Chương 97: 96: Talk with Colin

Ebril 13th Everyone but the soldiers went to bed once the animals had all been rounded up and fed. The barn was a loss, but the weather was nice enough that the birds weren't regularly using it anymore. My levels definitely helped with my recovery, as well as everyone else on the farm. Back home, I probably would have been sore and felt like I had a hangover after the letdown from the adrenaline rush from the attack. Emily and I had slept on the floor in the study.

She'd joked about sleeping in the tractor, but the study was certainly a better idea. Once we were up, I slipped into our room to check on Laeth. He was sleeping, but looked peaceful. Lorcan'd said he would sleep for a long while. After that, I heard Seamus rustling around in Colin's old room, so I knocked on the door.

"Come in," he said, the pain evident in his voice. I opened the door and saw him grimace as he tried to adjust himself in the bed.

"I'll grab Lorcan as soon as I can," I told him.

"Anything you could use in the meantime?" He looked at me, then would've reddened if his skin tone would've allowed for it.

"Uh, I could use a pot to piss in if Lorcan isnae gonna be here right away." I laughed, then said, "I'll get you that pot just in case." I left the room, then asked Emily about our options there. Seamus' leg and ribs were still broken. He wasn't getting out of bed before being healed, and if Laeth was any indication; Seamus might pass out from the amount of healing he'd need. Emily went downstairs and grabbed one of the spare cooking pots. We didn't have any real chamber pots or bedpans, so it would have to do.

Despite the awkwardness, I helped Seamus do his business. When he was done, he said, "An we'll never talk about this again, will we?" I shook my head.

"No, sir. I'm really sorry we brought you out here and got you into this mess." He waved his hand, then grunted in pain.

"I'll not do that again until Lorcan has arrived. Twasnt yer fault. If we're apportioning blame, tis those soldiers of yers. But even then, there's a war on, tings happen. I have all my parts, as you can now confirm." He chuckled, groaned, then chuckled again. Then groaned again before settling down. His accent had definitely ratcheted up a notch with his pain. It was normally much less pronounced. I couldn't help myself, and I laughed at him. I still felt awful.

It was my homestead, but no one else seemed to blame me. This was still a frontier area, and there were dangers in this world I hadn't had to deal with until recently. I patted him on his good leg, then grabbed the pot and told him I'd bring Lorcan up. I went downstairs with my pot, then threw it out back in the grass, a ways away from the house. When I came back in, the four non-healers of the squad were filing into the dining room.

"How goes it?" I said. They all nodded. There were bags under their eyes, and it was clear they hadn't slept much in the last two days. They'd been out all night on a training run with Colin before the attack. Tieg answered, "The perimeter has been secured. Rupert wants you to purchase more ward stones. And you must level your wizard skill. Runecrafting is a wise path for you to follow as a homesteader out here. We can speak more later. My men need rest.

I came to tell you that Lorcan needs three more hours of rest to fully heal Seamus. Make sure he eats before. It will help. He will be unconscious for half a day after healing."

"Will do," I said.

"Do you know where Colin is?" Tieg nodded.

"He will be in for breakfast shortly. I sent him to bed after dark. He is a diligent youth. He is a credit to your family." I put my hands up and said, "Whoaa, that's all on him and his mother. The only thing I've done is get him to stop scuffing his boots." I chuckled and actually got smiles out of the squad. Tieg nodded, then Rick tapped him on the shoulder. That seemed to jog his memory.

"Ah yes," Tieg said.

"Please deliver this letter to the mayor. I am requesting that Colin be given the Scout class now." That threw me for a loop. That hadn't been the plan at all.

"Doesn't he need to go to training? And then do stuff with the Territorial Army first?" Tieg shook his head.

"I believe that we would be best to train him." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. I definitely felt some tension in my chest at this. These guys were the equivalent of special forces back home. Emily would freak out if Colin went off into the wilderness with them, and frankly, she'd be correct. I took a deep breath and said, "Gentlemen, you're clearly high level, and very good. But, I don't care if Colin is a man.

I don't think he needs to go off to the wilderness and bypass everything else right away." I didn't need this level of stress right now. Tieg showed no more emotion than usual as he responded.

"We shall see. Either way, the class will be helpful to him." I took the proffered letter and nodded, but I wasn't happy about it.

"I'll request the class." I said.

"But I'd appreciate it if you don't make plans right away to take him on a grand quest of your own." Tieg simply nodded, then left the farmhouse without eating. Speaking of eating. Tess, Anna, and Cara had all witnessed my interaction with Tieg. They were all busy cooking, but from the way they all quickly looked away when I looked in their direction, it was clear they'd heard the whole thing. It had happened right out in the open after all. I sighed and walked over to them.

