A Soldier's Life - 453 -

Chapter 453:

When I was finally able to return to the room, Evie and Blaze were gone. I took the bed and succumbed to sleep once again. I didn’t see them much the next four days, as it was all about cleaning up the Sanctuary and securing it from another attack. I spent more time in meetings than I did helping with the cleanup as plans were being made. Nearly a third of the Sentinels on Sanctuary were dead—it was an astounding number when you figured most of those who died were the best warriors among them. The organization would take decades to recover.

Lepidus was surprisingly quiet in the council meetings, offering only one suggestion: to track down the lich emperor while he was at his weakest and destroy him. Even though his tone was flat, I knew him well enough now that I could tell he was anxious to do so. The suggestion was quickly determined to be infeasible with the Sentinel’s current strength.

Most of the well-traveled Sentinels were in the meetings as the group tried to sort out politics and how to approach nations and leaders. While the Death Hunters were free to operate in all lands, I quickly learned that they rarely had good relations with the rulers. Part of that was due to their self-superiority, as they believed they were doing something the nations couldn't. And part of it was that they rarely told locals they were hunting undead in their lands. The latter was almost always due to the worry that a necromancer might have infiltrated the sovereign’s court—at least that is what the Death Hunters told themselves.

My own course of travel had been laid out. After Stone Mountain Island, we would land in Nausis. From there, I would travel west to the Heptarchy and petition Queen Adelin to declare war on the seven nations that composed the heptarchy. After that, I was to travel north and into the Telhian Empire to convince the new queen to send soldiers and legionnaires.

Not much was known about Empress Renna's disposition, but given the Telhian Empire's human nature and racism, it was my responsibility as the only human envoy. I did not reveal to the council that we had briefly been lovers. Tovin was going to the Boutan Caliphate, and if he ran into trouble there, he would send word that he needed my help. If Tovin did not need help, I was free to go to Bartiradia and petition the king. There were no high hopes that Bartiradia would send aid because they had been decimated in the war two years ago. I, of course, had other reasons for going to Bartiradia.

Evie and Blaze were kept busy with cleaning, with the worst damage being done to the Repository. The damage was substantial, with nearly an estimated quarter of the tomes looted or burned. Artifacts, both mundane and magical, had been stolen or smashed. The only good news was that only two of the sealed vaults had been breached, and the other twenty-one warded vault doors were left uncompromised. The unwarded vaults were not as lucky, with most being ransacked but not looted.

The warehouses on the lower levels were also broken into and looted, resulting in a small loss of quality weapons and armor, but they represented decades of work by the artisans. The Sentinel artisans, probably as a means to deal with the turmoil and loss, started plans to restock the warehouses. The conversations I overheard between them were surreal as they talked like nothing had happened. I was still feeling guilty about Bharok’s death.

When the planning meetings started to subside after four days, I found my time suddenly free. As a member of the High Sentinel’s advisory council, I was free to spend my days as I pleased. The artificers and Lepidus were shocked when I started showing up in the morning to continue my practice in artificing.

I even took a chance with Lepidus and produced the three bronze buttons Glasha had gifted me after the Trials. He was immediately interested, as were the other artificers present. The crowd gathered around the table to inspect the large, round bronze discs. “Did you find these in one of the vaults?” Lepidus asked after a time.

Another artificer guessed what they were. “Maybe ancient halfling shields, or bucklers for larger men.”

Lepidus looked at the man. “The runic script clearly follows the style of the Titan artificers. I am guessing these were adornments on armor or clothing.” Even with his flat tone, he sounded condescending and pedantic.

I hated to confirm his guess. “They were buttons on a storm giant’s coat. One has a voice enhancement charm, another protects from poison, and the third is some cleaning effect. Can they be repaired?” Two of the discs were slightly warped from heat, and the third had cracks.

“Not with your level of skill,” Lepidus said. “Maybe in a decade you could.”

One of the elven artificers volunteered. “I would be happy to work on restoring them, Seeker Eryk.”

Lepidus pulled the discs closer to himself protectively. “Thalen, you have too many projects as is. Perhaps I could find time between the restoration of Sanctuary’s defenses.” Disappointment among the artificers circulated, but Lepidus was the master artificer in charge of them all.

