hot and added to the sweat from our anxiety.  Castile seemed indecisive and spent a brief moment using her all-seeing-eye spell.  She was whispering with Delmar and Adrian about what she saw.

Adrian passed the message to my group, “The sky is clear.  We will move tightly under Castile’s shadows.  Ten palace guards guard the aqueduct gate.  Be wary, as they may be the enemy in disguise.” 

Castile nodded, and her shadow smoke oozed from her body, forming a large disc above us.   The blue-lit moon was blocked out of our sight, and we all moved around the mage and moved with haste along the ten-foot wide channel in the aqueduct toward the outer wall.  The aqueduct was like a raised road that brought water from a reservoir high in the hills. 

A large gate was over the aqueduct at the outer wall.  Only five guards were at the gate, not the ten we expected.  Konstantin moved forward cautiously and talked to them, and they opened the gates for us to pass.  Adrian was at my side and said, “We followed the Bartiradian mage here.  He killed all the guards and escaped along the aqueduct.”

As I passed the palace guards at the gate, they nodded to us in respect.  It was confusing to me because we were abandoning the city.  I thought we would get the same hard stares that the regular army gave us when we passed through the orchards. 

It was not far as we moved past the gate to the collapsed section.  There were large planks here to bridge the twenty-foot gap and a steady stream of water falling on the rocks below.  The original plan was to cross the gap and move quickly along the aqueduct.  Now, we were dropping ropes and moving down to the ground to avoid being spotted by the griffins. 

Orson was asking Castile how much longer we had for her screen as I passed.  I did not catch her response before I was repelling.  A heavy mist was in the air at the bottom of the splashing waterfall of the damaged aqueduct.  We moved away quickly so our clothes did not get too damp from the spray.

Castile was the last one down, and I heard Konstantin talking to her, “Flavius, Orson, and I will scout ahead.  They must have scouts among the rocks, hopefully not many.”

The three scouts moved forward into the darkness.  We followed shortly after.  Spirits were high as we moved under the cover of the aqueduct, as it seemed we had not been spotted so far.  Our feet crunched on stone, and we weaved between large boulders in the moonlight.  The ground was uneven with large chunks of stone, and many men stumbled in the low light. 

Konstantin’s clear voice cut the night from the far left, “Enemy scouts!”  Arrows started flying among us.  A few men were hit as we moved for cover.  Grunts of pain, but no screams came from the men who were hit. 

Our archers started to respond, but I could not see anyone in the distance among the boulders.  Then I remembered the enemy had elves and dwarves with excellent low-light vision.  We were at a huge disadvantage.  Konstantin came rushing back to us and took cover with us.  “There are at least four.” 

Flavius arrived shortly after as well, “Orson is hit.  He is twenty yards out.” 

Adrian barked loudly at everyone, “We can not stay here.  They will get reinforcements.  We have to move!” 

As if in response to the urgency, a bright white pyrotechnic burst in the night sky above our position under the aqueduct.  This was a clear signal to the Bartiradians in the city of our position.  Brutus rasped, “I hope they are too busy in the city to give a clusterfuck about us.”  I did not take time to correct his usage of the new word I had taught him.  We had other things to worry about.

Chapter 55 Desperation

The flash in the sky was definitely a signal.  It made it bright enough for me to see we had three men with arrows in their torsos.  Delmar was pulling everyone together with Konstantin to launch an attack to break through, “We need to rush the archer’s position.  Everyone with a shield will lead the charge, followed by spearmen.  Blaze, try and pick them off as we advance.”  Blaze was our best archer and looked eager for the challenge.

We were hiding behind one of the arch supports for the aqueduct.  Konstantin added a new element to the plan, “I will take Eryk, Firth, and Wylie wide right to flank them.”  

We only spent moments dropping our packs to ready ourselves, and I asked Konstantin, “Why do you want me?”

“You are one of the fastest runners in the company, Eryk,” he said quickly, but I did not think that was the case.  I was among the tallest, but I did not think that made me one of the fastest.

As we prepared, Linus, the company medic, was using the healing salve he must have gotten from Gregor’s men to close arrow wounds after extracting the arrow from the wounded.  It would not heal internal damage but would at least prevent them from bleeding out.  The main force with shields moved out as I disappeared around the corner of the aqueduct support with Konstantin and the other men.  

As we heard arrows hitting shields, signaling our main force charge, Konstantin picked up into a run.  In the moonlight, I noticed Orson in the open, his body at an awkward angle.  I moved away from our group and paused to check on him, letting the other three get ahead.  Orson had three arrows in him, two to the chest and one to the neck.  He was definitely dead; another comrade lost.  

I raced to catch Konstantin as the direction of the fight was easy to discern.  An arrow whizzed by my face from the right.  I took cover behind a rock.  Even with the blue moon’s brightness, I could not see further than fifty feet. 

I waited and listened behind the boulder.  Our men had reached the archers, and the sounds of swords contacting armor and flesh could be heard fifty yards away.  A twang of a bow told me the archer that attacked me had fired an arrow toward the scrum.  I had a general idea of the location of the archer now and sprinted right to circle behind him.  A steady cadence of arrows came from the archer, so I located him quickly.  He was on top of a waist-high boulder and focused on the fight a good distance away.  I rushed over the rocky terrain and up onto the rock in an impressive leap.  He sensed my approach and pivoted to fire his next arrow at me, but I closed on him too fast.  

My blade pressed into his stomach and out his back as I used my momentum to pierce his leather armor.  He shouted in pain and surprise as I drove him off the rock and onto the ground below.  I landed on top of the archer with my full body weight, stunning him and giving me time to draw a dagger and press it up, under his chin, and into his brain.  I was breathing heavily from the effort and adrenaline.  I stood and swore.  My left hand on the short sword was sprained badly, maybe broken, from the landing.   I flexed it and started to heal the injury.  As I calmed, my senses were suddenly flooded with the sound of battle, the smell of the elf, and the taste of salt from my sweat.  

