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A Soldier's Life - 271 - Dinner Plans
🕑 Added 2024-10-02 03:07:14 +0000 UTCChapter 271: Dinner Plans
I found my way to Maveith’s side, leaning into him. In a harsh whisper to get over the ambient noise, I warned him. “Raelia might be in Artiria. If you can talk to her privately, try to convince her not to tell the others that she was with us in the dungeon.”
Maveith’s eyes were lively, a grin spreading on his face. He had befriended the griffin rider in the dungeon and missed her. At first, I thought he had an interest in her as a lover, but I believe she served as his surrogate. Protecting her from me was penance for abandoning his own sister. “Really? Raelia?” His deep voice was laced with excitement.
I was annoyed at his excitement and his failure to realize the implications. “The displacement mage hinted at it.” I nodded over at our companions, “They can’t know she was in the dungeon with us.” I had planned to reveal my capabilities to my comrades gradually, but this would be too much, too soon. Even if Castile already knew what I could do, she didn’t know about the elf.
“Raelia won’t tell them if you ask her not to,” Maveith grumbled softly.
“Why don’t you tell her not to tell them for both of us?” I patted Maveith on the back, confident she would listen to Maveith more than to me. The guards were starting to call for everyone to bunch together if they didn’t want to leave anything behind—whether that was luggage or a piece of their body.
Benito and Blaze came near me while Mateo was grinning madly while talking with a plain-looking young woman. I guessed it was a merchant’s daughter by the deep frown of the older man nearby, intently watching the interaction. Then again, maybe it was his wife. Mateo was definitely one of those who needed the discipline of the legion.
The human guards backed away, and the Elven Displacement mage circled their charge as she started her workings. From my understanding, all she was doing was setting the destination and pulling aether with the assistance of the runes running beneath our feet.
The teleport felt a bit different this time. There was a momentary bout of vertigo that had me stumble, and I was not the only one. Several merchants vomited or stumbled to the ground. The Elven displacement mage even fell to her knees, and I sensed something went very wrong. The courtyard around us felt familiar, and the mustard-uniformed guards nearby confirmed we were in Artiria.
Benito whined to my right, “I feel like I just got kicked between the legs. It's not the first time, so I know what it feels like.” Blaze was using his bow for support, and Maveith was helping Mateo to a seated position as he wavered on his feet.
I moved to the displacement mage as her guards screened her. “What happened?” I asked in Elvish, trying to get her attention as she recovered. This was a bad time to ask her name. Her response was vomiting on worn rune-scribed stones, and her guards drew their weapons on me.
She spat furiously to clear her mouth. “Don’t let anyone leave! Someone is carrying an anchor stone!” The Artirian guards surrounding the courtyard trained bows on us, and others leveled spears. My group looked to me for direction, and I signaled to stand down. Like proper soldiers, they did but remained ready to defend themselves clustering together.
Two elven mages in shiny black robes walked briskly into the courtyard a moment later. Each with a pair of guards. My fellow travelers parted to let them reach our displacement mage. I moved as close as I could and strained to listen. “We were almost sling-shotted back to Gramney. Somewhere among the travelers is an anchor stone that harmonized with the runes. I was barely able to hold the link and force us through.”
A black-haired mage spat on the ground, clearly angry. “We will find the offender, Maerlyn.” Soon, the mages were directing the city guards to search everyone. No one looked panicked and most were confused or recovering from the rough teleport.
I moved to stand with my companions and watched as they worked through the group. Blaze asked seriously, “Is there going to be a problem, Eryk?”
The guards were not aggressive but didn’t take no for an answer as they moved through the passengers. I watched before I responded to Blaze’s question. “No, not for us. From what I understand, the teleport almost failed because there is an anchor stone among the passengers. We are probably lucky to be alive.”
Benito whined a little, “It did feel like dying. My stomach still feels like it’s in my throat.”
They never got to us, finding the offending object in a merchant’s hand-pushed cart. One of the mages found it with a wand capped in soft-glowing green stone. Four city guards moved in to cuff the cart's owner as he proclaimed his innocence. The middle-aged human was defensive as they cornered him. “I didn’t know! It was among crates of curiosities I purchased in Gesedmuria!”
