Chapter 9: Riding Lessons

As I rode back to the mining town, my clothes and armor dried off. The blood acted as a great detergent, and my clothes smelled nice and earthy—although I presumed not all the fluids that had soaked me were blood. Ginger seemed to be expecting an apple to return to me, but the only thing I had that she might enjoy was a jar of berry preserves. When we paused, I fed her the jam, and her long tongue cleaned the heavy jar clean. It was about two quarts of jam, and my horse definitely had a sweet tooth.

I did not see anyone from my legion as I walked Ginger back to town. When the town came into view, a rider came out to meet me. It was Mateo, "Damn, Eryk. You are alive?"

I fished for a response, "Yeah, got thrown from my horse and made my way into a river. The ground shark-turtle thing did not seem able to swim. It eventually left me alone, and my trusty mount returned to me." I patted Ginger's neck.

Mateo was speechless. He just looked me over and finally said, "Mage Castille has called in an earth mage to help. For now, we are fortifying the town. You can rub down your mount, get something to eat, and see Adrian for your defense position."

He rode back to the town next to me and continued, "The other detachment found the griffons. They are nesting about 20 miles north into the mountains. No sign of the baron son's party yet. We can not make a move until the bulette is sorted out. Those things are a menace, and it is surprising that this one is so close to the mountains. They usually hunt in the plains or along the border of dessert since the earth is softer, or so Castille says." He admitted, "I do not think she has actually fought one before, though. They are quite rare."

I remained silent as we got closer to the scent of cooking meat got my stomach rumbling. Mateo pointed out where the townsfolk were setting up and the building where Adrian was organizing the defenses. I rubbed down Ginger and grabbed something I would describe as a thick pita filled with roasted veggies and thinly sliced meat. I ate as I walked to talk with Adrian. It almost felt like I was a veteran after just one day.

Adrian quickly brought me down to earth, "Eryk, you fell off your horse? Castille would have found your corpse and killed you again for that. Since you are alive, you will not be joining the defense. Instead, go see horse master Lucien. He will train you nonstop until he is satisfied you will not fall off a horse again." The pita stopped halfway to my mouth. He turned and walked smugly to a fortification.

I walked the defenses and knew all this preparation was worthless as the bulette was dead. Not something I was going to tell everyone and reveal my secret. I grimaced at the thought of endless riding when I was already walking bull-legged, and my inner things burned like a merciless fire. I took the advice of using the horse salve on my raw and partially scabbed skin. It felt like putting alcohol on an open wound, and I was sure it would leave a scar.

Lucian was not a kind man. Every second of daylight, I was learning to care for Ginger or riding her. My body was never going to heal at this rate. What irked me the most was that Ginger loved all the attention even though I was suffering. I even found some apples in town to give her; as Lucien said, a happy horse was an ally. I was starting to gain some semblance of skill at grooming, riding, and farriering. After three days of horse torture, the earth mage finally arrived with his apprentice.

The man looked like a typical wise wizard with a long white bread and and heavy robes. I was currently learning how to jump while mounted under Lucien's strict guidance when he arrived and was told to take a break. I watched as the wizard rode in on a white stallion, and his young female hooded apprentice had a small black mare.

They went right in to see Castille. Lucian muttered, "Guess we will be leaving in the morning. Rub her down and get some rest." I gratefully rested in my bunk alone and napped for the remainder of the day.

The unit was assembled in the morning, and Castille said, "We are leaving on a dangerous mission. Bulette are a scourge. None of you have fought one before, but they are faster and stronger than should be possible for their size. They can jump forty feet in the air and crush you in an instant. Their jaws can cut you and your horse in half in a moment." She let her diatribe sink in. "These two earth mages are going to turn the earth to stone and trap the beast. We will not have much time to get spears forced under the armor plates before it breaks free. Be decisive and attack when ordered. I will attempt to blind the monster with darkness and fire. That is the plan. Mount up!" Castille swung up to her horse and led the way. She certainly emanated confidence.

The earth mages were right behind her. I was ordered forward to ride in the lead element. All the soldiers around me were extremely tense, so I tried to match their nervousness. As we walked, Castille spoke, "This is Legionnaire Eryk. He escaped the bulette by going into a river. He said the bulette would not follow him in."

The white-haired mage's eyes went up, "True, the beasts don't swim but do not fear water. Like rock turtles, they just walk on the bottom due to their density."

Had I just been caught in a lie? I tried to roll with it while not telling a lie, as I knew mages had such spells from when I first arrived in this world. "I can just tell you from my experience. The beast emerged from underground, and before I realized it, I was soaked. It left me alone after that."

