A Soldier's Life

Chapter 185: Farewells

I flexed my forearms, and they felt tight and burned a little on top of my aether channel burn. Castile was scratching her own arms, which made me happy I was not the only one feeling the aftereffects. I looked at the two mages, “What now?”

High Mage Zyna started cleaning the table, gathering up the jar of toxins. “Nothing. Castile will continue to do her duty, and you will serve as my bodyguard. Antonia will advance the plan when the opportunity arises and let us know.”

I looked to Castile worriedly, “What about Maveith? Can he join me here?”

Castile deferred to Zyna with a glance. Zyna shook her head, “No. A goliath would not be allowed on the college grounds. It is best he stays with the company or returns home.”

I was torn and felt guilty. I told the goliath I would join him on his trip home to Stone Mountain Island to confess to his father. He didn’t need me to make the trek, but still... “I should go tell him I am not returning,” I decided. I also wanted to gather my things—the summoner’s gear was also in my pack.

Castile denied my request. “No, you are not leaving the Mage College Grounds unless Chancellor Zyna is with you. If you walk the city alone, Boris will target you. He most likely has people watching the gates of the college.”

Seeing my consternation, Zyna smiled reassuringly at me, “I could use a walk. Eryk needs to gather his possessions at the Legion Hall as well.”

I was soon escorting the two mages through the city, back to the Eastern Legion Hall. I led the procession, but it was not needed as the Chancellor’s robes parted the press of people as we walked. “Are they afraid of you?” I asked Zyna quietly.

“Yes. The Chancellors are hands of the Emperor. We carry his authority and can administer justice on the spot without a trial. There have been a number of unscrupulous and cruel Chancellors in the past. I doubt many recognize me, just the robes of my office. We will need to get you some proper polished steel legionnaire armor. If you are to guard my person, your common legionnaire armor won’t do.” I couldn’t tell if Zyna was serious or attempting humor.

I looked at her imperious walk and stoic expression and decided it was the former. I was fine with it, as my current reclaimed armor rubbed in all the wrong places. We entered the Legion Hall to find the entire company in the courtyard, ready to march. Adrian split from the men, a relieved expression on his face seeing us, “We were ready. What happened?” His gaze kept drifting back to Chancellor Zyna and then to me.

Castile couldn’t hide a smirk, “Eryk managed to evade the First Citizen’s wrath.”

Adrian’s eyebrows danced, and he shook his head, “Jupiter’s mercy. I owe Benito a silver. Eryk, you must have the Fates dancing to your tune or sharing Fortuna’s bed.”

Castile indicated to Zyna, “He will be attending to Chancellor High Mage Zyna for the foreseeable future at the Mage College.”

Adrian looked a little shocked and whispered to himself, “Fortuna’s bed it is.” He nodded and turned to face the men to explain. It looked like they had been ready to respond on my behalf, which would have ended poorly for all of them. I don’t think I ever had such companions before.

Adrian bellowed for all to hear, “Eryk is safe and moving on from our lowly company to live in luxury at the Mage College.” The men relaxed. Benito was the happiest of the group, his head looking around, probably looking to collect coin from those he had bet about my fate.

Adrian continued, “Everyone is free for the next three days except for two hours of weapons practice at sunrise.” Happy grunts and smiling faces spread among the men. Adrian gave the company a mild warning, “Don’t get in too much trouble. See Linus for your bonus silver from the dungeon.”

Adrian turned to me, extending his arm, and we clasped wrists. He smiled, “I hope this is not the last time we see each other, Eryk. Don’t drop your shield arm when circling an opponent to the right, and stop consorting with so many vile beasts. One of these days, one will take advantage of your generosity.”

“Thank you for teaching me your leadership skills, Adrian.” I released his grip, and the men swarmed me to say their goodbyes. It all felt too sudden, but it was the course for men in the legion, and it was not like I was being buried today. We had been through so much together in less than six months: the griffin hunt, the siege of Macha, the Shimmering Labyrinth, and then defying the summoner. It felt wrong to leave them and hide away in the safety of Mage College. A few men patted me on the back, a few men shook my wrists, and a few hugged me, our abused armor scraping together.

Benito smiled, hugging me, “Another seven silver! You are my lucky charm, Eryk.” He winked, “I keep telling them never to bet against you.”

The last man was Maveith. The tall goliath looked morose and clapped me on the back harder than he needed to. “Thank you for interesting times, Eryk.” Castile and the others had drifted away to give us privacy.

“You can remain with the company, Maveith, or you can return to Stone Mountain Island to reconcile with your father,” I told the goliath. I added impulsively, “If you wait, when I finish my legion service, I will go with you.” I was starting to think my service may end sooner than the four and half years I had left. If the conspiracy was successful, I would be released, and if it was not, I would likely be released in death.

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Maveith considered and looked at the men disappearing with a handful of large, shiny, silver dungeon coins. “I will remain with the company for now.”

“Glad to hear it. If you need anything, just ask. How much silver do you need from the Shimmering Labyrinth?” I asked, wanting to give him a share of what we earned together. I wanted to show how valuable his companionship and loyalty had been to me, and I planned to double whatever he said.

“None at the moment.” He rested his hand on the head of his maul. I noticed it had been rubbed with charcoal to cover up its luster. “This hammer is fair compensation for now,” his deep voice rumbled affectionately as he caressed the head.

