A Soldier's Life

Chapter 167: Reconciliation

I was eyeing her, trying to figure out how to tell her I needed to put her back in my space, when Raelia finally asked, “Do you want my legacy blade back? You know, to ensure I do not stab you in the back?” Her tone was conversational, and I was unsure if she was joking or serious, but I detected no malice in her words.

“What?” It took me a second to remember she called her runic dagger a legacy blade. “No, you can keep it. What is a legacy blade?”

She drew it and fingered the script. “My family surname is Glavien. When my ancestors lived in Esenhem, our family was part of the military class. Everyone in the family participated as either a soldier or an administrator in one of the corps. When the Esenhem Consul signed a peace treaty with the Telhians, most of the Glaviens migrated to the Bartiradian Empire to continue fighting the Telhian Empire. My grandfather passionately believed the Telhian Empire needed to be stopped.”

She eyed me accusingly in my red legion armor. My legion armor was in a sorry state, and I looked more like a vagabond merc than a legionnaire. I had no response and doubted that agreeing with her would change her opinion of me. She sheathed her dagger. “It is tradition for us to carry legacy blades into battle so that if we fall, our bodies can be identified.”

“That does not make any sense. If there’s only one blade, what about your siblings? Do you have any? Do they have legacy blades, too?” I asked, showing genuine interest.

Raelia let a small smile escape. “Yes. I have an older and younger brother who are still living. My older brother is General Clalyn Glavien. My younger brother has not yet chosen his path. The legacy blades go to the eldest on both the matriarchal and patriarchal sides. My mother gave me this legacy blade, which she carried with her into battle. Clalyn has one given to him by our father. My youngest brother will carry a newly forged blade with our father’s name when he begins his service. The parent’s name is always on the blade, so they know who to return it to.”

I remembered the General had been searching frantically for Raelia in Macha. He had dismissed common military sense in his quest to find his sister, but the blitz had worked in his favor. I shifted on my stone seat as Maveith ripped a long fart in his sleep, taking it as a sign to go and sit next to Raelia to escape the cloud.

She did not tense as I sat next to her. I was not sure if I should ask the question, as it reminded her of the past, but I did. “How did you become a griffin rider?”

She tensed, the tendon on her neck showing for a moment as she clenched her teeth before relaxing. I thought I had made a mistake, but she relaxed. “I am small among my people. At first, I wanted to be a ranger and a scout for the army. As I was training to be a Ranger, I saw the griffin riders in action and became enamored with the idea of taking to the skies.”

“What is flying like?” Maveith’s deep voice cut into our conversation. I had not even realized he was awake, and maybe his flatulence was intentional to get me to move closer to Raelia.

Raelia genuinely smiled for the first time since I had known her. Her teeth were stained from the berries, but that did not detract from her youthful beauty. Her stern face relaxed, and two small dimples appeared on her cheeks. “It is freedom, power, and ecstasy all rolled into one.” Maveith sat up, clearly interested in the topic.

He asked eagerly, “How did you tame your griffin? Was it hard?”

Raelia laughed, realizing his intentions. “Maveith, I was allowed to become a rider because of my size. You are too large to mount a griffin. It would never get off the ground.”

“Maveith, don’t listen to her. If you want to ride a griffin, I will help you find one big enough for you.” Raelia looked at me skeptically, and I could not hold back my laughter at the joke. She soon joined in, realizing I had not been serious.

“If there were a griffin large enough for you, I would be petrified of it,” Raelia said as the laughter died down. “Maveith, we raise the griffins from the egg. It is important to feed them and spend hours with them as they grow to maturity over the course of a year. It is another year after that before they can take a rider. You build loyalty with each other, and they become your best friend…” she trailed off, struggling to get the words out.

“I’m sorry about your griffin. Moonclaw, was it?” I thought I sounded conciliatory, but Raelia clenched her fist, her forearms flexing.

Tears pooled in her blue-green eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “It was my fault. I flew too low over the city. I put us in range of your mages.” I did not say anything, and Maveith remained quiet.

We let her cry for a bit before she spoke again. “I realized I did it again when we fought the dire boars. I did not follow orders, and it risked getting Maveith killed.” After a long pause, she added, “And you, too.” She hid a small smirk at withholding my name at first. I was beginning to understand that Raelia did not just have a youthful appearance—she, in fact, truly was youthful. She was brash and reckless of mind as well.

It felt like the right time to break the upsetting news. “Raelia, we’re headed back to the first floor. There are legionnaires up there who cannot see you with us.” She tensed, her hand reflexively covering the handle of her runic dagger, but she relaxed slowly.

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“When the time comes, you should be holding both of your weapons.” Both Raelia and Maveith looked at me questioningly. I explained, “If I am killed, everything in my dimensional space will materialize. Whatever—or whoever—killed me will probably not be friendly.” Saying it out loud was sobering. A heavy silence fell over us.

“Is there anything I should be aware of in such a scenario? Will I be buried under purple potatoes? Or will ten other women appear with me as well?” Raelia said jokingly.

