Chapter 293: Victory in Defeat
After more than a dozen explosions had shaken the area, I was covered in pine needles and splinters that had fallen from above. One of the large white wolves looked for comfort with its head in my lap. I remember when Oscar was a puppy, he was afraid of thunder and lightning. I empathized with the wolf. His brother had pushed himself behind me, trying unsuccessfully to hide under the log I was seated on. I figured the pair would have left if not for their master’s dinner cooking nearby.
Raelia approached the firepit, irritably cleaning pine needles out of her hair. With a bit of awe, she said, “Fifteen lightning strikes, each with tremendous power. Her aether well must be immense.”
Glasha grinned, not hiding her happiness that we were impressed. “It is, but it is because she can channel aether from ley lines. This cabin sits at a minor nexus. But I think she reached her limit trying to impress Tarnasha.” I followed Glasha’s eyes to a stumbling Mynasha coming down the path. She was only wearing a thin brown shirt that was soaked in sweat, leaving little to the imagination. Tarnasha carried her bundle of clothes.
From a distance away, Mateo was whispering loudly to Benito, and it didn’t take much to figure out what it was about. My own curiosity took hold. “She is using a spell form for the convergence affinity? Does she need to be … naked for it?”
Glasha stared at Mynasha, who was struggling to walk. “It helps. If she didn’t, channeling that much aether might set her clothes on fire.”
“How is she not burnt?” I asked, realizing how much aether she had just channeled in seconds. “Is her aether tolerance that high?”
Glasha chuckled. “No. I understand why you would think so. The aether she pulls up from the ley lines goes directly into her spell forms. It does not pass through her body. It is extremely dangerous and requires a lot of skill in aether shaping to do it this way.”
The pair had reached us, and we quieted. “Rest in my bed, child,” Tarnasha said tiredly as they approached. “Heal my ears,” he said to Glasha as he fished pine needles out of his hair. Glasha rose to obey. The wolves’ tails started wagging, and they went to their master, abandoning my protection.
“I am surprised you two didn’t run for the hills.” He rubbed them both between the ears reassuringly. “These two were scared of their own shadows when I found them after their mother had been killed.” Glasha finished her healing and returned to her seat.
Tarnasha sat down in front of the cooking pot and addressed the wolves. “But I suppose you wouldn’t abandon your dinner, either.” The old orc removed the iron pot’s lid and sniffed it before spooning large portions for each wolf into a wooden bowl, then filling a third for himself. He sighed like he had been the one exhausted and not Mynasha.
As he sat to eat, Glasha eyed him impatiently, restraining a smile. “Well?”
The old orc blew on his spoon to cool his thick stew. He ate a few mouthfuls noisily before answering Glasha, who was growing impatient. “She is impressive but rash, young and narrow-sighted. She may make a decent Supreme with a good advisor.”
“You are volunteering then. Great! I have places to be and things to do!” Glasha replied merrily, and Tarnasha choked on his food.
“No, woman! Stop putting words in my mouth! I am happy here with these two pups,” he indicated the wolves, who looked up longingly at him, begging for seconds, their bowls clean. He sighed and spooned each of the wolves another serving. He moodily returned to eating his own stew.
Glasha waited while he ate, and when he finished his bowl, he added, “But I would perhaps like to see my old friends among the Elders.” His words were laced with sarcasm. At least, I thought it was sarcasm, as it was difficult to tell in the Orcish tongue.
Raelia tapped my shoulder and indicated that Maveith was done cooking. Blaze was coming back from checking on the horses, nodding to me that all was well. I left the fire, and the two wolves stood, abandoning their empty bowls to follow me, probably hoping for a second dinner.
Tarnasha whistled, getting the pair’s attention. “Where do you two think you are going?” They looked at me and then at Tarnasha before lowering their heads and returning to the old orc’s side. Glasha and Tarnasha dove into conversation as she tried to convince the ex-Elder to come with us and support Mynasha’s candidacy. I thought maybe he could serve as her First.
