Chương 60: A Watchful Eye

When we made it back to the surface, after collecting and consuming our Presences, the first thing I did was visit Shatter. Or, not exactly—truly, the first thing I did was cope with the influx of Presence I'd earned from last week (which involved weathering the pain and discomfort of consuming so much Presence at once). According to my reading slate, my overall rank had climbed back to number three, and with the help of the new Presences, I increased my overall Presence amount to seven.

Then I went to visit the blacksmith shop.

"You're just in time, Levi," Shatter said. It was the middle of the day, but Drywsone was busy with other Dupes, and Shatter was more than happy to lend a hand.

"I've got your greaves ready for you, and the rest of your squad's new orders as well. Give me one second." Shatter rushed into the blacksmith shop, then returned with his arms full, holding a large burlap wrap.

"Your squads' order. Greaves with an extra Agility boost for Levi, wrist guards for Anchor, and a helmet for Brawl." I took the greaves and strapped them onto my calves. They fit tight, but not so tight that I couldn't move. It was probably for the best, given that we were bound to walk long distances in our armour, and loose armour was far more likely to rub and give me blisters.

"They work perfectly," I said.

"Thanks." None of the others in the squad had any stat boosts from their gear, but now that I had the additional greaves, it brought my Agility up to eight. Four as a base stat, plus the bonus from my scale mail, and now the bonus from my greaves.

"What's your next order?" Shatter asked.

"You've got more scrap to your guys' names. Or I could just sell it off for you." I patted my legs.

"What's the armour that goes on your thighs?"

"Cuisses," said Shatter.

"The army doesn't use them much, 'cause your chainmail's pretty long, but I should be able to make something for you."

"I'd appreciate it," I replied.

"I've got nothing fancy to imbue it with."

"I'll make some base armour," he said.

"And you can trade it out later if you find something you like better." I nodded.

"Are there any other ingredients that you need? For the…you know." It was loud in the blacksmith shop, yeah, with all the apprentices hammering away at equipment, but I didn't want to take any risks and get my siphon confiscated.

"Not much, unless you could get me stone from a pillar golem…it'd be useful to enhance the core." I raised my eyebrows.

"You're not going to guess what we're doing next week."

"We are going to attack a quarter guardian, little brother," Brawl told Shatter.

"You didn't have to tell him," I groaned.

"You said he would never guess."

"Seriously?" Shatter exclaimed.

"No, no, I don't need it from the quarter guardian, I just need it from any golem you find. Don't risk that much for me."

"Don't worry, I'm not doing it specifically for you," I said with a smile.

"But pillar stone from a quarter golem would work better, yeah?"

"Well…yeah, slightly better."

"Then that's what we'll get. No hassle."

"What are you guys talking about?" Anchor asked.

"What's he making for you?"

"I'll explain later," I said.

"As in, when we're in the Labyrinth."

"Of course…" he muttered.

"Is there any other armour that I'd need?" I asked.

"I can think of plenty," said Shatter.

"Knee plates, elbow guards, and you should probably get some boots—but you'll want to wait until you can get those enchanted. Also a plume for your helmet."

"Do I have to cut off a horse's tail?" I asked.

"We can figure that part out later," Shatter said.

"But don't go attacking our horses, or you'll end up with a court marshal. Now go, before anyone gets too suspicious of us." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ~ ~ ~ The next evening, the Drillmaster had an announcement to make. He stood on the plinth on the far end of the mess hall, where Lord Ceonwin also stood—and even more menacingly, a pair of Subtle Men leaned against the wall, standing in the shadows in their full armour and cloaks.

"It is my pleasure to announce that Lord Ceonwin will be helping us observe your Labyrinth runs," said the Drillmaster.

"He himself is a Gold, so I trust his judgement on these matters."

"I wish to survey the upcoming elite soldiers of our army," Ceonwin stated.

"And I wish to analyze how you perform inside a Labyrinth. But yes, I will also be helping your Drillmaster make assessments of your performance. That is all." I glanced over at Sage, only to find her cowering and scowling at the same time. She didn't even look at Lord Ceonwin as he spoke.

"You good?" I whispered.

"I'm fine, mothbrain."

"Sure." I crossed my arms.

"Whatever the deal is between you and him, don't get us in trouble, alright?"

