Taylor and Clair laughed while Harold shook his head in disapproval.
"Seriously?" Harold asked, "was that all last night was? To one up Raven in your insane game that will end with one of you dying."
"It was not the reason why I went in last night." I said shaking my head, the joviality gone. "The city should have been filled with lots of wayward souls. I noticed my soul lantern wasn't trying to draw in the souls when we arrived, that could have meant a few different things. When the captain mentioned a Shade being spotted I knew I had to do something. I also may have received a quest while wandering the ruins."
"Kill the shades?" Harold asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah but on the positive side, now that there are no more shades in the city, reconstruction efforts will be a lot faster. Also from the quest rewards there has been a significant decrease in death mana so the undead will eventually fall apart if left alone."
"That actually is good news." Clair said.
Harold handed out mugs of drink to everyone while they all digested what I had just told them. I took the simple cup from Harold and took a long sniff. It smelled like a fruity tea with honey and something that I couldn’t make out. I smiled and took a small sip, the tea hit my tongue and I instantly felt a lot better. The aches and pains from sleeping in the cot seemed to melt away, I had never managed to find out what Harold did to the drinks he served in the mornings but they were the best thing to wake up to. His drinks were so good that we made it a tradition to spend the first few minutes of each day quietly enjoying the drinks Harold made.
The camp sounded extra busy this morning, there was lots of shouting but it didn't sound like an alarm call. I tried to guess why everyone seemed so busy but after a few minutes of idle guessing, I gave up not really being able to hear any conversation that was relevant. Music drifted through the air in between the shouts, it sounded like a violin but could have easily been a guitar as well there was just too much noise from the camp.
I felt my shoulder sag as I relaxed, it was nice just hanging out with friends. That was when I heard the determined and purposeful footsteps of someone coming up to our tent. It started off with a few people calling out for someone to watch out, then it moved to wooden board creaking and squelching. Then I could hear the distinct footsteps of someone wearing Marine issued boots, the footsteps came straight up to the door of our tent and stopped. The person cleared their throat before speaking.
"Wanderers, are you awake? It's Tim." Tim said.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Raven gesturing like we did when we were dungeon diving. The gestures were crude and could carry a basic conversation but nothing that really gave depth of conversation.
“Silent, I want him to sweat.” Raven gestured.
I could see the semi cruel grin on her face, this was not the first time she had asked us to stay silent like this. Once it had even led to a messenger divulging too much information and we were able to negotiate a quest contract. One by one we all signed our agreement and sat there drinking out tea in silence.
"Er, hello?" Tim said, as if not understanding why they wouldn't be awake. "Harold? Raven? Are either of you awake?" He went silent waiting for an answer. "Is anyone awake in there?" Tim said slightly louder, he tapped the tent a few times causing the tent to jingle.
I looked at Harold who was always the first person to crumble and call out, I could see that he was fighting his urge to call out and be helpful. It was amusing to watch for a few seconds before realising that Harold was going to answer Tim.
"Hello?" Harold asked, feigning having only just noticed. "Is someone there?"
"Harold, it's Tim, can I come in?" Tim called back, sounding very relieved.
"Sure we are all up, just enjoying a morning drink."
A second later Tim opened the flap of the tent and stopped as he saw that we were all just sitting around wide awake. I could see the cogs turning in his head and his smile began to morph into a frown as he began putting the facts together.
"If you're all awake then why…" He trailed off.
"I have a privacy spell that cuts off all external sounds, we didn't realise you were outside." Taylor lied.
"Ahh, that makes sense." Tim nodded in understanding, completely buying the lie, "Well I've been asked to bring you to the Captain, something happened last night and he wanted to talk with you about it. He specifically said, this time he wanted all of the party there from start to finish of the meeting."
Tim looked directly at me as he said the last part, I belatedly realised that I was sitting topless and was only wearing a shredded pair of trousers. I smiled sheepishly as I picked up my bag of holding and walked behind the privacy screen that had been erected for Raven, Taylor and Clair. Harold continued to talk while I put on a new shirt and an intact pair of trousers.
