Chương 31: Chapter 30 - An Uncomfortable Truth

Elias drifted back towards camp humming a tune under his breath, twirling his spear, only to hear a bell ring out softly as he drew close. Eli broke into a jog only to relax as he heard Cooper's voice ring out." Dinner's ready, we will be serving soon!" Eli shook his head, I guess he actually has a dinner bell, I guess if it works, it works. Eli broke through the treeline as he heard Cooper again.

"Please line up on the left and Ms, Fletcher will serve you shortly." Eli waited a little further back leaning on his spear as he watched the camp line up for dinner service, with the soldiers ushering the refugees to the front of the line. It lightened Eli's heart to see some of the harrowed faces from this morning seem a little more at peace speaking quietly amongst themselves in line.

No one was footloose and carefree just yet, but the soft, quiet hope that the last awful chapter of their life was over had seemed to start settling in. Eli could still see the hints of trauma as some of the younger women would flinch if one of the soldiers got too close, but after getting back to camp and recovering the uniforms it was easy to tell them apart from the bandits the previous night.

Sure they wore a mix of reinforced leather and chainmail depending on their individual proclivities, but it would also be either dyed or covered with a tabard in the Emberholdt house colors of a the dark blue of the night sky with a crest on the left breast of a silver greatsword flanked by crimson phoenix wings. Even the off duty squad wore a well cut uniform with the same markings.

"Not hungry?" Eli looked over with a smile as he spotted a familiar crimson mane headed in his direction from the corner of his eye. Astra gave him a brilliant smile that made his heart flutter a little as she drew up next to him. She really is drop dead gorgeous when she isn't covered in soot, sweat, and dragged through a muddy river. All right, who am I kidding she was still pretty hot even back then. Eli gave her a smile in return, " No.

Actually I could probably eat a horse right now after all that running last night." He pointed at the refugees in line with the butt of his spear, " They need it more right now though, I can wait. Besides, it's a rule that the cooks eat last." Astra looked askance at him, " Since when is that a rule? Also could you actually eat a Bluffback, is that a thing? If so, let me know so I can pull up a chair, I could probably sell tickets." Eli snorted, " No, the cook thing is more of a family tradition.

Translation magic was acting up again, a horse is kinda like a Bluffback in that they also pull wagons but different kind of like a large dog if you have those? Nobody really eats them though, they're way too friendly." Astra looked amused, " Good, and yes we have dogs I think, although I'm glad you don't eat them, I would have lost a lot of hope for your people if you did." She tossed her hair before dropping to the ground to take a seat next to him." In that case I'll keep you company while you wait."

Eli smirked before dropping down to join her, " Sounds good your ladyship, happy to have the company." The pair watched the diners drift through the line in the fading light in companionable silence, as the day faded, the stars and ring light took over the sky in a bright streak of cobalt blue. Once the line dwindled to the last few patrons, Eli stood, dusted off his pants, and offered a hand to Astra to help her up.

Sasha was all business as she handed the pair a tray with both their portions of stew and Mira's, although Eli didn't miss the wink she tossed him as she loaded them with a pile of rolls and an extra portion of the dessert which looked like some kind of soft pastry filled with some of the purple fruits Eli had enjoyed so much before. Eli helped Astra carry the extra portions back to her camp where Mira had set up a few small folding tables next to the chairs to make dinner a little easier.

Mira greeted Eli with a smile and all three settled in around the campfire to enjoy the meal. As Eli was quickly discovering Cooper's meal, as expected, was delicious. The stew was rich, complex, and well seasoned, the rolls satisfyingly chewy with a hint of a savory coating soaked into the top layer, and the dessert was a delightful mix of flaky pastry and a sweet fruit compote with a sneaky dash of savory salted pork mixed in to provide a flavorful counterpoint that made an excellent note to end the meal on.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. At first the silence was only broken by the occasional happy noises, or a murmured comment to each other pointing out an especially noteworthy part of the meal. Eli sat back sipping on a mug of warm tea Mira had prepared for them with a contented sigh, and a little relief at the similar reactions to the excellent meal.

I was beginning to wonder if it was just me and everything just tasted so much better than Earth cuisine that I was the odd one out. Deciding to voice his thoughts Eli nodded towards Mira." You too? Astra is clearly biased, but I was beginning to think there was something missing from my diet back on my planet with how delicious everything here is. It seems Coop and the gang are just miracle workers."

