Chapter 21: Obstruction in the Road
Konstantin was easier on me than I expected. We focused on the two- weapon style to take on two opponents at once—two human opponents. Konstantin noted he only fought with two blades against a single opponent or monster. You needed to be ambidextrous and also be able to control the blades independently. It was not easy, but Konstantin thought I had the capacity to learn. We focused on using the off-hand weapon as the parrying and defensive weapon.
When we finished, I was covered in dirt and sweat and greedily drinking from a waterskin. He told me, "If things play out as expected, the
Bartiradians will invade in force and attempt to capture this city. They are mostly human, but you can expect elves and dwarves to be in their number. The elves are agile gits, and the dwarves hit like a horse." He took a long pull of a waterskin. "And do not be swayed by the beauty of their women. I almost lost my head staring into the mesmerizing eyes of one once."
"Damn, I didn't know you preferred dwarven women," I joked.
Konstantin backhanded my chest with his canteen softly, but the practiced motion caused a gout of water to splash into my face, "The elves, boy. The elves. But I did have a dwarf once. The women are as hairy down below as above." He stood and walked away.
I walked through the city of Macha, but there wasn't much left to see. Most of the shops were abandoned. The regular army left the boarded shops alone, but walked into the open shops looking for abandoned goods to appropriate. I made it to the gates and walked out into the humid air. One of the soldiers at the gates looked at my legion leather armor, then ignored me.
The land around the walls had dozens of small houses, most with overturned fields of quickly harvested crops, probably done too early in the season. The road east toward the enemy looked to be concrete and well- maintained. I gazed down the road at nothing before returning to get some sleep in the sticky hot air.
The two small beds I pushed together smelled like ammonia. I closed the door and pulled out my griffin feather pillow and a heavy blanket to lay
across the mattresses. The sun was setting but did not take the humidity with it. I could not get comfortable, so I lit the lamp in the room and pulled out the book on the history of the legion.
It took a lot of work to re-wire my brain to read the Latin words. At least I used the spoken language daily and had a decent grasp of vocabulary. I spent the entire night working on the text, managing about twenty pages.
I learned that the First Legion had arrived from another world—I assumed Earth—about two thousand years ago. The book talked about the heroes of the First Legion who conquered the lands and made them safe. They were apt fighters and powerful mages. That last part did not make sense until I translated what their powers were. The members of the legion had strong affinities with space, time, convergence, and displacement! This meant I
was not magically gifted or some prodigy as I thought. Instead, whatever forces brought me here affected me in the same way.
A knock sounded loudly at the door. "Wake up and gear up. We need to be at the gate in half an hour for the patrol." It was Konstantin, and he moved to the next door to wake the others. I moved the pillow and book to my
storage but just left the heavy blanket on the bed. I had sweat a puddle during the night and wouldn't mind leaving the damp blanket out, hopefully to dry. I hung it near the window.
I gathered my gear and strapped on a pair of short swords. I thought about requisitioning a spear from the army but decided against it, not wanting to carry it on patrol. Mateo and Felix walked with me to the gate. The entire legion was assembled, minus Adrian, Castile, Lucien, and Kolm, who was our pseudo-blacksmith. They were working to secure supplies in the city for our company, and the rumor was they were trying to secure better sleeping accommodations as well. Personally, that was the first time I had slept in privacy since I had arrived in this world, and I did not mind staying there.
Delmar stood in front of the remaining number of us. "We have a twenty- mile loop to do today, men. Make sure your canteens are full. The insects
are bad the further we travel along the wetland, so even though it's hot, I suggest you use neck and head wraps. We will encounter horse-sized frogs. The biggest danger is if they grapple you with their tongue and pull you under the water. If a comrade is grabbed—" he looked over the men "—attack the tongue; they will be more likely to release the victim. Then focus your attack on the body."
Everyone nodded and moved their daggers on their belts for easier access. Delmar seemed to think before adding, "A bullywug was seen a few days back. If we spot one, we will form up and retreat to the city. They travel in large hunting groups and may have nested deep in the bog."
Konstantin handed me a clean wrap and showed me how to wrap it to protect my neck and head. He did the same for two others in the company that did not have one.
We started walking, and our two scouts, Orson and Konstantin, moved ahead of us. Firth walked next to me. After twenty minutes on the road, we all spread out in twos and threes. "It's true," Firth said. "The army is amassing at the border and will push to Macha in a few days' time. We are going to be stuck in a fucking siege."
"So Justin screwed us over?" I asked.
He harrumphed. "Nope, one of Castile's other enemies in the Adventurer's Guild, I think. They're probably hoping she dies out here in the attack, and they can pocket the finder's fee for the dungeon."
"How many enemies does Mage Castile have?" I asked as I sucked on my canteen. It was already half empty, and we had been gone for less than
three hours. I was going to have to try and pull water into it from the barrels in my storage when we stopped for a rest.
Firth laughed. "About five that I know about. Probably that number again of ones I do not know about. Most aren't enemies, just people who really don't like her." He adjusted his small pack. "Mage Castile was at the top of her class at the Mage War College. That didn't sit well with the sons and
daughters of the First Citizens there. It all snowballed after that. I joined her about three years after she was assigned a company of legionaries." He looked back at the legionnaires. "About half of us are still here. Castile has
done right by us." He leaned in and whispered, "I have received over two hundred essences from her in my service." I guessed that was impressive for a soldier, and it was a massive fortune when you added up the value. I could see how Castile bought the loyalty of her men.
Three hours later, we stopped to rest at a series of boulders along the roadside. The road looked like it had been made by pouring tons of rocky soil and packing it down. There was now a swamp or bog to our right and left. I wet my scarf from my canteen and rewrapped it around my neck and head. It must have been too hot for the insects to come out today, as I had not seen any, but the wrap helped with the heat.
