FIFTY-FIVE: THE REALITY OF GROWTH

  “There are more beasts out here than I had thought there would be,” Basilides said from his position on the ground. The man’s arms were wedged up to his elbow in the remains of the third beast that they had killed today. This one had been killed by Batbayar Equites, the bowman who had tried to kill the plant monster. He’d been more successful this time, the winged animal had hardly begun to strike before an arrow had pierced its breast.

  “Here you go,” Basilides said as he pulled out a skill shard and threw it toward Batbayar who caught it with a single hand, dark eyes never turning from the skies. Cassius watched the skill shard go without having a single chance to earn a portion of it.

  “We passed through this area and did not see any of these,” Cassius said.

  “Maybe something has disturbed the local region?” Basilides asked as he rose from the ground. Nobody offered him extra water to clean himself and Basilides had wisely decided to not waste his own.

  “What do you think it could be?” the second Equites noble, Gerel, asked. Her hand rested on the longer saber she carried, but she didn’t seem too worried as long as her brother watched the skies.

  “I am willing to bet it is what happened at the dungeon,” Valeria said. Cassius frowned as he looked toward the distance where the dungeon was located. It would be days before they would reach it. If creatures were already pushing toward them from this far away, then Cassius worried just how bad the threat was at the dungeon.

  “Not a bet I am willing to take,” Cassius said as they started forward again after Vira marked the trees. The monstrous scaled bird was kicked off to the side as they pushed forward with Baisilides and Cassius taking the lead again. The [Observer] was skilled at finding any threat of attacks and Cassius’ shield and own vision skill made them natural to lead from the point.

  “If we keep being forced into combat situations this will take quite a bit of time to reach the dungeon,” Basilides complained.

  “We push forward. That is all we have to do,” Cassius said with a shrug. There wasn’t much that could be done besides pushing forward. If Cassius was lucky then one of the encounters would leave him with a skill shard he could acquire. The second beast hadn’t had one, nothing at all as the furry quadruped had been stabbed in the face by Valeria’s spear. She had said it was a rather weak monster as had the giant scaled bird that Batbayar had slain.

  “And hope that nothing takes us by surprise,” Basilides said. The man kept his eyes roving around as he spoke, long staff poking the ground ahead of him as they walked slowly.

  “There is that. Just keep your eyes open and aware,” Cassius said. His own skill was running constantly as he looked over the forest. The spread out nature of the tall trees allowed them to see far enough away that it was a struggle for monsters to ambush them. Between the two of them they had yet to find themselves on the backfoot.

  Hours trickled by as the sun rose and the heat increased back to its familiar pitch. Sweat rolled down Cassius’ neck but it was less than what it had been and the frequent stops to drink water helped. With the legion only hours behind them they could always retreat back to refill their canteens if they couldn’t find a water source nearby.

  “Why did you join the legions?” Basilides asked. Walking in silence had proven a struggle for the man. He kept his voice low enough that Cassius doubted anything could hear them as they walked though. With all of them wearing armor and carrying small arsenals they weren’t silent.

  “Why did you join the Lyceum?” Cassius countered.

  “I wanted to learn. It was the best place to learn so I went and passed its tests for entrance,” Basilides said.

  “I was tired of the streets and went to the recruiters stand and signed my twenty-five year mark,” Cassius said with a shrug.

  “That is all? You were tired of the streets? There was no desire for adventure? To see the world? To defend the weak and innocent? Maybe look dashing in your armor for a woman’s notice?” Basilides added the last part with a sly smile.

  Cassius thought of the days starving on heat baked stone alleys. It had been dark, hot, humid, with the stench of millions condensed down into those narrow alleys. Food rotted but people would eat it regardless. In the winter flash storms would come raging through and could flood the lowest wards and leave the unwary drowned and bloated.

  “That was all. Just wanted somewhere where there was reliable food and silver.”

  “And now?” Basilides was like a hound with a scent.

  “Now? Survive. War is brewing and the General will lead the legion directly towards it. All I wish to do is survive it,” Cassius said. The words came with practiced familiarity like an old friend but there was a sense of dishonesty to them now. There was something more he wanted, ignited when he had felt that first rush of power as he received his blessings.

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  “Survival is a good thing to focus on with our current circumstances, but it can not be all a man lives for.”

  “Spoken like a true elder,” Cassius mocked him, which Basilides had the grace to nod along with as he sucked in air through his teeth.

  “I have sat around too many lectures listening to elders speak. I have now begun to recite their wisdom as my own,” Basilides admitted.

