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

“Sergeant?”

“Ser,” I said. “A woman led the enemy today. A tall brute of a fighter.”

Kun’s expression darkened. Most of the Mystics who had died had fallen at her hands. “I noticed her.”

“Then I am certain you noticed her healing from the wounds we dealt her. I have faced one like her before, ser. They are favored soldiers among the Shades, imbued with some dark magic given to them by their lord. As long as the enchantment holds, they can heal from any injury, even fatal ones.”

I watched as Kun’s jaw clenched twice. “Formidable indeed,” he said.

“But not invincible,” I said. “I spoke to you before of Jordel of the family Adair. It was he who discovered how to defeat them. The one we faced in the Greatrocks had a tattoo on the back of his neck. That was what contained the enchantment. Jordel destroyed the man’s tattoo, and that made it possible for him to die. If we should engage the brute again, we should seek to destroy the tattoo first. It will not be easy, but if we can manage it, we can bring her down.”

Kun’s gaze roved across the little council. “You all heard him. Relay the instructions to your troops, as I will relay them to my Mystics. Sleep well.”

With a chorus of “Ser,” we set about our tasks. As Mag, Yue, and I headed for our squadrons, I glanced back over my shoulder. Kun was bent over his map. Still he wore no smile, and his brow was furrowed as he studied the parchment.

I tried to put him from my mind as I turned to the others. “Yue. Are you all right?”

“I am fine,” she said.

“We know what it is to lose people in your command,” Mag said gently.

“Then you know nothing you can say will ease my mood,” said Yue. “Let us see to our duties. I want something to do.”

We reached the middle of the camp, which was still being built around us. Before parting from Yue, I stepped up to her and placed a hand on her arm to keep her from running off. It took a moment, but she met my gaze.

“I am here,” I said quietly. “Do not forget it.”

Yue scoffed. “As if you have ever let me, since the day we met,” she grumbled. But her words were not as fiery as she tried to make them sound.

I pulled her into an embrace, and then I went to see to my squadron. They had already put up their tents and were building fires, around which they had gathered with Mag’s unit. Hallan noticed me as I walked up, and his beard jumped as he nodded.

“Sergeant.” He and some of the others started to rise from where they were sitting.

“At ease,” I said, motioning them all to stay down. “Let us get those fires going and have a meal. The captain also gave explicit orders: if anyone has anything finer than water to drink, they are commanded to enjoy it and share it with their fellows. But do not get too drunk.”

That got a few laughs from them, as well as halfhearted cheers. Jian dug into her pack and pulled out a large, full skin. She waved it in the air with a grin.

“Wine, Sergeant?”

“Sky above, yes,” I said, taking the skin from her.

It was far from the best I had ever had. But as I am sure you have realized since we met, anything you drink after a fight tastes ten times better than it should. I took a deep pull and handed it back to her.

“Thank you, Jian. You handled yourself well today.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” she said, taking a swig. Then she turned and offered it to Chausiku, who sat close by. “Some for you?”

Chausiku looked somewhat surprised. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Captain’s orders,” said Jian with a shrug, pushing her hair back. “So, what do you think, now that you have seen a real fight?”

As he lowered the wineskin, Chausiku’s expression darkened. “We survived. I call that a good result.”

“As do I,” said Jian amiably. “I even killed one of the bastards. And with a gut shot as well. I aimed for the chest as you said, Sergeant, but I am glad I was off.”

Chausiku did not answer, but rose with a glower and walked away. I frowned at Jian. “What pleasure do you gain from goading him?’

She grinned. “I suppose I enjoy the reaction. It is so easy to get from him.”

I sighed. “Jian, you still seem to think this is some kind of game. You want to punish those you see as evil, but you see your fellows as competitors, not allies. When a battle does not go so well, you will wish you were with friends instead of people you have only mocked since the day you met.”

Her expression soured, and she took another pull from her wine. “It will be a dark day indeed before I need someone to coddle me.”

I shook my head and left her, walking to where Hallan was getting his campfire going. A cloud of thick, acrid smoke poured from the logs he had stacked together. Hallan cursed and coughed into his thick beard, pulling off his spectacles and swiping at his eyes. My nose began to sting as I approached him.

“Hallan?” I said. “Are you all right?”

“Fine, ser,” he wheezed. “Iss this damn wood. Burns like darkfire.”

“It is the pycnandra,” said Dibu. He was there with Li, who was staring at the burgeoning flame. She did not appear to notice anyone around her, but was lost in her own wandering mind. “Their sap is what turns the trees green when they freeze. But it burns like poison.”

Mag approached, coming from the line of her squadron’s tents. “I knew someone was trying to burn the greenwood. You can smell it from a span off. Find something else for fuel, or we will all be hacking and