Delmar sat on the rock next to me. "You shouldn't waste your water like that, Eryk. If we get in a fight, that water will be like the elixir of gods after it is over." I nodded at his wisdom and moved into the shadow of a boulder. I focused on the water in my space and the canteen in my hand. I needed to stick my finger into the canteen, but grinned madly as it filled.
Not only did it fill, but it was also cold water!
No one saw me, and I took three long pulls to get the canteen to half empty in case someone asked for a drink from it. We continued our patrol and
came to a T-intersection. I read the signs. The city of Oliscalmape, which was part of the Telhian Empire, was down one road. The direction we were headed was to the city of Guiracas, in the Kingdom of Bartiradia. I figured out the numbers and distance…it was 98 miles to the enemy city, so there was not much to worried about just yet. Oliscalmape was 75 miles away.
I was slightly disappointed we had not seen any giant frogs yet. I wanted to see what they looked like up close. Delmar had us resume, and we started circling back to Macha down a different road. After mid-day, Konstantin and Olson came jogging down the road. They reported to Delmar, who looked down the road and then back the way we came. He called everyone together, and the scouts kept a lookout.
"The scouts found an obstacle in front of us. An ogre is about half a mile down the road hunting the giant frogs." He looked over everyone who had started to tighten armor straps and pulled weapons. "It may have moved off by the time we get there, but if not, we will form a shield wall and fire at it
with range." Five men with bows nodded and cycled to the back of the formation.
"Ogres are not bright, but they hit with deadly force. Eryk, stay in the middle of the formation and be prepared to treat wounded with Linus."
Delmar pulled his shield off his back and moved to the front alongside five others with large shields. It was like magic, how the company suddenly marched in tempo with each other and formed a square as we approached
the encounter.
The ogre saw us approach. It had two large corpses of frogs in the road, which it had been feeding on. The wind had shifted and was blowing right at us. It smelled like bile mixed with the shittest-smelling fart ever. The
ogre stood, and my jaw fell. It was easily over ten feet tall and had to weigh more than a horse. Its yellow-brown skin was covered in patches of hair and dirt.
Someone said, "Fuck me."
Another person quipped, "You do not want that thing ramming you." He was indicating the ogre's penis, as the monster had no clothes. I had not noticed it yet because the height of the brute was so imposing.
Weirdly, I was not afraid at all. The dungeon had beaten the fear out of me. We also had over twenty men to just one ogre. The ogre reached into one of its kills, pulled out an organ, and shoved it into a massive maw. That was a maw—not a mouth. The gore splattered everywhere as it chewed. Then, with bloody teeth, it roared red spittle into the air.
Wylie muttered, "I hope he wasn't calling friends."
Delmar gave the hand signal, and we walked forward as a unit to engage.
Chapter 22: Other Worlders
Delmar advanced at a steady pace while the ogre finished his scream. I figured the ogre was either challenging us or trying to scare us away from his kill. The ogre grabbed a massive rusty sword from the ground. "Fuck, he has a weapon—and it is not a club," someone said, as if it wasn't obvious.
Linus, the medic, asked for a healing potion in preparation, and I grabbed one and handed it to him. Delmar called out, "Scrap the shield wall. I'll distract it and get its back to you. Cut the Achilles or hamstring tendon!" Delmar broke into a jog, easily deflecting the ogre's overhead swing into the dirt. He tried to move behind the beast as arrows peppered its chest from the front. Now that we were only 50 feet away, the smell had gotten
insanely irritating, so much so that my eyes watered. I was in the center of our formation, and the second line of attack if the men in front were injured or killed.
Delmar had cut the ogre's thigh and gotten behind it. The ogre spun on Delmar, turning its back to us. The forward line rushed forward and a
series of arrows impacted the ogre's back, but they barely penetrated. The ogre roared and swung wildly at Delmar. A spear pierced the hamstring of
the ogre, and both calf muscles had multiple cuts, but it had a thick hide and steel-like hamstrings.
The ogre was bleeding freely. It suddenly charged Delmar, who nimbly sidestepped but was caught off guard when the ogre flung the massive sword into his chest as he passed. The weight of the blade crashed into Delmar, throwing him off the road and into swampy waters. The men abandoned the cautious attack and threw themselves at the ogre before it could get to the downed Delmar. A dozen men swarmed the ogre. I saw
one man, Mateo, jump on the back and stab the ogre in the shoulder blades with a long dagger.
Surprisingly, the ogre agilely reached back, grabbed Mateo's arm, scraped him off, and threw him thirty feet into the bog. That was the last surge of
the ogre's strength as it dropped to its knees. Spears and blades rang down, focusing on the ogre's head, and it whimpered like a child and tried in vain to block the heavy rain of strikes. It collapsed, but I was already running
into the bog to check on Mateo. Linus was seeing to Delmar, already giving him the healing potion.
Mateo was groaning when I reached him. "Anything broken?" I asked, kneeling in the dark soupy water.
Mateo sat up, and I smelled a wall of stench. It was like the ogre had skunked him. "No…well, maybe a rib. The shoulder is a bit messed up, but not a broken bone." He stood, and I backed away, holding my nose after I made sure he could walk. He smiled victoriously. "The landing was pretty soft…" He sniffed the air and then looked at his armor. The mud that had coated the ogre's back was now smeared across his leather armor, pants, and face. "Ah, shit."
"Exactly!" I said. "Stay downwind of everyone." I moved away to see how Linus was doing with Delmar. Linus had Delmar on his feet. The potion
bottle was empty, and Delmar had blood on his face. "Do you need a second potion?"
Delmar smiled, his teeth outlined with blood. "Would be a waste of a potion. I'm good to get back and see a healer. Sword just clipped me. I can walk." Linus was with him, and I was a little upset as my boots were now waterlogged from checking on Mateo. The conversation turned to the dead ogre and frogs. It would have given a nice strength essence if we had a collector.