Two guards hauled away the merchant’s cart, but inspections didn’t stop there. Mateo was the first of our number to be inspected, and he did not like it. He was not accustomed to being a suspect after being a respected legionnaire for so long.
One mage stood back while the other asked questions, starting with recording his adventurer’s medallion number. The mage proceeded to hold the wand over his runic sword, which he claimed from the Primus. The wand’s light intensified the closer it approached the weapon. It was clearly a device for detecting artifacts.
Surprisingly, he didn’t ask for the weapon, but his companion noted the weapon in his books. This was similar to our customs inspection in Sanco, except it was conducted in the open. That was all the runic equipment he had, and they moved on to Blaze. Blaze was calm as the black-robed mages worked. They had him empty his pockets on a table as the device responded to something on his hip. Blaze complied, and the mage quickly pulled out the pink hair ring from the pile.
The wand-wielding mage inspected the artifact for much too long to my liking, before putting it back with the other things. The relief work was beautiful, depicting an elven hunting party pursuing elk. He also took an interest in Blaze’s sword, a blade forged by the Caelorian runic smiths. When it was drawn, the highly reflective steel caught the attention of the merchants and guards. The Caelorian artifact was just as much a piece of art as it was a weapon. ,Handing the blade back respectfully, he moved on to Benito.
Benito was all smiles as he was inspected, enjoying the attention. The only artifact on his person was his sword, and Benito was upset when all he did was log its existence. Benito’s blade was a runic weapon most likely forged by the hands of men. Maveith only had to show his adventurer’s medallion. They didn’t confirm if he had added any new runic equipment. My turn went just as fast but the inspector looked on me dubiously after recording my medallion’s number.
With the inspection completed, we were allowed to leave the courtyard and enter the city. The walkway was lined with local guards in their mustard uniforms, and I didn’t know if this was normal or because of the issue we had with our teleport. Exiting into the street, the others were gawking at the architecture and all the different elves. That was fortunate, as they didn’t notice the young elven woman among the throng leaning against a building across the street.
Raelia was barely recognizable in a long green dress highlighted with a tasteful silver chain. Her hair was pulled back, highlighting her sharp facial features. Her clean appearance added beauty to her youthful Elven face. We made eye contact, and I could see the corner of her mouth rise into either a smile or a smirk. I didn’t see a griffin, so maybe the egg had not been viable as it should have hatched by now. Or perhaps griffins were not allowed to roam in the city.
“Let’s get to the Adventurer’s Guild,” I announced to everyone with some forced excitement. “We can tour the city later. Maveith, why don’t you get us lunch?” Maveith was already beaming and anxious to go to Raelia. I ushered my companions away, Mateo and Benito, in a deep conversation comparing elven women to human women. The shock on Raelia’s face as I ignored her and walked away was memorable, and I suspected I would hear about it later.
I escorted Blaze, Mateo, and Benito to the Adventurer’s Hall and got us a few rooms. Fortunately, the local Guildmaster did not show himself when I checked us in. Inquiring at the desk, a helpful elf informed me two orcs were in the city and neither was attached to a group. I got their information and found Maveith entering the Hall.
Blaze was browsing postings while Mateo sat at the table sipping an Elven ale and conversing with three elves, two of whom were female. He only spoke Telhian, so he was revealing our origins. Benito played a solitary game resembling darts, and dropped them upon seeing Maveith. “Where’s the food?” Benito looked crestfallen, disappointed that Maveith had failed in his assignment.
“You can order something here, Benito.” I handed him a silver coin. The Adventurer’s common room was more of a bar than an eatery, but they did have a kitchen. That coin got Benito away from us so I could talk with Maveith.
“How is Raelia? Will she keep our secret?” I whispered to my friend.
“She is outside,” he exhaled slowly. “She is not happy with you for ignoring her, but I tried to explain.” I motioned for him to continue. Helplessly, he continued, “I don’t think I did a very good job of it.”
I sighed, “Stay here and keep the others inside. I will go talk with her.” Maybe sending Maveith had been a mistake.
I stepped out into the street to find Raelia in her fine dress with one of the city guards behind her. I reevaluated the young muscular elf in city colors. No, not a city guard, a bodyguard. His sharp eyes studied me like I was a villain. I approached them cautiously, “Raelia, long time no see.”
