Chapter 101: Nighttime Visitors
The heavy, thick rain was also loud. We all pulled out oiled cloaks and wrapped ourselves tight. Even under the cloak, my metal helmet echoed a constant cadence of thunks as we pressed on. My immediate thought was remembering our raft trip from the capital. This rain was similar except that it now also had a chill to it. Even with my oiled cloak wrapped tight, my
clothes were drenched, and it drained my body heat, and I shivered. Blaze, to my left, was not faring any better. I could not see anyone else clearly.
We walked for two hours and finally reached a town with an inn and stable. Adrian did not hesitate to stop. Once we were in the stable, we could hear Adrian's voice clearly. "Feels unnatural. Too much rain, too fast, like when the river flooded on our way to Sobral."
"Is the mage close then?" Lucien said, shivering.
"Hard to tell with weather magic. It might be a powerful elemental or a mage causing it, and he could be standing next to you or fifty miles away.
He is definitely aiming to destroy the fields. The last harvest is this month, and dozens of farms are along this road. It is going to be a hard winter this year," Adrian said morosely.
A man came crashing into the stable. He had been running to avoid the rain. "Thought I saw someone out here. Legionnaires, are you staying? This rain seems perilous to travel in." Adrian nodded reluctantly, as we had only traveled half a day. The man smiled. "A large copper for each horse
includes feed tonight and tomorrow morning. You will have to muck your own stalls. The stable boy lives a half mile away and will not be in tonight."
"Rooms?" Adrian asked.
"Two left, two beds each. A merchant's guard is already taking up the common room. You can sleep in the loft free if you like," the man offered. I looked up to see large bales of straw along a central walkway above.
Adrian sorted us. "Decimus and Scholar Favian can take one room. Blaze and I, the other. Lucien and Eryk take care of the horses. The loft is yours
tonight." They left us, and Lucien and I used glowstones to hang everything we could to dry them out. All ten stalls had one or two horses, so the noise and scents would be unpleasant tonight.
"You know Lareen has a spell form that could dry these things in seconds," I told Lucien, trying to make conversation.
"The maid the duchess assigned you?" he asked, and I confirmed with a nod. "Not as pretty as the one Kolm had assigned, but one of the nicer
ones," he said. "I was assigned a young man, Heath. He is good at his job but not someone I care to keep my bed warm at night." There was maybe a sense of jealousy in his words.
"Are the others indulging with their servants?" I asked as carefully as possible.
"Most. The duchess is doing her best to make our company as happy as possible. Everyone is certainly working harder because of it," Lucien replied while emptying the packs that had accumulated water on the inside. I had the unenviable tasks of mucking the three stalls, checking the horse's shoes, and cleaning the packed clay with a pick. Lucien began to rub them down, getting as much water off as possible.
It took a good hour before the seven horses were cared for. Blaze brought us steaming bowls of chicken and carrot soup. "The inn is a small, converted house, you are not missing much other than the fire."
The hot soup bowl warmed my hands as I tilted the bowl to my mouth. The soup seemed mostly broth, but it was the heat warming me from the inside out that I craved. Blaze waited till we finished before asking if we wanted another bowl, which we both declined. It had been a large bowl, almost half a gallon. The rain had not slowed and echoed on the roof of the stables.
After Blaze left, we checked out the loft.
The loft ran the length of the stables over the center walkway with openings above the stalls. Rough-cut boards made up the floor. There was baled straw at one end. Tiny grains of black rice were everywhere. Well, not rice, mouse, and rat shit. Lucien was already making a hand broom with the
straw to sweep an area clear. I did likewise near the ladders.
"Wish I had a thermal stone instead of a glowstone," Lucien mumbled as he removed his wet clothes and hung them in the rafters. He had just one long dry shift in his bag that he put on while shivering. "At least the roof is not
leaking." His bedroll was obviously wet.
I asked, "What is a thermal stone? Is it for making fires?"
"Can be. Depends on how hot the stone is artificed to get. They are a bit too heavy to carry around. I cannot channel aether anyway. You charge it with aether, and it emits heat for a few hours. The first mage company I was in
there was a legionnaire who carried a fist-sized one with him. It was weak, but he kept it in his bedroll at night."
We set up our damp bedding. "Can you charge this?" He tossed me his glowstone, and I did as requested before sending it back. "We should leave them out to keep the mice at bay," Lucien advised. I nodded and placed a glowstone on either side of me.
I stripped as well, hanging my wet laundry, but Lucien was already trying to sleep, so I took out a dry tunic and sent the wet one to my storage. My dry
tunic was quickly dampened in the wet bedroll from my pack. I had one other bedroll in my dimensional space, but it was the heavy one I had taken from the First Citizen Justin when I escorted him with the griffin egg.
Lucien was soon snoring, and I considered using the amulet but decided against it. The pounding rain created white noise, and I drifted off. My dreams were of being swept down a river and over a waterfall and drowning. When I hit the bottom, I was bouncing on the rocks. My eyes shot open. The horses were kicking their stalls, shaking the loft, and neighing in fear of something.
I put on my helm and grabbed my sheathed sword. My spear was left
below. Lucien was alert as well, as I could see him sitting up. The rain was still heavy and loud, and I could see some minor flooding in the horse stalls, but that was not what was spooking the horses. From my perch, I could see the stables' doors swinging open. The light from our glowstones illuminated the stables poorly. I remained still and waited, as did Lucien. Whatever
shadow was in the doorway was short and humanoid, maybe a child.
The creature cautiously entered, and enough light illuminated the creature for me to identify it. It was a familiar creature, a goblin. This goblin did not have any weapons and was wearing rags. It also had greenish skin, not the brown skin of the ones I had fought before. Even though the light was up in the loft, the creature never looked up as it entered. It was cautiously moving toward our packs.
Lucien gave me the hand sign that I should wait. The loft had two ladders, and both were near me and a distance away from Lucien. He was moving to
the edge over the stalls and was going to descend that way to cut off the goblin's retreat.
A second and then a third green goblin entered. The heavy rain was masking any sound we made, but Lucien's movement created shifting shadows, and the last goblin in line looked up. It fled out the door as Lucien swung down and blocked the other two from escaping. I descended quickly, and the two were stuck between us. My blade was drawn, but neither of the goblins had any weapons. Then, one of them drew a small three-inch knife from inside the folds of its rags.
It stood defiantly facing me. The other one faced Lucien but did not pull weapons, but hissed angrily at him. It actually looked to be shaking in fear.
I talked loud enough to be heard over the rain, "Never seen green goblins before."
"They are burrowers and scavengers. We will be doing the locals a favor by eliminating this pair. Too bad more did not enter for us to trap," he replied. My goblin lunged, and my blade pierced its skull through the eye as I had
much longer reach. I flicked it down off my blade and smoothly cut into the
neck of the other goblin facing Lucien. Lucien relaxed and turned to the door. I inspected the small creatures. Their bodies were clean from the rain and looked thin and frail. They were not as large as the brown ones I had fought in legion training.
