Chương 56: 55 – A Meeting With the General

We walked a full night and camped another day, but the the rift seemed no closer by the next evening. Just being able to see the rift didn't actually mean we were all that close to it. It was enormous. It was hard for me to wrap my head around how big it was. Estermont had been a whole duchy of Tacuria, just like Denarla. According to old maps, it had been larger than the entire country of Charlost. Most of that land was now covered by the rift. According to Sergeant Seyar, we were still more than sixty miles away.

Three more days at our current pace, assuming the weather treated us well. Unfortunately, a thick layer of clouds had rolled over the sky as we began our late afternoon march. We were still closer to Pemolar than we were to the rift. Even in April's world, there were very few things large enough to be visible so far away that you couldn't reach them by walking for a full day. The only comparison I could think of was approaching the Rocky Mountains from the flat plains of eastern Colorado.

The rift was hidden behind trees and hard to see from here without a convenient Reid to climb on top of, but each step toward it made the world a little brighter. Even so, it left me with a creeping feeling. Something about the rift's light felt... off. Wrong, in some unnatural way.

"Here you go!" came an excited voice behind me. I turned and smiled as Uncle Marnakus approached, with all the sound of a boulder, carrying a hemp sack filled to the brim with materials. We'd only packed up camp about half an hour beforehand and the afternoon sun still lit the sky. When he reached me, he held the sack out, gesturing for me to take it. I eyed it warily before looking at his massive arm. Then back to the sack.

He was wearing his full regalia and marching in metal plate, and it certainly didn't look like he was struggling, but I knew I'd told him his need required a huge chunk of metal. At least forty pounds of it, and more supplies besides.

"You… surely don't think I can hold that, do you? Put it on the ground, silly! –uh. Sir!" I said, tossing him a lazy salute. There were plenty of people walking around us, some of whom might take offence at a private calling a High Bannerman silly. That still struck me as odd. It just seemed like the military should be more structured somehow, but I supposed as long as the army got where it needed to go... It occurred to me that the army likely hadn't moved this many wagons or people for a few decades.

Ever since the rift borders had been established, they'd been standing armies. No need to go anywhere. For an entire generation, the monsters and enemies had all been conveniently right in front of them.

"It's not that heavy," he said before dropping the sack to the ground with a loud clunk. On a whim, I grasped the sack and tried to lift it. The damn thing must've weighed a hundred and forty pounds. I glared at him.

"What is your strength stat?"

"Forty-three!" He said proudly.

"I'm level forty-one, you know."

"Uh huh. You know I'm level sixteen, right? With strength to match?" I asked.

"Well, we'll get that fixed down at the rift. Plenty of levels to be had killing goblins even for privates. Especially for privates, in fact. Sixteen actually isn't so bad for a farm girl."

"I was fourteen before the riftbreak," I said.

"Had a run in with a war troll, and then again with three goblins."

"Your father told me about the war troll when he was giving me the pepper paste. Is it truly so effective?" he asked.

"It smells like a rotten kerlunka."

"That's intentional. If you actually get some on your face or inhale the liquid type, it can knock you on your ass and blind you. Doesn't seem to work so well on goblins, but I guess war trolls have sensitive noses and eyes."

"Aye, that makes sense. War trolls use their noses to track. I've seen them do it," he replied.

"For now, I'm excited to discover what you might make for me! Your father told me about his scythe." I shuddered. I'd been steadily re-amassing a stockpile of free points over the evening. Two more people had come to me. Mandek had gotten a sling that enhanced his range, gave a flat increase to his Sling skill, and seemed to give him a targeting reticle, though he didn't have a word for that. Not as amazing as Reid's bow, but the man was overjoyed.

He used a sling to scare wolves away from his sheep and to hunt small game and trusted it more than a bow. Klyder, the Mitoras victim who had been scolded by healer Ake, hobbled along behind the army back to Mitoras after being healed. He hadn't joined in Pemolar, but he'd decided to do so after he saw the devastation the rift monsters had wrought on his home.

I'd grown close enough to him during his healing that I'd been able to make him a strange pair of boots after he'd gathered me some leather, string, aether dust, and feathers. Ordinary Brown Boots Effect 1: Injuries to the lower extremities are healed over time while these boots are worn. He, obviously, needed them to run from war trolls. While Normuran and Ake both had done wonders in getting him up and moving around, he still wasn't back to one hundred percent. Hopefully, the boots would help with that.

