A Soldier's Life - 228 - (Patreon)

Chapter 228:

Five members of Castile’s company were mixed in with other unfamiliar legionnaires: Blaze, Mateo, Adrian, Lirkin, and Kolm. Adrian started laughing good-naturedly, “Look at our new Hound. All dressed up and ready to hunt the enemies of the Empire.” He approached, and we clasped wrists as equals. “Is Konstantin well?” he asked softly.

“The other pups needed a few more weeks of seasoning,” I smirked. He nodded, looking a little relieved. 

“After a few months with Konstantin, I expect they would differ in your opinion.” He clapped me on the shoulder.

Hercule was agitated by my familiarity with the company. “Hound, let's head out. If we start now, we can make Freidival by dark.”

I rolled my eyes out of his view. Covering nearly a hundred miles was not feasible, and I could tell he was angry. Maybe he had pieced together that I had tainted his canteen. I made a gambit and turned and held up two large silver, “Are you sure you don't want to get some breakfast on me?” Two large silver coins were two weeks' pay for a Hound, and I guessed correctly that Hercule was easily bribed. 

His eyes betrayed his greed, and he snatched the coins. “Meet me at the west gate in an hour.” He led his horse away, leaving me with the company.

The company was forming around the Displacement Mage, and I fell into step with Adrian. “How has the company been? Is Castile well? Is Maveith still with you?”

“We have been stationed here for eleven weeks. Castile won’t admit it, but she deserves a rest. We have been doing short expeditions into the surrounding towns. We have accounted for seventeen goblins and a pair of centaurs. We discovered one doppelgänger that managed to flee and exterminate a nest of giant centipedes.” Adrian relayed.

“Don’t forget about the sprites,” Lirkin called from behind us.

Blaze chirped from behind us, “Mateo and Benito got tricked by some sprites and pixies. Ended up tied up naked in the woods and nearly froze overnight.”

Mateo groused, “That is not how it happened. They fooled us into thinking they were young women lost in the woods.”

Kolm offered his input from the left side of the formation, “I thought Benito said you were following some barely dressed women into the woods for a tryst?”

Mateo moaned, “Castile thought it was a dryad, but the women were illusions, and Castile said we had been charmed by the pixies. We both had our legionnaire armor stolen by the sprites. I wish it had been a dryad and not an illusion,” Mateo said wistfully recalling the illusion.

Adrian shook his head, “You were lucky it wasn’t a dryad. It would have charmed and imprisoned you while they slowly sucked your life essence out through carnal acts to feed its progeny.”

Mateo responded immediately, “But it is a nice way to go. Eryk, you still got the dreamscape amulet?”

I didn’t respond but let him see me shake my head to the negative. “What about Maveith?” I asked Adrian.

Everyone was quiet. Adrian answered for them. “He returned to Sobral eight weeks ago. Don’t worry about the goliath, he sent a message that he got back safely and Ginger was fine.” I nodded in thanks at the news, and at least I knew where Maveith was. I had promised him to return with him to his home to see his father.

We approached a luxurious villa, and the displacement mage and his legionnaires turned here. Adrian and the company men entered the adjacent villa. I tied Comet off outside and climbed the steps with them, and Mateo yelled, “We found a stray at the portal! Can we keep him Castile!”

“Dog or a cat?” Benito’s voice yelled back. “I always wanted a dog, but my mother wouldn’t let me get one.” Benito and Linus came out of a side room, and their eyes turned into saucers.

Linus, the company medic, yelled, “You got us a full-grown Hound! An ugly one, but he will do for Benito.”

Benito gave me an unexpected hug.  “Eryk’s back!”

The entire villa erupted in noise as everyone came to see me. Castile stood in a doorway, a small smirk on her features. Adrian barked an order, “He only has an hour, so we will be having an early lunch.”

The company men who had returned with us began to remove their armor, and Lirkin rushed to cook while I was inundated with questions. It felt like I was home. After a few minutes, I asked, “Where is Brutus?”

Silence fell in the room. Firth answered, “He took service with First Citizen Boris Angella.” That was a surprise and disconcerting.

Benito noted, “Good thing. He hadn’t stopped complaining since we left the capital. Always whining that Eryk took the runic weapon and didn’t need it. I thought Maveith was going shove his runic hammer in his mouth to shut him up.”

Castile broke the conversation, “The rule is we don’t talk ill of lost comrades.” Everyone went silent. That normally applied to those who had died. Castile was, in a way, indicating Brutus was dead to the company, which got some nods. “Eryk, if you have some time, perhaps you can regale me with tales of your Hound training in the other room?”

