BK1 Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

I grimaced at the smug smirk Garret sent me as our group followed Lieutenant Cragborn. Teresa noticed my reaction and swiftly moved us to the opposite side to avoid him. I thanked her and tried my best not to look his way again.

"Trainees", Lieutenant Cragborn's smooth voice began, "your group has been assigned to me as recruits with core potentials. During this march, I will be evaluating your success and failures alike. I hope none of you will be…" he paused "disappointing."

"Sir, what will you be evaluating exactly?" A noble I didn't recognise spoke out.

Lieutenant Cragborn sighed heavily. "Your basic ability to survive for a start. The rest is up to me, don't question me again" he pressed his lips tightly. "I expect you all to train, support your group, and listen to orders. Interpret that how you will."

"Tch you expect us to be evaluated under conditions so vague?" the same noble argued, clearly not accustomed to having someone superior to him.

"Trainee Trigot, hold your tongue. Did I not just tell you all not to question me?" Lieutenant Cragborn glared at the young noble. The noble paled a little but nodded begrudgingly.

"Good", Lieutenant Cragborn said sharply. "We will be moving in five lines of four, a standard procession for a marching group of your size. I shall take the lead, and each group of four will take turns in where you are positioned within our formation. Each group of four will consist of two tent mates. Choose your team between yourselves. I have no desire to be asked to assist in those decisions. Make your choice before we reach the gate", he finished causing a flurry among us.

The gate was only a five-minute walk away.

"So we are together then?" Teresa said, looking around for a potential pair for us to partner with.

"Yes, as tent mates, we need to find another pair, any ideas?" I asked, seeing pairs already forming groups of four.

"Not really", Teresa sighed. "It's mostly nobles, from what I can tell. I have no clue who anyone is" She slumped as our options were slimming faster and faster.

"I recognise some people, but they aren't exactly who I would want to pair with", I sighed, seeing Rian Thornfax and Lacey Weadall together. They were with Kit Balburn and another noble I didn't know.

"Maybe we should just wait to see who's left?" Teresa inquired

"Perhaps. I don't think we are exactly the first choice for many people", I sighed, readjusting my backpack as we walked.

"Lady Heversham", a voice called, sending a chill through my bones. "You look lovely today" Garret's smile was insidious to me but probably flattering to anyone else.

"Lord Asher", I dipped my head in a polite bow but nothing respectful. I gripped the straps of my backpack tighter for emotional support.

"You must be Lady Heversham's tent mate" Garret looked Teresa over, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss?"

"Garpson", Teresa said, guarded. "Teresa Garpson"

"The commoner from Ingalham? Lady Heversham, if you wish for a different tent mate, please do inform me. I will arrange for better company as soon as possible", Garret scoffed at Teresa, making her scowl.

"I am perfectly fine, Lord Asher. Thank you for your input", I mumbled, stepping closer to Teresa to try and settle a possible retort. Garret had always been snobbish, even for a noble.

"Hmm, very well. I suppose I can stoop to teaming with a commoner if that is your wish Lady Heversham. As your fiance, I will grant you some leeway" he raised an eyebrow at Teresa's expression.

"With all due respect Lord Asher, we have not agreed to be members of your group", nor have I ever agreed to be his fiance, for that matter.

"Nor is she your fiance", Teresa growled what I was thinking. My eyes widened quickly, looking at Garret and the growing frown on his face.

"Stay out of this commoner", he spat at Teresa turning his attention back to me. "My Lady, I do not believe you have much choice. In either matter might I add", he smirked, "Your options are already slim."

I blanched at his double meaning and attitude. He was right, most of the group had already formed teams of four whilst we had been talking, and the gate was already in view. So we didn't have much time left to argue.

Panic began to set in. I felt my heart rate increase. No way... I couldn't cope being on Garret's team for this journey. It would be about a month, maybe longer, until we reached the capital.

What do I do?

"Alright, form five-line teams of four. Your time is up", Lieutenant Cragborn announced as we approached the gateway separating Talbour from the world's dangers outside its walls.

"Excellent, the matter is settled", Garret sneered. "Lord Eastmond, you will be on my right, Lady Heversham will be on my left, and the commoner can stand beside her."

