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A Soldier's Life - 160 -
🕑 Added 2024-03-13 18:45:32 +0000 UTCChapter 160:
The griffin rider was paralyzed but still could hear and see us, her eyes darting around in panic at her situation. Maveith was tending to her while I searched the forest room. The trees would have been an ideal harvest for the city above, especially if the room recovered with fully grown trees each time the room was reset. The branches still had a few mantises, but I was not climbing the tree to get them.
The floor had some leafy plants and grasses. The reward chest was in the center of the room. Maveith was tending the elf, so I shattered the stone casing. Searching through the stone and silver coins, I found a large ring resembling a napkin holder. It appeared to be made out of stone because of its soft pink color and weight. There was a relief around the outside of elven hunters chasing large elk. The craftsmanship was amazing, and I hoped it was an artifact. I bagged it with the coins for now to store when I had the aether.
I turned my attention to the plants. The only thing that I recognized as useful was ginseng. Ginseng was used in alchemy, cooking, and teas. If I remember correctly, the older, the more potent.
I carefully dug up the first ginseng while waiting for my aether to recover in order to pull out my collector. The ginseng root was huge, over a foot long, and had dozens of rings. This ginseng was very old and, therefore, very valuable. I had time to harvest a second before I was able to retrieve the collector.
I started on the largest spider. Maveith was talking to his captive audience, who gurled words occasionally I couldn’t make out. I was doubting the griffin rider was going to be soothed by the goliath. I had an aether potion ready to drink if she needed to be dealt with.
The largest phase spider had remained upright, its body frozen in rigor mortis after I took its head. I had to chop the legs to get the body to the ground, as it was eight feet in the air. Soon, I was watching the thick wisps of blue smoke being pulled into the collector, and I got excited. The apex essence that formed was something I had not seen before.
Inside the essence sphere, little flashes of white jumped around a foggy matrix. I had memorized all the affinities; this was displacement—a rare magic affinity. I quickly harvested all twelve of the small spiders, keeping an eye on Maveith and the elf.
I soon had seven major essences and five minor displacement essences. These rare essences were as good as gold outside the Telhian Empire. I stored them all and returned to working on harvesting the ginseng. Just over an hour after the fight, Maveith said, “She is starting to move.”
I cleaned the dirt off my hands and walked over to the two. Maveith had bandaged the puncture wounds from the phase spider on her shoulder. It made me think, “Maveith, do you think we can harvest some of the venom? It was pretty effective.” I indicated the elf, and she returned with a hard stare.
Maveith considered, “If it is similar to harvesting snake venom, I can try. Usually, the snakes are alive, though.”
Maveith stood and took one of the small spiders. While he worked, I looked down at the elf. Her eyes were staring at me in defiance as her fingers twitched. Maveith announced, “I think it is a different process. Nothing came out.”
“A pity. We should cook in here and rest before checking the passage.” Maveith nodded eagerly for food. I took out the elven tablet table reader to use as a prep station, and I was also curious what the griffin rider would make of it.
I decided to try to make a brisket. I rubbed a seven-pound bear roast with salt and pepper and seared all four sides before putting it in a pan with the apple berry jam and some water. I used another pan to cover it. The thermal stone was a distance away to control the heat.
“That is mine,” the elf said in accented Latin. Well, at least she had not attacked me.
“The knife or the thermal stone?” I returned casually while trying to control the heat. It was hard as I was using Maveith’s and my cooking pot together. The massive cast iron cauldron was still full of apple-berry jam. The elf struggled to sit up and fold her legs under her. Maveith was watching her closely and I was keeping her in range of my dimensional space.
She finally said grumpily, “Both.”
“Well, you are welcome to carry the stone, but I have to hold onto the knife to make sure you don’t stab me in the back,” I said disinterestedly.
She ground her teeth a little, “It is a legacy blade. Only those of my line may wield it.” Her eyes were angry, but she controlled her speech, “You can hold on to it, but I ask you not to use it.”
Maveith had been paying rapt attention, “That sounds reasonable, Eryk.” It was the best blade we had for skinning and preparing meals. I took off the sheath with the dagger and made it disappear. Her eyes widened, but she calmed quickly, realizing I had stored it. I replaced it with another knife from my storage.
“Happy?” I asked, but she didn’t respond, so I focused on the meal.
A few minutes later, she started to fish for information, “Where are we?”
“Maveith told you. We are in a dungeon. A dangerous dungeon.” I replied calmly.
“Which dungeon?” she said, irritation in her voice.
“It is called the Shimmering Labyrinth,” Maveith supplied, trying to mediate.
The elf processed the name. “Never heard of it.”
“Really? It is in the ruins of Caelora, an elven city.” I said, and her eyes went wide.