“Is that Captain waiting presently?" Harold asked while I was still changing.
"No, he's currently debriefing the night guards." Tim replied, "The captain asked me to escort you to the mess area for breakfast and then afterwards I'll take you to see him."
"Forgotten Gods be praised." Taylor said with a sigh of relief, "I was afraid you'd be taking us to him right away, come on Luca I'm sure you're as hungry as the rest of us."
My stomach groaned loudly at the idea of breakfast to the amusement of everyone. It had been a while since I ate and I realised that I'd skipped dinner to hunt the shades. I hadn't felt like eating while wandering the ruins for understandable reasons. Food was now high on my priority list, right behind going to the loo.
"Can we make a stop by an outhouse?" I asked as I followed my party out of the tent and into the crisp morning air.
The short answer was yes. There was a bit of a queue to get in, but after the stop we headed for the mess area. The mood in the camp had grown dour overnight, conversations were hushed and I saw a few people just staring towards Mountain Guard. I started to get a sinking feeling after a while but I hoped that I was wrong. Harold and Tim kept up a conversation while we walked but I was too far behind them to hear most of what they said.
After I lost track of the twists and turns we had taken, we finally arrived at the mess area. It was a large area with two large cauldrons full of food cooking on either side, the majority of the space was taken up with rows of tables and benches. People queued up at either cauldron to get their food, then found a spot on a table and ate. There was a sense of muted comradery, groups of people talked and people looked like they were enjoying breakfast, but they just did it all quietly.
Tim led us over to a queue and after a short wait, I was served a sweet smelling stew with bread. I thanked the cook but they just grunted at me. I listened to some of the conversations that the Marines were having. It sounded like something had happened in camp last night but no one really wanted to talk about it directly. As I sat down my curiosity had turned into a burning need so I asked Tim flatley.
"Tim?" I said, interrupting his conversation with Harold. "What happened in camp last night?"
"Didn't you hear?" Tim asked, I could see the surprise on his face, like I'd asked him the stupidest question in the world.
"Hear what?"
"All the roars and screams coming from the ruins last night? It was unearthly. The soldiers are worried, most of them are heading back into the city today to clear away the bodies." Tim said softly, "they are scared of coming across whatever made those sounds."
"Oh." I said, I used every ounce of my willpower to keep my face neutral as my bad feeling encompassed me.
I had caused fear and unrest in the camp, while not directly, it was still through my actions. Monsters roared when they fought and the Shades were no exception to that. Last night they had not died quietly and a few times I had to use Lesser Regeneration to repair my ear drums. I hadn’t thought about it at the time but the Marines were camped outside of the ruins, they would obviously have been able to hear the roars, screams and property damage that I caused last night.
I flexed my willpower even harder and stopped my face from turning red. I noticed a Raven glare at me with her cruel grin, it looked like she might spill that secret and I prayed that she didn’t. I also saw Clair and Taylor shake their heads while trying to hide their smiles.
"I thought you would have heard it." Tim said his brows scrunched up in confusion.
"When I got in last night, I fell asleep right away. It's been a long few days." I said rubbing the back on my neck.
Tim’s brown scrunched up even more at my answer, it looked like he wanted to say something but his eyes darted around and his mouth closed.
"It's been a long few months." Harold said into the silence. There was a general murmur of agreement that came from the Marines around him.
"I was looking forward to a week with my family before I was sent out again,” Tim confessed with a sullen look. “But when duty calls..."
He didn't finish his sentence and didn't need to, the solemn nods from the marines around us spoke louder. I was not envious of them, as an adventurer I was always on the move, going from town to town, picking up jobs to help out the locals. I got to see the world, meet lots of new people and occasionally, have to survive starvation or being broke if a few adventuring parties had been to a town before me. I also got to take time off whenever I wanted and if I could afford it. The Marines didn’t get that luxury, when they received their orders that was that.