The old mage seemed to contemplate my words and just nodded slowly. Mage Castille made introductions, "This is High Mage Dacian. He is one of the Empire's most powerful earth mages, if not the most powerful. He was just telling me this was his sixth bulette hunt." Great, I had an expert on bulettes dissecting my story. I bowed my head slightly toward him but did not change my story.

Lucien came up from behind, saving me from further scrutiny, "Eryk, I want you to practice sprints with your mount over the uneven terrain." I gave the middle-aged man an exasperated look but turned to do so. I think he took pleasure in administering drills that hurt my body—although today, I did not feel quite so beaten as my body was recovering quicker.

The procession made a steady walk with everyone tense and on the lookout for the bulette. At this pace, I was not even sure if we would reach where I left the carcass. After Ginger built a light lather, Lucien had me stop my sprinting practice. Adrian came up next to me, "Eryk, Horsemaster Lucien said you are doing a fine job. Mage Castille has decided you are to remain under his tutelage for the foreseeable future." I let out an audible groan.

Lucien reached over and patted my back, "Do not worry. Once Lucien has trained your horsemanship to a suitable level, you will just be helping him take care of the mounts."

"Do I at least get an increase in pay?" I asked, but it was just banter. This legion unit seemed much more informal than I was expecting, more like a group of mercenaries.

"Sure, if Lucien dies and you take over the role of horse master for the unit. You make as much as a second already," Adrian stated. A second was like a lieutenant, directly under mage Castille in the command structure. Adrian and Delmar were the two unit's seconds.

"How much does a second make?" I asked, having never actually been told how much my pay was.

"Castille pays her men six silver a week. If you have been with her for five years, it is eight silver. Delmar and I earn ten silver. The company's magical porter earns ten as well. The horse master, arms master, and armor master make an additional one silver a week." Adrian spoke conversationally. He then added, "Castille is generous, Eryk. You will have the opportunity to be rewarded essence for exceptional service." He rode away.

My roomate's had already told me about the essence bonus. As it was getting close to dusk, we finally spotted the corpse of the bulette. We all spread out at half a mile, but soon mage Dacian ended the prep and rode forward. The unit followed. Basketball-sized beetles were swarming the bulette.

Mage Dacian swore, "Pig-fucking marrow beetles. They will have ruined the carapace. It also looks days dead, no chance of an essence." He looked pointedly at mage Castille.

Castille asked the older mage, "What could have killed it?" She ignored the high mage's anger and scanned the skies. "Definitely not a griffon. Dragon, maybe?"

Dacian calmed quickly, realizing perhaps another apex predator was around. He said, "The dragons should all be in the southern reaches as it is mating season. No, whatever killed this bulette probably surprised it. Besides the bite marks in the shell from the beetles, I don't see any damage." He walked around the corpse, sending earth spikes through the beetles, clearing the outer shell of them.

After two circles, he spoke again, "At least the claws will be salvageable."

Castille dismounted, "I apologize for dragging you out here for nothing High Mage."

He waved her off, "It happens. It wasn't a false alarm either."

Castille offered, "Since you were unable to get an essence from the bulette, maybe you want to join the griffon hunt?"

The old mage looked up perplexed, "No, I don't think an old earth mage would be of much help." He looked at his apprentice, "Apprentice Renna. Go with mage Castille. Try to learn something about running a detachment of soldiers."

All eyes turned to the cloaked young woman. She pulled down her hood to show shoulder-length red hair and crystal clue blue eyes. She might have been attractive except for the scowl and her paleness. She did not protest, "Yes, Master Dacian." I had flashes of his padawan talking to her Jedi master.

Dacian turned to Castille, "I am traveling back to Varvao. Send her there when you are done with the griffons. She has potential, so make sure nothing happens to her. Once she is trained, the Emperor has plans for her. She has strong affinities for all four of the elements." Dacian mounted and road away just like that.

I remembered the story of the peasant girl with high affinities in all the elements. I guessed this might be the girl as she looked in her mid-teens. But that had been a few months ago. How much could she have learned in such a short time? She did not look happy being left behind. Castille turned to the unit and eyed all of us. She pointed, "Felix. Mateo. The girl is your responsibility."

Felix rolled his eyes and surprisingly talked back to mage Castille, "I thought we were watching the raw recruit?"

Castille's eyes narrowed, "You can watch both pups. Do a better job that one almost got himself killed," she pointed at me. It seemed discipline was relatively lax in the company.

We spent four hours freeing the claws to be sent to High Mage Dacien in Varvao City. Then we all returned to the Formica. A very perturbed red-haired young woman now occupied the open bunk in our room.