Confusion passed on her face at my turn of phrase. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, “Your Elvish has improved. It no longer hurts my ears to hear you speak.”
Was she teasing me, or was she genuinely angry? I proceeded cautiously as it appeared she held some sway here by her dress and having a bodyguard. I kept my tone conversational, not playing into her provocation. “I see you made it to safety. How did you end up here and not in Bartiradia?”
Raelia hesitated before answering, and her tone had hints of sorrow. “I was exiled from Bartiradia. Well, I was not exactly exiled, just sent away so my failures wouldn’t stain my family. I am actually the Bartiradian Ambassador to Esenhem. Or at least one of them.” I was confused, as I would assume that an ambassador role was a step up from Ranger.
I switched to addressing someone with a higher station in Elvish, “Well, you do look the part and quite breathtaking in your dress. It accentuates your figure nicely.” Her cheeks flushed a little, and I think I had caught her off guard with the compliment and formal Elvish address. When she didn’t respond immediately, I continued, “Did Maveith talk to you about my companions?” I indicated the Guild Hall and eyed the elf behind her. I assumed she had already reported everything about me from our time in the dungeon and no one was arresting me, which was good.
“That you don’t want me telling them that I helped you escape the dungeon?” She said teasingly with a smirk.
I didn’t care to debate how much help she actually gave. I also wasn’t going to let her have leverage over me. “If you are going to tell them, then I can always just do it myself. We are all traitors to the Empire and can never return. I am sorry about the griffin egg.” I thought changing the subject might help my case. Maybe I could interview the orcs tomorrow, and we could get horses and ride out tomorrow to get away from any trouble she might stir up.
“What about the griffin egg? Baldo is doing well and nearly fifty pounds already.” Her eyes suddenly flared in annoyance, “You should have told me it was in the pack! If I hadn’t checked, the cold weather would have killed him. Are you such a fool that you have no idea how to care properly for an egg!?” Her teasing had turned to some anger in defense of the griffin, and I could already tell she was attached to it.
“Yes,” I said flatly, just agreeing with her rather than arguing. That left her speechless, as she clearly had expected some verbal sparring. Maybe she was even looking forward to it by her disappointment. “Baldo? That is a Telhian word? Why would you give an Elven griffin a Telhian name?” Baldo meant something like a foolish man. Wait, did she name the griffin after me?
“It just felt right,” she finally whispered to herself. “I can’t change it now. He has already imprinted the name.” There was an awkward silence between us before she finally asked, “Do you want to meet Baldo?”
“I am sure Maveith would. I did promise to find him a griffin big enough for him to ride.” I was steering the conversation away from me, but her eyes looked so hurt at my words that guilt forced me to change my mind. “But I have always wondered what baby griffins looked like.”
She latched onto my repentance, “It is settled then. We are at Regent Maeralya Glavien’s residence. We will expect you and your entire party.”
“I don’t think my friends can handle a dinner with someone of so high standing,” I said sincerely.
“You would reject the invitation of a Regent of Esenhem?” Raelia said, grinning playfully. This elf changed her emotions from sentence to sentence. She sighed, “Fine, I promise not tell them about our time in the dungeon together.”
“Why don’t we just not include them?” I said a little pleadingly.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, studying me. “Maveith said they were your friends. Besides, my Aunt has always wanted to talk with Legionnaires.” The onset of a headache signaled my growing unease as I imagined Benito and Mateo engaging in conversation with an Elven regent. As I envisioned a potential disaster, Raelia turned to me and spoke, “One of the Regent’s servants will come and collect you at sunset here.” With those words, she walked briskly away with the bodyguard trailing her, leaving me to consider the impending dinner.
I walked inside, a little numb, to find the group eating at a table. I moved and sat down with them, smiling weakly, “Good news. I have made dinner plans.”
Comments
Erick Thiemke
it was a verbal slap
Erick Thiemke
edited
Erick Thiemke
edited
Erick Thiemke
done
Erick Thiemke
they are used a lot in magic to target something...message sending spells, teleports ect...
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
correccted
Andrew Crews
I switched to addressing someone of (→ with) a higher station in Elvish, “Well, you do look the part and (→ , and) quite breathtaking in your dress.” I switched to addressing someone with a higher station in Elvish, and said, “Well, you do look the part, and quite breathtaking in your dress.”
