A Soldier's Life - 363 - News From Abroad (Edited 3-22-25 for Clarity +200 words)

Chapter 363: News From Abroad

“Is it safe?” I asked hesitantly. Even after Elaro patiently explained the process, I was not sure I wanted to reveal the dreamscape amulet to him. The elf had already saved my life once, I still preferred to keep some of my secrets.

Elaro nodded sagely, “Ignis has an aether core, albeit a very small one. I am skilled enough with my shaping and strong enough to push a thread into her, through her core, and to the object she wishes to activate.” The curiosity was clearly showing in his eyes.

Ignis was fidgety as she waited for me to decide. I knew she would probably accept my answer if I said no, but I was trying to consider any downsides besides more people knowing about the dreamscape amulet. It had caused me a number of problems in the Telhian Empire as the First Citizens felt they were entitled to all-powerful artifacts. I looked up, locking eyes with Elaro, and decided, “You have done well by me and mine. This is another secret I wish you to hold.” I paused to make sure he didn’t object. “It is a dreamscape amulet.”

His exhausted expression disappeared, and he slapped the table, “You are quite the interesting human! I had used one in my youth. Incredible artifacts!”

I produced the amulet, and he spent a few moments studying it with aether probes. Dungeon artifacts were much too complex to decipher in just a few minutes, so his was just satisfying his curiosity. “I am not too well versed in the lore of these, but I believe a dungeon may only ever produce one in their lifetime.”

“Not quite true.” I had read about dreamscape amulets in the Archives in Godok. “Only one may exist for each dungeon. If the amulet is returned, it will assimilate it and reward the returnee. After it is returned, it can then produce another, but when it decides to do so is up for debate. If an amulet is destroyed, the dungeon is aware and is able to produce another if it chooses.”

“You are talking like dungeons have an intelligence,” Elaro murmured in Elvish.

I replied without hesitation, maybe I was keen to share my knowledge, “They do. The oldest dungeons are under the influence of the minds of deceased Titans, while the newer dungeons are from other races.”

“Necromancy?” Elaro questioned skeptically, looking at me.

I laughed, “Not in that sense, though there are five dungeons that specialize in undead creatures within their domain.”

Elaro chuckled, “Are you also a Chronologicaler of dungeons?”

“Yes,” I answered deadpan—and if I didn’t have the answer, I had an extensive library to reference.

Seeing I was not joking, he tittered merrily, “An interesting character indeed.”

We spent the evening getting ready for Ignis’ trip into the dreamscape. Not that I didn’t trust Elaro, but I had Blaze and Benito join us to watch over us as we would be vulnerable while in the dreamscape. Ignis and I lay side by side on my bed. She quipped, “It is okay if you take advantage of me while I sleep.” Elaro and Benito chuckled, but I just rolled my eyes. 

Blaze’s back was turned, so I did not see his reaction. Over the last year, he had mastered his aether shaping enough to use the amulet if he desired as well. The hair clasp had improved his already remarkable archery skill, and he had grown his black hair out to a suitable mane. The pink circlet had been painted with a black alchemist’s paint, but it did not affect its function.

“Well, please don’t take advantage of me,” I bantered back at Ignis. “I’ll go in first, and when you arrive, I’ll give you the grand tour and show you how to utilize the dreamscape.” Without waiting for her to retort, I entered the dreamscape. 

Ignis appeared a few minutes later. The old smith’s eyes widened, “It worked? Where are we?”

“This is the dungeon where I discovered the amulet. The stone walls are the boundaries and can’t be altered, but everything else can.” To emphasize my point, I transformed into a twenty-foot-tall version of myself. Ignis took a step back in surprise, and I shrank back to my original size. I smirked at her astonishment, “Follow me.”

I froze all the monsters but had them on display like a museum as we walked through the rooms. Ignis was only tentative in the first room with the ankhegs. She got bolder in the room with the spiders and pushed one off the bridge, smiling as she heard it crash below. When we got to the stepping stones, I paused as Ignis looked to be in her twenties, her hair was a rich brown, and her face youthful with pouty lips. Her physique was still that of a smith, with biceps matching her thighs. She was not bad-looking if you were into the bodybuilder type.

