A Soldier's Life
chapter-72

I sat with Castile at a desk while she produced three books from a leather pouch, “These are basics of aether shaping from the introduction class at the Mage College. You can store them in your space when you are not studying them.”

“I thought you had no funds?” I asked as I paged through them.

“These are old texts, and I still have a few friends at the college. These books have been collecting dust for a hundred years and will not be missed. They take you through the three stages of spell shaping: aether awareness, manifestation, and manipulation.” She had obviously gone to some lengths to procure these for me.

“Thank you,” I said with genuine appreciation.

“Well, I still think you are wasting your time,” she bristled but had been obviously waiting for the praise. “You can study them on your own and ask questions of me in private. All mages in the Empire are to be trained at the Mage College. Since you are technically not qualified to be a mage, I think we are safely outside of the law.”

I studied her face, and it was obvious she was going to some lengths to show me that she was doing a lot to help me. I knew it was to gain my loyalty. “How did your time at the Legatus Legionis go?” I inquired, closing the books and sending them to my storage.

“You have been talking to Konstantin? Where is that old man?” Castile asked with a small smirk. I would not consider Konstantin old. He did have some grays in his beard.

“He abused me in the training yards this afternoon with the other weapon masters. They are relaxing in the hot baths now, talking about the best way to parry an overhead axe swing of an orc warrior,” I informed Castile.

Castile eyes hardened slightly. She asked suspiciously, “Training with weapon’s masters? Has he asked you to serve his Praetorian Guard master?”

I decided to trust the Castile with the truth, “Not since Macha. He said they usually do not accept foreigners into their service.” I reached for information with a question, “Do you know who he serves?”

Castile eyes told me she was thinking about revealing it. She was working hard to cement my loyalty, and her body language told me she was worried Konstantin was going to swoop in and take me away. She finally said, “I believe he serves Antonia Segreto. She is a merchant of considerable wealth and influence. One of the few allowed to trade with the Esenhem elves. Rumor has it she has numerous agents outside the Empire as well. I do not know how Konstantin became involved with her or why he is in my company. My best guess is that I travel the Empire more than most mage companies, and he reports interesting news to her.”

I digested all that information. “And Firth?” I asked about the other Praetorian servant I knew in our company.

Castile grunted comically like she had eaten something sour, “He is my watchdog. He reports directly to the office of the Legatus Legionis. His job is to make sure I do not betray the Empire or make a move against the Emperor. I do not know who in the office holds his lease, though.” She sounded less enthused and trusting about Firth. I guess knowing someone was ready to stab you in the back the moment you crossed a line would do that to you. It also now made sense how she seemed to send Firth away on short assignments more than others in the company.

We started working on the spell form for the air shield, and after three hours, we ended the session to go and eat. We gathered the others from the bunk room and went to the small private dining room. Konstantin went down to collect the food and drink with Paval from the kitchen. Benito rubbed his stomach, saying, “I do not know if I can eat anymore today.”

When they returned with the food, Benito ignored his earlier proclamation, filled his plate to bursting, and started eating. As we ate, Konstantin asked Castile, “Were the transfers approved for the four legionaries?”

“Yes,” Castile replied while eating a thick potato soup, the only thing she took. “Company strength is confirmed at twenty-one even though Flavius is with Master Mage Sebastian. He will be not replaced if he does not return when we leave for the Sobral Province.”

Benito spoke while he chewed, “Are we limited in what assignments we can take then if we are not at full strength?”

Castile nodded, “Yes. Benito that is surprisingly insightful of you. Our company size limits us to certain assignments. But we would need to fall to the company minimum of twelve legionnaires, and then we would be limited to only escort and guard duties.”

Benito took the compliment by shoving another piece of steak into his mouth and smiling while he chewed. Konstantin reminded everyone, “The rest of the company should arrive late tomorrow evening. We will meet them and get into the bunk rooms. I have reserved a barge to transport us upriver in the morning.”

“Excellent. I wanted to leave as soon as possible and not wait for the portal rotation.” Castile stood. “Konstantin, if you have a moment, I would like to chat before you all get some sleep.” Konstantin finished his cup and then followed Castile.

In the bunk room, Benito asked, “Did you spend money on those fancy clothes? You know that is just added weight in your pack.”

Paval laughed, “Benito, he can probably squeeze them into his space now that we are no longer getting any potions.”

To emphasize Paval’s point, I tightly rolled all my new clothes and moved them into my legion box in my space. Benito laughed, “I never get tired of seeing magic. I would appreciate it if you would carry my pack sometime, Eryk.”

“Coins are heavy. I would be happy to transport those for you,” I said thoughtfully but was joking. Benito still dug around enthusiastically in his pack and was about to toss the pouch to me but paused, thinking through his action. We all laughed as he put the coins back, rethinking my offer.

Benito said through the laughter, “It is not that I don’t trust you, Eryk; I just don’t want to have to go to you every time I need a copper.”

By the time I settled on my bed, Konstantin had not returned. The dreamscape amulet was hidden under my shirt as I closed my eyes and channeled aether into it.

