Chapter 61: Loyalty

We fell in behind the horses. I thought they would try to lose us by increasing their pace, but the horses only moved steadily, causing us to move at regular march to keep up. I was happy Kolm had repaired the sole of my boot. I was in the back row of our marching block with Brutus to my left and Firth to my right. Firth, the old veteran muttered, "This is going to be a miserable night march. Good thing we have those glow stones. You will need to charge mine."

He passed it to me, and soon, I had a cycle of glowstones coming at me. They were the glowstones they had 'requisitioned' from me. I kept the remaining four stones in my dimensional space, fearing they would also be 'requisitioned.' As I finished charging the glowstones, more riders came racing up behind us. Firth barked, "Shields to the rear! Spears and archers at the ready!"

Four men who had acquired body shields in the army camp cycled to form the wall, and two men with round shields took the ends of the shield line. Four spearmen were behind the six shieldmen, and four archers were behind them. Adrian and Delmar stood in the rear, and I was with them. Konstantin and a few others darted off the road into the brush to flank the possible attackers. All this was well practiced and happened in heartbeats. Delmar yelled, "Hold! Break and reform ranks! It is just the Hounds."

Nine riders led by Cornelius came up on us and settled into a walk with their mounts. Cornelius smiled in the waning light. "Konstantin, I am surprised you did not steal horses for your company."

Konstantin laughed, "I am sure Octavian was waiting for me to try so he could shackle all of us!"

Cornelius laughed with him, "Probably. He sent us off to track down two regulars in the woods who thought better of rushing the walls of Macha. No need to worry, Konstantin. We will make sure your mage gets to the capital in one piece. Since you are walking in that direction, I am sure you will see to the capital—eventually." He laughed at our predicament.

Konstantin asked seriously, "What is the pulse of her chances before a Tribunal?"

Cornelius frowned while his men rode forward at a hand signal from him. He frowned, "Octavian will worm himself onto the Tribunal with Duchess Veronica. The Emperor will appoint the third based on the highest bidder for the judgment seat. Unfortunately, I do not think he is invested at all in Mage Castile's fate."

Firth asked Cornelius, "Isn't Octavian the Emperor's son? Doesn't that mean he will get his way?"

"The Emperor doesn't favor any of his children. Quite the opposite. He is always on guard against them. I doubt it will work in Castile's favor, though." He spurred his horse forward to catch up to his men, leaving us.

We kept our formation and kept the riders in sight. They were kicking up a significant amount of road dust. The dust soon coated everyone. As the sun set, the glowstones appeared on the men on the outside of the block as we marched. Larita had done an amazing job healing everyone. My only issue was that my feet had no calluses, just pink new skin. I could feel the blisters forming already just a few miles into the march. As the night set in, the blue moon was hidden by heavy clouds, causing a heavy darkness. Our men on the edge of our formation had fixed the glow stones to their shields. The shifting shadows the glowstones generated from the trees and shrubs created a spooky and eerie feeling. Especially since I knew my new world had dozens of horrors that could rush out of the darkness.

The contingent of mounted legionaries in front of us brought their own light. Heavy directional beams of light bounced around far in front of us as they served as the vanguard. It made me think I could do the same with my glowstone. Make a simple flashlight with a polished metal funnel.

As the night wore on, the horses kept opening distance on us. The bouncing lights got further and further away. Delmar and Adrian paced us at the front. They knew our best speed in the dark on the dirt road to not wear us out. At least with the open distance, we did not have to deal with the horses' heavy dust cloud any longer.

Hours into the March, Brutus spoke, "Well, this is not all bad. At least we are not being sent to assault the walls of Macha to retake the city."

Firth said, "There is that, but from what I heard, they do not plan to assault the city. They have some powerful earth mages with them and plan to tear down the outer walls. Probably take half the lower city as well."

Wylie turned, "What about the citizens that remained?"

"They should have fled. I talked with an acquaintance in Master Mage Dacian's company. Dacian is tasked with bringing down the western wall and then rebuilding it after the city is taken," Firth said calmly.

"So they are just going to destroy the city and then rebuild it?" I asked incredulously.

"It will take a few months, but yes," Firth said. "It was the plan all along. They needed the Bartiradians inside the city."

"Then why is Castile going to a Tribunal?" Wylie asked from the row in front of us.