In the low light, I bent over and identified it as a male elf.  I stood over him for moments, healing my wrist.  The dead, glassy eyes of the elf were barely visible in the moonlight but still creeped me out.  I considered taking his essence, but I didn’t have time.  The fighting had already ended, and Konstantin was already yelling for me.  

I made a decision: I moved the entire body, with all of his gear, to storage.  I was happy to note my aether did not bottom out.  If he yielded an essence when I removed the body, it would be a good way to preserve a body in the future.  I focused and pulled the sword embedded in the archer back into my hand from his body and rushed to join the company.  

Adrian asked, “Did you get the other archer, Eryk?”

I nodded and then voiced, “Yes.  And Orson is dead; he took three arrows.”  

Castile swore, “Damn, five more injured.  Delmar, do you think we should leave behind a screen?”

There was silence as Castile was asking if we should leave men behind to slow pursuit.  Konstantin answered for Delmar, “Not yet, Castile.  Even though the flash told them where we were, they might be too busy in the city to send pursuit.  Most likely, the five we killed were all the men they had in the area.  If there are more, we should not give them time to form together for an ambush ahead of us.”

Adrian picked up the call, and I noticed in the moonlight he was holding his arm in a sling with a broken-off arrow in his forearm, “Let us move out now!”  He rallied everyone.  

Castile added, “A griffin has already spotted us.  I agree.  They may not bother sending pursuit if we can get far enough away from the city.  Blaze, stay close to me.  If a flyer gets close, I may have just enough aether to infuse one arrow.”

Someone handed me my pack, and I shouldered it.  We were soon jogging parallel to the aqueduct, weaving again among the boulders.  Someone tripped and fell hard every few minutes as the terrain was unforgiving, with sharp, pointed rocks difficult to see in the darkness.  I fell once, banging my knee and cutting my palm.  I healed both injuries as we proceeded forward away from the city.

“Now, Blaze!” Castile shouted.  Blaze drew an arrow ahead of me and aimed it toward the sky.  An unhappy squawk and a shadowy shape sailing away told us Blaze hit the griffin but did not down it.  Blaze received compliments on his shot as we moved on.  Hopefully, that was the only griffin following us.  Our route was obvious, though, as we were following the aqueduct overhead.

As our run in the night progressed, a lot of men were starting to flag.  Delmar called, “Short rest!  Scouts to check out our trail behind!”  Flavius and Konstantin moved away from the group to check behind us.

I sat heavily on a rock, took my canteen from my pack, and drained it.  Firth scolded me, “Eryk, you should have saved some of that.  We have hours of running left.”  I nodded but knew I had plenty of water in my dimensional space. 

Castile, Adrian, and Delmar discussed whether we should take time to climb the aqueduct.  The stone was generally smooth, but two of our men carried a rope with them. 

While I rested, I looked into the sky.  “They are up there,” Firth said, watching with me.  I could see a shadow blocking the stars, barely lit by the waning moon high above.  Then, a second shape.  “Yeah, they are not letting us go.  Most likely, if the griffins are tracking us, they sent a sizable force after us,” Firth added heavily.

Konstantin returned first and went to talk with Castile and Delmar.  Adrian was in discomfort but listened in.  I was too far away to hear or see their faces clearly.  Castile abruptly announced after their conversation, “Rest is over!  We are moving now!”  

Flavius caught up with us as we moved out, and I asked, “What did you see behind us?”

“Flashes of metal in the moonlight over a mile behind us.  A hundred men, all on foot by Konstantin’s estimation,” Flavius said as he moved past me.  

No rest was called for the next three hours, and I got a turn helping to carry Lirkin’s stretcher.  There were four of us, and it was painful work as you were forced on a path through the stone field because you were tied to the other three men.  My body took the abuse, stubbed toes, partial stumbles, and the uneven load caused severe spinal pain.  No one complained, though.  Lirkin had gotten an arrow in his hip and could not walk.  There had been no discussion about leaving him behind.

We rotated our carrying positions every fifteen minutes, giving me a full hour on the task.  I was not tired, but other men, especially those who only had their wounds closed and not healed, were starting to fail.  Wylie was first.  He stopped and kneeled and spit thick flem.  He had taken an arrow in the shoulder and could not use his left arm.  

As Wylie knelt, so did Mateo to check in on him.  Konstantin was in the back and called, “Halt and rest!  Castile, I will check on our pursuers.”  

I looked up and could no longer find the griffin shadows above us.  I had not noticed the moon’s blue light leaving us as the night progressed, and we only had starlight now.  Sitting, I studied a large boulder.  Maybe I could hollow it out with my ability and hide inside?  I could make a tiny access at the bottom.  It would bottom out my aether and leave me corned if found.  But I also did not want to abandon my comrades. 

My ponderings stopped as Konstantin returned, and I made sure I was close enough to overhear the conversation, “…are trying to run us ragged.  When we reach the reservoir, they will probably close in to finish us off.  We should slow down and rest while they give us a chance.”  

Adrian grimaced, holding his arm, as he asked, “Do you think they have men already ahead of us?”

Konstantin did not answer for a moment, thinking.  “Unlikely but possible.  The terrain is the same throughout these hills.  I do not see how they could have gotten ahead of us at our pace.”

“Could the griffins have ferried men ahead of us?” Delmar asked.  

“I have never seen a griffin carry two riders before,” Castile noted.  “But it is a possibility.  If I am quick, I have enough aether to scout behind and ahead of us.”

Delmar grunted heavily, “Castile, it would be nice to know if we can hold positions and stand a chance of fighting them.”  

Castile nodded, and we waited for her to return from using her spell.  I looked at the men around me; maybe twenty were uninjured and fully capable of fighting.  And those twenty were tired.  Fifteen minutes later, Castile returned from her scouting, “There is an elven general and thirty men in light armor about half a mile back with him.  They are resting like we are and leading the pursuit.  There are another hundred or so men in heavy armor and at least two mages another two miles behind them but moving slowly.  I managed to check the reservoir as well.  No Bartiradians are waiting for us, but there is a long, narrow climb to the stone caldera.”  

“They must really want us badly to pull so many from the city.  Is that the general who was searching for his sister, the griffin rider?  Maybe they know Blaze shot her down,” Delmar pieced together.  

