A Soldier's Life

Chapter 326: All You Can Eat Wings

For three weeks, we hunted along the slopes. We focused on about thirty square miles along the north slope. The site was a few days’ hard walk from Eternis through the jungle. Navek was right in that the manticores could not resist metal. The polished long sword we used as bait got a fair amount of use until one manticore landed and snapped it in two with his jaws before I could attack. We agreed that the loss of the sword was a signal that it was time to return to the city.

In twenty-two days, we defeated eleven of the fourteen monstrosities we attracted. I personally ascended a cliff at night to kill a twelfth in its lair. Two of the three remaining manticores escaped our trap with injuries, while the third never came near the metallic bait, circling above for hours before departing. It’s possible they learned about the trap from others, or it was one of the ones that had already escaped.

When we processed the kills, Konstantin noted that Navek was right. All the manticore females looked similar, maybe different ages, but their features were nearly identical. Of the seven males we slew, six looked similar, while the smallest had different coloring and paler wings. I didn’t know much about manticore genetics, but the similarities were too striking to ignore.

My dimensional space was packed with manticore parts from Konstantin and Maveith’s harvesting. To me, the real treasure was the essence. Of the twelve manticores, eight yielded major channeling essences, one major aether pool essence, and three minor channeling essences. The minor channeling essences were useless to Castile as the quantities required would have been extreme, so I distributed them to Maveith, Raelia, and Konstantin.

We also harvested seven minor power essences from massive snakes and two quickness essences from oversized leopard cats. We divided those up as well, with me getting two of the minor power essences.

I did consume the major aether pool essence, which may have been a mistake. Expanding my tender aether core was much more painful than I anticipated, even after so long, distanced from awakening the water affinity. When we returned to Gramney, I would have to talk with Elaro Morlamin again. He had helped me deal with the aftereffects of awakening my water affinity and nearly rupturing my aether core.

When the others took the channeling essences, I could see the ecstasy on their faces. They all had enough aether awareness to feel how much the essence enhanced their senses, even for the brief time it lasted. When I consumed channeling essences, they greatly enhanced my aether perception of the environment. It was like an expanded awareness of the world. Raelia told me it felt like her mind opened to the world for just a heartbeat when she consumed hers.

Finding and luring the manticores was getting more challenging, and the long sword we had used as a lure was shattered, so we walked to a small goliath village. Maveith was familiar with the village of the Minsk Clan, having visited it in his youth with his father.

They primarily raised and slaughtered large rabbits but also had potato fields. It was a tiny village, and Maveith was happy his celebrity had not reached here. I purchased a wagon and a docile ox to get us back to Eternis. There were only two cities on the island where you could claim bounties for manticores.

Eternis was one, and the other was at the base of the largest mountain near the prominent glowstone mines and obsidian slopes. That city was Oreridge and much too far a walk for us. Maveith didn’t want to return to Eternis and tried to convince me. “Oreridge is a beautiful city, Eryk. They have the best equinox festival on the island, and we would be given much better prices for our manticore parts.”

I wasn’t swayed. “We are closer to Eternis, and I want to talk with Captain Taegen if he hasn’t sailed yet,” I replied, and Maveith groaned. I guessed he didn’t want to be Honored Maveith for his people any longer. My large friend didn’t like the attention.

“I need to check on Gilda,” Konstantin muttered unhappily. The shape changer didn’t see the point in hunting manticores, which I was fine with. One less person to show my abilities and the collector to. “Need to make sure she isn’t eating any of the locals,” Konstantin said half-heartedly. Konstantin’s sense of humor needed some work. Maveith looked briefly alarmed, but I reassured him with a look, signaling that Konstantin was joking.

Raelia walked next to me as the cart rolled along later in the day. Baldo was seated in the cart, getting acclimated to the changing environment. He had been “resting” in my space for all three weeks we hunted. “What did you want with Captain Taegen?” Raelia asked.

“I was thinking about asking him to take a crate of glowstones back to Gramney. They could be sold for a decent profit, but mostly just so my friends know we are still alive,” I said. Konstantin, on the other side of the wagon, nodded appreciatively at my wisdom. There was no network for sending magical messages across the continent, as the aether cost of sending spells over such distances was too high for most mages.

Raelia seemed to consider. She said mostly to herself, “I should send a message to my older brother.”

Raelia didn’t talk much about her family. “Does he not know where you are?”

I knew her facial expression well enough now to know she was a little uncomfortable. “I sent word. He knows I am escorting Maveith and his sister home.”

I nodded, stating the unsaid, “But he does not know that you are with your human lover.”

We walked in silence for a while before she spoke, “My older brother and I are close.” She paused. “But he would not understand. If he found out about you, he might try to kill you to free me from my passions. You may think yourself an accomplished swordsman, but my brother has been training for almost four centuries.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“So, he is your much older brother then?” I added with a chuckle.

“I’m forty-eight, twice your age, human. You should respect your elders,” she replied jokingly, but then fell silent. She hated being reminded that she would outlive me. It didn’t seem like the right moment to reveal my slow-aging ability. Maybe one day, when I let her read my assessment, she would ask about my spell form for my ninety affinity in time. Yes, that would be a good time to share it, as long as she didn’t faint at seeing my other affinity scores.