“What do you plan to do with them?” Thalen asked me.

“I was hoping to use them as shields,” I replied.

“The bronze and runes would quickly be destroyed,” he said doubtfully.

“I can inlay it in a larger reinforced shield,” Lepidus said, still studying the ancient artifacts. “The armor smiths will reveal in the challenge, I think.” Lepidus promptly started to ignore me, ordering one of the apprentice artificers with metal sense to trace the runic layers on all three buttons so they could start figuring out the repairs required.

“Could they layer some scales on the shield?” I asked before they got too far along.

Lepidus nodded. “There are a large number of scales they harvested from the serpent from the demon dungeon.”

“I was thinking of something else, actually.” The head of the dragon chimera appeared on the floor of the workshop. Blood was already leaking from the amputated neck, and the artificers jumped back.

Lepidus just kneeled to inspect it. “A drake? Or a juvenile dragon?” he questioned, looking up with respect.

“The dragon head from a chimera,” I responded. One of the artificers gasped.

Lepidus nodded, which was a huge praise from the likes of him. “Faux dragon scales then. It should be almost impervious to fire and heat. A suitable coating for a shield. There might even be enough to cover all three when they are finished.” Lepidus brushed me aside as he had someone run to get a master in harvesting. I was relegated to practice my tracings, but I didn’t mind. I just hoped they finished before the Salty Widow returned, because I didn’t think I would ever be coming back to Sanctuary.

I spent my afternoons either wandering the Repository, paging through books, talking with Blaze, or in meetings with Fenlorian or Jalorien. My evenings were completely dedicated to Evie, as I cooked dinner for us and we practiced her developing sword skills.

Our time in the dreamscape together only briefly touched on weapons training. Evie was given a clairvoyance spell form to learn. I don’t think the Sentinels understood that she was leaving with us. I assumed, at least, that now that she had her mark, she would be coming with us. The spell form was a more powerful version of Castile’s all-seeing eye. It not only had a much better range, but also allowed the mage to project an image of what the mage was seeing in front of her.

Evie was excited about learning new magic. She had already mastered simple light and flame spells. Since she had no affinity for fire, the flame and light spells were channeled through her air affinity and were good for much more than lighting a candle or producing as much light as a candle. She was working on much more complex necromancy spells to bind spirits to her will, but complained about the complexity of the spell forms constantly. Since she used Lesna’s technique of twisting aether strands together, it made writing out long spells much more difficult.

I spent my nights working on the highly complex teleport spell form. I also dedicated some time to keeping my knowledge of the dimension door spell sharp, in case I needed to use it in an emergency, but I was determined to master the much more complex spell form for my one displacement spell form.

As the days passed, my stockpile of essences diminished. I shared a few with Blaze and Evie, but consumed the majority myself. The water essences were always the worst and gave me aether heartburn every time. Even though Elaro had said it would be safe, I think my core was telling me I was rushing in increasing the water affinity.

As the days turned into weeks, doubts about the Salty Widow’s return began to creep in. The council sessions grew more combative, with members considering raising the Mourning After. We had the shipwrights to repair the vessel, but lacked the powerful mages with the ability to raise it. The shipwrights had managed to salvage and repair one of the much smaller cutters, but that vessel had no chance of crossing the ocean. I had suggested floating it to the surface with ice, but they thought my plan was foolhardy, and I dropped it as I didn’t know it would actually work myself.

The news of a ship’s sail spread through Sanctuary like wildfire. It wasn’t long before it was confirmed that the ship was the Salty Widow, and people were already celebrating well before it docked. As it sailed into the cavern bay, the ship had seen better days, with scorch marks on the hull and visible repairs to the rails and hull.

The docks were crowded as it docked and Benito leaped off before it was even tied off. He wore a massive grin, “Did you miss me?”

“Always,” I said, giving him a man-hug. “Trouble?” I asked, indicating the damage.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Benito said smugly.

Lesna appeared at his side, her invisibility dropping. She probably planned to surprise me but gave up when I focused on her. “Yeah, I only had to save your life three times,” she said in mock indignation.