Lucien approached and inspected the bodies, "They either got flooded out, or they come by here regularly. Most likely, they will not be coming back tonight, having lost two of their number."
"Should we go and tell Adrian?" I asked. Lucien looked through the crack in the door. It was still pouring outside. "No, it can wait till morning. They are just nuisances. We will toss these two outside so the blood does not
continue to get the horses riled up."
The horses were still anxious in their stalls. The war mounts, who had alerted us, were calm now. I think it was Ginger who had kicked to wake us up. Not caring that Lucien saw, I gave each another apple and rubbed them between the ears. Lucien tossed both bodies outside. They looked pretty light by the ease with which he threw them.
The adrenaline of combat faded, and I thought about the collector but decided this one was a lost cause with Lucien here. We both lay down
again, but I could not sleep. Lucien was snoring softly in no time. I stayed up waiting and listening to the rain. About two hours after the goblin's raid, the rain suddenly stopped. The quiet felt odd after hours of hard rain and the constant noise. The horses shifted every few moments in their stall, but otherwise, it was quiet except for some dripping sounds.
I climbed down quietly and looked outside. The goblin bodies were gone. Maybe their companions took them. It was still hours before sunrise, but the blue moon was giving light through thinning clouds. Standing puddles of still water were causing weird reflections of the moon. The air was warmer
—more humid as well.
"Everything good down there?" Lucien asked from above me, looking over the edge. I guess I had not been as quiet as I had thought.
"Yeah, it just seems eerie quiet now. The goblin bodies are gone. I am going to get suited and wait till morning in my armor," I said while looking out
across the road toward the town buildings. There were a few dim lights in the windows, but I did not see any movement. Lucien groaned in disappointment as he started to dress as well.
Putting on cold, damp clothes is never fun. Lucien was mumbling to himself, and I just suffered through the wet clothes. We were dressed and sitting down by the stalls. Lucien asked, "Do you have another apple?" I handed him one.
While he was munching away, I asked, "Does everything just feel off to you?"
Between bites, he answered, "Magical weather does that. Meddling with weather on this scale will cause problems hundreds of miles away. I don't know what, but I heard a desert on another continent was made because a king wanted his garden watered daily."
"At least it brought warmer weather," I noted. Lucien shrugged.
As soon as the sky turned gray, signaling the sun's imminent arrival, we went to the inn. Blaze was right; this was a small, converted house. A hearty fire was burning in the tiny common room, and four men were curled up in front of it. Lucien did not care if he woke them and moved a table and pair of chairs by the fire for us. The men on the floor cursed us but moved out of the way to sleep elsewhere.
The noise brought the innkeeper from the tiny kitchen in the back. We soon had a breakfast of dense biscuits and eggs scrambled with onion. As we ate, Adrian came down the stairs and grabbed a chair to join us. "Any trouble last night?"
Lucien talked through a mouthful, "Some green goblin thieves. Eryk handled two of them, and the rest ran off. Only saw three."
Adrian nodded, unconcerned. "Must have had their burrows flooded out and were hungry. The innkeeper did not mention any goblin problems last night at dinner." The innkeeper was close and placed a plate of biscuits and eggs in front of Adrian.
The innkeeper noted, "Some local farms have been missing some chickens, but no goblin problems reported, legionnaire." Adrian nodded to him in thanks.
"Can I get another plate—double portion this time?" I asked, handing him two large copper and my empty plate. I was guessing that was more than enough based on his grateful smile. He brought a plate stacked with scrambled eggs and biscuits and a pitcher of weak ale for me. Adrian poured himself a drink from the pitcher.
As I ate, Adrian and Lucien talked about the goblins. Blaze joined us as I finished the plate. Soon, the alchemist, still red, and the Scholar came down. Lucien and I went and readied the horses. An hour later, we were on the road heading east. The town had been on a hill off the road and fared well in the heavy rain.
The road was packed with clay and dirt; some standing puddles were up to two feet deep. An engorged stream was high at a stone bridge crossing. The reluctant riding horses had to be led across by their reins.
The bridge crossing was the only danger we encountered in the morning. The rain had not reached more than twenty miles from our town. Adrian pushed us as hard as the alchemist could handle. I kept a close eye on Ginger behind me on the lead line. She was a tough horse and kept up with our party. She had a limp, but Lucien assured me it was not affecting her overall health.
We stayed in an inn in a town or a city each of the following nights. I was usually with Blaze and Lucien, while Adrian shared a room with our
charges. At night, I massaged Ginger's muscles at Lucien's instruction to help the tightness in her hindquarters from the damaged tissue.
During the day, I ended up riding mostly beside the Scholar, as I seemed to be the only one with patience enough to listen to him. He talked about his specialization, the Elven language. I listened and even took the time to learn a few words and phrases.
Most nights, I was in the dreamscape for four or five hours, splitting time between studying the Tsinga books, the time affinity spell form, and practicing with the dreamscape manifestations of Konstantin, Adrian, and Xavier.
We reached the city of Loule in five days and stayed the night in the Legion Hall. Even the alchemist and Scholar stayed in the Hall. It was breaking the rules, but Adrian did not care as the Hall was mostly empty. This stop put us just forty miles from Sobral. The alchemist's skin was fading daily, and he was more pink than red after the week we traveled with him. I think he was relieved that the red was actually fading, and he swore he would get back at the old alchemist in Lorvo who did this to him.
Adrian informed us that he planned to push the last forty miles the next day, eager to end this recruitment assignment.
Chapter 102: Surprise Awakening
Adrian pushed us to the final stretch of forty miles to Sobral. Not so much us, as we had gotten our riding legs, but Decimus was still struggling since it was his first time riding more than an hour at a time. The alchemist had almost gotten his riding legs when we reached Sobral. At least he had stopped moaning every time Adrian ordered a light trot. I hope I had not been that bad while learning to ride. The road had that deja vu feeling when traveling somewhere you have been before but in the opposite direction.
Around midday and about fifteen miles from Sobral, we passed two carts of a miserable-looking farmer heading toward Sobral with three teenage children helping him. Adrian trotted up to them and asked, "Any trouble in the area?"
The man and children looked in rough shape, with filthy clothes and dirt marring their features. The older farmer grunted. "A tornado tore through the fields." He indicated and kicked his cart, "This is all that is left."
Adrian shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. "How many fields were hit?" I noticed he had a bandaged and braced knee and was limping when I approached.
"All of them," he lamented. "Mine and my two neighbors, at least. Lost most of our livestock as well, legionnaire. Gonna sell what we can in Sobral before trying to rebuild with my children." He looked like a beaten man, and the two boys and his daughter would not make eye contact with any of us. I could see why if everything you worked for was ripped from you.
I noticed his cart had some butchered meat, bundles of carrots, and some other field crops he salvaged. I leaned forward in my saddle, "Sir, my
horses love carrots. Can I purchase that bundle there?" I summoned a large silver to my hand and tossed it gently at him before he could respond. He caught it inexpertly and stared in disbelief at the coin and then the carrots. He couldn't believe I was offering ten silver for something that would cost two or three copper at most. He finally understood my charity and retrieved and handed me the dozen large carrots. Atlas was excited as the carrots passed close to his head, and Ginger walked up her lead line to sniff the
carrots in my lap.
