A Soldier's Life - 409 - (minor edit 6-17-25)

Chapter 409:

Sweat dripped from Evie’s small nose, and her thin blonde hair was plastered to her skull. She formed a half-smile as she moved one of the small daggers into a reverse grip, and I rolled my eyes as we had told her many times that was a terrible idea, especially with her terrible strength.

We had tried to teach her to use a shield, but her twig-like arms just couldn’t endure the weight for long, and any blow to the shield knocked back her slight frame.

She was more determined today, the fourth day of intensive training, as I promised her she could use the reader if she landed any strike on me. We hadn’t encountered any problems in the past four days and were only a few hours from the Nausis Kingdom border. I had decided to rest in this border town and cross over in the morning. I didn’t know what kind of customs or questions we would face, and I wanted everyone to be alert and rested.

Evie pushed off hard and dove for my legs. I groaned inwardly as I was going to have to hurt her a little bit for the reckless attack. She was exposing her back in a futile attempt to get any type of strike on my leg. I glided quickly to the left, and she grinned as she had guessed correctly, but I was already changing directions. She was in a superman pose, attacking empty air, both daggers extended, as I kicked her hard in the hip. She grunted and rolled away a few times on the ground.

“You can’t sacrifice your life just to get a small strike,” I chastised her as she hobbled to her feet.

Lesna cheered Evie on. “You almost had him! Stabby, stabby,” the halfling made a stabbing motion with both hands.

Blaze gave me a sour look, as if I should let her win. Maybe I would let her stab me if she at least leaped in her development, but she was throwing away everything we had drilled into her in a wild attempt to win an insignificant hit. There was only danger in rewarding such reckless attacks. “Benito, you are up. Blaze, you and me.” I signaled a change to our pairings.

“I am not done!” Evie said definitely, facing me again. One hand was holding her hip where I kicked the girl. I had kicked her hard, but with her momentum, so I didn’t think I did too much damage. With large towns and cities, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a healing mage.

Her sweat had mixed with the dirt, and now her face was covered in salty mud. I nodded and let her attack again. Fifteen minutes later, she had finally exhausted herself and was even filthier. Several locals shook their heads in vehemence at how the small girl was being treated, but none attempted to intervene. The thing was, Evie was the one who had increased the intensity and aggression to this level over the five lessons. She was starting to understand her new world, and according to Lesna, she was afraid I would leave her with the Death Hunters if she couldn’t handle herself.

“Take her to the bath and get dinner for you both,” I told Lesna, tossing her a silver. It should only be a dozen coppers for a bath and a launder. I was not dirty and wanted to spend some time in the adventurers’ hall ferreting out rumors and asking about the Death Hunters. The towns we passed over the last few days didn’t offer much information on the Death Hunters. They seemed a mysterious organization to the common people. We did learn that the Nausis Kingdom had a dungeon purge, but it only lasted a few days, unlike the ongoing one in Gorgiphia dungeons. At least the language between the two kingdoms was similar enough that Lesna could translate if needed.

The common room smelled of stale beer and fresh bread. This guild hall was so small that it did not offer any rooms, only a posting board and a small tavern area. We had stabled the horses at the inn across the street. We were told the sandwiches were said to be good, with freshly-baked bread piled high with brisket, pickled cabbage, and a spicy cheese sauce. Not many eyes were on us, as most adventurers were likely preoccupied with the monster surge in the east.

I received a few glares and expressions of anger as I sat down and placed my order. It was to be expected since word had probably spread about me beating up Evie. I just hoped the old woman who took my order didn’t spit in my ale. Blaze joined me a moment later, and I doubled the order. Benito would watch the bathhouse until Lesna and Evie returned. It was always better to be safe than sorry in unfamiliar lands.

“You should have let her win, Konstantin,” Blaze said as the ale and pitcher were slammed down in front of us. Yeah, she definitely spit in mine and probably Blaze’s too. Blaze sipped his oblivious and seemed to like it, nodding in appreciation.

“I am not Konstantin, and I pulled my strikes,” I countered testily.

“You get more and more like him every day. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s a bad thing for an eleven-year-old girl.” I grimaced at the truth of that statement.

Our monstrous sandwiches arrived, and they exceeded our expectations. They were extremely messy to eat, but even with the ring of sustenance, I savored every bite. We ate in silence, finishing off the pitcher, which was refilled with less antipathy. I ordered a half-dozen sandwiches for the others when they arrived.

“Oi, you want to have a go with me?” an adventurer a head taller than me challenged in terrible Elvish. He stood over my chair, trying to intimidate me. His shoulders were so muscular that they hid most of his neck, and it was clear he had been drinking heavily by the breath.

“No,” I said, without turning around. He was a bit stunned and didn’t know what to do. The two companions at his table, both women, goaded him on in the local language.