I stood frozen as Harold Eastmond approached to stand where instructed by Garret. He wore a fetching brown cloak and sported a tan-coloured armour set, two sai blades attached to his thighs, their blades split into three. He glanced at me and Teresa and performed a respectful bow placing his right fist on his chest.

"Ladies", he voiced solemn, his dark brown cornrows neatly braided down to his shoulders.

"Hey", Teresa muttered, holding back her anger at our situation, reluctantly standing where Garret suggested on my left. "We can do this", she leaned and whispered to me, grabbing my hand with a small squeeze.

"Right", I said, not convinced, my hand trembling in hers.

I felt sick.

***

The Army quickly got into position. No fancy trumpets or drums were leading this time as we weren't arriving for a celebration. We were leaving for battlegrounds. In front of us were at least a hundred troops, upon which forty were foot guards. Grey cloaks, the foot-guard weren't at the front. They were situated in two groups of twenty at the centre of the brigade. On the edges were the summoners, their cloaks mixed into lines of four, unlike the colour split they had entering Talbour. I counted four groups of summoners, also twenty each, on either side of the foot guards.

Behind us was a similar structure, twenty-foot guards in the centre, two groups of summoners beside them, and a third group behind bringing up the rear.

Then we, the trainees, were at the centre of this formation. Our two groups of twenty stood side by side, each with our Lieutenants at the front. At the side of us were the final two summoner groups, protecting us.

With such a defensive formation, it was hard to imagine how much danger we would be in. It was actually quite comforting to know competent fighters surrounded us, and it settled my heart quite a bit. It wasn't great, however, that Callan was in one of the teams guarding the trainees. His team all wore grey cloaks, their shirts in different colours. This showed Callan was in a team of troops similar to himself. They had a strong core with an affirmed element each but couldn't yet summon an Aether spirit. There was only one girl in his team. She wore a brown shirt signifying her element was Earth. That must have been the Felicity he had mentioned in the carriage. I hadn't yet seen Eduard, but from our conversations, I presumed he was near the front somewhere.

"We leave when the gates open and the horn is blown", Lieutenant Cragborn informed us standing in wait for the signal.

It wasn't much of a wait as shortly, the large stone gates of Talbour, taller than our highest building, slowly began to drag inwards. The stone scraped on the dirt floor, its creaking noise echoing throughout the nearby vicinity. I could feel the ground vibrate a little at the weight of the stone. The gate was never opened for merchants. Instead, a smaller door within the gate was used for everyday travellers. As a result, I had never seen the gate itself being opened before and marvelled at the scene. This was only done for the Army.

A horn then sounded from the front from one of the commanders perched on horses leading the brigade. The place where General Saika, Jared Baler, the hero of Ridge Pass and likely Azriel Elkart were.

"Forward!" Lieutenant Cragborn shouted, stepping into the march's pace. We all immediately followed suit. Ours was the third line of four in our group of twenty. It was a steady pace, a slow walk, and every step brought me closer to the large stone gates. Up close, I felt minuscule against them, like an ant looking up to a person.

As we passed, I held my breath. For the first time in all my lives, I was leaving Talbour, not as a child with little to no memory, but as an adult fully aware of what was happening. I was leaving the safety of the walls of a town, stepping into the unknown, the dangers of demonic beasts and a wildness that plagued our population from living without such walls.

This was my first step forward to a different outcome. To survive.

I won't die this time.

The bright blue sky was vast as I left behind the gates of Talbour and into the unknown.

***

Grass, I had never seen so much grass before. Meadows of nothing but green stretched on for miles beyond what I was able to see. The ground we walked on was muddy, having already been trudged through by those in front. Dozens of footprints littered the path we walked between two large fields as we left Talbour behind. I glanced back and saw the two mountain ranges bordering either side of the town, hugging it in safety. The mountains soared high, taller than the gates we had left, but they weren't barren. They, too, were covered in green, a few trees dotting their peaks. There was no water mass near Talbour. Our water source was gathered from wells and the rains that frequented in spring. The ground soaked in the rains and held it for the summer months making drought a concern, but it was rare and usually well prepared for. It was also why water summoners were well respected in Talbour. Roger Heversham had been called upon more than once growing up to assist the local farmers who dared leave the walls to tend to the fields under the watch of Talbour's guards, fields we were now passing through.

