Chapter 12: A Trip to Market Part 3
“Alright, off with the boot, and let me have a look. Lord Tom seems a bit impatient. We best be getting this done quick.”
Jenkins nodded and bent to unlace his boot. Prisca hemmed and hawed at the faint pink lines that were all that remained of his injury. She had him move the foot around in circles, flex his toes tight and point them. She had him put weight on it and walk around, awkwardly as he had one boot still on and the stones of the path bit at his bare foot.
She had him hop up and down on the barefoot. She had him reshod himself, then continued her interrogation of his health. Forcing him to do jumping jacks and then listening to his breath and heart with an ear pressed to his chest. Having him open his mouth to check inside, checking his pulse, and generally poking and prodding him to ensure everything was in working order and attached correctly.
Her smile was an indicator that he was healthy enough, physically, but she confirmed it vocally,
“Your healthy enough, Jenkins. I don’t care how often I see magic or divine favor at work. It is always impressive what it can accomplish. Without it, you would have been laid up for at least a month. If you see that dwarf again, be sure to go out of your way to thank them.”
Prisca winced at her words, hoping they didn’t remind Jenkins of his late wife’s passing. The mage had not arrived in time to save her. Fortunately, either he didn’t notice or chose to ignore it.
“I will, healer Prisca. So, I’m good to go?”
“Yes. I’m sure the dwarf told you, but magical healing of any kind borrows stores from the body. Be sure to eat extra meat and everything else, in general, for the next week or so. Your body needs to replace what was used.”
Jenkins was too old to pull off a proper eye roll, but he felt the squint of annoyance he gave her at the motherly reminder got his point across. Prisca, for her part, ignored the facial sass entirely and waited for his compliance with her orders. Jenkins gave in with a sigh, knowing she wouldn’t let him go until he did.
“Yes, mam. Thank you. I’ll be sure to do that.”
“Off with you before the others string you up for making Lord Tom even more irritable for making everyone wait. And come back to us safely. The eligible girls that hound you so would never forgive you for dying.”
The joke fell flat as Jenkins soberly looked at Prisca. He wasn’t ready to joke about or discuss this subject with anyone. He could ignore the earlier reference to the exceptional qualities of magic healing, but not this. Three years wasn’t enough time for the passing of Rukan to stop hurting. He wasn’t sure there would be enough time, and he resented her for implying that it had already passed.
Jenkins frowned at the healer. His mood soured at the joke.
“I’m not ready to discuss that, healer Prisca.”
Prisca returned the sober gaze of one of the citizens she had charge of and wished she had another few months to work with him on this old injury. She knew it would need to be addressed, but they were out of time. Hopefully, he would find the strength in the future. It wouldn’t hurt to ensure he knew there would be resources to lean on, even in the Capitol.
“Jenkins, you will need to, eventually. You are going to be under a great amount of stress for the foreseeable future. You wouldn’t let one of your farmhands leave a festered wound untreated. Seek counsel from one of the temples in the capitol when you are ready. They do have people for this type of injury. Go, the others are waiting.”
Jenkins nodded goodbye to the woman trying to interfere in a man’s pain. She meant well. He pushed the thoughts to the side as he walked to the men presided over by lord Tom. There appeared to be more people accompanying them to the capital than Jenkins had expected.
The luciloo’s standing near their horses, Brynnly and Ivan, nodded to Jenkins as he approached. Robby was eagerly bouncing around the soldiers present, eager to start on the upcoming adventure. He flitted from a group of soldiers to other groups, eager to hear their war stories or at least what they talked about. Robby seemed more energetic than usual, but this was his first time leaving the county.
One soldier, in particular, stood out to Jenkins as he was off to one side near the captain and was looking green around the gills.
The rest of the soldiers were talking amongst themselves, probably discussing the eternal struggle of being hurried up to wait. Lord Tom and Captain Lowry were discussing something quietly among themselves.
Lord Tom, standing with Captain Lowry, raised both of his hands at Jenkins’s approach and addressed the crowd of his subjects with a raised clear voice,
“Enough delay. Pay attention, as you will need to pass this on to your families when you return from the capitol. A formal announcement will be made through our town crier, but this briefing is for those in the escort leaving today. Captain Lowry will be briefing your fellow soldiers later today to correct the rumors that have spread since yesterday.”