Breakfast was a little subdued after that, no one really had much more to add. The sweet stew was good and the bread was a little salty which made it perfect for mopping up the last bits of it that refused to go onto the spoon. Once I was finished, I dropped my bowl and spoon off at the wash bin that was placed at the end of the table. Tim escorted us back into the maze of tents again.
I was determined to keep track of our route this time, I focused on the turns we were making and began to create a line in my mind. It was a simple line that went forwards then would turn in the correct direction. I began to add white blocks next to the line to signify the tents. We walked past an open area that had a few fires in and I added the space to my mental map. As we continued on I felt that the line was getting fainter in my mind and some of the first turns were beginning to fade when we arrived at the Captain’s tent. The second I saw the tent come into view as we turned right around the last corner a notification appeared.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Through diligent training you have trained a characteristic. You have gained +1 intelligence.
Before we had turned the corner, I was 80% sure I had forgotten the first turn, now I was sure I could get back to the mess area. That was just an added bonus. However it did remind me that now the war was over, I needed to get back into training my characteristics again. I needed to gain back the strength I used during the final battle. My thoughts were pushed to the side as we were marched straight into the tent again without having to wait.
The interior was exactly the same as it was the night before, the only difference was that the tables had been moved and there were now 5 chairs arranged in a crescent moon shape. I followed as we all lined up in front of the chairs, in the chairs sat the same officials that Raven and Harold spoke to last night. I couldn’t get a good look at them as they had arranged the lighting so that they were almost sitting in darkness, even though it was morning outside. Damn spatial tents. The sinking feeling that I had in the mess area was only getting worse now.
"Good morning, thank you for coming. I’m afraid that we need to have a talk before I organise transport through the ruins." The Captain said, I was annoyed with myself that I hadn't managed to get his name last night before I left.
"Captain Reynolds," Harold said, unknowingly or maybe knowingly, providing me with his name. "You were given the orders the King issued last night, are you saying that you are refusing a royal order?"
"Things have changed and depending on the answers of your stealthy friend, the orders might not matter." Captain Reynolds said icily, "Come, stand before us." He pointed at me and then at the floor in front of him. “Last night you arrived with your friends but when they left there were only 4 of them. You will answer my questions.”
I looked at Harold who just shrugged. I didn’t like this, I would have been happy to talk about my stroll last night but this was rubbing me up the wrong way. I felt like the meeting had turned into an interrogation.
"I will answer your questions but I would like to point out that Article 5 part 9 of the adventurers society accords states that while, I as part of a registered adventuring party, am in good standing with the society, I am allowed to withhold information should it reveal any trade secrets, proprietary knowledge, class or profession secrets." I said calmly while moving to stand in front of them.
"It will be noted and taken into account." Captain Reynolds said, "what is your name and class?"
"My name is Luca Piel, the closest class archetype would be specialist scout, I think." The captain hemmed at my response.
"Alright then, how did you leave the tent last night without my guards noticing?"
I opened my mouth to answer him but I recoiled at the thought of telling him my secrets. I felt a skill attempt to influence me, the foreign mana that the skill used, had pushed into me for a second before being forcefully repulsed. I was not about to tell them about my abilities, those were my secrets and class secrets as well. I circulated the mana in my body and I felt the skill attempt to influence me again but this time it failed instantly.
"Alright, did you go into Mountain Guard last night?"
"Yes." Everyone leaned forwards waiting for me to elaborate but I didn't, it was a bit of a dick move but fuck them.
"What did you do there?" Captain Reynolds said leadingly, I could hear the frustration in his tone.
"I walked around the ruins for a while."
"Why did you do that?" I could see his face getting a little red and decided to give in.
"I received a quest to kill all the shades residing in the ruins." I shrugged, "the quest rewards included a severe decrease in death mana in the ruins, so it should be easier in a few days when the skeletons start losing the mana holding them together."
The 5 people sat there in stunned silence, slowly the light that had been extremely bright dimmed and I could now see the people in the chairs. Each of them looked like a trout with their mouths open wide staring at me unblinkingly. I began counting the seconds and made a few gestures behind my back, I heard Raven click her fingers twice, followed by Clair. Captain Reynolds was the first to regain their composure and I smiled having just made 10 silver pieces off of Clair and Raven.