Any of those lightning strikes would have blown me up just like those trees, aether shield amulet or not. Maveith handed me a perfectly seasoned bacon, potato, rice, and pepper mash. Tasting it, I nodded appreciatively. Blaze informed me, “Two of the horses will need some healing, but they are all sound.”
“Glasha, two of the horses need healing before you sleep tonight,” I yelled over to Glasha from twenty yards away, and she acknowledged the request before returning to her discussion.
“What is the plan?” Blaze asked as we ate. All eyes focused on me.
“We finish escorting them to Becar and look for Maveith’s sister. If Warlord Rhuuk is in the capital, we will see if she is attending him; if not, we go to his estate south of Agurtra to look for her,” I explained.
“You will not help the lightning cleric become the Supreme?” Mateo asked, a little in disbelief. Did I come off as someone who helped every person who asked for it?
“Our priority is finding Maveith’s sister. Only if the paths intersect would I consider it.” Mateo grunted in disbelief. The camp conversation devolved into how much damage those lightning strikes could have caused an army. Blaze noted that the dungeon pauldrons we had unearthed would be extremely useful against such a foe.
I came back from washing my bowl and checking on the horses. Everyone was lounging about and had not even made an effort to set up camp. We had barely trained the last few days, and it looked like we were getting complacent. “We will train two hours before setting our camp around the cleric’s firepit.” Benito groaned, as he had eaten three portions and had to loosen his armor to sit. “You need to be able to fight on a full or empty stomach, Benito,” I said seriously. Shit, was I turning into Konstantin?
“Can we choose what weapons to train in this session?” Blaze asked hopefully.
I gave him a sideways glance. He was going to choose his bow. But I thought to give the company some leeway. “We will rotate partners. Each pairing can split time choosing weapons. Benito, you are with me first.” I was becoming Konstantin. I was thinking of how I would make Benito regurgitate his gluttonous meal. I shook my head in disapproval at myself. As we moved to a clearing, I told him he could decide first.
He furrowed his brow in thought. “My sword to your dagger?” He offered hopefully.
“Do I get a shield?” I asked, pulling Corvus’s dagger.
Surprised I had agreed, he paused, his eyes dancing, looking for the trap. “Umm, no shield?” he said unconvincingly. I just nodded, and we both wrapped our blades in tacky cloth.
Benito had chosen to go without a shield as well and quickly regretted his decision. I was a step faster than the short man and made use of my elbow and free hand. After a few exchanges, his lip was bleeding and he had a limp. He had managed to strike my leather cuirass twice, but neither strike would have impeded me in real combat.
Maveith barked that it was time to rotate partners. “Switch weapons!” Maveith had an innate ability to tell time, so twenty minutes should have passed. He was sweating heavily from chasing the nimble Raelia around. It looked like they had chosen only fists. Benito looked pleadingly at me, and I didn’t know why. I could have targeted his gut with kicks and punches to bring up his dinner, and I had not.
“Just swords, and we will work on your defenses.” Benito tended to overcommit on his attacks, leaving openings for his opponent. We grabbed our shields, and I wrapped Boris’s dungeon blade. I went easy on him, having him focus on protecting his right side, his sword arm.
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My next pairing was with Blaze, and he suggested I serve as a moving target with my shield. I knew he was not serious, but I agreed. Being able to judge the path of an arrow toward you and interpose your shield was a complex skill. When there was only a single archer, it was more feasible to track the release and trajectory of the arrow. I retrieved my helm and let the fun begin—for Blaze.
As I jogged laterally, he released his arrows in a steady rhythm, aiming for either my torso or thighs. Seven arrows stuck in my shield, while two others missed me by a few inches. I started to vary my jogging speed to make it harder for him, and then I varied my distance. He still managed to strike my shield half the time. I even passed on the opportunity to switch weapons, giving him more archery practice. Two arrows penetrated my shield and pierced into my arm. My aether shield and bracers stopped both strikes from harming me.
When we switched, Mateo groused, “I am not going to serve as your target dummy, Blaze.”