Benito scrunched his face in thought. “Twice and I saved you once too!”

Fenlorian’s voice broke the jubilation on the docks. “Captain Haevrin, please ascend Sanctuary and report.” The High Sentinel turned and climbed the stairs. The captain and his first mate solemnly followed as the rest of the crew was beset by Sentinels.

“I have to go,” I said to Benito and Lesna. “Go find Evie and Blaze, and we can talk after.”

As a member of the council, I was required to attend a report on their trip to Bubenge. Both were still in shock from learning of the attack on Sanctuary once they reached the plateau. Fenlorian lacked patience. “How are things at Iron Vigil Citadel? Have messages been sent?”

Captain Haevrin bowed his head in modest formality. “Messengers have been dispatched, but no message sendings spells function anywhere on Desia.”

“What?!” Jalorien spat. “That’s impossible!”

Captain Haevrin shook his head. “I do not know how, but it is the same as here. Other magical methods work, but the spell form for message sending is disrupted all across Desia by something.”

“What about displacement magic?” A Sentinel asked.

“Unaffected as far as I know,” the captain said. That got some relieved sighs from the assembled Sentinels.

“Tell me of your voyage and what you have learned. The Salty Maiden has sustained damage,” Fenlorian said resignedly. Without message sendings available, the plans would need to be reworked again.

“We reached Bubenge without difficulty. The Commander of the Citadel told us no dungeon breaks have been reported on the continent. However, the first night we were dock, we were attacked. It was the halfling that gave us plenty of warning. We only lost three sailors and killed thirty-two Nashasari, along with three of their mages. The city lords didn’t even know there were Nashasari in their city.”

The conversation degenerated into speculation and a retelling of the assault on Sanctuary for the captain’s benefit. Unfortunately, the city lords of Bubenge did not investigate the Nashasari attack, leading the captain to suspect they knew about their presence. Similar to what we experienced in Godok. Lesna had already told the captain about the Nashasari sect in Godok, and from the captain’s retelling, it sounded like Lesna was the hero in exposing them. I didn’t contribute anything to dissuade that viewpoint. It was actually Gilda who had discovered them, and Konstantin, Gilda, and I who had infiltrated the sect.

As the questions and discussion dragged on, Fenlorian abruptly stood. “I am sorry to give your sailors so little rest, but we leave the morning after next,” Fenlorian said with authority. “Everyone, please focus on preparing the Salty Maiden to sail.”

Some Sentinels milled about, but most hustled off to do the will of the High Sentinel. The next day and a half were a whirlwind of activity as preparations were made. The council meetings focused on determining the necessary changes since message sendings were blocked. None of the changes affected me, but there was a strong push to skip over Stone Mountain Island. I adamantly fought for the stop to include, Maveith and his people needed to know, and I was sure the goliaths, once they understood the implications, would send aid.

The council also entertained a large number of Sentinels wishing to depart Sanctuary. It was not shocking after everything that happened. No one tried to convince them to stay, and the ceremony was very brief. They came before Fenlorian and he asked them questions and they answered.

“Do you wish to leave Sanctuary?” he would ask.

“I do,” they would reply.

“Are you willing to give up your title as a Sentinel?”

“I'm not,” they would answer.

“Will you be ready to lend aid to any Sentinel or Hunter who asks for it?”

“I will,” they would say.

“You're free to leave Sanctuary, but your assistance is always welcome in the fight against the undead scourge,” the High Sentinel would say gravely.

It always went very quickly but you could see the pain on Fenlorian’s face with every request. I asked Fenlorian what would happen if they refused to give aid. “Then they would be free from the Sentinels forever. We would not aid them, and they not us.”

I was not surprised that Baelira came before Fenlorian to ask for her release. She was the first Sentinel that Fenlorian seemed to have trouble saying the words to. At least, that was the impression I got from his face. Before she left, she gave me a nod to remind me of my promise.

When we did sail early on the following day, the ship was crowded with Sentinels. Blaze, Evie, and I were sharing a four-hammock cabin when Baelira knocked on our open door. Benito and Lesna had a two-hammock room to themselves, and I suspected there was something between the pair. I hadn’t talked to Baelira since she requested her freedom. “You have an extra hammock? I really don’t want to spend 10 weeks smelling Durgin’s feet,” she said, scouting the small room. I had heard that Fenlorian had taken the first mate’s cabin for the voyage. He must have bumped into Baelira’s group cabin.

