A Soldier's Life

Chapter 172: Safety in Numbers

I was anticipating a grand reunion with the company. Maveith would let me do all the talking to explain our time in the dungeon so far. Mateo entered the safe room first and flamboyantly announced, “We found some wandering creatures in the dungeon. They smell like an ogre’s ass, but they’re good people.”

This drew Castile’s attention, and Adrian and Blaze looked up. Blaze had a massive grin on seeing us, and Castile smirked happily, though she did not quite allow herself to smile. Adrian looked pleased at seeing us alive, nodding to us and smiling.

I challenged Mateo’s statement, “I think it was us who found you. And the only one in the company who has ever smelled like an ogre’s ass is you.” There was a chorus of laughter at the truth of my statement since Mateo had literally wiped an ogre’s ass outside of Macha. A brief debate erupted on who had discovered whom, since Konstantin had smelled me before I announced myself.

Adrian spoke seriously once the levity died down. He asked me pointedly, “Brutus and the Scholar didn’t make it?”

“They live. We got separated when we entered the dungeon,” I said, pointing to Maveith. “Maveith was struck by a specter and lost contact with the Scholar. We appeared on the lower levels of the dungeon.” Castile looked confused.

Adrian, who detested dungeons, growled, “Lower levels? That isn’t normal. Then again, nothing about this dungeon is normal. I’ve never heard of any dungeon this large before, or with such a variety of beasts.”

Konstantin interrupted the reunion to get me to report to Castile. “Tell them about the summoner and the others.”

I faced Castile, who was clearly happy we had rejoined them. “We saw Flavius, Kolm, Linus, Donte, Brutus, and the Scholar. We could not reunite with them because an earth drake was in the room between us.”

Maveith leaned in, trying to help. “It was a really big earth drake—over sixty feet from snout to tail tip.”

I confirmed, “Yes, it was huge. But I think they’re just a few rooms back. Brutus told us that he and the Scholar exited the dungeon, hoping to reenter near another group.”

My voice heavier, I continued, “They found the bodies of Remus, Cyrus, and Soren torn apart before they reentered.” Castile frowned at the news, and looked like she had been slapped with the sting of more dead. I added worryingly, “The Scholar noticed bloody footprints leading back into the dungeon. He thinks an elf made them.”

Silence hung in the room before Konstantin voiced what he was thinking. “If the summoner is in the dungeon, he might be using goblins to disrupt rooms.”

Unable to hold my curiosity any longer, I asked, “You saw a goblin?”

“Twice, but maybe the same one both times. It appeared while we were fighting in rooms. The first time, angry spiders were chasing it, and the second time, it was a winter wolf.” Konstantin spoke, clearly frustrated. “We were occupied both times, and the goblin managed to get away.” It appeared that the little goblin got around. I immediately took a liking to it if it could cause Konstantin such anxiety.

Blaze asked me hopefully, “Did you see any signs of the other group? Lucien, Pavel, Lirkin, and Benito?” Pavel and Blaze were both company archers and often worked together.

I did not have any good news for him. Looking him in the eye, I noticed Blaze’s quiver only had two arrows. “No, but I’m sure we’ll find them,” I reassured him. “There is a lot of dungeon to explore,” Konstantin grunted at the truth of my statement.

As the mood turned a little somber, Castile announced to everyone, “Prepare a good meal for the return of our lost companions.” She motioned for me to join her and Adrian.

I paused momentarily to place a large number of purple vitelotte potatoes on the stone, smiling as I said, “My contribution to the meal.” From what I saw, it looked like they had been living off meat and nuts. The potatoes got greedy stares from everyone as they were added to Firth’s preparation.

Castile now had a genuine smile as she stepped into the corridor, directed at me. “I am happy you survived, Eryk. How many rooms did you clear? And tell me about the ring.”

The shiny ring of sustenance was a bit flashy and easy to spot. I held it up, considering. “We found it in a room. I think it allows me to get by with less food and sleep.”

Adrian arched an eyebrow, surprised. “That sounds useful. And the goliath’s ring?” I should have realized that the artifacts were extremely noticeable. I would have to start wearing gloves regularly, or it would be an advertisement that I was wearing runic rings, since they never tarnished.

“He’s less affected by cold wearing it,” I stated simply.

Castile nodded in understanding. “They are probably a ring of sustenance and a ring of warmth. Both are rare dungeon finds. We have had our share of luck in the dungeon as well.” She informed Adrian before focusing on me again. “And how many rooms have you explored?”

“Our focus was on trying to find the others. When we learned we were in the dungeon’s lower levels, we tried to find stairs going up. Our biggest challenge was getting around the drake at the top of the stairs.” I said. I did not want to lie to either Adrian or Castile, but it looked like I had no other choice. I was probably showing a little discomfort, feeling cornered for the truth.

Castile seemed to notice and rescued me. “How did you find us? Did you come across one of the messages we left behind?”

“Yes, a few rooms back, we found the safe room that led to the spider cocoon room. At first, I thought the cocoons were victims of the spiders.” Adrian scoffed at the thought their group would fall to spiders. “Still, those spiders nearly trapped Maveith and me,” I admitted.

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“Weavers. They are called weavers, Eryk.” Castile looked at Adrian. “We had seven to handle the room, and I was able to restrain three of the weavers. With just the two of you, it is remarkable that you made it through.”

“Their silk sacs are extremely valuable on the market, making an incredible thread for durable garments. They were mentioned in the Scholar’s books. Do you know how to reach Flavius and the others?” Adrian pressed.

“Yes, I think they were in the direction of the sand room,” I said, acting like I was thinking. I was obviously unconvincing as Castile’s eyes narrowed.

