A Soldier's Life-Chapter 263: Mistakes Were Made

Chapter 263: Mistakes Were Made

Gramney was less clean than the elven cities. The fetid sewer under the streets was noticeable in the air near the street grates, and the alleys were filled with vagrants and debris. Still, the city felt safe enough with cheerful pairs of guards walking the streets.

It took us half a day to find acceptable accommodations in a wealthy district. The inn was called Crescent Crossroads. I thought it might be the most luxurious inn in all of Gramney. I rented an entire floor suite with five rooms and a massive common room connecting them. There was also a private bath with running water—which may have been why I selected this particular inn. It was time to consume the apex water essence and unlock the affinity. Having a bath nearby would be welcome.

Maveith and I were in one of the rooms with two large beds. Maveith sat on the bed across from me, bouncing and shaking the frame, as he had never seen springs on a bed before. I could only imagine what the people on the floor below us were thinking. “It’s too soft and bouncy. I don’t think I could sleep.” His large mass was sinking into the soft mattress every time he landed. If he lay down, it would probably swallow him.

“You can always sleep on the floor, Maveith,” I said, irritated. I had paid a large gold coin for four nights, and that was supposedly a two-gold discount, according to the innkeeper. At least Ginger’s stabling was included in the cost. With a thud, I dropped his pack onto the floor from my dimensional space. He bounced a few more times, considering, before kneeling and starting to unpack his large bedroll.

While Maveith set up his sleeping accommodations on the floor, I considered how I would release my passengers. I had four people to extract—a mother and her two children, and a First Citizen mage. The wisest choice was to bring the mother out first and get her acclimated so she could calm her children when they came out next. The mage was probably going to be trouble, but at least she was dosed with magebane poison.

“Maveith, why don’t you see if there are any orc adventurers in the Guild Hall.” Even though he knew the plan was to add an orc to our group to serve as a guide, he ground his teeth a little. “I don’t need help with the mother and children. You can meet them when you come back.” The truth was I didn’t want them to be frightened by Maveith. If you didn’t know goliaths were honorable people, Maveith was rather intimidating.

He finally let out a long sigh of disappointment. “Okay, I will inquire. I will bring back dinner for us and them.” He had been drooling at all the food carts as we searched for an inn.

After Maveith left, I went to the most opulent room in the suite. This was clearly for a lord. The large window offered a marvelous view overlooking the square, which featured a massive statue of a pegasus in flight with an armored knight on its back.

From Hearne, I knew that was impossible. Pegasi were rare creatures, but they were more gliders than flyers and couldn’t get aloft with any significantly weighted rider. As far as aerial steeds, griffins were larger and more powerful, but still required slight riders to avoid fatigue. I briefly wondered how Raelia was doing. Her griffin egg should have hatched by now—or at least I hoped it had hatched. It would have been cruel to give her an egg with a dead embryo.

I pulled the window’s blinds closed, lit the room’s three oil lamps, and produced my glowstone. I placed clothes for the three on the bed with the jewelry the mother had packed herself. When she appeared, she crumpled to the floor. I had given her two oblivion pills, and to her, that had happened just moments ago.

I placed her body on the bed and untied her. She was quite beautiful, with silky blond hair, vibrant skin, and delicate facial features. At that moment, I realized I had never learned her name. Centurion Sergius never mentioned it, and she never told me. I remembered that her children’s names were Marius and Clara.

I watched her sleeping, her chest rising and falling, then turned away, suddenly feeling creepy. Maybe I could wake her? I shook her shoulder strongly until her groggy eyelids fluttered. She was going to have to fight off the effects. She had difficulty speaking and her eyes wouldn’t focus on my face, but she had some recollection of what had happened. “Where?” she asked, confused.

“You and your children are in Gramney in the Duchy of Manch,” I said softly.

She was slow to process what I said, but memories suddenly came back to her. She tried to stand but failed to do so, falling to the floor in a heap. She was drowsy and fighting the effects of the oblivion pills. It was stupid for me to wake her. I should have had patience and let her wake up on her own. As I helped her onto the bed, she pushed me away. “Don’t touch me!” She then remembered I had her children, so she needed to be polite to me. “I can manage,” she said more civilly.