"Ladies, I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't mention the Colin stuff to his mother just yet. I want to speak with Colin to see what he's thinking first. Maybe we can resolve it without ever talking to Emily." I received three "We won't say a word," replies. I thanked them and hoped they would do me a favor. I wanted time before Emily heard anything about this. I took Seamus a plate of food, as well as water and some tea, and let him know the timeframe the squad had given me.

After that, I went outside to get Chessie and Colin's horse ready for the trip to town after breakfast. Colin didn't know he was heading into town with me, but I wanted to have a talk with him, and the ride would provide as good a time as any. The two of us should be safe enough to travel in broad daylight. I'd rather Rupert and the squad stayed behind to protect everyone here. When the breakfast bell rang, I wandered into the farmhouse and told Colin about coming with me.

Shockingly, he just nodded and said he'd grab some gear after he ate. Emily was resolute in her decision to stay, something I was grateful for now. We didn't talk much for the first half hour we were on the road, then Colin said, "Did Tieg speak to you?" I nodded.

"He did." When I didn't say anything else, Colin looked over at me from his horse, which was situated on my left to help with firing lanes if needed.

"Well," he finally said.

"Colin, what do you want me to say?" I asked, exasperated.

"I've backed you up with your mother every time so far with this stuff. I get where you're coming from. Things were shit for you guys ever since your dad died. Right up until I got here. And I know as well as you, levels are power in this world. If you're tier 2, no one will mess with you."

"You're damned right!" He said, shouting, a mix of excitement and anger in his voice.

"Rick and Cathan have been helping me so much! They'll get me to tier 2 by the time I'm twenty they said! Then I'll have access to magic! I'd like to see the bishop tell me to go back to the Isles then!" I sighed. I leaned down and scratched Chessie's ear with my right hand to give myself a moment to choose the correct words. She still smelled a bit like smoke, and I wished I'd had time to give her a bath before we left. The smell of horse, mixed with smoke, wasn't awful, but it wasn't great either.

Once I had my thoughts in order, I finally said, "I think that you should get your class, then go do your army training. The squad will take you in after that."

"But that'll take longer!" Colin said with heat in his voice.

"What? A year or two, maybe three?" I asked, a little irritated with his tone. He was a bit angrier sounding than I thought he should be. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath to calm myself, then I said, "You all are the ones who say we're gonna live a hundred and fifty or two hundred years. What's a few years to do things properly?" Colin's face still showed anger and frustration, but he didn't reply. I continued on when I could see he wasn't going to answer.

"Here's the thing son, you're still young, but you have to decide the path your life is going to take for the next couple of decades here pretty quick."

"I know," he said sullenly.

"Do you?" I asked.

"Because from where I sit, you're running headlong into a life that is going to involve a lot more hardship and stress, just like you've already had the last few years. I know Tieg has a son, but do any of the others have families? Are any of them married? Do they have a place they can call home?" Colin responded quickly to that question.

"I'm only sixteen. I have plenty of time to get married and have kids later."

"That's what you're going to tell yourself now. But there are lifestyles that don't lend themselves to seeing your family, and the one you go down with Tieg is one of those. Heck, my mom's brothers were both long haul truck drivers." Colin interrupted me, "Are truck drivers like wagon drivers?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Just like that, but the trucks have engines. Anyways, it doesn't matter. The two of them were gone all the time, like 5-6 days a week. They were both decent guys, but they were married and divorced like seven times between them." Colin shook his head at that.

"Sounds like they weren't very good with girls." I laughed.

"Actually one of my uncles was very good with the ladies, probably part of the reason he was the one with four wives, but being away a lot is also an issue. The squad sounds like they've been all over the Empire." I took a breath and said, "Look, all I'm saying is it's a lifestyle choice if you're planning on joining up with them and doing what they're doing long term. In my world, military people had high divorce rates because it's a hard life. Sounds like this world is the same."

Colin piped up and said, "People don't get divorced very often here. It takes approval from the empire." I laughed. Just like a teenager to latch onto the wrong thing.

"No, but even if they don't, do you expect your wife to put her life on hold and live like that if you're gone most of the time? There's no way to get home in a day or two. Listen, I'm not telling you not to do it, I'm telling you to put more thought into it first. Your ma will be devastated if she almost never gets to see you." That made him flush with embarrassment. In typical teen fashion, he wasn't done yet.

"I have a different subclass than you anyways. I wasn't gonna be a farmer or take over this place someday." I nodded, "I know, but as a woodsman we'd still see you frequently. Look, we can be done with this conversation. I just want you to think a bit about the direction you're going with your life. The squad is a great opportunity, but it's a path that I fear you'd have trouble ever leaving if you just go off with them right away." He nodded, and that was that for this conversation for now.

I really wasn't trying to stop him from ever going with the squad, but I wanted him to get a little more life experience before he decided he was going full bore down a path that didn't have an off-ramp for a long while.