A Soldier's Life 75 & 76

Chapter 75 When it Rains, it Pours

Konstantin waited while I retrieved my armor and suited up.  Delmar laid into me, “Eryk, we found your armor here this morning and just assumed you drowned. You sleep this far again from your armor, and you will wish you had drowned!” I did not argue but figured it was unimportant since we were in a town. I had my short sword and my own tricks if something had come up.

Brutus elbowed me, “Don’t worry, Bentio lost his helm to the river last night, and Lysander left his armor on the barge as well. He spent the night warming the bed of the old server woman at the tavern. The fat one,” he laughed at Lysander’s desperation and others listening joined in.

Konstantin yelled, “Hurry it up, legionnaire. If there was an enemy in the woods, they would have taken their morning shit and be eating second breakfast by now.”

I was not so sure I wanted this scout training. No, I did want it; I just would have preferred it was someone other than Konstantin teaching me. I finished buckling the armor and walked toward Konstantin, who was already walking away. I did not run after him; I just increased my pace slightly.

As we walked into the woods, he commented, “In the wild, you should sleep in your cuirass.  It is uncomfortable as all Hades, but trying to wake and buckle it on is difficult when the battle rages around you.  You can take off the baltea, vambraces, and greaves.  But keep the helmet close by and put it in the same spot every night so it is instinctual to grab it and put it on at the first sign of trouble.”

I chuckled, “At least you are not asking me to sleep in the helm.”

He replied seriously, “I have found I hear better not wearing it to sleep.  It affects your ability to hear things clearly around you as the metal helm rubs.” I just nodded at his wisdom.

We entered the woods, and I was inundated with a lecture of endless information. I just focused on remembering as much as I could. The poisonous plants that made you break into a rash. How to identify signs of a person or beast passing. How to use the environment to conceal myself as I moved. Always identify the quickest, safest path of retreat. He mentioned some edibles as well but did not say how they tasted. The reconnaissance was a long, wide arc around the village, and I had numerous scratches from brambles while Konstantin had managed to somehow escape with none.

As soon as we boarded the barge, all the men helped push off. Konstantin reported to Castile, and I stood next to him, “No sign of gnolls in the surrounding woods.”

Adrian replied, “The gnoll was miles back and on the other side of the river. Do you think its pack followed us?”

Everyone looked at Konstantin, who spoke from experience, “There is easier prey in the woods on their side of the river to feed them. But they are already bold being so close to the capital.” Konstantin asked indifferently, “Do you want me to scout on the opposite shore?”

Castile shook her head no, “We already warned the village to be on alert, and they will spread the word of the gnoll sighting. I only noticed a few gnolls following our progress on the river with my sight. If we knew how large the pack was, it could help.”

Konstantin made a supposition, “I think Duke Tiberous pulled too many mage companies to him from the capital. Due to his war preparation, they probably have had limited patrols for months out away from the cities and large towns.”

Adrian seemed impatient, “We should reach the city of Parvas at midday. If they are going to attack us, it would be before then. We should keep shields and archers at a ready.”

Delmar grunted, “We were going to do that anyway. The bargemen said Parvas has the only bridge across the Aganterao River before Sobral.” The meeting of the minds was finished, and I was allowed to take my reclining seat at the bow.

The barge made its way to the center of the river, and the bargeman, with the wind spell, started to move the barge into the choppy water. Delmar had crates shifted and shield men and bowmen ready to respond. Adrian gave everyone the day off from training as a number of men had already sacrificed their breakfast to the river. The water was much rougher today, and the large barge rocked in the waves.

I, however, did not get the afternoon off. Konstantin questioned me endlessly about what he told me this morning. It was like he expected me to remember everything after just one telling. Lirkin attempted to cook but failed miserably as he had motion sickness. We ended up beached on a sandbar intentionally to stabilize the barge so he could prepare a lunch of sliced ham wrapped in pickled cabbage leaves. It also gave the bargeman who was creating the wind a break.

While we ate, a small water funnel moved down the river away from us. One of the bargemen shouted, “It is just a minor water elemental. They are harmless as long as you do not bother them.”

Castile also took time to send out her all-seeing-eye to scout the far shore. I overheard her tell her lieutenants that she did not see any signs of a gnoll war party following us on the opposite shore. After lunch, I was one of the unlucky men who had to unbeach the barge. We sunk into the wet sand up to our knees to push the boat back into the current. We were going to make Parvas before nightfall, and then it would just be one more full day on the river to Sobral.

