A Soldier's Life - 395 - A Purge

Chapter 395: A Purge

Kyrenic spun his long sword, loosening his wrist. Although the hilt was unadorned, the glossy silver blade immediately indicated that it was a dungeon-forged artifact. He freed his shield from his saddle, and it was clearly an artifact as well by the silvery runes on the inside, albeit not dungeon forged. The shield was flat black, with a white bull painted on the front. “Will you fight with a shield?” He asked, turning to me.

“No, not today,” I replied. Blaze and Benito had bucklers on their saddle, but Ginger’s was bare. My cynical instincts were on alert as Kyrenic was too observant not to have noticed I didn’t have a shield. Kyrenic nodded and returned his shield to the hitch on his saddle.

Kyrenic had dark skin, well-trimmed hair, and a well-kept beard. He clearly took pride in his appearance. Beneath his leather vest were hints of fine chainmail. He wore a ring on each hand; one resembled a signet ring, while the other was a silver or platinum dungeon artifact. “Do you delve?” I asked, standing in the center of the inn’s yard.

His eyes drifted to his blade and then the ring. “During my foolish youth, yes. But the sword was my father’s. Spell forms?” He asked to clarify the duel.

“No. Let us fight without them to test our true skill,” I replied. I briefly checked with my aether sight to confirm his aura had dissipated. The aetheric haze around him was absent. I was curious what it had been but thought it too rude to ask at the moment. Maybe after a few days adventuring together. “Three torso strikes for victory,” Kyrenic said, stating the terms. We both took time to wrap our blades.

Kyrenic eyes drifted over me, probably trying to guess if I had any artifacts besides magebane. My black gloves covered my rings, while the aether shield amulet was tucked under my soft leather armor chest piece. Only my sword and earth drake bracers were showing, but the earth drake bracers just appeared to be well-made armor, as the runic patterns were not visible.

As we stood eye to eye, Kyrenic was only slightly taller than I was, and I guessed his age to be in his late thirties. There was no gray, but a hint of age lines and experience on his visage. He seemed to be patiently waiting for me.

I initiated the contest by attacking his dominant hand. The knight was lean, but his forearms were thick beneath his armor. Showcasing the strength of his wrists, he deftly moved his blade to block with just his wrist. His return strike was blindingly fast, and I barely parried as I retreated one step. A slight surprise appeared on his face and quickly disappeared. Although he had watched me practice with my companions, I had limited myself to just being slightly superior to them so they could work toward improvements.

The dance of blades then commenced in earnest, and at some point, Lesna cast her light sphere as darkness enveloped our contest. Everything Kyrenic did was both offensive and defensive, and it was remarkable how skilled he was at disguising his intent. He drew first blood, with a glancing blow on my hip. I returned his strike by scoring two on his thighs, but they were not torso strikes and didn’t count. We separated, both drenched in sweat. My companions had been in awe of the martial display and had been quiet.

“You are formidable,” Kyrenic said, catching his breath.

“You are the one in the lead,” I stated, with steady breathing. My conditioning outstripped his, but his strength and speed were slightly superior to my own.

“For now. If I cannot conclude the fight quickly, the scales will start to balance in your favor,” he said with a genuine smile. “I know it is not the time, but my queen is always looking for honorable men to join her service. She is quite generous and loose in her requirements of service.”

“I no longer serve a master. My only goal is to protect my friends,” I replied.

“Admirable,” he looked past me at the others, but didn’t press his recruitment.

The next fifteen minutes unfolded just as Kyrenic had predicted. He scored one more strike, but then I returned three to him, winning the contest. I had a faint inkling that he might have let me win, but we were well matched either way. Benito had been sweating through the contest and cheered when I scored my third strike, getting past his guard. The cloth dulling our blades was in shambles, but neither of us took an injury. We shook hands to conclude, saying, “If my queen watched me lose, she would have insisted you join her household. She can be quite insistent.” His eyes twinkled with insinuated merriment.

“You would have bested me if you had your shield. Perhaps we will have time to confirm,” I stated genially. Of course, I just wanted more information for the dreamscape, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Perhaps. Maybe I can also tempt you to allow spell forms, but I warn you, it is a trap,” he said sucking on a waterskin to replenish himself.

“How so?” I asked, not expecting him to reveal anything.

“My spell form converts aether to stamina, I will never fatigue as long as I have aether to draw on,” he said merrily.

“What about your other spell forms?” I asked, with a mischievous smile.

Kyrenic laughed, “I think I will keep them a secret, else it gives you too much opportunity to prepare.”

I felt somewhat guilty that he had revealed one of his secrets, and felt compelled to give him something in return. “I can heal myself a bit,” I replied candidly. Kyrenic nodded with a smirk at the exchange, but since he had already observed me doing so, I had not given him anything. We shook hands, and Benito gleefully collected his coins. Evie looked proud of my victory, her smile not relenting. I had told the others not to dissuade Kyrenic from thinking Evie was my daughter. He was too perfect as it was, and knowing he had erred in that assumption gave me some solace.

I rubbed down Ginger again and fed her a few treats before heading to the tiny inn. She had remarkable mental fortitude for all the abrupt changes she had been forced to go through coming in and out of my dimensional space.

