A Soldier's Life
chapter-55

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.