Shadows in the Smoke - Chapter 37 - Republican Breakfast

  “In order for a society to function properly all of its inhabitants must have a stake in its success. A share of prosperity if you will. Under outdated political systems such as that of the Empire, this is limited. While the ordinary subjects of the Undying Queen will benefit when the Empire prospers, the vast majority of that prosperity goes to the nobleborn. In the Republic, every Citizen gets their fair share and so we become a stronger nation for it.”

  The Struggle for Freedom by Bjarne Midthun

  =====

  Once the Republicans reached them, everything was a bit of a blur. Arcanist-Captain Loga was bundled onto a stretcher carried by two of the soldiers and then, with his weight off her shoulders, Ester found it a little bit easier to keep stumbling her way back towards Fort Statvinger.

  Despite that, it felt like it took hours to get back. It hadn’t been a short walk out to the mid-point of no-man’s land, but now every step was slower and harder, even without Loga leaning on her.

  When Ester finally staggered up to one of the gates and into the fort’s tunnels, she was drenched in sweat, despite the frigid air. Republican soldiers watched through small slits in the stonework and didn’t hesitate to open the gates for them. Inside, she was greeted by Arcanist-Subaltern Jakob as the stretcher bearers carried Loga past them.

  “Mage Mazar, are you injured?”

  “I don’t think she is,” one of the soldiers replied before Ester could, “she’s just exhausted.”

  She shot him a bleary-eyed look of disapproval. “I am fine, thank you.” She blinked a couple of times and stood there until she remembered it wasn’t just her there. “Is Arcanist-Captain Loga going to be alright? Did the undead try to follow us?”

  “They did, but they turned back when you got too close to the fort. If you’d been a bit slower then they might have caught you, so, uh, well done. As for Edvin,” it took Ester a second to realise Jakob meant Arcanist-Captain Loga, “we’ll have to see. He’ll recover, but I’m not sure how badly hurt he was. So, thank you, Mage Mazar.”

  “Ah, good.” Was the world swaying? Ester wasn’t quite sure. There was one more thing she needed to ask though. What was it? “What about… Oh, Arcanist-Colonel Lindhom. Is she back? Did she win?”

  “Of course she did.” There was an amused undertone to Jakob’s voice.

  “Ah, so she is back?” That was a relief.

  “Oh, no. Her fight with the liche moved away, towards the woods so we lost sight of her. In fact, we haven’t seen any sign of her since the magic stopped.”

  Ester felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured down her back. “Then how do you know? If you couldn’t see, how do you know she won?”

  “Oh, it’s simple.” Jakob grinned. “The Ashen Vow never loses. Whatever the world throws at Arcanist-Colonel Lindholm, she beats it to death, often with her bare hands. It would take more than a mere liche to bring her down.”

  “But how can you be so sure? Especially when she hasn’t come back!” It wasn’t something to laugh about.

  “Alright, alright,” Jakob sighed. “Being entirely serious, she’s been in worse situations before and she’s won every time. I’m not worried, she’s practically unkillable. Most likely she decided to go and hunt some of the undead while their leaders are still confused about what happened. No doubt she’ll turn up in a few hours.”

  “Oh. I see.” Ester blinked at that. She didn’t share his confidence, but arguing wouldn’t help anyone. “I think, maybe, I should get some rest now.” Why was the tunnel swaying around her? She pulled herself together again and ignored the way the Republicans were staring at her. “Perhaps there is somewhere I could sit down until Arcanist-Colonel Lindholm gets back?”

  She felt more than saw Jakob tentatively grasp her arm. “That sounds like a fine idea, Mage Mazar. Come, let’s find you a seat.”

  There was a nagging feeling in Ester’s mind that something wasn’t quite right with things as Jakob gently led her away, but through the haze of exhaustion she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

  =====

  Ester woke up with a jolt, her eyes shooting open to see bare stone walls around her. Where was she? What had happened?

  There was no one else in the room. Had she been captured? She vaguely remembered getting back to the fort and being led away by Jakob, but after that it was all a blur.