“All of you are an escort for novice Jenkins and novice Robby. Yes, this is a larger escort than normally provided to someone traveling to the capital on county business. Normally, they wouldn’t receive any escort at all. Here is why this time is different.”
“They have both been conscripted into his majesty’s service among the Adventurers Guild. They are expected to report to the Purpolis headquarters within the week to begin an accelerated training program. This is not a safe time for them to travel without aid.”
“For the few of you who haven’t heard the rumors, I’ll clarify that. A new program has been enacted by the…illustrious… Knowet All, Zubidiah Beckle. A round of conscriptions will be made amongst our county over the next few decades to increase the kingdom’s viable adventurer pool until ten percent of our county’s population are qualified adventurers. This is a valuable opportunity for our county.”
“These will be in pairs of two if I have to appeal to the king directly to get it done that way. I won’t have anyone going off alone on this task.”
Private Johansen spoke up with a respectfully sarcastic question,
“Is this a kingdom-wide policy, or is the Knowet all just picking on your family again?”
“Johansen!”
Barked Captain Lowry. Most of the junior soldiers snapped into parade rest, not eager to draw the ire of their commanding officer as Johansen had foolishly done.
Meanwhile, one of the corporals present sidled over to slap the private on the back of the head in a more direct reprimand. Lord Tom waved Lowry down. It appeared getting started after the morning’s delays had markedly improved his humor. A jab at the man who had caused his family such grief over the years had also helped.
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It would need to be addressed as unacceptable, even if Tom privately approved.
“A valid question, Private Johansen. I will remind you that the knowets do not take kindly to the besmirching of their leader’s name. But in the future, hold your questions until the end of the briefing and direct them to your immediate superior. ”
The corporal in question, one Johnathan Smythe, was giving his newest subordinate a death glare of hate for embarrassing him in front of his fellow soldiers with such a breach of etiquette. Lower-ranked soldiers were not to express their opinion when not wanted or to be seen questioning their superiors.
Military customs and courtesies were in place for reasons sometimes obscure to even the people who put them in place. Still, everyone in the military knew they were there and to be respected, even if some didn’t make obvious sense. Captain Lowry demanded such discipline in casual situations to help enforce it when things were not casual.
Johansen knew this was not a promising start to his new posting. First, the shenanigans of dealing with a bad-gir in a dress, now this. His mouth, among other parts of his anatomy, had sent him to this backwater. So maybe he should keep his head down. He settled into parade rest alongside the rest of his junior soldiers.
Lord Tom continued his briefing.
“The full policy has yet to be laid out, but the assumption we are operating under is that this will be a kingdom-wide policy. It wouldn’t make much sense for only our county to significantly boost the numbers the country needs.”
“I am awaiting the full policy to be dispatched to us and will have the details disseminated amongst the county as they are learned. Most of you have served long enough to know we don’t always get to have every detail before we need to act, however. Orders have been passed. Here are yours.”
“Novice Jenkins, Novice Robby. You are to report to the adventures guild upon arrival in Purpolis. Luciloo’s Brynnly and Ivan, you will guide the escort to the capitol. You will separate upon arrival and deliver your report on the last few day’s events to the Luciloos. You should have the collective reports from Captain Lowry.”
“Soldiers of Red adder county, you are to be the protection detail for everyone. The recent increase in mob activity warrants the task, and you are to ensure the safe arrival of everyone involved.”
“Private Johansen, you will be the guide upon arrival in Purpolis. You are not to separate from the group. We want to keep you out of further trouble with Baron Lickspittle. Yes, we know all about that mess. Kindly do not make your situation worse.”
The soldiers around the unfortunate man, who was now blushing, had relaxed enough during the continued briefing to lean over and nudge the man good-naturedly. Captain Lowry fixed the man with a gimlet stare, one finger drawing down a lower eyelid showing he was watching the man. Johansen responded smartly,
“Yes, My lord.”
“Do you have any immediate advice on navigating the city for those present who have never been to the capital?”
Johansen hesitated. At a glare from the corporal who had smacked him, he spoke,
“Purpolis can be…strange. Not in a bad way most of the time, but things happen that have little sense in trying to be explained. My sergeant explained that the mages there say that magic is responsible for some of the strangeness, but they say it is important not to give things too much attention when they happen. Also, some mobs are collared and work for the city doing menial tasks.”
