A Soldier's Life - 207 - Bibliophile (Patreon)

Chapter 207: Bibliophile

Renna definitely preferred to be on top. It wasn’t her first time, either. I untangled her pale limbs from me, and she grumbled something I hadn’t caught. I slid off the weasel pelt covering my small bed and dressed. Renna had to be hungry and was definitely thirsty. It was still hours before dawn, but I could make something special.

I planned to make phyllo dough and use the apple berry jam from the dungeon as a filling. I was folding the dough when Zyna walked into the kitchen. “You feel better now?” She asked conspiratorially. She sauntered over, took one of the dungeon apples on the counter, and bit into it.

I was trying to determine if she meant my little stroll in the city or Renna being in my room. “I needed to stretch my legs a bit,” I said after a pause.

“And Renna’s too, apparently.” She said with a smirk. I think her eyes were a bit glassy in the light of the glowstone. At least there was no jealousy in her tone.

“Is she in trouble?” I asked, pausing my work. I knew she was promised to one of the Emperor’s sons.

"For consorting with you? That is unlikely unless she likes to gossip. I do not.” Zyna sighed dejectedly, but it appeared fabricated—like she was overacting. “And here I was spending all my energy trying to help you, and you spent your energy on the young mage.” Shit. I think Zyna just implied her help came with strings.

I played ignorant. “You found someone who will trade for the amulet?” I started rolling the dough sheets again, not meeting eyes with the woman.

“Nothing final, but there were a number of parties interested. The requirement for an apex channeling essence makes it hard to satisfy your demands.” Zyna stated cheerfully. “But I have an offer for four apex quickness essences, one apex channeling essence, two fire apex essences, and one earth essence.”

“That is only eight apex essences. Why are there fire essences included?” I asked, confused. I would actually take that offer immediately.

“I told you I am negotiating for you, but they think I am the one who will be consuming the essences. Give me time, and I should be able to squeeze a few more essences out of the Duke.” Zyna smiled widely. I think she was fine with me choosing Renna over her—but it was really Renna forcing herself on me. At least, that is what I was telling myself.

An unpleasant thought occurred to me. “Which Duke? I do not have much time before Cornelius calls for me for the Hounds.” I was spreading the jam and folding the dough in a pattern over it in preparation for baking. Zyna used her finger to sample the jam, took the jam jar, and spooned a serving into a bowl.

She moaned in satisfaction with the taste of the jam. “Duke Tiberius. He is currently leading the eastern armies against the Bartiradians. Unsurprisingly, he has a number of essences come into his possession.” I winced as I knew that meant he was probably harvesting the dead Bartiradian mages and soldiers. I shouldn’t be squeamish as I had done the same myself.

“Can you make the deal soon?” I asked the fire mage. She cleaned the spoon in her mouth, slowly removing the sweet-savory jelly with her tongue.

“I could, but if you wait, I can get you more apex essences,” Zyna replied, licking her lips. “Also, you should know that Duke Tiberius is the grandfather of the twins, Ona and Cashius. He dotes on Ona, and I would not be surprised if it were a gift for her coming 17th birthday. He has no affinity for charm magic himself.”

“Ona is not a First Citizen, though, just her brother. Didn’t you say Ona was trying to get me to be her personal guard?”

“Boy, how much does it take to satiate your lust?” Zyna teased, leaning forward. “I would advise you to keep your distance. Renna should have told you she is just as malicious as her brother. Don’t let the comely facade fool you; that girl is more deadly than a red-bellied viper. Besides, if you got close to her, her brother may become jealous.” She said the last with implications and a wink.

“Are the two of them? I was not…” I stopped talking because I did not want to know.

“What happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors.” She said, leaning forward further, and I could smell the faint odor of alcohol. Was Zyna drinking before sunrise? It would explain her demeanor.

There was silence for a time as I worked, and Zyna ate the dungeon jam. “What about an arcane armor amulet?” I was getting the uncomfortable feeling Zyna had been expecting to be in Renna’s place last night.

“It is best not to muddy the water of the trade with that. I can get you a simple one for a few hundred gold.” She exhaled close to me, and she had definitely been drinking. I produced a potion and a morning glory stem and extended it to her. She took them, recognizing them and sighing heavily as she broke the seal on the weak cure poison potion. The cure poison needed the morning glory as a chaser to prevent an instant hangover. She crushed the stem and sucked the sap loudly.

