Chương 44: Rallying the Troops

The next morning, I woke up as soon as the breakfast bell began tolling. I put on my armour and grabbed my kit bag, then raced to the mess hall, where everyone was gathering and eating. The Drillmaster stood on the plinth at the end of the hall, but he didn't say anything yet. He just stared ominously at us, watching everything silently. I found Brawl at the end of the table, eating alone and in silence.

"You good?" I asked, sitting down beside him.

"I am going to let my brothers down," he said.

"As usual." I sighed.

"Did you come here directly from Homecamp?"

"Yes."

"Well, I've seen the front lines," I said.

"It's different there. When you get into an actual fight, things snap into place." But that probably wasn't the message he wanted to hear. Nor what he needed to hear. I remembered what Anchor had told me last night. I pressed my eyes shut for a few seconds. All my life, it felt as if I was being dragged along by an invisible current, my destiny completely out of my hands. Agency stripped from every fabric of my being. Sure, I'd made some choices for myself recently, but what good would it do?

If we screwed up here, my best efforts were just going to send me straight back to the front lines, where I wouldn't be able to make a difference at all. But I didn't just have to sit around and let my team struggle. That was what I could affect in the moment.

"No, Brawl," I said.

"Today's going to be different. We're going to get out there, and we're going to do this right. You're not going to let us down, because when the time comes, you'll know what you need to do. And I won't let you be in a position that's unfavourable. You've been training your entire life for this, but you're not built to fight on your own. I don't care—there's potential there, and we're going to wring that out of you today. And you're going to show me the greatest warrior that I know is deep down inside you."

Brawl stared at me, his expression unreadable. I held out my hand and said, "Brother?" He nodded.

"Brother," he said, then clasped my forearm.

"Now…" I muttered.

"Where's Sage?"

"She's still in her room," Anchor said from behind me. I whirled around to face him. He was eating his scrambled eggs while standing up.

"If she doesn't get down here soon, we're going to be late. We're not going to have a druid, and they won't let us take the exam."

"And you?" I asked.

"You're still with us?" Anchor shrugged.

"Should I not be?"

"You want Gate to survive, don't you?"

"Of course." He gave a faint smile.

"Don't take me for a fool, Levi. I've seen the weakness of our countrymen. But without them, we wouldn't exist. I'll do what I can for our creators." I nodded, then mostly to assure myself, I said, "You're going to follow me and trust me to make calls today? Whatever I do, it's so that we can make it the farthest. I need to become a sapper, and so do you guys."

"I'm with you for now," Anchor said.

"Then let's make sure our druid is still intact," I said. I scarfed down the rest of my eggs, then hopped up. We wouldn't have much time to hunt for Sage and convince her, but the Drillmaster hadn't started giving out instructions yet. We could still get this done. Brawl, Anchor, and I walked casually out of the mess hall, so we didn't attract attention, then raced back to the barracks—to the deserted druids' wing.

"Which room is hers?" I asked, keeping my voice at a whisper. Anchor led us to a room with a locked door. Brawl asked, "How do you know where she sleeps, brother?"

"I know where everyone sleeps." I gave it a light knock.

"Sage, you there?" There was no response. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I leaned to the side, looking for the crack under the door. A shadow slumped up against it. I knew she was there, and I knew she was listening.

"Right, Sage," I said.

"Look, I don't know what's up at the moment. Maybe you think there's no chance. But I know you don't want to go home." I pressed my hand against the door.

"They don't think you can do it. Everyone out there, either they're desperate for any healer they can get. Or maybe they let you in just because you're the Ealdorman's daughter. Or they want you because of Morph, not because of you. They think you're weak. But you've healed me before, and you're a hell of a lot stronger than any other healer at your tier—and I have a suspicion that your abilities absorb pain. Well, we're going to need a healer of your calibre today, I guarantee it. We're going to need you."

Still, silence.

"We'll be waiting," I said.

"And you can't let us down. You don't get to just give up. For once in your life, you've got responsibilities. You want to make something of yourself and show people what you're capable of, you know where to find—""Wait," she said. The door swung open, and Morph, in his humanoid golem form, stepped out, carrying her.