The ogre had a few harvestable parts. The teeth only sold for a few dozen silver, not worth the effort, as we would not have an alchemist to sell them to in Macha. Ogre fat could be made into good insect-repellent candles, and we joked that we already had Mateo for that. The stomach could be
made into an excellent and durable sack with a good tanner. No one was in the mood to cut it out, so we left the ogre unmolested in its death pose. The frogs were useless besides the meat, and no one was going to trust the meat after the ogre had torn into them.
The walk back took longer, as Mateo and Delmar were moving slightly slower. We encountered three giant frogs through the stretch. We killed one with arrows, and the other two fled after receiving some injuries. We were not equipped to chase them into the bog.
I was missing Ginger, my horse. The walking had not been too bad until my boots got filled with muddy swamp water. I had dumped the water out,
but Delmar had us moving again, and I did not have time to sneak away and change into dry socks. After seven miles, I could feel the calluses on my feet peeling off.
When we got back to the city, there was no fanfare for our return. Delmar dismissed us and went to report to Castile. We returned to our makeshift sleeping arrangements at the abandoned bakery. I sat on my bed and peeled off my boots and socks, taking a fair amount of skin with them. The flesh was raw and bleeding.
"Eryk," Konstantin said as he walked by, "next time that happens, wring your socks out. Better yet, bring extra socks and switch your socks with a dry pair." He inspected my feet. "I'll have Felix bring you a meal. We're only on the walls tomorrow from sunrise to sunset, no patrol."
"Is the regular army doing the patrol?" I asked, rubbing my feet with the horse salve from my pack.
"No, another legion unit is handling it. We go out the day after, swamp patrol again." He sounded happy about it. "Tell you what, Eryk, no training tonight." He laughed at the annoyed look on my face as he left. I thought about drinking one of the healing potions I carried for the company, but just sighed and lay on my bed after stripping down to my underwear. The humidity was still making me sweat, so I drank cold water from my canteen.
I wished I could take a shower, but after a twenty-mile patrol, half in muddy soaked boots, I was just exhausted. I pulled the history book out of my
space and started reading again. Felix arrived with my food and asked about the book, but I had already prepared an answer. I told him I found it in the children's room.
The food he handed me was simple: small boiled potatoes and ham steak.
The portion was very generous. Felix sat and ate with me. "Mateo is on the roof. He took a shower and still stinks a fair bit, so he's not sleeping in the room with me. Linus is getting him something to clean his armor. Most likely, he's going to get out of wall watch tomorrow because no one wants to smell him," Felix said, chuckling.
After he finished his meal, I turned on the oil lamp and continued reading. After the First Legion arrived and carved out its Empire, it continued to expand its borders. The expansion slowed, as the legionaries did not pass
down the powerful mastery of their magic affinities to their children. Still, many legionaries were long-lived and set up their families to control the
Empire and protect its people. The children's book started to go into the propaganda of all the good the Legion did with their knowledge and
magic. Roads, aqueducts, improved non-magic construction methods, and structured law. I passed out reading late into the night, unable to spend two consecutive nights without sleep.
Konstantin woke us again by banging on the doors. He took a lot of
pleasure in the loud morning call. We got large cheese loaves filled with thick beef gravy, like a massive Hot Pocket. As legionaries, we received better and larger portions of food than the regular army. Felix told me not to gloat about it, or it would likely result in a brawl. "Besides," he joked,
"we're outnumbered seven thousand to one hundred in the city. It wouldn't be a fair fight for the regulars."
The wall duty watch had a purpose. Adrian explained that this was the one- hundred-yard stretch we would be expected to defend if the city was attacked. The stretch of wall was from the gate tower to an archer tower.
The soldiers got to do their watch up in the towers, shielded from the sun, while we sat on the wall in the heat. There were just twenty-one of us for the wall duty, because many of our legion members were being tasked to
help elsewhere in the city. Since we did not have any skills of note, we got to sit on the wall. We split it into three shifts of seven, with Delmar, Adrian, or Konstantin serving as commanding officer for each shift.
I took the first shift to get the rest of the day off. I planned to finish the book that afternoon and get some sleep, but Konstantin found me as I left
the wall. "Eryk, you're with me. We're going on a patrol. Don't worry, it's short."
I followed him outside the gates, and he said, "We are going to walk the perimeter of the wall. It will give you some familiarity with the city." As we walked the wall, Konstantin talked about likely attack routes against the walls, the strongest defensive points and the weakest. If I had not been so exhausted, I would have asked questions, but as it was, my energy level only permitted me to listen.
It took two hours to walk the outer city wall, and I was slightly fearful we were going to follow it with dual-sword practice. Instead, we went to the same cart where we got our breakfast, and Konstantin left with his late
lunch in hand. It was a large loaf again, but stuffed with diced sausage and vegetables this time. I wondered if Konstantin took everyone on a personal walk of the city.
I had the afternoon to read and finish the book. The end of the History of the First Legion was slightly chilling and gave me pause ever to reveal myself as a traveler from Earth. A few members of the First Legion had lived for almost a thousand years. Whenever a stranger arrived from another world, they were brought to the Emperor for a reward. The
storybook I read was maybe a hundred years old, and most of the story read akin to a myth rather than actual history. In my time here, I had not heard
anyone mention the practice of finding and hauling travelers before the Emperor for judgment.
It made sense, though. Travelers, if they had the same massive affinities that I had, would be a danger to the rule of the Emperor. Had I managed to slip through the cracks? I went to get dinner at the cart before the sunset. I found Linus and handed him his bottle of brandy from Nolan. "Nolan is still alive?" he asked. I nodded, and he popped the bottle and sniffed.
"Want to have a drink with me?"
"Definitely!" I followed him into a tailor's shop, where he was staying. We started drinking in the common room. We quickly whittled the bottle down, and I kept enough of my faculties about me to ask Linus about travelers.
He scoffed. "Don't think there has been a recorded person from the First Legion's world in two hundred years. Then again, it is a massive planet! Where did you say you were from?"
"Duchy of Tsingia. Came up with a lumber trade caravan. Did some stupid shit, and bam! I'm a legionnaire!" I barked out, laughing. My research had told me the Duchy was a small human kingdom 1500 miles to the south.