Zyna sucked her teeth as dry mouth was an after-effect. “Your skills in alchemy are better than I thought. I have definitely been under-utilizing your skill set.” She sat back in the chair as the potion did its work. Her flirtatious body language started to recede as she regained some composure.

“It is mostly the quality of ingredients I am sent. Do you think I have a few hundred gold? How much is platinum worth?” She froze, studying me.

“Of course, you have platinum,” she said incredulously. “Did you find the king’s vault in Caelora and not tell Castile? Emperor Maximus Marcellus sent four campaigns into the Specter City, and they all failed.” She poured herself some water.

“No. Is there a king’s treasure in the city? Is that why the Adventurer’s Guild has not been informed of the Shimmering Labyrinth.” I asked as I moved the pastries to the oven. I placed the seven platinum spheres on the counter. Zyna picked them up and inspected them.

“Ring ingot blanks, if I am not mistaken.” Zyna shook her head in disbelief. “Over a thousand gold worth, if I am not mistaken. You should know when to keep your secrets, Eryk.” She emphasized my name. She swept up the spheres. “The Emperor is too busy with the titan ruins, but now that he knows the kettle of souls can prevent the specters from reconstituting, he has plans for the city and the dungeon. After the city has been conquered and stripped, he will inform the Adventurer’s Guild of the dungeon in time.”

I nodded and thought that perhaps that was another reason Zyna had not wanted me to wander the city. Once again, it made me worry about the company and the loudmouths among them. Maybe they had been promised something for their silence. They did get to keep their runic weapons.  

I turned the conversation back to the amulet trade. “Major essences of channeling would be fine, too. Anything to help with my burn.” Even just one major essence for channeling would solve my problem, but Zyna didn’t need to know that. “I do not need fire essences, so you can have them if they are included in the trade.”

“Good, I won’t have to ask you for them,” she laughed happily and suddenly stopped. I followed her gaze to Renna who was wearing just my oversized shirt. Her eyes flitted to Zyna, then me, and back.

Zyna’s face was impassive as she said, “I want half of those pastries in the oven.” She looked at Renna till she blushed. “You can skip classes today and take Eryk to view any of the books in the libraries. If he damages something, the curator will hold you responsible.”

“Yes, Chancellor.” She nodded obediently.

“I will see about completing the trade,” Zyna stood and left the kitchen. Renna was tense until she left.

Renna came and sat next to me as I started making breakfast to go with the pastries. “Is she angry with me? I skipped the midday meal to sneak up here. I broke the lockdown rules.” Renna said nervously.

“If anything, she is mad at me. But I think she will avoid burning either of us to a crisp.” I whisked some eggs and cheese together as the kitchen filled with the smell of the baking pastries. Renna was hungry after last night and ate two legionnaire-sized portions. I sprinkled some large sugar crystals on the fresh pastries, and I had to stop her from eating all six, saving three for Zyna.

“So, you want to read in the library all day?” Renna asked with a pouty face. “Zyna said I didn’t have to go to classes.”

“Yes. But perhaps after we bathe. We both smell offensive,” I said as I continued to make her breakfast.

After an extended bath, Renna happily escorted me to the library. The library I had chosen to explore was the bestiary. The curator had a foul expression the entire time I paged through book after book. Obviously, I couldn’t read that fast, so she probably assumed I was only looking at the pictures.

I accidentally tore one aged page when I paged too fast, and thankfully, the hawkish curator hadn’t noticed. I was sure she would have kicked me out on the spot if she did. Renna got impatient with me and eventually paged through a few books alone. Adding this knowledge to the dreamscape amulet would take weeks but would be invaluable in the future.

The contents of books offered a variety of information on creatures from all across Desia. From the glacial north to both massive continents. Most of the information focused on fighting the creatures. Still, there were notes on tracking them, their preferred habitat, behavior, hunting, diet preferences, life cycle, and harvestables. Some of the compendiums even had the likely essence the creature would yield with a collector.

Some creatures had more than one tome as well. Getting through everything in one day was going to be near impossible. I worked through the midday and handed Renna a burrito, which had the curator yelling at both of us for eating in her library. When the diner bell rang, Renna looked uncertain. The old curator had stayed in the library the entire day. Twelve hours had gotten me through half of the collection.