"Her orders were to hold the city until Duke Tiberius arrived," Firth replied. I was dumbstruck. In other words, Castile, Gregor, and Durandus were going to fail no matter what. The only way they could have survived the Bartiradians and succeeded in the plan would have been to hold the inner city walls until the Duke's army felt like showing up.

Everyone was too tired to talk after that as Adrian ordered a slight increase in pace, just short of a jog. It seemed ridiculous that we could keep up with horses. At least Cornelius said he would make sure Castile would reach the capital. We passed through three towns throughout the night, and when we could no longer see the lights of Octavian horses. We reached a small bridge, and Delmar called, "Thirty minutes for water and food!"

Konstantin barked, "No one removes their boots! I know your feet hurt like your first march in training, but it will only be worse if you take them off. We have about fifty-five miles to Caranhagan. Fill your canteens by the spring and saturate your bellies!" Damn, hours of marching, and we were only a third of the way there. Men rushed to drink, eat, shit and piss.

Lucien, our company horse master, tried to cheer everyone up, "Most likely, they will have to rest their horses twice before they reach the city. Maybe we will pass them while they are watering them."

I was with Brutus, Felix, and Mateo, shoveling down food. I noted, "I can not believe how dry and cool the air is. It was humid daily in Macha, and we are not far from the city."

"One of the larger ley lines runs under this road. It plays with the weather above it," Brutus answered.

Felix asked, "Don't they have ley lines in Tsinga?"

I replied slowly, "We do, but I didn't grow up near one, and my education was lacking."

"Rest is over!" came a shout from Adrian, saving me from having to explain further. I needed to be careful when referencing Tsinga. With my recent luck, we would have another legionnaire from the distant Kingdom join our company.

I sent some healing aether to my feet to keep them in good condition. I was one of the few men moving without wincing or grunting. It did not take long for everyone's training to kick in and ignore the foot pain. We were going to do 80 miles in heavy boots with over sixty pounds of armor and gear. Some men who had geared up in camp with shields, spears, and arrows probably regretted their decision. We entered into a fast walk, and silence rained among the scuffing of boots on the dirt road.

When the sun began to rise, it was not salvation, though. Down in a valley, a river cut into a town. Octavian's legionaries' silver armor sparkled on the new day's light. We had caught up to them. We kept on the road and continued our march instead of turning off into the town below. The mood brightened some as Castile was down there somewhere, and it looked like we were going to reach Carahagan and make the portal.

By midmorning, we passed a sign that indicated we were forty-one miles from Caranhagan. I was surprised that Octavian's men had not ridden up behind us yet. Just before the sun reached its midday zenith, we were called to halt again. Not even Konstantin looked great after fifty miles of forced marching.

I worked my stiff and sore shoulders out with a touch of healing. It almost felt like I was cheating. Men collapsed to the ground, trying to find the energy to consume food, but many preferred a quick nap. I drank and ate from my pack as well. The more I consumed, the lighter it would be. With the company spread on the side of the road, Octavian's column rode up behind us. As they passed, they increased to a light gallop. Their faces were smug as there was no way we could cover the last thirty miles before them. Castile was still stoic and riding in the center of their formation.

After they passed, Firth nearby swore, "Harpies tits. If the Duke orders the Displacement Mage to send him as soon as they get there, we might have to wait two or three days before the next portal opening to the capital."

Adrian snapped, frustrated, "What do you suggest we do, Firth? We have no stamina potions, and I am pushing the pace as much as is safe. If we are denied healing in Caranhagan or Telha, we will be laid up for a week of healing!" I had never seen our leader's nerves so frayed before. And Adrian had pushed through serious injuries just a day ago to escape the city.

"Send men on. There are a few of us who can push harder. If the Dukes rush the Tribunal, Castile will have no witnesses to defend her. She deserves a few of us to try, at least," Firth muttered aggressively. I had not known he cared enough to defend Castile, especially since he worked for one of the Praetorian Guard.

"Who is willing to jog thirty miles to the city? My best guess is you need to make it in about five hours to catch the portal opening?" Adrian asked almost as a plea.

Konstantin dropped his pack and pulled his canteen, "Fill my canteen, and I will go. Benito, Linus, Pavel, and Eryk are the only other ones who look like they can make it." Benito nodded and dropped his pack. Pavel did as well, albeit reluctantly. Linus looked like he was not happy being volunteered but slowly dropped his pack.

