A Soldier's Life - 405 - The Essence Of Things (minor edit on 6-13-25)

Chapter 405: The Essence Of Things

The camp of adventurers we passed on the road to Brausis was empty as we rode by. I paused and stepped off Ginger for a moment to send out an earth pulse. I didn’t find anything that suggested they had been attacked. The fire pit still held hot coals deep under the ash, and I guessed that, even from this distance, the appearance of the dragon might have scared them off. There were no signs of a struggle, so we moved on.

Blaze’s sharp eyes pointed out the churned mounds of earth as we rode, and we did our best to avoid them in case they harbored another earth elemental. The farms along the road remained abandoned, but we did see a goat feasting in a field on squash. The only other sign of the dungeon creatures was a maze of webbing deep in the woods, which I only noticed because the morning dew clung to it, highlighting it in the sunlight. My discomfort after witnessing what the Endless Dark could unleash should have kept us moving, but spiders could provide coordination essences, and we hadn’t found any for Lesna and Evie yet. 

My arachnoid slaughter had earned two minor coordination essences and two minor dexterity essences. I managed to harvest three silk spinnerets, but I was unsure if this variant of spider was valuable for producing thread. I burned the egg sacks with alchemical flash powder before returning to Blaze. Neither Ginger nor Blaze objected to our faster pace after the spiders.

We reached the walls in late afternoon, and they buzzed with soldiers. No one was camping outside the walls now, and as we approached the gates, a half dozen men in sullied livery stopped us at the gate. The usual game of finding someone who spoke Elvish unfolded, and we were soon questioned about the fate of Brausis by a young guard captain with heavy bags under his eyes.

I patiently explained the bugbear assault and successful defense to the captain two nights prior. I told him the defenders were planning to escort the people to a larger city for their protection, and then I explained what had emerged from the dungeon the previous night—the arrival of the dragon.

The captain was sober at the news. “Last night, every animal inside the walls went loopy and either tried to hide or flee,” he said weightily. “Thank you for the news, even if a dragon is a bad omen. You are free to enter Kryna.” I didn’t tell him it was an Ancient Dragon, as Kyrenic had called it. No need to make his day worse. Since it was twenty-plus miles to Brausis, it caught me off guard that animals felt the Ancient Dragon’s aura this far away.

“How is the rest of the kingdom faring?” I asked the fatigued captain before entering the gates.

The captain weighed his words before sharing the news with a foreign adventurer. “We don’t have a mage capable of message sending in the town, but from others who have passed through here, it is a bloody affair. Yours is the first I have heard of the dark creatures leaving through a dungeon.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “The Abyssal Fissure and Dark Rift have both been contributing to the pandemonium since the dungeons failed us. Waves of creatures have been surging from them,” the captain said reluctantly.

“Are those entrances to the Endless Dark?” I asked understandingly. He nodded, and I spent a minute checking their locations to ensure we weren't heading in those directions. He then waved us through the gates. The town was packed with people seeking refuge, at least twice as many as before we had left. As we stabled the horses, we were glad to note Benito, Lesna, and Evie’s horses were still here. We found our companions in the common room eating an early dinner.

I was a bit shocked when Evie scrambled out of her chair and crashed into me with a powerful hug. Lesna was grinning at the affection, and Benito explained Evie’s enthusiasm. “Last night, the locals were saying everyone in Brausis was likely dead.” When Evie released me, Benito tossed her a large copper coin, which she managed to catch, and he shrugged at me with a tight smile. “I just bet against you to show her that betting on you was easy money.”

“Only until it isn’t,” I said, causing Benito to frown. I offered a smile to indicate I was joking, but that dragon could have ended us without much effort.

Evie pocketed the coin happily. “I learned it like you wanted me to,” Evie said, trying to get my attention, rubbing away some moisture in her eyes.

I messed up her blonde mop of hair. “I knew you would do it.” It felt good to see the pride on her face. Maybe having kids wasn’t so bad. Blaze and I joined them at the table while Lesna ordered more food. The halfling woman had a good grasp of the local language. While we waited for the food, Lesna told us what she had learned in the three days we were gone.