Castile moved in a little closer between Adrian and me. “The sand scarabs are dangerous. We could not get them to surface to fight.” I felt uncomfortable under her assessing gaze. “Do you remember who I told you that you could trust, Eryk?”

My mind skipped back to the conversation. It felt like a lifetime ago. “Felix, Adrian, Mateo, and Blaze,” I recalled softly. Castile nodded.

Adrian looked a little shocked that I knew of their shared conspiracy to leave the Empire. “Felix is dead, Eryk. That leaves Adrian,” Castile nodded in his direction to confirm her trust, “Mateo, and Blaze.”

I could tell she wanted me to be honest with her. I was still having trouble sharing. Even Maveith only knew half of my secrets. I relented, “We killed the scarabs. After killing the first two, the others rushed us into the corridor, leaving the sand. Beyond the scarab room, there’s a room with two harpies. The others should be just beyond that room in a safe room. That’s what they told us, anyway.” Admitting that I could have joined the others had Adrian eyeing me suspiciously.

“Good,” Castile said, relaxing now that she had the information she wanted.

Adrian was not as content. “How did you kill the scarabs under the sand? And the harpies, for that matter?” He did not have a chance to ask why I had not joined the others.

Castile gave Adrian a cold look. “We can discuss this another time. Adrian, we will reconnect with the others after the shadow bear returns. Prepare the men with the good news.” As Adrian left, I peeked into the room to see a number of people talking with Maveith. Could Maveith keep my secrets under the scrutiny of the others—Konstantin in particular?

Castile interrupted my concern and asked me softly again, “How many rooms did you clear?”

I tore my eyes from Konstantin and Maveith talking animatedly. It was hard to focus, but I thought about it. “Twelve different rooms, maybe.” I was not counting the number of times we cleared rooms more than once.

“Twelve?” Castile looked more than a little shocked. “We conquered seven rooms on the first floor and found six safe rooms.” She seemed to be considering me again in a different light—either as a threat or an ally.

“Is the summoner a threat? Can he summon creatures inside the dungeon?” I focused her thoughts on the other danger.

Castile looked me in the eyes for a long time before speaking. “I do not know. If he can summon creatures in the dungeon, he has access to more aether, being so close to the ley line.” She sighed. “If he is in here, hopefully, he is struggling as much as we are.”

“You seem to be doing well,” I stated, realizing my mistake. We had lost two men in the city, four men in the dungeon, and four were unaccounted for. I added quickly, “I mean, we are surviving well here. This dungeon could also be a major source of food for Sobral.”

Castile looked ill. “No, we are not surviving in here, Eryk. We got lucky that the shadow bear dropped a healing potion each time we killed it. Firth nearly lost his arm a few days ago, and Mateo got mauled by the shadow bear yesterday; either could have died. Although the essences boost morale, we put our lives on the line every other day just to eat.” I guessed they had not been as fortunate as us with as many varieties of food in the rooms as we had. But then again, we visited twice as many rooms, and they had seven people to feed.

“Did you know all the bears drop healing potions? At least, that has been our experience,” I said.

“Not all the time. You must have gotten lucky. We have killed six bears and received four healing potions,” Castile said heavily. I guessed that maybe the dungeon was pulling back on rewards because Castile’s group had nine people. This dungeon was definitely aware of us.

“If the summoner is in the dungeon, are we going to flee? He would not be outside to stop us,” I asked.

Castile’s eyes betrayed her as she was thinking the same thing. There were four men of the company we would potentially be abandoning if we left and tried to outrun the summoner. “If he is in the dungeon, I assume he is checking the exit periodically for tracks. We could get lucky and get a head start or ambush him when he exits. It will also depend on how many specters are waiting for us near the entrance.”

Castile added, “Adrian and I have discussed our chances of making it through the city to safety. If we try and have to retreat back into the dungeon, we will all be separated again.” I nodded, as these were a number of things I had not yet considered. “I would also like to confirm the fate of Benito, Pavel, Lucien, and Lirkin.” The burden of leadership was in her tone and on her face.

I nodded in understanding. “Just let me know what you need of me.”

Castile smirked. “Oh, you can be sure of that.”

We moved to join the others, and Mateo was complaining jokingly about the food, “We really need to find Lirkin. This dungeon fare needs a professional cook to make it taste edible.” Firth elbowed him, as he had cooked this particular meal.

I was handed a bowl of purple mashed potatoes with charred bear meat chunks. On the side were some bitter, round, toasted nuts. I ate without complaint while listening to the conversations.

“So, Eryk. How did you get your armor melted?” Wylie asked.

I chewed some nuts while I spoke. “We encountered a female demon with pointy ears. She threw a fireball at me, and I failed to dodge.” I shrugged like it was not a big deal. Everyone went silent, and I pulled out an apple and started munching on it to cleanse my palate. I do not know if they were more shocked at the apple or my fabrication about a demon. I tossed an apple to each of them in turn. I was careful not to reveal too much from my dimensional space, but it felt like the group needed a little boost in morale.

“I’ll never ask you to use your amulet again if you have a second apple for me,” Mateo pleaded after eating his—core and all. I tossed him a second apple. I could see Castile reassessing me. The mood was jovial as we cleaned and prepared to sleep.

Soon, everyone made to get some rest. The stone shelves and floor were packed with the nine of us. I was surprised Castile had not requested the dreamscape amulet. I had been expecting it. Instead, I utilized it for sword practice. The amulet worked with the ring, so I only needed three hours of sleep for a complete rest. I was up quickly, even before Konstantin.

Firth raised his head as I moved but went back to sleep, seeing it was just me. I nodded to Blaze to get some sleep. Konstantin was supposed to relieve him, but he eagerly took the extra sleep and found a cozy spot on the floor.

Nine of us, soon to be fifteen. With so many, the dungeon rooms should not be as challenging.

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