A few farmers were tending the grain that grew, waving to us all as we passed them, their guards standing at the edge of the fields looking out for any dangers. However, with the Army passing through, they too waved with a cheer knowing that any demonic beasts we came across would be slaughtered, saving them the trouble.

Vishka's Guidance System

Congratulations! You have left Talbour

New Quest Received

Reach the Capital Alive

Well, that was ominous.

My new quest from Vishka could have just been to reach the capital, couldn't it?

I sighed, tugging my backpack as we progressed further and further away from society and into the Highland Plains. A gnawing feeling began to resurface in my gut. Flicking my eyes left, I watched Garret grimace at the mud splattering his once pristine trousers. He seemed to be struggling with our change in environment and often leaned on Harold Eastmond for support. Harold didn't question it; he just carried on as though Garret hadn't leaned on him multiple times to wipe the mud off his clothes. Harold was turning out to be very patient, or was he apathetic? I wasn't sure, either way, as both barons of the same rank, it wasn't something he should have to put up with. Garret wasn't the only noble struggling. All around us, the trainees mumbled complaints and misgivings. Nobody stopped moving, not wanting to be left behind.

Teresa seemed to be coping well. She didn't slow her pace nor breathe heavily under the weight of her backpack. She seemed at home marching, carefully placing her steps and balancing her gear. She flashed me an encouraging smile lifting my spirits a little bit.

"What do you think?" she asked me

"About?"

"Being outside of the walls, it's thrilling, isn't it" She opened her arms wide, gesturing to all around us. "It's so big outside of the town walls!"

"It's definitely something", I watched a breeze blow, shaking the grains in synchronisation. "it makes me even more curious about what a forest looks like."

"It's completely different, you can see the sky in the plains, and it's like none-ending open freedom. In a forest, you're surrounded by trees. It is enclosing, and you can only catch glimpses of light through branches. It's a whole different experience. I can't wait to show you one day."

"What are you drivelling about", Garret said, plucking off a speck of mud from his thigh.

"It is indeed interesting to have left the walls", Harold spoke without looking our way, his focus on the landscape around us.

"Sure, if you enjoy being worked like lowly commoners" Garret rolled his eyes. "This is demeaning. What happened to carriages? Even Merchants use carts, but they have us walking like cattle."

"Lord Asher", I sighed. "The Army is not a holiday. We are here to learn and train. There are no easy shortcuts."

"It is not a shortcut to give a noble what they deserve", Garret responded

"This is how they weed out the weak", I mumbled what General Saika had said to me when explaining this march.

"What?" Garret frowned at me

"Nothing", I said, turning away from him, not before I saw Harold shaking his head.

"Gosh, he's annoying", Teresa whispered to me. "No wonder you don't want to marry him."

"That's not the worst of it", I whispered back.

We didn't speak again for some time. Instead, each of us concentrated on our momentum, steadying our breaths and keeping pace with the large brigade for the journey ahead of us.

When the sky began to darken, I wasn't sure how many hours had already passed. No tower bell was out here to signify the four times of day, morning, afternoon, evening, and dusk. It was disorientating. The bell had always been a part of life. Not once had the landscape changed significantly around us. The only tell we have travelled at all was the speck now in the distance that was Talbour and the mountains encasing it.

A horn suddenly blasted from the front shocking many of us out of our trance.

"Halt!" Lieutenant Cragborn ordered as the march came to stand still. It was hard to make my feet stop, and when I did, the weight on my back increased tenfold. My legs shook like jelly, and I struggled to keep standing, my exhaustion hitting me like I had been punched in the gut.

"We will be camping here for the night. Find a spot with your team but stay in the formation. No, wandering out for privacy or any other such nonsense" Lieutenant Cragborn waved his hand, and those of us with some strength left immediately rushed off to find the best spots.

"Come on. This looks like a good spot" Teresa pointed to a rather flat section of ground that was clear of debris.

"No, we will camp here" Garret slumped to the floor. "I'm not walking another step."

"But!" Teresa tried to argue, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"It's not worth it", I told her quietly.

"Fine, this will do. Let's get out the tent gear", Teresa grumbled.

I moved to take my backpack off. However, the moment the weight was released from my back, I suddenly felt myself falling forward.

Oh crap!