“Maybe the regulars and city guard already surrendered, allowing the general to pursue us,” Castile added bitterly.  “If he wants vengeance, he will not stop chasing us until he has it.”  

I mulled over this information.  Would the general let us go if I gave him back his sister?  It seemed like a farfetched idea.  Maybe I could just fall back and release her from my space, and the confusion of finding her would give us more time to get away.  It was probably a stupid plan.  

I missed the conversation as I debated what to do.  Castile announced to everyone, “We are almost to the reservoir!  There is a narrow set of carved stone stairs that can be easily defended.  There is a difficult path around the reservoir, but our best chance will be to use the aqueduct to give us the high ground.  We will make our stand there.”  

I think the company was happy that an end was in sight.  “The quicker we get there, the more rest we will get before the fun begins!”  An energetic Konstantin yelled before moving off first.  His bravado motivating everyone to pick up the pace.  

We reached the narrow stone stair, and Castile had not been kidding.  It was extremely steep, and the steps were narrow, no wider than a foot.  “Is this the only access to the reservoir?”  Delmar asked. 

Konstantin replied, “There used to be a wooden tower here, but it collapsed centuries ago.”

“How do you know that?”  Delmar asked, perplexed.

“I like history,” Konstantin replied.  “Did you know this reservoir was formed when Constantine of the First Legion destroyed the stone mountain that once stood here?  The rocks we have been navigating are the debris from that explosion.  They were used to build the city and the aqueduct.”

Castile was exasperated, “We can talk history later, but it was Titus, not Constantine of the First Legion, who destroyed the stone mountain,” she schooled Konstantin. 

Konstantin smiled at Castile’s retort, and the mood lightened slightly.  Adrian barked, “Injured up the steps first!”

Lirkin was first, using his arms and forcing himself up quickly.  He paused and addressed the group below him, “These steps are treacherous.  Eryk, do you still have the butter?”

Castile put it together quickly, “That is a good plan.  You can be the last one up and grease the steps.” 

Delmar turned to Brutus.  “Eryk is going to grease the steps.  Hang back with him and let him know if you see anyone coming while he works.” 

Still in pain, Adrain announced, “Archers, get to the aqueduct to help cover Eryk while he works!”

Somehow, I had just been made rear guard.  Brutus voiced his displeasure as everyone climbed the narrow, smooth steps, saying, “Be quick, Eryk.  The steps are fairly exposed, and enemy archers will have an easy time of targeting us.”

I dumped the contents of my backpack on the ground and filled it with the butter from my dimensional space while cursing Lirkin for remembering I had butter in my dimensional space.  I knew it would work as the steps were smooth with time, but I did not appreciate being the one who had to do it.  “Brutus, stay a dozen steps ahead of me, and let me know if you see the enemy approaching.”

“Clusterfuck, Eryk.  I can barely see fifty feet in the starlight,” Brutus replied.

I waved him up the steps as everyone had climbed, not bothering to correct his use of the term.  The quicker I buttered the steps, the quicker I could climb.  This was definitely a clusterfuck, though. 

I scooped the butter and started with the fourth step up, quickly spreading the soft mixture at both ends of the narrow step.  I proceeded to the next step, and Brutus called down, “How are you going to climb yourself?”

“I am leaving the very center of the step clear as I go,” I muttered, quickly covering my hand with filthy, oily butter again.  I was making quick progress and could still see the tail of the company climbing ahead.  Brutus remained a few steps ahead of me and kept on the lookout. 

I was halfway up the hundred-foot climb when Brutus warned me, “I can see someone.  Forget about it, just climb, he has a line of sight on you, Eryk!”

An arrow penetrated my thigh, and I tried to stabilize myself with my free hand…which was coated in butter.  An arrow shattered between Brutus’ legs, but I could not concern myself with him.  My hand slipped, and my foot in the center of the stairs moved to left, connecting with the patch of butter I had laid.  I lost my footing and fell down the steps.  The arrow in my thigh was painfully twisted around as my body banged down the steep steps.  I tried to arrest my momentum but failed and lost a few fingernails in the effort.  I had done too good a job of coating the steps. 

Brutus was swearing as I reached the bottom of the stone stairs in a messy heap.  My body was bruised, but I managed to avoid breaking any bones.  I grabbed the arrow and yanked it out.  It had done a lot of damage, twisting in my thigh during the fall.  I hobbled to a boulder for cover and focused my healing on closing the wound. 

At the top of the steps, I could hear voices, and the company archers were firing arrows into the dark, but I doubted they could see my assailant.  Sitting with my back to the boulder, I focused on healing as I watched Brutus scramble up the steps and out of sight around a bend.  The pain in my leg was slowly ebbing away, and I realized my healing would require more aether than I had.  I stopped the healing with less than half my aether remaining.  I could hear the company far above preparing.

I tested my leg, and I could move it, albeit stiffly.  Now, this was truly a clusterfuck of epic proportions.  The only good news was I could hear Konstantin’s voice from the aqueduct, “There is only one advance scout, Eryk.  Take him out and climb the steps!”  It was more bravado and false hope on his part. 

I drew my sword, and I was facing the cliff with the stairs and trying to listen, but my heart was beating too loudly in my ears in adrenaline overdrive.  The cliff was twenty feet away, and in shadow, a figure emerged from the shadow with an arrow notched.  I swore as he was shielded from my companion’s line of sight.  I needed him to lure him within ten feet of me to kill him with my dimensional space.  I had no ranged weapons accessible.

The shadow spoke, surprised in heavily accented Latin, “You are the void mage.”

I was confused with his pronouncement, “I am not a mage.”

The shadow spoke again, “I think General Glavien is going to want to finish you himself for killing his sister.  Just wait patiently, legionnaire.  He will be here soon.”

“I am sorry, but I actually have somewhere to be,” I joked, and I think the shadow smiled.  I focused my effort on the one possible ranged weapon I had.  I did something I had never done before and moved an object in my dimensional space, turning the elf girl around to face away from me.  It took a small amount of aether to manipulate her position in the space.  I now knew I could rearrange items without removing them. 