Well, shit. Getting volunteered again, "Give me more full canteens. I can squeeze five in my dimensional box," I offered. Everyone quickly shuffled in their packs, and I shoved the canteens and some food into the box in my space, filling it.

The five of us left our packs to lighten our load. The only weapon we each took was our short swords and belt knives. We jogged after Konstantin in a line. The five of us were mismatched body types. Konstantin was squat and barrel-chested, Benito was short and thick, Pavel was almost as tall as me and wiry, and Linus was the only person in our company who did not look like he was layered in muscle. Then there was me; I was both tall and thick with muscles.

As we started our jog, Konstantin paced us from the front. It was a light run, and maybe we were making ten-minute miles. Konstantin had selected our group well. Only Pavel was struggling visibly when we reached a road sign at a town noting eleven miles to Caranhagan. Pavel had a limp that was growing more pronounced with every mile.

Konstantin noticed, "Come on, Pavel. You have all that gold waiting for you in the Adventurer's Guild! You just have to earn it with a little pain!"

Konstantin was referring to the gold we were promised for discovering the lost dungeon. That was over seventy gold. It motivated Pavel as he did not waver until the city walls of Caranhagan came into sight. Konstantin swore, "Thought we would have caught sight of them before the walls."

The tall stone walls of the city did not have a sprawl of farms or buildings outside of it as Macha did. The last mile of the road became paved with stone as we approached. It was late evening, but there was still plenty of light. The city guards at the gate stopped us, and Konstantin rasped, "How long ago did the Duke ride through?"

The gate captain spent a moment looking us over. We were covered in dirty sweat and general filth, and Pavel had trouble standing on his right leg. "The Duke passed just under an hour ago."

"Thank you," Konstantin tried to move past. The guard blocked him.

"Legionnaire, you must enter your men in the Registry," the guard said seriously, pointing to the guard house.

"Did the Duke register his company?" Konstantin snapped.

The guard looked uncomfortable, "No, he flew his flag, and we counted his men as they rode through."

"Good, add five more to that count," Konstantin said, pushing past. The guard was sputtering, but I did not hear as I followed Konstantin. I did not have time to admire the city as Konstantin moved quickly through the streets, dragging us along. The citizens gave us a wide berth, probably due to both our state of filth and displayed urgency.

We arrived at a large courtyard with a familiar stone arch, and the Duke's horses and men were waiting. Castile was dismounted in the center of the group and talking with Cornelius. Cornelius spotted us and pointed to a small stone building. Konstantin barked, "Frigging paperwork. Wait here. If the Displacement Mage arrives and opens the portal, go through, do not wait for me. Do not let anyone stop you. I will go register our travel with the clerk." Konstantin stomped away, finding energy in his anger.

Pavel found a barrel to sit on and peeled off his boot on his right leg. As he removed his blood-soaked sock, it was apparent the flesh on his heel had split, and the heel bone was showing. Linus and Benito were not as bad. They still had bloody socks but just from blood blisters. I left my boots on as I had kept my feet in good shape with touches of my healing ability.

Cornelius approached us as we checked ourselves and waited on Konstantin, who was getting vocal inside the clerk's building. "Impressive feat, getting here on foot. I could use men like you in the Hounds. Do any of you have a spell form?" I knew a spell form was required to join the Hounds, but none of us answered him. After a pause, he asked, "Is this all that made it?" Cornelius indicated our group.

Pavel answered non-commitantly while delicately inspecting his heel, "They should be here soon."

Konstantin joined us, his face red from yelling. He barked at us, "We are fine to enter the portal to the capital."

Cornelius eyed him, "You were always a tough bastard, Konstantin. Good thing, too. Octavian sent a message to have a Truthseeker lined up to expedite the Tribunal. If you had not made it, they would have proceeded without your testimony."

My limbs suddenly got very cold. We were going to be questioned by Truthseekers? A procession of legionaries in metal armor approached. They were escorting the Displacement Mage. Fifteen minutes later, the portal opened, and the Duke's procession started entering. "Do not bother putting your boots on; just move through," Konstantin barked, and we all shuffled to the portal to follow. I had a thought about falling to the back and missing the portal by accident, but Konstantin was behind me and pushing me forward. I entered the portal and emerged in the capital of the Telhian Empire.