"Woah there!" Teresa grabbed me, helping me sit down on the soft dirt. "I think today has worn you out, huh" she smiled sympathetically. "Not used to physical activity?" she asked, not insultingly but just curious.

"No, I'm not" I rubbed my legs, trying to get the muscles to de-contract.

"You can say that again" Garret lay down on his back, having removed his own backpack. "This is nothing but torture, were are not accustomed to grunt work, unlike you commoners."

"Commoners don't go marching in the highland plains every day either, you know" Teresa bit her cheek holding back what she really wanted to say as she pulled out the tent.

"Whatever, commoner", Garret waved her off, returning to staring at the evening sky.

"Why you-" I could see Teresa wanted to go over to him, but I grabbed her arm again and shook my head. She scowled but nodded, continuing to spread our tent out.

"Here, let me help", I said, pulling my backpack across the dirt to get the mallet and pegs.

We worked together to figure out the tent cloth they had given us, it was triangular shaped, and we had been provided with a retractable pole to go with it. Teresa luckily had seen one before, so she knew we had to centre the pole in the middle of the cloth tent to raise it high, then use the pegs to secure the straps into the ground with the mallet. I struggled to put much strength into the mallet, but before I could succeed, Harold silently came over. Then, using his mallet, he secured the pegs for me.

Harold built his and Garret's tent alone without uttering a word of disapproval toward Garret. Garret chose to remain lying on the ground. At one point, I thought he may have fallen asleep, but he called Harold to start a fire. That confirmed he was just fine letting someone else do all the work.

I really hated that man.

Gathering up some dry sticks from plant stems, we set up a makeshift fire inside a circle of rocks. As Teresa attempted to light the fire with the little kindling we had, I stood and wandered a little away towards the fields off our trodden path.

Pollen made me sniffle my nose as I leant down in the short grass to pluck a plant I recognised from the herbology books I had read. The flufftoru was white, soft, and fluffy like its name. It was growing consistently in the fields around us. I spotted a few Summoners gathering it nearby. It was a common plant known for fire combustion and made great kindling on the road.

As I pulled another, the white fluff moulded around my fingers. I accidentally ripped the stem rather than its bud, pulling the whole plant out of the ground. The dirt dislodged, and I paused, my eyes widening at a dark orange splinter poking out of the earth.

Placing the flufftoru down, I dug my hands into the earth around the orange splinter, revealing an odd triangle-shaped lumpy plant. Its fluorescent orange was striking against the dull brown soil. I gently gripped the orange lump and yanked it, snapping it away from its tiny white roots.

I gingerly inspected the plant in my hands. It was a Yanko plant. They were incredibly hard to find as they grew under the soil sporadically. Too little or too much water would kill them, making them delicate plants to farm. It was an incredible anti-venom when pulped.

I smiled at my new find, popping it into my backpack and carrying the flufftoru back to my group.

I showed Teresa the flufftoru, and she gleefully took it from me, getting our fire started at last. Teresa explained that she had often used flufftoru in Ingalham for the stove in her home when most of the bark was wet.

Teresa then brought some over to Harold as he was struggling to find something substantial to burn, unaware of the plants in the plains.

When we finally finished, all three of us seemed to deflate, letting the exhaustion overcome us. Garret sat up and pulled closer to the fire as we all got out our rations and replenished what we could of our energy.

"Gah, I can't wait until we're at foundation", Teresa winced, rubbing her feet.

"Foundation?" I asked, rubbing my own.

"Yeah, at foundation you can start to temper your body. Walks like this will mean nothing. I heard that some people can even move so fast that normal people like us can't see them."

"They can? I can't imagine that" I looked over to where Callan's group was. Neither Eduard nor Callan had shown me such power before.

"Yeah, I bet we're only walking at this pace for our benefit and the foot guards", she shrugged, biting on a piece of jerky.

"It is a difficult road to reach foundation", Harold said, staring at the fire. "First, you must complete condensation, the gathering stage."

"That's true. I heard you get a technique to start gathering once you reach the capital. I wonder if that's true", Teresa pondered.

"For commoners like you, perhaps", Garret smirked. "We noble houses have our techniques passed down to us from our forefathers. They are far superior to the standard drab you will get."

"Right", Teresa rolled her eyes. "Good for you."