“You should return to your room for tonight,” I said, putting down a book on orcish customs of the Caliphate.

Renna leaned into me and whispered, “I can stay with you tonight.”

I was tempted, but I guessed the Mage College had eyes and ears everywhere. Renna had been too familiar with me, and I assumed the curator had observed her wandering hands during the day when she was close to me.  “No. We have time yet. Best not to draw attention to us.” A disappointed Renna left me to retire to her own room.

The tired curator tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. “Can I continue under your supervision?” I asked helpfully.

“No. That is not what I agreed to with the Chancellor. I don’t have time to watch you.” I decided not to point out that she had, in fact, watched me all day. When I reached the Chancellor’s suite, I started to prepare Zyna’s dinner and smirked when I noticed the pastries were gone.

As the scent of cooking spread, Zyna joined me in the kitchen. “Did you have a productive day?”

“Yes, I got through half of the bestiaries in the library,” I responded.

“Half? The dreamscape amulet, then? I guess it is good to have the memory to draw on when you enter the amulet.” Zyna said contemplatively.

Her statement caused me to ask a favor. “Could you get me a book on how to use the dreamscape amulet?”

Zyna looked slightly surprised at the request, “I assumed you were familiar with it. Are you not using it every night?”

“Almost every night, yes. But I was self-taught in its use. Perhaps I could be more efficient with my time.” I responded.

Zyna shrugged, “I will have a copy made. The artifact library is in another tower.” They assume the amulet is in my possession anyway. Zyna checked on what I was making her before talking. “I have a new offer for the charm affinity amulet. Duke Tiberius has offered four apex quickness essences, one apex channeling essence, two fire apex essences, one earth essence, one major channeling essence, and four major fire essences. I will have your aetheric armor amulet soon as well. You should have a few large golds left over as well.” Zyna looked me in the eyes, judging my reaction.

“Do it,” I said without hesitation.

“If you waited, he might harvest another apex channeling essence.” Zyna offered.

“No. How long until the exchange can be completed?”

“A day. The portals are very active to Macha in both directions. I will send a message to the Duke tonight.” Zyna hedged briefly before adding, “The amulet is going to Mage Ona. I thought you should know. It will raise her charm affinity by fifteen relative points.” Zyna said, and my eyes bulged. That was a 150% increase in charm affinity power. “Mage Ona was not weak in the charm affinity. This amulet will make her much stronger. Maybe strong enough to get her father to acknowledge her and pay the cost for her First Citizen ascension.”

“Why doesn’t Duke Tiberius pay for his granddaughter’s First Citizenship if he favors her so much?” I asked, not understanding the social dynamics.

“Only the father can sponsor a child. If the father is dead, the mother can sponsor. If both parents are dead, then only the Emperor can sponsor. Cashius is the favored child of Baron Erebus Severna.” Zyna explained patiently. “The Baron is heavily invested in Cashius and expects Ona to support him unconditionally. Putting them in equal social standing would undermine that expectation.” That made me feel some pity for Mage Ona. I was more worried for Renna by strengthening one of her enemies.

“Can you protect Renna from them?” I asked Zyna seriously.

“They will not touch her. All the students have been warned they will be harshly disciplined for any mischief. The Empire needs every capable mage. The city has been turned upside down, searching for infiltrators of the Caliphate, Esenhem Elves, and Bartiradians. The number found has raised concerns. They knew we were testing the young mages at Gnoll Gardens. It was not a chance attack.” Zyna affirmed.

Zyna’s reassurance felt a little hollow, considering my impression of the First Citizens to date. “Can I return to practicing at the Imperial Legion Hall?”

“All guard posts have been doubled. There is no one to practice with. But I will say you represented me well.” Zyna smiled.

“Can I visit Ignis? I wasn’t allowed into the Imperial Grounds.” I asked.

Zyna considered before responding. “No, but I will escort you in the morning to see her unless you just want to send your armor to her for repairs.” Zyna started eating my attempt at beef stroganoff.

The Empire was being squeezed. I was sure the regular citizens didn’t have the same access to information as I did, but I could feel it. “I will clean up in the morning.” I indicated the plates. “And Zyna, thank you,” I said with genuine sentiment. I think I saw a slight shadow of guilt cross her face. But I might have been imagining it as it disappeared in a blink. I headed to my small room as I had a lot to do in the dreamscape tonight.