Chương 75: Cleaning Up

The portreeve was stoic at first, barely making a noise as they dragged him to a plaza for his public execution. I watched with morbid curiosity, but I really shouldn't have. Maybe there was a little voice in the back of my head that told me to be satisfied by the result, but most of me didn't want to see what was about to happen. I forced myself to watch anyway. This was going to be my fate if I wasn't careful with what I did in this world, and I needed those consequences in my mind, clear as day.

Lord Ceonwin made a lengthy speech about loyalty and the treatment of traitors, during which the portreeve slowly became a blubbering mess of a man, begging and pleading. No one watching said anything. I glanced at Anchor and Brawl, and they seemed about the same—watching with disgusted curiosity. On the other side of me, Sage sat on Morph—with him in his stool shape—and she crossed her arms. She whispered, "The portreeve was some distant nephew thrice removed of the Warlord.

It was the only reason he got this position."

"Is the Warlord going to be happy to hear that Ceonwin executed him?" I breathed.

"Ceonwin's reasoning is sound, and Ealdormen are ranked higher than portreeves." Anchor replied.

"He'll be fine. For now."

"Right…" I breathed. So many people had died because of a nepo-baby portreeve, and for what? At that, I clenched my fists and pushed my feet against the ground as hard as I could, trying not to scowl. But it was hard to maintain a straight face when the horses began dragging the portreeve's in four different directions, tearing him apart. It wasn't called quartering for no reason. I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to unhear the portreeve's screams.

At the same time, I vowed to myself that I wouldn't let anything like this happen again if I could help it. ~ ~ ~ Cleaning up Oschester was a week-long affair, and it was eerily silent as we worked. First, we gathered up all the presences we could find from all of the fallen orcs. I was granted a standard siphon as a sergeant, which I used whenever anyone was watching, but already, my modified siphon was working better than the standard issue equipment, so if I was alone, I used it.

It took a few days for us to process all the bodies and heap them outside the city. We buried any of the humans we found, but burned the orcs once we'd siphoned their Presences. Sage checked on my injuries for the first few days, and insisted on checking them until she was absolutely certain that no rot remained and my insides were healing properly. With our piles of Presences, it was up to the battalion pursers to allocate the presences between us.

In a battle like this, with all the chaos, it was hard to know exactly who had killed what, and I certainly hadn't been keeping track, but I knew that I had killed Mugreth, and sure enough, they awarded me the Presence that he dropped, along with a heap of other smaller Presences from the other orcs. As we gathered the Presences, Brawl said, "Brother, I hope you don't plan on using them all at once."

"If you shred your internal leys with all that energy," Sage said, "I'm not healing you." I chuckled.

"Are you even able to heal that?"

"Not yet."

"I'll be careful," I said. Truthfully, I hadn't even realized that I could damage myself by taking too many Presences at once. A little warning might have been nice—but maybe we would've gotten that at Homecamp. Of course, that also wasn't considering the fact that it did cause me pain. Which was usually a sign to stop doing something. I was just bad at listening. So instead of consuming all the Presences in one batch, I consumed them in two batches. It still hurt, but it didn't rip me apart from the inside out.

And when I was finished, I checked my reading slate. It read: Name: Levi Gordon (ID#: DD-333) Class: Soldier Rank: Sergeant Tier: Iron Vitality: 4 Agility: 4(+4) Strength: 4 Perception: 3(+1) Focus: 11 Presence: 10 Skills: Spearmanship (Apprentice), Archery (Novice), Art: Directional Gravity Manipulation (Journeyman), Commanding Presence (Novice), Horseback Riding (Novice) I had everything I needed to make it to Steel except for having enough stats overall.

I only had twenty-six points, and I needed fifty before I'd advance. I'd have to keep training, and I'd have to find a new strategy for enhancing my stats. There was so much to do still, and my hands trembled with anticipation. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The next morning, once we ensured that Oschester had a strong garrison—and after leaving Sir Aldhelm in charge of the city—we departed and rode back to Castle Urcia.

It should have felt like coming home after a long road trip, but instead, it was more like the first day of school. When we returned to the castle, I cleaned myself off in the baths. It was late evening, and we were called to the mess hall shortly after, where the Drillmaster announced: "Of the hundred recruits that travelled to Oschester, seventy-five have returned.

This is a massive blow to the next generation of sappers, and the rankings will be readjusted to ensure adequate striving: the top eight is the threshold for two extra weekly Presences, and the top forty is the threshold for one extra weekly presence." Lord Ceonwin stepped forward.

"Likewise, our southern forces have been spread even thinner. We routed out a massive orc force, yes, and we killed Mugreth, but they still have a numerical advantage, and Oschester's population will take time to recover. The Warlord has promised us reinforcements, and the Fleshknitters are working on an additional one hundred thousand Dupes to be sent to the front lines—spread north and south. But all of these will be delayed until spring, when the mountain passes open.

"It will be a tough winter for everyone, but if we hold together and fight hard, we will survive. There is still hope, and the southern front hasn't collapsed yet." After that, we ate in mostly silence. With my stomach full, I wanted nothing more than to rest and sleep, but Lord Ceonwin summoned all the sergeants and lieutenants to his office for a briefing. He showed us maps of Gate's southern Domains.

There was an L shaped mountain range that isolated us from the inner and northern Domains, and would prove difficult for the orcs to cross, but not impossible. But if the front lines collapsed, Gate would lose swathes of prime farmland, and the orcs would have far more resources to exploit for themselves. So far, we seemed to have stabilized the front lines, and with Oschester liberated, the orcs' push had lost its momentum. For now.

