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A Soldier's Life - 288 - Speed Run (final edit 6-26-25)
🕑 Added 2024-11-02 04:36:00 +0000 UTCChapter 288: Speed Run
“Don’t blame Mateo,” Glasha said, smirking. “He was quite drunk, and I have been told I am quite persuasive.” Mateo was hiding innocuously behind Maveith.
“Did you use magic on him?” Raelia said accusingly.
“No,” Glasha stated defiantly, with a quiet snarl on her face. The orc and elf stared down at each other under the strobing lights of the dungeon.
“Well, it’s done. It is not a dangerous secret unless Glasha plans to use it against us,” I said, breaking the tension.
“I have no intention of doing so, even if you do not aid Mynasha.”
“How can the cleric Mynasha help me free my sister?” Maveith said in his deep voice. We all turned to face the cleric. Maveith added, “I thought clerics were not allowed to own slaves, only warlords were afforded that privilege in the Caliphate.”
Glasha nodded in agreement. “That is true. But the Supreme has the power to free any slave, even one owned by warlord.”
I frowned, realizing where this was going. “So, the only way she can help us, is if she becomes the Supreme Cleric?”
A wide grin formed across Glasha’s face, “Yes.”
I groaned, “Let’s complete the dungeon, and we will meet with your Cleric friend,” I said loudly, shelving the discussion for now. I saw Maveith getting excited at the prospect. Maybe he was thinking he was closer to getting his sister back or maybe that he could free all the goliath slaves in the Caliphate.
I turned to the chamber dotted with large black stones that made moving within difficult. The lurkers would most likely attack during the dark phase of the strobing ceiling moss. I tried to recall everything I could from Hearne’s lessons and my bestiaries.
Lurkers were nightmarish creatures that resembled hideous manta rays with impressive ten-foot wingspans or larger. They had sacs that they filled with air to float. I only knew this because a skilled alchemist could make levitation potions from those sacs.
Their skin had a camouflage that allowed them to blend seamlessly into their surroundings, making them nearly invisible until it was too late. As they swooped down from above, with their massive wings spread wide, they aimed to engulf their unsuspecting victims. If you happened to be alone when one of these monstrous beings descended upon you, becoming ensnared in its constricting wings would spell your doom. The pressure would immobilize you, leaving you utterly helpless as its circular maw of serrated teeth chewed on you.
As I surveyed the dimly lit chamber, I quickly formulated a plan. “Raelia,” I called out decisively, “we need your fireball to strike at the pair lurking on the far side of the chamber. Can you reach them?”
Raelia took her eyes off of Glasha. The trust had been broken after she seduced Mateo to pump him for information. Raelia turned and scanned the chamber and nodded. “It is within my range, but I cannot charge a fireball until I step into the room.”
“Not a problem, we will give you the time you need. Maveith, you will target the one over the entrance, and I will handle the other two. I will toss my glowstone into the room to keep it lit.” Mateo looked ready to join us in the fight, “Mateo, if any of us are captured, it is your job to cut us free. But don’t enter unless one of us is in danger.”
We prepared and Maveith entered first, with me directly behind him. I tossed the glowstone to the center of the room at the moss’s brightest phase. As the moss dimmed, the lurker above the door dropped toward Maveith. He was prepared, and with a grunt, his hammer connected, folding the large creature like a bed sheet.
With the combat underway, the two figures in the corner of the ceiling glided down toward us. The pair on the far wall, also annoyingly, left their perch to approach. While Raelia’s fireball was growing, I focused on the two approaching me. They were silently gliding toward us in a controlled approach. I made a decision to go on the offensive. I used one of the black boulders to leap off and meet the closest one in the air.
Boris’s runic blade removed a large portion of the wing, and a hissing sound echoed in the chamber from the wound while blood sprayed. The creature couldn’t control its descent and crashed to my right. Instead of falling to the floor, an air shield appeared beneath my feet, allowing me to hack the second lurker as it approached.
I wasn’t as successful in this attack, and the lurker’s mass managed to knock me off my improvised platform. The impact also wasted my aether shield as a blue flash flared. I landed awkwardly as Raelia yelled, “Fireball!” in warning.
