A Soldier's Life - 422 - Surprise, It’s Not A Drill

Chapter 422: Surprise, It’s Not A Drill

After lunch, we stood on the plateau’s dark stone plaza. My group was all wearing their gray robes cinched with the belt to allow for easier movement. Other initiates from different residences stood with us, but they had soft leather armor and weapons. They were not as active in preparing for maneuvers and mock fights as the morning group. My group, with the four elves we arrived with, stood apart, a little apprehensive since we were told we should stay together for this first training session.

A dwarf approached and stood before us, his beard braided with carved bones. “I am Seeker Rorik Ashbane. I am a lesser necromancer, and I am here to guide you initiates. If the bell rings while you're asleep, gather just outside your building, and I will find you.”

“Does the bell sound often?” Benito asked with a whiny tone that told me he didn’t want his sleep interrupted. He was a legionnaire trained to obey, and would do so without question, but legionnaires were also professional complainers in private.

Rorik turned on Benito, and I thought he was going to yell. “Good question, lad. It rings once a month for a surprise drill. We haven’t had to defend against an incursion from the dead for centuries—it happened before I came here.”

A deep voice echoed from behind us. High Sentinel Fenlorian stood there in his flat black armor. I hadn’t seen him arrive or heard him move behind us. I caught him glancing at Evie before he spoke. “It has been 303 years since they attacked. The lesser undead cannot get through the wards. Their bodies will collapse. The greater undead are greatly weakened when they pass through them, but that does not mean we should not be prepared.”

Benito asked another question, since he was still high on the praise he received from his first. “Why did they invade 303 years ago?”

“We had someone they wanted. They left—disappointed,” Fenlorian said coldly. Benito nodded, like that made sense. Fenlorian nodded to Rorik, indicating he was taking over our orientation. “We monitor the undead from Sanctuary, and special units intercept any trying to leave. We also launch raids to destroy any boats they try to build. You need to be a Seeker to join those expeditions.”

“You also raid the isle for supplies,” I added.

Fenlorian turned slowly to me, his height matching mine. “Yes, we do, but just along the shoreline and only when necessary.” He moved to stand beside the dwarf. “It is important that if the bell sounds, you know where to go and form into groups. Greater undead can quickly corrupt an individual and bring them into their ranks. Since the corruption happens inside the wards, those new undead are not weakened.” He nodded to the dwarf to continue and walked away to inspect another group.

Rorik’s voice got louder to talk over the other group leaders. “Now our first task is to guard the western approach…”

While other groups practiced with weapons, we went on a tour of the defenses and learned their names so we could respond quickly in an emergency. Although the undead had not attacked in centuries, Sanctuary had repelled two kraken attacks in the bay and a pirate fleet attack some fifty years ago.

After six hours of instruction, we were led down to the armory for weapons and armor. Rorik had a key, and the room beyond smelled of oil and wax. “As initiates, you can take one set of armor and one weapon.” He looked at Lesna and Evie. “Or request something be made by the artisans.”

He walked down the racks, “Once you graduate to Watcher, you will be allowed to select one artificed weapon.” That got the elves to stir with excitement, but my group was already equipped.

“Are there artificed bows?” Blaze asked from beside me.

The dwarf grinned under his beard, “Oh, there most certainly are.” Blaze was giddy with excitement. I walked down the long hallway and found some oiled black leather armor. I couldn’t tell what animal it came from, and it didn’t look dyed. It smelled freshly oiled and felt supple. I took it, and for a weapon, I chose a combat spear. It was heavy like Heartseeker and not made to be thrown. When our group was finished, the room was locked.

“Next time, we will start working on drills and combat training. Talk to your workgroup leaders to find out your stations if the bell rings during your shift.” Rorik nodded and left us. We climbed the stairs and went back to our residence for dinner.

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The next three weeks saw me pass exams in all my classes, to the surprise of the instructors and irritation of Lesna. Lesna had bet Benito that I would beat her to it at dinner one night. Lesna should have known better because I had the amulet of clarity.

The ceremony to promote me from Initiate to Watcher was brief and conducted by the High Sentinel. My medallion received a silver skull, and that was it. “How do I become a Seeker?” I asked after I was handed back the medallion. A Seeker was the warrior rank, the hunters of the undead in the Sentinels and Hunters.

Fenlorian looked at me for a long moment. “You cannot unless you wish those removed.” He pointed at my arms, where the inscriptions were. “This is as high as you can be raised. If you return to Veilmark, you can become a Hunter and a Seeker for them.”

“I understand,” I said, not willing to argue the point. I needed to understand what the skull inscription did before I committed to it for myself or my companions. My companions and the elves threw me a little party to celebrate, as I was the first in our residence to complete my education.

Even though I had the option to move to a different room in Sanctuary, I chose to stay where I was until all my companions graduated. It was unusual, but the Castellion allowed it after talking with the High Sentinel.

At least now that I was cleared of the courses, I could spend half of my day studying in the Repository. There were so many books there that I wanted to add, it would take me years. I also had promised to bring Evie into the dreamscape to help her with her necromancy lessons after I completed the courses.

The runic weapon I selected from the Watcher Armory the next day was a simple longsword whose grip heated up the closer it got to an undead creature. I selected it more to confirm what I already knew, that Caracara Lepidus was no longer alive.

