A Soldier's Life - 242 - Telling Maveith

Chapter 242: Telling Maveith

As soon as I was out of sight of the city of Sagren and surrounding farms, I moved off the road. It was a long way to Sobral, and I suspected anyone walking alone would be swept up by passing blocks of soldiers. Army camps required a lot of bodies to operate if they didn't shove a sword in my hand because of my limp, I could find doing other duties to support the army. I had my Hound token and Corvus’, but I didn’t want to announce my affiliation to anyone or risk being tracked.

I made good miles the first day, and as I made camp in a small barn that night, I cleaned my blood compass and used one of Castile’s samples. The pull was very faint, which meant she was still alive and very far from me. 

She was east of me, which confirmed what Zyna had told me about the company joining the Emperor’s army. The question was if there would be an attempt on the Emperor. It seemed almost suicidal from my point of view as they could not have suborned all the mages and legionnaires at the Emperor’s side.

I didn't use the dreamscape amulet for long, but I did get a but of practice and reviewed the regional maps in detail. Once I collected Maveith, we needed to find a way to enter the Boutan Caliphate to look for his sister. The only way I could see this happening was as members of the Adventurers Guild. There were dungeons in the Boutan Caliphate that outsiders were allowed to delve. 

Over the next week, I stayed out of the towns and cities as I navigated the wilds toward Sobral. I successfully avoided any encounters with wildlife and monsters as I didn’t want to get delayed. I did find one of the Hound caches on the way. As Corvus had said, there was a stone at the base of a forked tree. A layer of composting leaves covered a sealed cask that I found buried a few inches deep with earth speak. 

I was disappointed at what it contained. It looked like someone had gotten here before me and it had not been restocked. There were no artifacts, and the only useful bits of gear were four empty quivers, a few dozen meal bars, and a wrapped stack of silver coins. I took the silver as back pay owed. I covered the cache back and continued toward Sobral.

When I reached the city of Telhas, I took to the road to hasten my journey. I found myself in Loule just southwest of Sobral two days later. Outside Loule, the army was marshaling freshly trained soldiers, and I was forced to show a Hound token to avoid conscription. Fortunately, the captain who checked the token did not record its number. This might have raised some interesting questions, as Corvus had been dead for a few days. From there, I made the twenty-four miles to Sobral in half a day.

Getting inside Sobral’s walls was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The flood of refugees had built a shanty town outside the city walls, and the flow of people in and out of the walls was steady all day. I was not even questioned when I entered the city. The duchess had easily tripled her city’s population since I was last here.

In my disguise, I went to a familiar tavern to listen to the rumors and gossip. I wanted to find out if the goliaths had reached Sobral, and I planned to sneak into the Citadel’s stables tonight and abscond with Ginger. The ale was expensive and terrible, but the tables were packed and conversations lively.

Soon after I sat at a small table along the wall, a young woman sat across from me uninvited, “If you get the room, three large coppers.” It was clear she wasn’t asking for my order, and I flinched at her thin appearance and young age. The desperation in her voice tugged at me. 

I passed her a large copper, “Get us both some ale and food.” I handed her my half empty cup to fill. When she returned with two plates and mugs, I watched her devour the food and slid her my plate which she quickly finished as well. “Have there been any goliaths in Sobral?” I asked the young woman after she finished the two meals.

She drank her entire mug of ale, before answering. “Just two large coppers if you get the room.”

“Have there been any goliaths in Sobral?” I asked again, ignoring her invitation.

“Just the woodsman. He lives north, I think—an alright fellow. Maven, I think, is his name. Doesn’t cause a commotion and sells his game to the local inns. A large copper, but only because you are nice.” She said a little pleadingly.

“How has the duchess been treating the refugees?” I asked, returning a weak smile. 

“Well, enough. Work is getting harder to come by, and my father broke his hand while cutting down trees for the new mill. But my brothers are out planting at the duchess’s new farms. I need to help out how I can,” she stated distressingly. I couldn’t tell if her story was true or not, but she seemed naïve enough that I doubted she knew how to lie for sympathy.

“Thank you for your time.” I placed a large handful of coppers and large coppers on the table as I stood. She swept them up wide-eyed, but they were barely two silver in total. If I had given her silver, I thought she might get assaulted. She stood to go with me, thinking I had paid for her time, but I pressed on her shoulder and didn’t let her up. “Go be with your family. I paid you for your time for a few days.” I walked away, never getting her name. 

I left the tavern and stopped by the apothecary. I didn’t enter and just confirmed the three young women were still working there. I saw Carina behind the counter smiling brightly at a customer and Lyla teaching another of the young woman in the back at a workbench. I nodded to myself, pleased I had helped, and moved to an inn near the Citadel to wait for nightfall.

The inn smelled a little musty, but the room was clean. When the sun set, I snuck easily over the wall into the Citadel. The duchess had hired a lot more guards, and I was nearly spotted dropping to the courtyard. One thing about sneaking into someplace is that if you looked like you belonged, people tended to leave you alone.

As numerous servants dashed about their business, I walked past the open courtyard toward the stables. I could imagine Adrian and Delmar being upset to see how the discipline of the guards had become lax in less than a year.

I slipped into the stables and walked past a stall with a stable boy rubbing down a horse. He didn’t give me a second look as I made my way down the walkway. My heart raced as none of the stalls had my reddish-brown mare in them. I walked out the back to the small coral, and none of the four horses here had reddish brown coats either. Although I knew it was I possibility, I had hoped the Duchess would have kept Ginger. But a trained and healthy warhorse would have been swept up for the war effort.