It soon started to rain, and the wind turned gusty. Fortunately, we had the gusts at our backs, but waves still washed over the low barge rails. We all scrambled to protect the cargo. I was close enough to hear Castile talking to the man on the tiller, “It might be magical weather. It does not feel like a natural storm blowing through. We should probably make for shore and wait it out.”

The waves were getting larger, and he nodded and yelled in the whipping wind, “We are thirty miles from Parvas. If we land, we will not make it before nightfall.”

Castile looked to Adrian and Delmar, who both nodded. Castile acknowledged, “Land the barge!”

As soon the barge hit a muddy bank, Delmar ordered all the crates of supplies to be brought to shore, and we would make camp in the trees, high up the riverbank. The shore was a soft mud with a constant wash of waves. Before we knew it, we were covered from the waist down in the black mud, dragging the supplies up the twenty-foot-high bank. Castile had made the correct call as the storm intensified, and the rain started to turn into a heavy thick haze with no signs of slowing.

It took hours for everything to be brought up and covered, and the bargemen anchored their raft, but the heavy winds pushed it further and further into the mud as the river rose. Even I could see what was going to happen. The river would fall, and the barge would be stuck in the mud. Even though the bargemen knew it as well, they had no choice as the chop on the river was intense.

Delmar was screaming to be heard as we set up camp in the evergreen trees off the bank. He was trying to direct us where to set up tents and get sentries set. Our packs were the last thing we had brought up from the barge, and mine had been sitting in water for over an hour. Donte’s pack had washed overboard, and he had lost fifteen gold. He was not the only one with a case of bad luck.

Half of our legion armor lost pieces of armor, mostly vambraces and greaves, washing overboard. We had not worn our full kit in case we fell into the water, it would have been more difficult to swim in them. I was fortunate to have saved all my armor, although the padding in my helmet was soaked. We all fought to set up our tarp tents where Delmar wanted them. I staked my corners and hacked thin green trees to create ribs inside. It was very crude, but I had at least gotten myself on a bed of pine needles and would not be sleeping in the mud.

The rain continued to fall in sheets outside. My tent was open at one end, and I could see others struggling. Adrian popped his head into my tent, looking at my dry space, “Nice work, Eryk. You have the first watch.” He pointed out into the trees, “Ten paces that way. Dinner is your packed ration bar. Felix will join you on sentry.” He walked away before I could reply.

I pulled out the wrapped bar, quickly consumed it, and then washed it with a canteen of water. I rubbed the wax off the leaf and pocketed it for when I had to shit later. I pulled one of my oiled heavy rain cloaks out of my storage space. It was a Legion-issue cloak, so its appearance would go unnoticed. As I stood up in the rain, I was mostly worried I would find someone in my tent when I returned after being relieved. My tent could squeeze two but was comfortable for one.

I moved to the trees to find a shivering Donte. I felt terrible for him since he lost a small fortune when his pack went into the water. At least he had sent most of his reward to his parents before we left Telha. “They said to give this to you,” I handed him the other oiled cloak from my dimensional space, pretending to produce it from inside my own cloak.

Donte nodded gratefully and put it on before going back to camp. I leaned against a large evergreen trunk and stared out into the woods. The heavy rain stirred the scent of fresh pine, and the gray sky was slowly dimming. Felix appeared next to me and leaned into the massive trunk as well. We were one of three pairs of sentries. The tree gave us a little shelter from the rain, but it still came down hard.

“I do not think I have ever been this wet,” Felix muttered, miserable. I could barely hear him in the heavy rain.

“Is camp set up?” I asked.

“Mostly, they are trying to get the crates off the ground before letting people sleep,” he voiced loudly.

As the sun set, the rain got colder and colder and did not lessen one bit. I tapped Felix and walked to check the river before it got too dark. The barge was still tied to trees, but the river had also risen halfway up the banks. It had been raining for hours. I returned to my post and told Felix. He said Castile and Adrian were aware of the possibility of the river cresting.

We stood in silence until we were finally relieved by Blaze and Kolm. I had my glowstone out when I got to my tent, and no one was there, but someone had slept there as another backpack was present. It was probably someone who had just gone on sentry duty. I did as Konstantin lectured me. I left my cuirass armor on and took everything else off. Then I placed my helm close with my glowstone inside of it. The stone was in a small black bag but quickly accessible.