I oriented myself as best I could and established an air shield in the direction of the two uninjured lurkers as her fireball raced toward them. The blinding explosion, heat, and concussive wave deafened and blinded me momentarily. I channeled aether to my eyes, and my vision cleared instantly with my aether sight. I trickled aether to heal my eardrums that were ringing loudly.
Dry, hot air greeted my lungs, as I had been a lot closer than the others. As I stood, I sent aetheric healing to my right knee and sprained ankle from the bad landing. The surviving lurkers were all flailing in their death throes on the ground, and their air sacs had burst from the rapid heating.
The others were blinking back their sight from the flash and were clearly deaf as they yelled to talk. I didn’t respond, knowing they couldn’t hear me anyway. I dispatched the three injured lurkers who lived through the blast. They were genuinely disgusting creatures in the light, with mouths that reminded me of a lamprey.
The reward chest appeared on one of the stone boulders in the chamber's center. Raelia recovered first as she had been smart enough to close her eyes when she launched her attack, “I am sorry, I invested more aether than I should have into the spell.”
Glasha was healing Maveith’s ears. “It was effective.” Maveith bellowed louder than he needed to.
“There is a safe room ahead. Why don’t you all head there and rest. I will clean up here,” I said.
“Do you have injuries in need of healing?” Glasha asked, assessing me from a distance. She had seen me in action again and probably had questions about what I had done to stand in mid air.
“No, wait with the others. Maveith, prepare lunch.” I issued ordered.
“But it is still morning,” Maveith stated. “We have been in the dungeon less than an hour.”
“A snack then,” I waved him off. I needed them out of the room to use the collector. If I was right, lurkers might have a chance to give an essence with a magic affinity. The group eventually left me to work. At first, I examined where the gas sacs were on the lurkers, trying to figure out how to harvest the organelles. Most of them had ruptured in the heat of the fireball, but I did manage to harvest a few of the rubbery sacks. It was more out of curiosity than a desire to try my hand at some complex alchemy.
I checked to ensure the corridor was clear before starting work with the collector next. I was right, as the five lurkers yielded four minor air affinity essences and one provided a strength essence. The creatures probably used aether to create the gas in their sacs that allowed them to float.
The essences were more valuable than the contents of the reward chest—fifteen silver coins and a lesser dungeon healing potion. I joined the others to find them sitting around a fire pit on stone benches. The ceiling moss here glowed a bright yellow, almost a match to daylight. I distributed the coins and gave the healing potion to Mateo.
He immediately apologized. “I am sorry about revealing our purpose in the Caliphate. It just sort of came up. Like she said, she can be persuasive.”
I shook my head in disappointment like Konstantin used to do to me. In a calm voice, I told him, “Don’t make excuses. Just don’t let it happen again, Mateo. I blame Glasha more than you anyway.” He nodded vigorously and stashed the potion after I told him what it was.
Maveith handed me some jerky and cheese. “The next chamber is the easiest of them all. Two rust monsters. Raelia and Maveith should be able to injure them with their bows; I will go with them while Glasha and Mateo rest here.”
“Rest?” Glasha said incredulously. “I haven’t done anything!”
“There are just three rooms left. You probably won’t have to do anything,” I said dismissively.
She studied me. “You should slow down. If you clear the dungeon too fast, it will draw attention.”
“And give your cleric more time to reach Grila,” I retorted. Her reaction told me I was spot on in my assumption, but she was right; we were moving too fast. “We can always have lunch in the final room after killing the ghost spider.”
I didn’t argue further and walked to the next room with Raelia and Maveith. Raelia used a fireball to blind and disorient the two rust monsters before Maveith and her killed them with arrows. The collector yielded two minor earth essences, which I decided to keep for myself. The chest had twenty-four silver coins and a black stone serving dish. The stone matched the abundant black material found in the dungeon.
We walked back to the safe room with the dish, hoping Glasha could shed some light on it with her lore spell. Mateo and the orc had been talking around the fire pit and looked up. Mateo sported a grin. “We heard the explosion. That was fast! If delving is this easy, I may grow to like it. I bet Blaze and Benito will be upset after hearing how easy it was.”