I let her get on the bed, and I could tell she was fighting off sleep. Two oblivion pills were a lot for her slight frame. “Just rest for now. You are safe, as are your children, I promise.” Her eyes told me she didn’t believe me, but sleep soon took her.

Maveith knocked a few hours later while I watched over my victim. I waved him in, and he brought a feast in numerous canvas bags. He must have hit every vendor stall in the city: mini pies baked on formed wax leaves, different types of skewered meat and vegetables, three different kinds of bread, and a bag of cookies with jam baked into them. The crumbs on his clothes showed that he had done a lot of sampling on his expedition.

After unloading his haul, he stood over the woman, studying her and then looking at me. “She is pretty. The children?”

“Not yet. She is working through the effects of two oblivion pills.” Maveith nodded in understanding and looked at all the food he had brought. I asked, “Any luck with an orc guide?”

He chewed his cheek unhappily. “There are three orc adventurers in the city. I have two addresses. The third is guarding a trade caravan and will return in a month. It would be best if you interviewed them,” he stated with a note of pleading.

Maveith did not talk quietly. The woman fluttered her eyes and Maveith leaned over her, smiling. She screamed as her eyes focused on his gray, beaming face. It was just as I feared. I pulled away the confused Maveith and soothed her. “It is fine. Maveith is a goliath. A good goliath.”

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Seeing me, her scream died. “I … I … I am sorry.” She was still disoriented and slightly terrified. I motioned Maveith to the door in case someone came to investigate, but it was a short, piercing scream, so maybe it went unnoticed.

“What is your name?” I asked with a friendly smile.

“You don’t know my name?” She suddenly sounded exasperated and exhausted. “Viridia Janus, wife of Milo Janus. Are you not the one who kidnapped me? Are my children here?” She had not seen my face, evidently, but she should have recognized my voice. She sat up, taking in the luxurious room. She was shaking but hiding her fear well.

“Give me a moment and I will check on Clara. You can change out of your nightwear.” I pointed at the pile of clothes. “The jewelry you packed is there as well.” Viridia blinked her vision clear, fighting off the fading effects of the oblivion pills. I moved into the common room, closing the door behind me. I went into the smallest room, probably for servants, and pulled the girl onto the bed. She had been sleeping peacefully when I pulled her into my dimensional space months ago.

Parts of her mattress, sheets, and blankets appeared with her. If I had placed her into my space by touching her, I might have been able to differentiate the various fabrics from the girl. The girl was a miniature version of her mother and sleeping heavily, oblivious to her fate. I removed the cut fabric gently to hide the evidence of my powerful spell form. I was going to get her mother, but didn’t need to.

Viridia Janus came through the door, ran to her daughter, and started crying into her chest. Clara stirred and asked her mother what was wrong. The mother just wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged her to her body while standing.

I guessed the girl’s age to be ten, not past accepting affection from her mother. Viridia had clearly doubted my sincerity in guaranteeing the safety of her children. The young girl hugged her mother back, confused and on the verge of tears herself because she didn’t know what was going on.

“Where are we? Where is Marius? Is father home?” the girl asked her mother, who cradled her to her chest. Viridia looked to me for answers as she continued to hold her child against her chest.

“Marius is well. I do not know the fate of Milo Janus,” I told them truthfully.

Maveith stood in the doorway, taking up the entire doorframe. Clara noticed him for the first time, her eyes widening in shock. She was not afraid, though. After Viridia’s reaction, Maveith was more hesitant. “I have some food in the other room,” he offered, pointing awkwardly.

“Mommy, is that a giant? Did you get me a giant for my birthday?” the young girl asked excitedly.

“Of course, because they were all out of unicorns,” Viridia said sarcastically. The young girl didn’t catch the sarcasm and pushed away from her mother’s hold to approach Maveith. Viridia calmed down and whispered, “How did we get to Gramney, and where is my son?”

