A Soldier's Life - 458 - Polite Conversation

Chapter 458:

I had a son.

I never thought I was the paternal type, but maybe watching Evie was rubbing off on me since I now believe I could handle fatherhood. Perhaps not well, but I could muddle through. Flashes of my memories of my own father stung me. I would never see him again. He had been a good man working long shifts during the week, but devoting his weekends to me and my sisters. I chuckled as in this world I wouldn’t be taking my son to baseball practice, but teaching him how to swing a sword and the best way to fight goblins in dense woods. I wouldn’t leave my son without knowing his father.

With my aether sight active, I turned slowly to look at the shadows at the alley's mouth. “Thanks for the help,” I said sarcastically.

Lesna moved deeper into the shadows before she dropped her invisibility. “Looked like you had everything in hand,” she said dismissively, walking past me. “You want these?” she asked, picking up the small throwing daggers Alhur had thrown.

I extended my hand for them, and the halfling placed the three knives in my hand reluctantly. I quickly assessed them with earth speak. They were fine elvish smithing work, but just a simple rune on the blade for accuracy, perhaps worth three dozen gold each. I handed them back to Lesna, and she lit up as she secured them on her person. The elf wasn’t getting them back when I got around to releasing him.

“How much did you overhear?” I asked her.

“I was across the street when you entered the alley,” she said. I focused intently on the small woman and she sighed. “Are we gonna go find your elf lover now?” She said, admitting she had overheard.

I wanted to say yes. If I took a ship, I could sail around the continent and reach Bartiradia in a month. If I continued to the Heptarchy as planned, then up through the Telhian Empire to reach Bartiradia, it would have taken twice that time, and that didn’t include the possibility of being delayed in the Heptarchy or the Telhian Empire. “Yes, Lesna. I am going to Raelia.” I just hadn’t committed to how we were going to get there.

I thought of Maveith. He had left his daughters to make sure the world would be safe for them. I looked down at Lesna. “I cannot head directly there, but I will do what I can to get to them as quickly as possible. Maybe I could send a messenger to tell Raelia I am on my way and why I am delayed?” 

Lesna looked up, “I will see if I can find someone.” She broke eye contact and started looking around the empty alley. I rolled my eyes at her unwillingness to volunteer.

“Let’s get back to the others,” I said, sighing, and began walking.  “Thanks for following me, Lesna,” I said, genuinely appreciative. I was already considering sending Blaze and Benito to Raelia, but there were dangers in sending two ex-legionaries into Bartiradia, especially with one of those men being Benito.

At the pier, Evie and Benito were involved in a dice game with some dwarven sailors. I didn’t see Blaze, Maveith, or the High Sentinel and his group. “Benito, where did everyone go?” I asked.

Benito cursed as he lost a large stack of coppers. The two dwarves looked up at me and quickly swept up the game and left. Benito frowned at losing his new friends to my intimidation. They were most likely cheating against Evie and Benito anyway. “Whaddaya need, Eryk?” Benito said grouchily, watching the sailors climb the ramp to their ship.

“Where are Maveith, Blaze, and Baelira?” I asked.

“Blaze and Baelira went there,” Benito pointed at a large inn down the street. “Maveith and his two guards went to the castle with the High Sentinel. They waited for you, but you disappeared.”

Evie added with a smirk, “Maveith wanted to get the king to prepare for his people when they arrived. Tarnak and Vekkas are staying behind.” I nodded as Maveith was planning to travel with me, but there had been several arguments on the voyage with Tarnak and Vekkas about their duty to protect their ‘Lord Protector’. It seemed that Maveith had won the argument.

I headed to the inn with Benito and Evie. Blaze and Baelira were just finishing up at the desk. Blaze noticed something had changed in my demeanor. “Everything all right?”

“We can talk in the room,” I replied flatly.

“I got the names of a few ship captains to take us across the inlet,” Blaze said, nodding. We had to wait while the rooms were prepared and sat in the common room eating. I remained relatively quiet, avoiding probing questions as I thought about my next steps. I just didn’t want to discuss this all in the open. By chance, Maveith arrived while we waited and sat at our table, drawing inquisitive eyes. We probably should have headed into the city and stayed at the Adventurers Guild, but we had planned to leave as soon as possible.

Maveith grumbled as he sat. “The king has been summoned from his rural estate and will be back tomorrow for an audience. With message sendings not working, it will take a few hours to get a message to him. The Sentinels have been given rooms in the castle with Tarnak and Vekkas.”

Maveith gestured at the food, and we nodded that it was fine. He tore the breast off a large roasted chicken and piled potatoes high on his plate. He had given his ring of sustenance to his father to help him recover and appeared not to have reclaimed it. Evie asked a few questions about the castle, which Maveith answered between bites. When the suite of rooms was ready, we headed up together.

The large common room was cozy and had plenty of seating, with doors leading to six private rooms. The suite took up the entire floor, and Blaze interrupted the chatter as we entered. “I think Eryk has something chewing on his thoughts that he promised to share.”

All eyes turned to me, and I gestured for them to sit. I couldn’t help but grin a little as I spoke the words. “I just found out that I have a son. He should be about a year old by now.” Surprised, congratulations rolled in.

Maveith lit up with a broad smile before frowning. “Raelia is not going to be happy.”

