A Soldier's Life - 359 - The State of the Empire

I rewrote the second half of this chapter with a minor cliff. The next chapter will bring back in the Ignis interaction as I sort out the book mess. I had the elven chain mail as a part of the larger plot but as people pointed out, the book was not in his possession. I am going to read the comments again and then delete the first iteration of this chapter. Chapter 360 will be posted tomorrow, hoefully with a World Sphere Chapter

Chapter 359: The State of the Empire

Castile turned the apex channeling essence in her hand with longing on her face. The glossy black sphere acted like a mirror, and I was certain she was gazing at her own reflection and thinking about the relief it could offer her. “Thank you,” she whispered. “It will help ease the pain.”

Konstantin appeared to collect himself, diverting his gaze from the nursing babe. “Go ahead and consume it, Castile,” he urged. Castile examined the sphere briefly before letting it rest on her tongue. Her expression contorted with pleasure as she closed her mouth, and the sphere melted away. She started breathing heavily as the essence worked through her.

Viridia giggled, “Do you want to be by yourself to enjoy that?”

It was not the first female mage who I saw take pleasure in an essence. Zyna was one of a kind, though. The moment passed all too quickly for Castile. “Thank you, Eryk and Konstantin. I also want to thank the lesser channeling essence delivered by Blaze, Mateo, and Benito.”

I smirked, “Looks like you enjoyed that. Want another?” Another black apex essence appeared in my palm, and her eyes widened. Konstantin, visibly upset, stormed over to Castile, snatching the manticore sack and shoving his hand inside, turning it inside out.

He turned to me and said, “Not the time. Stop playing games and give them all to her.” I had thought my plot to keep producing one at a time would be funny when I thought it up, but after learning of Lirkin’s death, Konstantin was right. It was not the time.

I took the black sack from him, corrected it, and dropped the essences inside one by one, totaling twelve apex essences, including the one in my hand, followed by twelve major channeling essences. Even Viridia’s breath was caught in surprise at the enormity of the wealth they represented.

Benito exclaimed jubilantly, “Hahaha! I told you he would do it, Blaze! Now Castile can join us when we go hunt Firth!”

Castile turned on Benito, and Blaze cursed under his breath. “I told you that none of you are leaving to pursue him! Let it be for now!” Benito’s eyes widened, realizing he had told Castile of their apparent secret plans to hunt Firth. Castile eyes were no longer happy about the essences but burning holes through Blaze.

“Why wouldn’t we go after Firth?” Konstantin asserted into the conversation. Blaze took the opportunity to extract himself from the gardens, taking the young Marius with him for sword lessons elsewhere rather than remain under Castile’s gaze.

Castile and Viridia exchanged glances, and it was Castile who broke the silence. “The Empire is crumbling from within. Emperor Octavius is the worst kind of ruler. While Octavius has focused on consolidating his power by removing threats among the First Citizens, the goblinoids have entrenched themselves in the south, even going so far as erecting walls and founding a city.” Konstantin’s jaw dropped. “That is not all. The orcs in the west continue to seize more and more territory unopposed. Additionally, Octavius signed a treaty with Esenhem that he will have to break or risk losing the support of the First Citizens who currently back him.”

Viridia swaddled the babe as it fell asleep, “I have been undercutting prices for the Empire’s exports abroad, eating the profits for some of the Emperor’s few allies. We hope that soon they will turn on him when their gold starts drying up.”

It seemed the pair were waging a silent war over coins. “You didn’t answer my question,” Konstantin growled.

Castile exhaled, getting exasperated with the veteran. She was used to her men listening to her orders. “Firth slithered back to the Empire. His time will come,” Castile said harshly. She clutched the manticore sack tighter as if it might suddenly fly away. “I am not your mage commander any longer,” she softened. “You do not need to obey me, but if you moved openly within the Empire’s borders, you would draw unnecessary attention to us and our machinations.”

“They tried to kill you, Castile,” Konstantin spat. “They killed a good man. Many good men.”