Lucien nodded to me. "You are a good man, Eryk."
I shrugged, brushing it off, "I was out of apples." That was not true, as I had about a dozen left, but he did not need to know that.
Adrian also tossed the farmer a large silver. "Give Eryk another bundle. We do not want Eryk to be the only generous one today." Lucien and Blaze followed suit, two more large silver tossed and received.
As we rode on, I had four bundles of carrots awkwardly in my arms, "Do I have to be the one to carry all of these?"
Adrian smirked. "It was your idea, legionnaire. Deal with the consequences."
Over the last fifteen miles to Sobral, the horses ate well. Sobral was different when we returned. The farmers we passed were not the only ones whom the weather had hit. Carts stuffed high with personal possessions
were outside the city, and makeshift camps were set up. Dirty peasants were making way the best they could. Adrian rode up and talked to the first group, two old men with three women and five children. We waited while
he talked with them, and then he rode back to us.
"Refugees from some farms to the west like the farmers we passed. Also, some war refugees from Macha and Vesov. The Bartiradians crossed over from Lortare into Vesov three hundred miles south of Macha," Adrian told us.
Adrian shook his head remorsefully. "Vesov has nothing of value. They probably are lashing out after Macha. Same with unleashing elementals and monstrosities across the Empire."
We walked up to the Citadel, and four men in clean uniforms guarded the gate. One asked formally, "State your business in the Citadel of Duchess Veronica Angela."
Adrian rode forward and patiently answered, "Adrian of Mage Castile's company is returning from duty with an alchemist and scholar. All men safe and unharmed."
One of the guards took off at a jog to inform his superior, and he returned a few minutes later. We were waved through. Adrian announced, "I will bring Alchemist Decimus and Scholar Favian to the duchess. Blaze go care for
the equipment, and Lucien and Eryk care for the horses."
There were actually two stable boys in the stables and a half dozen new horses. After a cursory inspection of the new horses, Lucien commented,
"Work horses. The duchess probably bought them from the refugees. Not bad stock, but not war horses."
I worked to get the packs off so Blaze could take them in, and then Lucien and I supervised the stable boys as they cared for the horses. Lucien started to teach them the proper way of caring for a mount.
The boys, we learned, were some refugees from Macha that the duchess had taken into her service. The younger boy explained, "We fled Macha before
the Bartiradian army came. We were staying with family in Lignum when the word came that Macha was in ruins. My father's candle shop was destroyed, so we couldn't go back. Word came the Duchess of Sobral was hiring any and all workers two weeks ago, so we traveled here with a
caravan."
I understood that it was a smart move on the duchess' part, except that food would be scarce this winter, and she would not be able to feed her increased population. After the horses were settled, I told the two stable hands, "This girl here is Ginger. She is my horse. I will be paying for her lodging and feed. No one rides her but me. Also, if one of you could run into the city, fetch the old healer, and bring him to heal her, I would appreciate it. Tell him I will pay his price."
I handed each a large copper as a reminder. One of the boys rushed off, and Lucien smirked. "You keep spending your coin like that, and you will have a line of plebians every time you step outside."
"Perhaps," I said, sneaking Ginger an apple when Lucien's back was turned. Atlas looked bewildered; after all, he was the one who had carried me for the last two weeks. I also got him an apple to placate him and addressed Lucien, "But you know we could die tomorrow, and coin is no good to a dead man."
I headed up to my room with my equipment, looking forward to a long bath and hopefully some time with Lareen after I was clean. There were a lot of new faces in the halls of the Citadel. Linus, the company medic, was walking toward me, "Eryk, you made it back in one piece." We clasped
forearms in a greeting. "Guess it was not too adventurous if you are all back."
"Not too many problems. Just a few goblins and an ettin," I said casually.
He patted my shoulder. "You have a good sense of humor, Eryk. I have to go work in the clinic for the refugees tonight. I will see you tomorrow at breakfast." There was no point trying to convince him we fought an ettin. Lareen was not in my room, and I guessed she was off doing other duties.
An armor stand was in the room, holding a new set of legion armor. Just the resin-treated leather variant, not the metal plates the volunteer legion received. It looked new, and I recalled Castile saying the duchess should get it for me as a reward for killing the manticore on her lands. A black cape
was draped over the shoulders. I removed the cape to see the armor better. The cape felt off, not cloth but more like soft, worked leather. It had a hood and fit over the armor but could be worn without it. This must be the cloak
Maveith made me from the manticore wings. I stripped off my armor and
tried it on. Without the armor, the cloak could be worn like a duster. He must have dyed it black, which was a fitting color.
He had promised me one other thing, but I did not see it here. I compared my old and new armor, and it looked like Kolm, or whoever assembled it, had gotten the sizes close to correct. I stripped in the bathroom and crossed my fingers as I turned on the water. It was not hot, but satisfyingly warm.
Good enough for a soak. I used a washcloth to clean off most of the road dirt.
After I was clean, I lay back in the tub to relax. I heard the door open after a time and yelled, "Lareen, I am in here; you can join me." Maybe I sounded a little too excited, but that excitement was quickly dashed. Konstantin wandered in with Maveith on his heels. The enormous goliath towering over the short Konstantin.
"I think I will pass on joining you, Eryk. The water looks filthy," Konstantin smirked at my disappointment of the lack of female companionship. "Just heard you fought an ettin from Adrian. He said you refused to run and fought beside him."
I ignored Konstantin and addressed Maveith, "Love the cloak, Maveith. Black is the perfect color."
Maveith beamed. "It is the nicest thing I have ever made. Got the black ink from the a traveling merchant." He reached to his belt and held up a large black pouch. "Still working on this for you. I am waiting for some ice drake hide from the capital to do the lining, but it came out well." He stuffed his
massive hand inside, and the pouch fit quite snugly. "It is soft and supple. I will give it to you once I have adhered it to the drake lining."
"Thank you, Maveith. I look forward to receiving your gift. How are Trek and Lyonis?" I asked after the other wardens, still ignoring Konstantin to his bemusement.
The large man sat on the table, and it groaned in protest. It was made for sorting clothes, not supporting a goliath. He took one last showing of the pouch. "The size of this pouch will be a great sign of your prowess among my clans." He secured the incomplete sack on his belt. He motioned to Konstantin. "He helped me get Lyonis to the city, and he was healed, as
were my lingering injuries. The other two manticores were killed five days ago, three hundred miles northwest. Lyonis and Trek are now helping with the province markers."
Konstantin was done waiting on the reunion and intruded on the conversation, "Your servant, Lareen, is helping in the city feeding the refugees. She will be back late. You have been given three days off by Castile."
I sensed a but coming and tried to get out of whatever Konstantin had planned for me, "Great. I found my first horse, and she needs healing and
some care. I hope to get her ride-worthy again and take her on some rides in the woods while foraging for the alchemist."