  “Is that not what we all do? Take our ancestors' lessons and apply them to ourselves?” Cassius asked.

  “Wisdom through the experience of the past generations is a wise thing to take heed of. Beware following history so much you forget the future,” Basilides said.

  “Which of your masters said that?” Cassius said drily and Basilides snorted loudly.

  “Shut it!” Valeria hissed from the rear of the formation, her loud whisper reaching them both with ease.

  Her irritation could not keep Basilides silent for long. He cleared his throat before risking a glance behind them to see the veteran legionnaire glaring at them. Cassius shook his head as he kept his attention fixed to the world around them while Vira offered instructions every now and then to change direction while she marked trees.

  “When you have seen the skill [Cohesion] in action, does it only interact with skills you use?” Basilides asked. Cassius waited a moment and when Valeria didn’t chide them he deemed it safe enough to respond.

  “Yes? I think so? It guides us into one unit, melds our skills together or even guides mana together.”

  “Do you work better in the formation? Know instinctively what your comrades will do?” Basilides asked.

  “I…I do not know. I will pay attention next time. For me it was more like a guiding hand as we [Marched]. Centurion Durum was able to guide our mana around us, the strong aiding the weak as we pushed toward Villa Ore Mundi.”

  “Interesting. A familiar skill that is used everywhere but mostly in the legion, yet I can not help but wonder what other purposes it could serve,” Basilides said.

  “Such as?”

  “Look out, there by the base of the tree,” Basilides said, voice serious as he pointed his staff toward a patch of thick bark.

  “Batbayar,” Cassius whispered before pointing his speartip toward the center of the strange growth of bark. The noble didn’t hesitate as he drew his bow back and let loose. A skill empowered the arrow as it buried itself into the tree with an audible clap of displaced air and discharged mana. Something blew apart like an overripe melon, wet and splashy bits of monster scattered everywhere.

  “I do not think there will be anything salvageable in that,” Basilides said with a frown.

  “It was weak. Your skill, it does not show levels?” Cassius asked.

  “The one I am using currently helps detect mana flow. Creatures that are powerful draw mana toward them with every breath. I could see the currents stray around it,” Basilides explained.

  “Useful,” Cassius said simply and they kept moving forward after Batbayar recovered his mangled arrow from the tree. They pushed on silently for a while, their earlier conversation abandoned by the brief bout of violence.

  “What have you decided to do about your friend's upcoming nuptials?” Basilides said suddenly.

  “What is there to do? She has a duty to her house and matriarch,” Cassius said with a shrug.

  “Truly romance is dead.”

  “Romance? [Observer] should be instead [Traveling Bard],” Cassius responded with a shake of his head.

  “We are both free of the burdens of nobility but blessed with our own privileges. Can we not speak honestly with each other as men of equal standing?” Basilides said as his raised an eyebrow at Cassius.

  “Lady Viridian is a noble of the first strata and the only thing that comes from entangling with the nobility is a poisoned chalice or a knife in the back,” Cassius said with a shake of his head.

  “Yet, the Agricola offer you patronage,” Basilides countered.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I observe.” Basilides looked smug with his counter.

  “They and the General have taken interest in me. It is only since I have pushed into the second tier. They want a fighter who can overwhelm their foes and does not owe allegiance to another.”

  “Yes, but have you considered that there will be many like you if this expedition goes well? Already a new batch of Agricola second tiers will be emerging from their dungeon. Do you not think the Equites fear a union between them and you already? The leadership of their entire house is here, beyond the Shifting Wall and rule of law. If the Agricola decided to strike now they would overwhelm the Equites with ease if you sided with them and their new found strength.”

  Cassius nearly tripped as he glanced behind him to the two Equites who moved with lethal grace behind him. He had the stats to best them, no amount of technical skill could overwhelm the growth in speed and strength he had. He was not invincible though, no matter what his class said. A blade through the heart or arrow through his skull would end him fast enough.

  “Is that what they are here for?” Cassius lowered his voice further as his spine stiffened.

  “Maybe? Or they are here to protect their investment in Vira. Or perhaps another lucky encounter would grant them a pair of second tier warriors now rather than later? Already one has found a skill shard,” Basilides said.

  “You never answer yes or no, do you?”

  “Life is rarely yes or no.”

  “How has no one stabbed you yet?” Cassius asked.

  “Who says they have not?” Basilides answered with his own sly smile.

  “They need to spend more time in the training yards then,” Cassius said, drawing a snort of laughter from Basilides. They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they kept walking through the Wilds.