Chương 58: Chapter 57 - On the Road to Emerald Grove

Elias woke warm and cozy in his tent on the village green, stretching to work out a few kinks before sitting up, his mind drifting over fond memories from the night before. The day of rest had been fun, and it was nice to see the men and women of the patrol truly relax and cut loose for once. Eli especially enjoyed watching Astra and Tia out on the green, they were always cheerful, but when she was around the men Astra always held a bit of a noble lady's poise and reserve, if not as much as Mira would want her too.

It was nice to watch her smile and dance, fully embracing the carefree spirit that would peek through from time to time, but that she would mostly keep smothered under a blanket of duty. Despite copious amounts of teasing from Tia, Eli did not quite work up the nerve to ask her for a dance, he felt a little guilty using the work in the kitchen as a subtle deflection, but to tell the truth he was worried it would change things.

Last night had a subtle feeling of carefree exuberance that encouraged her to let her hair down, and Eli was worried he might have broken the spell, reminded her of her duty and her station, and stifled that brilliant smile. Furthermore, he couldn't remember the last time that he had met someone that he shared such an easy bond with, once who embraced the bleeding edge of danger so whole heartedly.

For all that she claimed to not mind his flirtatious banter, and his relaxed comfortable behavior around her, if he made his interest known would it really stay the same? It couldn't, it would have to change. Either she is not interested in which case there would be an uncomfortable dynamic of unrequited desire, or she is interested, which brings its own problems.

Going off Mira's lesson on the empire, the Duchy of Emberholdt is huge, practically a kingdom in its own right, and even if she isn't the heir she is still a princess in her own right. Eli thought about the problem for a moment before he shook his head. No, I may not know the customs around relationships for nobles but I can imagine them just fine.

She told me she values honesty and my direct nature, and I will respect that and I won't change how I act, but I will make sure I have something to contribute, that I can show I will be a valuable partner and someone she can be proud of.

A memory of her thousand watt smile as she danced in the soft light of the bonfire the previous night drifted through his mind unbidden, followed by a flash of her feral grin from their sparring match, followed by her roaring laughter on an exhausted face the first time they met as he declared he came in peace after nearly decapitating her assailant. Eli sighed, Fuck. I got it bad, I don't know what it is but that woman makes me feel like a hormone addled teenager all over again. Whatever she's worth it.

Eli heard a chittering trill behind him and saw the glittering eyes of Tia poking out of her nest as she rested her head on the side of the crate, the point of her tail flicking back and forth in the air behind her. A youthful feminine voice spoke coyly into his mind, thinking of sister-Astra again? I saw her look at your tail last night, I bet if you talked to her she would want to mate with you too. Eli blushed as he cleared his throat, It's not so simple Tia.

She is important to me and I want to do some things to show that before I talk to her about it, I want her to know she is special to me. Tia rolled her eyes at Eli before stretching with a yawn, you two-legs always make things so complicated. It's fine brother-eli, she is special, she is the shiny- fruitbringer- steelfang- firemaster- sister- twolegs, so a worthy mating gift is important. I will help you choose a very special thing, maybe green inkfruit?

Eli laughed, I was thinking of something a little more substantial Tia, but thank you for your help. Her eyes grew big, A whole pile of green inkfruit?!? Brother-eli you would be the most super special mate, and she would favor you much, but don't you think it would spoil her? Eli laughed and he scratched her chin and stood to get dressed, Maybe, but I'm sure between the two of us we can come up with the perfect idea.

As the sun rose with the dawn, almost half of the village had gathered to see the patrol off. The plight of the refugees, and the tales of the valorous deeds of the soldiers had spread through the citizens of the village, and those who had not made acquaintances among the convoy still gathered by the gate to witness the spectacle. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

The Lady's Astra and Mira cut resplendent figures in their shining armor, astride their fierce ridgebacks, and even after two days of their presence many of the village children goggled at the size of the battlewagons, especially as the structures that were almost the size of the average villagers cottage was pulled slowly across the green to stage in formation prior to leaving. Eli was touched when Jonas searched him out and delivered an entire crate of inkfruit just for Tia.

When he opened the crate to display the contents, they found it split into thirds with the varietals labelled, and a small pouch of seeds and a book for the care and raising of the trees. Eli insisted on paying for the tremendous gift, but Jonas refused, " Just knowing that there is someone out there who shares my passion for the fruit is enough." He smirked and scratched Tia under the chin, " Who knows?

Maybe one day word will reach my ears of a beautiful orchard tended by a great and terrible dragon, I will definitely tell my grandchildren of the tale regardless." Eli laughed and thanked the man, before joining the Ladies at the front of the patrol, just in time to catch the tail end of the Headman's farewell, ".... and your family is always welcome here my Lady."