I nodded in acceptance but was disappointed. “If you get back to Sobral before me, check in on Ginger for me.” Maveith nodded knowingly.

High Mage Zyna approached us and it looked like we were leaving. She had shown patience for a lowly legionnaire, but I was sure her time was valuable. “We need to return. Gather your things.” I nodded to her and walked up to the bunk room. Armor was tossed half-hazard on bunks as men rushed to change and head out into the city to spend their coin.

I found my pack where I had left it and caught Brutus sneaking out a side door. Our friendship had been strained since we were separated entering the Shimmering Labyrinth. He had spent a lot of time with Flavius in the dungeon, which may have also jaded his opinion of me. He was going to like me even less in a minute.

“Brutus, I am going to need the other runic blade back.” He froze, and I could tell he had hoped I had forgotten. A runic weapon was worth about what a legionnaire made in a lifetime.

He turned slowly, his eyes betraying his reluctance. “If I returned the weapon, I would be the only one in the company without a runic blade. Could I just hold on to it for you?”

I weighed my friendship with Brutus with my needs. I didn’t need the blade as a weapon, but it represented a fair amount of coin I might need. I also might never see Brutus again.

“No, I do need it back. I am not sure where my travels will take me.” Brutus’ face contorted briefly before he went and retrieved the sheathed blade and pressed it forcefully into my outstretched arm. He didn’t talk as he left the room, clearly unhappy with my decision. I had some guilt but I was sure he would have done the same in my position.

Maveith helped me gather my things, and soon, I was back with High Mage Zyna in the courtyard of the Legion Hall. Castile was gone, but I could tell she was much happier knowing she could trick a Truthseeker. I walked next to Zyna as we started to return to Mage College.

“What will my duties be?” I asked and quickly added respectfully, “Chancellor High Mage Zyna.”

She smirked, “Just Zyna is acceptable when we are in private. I teach battle magic on Tuesday and Thursday mornings on the Demeter field. You will join me for that once you get your armor. I teach fire magic in classroom seven on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. You can stand guard over the classroom door for the class.” I looked over, and she did not seem to be joking. A number of the Imperial Legionnaires stood guard for hours every day.

“How long are the classes?” I inquired to prepare myself for a very boring duty.

“Each one is three hours long, but the rest of the time is yours to do with what you will. That is unless I need a guard escort to meet the Emperor or a noble in the city.” I would gladly stand like a statue for three hours if that meant I would have the rest of the time to myself. I would be nervous if I had to meet the Emperor as he might uncover my origins.

Seeing my excitement, Zyna put a damper on my potential freedom, “You should remain in my apartment. Castile is right that the First Citizens will seek vengeance against you if you wander the city. When Cornelius informs me the Hounds are ready to receive you, I will send you to his care.”

I had conveniently forgotten about that. I was going to be trained as a Hound. That made me nervous as well. Less so now that I could evade the Truthseekers. “I thought the Hounds didn’t take foreigners into their ranks.” At least that is what Konstantin had said—or did he say the Praetorian Guard didn’t take foreigners—I couldn’t recall.

“It is rare but not unheard of. It is one of the reasons Antonia called on the Bone Inscriber. We have a number of people within the Hounds. You will just need patience,” Zyna noted softly.

“Will I be collecting your blood samples as well from the Archives,” I asked after a few minutes of thought.

She frowned and made to educate me, “Do not talk so freely in the streets, Eryk. I have us shielded, but that will not always be the case. We can converse openly in my apartments, but consider all other locations off-limits unless I initiate a topic.” I could see the amount of faith she was placing in me. If the conspiracy were exposed, she would be executed with the other traitors.

We reached the tower and again climbed the stairs to the dusty sitting room. I followed Zyna into a side door, revealing a dust-filled bedroom. She patted the bed, and a cloud of dust blossomed above the strike. “It has been a while. I wish I knew a reliable void mage to clean the dust. Instead, I will have to order all new linens.”

She sighed and sat on the bed anyway, adding dust to the air. “This entire floor is my suite. We are on the top floor of the War Mage’s Tower. A few instructors should be quartered on the floors below this one but they floors have been sound-proofed.”

“Is the War College different from the Mage College?” I asked while walking around the room.

“The War College is one of the four schools at the Mage College. The other three are Recruitment, Research, and Application. The Recruitment College is responsible for finding new mages and teaching Mage Aspirants how to cast proper spells. If they succeed, they move on to one of the three other schools. The combat school is the War College,” she said, holding up both hands and indicating our area. “The research school is responsible for the advancement of magical knowledge in the Empire and trains artificers, alchemists, and researchers.”

“The final school is called the application school. These are mages applying their magic for construction, healing, weather forecasting and control, or any number of applications outside of combat.” Zyna finished.

She stood, adding more dust to the air, and I held back a sneeze. “Remain on this floor for now. Do not talk to anyone.” She cracked another knowing smile. “I will get an Imperial armor smith to measure you for proper armor, find some Mage Aspirants to clean the room, and order new linens.” She indicated other doors. “There are a number of servant and guest rooms. Find one and make yourself comfortable.”

I could see her mind working as she left the room. When the door closed, a heavy silence fell on me. My armor groaned as I turned slowly and started to explore my new temporary home.

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