A Soldier's Life

Chapter 327: Once A Hound, Always A Hound

I finished my bath and waited for my clean clothes before meeting the impatient Konstantin. I left Raelia with Baldo since she wanted to spend the week training him, who hadn’t aged in the last month in my dimensional space. I wore magebane as I walked with Konstantin through the glowstone-lit streets.

“Is this legal?” I asked. “Will it draw unwanted attention to Gilda?”

“Gilda can take care of herself. There is a bounty on doppelgängers. As for the werecat—I am not certain. From what I understand of goliath law, they are not welcome but would not be hunted unless they killed someone. After we slay the doppelgänger, Gilda will keep watch on the werecat,” he said as we walked. A few goliaths roaming the streets late at night eyed us but did not stop us.

“Is it not weird that Gilda is hunting her kin?” I asked softly.

“Gilda is not a doppelgänger. She is a shapeshifter, but a changeling. We have been over this,” Konstantin said irritably.

I replied with a Konstantin grunt as we were taught to hunt all shifters in Hound training. A changeling was restrained to a humanoid shape close to their true shape and had a definitive single sex. In contrast, a doppelgänger could draw on its aether core to assume a vastly larger or smaller shape and was sexless in its true form. They reproduced by copulating with a humanoid race. That woman usually died in childbirth, and the child would not know its true heritage until reaching puberty and becoming a doppelganger.

We entered a somewhat busy tavern, mostly filled with goliath patrons, with a pair of humans chatting at a table in the corner. I casually scanned the room, trying to find Gilda or our target. Konstantin walked up the stairs to a balcony, and I followed him. I was a bit surprised when he sat across from a young female goliath, but I quickly recognized familiar shadows on her face. It was Gilda.

I joined Konstantin, noting that we were well-positioned so we wouldn't be overheard amid the conversations and the clinking of glasses and silverware. “Tell him.” Konstantin gestured impatiently to Gilda.

“What about the manticore poison sacs?” Gilda asked flatly.

“Sold. If you wanted them, you should have helped in the hunt,” Konstantin said irritably. “Now, tell him.”

Gilda clenched her jaw before speaking in a rare moment of genuine anger. “The human server,” she said, his eyes indicated to look below.

I looked down and saw a large man with shoulder-length golden hair walking among the tables, delivering mugs and food. I watched him quietly for a moment but didn’t notice anything unusual. “How do you know?” I finally asked.

“I can smell it,” Gilda said disdainfully. “I have followed him for a few days, and he has been seeding some adventurous female goliaths.” I didn’t have anything to say to that. We ordered food, which I barely touched as I watched the blond man work. He was very flirty with female goliaths, but I still didn’t note anything out of the ordinary.

“He has already seeded three goliaths. I can smell the taint on them,” Gilda said. “Once we eliminate him, we can tell the authorities, or they might not survive carrying his spawn.” I still wasn’t convinced and even tried using my aetheric night vision to see if I could spot anything.

“Why not go to the authorities? Why do we have to do this?” I asked, still not buying into this.

“They would just mess this up, alert the doppelgänger, and it would get away,” Konstantin said matter-of-factly. I wasn’t so sure about that, but Konstantin was a person who, if something needed doing, he thought he was the only one who could do it right.

“What if you are wrong?” I asked, chewing on some boiled pork strips from my soup.

“I’m not,” Gilda stated, giving me a challenging stare.

“Why don’t you poison him? That’s what you do, right?” I tried to get out of this situation.

“If I had the manticore sacs, I could have brewed something. As it is, it is better to let you two handle it.” Gilda stood and walked down the stairs, her hips swaying provocatively as she walked toward the exit. The blond man diverted to talk with her briefly before she left the tavern.

“She will lead him to her residence near the north wall tonight,” Konstantin said. “You can do the honors.”

“How generous of you,” I stated sarcastically.

“I am a generous person,” Konstantin said seriously while standing. “Be back here an hour before sunset. I will escort you to her apartment.” Konstantin left, and I watched the doppelgänger suspect for another hour before leaving myself. Maybe he gave off some type of pheromone that Gilda could identify. If we were wrong, I would be killing an innocent man.

I didn’t linger long and left the tavern, walking within a few feet of the blonde man. He was wearing thin gloves, so he wasn’t touching the silver coins being given to him. Maybe Gilda was right. I wandered the streets and eventually reached a bookstore. I figured it was as good a place as any to pass the time. Most of the books were in the goliath dialect, but some were in other languages. When I asked, they said they didn’t have any Telhian books, but they did have a section in Elvish.

The Elvish language had remained stable for thousands of years, and only variations in calligraphy made it harder to read. I quickly found something useful: a book about local plants and fungi written by an elven adventurer. It had been frustrating to be in the wild for a month without recognizing anything in the biome. Maveith only knew what was edible. He couldn't help me with alchemy or as an apothecary.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

My next stop was an alchemist. Goliaths weren't known for their alchemy, and even in their largest city, I hadn't been impressed with what was being sold. Still, for a few gold coins, the alchemist helped me transcribe some of his tier one recipes. Goliaths were friendly and helpful people, and he wasn't even concerned that I might become a competitor.

It was time to meet up with Konstantin, and I returned to the tavern. He was wearing different clothes and had appeared to have at least washed. He didn’t say anything and expected me to fall in behind him. When we arrived at an apartment building, he went straight to Gilda’s room on the second floor, and I followed him inside.

A strong, spicy aroma greeted me as I entered, and the small kitchen was filled with drying herbs and glass bottles of various colored liquids. Knowing Gilda’s profession, I refrained from touching anything. Konstantin sat down at the table to wait, and I explored the apartment, noticing a small bedroom and a bathroom. Despite the high ceiling, the space felt quite cramped.