The man gestured at a small troop of a dozen guards gathered on either side of the thoroughfare on the inside of the village gate, " Guards, present, Arms!" The men came to attention and brandished their swords in a salute to the patrol and the Headman gave his own salute, " Ash and Steel!" Astra returned the salute with a bow, " Born and Bound, Headman Adler."" Patrol, March!"

The soldiers who were not driving the wagons had gathered in ranks before the battlewagons, and on Astra command marched in precise formation, boots crashing in lockstep as the patrol swept out the gate and turned northward, bound once again for the heart of the ducal lands.

Not wanting to mar the dignity of the occasion, Mira had held off until the patrol entered the treeline, but once the patrol lost sight of the village and returned to their normal traveling posts, she dismounted and began putting Eli through his paces once again. The agility training joined the strength and endurance training in a condensed format where the intensity was heavily increased but the duration shortened.

The new training was based around vitality and the intensity of blows his body could endure, which was a kind way of saying that Mira would take every chance she could to smack Eli around a bit. The dodge training picked up, to the point where taking an occasional hit was inevitable, and Mira began mixing in light sparring where the massive speed differential had a similar effect. Eli groaned as another strike landed leaving a welt behind and Mira smirked, " Chin up Mr Mercer.

We will not have to do this in perpetuity, once you have gained a few crucial skills down the line you will be able to train your vitality attribute in other ways."" But! Learning to endure a heavy blow is crucial to your foundations, break time is over."

The training was productive however, not only did Eli find his flesh and bone growing denser and more resilient over time, but outside of the tenderising sessions Mira also stepped up the pace of his lessons now that they had a long stretch on time before the next stop. Mira estimated somewhere between 7 and 10 days until they reached Emerald Grove, but was unsure due to how much the refugees and the additional cargo was slowing their travel.

In addition to the four wagons liberated from the bandit camp being towed behind the battlewagons, the merchant Craston's wagons had also joined the convoy as well, although with the seizure of the mounts and the refugees volunteering to drive the wagons the additions didn't alter their speed much at all. This led Eli to ponder why they bothered taking them such a long way at all and asked Mira.

Mira arched a brow, " The Duke is wealthy but his funds are not infinite, and without recovering the blood price for the citizens it will be difficult to adequately compensate them for their misfortune without burdening the state. The garrison at Emerald Grove will purchase any goods they can use and sell the rest, the funds will then be distributed to refugees to compensate for their pain and suffering and to assist in starting a new life. What did you think we were doing with them?"

Eli winced for a moment before shrugging, " I thought maybe you were taking it as a bounty for clearing the camp? Sorry I'm new here, you know that." Mira snorted and rolled her eyes, " Hardly, we're not adventurers. No, the Duke pays a fair wage to his men, with a bonus for combat actions, and awards for meritorious actions. They will be compensated," She smiled down at Eli, " As will you Mr Mercer.""

Your contributions have been no minor thing, and escorting you to the capital and assisting in your search for answers is just a small levy towards this debt." She unleashed a flurry of blows that he mostly dodged before fumbling one and taking a blow to the temple with a loud crack." Enough idle talk Mr Mercer, move those feet!"" So!

Upon swearing the First Oath of the Concord of the Four Crowns, the Vaelorin family was established as the Royal Imperial family and their closest allies, the Emberholdt, Stonevein, and Tideborne clans were established as Ducal states sworn to the Imperial family. The pact required among other things…" Ding [Congratulations! [Studious Pupil] has reached Lv 6] The patrol continued along the forest path bordering the Arinel river and Eli fell into a comfortable rhythm as his days passed in a comfortable blend while the miles passed beneath the creaking wheels of the wagons and the pounding feet of one very sweaty Elias Mercer in a fugue of training. Every day he would rise with the sun, help Coop and the gang with breakfast, before meeting up with Mira and Astra and starting the day's training.

The mornings would be filled with lectures and physical training, and the afternoons with sparring and skill conditioning. As the sun dipped, Eli would help with dinner before bringing a share to the tents to dine with Astra and Mira, and they would chat around a gently popping campfire under the twinkling stars and the gentle glow of the ringlit night.

It was peaceful in a way Eli had never known, something about the new world and his current life had satisfied that endless drive to always seek more and always pushed himself to the edge of reason. He wasn't sure if it was Mira's beat downs, or Astra's blistering spars sating his need for a thrill, or something else entirely, but he was content. That's not to say the trip did not have its own share of interesting misadventures, but Eli was developing a fondness of traveling, of savoring a journey for its own sake.