I rasped like I was still injured and asked, “Was the general’s sister the griffin rider?” 

“Yes…” the elf shadow said as I materialized her right in front of him.  The light of the fireball she had been forming lit the area brightly.

The elf girl released the fireball she had made and exploded between the two elves.  The elf scout was thrown into the cliff face and the elf girl toward me. 

The elf girl was dead or unconscious at my feet.  Her face was badly burned, and her hair was smoldering.  Not so innocent-looking now.  I could stay here and try to use the elf as a hostage or climb the greased stairs and join my companions.  I stood and hobbled to the stairs and began to climb carefully.

Chapter 56 You Got Some Explaining to Do

My climb up the steps was not easy.  I used my hands liberally to brace myself as I climbed.  I think most of the butter ended up plastered on my pants, sleeves, and armor.  When I cleared the buttered section of steps, I increased my pace, almost falling twice as the bottom of my boots still had significant butter residue.  The hundred-foot climb felt like a thousand feet.  My knuckles were bleeding, and pebbles were embedded into cuts on my hands.

When I reached the top step, my heart was pounding, and I was breathing heavily.  Flavius had his bow aimed at me, and Brutus and Mateo had spears leveled at me.  I put my hands up, “I surrender!”  

Brutus asked with shock on his face, “How did you?  I mean, you were bouncing down those steps after getting hit by the arrow…”

Konstantin came from my right, “Castile wants to see you, Eryk.  Now!”  He emphasized urgency.  “She is on the aqueduct,” he said, pointing past the sluice controlling the flow of water from the lake.

I left the six men guarding the top of the stairs and went to the aqueduct.  My mind was spinning with ideas on how to explain my escape.  I stepped onto the aqueduct.  It was twelve feet wide with a one-foot curb on the edge to channel the water.  The water was only an inch deep, and the flow was not too strong.  I walked in the water, not wanting to risk walking on the lip.  I moved out to the aqueduct to join the rest of the legion.  

Castile, Adrian, and Delmar were near the lip but standing in the flow of water.  They were staring out onto the rocky terrain below.  I was able to look down at the stairs as I approached.  I could see the top half of the stairs, but rocks and curvature obscured the bottom half.  The bodies of the two elves were not in sight, and I wondered if they lived. 

The commanders eyed me appraisingly.  Castile spoke first, “You continue to surprise, Eryk.  We thought we lost you.  You can thank Blaze that we did not put an arrow in your back during your climb.”

Since my jaw didn’t work, Delmar explained, “We could not see who was climbing the steps in the low light.  Blaze was certain the person was wearing legion armor, so we held fire.”

I looked at the archers further down and said, “Thanks for not shooting me in the back.”

Blaze’s voice came back in, but I could not identify who was speaking as they were all facing away from me, “You owe me, Eryk.  I will let you know when you can repay me.”

Adrian looked me up and down, and I noticed that the sky was starting to get lighter.  The sun was coming.  Adrian said, “Brutus said an arrow struck you and then fell down the steps?  Yet you look relatively unharmed.”

As I thought about what to say, Castile answered for me, “I gave Eryk a lesser healing potion.  He was to heal me if I became incapacitated.”  She was covering for me and had obviously not revealed to Adrian or Delmar that I could heal myself.   She focused on what had happened below, “What was the flash and explosion?  Are their mages already below?”

“Mages?”  I asked, “Yes, there was a mage.”  I started to tell the events in order to give me time to think.  “I fell down the steps after getting shot.  Well, I guess bounced and slid is a better way to describe my inglorious descent,” I tried to smile, but their serious faces had me end my attempt at humor. 

I paused, getting my thoughts together as they waited.  “At the bottom, I got to cover to hide from the archer.  I was sitting against a rock and…healed myself.” I was unsure why Castile was helping me keep my healing spell form secret, but I appreciated it.

Delmar asked, a little impatient, “What was the flash of light and explosion?”  

I nodded, continuing, “The archer approached me from the shadows.   He must have circled around while I was falling.  I think he planned to take me prisoner.  Then the mage appeared and was casting a fireball spell, I think...  I surprised her with a vial of lamp oil I took from the villa.  I was just trying to stop her from casting the fireball.  It was the only thing I thought might help in my dimensional space.  The vial exploded, and it tossed both of them away from me.  They were not moving, so I hobbled up the steps to rejoin the company,” I finished triumphantly.

Delmar looked skeptical, and Castile was hiding a smirk.  I hoped she had been out of aether and did not have her all-seeing-eye watching me.  Adrian was still nursing his arm, and there was more discomfort at his injury on his face than interest in how I escaped.  

Castile asked, “So you did make sure they were dead?  The mage and the archer?”

“I…I…I did not.  The healing potion was still doing its work, and I was not sure how much time I had before more advanced scouts arrived,”  I explained, but I thought that would have been a good idea.  If the griffin rider lived, she might figure out what happened to her.  But then again, she was on the other side of this battle, so I should be fine.  

“Can you swing a sword?”  Delmar asked, and I nodded sharply.  “Good, go reinforce the six men at the top of the stairs.”  I heard them whispering behind me as I walked away, splashing lightly in the water. 

As I walked back to the stairs, I realized my boot’s waterproofing was starting to fail.  The warm water had penetrated my sock.  My left foot was making a squelching sound as I walked.  The six men were there, and I sat on a stone twenty feet from the top of the stairs to rest near the pile of backpacks.  My own backpack, half full of butter, was at the bottom of the stairs.  I picked up a random canteen and, finding it empty, turned my sight to the reservoir.

There was enough light to see now.  It was a large circular lake surrounded by rocky, cragily, cliffs.  The glass surface would have been picturesque if not for the fact that it looked like we were trapped up here.  It would be difficult to circumnavigate the lake.  Lirkin hobbled over to me.  He had received an arrow in his hip and could barely walk but seemed intent on doing his duty as company cook.  He handed me a wrapped meal, “Thanks for helping carry me, Eryk.”  He hobbled away, dragging his left leg.  

“I am going to fill the canteen,”  I announced, holding up the empty canteen.  

