The Tales of the Wanderer Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 4) by Garrett Robinson (elon musk reading list TXT) 📕

“Easy enough,” I said. But immediately, I winced. “Or rather, easy enough to understand. Of course, it is no simple thing to prepare someone for their first battle.”

Yue arched an eyebrow at me. “Hm. I wonder what was wrong with me, that when we first met, I thought you had such a silver tongue.”

I rolled my eyes at her before addressing Tou again. “We will see it done, ser. Let us know if there is any other way we can be of service.” Then I turned and looked Yue dead in the eye. “And my tongue may not be silvered, but it has received no complaints of late.”

I turned on my heel and left, while Mag nearly collapsed, trying to hold back her laughter. Yue went beet red and failed to muster any retort.

I woke the next morning with a mission—one not given to me by Tou.

Quickly I broke my fast by the campfire nearest my squadron’s tents. Then I headed towards the west end of the camp, where Kun and his Mystics slept. A few curious eyes followed me as I walked past, but I ignored them. Most of the time, if you act as though you are supposed to be wherever you are, few will question you. Such was the case then, for no Mystics came to ask me what I was doing.

At the westernmost end of the camp, I saw the signs Kun had found. A wide trail had been tramped into the ground. It intersected with our path from the north, and there it turned west and headed in the same direction as our march. I gathered all the information that I could. Their number seemed to be around two hundreds, which was less than half of our force. That was close to Yue’s best guess at their numbers. I saw no hoofprints at all, which was a heartening sign. If they had been a mounted party, we could not have hoped to catch them. It seemed to me that they had been here only a day ago. But I could not be entirely sure, nor could I tell anything else; Kun and his Mystics had already wandered about the place, disturbing many of the signs.

I turned and headed back towards my part of the camp with the same air of indifference as when I had come. Once again, no one hailed or challenged me. When I reached our row of tents, I saw that Mag was already up and breaking her fast by the fire. She greeted me with a lazy wave. I sat by her and pulled out a packet of dried meat. I had already eaten, but no seasoned soldier refuses a second helping.

“Good morn,” I told her. “I have been busy already.”

“So I gather,” she said. “Looking into the signs of the Shades?”

“Just so. We are only a day behind them, I think. And they are marching west, on the same path as us.”

Mag frowned. “West. I still do not understand it. This is not the quickest way to reach any city of import. If they mean to make trouble in Feldemar, they would do better to go north, and if in Dorsea, then to the south.”

I shrugged. “Mayhap they mean to practice some smaller mischief, as in Lan Shui.”

“What is that about Lan Shui?” came a sleepy, grumbly voice. Yue hauled herself out of my tent. Her short yellow hair stuck out in all directions, black in the roots after so long without dye. “Do not tell me we are heading back home after I spent so long riding away from it. I might just throw a fit.”

“I do not think so,” I said, chuckling. She came to sit beside me. I brushed a hand lightly up her back, and she stole some food from my pouch.

Mag, meanwhile, did not look convinced by my idea. “I doubt they are doing anything like the ritual that summoned the vampires. Why would they need so many soldiers? The Shades in Lan Shui numbered less than a dozen.”

“A fair point,” I said. Then I arched my brows. “Though mayhap Yue struck closer to the truth. What if their destination is not on this side of the Greatrocks? They may be making for the Sunmane Pass, there to cross the Greatrocks and pursue some mischief in western Dorsea.”

Mag’s eyes widened. “No. They do not mean to cross the pass. They mean to occupy it.”

Yue frowned. “Occupy it?”

But I understood Mag at once. “Of course. There are only two passes through the Greatrocks. If the Shades could occupy one of them, they would cut the kingdom’s trade and travel in half.”

“Why only in half?” said Mag, her expression going dark. “I would wager that another force makes for the Moonslight Pass in the south. They will cut Dorsea in two.”

Yue and I looked at each other, and then at Mag. “We have to tell Kun,” I said.

Mag snorted. “Would he even listen to us?”

“He could hardly ignore you,” said Yue.

“You might be surprised,” said Mag. “He has suspected us from the start. We only march in the vanguard so he can keep an eye on us.”

“But this could devastate the kingdom,” said Yue. “What do you mean to do about it, if not tell the captain?”

“She is right,” I told Mag. “We have to try, at least. Mayhap if we present a plan of action, along with our guess, we may be able to convince him.”

Mag’s eyes flashed. “Do you think we could get our hands on a map?”

“I have one,” said Yue, to our surprise. “It is nothing fit for kings, but I brought it for my journey, when I was trying to determine where you fools might have gone.”

“Yue, you are a gift,” said Mag. “Please, fetch it at once.”

Soon we had it laid on the ground near the fire. Mag took a piece of charcoal to draw on it, and her brow