Mira let out a bark of a laugh before taking her own sip with a sigh, " Aye, Mr Cooper is certainly talented at the culinary arts for sure, but there might actually be some truth to your statement." She nodded at the curious noise Eli made, " One moment." She gestured, and the faint white dome Eli had spotted before appeared around the, cutting off all sound from outside of the boundary while still allowing them to watch the camp through it."

A privacy dome, there are some artifacts, and plenty of skills that can mimic it, but this one is a side effect of one of my powers. We can speak freely within, and there are a few topics we wish to discuss that may be a little sensitive. Gesturing to include Astra she went on, " To continue from before if your homeworld is truly bereft of all mana, it may actually have an effect on your palate.

Mana after all is the distilled essence of reality, lending a certain weight to all things, and traces of it are everywhere in our realm in the air you breath, the food you eat, the ground your feet, and especially within living sapient beings like the three of us."" It has a way of making everything just a little bit more, just like it improves your vision, it also improves the taste of your food.

Natives like Astra and I would not be able to tell the difference, as we have spent our whole lives saturated with mana from birth, but I imagine it has to be quite the novel experience if you've spent your whole life without." Eli took a deep sip as he digested this information, Has this sense of wonder I've experienced at every turn just been the influence of foreign energy warping my perceptions.

He took a long moment to examine some of his experiences in this new light one by one, until he remembered the feeling in his dream memories, the pervasive sense of wrongness and suppression. No this is nothing like that, I'll just chalk it up to another mark in the pro column on this new world. Eli turned back to Mira, " I appreciate your insight, it provides a very helpful frame of reference for me, and yes I can assure you it is very novel, and so far quite the pleasant surprise."

Mira smiled, " You are welcome." Mira glanced at Astra, " Why don't you take over my Lady, the first part might be better delivered by your hands." A nervous expression flickered over Astra's face before she nodded, giving Eli a friendly but slightly worried smile." Elias there are a few things I'm about to say that may be concerning to you, so I wanted to start this off by reiterating once again, that whether you agree or not I consider myself in your debt, but also your friend and ally if you will have me.""

Your character is plain to see in my eyes, and I am serious in my promise to be your guide in this new world for as long as you require of me. That being said, you are very new to this world, while Mira and I are not, and there is quite a bit for you to learn. Consider this conversation a down payment on that debt if it sets your mind at ease. You are among friends here, ok?" Eli gave her a slow nod, growing concerned with the delicacy that they were taking as they danced around the topic.

This feels like I'm getting set up for an intervention, how bad is it? Mira gave him a reassuring smile, " All right, going back to our conversation last night, about how you are not sure how you arrived in this world. We are pretty sure you experienced something we call being Godstouched."

Elias fought to keep a steady expression as beneath the surface his thoughts raced and his pulse thundered through his veins as adrenaline flooded his body as he remembered the booming voice from last night's dream and he broke out in a cold sweat. Mira arched a brow at Astra as cast a worried look back at her, before reaching forward and placing a hand over his as he realized he had his wooden mug clutched in a white knuckled death grip.

Similar to this morning something in her touch felt familiar, maybe a bond born battle from the previous night, but whatever the cause, her touch eased the tension just enough for Eli to wrestle his body back into his control. Breathing deep in through his nose and out through his mouth, Eli realized he was also grinding his teeth, loosening his grip on the mug, he brought a hand to his face as he massaged his jaw. What the hell is wrong with me?

The dreams weren't exactly pleasant but nothing that should elicit a reaction like this, am I repressing something? Flexing his jaw to loosen the stiff muscles, he gave Astra's hand a soft pat before clearing his throat and muttering an embarrassed, " Sorry about that, not sure what came over me."

Astra searched his gaze for a moment, before giving his hand another squeeze and sitting back and giving him a troubled smile, " Clearly you experienced something dreadful, maybe it's something like what we spoke about this morning?" Eli gave a non-committal grunt, " I'm not quite sure to be honest, it's still all kind of a blur." Astra reassured him, " Well I'm available any time if you decide you are ready to talk about it."

She gave him a thoughtful gaze, " I was about to reassure you that being Godstouched, wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but after such a visceral reaction I'm no longer quite sure that's the truth. For what it is worth I'll give you the truth as we know it, and we shall sort it out from there."