When Maveith let me know that we were a few hours from the gates, it was time to unload my dimensional space. I started with the leathery wings, all cut from the shoulder and mostly intact. The stack filled most of the back of the wagon. I paused to ask, “Will there be questions about the freshness of the kills?” Manticore blood was dripping steadily from the wagon.

Raelia chimed in, “There are preservation spells that are common; just mention that someone in our group has it.” Maveith nodded, and I started to unload the less savory body parts. Dozens of hollow metal tail barbs, some organs Maveith thought useful, three intact and full poison sacs, and the other sacs from the males.

Maveith was excited about making matching manticore pouches for everyone. Of the twelve manticores, we had only been fortunate enough to get three of the poison sacs. They could be used to make a painful, paralyzing poison or an antidote for the manticore poison.

We had used one of our three antidotes on Raelia during the hunt. A manticore had sprayed its quills wildly and got a lucky strike through her thigh. It was the only serious injury we had during the hunt. She was more upset about the hole in the Ranger’s cloak than the intense pain racking her body afterward. She was definitely a tough woman, and I appreciated her resilience.

Just before we entered the gate, I sneakily told Maveith, “You can turn in the bounty and sell the harvest. I am heading to the docks to see if the Wind Chaser is still moored.”

Maveith immediately whined, “But if I bring them myself, they will think I killed all the manticores.”

“And so, the legend of Honored Maveith grows. We will take a week off so your people can properly celebrate you.” I patted my incredulous friend on the shoulder and turned toward the docks. Konstantin was headed in another direction, leaving just Raelia and Baldo with Maveith. I heard her saying she would help him, and Baldo was standing proudly atop the foul-smelling wings like he had been the one to slay the host of manticores.

I was lucky to find the Wind Chaser still there, got permission to come aboard, and talked with Captain Taegen. We settled into his captain’s cabin as I explained my request. “Gramney? I have no plans to sail up the river to it. When we raise anchor, we will make for Galanoris and spend a few months with families before our next trade expedition.”

“Is there a way to get a package and letter halfway around the world?” I asked the captain while sipping the iced tea he had offered me.

He sipped his own drink, thinking. “One of our stops will be Artiria,” he offered. Artiria was the capital of Esenhem and had a teleportation service to Gramney.

“And you could consign to get a package delivered from there for me?” He looked at me expectantly, so I added, “For an appropriate fee, of course.” He toasted my addendum and drank his tea.

“We should arrive in Artiria in four months. You need to understand that ships are lost at sea and sometimes raided. Your letter and package may never arrive. The Wind Chaser is my second ship. An irate dragon burned my first,” he said, tempering my enthusiasm.

“Understandable. I am glad you survived,” I toasted him. “I will write a letter and purchase a small crate of raw glowstones. It will keep my investment small as the letter is the priority for me.” We spent the afternoon drinking and settled on the details. He even agreed to purchase the glowstones for me, although I suspected he already had them in his hold and might have marked them up slightly to gain a small profit.

I wrote the letter to Castile before leaving:

My Friend Castile,

I truly hope this message finds you in great spirits and that Blaze, Benito, and Mateo have returned safely to you. Tell them that Maveith and I appreciate their friendship. While I may not possess a merchant’s hand, I’m hopeful that you can find a good use for these glowstones, whether for Adrian’s Rest or Ignis’s forge. If not, perhaps you could consider selling them.

It's curious, but somehow, Konstantin is still around, constantly reminding me to train a little harder each day and pointing out my mistakes like I am still under his tutelage in the company. We’re enjoying the hospitality of the goliaths in Eternis and are looking forward to starting our journey back to Gramney in about a year. Please send my warmest regards to Lirkin; I’m confident he’s doing a fantastic job running the inn.

-E

I considered adding something about Viridia and Selene, but they may have moved on by now. I paid Taegen a painful sum of gold and traveled to the inn we had stayed at. I was in the private basement baths when Raelia entered. “I knew you would be down here!” she said while joining me.

“How did the bounties go?” I asked as her filthy body joined my clean one, and I winced as the water got murky. “You could have used the showers first.”

She shifted her naked body. “Are you saying you want me to leave?” she teased.

“No,” I said, wrestling her into a comfortable position.

She laughed and settled in. “We drew a crowd as the wagon made its way through the streets. They were chanting Maveith’s name before we even reached the clerk’s office.” She shifted to face me and began scrubbing down, fouling the water quickly, but I was wise enough not to complain again and enjoyed the sight. “We took down half as many manticores as all the hunters take in a year—in just one month! If they are not already making a statue of Maveith, they will soon.” I mused that it was probably because we didn't have to travel back to the city after each kill to resupply.

“How much did we get?” I asked.

Raelia pretended to think until I squeezed her and she squealed. “They were very generous—twenty-four hundred gold, plus a little on top. Maveith only kept the best three wings and sacs for himself. He left immediately for his father’s village to see Myra and start the tanning process.”

“Looks like you and Konstantin will be getting cloaks and belt pouches,” I teased.

“I look forward to it! He is going to talk to his father about making a saddle and reins for Baldo,” she added excitedly.

Deciding she was clean enough, she moved into me, sliding up my body to a kiss. Konstantin took that moment to knock and enter the room. He might have been waiting for the intimate moment so that he could interrupt. “Enough time playing, Eryk. Gilda has identified a doppelgänger and werecat in the city. Time to get back to work—you two can bathe again afterward.”

He closed the door with a thud, and I groaned. “I think I liked it better when Konstantin thought I was dead.”

© 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.