All I really knew was where it was on a map and that its primary export was lumber.
"True that!" He toasted. "I was working as an animal physician. Killed the Baron's prized bull—complete accident. And bam, ten years in the Legion to pay him back!"
I stumbled back to my room. I was half afraid Mateo would have taken my bed, but thankfully it was empty, and I collapsed hard. I had learned a
little. Linus was a commoner and did not know if you had to report
otherworlders to Magistrates. He assumed so, but had not heard of a reward for doing so.
I was woken too soon by a pounding on my door that echoed in my head. Great, my first hangover since arriving was not a small one. "Move it,
Eryk," Konstantin yelled through the door. "Entire company is on patrol today." I pulled the feathered pillow over my head to drown him out, and then I sent it to my dimensional space and started moving.
Chapter 23: Frog Legs
My mouth was dry and cotton-like, and my head pounded. You would think in a world of magic and alchemy, they could make alcohol that didn't give you a hangover. This was by far the worst hangover I had ever had as well. Give me two six-packs instead of half a bottle of brandy any day. I managed to get ready and get to the gate in time.
Castile was dressed in legion garb instead of mage garb at the gate for the patrol. Her leather chest piece was shaped to her curves, and she even carried a short saber. I was hurting too much, and the sun was too bright, to ask anyone why. I located Linus. He seemed perfectly fine and greeted me with an annoying smile. "Mornin', Eryk. Take this, crush the stem, and suck out the syrup. You'll feel better shortly."
It looked like a dandelion, but the stem was as thick as my finger. I did as advised and crushed and then sucked. The taste reminded me of aloe and cinnamon. Linus was right. The pressure on my head faded first, and then my eyesight normalized. The dryness in my mouth remained, and it added a bitter, sticky aftertaste, but that was a small price for regaining functionality.
I learned the flower was called Morning Glory and was grown by skilled nature mages, because it required aether to thrive. A single stem cost six large silver, but had multiple doses. It just needed to be consumed shortly after picking. I would be adding a few to my dimensional space in the future, as the stasis effect should keep them viable.
As we formed up, there were only two missing people for the patrol: Mateo and Delmar. The ogre had injured both, and I had not seen either of them at the wall yesterday. Castile led us out of the gates, and I ended up walking next to Firth. He complained about the lack of quality in the city brothels.
He looked to be in his early 40s, and I wondered if he was actually upset with the brothels, or if he just liked to hear himself talk.
We walked in pairs, spaced about ten feet apart. My feet had healed enough to not cause an issue. I had pulled two spare sets of socks out of my dimensional storage for the patrol just in case I needed them.
As we proceeded, the road and surroundings gave me déjà vu from the
previous patrol. Castile was at the front with Adrian, her lieutenant at her
side. I was too far back to hear what they talked about, and I tuned out Firth as we walked.
It was the same as yesterday—no encounters until we reached the spot
where we had killed the ogre two days ago. The body had been pulled into the swamp, and insects the size of my fist swarmed over the corpse. Mage Castile pulled out a scroll and used it to cast a flame spell to burn the
insects and the body. The ogre fat caught fire, and a thick, blue-black rose into the air.
The smoke smelled terrible, so our short column rushed past to continue our patrol. Firth said, "No large predators or scavengers in the area. Otherwise, the corpse would have been gone by now."
"Maybe they couldn't stand the smell either," I joked. Firth laughed and then went into a long story about how some of his brothel partners smelled. The only thing his story did was reinforce my reluctance to partake in the brothels.
A large frog hopped into the road. Castile bound it with her shadow chains, and it was quickly killed with spears and rolled off the road after Castile failed to get an essence from it. This patrol was much easier with a mage. "Why didn't Castile come with us on the first patrol?" I asked Firth.
"She was probably in a meeting with the other two Legion company commander mages," Firth said. "Mages operate outside the normal army command; only Legion officers can command them, and none are currently in the city. I actually think she requested for us to patrol the southern road.
Rumor is, the local baron's advisor thinks the bullywug spotted recently was part of a dungeon release."
"Dungeon release?" I questioned.
"It happens sometimes, though it's fairly uncommon. It only happens when the dungeon ecology is so screwed up that the dungeon has to release some of its monsters. It's probably just the fancy of the baron's advisor, though. Delmar thinks the bullywug was either a solo hunter or an exile, not a dungeon release. If an unbalanced dungeon was out here, the Emperor would send the Hounds to destroy it. Either way, we are trying to find a frog man in a swamp full of giant frogs," he laughed.
"Praetorian?" I asked. I had heard them mentioned before, but I just thought they were the Emperor's personal guard.
"You really don't know much about the Empire. The Praetorians are the Emperor's elite mages and warriors." He paused, then added, "And
assassins." I realized it was another piece of Roman culture; the Praetorian Guard was considered the Royal Guard in my remembered history. This Praetorian had evolved into something else in a world of magic.
"Are the Praetorian First Citizens?" I asked after walking for a while, staring thoughfully at the ominous dark clouds over the swamp.
Firth paused and said a little too harshly, "No, they are not. They are usually selected from the Lion Legion, from what I know. No First Citizens serve in the Lion Legion." Lightning flashed from the dark clouds, deep into the swamp. Castile had the column stop while she studied the odd lightning in the distance.
I overheard conversations from the others. Castile was trying to determine if the storm was natural or magical in nature. We waited for minutes, and two giant frogs came bounding toward us from the direction of the storm. They were fleeing and did not look to be attacking us. We formed up into shielded groups to face them. One unit speared and hacked one of the frogs to pieces. The other frog passed over the road in a large leap and kept going, clearly afraid.
Castile announced, "Mark the road with the direction of the storm! Then we will make haste back to Macha." The men went to work cutting rotting trees to stand on the road. It was just two poles, but they would line up in the direction of the heart of the storm. As we worked, we had to deal with sporadic life from the swamp, a half dozen frogs, and one massive thirty- foot-long snake.
