A Soldier's Life
chapter-73

The three of us sat in a small meeting room. My head ached a little bit, almost like a hangover from using the dreamscape amulet. Castile opened the conversation, “Konstantin informed me last night the Collegium Scholarium is preparing for a sizable expedition. Konstantin thinks you are responsible.”

I looked at Konstantin and then at Castile. Konstantin had never questioned me about my interview and apparently took things into his own hands to investigate, “I only answered the questions of Chancellor Marcel. He was looking for the titan’s city of Atlantium and thought Durandus found it buried deep in the swamp.”

Konstantin was not surprised, but Castile arched her eyebrow slightly. She looked to be grinding her teeth slightly. “Why did you not tell me about this city when you returned?”

I did not have a good answer, “You never asked. I did not think an ancient city buried under hundreds of feet of silt was important.”

Castile looked over at Konstantin and then back to me, “It is important. The Emperor is involved. He is sending five hundred of the Imperial Legion with the expedition. Ten mage companies and three units of regulars from the western forts are being recalled to protect the site.”

That did sound like a large investment. “What does it mean for us?”

“Nothing,” Konstantin muttered. “If the discovery is as important as it seems, the Chancellor will be given credit for it, not our company.” I now understood why they were upset. The knowledge of the buried ruins might have helped Castile during the Tribunal.

“The Chancellor wanted to talk with Brutus and Flavius when they arrived,” I offered. Castile held up a note with the Chancellor’s seal. I had forgotten to inform them and winced. I had been focused on myself.

Castile shook her head, “What’s done is done. Konstantin, with Orson dead and Flavius with Master Mage Sebastian, I want Eryk trained as a scout.”

“What?” we both responded at the same time. “My dimensional pocket…”

“It is not as valuable if we have no perishables for you to store,” Castile finished. “Konstantin, train the men. Eryk, let’s review the spell forms before you join them.” Konstantin left the room, giving me a sidelong glance on his way out.

“Why are you pushing me toward Konstantin?” I asked when we were alone.

“I am doing you a favor, Eryk. He will think I am punishing you for not having told me about the ruins. Konstantin knows more about survival than most Hounds. Learn from him. You may need the knowledge one day,” she said pointedly. I was confused but nodded. Was she trying to earn my loyalty or give me the tools to escape the Empire? We quickly reviewed the spell forms before Castile sent me away to train.

I found the others in the yard. Paval was getting abused by a sword master I had faced yesterday. Benito and Linus worked with a shield and spear against a training dummy. Konstantin called to me, “Get two practice blades, Eryk. We will work under those trees.” I picked two wrapped short shorts and went to the area he had indicated.

As we stretched, Konstantin asked, “So, what spell form are you working on with Castile?”

I paused in my stretching and looked at him. He had asked so casually. “You told me it was never a good idea to reveal secrets if you did not need to. Unless you are going to tell me about yours?”

Konstantin grunted, “Well, at least you listen. Maybe you will be trainable as a scout. After sparing practice, we will go to the Emperor’s olive orchards. Maybe I can teach something to prevent you from getting killed the first time you are sent ahead.”

He did not sound too enthused about training me. I learned a little from the trackers when we hunted goblins and picked up a few things here and there, but I would not consider myself skilled. Konstantin was not gentle today. I was going to have to use some healing tonight if I was going to be able to sleep. We switched to sword and shield.

Frustrated with the abuse, I used a series of attacks I had worked on in the dreamscape last night. I was shocked, as was Konstantin when the blade clipped the back of his knee. He limped back and paused the session. I thought he was going to return the injury tenfold, but instead, he said, “Nice strike. You left your left side open, and you would be dead if you had been fighting two opponents.” He winced, “I need to see the healing mage. We will meet here in one hour.” Konstantin hobbled off.

I was stunned, as was Linus, who had been watching. I realized the muscle memory of the attack sequence I practiced in the dreamscape transitioned to the real world. Linus drew my attention, “That was impressive, Eryk. Do you want to practice spear and shield?” He was due to work with one of the spear masters and wanted a way out. I shook my head no, leaving him to his fate. I walked away so I would not get pulled in and healed the worst of my contusions and bruised muscles.

I wished I had a book on how the amulet worked to get the most out of it. I was guessing it somehow pulled knowledge from me and incorporated it into my creations. “I am just going to watch for a while,” I indicated to two of the more skilled men practicing with shield and sword. I got a canteen of water, sat in the shade, and intensely focused on their fighting style. There were the elements of the basic sword forms we learned, and other unfamiliar aspects blended together to create a blinding offense and defense.

What I saw was too fast to discern clearly, but maybe my subconscious could sort it. I was still watching them when Konstantin returned, his limp healed. He waved me over, and we left the Legion Hall. I walked by Konstantin’s side as we exited the massive city gates. Outside the city was another city of endless buildings, but these were made of wood, and the people’s dress quality had dropped off significantly.

Konstantin said seriously, “I just heard the news that Macha has been retaken. The Duke tore down half the outer city with earthquakes. The Bartiradian army was decimated, and remnants fled across the border.”

I offered my opinion, “That seems awfully brutal. What about the citizens that remained?”

“It is brutal. We can expect there to be a reprisal. The Duke barely lost any men and is now riding for the border. With the expedition to the swamps by Collegium Scholarium, the Empire is planning to send more men to support Duke Tiberius’ attack,” Konstantin informed me. “There has not been such a push in my lifetime.”

“Are we going back then?” I focused and kicked a pebble on the paved road.

“No, we have our assignment. Keep your eyes on your surroundings, Eryk. A scout needs to be alert in the city as well as the wild, not kicking stones,” Konstantin reprimanded me. “Tell me about the three people we just passed on our left. Do not turn around.”