“We are in the Lost City!? Why would you go into the Lost City!?” Her surprise at where we were had some fear etched onto her filthy face. The city seemed to scare her more than being in a dungeon.
“The city is not lost and was quite easy to find, actually,” I stated sardonically.
“Idiot,” she said softly but still loud enough for me to hear. “Lost City to the elves. The King of Caelora refused help from Esenhem when the Legion was conquering the lands. They thought they could defend themselves and wouldn’t send their soldiers to help others. The Elven Council got so incensed they ostracized the King and the city. It was LOST to the other elven kings. And then the King cursed his people always to defend it.” The griffin rider’s information sounded about right.
“Yeah, I never studied Elven or Telhian history. I am just a country bumpkin.” I said with some indifference.
Maveith stepped in as he sensed our tempers rising, “Eryk was conscripted into the Legion. He is not from the Telhian Empire.”
The elf girl studied me, and I could see her flexing and testing her control over her hands. Was she getting ready for some magic fireballs? I figured two air shields would block it easily enough. My jam was bubbling with the roast, so I added a little water. The elf’s stomach rumbled at the sweet smell. “Where are you from?” She finally asked.
“Tsinga. Small fishing village. Don’t ask about my lighter skin. My parents immigrated there. I had a hard time going up being so pale,” I adlibbed that a little bit, but I saw pity in her eyes for just a flash.
“What did you do to get conscripted?” She asked, sounding interested and maybe a little more relaxed. She stood and stretched, and we both tensed. She was testing us, I think.
“Rape, theft, assault. The usual. But I profess my innocence. Not that it matters in the Empire.” I said irritably and trying to shock her a bit.
“I can see it,” she said, but I didn’t know if she was alluding to my crimes or if the Telhian Empire my profession of my innocence. “My name is Raelia of House Glavien.” I think she thought I would be more impressed. She was immediately disappointed I was not and just nodded slightly. “Maveith said you would release me if I helped you escape the dungeon?”
Maveith’s deep voice echoed as he rushed to join the conversation. “It would be a fair exchange, Eryk.” He had not consulted with me on this point.
I couldn’t help but laugh, “Raelia of House Glavien. We are in the deepest part of a powerful dungeon. Even if we leave, there will be tens of thousands of undead specters who want to kill us. Not to mention that the rest of my company are in this dungeon, and I don’t think they are going to be happy to see you, if you know what I mean.” There was also the fact I couldn’t let them see her as it would reveal how powerful my space affinity was.
“Then why did you let me out!? Why did you imprison me a second time!” Her voice quickly rose in volume. “I will get out of here on my own!” She stormed off toward the blue lizard chamber. She never even gave me time to reply.
“Raelia,” Maveith said, trying to calm her as she just stormed away.
I barked harshly at Maveith, “Let her go!” Maveith stopped hesitantly. When she entered the tunnel out of earshot, I told Maveith, “She will be back. She needs to realize we are her only hope. I will tell her she can get out of the dungeon in my dimensional space if we meet others from the company.”
Fifteen minutes later, she came storming back into the chamber, “There is a frost salamander in that room!”
“Is that what is called? We were calling it a blizzard lizard.” I retorted with a smirk.
Maveith was confused, “We were?”
“Ugh, I just came up with it, Maveith. Help a guy out here, or the delivery doesn’t work.” I begged, trying to sound funny.
Maveith nodded, “Yes, we named it the blizzard lizard. Very dangerous, and you should not attempt to kill it alone. Eryk almost died when he did.” Maveith advised the elf sagely.
“You killed the frost salamander yourself?” She asked in disbelief, looking at me.
“Blizzard lizard. But yes.” I waved my hand dismissively.
The griffin rider mumbled worriedly, “Phase spiders and frost salamanders. What is down that corridor?”
“We haven’t explored it yet,” Maveith answered her. Her despair at figuring out how trapped she currently was had me feel some pity for her. She collapsed and sat cross-legged, and I could see her flesh through all the holes in her armor and clothes. I blushed when she caught me staring. I pulled out the cloak we got from the cockatrice room and tossed it to her.
She caught, and her eyes went wide. Anger laced her voice, “Who did you kill to obtain this? And what happened to Vaeril?”
“It was a reward in the cockatrice chamber. Vaeril is dead.” I knew Vaeril was the summoner’s apprentice she had been with, probably protecting. That news seemed to hit her hard. She muttered cockatrices and Vaeril’s name a few times to herself but did not address us for a good while.
She eventually put the cloak on to cover herself, and it shimmered to blend into the ground, giving her modest camouflage in the open. I should have realized the item was an artifact. “You can just borrow that,” I grumbled.