Mateo responded, “Fill all them, Eryk.”

I gathered up seven empty canteens and walked the short distance to the water.  I took off my left boot to wring out my sock.  I left it off to let my wet foot air dry while filling the canteens.  The water was clear and cool.  I drained the first canteen I had filled before filling all seven.  I remained seated on the rock on the shore, just watching the sunrise.  I was ready to respond if I heard the sound of combat, but I felt I needed a moment. 

Felix came to the water with his empty canteen.  He looked at my barefoot, “Eryk, you are not seriously thinking about taking a bath at this moment?”  He looked at me in the early day’s light, “Although you could use it.  You are a mess of grease, blood, and dirt.” 

I looked at my hand and all the scraps, cuts, dirt, two missing fingernails, and dried blood.  I shook my head, “No, my boot is no longer waterproof.”  I kicked it lightly to emphasize it. 

Felix picked it up and inspected it.  The sole had come detached near the toe.  He was able to wiggle his finger into it.  “Kolm can fix this.  He is not just a good blacksmith.”  He handed me the boot.  I sighed and put on the damp sock and boot.  Felix asked, “So what was the flash of light?”

I kept with my story, “Elf mage.   I surprised her casting and managed to get away from her and the archer.”

Felix shook his head in disbelief, “You have to be the luckiest legionnaire in the Empire.  You have escaped a bulette, survived a bite of a death dog, and now escaped a Bartiradian mage.  Satis gladio is not a fitting nickname.  Maybe felicem (lucky man) or infelicis (unlucky).”  He smiled, “Because you have to be unlucky to get yourself into all these situations.”  I grunted in response because I definitely felt unlucky.

Felix looked up, and I followed his gave.  One of the griffins was overhead, well out of range of the bow.  It circled our position and then the lake.  It landed about half a mile away on the shore, and the griffin was taking a drink while the rider dismounted and stared at us from a distance.  A second griffin landed next to the first.  They were taunting us, letting us know death was coming.

Felix grunted, “Not long now.  We should get back to the steps.”  He picked up all the canteens I had filled and hauled them back. 

I knelt by the edge of the water and washed my hands and arms.  The filth in the water was quickly diluted as I washed.  I kept an eye on the resting griffins as I moved to wash my face.  I realized I had lost my helmet in my fall.  I also found a glob of butter in my hair.  I made a point to wash my hair and face, scrubbing out the dirt. 

Finished, I stood and looked at my abused hands.  I did not have much aether but used my healing spell form anyway.  The missing nails grew back in slowly, black dirt and tiny pebbles pushed out of the wounds as they closed.  I only healed my hands so it would be easier to swing a sword.  I was also now out of aether.  A shriek from another griffin in the skies was a call to the two resting griffin riders.  They mounted and took to the air.  The three griffins were soon circling high above like vultures over a carcass.

I heard the twang of bows from the aqueduct and left to join my companions to guard the stairs.  The enemy forces had arrived.

Chapter 57 Battle at the Aqueduct

The morning air quickly became humid as I walked over to the stairs.  I only had one canteen as Felix had taken the rest.  I sipped it and sat near the backpacks, just a few feet from the others.  I was not worried about the fight coming anytime soon as I knew how narrow and treacherous the steps were.  I was only twenty feet away and could quickly support the others guarding the top of the ascent.  My seat also gave me a view of the aqueduct where most of our company was positioned.

I looked up into the sky, and four griffins circled well outside of bow shot range.  The clear, pale blue morning sky gave them a nice backdrop.  The morning was too picturesque.  Besides the twang of the single bow on the aqueduct, it did not feel like we were going to be fighting for our lives.  A second archer joined the first on the aqueduct.  My guess was Delmar was conserving arrows until the men had better targets.  

Flavius fired a single arrow from the top of the stairs.  He was the only legionnaire at our position with a bow.  I had three bows in my dimensional space, well, four if you included the elf bow.  But that was a long bow compared to the legion composite short bow.  

All eyes were turned away from me, so I produced the quiver with seventeen arrows and the minor essence of power from my dimensional space.   My aether had barely recovered, and it took nearly all my aether to bring out the two objects.  It was a risk as they may have counted all the arrows when they got up here.   It had been dark then, so it could be said someone overlooked a single quiver.  They were going to be more useful to the archers than to me.  

I should have stockpiled arrows in my dimensional space.  Next opportunity, I would do a better job.  I put the essence into my mouth, savoring the euphoria of the minor power essence.  Strength was the only physical trait I had not taken an essence for now.  I had a major essence for strength in my dimensional space but figured the minor essence was all I could handle so soon after the dexterity essence.  Just some minor indigestion followed in the few minutes after.

A third Bowman on the aqueduct was now firing, and a few return arrows were starting to appear from below.  The aqueduct was almost 90 feet off the ground where they were positioned.  The fifteen archers of the company were patient, standing and firing, and then kneeling out of visual range of the Bartiradians below.   Behind the row of archers were men in the center of the aqueduct waiting with our leaders for orders.  On the other side of the aqueduct were two archers and three spotters looking for enemy movement. 

Brutus stepped back to talk with me, “Once they see the men climbing the stairs, they will send others to reinforce our position.”  He paused, inhaled, and continued, “Eryk, I am sorry for leaving you.  I did not know how many scouts they sent forward.  After your fall, I thought it would be suicide to come to you, especially after you greased the steps.”

I looked Brutus in his eyes, “There was nothing you could have done to help me after I fell.  In your situation, I would have done the same thing.”  I looked at the archers firing and asked, “How many arrows do they have?”

“Not many.  I think they counted three hundred and fifty-something before they went out there.  Twenty arrows each, I think they said.  Flavius has another thirty,”  Brutus said gloomily.  As we watched, one of the men took an arrow in the eye and tumbled forward off the structure.  “That was Cathius from my old company.  He had three children,” Brutus announced softly. 

I could hear echoes of metal from below.  That meant the heavier armored men had reached our position.  Delmar had the men sliding before standing and quickly firing now.  An archer took an arrow in the chest, and two men pulled him back from the edge to help him.  One of the archers on the other side fired an arrow below and turned and said something to Castile. 