An extra sixteen points, eight each from them, put me at a comfortable thirty-three free points available, and I was hopeful that my uncle had a skill as high as Mom did.

"Okay," I said as I felt his need bubble flare to life in my mind. Metal, Wood, Paper.

"Lets see what you get, huh?" I reached into the sack and touched the metal, even as I activated the need bubble. The hemp sack fell away as the wooden logs and the chunk of metal floated off the ground. Paper streamed up around the items, its thick jagged edges swirling around the metal and wood as they began to morph and change. I grimaced a little. This was one of the most flashy bond crafts I'd seen since Hadra's, and people paused to watch the item begin to form.

Thankfully, it wasn't a storm of ink and light as it had been for Mom, but it was still an impressive sight. To my surprise, the metal began to shrink rapidly, folding down even as it stretched into a long, flat panel. The paper, too, began to morph, creating a sort of cushion as the metal rounded into a… a collar of some sort? Wood laced the interior, and the paper became a strange cushion layer, all fitting together.

Red lights danced around the item as it formed, and the craft was almost completed before I realized what it was. Soldier's Gorget Effect 1: While under the effects of a passive talent, the wearer of this gorget retains perfect clarity.

"Huh. A… a gorget. Well, I suppose protecting one's throat is always valuable," he said. The sheer amount of metal in the requirement had thrown me off. Once again, the item's requirements were arbitrarily large and unrelated to the actual amount of material that would be needed to make the item normally.

"I really thought it was going to be an axe," I said. From Marnakus's Combat skill, you have gained fourteen free points! That left me with forty-seven free points. Uncle had really spent most of his life fighting. One hundred and forty points in the combat skill. It was safe to assume he also had large amounts in Footwork, Endurance, Running, and Jumping. He shrugged.

"It's no matter. It does look like it will easily replace my current one. Perfect clarity. You said I'd need it to prevent me from becoming confused, yes?" I nodded.

"Well, that's not good. Gods, I wish you'd have dodged this, Mera. You didn't need to be here," he replied lowly to prevent any passers from hearing.

"I told the General about your warning. Your talent's warning. He wants to see you." My stomach dropped.

"He…. wants to see me? I'm just a private!" Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"The general tries to meet most members of his army at least once, regardless of rank if he can. When I told him your talent could warn us of danger, he decided to move up his meeting with you." I hesitated.

"Mom… told me I should avoid him." Markus was still looking distractedly at the gorget, and he hadn't noticed the sudden panic in my tone.

"Not much chance of that now. Why would she say that?" I shrugged.

"She wouldn't tell me. They have history, and it has something to do with Maulander's brother."

"Atrinaska knows the general? How? Is she sure she didn't just know a different Maulander?" he asked, perplexed as he tore his eyes away from the new piece of armor.

"She saw him in Pemolar. She seemed pretty sure," I said. He paused, his brow furrowed in thought.

"That doesn't make sense. Maulander doesn't have a brother. I've known the man for six years. I'd know," he said, assuredly.

"That's what she told me." My heart was racing. Alone with the general, who hated my Mom for some reason. Could I get out of this? Not likely. Only way ahead was through.

"Uhm. Could you go with me? Mom was afraid of him, and she insisted that I should avoid him if I could. I'm pretty sure half the reason Dad joined was to protect me from him." I thought about mentioning that Mom had given me something to protect myself as well, thinking of the little black and white rod in my pocket, but decided against it. He frowned.

"The general isn't a perfect man, but he would never hurt a recruit."

"All the same, can you go with me?" I asked. His frown deepened.

"Of… of course. I intended to escort you to him anyway. I didn't know anything about this. When would a farmer's wife have met the General of the Central armies?" I had a sudden impulse to tell him that Mom wasn't always a farmer, but I held back. Mom had kept her identity a secret from me for my entire life. I doubted she wanted me blabbing to anyone. I trusted my uncle, but I held my tongue.

