noveltune Chapter 18: Getting Answers
Chapter 18: Getting Answers
Chapter 18: Getting Answers
Chapter 18
As we walked through the mountains to reach the horses, my pack weight had doubled. The good news was the healing potion had done more than just heal my knee. All my aches, pains, and scabs were gone. Delmar told me a simple healing potion I had taken cost about five gold and could heal soft tissue injuries and mend bones. A full healing potion, ran about fifty gold but could bring someone back from the brink of death and align and repair broken bones. Our company had eight simple healing potions and nine full healing potions.
He was knowledgeable on the subject and said potion’s ingredients only cost about 20% of their value, but the alchemists needed to be exceptionally skilled. That was why magic porters were in such high demand since the valuable potions wouldn’t expire in my dimensional space. Doing the math, a single full healing potion was worth what I would make in ten years as a soldier!
I nervously asked if I would be charged for the simple healing potion. Adrian laughed, “Only if you drink one without permission.” I relaxed slightly, and he continued, “Castille does everything she can to keep us alive. A lot of mage company commanders have a healing spell. Castille does not, so she spends quite a sum on potions. We may take all the shit missions, but we also get more in return.” It was definitely something for me to think about.
The First Citizen was carrying nothing but his sword and belt pouch. Firth and Wylie shared the load with me, but Justin Cicero still had four times as much gear as a normal legionnaire. The other men were weighed down with griffin meat, so we were not the only ones suffering. I stayed close to Firth as we traveled to ask questions.
I asked Firth, “So what is First Citizen?”
He turned back to see the man walking in the midst of the company with a cockiness that irritated everyone around him. Firth said quietly, “They can trace their lineage back to the First Legion. The First Legion was some four thousand men that arrived from another world and carved out the Telhian Empire. Only about three hundred survived the Founding Wars, but their descendants are the only ones who can own land in the Empire. They control all the seventeen provinces of the Empire with an iron fist.”
He checked on Justin Cicero again before continuing, “Even being a descendent of a member of the First Legion does not grant you the right to be considered a First Citizen. There is a substantial tithe required to the Emperor. Some of the nobles only elevate the inheriting son to the status of a First Citizen. Others, like the Cicero’s have enough coin to elevate their entire brood.” He looked at Justin and said quietly, “They even do so knowing their child is an idiot.”
I processed Firth’s words. It made sense with the blended terminology of Rome and Medieval Europe if travelers came from all eras. Was the direction one way? Maybe there was a way back to Earth. “Did any of the First Legion ever return back to their own world?”
“Dragon’s piss, Eryk. What do I look like a scholastic? I have no idea what happened some two millennia ago,” Firth rasped with good humor.
Later in the hike, I asked, “Have there been other arrivals from other worlds?”
Firth shrugged, “Is your homeland so small you don’t have myths about them? They appear and are brought before the Emperor and are never heard from again. I do not think there has been one in the Telhian Empire in three hundred years. But you should talk to a mage or scholastic, not me.” I nodded and figured three hundred years someone brought the idea of noble ranks; barons, dukes, ect. Maybe even earlier than three hundred years, as Firth’s grasp on Telhian history was pretty weak.
I was silent for a long time. On a long slow climb, I inquired, “Why can a First Citizen command so much power? He just took the griffin egg from Mage Castille. He didn’t do anything to help get it. And the essences from the dungeon as well.” I asked, hoping to clear some things up.
He laughed, “That is because the First Citizens can requisition anything they want. As long as we are not fighting or in danger, that is.” He looked back, checking on Justin again, “Don’t worry. Mage Castille will log what he took from us at the Legion office. Justin will at least have to pay fair market value to the Legion for what he took from us. We may even see a small bonus if they are feeling generous,” he winked.
“What about the dungeon room chest from the water room?” I asked, remembering the contents had been part of my deal for being the bait and freezing the monsters.
On our second day of riding, Wylie scouted out some roving swamp rats he wanted to avoid, so we took a four-hour detour. This was how each day proceeded. We rode cautiously in roughly the right direction but avoided all possible conflict and spent an hour in the evening to find a defensible position. Thankfully it was early in the season, and most of the more dangerous monsters had not migrated with their prey north, according to Firth. During the days, I did get a lot of experience with my horsemanship skills.
Camp life did suck on the journey as the night watch was divided between Firth, Wylie, and myself. Some nights Renna would sit and talk with me quietly. Justin complained something fierce every evening about our slow progress.
On the fourth day, we ended up fleeing a troglodyte war party of five. Firth made sure we galloped in the wrong direction. On the fifth night, we were attacked by lesser shadows and had to get the fire burning bright for the entire night to keep them away. On the sixth day, we circled wide of a diseased trent. A trent was a massive living tree, and this one had no leaves and visible rot. It took us eight days to reach the walls of Varvao, fleeing every possible creature. Justin appeared to be a coward, unwilling to fight any monsters. Since he was a First Citizen, we would have been forced to defend him if he did fight, but he was willing to flee every time.
Renna paused at the gates before leaning into me and whispering, “I hope our paths cross again. Remain safe in your travels.” She then rode to reunite with High Mage Dacian.
Justin’s parting words were not as pleasant, “Give me the fucking griffin egg so I can take a portal to Olheus.” I gave him the egg, and he stormed off, leaving us the mount he had borrowed and all his gear.
“Are we done with him?” I asked Firth.
Firth shook his head, “For now. I doubt he will be too happy after he finds out that Castille beat him to report the dungeon. But I already suspect he knows.”
“How much power does a baron’s son have beyond being a First Citizen?” I asked as we rode through the gates ourselves. Firth was leading us to the Legion office and barracks.
“Well, there are seventeen provinces and sixteen Dukes to run all the provinces besides the Emperor’s personal province. Each Duke has a Count in charge of each city and five to ten Barons that manage regions of their province. I am guessing there are maybe one hundred barons in all of the Telhian Empire. Some are more powerful than others. Baron Cicero supplies all the horses to the standing army and the Legion. That is nearly two thousand new riding mounts and an additional one thousand war mounts yearly,” Firth explained.
Wylie added, “A lot of us knew Justin’s pathfinder, Marius. He used to be in the Legion and was a good man. I think part of all this was Castille getting some payback for us for his death.” Firth was nodding in agreement.
“It would have been easier just to leave him in the dungeon,” I said seriously.
“Mage Castille doesn’t like to fail. She sees everything to the end. You will learn that soon enough,” Firth replied.
“So what do we do?” I asked.
“We report in, and there should be a message from Castille on where we are to go to meet up with them,” Firth said as he dismounted in front of the Legion office in the city.