I didn’t respond to Mateo to show he wasn’t entirely off my shit list just yet. I handed the large black plate to Glasha. “Do you know what this is from the reward chest?”
She took and turned the plate over, looking for markings and finding none, and used her spell on it. “It is a simple preservation plate. It will keep food hot—or cold, and prevent the food from spoiling.”
“Is it worth anything?” Mateo asked, looking at the polished black stone plate.
“I think the local warlord has a set of them. He may be interested in purchasing it for a few gold,” she said uncertainly.
“Can I have it?” Maveith asked, looking longingly at the stone plate. I nodded and handed him the plate, not having a use for it myself.
I considered Glasha for a moment. I was going to ask her to use her lore spell on Boris’ blade and maybe a second artifact after we left the dungeon, but I was uncertain now that she had manipulated Mateo—even if Mateo enjoyed being manipulated.
“I will check the fifth room myself,” I announced sternly, leaving no room for argument. I walked to the fifth room alone. The dungeon creature was a single ogre and would only take me a moment to handle. The chamber had a small waterfall and a carpet of grass. The ceiling moss was mostly white in this room with patches of pink. The ogre was splayed out and snoring on the grass.
I had never seen a dungeon creature sleeping before, and it intrigued me for a moment until I realized it was faking. The ogre’s eye kept drifting open in my direction before squinting shut. It would have been comical if not for the smell having reached me. Ogres had nasty scent glands and preferred to be covered in their own filth. This ogre was likely less than a day old but already had created an eye-watering scent that hung in the air.
With the collector in hand, I walked straight into the chamber as the ogre scrambled to its feet, reaching for a large club it had hidden on the other side of its body. It never got to stand to its full height before it grabbed its chest and coughed up blood. Confused, it went to all fours before collapsing as its lungs filled with blood and it couldn’t breathe. Its aether resistance wasn’t much, but it still bottomed out my aether pool.
I paused in my walk and surveyed the chamber. When I identified the reward chest near the pool at the base of the waterfall, I relaxed. The chest yielded thirty silver and a potion of giant strength. It was not the first such potion I had, but this one was much weaker than the one I got from the owlbear chamber in the Shimmering Labyrinth.
The ogre yielded only a minor strength essence, which was a bit disappointing. I had been hoping for a constitution essence to feed Ginger. I added some wounds to make it look like I fought the behemoth, then I wandered the chamber a bit, looking for any small creature the ogre might have fed on.
The pool at the base of the waterfall had tadpoles and some frogs. I didn’t even try to catch them to test the collector on them. The dungeon was so heavily delved that it was already struggling to produce enough aetheric smoke for the essences I was collecting.
I didn’t hesitate to walk to the dungeon’s final room. This massive chamber was lit by dark blue moss, giving the large oak trees inside the feeling of twilight. Thick webs crossed everywhere among the trunks, leaving no clear path through the trunks.
The ghost spider was extremely large and probably hiding in the canopy above. With its ability to become invisible, there was no point risking the room by myself. I would prefer for my aether to recover completely as well and have my companions nearby in case I make a mistake.
When I returned to the safe room, everyone turned to me with anticipation. “The ogre is dead,” I announced, my voice steady. Only Glasha looked surprised. I distributed the thirty silver coins among them, choosing not to keep a single piece for myself. “Inside the reward chest, I also found a strength potion,” I said, presenting the shimmering vial to Raelia. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly masked her astonishment, accepting the gift with a nod of gratitude.