“Octavius has more things to worry about than me,” she raised her voice slightly, asserting her will. “He came after me for two reasons. One, because I know that he was part of the conspiracy to assassinate the Emperor. And the second for petty revenge. Anyone who would have cared about the first is now dead or has fled the Empire. As for the second, he already attempted to scrape the bottom of the barrel and sent Firth.”

“You can’t be sure he will not try again,” Konstantin growled, still not letting go of his thirst for revenge.

Castile conceded his point. “No, I cannot. Firth was sent without our knowledge, but we have made—moves—to ensure if he sends someone else, we will know about it. We have allies—if you hunted Firth now, that could be in jeopardy.”

Konstantin remained heated, but relented. “Fine, but it is my blade that will end him when the time comes.” Castile looked relieved as she gave him a slight nod.

A thought occurred to me that might break the tension. “Whatever happened to the mage I left with you? Selena? Did she leave with her legionaries?” I looked to Konstantin as he had told me that the two legionnaires I had let live, Helena and Sylvia, had traveled with him. They had returned to serving as Mage Selena’s guards.

“Selena is guarding the olive orchards and stirring up trouble with the Empire’s agents to the south. She still has a debt to repay to you,” Viridia said mischievously as the child woke and promptly vomited up the milk it had just consumed. Viridia didn’t seem upset; she just stood and walked into the villa with the fussy babe to clean her robes.

After she left, Konstantin asked Castile in a whisper, “What is the child’s name?”

“Dominic,” Benito blurted.

“A son?” Konstantin said more to himself than as a question. Castile nodded, smiling at the aging man.

“We will feast tonight and drink to our lost comrades,” Castile said, standing. “Viridia only has one cook and maid, so do not be too messy. I am sure Eryk is wondering where the baths are in the upper city.”

“I recall where,” I said reflexively while grinning.

“I will go with him!” Benito yelped. After revealing their plans to leave and hunt Firth in the Empire, I could tell he was seeking my protection. I nodded, not minding the company.

When we settled into the tubs of the rather expensive baths, I asked Benito, “How did it happen?”

“Firth?” He guessed. “We had spotters at all the city gates. Blaze thinks Firth and the Hounds climbed the walls at night, or the spotters just missed them. Wylie was with him.” Blaze said, a little downtrodden. The company was Benito’s family, and I was sure this betrayal was tearing him apart. “I could have saved him. Lirkin, I mean. He told me to save Mateo’s woman instead.”

I then listened to Benito’s confession. I did my best to absolve him of his perceived sins. “You did what Lirkin wanted. He sacrificed himself so a child could have a mother, and Mateo wouldn’t have to live with the guilt of it. We will reopen the inn, and things will return to how they were,” I reassured him, but I knew that was going to be difficult.

“Did Raelia go home? You know she likes you. I don’t understand why, but she does.” Benito chided me. “You should have been nicer to her.” He just assumed I had continued to needle the elf woman and pushed her away.

“She did go home, but she should be joining me here in a few months,” I replied. “I like her too,” I admitted, and I longed to see her.

Benito sat up, splashing water. “Is she bringing Baldo? I told the kids I knew a griffin rider, but they didn’t believe me,” Benito asked excitedly.

“Yes, she will bring Baldo,” I replied, and Benito started to get excited. “What kids?”

Benito had a big smile. “Mateo’s. Well, Mateo’s woman’s. You will like them. Their mother, Clarissa, is the one who almost died. They are all under ten and fun to play with.”

“What about you? Do you find anyone?” I asked the young man.

Benito flushed a little, “I spent most of my silver from our travels on a woman, but when it ran out, so did she.”

“Don’t worry Benito, there will be other women and more silver,” I said.

“Are we going adventuring again?” He asked excitedly.

“No. It is time to rest some, but I might try to gain entry into the local dungeon. And yes. You are welcome to join me,” I said to the already nodding man.

After I was sufficiently pruned, I took my damp clothes and walked into the city, with Benito. I think he was hiding from Blaze, but I think I helped ease his conscience a bit. We wandered the city for a while before returning to the villa to celebrate.

Mateo was there talking with Konstantin. He broke away to enclose me in a hug, grinning, “Eryk, glad you came back to us. Konstantin was telling me about your adventures. When you have time, you should come meet Clarissa. The children would love to meet a true hero.”