"How did you find them and kill them?" He asked a little too fast.
"That is a trade secret I'm afraid, Shade contracts are good money." I apologised.
"How many shades were there?" An elven woman asked, she sat on the far left of the arrangement.
"Ten but one of them was an Alpha which was a lot harder than the others."
"What level wasss it?" A drake woman asked, I saw her tail twitch slightly as I looked at her.
Instead of replying, I repeated my mana manipulation trick and showed the kill notification so they could all see it. I heard everyone gasp softly and someone also swore but I couldn’t tell who it was. I resisted the smug smile that tried to invade my face. I was only partially successful as one of the corners of my mouth pulled up.
"That changes things then." Captain Reynold leant forwards.
"Can you share how you tracked them down?” I shook my head, “Okay then how about other creatures in the city? Do you know the numbers of them? Where did you see them, show me on the map."
This continued on for another 20 minutes, I told them about the various monsters I saw and where I saw them. I told them about the shade nests and warned them about the gruesome scenes inside. Honestly I didn't find out much about the monsters as I had avoided them, I hadn't even cast Identification on them either just in case they sensed the spell. I did feel a little bad about not having too much useful information for them. After I was wrung dry for intelligence and had been squeezed a few more times after that, I collapsed into one of the vacated 5 chairs. The leaders had stood up when I was describing the Shade nest sites, they were now crowded around the maps of the ruins and discussing which sections they wanted to clear.
"Well then, it seems that this is a lot better than I expected. Thank you Luca for clearing out the Shades, you SHOULD have warned us about it, but thank you regardless."
"Can we revisit our talks about transport through the city?" Harold asked pointedly, it was high time that we needed to be moving on.
"What? Oh yes." Captain Reynolds said, clicking his fingers, "I was expecting Luca to have gone and riled up the monsters last night in an attempt to sabotage our recovery efforts, the city would have been impossible to cross, let alone get back. However, in light of the news, transport through the city should be possible, it'll still be dangerous but possible."
"Good to hear, when do we leave?" Harold pressed.
"Wesley, take squads 2 and 8. Everyone gets a horse, sword and shield, how long will it take you?" Captain Reynolds asked.
"30 minutes sir." Reynolds nodded and Wesley saluted before rushing out of the tent.
"30 minutes, is that okay?" The captain asked, Harold nodded. "Perfect. Tim, please escort them to their mounts." Captain Reynolds said.
With our business concluded we had been dismissed from his mind as he turned back to his map with all of the new markers on it. I left the tent with the rest of my party and went back out into the tent maze to find our horses. I tried to keep track of the twists and turns again this time but we walked a lot further and I lost track just before we came to the stables.
Much to my dismay, the horse I had ridden to get out here was waiting for me. It stared daggers at me the second it spotted me and I saw it stamp a hoof. The rest of my party mounted up as I approached the horse, I gave its head a wide berth as I moved to its side, its eyes never left me the whole time. I reached up to grab the saddle horn and dodge back as the horse lunged at me, quick as a flash, my open palm flashed out and I slapped the horse across its fucking long face.
"Fuck you." I said and rushed the saddle.
I leapt onto the horse's back and slid my feet into both stirrups before the horse had recovered from the shock of being slapped. I adjusted myself as the horse turned its head to look at me, I held up my hand warningly at it. Fucking horses.
"Did you just slap your horse?" A stable hand asked in astonishment.
"That is the third time it has tried to bite me, I restrained myself that last 2 times and it got me but today I won’t put up with its shit." I grumbled, I heard Clair and Raven snicker.
Begrudgingly the horse followed my commands as I motioned it to follow Clair, who produced an apple and reached down to feed it to the cursed creature. The demon plodded along behind the others as we made our way back to the entrance of the camp. As we arrived, we were met but 20 armed and mounted Marines, the man Captain Raynolds had called Wesley rode in front. We joined their formation and lined up outside the front gate of the camp. Wesley turned his horse around so that he faced everyone.