Sorrowfully, I walked out of the gates to the Citadel, and one of the guards briefly questioned me. I told him I entered through another gate and had just dropped off some herbs for the kitchens, which appeased his curiosity. The city gates were shut at night, and I didn’t care to sneak out, so I returned to my room in the inn to wait until tomorrow, feeling a heavy tinge of guilt at losing Ginger.

In the morning, I headed north of the city and was surprised much if the forest had been cut and dozens of log cabins had been constructed in the months I had been gone. They were clearing a large swath of the forest, and a lumber mill was starting operations this morning. No one gave me any head as I headed north into the woodlands.

I approached Maveith’s cabin with trepidation. I was reassured to see freshly stretched giant weasel hides outside. Maybe the four goliaths came directly here and were safe. I pulsed Earth speak and found he had moved two of his alarm trip wires, so I stepped over them.

I could hear Maveith mumbling to himself inside but couldn’t make out the words. Taking a breath, I knocked loudly on the wooden door between the two massive boulders. Silence fell inside before Maveith’s boomed, “Who is there?”

“Avon calling,” I said loudly to the door. I could hear Maveith rush to the door and open it.

The large gray-skinned man's eyes were wide, and a grin slowly formed on his face. “I thought that was your voice!” He yelled excitedly. “Who is Avon?”

Before I could answer, an excited horse pushed past Maveith, bowling him out of the way. Ginger headbutted me, pushing me back in her excitement. I wrestled her head, grinning madly, “Ginger, good to see you too. I was worried when you were not in the stables in Sobral.”

Maveith was still smiling. “I took her before the army collected all the able-bodied horses in the stables. The boys working the stables helped me sneak her out.” I rubbed Ginger’s powerful neck, and she nudged me hard and explored my pockets, blowing her nose hard into them. 

I laughed aloud. “So, you were only happy to see me because you wanted an apple. Well, I still have a few dungeon apples.” I produced one, and she inhaled it, chewing happily and creating a foamy mess.

Maveith’s face slowly turned from happy to discontent. He said accusingly, “Eryk. Ginger is most definitely not house-trained!”

Ginger was already seeking a second apple, and I defended her, “Well, did you praise her every time she did her business outside? Did you take her out every few hours?”

Maveith’s face went contemplative, “Well, no.”

Before he could continue, he said, “So, there you have it. She needs positive reinforcement. Just threaten not to give her an apple.” Maveith was still processing my words when I asked, “Did the four goliaths I freed reach you?”

Maveith cocked his head, “There are other goliaths in the Telhian Empire?”

“Let's go inside and talk, Maveith.” I was not sure if I was looking forward to telling him his sister might be alive or not. I walked Ginger first and gave her another apple after she relieved herself, and she joined us inside. His dwelling did have a musty urine smell to it.

Sitting at the table, I took a deep breath and told Maveith. “I am no longer a legionnaire or a Hound, Maveith. I won't reveal what I did since a Truthseeker might uncover the truth from you. But I am leaving the Empire.” Maveith looked shocked by my revelation. 

He finally said, “Where are you going, Eryk? Will you come with me to see my father then?”

“Well,” I tried to break the news slowly. “You see, I ran into some goliath slaves unloading a Caliphate warship in Kraken Bay. They knew of a goliath slave woman named Myra.”

Maveith tendons in his neck bulged in anger, and his forearms tensed as his fists clenched. His breathing increased slightly before he calmed. “It is a common name. The orcs have taken many of my people over the years,” he finally said, hopeful that it was not his sister’s friend.

I spoke slowly. “Yeah, that is what the other Goliath said. But she also mentioned that when Myra arrived nine years ago, she was with another Goliath woman named Zorana.” Finished I watched for his reaction.

Maveith twitched. Shook his head, “Eryk, don’t play games with me. Zorana is dead.” I could see tears welling in his eyes—tears of anger, guilt, and hope.

I needed to rein him in a little. “I don’t know if she is still alive, Maveith. But the goliath I talked to said they arrived in the Boutan Caliphate nine years ago and knows which orc warlord purchased them,” I said to the agitated Maveith.

Maveith's head snapped around his cabin, and he stood abruptly and started packing. “Where are the goliaths who told you this? How are we getting into the Boutan Caliphate?” It hadn’t taken him long to commit to searching for his sister, no matter how small the hope. It is what I would have done.

“Calm down, Maveith. I will go with you to look for your sister. But on the way, we need to go to Gramney, the capital of the Duchy of Manch. I need to drop off some passengers.” I informed my friend. I also hoped Castile and the others might be there as well. It seemed unlikely they would survive confronting the Emperor, but I held out hope. 

Maveith’s face twisted in confusion, and he paused in his packing to study me, “Passengers?” He slowly pieced together my meaning, “Eryk, you didn’t put more elves in your dimensional space unwillingly, did you?” He was looking at me disapprovingly. Then some hope flashed in his eyes, “Wait. Do you have Raelia with you?”

“Of course not!” I said, exasperated. “I can assure you I don’t have a single elf inside my dimensional space. Just four humans the Empire ordered me to kill, but they are very much alive.”

Maveith trusted me and seemed eager to leave, continuing his packing while speaking. “Then we need to Gramney as quickly as possible.”

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