The city of Sobral did not seem any different. It felt like I had been gone months and not just four days. As I walked into the city, maybe the city guards looked more professional with clean uniforms and armor. I reached the Citadel’s main gate and was not stopped as I entered. A voice rang out from my right, “Soldier! Why did you not question that man?” An angry and abrasive Firth came storming out of an archway in the wall.
I was slightly shocked as the old legionnaire had actually shaved and looked unrecognizable. If he had not screamed for me to hear his voice, I would not have known it was him. He also wore the Duchess’ Citadel guard uniform, not his legion gear. He must have rotated from laying the province’s white marble border markers. He was now training the Citadel guards.
He seemed to notice me now, “Eryk?” He looked me over. “Konstantin and Flavius went looking for you yesterday morning. Where have you been?”
“Flavius is back?” I ignored his question. The last time I had seen Flavius was on the back of drake, seated uncomfortably behind Master Mage Sebastian. They were off to search for his brother’s collector, which was secured in my dimensional space.
He held up his hand to pause our conversation, and Firth took a moment to scold the two guards, “Even if he is wearing legion armor, he could still be a spy. This boy could have gotten himself killed in the woods, and then they could have taken his armor. Unless a Duke comes riding in leading a hundred legionnaires, question everyone!” He looked me over, “Come Eryk. I will walk you to Castile to make sure you don’t get lost on the way,” he said, smirking at his own jab.
I took a jab at him, too, “Not only are your clothes and face clean, but you also don’t smell like a horse’s ass. How can I be sure it is not you who is the spy who replaced my good friend Firth?”
“Good friend, eh?” He laughed, “Well, friend, anyway.” He thumbed the clean uniform, “I have to keep up appearances while I am out here yelling at the general incompetence of the Duchess’ guards.” He spit out something he was chewing on into the bushes. “They have been worried about you, you know. Expected you back the following day after your walk in the woods with the half-giant. Konstantin was quite upset you were sent off with the half-giant.”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})“He is a goliath, not a half-giant,” I said, defending Maveith.
“Same difference,” he spat, cleaning the rest of his mouth in the bushes before entering the Citadel. Firth informed me of the events as we walked the Citadel, “Flavius arrived yesterday morning. He rode here from Macha after the mage released him. Not sure what happened with Master Mage Sebastian in the swamp, but the Emperor ordered Sebastian to remain there.”
“The Emperor’s in Macha?” I said, shocked.
Firth was confused, “What? No, you fool, just some of his advisors who speak for the Emperor. The Emperor has not left Telhia in fifty years. Chancellor Marcel from the Scholarium, I think he said. Flavius said half the idle Legion Companies joined Duke Tiberius in Macha for his next push into Bartiradian lands.”
“So they are starting to excavate the ruins then?” I stated.
“How did you…?” His eyes flashed in realization, “Ah, I should have put that together. Yeah, the rumor is they are moving under cover of war to dig up some ancient city.” Firth was better connected than I thought to know that much.
We were walking down the halls in the wing of the Citadel where Castile was quartered. “Konstantin was not happy with Adrian sending you off with the goliath. He convinced Castile to go look for you, and poor Flavius left with him not four hours after arriving in Sobral.”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Firth stopped at the door and banged on it loudly without decorum, “Castile, your wayward apprentice has returned. And he looks alive and well.” He turned to address me, “When you have time, find in me in the practice yard. Konstantin said you need to practice with your new magic trick in a real fight.”
Well, at least Konstantin had not changed in four days. I entered the study and halted. The Duchess wore a thin silk blouse and shorts, not her normal dress. Castile was dressed similarly; both were dressed for casual comfort. On the tables, dozens of books were spread everywhere, open to pages. Castile did not look up from her book as she said, “Report?”
I stood at attention and responded, “One of the wardens was killed by a manticore. And…”
“What?” Castile barked in surprise, standing. Castile and the Duchess both locked their eyes on me, demanding clarification.
“It is a beast as big as a horse with the body of a lion and the head of….” I started to respond.
“I know what a manticore is!” Castile said irritably. “Where is it located? We can call the company in from laying stones to deal with it.” Castile cracked her back, preparing. I could see her mind churring in preparation, “Do you know where it is laired?”
“It is dead. Well, three of them are dead. The other two went north. The male manticore said there were two others, and they went north. I’m not sure if I believe him as he didn’t seem trustworthy.” I was trying to explain but was having difficulty putting my thoughts in order as both the Duchess and Castile were mouths gaping in their casual wear.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})The Duchess smiled reassuringly, “Start from the beginning, legionnaire. Eryk, right?”
I nodded and began over, “We visited Trek, the first warden, the day after we left. He agreed to your terms, Duchess. We met the second warden, Lyonis, and found him injured at his cabin. He and the fourth warden, Klinton, thought they were tracking a dire wolf that had been forced south from the flooding. It turns out it was a manticore. A second manticore surprised them, and Klinton was killed.”
I took a breath, and the Duchess handed me her glass. I drank and found it to be a sweet wine. “Thank you,” I handed her the glass back empty. “Maveith planned to come back to the city for help to fight the manticore, but they found us at Lyonis’ cabin that night.”