“Blaze, you need to practice with your sword,” I reminded him. He reluctantly went to retrieve his blade. I was facing off against Maveith, who had a massive grin on his face. “Why are you grinning?” I asked suspiciously.
“I am ready this time,” he said while maintaining his grin.
Benito chirped, “I have a large copper on Maveith.” He looked around for any takers.
“I will take you up on that,” I said, causing Benito to frown. I wasn’t sure what game was being played here, but I was up for a challenge this evening. I needed to vent a little from constantly being pressured by the clerics to get involved in their problem.
Maveith squared off with me, both hands on his hammer. His grin was gone, and intense focus remained on his face. I usually bested him by dodging a heavy swing that he couldn’t recover from quickly. He had already given away his plan with his fingers dancing up the shaft. Hand placement closer to the head would allow him to recover quickly. He had tried it before without much success, but he might have improved with practice. The others paused their practice to watch us engage. If Benito knew Maveith’s plan, then they all knew Maveith’s plan.
Maveith stood his ground, forcing me to initiate. As predicted, one hand slid up the shaft to act as a fulcrum to increase his reaction speed. A large clang sounded as his hammerhead batted my strike aside. He recovered quickly enough to intercept my shield bash attempt as well. But he didn’t stop there and attempted to rush me and get inside my guard. One hand released the hammer shaft and lanced out in a punch.
Resisting the strong urge to use an air shield, I parried the blow with my shield. I was almost caught off guard as he used my shield, blocking my line of sight to lunge in an attempt to bear hug me. With only one choice, I fell onto my back and kicked off Maveith’s knees into a somersault. I came up in one smooth motion, a little surprised that it had actually worked so well.
Maveith had dropped his hammer in the bear hug attempt and looked at me and the hammer, trying to figure out if he could reclaim it before I retaliated. I made the decision for him, rushing to cut him off from his favored weapon …
Maveith limped to Glasha for some healing, and I collected a large bronze from Benito. The others looked a little sullen as well. Were they upset that I had won? I rarely lost to any of them when we practiced, and was more of an instructor. Was I really a pompous ass like Konstantin when it came to our practices?
After he was healed, I observed Maveith handing his runic hammer to Glasha. She pulled back her scarlet hair as she prepared to use her lore spell on the weapon. With intense focus, she examined the hammer, holding it delicately in her hands for what felt like an eternity. As the minutes ticked by, my companions’ curiosity grew, and they turned to watch the cleric use her magic. When she finally returned the hammer to Maveith, they engaged in a brief conversation before Maveith made his way back to our group. He had a satisfied look on his face.
Mateo probed him first. “What did Glasha say?”
“It was forged to purify mithril ore,” he said, grinning. “It is so old, with such much history, that she cannot see back to its own forging.”
“Mithril?” Benito asked, in some awe and confusion at the mention of the mythical ore.
“There were rooms in the dungeon where it could be obtained,” I answered. “The smiths of Caelora used to mine, refine, and forge it. Mithril can only be found in dungeons and is extremely difficult for smiths to work.”
Raelia interrupted me. “That is not true. The denizens of the Endless Dark mine it, but small deposits only occur near the ley lines.” I nodded at her, thinking that it was probably true. I had not delved too deeply into the smithing books in the dreamscape.
The excitement of Maveith’s weapon having been revealed, Raelia smirked. “I get Eryk next in the pairings. I want no weapons.”
Raelia had been practicing her unarmed combat with the others this entire evening. Was this an attempt to best me in our practice? I cautiously nodded and started to remove my armor. We were equal in speed and nimbleness, but I easily overpowered her. “Why are you taking off your armor?” she said, frowning.
“You already have yours off. I want the match to be even.” She scrunched her face in distaste but couldn’t argue my point. Mateo and Benito were talking, and I could tell this was another planned spar. They had been preparing as a group to beat me. I could understand their frustration, as I had faced the same feeling with Konstantin. With my last piece of armor off, I faced Raelia.
She was nimble and slippery in combat. She even had a unique spell form that was a danger sense, alerting her to an impending attack. It shouldn’t help her in this straightforward contest. We closed and circled, and I tried the oldest trick in the book. “Your boots are untied.”