I had my sleeping roll under me and used my oiled cloak as a blanket. I had only closed my eyes for a few hours when two sharp whistles rang out. Then a voice cut the heavy thuds of rain, “We are moving camp! The river is going to crest soon!” It was Adrian yelling for all to hear.

Glowstones appeared in the dark camp as everyone scrambled to pack their gear. I put on my armor and helm, stuffed my backpack with the wet bedroll, and took down my tarp tent. Brutus came and took his pack from my tent. His own tarp had been used to cover the supplies. Delmar was calling those who finished to carry crates further into the forest. I shouldered my pack and was given a crate of onions to carry. The sentries were pulled in and given time as well to pack.

The bargemen were staying in hopes their vessel could be salvaged after the storm. Konstantin made a report in the rain, and Castile and Adrian gave the hand signs for marching two abreast. We were headed for a tower on a hill that Konstantin had spotted from the river. Before moving out, we could see the river lapping at the bank’s top. We were leaving behind almost half our supplies. We could not carry everything.

Konstantin led us a few miles in the dark night up a modest hill to an old crumbling watch tower on top. The floors above had collapsed, but it was sheltered from the wind. There was a brief discussion about whether to try and return for more supplies, but Castile decided not to return. The inside of the tower was square and twenty-five feet across. Some stone steps in the wall led to the top. It had only one entrance, so at least fewer sentries would be needed for the rest of the night.

Our soaked bodies unloaded our supplies, and not a single man did not have a sore back from carrying the heavy crates two miles. I sat against the wall and with others as the rain continued to fall through the missing roof. Konstantin sat next to me, “What do you think this tower was for, Eryk?” I did not want to be tested, but I studied the structure anyway.

It was maybe fifty feet to the top, and we were still close to the river. “Maybe it is to keep an eye on the river?”

“Exactly!” Konstantin exclaimed excitedly. “Before the Telhian Empire, these lands had dozens of small kingdoms. This watch tower belongs to a ruined elven city a few miles inland. The elven city of Caelora.”

I knew Konstantin studied history, so his knowledge did not surprise me. He continued, “If the barge is not useable when the rain stops, we must make our way on foot to Sobral. We should take the old roads and pass near the haunted ruins!”

I humored him, “Sounds like fun,” I said, drifting off for some much needed sleep.

Chapter 76 The Elven Ruins of Caelora

Two men took the watch at the only entrance to the ruined tower instead of the six sentries we had on the banks of the river.  Drifting off, I briefly wondered if the three bargemen would be okay waiting out the storm.  The banks were clearly going to overflow, and their safety was in question.  They should have abandoned the barge and come with us for protection. I guess if that was their livelihood, I could see why they stayed, though.

The hollowed-out tower we were in was not that terrible.  Lirkin was even trying to get a fire going under the shelter of the stone stairs that wrapped around the inner wall.  He even succeeded, and a handful of men who did not have an oiled legion cloak rushed to make use of the fire.  Lirkin started cooking dinner for everyone.  It was just a soup broth with chunks of vegetables and salted meat.  The heat of the soup was more welcome than the sustenance.

I was woken in the morning by a soft kick, and even before I opened my eyes, I knew it was Konstantin, “Come, Eryk.  We are being sent to check on the bargemen.”  Konstantin had his bow in hand and short sword in his hip.  I stood and noticed the sun was not up, but the skies were overcast and light gray.  The rain had puttered out to just a drizzle.

“Can’t Castile just use her magic to check?”  I questioned while getting ready.

Konstantin muttered, “She is sleeping and shouldn’t need to waste aether on it.  You need practice anyway.”

I followed Konstantin out of the tower and down the hill.  The muddy hill gave way, and I managed to surf the mudslide to the bottom.  Konstantin just commented, “Nice balance, but avoid the obvious water runoff next time.”  As we moved into the woods, he whispered instructions to me the entire time.  It forced me to walk quietly and pay attention as we moved.  He stopped us a few times to point out tracks in the mud.  Squirrel, rabbit, frog, and even a skunk.

Reaching the banks where we had originally camped was just thirty minutes of walking without the heavy rain, but my legs were heavy with thick wet mud.  Our old camp was under a foot of water, and a few crates of supplies floated nearby, but most had washed away.  Konstantin was searching the crates and moving slowly as we checked the river.  I whispered, “I do not see the barge.  Do you think they took it?”