I found myself standing in a familiar room, the entry room of the dungeon we had discovered. The dungeon entry was perfectly clean, missing the orc writing on the wall. The dungeon’s exit was behind me, but it was a prismatic rainbow of colors instead of an oily black surface.

I guessed the exit from the dreamscape amulet was through that archway. I somehow knew my consciousness was now contained inside the amulet. The realization made it feel a little confining and claustrophobic. I calmed myself. The halfling said I would be able to control this dreamscape. I imagined myself in full kit, and the armor formed around me. I drew the short sword and tested the edge. The edge felt as if it had just been sharpened.

I walked around the entry room. Everything felt so real as I ran my fingers along the stone wall. I tried to change the wall to a flat granite stone, but it refused my efforts. I tried to change the floor, and again, nothing. It appeared the environment was fixed.

Next, I tried to create something alive. I remembered my dog from when I was a child, Oscar, a tri-colored Aussie. He appeared and ran up to me, wagging his cropped tail energetically. He felt like a real dog, with soft fur and a wet nose, and acted like I remembered. I spent time creating sticks and balls and playing with Oscar. I was reluctant to vanish him from the dreamscape, so I took him to the next room.

The familiar fire beetles dotted the dome and moved about, lighting the chamber. I thought about eliminating half of them, and they started to wink out rapidly. Then I tried doubling their number, and the chamber quickly lit up to a day’s brightness. The soft earth in the chamber probably concealed the two ankhegs. Could I see them without them erupting from the soft earth? Yes. I knew where they were if I focused. Could I reduce it to just one? Yes, the earth rippled, sunk, and one was gone.

What about creating a monster we didn’t find in the dungeon? Maybe a griffin? It took a little more effort as I felt the amulet was drawing on my knowledge to create the creature. I surmised the more I knew and experienced something, the better the manifestation. The griffin looked real but acted somewhat aggressive. I banished the creature when it tried to bite Oscar with its beak.

What about Konstantin? The familiar legionnaire appeared and immediately addressed me, “Are you going to laz about all evening?” The stern legionnaire barked at me. “Draw your blade, and we can proceed through all the sword forms with a single weapon, two weapons, and then a sword and shield.”

“Not today,” I smirked, and I willed the ankheg to attack Konstantin, and it burst forth from the ground. Konstantin rolled expertly away as he began to fight the monstrous creature. Oscar looked up at me as we watched the battle unfold. I had not thought Konstantin stood a chance fighting it alone, but he was holding his own. He circled the beast and hacked when he had a chance, chipping away at the chitin shell. Oscar watched cocking his head, fascinated, as did I. I had thought to get some therapeutic revenge against Konstantin, but he was actually winning.

The ankheg then sprayed acid and missed him. It, however, created a large area he could not move into while it soaked into the dirt, limiting Konstantin’s movement. This gave the ankheg a chance, and my dreamscape Konstantin was soon caught and crushed in a claw. I dismissed the body and creature, feeling somewhat guilty watching Konstantin fight alone.

The spider bridge was the same as I remembered. I froze the spiders with a thought before they even appeared and went to the next chamber. The familiar island with the floating stepping stones was here. I was able to freeze the jumping stones so they did not wobble. I moved to the final chamber with the giant scorpion. The snails trailing the viscous glowing liquid were also here.

So, this amulet recreated the entire dungeon as a dreamscape. I could control everything inside and even create things I was familiar with. Was the amulet’s purpose to practice the dungeon before actually entering? Did time pass normally? What would happen if I died inside fighting? How accurate were my creations? Did the amulet learn from me or me from it? If someone else used the amulet, would my creations remain?

I had a lot of questions, and I admitted it was an extremely useful device, even if the environment was limited to the dungeon geography. I begrudgingly admitted I needed the book that Tarvon Fogbough had mentioned. I went back to the ankheg chamber and practiced fighting with Konstantin. He fought just like the man but spoke a lot more, constantly berating my poor skills.

The best part about the dreamscape was I did not tire. Oscar sat and watched the entire time, patiently waiting for his chance to play again. I decided it was time to leave, but I checked one thing before I left. I created the spell form book for protection magic. I paged through it numerous times and confirmed the book was replicated entirely here. This meant I could study my magic while I was in here.

I gave Oscar a pat before walking out of the dungeon entrance. I woke in my bed with some dampness from sweat and a pressing migraine. It was warm but not hot in the bunk room, so I was confused by the sweat. It was still dark out the only window in the room. I could hear the others breathing in their sleep and Bentio’s intermittent snoring. I moved the amulet to storage and would keep it there whenever I was not using it.

As I lay there, I thought about my experience inside the dreamscape. Time was apparently the same. It was the middle of the night. So five hours had passed in both realms. I was curious what kind of gains I could gain. My body felt well-rested, but my mind was taxed. The largest disadvantage was when I was in the dreamscape, I was unaware of anything happening to my body. I would need to be careful when I used the artifact.

It was not long before Konstantin barked to wake us all up, “Get suited for the yard. The vacation is over. Eryk, you and I will see Castile before heading down. She wants to know more about your time with Chancellor Marcel. And so do I.”