Captain Lowry spoke up,
“Magic bullshit aside, Explain more for those that haven’t been to the city about that last bit.”
Johansen looked more uncomfortable but continued as if he was resigned to being mocked for his words,
“The mobs aren’t dangerous as long as they are collared, but some look very dangerous. I think it’s madness to have that many mobs around that many people. But the AG, the Adventurer’s Guild, has flyers everywhere reassuring people that it’s safe.”
“The guild does a good job protecting the city, but you hear rumors about…incidents with mobs… let’s say, misbehaving. So the other guards and I made a point of never going alone. During the day, it’s not so bad, but at night people that went anywhere by their lonesome tended not to come back.”
Lord Tom was about to continue when Robby piped up in his high-pitched, excitable and strangely confrontational tone,
“Does that mean we can ride monsters? Like they were pets or servants?”
Johansen answered the boy before Tom could chastise him for interrupting. It was an odd phrasing, who rode their servants? He could dovetail more general information and get his brief back on track simultaneously.
“The city is sectioned out into districts. Yes, there is an entertainment district where you can see them do tricks or even play with them, but it can be expensive.”
Robby looked disappointed that something so exciting would cost money he didn’t currently have. Jenkins suspected one of the boy’s new life goals, which he had just discovered, was to ride a dragon, as most little boys discovered at some point in their lives an ambition that was exciting and entirely without safety. He did seem to be sadder than a little boy should be at the idea, though.
Johansen continued.
“The other most well-known districts are divided by purpose and location. The city is massive. There will be more people than you have ever seen in your life. That’s one of the downsides to getting around, really.”
“The upside is they did a decent job organizing everything, so it’s not too hard to navigate once you get inside. The outside of the city is where most people live. Inside the walls are two rings of seven districts, one ring of six near the center of the city, then the central royal district. For a total of twenty-one in all.”
Lord Tom interjected,
“You’re getting into the weeds. I’ll finish, then everyone needs to get going.”
“The luciloos will be heading to the central royal district to give their report. The rest of you will escort the new novices to check in at the main guild headquarters in military district one, just east of the royals.”
Tom gestured to a tall blond man standing in front of the group with a well-tended uniform. The man snapped to attention at the gesture.
“Corporal Smythe, you are in charge of the detail. Private Johansen, help your corporal keep everyone out of the noble district. After completing your escort, you all have one day of liberty in the city then I expect the detail to return within the week. Does anyone not understand?”
There was silence from the gathered subjects. It was a bit more complicated than anyone had expected, and most of the troops thought it was more complicated than it had to be. Corporal Smythe thought it would be a clusterfuck, but most non-commissioned officers had a pessimistic streak about their subordinates causing trouble on liberty.
To be fair, most NCOs had caused their share of trouble before ascending the ranks, so they knew what to be pessimistic about. They didn’t want to wrangle the more ambitious of the troops. The more fun the troops had, the more the NCOs would have to mop up the aftermath.
Jenkins was more nervous than he had been learning that mobs would surround him in the city. Robby was bouncing even more excitedly. That boy was a ball of rapid-fire mood swings today. Jenkins had seen some dark looks the boy had thrown his way when he had been confronted by Joclyn.
Tom nodded in satisfaction.
“Good, travel safely and swiftly. Novices, I will send correspondence to check on you within the month. Dismissed.”
Captain Lowry and the corporals present started shouting to get the troops formed up and ready to march off. To the soldier’s credit, it took less than thirty seconds for them to be in formation and ready to go.
The Captain passed last-minute instructions to his trio of NCOs accompanying the escort. Regardless of the organization, the command structure loved its repetition. The three corporals nodded at his last words, then took their place at the head of the column.
The two luciloos had mounted their horses and taken a position at the front, ready to serve as forward scouts. Jenkins and Robby had ambled into position at the rear of the column, not trying to get run over by the soldiers but ready to keep up. Robby was still visibly excited to be setting off and imitated the soldiers’ march with an almost manic focus as the entire group set off toward the capital.
Jenkins was happy to be finally getting started on the adventure. He was still angry about the entire situation but decided having a more excited attitude like Robby might be more helpful in this monstrously pain-in-the-ass endeavor. He had had enough explanations and delays. He wanted to get started.