I sat on one of the benches and drew Boris’s blade. If Glasha was going to try and use us, I had no qualms about using her. “Glasha, what can your spell tell me about this…”
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Comments
Thaabit Rivertree
This whole thing just seems contrived. Why did they need to enter the dungeon once Glisha revealed she had to he with them? That is grounds enough to put a stop to it, not taking a stranger and leaving a teammate behind. They couldve just told her their plans changed and they were moving on the next day. Who cares if its a bit weird or rude, or she realizes it was an excuse? She is just some researcher, and she should know its rude to put herself in place of one of their team. You could even chalk it up to cultural differences. Just tell her their plans changed, thank her, and ride on. I mean at this rate, she'll learn about the collector. They shouldnt even be using the collector tbh. And then this business about using the orc supreme to free Zorana. Why in the world wouldnt they just steal her or kill the warlord and take her for themselves? Are we seriously trying to say Eryk thinks helping someone become supreme orc cleric will be easier than just taking her themselves? This makes no sense. He's just going along with whatever this orc contrives for no good reason. There was no reason for him to continue the charade to actually do the delve and it would be much simpler to simply take Maveiths sister himself. He could probably put her in his storage for cryin out loud to smuggle her out! (Sorry for the lack of formatting, on phone it is impossible tonuse paragraphs).
Erick Thiemke
think i fixed this
Sebastian Lachs
You know, I really like "orc Iran". I've never seen such a well organised orc nation.
Erick Thiemke
When I reach these chapters for the final edit, I read all the comments and typically adopt about 80% of the suggestions.
Mercutio Montano
Since I'm paying, I don't like working as a line editor, but... this one.. if you're inclined. ::::They were gliding toward us silently and not very fast.:::: vs {They glided toward us in silence at a tepid pace.} Perhaps 'tepid pace' is too scholastic, but at least the rest of the sentence removes an unnecessary gerund.
GucciG
I somewhat agree with some of the other comments I've seen. Eyrk has been far too loose and lenient with his crew. The training has been minimal and the discipline is all over the place. MC doesn't strive to become a better leader IMO and chooses to treat his team like a bunch of rowdy children. Who knows, maybe I assumed too much when it came to the direction of the narrative. I thought that the crew would stick around after Maveith's sister was rescued so that the MC could create an official adventuring team or mercenary corp. I would've loved to see Eyrk improve as a leader and become the commander of many men, walking around the world with his own army of tough-as-nails mercenaries.
Andrew Crews
Ogre* had a nasty scent glands and preferred to be covered in its own filth. This ogre had existed for a long time but had already created an eye-watering filth that hung in the air. Edited version: Ogres have nasty scent glands and prefer to be covered in their own filth. This ogre had existed for a long time but had already created an eye-watering stench that hung in the air.
Clint V
So your suggesting that from book 5 on it should be renamed to "An Ex-Soldier's life" so that the title is thematically correct with the progression of the characters life?
Conan Conaboy
The first four books have a great theme. I really enjoyed them.This draft so far does not fit the theme. The orcs who are war like and slavers get along with the elves on a shared border. The elves who are anti-slavery and artists, get along peacefully with orcs? The title of the book a soldiers life diverges quit suddenly into a fantasy adventure book. The 5th book is reading like a different series by a completely different author. The main character is the same but not the theme of series.
pharoph
The more I read the chaper the more angry I get. Yea just reward Mateo after ratting the mission out to a stranger. I'm sure the cold shoulder really taught him a a lesson he won't ever forget.
pharoph
Mateo needs to go. You can't travel with someone who can't keep secrets. I don't care if it's the main mission or not, it has to do with saving a comrades family member. I'm going to be upset if he continues to travel with this idiot.
Silver Beard
@daniel - Glasha might not care, but she won't hesitate to share it with the Cleric who's gunning for Supreme... what better weapon for her? Just don't. Eryk has other artifacts sitting in storage that he has never used because he has no clue what they are for. Seems an easy price for reveals
daniel dantas
Of course, we can be extremely pessimistic and think that she would make eryk and his group put their friend in power, go back on their word and try to kill them in order to take the spear and sell it to finance their excavations. This line is full of holes and frankly the spear doesn't seem to require all that much effort, it's certainly strong, but it's not a divine artifact that whoever possesses it will bring entire armies to their knees
daniel dantas
In any case, I don't think he will, he may not even know its value, but he is aware that this spear is definitely not normal even among artifacts Another point, even if it's rarer than a collector's item, I stand by my argument, glasha won't make plans to get the spear, she's a cleric and not a warrior, she needs eryk to help her friend, eryk proved to be extremely useful in the excavation and from what we've seen she's not the most loved among the orc lords
Silver Beard
King's weapons more rare than collectors and previous edit says how likely Eryk would keep it if known. Besides it kills fine; aren't there other artifacts that he has but not used or sold lacking detail of their value?