“Bastards,” Brutus muttered and pointed in the distance.  Maybe half a mile down the aqueduct, the enemy was climbing up ropes, like little ants trying to swarm a picnic table.  “If the general is smart, he will form up men there and rush the aqueduct and stairs simultaneously.” 

Adrian was not going to let this happen.  Even with only one good arm, he drew a sword and pulled five men to him, all from Gregor’s company, I think, and they splashed down the aqueduct with shields forward to stop the climbing Bartiradians.  They might have a chance if he could cut the ropes quickly enough. 

The enemy arrows suddenly picked up, causing everyone to crouch low for cover.  A griffin swooped down and lifted one of the Durandus’ men running with Adrian.  It only carried him far enough to drop him to the rocks.  Two of our archers fired arrows, and one struck the griffin on the wing at two hundred yards.  The griffin flapped its wings in pain and did not rise.  It glided to the ground.

“At least they shouldn’t try that again,” I muttered. 

I picked up a spear from the gear pile and sheathed my sword.  I moved behind the other men on the stairs as the shouts from below were increasing in intensity.  Maybe they found the general’s sister and would withdraw to figure out how she got there.  I hoped she had not died after I left her.  Not because I cared for her life, but if she lived, the general might be less hell-bent on our decimation.

Adrian had reached the climbing Bartiradians, and it was too far to see clearly what was happening.  The rope that two men were climbing suddenly let go, and they fell to the ground.  My group cheered as the second and third ropes were cut.  Still, Adrian and the men were slightly outnumbered. 

As the battle a half mile away raged in the water of the aqueduct, the arrows from below suddenly increased.  Flavius turned to us, “They are going to be coming at the stair soon.”  He moved to the right, and I stood behind our two men with round shields with my spear ready.  We could hold this position easily with the seven men we had, with the stairs being so narrow. 

Flavius seemed a little unsure.  “They should be here by now…” 

The racket of metal and a foreign tongue below was extreme, and Brutus started laughing.  “Do you know what they are saying?”  I asked him gripping my spear tightly.

“Your butter trick seemed to work.  They think the steps are spelled with a grease spell.  They are calling for a mage to burn it away,” he continued laughing, and everyone joined with him.  It was a very small victory. 

Flavius looked around and ordered, “Brutus and Eryk, gather some rocks.  About the size of a head.  You will need to go to the water to get them, but we can roll them down the steps to slow them.” 

I looked around with Brutus, and all the close stones were massive.  Along the shoreline, there were numerous stones.  I leaned my spear against a rock, grabbed the first stone, and rushed back.  On my return trip, I could see Adrian and just two men returning with him.  All three were struggling to get back, obviously injured.  It also looked like our archers had also thinned some, but I did not know if they were injured or dead. 

On my third trip with a stone, an intense heat washed up the steps.  Causing everyone to step back.  Their mage was burning the butter away.  “Eryk and Brutus get your spears ready.” 

My spear was by the water, and I raced to grab it.  It only took seconds, but as I returned, arrows were flying everywhere from below.  The Bartiradians were firing blindly as they could not see us.  The men on the aqueduct and the men at the top of the stairs were seeking cover from the barrage.  This was the Bartiradian push.  A lucky arrow took Flavius in the chest as he stood and returned fire.  It did not look bad as he continued to draw and shoot with the arrow in him.

Lirkin, on his knees, was rolling the six rocks we had gathered down the steps.  To my ears, it sounded like there were a thousand men below from the cacophony of sounds.  I could not find fear, though, just—anticipation.  As the arrows paused on our position, the aqueduct men were not as lucky.  I saw another archer fall off the aqueduct from an arrow strike.  The heavy storm of arrows continued to pin them down.  The first Bartiradian came up the steps with a shield in front of him.  Spears pushed him and hacked at him.  He did not last long before Brutus speared his groin, and Mateo slashed his neck.

I was focused on the steps but noticed men coming back from the aqueduct.  Konstantin reached us first.  He had lost his helm and was bleeding from a long gash on the side of his scalp, “We are out of arrows!  But a few men are climbing the bloody cliffs to flank us!  We need to get ready; they are over halfway up!”

“There is a quiver by the packs, and Flavius’ quiver is still half full,” I told Konstantin, who paused, grabbed both quivers, and tossed them to Blaze, who had arrived.  Blaze was soaked but uninjured as he smirked at more ammunition.  Flavius was now sitting as he was attending to his arrow wound. 

Adrian appeared and sat heavily among the packs, bleeding from numerous wounds.  I gave him a canteen and started to help the others arriving.  From the our left, Konstantin yelled, “I am going to need help over here.” 

Delmar, who was uninjured, looked around, “Felix, Kolm, Eryk, and Antonio; go help, Konstantin.”  I scrambled up the rocks with the others who were all free of serious injury.  Kolm was bleeding from his knee, but that was from falling and not an enemy.  Antonio was from Gregor’s men, and he had a thigh wound from an arrow but still moved fairly well.  We scrambled up the rocks together for higher ground and to join Konstantin. 

Konstantin nodded as we came.  “They were almost up in this area; maybe a dozen were brave enough to attempt the climb.”  The cliff was steep and not a climb I would have tried myself.

“How do our chances look?”  I asked Konstantin, knowing he would tell me the truth.

“As long as they do not have more men coming from the city, we can hold.  Adrian thinks they used all their grapples in their first attempt to climb the aqueduct.  A griffin can get them more in an hour or two if they think of it, but we should be able to hold.”  Konstantin said reassuringly. 

Felix offered with a smile, “The archers took down maybe fifty men and Adrian’s squad another dozen.  Besides, Firth took an arrow in the ass.  We have to survive this just so we can mock him about it.” 

The first Bartiradion scrambled up over the edge of the cliff, and Antonio went to engage him near the edge.  As he approached, a dozen arrows came at him from below, all fired blindly, four connecting.  One went through his throat, and he fell to his knees, struggling to breathe.  Without healing potions, there was nothing we could do for Antonio.