“Hero?” I coughed.

“That is how you sound in all the stories Bentio and I tell them,” he said, chuckling. Just do some magic for them and tell them how you killed a wyvern alone, and they will be your adoring fans for life.”

“Tell them about Maveith,” Benito interrupted. “They have never seen a goliath. Or a griffin. Do you have a griffin in your magic space?”

“No, just a horse, two demons, and a lot of figs,” I said, making two figs appear in my hand and giving each one.

As he ate the juicy fig, Mateo asked, “Ginger?” I nodded, and he chuckled. “You see the irony in it. Horses are supposed to carry you around, yet you are carrying your horse around.”

“Mateo, would you like to run the inn?” I asked, and he looked shocked. He eyed Castile across the room.

“I don’t think so. Clarrisa almost died there, and Mable witnessed it. With Lirkin…” He sighed, “Not many good memories.”

I nodded to my friend in sympathy. “I understand. I will talk to Castile and find someone to manage it.”

Konstantin had been close enough to overhear. “I will do it.” We all looked at him, shocked. None of us could believe the man would settle down. My eyes drifted to Domonic in his mother’s arms, and I understood why. Although Viridia was wealthy, Konstantin’s pride would require him to make his own coin.

I didn’t hesitate. “Agreed. We can work out the details with Castile. Lirkin and her were the registered owners.” I wasn’t sure if Konstantin’s gruff mannerisms would run the inn into the ground, but he had enough silver to keep it afloat for years.

I produced some elven ambrosia, and the party began. I hadn’t found a use for the chalice, but it might be something Konstantin could utilize to make the inn successful. I could ask him to set aside some bottles for me. The issue with storing the black jade chalice in my dimensional space was that the artifact couldn’t reset to function again since my space put it in stasis.

The food was rich, but it was the spirits that were consumed liberally as we celebrated our past companions and our futures. Even though I drank with my friends, I kept myself sober with purify self as the others reveled in the reunion. The dancing was atrocious, but the joyful energy made up for it.

Castile found her way to my side later in the evening. We stood near an open window, letting in cool air. “Thank you, Eryk.”

I smirked, “Well, if you have any essences left over after your channels are healed, don’t hesitate to return them.” I said it cheekily, but I actually meant it. Channeling essences, like all magical attributes, are difficult to procure.

“Of course,” she said with a slight slur. We watched the others for a time. Viridia had forced Dominic into Konstantin’s arms, and he was mesmerized by the babe, who was screaming at the top of his lungs. I could already tell it was a perfect match. Castile asked softly, “What did I do to deserve your devotion?”

“What?” I turned to her, having heard her question clearly. “You tried to keep us all alive.”

Castile looked about to tear up, “So many have fallen in service to me, Eryk—so many. Lirkin was just the latest, and still, I push, and more will die.”

“Then abandon it. You said it yourself. The Empire will collapse on itself,” I retorted. “You don’t need to fight every battle.”

Castile bit her cheek, holding something back. “It is not easy. It is my nature now, especially now that we are close to cleansing the Empire. Maybe it could be something better for the people.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was a cycle. All Empires eventually rotted from within. My cynical view was even if she purged the Telhian Empire, it would eventually return to what it was. “What are you going to do now?” Castile asked, breaking my thoughts.

“I will go see Ignis tomorrow. Find somewhere to practice my alchemy and maybe delve into the local dungeon if I can,” I replied. “I am waiting for the elf.”

Castile frowned. She was too intoxicated not to give me advice. “Human and elf relationships do not last. There will always be pain of loss watching your partner grow old.”

I huffed a laugh. “I know. But at least I can enjoy a few centuries with Raelia before she grows old.” Castile cocked her head in confusion. She thought she misheard me. I hadn’t told anyone but thought maybe it was time. “I have the spell form for slow aging Castile. I will outlive her.” I chuckled again, “Well, as long as I don’t get myself killed before then.”

Castile’s jaw descended, “How…how strong is your affinity in time?”

I smiled at her and as I walked away, replied, “It is never polite to ask a man about his attributes.”

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