"I'm coming." I stepped back so she could get out the door, then said, "Come on. We need to get back to the mess hall before it's too late." We raced back to the mess hall, and when we arrived, everyone was standing up and sorting into their groups. The Drillmaster was saying, "... doesn't have a group with four members will be forbidden from entering the Labyrinth. Likewise, if your squad doesn't contain a healer, you will be forbidden from entering."

"We're just in time," I whispered.

"Check in with the lieutenants once you reach the entrance hall. You will receive a map with your directions and your objective. My attendants and I will be observing you the whole time, where we will judge your effectiveness. I will reiterate: only the top twenty-five squads will succeed. Failure to complete your objective will result in an immediate failure. Am I understood?" A chorus of "Yes, master!" rose up through the hall.

"Then proceed after me." He stepped to the side and motioned to a door behind the plinth. A sapper in full armour pushed it open, and we stepped through. My squad was last, and the Drillmaster said, "Rallying the troops, hm, Levi?"

"Sorry, sir," I said, then winced at my mistaken use of sir.

"Just get going. You're almost late." We stepped through the door and passed into a long hallway. It was dark, and the ceiling was lower than I was used to. My helmet brushed the ceiling, and Brawl had to duck. After the rush of the morning, I finally had a chance to take note of my squad's proper gear. Brawl wore a chainmail hauberk and pants, but no helmet. Either he hadn't gotten one crafted or he didn't think anyone could reach that high… but I assumed it was the former. He wasn't as dumb as Anchor thought.

He also carried a flail over his shoulder and wore a shield on his arm. He told me, "I should be a little tougher now that I can use my Art, brother. While it is active, it will allow me to absorb more hits." I nodded.

"I'll keep it in mind." Anchor was wearing a light orange gambeson and a leather mantle, and he had the same quiver as yesterday—and the same eye patch. There was nothing new about him, but he had to stay light to keep out of reach of our enemies. Then there was Sage. She had donned a green tunic and a leather corset, and an embroidered short poncho overtop, plus brown trousers over her legs—only her 'bare' feet stuck out, but they were wood, so it didn't really matter.

We descended down into a tiny, chiselled out cellar where everyone was making lines. There wasn't enough room for everyone, so people gathered in the stairway as well. When we reached the front of the line, a sapper handed us each a buglight, then passed me a map drawn on a crackling piece of parchment. I gave it over to Anchor and said, "You're going to be our navigator. Keep that map safe, and guide us." But I had caught a brief glimpse of the map.

It depicted multiple levels of an underground structure, and it had us delving far deeper than I even had before. On the very bottom level was something that looked less like a network of hallways and instead a map of an underground city. I didn't even want to know. I said, "I'm taking the lead." I held my spear in front of me as I stepped through the gateway into the Labyrinth, then added, "Brawl, you're right behind me. Sage and Morph, I need you guys to take up the middle.

If we get injured, we're counting on you to keep us alive in the middle of the fight. And Anchor, I need you to call out enemies and take out the strays if you find them."

"And navigate," Anchor mumbled.

"We're counting on you, too." He rolled his eyes.

"Your motivational speeches fall silent on my ears."

"That wasn't a motivational speech. You're not ready for my motivational speeches."

"Because they're awful," Sage complained.

"We heard you earlier, you know."

"I'm working on it. In my battalion, I was a sergeant for like, three days. Cut me some slack." I narrowed my eyes.

"Now focus up. Let's not drop the ball. There's a time and place for banter, and now isn't it." The upper rooms of the Labyrinth were all empty, but the deeper we delved, the greater the pressure grew. There were creatures around us, but our marked route didn't take us past them. I hooked my buglight onto the side of my helmet and let it illuminate the hallway in front of me, and the farther we walked, the quieter our footsteps seemed.

There were chalk markings on the floor indicating where traps were and how to avoid them, and I got the sense that none of this was the actual challenge.

"Turn left at the next room," Anchor told me, and I obliged. We entered a hallway and stepped out onto a balcony, which overlooked the largest cave I'd ever seen in my life. There was a city inside it.