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A Soldier's Life - 365 - This Is My Plus One Half
🕑 Added 2025-03-25 17:48:39 +0000 UTCChapter 365: This Is My Plus One Half
The devastation was complete. If my memory served me, the explosion had laid waste to the entire upper district of Yuetsen. My companions were also speechless. My eyes returned to the halfling crew and Lesna.
Watching the halfling woman work in the brutal sun, rolling stones with her ankle shackled, made me feel a bit guilty. She probably deserved her punishment, but she was here because she had followed me across the ocean. Maybe she had a small fine I could pay on her behalf. I at least felt the need for her to explain. I didn’t hate the woman; I just found her annoying.
About twenty guards and a hundred shackled prisoners were working to clear the debris out of the pit. “I'll be just a moment. I just need to confirm something,” I told my companions as I skillfully descended into the crater.
A pair of guards moved to intercept me when I reached the rubble-strewn area at the bottom of the crater. I couldn’t overcome the language barrier, so he called over his captain, who spoke Elvish. The captain was surprisingly pleasant in his greeting. “Adventurer, what is your business?”
“Is it permissible for me to talk with one of the prisoners?” I inquired respectfully.
“Which one?” The captain asked somberly. His tone made it clear he wouldn’t allow a visit for all his charges.
“The halfling woman over there. The one with the sandy-colored hair,” I indicated.
“Lesna?” The captain seemed to soften and looked me up and down, my silver adventurer medallion on display. He nodded slowly, and addressed the other two guards, “I will escort him.” Then he addressed me, “I will be privy to the words you share with the prisoner.” I nodded in acceptance at the conditions. We walked to where the three halflings were working unsupervised—as if they were not a threat to escape.
The hot sun had baked the stone, and the stench of decaying bodies lingered in the air even though none were in sight. Lesna didn’t notice me approaching as she grunted, placing rocks as large as her head into a wheelbarrow. In a conversational tone, I asked, “Lesna, what did you do this time?” The filthy, sunburned halfling jumped at the sound of her name.
She turned on me, surprised, recognition coming instantly. An affable smile formed, “Came back for me, did ya? I have that effect on people.”
“What is all this?” I gestured at her shackled ankles. I could see runic patterns on the manacles, probably to keep her from accessing her aether.
“Just a big misunderstanding…” she started to say, but the captain interrupted her.
“This one was helping to dig out people in collapsed buildings but then decided to loot a senator’s villa,” he said in a flat, accusatory tone.
“I was working for three days! And it was not like anyone was left alive in the building! Dead people don’t need coins in the afterlife!” Lesna complained, pouting.
I rolled my eyes. “What’s her sentence?” I asked the captain. The two other halflings who had been working with Lesna looked on. One was an old man with a limp, and the other was a younger boy with a perpetual scowl.
“She has not had a trial yet, but her service in rescuing civilians will be taken into account,” the captain replied sagaciously.
Lesna scoffed. “All the adjudicators are dead, I don’t think any of us will have a trial within the next year,” Lesna protested too loudly. Other men and women working in the pit stopped and looked up from their tasks.
The captain warned her, “You have been behaving, Lesna. Don’t be starting anything now.” For the first time, his amiable disposition toward her seemed to fray. I guessed this was one reason why her little group was not supervised.
Lesna sighed dejectedly. She looked at me with pleading eyes, “Eryk, can you check on Honeysuckle for me? She is in a stable near the southern gate. Maybe take her for a ride. She is probably missing me about now. It has been three days since I visited her last.”
Why did I feel guilty? I knew nothing about the legal system in Linshania, but if all the adjudicators, as Lesna called them, lived in the upper city, then they were dead. I could at least take care of her large pony.
“Is there not a fine she can pay?” I asked the captain. He appeared to be chewing on his cheek while he thought. He clearly didn’t dislike the halfling. Lesna looked surprised that the answer was not an immediate no.
The captain looked around. “You were one of the adventurers who got Falko’s wife and young boy out.”
Lesna brightened, her white smile appearing on her sweaty and grimy face. “Probably, my team got dozens of people out! Saved a lot of people, we did.”