The frogs went down quickly, but the snake had tough scales, and Castile's shadow chains could not hold it. When the snake broke her chains, it swallowed Donte. Castile took out her wand and targeted the missiles on
the head while we all hacked at the body. After it was killed, it was a rush to cut Donte out. He came out sputtering, swearing, and spitting—and then vomiting. Castile watched the storm and talked with Adrian as she readied her essence collector for the snake.
Adrian yelled, "Skin it! Fangs are not poisonous, and we are taking those as well. You have thirty minutes to finish if you want a bonus!"
Seven men stood guard as the rest of us attacked the snake. The hide was almost two inches thick, and I asked no one in particular, "What is this good for anyway?"
"Mostly saddles," Wylie responded, covered in blood. "I come from a family of leather workers, and this will make some durable and fancy saddles. We will cut it into strips the width and length of a person. Each strip should fetch two or three gold—but maybe not in Macha, with all the skilled craftsman having fled."
We all worked hard, and each of us had a strip of flesh to carry back. We rolled them up and attached them to our backpacks. I guessed the weight was around 40 pounds, so the awkward bundle was not going to be fun to carry. I flashed back to carrying the spider spinnerets in the dungeon.
Adrian took the fangs and no snakeskin.
"Cut open the rest of the digestive tract," Castile ordered before we left.
She wanted to see what the snake had been eating. The storm appeared to be getting larger, but we worked fast and found three partially digested giant frogs and one humanoid. According to Konstantin, the humanoid was a bullywug—not that I could tell, as the flesh was mostly gone from digestion. That was all we found, and Castile, Konstantin, and Adrian examined the bullywug in detail.
At least the train of fleeing animals had finally stopped. They finally ordered a quick march back to the city. When we marched, it was like a game of telephone, getting the words from our leaders at the front. The
rumor passed down the column that the bullywug was not from a dungeon, looked like a runt, and had probably been exiled from its clan. The larger rumor was that Castile thought the storm cloud was not natural.
The seven miles to the city were not pleasant for any of us. The snakeskin's added weight and awkward distribution was painful on our backs. When
we reached the gates, Castile reported to the guard captainBefore we were allowed to enter, three carts guarded by ten mounted men left the gates down the road. Konstantin was standing next to me. "They will take the rest of the skin and probably as much flesh as they can for the siege. Pity; we will not see a copper of it."
We got a lot of looks from the remaining citizens and regular soldiers as we followed Castile to the tanners on the far side of the slums. The smell of the tannery told me why it was placed all the way over here. Adrian talked to
the grizzled tanner, while Castile was already leaving, heading back to her residence in the city. According to Firth, she only came to show her face to the tanner to get a better deal for us. Mages were respected—and feared.
Still, Adrian did not seem happy with the final result.
We were ordered to stack the bundles of snakeskin outside the tanner and were free to go. I found out we would all be getting 55 silver each for hauling the forty pounds of skin seven miles. I thought it was a good deal for the amount of work involved—my back would heal in a day or two.
Wylie said it was terrible, since a saddle made from the skin would sell for over twenty gold to a noble.
A few of the legionaries were headed to the upper city to use the baths there. They cost an outrageous silver coin, but we were all filthy, and the water was cleaner than the baths in the lower city. The four of us, Wylie, Donte, Felix, and I, decided a silver coin after our small windfall was worth it. We would celebrate surviving another day.
Chapter 24: Book Shopping
We returned to our assigned residence to drop our gear and armor before heading to the baths. I found Mateo in my bed sleeping. The smell from the ogre was faint, but still hung in the room. He rolled over, drowsy. "Sorry, Eryk. I was sleeping on the roof, but it was just too bloody hot today. I'll be out by evening; I have night watch at the north gate."
I sniffed the air again. "No problem. You can keep the room." I grabbed my backpack and loose gear. I left the heavy blanket on the bed, considering it lost to the scent of ogre. I went to the bakery's first floor, pushed two tables together, and unloaded my gear. There was an old woman across the street who had advertised doing laundry for soldiers for a copper. I found some clean, light linen pants and a shirt abandoned by the baker, stripped down, and changed. Felix was already coming back down
the stairs, ready for the baths.
Felix laughed. "Mateo slept in your bed while we were gone? Just too cruel."
"I'll just set up to sleep on these tables tonight. Adrian thinks we'll be moved soon, to a villa of the local baron who fled," I said, relaying the rumor I had overheard.
"It's true," Delmar said, walking into the bakery. "The baron's advisor is preparing it for us. Probably making sure he's taking everything valuable out to say later it was stolen." He turned to me. "Eryk, I have this for you from Castile. It is to make up for your loss in the dungeon." He handed me a pouch, and I took it, expecting it to be heavy with coin. It was light, and
inside was an essence. Delmar smiled. "The gargantuan constrictor essence. An apex essence of constitution."
He patted me on my shoulder, and Felix muttered, "Lucky bastard." I pulled the golf ball-sized essence and let it dissolve in my mouth while I put together my dirty clothes in a bundle to carry across the street. I could feel a now familiar run of aether surging through my body, enhancing my body. I shuddered from the cold electricity for a moment and gathered myself.
The feeling was becoming euphoric and dopamine-inducing, knowing I was getting stronger. Felix and I went and visited the washerwoman and talked for a few minutes. She was old and frail and lived with her daughter, who
had four pre-teen kids. The father was killed a few years back. The woman offered to wash a set of clothing for a single copper.
Maybe it was because I felt bad for her situation, but I paid five copper for two sets of dirty clothes, though I asked that they be washed twice and in clean water. She eagerly accepted, and the kids went to draw the fresh water. As we went to get Wylie and Donte down the street at their accommodations, Felix said, "That woman will be forcing her daughter on you when you go to pick those clothes up."
"Sorry you didn't think to do it?" I jested.
