by Charles Dean
“Very good, Scout Captain.”
Wait, where is she? Lee couldn’t tell one set of tents from another, and there were thousands. “She’s in the usual spot, right?” Lee asked, looking off to the right.
The guard grabbing the reins of the Krunklerump shot Lee a confused look as he followed Lee’s eyes. “Yes, it’s in the usual spot. Right down there.” He pointed out a direction. “Four rows from the western mess tent.”
“Thank you.” Lee nodded at him and took off. Every moment he stayed was another that he might mess up and blow his cover. He had no background knowledge of their military customs, but those were likely strict. If the guards grew suspicious, he’d be in trouble. The mistakes he had made just then were likely written off because he held an apparently superior rank. No one wanted to correct their boss in his world, and the same seemed to hold true in this one as well.
Once he found the right block of tents, the general’s stood out like a sore thumb since it was the only purple tent in a sea of white cloth. Lee stopped and stood outside for a minute, hoping to collect both his thoughts and his breath. Even though the flap to the tent was firmly closed and heavy enough that no one would be able to see through, a voice called out to him from the inside almost immediately.
“You gonna come in or stand there all day waiting for precise orders?” a woman’s voice asked impatiently.
“Coming. Sorry, General.” He took a stab at the owner’s identity since it wasn’t likely that there were many women besides the general in a military camp.
Lee opened the flap and walked in to find a gorgeous woman seated in a wooden chair with a book open in front of her. She was wearing a white dress that was trimmed in gold that matched the tunic Lee had taken from the scout. Her lanky Leprechaun arms and narrow figure gave her the appearance of an elf from one of the earlier fantasy movies of his time, and if she had pointy ears, he actually would have taken her for one.
“A Human,” she noted as she turned the page. “I suppose even Humans can climb the ranks in our military if they work hard enough. You should be proud: you’re a testament to your people.” She took out a bookmark and saved her spot before setting the book down.
“Thank you, General. Your words honor me,” Lee responded as a true sycophant would.
“I’m honestly surprised. Don’t your kind lean more toward banking and usury? How did a Human like yourself make it into the military when our city could always use more traders?” Even if her comments were insulting, which they likely were, Lee ate them up. Each slur or stereotype was a chance for him to learn more about this world and to better understand what did or didn’t match with this reality. If he was going to be a spy again or work his way into their society for devious purposes in the future, he needed to know everything about their culture.
“I wouldn’t know, General,” he replied, keeping his answer as short as possible.
“You wouldn’t? No, I suppose you wouldn’t.” She gave him a weak smile. “Your kind is only clever when it suits them and stupid when it suits anyone else. But at least you’re better looking than any of the other Humans I’ve met.”
“Thank you, General. I’m glad my looks please you.”
“Indeed.” She put a finger over her mouth as she stood up and walked over to him. “A Scout Captain that lingers for compliments before delivering the capital’s report. Interesting.”
Lee panicked for a moment, and it took him a bit of effort to control his heart beat so he wouldn’t give away his identity. “As you say, General.” He pulled out the letter and presented it using both hands and with a slight bow of his head.
She accepted it but with a wry smile.
“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” she chuckled. “I’ll have to thank your superior for sending me entertainment with the letter.”
“I shall be sure to pass that message on, General.”
“No, don’t,” she said dryly. “I was only kidding.”
“As you say.” Lee bowed his head again. He wasn’t sure why he was falling back to a tradition palette that included extra honorifics and heavy amounts of bowing, but since it hadn’t killed him yet, he saw no harm in keeping it up.
“No.” She stopped him as she opened the letter. “You’re not dismissed. I’ll need to draft the reply, and you’ll need to wait for me to give it to you.”
“Ah.” Lee felt like an idiot. The messenger carries mail both ways. How could I be so dense? “Of course, General. I was only going to step outside so you could read in privacy.”
“There’s no need for that. We all serve the same cause,” she declared boldly, pulling a sword out from behind her chair and setting it on the table next to her book. She removed the wax seal, opened the envelope and removed the letter without ever looking away from Lee.
Does she suspect me? He looked at the sword and then back at her. Of course she suspects me. I’m being an idiot and saying stupid things. I have no idea how I’m supposed to act or what I’m supposed to say. Lee waited, studying her every movement as he prepared the fastest escape routes in his head. After pulling out the letter, however, she let out a breath of air, and he almost sighed in relief along with her. The only thing that stopped him was that he didn’t want to cause any more damage or draw any more attention to himself.
The letter was much longer than the one that Lee had used for the basis of the font, and the general read and re-read it several times before setting it down on top of her book. “It seems that you are not the bringer of good news.”
“My apologies, General.”
“No need. It’s not your fault. You’re just the dog playing fetch.” She waved her hand at the letter. “No, it’s the bastard behind this letter.”
“Your pardon, General. I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t. Humans only understand when it suits them, and this letter suits no one. Either way, give me a moment. I’ll have your reply shortly.”