The captain looked around at the other guards as he came to his own decision. “Stealing from a senator is usually the removal of both hands. Other thieves are branded on their cheek.” Lesna immediately locked her hands protectively behind her back, and her good-natured smile was finally gone. “Falco!” The captain bellowed, and a haggard soldier with a week’s stubble came running up.
A conversation in the local language went back and forth between the captain and the guard, and Lesna had a hopeful look and even interrupted the conversation a few times. The captain usually glared at her for interrupting, but soon, she had warmed her way into the conversation and was pointing at me, excitement showing in her eyes.
The captain finally turned to me. “We will release your friend into your custody. Falco will record your guild badge. If she breaks the law again, you will be held accountable for her actions.”
“And I won’t be branded,” Lesna inserted.
“And you won’t be branded a thief,” the captain confirmed, cracking a slight smile.
“What of her crime?” I asked, confused how we had gotten to this point.
“If Senator Jakob wishes to entertain a hearing, Lesna will be shackled again and be brought before him,” the captain said with a false smile. Of course, the senator was dead and would not be pressing for Lesna’s punishment. Falco recorded my name and medallion number, the captain nodded in acceptance.
Lesna pointed to her ankle shackles, beaming up at me. “Looks like you are stuck with me.”
Under my breath, I whispered just loud for her to hear, “I hope I don’t regret this.” I didn’t look to see her reaction.
I looked back up at my group, which was waiting for me on the lip of the crater. This was not what I had planned. I thought I would talk to the halfling and maybe pay her fine. I was probably never going to return to Yuetsen, and we were trying to find the otherworlders from Earth to protect them from retribution from the Principality anyway.
The captain took out a clearly runic key and unlocked Lesna's shackles. She performed an amusing dance, testing her regained freedom of movement, and then sparks danced on her fingertips as she once again had access to her aether. I recalled she was incredible at shaping aether. Amused, I told her, “Go get Honeysuckle and meet us in the slums.” I pointed at my companions holding the reins of the horses above.
Lesna narrowed her eyes suspiciously, “Is this a trick? Are you going to be there still when I arrive?”
“It is your decision, Lesna, but we will not wait for you,” I replied as I turned and nimbly climbed.
The captain considered it prudent to remind me, “Her actions will be seen as your own, adventurer.” I waved to him in acknowledgment, knowing I would be leaving the city in a few hours, likely never to return. Lesna hurried past me to get Honeysuckle and meet us.
“What was that all about?” Castile asked as I rejoined them. Lesna had already dashed into the city.
“Just helping an old acquaintance,” I said. “She is an apt illusionist adventurer, and she may join us—or not.” As we walked toward the lower city through the ruined city, I explained my relationship with Lesna and the illusionary spells I had seen her demonstrate. I described her as a jovial trickster with a mischievous side and mostly harmless.
Helena and Sylph were seated outside a tavern, conversing with two worn-looking men. It was surprisingly hard to find a man in the city who didn’t appear filthy and exhausted. Lesna had mentioned that large parts of the undercity had collapsed, and rescue efforts were still underway after a week. I could have contributed to rescue efforts with my earth-speaking spell form, but we needed to catch up to the group from Earth.
The two ex-legionnaires wore thin, dirty white cloaks over their partial armor. When they recognized Selene, they brushed off the two men, paying them some coin for whatever information they had just gained. We sat around the table, with Sylph and Helena locking eyes with me.
Their serious expressions made me pause. I hadn’t expected any animosity between us. I glanced over the two warriors. Sylph was attractive but didn't quite match Selene’s beauty. She had large blue eyes and golden hair pulled back into a braid, which she must have allowed to grow over the last year. Helena was rougher and more muscular, having added a few scars to her face since we trained as legionnaires together.
Sylph slammed her hand on the table, causing me to grasp the dagger on my belt. She wiggled her fingers and grinned. “They all work again, and I can show you how well they do in private.” I had cut off her hand when we first met and reattached it with a healing potion, but she would have needed a healer to regain function.
“Not the time,” Selene said, amused at my discomfort. “What did you discover?”