Konstantin broke into a grin. "That is great news!" It was like I had fallen into a trap. "The duchess wants the alchemist working as soon as possible.
You can talk with him, see what he needs to start brewing and take your horse out riding. He is set up in the northwest tower."
"I thought Castile asked you to appease the alchemist after bringing supplies to the men working in the woods?" Maveith's deep voice questioned Konstantin with confusion in his tone.
"Eryk is already planning to be out there, so he can handle it. He also has the dimensional space, not me. You can join him, Maveith, after you run
supplies out to the men digging and laying the marker stones." Konstantin delegated all his orders out to Maveith and I.
"What are you going to do while we handle your assignments?" I asked the smug Konstantin.
Konstantin hedged a bit. "I am going to look for signs of Traeliorn Kelran."
The name tickled something in my memory, "The elven summoner? You know where he is?"
"He is definitely on this side of the Aganterao River. The Central Empire
has a new monstrosity appearing every week. I may not be able to find him, but I will look for signs of him. Maybe find a campsite he used or his ritual circles for summoning," he elaborated.
"What about the Hounds? Is that not what they do?" I asked, getting out of the recessed tub.
Konstantin held up a letter. "The Hounds might help track a dangerous mage, but the Mage Companies would be called in when they are found to deal with him. Cornelius asked me to search down this way. His Hounds are deployed on the front and protecting the dig site," Konstantin admitted. "And he already has a Pack that is missing, and other Packs are short a Hound or two."
He was mistaken if he was waiting for me to volunteer to go with him. I would take a few days gathering mushrooms, roots, leaves, and flowers over running off to find one of the most powerful mages on the continent. One who would kill me on sight or sic his summoned critters on me.
"Well, have fun." I smiled at him.
Konstantin hesitated momentarily before making to leave. "I will, Maveith, make sure this one does not get himself killed before I return."
"Are you going to let him go alone?" Maveith said, watching Konstantin's back as he left.
"Konstantin can take care of himself. We have our orders." I dressed in a light shirt and pants. "Maveith, it is good to see you, but I really want to reacquaint myself with my favorite pillow."
Maveith creased his brow. "Is that a reference to your maid? She said she had familiarity with your…"
"No, my pillow!" I went into the bedroom to pull the griffin down pillow out of the made bed. Maveith looked at me skeptically but did leave.
I was hungry, but sleep was overtaking me. Unfortunately, it looked like Lareen was not returning tonight. I secured the dreamscape amulet under my shirt and went in to get some practice. I spent my time studying the time spell form for slow aging tonight. The sooner I learned it, the younger I would be for longer. I had been studying for about two hours in the large
plush chair with Oscar in my lap when I was suddenly ripped out of the dreamscape.
Lareen was kneeling over me in a loose nightshirt, her hair cascading around my face, and holding the amulet in her hand. She must have felt it and pulled it from under my shirt. I immediately assumed that I lost contact with the dreamscape when it left contact with my skin. She was fingering and studying the amulet in the minimal light of the fireplace. Seeing I was awake, she asked, "What is this, Eryk?"
Chapter: 103 Quest for that Minty-Clean Feeling
Lareen was kneeling on the bed, holding my amulet. I did not have a
headache or any disorientation from the artifact being removed, so at least I had learned something. I could be awakened if the amulet was removed from contact with my skin without ill effects. Now, I needed to deal with
the curious woman. She was educated, and I assumed the runic patterns on the outside of the device told her it was magical in nature.
I gave her a half-truth. "It helps me sleep. It filters out the nightmares. I have oblivion pills as well."
Lareen was trying to use the minimal firelight to see the device better. She had it in her palm and was running her thumb over it. I gently took it from her hand and put it back under my shirt. It was as big as a pocket watch from Earth, so it created a lump under my shirt. Lareen looked me in the eyes; flashes from the fire danced in her green eyes. "Eryk, I am glad you are back. I slept in your bed every night, hoping it would be the night you returned."
She moved in and brought her soft lips to mine. The kiss lasted for a long time, and I noticed she had been busy today and had not bathed. I could
taste the salt on her lips and smell her strong, sweaty scent—the rustic scent was not unappealing. When we broke the kiss, I asked, "What were you doing today?" I was attempting to distract her from the amulet.
She stretched out next to me, and we faced each other on our sides. Morning breath was one thing I did not miss about being close to a woman. I was sure my breath was also undesirable, but that was all I could focus on while she talked. "We mostly moved a few hundred bags of wheat flour into the Citadel cellars. The anti-vermin runes are strongest there, and the
duchess did not want spoilage or rats getting into it."
"Who are 'we'?" I asked while her hands drifted to below my waist.
"The other servants in the Citadel. Everyone is working to accommodate the new arrivals." Her hands got bolder, going under my clothes. "We are trying to get ready to feed another thousand people this winter. It might even be more with how fast the refugees are arriving."
She leveraged my clothes off and met my lips again. My thought as we engaged in a passionate intimacy session was that I would look into finding toothpaste.
In the morning, I overslept, and Lareen was already gone. Her day started just after the first light, when she helped serve breakfast. She worked well into the evening by cleaning up after her charge—me. I dressed but did not wear my new or old armor. I headed to the northwest tower to find the alchemist, Decimus. I would take it easy this morning and head out after midday to collect his ingredients.
The northwest tower was in a section of the Citadel rarely used. Rooms
were empty, and dust lined the window sills. A small spiral staircase wound up around the tower's interior. A door was on each floor. I found Decimus on the third floor, the tower's highest. The round room was maybe thirty feet across. Tables and crates were everywhere, extremely disorganized.
Decimus was snoring softly on a cot. The morning light was bleeding through the four windows in the room. The crates must be all the new alchemist gear that the duchess bought him. His face was still dark pink, and he was drooling. I checked out the views. Two windows looked north and west out into the woods. The east window had obstructed views down into the gardens. The south window gave a view of the city and the river beyond.
From this perspective, the city looked a lot smaller. I could see smoke plumes from the encampments of the refugees. The cot creaked, and I
turned to find the bald alchemist sitting up. "Morning, Decimus," I greeted him.
"Eryk? What are you doing here? Is it morning already?" he asked.
"It is. I am here to drop off your crate, although looking at all these crates, I do not think you require it," I observed.
"Ah, young Legionnaire, that is where you are wrong. More equipment
means I can have more processes going at once!" he said excitedly. I moved to the table and placed the gear I had transported for him on it.
"I was told to check with you to get your ingredients so you can begin your work. I also wanted to ask if you made toothpaste." I turned to face the pink man.
He looked confused. "Toothpaste? Do you mean a whitening agent? I can do that, no problem. You just need to fetch me a bucket of goat's milk and urine. Horse or cow urine is best and easiest to collect," he said as he moved to the first crate and started to work the lid off.
"Horse piss and goat's milk whitens teeth?" I asked, a little repulsed.
"Once I process it, yes. It should only take a day, but it will take me most of the day to unpack everything here and get things assembled and set up to my satisfaction. I would ask for your help, but you would only slow me
down," he said as he carefully unpacked the new glassware the duchess purchased for him.