“You’re too kind, General.”
“So, you keep saying,” she sighed. “Although what I’m about to do is far from kind.”
“This action you must take . . . It troubles you, General?” Lee’s instincts took over once more, and he let his shoulders sag a moment, dropping the tense, straight back and upright posture he had maintained since he first arrived. She was exposing her feelings, being vulnerable, and some part of Lee knew that he had to match that sentiment. “I apologize for speaking out of line, but it seems to trouble you greatly.”
“It does,” she answered with a nod, walking over to a cabinet in the tent and pulling out a bottle of wine. “But I can’t let the troops know that.”
“I understand, General,” Lee said. “But that only makes you more kind, not less.”
“If you knew what I was about to do, you wouldn’t say that,” she replied, pouring two glasses of wine and walking over to Lee.
“You do the action because you are duty bound. It bothers you because you are kind. You have only proven yourself to be more gentle-hearted, not less, by being so aggrieved by the action duty demands of you. You should not take it to heart. I don’t know what could fluster a woman of your caliber or shake her faith in herself, but so long as any unkind thought causes you such pain and consternation, then I will still count myself among those proud to serve in your command.”
The general seemed to hesitate as Lee spoke. Her hand that was halfway outstretched to give Lee one of the cups pulled back momentarily as her brows creased. “If anyone in this room is kind, it is you, Human.” She sighed and then extended him the drink. “No one has ever spoken to me like that before.”
“I apologize for speaking out of line, General.”
“Don’t.” She shook her head. “I shall hold those words in my heart when you leave, and they will be my beacon when I doubt the path ahead. You’re right, after all. We all must play our part, but our feelings are our own, and how we feel about what we do is sometimes just as important as what we do. I cannot let yo
u speak of these words or my doubts outside of the tent. If the troops were to know I had even a single reservation, it would be bad for morale. So, consider that drink my bribery for your silence.”
“I need no bribery but to know my actions please you, General. That alone could keep me warm on cold nights and inspired even on the darkest of days.” Lee was usually one to push for the consumption of bacon, but for some reason, he felt that he needed to serve this woman a heavy dose of cheese first. The letter he had given her was so depressing that he could only imagine what she was going through, and even though he was the one to cause her burdened state, it still pained him just as much.
The words he had spoken about one’s trepidation when committing unkind acts were important: those words were just as much for himself as they were for her. He too was shaken by the actions he had to take, but still, he knew he must press on. To share this burden of being a leader with another leader, even if she was blissfully ignorant of his standing and hand in the current situation, was comforting to a degree.
The wine was good, but it wasn’t anything close to what he could make for himself or even what he had transmuted from the slime. The other drinks had flavor: they were sweet and smooth and ran down his pallet easily. This one was bitter--not the bitterness of a red wine’s tannins or spoiled alcohol, but something dry and tart and difficult to swallow.
Once glance at her expression told him that the wine was just as bitter to her despite the fact she had never tasted his own vintage. Every small sip made her frown, her brows creasing a little more than her normal expression, and she pursed her lips afterward as if the moisture had been sucked from them as the wine passed over her lips.
The two of them drank silently in disappointment. This quiet lasted for a quarter of an hour until she finished her cup and was done scribbling a note onto a piece of paper, which was placed in an envelope and sealed with her stamp.
“Thank you,” she said, looking down at her cup. “Thank you for letting me put off what I must do for even a moment. You, my dear scout captain, are indeed the kind one.”
“It was an honor to be of assistance, General.” Lee hated that he had done this to someone. Being so close and sharing a moment with someone who might inevitably be one of his victims was hard to deal with, but it had to be done.
She handed him the letter and said, “Take this to command and report that His Majesty’s loyal servant has received her orders and will carry them out at once. For the glory of Birnefeld.” her voice lacked no enthusiasm, even as she went through the motions of praising her state.
Lee took the letter--and a deep breath with it--and left the tent. He made sure to keep his head down as he left the camp so that he wouldn’t draw any attention to himself. When he finally reached the gate, took the mount and left the base, a system notification popped up to let him know that, in case he had any doubts about the outcome of his mission, it was a success.
Title: The Great Deceiver
Some men’s lies can ruin a moment, some a day, some even can tell lies that might ruin a life, but to you that is nothing. You are no petty cozener. With one lie, you have potentially damned two empires.
Effect: +10 to Deceit. +5 Charisma. -2 Honor.
The great deceiver indeed. Lee’s scowl deepened as he galloped the six-legged mount back toward where his friends were holding the real messenger hostage.