I was familiar with this teaching tactic from our time patrolling Macha. I thought hard on the last few seconds, “Two men and one woman carrying a basket. The basket had laundry. Probably clean since it was wet,” I said confidently.

Konstantin grunted, probably because I remembered so much. “The two men were behind her, thickly muscled and close enough to grab her in case she ran. She had a dead-eye stare, resigned to her fate. Probably a new prostitute in the Sprawl.” The Sprawl was the city that surrounded the capital.

I turned now but did not see the three in question, “Should we go save her?”

Konstantin gave me the harsh reality, “You can not save everyone, Eryk. Even being a legionnaire, the criminal enterprise those two worked for would kill you if you interfered in their business.”

The education continued for the next mile as we reached a walled orchard guarded by legionaries. We entered the orchard after Konstantin talked with them. “This is one of the Emperor’s Olive Orchards. He is the only one allowed to grow and produce oil from and ferment olives. We are going to practice moving quietly and unseen. There should be pickers in amongst the trees. We are going to sneak up on them.”

The next four hours were not as fun as I had hoped. Konstantin spent an hour showing, and then I had to put it into practice. The biggest key was seeing the target before they saw you. Then, using the terrain to remain unseen. I learned a lot and but thought I had done horribly. The pickers had learned what we were doing and made my life hell. I also swear Konstantin was rewarding them with coppers when they spotted me, so they were on high alert.

As we walked back to the city, Konstantin said, “Not terrible. It takes a lot of practice. Your biggest problem is your lack of patience. Now tell me about the two boys playing with wooden swords…”

Being so focused on everything around you all the time was extremely mentally taxing. When we reached the Eastern Legion Hall, my head was splitting from all the thinking I had been doing that day. I was famished and happy to sit down and eat with my small company family. The meal was a salad with peppers, corn, zucchini, and tomato in a vinegar and oil dressing. We did not have meat tonight, but plenty of hard-boiled eggs with salt and pepper. I was not the only one hungry, and we quickly finished all the food.

After everyone was satiated, Castile addressed us, “The portal to Caranhagan will open two hours after sunset. We will meet the rest of the company at the portal.” I was left to study my spell form on my own as Castile was too busy.

Three hours later, we escorted Castile in the center of our box formation. The Displacement Mage opened the portal. Dozens of people, soldiers, and legionaries streamed out quickly for the short duration the mages could hold the portal open. I recognized Delmar first and then Lirkin. Our company peeled from the exiting crowd and joined us on the plaza. Delmar had everyone form up and salute Castile. It was touching, and Castile might have shed a tear, but I could not tell as I was behind her. Everyone was present except for Flavius.

Castile ordered, “Brutus, you need to report to the Collegium Scholarium for questioning. Ask for the Chancellor,” she handed him the letter. “Everyone else, form a block, we are headed to the Eastern Legion Hall.”

Adrian and Delmar flanked Castile at the front, and the rest of us formed up behind, and we marched through the city. When we arrived at the Hall, we got the news from the men. They had to wait for the next portal cycle to the capital. Benito and Linus were happy to relay our heroic run and the questioning by the Truthseekers.

We occupied a second bunk room, and everyone removed their gear and armor. The room quickly took on the smell of a locker room, and I think my choice to sleep near the window was a mistake. The airflow was pulling all the odors past me. Soon, everyone was asleep. The heavy breathing and snoring kept me awake. I thought about using the amulet but knew we were headed to the docks at first light to take a barge upriver to the Duchess’ estate. Brutus returned before dawn and found a free bunk in the dark.

Adrian’s voice cut sharply in the bunk room, and it felt like I had not gotten any rest, “Gear up! Breakfast down in the commons, and then we are moving to catch our ride.”

The Legion Hall was active pre-dawn as other companies were also moving to their day’s assignments. The common room was a cafeteria, and the servers gave everyone the same plate of food. The meal was a thick oatmeal with raisins and dates. I never liked oatmeal in my life, but I forced it down anyway.

We marched out into the streets and made our way to the Adventurer’s Hall. I was surprised that the transactions went a lot quicker for everyone in the company. Guild Master Icarus was expecting us. Most just paid a small fee to have their prize coin transferred to their family, only taking a few gold themselves. The men were in a good mood, and I think it would soften the blow when they found out their wages were being cut in half. It was mid-morning when we finally made our way to the docks, Firth being the most vocal about not being able to spend his coin at the local brothels. I thought perhaps Castile just did not want him making a report to his Praetorian Guard handler.

The city of Telhian was on a tributary to the ocean, and the larger docks for sea-faring vessels were in a small bay. The smaller estuary docks had small barges for trade going up and down the wide river. Our barge was forty feet long and fifteen feet wide. We all piled in, and I was glad we were not walking to the Duchess’ estate.

The barge was one long, wide, shallow bathtub. It had a single mast and a sail in the center. It was crewed by three men. One worked the tiller, one the sail, and the third created the wind with his spell form. I moved to the bow of the barge and set up my pack to get some sleep on the boat ride. Delmar barked, “Eryk, it is a new day. No time to sleep. Pair off with Mateo for some practice. Whoever gets knocks the other in the water can take a nap!”

This was more of a game than actual training. We were using staves that Adrian had brought on board. I had a lot of training with the weapon when I trained with Helena in training. Bets were being placed, and I was on the losing end as Mateo was heavily favored.

I smirked as we stripped out of our armor, and Mateo was wet before he knew it. He was pulled back aboard to jeers. Instead of falling asleep for my earned nap, I positioned myself in the bow to watch everyone else train. I studied everyone intently, gaining knowledge for the next time I used the dreamscape amulet as we made our way up the river.