"I think I will pass on the whitening agent. Is there anything for just bad breath?" I inquired of the alchemist.
"Bad breath? There are a dozen different recipes to correct foul breath depending on your flavor preference, and some also have dental restoratives. Do you have any aches?" He did not wait for me to answer before continuing, "I will need a few things I can create from herbs in the
garden. You need to extract the oil essence and create a simple base to mix it with and stabilize the compound, but I can make you a wash that should
cure your bad breath for a day or two. Should repair a little teeth rot as well. Any particular herb flavoring you prefer?"
"Mint," I said firmly.
"I can gather that myself from the cook's gardens below. Let me write out a list of things that I will need from the local woods. You can forage it for
me." I waited while he scrawled out his shopping list and the amounts he wanted for each.
There were only two I needed to familiarize myself with. Konstantin just called one something else, and the other was actually a truffle—a fungus that grew underground. When I asked him how I was to find the fungus, I got a lengthy explanation. "To find a truffle, you need to search in an area with excellent drainage. The ground should be partially sandy as well.
There is a small white flowering plant that prefers the same soil. It is easier to locate and identify because of the white flowers. The plant is the size of your fist, and the flowers have five petals and light blue veins. Dig carefully in that area for the truffles."
I nodded but did not think I would be digging for truffles today. I returned to my room to find cold breakfast plates by the window. Lareen must have returned while I visited the alchemists and brought breakfast for both of us to share. I quickly searched her room and the bath for her. She was not here and had probably been required to continue helping with the refugees.
I ate both plates and went to the stables to check on Ginger. The stable boy approached me. "Legionnaire, we talked with the old healer on your behalf. Since it is not for the duchess, he asked for three gold for the healing on your horse."
"Is that a lot?" I asked the stable hand. But I realized the stupidity of the question. A large copper was probably a lot to the boy.
The older boy replied, but he was uncertain himself, "A fortune, but I think it is because if he healed your horse, it would use all his aether for the day. At least, that is what he implied."
"Fine, have him come and do it. Do you know where the goliath is?" I asked.
The younger one pointed, and I followed his hand. On the far side of the open courtyard, Maveith was shouldering three large packs. I tossed each boy a single copper and went to talk with Maveith.
Maveith noticed my approach, and his deep voice hit me, "You are too late, Eryk. Konstantin left at first light if you had changed your mind about joining him."
"I was going to offer to go with you, Maveith. But I have to wait for the city's old healer to care for my horse," I said, standing beside him, feeling small.
"I will be gone two days to deliver this food to your legionnaire companions. Adrian said you had a rough trip and need some rest. I will be fine," he intoned and clapped my shoulder.
"Be careful out there. With as much food as you are carrying, you would make a delicious target for the refugees," I said to my friend.
Maveith's eyebrows creased, and then he laughed. "Wonderful play of
words!" His voice boomed. "Delicious target because I am carrying food. You have the most interesting sense of wordplay, Eryk." He picked up one massive backpack and two satchels and left the yard.
I returned to the stables to wait for the healer and check out Ginger and Atlas. I felt bad Atlas was being replaced, but Ginger was my first. She was also a more impressive warhorse and, I think, smarter than the average horse, but that was perhaps my wishful thinking.
The town healer arrived sporting a neatly white-trimmed beard and wearing expensive-looking clothes. He was more well-off than the average citizen. He approached with the older stable boy leading him. "Legionnaire? Are you the one who wishes your horse healed?"
"I do. I have your requested coin as well." I held up three gold for him to see. He squinted and nodded as if he was dubious that I had the coin to pay him.
"Well, show me to the beast, and I can take a look," we followed the stable boy, who was excited to see the magic healing as well. Ginger had her own stall and immediately nudged me for an apple.
I rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeding her an apple. "Sometimes I think you just like me because I am your sugar daddy." The old man went into the stall and looked at the three long, deep claw marks on Ginger's rump. She craned her neck to watch him but did not move.
"I would hate to have seen whatever did this to your horse. Glad you lived Legionnaire." He faced me. "I can do it. Three gold to correct the muscles. I do not have enough aether to remove the scarring today. Maybe another day." And for some reason, I doubted his sincerity. He would probably ask for more coins to remove the scars later.
"But she will be able to be ridden?" I asked while rubbing behind Ginger's ears.
"Yes. Even today, but you should give her an extra meal for the next two or three days," he held out his hand. He wanted his payment first. I placed the coins in his open palm. He inspected them for a brief moment before moving to do his work.
There was nothing to see. He placed both his hands over the scars, and the flesh rippled under his touch. About a minute later, he dropped his hands. He was sweating from the effort, "That is never pleasant. I burned out my aether channels in my youth, and channeling that much aether is painful."
I reassessed my opinion of the old healer. Burnt mages were something Castile told me about. A mage could only use so much aether in a day. If
they took aether restoratives and pushed past this limit, they would damage their ability to funnel aether for magic. This would result in painful use of aether and less aether available during the day.
Ginger kicked with the leg that was just healed and seemed happy. She craned her neck. My guess is she had been in pain from the injury, and that was now gone. She nudged the old healer with her powerful neck and knocked him down. Before he could get upset, I told him, "She is thanking you. And so am I." I handed him a fourth gold coin as I helped him up.
The man left happy, and I saddled up Ginger with the stable boys helping. Soon, we were out of the Citadel yard, and Ginger was sprinting energetically through the woods. If a horse could be happy, she was. Maybe I would let her run a bit before looking for the alchemist's ingredients.
We darted down the paths and among the trees. I was deep into the woods when I pulled up. A legionnaire was in the middle of the path carrying a deer on his back. He was familiar to me, and I had not seen him in quite
some time. Flavius, the archer from Durandus' company. The last time I had seen him, he was seated behind Master Mage Sebastian on a fire drake, headed off into the swamp to look for the collector. This should be an interesting conversation.
Chapter 104: A Brief Lesson In Alchemy
Flavius stood in the path and tossed the deer carcass down with a thud on
some grass. He stretched his neck, happy for an excuse to rest. He wiped his hands on nearby grass. "Eryk, you returned with an alchemist?"
I dismounted and led Ginger over to Flavius. "We did. I am guessing that Sebastian found his brother's collector since you returned?"
Flavius eyed me carefully, expressionless. "No. We spent three days looking for it. I was sure we were on the right island, but Sebastian started to doubt me. I was fortunate the duke's army arrived to tear down the city of
Macha."
"Did they really just tear down the outer walls? They must have killed
hundreds." I was glad to focus the conversation on something other than the collector.
Flavius nodded slowly, maintaining eye contact. "I was told that over half the occupying Bartiradian army was on the walls. Thousands were killed."
"And now they are rebuilding the city. Seems like a waste," I stated with remorse, thinking about the citizens who stayed, including Carina, the young bath attendant whose brother was a city guard.
"No. That may have been the plan, but the earth mages moved to the storm giant dig site. Sebastian was ordered to patrol the skies with his firedrake, but he was not happy about it. The Dragon Legion arrived just as I was leaving to relieve him," Flavius said seriously.