Raelia glanced down as she stepped back, not giving me a chance to take advantage. Her expression turned into a scowl at my poor attempt at trickery. She growled, frustrated, as she circled to my left. Maybe she thought my armor’s encumbrance would have given her the slight advantage she needed. Her hair and face were already covered in sweat and dirt from her earlier practices. The others looked on, hoping for the elf’s victory.
She finally committed, pushing off a protruding stone to lunge at my leg. I couldn’t see the advantage of it but was cautious as I retreated. She went into a dive just to catch my ankle. She used my own leg for leverage to get behind me. I had one chance to attack the top of her head, but I lost it when I hesitated to strike her.
She had a firm grip, and I was not too familiar with Elvish grappling. She leveraged her body weight into my knee to force me to the ground. Raelia weighed 120 pounds at most, but she was using all her body weight on just my knee joint. I complied and went to the ground, but I kicked back hard with my other leg, hitting her squarely in the shoulder. She grunted but didn’t let go.
She was fully determined to win this struggle, and Benito’s cheer told me I was not the favored one in this contest. She was working her way up my leg like an unwanted parasite, keeping leverage on my ankle so I couldn’t get her. I thought this was all ridiculous because I weighed more than twice what she did.
If I let her win, would it be good for the company to see the leader fall? Raelia had clearly endeared herself to the others as they cheered her on. She was covered in dirt, pine needles, and sweat. I locked her head in my free leg and alligator-rolled on the ground to try and break her will, but it only made her filthy.
Raelia was grunting as she strained to get me to submit by forcing my knee joint in the wrong direction. My entire leg was flexed, and she wasn’t going to overcome my vastly superior strength. My hubris was my downfall as I repositioned, and she took the opportunity to scramble up my body and get behind me, achieving a chokehold.
With my legs free, I stood immediately, and she was too focused on trying to choke me to figure out my plan as I jumped in the air and twisted my body. I landed with all my body weight on her. It stunned her and she released her grip enough for me to turn into her. I was straddling her hips, pinning her to the ground. She momentarily tried to grab my neck again, but it just smashed both our foreheads together, a contest I won.
I got control of one of her wrists and then the other. She was heaving deep breaths under me, her legs flailing, and I was slightly winded as well. In the somewhat compromising position, I rasped, “Do you concede?”
She squirmed briefly, but my knees kept her hips in place. Instead of getting angry, she slowly smirked. “I almost had you,” she said breathlessly. I tightened my grip on her wrists, suspecting it was a trap. She rolled her eyes. “I concede—this time.” I stood up and helped Raelia to her feet. My knee was still painful to put weight on, and I patted her shoulder, brushing off debris and showing her she had put forth a good effort.
Blaze looked amused, while the others looked disappointed at Raelia’s defeat. It was almost dark, so I called off the last pairing. My knee was a bit strained, and I had to heal it as I walked back to Glasha and Tarnasha. They had also been watching the wrestling match. “Are we set to leave in the morning?”
The two orcs looked me up and down, somewhat amused at my filthy state. Had I embarrassed myself by almost losing to Raelia? I brushed off some debris. Tarnasha spoke for the pair. “I will be joining you, but we will leave midafternoon tomorrow. I must explain to my pups that I will be gone for a while, and Mynasha needs more time to recover.”
I wasn’t sure if the old cleric meant he could talk to animals or if he was speaking generally about his wolves. I replied neutrally, “Good. We will set up camp around your firepit, as I don’t think your cabin can hold all of us.”
Much later that night, I felt someone lie quietly behind me in my bedroll, spooning me. Mateo was on watch, so it was someone else in our camp. The body pressed into me, and I thought that it had to be Raelia, as it was the only thing that made sense to me. I had been replaying the wrestling match repeatedly in my mind, unable to get the few hours of sleep I needed. I slowly turned over, only to be greeted by a mass of white fur and a panting wolf. A bit disappointed, I turned away and drifted off to sleep.
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