"Maybe we'll find out together?" I asked. He nodded. A decent portion of the army had passed us while I crafted his item and we had to move a bit quickly to get back toward the front. Maulander had made certain to walk upwind of the carts, and it did smell a lot better this far away from them. Maulander wasn't riding a horse or lounging in a wagon. He walked, the same as his bannermen and sergeants. When we approached, Uncle Markus became High Bannerman Marnakus in an instant.

He snapped to attention before the general, and gave a salute, hand over chest. I clumsily also gave my own salute as the Sergeant had been teaching us over the past few days. Mine was very different from my Uncles, and I was worried I'd done it wrong.

"General. I report as ordered," Marnakus said.

"At ease, Bannerman. Private," Maulander said after returning the salute. He immediately began walking, and we joined him in step. For some reason, I had thought this would be a private meeting in the big tent he set up whenever we stopped to sleep for the day, but it seemed he conducted his business while moving.

"So… A crafter talent that can predict the future," he said.

"What are they putting in the fish in Pemolar these days, to produce such talent?"

"Uhh," I replied.

"Lemon juice and pepper…? I think?" He snickered before turning to my uncle.

"Bannerman. Your report?"

"I requested my niece craft me an item. The item was a gorget, that does indeed appear to prevent confusion, implying that I will be intentionally confused some time in the future. My passive talent is active whenever I'm wearing armor, so it does seem tailored made to me." He pulled the gorget out from under his arm and handed it to the general, who examined its properties quickly.

"Frustrating. If I had a passive talent, I would likely keep this. It seems incredibly useful," he replied before leaning forward to look at me from my place beside my uncle.

"Did you know that, private?"

"I don't even know for sure what my uncle's talent is, General. Uh. Sir! He told me when I was younger, but it's been almost two years since I last saw him! Sir!" He chuckled.

"General will do, Private Elmerina." We continued walking for a short minute while the general thought.

"You've caused quite a stir in this camp, private," he said after a long while.

"Stories by the dawn, a spectacle that has the entire brigade excited and chatting. In one night you seem to have managed to improve the morale of a near five hundred fresh recruits, and plenty of veterans besides."

"I… I just like telling stories, sir. Uh, I mean general! It's a passion of mine," I said. The crowd the first morning had been nearly a hundred privates and sergeants who happened to be nearby. This morning I'd drawn nearly five hundred people. It was actually a little intimidating. He nodded.

"I'm not going to make it an order, but I would like you to continue. Such an improved mood is only good for our army."

"I will!" I replied.

"Good. Let's move on. Unfortunately, when rumors of poisons and drugs spread around, they make people distrustful. There have been Eschal spies found in our camps, and they have led to deaths among our soldiers, even in the central army. So, to discover I may be drugged forces me to cast doubt on all of my subordinates."

"I… uh… I was just trying to help. My talent is vague. I can only be sure something is going to happen if I see a lot of people with the same need. Like you and Unc–uhh, the High Bannerman."

"Who else?" he insisted.

"Uhm… H-High Bannerman Presken," I said, noticing the man nearby.

"There was also a girl. Private Uleno." I blinked as I noticed that very girl carrying something to another high-ranking officer whose name I didn't know. I started to get a creeping feeling down my spine. Suddenly, I noticed another man whom I'd forgotten. Sergeant Haminal, the asshole who'd directed the attack on Pretyr and Owinda. Thankfully, I hadn't really encountered any of the soldiers that had attacked Pretyr since joining. It seemed they were being kept up here with the command staff.

"There were two more. Sergeant Haminal over there, and a man named Mevery. I don't remember his rank. I saw them back in Pemolar…" I said.

"What does your talent say I need?" he asked sharply. I focused on his need bubble again.

"About forty tons of cloth, the same amount of ether dust, and willow bark."

"Forty tons? Are you building me a wall?" he asked. I shook my head.

"My talent is social. It gets easier to make things for people the better I know them. You haven't left a good impression on me, General."

"No. I suppose I wouldn't have. Your mother likely did not see me in the best of lights when she was young. I… was a stupid man at the time. I couldn't believe… well. No matter. It's in the past. When you see your mother again, please express my apologies, for what little they are worth. I was blind to my brother's crimes back then. I did not want to see." Well. That certainly bore looking into later. I could tell I wouldn't get anything more out of him on that topic for now, so I decided to change avenues.

"The attack on Pretyr certainly didn't help. You also knocked out my Oppa's tooth," I said.