"They'll wash my clothes at the bath with scented soap." He indicated his sweat and gore-stained clothes, then pointed over his shoulder at the old woman. "If that family isn't fleeing, then they have nowhere to go. Or
maybe the old woman can't handle the trip." He paused. "You did a good thing. I will let the others know to give her some work."
We met up with the others and walked to the upper city, which was even
more abandoned than the lower city. Most of the abandoned buildings were boarded up, but the bathhouse was open, fed from an aqueduct. The
attendants inside were all young women and not delighted to see my companion's clothes. These were the washerwomen who would take our clothes. They collected our silver coins, and then we stripped down in front of them. I tried not to show any shyness as I handed my linens to one of the young women. She handed me back an abrasive sponge and a cube of soap.
"See any you like?" Donte chided no one in particular.
"The brothel is down the street, you dolt," Delmar said, walking in with Adrian and Konstantin. "If you cause trouble here, Castile will mount your arse on a spear."
We all moved into the showers to scrub as the three new arrivals were attended to. The showers were just a light stream of cold water, but I took
the opportunity to use the sponge and soap, thoroughly cleaning myself and ignoring the others. My body had transformed in the months I had been here. I was lean and muscular. I briefly wondered what it would have been like in my past life if my body had looked like this. Once clean, we moved to sit in the heated baths. Wylie jumped in, causing a splash and waves, followed by curses from the men already in the recessed pool.
Not many nobles remained in the city, and from the look of our company, I guessed they were mostly soldiers or other legionaries. Once the water settled with the curses at Wylie, conversation resumed. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the heated water. Our commanders and Konstantin joined the pool, and the conversation turned to Legion business.
We were moving into an estate near the baron's orchards and personal
gardens inside the north walls. If the baron ran the city, then where the hell was he?
I asked that question, and Delmar replied, "Normally, a count runs a city, but the last count was assassinated, and the Emperor appointed no new count. Baron Hephaestus is just a temporary appointee. He is currently with the Emperor's army, about four hundred miles from here. Ready and waiting to come to the rescue of his besieged city." Mockery laced his voice.
Firth, who was also here from our company, asked, "What's with the storm we saw?"
Konstantin answered, "Probably nothing good. It was definitely not natural. Castile and the other company commanders are deciding if they want to investigate. Has to be over ten miles of travel through the swamp— no road."
"I hope she doesn't volunteer us," Wylie said. "Swamp water isn't good for my skin." He got a few chuckles, and a few men not from our company left the hot pool.
Konstantin stood and cracked his back. "Eryk, I'll see you in the yard in an hour for practice. Best not to get too rusty."
My jaw would not work as he left. Everyone laughed, so maybe Konstantin was joking. Soon, Adrian and Delmar started giving orders to everyone for either weapon practice or to help with preparations for the move to the villa. I asked about my practice with the spear, as I was supposed to be training in both. Delmar noted Konstantin was proficient in the spear as well. Great.
I exited the bath and went to the next chamber to find middle-aged women rubbing oil on the men. There was nothing sensual about it, as the men did their own front and the women did their backs. I stood by a basin, started,
and finished before a woman could do my back. I found my clean clothes and sandals and left.
I took a wrong turn somewhere and found myself in the trader's district of the upper city. Half the shops were empty, but a few still had life.
Surprisingly, a bookstore was still open, as the sun was just setting. I wandered in, and the man reading a book looked up.
"I'm surprised you're still here, with the enemy likely to attack the city," I said conversationally.
He inspected me. "I'm guessing you're a soldier by the square shoulders. It is all the same to me, Telhians or Bartiradians. It would cost too much to pack up and move, and I am getting too old for it. Are you here to look or purchase, young man?"
"Do you have a book on spell forms? On how to learn them?" I asked.
"I do. Which affinity are you looking for?" He stood, thinking I might be a customer.
"Healing, if you have it. How much would it cost?" I asked, hopeful.
He looked me up and down and sighed. "Normally ten gold, but under the current circumstances," he mused, "I will go as low as five gold. Not a copper lower." He smiled, but he did not look like he thought I was capable of the coin.
"Do you have the protection affinity as well?" I asked, reaching into my pouch and getting the coins from my dimensional space.
"Eleven gold for that book. It is an uncommon affinity, and the copies are harder to come by," he noted as he went to the shelves and found both books. "These both are basic low-affinity spell forms for these affinities. They are old, and there are other versions for different manifestations, but this is all I have currently."
I looked both books over. They were both old and worn. They detailed a few basic spell forms for the affinity, but did not seem to have the spell
forms suitable for any affinity over forty. As he noted, they were just the basic spell forms. Renna's book was much more detailed and covered all the affinities, but did not have notes for the learning spell forms, just
descriptors for choosing a spell form. Her book probably referenced textbooks for learning the specific spell forms.
The book was designed to teach you without actually using a spell. It simplified the process significantly compared to learning from a spell, but the advantage of learning from a spell was the minimal chance of making a mistake. I had Damian to guide me when I learned my dimensional pocket
ability from the actual spell, but I would be on my own for this. Hopefully, I had learned enough from my time with him.
I confirmed the healing affinity first. It had three basic options: self- healing, body cleansing, and boundless endurance. I nodded and put it on the counter. The protection affinity book also had three spell forms detailed. Protection from the elements, wind barrier, and aetheric armor. I put the book on the counter.
"I will take them both," I said, producing the sixteen gold.
Surprised, his eyes lit up. "And he doesn't even haggle. Your accent gives you away as a foreigner, but I suggest you save some coin next time and play the game of the merchant." He took my coin anyway. I had just five gold coins remaining. I could not purchase rare affinity books if the uncommon book was already eleven gold. I had already spent what amounted to a fortune that my Legion mates knew I did not have.
I left the shop and turned into the first shop that sold food. The books went into my space, and I purchased two large meat pies in fired clay dishes for an entire silver. I should have gone to the company kitchen or bought food in the lower city as it would have been much cheaper, but I was in a good mood.
