A Soldier's Life - 460 - Catch Me If You Can

Chapter 460: Catch Me If You Can

I walked back to the inn still fixated on the fact that I had a son out there. I found my companions packing supplies they had purchased during the day. Blaze proudly displayed his Sentinel medallion with a Seeker rank outside his tunic. I took in my companions, knowing that every time we separated, it could be the last time I saw them. “You are going to stay on the Salty Maiden to Gesedmuria,” I announced, “you will not need horses. The High Sentinel will be dropping off envoys in Keisinia, Linshania, Gongshuia, and Gesedmuria on the journey. After Gesedmuria, they will be sailing east to the other continent, so you should depart there and head west to Bartiradia,” I explained.

“And the Bartiradian ranger?” Blaze asked.

“He is cooling off in the king’s dungeon. Be very wary of him. If he still looks like trouble after King Torvane explains things, it might be best if he stays in the dungeon until both of us have sailed,” I replied.

Blaze and Maveith went to the docks to find a new ship. Blaze had booked us passage across the inlet, but now we needed a ship to take us south and west instead. The Salty Maiden was headed east with the High Sentinel. I helped Lesna and Benito pack, giving them supplies from my space. I wanted to provide them with every possible advantage.

With my new boots, the ring of surefootedness was not needed. I considered holding it for Konstantin, but I set it aside for Blaze. I filled three pouches with small colored glowstones. I had found they were just as valuable as coins in trade. I placed two dungeon potions of night vision and two potions of strength aside as well. I felt a pull to drink the strength potion and feel that unmatched might again, but my friends could make better use of them. I wasn’t sure how dangerous it would be for them to cross from Gesedmuria to Bartiradia. It would be over twelve hundred miles to reach the Glavien Estate from the port city, and who knew what horrors the Endless Dark might be spewing out.

They already had stamina and healing potions from Sanctuary; even as their effectiveness waned, they should still be able to reach Raelia with their stock. I made three small pouches of silver coins, along with some copper. I wasn't sure how much coin the three of them had, but I was not wanting. Evie watched me closely, asking what everything was as I worked.

Blaze had his masterwork runic bow and a runic blade, while Benito had his own runic weapon. Lesna had the throwing daggers from Alhur, and she was smart enough not to reveal them in his presence, but I added Corus’s dagger to the pile. I had a new dagger with a linked sheath from the minotaur dungeon that I needed to get identified.

Lesna and Benito had gone out for more supplies when a knock came at the door. When I opened it, I found Hierophant Elyssara Virethane, the commander of Veil Mark Citadel. The Death Hunter was dressed in traveling attirel, and I thought she might be joining me based on her smile.

She studied me carefully. “A year later, and you are already a Seeker. Not bad for someone who had no intention of becoming a Sentinel,” she said in a friendly tone. I moved aside and the elven necromancer entered the room. “I am here to check on the child. The High Sentinel said she has been marked, but her training is not finished yet.”

“Are you traveling with us then? To continue her training?” I asked.

Elyssara smiled. “No. I am leading the Sentinel delegation to Esenhem. Before I joined the Death Hunters, my family had some prominence in Esenhem. Some may even remember me,” she snickered to herself. “I am to convince the assembled Regents to send help for the invasion force.” She approached Evie, who was sitting on the couch next to Baelira. “Evie, child, how are your skills at detecting nether essence within you and controlling its allure?”

“I have no trouble managing the corruption,” she said reflexively.

Elyssara pursed her lips. “Then may I check?” Evie looked at me, and I nodded before she gave her consent.

“Don’t worry, child, I know it is a constant struggle. I am only concerned because you are the youngest necromancer of such power on record.” Elyssara’s thin hand reached out and settled on Evie’s head. With her eyes closed, time began to stretch, and Evie started to perspire under the inspection.

Releasing her hold on Evie after a few minutes, Elyssara frowned. “You have done a remarkable job for your age. There is little nether essence present, and you have resisted the temptations of your necromancy affinity.” Evie smiled and I nodded proudly at her. “However, you are marked. Fenlorian suspected, but only I have the skills to be sure. The Lich Emperor left his imprint on you and can track you no matter where you are.”