"What?"

"The Mayor in Pemolar's Hill," I said. He grimaced.

"I do not like the Diplomacy skill, or its practitioners. I have been manipulated in the past. I do not care to be handled like some noble's pet." That… was actually a reasonable explanation, but he'd left out the most important thing.

"And the lynch mob?" I asked. He frowned.

"You try my temper, girl."

"So you did send those men to round up Pretyr!" I hissed.

"Private Elmerina!" my uncle said, but I ignored him.

"I do what is necessary for the army."

"Hauling an innocent man out of his house is nec–?"

"Silence," he interrupted gravely. His body began to sizzle and electric sparks leapt around his armor.

"Bannerman, this girl will be flogged when we break camp." My heart seized. He had ordered the attack. I suddenly realized that I'd been incredibly lucky the residents of Pemolar had stepped in on my behalf. That luck might've just run out though.

"Sir!? That is a criminal punishment! She has only questioned you. Give her labor in the latrines?" Markus shouted, panic written on his features. The general frowned.

"This one will need more than grunt work to get her to fall in line. She'll be flogged, High Bannerman. I'll not have your nepotism swelling her ego any further. Perhaps she'll think twice before questioning the actions of her superiors in the future." Flogging? I'd be flogged? Just for questioning him!? The conversation seemed to have been going so well! But if he hadn't ordered the attack, why didn't he deny it?

"So you are a monster, just like my mother thought," I said, feeling disappointed, and not a little terrified. Faster than an eyeblink, a gauntleted fist smashed into my cheek. I tumbled to the ground, dazed. The taste of blood in my mouth.

"Maulander," Marnakus said gravely, but I could barely hear him over the ringing in my ears. He stood between me and the general, hand on his axe.

"My debt to your mother has nothing to do with you, private!" The general spat, suddenly enraged.

"If I were anything like him, you'd be dead right now. And you! Are you really going to draw that axe? On me?" I barely even heard his words. I was finding it difficult to think. He'd seemed… not exactly cordial but until that moment he hadn't been violent. What… what had I said to set him off?

"If you push this any further," Markus said, his own voice filled with more cold rage than I'd ever heard from him.

"She's a ignorant village girl with too much spine and not enough common sense, but last I checked we don't beat our new recruits for not understanding chain of command." My vision swam slowly back into focus. For the general that might've been barely a tap, but my face was burning. My eye was swollen and stinging pain surged in my mouth. Blood slid down my cheek, and I was lying on the ground. I couldn't stay here. Drafted or not, I had to get everyone I cared about away from this army.

"General?" a sudden, timid voice called. I looked up ahead to see a soldier returning on horseback.

"R-report from up ahead!"

"What is it, Lancer!?" I blinked. This man had a need bubble. His name came back to me slowly. Mevery? The creeping sensation from before grew stronger. Strong enough to overpower my rage against this self important bastard.

"There's… a large army of trolls and goblins ahead. Several thousand." The general and the high bannerman both blinked, but I couldn't take my focus away from the man. Mevery. He was the last person I'd seen who had needed to avoid being confused. The man who'd tied my arms behind my back. He was glaring at me, but for the moment, that didn't matter. The general didn't matter. All them were together. A sudden, massive roar pierced the sky.

All of our eyes shot dead straight up to the blanket of clouds just in time to see a massive winged beast fall right through it.

"Dragon!" Maulander roared, drawing out a massive two handed sword that began to crackle with menacing electricity. I gaped at the sky, paralyzed as the massive creature descended like a falling god. Was I seeing things? How hard had the general hit me? Rather than breathe fire on us, or swoop down to rake claws across our vulnerable wagons, it beat its heavy wings and moved forward. As it fell, I spotted something that should've been impossible.

Sitting atop the dragon's back in an honest to god saddle was a beautiful blonde haired woman. The woman tossed something over the side even as the dragon hovered over us. The moment the package was dropped, the dragon sped away, flying back up above the clouds.

"Shoot that!" Maulander cried. Arrows aimed for the packet struck their target true but it didn't matter as the packet exploded in to powder that rained down upon everyone in the front end of the brigade. Almost every high bannerman, the general, half the Arc sergeants and all of the upper support staff were immediately covered. I began to feel dizzy.