“I see you are learning to manipulate the environment.” I held up a mirror for her. She gasped as she took it, so maybe she had changed herself unintentionally. I explained, “All you really need to do is think something, and this place will recreate it to the best of your own knowledge. You mustn't change anything that I have created, as it takes a lot of energy to recreate it again. The more you create, the more mental feedback you get when you awaken.”

She nodded but was already experimenting, creating food and eating it one hand and smith’s tools in the other as we walked. When we reached the scorpion room, Ignis didn’t even see the scorpion posing mid-strike in the center, her eyes had wandered to the snails trailing glowing mucus and the circle of bookshelves around the sandy pit. Oscar rushed up, barking happily, and I bent over to give him some attention while Ignis acclimated.

“Is that Cassian the Red?” Ignis asked, drawing my attention to the large poker table.

“It is. Those are manifestations of people I have trained with. They are only as accurate as the knowledge I know to be true. You can change their personality and their skill. I was actually hoping you would do me the honor of making a manifestation of yourself and imbuing it with your knowledge of metalworking. That way, I could practice while I am here. For instance, since I do not know how the metal reacts when I strike it, I could not make a forge replicating the real world accurately,” I clarified.

“Yes, this place does need a forge,” she agreed, turning around and likely deciding the best place to locate it. She paused at the alcove with the table. “How come they are all just sitting there? Are those two goliaths?”

“Yes, that is Maveith and his sister Zorana, my friends. Maveith imbued his manifestation with his personality and knowledge of tanning and leather working. Zorana imbued hers with her dancing. Raelia, the elf there, well—she left hers with something so I would not forget about her.” I walked up to the large table, and all eyes turned to me expectantly. “I can control them with a thought. If I let them do whatever they wanted, studying while I am here would be too hard.”

Konstantin quipped, “We keep him from getting too lazy.” I silenced him with a thought before he could continue.

“Where is the book?” Ignis asked, turning to the shelves.

I walked back to her and pointed out the organization. “This half of the room is all books related to dungeons.” Her jaw dropped. “This section here is mostly magic. Over here are the sections for weaving, cooking, brewing, furniture making, alchemy, and herbalism, and this last section are all the metalworking books. Most of the trade books are from Caelora, so they are in Elvish.” I had indicated each shelf as I went and pulled the book she wanted. 

Ignis was still dumbstruck. “These are all smithing?” Her hand caressed the line of books on one of the metalworking shelves affectionately.

“They are, but they are all in Elvish. Raelia can teach you the language, and you’ll find that learning it here is much quicker than in the real world.” Raelia trotted up to us, a happy grin on her face at the mention of her name, with Baldo trailing behind. Oscar started barking at Baldo as the griffin nudged me for attention. I sent Baldo to retire back under the table.

Ignis was paging through the elven mithril chain manual, ignoring us. The young smith was engrossed in the pictures since she couldn’t read Elvish, but at least she had Raelia here to translate. I made the book disappear and return to the shelf, and Ignis looked up, annoyed. “Let's just go over a few other things, and then you can spend all the time you want in here. I will have Benito and Blaze watch you, and after eight hours, they will remove the amulet from your hand, pulling you out of the dreamscape. You can leave before then by exiting through the doorway in the first chamber.”

I spent an hour explaining all the tricks I had learned and cautioning Ignis on recreating too many things during each dive into the dreamscape. I doubted she would listen and would need to feel the aftereffects for herself before she learned moderation. When I left Ignis, Oscar was in her lap in my puffy leather chair with Raelia leaning over her shoulder. I think I made the right choice in sharing this treasure.

When I exited, Blaze sat at the desk, whittling a piece of wood, while Benito had a large plate of fried meat and cheese half-finished in front of him. “Elaro left after he was certain Ignis was safely inside the dreamscape,” Blaze informed me. I nodded and got out of bed, careful not to disrupt Ignis’s contact with the amulet. 

I spent my night in the kitchen with Gilda, who I found out didn’t need any sleep—but she could still dream if she slept. She didn’t seem to mind me in her workspace as we both worked on our projects. I wanted to build up a stock of meals in my dimensional space. I had hundreds of pounds of goat meat and fish from the dungeon. For the fish, I planned to make a simple fish and chips. Since I had the purify self form, I would never have to worry about clogged arteries since I was deep frying the fires and battered fish in bacon fat. With the goat meat, I would make goat meat buns with onions, mushrooms, cabbage, and pungent cheese.

