Chapter 103

Lareen was kneeling on the bed, holding my amulet. I didn't have a headache or any disorientation from the artifact being removed, so at least I had learned something. I could be awakened if the amulet was removed without ill effects. Now, I needed to deal with the curious woman. She was educated, and I assumed the runic patterns on the outside of the device told her it was magical in nature.

I gave a half-truth, "It helps me sleep. It filters out the nightmares. I have oblivion pills as well."

Lareen was trying to use the minimal firelight to see the device better. She had it in her palm and was running her thumb over it. I gently took it from her hand and put it back under my shirt. It was as big as a pocket watch from Earth, so it created a lump under my shirt. Lareen looked me in the eyes; flashes from the fire danced in her green eyes, "Eryk, I am glad you are back. I slept in your bed every night, hoping that night would be the one return."

She moved in, and we kissed for a long time. She had been busy today and had not bathed. I could taste the salt on her lips and smell her strong, sweaty scent. When we broke the kiss, I asked, "What were you doing today?" I was attempting to take her mind off the amulet.

She stretched out next to me, and we faced each other on our sides. Morning breath was one thing I did not miss about being close to a woman. I was sure my breath was also undesirable, but that was all I could focus on while she talked. "We mostly moved a few hundred bags of wheat flour into the Citadel cellars. The anti-vermin runes are strongest there, and the Duchess did not want spoilage or rats getting into it."

"Who are we?" I asked while her hands drifted to my hips and rubbed my side.

"The other servants in the Citadel. Everyone is working to accommodate the new arrivals." Her hands got bolder, going under my shirt. "We are trying to get ready to feed another thousand people this winter. It might even be more with how fast the refugees are arriving."

She leveraged herself toward me, and my thought as we engaged was I was going to look into finding toothpaste.

In the morning, I overslept, and Lareen was already gone. Her day started just after the first light, when she helped serve breakfast. She worked well into the evening by cleaning up after her charge—me. I dressed but did not wear my new or old armor. I headed to the northwest tower to find the alchemist, Decimus. I would take it easy this morning and head out after midday to collect his ingredients.

The northwest tower was in a section of the Citadel rarely used. Rooms were empty, and dust lined the window sills. A small spiral staircase wound up around the tower's interior. A door was on each floor. I found Decimus on the third floor, the tower's highest floor. The round room was maybe thirty feet across. Tables and crates were everywhere, extremely disorganized.

Decimus was snoring softly on a cot. The morning light was bleeding through the four windows in the room. The crates must be all the new alchemist gear that the Duchess bought him. His face was still dark pink, and he was drooling. I checked out the views. Two windows looked north and west out into the woods. The east window had obstructed views down into the gardens. The south window gave a view of the city and the river beyond.

From this perspective, the city looked a lot smaller. I could see smoke plumes from the encampments of the refugees. The cot creaked, and I turned to find the bald alchemist sitting up. "Morning, Decimus," I greeted him.

"Eryk? What are you doing here? Is it morning already?" He asked.

"It is. I am here to drop off your crate, although looking at all these crates, I do not think you require it," I observed.

"Ah, young Legionnaire, that is where you are wrong. More equipment means I can have more processes going at once!" He said excitedly. I moved to the table and I placed the gear I had transported for him on it.

"I was told to check with you to get your ingredients so you can begin your work. I also wanted to ask if you made toothpaste." I turned to face the pink man.

"Toothpaste? Do you mean a whitening agent? I can do that, no problem. You just need to fetch me a bucket of goat's milk and urine. Horse or cow urine is best and easiest to collect." He said as he moved to the first crate and started to work the lid off.

"Horse piss and goat's milk whitens teeth?" I asked, a little repulsed.

"Once I process it, yes. It should only take a day, but it will take me most of the day to unpack everything here and get things assembled and set up to my satisfaction. I would ask for your help, but you would just slow me down," he said as he carefully unpacked the new glassware.

"I think I will pass on the whitening agent. Is there anything for just bad breath?" I inquired of the alchemist.

"Bad breath? There are a dozen different recipes to correct foul breath depending on your flavor preference, and some also have dental restoratives. Do you have any aches?" He did not wait for me to answer before continuing, "I will need a few things I can create from herbs in the garden. Need to extract the oil essence and create a simple base to mix it with and stabilize the compound, but I can make you a wash that should cure your bad breath for a day or two. Any particular herb flavoring you prefer?"

"Mint," I said firmly.

"I can gather that myself from the cook's gardens below. Let me write out a list of things that I will need from the local woods. You can forage it for me." I waited while he scrawled out his shopping list and the amounts he wanted for each.

There were only two I was not familiar with. Konstantin just called one something else, and the other was actually a truffle—a fungus that grew underground. When I asked him how I was to find the fungus, I got a lengthy explanation, "To find a truffle, you need to search in an area with excellent drainage. The ground should be partially sandy as well. There is a small white flowering plant that prefers the same soil. It is easy to identify as the white flowers. The plant is the size of your fist, and the flowers have five petals and light blue veins. Dig carefully in that area for the truffles."