She pulled the cloak around herself, “It is a ranger’s cloak. The methodology to artifice one was lost—well, it was lost when Caelora fell, as they were the only elven crafters who could make them. My people highly prize them.”
Maveith seemed to think of something, “Maybe the crafters in the city did not make them, and the ranger’s cloaks were found in the dungeon?”
“Perhaps, Maveith.” I produced her backpack and tossed it to her. It had her spare clothes.
“How large is your space!” She asked, some amazement entering her voice. She started going through her bag, but I was certain there was nothing dangerous in there.
“I am not telling you,” I said flatly. She huffed and went behind a tree to change into clothes that had no holes.
She walked back to us and approached more confidently. The thermal stone and steaming brisket were on the ground, and the elven tablet reader was covered in items I used to prepare the meal. “What are you doing!” Raelia exclaimed, seeing the table clearly for the first time. “That is an assessment table! You can’t use it to prepare lunch!”
“Are they valuable? We found it in Caelora,” I asked nonchalantly, holding back a grin.
“You can find them in Adventurer’s Guild Halls, but this one is elven made. Unless…” She dropped to the ground, and I stepped back on alert. She moved under the table, inspecting it. “Disappointing. It is just a copy of the Telhian Assessment Tablet.” She came and stood and inhaled the stewing meat, her stomach rumbling.
“What does that mean? A copy?” Maveith asked.
“The Legion was the first to make readers two thousand years ago. All the artificers who made them keyed them to human physiology,” she said with some loathing. “Others copied the artifact, but it wasn’t until about a thousand years ago that dwarves and other races started artificing assessment tablets that were keyed to other races.”
“How old are you?” I asked, perplexed. She could pass for a human woman in her late teens or early twenties.
Her eyes narrowed at the question, but she answered, “Forty-seven.”
Maveith offered unhelpfully, “Elves live much longer than humans, Eryk. She just looks young by human standards.”
“Thanks, Maveith.” I tested the brisket, and it still needed an hour or two. “I am going to harvest the rest of the ginseng. Maveith, can you watch the pot and my back while I am doing it?”
“Dungeon ginseng?” Raelia asked, suddenly interested. “That is—very rare. Give me a knife, and I will assist.”
I wasn’t willing to give her any weapon yet. “I will be fine on my own,” I said, dismissing her offer. I left the two talking and went to harvest the ginseng. I even got lucky when one of the mantises fell from a tree. I quickly restrained it and used the collector to get a minor essence of coordination.
“You have a collector, too?!” Raelia barked from across the chamber. She must have not been able to see me using it when she had been paralyzed. I groaned as Maveith showed off his bag of minor quickness essences to her on the other side of the chamber. I was not sharing my essences with the elf.
I dug for a few hours when Maveith finally called me over for the meal. He had added a lot of pepper to give it some spice. The sweet, shredded BBQ brisket was probably the best thing we had in the dungeon so far. The elf probably ate three pounds of it and even scrapped every bit of jam left in the pan. I couldn’t blame her; after all her healing, she needed the calories.
“How much time left, Maveith?” The elf was holding her belly and perked up at the question.
Maveith patiently explained to her, “We decided to only remain in a room for half a day to make sure the creatures do not respawn on top of us.”
“Why? Don’t you know how a dungeon works?” Raelia asked, perplexed.
“You do?” I asked, suddenly interested in what the elf had to say.
“Yes. I have been in the Nameless Swamp and Whispering Woods as part of my training.” Maveith and I looked at each other. Maybe the elf would be useful after all.
I couldn’t help but laugh when Maveith asked, confused, “If it is called the Nameless Swamp, doesn’t it have a name then?”
Comments
Erick Thiemke
his displacement in currently 80, where did you see it at 61?
Theo Tomss
Hello I was rereading the books when I noticed that despite having those displacement essence in his possession you never mentioned It after that it seems and his displacement affinity never augmented it’s still at 61 later in the story (I’m at chapter 303) is it a mistake on my part and I missed something or not ?
Unwired Rob
I had a hard time going up being so pale,” -> growing up
Moatdog
He never slaughtered her kind nor did he kill her master. He did kidnap her twice but the drake was the real one who beat the crap out of her. He also killed the guy she was supposed to keep alive but it wasn't like they were close yet. He's killed her fellow elves but she's probably killed humans, it's war. Also it becomes harder to dehumanize him when she actually talks to him, vice versa. And really all she experienced was a loss of time which is terrifying in abstract but can separate from regular kidnapping.