I would do my best to keep my secrets, and I tried to distract her with past events. “I smuggled you here through a portal. The Emperor is dead, and the Telhian Empire is besieged from four sides. I suggest you and your family make a new life here with your wealth.”

“If I had known you were telling me the truth, I would have opened the secret vault in the villa.” She sighed resignedly. “Still, we have trade assets and agents in the Duchy of Manch that were out of the Emperor’s reach, and the olive fields should be fruiting in a year or two. Milo can build his network again.” The way she was talking, she still thought her husband was alive, but knowing Centurion Sergius, that was unlikely.

“Can you control your son when I wake him? Almost no time will have passed for him,” I asked her, wanting to finish the reunion. Her emerald eyes slowly gained life and sparkled with hope. She was accepting her fate and slowly formulating a way to survive.

Getting her son out was slightly trickier. When I stashed him away, he had been awake and walking onto the villa’s balcony. I was in another small room when Marius appeared. He was sweaty, barefoot, and shirtless. His confusion quickly turned into an attack as he lunged at me. I sidestepped his tackle attempt and called for his mother as I threw a wet towel at him. Viridia rushed into the room and didn’t cry this time as she wrapped up her confused son. She was calming him as I stepped out.

I checked on Maveith and the girl. They were in the lord’s suite having something akin to a tea party on the floor. Clara was asking Maveith a stream of questions while she plated food for him. He seemed happy, and I noticed the checkers board Desdemona had given him to his right, so I left him to his fate. Did I do the right thing? Yes. Would this goodwill come back to bite me in the ass eventually? Probably.

I still had one passenger, but this had taken a lot out of me. The First Citizen was a mage and much more dangerous than the mother and children. I entered our room and rested on the bed while I ran the apex water essence across the back of my knuckles. It was a fascinating essence with the appearance of shifting water inside.

Maveith arrived in our room late at night. “I hope you let her win a game or two,” I said, smirking.

“I let her win them all,” he said loudly, then quieted, worried the girl might have heard. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“I am going to use this tonight,” I said, tossing the sphere lightly in my hand. “Can you watch over me and help me clean up after?”

“Of course!” Maveith said agreeably. “Let me first make something to cover my mouth and nose.”

Maveith stayed in the bathroom with me as I prepared to take the essence to unlock the water affinity. He had watched over me in the Shimmering Labyrinth when I unlocked a new affinity, so he knew how painful, messy, and foul it would be. We had wet blankets, and the modest tub was filled with water for me to scrub right after.

Maveith had prepared everything but looked concerned and reluctant. “Eryk, are you sure you want to do this?”

I held up the apex water essence to him. “All you, big guy. I don’t need any more.” He shook his head and backed away as he held up his hands. I shrugged, stripped down to just my loincloth, and lay down on the wet towels. If I had the urge to vomit, a bucket was nearby. We were as prepared as we could be.

“Bottoms up,” I saluted Maveith and deposited the essence in my mouth. It tasted like sugar water as it dissolved, and I quickly swigged some water from a canteen. Maybe that wasn’t very smart, as I would probably throw it up, but my mouth was already cottony.

I focused inward and felt the aether spread through my body from my stomach. When it found my aether core, all the water aether flowing through me raced toward it like magnets attracting each other. That was as long as I could focus inward, as every muscle in my body contracted, contorting my body into weird poses. I forced myself into a protective fetal position, thinking I just needed to ride it out for a minute or so. Anyone can deal with intense pain for a minute.

My skin burned as a slimy, foul-smelling substance was pushed out my pores. My loincloth was suddenly full of shit and urine, but I didn’t remember releasing it. My heart raced and I panted to catch my breath. This was by far my worst experience. It sounded like I was underwater as Maveith’s voice tried to reach me.

“Eryk, what’s wrong!?” He sounded a bit panicked.

Through clenched teeth, I rasped out, “Should be fine in a minute.”

“It has been almost half an hour!” Maveith said worriedly. Ah, shit. Well, that sucks. Then I passed out.

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