"The Dragon Legion? I thought they were ceremonial for parades and
such." I gripped the reins tighter. Things seemed to be escalating on the eastern front.
Flavius nodded. "They are. Not in my lifetime have they ever been called to duty for a campaign. The Emperor is serious about protecting the dig site and does not want the Bartiradian Griffin Riders getting close to seeing what they are doing. A huge magic array has also been constructed to prevent scrying as well."
An odd silence hung between us. Flavius studied me. "I heard about your fight with the manticores. Three kills are beyond impressive for you and the goliath. A pity you did not have a collector for their essence with you." I could tell he was testing me, so I remained as impassive as I could.
"I agree, but it was mostly Maveith, the goliath. He is an impressive warrior," I replied, trying to give the goliath credit and ignore his jab about the collector. His stare intensified, and I started to get a little uncomfortable around Flavius. He was hinting or guessing at something. I tried to break away. "I have to supply the new alchemist with ingredients. I will see you back at the Citadel. Nice kill." I indicated the deer.
Flavius looked down at the deer. "Thank you. My father was a woodsman and taught me a fair amount about hunting and tracking prey. Castile has me going out every day and catching what I can to be smoked or salted for the coming winter. The assignment is much better than digging holes with the others."
"Glad you are back, Flavius." I finished the conversation as I mounted and rode off. I could tell the archer-scout had suspicions about me. It was on his face and how he spoke and studied me. After a few minutes, I spotted a
large patch of blood grass and pulled out Decimus' list. It was time to get to work.
Riding Ginger saved some time between spotting harvests, but she was also a good watchdog while I worked, pawing the ground to get my attention.
The first time was a giant elk in the far distance. An apple reward had her digging into the ground with her hoof every time she noticed something. A raccoon, a massive owl, deer, and even a wolf—not a dire wolf, just a normal-sized wolf. Each time, I gave her a small reward. An apple for the dangerous-looking owl and wolf, and a few pats for the less threatening creatures, accompanied with verbal praise.
The list from Decimus was not extensive; it included just six ingredients but large quantities. My fingernails were black with soil as I worked through
the afternoon to complete his list. The only thing I was not able to find were the truffles. I did try to find the white flowers that marked likely spots, but I did not see any.
It was a rather uneventful long afternoon. The air was cool, and I was seeing my first hint that the weather was changing. From what I had been told, the Telhian Empire had a short winter. The Sobral province had trees changing color and leaves starting to fall in reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. It was not so different from Earth, and I recognized many types of trees.
It was close to sunset, so I rode Ginger back toward the city. The woods near the city had a number of foragers. These were the refugees, as evidenced by their rough clothing. I talked to two pairs, and they were harvesting wild onions and tubers. Both were very simple to find and dig up, and I was already aware of how to find both.
I spent some time rubbing Ginger down. She did not need more apples for the day, and I noticed Atlas was not there. The stable boy said one of the duchess' men took Atlas to run messages to another city. The stable boys did not mind me doing their work for them. Personally, I found the task to be relaxing and good therapy, caring for the animal. I even paid one of the
stable hands two large silver to run to purchase horse grooming kits for me. One would be for the stable boys to use on Ginger, and the other was destined for my dimensional space.
I was famished as I went to the dining room for dinner. I had worked hard in the woods and only drank water all day. Castile, Adrian, and Delmar
were talking at the head of the table, and I sat near them. Castile nodded to me and asked, "How was your ride today?"
I sat diagonally across from Castile. "I got about half of what the alchemist wanted. Couldn't find his truffles, though." A servant put a large mug of ale in front of me. I looked for Lareen, but she was not one of the servants in
the dining hall.
Delmar said between bites, "You need a trained dog to find truffles. And Konstantin was supposed to be gathering for the alchemist—did he go looking for the mage?" I nodded while taking a long pull.
Adrian barked, "He is too impatient. We told him that after things settled and we got some healing potions from the alchemist, we would search for
the summoner." Delmar sat back and just grunted in shared annoyance. The three were clearly not happy with Konstantin.
I tried to divert the conversation. I remembered pigs were used on Earth to find truffles. I asked Castile, "Is there any spell that can find truffles?"
Castile smiled. "A few. Simple nature spells, none that I have access to. I actually never heard of a potion requiring truffles. Inquire with the alchemist if it is for his work or a snack." Castile smiled and seemed relaxed for once. She was in control of her short-term destiny even though a lot was going on.
Donte and Benito came and sat at the table, and servants brought out plates and drinks for them. It looked like most of the company was laying markers. Both Donte and Benito had their hair cut and shaved. "I will
inquire when I drop today's harvest off with him. What is going on with all the refugees?" I asked while attacking the full plate in front of me.
Castile answered, "We are accepting any and all refugees, with employment guaranteed for able-bodied men. For now, the pay is only lodging and two meals for unskilled labor."
"What about the women and children?" I inquired. "I saw a number of them in the camps outside the city."
"They will be fed whether they work or not. We are also trying to find work for them as well," Delmar answered for Castile.
Adrian added irritably, "We are training more city guards as crime is likely to swell with the refugees' arrival."
We ate for a time, and I listened to them discuss the training of the Citadel and town guards. The logistics were interesting. Equipping them and training them was the most significant issue with the cost of the equipment and only a few of our company in the Citadel at a time. Housing them was not. The Citadel had room for five hundred guards, and two aging barracks in the city had room for two hundred guards each. Most current city guards lived in personal houses within the city, so the barracks were mostly empty. The city, if you could call it that, only had about six thousand people. It was modest for the Telhian Empire in size but tiny, from my personal experience.
As their conversation faded, I asked, "I saw Flavius in the woods today carrying a deer. Do you want me to hunt while I am out there?" I asked, finishing my plate.
Delmar answered gruffly, trying to add some levity to his tone, "No. Do not waste arrows." He shifted in his seat. "It is important to get the alchemist
working." His steely eyes locked onto me, "The healing salves can save a man's life, and if he can truly brew the lesser healing potions, we will be truly blessed by Fortuna. I have an order in for the giant bee honey coming through the capital. Hopefully, the expense was worth it." I knew the honey was the only ingredient we could not source locally for the lesser healing potions.
Seeing my empty plate, Castile requested for me to deliver the ingredients. "Bring your harvest to the alchemist, and since you do not require time to rest, continue harvesting for the alchemist. Let me know what he is also planning to use the truffles for."
I climbed the northwest tower and found Decimus still pink-skinned, unpacking and setting up his apparatus. He had lit a few burners, and one table was already starting on one of his processes. I noted that this was the equipment I had transported for him.
He looked up, smiling. Even though he was pink and not red, it was still creepy. "There were three types of mint in the cook's garden. Let me know which one you prefer." He pointed to a table. I walked over to the table and found three bundles of leafy stems. I sniffed them all, and they smelled the same. "Chew on the leaves. That will be the flavor of your wash," Decimus advised, walking over to me.