I took a moment to put the events of the fight in my head in order correctly. “Maveith ran out to draw them to the ground and get them to waste their tail barbs. He shot the small one, but the mated pair corned him. We had not expected a third one. Lyonis and I attempted to surprise them from behind, but Lyonis was struck, and the poison from the manticore prevented him from fighting further. I managed to surprise the female with a trick, which let Maveith get an arrow into the adult male.”
“When did the manticores talk?” Castile interrupted my retelling.
“I am getting to that part. The female went down from a lucky blow, and I injured the male with a pilum from behind. With its mate likely going to die and its offspring with an arrow in its lung, the male tried to bargain with us. It talked to Maveith in the stone giant tongue. I did not understand anything that was said.”
“Stone Giant? It must have been from Stone Mountain Island, then. Was it hunting Maveith?” The Duchess interrupted, enthralled in the story.
“No, it said five of them were summoned by an elf mage well north of here. Two manticores were directed to wreak havoc north, and these three do the same south,” I answered.
“It could be one of the mages who released the elementals that caused the weather disturbances,” Castile guessed. “A Bartiradian infiltrator specializing in summoning. Not something we are likely to get help dealing with the Emperor expanding the Bartiradian campaign in the east.”
“Should we report this?” the Duchess asked, deferring to Castile.
Castile sat in the chair and thought for a moment. “I will write a report and hand it to you, Duchess. Whether you turn it in is up to you, Veronica.” Castile spent a few moments making notes while we waited. She talked while she wrote, “If you do submit this, Veronica, they may task my company with finding the two missing manticores summoned by the Bartiradian mage since we are the closest and resources are being sent to the eastern front.”
I waited patiently as Castile finished the report and handed it to the Duchess. I thought it strange they were on a first-name basis now. How much had happened in the four days? The Duchess took the report, folded it, and stuck it inside the cover of a book. “I have been absent-minded lately. I am sure I will remember where I put that report you submitted in a few weeks.” They both smiled at each other knowingly, and I felt out of place. Castile turned to me.
“So all three manticores are dead?” Castile asked, confirming with me.
“Yes, Maveith broke the neck of the male, and the other two bled out,” I confirmed. I decided not to take credit for any of the kills as I had gotten a lot from taking their essences. I would let the Maveith take the credit and hope the Duchess never questioned him on what actually happened.
The Duchess stood, poured some wine in the glass she had loaned me, and drank, “I will come up with a suitable reward for the goliath. Should I give your legionnaire some consideration as well, Castile?” She was asking Castile as if I was not in the room.
Castile studied me, and I kept my face impassive. “Maybe some new legionnaire armor.”
Now curious, the Duchess turned to me, “The manticores did not injure you?”
“Just a scratch, Duchess. Maveith and Lyonis took the brunt of their attention,” I said, deflecting the question and not wanting to lie.
The Duchess turned to Castile, “Are we going to wait for Konstantin to return, or will you send him now?” She had pointed at me absently.
Castile turned and addressed me, “Eryk, you, Adrian, Lucien, and Blaze are going to Lorvo. We are recruiting an alchemist there to come to Sobral, so you will escort him here. On your return, Adrian will stop at the College in Forgabua to recruit a scholar.”
“Is there a portal there?” I inquired, not quite sure how far it was.
“Yes, but we are sending you on horseback. Lucien is preparing four of the Duchess’ horses. It is about three hundred miles to Lorvo, and another one twenty to Forgabua, and then two hundred fifty miles to return here. The roads should make the travel relatively quick. Adrian knows I expect you back in just over two weeks’ time.” Castile explained patiently.
I was not looking forward to long days in a saddle. That would be forty miles a day on horseback, and the memories of learning to ride and the pains associated flashed back to me. I let out a smirk because, this time, I could heal myself.
Castile noticed my smirk. “I am glad you are looking forward to it,” Castile said, returning to her books. “Adrian should be ready to ride first thing in the morning.” It was an informal dismissal.
The Duchess smiled knowingly, “You can take a bath and have Lareen service your needs. She has been distraught at your absence.”
I nodded, looked at the books as I left, and paused. It was not Latin. The writing made no sense; seeing my confusion, the Castile explained, “It is Elvish. The scholar Adrian is recruiting should be able to help us make sense of them. They are books from the ruins of Caelora.”
Veronica stepped next to me, seeing my interest, “We are hoping to find clues of natural resources in the area. Caelora is the undead city of specters you passed on the road coming here. These books were recovered by the mage who used to rule Sobral and were in the library.”
She didn’t seem to mind me paging through the book in front of me. It was short, just thirty of so thick pages. There were illustrations on the opposite page from the writing. They were fantastical creatures, so I assumed this was some type of animal compendium.
“Do you read elvish?” The Duchess asked, surprised at my intense focus.
“No, I was just looking at the pictures,” I closed the book, slightly embarrassed, and excused myself. A hot bath did sound extremely inviting. If Adrian pushed us on the ride, it might be my only bath for the next two weeks. When I entered, Lareen was not in my room, so I started to draw a bath myself. The water was warm, at least so the pipes were being heated. Thirty minutes later, I was sinking into the semi-hot water. And soon fell asleep.