Konstantin voiced the obvious, “Stay away from the edge.  We will engage them here.  They will be tired from the climb and only come at us in pairs at most.  Work together, and this will be easy.”  The Bartiradians signaled when a climber was about to reach the top by sending a flight of arrows to cover the last part of his climb.  We were out of the path and not endangered at all.

The next hour was a bloodbath for the climbers.  We killed fifteen on our side, and another group killed eight on the other.  The attack slowed, and we waited.  A griffin high above shrieked, and we all looked up.  “Look!”  Konstantin pointed over the lake.  A single flyer was streaking toward us.  It was not a griffin but the silhouette of a drake. 

Konstantin whispered, “That is a fire drake.”  We watched as the griffin tried to flee, but the drake was like an arrow and closed too fast.  Glinting in the sun, the metallic red scales passed high above us as a small ball of flame belched from its mouth.  It struck the panicked griffin in a flare of fire.  The griffin and rider were both smoking and had flames trailing their burning bodies as they quickly fell from the skies. 

The drake circled, looking for other prey, but the other two griffins had already retreated toward the city.  The drake circled above our position, and Konstantin announced, “Let’s go join the others.  I think the Duke’s army is close.”

The massive reptile landed near the lake, and a tall man dismounted and let the drake drink its fill while he walked toward our group.  Castile stood to meet him.  The drake rider wore black and red leathers and had a black cape with the markings of a mage. 

Castile greeted him, “Master Mage Sebastian, thank you for your timely arrival.”  Castile’s voice sounded relieved but cautious.

“The forces below are retreating, Mage Castile, but do not thank me yet.  Duke Tiberius is still a day away, and Duke Octavian is with him,” Sebastian stated coldly.  Castile jerked like she had been slapped, and I knew Duke Ocatavian had sent her to defend the city of Macha on this apparent suicide assignment.

“I am only here to hear what happened to my brother, Durandus.”  His words were icy and angry.  It did not feel like we were being saved.

Chapter 58 False Salvation

It was obvious that Master Mage Sebastian and Mage Castile were not friends.  As our wounded company watched the interaction, Sebastian was in charge and talking down to Castile.  Sebastian turned to face the lake and lowered his tone.  Their conversation turned private as they faced the lake and talked too low for anyone to hear.

Delmar looked at everyone and started giving orders.  “Eryk and Blaze go to the aqueduct to maintain a watch.  Benito, Wylie, and Felix.  I want you to help Linus get all the wounded together for treatment.  Bring them near the lake.  Konstantin…” I was out of earshot as he continued to give orders.

Blaze and I walked out on the aqueduct, and I was quickly reminded that my sole was becoming detached as my sock was soaked again.  Unfortunately, none of my deceased companions had feet large enough to match mine.  Blaze looked to have come out relatively unscathed in the battle.  “That was pretty close.  How did you manage on the aqueduct?”

Blaze started to get animated with words and hand gestures, “Craziest fight I have ever been in,” he indicated the aqueduct.  “Shoot, duck.  Shoot, duck.  Lay flat in the water while protecting the bowstring.  Get up, shoot.” 

As we reached the position, there were five dead men, their blood still turning the water flow red.  I recognized two men from our company, Malcolm and Fidel.  I did not know Fidel at all, and I do not ever remember hearing him talk to anyone.  The other three men were from Gregor’s company. 

Blaze was doing a better job than me at not being affected by the death.  He immediately kneeled in the water at the edge, and scanned the rocks below.  I joined him and looked down on the carnage below.  Dozens of bodies were scattered among the rocks.  Blaze must have caught movement because he drew an arrow and fired.  A Bartiradian who had been sitting in the shadow of a boulder groaned as he now had an arrow in his heart. 

Blaze commented without remorse, “I was just speeding him on his way.  He was in a lot of pain.”

A few minutes later, Brutus walked down the aqueduct with Pavel.  Pavel had a serious limp but carried his bow.  Brutus announced, “I have to drag the bodies back.  Pavel is here to help watch for the enemy.”  Brutus tied a rope to the first body and started to drag it through the water. 

Pavel kneeled painfully next to Blaze.  I had remained standing, not wanting to get my pants wet.  Pavel said, “You will want to kneel.  If enemy archers are still out there, you are a bigger target standing.”

I did as advised and knelt between them, quickly soaking my linen pants.  I asked, “Why does Duke Octavian have it out for our company?” 

Blaze and Pavel looked at each and Blaze answered, “Duke Octavian is one of the sons of the Emperor.  He controls the Sacegoes Province.  After the Telha Imperial Province of the Emperor, it is the most profitable region in the Empire.”

Pavel picked up the explanation, “There are six cities in his province.  Castile grew up in one of them.  We do not know which one.  When she was tested and was found strong enough to go to the Mage College, Duke Octavian sponsored her.  When she graduated, she did the only thing she could to forgo her debt to Duke Octavian.  She joined the Legion of the Lion in service of the Emperor.”

“I thought all mages joined the Legion after they graduated?”  I asked the pair of archers.

Blaze smirked, “You are asking the wrong people, Eryk.  But as I understand it, only those who can not pay for the schooling at the college have to serve in the Legion.  That is why you do not see First Citizens or wealthy merchant mages leading companies.”

“So, instead of paying off her debt to Octavian, she is working for the Emperor?  For how long?”  I asked, curious as to Castile’s motivation.

“Twenty years is the term for mages.  I think Castile is seventeen or eighteen years in.  Duke Octavian is getting desperate for his revenge on her before she leaves the Legion,” Blaze noted.

Pavel added, “And that is not her only enemy among the First Citizens.  There is Baron…” Blaze stopped Pavel from talking by slapping him with his bow. 

Blaze said seriously, “The less you know, Eryk, the better you can sleep at night.  I have been with Castile for almost six years.  I hold her in higher esteem than any First Citizen.”  His statement quieted the young Pavel, who was still anxious to reveal Castile’s other enemies. 

Brutus returned for a second body and said, “Master Mage Sebastian is leaving soon.  I think we are going to make our way around the lake soon.  Castile purchased a few simple healing potions from the mage for the more heavily wounded men.”  Brutus tied a rope and hauled another body away. 