"I won't." ~ ~ ~ Over the course of the week, I continued to advance my Focus. I needed to get that next skill merge as soon as I could, and that meant I needed ten points of Focus—it was a prerequisite for the merge. At first, I'd hoped that Focus would snowball, and it sorta did. When I had zero points, it was nearly impossible to study and read, so it was difficult to improve. But now, the limit to my gains was my time.

I could still only process so much at a time, so I couldn't read too fast, and overall, my Focus didn't increase at a higher rate. Time spent focussing was far more important than the total information you absorbed. So that meant I stayed up later than I should have to read every day of the week, until finally, it was time to go on our next Labyrinth delve.

My overall attributes (when I attached the armour that corresponded to them) rested at: Vitality: 3 Agility: 4(+4) Strength: 4 Perception: 3(+1) Focus: 10 Presence: 7 My next problem was that I still didn't have [Slinging] at Apprentice tier yet, nor was it specialized. That would have to be my first order of business when I entered the Labyrinth. And so I could finish actually analyzing where my Skills were when we were in the Labyrinth, I made sure to bring the slate with me.

To keep it from getting damaged—for example, if I landed hard on my kit bag and shattered it—I wrapped it in rags, giving it as much padding as I could. When it was time to begin our next Labyrinth run, I attached all my armour, gathered up my spear, and pulled on my kit bag. It was time. I met my squad outside the mess hall, then delved down into the tunnels of the Labyrinth with them.

Once I was pretty sure we were alone, but still in the winding hallways of the upper chambers, I asked Anchor, "Can you sense anything? Anyone around us?" He paused, then shook his head.

"No one around that might be listening in."

"So," I said, "I'm working with Shatter to build a proper siphon. You guys know I had a crappy homemade one, but this one should function a lot better."

"Do you have plans to use it?" Anchor asked.

"What are you going to do with aspected Presences?"

"Well…I'm still working on that part specifically," I said.

"I need to find a buyer. But it should be fine. Anyway, that's what we were up to. For full transparency."

"I appreciate the truth, brother," Brawl said.

"Do you trust Shatter?"

"He's reliable, and he'd be in as much trouble as me if we got caught."

"So what was all that about 'don't do anything that will get the squad in trouble?'

" Sage asked.

"That's what you told me." I winced.

"I'm being safe about it."

"If you get arrested and executed by the Subtle Men, we're going to be without a Sergeant." She crossed her arms and looked away.

"For a soulstealer, you've been…useful so far," Anchor added.

"If we lost you, it would be a nasty blow to the squad."

"What's that?" I joked.

"Are you guys actually coming around to me?"

"No," Sage and Anchor said in unison.

"Guys, look," I said.

"I promise I'm being careful. And I'm not telling you guys to follow the rules to the letter, because I can't seem to do that either, but do it in a way that's careful, too. We need the squad to stay intact."

"I hear you," Anchor said.

"Yes," Sage agreed reluctantly.

"Now, let's keep going," I said.

"We have a quarter guardian to defeat." ~ ~ ~ Lord Ceonwin only had one daughter. His sons had all gone off to war long ago, and three of them were still alive, but the death of the fourth was not a memory he wanted to remember. It hadn't even been in battle. Sage wasn't supposed to be here. When he'd received the letter from his housemaster, he'd been furious, but the housemaster hadn't had the authority to stop her—not while Ceonwin was away in Eraen-Kalora, serving his time in the Warlord's court.

Serving in the Warlord's court was all a big exercise to ensure that the Ealdormen remained loyal. His wife and youngest son were practically being held hostage in the capital, under the Warlord's watchful gaze. And it kept him too far from his Domain to make a meaningful difference. He wasn't able to organize them properly. He wasn't able to rally the troops to defend his Domain. He wasn't able to check on his cities and his men to ensure that the defenses were being maintained properly.

Maybe if the Warlord let him assign his own portreeves, he could ensure that there were competent subordinates left behind, but the Warlord preferred to promote his own blood. By the time Ceonwin had returned, it was too late. The front lines were crumbling… and of course— of course— his daughter had snuck into the SAP against his will. But that didn't mean he couldn't watch over her while she explored the Labyrinth, ensuring she stayed safe, ensuring she didn't do anything she'd regret.

Ensuring that Atoning sergeant of hers didn't do anything he'd regret.