"Marines, we are on an escort quest." He paused to let everyone groan, I understood, no one likes an escort quest. "We are escorting VIPs to the other side of the city.” I saw a few panicked looks flick to the ruins to the right of us. “I know you heard the noises last night but I have good news for you that I have been cleared to share."
I was curious to hear how they were going to break the news to the soldiers, they…
"That man right there," he pointed directly at me. "Is responsible for those noises, he went out last night and cleared the city of the shades. Today, we will escort Luca 'Shade Slayer' Piel through the city. It will be an honour to escort such an esteemed adventure through the city to hunt down the Kingdom’s greatest threat."
Wesley stopped and let the silence hang in that air, I realised this was to let the soldiers process the information as suddenly there were a lot of glances directed at me. I did my best not to turn red and sat perfectly still facing Wesley. I didn't really know what they were going to tell the soldiers but I guess the truth worked. At least they had given me a kinda cool title, I wondered if…yup, there it was. A notification popped up.
You have been named Shade Slayer.
Title: Shade Salyer.
Effect 1: +50% damage against all Shades. Effect 2: +25% damage against all Shade variants. Effect 3: +5% critical chance against all shadow aligned creatures.
I was a little surprised by the effects of the title and wished that I had them last night but they were good. I set the title as visible to that anyone who had an Identification or Analyse skill would be able to see it. I let myself look at the faces of the soldiers and saw the looks of hope, disbelief and awe. I may have turned a little red at that point but luckily Wesley began speaking again.
"The Shade Slayer and his party have been tasked with hunting down the necromancer, he fled through the city." He pointed at Mountain Guard, "We are not here to thin out the monsters or hunt anything down. We are going to be taking a simple route. We will enter on Main Street, turn right onto Chapel Road and pass through the remnants of the blockade there. We are expecting resistance there but we are to push through. YOU DO NOT STOP TO FINISH A MONSTER, you keep riding, the man behind you WILL kill it." He shouted, "We will be taking a left and pass through Market Square to East Street. What remains of the gate house is at the end, the last reports that came from the city was that the portcullis has been ripped out from the gate house so the way is clear.” He paused and looked at the mounted troops, “FORM UP, CLOUD ARROW’S FLIGHT."
I must admit, Wesley was good at getting people ready for a very dangerous mission. We had precise and clear instructions, a moral boost of having a celebrated hero and fears from last night had been eased. I might have been biased since he was the one who'd given me the cool title, but I thought he was a great person. Wesley rode over to us, he was mounted on a black warhorse and wore brown and green armour that had a faint magical sense to them. Oddly he had a hide shield but the magical feeling I was receiving from it, said it was far stronger than it appeared.
"Well met Lieutenant," Harold called.
"Well met," He said to Harold before addressing me. "I would like to say thank you and apologise for springing the title on you as well as your treatment this morning. I hope the adventurers society lets you register the title, the Captain said it just came to him."
"They should do, I have been given the title officially." I said, I flexed my mana and showed him the notification, I didn’t bother hiding the effects as they only related to Shades.
"Aeitha bless, that's a strong title." Wesley said before shaking his head. "Back to business, the formation we will form is drilled into the soldiers but you don't know it. The first 8 soldiers will line up in an arrow formation, the rest of the soldiers ride trailing each tip. You ride behind the arrow and between the trails, I will be there with you." He paused and looked at each of us, "You don't stop, if someone falls you keep moving, the men will take care of it. All you need to do is ride. For the magic users among you, do not fire off random spells. If you have to cast something, shout out the spell you are casting. We do not want to rile up the monsters in the city as we have to come back through it after we leave you." We all nodded in agreement. "Come with me and I will put you in the formation before we head out."
We said our quick goodbyes to Tim since he had effectively been our Marine liaison in the camp. When I came past him I reached out my arm and we clasped wrists, he looked at me with wonder and confusion in his eyes.
"How did you do it?" He asked in a whisper just loud enough for me to hear.
"With a very sharp blade." I smiled back before riding off.