“Remove it,” I said, alarmed.

“I cannot. The mark is branded on her aether core. It has no influence over her, but he can find her whenever she is.” She looked at Evie, “And Evie can find him with some practice.”

“Evie, can you sense the Lich Emperor?” I asked uncomfortably. She had told me she felt him during the assault, but not about the mark or this lingering effect.

“Not…not…until we sailed,” she stuttered. “Then I could feel him getting further and further away.” Evie was crying silent tears. “I don’t want to stay on Sanctuary. I don’t want to be beholden to the lich.” She rushed to me and embraced me in fear and for protection.

Elyssara sighed. “Evie is one of the strongest necromancers in this age, and if the Lich Emperor is interested in her, she will face perpetual danger. It's not only the emperor you should worry about, but also his minions that you fought and agents he may have among us. Once he recovers from losing his physical body, the High Sentinel is certain he will seek vengeance on the Nashasari and Sentinels. Sanctuary is greatly weakened. I recommend she stay in Veil Mark for her safety.”

“It is Evie’s decision where she goes,” I said, still holding her protectively. Maybe this is what the seer had foreseen. An eternal chase until either the emperor was destroyed completely or Evie was captured and corrupted. Evie had grown and was becoming increasingly capable. In a few years, after she mastered her magic, she wouldn’t need my protection.

“I am staying with Eryk,” she muttered into my chest.

“I will protect her as well,” Baelira added, and I nodded my thanks.

The Hierophant sighed again. “Very well. The High Sentinel said to respect your decision, I just hope….” She stopped there rather than voice her concerns aloud. “You are now aware,” she said, addressing me, and soon left.

A short while later, Blaze and Maveith returned. “I wasn’t able to get a refund,” Blaze said irritably. “Basterds pulled anchor an hour after I talked to the captain.”

Maveith continued. “Finding a captain headed to Petos was more difficult than expected. It is a bad season to travel, and the trade ships typically only go that way in the spring, and late fall. But after asking around, we found a ship, The Tipsy Mermaid.”

“What kind of ship is it?” Baelira asked, with an arched eyebrow.

“Mostly runs casks of ale and wine from the Heptarchy to cities along the coast, as far east as the Shadow Belt but never through,” Blaze responded. “Captain is third-generation, and we asked around. He has a decent reputation but no weather mages.”

I winced as mages always made the trip much faster. “When do we sail?” I asked, reluctantly agreeing to it.

“Tomorrow night. He is still loading some cargo—dried lumber, but will be ready to sail by tomorrow evening's outgoing tide. We got everyone their own cabin, and he has no other passengers at present,” Maveith said enthusiastically.

“Good. I am going to run Ginger and get some practice in,” I said, preparing to leave. Baelira and Evie both stood up to follow. I didn’t dissuade them as it might be good to have someone with me when I tried my new spell form.

We both asked Evie questions about her connection to the lich emperor to understand it better. At first, she was hesitant to talk about it, but once she realized she wouldn’t be punished, she opened up. We walked out of the city and out of sight, and when I released Ginger, she was a little nervous but calmed down after I gave her a golden fig.

“Baelira, do you know how to ride?” I asked the elf. She was still staring in shock at the large horse that appeared out of nowhere. “I…have…never…” she said slowly, and Evie giggled. Ginger nudged me for another treat, but I pushed her head away.

“Okay, Ginger, let's get you saddled up so you can give Baelira some riding lessons,” I hide my smirk, remembering how painful my first time riding was. Evie was eager to help and I was eager to let her do the talking. “Okay, ride to me,” I said, hiding a smile.

I had read how to use the teleport spell dozens of times. Teleporting to a place where you could see was not difficult, but teleporting somewhere you couldn’t see was dangerous. You needed an anchor at the location, such as a physical marker you could connect to or a spell that allowed you to see the target. You could also try to draw on your memory, but that was the most dangerous because the location could have changed since you were last there.