Lesna spoke more seriously than the halfling ever had to me. “Soldiers and mages have mostly been sent north and east. Rumors suggest that Keisinia is facing more trouble than we are. Their Mage Lords and Apprentices are simply too few to manage so many outbreaks.”

“Any news on what caused it?” I asked restlessly.

A little innocently, Lesna replied in a secretive tone, “I might have overheard two mages talking. They had been told the disruption originated in the Brotherhood of Mitzra across the sea.”

The map of the world flashed in my mind. “Mitzra is a thousand miles to the south across a few hundred miles of sea,” I said incredulously. Lesna shrugged. Since the disruption extended at least a thousand miles north, this meant that whatever caused it had traveled over two thousand miles. Possibly even reaching into the Telhian Empire, as it was just another thousand miles further. The magnitude of this was larger than any dungeon purges I had read about.

I ate distractedly. The food wasn’t bad, but I wasn't hungry, and I was sorting out the implications of this event. When we headed to the rooms, we found that we now only had two: one that Benito had been using and one that Lesna and Evie had been using. With the influx of people, the innkeeper had rented out our other rooms with Lesna’s permission. She reluctantly handed me the silver he had refunded her.

Benito’s room only had two beds and smelled ripe. “What have you been doing in here?” Blaze questioned him as he dropped his pack on the free bed. Benito just flushed red and began clearing off his bed for me.

“Leave it, Benito, the bed is yours, and we are likely leaving tomorrow anyway,” I said, waving off his objections. I unrolled a bedroll from my space near the wall. Once Blaze was settled, we moved into the other room. This room was larger, featuring two double beds and a small dining table. We all sat down, with Lesna grabbing a pillow to elevate her seat. She bounced excitedly, anticipating what was coming next. “We managed to get you both five of the seven physical essences,” I grinned cheerfully.

“Should someone so young be taking essences?” Blaze asked and got a sour look from both Lesna and Evie. It was not a stupid question, though.

“The Telhian books I looked at said they will be less effective. Only after reaching physical maturity of fifteen for women, and seventeen for men, should they be consumed for full effect. However, they will still fortify an attribute and make enhancing an attribute easier,” I explained. That was the best I could infer from the references in the Telhian books in the dreamscape, and I was not certain it was 100% accurate. Maybe First Citizens didn’t want essences wasted on the youth when there were so many needy adults available. It was probably a good question for Elaro, but Evie was going to start her training soon with the Death Hunters.

I took two bowls from my space and placed one in front of Evie and Lesna. I wanted to make this exciting and try to educate them a little as we proceeded. I dropped a small, dark pink sphere into each bowl. “A coordination essence from an acid spider. It will help improve your flexibility slightly, but more importantly, enhance your mind’s control over your muscles.”

While they stared at the pink sphere, the next essence to drop was a dark yellow sphere. “A dexterity essence, also harvested from acid spiders. Similar to coordination, but more focused on fine motor control with your hands. Very important for writing out spell forms, sleight of hand, and calligraphy.”

“Can we take them now?” Lesna asked impatiently, her eyes fixed on the contents of her bowl.

“You should only take one a day to get its full benefit. Also, they metabolize your body energy stores, so you will want to eat between consuming them,” I said, and Lesna took that as a “yes”, and the dexterity essence disappeared into her mouth. Blaze chuckled, and I rolled my eyes.

A dark red sphere, almost crimson in color, was deposited next. These spheres were much larger than the minor essences. “A major constitution essence collected from bugbear leaders. Eight-foot-tall brutes weighing over three hundred pounds,” I said with a grin as their eyes widened in amazement. “This will affect your health and ability to fight off and recover from disease.” Lesna narrowed her eyes at me, probably because she had consumed a minor essence when I was holding the major essences back. I think Evie was waiting for all five to be revealed before she chose, so I added another.

A dark purple sphere dropped into each bowl with a click as it hit the other spheres. “A major strength essence, also from bugbear leaders.”

“How many did you kill?” A wide-eyed Evie asked.