“No, she is quite angry with me at the moment. She even sent someone to kill me,” I said.

“Raelia wouldn’t do that,” Maveith retorted. “She is not the jealous type, but I am disappointed with you for not being faithful.”

I laughed at my friend, and his frown deepened. Goliath are monogamous and take their unions seriously. “Raelia is the mother Maveith,” I said when I could stop laughing. Blaze and Benito’s congratulations turned to shock. Baelira had remained silent and had offered only mild congratulations; maybe there was judgment or disappointment there. Evie was squirming uncomfortably, so I changed my seat and put my arm around her. I could read her mind that she was worried about being supplanted.

Maveith’s face changed from disappointment to a huge grin. “A boy and he will be close in age to Zina and Eshka! Raelia must visit Stone Mountain Island! Or we can go to her!” His thoughts caught up to why we were here, and he got more serious. “After the Brotherhood has been dealt with.”

“Isn’t Raelia an elf?” Baelira finally spoke up.

Benito answered her quickly. “She is! She was a griffin rider, and then Eryk almost killed her.” He bit his lip, “And then he almost killed her again. But I guess she forgave him.”

Blaze said thoughtfully, “Human and elves having a child is rare.”

“Extremely,” Baelira said, studying me. “There has only been one born in Sanctuary’s history, and not for lack of trying.” She flushed, “Or so I am told.”

“With message sendings not working, I need to get a message to Raelia. I don’t think the elf in my dimensional space is going to be cooperative.”

Maveith looked at me disapprovingly. “You imprisoned another elf against her will?”

A little exasperated at my friend, I explained. “It is a man. He called himself Alhur Larethian of House Caelorian, and he tried to kill me, Maveith.”

“Well, that does change things,” Maveith replied.

Blaze considered my words. “House Caelorian? As in the ruins of Caelora? I can see why he didn’t like you.”

“I was thinking the same thing. He probably knows I was a legionnaire from the Telhian Legion and the Telhian Empire destroyed Caelora and his people fifteen hundred years ago,” I said.

“He is going to have trust issues, but I am willing to carry your message to Raelia and inform the Bartiradians about the shadow demons’ plans,” Blaze said thoughtfully.

Even Benito was smart enough to know that was a bad idea. “The Bartiradians hate us. They would kill you!” Benito blurted.

“I won't tell them I am from the Empire,” Blaze said, rolling his eyes. “My elvish is quite good now. But the message might carry more weight if your elf captive came with me after talking with the High Sentinel.”

“I agree,” Maveith said in support. “You should release the elf so we can talk with him and explain.”

“He is not going to be very cooperative, and he is injured as well. We will need to restrain him when I free him,” I said, mostly because I wanted to talk with the elf myself.

“If you drop him in water, I can freeze it,” Baelira offered.

“I like that idea,” I said after a brief thought. “There are irrigation ponds not far from the city that are isolated.”

I wasn’t too excited about Evie coming with us to see the interrogation, but she insisted, and I was worried that if I showed too much eagerness about my son, she might get jealous or melancholic. It had taken so much time to build trust with her, and I genuinely cared about her well-being.

The irrigation pond we found was in a grove of trees about a quarter mile off the road and away from the fields. There had been rain, and the sluice was closed, and the pond was almost full of scummy water. It was the perfect place to deposit my would-be assassin.

“It will take me to cool the water and get it to a temperature where the freezing will be quick,” Baelira said. Her demeanor had changed in the last few hours since she learned I had a half-elf son. I couldn’t decide if it was for better or worse.

It was humid and hot, so as the pond water cooled, fog rolled off of it. When the surface started to form a thin layer of ice, Baelira signaled she was ready. I stepped forward and planned to drop Alhur ten feet from shore in the muddy section of the pond. “Everyone ready?” I asked. I had an aether restoration potion ready in case I needed it.

Alhur appeared ten feet above the water. Maybe that was me being a little spiteful for him trying to kill me. Shock and disbelief were on his face as he fell into the pond and shattered the thin layer of ice. He immediately started flailing in panic. The water churned with muddy ice.

“Can he swim?” Benito asked with concern.

Blaze lowered his readied bow, “It doesn’t look like it.”

“Do you want me to drag him out?” Maveith asked uncertainly.

Maybe the water was deeper than we thought, as the elf’s head repeatedly surfaced briefly while he gasped for air. Even with his armor and gear, he should have been able to keep his head above the water long enough for Baelira to freeze it. He finally found his footing, orienting himself on the muddy bottom and standing, the water coming up to mid chest. He vomited water and didn’t realize the surface of the water was freezing rapidly around him, as Baelira fully released her magic. By the time he did, the ice was inches thick and immobilizing him.

“The surface ice is over a hand width thick. I am slowing the freezing, but he should not be able to move,” Baelira stated.

Alhur’s eyes scanned his captures around the pond. He was initially furious but quickly analyzed his situation and controlled his rage. Control was the wrong word. He appeared calculating—and dangerous. His arms were free, but he had no weapons or access to his magic. I didn’t prolong it, and I stepped onto the ice, which was stable and out of his reach, and I slid him a simple healing potion.

“Okay, maybe you are a little more amenable to polite conversation now?” I said with a friendly smile.

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