  In a quick movement she propped herself up on her elbows. There was a scratchy woolen blanket draped over her and she was lying on an uncomfortable straw mattress. A quick movement threw the blanket off her. She was still in the same dirty, bloodstained Republican uniform she’d been wearing before. Although it was cut away in places with white bandages wrapped tightly around her arms. So someone had treated her, that was good. It didn’t answer the real question though, was this a cell? Or had she just been sleeping without any defences up at all?

  With a groan, Ester swung her legs off the bed and sat up. Her head felt clear, but her body was aching as badly as it ever had. After a moment to prepare, she forced herself up and onto her feet. Tired muscles protested, but at least she didn’t fall over or feel like she was going to pass out.

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  She tottered over to the worryingly thick looking door and pulled on the handle.

  To Ester’s relief, it moved in her hand and she was able to swing the door open. So she probably wasn’t a prisoner. And no one had killed her in her sleep. Obviously. She shook her head at the thought, she wasn’t going mad, was she?

  “Ah, Mage Mazar!” Ester jumped at Jakob’s cheerful voice. “I’m glad to see you’re awake. How are you feeling? Recovered, I hope?”

  “Uh.” It took Ester a moment to get her thoughts in order. “I am well, thank you. Tired,” she admitted, “but uninjured.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Now-” Her stomach took the opportunity to make its presence known with a loud rumble. “Ah, yes. Arcanist-Colonel Lindholm will want to see you since you’re awake, but she said you should eat first.”

  An automatic protest that she didn’t need to be coddled nearly forced its way out of Ester’s lips, but she managed to stop herself as her empty stomach twisted. “Thank you. Could I also have the opportunity to change into something a bit less…” She gestured at her soiled uniform. It was filthy and smelly, but more importantly, changing would give her the opportunity to stop dressing like a Republican.

  “Of course,” to Ester’s surprise, Jakob didn’t protest at all. “Let’s go to your room first and then something to eat.”

  It wasn’t a long walk back to the new room Ester had been assigned after her old one was wrecked in the murder attempt. Jakob waited outside while she went through her pack to find a clean dress. There wasn’t much choice, given how little she’d brought with her.

  If only they had hot baths in the fort. It did have washrooms with lukewarm water, but with the 13th having joined the garrison there weren’t enough for everyone. As was evidenced by the smell of sweat that permeated the place. Anyway, Ester had no desire to be around Republicans, even Republican women as she washed.

  Fortunately, a Mage had other options.

  She suppressed a shiver from the chill air on her bare skin and focused her mind. Magic came easily to her now that she’d had a proper rest.

  “Saulan.” A shudder ran through Ester as magic scored across her skin, runes dancing around her. This was why none of the Arcanists ever smelled bad for long and why she could always look clean and neat. One of the myriad advantages to having the Talent.

  It wasn’t as good as a proper bath, but the spell still left her feeling refreshed. She quickly pulled on her dress and secreted her Schemas around it. There were a few ideas floating through her mind from the fight with the necromancer to add to them, but she’d need some time alone to properly think about them.

  After a short walk to the canteen, Ester took her dubious looking bowl without hesitating. This time it was some sort of mixture of vegetables with a tiny amount of meat. It looked thoroughly unappetising, yet also one of the most appealing things she’d seen in a long time. Her stomach rumbled again.

  At least Jakob didn’t smirk, although she was sure he’d heard the noise. He just headed for a table, with Ester trailing behind.

  There were a couple of officers from the 13th sat on it and Ester carefully didn’t meet their eyes as Jakob greeted them. It made it less embarrassing when they inevitably found some polite excuse to leave as soon as she sat down.

  “Jakob, Mage Mazar.” The young men nodded to the two of them.

  “Arcanist-Captain Nodland, Cantrist-Subaltern Niril.” Ester returned the greeting and put her tray down on the table before lifting her skirts to step over the bench and sit down.

  She didn’t bother saying anything more to other officers, they’d be gone in a moment. There was no point getting upset about it, it was just the way things were, although it must be a bit sad for Jakob to miss out on speaking to his friends. She dipped her spoon into her bowl and brought it to her mouth.