Helena only gave me a slight nod of thanks before answering Selene. “The humans were in the lower city- three women and two children. They arrived before the other group and set up in the slums about three blocks from here. Their leader was a black-haired woman named Karina. She fought in the brawling pits in the undercity for coin.”
Blaze leaned in, “Did she win?”
“Frequently,” Helena said. “She fought men twice her weight and sent them to the healers.”
“The others in the group?” Castile asked about the quarry.
Helena continued, “The girls are about twelve or thirteen and were kept protectively in the hovel they rented. No one seems to have heard their names in passing. The other two women kept a low profile, one working as a runner and the other as a competent sellsword guard. One of them might be a healer—at least Karina was healed by someone between fights.”
“When did they leave, and who is tracking them?” I asked.
“There was a lot of confusion after the explosion.” Helena gestured toward the two men, getting food with the coin they had been given. “Those two lived next to the shack they were staying in and didn’t see them once after the event. So we assume they left immediately afterward.”
Sylph leaned on the table, a slight smirk on her face. “The city sent four mounted patrols to search for them, fanning out to the northeast. This was four days ago. I don't believe they are very organized and will likely stick to the roads. If the otherworlders are smart, they should be avoiding the roads. However, at least two teams from the Adventurer’s Hall left yesterday after the reward for their capture was posted, and more will definitely follow.”
I sat back, thinking. Maybe Lesna would be useful if she had spent the last six weeks in the city. She was very social in Godok and may know who was tracking the woman and children. “Which hovel is theirs? I want to look for clues.” I asked, interrupting Helena’s description of one of the other women in the group.
“I will take you,” Sylph rose quickly.
“Blaze and Benito, come with us,” I ordered.
“Need protection from me?” Sylph teased.
“Just more sets of eyes,” I deflected her comment.
Sylph led us to a wooden structure with the door bashed in and wooden window panels blown out. I stepped inside, and there was a faint lingering body odor, but this place was most definitely abandoned and had been searched multiple times. “You won't find anything useful,” Sylph said through the doorway as I turned over broken furniture and sifted through aged blankets. I ignored her comment and searched anyway. Blaze and Benito stood outside while I worked.
It took a few minutes before I found a discarded bandage with dried blood. If the brawler had been healed between fights, it made sense she might have left something behind here. I retrieved the blood compass from my belt and cut a strip of fabric, carefully placing it inside and activating it. The rest of the fabric went into a jar and into my belt in case I needed it again.
I smiled as a slight pull told me the owner of the sample was alive and a good distance away. “We have what we need,” I said, standing.
Sylph quipped, “Forgot you were a Hound.” I doubted that.
“Let's gather the others and get moving. Time is our enemy,” I said, starting to gain some confidence that we could find the otherworlders from Earth before the others.
When we returned, Lesna was seated atop Honeysuckle, looking small on the pony. Castile and Selene were talking with her, but she looked uncertain until she noticed me leading the group back and waved, blossoming into a smile.
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Comments
daniel dantas
I find Eryk's discomfort with the two women strange. He owes them nothing, and even if they were still hostile towards him, so what? Eryk is currently a monster. At the first sign of trouble, he can put up a shield, summon a weapon, and kill them both in seconds. Why does he act as if he's in an uncomfortable position?
Simon
I have a suggestion: since it's such a big risk to be responsible for Lesna why not have him keep a blood sample so he can hunt her down if he needs to.
R. Maxwell Steele
They showed in an earlier chapter that she could use magic to strengthen her hand and strength enough to punch through a tree. So yeah super powers.
Karnnie
Everyone hates that Lesna is trying to force herself into Eryks group. Next Chapter Author throws Lesna into Eryks group
Kel
I've been training in my local MMA gym for over 2 years, when the coach puts men against women, we are told to not use our full strength so that the women can also learn. It is more effective to divide the sexes because it's too easy for men so they don't learn, and the women have no chance. So this chick who can beat men twice her weight, she better have some superpowers.. As a man, fighting a man twice my weight without a weapon would be insanely hard..