Andrew Crews
With the inspection completed, we were allowed * leave the courtyard into the city With the inspection completed, we were allowed to leave the courtyard into the city
Andrew Crews
The relief work was beautiful of (→ depicting) an elven hunting party pursuing elk. The relief work was beautiful, depicting an elven hunting party pursuing elk.
Lemes
I think we'll see more of these anchor stones at some point in the future. They have a lot of potential to combine with some form of spatial spell that Erick develops in the future.
Mathias VG
Title suggestion: Dinner Plans
Mark Corwin
Yes. I hope she joins the party to search for Maevith's sister.
Mark Corwin
The tension is palpable. And it tastes great.
Jordan
This suggestion sounds much better
Tetsu-nii
Typo: /someone of so high standing/ => /someone of *such* high standing/ -OR- /someone of so high *a* standing/
Tetsu-nii
Suggestion: Remove /walking/ from the end of /gawking at the architecture and all the elves walking./
Tetsu-nii
If it helps, try removing the clause preceding the one you were questioning. That would made the sentence read: "Well, you do look […] quite breathtaking in your dress." Which is grammatically correct. Hope that helps!
Deliver roo
Sure, but until the Bartarians don’t know much they don’t have much to tell. Also they do not speak to the empire at this moment. It has been demonstrated that they are not particularly bright and do not think much before acting, so it is better if they don’t start blabbering because that could become a problem in the future. Their attention is probably not a problem, given that they lost most of their assets in the war.
C
I'm down for it. Who doesn't get a little stupid when talking to their crush.
C
Seconded.
Salvo
Eryk kinda ruined her life, but saved it at the same time. She won’t be trusted to become a griffon rider, and he provided an egg to restore her dream. You can see the frenemies vibe is sorta natural development.
Salvo
We are guessing no one is looking for them. Eryk has zero chance of being forgotten by the Bartarian kingdom. Raelia told her leaders about his extraordinary high space affinity. They likely think of him as an Empire hound… which he is. He also is wearing the belt of their missing summoner. The fact the emperor is dead by their efforts is their best political distinction.
Jordan
It depends how long the maturation period goes for elves. Could be proportional to humans and just spread over a longer life. She also might not have any relationship experience for various reasons. Who knows. It’ll be funny to read about one way or the other. I love laughing at teenage awkwardness and she’s essentially the elf equivalent. That’s how I think about her anyway (late teen).
Prinny Knight
Best coupling
momo2009
the author is writing him to be a shonen protagonist he will be sleeping with everyone soon enough
momo2009
dumb, flirting like a child even though she is fifty
Jordan
Ok
Jordan
Haha can’t wait for the awkwardness!
Aiden Wilker
What no slap over the Griffith egg?
Erick Thiemke
maybe in the dinner conversation
Erick Thiemke
editd
Erick Thiemke
edited
Erick Thiemke
she is - get ready for the 8th grade flirting
Erick Thiemke
added
Erick Thiemke
grammarly just took out the hyphen when i tried to edit
Erick Thiemke
fixed
Erick Thiemke
rewrote it
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
i will check on it. i know they started with twenty in the Truthseeker found some stuff
Jordan
Hate to be the grammer police, but with how the sentence is written the ‘ly’ needs to be added
Jordan
All I’m saying is that a word or two is missing. I’m not saying the sentence needs to be rewritten as a whole or the overall message changed. You’re missing the purpose of the comment.
Jordan
Will her learninng about Maveith and figuring out who they were be added to future chapters or will that be retconned into this one?
Silver Beard
The only true 'oh shit' will be if he pulls out that treant obsidian spear while still in Elf territory (that he didn't bother declaring at customs). Ofc I'm not sure who will be more worried- Eryk or the Elves
Silver Beard
Hopefully that's before he needs to pull Ginger out. Doesn't he talk about meeting with the Orcs and then getting mounts tomorrow? So he's not going to use Ginger? This hiding his space is going to get tangled- who can know, what they know, and how big they all think it is.
BubblyGhost
Lmfao, no
Silver Beard
Likely some trinket that the Dungeon absorbed...like his spear
Erick Thiemke
He plans to but break them in slowly.