I stood and went to talk with Castile. She immediately asked, “Konstantin?”

“He should be back in a few weeks. How is your new porter? He doesn’t talk much.” I referred to the quiet kid.

“Malory is another of Antonia’s spies. He does his job as a porter well enough. So you have been inserted in the Western Hounds?” She asked.

“Yes. I am already regretting my decision to become a Hound.” I confided.

Castile had a pained look, “Centurion Sergius has an insidious reputation. They should have warned you. Step carefully, Eryk.” She warned and finally smiled. “You look—well.”

“The training was difficult, but I maximized the opportunity that was provided. Our shared experience has been tested numerous times.” I said, rubbing my forearm to indicate the bone inscription we had received.

“Mine as well. Never talk about it in the open. Where are you assigned?” Castile inquired.

“A lookout that is west of Freidival on the coast—watching Kracken Bay for orc invasion ships,” I replied. I pulled out my message sending notebook, “I was giving this and have been checking it morning and evening for orders.” Castile nodded at the artifact and I put it away.

“The consensus is if the Boutan Orcs attack the western Empire, they will target Varvao and Bartatal, the only two significant populations in the west. They will sail through Kraken Bay to cut those two cities off from the rest of the Empire. The only other asset in the west is the dungeon we discovered.” Castile stated. That was not quite true. I had passed dozens of small towns and farms when I traveled the western Empire. Those civilians would be displaced if war erupted.

A thought occurred to me, “The writing on the walls in that dungeon—wasn’t it orc?”

“Yes, I saw the Adventurer’s Guild report from the dungeon. It was a ceremonial dungeon for young warriors of the nomadic orcs that used to live and roam the plains. The First Legion chased them off. But it is not lost on the Collegium Scholarium that those same orcs migrated to the Boutan Caliphate and may be seeking to reclaim their ancestral lands.” Castile informed me and nodded at my thoughts. “The Empire’s past sins are coming back to plague them.”

“I should head to the west gate soon,” I said, wanting to spend a little more time with the company.

Castile reached out and grabbed my arm to have me pause, “Remember who I said you could trust?”

A long time ago, Castile had told me who was in her plans to flee the Empire. I nodded, “Adrian, Felix, Mateo, and Blaze. Felix died in the Shimmering Labyrinth.”

“Good. You can add one other to that list.” I was almost certain she was going to say Konstantin, but instead, she said, “Benito.”

Now, Benito was a good man and simplicity funny, but trusting him with such a massive secret—seemed foolish. “Mateo recruited him,” Castile explained in concealed exasperation. “After Felix died, the two became close. If the Empire crumbles, we will head to Gramney, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Manch. If you want to find us, that is where we will be.” I nodded. The Grand Duchy was on the other side of the Kingdom of Bartiradia. It would be a difficult journey for them, but I had plans with Maveith. But it also told me Castile was getting ready to run herself. The threat of the archives was much less if the Telhian Empire collapsed.

I spent some more time with the company and was almost an hour late to the western gate. I asked the city guards, but Hercule hadn’t shown up yet. It appeared he had planned to make me wait for him. He arrived about twenty minutes after I did. “Hope you didn’t have to wait long,” he snickered.

Rather than tell him I had been an hour late, I looked upset, turned Comet to the road, and trotted off. It took us two days to get to Freidival. Hercule had tried to switch our canteens when we camped in a farmer’s barn. I made a show of drinking from it but used my purify self spell form not to be affected by the lingering laxative. This had almost been a mistake because it had been a potion and had its own aether. It cost me a lot more aether to purify it from my stomach, but I learned a valuable lesson and left Hercule confused.

The city of Freidival had a high stone wall and was surrounded by hundreds of farms. The populace here was just as depressed as the other cities I had traveled through this winter. There was a Legion Hall in this city and that is where Hercule led us. Six gray legionnaires sat in the common room and looked at us with curiosity. Hercule pointed at me, “This Hound will be taking a pack horse and the supplies he can load. What type of ale do you have?”

The oldest of the group with battered resin-leather armor nodded slowly, “Just the local brew. We only have a pair of nags in the stables, and you are welcome to have one of both.”

Hercule went to the keg behind the unattended bar and retrieved a pitcher and mug. When I didn’t move, he looked back at me, “Well, Hound, get to it. If I helped you all the time, you would start to expect me to hold your cock while you piss.” I didn’t retort and couldn’t recall once when Hercule helped me with anything.