“Give me a minute. Sometimes I forget what’s in there myself,” I said, pretending to focus straight ahead. “Let me see—one mostly dead ogre, a horse, and just two other elf maidens, not ten. But you probably do not know them, as I made their acquaintance before I met you.”

Maveith’s eyes bugged a little, and Raelia’s jaw fell open, unable to speak. Did they really think I was telling the truth? Maveith seemed the most perplexed. “Do you have Ginger in there?” Raelia’s eyes shot to Maveith and then to me, thinking Ginger was a person. Maveith thankfully explained, “Ginger is Eryk’s horse, not an elf maiden.”

Although it was funny, I stopped the speculation, sounding exasperated. “No, I was joking. I do not have an ogre, a horse, or a harem elves. I have camping equipment, all the food we’ve harvested, some weapons, and a few things I picked up here and there.” I sighed as they now both looked skeptical. “Let’s head up the stairs. Raelia, stay behind us until I confirm no one from the company is in the earth drake chamber.”

We climbed the stairs, and Maveith walked straight in when he saw the dead drake. “You already killed it?” he said excitedly. He walked around it, inspecting it and testing the scaled hide. I motioned Raelia forward, as there were no legionnaires here.

Raelia was also impressed. “That is the largest earth drake I have ever seen.” She did not want to get too close and instead kicked the stone shards from the destroyed reward chest. She was probably wondering what had been in it, given the amount of stone.

Maveith stood, grumbling to himself. I think he was about to educate me on what I should have done. “The scales are useful for making shields. Claws and teeth can be made into useful tools, as they are much harder than normal bones. The flesh is too dense and would need a long cooking time to break down the tissue. I say we harvest the teeth and claws to sell.”

“It’s been just over half a day since I killed it, so I will give you an hour,” I informed Maveith.

“Where is the other exit?” Raelia asked, looking up from the stone shards. “You said there were two exits?” I pointed at the green slime wall. She walked to it, perplexed. Maveith had his runic knife out, so I joined Raelia. She reached out and touched the slime with her finger, then sniffed it.

“Is that safe?” I asked, standing next to her.

She looked at me. “It is green slime mold. Goblins use it as a food source because it grows quickly. If it were dangerous, my finger would have burned. It is the only thing in here the drake could have eaten.” I did not tell her that was also my conclusion. I would let her think she was smarter than me.

She had not found the hidden door yet, as it was ten feet to her right. I drew my black blade and walked to the smoother part of the wall. I cut the slime like a curtain to reveal the dark passage beyond. I made to hand her a retrieved glowstone.

She dismissed it with a wave. “I do not need that. I can see just fine in dim light.” She made to step into the corridor, and I grabbed her shoulder.

“Wait till Maveith finishes playing with the drake.” Raelia nodded but watched, fascinated, as the green slime once again hid the entrance.

“That is different. The slime mold grows so quickly and not just on a surface.” She took her own runic dagger to cut away the slime again and watched it reform over the passage entry.

I walked to Maveith, who had cut away the drake’s lips to get easy access to the gums as he sought to pry the fangs out. Even with the runic knife, he was struggling. “I think I can get the fangs in the allotted hour, Eryk. If you want the claws, you’ll need to help.”

“It’s all you, Maveith.” I thought about scouting the harpy room, but I might get spotted if the others were in there or watching it.

Maveith got twelve ten-inch-long fangs from the drake’s mouth. He was grinning as he stuffed them into his bag. He was a mess of blood from his work but was happy about his harvest. “If I can find a master crafter, these will make exceptional cooking tools.” I just nodded in affirmation.

Raelia was already cutting away the slime, eager to explore the dark passage. I handed Maveith one of my four glowstones, and we entered. The slime slowly formed its curtain behind us, making this path feel more ominous than others. It was the first part of any dungeon I had entered that lacked a light source. However, there was that magical dark room near the shapeshifter room.

We walked about fifty feet before Raelia spoke. “This could be a new dungeon room that the dungeon has not finished yet. Dungeons feed off the ley lines and grow like the roots of a plant over hundreds of years.”

Maveith questioned her assumption. “Wouldn’t that mean it grows downward?”

“Not always.” She clicked her tongue. “I am not knowledgeable about dungeons, but they grow in all directions around the ley line they feed off of.” She stopped walking, and we all stopped with her. “I hear running water,” Raelia said.

We proceeded to walk, and the walls seemed different somehow. I could not place it as we walked farther. The corridor opened to a rocky balcony overlooking a massive chasm. Water cascaded on the far side, but our glowstones were not strong enough to show us the other side. Maveith was the first to realize it. “We are not in the dungeon any longer.” There was no doubt or surprise from me or Raelia, as we felt it, too. It was like we were no longer being watched and soaking in the dense dungeon aether.

“Where are we?” I asked, feeling heat waves rising from the deep chasm, and I was starting to sweat.

Maveith said with awe in his voice, “The Endless Dark.”

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