Donte and Lysander walked past us.  They were headed to drop the bodies off the aqueduct where Adrian had fought.  Blaze noted, “Even though we do not control the city, Castile does not want the water fouled for the citizens.  The Bartiradians will repair the aqueduct if they keep the city.”

Brutus had finished with the bodies and came to sit with us.  “Flavius is going with Sebastian to look for the collector.”

“What?  Out in the swamps?”  I asked louder than I had wanted.

“Yeah, he is going to direct him to the island where Durandus lost it.  After they find it, they will probably fly back to the Duke’s army.  We are going to have to walk around the lake.”  Brutus said while studying the dead bodies below.

“What if they do not find the collector?” I asked conversationally.

“Oh, Sebastion is a powerful mage.  He specializes in dominating the minds of creatures.  He will probably dominate a fish, frog or something to find it for him,” Brutus replied before kneeling with us, having finished his inspection of the dead Bartiradians below.

“He can do that?”  Pavel asked in disbelief.

Brutus frowned as his pants got wet.  Then he responded, “Yes.  He has dozens of creatures on his estate.”  He heaved a heavy sigh, “Once, Durandus and Sebastian were tasked with killing a Baron.  Sebastian brought ten dire wolves to attack the baron and his family’s carriage in the countryside.  I have never seen anything so brutal in my time as a legionnaire.  The entire time the wolves were tearing the family apart, the high mage was just smiling at his pet’s ferocity.”  Brutus shivered at the memory. 

A small roar from the lake had us all turn to see the red drake take to the sky with two passengers.  I watched them speed south, and I think I had just condemned Falvius to death.  If Sebastian did not find the essence collector, he would kill Flavius in anger. 

While watching the drake, Pavel asked, “Does he command any legionaries?”

Brutus shook his head clear of his thoughts, “What?  Yes.  He has two dozen or so.  They take care of his pets.  He actually breeds the drakes for the Dragon Legion on his estate.  The brothers were close.  I do not think he is going to take kindly to his death.  My guess is we will not see Flavius again.  If that does not satiate his revenge, he will track me down.”

Blaze offered unhelpfully, “Eryk was there too.” 

“Yes, but he was not assigned to protect him.”  Brutus looked at the reservoir lake where our company was getting ready to move out, “I think just Flavius, Quentin, and myself are left.  And Quentin was left at the road to guard the gear and was not on the island when Durdandus got himself killed.”

Konstantin came trotting out to us, “We are moving out.  Once we get to the other side of the lake, it should just be a few miles to meet up with the Duke’s army.”

We abandoned our post on the aqueduct and went to the backpacks.  There were twelve backpacks left for me to choose from—twelve men did not survive the assault.  My gear was scattered at the bottom of the stairs, and my backpack was also full of melted butter from the heat of the day.  Brutus pointed, “You should take Flavius’ pack.”

I nodded, picked it up, and checked the contents.  It had the standard legion traveling gear with six wrapped meals.  I shouldered the pack and looked at the bodies all lined up, eyes closed, and their hands crossed on their chest. 

Delmar stood over the men, and we circled around them.  Delmar spoke loud and clear,

“Oh mighty Pluto, we beseech you on this solemn day to remember the fallen warriors who have valiantly fought for justice in the Empire.  Their courage and sacrifice will forever be etched in our hearts and minds.

Grant them peace and rest in your realm.  May their spirits find solace and tranquility in the celestial lands.  Guide them to eternal glory as they join the ranks of heroes who have gone before them.  We humbly ask their next life be better than this one.”

It was a warrior’s prayer, and we all turned and left.  Normally, the bodies would have been burned, but we lacked a way to start a fire.  Whoever cleaned up the bodies below would have to take care of it.

We waded into the waters on the shore and started to move around the lake.  Everyone was capable of walking, though a number of men still had upper body wounds.  I was sure that Linus had stretched the potions that Castile had paid for from Sebastion.  When the water got too deep, we had to scramble over the large rocks on the shore.  It was easy to see why we had not tried to flee this route.  Progress was painfully slow—literally for our wounded.  The enemy would have rolled up behind us while we were trapped and exposed. 

It took hours to make our way around the lake.  Then we climbed to the lip of the crater and had to make a treacherous climb down to the woodlands below.  It looked like when the mountain had exploded, the blast was directional toward where Macha was built.  The forest below only had a few boulders near the edge that must have fallen from the cliff we were currently descending. 

Adrian fell fifteen feet on the descent and broke his ankle.  This fall was due to still only having the use of one arm.  Other than that, we all made it to the forest floor.  Konstantin was our only remaining scout.  If he was correct, the road was about five miles north through the woodlands.

Konstantin warned everyone, “The next five miles will be difficult.  These are wild, untamed woods.  There could be any number of possible deadly and horrific creatures and plants inside.”

A man walked out of the woods, “Now, Konstantin, do not try and scare the children.”

Konstantin’s eyes went wide in disbelief.  He moved and shook his wrists with the man, “Cornelius!  How did you ever find your way all the way out here from your stacks of books?”

Cornelius looked fit but old with snow-white hair.  “I still like to travel now and then.  Especially in an emergency.”  He turned to address Castile, “By order of the Emperor Maximus Augustus.  Mage Castile, you are hereby remanded to my custody for the failure to hold the city of Macha from the Bartiradian barbarians.  You are to come with me to sit judgment before a Tribunal of Dukes.”

Everyone in the company tensed, and a number put hands to their hilts.  The forest stirred, and a dozen men showed themselves.  Castile had a hard look but did not look surprised and announced, “Stand down!  It is the Emperor’s order.  We will go willingly.”

I heard a number of men cursing under their breath, and Konstantin was arguing with Cornelius.  All of it mattered little as soon our company was being escorted through the woods to the waiting Duke’s Army.

END OF BOOK ONE

BOOK 2 COMPLETE ON MY PATREON: ALWAYSROLLSAONE

BOOK 2 EXPECTED RELEASE ON KINDLE JULY, 2024

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