“Eryk’s boots probably smell worse,” Evie chirped merrily, and I happened to have a sock nearby that I tossed up to her swinging hammock.

“Well, a young woman shouldn’t be alone in a cabin with two grown men either,” Baelira tried a different tactic, sounding accusatory but winking at Evie.

I surrendered and gestured at the high hammock on the other side of the cabin above Blaze, who was paying attention to the interaction. “You can stay with us. But I cannot keep my promise to you. I am not going to Gramney, so I cannot introduce you to Elaro Morlamin.”

“That is fine. I am in no rush, and I am told you need someone to watch your back, and we get to Gramney when we get to Gramney,” Baelira said, cracking a smile.

Evie was excited to have Baelira with us, and I immediately regretted it as the two talked nonstop. At least I would see Maveith in two weeks if the Sentinel mages worked overtime.

The familiar tropical shore of Stone Mountain Island was sighted on the morning of the 13th day from Sanctuary. I was on deck with Evie practicing sword forms. It would still be hours until we reached Eternis’ port, but I was already eager to see Maveith. I woke Benito, who was sunning himself, to take over Evie’s lessons as I moved to stand with Fenlorian in the bow. He was wearing his armor, and I knew he was having doubts about stopping here.

He looked over at me. “We can only spare a day here to resupply,” he said stiffly. The other Sentinels on board had tried to convince him many times to avoid going out of our way to visit the goliaths. However, Fenlorian owed me, and seven or eight extra days of sailing could be monumentally worth it if the dungeon was still open and the goliaths were open to trade.

Eternis looked much different as the Salty Maiden sailed into the harbor. Towers with alert goliath sentries in full suits of armor watched our ship hawkishly. The bay, which had been full of merchant ships anchored in a haphazard arrangement the last time I was here, was now orderly. The docks and warehouses looked more orderly from a distance as well—and it looked like there were uniformed city guards.

A flagger at the end of the dock started signaling where the Salty Maiden was to dock. We were flying the flag of the Death Sentinels, and it appeared that it had been recognized and earned us some type of honor. Our sails were already stowed, and the mages were guiding the ship with their magic. A delegation seemed to be forming on the dock we were being directed to. I nearly took out my spyglass to confirm Maveith was among them, but instead went to my cabin to ensure Benito and Blaze wouldn't spoil the surprise.

I ended up having to call Benito down from the crow’s nest, but I kept my companions out of sight. I pulled my manticore cloak from my storage and pulled up the hood as I waited. The mooring lines were tossed, and Fenloiran’s entourage was at the ramp. I stood in the back out of sight, waiting.

A giant called from the docks. “Honored Death Hunters, what brings you to Stone Mountain Island, and what aid can we offer you?” That was not Maveith’s voice, so I shifted slightly forward within the Fenlorian’s group to get a better look.

Fenlorian replied for our group. “We bring grave news to your council and would like to discuss what aid you are willing to offer.”

I had made it forward. “The council no longer rules the island. We have elected one man to lead us. May I introduce, Honored Maveith, Lord Protector of Stone Mountain Island.”

Maveith was in the center of the assembled goliaths. Two goliaths stood behind him in full matte black armor. The same armor I recalled from the dungeon reward. This was a good sign. Older goliaths stood on either side of Maveith as he stood tall and looked—majestic. The look on his face was too serious, though, like he now bore the weight of his people.

Maveith’s deep voice echoed for all to hear. There were a number of goliaths who had come to see the commotion, as well as several traders from other nations. “We honor the sacrifice the Death Watchers and Hunters have made to keep the world safe from the undead. Although I do not know what our humble island can offer that you already do not have, we offer it willingly.”

“Maveith, you are a terrible negotiator,” I barked, stepping to the front of the group.

Maveith’s serious and regal face cracked as he recognized my voice, and I pulled back the hood. Maveith’s face broke into a smile. “Eryk!” his voice thundered across the docks.

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