Ivan Kanewske
Cool, made it more complicated in my head
Erick Thiemke
just an FYI - I am basing the magic on "DNA" you can get DNA from dried blood. not sure how long it would degrade but a few months is my guess based on modern forensics
Ivan Kanewske
Cool beans, Thank you for the clarification The bad thing is that you have to be aware of every scrap of blood you lose even more now, in my head at least, a scrap of dry blood is so much easier to get and keep than wet, I thought for some reason there was an Alchemical concoction in the jars keeping the blood fresh
Joey Regan
Chapter 223: “The best way to use this device is to place a piece of cloth inside with dried blood. Wet blood will tarnish the runes and damage them over time.” The blood that the compass is pulling towards is what has to be fresh (I just reread that part :) )
Ivan Kanewske
It took a few minutes before I found a discarded bandage with dried blood. If i remember correctly, the blood needs to be damp, not dried, per what you said in the hounds book, Not dried and then made wet either, I got the impression the wet blood was alive and gave the connection, the dried blood is dead??
Invalid Entry
I’d love to say it’s messed up they’re looking to hang this group when it’s so clear they’re unconnected to the gunpowder manufacturers but my government would do the same to mask their incompetence and gain brownie points by feeding the bloodlust of the stupid masses. Then it would all come out a couple decades later, no one responsible would be punished, and the idiot masses would assuage themselves by acting like that was something that only happened in the bad old days. So I guess it’s more just depressing.
Joey Regan
I’m going to have a really good laugh if he ends up Earth Speaking a senators valuables in the edit because of this
Joey Regan
Solid chapter! I really appreciate how Lesna’s character has been built so far
Andrew
Thank you!
Mark P
Would be nice if Eryk took a stroll looking for survivors. Any chance Eryk can get ahold of magic messaging books the hounds used? He could stay in touch with home base and Konstantin.
Chachi
meh unironically could not care for lesna and her character as a whole. And eryks wholesome schtick rubs me the wrong way imo
PatronTurtle
I don't think it's possible this early. We just need to see her interact with others and be useful. Before this chapter, she was on only a threat
Erick Thiemke
I will add that it has been 8 days...most likely, people are dead; if not, others have magic too. Or better yet, I can add that he pulsed earth speak while walking the streets and didn't find anyone alive... I just added that in there because I knew a reader would say, "Eryk should rescue people!!!"
LundeFool
he can save people while the others search for info/the house and it could take a day
LundeFool
I think it's strange that Eryk spends so much time and effort on those from Earth and Lesna, but don't have half a day to save people under the city.
NovaZero
If she fucks around when no one wants to find out I think people will like her a lot less.
Justin Barnett
I don’t mind her mischievous and playful side. Before she just seemed heavily self motivated and pushy. If you use her recent experiences to make her more considerate and loyal, I think I would like her character.
saber
Nice job! I'm looking forward to how they make use of her invisibility and theif skills.
saber
She did help when konstantine was wounded.
SUlex
It will come with time. We saw mostly her mischievous and overconfident side, but once she opens up more and her character gets explored deeper she will be more likeable
Sunto
As one of the more vocal opponents of Lesna, I agree she comes off as way more likeable in this chapter. I guess the problem for me is it just doesn’t make sense to me why Eryk would care about her whatsoever. Or at least any more so compared to others, I mean if she was being imprisoned over that misunderstanding what makes her more worthy than the other two halflings beside her? It just feels to me a little contrived his helping her, and unrealistically motivated.
Theo Tomss
Yeah I don't mind lesna staying with the group but she needs to pull her weight now and help find and protect the ohterworlder with them, if you make her into a character that has a strong sense of debt despite being a trickster and an opportunist then It would make sense for her to stick around and repay erik and maybe gain the friendship of everyone
Alias
Woot woot!
David H
I like her
E Brown
That will be an uphill battle, but I’m curious how you’ll flesh out the character. You haven’t shown any redeeming qualities to her yet.
Jacob Garza
Thank you for the post
Erick Thiemke
already rewritten twice. trying to make the folding in of Lesna palatable to those who dont like her. I think she may, as one reader suggested, be Eryk's eventual teacher in shaping aether