The only safeguard was rebounding the spell, but that meant you had to have enough aether to recast the spell form and return you to where you started. I settled on the top of the path about fifty yards away, visualizing the location and pushing aether into the new spell form. Darkness folded in for a split second, and as I materialized on the hill, I assessed myself, and it looked safe. I released the spell form, and I was standing fifty yards away. I couldn’t help but laugh with delight.

Teleport was not a combat spell as it took me some ten seconds to prepare and about two seconds to shift and materialize, but it was still a fantastic spell. This was why I couldn’t practice on the moving ship, as it was not stationary, and the time to set the destination was too long. I turned around and looked at the stunned expressions on Baelira’s and Evie’s faces. “Well, ride to me!” I shouted, but they probably couldn’t see my satisfied grin.

Baelira swung up into Ginger’s saddle, and Evie helped her get settled before taking the reins and walking Ginger to me. Evie obviously remembered her own experience learning to ride, and was breaking Baelira in slowly. When they reached me, Baelira was slack-jawed. “Did you just teleport?”

“Yep,” and I vanished again back to where we started. It still took time to set the anchor, but it went smoothly. I checked on my aether and was satisfied with the minimal investment. The more mass I ported, and the further the distance, the more aether was required. My 40 aether pool was not insignificant, even respectable for an average mage, but far from being a bottomless well. I did have my aether restorative potions and the materials to brew more.

When they reached me, Evie was jumping excitedly, and Baelira was trying to find a comfortable position straddling the saddle, “Take me with you next!”

“Let me practice a few more times first,” I said thoughtfully. I didn’t want to risk both of us. I teleported to the top of the hill again, and then, before they reached me, I was standing in a field half a mile away. Evie raced toward me, forcing Baelira to learn how to gallop on her own. She looked miserable, and I guessed she was trying to squeeze her thighs to hold herself in place instead of moving with Ginger. Ginger didn’t care and quickly passed Evie, thinking it was some kind of game.

I ported again before they reached me, surprising two groundhogs on a small hill. I sent out an earth pulse and relaxed as they scurried away. I should get used to using earth pulse every time I port to a new location. I checked my aether as I waited for them to reach me. I had used about a quarter of my aether, and it was rapidly replenishing.

When Ginger reached me, she nudged my catch in a symbolic tag. Essentially saying, I caught you, and you owe me another treat. I rewarded her with another fig, but would have to buy some apples before we sailed, rather than use the precious golden dungeon figs. I moved to Baelira and squeezed her thigh just above the knee with my hand. Her quads were rock hard, confirming my guess. She gave me a slightly surprised look at my action, but there was nothing sensual in it.

“Your muscles are too tense. Riding is more about balance than holding yourself in place constantly. You need to move your hips with the mount’s natural gait, whether that is walking, galloping, or running.” She nodded and watched my hand drop from her leg.

Evie reached us. “Take me next!” she said, out of breath.

“Okay,” I nodded. I needed to be in contact with her, so I rested my hand on her shoulder and chose a destination about a hundred yards away. Encompassing her in the spell form as it formed was very similar to using my dimensional space. When we appeared, she bent over and retched up her lunch. I forgot how the first time being ported was a bit disorientating. I passed her a waterskin to clear her mouth, but she was soon eager to go again.

We kept playing cat and mouse until I ran out of aether. I rested long enough to recover half my aether, before trying something more challenging. I tried to move Ginger and all three of us, feeling a significant drain of my aether, as it took nearly a quarter of my core to move us half a mile. A farmer pulling a cart paused down by the road, looking confused at our sudden appearance.

That marked the end of teleporting, though I still wanted to attempt a failed teleport to be ready for when it inevitably occurred. We used the remaining daylight to teach Baelira how to ride, then I showed her how to groom her. Before sending Ginger back, I made sure she had plenty of grass and water and got some rest. When I needed her, she would be ready to run.

Evie badgered me to use the dreamscape amulet back at the inn, but I wanted to sleep alone for once. After securing my room, I went into the dreamscape alone.

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