A Soldier's Life
chapter-36

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? Castille 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, and 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. Castille 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 Castille 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 Castille 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 Castille 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 were on the job, the elite warriors of the Empire.

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.’