A Soldier's Life - 464 -

Chapter 464:

Before settling into my bath, I just pulsed earth speak once to make sure Evie was safe. It was nice to have my range back to over sixty feet for the earth pulse. While the boots did enhance the speed of my footwork, I felt a little blind how they muted my earth speak ability. If I tried to alter the artifact in any way, it would likely damage its abilities.

The estate had three upper floors and two lower floors, although the sub-basement looked to be a secret. Besides a small prison, there appeared to be several sealed rooms, some of which were armories. I directed a number of earth pulses through the thick brass tub repeatedly, and it looked like there were enough arms and armor for maybe five hundred men. I doubted the casks of water down there were still good, but this reserve hinted at something in the Heptarchy’s past.

It was not my concern and if Queen Adelin could get here quickly, we should be able to depart. I closed my eyes and reveled in the heat. I was disturbed when the water rippled with the approach of a massive man. A quick pulse confirmed Maveith and Baelira had arrived. Maveith knocked, and I called for him to enter. He wandered the suite and quickly found me in the large bath, but I hadn’t expected Baelira to be on his heels. She blushed and left my suite while Maveith remained. I thought that was strange, as nudity was not taboo on Sanctuary.

“Didn’t they give you your own room?” I asked.

“They did, but the bed was too small. They are moving a larger bed in now. Your room is much bigger than mine, and your bed is already big enough for me,” Maveith said, grinning and in a teasing tone.

“I think this is Prince Kyrenic’s room, and no, I don’t want to switch. Did they tell you anything?” I asked as my friend sat.

“No, the guards who escorted us didn’t say anything,” Maveith said, sniffing the air. Baking bread and roasting meat were drifting from the kitchens.

“We are dining with Princess Elenara’s tonight. The Queen has been summoned to call a war council. We are not going to have to travel to Skyliton,” I informed him as I began scrubbing. It was not really necessary, but the soap had a wonderful lavender scent.

A knock at my door revealed a middle-aged servant with a cross-cropped haircut. “Seeker Eryk, I am Riley, custodian of Prince Kyrenic’s chamber in the Petos. I have been instructed to open his wardrobe for you this evening.”

“Not necessary,” I said.

“I can assure you there are plenty of outfits that have never been worn if you are worried about wearing secondhand clothing. Princess Elenora has called for a formal dinner, and it would be a shame to wear…” he gestured to my pile of clothes. “While you are taller than Prince Kyrenic, your other dimensions are quite similar,” he said, almost pleadingly.

“Fine, lay out something for me,” I said to make the man happy and get him to leave us. Maveith and I briefly discussed the new city and the Heptarchy. The Heptarchy was known as one of the most friendly nations on the continent, and Maveith was curious what I thought about them as trading partners for the goliaths. Another attendant, an older woman, arrived to call Maveith to the royal baths as the tub in his room was too small to accommodate him.

Riley returned with a smile. “Dinner will be in four hours, but I have chosen an excellent ensemble for you to highlight your physique. Do you wish me to give your beard and hair a trim?” he asked pleasantly.

“Why not,” I said…

The outfit had a dark turquoise silk shirt that was a little tight in the shoulders when I flexed. Riley quickly retrieved another that was slightly larger. Black pants that looked to have been lengthened for my longer legs were next. The heavy, long pants had soft silver embroidery that I identified as runes. “What is this spell form?” I questioned before pulling them on.

“A simple cooling and drying aura. It can be sweltering in the summers,” Riley said impatiently. He was clearly enjoying dressing me and wanted to see the final product. The black belt had a single hook for a sword sheath, and the silver buckle also had some runes on it, but they were so simple that I recognized them. It was an anti-poison rune specifically for alcohol. The silver-trimmed tailcoat was also black but had no hidden runes in the embroidery.

In the mirror, I no longer looked like a mercenary but had been transformed into a respectable-looking man of upper society. The trim and light shave had definitely helped. A rinse of the mouthwash had whitened my teeth. Riley was pleased with his efforts, left, and quickly came back to escort me to the dining hall. I found the others had already been seated, with the princess absent. I pulsed earth speak as I sat, and even though there were no guards visible, about a dozen were nearby.

Evie was wearing a simple dark red dress with white embroidery and was grinning madly at my appearance. “You look amazing!”

“You do clean up remarkably well,” Baelira added. She was wearing a simple blue dress, but looked uncomfortable in it; her hair had been styled, and I believe she even had some makeup on.

Maveith was the only one not dressed formally, just wearing fine dark gray clothes without a jacket. Admittedly, it was hard to imagine a goliath arriving at your dinner table. A deep-voiced attendant announced the princess. “Princess Elenora, recognized heir to the Kingdom of Aurelith.”

The woman walked into the room with excellent posture and grace that had been well practiced. It was obvious she had taken her time getting ready for this dinner. Something like a corset lifted her chest and slimmed her waist. Her sapphire dress flowed around her legs and featured a plunging neckline. On a silver chain around her neck hung an acorn-sized garnet that matched her soft brown eyes. I was certain the necklace was a dungeon artifact, but I couldn’t recall anything that matched it from my readings in the dreamscape. Her shiny black hair was styled similarly to Baelira’s, and I assumed it was the current fashion. She looked much more feminine than when I first encountered her in the middle of her sword practice.

