A Soldier's Life

Chapter 28: The Storm in the Distance

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I took an oil lamp back to my room in a haze of thought. I was being passed off to another company like a traded commodity. That storm was also miles into the swamp with no easy access. It would not be a one-day trip unless the mage had some magic to make it so.

I was happy to find my room locked from the inside. The window did not have a lock, so I jammed a dagger in the seam and leaned my weapons against it just in case before pulling the blinds. I stripped to my underclothes and lay on the soft mattress with a groan of satisfaction. I placed the lamp on the small shelf over the bed. I pulled out my griffin pillow and my one clean blanket. I got comfortable and then took out the spell form book for healing. All nice and comfortable, I started to study.

The spell forms were to help guide the process. The true process was about intent and what I wanted the permanent presentation of my affinity to be. The critical factor was not to manifest the wrong spell form. Once it was done, it could not be undone, and I would have to live with it. I studied the book intently, losing track of time.

I woke in a start. Delmar was banging on my door, saying I needed to get moving. I had studied well into the night and had not gotten a lot of sleep. I sent everything to my space and unlocked the door. An impatient Delmar was waiting, “Come on, Eryk, I am to be your escort to the Legion Hall.” He looked around, “Did you not pack last night?”

“I was told it was just a day trip,” I said defensively, even though I knew it was not.

“Dragon’s balls,” he pushed into the small room and started packing for me. He set up my pack with the necessities and said, “Get three days of hard rations at the Legion Hall. Make sure they are all wrapped and sealed in wax leaf. The last thing you want is to get sick out there in the swamp. Take two canteens, one large and one small.” He held up my small all-metal canteen. “Use this small one to boil your water for five minutes before drinking or have Durandus purify your water. Otherwise, your arse will be spewing for days.” He looked at my array of weapons, and I looked guilty when he noticed the bow.

He inspected the bow, and I offered weakly, “Thought I would have time to practice. This bow has a left-handed grip, so I thought it might help my aim.” That was actually true, but most bows could be used by either hand. I found this one had grooves for a lefty. Maybe it was the custom, or the last owner had altered it.

“Konstantin said you were a terrible shot. You had trouble hitting stationary targets and would be hard-pressed to hit a moving one. It is a nice bow, but leave it behind. Your strings will probably get too wet to use it anyway. Leave your two short swords as well. They will weigh you down, especially if you have to swim.” He handed me my leather chest piece, “Leave the rest of your armor here.” He finished packing and gave me the now much lighter pack. He had completed everything in five minutes. I had a bed roll, one spare set of clothes wrapped in my oiled legionnaire cloak, my tarp for a tent, three pairs of socks, the two canteens, and flint and tinder.

As we walked in the dark to the Legion Hall, Delmar talked, “Durandus likes order. He expects his men to march in time and maintain silence on the move. Do your best not to anger him.”

“What type of magic does he wield? And why was he sent here?” I asked, preparing mentally.

“Excellent questions. Durandus was once a soldier in the army. Under duress in combat, he developed a powerful air magic spell form that shielded him inside a bubble, making him invincible for a time. After that, he was assessed and sent to the Mage College. He came out a powerful water and air mage and was given the command of a company. He is here because he made an enemy of a duke. That usually happens when you tell a First Citizen no.” Delmar did not elaborate and just walked.

We made it before first light, and in the common room, a number of legionaries were in full gear with half packs, waiting. Delmar dragged me to the larder and ordered, “Six ration bars sealed in wax leaf, three bags of dried fruit and nuts, and that sausage.” He pointed at a large link. The civilian behind the counter sensed the urgency and got everything together.

Everything was on the counter, and Delmar helped me pack it. “The sausage is your breakfast, the bags of fruit and nuts; eat between meals to keep your energy up. And Eryk, try and come back alive. Getting a good porter replaced takes months,” he joked, smiling and clapping me on my shoulder.

I went out to the common room and found Durandus’ four lieutenants getting everyone assembled for the march. Delmar had not been kidding when he said we would march in ranks and silence. I realized how spoiled I had been in Castille’s company. Our company was more like a family, and this seemed like a formal job, but maybe the other men would lighten up when we took a break. Durandus approached me, and I studied him and him me.