I did as instructed. The first leaf was peppermint. The second was spearmint or close to it. The last one had a milder mint taste with a hint of chocolate. I pointed to the peppermint, "This one will be good for me. How long till the mouthwash is ready?"
"A few days. What did you get me today?" he asked eagerly.
I unloaded my harvest for the day, and he started sorting, hemming, and hawing as he did so. "I do not see any truffles," he voiced his disappointment.
"No, I did not have any luck. Which potion are they needed for?" I asked casually.
"My foot brew. The one that relieves aches kills foot odor. Do not think of putting it in your mouth to cure your foul breath. I tried; it will induce violent vomiting." He finished sorting and looked up. "Not bad. The roots on these two blood grasses got damaged but should be usable."
I looked at his maze of glassware. "So what will I be helping you with for one day a week?"
"Not for a few weeks, I think," he said, looking over his burgeoning laboratory. "It will take me three or four days to set up and get some things in process. I will have free time once I get the duchess' quota for the healing salve and stamina potions. But I really do need the truffles. The foot
treatment was my biggest seller." I did not mention that this city was much poorer than the one we recruited him from.
He was taking the peppermint to a work table, and it appeared he was done with me. Before leaving, I asked, "Why does making a potion take so
long?"
The pink alchemist paused in his work. He looked at me and sized me up. Then he explained, "A potion is made up of three parts. The emulsion, the active ingredients, and the stabilizer. For example, the basic healing salve uses blood grass as the emulsion. Once purified and reduced, it is thick and can be applied topically to wounds. The active ingredients are the
compounds that need to be purified from other fungi or flora. If the
compounds are not pure enough, the potion will not work as intended, sometimes to the detriment of the person treated. The final part is the stabilizer. I use ruby and sapphire dust mostly. The stabilizer holds the aether I channel into it to harmonize the ingredients and indicates the brew's shelf life."
I think he was expecting me to be thoroughly confused. Instead, I asked a question, "So if you add more ruby or sapphire dust, it will have a longer shelf life?"
The pink head shook violently, "If only! No. Too much will toxify the brew, but the shelf life is mostly determined by the purity of the ingredients being used and how well they harmonize. Potions made by a dungeon are perfectly harmonized and last for years or decades!"
"Why don't alchemists just figure out what is in dungeon potions and replicate them?" I asked next.
"You make it sound so simple! But no. Most times, when a dungeon's
potions have been successfully deconstructed, the constituent parts were not sourceable. Also, instead of gem dust, they use pure aetheric essence. If you have ever seen an essence collector work, then sparkling blue-lit smoke is
aetheric essence," Decimus explained.
I looked at his growing expansive array of equipment. "So all this is to just pull certain compounds out of plants and fungi?"
"Yes! The heart of alchemy is purification! Your mouthwash is simple: titrated water soaked in blue mountain flowers, mint and lavender oil for the ingredients, a touch of sapphire dust, and finally, activated with aether. It
will leave your mouth minty for hours, and even after the minty taste fades, your breath should not stink for a day or two." The alchemist was starting to get excited at my interest.
"It is all fascinating. If you don't mind, could I assist with the mint mouthwash in the evening? So I can follow a process from start to finish," I requested.
He was about to say yes but paused, a sly look on his face. "If you find me my truffles, I will teach you all about alchemy." Of course, he would want me to find his truffles.
Chapter 105: Truffle Subcontracting
I left the alchemist in the tower, pondering how to find his truffles. With the leaves changing, winter was clearly on its way. How much longer would I be able to harvest for the alchemist? There was still some daylight left, so I paused in the library. If no one was there, I might be able to do some research.
The large doors creaked loudly, and I was surprised to find the duchess and Scholar Favian inside. "Legionnaire Eryk," the duchess spotted me before I could duck out. "Are you looking for me?" She sounded almost hopeful.
Having ridden next to Favian for a few days, I knew he could talk endlessly and never seemed to tire.
I made an excuse. "No, I was just looking for Lareen. I do not know how to draw a hot bath."
"Ah, most of the servants are in the city. Lareen is with them and will not be back until sunset," the duchess informed me. "But you can help Scholar Favian until she returns." She turned to the scholar. "This legionnaire can help you with bringing the books up and down the stairs." The duchess escaped past me, nodding her thanks for the relieving her.
The scholar smiled. "I do not really need help. The duchess was getting tired of listening to me expound on the variations of the flourishes in elven script over the centuries. Her collection here is quite remarkable, and she does, as promised, have a number of books from the city of Caelora."
I looked at the number of books spread out on tables on the first floor. The script was nothing even remotely familiar to me. "Let me take off some of my armor, and I will help you, scholar."
"Thank you. These stacks here can go back to the third floor. There are two stacks that need to be brought down." He indicated the third floor.
I made quick work of exchanging the books. "Have you found anything useful?" I inquired of the scholar while sitting in a padded reading chair.
"Not yet. But there are fascinating histories that are thousands of years old. The books were never cataloged and sorted. My guess is they never had an expert on the Elven language. I am doing my best. The script has a lot of
embellishments to it, making it difficult to read, but I am slowly becoming
accustomed to it." He pointed to an open book. "That one so far is the best lead I have found on what the duchess is looking for."
"What is she looking for?" I asked, looking at the book. There were some amazing sketches of elves in everyday life, mostly craftsmen.
"The duchess wants to know if there is anything of value in the region surrounding Caelora. If she reopened the trade road, then the Emperor would expand her duchy to include those wild lands. Your mage commander will not commit to the effort unless she knows there is actually something valuable in the lands," the scholar informed me.
I had already heard them discussing this before. "And what is so interesting about this book? It looks like mostly crafters." I said, still paging through.
"It is an index of master crafters of Caelora from the fourth king's reign, Ninleyn Eldaerenth. It details the crafters, their professions, and what they were famous for." He walked over to me and turned the page to an artificer blacksmith. "This is Nabaera Kinvaen, a famous blacksmith thousands of years ago. But I am interested in this passage here." He pointed excitedly.
I looked at the unfamiliar scrawl. "What does it say?"
"It describes one of her mithril bowls. It could convert water into milk. But that is not the interesting part of the passage. Where the materials for the bowl came from is! A dungeon the elves called The Shimmering Labyrinth
." The scholar smiled excitedly.
I frowned. If I had my choice, I would never go in a dungeon again. What I knew about dungeons was that they appeared over deep ley lines in the earth that 'fed' them, according to Castile. Second, a dungeon could be destroyed, according to Delmar. And finally, they were full of horrific monsters.
"How do you know the dungeon is still active and near Caelora?" I asked with skepticism.
Favian smiled. "Because I have found two more passages referring to the dungeon! But you are right, the dungeon could have been destroyed over the centuries. I do not think it is one of the seven dungeons in the Empire. No dungeon in the Empire produces mithril."
"How would a dungeon remain hidden for so long? I am sure the Empire has already searched the area around Caelora," I noted.
"But no one has searched in the city extensively. Do you know how the city was conquered?" Favian asked, slipping into his teacher's voice, which I often heard during our rides. Well, at least I could now recognize people speaking Elvish and say a few phrases from his lessons. One of the phrases I memorized was, 'Do not kill me. I surrender.'