She sat with a bright smile at the head of the table, her eyes pausing on Baelira briefly before settling on me. “It looks like we both clean up quite well.”

“Indeed. You are a picture of divinity, princess,” I replied, making her face color.

“You said you would recount your adventures with my wayward brother?” She asked with a smirk.

“Certainly…” I dove into the tale as courses of food arrived. I began with our crossing of the Shadow Belt and the dungeon disturbances. Evie added parts where she was present, but the tale quickly moved to Blaze and me heading to the dungeon break. During the town’s defense, I highlighted Blaze’s marksman skills and Kyrenic’s dedication to defending the civilians left behind. Everyone at the table listened intently, even though my storytelling skills are limited. When I described the wyrm from the Endless Dark and the arrival of the enormous red dragon, even Maveith seemed awestruck.

The princess pressed for details after I finished my recount, mostly wanting to know how her brother nearly died. She looked upset when I told her he had used his own healing potions on the soldiers defending the town, and I had to use a dungeon potion to save him.

“He is always too quick to aid others. One day it will be his end,” she said with a sigh. “Even now, he is off on a fool’s errand for his orders commander.”

“Is it a secret?” I asked, interested in the knight’s quest.

“No,” the princess waved her hand. “He was sent to find the source preventing message sending spells from working. He first traveled to Keisinia to seek the counsel of the Mage Lords. They tried to locate the source of the disturbance.”

“Did they?” I asked, leaning in.

“Yes and No. The Mage Lords think there are multiple artifacts buried near the ley lines in the Endless Dark. These artifacts react to the specific spell form that the message sending spell uses, drawing it in and preventing the mage from being able to lock on to its intended target,” the princess explained irritably.

I imagined the artifacts acting like magnets. “Even message sendings that are done over short distances?” I asked.

The princess’s eyes shot open, and she pointed her fork at me. “That is a remarkable insight—it took the Mage Lords a month to find out sendings can connect about four miles away.”

“The depth of the ley lines,” I guessed. My mental imagery imagined the spell seeking the anchor in a radius, and if it didn’t find the anchor before reaching a ley line, the ley line acted as the anchor point. I only thought of it because of how my earth speak spell worked.

Princess Elenara’s mouth hung open, and she whispered something I didn’t catch, but Baelira did with her elven hearing. “For being so young, Eryk is incredibly knowledgeable about many things. He is an accomplished alchemist, dungeon scholar, and student of artificing.”

“Did I miss something?” I asked, looking between the two women.

The princess flushed and eyed in friendly warning. Baelira shrugged and didn’t reveal what Elenora had said. Two guards entered the main doors to the dining hall and stood at attention. I went on alert and touched the floor to send out an earth pulse. Coming down the hallway was a woman flanked by two other guards. The princess was surprised but not alarmed, so I waited.

A woman about the same age as Elenora entered, flanked by Captain Draymon and another man in a uniform with captain’s markings. Princess Elenora stood and bowed, moving away from her seat at the head of the table. “Queen Mother, you arrived much more quickly than expected. The messenger I sent should just be arriving in Skyliton.”

Queen mother? The two women looked more like sisters than mother and daughter. “I was fortunate Mage Lord Osrien was visiting. He teleported me to Petos as a favor.” The queen examined the room, and Maveith stood and bowed. I quickly followed, realizing I had to pay my respects. She didn’t seem upset that we hadn’t bowed immediately, and her eyes took in everyone at the table and the partially eaten feast. She moved to the head of the table, her gaze lingering on Maveith before taking Elenara’s seat, while another chair was quickly carried out for the princess.

After both were seated, her eyes remained on her daughter. “It has been quite some time since you put so much work into making yourself so—presentable,” she said in a teasing tone before her eyes settled on me, insinuating I was the cause. I was still baffled they were mother and daughter, but the queen’s eyes seemed slightly—predatory.

“Any news from Kyrenic?” Princess Elenora asked, ignoring her mother’s amusement.

The queen’s eyes lit up. “Yes, Lord Osrien was delivering a message for Kyrenic.”

“Figures he has a Mage Lord doing his bidding,” Elenora quipped, rolling her eyes.

“Yes, well, Kyrenic’s venture into the Endless Dark was successful. He lost many companions but retrieved one of the artifacts that was interfering with the sending spells. But he also encountered scores of Nashasari…” Queen Adelin said seriously.

“Is he…” Elenora asked.

“He is well and returning to us, but it will take him a week to get back from Keisinia. He felt the news of what he uncovered needed to be delivered immediately, and Lord Osrien owed him a favor,” the queen said demurely, clearly proud of her son—it was disturbing to me that her son looked to be twice her age.

Food began to appear on the table around the queen as servants brought it out. Her eyes turned to me. “So this is Kyrenic’s Adventurer’s Guild friend?” She eyed my Sentinel amulet. “Young Seeker, please tell me everything I need to know before I call a war council.”

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