I awkwardly carried the warm pies back to the bakery. When I got closer, I found Mateo heading to his night shift at the gate, and he helped himself to one of the pies. They were family-sized, and I probably could not have eaten two anyway, even if my stomach was telling me I could.
I got to the bakery, and the old woman called me over to take my clothes. They were all clean and just damp. My guilt at their family's predicament had me handing them the other meat pie. It made me feel good, and as Felix predicted, the woman wanted to introduce her daughter to me. I escaped by getting my dinner at the inn down the street. I was famished, after all.
Chapter 25: Choices
I returned to the bakery after I had my fill of cold chicken and spiced apples for dinner. Konstantin was waiting impatiently in the yard. I realized it had been over two hours since he had left the bath before me. I joked, "I thought you had been joking, since we had just had a bath."
"Joking? You are the least skilled combatant in the company, Eryk. Maybe the entire Legion. If you want to live through a battle, you need to focus.
You have chosen the most difficult path for a primary. Dual wielding requires ambidexterity—and the ability to split your thought process. Defending with one weapon while attacking with the other. And then surprising your opponent by switching which weapon is doing which."
He tossed me two training short swords. "We will continue to work with two short blades until you have gained competency. Then, we will work with a blade and a parrying dagger. From there, we will work with you on strengthening your ability to split your mind and independently wield any bladed weapon in either hand."
Even though I had been late and he was upset with me, Konstantin was surprisingly patient as we practiced. In the middle of practice, he disarmed me of my right sword, forcing me to fight with just one sword in my left. I was left-handed and decided to make light of the situation by quoting The Princess Bride. "I have something to tell you; I am not left-handed!" I switched my sword to my right and launched an attack I thought would
surprise him. He used both blades to lock my sword down and away and elbowed me in the chin. I bit my tongue and tasted blood.
"What are you talking about, you dolt? You are definitely left-handed. But we are working on correcting it," Konstantin snickered as I spat blood.
"That would have been funnier if you had seen the—play." I continued to spit blood to find out the damage to my tongue.
"If you had not been talking, you would not have bitten your tongue when I struck your jaw," he commented while going for water. "Only goad your opponent if you know you are better than them. For now, assume everyone is better than you."
We worked on my ambidexterity. Konstantin admitted he only dual- wielded weapons when facing a monster or a single opponent. When faced
with multiple weapon-wielding opponents, he preferred a small shield. However, he did not carry a shield when he scouted for the company due to its added weight.
After I was sweating and exhausted, Konstantin moved on to the spear. I was just using a staff, as Konstantin had me review the basics and make slight corrections. I thought he would have made an excellent instructor at the legion training camp, but I was not going to stroke his ego right now. It was time to learn what I could from him.
I was filthy and exhausted when he released me. He definitely worked me into the dark because of my tardiness. I spent some time setting up my bed on the tables, more than a little peeved at having my room skunked out by Mateo. I went and grabbed the oil lamp in the room and also confirmed that the ogre scent still lingered. I thought about sleeping in the other room with Felix, but he snored, and I wanted to study anyway. If anyone caught me with the spell form book, I would profess to finding the book in the bakery.
I had learned spell forms in two different ways so far. The first was the natural way my body innately made it. This happened when I utilized my convergence affinity to squeeze as much out of my first dexterity essence.
From my understanding, I grew my attributes substantially from every
essence I consumed. Minor and major essences were not supposed to affect potential, but for me, with my spell form, they did. It would be a huge boon as long as I could consume more essences in the future.
The second time I learned a spell form was from the spell book for dimensional storage. The spellbook was very similar to a spell form, just more complex than it needed to be. I also had Damian guide me on the process. Damian mentioned what a true wizard was able to do.
When a mage cast a true spell, they constructed the temporary spell forms in the air with their aether control and manipulation. Each spell required between three and six layers, and then you activated the spell construct with more aether. Damian had told me it was extremely difficult to learn to cast true spells, and few people had the intellect, dexterity, and perception to cast them. Even the translation amulet I had worn was actually six spell
runic discs stacked on one another. I could not imagine creating all of those constructs with my mind.
The two books I purchased supposedly simplified spell forms to make learning and imprinting easier. The easiest way to describe the process was tattooing the spell form permanently on my aether core—each affinity could only take one tattoo, and the size of the tattoo was relative to the magnitude of my affinity. There was just not enough space for affinities under ten to imprint a spell form easily. It was possible, but the effect was usually minor.
I reviewed the protection affinity options in the first book. The three spell forms in the book were protection from the elements, aetheric armor, and wind barrier. I examined the descriptions of each to see if one was good enough to choose as my spell form, but realized there were more options beyond these. That was because the healing book I purchased and Renna's book had different options.
Protectionfromtheelementswas the simplest of the three. It kept the air around your body at a comfortable 70 degrees. Well, it didn't say 70
degrees specifically—it just said comfortable, like a dry spring morning, so I filled in the blanks. The description included walking on a glacier or in a desert in complete comfort. The spell even drew a miniscule one aether per hour. Well, for me, that was a lot.
The next spell form was aetheric armor, and it required you to have an affinity over 25 due to the complexity of the spell form. This spell form created an invisible skin on the mage that absorbed hits, draining the aether at a rate of two per strike. At least, roughly two per strike. My translation was a bit fuzzy when it came to math.
The last one sounded useful. Windbarrieractually hardened the air in a
disc shape. It only cost a single aether to cast, and the barrier dissipated if it was strongly deformed. But it could still stop an arrow before breaking.
The issue was the barrier took about two heartbeats to form (two seconds) and was fixed in place. It would lose cohesion after about ten seconds as well.
So, should I try to learn one of these as my one spell form for protection affinity? I wished I knew what all my other options were. Aethericarmor sounded useful as a soldier. Lifesaving, even. The protection from the
elements was a great utility spell for a soldier and possibly lifesaving as well. It had cool notes, like keeping the rain off you as you walked and drying your clothes if you did get wet. With wind barrier, you could cast
multiple wind barriers and make steps to climb walls as long as you didn't run out of aether.