One of the old legionaries stood and waved me to follow. He had a friendly demeanor and smiled. “Name is Leo. You heading out to one of the sentry posts?”

“Eryk, yes, I am,” I replied in a friendly manner as well.

“Well, we don’t have much. Shipments have been infrequent, and most of here are retired and just called back to fill in the roles.” He opened the door to a barely lit supply room that had a scent of mold. It was one of the worst-stocked Legion Halls I had seen in my time. A lot of the gear looked worn damaged, or just broken. “Bags are over there. I will go to the tack room and prep one of the nags unless you want both?”

“I will do it myself, but thank you.” I walked the shelves, and there was nothing I needed here. Still, I packed some heavy wool blankets, oiled canvas, and two saddlebags with ration bars. I didn’t know how long I would be on watch.

I spent time in the stables examining the two nags, using what Lucien had taught me. Both were old and had spine issues, so they couldn’t be ridden. It might have been better to put them down or let them loose. Still, both were extremely docile and friendly. I gave both of them an apple from my storage and decided not to take either. My packs were only about fifty pounds, and Comet could manage.

“Ready?” Hercule asked when I returned to the common room. He had been drinking alone, and there were now nine old legionnaires making use of the open cask of ale. I nodded, and he drained his mug and rose.

He was a little surprised at how little I had taken from the stores, but I deflected by telling him I could forage for what I needed. The road and farms quickly disappeared into just a wide, rarely-used path. Hercule had suddenly become much more cautious as we headed west, toward the bay.

With the density of growth in some areas, I would have preferred to be walking and using my earth speak ability. After an hour, he finally spoke, “Gnolls don’t get this far west, but two years ago, a Hound was taken down by an owl bear, and red goblin tribes find their way here from the south.” I couldn’t tell if he was trying to scare or help me.

“What are my duties as a sentry?” I asked since he finally seemed to be less of an ass at the moment.

“You will be given night sight goggles and an artifice spyglass. Every two hours, you scan the out into Kraken Bay, even at night. You see something, you write it in the book. If Centurion Sergius has need of you elsewhere, he will write it in the message sending book.” He hadn’t lost his attitude toward me, and his tone was condescending, as if I should have already known my duties.

I smelled the ocean before I saw it as we started climbing a steep hill. We dismounted, giving me a chance to use my earth speak ability again. I paused as I found a crude pit spike trap. Hercule grunted, “Oh, forgot to mention, the lookout is surrounded by traps for your safety. You will need to maintain them as well.” I think he had been hoping I would have stepped into the trap.

We crested the hill, and below us was a barren landscape leading to a sandy beach about a mile away. A Hound stepped from an outcropping to our left. “Expected you yesterday.” He said angrily.

Hercule wasn’t just an ass to me as he responded with the same snark, “Got here when I felt like it. If I hadn’t had this fresh off the teat pup with me, I would have made better speed.”

The Hound, a tall man with light brown hair and thick corded muscles, shook his head, “Sergius is expecting me in Lorvo the day after tomorrow.”

“You should have just left early,” Hercule snickered.

The Hound, whose name I recalled as Damian, snapped, “There have been six orc ships passing in the last month. All were fishing ships, but they never fish this far south in the bay. They were clearly scouting. The attack could happen at any time. I was not going to leave my post and risk missing the war fleet sailing past.”

My assessment of this Hound was positive. He was competent and took his duty seriously. We walked with him to a small cave exposed to the water below. Damian started talking while he gathered his things. “You can’t see the cave from the beach, but don’t start a fire or use a glowstone at night. About a mile south there is a berry field. No berries till spring, but there are large onions in the area. Use your thermal stone to thaw the earth. Crabs on the beach are easy enough to catch, and in the spring, there will be plenty of game in the woods.”

He shouldered his pack, eager to leave, and I guessed he was taking Comet. He paused. “Watch the surf at night. I've been seeing some merfolk scavenging the shore, but they won’t climb up here but you never know. Be careful that this entire lookout is surrounded by traps and alarms. If you had arrived yesterday, I would have had time to show them all to you.” He looked pointedly at Hercule, who shrugged indifferently.

I walked with him, got my bags from Comet, and gave him one last apple. Damian looked on, licking his lips but not asking for one himself. I produced another one and handed it to him as he didn’t seem like a bad guy. “What about me?” Hercule asked.

“All out, sorry,” I stated unemotionally. He looked at me doubtfully but didn’t press.

Without any real goodbyes, the two Hounds led the horses down the steep hill. I watched them go, realizing I was going to be alone, but the question was, for how long?

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