“Leave it, Spiro. He probably has his reasons.” An older adventurer with a silver medallion under his vest barked across the room. He stood and walked over to our table, waiting until Spiro sat down with the two women who eyed me angrily. My rescuer took an open seat, his heavy leather vest covering a faded blue shirt. His belt held what I assumed was a dungeon blade on quick inspection, and his dark leather leggings and boots completed the ensemble. His stubbled face showed age lines, but his hair was a rich black with no gray.

“You do have your reasons, so tell me and I will make sure no one bothers you again,” he said, helping himself to our pitcher.

“Who are you?” I asked, somewhat annoyed.

He studied Blaze and me as I reached inside my shirt to reveal my own silver medallion, but he didn’t seem surprised. “Haris. Guildmaster Haris.” He took a long pull from his mug, and the old woman came by and topped off our pitcher.

I considered how much information to share with him. I couldn’t reveal that Evie had an awakened core or her affinities. My mind was racing to find a way to spin the story when Blaze stepped in. “We are headed to the Death Hunter Citadel.” Blaze didn’t add anything else, and the Guildmaster reclined in his chair, studying us for a moment.

Haris finally asked, “Who?”

“All of us,” I responded.

He sipped his ale again. “Hard choice to bring your daughter along. What of the mother?”

Seeing a chance not to lie, I responded. “She is very far away and cannot take care of her.” The Guildmaster grimaced.

He chewed on his tongue for a moment before speaking. “Don’t practice in the open yard. I hope you plan to leave tomorrow,” he started to stand, but I stopped him.

“Can you give us your impression of the Death Hunters?” I asked more politely now that I knew who he was.

He resumed his seat. “A few pass through here every year, usually in pairs. Takes a certain type of man who is willing to spend his life hunting those without it.”

“It is not a life commitment,” I stated.

“True. But most make it so as they die in pursuit of their target,” he said thoughtfully. He nodded toward the door. “But they will take care of your girl if you go that way serving them.” Evie and Lesna were back with wet hair and mostly clean clothes. Evie was walking a little gimpy, but she had a big smile on her face as she reached us, her dimples showing.

“When can I try again?” Evie asked enthusiastically. The Guildmaster raised an eyebrow as Lesna and Benito pulled one of the massive sandwich plates to them.

“Who is the new guy? Looks a bit old. Don’t think he can keep up with us,” Benito said as half of his meat fell out of his sandwich when he picked it up. Undeterred, he scooped the escaped meat into his mouth with his fingers.

“The Guildmaster of this establishment,” Blaze let out in a sigh. Benito paused eating to see if he had offended the man, deciding he hadn’t, he resumed.

“We were asking him about the Death Hunters. Do they take everyone who approaches them?” I asked, trying to mediate the damage. My entire table turned to the Guildmaster.

He studied each of us briefly in turn, pausing on Lesna. “They do. The Citadel is large, and it requires a number of support staff, including cooks, maids, seamstresses, smiths, gardeners, and more. The caretakers are treated extremely well, from what I have heard.”

“What about the Death Sentinels?” Blaze asked, now that the ice had been broken.

“They are one in the same. Two sides of the same coin,” the man said. “One half guards the Isle of the Dead, while the other half purges the world of the undead. Most of the Sentinels come from the longer-lived races, while the Hunters come from every race.” He looked over us doubtfully.

We didn’t get much out of him before the others finished their meal, and we had the other three sandwiches wrapped tightly in large dry leaves. The inn across the way was actually not bad, and the rooms were mostly quiet. I considered calling in Evie for a tablet reading, but ultimately decided against it. She had taken all her essences while I still had two minor energy essences and three minor aether pool essences remaining.

In the morning, we found the inn's common room was in a festive mood on waking. It took very little coaxing to find out why. Word had come through that yesterday, two of the dungeons stopped expelling monsters. When the two dungeons were mentioned by name, I understood why. They were on the edge of the Kingdom, the farthest from the primary ley line. Whatever had surged along the ley line had branched out and affected other dungeons off the primary ley line under the Shadow Belt.

It was a short ride to the border in the morning. The soldiers of the Nausis Kingdom wore open-faced metal helms and slightly rusty chain mail under a dark green tabard. We were only asked a few questions after showing our adventurer’s medallions. Trade wagons, on the other hand, were searched before being allowed to cross.

It took two days to reach Hinion, the first major city in Nausis along the trade road. The citizens predominantly had rich caramel skin and facial features that made me think they were of Hispanic descent. The city was both walled and spacious. The inn we stayed at offered a private courtyard for our evening training, but more importantly, it had its own baths.

Evie had been progressing steadily, growing stronger, more agile, and quicker with her small blades training. I thought it was time to give her a win, but I would make her work for it.

An hour later, Evie was stunned for just a moment when she drove her dagger into my thigh. Everyone froze. Blaze offered a soft smile, knowing I allowed it, Lesna clapped, and Benito looked on with wide eyes. It was time for Evie to receive a new reading at the tablet table.

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