Konstantin went to a tree and found a snapped line that had moored the barge.  “No,” he said.  “I am guessing it broke free, and they are most likely traveling downriver in an attempt to find it.”  We gathered what we could into two crates to carry back.  A few times, Komstantin abruptly stopped and then had me scan the trees for something he saw.  It was usually the movement of a small animal or bird.  This led me to point out movement before he had to tell me.

The company was packing up and eating a hot breakfast when we returned.  Delmar was counting food and figured we had about a week’s worth.  Plenty to make it to Sobral city over land.  I took a bowl of the mush, and Lirkin explained, “I cooked everything that got too wet and would not keep.  Not my greatest creation, but it will fill your belly.”  I didn’t complain as I ate and even had a second serving.

Adrian addressed the company when we were ready to leave, “We decided the ferry ride was making you all soft.  We are headed through the wild country to reach Sobral.  This area is known for packs of dire wolves.  Konstantin tells me we are also going to pass near some elven ruins.”

“Haunted ruins,” Konstantin added with a smug smile.

Adrian looked a little perturbed by the interruption, “Yes, haunted.  Just a few specters, but they are tied to the city.”

Blaze asked, “What is a specter?” interrupting again.

Castile walked forward, “Specters are incorporeal spirits, weaker than true ghosts.  Your blade can not harm them.  Their touch will drain your life force and make your soul into one of them.  Stay out of the ruins. They cannot leave the walls.”  Her tone did not leave any debate.

Konstantin patted my shoulder, “It is time to learn the skills of a pathfinder.”

When we walked ahead of the company, Konstantin was constantly scanning ahead and above as we walked.  “Today, we are going to talk about finding the best path and avoiding obvious ambushes.” The entire morning, Konstantin pointed out terrain features and tracks in the mud from various animals.  The largest was a bear.  We finally reached an overgrown road.  The old paved stones had grass and bushes growing between them.  Large trees above shaded the ancient road.  We waited for the others to catch up.

Konstantin gave a brief report to leadership, “Just one bear, too small to bother us.  There were no signs of the dire wolves, but the rains washed all signs of older tracks.  This is the road that leads south to the elven ruins and onto Sobral.”

Adrian asked, “Will the city be easy to get around?”

Konstantin shrugged, “I have only read about it.  I studied a lot of old maps and histories.  The second Emperor slaughtered everyone in the city after they refused to submit to his rule.  The slaughter was horrific and created the specters. There are still many treasures within, but the deeper you travel into the city, the more voluminous the specters.”

Castile confirmed, “We will follow the road.  I do not want to go east to Parvas. The specters can not move far from where they were killed.  Even if the terrain is difficult, we will go around the city.”

Delmar just commented, “Parvas has a Legion Hall, and we could resupply there.” Castile shook her head like they had already been over this argument a few times. We were going to head south.

We had lunch, and then we moved down the overgrown road ahead of the group.  Konstantin noted, “The Empire maintained the road till about a hundred years ago.  Much of the trade goes on the river or through the portals now. Some traders will still risk it occasionally.”

“How much of the Empire is wild like this?”  I asked as we continued.

“Most of the Empire is wild.  The cities have patrols, and Mage Companies deal with wandering monsters that threaten the citizens.  But nature moves fast to reclaim what belongs to her,” Konstantin said quietly and held up his hand.

We moved off the road, and he showed me the tracks he had spotted.  They looked the same size as the bear from earlier.  “Dire wolf.  See, it has just four toes.  Bears have five.  Shit, and there are at least two of them.  Notice these two sets are different sizes.”  Castile and the company caught up to us as we had paused.

Castile looked at the prints, already figuring it out, “Dire wolves?  And recent?”

Konstantin nodded, “Probably two hours ago at the most.  The mud around print has not dried out yet, and the rain stopped about then.”

Delmar asked, “Are they stalking us, or did they just cross our path?”

Konstantin walked into the woods for a hundred feet, and I went with him.  The tracks remained perpendicular to the road.  He returned to report, “By the looks of it, five dire wolves, and they just crossed here.  They were not stalking us.  But we should find a defensible place to make camp tonight.”

Castile narrowed her eyes, “We are not camping in the ruins, Konstantin.”