Surprisingly, Gilda was interested and offered her input on spices to season the batter for the fish and goat buns. It took a few iterations before I found a blend I enjoyed for each. It was midmorning when I left the kitchens at Adrian’s Rest, planning to take Ginger for a short ride. I found the door and windows open across the street and ventured in to find three children filthy and cleaning furiously. Mateo waved as he worked on rearranging larger objects. There were no child labor laws, and all the children had bright smiles on seeing me. 

“I hope you are paying them,” I said, addressing Mateo. Three sets of eyes turned to him expectantly, and he looked panicked. I laughed as I went into the back room to start setting up my alchemy lab…

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I had been back in Gramney for nearly a month, and although I was busy, my life felt fulfilling. I worked overnight in my alchemy lab, stopping before sunrise to head to the stables to take Ginger on a run outside the city walls. Sometimes, I took Clara with me as Konstantin had gotten her a snow-white pony. Ginger tended to not like these days as she preferred to run at a full gallop.

When I returned to the stables, Ginger had her own personal groom-boy rubbing her down. The small boy, Adam, was an orphan, and I paid him just a large copper a day, but he was allowed to sleep in the stable loft and get meals at Adrian’s Rest. I promised when he got large enough, I would teach him to ride. For now, he was learning a marketable skill as a stable hand, and Ginger liked the extra attention.

After my ride, I stopped by Ignis’s smithy to collect the dreamscape amulet. She used the amulet overnight at Elaro’s villa. Three days a week, I worked mornings in the forge under her direct guidance, while on the other four days, I headed over to Viridia’s manor to train with Konstantin, Blaze, Mateo, Benito, and Marius. The practice was intense yet lighthearted as we cycled through different weapons. Sometimes, Viridia and Castile would watch, and I would let Konstantin get the upper hand, which bothered him even more than losing fairly to me.

I had never seen Castile smiling so much. Castile had fully recovered from her burnt channels and offered to return me one apex essence and six major essences. I told her to keep three of the major essences and took the apex and three lesser ones for myself. Channeling was my strongest magical attribute, but recovering aether more quickly would be welcome, even with the ring.

I always ate lunch with my companions at Adrian’s Rest, and business had picked up again in the tavern. Gilda was an excellent cook, and she even prepared food for my dimensional space. Konstantin ran the establishment well enough, but if a patron got abusive to the staff, they would find themselves on the street in short order.

My afternoons were generally free to wander the city. Sometimes, I would go to the Adventurer’s Guild to see if a slot for the local dungeon had opened up. Unfortunately, they were backlogged for six months on slots. Most of the time in the Hall, I just played cards with Blaze and other local adventurers. Blaze took odd jobs in the city by himself since Benito and Mateo opened the curiosities shop after lunch.

Some afternoons I spent in Mateo’s shop, helping restock the inventory, either with my alchemical creations or from my dimensional space. The colored glowstones had been his best seller, so I was rationing how many I gave him so he would not run out. Maybe I would return to the Caliphate in the future to restock. 

Mateo had priced everything on the high end but still got a steady business, and I stored the profits in the most secure location I knew—me. The children usually played in the shop all day, but I didn’t mind the atmosphere and even spent some time teaching them to read. Mateo and Clarissa had moved upstairs since it was rent-free to live here.

When I needed more ingredients for my alchemy, I would spend the afternoons going from herbalist to herbalist. After a month, I had used up all my golden figs, producing ninety-eight aether restoratives. I had only extended the shelf life to about six months, so all but one went into my dimensional space. I gave Castile one as well, but due to its value, she had not tested it.

My evenings were spent in the dreamscape, focusing on my multitude of interests. Ignis’ double was young and very patient as I worked the forge. Sword and spear practice were a common pastime for me as well. Beyond that, I studied my alchemy, herbalism, and brewing books. There was a particular elven beer I was interested in brewing based on the praise it got in the tome, but I needed to find a special yeast.