When I wore it to my apprenticeship duties, he studied it for a moment when I entered before speaking. “I am sure that blade will serve you well. I inscribed it a decade ago.” Of course, he already knew its function. He turned his back on me and went to his workstation. Continuing to ignore me and leave me to extrude wire. I touched the hilt, and it was uncomfortably warm.

My artificing apprenticeship was progressing much more slowly. While my companions picked up useful skills, I was stuck cranking for hours on end, rolling out twenty-five spools of gold or silver wire each day. I still had almost a month before I hit the thousand-spool mark required by Lepidus to earn the right to view the runic books. The masked man mostly kept to his own station, silent and focused, though he was occasionally summoned to consult with one of the master artificers on their projects. They spoke in soft voices that I couldn’t hear over the sound of the crank.

The day after receiving my Watcher blade, I was prepared to expose Evie to the dreamscape. I knew bringing Evie into the dreamscape was a minor risk. The changes she could make might undo a lot of my work. That’s why I always entered first and used my will to counter anything she tried to remove or create. The first person to enter always had the most control over the environment.

“Evie, this is it. Now you need to be...” I started to explain, but an older couple appeared in front of Evie, and she rushed into their arms for a group hug. I guessed they were her parents, and I hoped this wasn’t a bad idea. Evie had been adjusting to life without them, and now I was giving her a chance to reconnect and maybe miss Earth again. I wasn't a very good psychologist and might be doing more harm than good. There was no choice but to wait it out.

Evie had bawled her eyes out, and I hoped it was all cathartic. “Okay, Evie, are you good for now? I want you to create a manifestation of Hierophant Elyssara. She is going to serve as your teacher in here for necromancy.” Evie slowly nodded, and the commander of Veilmark appeared, looking just like I remembered her.

“Excellent. Now this part requires some imagination. You need to gather all the knowledge you've learned about necromancy at Sanctuary and focus it on her. Make it part of her. Take your time and mentally review your lessons and the instructors you have had, and sort of ball it up and push it into her.” After I finished talking, she nodded and closed her eyes.

A moment later, they were open. “I think it is done,” she said uncertainly.

Good. Now Elyssara will help you review material. Every time you enter, imbue her with the new things you've learned. You can expand what she knows, but for now, just focus on necromancy. Now, let's leave for a minute.” I guided Evie to the exit. She didn’t need to see the creatures yet, and the most important lesson was coming.

Evie held her head and moaned loudly in pain. Lesna was cradling her. “Sorry about that, Evie. You pushed out too much knowledge. You need to temper how much you give the amulet each time you enter. I can do about twelve books worth before the backlash is too much. You will need to experiment to find your limit. You can also add books you have seen. You do not need to have read them, just paged through them.”

I was glad there were no child labor laws on Desia because I was planning to have Evie start helping fill the dreamscape library. I didn’t trust Lesna to behave here, but as long as I went in first, Evie should be a safe bet, and for now, she would only be allowed in the entrance room. In fact, I had sealed the passage to the ankheg room.

Evie and I were ripped out of the dreamscape on the seventh night we shared it. I was immediately on alert. Lesna was standing over us, the amulet in hand, and I didn’t need to ask why she had done it. The bell on the plateau was ringing loudly in a steady cadence. “Lesna, stay with Evie here.”

My Sentinel black armor appeared in my hand and was on and cinched in under a minute. I took the Sentinel spear leaning against the wall and headed into the hallway. Benito and Blaze were both finishing with their own armor. “Is it a drill?” Benito asked hopefully.

“It doesn’t matter. We get to our stations on the western rim,” I said. We had our first night drill three days ago, and running another so soon was something Konstantin would do.

We exited out onto the plateau to find hundreds of men forming and moving to defensive stations. Fenlorian was shouting orders, bringing specific men to him. Rorik found us quickly. “Move back inside your residence. Remain ready, to defend against intruders.”

“Is this another drill?” Blaze asked, his voice tight.

“No,” Rorik barked, eyes narrowing as he strained to catch Fenlorian’s words over the chaos.

“What’s the threat? We can help,” I said, stepping forward.

“The accursed dungeon has loosed its host,” Fenlorian shouted. “Four Sentinels are already dead.” I looked at my companions, as this was not something new to us. I assumed the Sentinels were aware of what happened to the Kingdom of Gorgiphia. If not, I should probably tell the council after the first release was handled.

“They made it here from the island? What are we dealing with?” I asked, thinking I might need to switch weapons and reveal my space. Although I was pretty certain the report from Veilmark mentioned it, it probably hadn’t revealed how large it was.

Rorik growled. “No, not isle dungeons, the dungeon under Sanctuary. The one beneath the waves.” He looked at me. “Probably shouldn’t have said that aloud. You are not a Seeker yet.” We were all a bit stunned at the revelation. Why was there a dungeon under Sanctuary?

Fenlorian had gathered a dozen men and headed for the stairs that led to the small protected bay where the ships were moored. Damn it, if the creatures were strong enough and had an intelligence to them, they could sink all the ships, and we would be trapped here.

“Blaze, you are with me. Watch my back. Benito, guard Lesna and Evie,” I said, making a decision to follow the High Sentinel and his group.

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