"I do not know about the history other than the place is full of specters and wraiths," I replied.
The scholar smiled. "Over fifteen hundred years ago, the Legion surrounded the city and flooded it with poison gas. They killed thousands of elves. What the Legion did not count on was their horrific act, generating
the specters from the dead. They stand eternal guard against the intruders. The Empire has lost a number of expeditions over the centuries; that is why I was excited when I heard there was a collection of books recovered from Caelora in Sobral."
"So, the dungeon is in the haunted city? Castile will never have us search the city," I responded, half-confident.
"You are smart, Eryk. Think about it. Most cities grow up around dungeons for their resources. The number of specters in the city has not diminished in centuries, so it makes sense that there is a ley line underneath the city regenerating them after they are slain," Favian said clinically.
"So that means the city can never be retaken. The specters will always come back; if the dungeon is there, it is inaccessible," I rationalized.
The old scholar smiled. "Oh, there are ways. The kettle of souls, banishment circles, and giving the remains a final rest spell are just a few ways to end a specter's existence permanently. And before you ask, the Emperor never had reason to invest in cleansing the city."
I thought about the nightmare wraith that attacked our camp in the middle of the night on our way here the entire time that I helped the old scholar ferry books up and down the stairs as he searched for more clues. He continued to help me practice the Elven language as we worked. I never thought I would have a chance to talk with an elf, but it was something to do to keep my mind off the possibility of entering a city full of specters.
I eventually left Scholar Favian deep into the night. I carried my armor to my room and found Lareen asleep in my bed. She looked exhausted, and I
tried not to wake her. I took a cold bath and then joined her in bed. She did not stir, so I rolled over and sighed, quickly falling asleep.
In the morning, Lareen woke me with a kiss. We both definitely needed that peppermint wash. After a prolonged kiss, she said, "Why did you not wake me?"
"You looked exhausted. What did you do in the city yesterday?" I asked, showing interest.
"Meal distribution for the women and children. More and more are showing up every day. One of the children said he saw dragon riders in the sky," she said in disbelief.
"It is true. Flavius said the Dragon Legion was sent to the eastern front," I replied.
She looked concerned and confused. "That is not possible. They do not fight in the wars." She sat up in bed suddenly on alert.
"They are scouting for an excavation being done by the Scholarium," I informed her. "I do not think they will be going into direct combat, but I cannot say for sure."
Some relief came over her face, and I could figure out why she had been concerned. I asked her, "Do you know one of the riders?" Her face flushed from the gray light of the morning.
She nodded. I did not think she would say more, but she did, "We are the
same age and had classes together in the Emperor's palace. He had enough potential to be a Dragon Rider and was training his drake when I came here with Duchess Veronica."
I did not need to ask if there was something between them—that already seemed evident. I relaxed, disappointed on my side. "Have you heard from him since you arrived in Sobral?" Maybe their relationship was platonic.
"Two letters," Lareen said with some excitement. She completely missed the fact that I was maybe jealous. "He had passed the flight trials with his drake in the first letter. In the second letter, he told me what it was like to fly on a drake. He hoped that I could one day see him fly during an Emperor's celebration." She said in fascination.
Great, I was competing against a Dragon Rider. I rolled out of bed and started dressing, and Lareen did not take the hint. She asked, "Are you going riding north again?"
"Yeah, just a few miles from the wall. I am responsible for supplying the alchemist with material," I replied as I started to put on my old armor again today.
"Why don't you wear your new armor?" Lareen asked, smiling, oblivious to my jealousy. "I was excited to see you in it—and then removing it."
"I am saving it for a special occasion. If I connect with Maveith, I will probably stay at his residence tonight. I need to range further to keep up my harvest quotas," I said neutrally. I geared up with my weapons and carried my spear to the stables.
Ginger was excited to see me. As I was saddling her, Maveith walked into the stables. "Want company today?"
"I do, Maveith. Do you know where I can find truffles?" I asked as I worked on Ginger.
"Black or white? I have a bunch of whites stored for winter. The black tastes too much like dirt to me." His deep voice sounded like he was imparting culinary wisdom to me.
"Either. The alchemist did not specify but said they grew near white flowers," I replied.
"The white then," he answered and nodded. "We can discuss compensation for them."
"Certainly," I said, relieved. "I wouldn't mind purchasing your weasel pelts in your guest room as well. How did you find your truffles?"
Maveith shrugged. "The wild boars usually dig up the ground when they find them. They do not get them all, and I get a few."
"Pigs! I knew it!" I exclaimed.
"No, boar," Maveith corrected me. I did not bother to explain they were the same thing.
We walked out of the gates. I was slightly annoyed that even though I was mounted, I was barely taller than the goliath. We walked in silence before I asked, "How are the company men doing with digging holes?"
Maveith laughed, "Good. They had some choice words that you had not participated in the shovel excavation work yet. Brutus said you were too important to come out there yourself and get your hands dirty digging holes.
I do not think he believed me when I told him you killed an adult manticore."
I tried to say it as plainly as I could, "Can you not tell people I killed the female?"
Maveith was at eye level with me and considered my request. There was a long pause, and he made eye contact with me, "I understand, Eryk. I will not tell anyone else. Not many people trust others who use poison. I know Flavius was very interested in your kill as well. I told him you used poison to kill the creature. He asked to see the corpse, but it was already two days dead when Konstantin and Flavius arrived."
"Thank you, Maveith. Just take credit for the kill," I said.
"I could not do that. I will just not tell them you used poison," he said firmly, closing the matter. A minute later, he asked, "What type of poison did you use anyway? None of the scavengers that fed on the corpse were killed by it."
I did not want to get caught in a lie. "It doesn't matter. But it targets the heart. Stops it from beating." Maveith nodded like it made perfect sense to him.
We spent the trip to his cabin looking for, and harvesting ingredients for the alchemist. It was dusk when we finally got to his residence. He had
manticore hides stretched outside on racks, and the odor was terrible. "Do you want to learn how to prepare hides?" Maveith asked, moving to check on his projects.
"No, I am going to clean up at the stream and see if I can get the dirt out from under my nails before sleeping. In the morning, we can discuss compensation for the pelts and truffles." I said, dropping my pack and starting to unsaddle Ginger.
After rubbing down Ginger and cleaning my hands, I went inside the house, and she tried to follow. Maveith immediately said, "I do not know about stabling her inside, Eryk."
I realized it might not be safe outside for Ginger alone. I tried to joke with Maveith, "It is okay. She is housebroken."
"House-broken…" He puzzled out the phrase. "Then it is okay." He nodded his permission.
I whispered to Ginger, "You better not soil Maveith's floor. I do not want to be cleaning up in the morning." I walked her until she did her business and then brought her inside. I would be crossing my fingers all night.
I left Ginger in the common room and slid into the silky weasel pelts. I was definitely going to purchase these from Maveith tomorrow. I took out my amulet and channeled aether into it…