daniel dantas
Hmm, cool, Interesting lore, I liked it, so this spear is a big NO NO, to be shown, I mean maybe? Glasha loves history but she seems focused on the titans and their people and has shown clear friction with the elves, so I don't think she'll come up with a plan to get the spear, if it was an orc artifact sure, but elven?
daniel dantas
I don't agree with anything you've said, the only secret glasha knows is boris' blade and the mission to rescue mavith's sister, that's not 1/10 of mc's secrets and they're certainly irrelevant to the grand scheme. No one is getting dumber, mateo has always been unable to keep his mouth shut, it's a character trait and what about the stable boy? As for the griffin, literally no one knows anything about griffins apart from raelia, eryk is the closest and what he knows is how to kill them, she can say that griffins have a habit of shitting on people's heads and everyone will be forced to accept it
Erick Thiemke
it was lore about the black spear. it is a replica of the King of Caelora's weapon. he perished in the dungeon with it when he sheltered there from teh Legion with some of his people and the dungeon absorbed it and recreated it
Mazid Alkhaldi
Well, it’s done. It is not a dangerous secret unless Glasha plans to use it against us,” so that means it is freaking DANGEROUS. And what is up with glasga. She have been introduced couple of chapters ago and she knew like 90% of his secrets. Also, i feel what is happening for a while is everyone getting stupider so the MC looks smarter. (The stable boy, griffen disappearing, etc) Glasha will be part of the mc party for the whole arc. But still the way she was introduced is just aweful and tasteless. And the price was breaking the MC theme and image.
daniel dantas
King' weapon? When was this said?
Erick Thiemke
good point....I will edit something in about it being expended
Silver Beard
I would refrain from getting the spear delved. Mentioned in a spoiler...King's weapon. Might generate same interest as collector if known
Lazarius
“ I trickled aether to heal my eardrums” the protection amulet didn’t work ?
Andrew
Thank you!
PatronTurtle
I'm beginning to believe M's sister is gonna fulfill the bait and switch. Go through all this effort installing a new Supreme only for it to not actually help them
Chachi
eryk should lash mateo for running his mouth go full postal lol might aswell be benito lite
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
this one is correct
Ivan Kanewske
wandered the chamber a bot looking for any small creature the ogre might have fed on A bot to a bit
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Ivan Kanewske
This ogre had existed long but already had created an eye-watering filth. Had to hadn't
Ivan Kanewske
A walked to the fifth room alone. The dungeon creature was A to I
Ivan Kanewske
didn’t respond to Maveith to show he wasn’t entirely off my shit list just yet. I handed the large black plate to Glasha Maveith to Mateo
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Ivan Kanewske
We walked back to the restroom with the dish, hoping Glasha Restroom or safe room?
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Ivan Kanewske
will go with them with them while Glasha and Mateo rest here With them 2x remove 1
Ivan Kanewske
disturbed the coins and gave the healing potion to Mateo Disturbed to distributed
Ivan Kanewske
joined the others to find them sitting around a fit pit on stone Fire pit
Ivan Kanewske
“There is a rest room ahead, we don’t you all head there and rest. I will clean up here,” I We don't to why don't
Ivan Kanewske
Hmmm Maybe just I had, since next sentence starts with as
Ivan Kanewske
Dry, hot air greeted my lungs, and I had been a lot closer than the others As I instead of and I ??
Ivan Kanewske
Having her freed makes more sense than pushing one of Eryks magic too fast,
Ivan Kanewske
“No,” Glasha stated defiantly, with a quiet snarl on his face. The Her face not his
Erick Thiemke
1st of 4. Not sure if I used this chapter title before. Maybe not for this story. The last chapter was edited (no more collector reveal). Tomorrow will be a Town Builder chapter, with Sunday being the next Soldier chapter. Book 3 is still on pace to be on Amazon next week, but I will post a pdf copy here for Seraphim subscribers with water marks