I gladly paid for a heated bath in my room, but it took nearly an hour for the kitchens to heat the water and haul it up. The tub was barely large enough for my frame. I had my own soap and scrub brushes as I took in this small luxury. The others were dining on the local fare below, and I could hear their muffled voices drifting up to us. It sounded like Benito was telling the tale of our crossing the Shadow Belt to the locals, with Kyrenic filling in some of the details.

I smirked, as once I was dry and my room was secured, I entered the dreamscape to add a new manifestation. Knight Kyrenic looked too perfect, too charismatic. Konstantin snapped, “Making new friends, are we? Can he at least fight?”

“Let us find out,” I said, turning to my assembly of people.

Cassian the Red fought Kyrenic first, and I was slightly surprised at how equal the match was. I had spent the day training with the Telhian gladiator, and his manifestation was fairly accurate to his true ability in my estimation. Once I tested Kyrenic with a sword and shield, he would likely surpass the dreamscape Cassian, though.

Konstantin was impatient to test his mettle, so I skipped over him for Xavier, the legionnaire sword master. Kyrenic easily bested the man but complimented him on his tenacity and efficiency. Why did Kyrenic’s amiable demeanor irritate me in the dreamscape?

Maveith didn’t present a challenge for the Knight, but the two got into a lively conversation as they dueled across the scorpion sands. I could see the goliath getting along well with the knight if they met in the real world.

Finally, I put Konstantin to the task, and he was surprisingly effective. He was grinning at the challenge and used every dirty trick he had to put Kyrenic off balance. Each trick only worked once, but Konstantin had an infinite supply. I knew Adrian, Blaze, and Lucian would not offer a challenge, so I skipped them in the rotation.

I finally took up arms against Kyrenic myself to prepare for our subsequent encounter. My companions offered advice, and Oscar barked encouragement as I worked for hours, sometimes slowing down his attacks to study his footwork and bladework for our contest. The dreamscape really was a cheat, and I don’t think Kyrenic would do something so underhanded—good thing I was not Kyrenic.

I stepped out of the dreamscape every two hours, and thankfully, the night was uneventful. Everyone was cheerful at breakfast in the morning since, not being on a ship, everyone had slept soundly. We started our ride early and planned to cover at least forty miles today, reaching Laopos, a city on the bay. Kyrenic was impressed with Evie’s tenacity and riding ability, telling her repeatedly, which made her beam at the praise. The man was even good with kids.

When we reached Laopos, the local barracks was mustering to march outside the walls. The soldiers, in dark green uniforms with white trim, were lined up in blocks. A cavalry unit was forming a little further away. Kyrenic, our translator, rode over to one of the infantry captains. The graying captain initially looked irritated and angry at being interrupted, but he soon transitioned into an amiable conversation with the knight.

When Kyrenic rode back to us, he had a deep frown on his face as his mind was processing what he had been told. He focused on our group as he pulled up, “There has been a dungeon release.”

“A what?” Benito asked.

“The local dungeons have released all their monsters from the entrance that delvers use,” he said solemnly. “They are roaming the countryside and have already killed hundreds of people.”

“It is called a dungeon purge,” I interrupted. All eyes turned to me, so I explained. “The phenomenon is not understood, but every once in a while, a dungeon will force all of its creatures out of its entrance and repopulate. It is extremely rare, and I don’t know of any occurrences in the last hundred years.”

Kyrenic studied me, tilting his head slightly like he had underestimated me, but nodded in acceptance that my knowledge was correct. “This is not just one dungeon, it is all of them—at least the ones within five hundred miles,” Kyrenic said seriously.

“The disturbance in the Shadow Belt,” I guessed.

“That is what the Gorgiphian mages believe as well. The Adventurer’s Guilds are posting bounties, but there are more threats than the local adventurers can handle quickly. Most adventurers are not skilled in fighting monsters either.” He gestured at the soldiers forming up, “The soldiers are going to protect small towns outside of the dungeons until the monsters have been subjugated. I am afraid this is where we will be parting company. I am going to race ahead to Brausis to help quell the bugbear infestation there,” Kyrenic said regretfully.

“These are not your people,” Blaze stated, as if it were more of a question about why the knight was helping.

“But they are people who need protecting,” he said sincerely. “If you are ever in the Tegairosian lands, you are welcome in Queen Adelin’s court. I hope to contest blades with you once again, Eryk.” He reached out and we shook wrists, and he galloped off to ride into the night.

Blaze sighed, “We are going to help, too, aren’t we?”

“Bugbears should give good physical essences,” I said with a smirk.

“What are bugbears?” Evie asked, interested.

“Giant, strong, hairy goblins,” Lesna quipped. I nodded as that was mostly accurate.

“The dungeon they came from is called The Burning Marsh. It is a good dungeon for our purposes as well,” I replied in thought.

“What about the dungeon purge?” Blaze asked skeptically. “Can we still delve a dungeon under these circumstances?”

I didn’t have an answer, but I could find one. “We are staying in the city tonight,” I indicated the walls before us. “I will tell you in the morning.” Blaze nodded in understanding.

We had a lot more trouble checking into an inn without Kyrenic’s help. The knight spoke multiple languages and was capable of turning even the most cantankerous person into an affable person. Was I jealous?—yes. Still, we settled into a modest inn in the city, and I entered the dreamscape to research dungeon purges…

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