Chapter 11
Name: Lee
Race: Human
Class: Herald - None
Level: 25
Health: 350/350
EXP: 28432/32500
Primary Stats:
Power 35 (36)
Toughness 35 (36)
Spirit 35 (36)
Secondary Stats:
Charisma 25
Courage 20
Deceit 29
Intelligence 160 (168)
Honor 3
Faith 787
Personal Faith 245
Skills:
Unarmed Combat Initiate Level 7
Swordplay Novice Level 8
Sneak Journeyman Level 2
Cooking Initiate Level 7
Trap Detection Initiate Level 6
Knife Combat Initiate Level 8
Mental Fortitude Initiate Level 1
Sleight of Hand Initiate Level 3
Blood Shield Initiate Level 3
Glass Smithing Initiate Level 10
Divine Skills:
Golem Sculpting Journeyman Level 1
Appreciative Drunk Novice Level 8
Nectar of the Gods Initiate Level 3
Spirit Smithing Initiate Level 3
Faith Healing
Divinity Powers:
Life in Death
Titles:
Cheat Code Fighter
The Great Deceiver
Miller was no longer struggling to hold the man down but was sitting on him instead while chatting with Amber and Ling, and all three perked up when they heard Lee approaching.
“Did you deliver the letter? Are we closer to killing the Herald?” Miller asked, standing and yanking the messenger up with him.
“Everything worked out fine,” Lee answered with a nod. She even drafted a reply to send back to the capital.” He held up the letter as if showing them proof, making sure the messenger saw it clearly as well.
“You bastard,” the man spat. “Do you know what level of crime it is to impersonate an agent of His Majesty? You’re going to be hanged as soon as I get to a camp and report this.”
Lee blinked. “Seriously? You’re just now making that threat?” He took off his clothes and changed back into his leather armor. Rather than returning the uniform, however, he decided to keep it. He didn’t know when he might need to impersonate a scout captain in the future, and he wanted to keep his options open.
“Well, if you have what you want, then what do we do with him?” Miller asked, signaling toward their prisoner.
“That’s a good question . . .” Lee said slowly as he thought about it. “We could just kill him, bury the body and pretend we never ran into him.”
“Yes, we could,” Ling agreed with a nod. “That would be the most logical way to handle it.”
“Or we could give him the letters and force him to walk back to town. All we have to do is leave a guard or two behind to kill him in case he turns around,” Lee suggested.
“Then wouldn’t we be down two men? If they’re guarding him, they aren’t going to be with us. We are going into battle soon, right? We have to go in with all of our might and crush the enemy into pieces. We cannot afford to leave anyone behind,” Miller countered.
“The only other alternative is that we kill him then,” Lee said.
“We could just keep him as a prisoner? Let him free when the time is right?” Amber suggested. “Having an extra prisoner might be helpful. I’m sure you’ll think of a way to use him in the future.”
“Like a slave?” Lee’s face twisted at that idea. Nope. I might be a liar, but slaver? I won’t be that.
“No, maybe just a guest until we find the opportune time to let him free,” Amber continued.
Lee thought about it for a minute and then nodded his assent. “Alright. That makes sense. Good idea, Amber,” he said, leaning over and putting an arm around her. “You’re a genius sometimes.”
Ling and Miller both shook their heads at Lee’s display of affection, but Ling pulled out a rope and began binding the prisoner. It only took a few minutes, and then Lee threw the bound hostage over the back saddle of his own mount before climbing on top and leading them all back to camp.
Lee had the rest of the group form up and march at full pace back toward Kirshtein. Unlike the route and speed they had traveled when moving toward the army, where they had frequently detoured and killed everything on the way, their journey back to the city was direct and hurried. Lee didn’t even let Ling waste a moment nocking an arrow to shoot a rabbit on the side of the path.
Lee pulled out the letter that the
general had given him when they arrived, opened it up with his craft so as not to destroy the seal and read it again. It wasn’t long, probably no more than five or six hundred words, and most of it was spent discussing troop condition and how many rations they had managed to stockpile along with minutia of the army camp’s politics. He didn’t know why the general had made such an impression on him when they hadn’t met for more than a moment, but she had. If not for Masha’s beautiful face lingering in his mind, he might have gone to sleep thinking about her that night. There was some intangible thing about her that he couldn’t put his finger on exactly, and it had stayed with him.
“You got a woman on your mind,” Dave said as he came up on Lee’s side and sat down next to him, looking over at the letter Lee was holding.
Lee sighed as he put away his letter and then pulled out two cups and filled them to the brim. “I don’t think I ever don’t have one on my mind.”
“Mmm . . . That’s why I’m so good at fighting, you know,” Dave said as he took the beer.
“That you always have a woman on your mind?” Lee asked.
“Nah, the opposite. It’s that I never have one on my mind,” he laughed. “I used to figure that I’d happily accept if fate wanted to give me a woman, but I wouldn’t ever chase one.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Lee said, nodding along. “And since fate never wanted to give you one, you never had to split your time between women and training.”
“Hey!” Dave protested. “Don’t put it so bluntly! It makes me sound sad or lonely.”
“You’re not both?” Lee asked.