But Lord Ceonwin promised that the orcs would keep trying now that they realized how weak the southern front was. Ceonwin didn't state it outright, but he implied that the Warlord seemed reluctant to offer any assistance to the southern battalions. Yes, it was important to protect the north, but we were important too, weren't we? Or was he trying to let this become a greater crisis than it already was?

If people were starving and the orcs were winning, it would give him excuses to eliminate political opponents and tighten his grip. All throughout the briefing, I stood in the back, scowling. We had to protect these regions out of spite, and we had to push the orcs back across the Thelea river. Finally, Lord Ceonwin dismissed us. But, as I was leaving, he tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hold on, Levi."

"Yes, sir?" He waited until the others had left, then shut the door. Once the footsteps had finally faded, he said, "Your old Battalion, the 294th, have been holding their span of the frontline against all odds. They've been performing admirably…and we've seen a massive increase in their efficiency. Commander Galliard reported that some of them have been asking about you. You would make a great commander, they say. Perhaps even a thegn."

"They need someone to do their chores, sir," I said. He snorted.

"For now, I've shifted around my thegns. Sir Theamund is responsible for the 294th and the other battalions in the area, and Sir Aldhelm is responsible for Oschester. I trust him the most. But with how thin our forces have been spread, we may require the sapper trainees' assistance in holding the front. Be ready."

"Yes, sir." I stood still, having not been dismissed yet, but Ceonwin stayed quiet. Finally, I asked, "Was…there something else you need from me?"

"We've heard whispers from the north. Rumours, mostly, but they have a better view of the Bane-lands than we do. The great rift-forges of the Dark Lord are spewing ash again."

"The Dark Lord?" I gulped.

"Indeed." He crossed his arms.

"I thought he was defeated. The first Warlord struck him down, sealed him, and banished his armies into the Bane-lands."

"So they say in the history books," Lord Ceonwin replied.

"But only Kharzon can restart the rift-forges. Something is coming, Levi, and we are not ready for it." I nodded.

"I don't suppose I should spread the word yet."

"It's only a rumour." I nodded.

"Sir…about what you said about thegns…would you really consider making me into one?"

"If you continue performing as you are, I would gladly grant you thegnage. Yes. It isn't traditional, but I think we could use a mind like yours to lead a few battalions." I winced.

"Th—thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me yet. Nothing's set in stone, and you must still prove yourself on the field of battle." ~ ~ ~ The next morning, I was hoping for no more meetings, but as I walked to the mess hall, Lieutenant Owl found me and said, "You've been requested in Lord Ceonwin's office again. As a representative of your squad." He paused.

"Be careful. This is at the behest of Frythlid." I gulped, then nodded. I could eat breakfast later. I followed Owl up to the office, then stepped inside. It was just Ceonwin, Frythlid and I. She crossed her arms as soon as I stepped in.

"I have been investigating the actions of my Subtle Men at Oschester. Tell me what happened. I have already heard Lord Ceonwin's side of the tale—if anything is remotely off, I will have you killed on the spot." I cleared my throat. There was no point in lying—she could sense that—and I'd done nothing wrong. If she was in league with the men who'd attacked Ceonwin, then we would have no choice but to fight her.

As I told her what happened at Oschester, I spared a few glances at the lord as I spoke, trying to gauge if he suspected Frythlid of anything. He was impossible to read. After finishing my story, I took a step back, giving myself room between me and her, and hopefully time to react if I did realize that she was against us.

"Hm," she said.

"Very well. Your tales align. It seems my ranks are crumbling as well, and full of cheap rats. They couldn't even be bothered to take a hefty sum." I reached for the pouch of coins we'd taken from the fallen Subtle Men and held it out.

"I haven't spent any. If you'd like them back, take them." She shook her head.

"Keep them, boy. Spend them well, and don't hang onto them too long. A traitor's sceats are bad luck." I nodded.

"Thank you."

"I have some investigations of my own to do, then," she said.

"Apologies for the trouble." With a flick of her cloak, she marched out of the room, then slammed the door behind herself.

"That went slightly better than I thought…" I muttered.

"Truly," Lord Ceonwin agreed.

"Now, get back to training. When you're needed, we'll call on you. Normally, we wouldn't call trainees to battle, but alas, we're going to need all the men we can get. If the 294th needs help, we'll consider sending you to them first."

"Thank you, sir. I'll do my best." ~ ~ ~ I rushed to the mess hall as quickly as I could and met up with the others.

"They didn't sentence us to death, did they, Levi?" Anchor asked.

"No, no they didn't," I replied.

"But chances are, we're going to be deploying again. With the way things are going, it'll be sooner than later." The others shared a glance with each other.

"That's going to slow our progress, brother…" Brawl lamented.

"Yeah, but we'll get around it. We'll find a way. And we might have to start pushing through the Labyrinth sooner than we thought we would. I want to be the team who takes down the central level guardian."

"Of course you do…" Sage grumbled.

"I don't think he could do it any other way," Anchor said.

"It's Levi we're dealing with." I flashed them a smile.

"You guys came this far with me."

"We're still with you, brother," Brawl said."

'Course we are," Anchor said.

"No one else would be crazy enough to adopt us into their squads at this point, and it's not like we have anywhere else to go."

"I haven't changed my mind," Sage said.

"Yet."

"Well, then," I said, flashing them a grin. I looked out the mess hall's doors, out at the rising sun.

"We have a long road ahead. We'd better get busy." END OF VOLUME 1