Erick Thiemke
Interesting thought. But no…except maybe his ex-wife in Bartiradia for his belt. Could be interesting oh shit moment in the future
Erick Thiemke
Oh yeah forgot to mention that last bit. I wrote how much of an attraction Maveith was in elven lands. She went to investigate and learned at the guild who they were
Jacob Diver
Not related to this chapter, but I'm catching up to present, and I noticed that during the hound training, it's mentioned that one of the 18 trainees dies on the way to their city training, but later mentions of the group of trainees refer to 3 squads of 5 and 3 lone hounds. Didn't know where to put this, but I thought I should mention
Dominic French
I mean he is already stepping into the leader role
NightRider
an ambassador role was a step up from Rangar. ?Typo - Rangar should be Ranger
Zurko
I'm not sure if it was intended, but the dialog between them was a bit awkward. but I actually think it's fitting. like meet an acquaintance you haven't seen in a while. that said, she didn't seem very surprised to see him. I thought she would at least ask him how he got there, since the last time she saw him, he was a conscripted legion soilder. and it's not easy to leave the empire's service.
Zurko
I'm not sure that's a good idea bro. right now no one is looking for them. the empire is not sure they're alive and don't have blood to track them. going around saying "I killed the emperor" is putting a target on your back for little reason. i dont think the elves are gonna give rewards to ex-legion soilders turned traitor. they are adventurers, and I think they're pretty good ones. they'll make a lot of money on their own.
Zurko
how so? i think its one of the smarter things hes done. he plans to show his ability slowly rather than abruptly. right now they just think he has a bit bigger space than he's let on, they probably think his affinity is around 40. how do you think they would react if he suddenly said his affinity is 101. they arent even sure over 100 is possible for a human. it's probably one of the highest in the world. their relationship would change, and probably not for the better.
Adunn
Eryk’s logic for not telling the others makes no sense.
Jordan
“I felt a headache coming on as I could already see no good with Benito and Mateo conversing with an Elven regent.” The above sentence needs to be slightly edited as there is a missing word or two. Not 100% sure what you were going for so I’m not making a suggestion.
Jordan
“I can’t change it now. It has already imprinted the name.” It -> He Previous dialogue established that Baldo is a male.
Jordan
“Well, you do look the part and quite breath-taking in your dress.” Taking -> takingly
Jordan
“Inquiring at the desk, a helpful elf informed me two orcs were in the city and neither was attached to group.” attached to group -> attached to a group
Gravonhaft
Wonder if they gonna know Traeliorn's Dimensional Bag and Rings that was worn by Eryk.
Kim Santos
Oooooo she's back!
Dustin McClure
I like Raelia and want to see more of her, so I'm not gonna complain about it at all
NightRider
Benito and Blaze came near me while Mateo was grinning madly while talking with a young woman I guessed was a merchant’s daughter by his deep frown This sentence doesn’t make sense, maybe it should read, a young woman WHOM I guessed was a merchant’s daughter by HER deep frown.
Jordan
“whether that was luggage of a piece of their body.” Of -> or
Salvo
Thanks for the chapter. Eryk needs powerful friends, and Raelia seems too immature to grasp that. I think the right move would be to point to Blaze as the emperor slayer to the Bartarians. That information is probably the most marketable(hundreds of people saw it) while Raelia can be a character witness for Eryk. If the empire agents look into his team, the only option is fight or political asylum.
Silver Beard
A worldly Aunt that wants to talk to Legionnaires? Maybe Eryk can introduce the size of his space by stashing Mateo away. His crew will realize what a game changer it is- and they can avoid the disaster his labido is constantly trying to create.
Aaron Weingrad
Nice!
BubblyGhost
War, war never changes. . .except when you have cool magic n shite
Eriach
Oh nice situation coming. -sniffs- I smell drama and possibly a quest
Andrew
Thank you!
Erick Thiemke
the teleport incident was just to make him less likely to use it in the future, having experienced the dangers
saber
Hype!
Erick Thiemke
4th of 4 for cycle. Next cycle starts tomorrow but still have a World Sphere chapter pending. Trying not to force the issue with Raelia coming back into the story. Hopefully you enjoy their interaction