“More than four,” I said dismissively. “But there were over a dozen.”

“We didn’t kill them all, but Eryk was the only one with a collector, so he reaped the rewards,” Blaze chuckled, undermining my boasting.

I added the dark orange spheres next, ignoring Blaze’s comments. “This is a major power essence, also obtained from bugbears. Even if you are strong, power is your ability to contract your muscles quicker, making your blows harder and making you able to run faster.”

“Then what does quickness do?” Benito asked, confused.

“Quickness is your ability for your mind to process what you see and react quickly.” I tossed Benito a small, dark yellow sphere. “If I had thrown that to you, instead of tossing it, your brain would have been too slow to react and catch it.”

Blaze helped out Benito’s still perplexed expression. “Remember legionnaire Paulinus? The one who could catch arrows? He had a high quickness.”

“Didn’t he die from your arrow?” Benito asked, trying to remember.

“No, his mage commander healed him,” Blaze laughed. “But he did catch the first one. You still won the bet if you remember.” Benito nodded happily at the memory.

“The last physical essence is endurance, and that is your stamina,” I said, leaning back in my chair.

“What about the mental essences?” Evie asked.

“I will buy you a book to study them. Your mental attributes should not deteriorate unless you are starved or old. Hopefully, we can come across some creatures that yield them, but they are rarer than the physical essences.” I explained.

I had not planned on fortifying their mental essences, but changed my mind after seeing their excited reaction to the physical essences. I rolled two more essences across the table to each of them. They looked like large pearls, but they were not. “Minor aether pool essences. It will very slightly increase your aether pool.” I tossed Benito another dexterity essence, the last physical essence we had collected.

“Which one should I take?” Evie asked in wonder as she stirred the spheres in the bowl.

“You can take any one of the physical essences, and the aether pool essence tonight,” I said. “The body uses different pathways for the physical, mental, and magical essences, but make sure you eat twice as much. Your first essence is also important, as it tends to have slightly better results. Therefore, I suggest you take the aether pool essence first.” Evie nodded vigorously, fishing out the pearl. Lesna had consumed essences before, so the advice was not directed at her.

Lesna’s pearl was in her mouth, and her eyes widened in wonder. The halfling illusionist probably could clearly see the essence being absorbed. Her expression fell quickly as it finished its work, and she glanced at Evie’s pearl. Evie seemed to notice the halfling’s covetous gaze and placed her pearl in her mouth, prompting a chuckle from everyone. Evie didn’t have the same reaction, as she was still improving her aether awareness. She appeared slightly disappointed, but then looked at her bowl of colorful pearls.

“The orange one is the prettiest,” she finally said, reaching for it. Everyone watched her with anticipation as she placed it in her mouth. Physical essences were much easier to feel the effects of. I was suddenly reconsidering letting her take a second essence today. Not only had she learned the convergence spell form, but this was a major essence, not a minor. Her jaw closed around the orange sphere, and my indecision made preventing it impossible.

“I feel very hot…” Evie said after her mouth closed, and sweat formed on her brow. She took two rapid breaths and then relaxed. “I liked that!” she said, forming a large smile. “But you are right, I am suddenly very hungry.”

We chuckled, and I handed her some cheese bread to eat. “I will hold onto these for you, Evie,” I said, taking her bowl. I was not worried about Lesna losing hers, as the spheres were already missing from her bowl. “Everyone, get some rest, and we will see about leaving in the morning if the roads are safe. Do you have the amulet of insight?” Lesna reluctantly removed it from around her neck and handed it to me. The large sapphire gem was still there, and I nodded in thanks as it disappeared.

When we returned to our room, I settled comfortably on the floor and took two essences myself. First, I consumed a minor aether pool essence, followed shortly by an energy essence. Both metabolizations provided a euphoric boost, and I still had 8 minor energy essences and 9 minor aether pool essences remaining.

With that energy essence, I was certain my lightning/energy affinity should be at least ten, and I could learn a new spell form. The dreamscape amulet appeared in my hand, and I entered to study what my choices would be.

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