At sunset, I delivered the dreamscape amulet to Ignis at her forge to use for the evening. Already, her Elvish was getting passable, and I think she spent evenings talking with Elaro before entering the dreamscape. I was not sure what their arrangement was, but I knew she was working in the forge on a number of projects for him. Benito stayed with Ignis while she used the amulet to add security. I was not sure how she compensated him or if she even did.

When darkness set, Mateo’s shop closed, and I dove into my alchemy. Some nights, I went into production for something needed in the shop, but I mostly experimented as I found the profession deeply satisfying and therapeutically distracting.

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I was sitting with Blaze in the Adventurer’s Hall one afternoon when one of the clerks approached me with a letter. He confirmed I was Eryk Marko when I showed him my guild medallion, and then he gave me the letter. Blaze arched his eyebrow as I read.

To Eryk Marko

I hope you have returned safely to Gramney by now. I have disappointing news. I cannot rejoin there.

I stopped reading, my heart pained, and I blinked away a forthcoming tear. Was Raelia doing a long-distance breakup? Blaze looked at me, ready to ask if anything was wrong, but I returned to reading and started over. 

To Eryk Marko

I hope you have returned safely to Gramney by now. I have disappointing news: I cannot rejoin there. Something has come up, and I cannot leave my family's estate. I desperately hope that you can join me here.

My mother wishes to meet the man who conquered her rebellious daughter. I think I have talked my brother down from striking you down when he sees you, but be on guard when you are introduced.

Baldo is doing remarkably well, and I think he misses you as dearly as I do—or maybe your endless treats.

I have a surprise for you when you come, but please do not arrive before three months from the date of this message. It is very important you wait. For one, my father will not be here, and other things need to happen first.

Yours Always, Raelia

“Is everything okay?” Blaze asked as I had reread the letter twice more.

“What? Yes. Raelia is well but is not coming here; I need to go to her,” I replied, distracted.

“I am ready to go when you are,” he said, cracking a smile at my apparent eagerness.

I pushed the letter to him to read, “She asked me to wait three more months, but I welcome your companionship for the future journey,” I said genuinely. I didn’t think anyone else other than Benito would be willing to travel with me. “I am going to send a reply.” I went to the clerk and sent a simple message—that took me eight rewrites to make sound romantic.

Raelia, 

I've returned safely, and all is well in Gramney, though our journey was not without sorrow—one of our brave companions fell to the Hounds of the Empire. We’ve taken measures to ensure that such a tragedy won’t befall us again. 

With every passing day, I find myself longing for you more. Your twin may share your likeness, but they can hardly reflect your charm, grace and enthusiasm. I’m counting the days until I can wrap you in my arms again, in just three months. I'll do everything to win over your brother and father, if that’s what it takes. Until then, my heart will ache with anticipation for our reunion.

Eryk

The clerk smirked as he read it and placed it in the bin for the mage to send in the morning. I didn’t realize it was one silver per word to send but I happily paid the one gold and thirteen silvers.

Two weeks passed, and I wanted to send more letters to Raelia. It would start to get expensive, even for me. Maybe it would show too much neediness on my part. She hadn’t sent me another after my reply. I probably should wait out the three months she wanted before arriving at her doorstep.

Lost in my thoughts, I walked into Viridia’s courtyard for practice, but paused. No one was warming up, and they were all cloistered under the pavilion. They all turned to me and it didn’t look like they had good news. I approached cautiously. “What happened?” I asked seriously.

It was Viridia who spoke, “I received an urgent letter from Selene this morning through a sending. There was a massive explosion in the city of Yuetsen. Some otherworlder humans foolishly tried to make the explosive black sand.”

My mind was turning wildly. “Humans? From Earth? Gunpowder?”

“I think that is what they called it. It has been tried many times before by other human outworlders. They are all dead—the ones that made the mistake have killed hundreds in the explosion,” Viridia said brusquely.

I relaxed as this was not terrible news. “It is fine. I probably didn’t know them, and there is nothing I can do now that they are dead.”

Castile spoke up, “They didn’t arrive alone. There were others in their group. The senate’s guards are hunting them in retribution for the deaths the others caused. Several very wealthy and influential people were killed in the explosion. Selene relayed rumors of one group of three women and two children fleeing the city.”

My voice hardened, “Where am I going?” No one looked surprised at my response.

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