I nodded but did not think I would be digging for truffles today. I returned to my room to find cold breakfast plates by the window. Lareen must have returned while I visited the alchemists and brought breakfast for both of us to share. I quickly searched her room and the bath for her. She was not here and had probably been required to continue helping with the refugees.

I ate both plates and went to the stables to check on Ginger. The stable boy approached me, "Legionnaire, we talked with the old healer on your behalf. Since it is not for the Duchess, he asked for three gold for the healing on your horse."

"Is that a lot?" I asked the stable hand. But I realized the stupidity of the question. A large copper was probably a lot to the boy.

The older boy replied, but he was uncertain himself, "A fortune, but I think it is because if he healed your horse, it would use all his aether for the day. At least, that is what he implied."

"Fine, have him come and do it. Do you know where the goliath is?" I asked the pair.

The younger one pointed, and I followed his hand. On the far side of the open courtyard, Maveith was shouldering three large packs. A tossed each boy a single copper and went to talk with Maveith.

Maveith noticed my approach, and his deep voice hit me, "You are too late, Eryk. Konstantin left at first light if you had changed your mind about joining him."

"I was going to offer to go with you, Maveith. But I have to wait for the city's old healer to care for my horse," I said, standing beside him, feeling small.

"I will be gone two days to deliver this food to your legionnaire companions. Adrian said you had a rough trip and need some rest. I will be fine," he intoned and clapped my shoulder.

"Be careful out there. With as much food you are carrying, you would make a delicious target for the refugees," I said to my friend.

Maveith's eyebrows creased, and then he laughed, "Wonderful play of words!" His voice boomed, "Delicious target because I am carrying food. You have the most interesting sense of wordplay, Eryk." He picked up one massive backpack and two satchels and left the yard.

I returned to the stables to wait for the healer and check out Ginger and Atlas. I felt bad Atlas was being replaced, but Ginger was my first. She was also a more impressive warhorse and, I think smarter than the average horse, but that was perhaps my wishful thinking.

The town healer arrived with a neatly white-trimmed beard and wearing expensive-looking clothes. He was more well-off than the average citizen. He approached with the older stable boy leading him, "Legionnaire? Are you the one who wishes your horse healed?"

"I do. I have your requested coin as well," I held up three gold for him to see. He squinted and nodded as if he was dubious that I had the coin to pay him.

"Well, show me to the beast, and I can take a look," we followed the stable boy, who was excited to see the magic healing as well. Ginger had her own stall and immediately nudged me for an apple.

I rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Sometimes I think you just like me because I am your sugar daddy." The old man went into the stall and looked at the three long, deep claw marks on Ginger's rump. She craned her neck but did not move.

"I would hate to have seen whatever did this to your horse. Glad you lived Legionnaire." He faced me, "I can do it. Three gold to correct the muscles. I do not have enough aether to remove the scarring today. Maybe another day." And for some reason, I doubted his sincerity. He would probably ask for more coins to remove the scars later.

"But she will be able to be ridden?" I asked while rubbing behind Ginger's ears.

"Yes. Even today, but you should give her an extra meal for the next two or three days," he held out his hand. He wanted his payment first. I placed the coins in his open palm. He inspected them for a brief moment before moving to his work.

There was nothing to see. He placed both his hands over the scars, and the flesh rippled under his touch. About a minute later, he dropped his hands. He was sweating from the effort, "That is never pleasant. I burned out my aether channels in my youth, and channeling that much aether is painful."

I reassessed my opinion of the old healer. Burnt mages were something Castile told me about. A mage could only use so much aether in a day. If they took aether restoratives and pushed past this limit, they would damage their ability to funnel aether for magic. This would result in painful use of aether and less aether available during the day.

Ginger kicked with the leg that was just healed and seemed happy. She craned her neck. My guess is she had been in pain from the injury, and that was now gone. She nudged the old healer with her powerful neck and knocked him down. Before he could get upset, I told him, "She is thanking you. And so am I," I handed him a fourth gold coin as I helped him up.

The man left happy, and I saddled up Ginger with the stable boys helping. Soon, we were out of the Citadel yard, and Ginger was sprinting energetically through the woods. If a horse could be happy, she was. Maybe I would let her run a bit before looking for the alchemist ingredients.

We darted down the paths and among the trees. I was deep into the woods when I pulled up. A legionnaire was in the middle of the path carrying a deer on his back. He was familiar to me, and I had not seen him in quite some time. Flavius, the archer from Durandus' company. The last time I had seen him, he was seated behind Master Mage Sebastian on a fire drake headed off into the swamp to look for the collector. This should be an interesting conversation.