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

“Now there is a face this place has missed for far too long,” she called out. “Come here, you great lummox!”

I suppose I should tell you how I met Mag. It was not long after I reached adulthood. I had left my home looking for freedom and an adventure. Great skill at archery had been drilled into me by my family’s masters at arms, and my sword work was passable. So when I found a mercenary company that was recruiting, I submitted myself to their trials.

They were called the Upangan Blades, and they were a good lot—for mercenaries, you understand. There were no evil soldiers among their ranks, at least, and they had a code of honor. They treated each other well, and did as little as they could to make others’ lives worse than they had to be. It had earned them a good reputation, which I knew even in my homeland, and that reputation meant they were never hired by cruel or vicious kings. That suited me just fine. As it happened, they were in their homeland of Feldemar at the time, and I happened to be passing by.

The master at arms was a hard-bitten woman—I imagine I shall tell you more of her later—and she did not look upon me very favorably. I fear I made rather a fool of myself when they asked to see me ride in plate. But they let me show them my bowcraft, and the head of the company happened to pass by while I was shooting. My acceptance was assured after that.

Still, they had a long period of training for all new recruits, and the master at arms tried her best to break us. We worked hard from sunup to beyond sundown. Many did not withstand the trials, but fled home in disgrace. It was not a pleasant time, but it hardened me for a future that was often even less pleasant.

And then, shortly after I joined the Blades, Mag arrived. My sergeant was a man named Victon, and he called me to him one day while I was in the middle of sparring practice. Mag stood beside him.

“Albern,” he said, “we have fresh blood today, and you will see to her arrangements.”

“Yes, sir,” I said.

I stepped forwards, and Mag and I clasped wrists.

“Well met,” said Mag.

“And you. Let me show you the first and most important thing you must know in the Blades, or so they have told me. Latrine duty.”

Victon smiled and shook his head. “I will take my leave.”

Mag watched him go. “He seems to have heard a private joke in your words. I imagine you make the newest recruits dig the latrines?”

“Nothing so unfair.” I fished into my pocket and drew forth a copper sliver. “A thousand decisions must be made every day, and a soldier has no time for arguing. When we must choose between two things, and both choices are equal, we let fate decide. Now—head or moons?”

I flicked the sliver into the air. “Head,” said Mag.

The coin came up. The face of Andriana stared up at me.

“Congratulations,” I said. “You get to dig the latrines.”

Mag scowled. “I said heads.”

“And your sign came up. We did not specify if you got to choose who dug the latrines, or if you had to do it yourself.” I clapped her on the shoulder. “Here is your second lesson as a sellsword: when you gamble, make sure the other person is not stacking the odds in their favor.”

“Now that is a lesson I will take to heart.”

“Fear not,” I said. “It is your first day, and so I will be generous and help you dig.”

“I suppose I shall take it,” she said, smiling, “since you should be doing it on your own.”

I decided that I liked her. After we dug the latrines, I took care of the other little details of her indoctrination, showing her around the camp and introducing her to those who would call themselves her superiors—though as we would soon learn, that was only in name.

Albern cocked his head. “Do you know why they called Mag the Uncut Lady?”

The question seemed to come from nowhere. “I … do not think so,” said Sun. “I know they call her the Wanderer because of the way you two crisscrossed all the nine kingdoms.”

“Yes, but she was called the Uncut Lady long before that,” said Albern.

“I always assumed she could not be touched in battle, and so had never been cut.”

Albern smiled. “You are not wrong.”

Sun grinned back. “I notice that you do not say if I am right.”

He gave a great laugh at that. “Oh, well done. You speak the truth of Mag’s name, but you understate the matter. Let me tell you another, smaller tale that will explain further. It happened at the end of Mag’s second day with the company. As you know, sparring is sweaty, dirty work. It was common for the recruits to go and bathe in the river Skytongue at least once every few days. Some recruits were more modest than others, and they would find places to bathe alone. But most of us stayed together, stripping down to our skins and flinging ourselves into the water.”

Albern paused for a moment as he saw color rising in Sun’s cheeks. “Ah. You would have been one to bathe alone, I suppose? I do not need to tell you this story if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Sun shook her head. “I am not uncomfortable, and I would not have bathed alone. Just because I have never done it before does not mean I would be … squeamish.”

He hesitated only a moment before nodding. “Very well. Then, with your permission, I will continue.”

“Please,” said Sun.

“Well, we were all young, then, and blood flowed in our veins. Recruits often stole glances at each other from