He was tall, maybe 6’2”, and he had immaculate clothes and a meticulously trimmed beard and stash. That was only notable because all of his men were clean-shaven. It made me self-conscious about the face nest that I trimmed infrequently with a knife. “Store these,” he tapped four racks of potions. I quickly looked at them. Ten lesser healing, ten cleanse poison, ten greater healing and ten stamina recovery. It was a fortune’s worth of potions, and they all had expiration dates on their wax seals. I now knew this meant they were made by an alchemist and not from a dungeon. Dungeon potions never expired.

I moved the potions into my storage, and everyone moved outside. I guess they had been waiting on me. As we started moving, I munched on the sausage. The first thing I noticed was this company had forty men. I thought a mage detachment from the Legion of the Lion had around twenty-three to start. To me, this seemed like a large company. I inspected the composition; ten archers, ten men with full-body shields, ten men with round shields and swords, and ten men with spears. Everyone carried a short blade. I was made to walk at the rear of the formation so I didn’t mess with their practiced organization.

Durandus walked in the front and set the pace. I was kind of the tail of the formation and wondered why Durandus didn’t send out any scouts. That became obvious three hours into our march. The mage ordered the shield wall forward and the spear men at the ready. A single giant frog was two hundred yards down the road. It moved into the road and look intently at us approaching. Durandus ordered a flight of spears, and as they struck, he fired a bolt of lightning at the frog. Two swordsmen with shields went forward to confirm it was dead. The encounter took less than five seconds. As we marched past, the spearmen collected their weapons. The frog was left smoldering on the side of the road. I deduced the mage had some type of scrying of far-sight spell or spell form.

I was impressed with the coordination and speed of the company. Where our company was filled with experienced individuals that worked well as a team, Durandus’ company was a fighting unit. Durandus knew healing spells, so I suspected the men were not skittish about getting injured. We reached the two poles in the ground that lined up the storm’s location. They were not needed as the dark clouds and occasional lightning remained. I checked the alignment anyway, and it looked like it had not moved in the two days since I had been here.

We were allowed to rest, and I gratefully sat and pulled up my ration. The wax leaf was wrapped around the block. The block’s exterior was a dry baked cracker which covering a dried mixture of fruit, meat, and grains. It took a lot of water to wash down the dry dense ration. I remembered the meat pie in my storage, it should still be warm, but I would save it. I also ate a bag of the trail mix since Durandus was still studying the swamp and the storm in the distance. No one talked to me as I ate, and they just whispered amongst themselves so as not to disturb the mage.

I felt on an island. I was just the extra guy they needed to carry their luggage. Suddenly, Durandus came to a decision. He was leaving the six men at the road to guard gear. The rest of the men would be heading into the swamp. I waited, smirking a little as Delmar had already cut my gear down to the minimum needed.

We started our trek with four spearmen leading the company through the waters. The water was not deep where Durandus directed the men to walk, and I asked him, “Can you see how deep the water is with magic?”

I had forgotten to keep quiet, but he replied, “Yes, I have a water sense and sense life ability. We will not be surprised and will take the easiest route.” I almost asked if his life sense ability worked on undead, but with his stern and somewhat condescending tone, I ended the conversation without asking.

The swamp water was lukewarm, and I thought it odd that I didn’t see any fish or smaller frogs. Just an endless wave of insects. But I found the insects left me alone if I was within fifteen feet of the mage, so I made an effort to stay close to him. Even wading through the water in armor, the men attempted to maintain their disciplined formation. I also figured out that Durandus’ company was selected for this mission because his spell skill set was the best for the environment. I just hoped he realized water conducted lightning and didn’t fry all of us by mistake.

It was slow progress, and after hours of trudging, we were maybe halfway. The evening sky was coming behind us, and the dark storm was in front. Being closer, I was certain the storm clouds were expelling rain as well as the occasional lightning strike. The roil of thunder was still muted but progressively louder the closer we came. At least the storm appeared to have scared away all the monsters, as we had not seen a single one.

We climbed onto a small island maybe fifty feet across, and the mage-ordered defenses set for the night. At least I could just sit in the middle of the island and eat. Durandus studied the storm near me, and I asked, “Do you know what it is yet?”

He looked at me, “Unfortunately, I do. A storm giant is raising a mountain from the swamp. Probably to form a lair.”

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