Felix came down to use the privy on the first floor. "Crap, Eryk, get some sleep and stop reading about the First Legion." He did his business, and I switched the books in case he checked on his way back up. He went back upstairs, never checking what I was actually reading.
I decided if I had to choose one of these, it would be aetheric armor. I wanted to see if another mid-tier protection spell form was better for me before committing. From my experience, it would take me four to six
weeks to learn it, and I wasn't sure if I would have the time or privacy to do so. I opened the other book to look at the healing affinity spell forms.
This book offered three spell forms: self-healing, bodycleansing, and
boundlessendurance. These were different from Renna's book. Boundless endurance was the easiest to learn. The spell form utilized fat stores in the body to quickly replenish the muscles. This would be a terrible choice for me. Not only did I have little body fat now, but I had also consumed three apex essences of endurance.
The bodycleansewas very tempting. It removed foreign objects from the caster, including poisons, disease, and cleaning your bowels. This was basically a chance to never get sick. But I knew you needed to have
symbiotic bacteria in your gut for healthy digestion, and the text did not
address if these bacteria were unaffected by the spell effect. The problem was that the spell form suggested having at least an affinity of 35 in healing to learn it. My affinity was only 19.
The last choice, self-healing, suggested a minimum affinity of 20. The healing was limited to the mage and could not affect others. The extent of the healing determined how much aether was needed. Damian's healing ability could heal other people, but only soft tissue. But it looked like this version could heal soft tissue and bone. It was exactly what I wanted for my healing affinity. Maybe it was selfish not to seek an ability capable of healing others, but I didn't care.
Mateo stumbled into the bakery, back from his watch, and I swore at my idiocy. It was almost morning, and I had spent the entire night translating and reading. I was caught in the excitement of possibilities. Mateo ignored me and climbed the stairs. I put the book away and got comfortable for my thirty-minute nap. Konstantin came stomping down the stairs with Felix
and woke me. I rolled to a standing position and got dressed. Konstantin said, "Breakfast first and then to the wall. You have the first shift and the rest of the day off."
Breakfast was cold rice and beans with a sweet hot sauce. It was the same food as the regular army, as our kitchen was being moved to the estate this morning. Although the other men in my company complained, I joked the food was not too bad. It had nice contrasting textures; the rice was a little gooey, and the beans a little crunchy, but at least the thick, sweet sauce covered it up.
Konstantin was in charge on the wall for the eight of us. I was shocked to find two of our company's archers, Pavel and Regis, were holding a competition. They had set up three dummies out away from the wall. Each of us would get twelve shots. The loser of each round would have to go and retrieve the arrows. Konstantin was the best archer among us, but did not participate. Was there any weapon Konstantin was not good with?
The contest started with a lesson on the short bow, how to properly string the bow, and care for the composite short bow made from glued layers of horn, wood, and sinew. Pavel showed us what made a good bow and how to inspect arrows for damage, then gave us a ten-minute lesson on shooting. Everything was too well rehearsed for this to be an impromptu session.
I knew I had guessed right when Konstantin announced, "There are seven of you, and we have six extra bows in the Legion. The six of you with the best shot will carry a bow while stationed on the wall; the remaining man will be the runner for arrows." This was not a great incentive, so he added, "And the best shot today will be given a pouch of the seasoned griffin jerky."
I had not sampled it but heard it was excellent, and by everyone's sudden focus, I knew the game was on. Each round, we would shoot ten arrows, with twelve rounds total. An arrow in a straw dummy was one point, and an arrow in its centerline— a red stripe painted from head to groin—was two points.
The dummies were fifty yards out and spaced about ten feet apart. Felix went first, earning seven points. Pavel was second, earning eleven points. Whether or not it was fair to have the archer participate in the contest was not up for debate. I was third. My first shot hit the dummy in the center of
the head, and everyone whopped in praise. Then, I missed my next nine shots. I griped that I was left-handed and forced to use a right-handed bow but did not receive any sympathy; twenty minutes later, I was trudging out in the sun to collect eighty-four arrows.
As the second round began, I noticed Konstantin and Regis giving advice. This was not some light-hearted competition. They were finding the most proficient members of the company to be archers on the wall. My turn came, and I scored five points, still the worst among everyone. My draw fingers were also slightly numb, and I wished I had one of the special
gloves the archers were using.
I improved in the next rounds, scoring 6, 6, 8, 7, 8, 7, 7, 9, 10, 8, and 8 points. Only when I scored ten points by getting two arrows on the
centerline did I mercifully not have to go and retrieve the arrows, as I tied with someone else and was given a reprieve. We then spent time as a group inspecting each arrow for damage before packing them for the next watch. They were going to have the same competition to find the most competent archers. I was not selected to be one of the bowmen, but Pascal won, and
he shared his griffin jerky.
I headed back to the bakery. My clothes were soaked with sweat and covered in dust from all the work I did collecting 924 arrows. Granted, most were in the dummies, but my hands were raw and full of splinters from pulling them out of the straw. My shoulder blade ached from pulling the short bow one hundred and forty-four times, and the calluses on my
fingertips were peeling off from new blisters forming underneath. Maybe it was a good thing I was not selected to be an archer for the wall.
Mateo had been to the baths in the morning and was coated in perfume. We still joked we could smell ogre ass on him, but we decided to let him come with us for a drink with some of the other men in the company. Konstantin said we would be moving into the villa late tonight, so it was going to be an early dinner in the tavern rather than army food. I gave the old woman five coppers and my dirty clothes on my way to meet the others. I was dressed in clean linens, wearing only a belt with a dagger and my coin purse. In my purse were twenty-seven copper and three silver, more than enough to enjoy the evening. If the pattern held, tomorrow would be a long march to patrol the swamps.
As we headed to the tavern, my companions were Firth, Mateo, Felix, Wylie, and Kolm.