"So you have started gathering?" I asked, trying to take away some tension between Teresa and Garret. I couldn't wait to get to the capital now, just to get rid of him from my presence. There was no way I was going to return with him, not if my life depended on it. I knew his darkness behind closed doors. I knew the man he was going to become. Right now, he was a smug child and nothing more, but I knew. I had experienced the pain his arrogance brought me.

"Of course, Lady Heversham, as you and Lord Eastmond surely have with your family technique's" Garret raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by my question. Harold nodded in confirmation, ever a man of few words.

So, I was yet again deprived of something so basic for a noble by my family. No such family technique for gathering had been gifted to me. I sighed. Was it worth bringing up with Callan? Probably not. I'm not sure I even want to use their technique anyway.

"I have not started gathering", I informed them. "I do not yet have a technique, much like Miss Garpson."

"Really? That's unusual" Garret frowned. "Well, I guess you don't have a core, so what would be the point?" He nodded, seeming satisfied with that conclusion.

"Wait, you don't have a core?" Teresa asked wide-eyed

"It is weak, but I do have one" I smiled at her reassuringly.

"You do? That's excellent, Lady Heversham. Raise your core well, and our children will be guaranteed to have cores" Garret's input made me shiver. I hadn't revealed that information to please him.

"Lord Asher, you are engaged?" Harold Eastmond spoke not with curiosity from his tone. It was hard to gauge, in all honesty.

"Yes, it has been agreed with Viscount Heversham. However", Garret looked at me unsatisfied, "Lady Heversham decided to join the army, so here I am to bring her back to Talbour safely" His smirk made me cold.

"I have agreed to no such thing", I numbly spoke.

"Does that matter? You will be coming home with me once you are released from the blood contract. You don't belong here, Lady Heversham. You have already collapsed on our first day of a month-long march" Garret, like Roger, clearly didn't respect my opinion in this matter. What did I expect exactly? He hadn't ever cared about my opinion in my third life either.

"You may say what you wish, Lord Asher, but I will not be returning to Talbour, not with you" My voice came out quiet, my throat tightening. I could feel the clamminess of my palms as I rubbed them against my trousers. I wanted to believe my own words so badly, but deep down, there was mistrust in myself, mistrust that what he spoke was the reality I would face in this life.

"A Lady is valued their choice" Harold Eastmond nodded to me respectfully and side glanced at Garret. His sincerity took me aback. Maybe not all nobles were pigs.

"Of course they are", Teresa vigorously agreed. "You will not be taking her anywhere, Garret", She snarled, dropping honorifics for a noble, a sign of respect used when conversing. It was only dropped as a sign of closeness for friends, family, and equals.

The insult wasn't taken well as Garret sharply blazed in a fury. "I don't see what say you have in this commoner worm. This is noble business. Agreements are made, and this one won't be broken, not by Lady Heversham or anyone", he firmly stated

"We will see about that", Teresa huffed. "It may be fine in Talbour to force things your way, but in the capital, you will be the worm, I'm sure of it" She grinned at him, enjoying the anger on his face.

"Teresa…" I raised my hand to try and calm her, worried for her safety, Garret may only be a baron, but she was a commoner. He could have her killed if he wished, and there wouldn't be much she could do about it. Only commoners with rank were able to converse comfortably with nobles who deemed themselves superior to all commoners.

"In the capital, I will have your head for your insults", Garret said what I feared. I felt my heart pumping fast with my fear for Teresa.

"Oh, quiet Asher, there's no honour throwing around authority for a commoner" Suddenly, Callan's voice sliced through the heated space, making us all pause.

"Lord Heversham, I was merely warning this lowly girl of her status", Garret calmed his tone, jutting his chin in indignation.

"All I heard was you throwing weight around, which you don't have, Lord Asher", Callan sighed, bored. "Come, Lynette. We have training" he jilted his head to the left, his light brown hair hard to see in the firelight. "Let's get this over with."

"Right, can um... Teresa come?" I asked hesitant to leave her alone with Garret. As much as I doubted Harold Eastmond would treat her with vindictiveness, I also doubted he would step in to defend her from Garret.

Callan heaved, aggravated by my request. "Fine", he said, "but she watches only" he turned and began to walk towards an open spot within the army camp.

I quickly scrambled up and jogged after him, Teresa following me closely.

Time to learn the Jian.