  “Mage Mazar,” Nodland spoke up and Ester stifled a sigh. Here it came. “I wanted to ask you about what you used to kill the vampire? If you don’t mind sharing of course.”

  Ester choked on her mouthful, breaking into a coughing fit. “Y-y-you saw?”

  “Mmm? Oh, yes, Mage Mazar. I was watching through a telescope. But you know how it is, they don’t always give the clearest picture and you were quite a long way away. I was a bit worried when you went up against that vampire, it was clearly a relatively powerful one of its kind and I’d have said it was far too close for safety for someone who doesn’t know how to enhance themselves.” He paused. “You don’t know how to do that do you?”

  “Huh, uh, no, I do not.” Ester almost kicked herself, why was she admitting that to a Republican? Then wanted to kick herself again. Obviously they knew that, they’d watched her fight.

  “Well, there you go. Your casting is very much on point, but we were still very impressed. I’d have expected the vampire to just dodge your spells and then tear you in half.”

  For a moment, Ester wondered whether that was what he really wanted to have happened and he was mocking her. But he seemed to be speaking completely matter-of-factly. As if being torn apart by a vampire was a day to day occurrence. Maybe for officers in the 13th it was. She gathered her thoughts; if the Republicans’ hostility was finally cracking, then she should take advantage of that. She just had to make sure she didn’t make herself sound like a panicked idiot.

  “Well, umm, I needed to be quick because the vampire, it had a name actually: Silas. Is that normal for vampires?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Anyway, Silas was on the verge of killing Arcanist-Captain Loga and I could not leave him to die there. I had seen how fast it was and I was worried it would avoid my spells just like you said. So, I cast a barrier spell. I made it wide and,” Ester smiled slightly at the memory, frightening as the fight was, she was proud of how clever she’d been, “more importantly, I made sure it was visible.”

  “Ah, of course.” Nodland nodded, while the two subalterns looked confused.

  “Yes, so it was wide enough that the vampire would have have been slowed down too much by going around it, but it could see that it was not so high. The vampire leaped straight up and over it, just like I had hoped. Then, once it was in mid air, it was stuck going in a straight line. There was no way for it to change direction or dodge and I was able to hit it with a fire spell.”

  “Very clever, Mage Mazar.” He didn’t sound like he was mocking her. Ester felt her face heat slightly at the praise. “Was there any reason why you used a fire spell?”

  “Well, to be honest, Arcanist-Captain, it was just the first thing that came to mind and, in the end, with sufficient quantities of fire you can kill most things.”

  “Heh.” His face cracked into a smile which gradually grew into a laugh. “Hahaha! You’re quite right, Mage Mazar. If it doesn’t kill it, you probably just didn’t use enough fire. Did they teach you that tactic at your Academy?”

  “No, actually, I thought of it because of other times I fought people who were enhancing themselves.” Ester tried not to shudder at the thought of her lesson with Mohsen and the fight with the necromancer in the Wasteways. “I needed ways to hit them reliably because they might not give me a second chance.”

  “Well, indeed. I’m glad you did think about that and I’m sure Edvin is too.”

  Ester blinked as the two subalterns nodded enthusiastically at Nodland’s words.

  “Thank you, Arcanist-Captain. I am also glad that I was able to help. The undead are enemies of every living person, not just the Republic.”

  “Well said, Mage Mazar. I’m sure after that display Sigrid, Arcanist-Colonel Lindholm, will be finding plenty of use for you. That is, if you’re willing to fight. I’d be the last one to suggest putting a diplomatic envoy in danger.” He smirked slightly at that.

  “Well,” Ester chose her words carefully. “What our leaders, whether they’re in Nilrava or Trevayn, do not hear about cannot upset them.” She felt her own lips stretching into a smile to match Nodland’s.

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  Dramatis personae:

  Ester Mazar - Chartered Mage, did I do good?

  Jakob Rostad - Arcanist-Subaltern, I'm not sure she needs me to babysit her anymore.

  Ketil Nodland - Arcanist-Captain, I don't care if she's a crown-licker so as long as she burns the enemies of the Republic.