“She’ll lead him back here after his shift. He finishes at sunset,” Konstantin muttered when I joined him. I thought that was a bit creepy, considering Gilda appeared to be very small and young for a goliath woman. Even if this blond man wasn’t a doppelgänger, maybe getting rid of him wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

After checking and finding the three exits from the apartment, I settled into a chair across from Konstantin. After an awkward silence, he asked, “Are we going to hunt the basin next?” The basin was the other hunting ground that Navek had suggested. Manticores often flew over it, but it was very swampy and had many large snakes.

My thoughts wandered to the manticore hunting. “I think we should head to the nesting cliffs next instead.”

Konstantin raised his eyebrow, “Really?”

“I want to see if the manticores on the far end of the island offer channeling essences as well. There is a larger population. And yes, I know the danger, as there is minimal cover. I might ask to borrow Raelia’s Ranger’s cloak and go on my own,” I suggested.

“Stupid,” was all Konstantin said. We went silent as we could hear voices outside, and he nodded to me. I stood behind the door, and Konstantin went into the bedroom. I rested my hand on magebane as footsteps approached. The door swung open, and a jubilant young goliath came bounding into the room, beckoning the person following her to follow. He stepped into the room, closed the door, and finally noticed me.

He reached for a knife on his belt but froze, confused. His body slowly collapsed onto the ground, and his head bounced and rolled to Gilda’s feet, a shocked expression on its face as the light of life faded away. The body and face appeared to deflate as the skin turned from tan to a grayish-blue hue.

Gilda’s face was similarly a mask of shock, her dagger gripped tightly in her hand. Konstantin walked out of the bedroom and watched as the dead doppelgänger assumed its natural form.

“Well, it looks like you were right; it was a doppelgänger. You two can clean up,” I said as I sat down to wait until I could pull the collector out. The blood had already formed a large pool. Gilda was looking to Konstantin and me for answers as to how the creature had been beheaded.

“Told you he could take care of himself,” was all Konstantin said as he started checking the body. “I will get the constable and will tell him about his other victims.” Konstantin found a small coin purse and spilled its contents, mostly copper and a few silver. He then pulled off a tarnished gold ring and inspected it. “Looks runic,” he said, handing it to Gilda. “You discovered him, the ring is yours.”

I kneeled over the body, and the collector appeared in my hand. Gilda was less shocked by this revelation, as she had seen me use my dimensional space during the voyage. However, I still think she was trying to piece together how I had beheaded the creature without moving. Blue aetheric smoke quickly pulled into the device, creating a major illusion.

I studied the prismatic patterns on the sphere for a moment before putting the sphere in my mouth. Gilda realized what I was doing too late, stepping forward, but the sphere was already gone. “My fee,” I said, grinning, making the collector disappear. My core was a little tender, but it handled the illusion essence well. “Do you need me to slay a wyvern or any other creature?” I asked Konstantin in good humor. It had been a successful endeavor, as the essence would improve my aether sight.

“We can handle it from here,” Gilda said, finally finding her tongue. I nodded and walked out the door. There were no Adventurers’ Halls on the island, but perhaps I might find someone else who could use a revelation scroll or someone with Glasha’s lore ability. Glasha had never taken the time to examine my other artifacts, as she was too busy preparing Mynasha for her to ascension to Supreme.

I asked my innkeeper if there was a person to identify artifacts in Eternis when I returned. The next morning, I was walking along a sandy beach toward a small village just outside the walls. I had invited Raelia but hadn’t told her my purpose for visiting the village, so she decided to train Baldo instead.

The village was over two miles away, and several fishing boats were offshore, casting nets in the shallow waters. The people onshore paused their work, gutting and preparing fish for smoking, to stare at me.

I approached the largest gray-skinned man. His bare torso rippled with muscles that would make Maveith jealous. He nodded respectfully as I stood before him. “My name is Eryk, and I have been directed to your village by Lazarin, the innkeeper. He told me your village has a seer who can read objects.”

He nodded again before speaking. “I am Mokin of the Sandspire Clan. I can bring you to Matron Namao, but she may turn you away. She doesn’t speak to everyone who comes to her.”

“That is all I can ask,” I said, returning his respectful nod. The innkeeper seemed to think this woman had the skill I was looking for.

He guided me a short distance up the hill and into the lush jungle, where we emerged in a sunlit clearing adorned with several wooden cabins. A few large dogs lounged nearby, their eyes watching me with a mix of curiosity and suspicion, though they remained silent. In one corner, a handful of goliath children engaged in a class outside. It was clear that visitors were not unusual here, as the children soon returned their focus to the teacher. Surrounding the village, small gardens burst with unfamiliar plants.

The cabin we entered had a rich, briny scent of salt mixed with the refreshing aroma of sweet mint. An older goliath, seated at a sturdy table, turned her gaze towards us, her hands skillfully slicing a root vegetable into delicate, thin strips. Her head tilted slightly, her gaze filled with an unreadable depth of wisdom.

A sense of surprise washed over me, accompanied by an insistent itch in my arms, as the intricate etchings on my bones reacted to something she was doing. She exuded an air of authority and seemed to reach a decision. “Mokin, you can leave us. I believe this is the one I was expecting.”

Mokin looked at me and then at Namao, as if asking if she was sure. She smiled and nodded, and indicated that I should sit. After Mokin left, I asked curiously, “How long have you been expecting me?”

© Copyrighted 2024-2026 by AlwaysRollsAOne

No permission is given to translate, copy, repost, or convert this original work of fiction into audio. If you're seeing this outside of my Patreon, novelbuddy.com, or Scribblehub.com, it has been stolen without my permission and violates the DMCA. Please remember that this work is my creative effort and is protected by copyright law. Removing or changing this notice indicates you are aware that you are violating the DMCA. My original work cannot be used to train AI without permission.