Erick Thiemke
They get moved from there to book 3 every week. I will rename seraphim to include book 3 in the title
Erick Thiemke
Find the chapters in the collection titled Seraphim
Jake Sori
Seraphim subscriber: book 3 ends at chapter 160 and book 4 begins at chapter 182, i double checked, and chapter 177 does not exist at all. This desperately needs to be reorganized
sirphilips
He slaughtered her kind killed her master and kidnaped her twice as well as beat her half to death. I'd be more surprised if she didn't want to rat him out
jordicl
Nahh, remember, she has nothing to win in giving him to the praetorian guard or the emperor. In fact, him being an otherworlder and the certainty of death if the emperor finds him can actually play in his favor and make him a lot more trustworthy if she decides to bring him with her to her house Glavien after the dungeon. And with the amount of time they will spend together and how well educated she seems to be, it's only a matter of time until she connects the dots pointing towards his origin.
sirphilips
He should 100% kill that elf I know its already decided but I hope he kills the elf she knows far too much
Erick Thiemke
Seraphim Chapter has the rest of book 3 and book 4 collection has 24+ chapters
Erick Thiemke
are you a seraphim subscriber?
Erick Thiemke
book 4 collecton
Dynasty
Where can I find chapter 161?
jean
maveith having the priorities straight the nameless swamp is a name you dumb elf XD
J S
Ha!
Will
🫵👍
1536539
Thank you for the chapter, the displacement essence is a great find, if he can farm that room a few more times he can imprint himself a spell that takes him very far.
Otto Kovar
They also have all the time in the world they can scavenge for days, weeks, month, years for any supply they might want, and eat and drink their fill, nothing presses this group of people, yes eventually the dungeon resources will reduce as each iteration wil spawn smaller and less deadly enemies until the dungeon says 'no more farming', but even that seems a long time of
Otto Kovar
At the end of the chapter they established a sort of cease fire, but you seem to ignore that that woman was stashed away like a commodity, she has proper hate for the telhian empire and multiple times tried to kill him, and he her. Maveith does not know her and had no encounters with her and is not a soldier of her target of hate. WHO would give their enemy a weapon even if they were enemies only briefly. Also from all she knows Eryk killed at least one if not many more of her friends or family. She has every reason to kill him, and Eryk has more then enough justification to not put a weapon into her hands, especially if she has the ability to cast some magic that is just as or even more devastating than any sword or dagger.
Silver Beard
I don't see how they have a lot of 'time' to build the kind of trust Eryk thinks he needs to re-arm her unless he's planning to keep stashing her away only to bring her out after each fight.
Silver Beard
She was brought out to join the team not be bait; he's going to have to give her a weapon at some point. He's mentioned her fireballs a couple times already so I'm not sure why he's withholding her legacy blade. He's got his air shields, his space, and healing plus he's carrying the Aether potions. Pretty sure he's got the upper hand.
Otto Kovar
There is bad blood between the two, but it seems the right opportunity for developing some friendship, I agree with some that he seems a bit aggressive but i can say he is within character, he always had a distrustful disposition towards others, just this time he also can and needs to act it out, there is merit to playing the bad cop, making sure the enemy that tried to kill you is aware that the jailer can and will jail her if she acts out of line. I like it, though some will think he is out of line because he never acted that hostile, well this is the first time he could and should act that way, in a dungeob towards someone he is not sure is actually of any help, she is proving some knowledge and expertise these two will need
Lemes
Yes, I just tried to make a joke. I have to learn where the emojis are here. Or more likely the joke was just really bad.
Lemes
Maybe it's a culture shock problem. As I am Brazilian, sometimes I have difficulty finding the best word to express myself. Let's try again. It seemed to me that Erick was acting like a teenager who doesn't know how to deal with an attractive woman, and that's why he's hostile and being an asshole to the girl.
Erick Thiemke
just reread it. the only thing I felt was out of character was when he broke the news of the dead summoner Vaeril - that was kind of mean. other than that I didn't feel he was mean. Raelia should have come off as slightly antagonistic
Erick Thiemke
the dungeon names came from the random name generator.
Erick Thiemke
is he antagonizing her though? i will read it again. maybe he is just bad a flirting
Lemes
If the name is nameless swamp then it has a name! But seriously, Erick is an asshole. Antagonizing the elf like that is not smart. He must know that he needs her almost as much as he needs him. The smart thing would be to try to create some trust and camaraderie.
Blorcyn
Yeah reads well. She is accepting things well, but of course it means nothing — if you’re in a situation where someone wants your aid, giving it doesn’t mean you won’t kill then and escape if it allows the opportunity, and Eryk should realise this. What would he do if their positions were reversed?
Eriach
Very nice, additional back story added into the world. ❤️
Erick Thiemke
ok seraphim readers. first chapter of the elf / MC earning trust. let me know how it reads and anything I can add to make it better. first of 4 chapters this week cycle, next is tomorrow as I have to get an Incubus chapter done next
