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

Again she mustered herself. “Yet we found the enemy. If we act quickly, we can destroy them. But we have to rouse the troops now.”

Kun’s gaze grew knife-sharp, and his smile grew just as thin as before. “Why?”

Mag blinked. “To … to root them out of—”

“Why now, Sergeant? Why not in the morning?”

There was a long, deathly silence. Then, at last:

“Because they discovered us,” grated Mag.

“Oh?” said Kun, eyes wide with mock surprise. “Did they?”

Again, a silence stretched wide enough to drown in. Finally, I growled out, “Dark take it, Mag, now is not the time to go dancing around half-truths. Captain, we infiltrated the camp and slew two Shade officers and a guard. But they spotted us.”

“With each revelation, the situation grows more dire,” said Kun, “and your offense more severe. Not for the first time, I find myself confident that you tell the truth. If you were lying, surely you would not keep digging yourself deeper into the grave.”

“We are sorry, ser,” I said. “But this can be turned to our advantage. If we move now, we can root them out of their hole and end this expedition. Please, ser. We know we were wrong”—I stared hard at Mag to quell any disagreement, though to my surprise, she looked docile—“but give us the chance to make it right.”

His smile widened. “Well. At least you express some remorse. And I suppose I cannot deny someone a chance at redemption, whether they deserve it or not. Of course we must march on them, and at once. I have half a mind to leave your company here to guard the camp as punishment. But Lieutenant Shi is quite angry enough already, and I have never believed in punishing an officer for his subordinates’ mistakes. Not to mention that if we must fight, I would rather have the Uncut Lady to the fore.”

This, at last, seemed to be what Mag needed to hear. She straightened, her grip tightening on her spear. “Thank you, Captain. You will not regret this.”

“I hope not,” said Kun. “If I do, be assured that you will regret it far more. Lieutenant Zhou will remain behind with one company to guard the supply train. The rest of you get ready to march. I want us to leave within a quarter-hour. Dismissed.”

We turned and strode away. But we had barely gone half a span before I heard a growl behind us.

“Sergeants.”

I swallowed hard, and we all turned to face Tou. He was still livid, his eyes boring into each of us in turn. His hands were clasped behind his back as if he was restraining himself.

“Lieutenant Shi,” said Mag.

“I do not know what changed between Taitou and here, but you had better change it back,” said Tou sharply. “I trusted you, and I thought you trusted me.”

“Ser,” I said, “it is not that we did not trust—”

“Be silent,” snapped Tou. I fell quiet. “You went off against orders because you thought you knew better, and your concerns were more important. Everyone knows you two are the most experienced fighters in the army. They have known it since you arrived. But I respected you because you did not act superior. You never lorded your skills or your history over the rest of us. Now it seems that was all a ruse, and you held yourselves above us all along.”

He stepped up to Mag. “You are not above us,” he said. “Just because you could take anyone here in a fight, that does not mean you are better than we are. We know the strength of trusting the people we fight beside, and that is a greater strength than any one person can match. Even the Uncut Lady. I thought you understood that already, but you had better learn the lesson now.”

Mag did not look at him but stared over his shoulder into the distance. Tou remained standing there for a moment before he turned and marched away.

“Get your squadrons ready,” he called back over his shoulder. “You will not be even an instant late for muster.”

An uncomfortable moment passed before Mag looked at us and shrugged. “They will feel differently once we wipe out the Shades,” she said.

“Let us hope that is how tonight ends,” said Yue.

“We had better go tell Dryleaf we are safe,” I said.

Mag shook her head. “Only to tell him we are going back out into danger again? He is probably asleep. Let him rest. We will complete our mission, and then we can come back with tidings of victory. Besides, you have heard the lieutenant—if we are late, he may flog us.”

I gave an uneasy look towards the supply train at the south end of camp. “I suppose you are right,” I said. “Very well. We will not wake him until we have happier news to report.”

Yue snorted. “He may sleep long, then.”

It was a cold night, and the wind whistled low. Yue growled at it in response, thumping her hands against her arms to stave off the cold. She had joined her squadron of spears, helping them get ready for the fight. She found herself irritable, and she did not know exactly why. Mayhap it was partly because her unit badgered her with question after question about the coming battle.

“Will we face them underground or above?” said one.

“I think underground, but I cannot know for certain,” said Yue.

“Will we be on the front line again?” asked another, eyes wide. Her wound from the battle in the Greenfrost was still healing.

“I do not know,” growled Yue.

“Sergeant, should we bring—”

“I do not know!” barked Yue.

They all fell silent around her. She closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead.

“I am sorry. That was … I spoke to you like Ashta and Sinshi back home. I should not have then, and I should not have now.”

“It is all right, Sergeant,” said one of them slowly.

“No, it