“Specters are easier to deal with than dire wolves,” Konstantin advised with a straight face. Konstantin obviously wanted to explore the city.

“Only you and me have runic weapons,” Adrian chastised Konstantin.  “Everyone else would be unable to defend themselves from the specters.”

“It was a thought.  We should increase our pace then.  If the dire wolves circle back, they will pick up our scent,” Konstantin counseled.  We changed our formation and increased to a quick march.

The ruins of the elven city were not far down the road.  Massive trees grew inside a crumbling stone wall.  The road naturally diverted around the walls.   We passed the city, and it smelled stale and had a cold, dry air coming from it that gave me goosebumps.  The walls looked even worse than the tower we stayed in last night.  One massive tree in the center of the ruins had a massive green canopy covering most of the city in shadow and did not look inviting.

Konstantin was to my left, “Elves keep curated gardens of special trees in their cities.  Those trees are now more than fifteen hundred years old of uncontrolled growth. That was when the city fell to the second Telhian Emperor.”  I looked up and guessed them to be at least four hundred feet in height.  Movement in the upper branches caught my eye.

“I saw it too.  Castile,” Konstantin turned.  “A giant eagle nest in the city.  They must be nesting safely out of range of the specters.”

Word was passed, and Blaze was responsible for keeping an eye out for the eagles.  He was the best archer and also had the best vision of anyone in the company.  The dreadful ruins were soon behind us, but we did not slow.  I was more than happy to open some distance from the specters.

The clouds had finally cleared, and the sun was out, allowing us to dry our drenched gear.  We did not stop our march until close to sunset.  Konstantin directed the company to a defensible hill.  We all hacked away brush for an hour to give us sight lines down the hill before setting up our tarp tents.  I was glad for the evening meal, even if it was bland.

Konstantin had me come to the leadership meeting since I was now a scout.  Konstantin informed everyone, “We made about thirty miles today.  This road will take us all the way to Sobral, another eighty miles or so.  Two days if we do not run into problems.”

Adrian said, “We should lighten our packs.  Drop the extra food and lean on the baroness when we arrive.”

Delmar, who was responsible for logistics, disagreed, “We already lost most of the supplies.  Half the men are missing a piece of their armor.  We are not going to be able to replace anything in Sobral City.  There is no Legion Hall there. I still think we should have headed for Parvas.”

Castile agreed, “We carry everything.  Lirkin said some of the men’s chafe marks were getting bloody.  We are going to struggle to keep up this pace.”

“We have done it before,” Adrian intoned stoically.  He was referring to our run to get the capital for her Tribunal.  The sun was almost gone, and a massive howl broke the evening air.  We all turned and listened as the cry was answered.

Konstantin spoke, “The dire wolves.  They are hunting, but not us.  It is too far away.”

Adrian said, “I am still going to increase sentries to nine for the evening.”  Konstantin elbowed me, which I guess meant our presence was no longer required.

As we walked away, he said, “One of the benefits of being a scout is you do not have to stand sentry at night.  You can still volunteer, but you will not be called on.  But before the light of day is completely gone, let’s see how much you remember...”

Konstantin questioned me on plants around the hilltop until it was too dark to see.  I gratefully climbed into my tent—both mentally and physically exhausted.  I thought about the amulet but did not want to be inside it if we were attacked, so I abandoned the idea.  I needed the rest, but the dire wolves were on the hunt a few miles away.  I imagined how fearful it would be for the animal they were chasing.  I doubted it was a human as they would not have to chase a human.  I guessed an elk or deer.

Snarling, barking, and cackling erupted from the woods to the north.  I immediately left my tent.  I was not the only one now listening intently and watching the dark.   Blaze was standing next to me, “Gnolls.  The dire wolves are fighting gnolls.”

Konstantin agreed, “Yes, definitely gnolls by the sounds.  I am curious if they are the same group from outside the capital.  It does not make sense unless the lone one you killed was the alpha’s mate.”  Blaze shifted uncomfortably.  “Don’t worry, Blaze.  The dire wolves are taking care of them.”

It sounded like a violent fight and continued for minutes just a few miles away.  Then, the dire wolves howled in unison, indicating their victory.  Konstantin assured our camp the wolves would be feeding the rest of the night, and we could sleep.  I took an oblivion pill because if I didn’t, I knew I would be having nightmares of wolves the size of horses tearing me apart.