[10]

A shrill ringing noise jolted me awake. The red light of the dawning sun shone through the glass of the bubble, and the dancing shadows left me momentarily disoriented. I scrambled to my feet and grabbed my things, trying to pinpoint what was causing the alarm.

Outside the window, I saw a tree. My foggy brain took a second to make sense of it, but my heart already knew the score, and began racing.

We had landed; I realized. In the middle of nowhere.

“Elmont!” I shouted, rushing to get him.

“I’m awake!” He responded. I could see he was buckling on a sword. He had only been a step behind me. “You would have to be a corpse to sleep through that racket.”

“We’ve landed.” I informed him.

His face went pale.

A knock on the front door caught our attention, interrupting our conversation.

The two of us rushed to the door. I unsheathed the dagger Rollo had given me from behind Elmont. Always be ready to fight, Rollo said.

Elmont swung open the door to see a scared-looking servant.

“M’lord,” the young man said, bowing. “A dispatch has reached us from Felbrigg. The farming town Lanvers is being assaulted by what, t-they b-believe to be Gozmyr. We are the closest force able to send aid. Royal troopers are disembarking as we speak, and they are requesting the help of anyone with a class that can fight.”

Elmont and I looked at each other.

Gozmyr used to be a powerful primordial earth titan. It was one of the first casualties of the Godswar, said to have been slain by Koth himself. However, death only seemed to have made the titan angrier. It refused to die, creating a state we now refer to as undeath. Eventually, like the other titans, the gods sealed it away, but not before it changed our reality for the worse.

Throughout the north, horrors often crawl from their graves, sometimes assembling in hordes big enough to threaten towns and villages. Besides bandits, it was the most infamous threat within Ergentein borders.

“Can you fight?” He asked.

“I can use a dagger, but I’m not an expert.” I admitted. I did not want to admit out loud I was only rank E. My confidence in the nobles was not great.

“That will probably be enough. Elaine will want to go; having you there to watch her back might make a difference.”

“Wait, you think the daughter of a Duke to charge off and fight the undead?” I could not keep the ridicule off of my face.

“No, of course not. But it isn’t like I can countermand her. She’s a [Lightbearer], and will want to fight.” Elmont said.

I am no hero. Rushing into battle is about as high on the list of things I want to do as, well, meeting a zombie. I took a moment to think things through.

On the positive side, this would be an excellent opportunity to cement a friendship with a future Duchess and the son of an Earl. I learned from Rollo and Saewulf that nothing forms bonds like life and death combat. Even more important though, slaughtering monsters is the best way to gain essence. I could not contribute as well as the others, but a trickle would still find its way to me. Then, after ranking up, I would become much more capable of defending myself.

Assuming, and this is the negative side, I did not end up a walking corpse.

Which would be the likely outcome. Lanvers was not a small village, it was a medium-sized town. There was no way a platoon of twenty-five troopers and two level one ascended, and an apothecary could make a difference. Going might not be certain suicide, but it was way too risky for my tastes.

Also, Vascora’s silence in the matter was deafening.

“Sorry, I’m going to have to pass on this outing.” I said, sheathing my knife and holding my hands up.

Elmont gaped. I could see by the look in his eyes, he could not imagine not rushing off to the rescue of the townspeople. Or maybe he could not fathom someone not wanting to protect Lady Highrow. Elaine was stunning. Probably the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. More than that, I liked her, maybe even felt a connection. She still was not worth dying over.

Elmont’s face shifted, and scorn appeared. He really should have taken [Knight].

“I see,” he said, still frowning. “If you don’t mind, I have preparations to make.”

I nodded at him and left his room. For a minute, I stood in the hallway trying to decide what to do. I reasoned out the best course of action, but I still felt an inkling of shame. An image of Elaine’s disappointed face flashed in my mind.

With a sigh, I headed toward the front deck to watch the disembarkment.

Florence stopped me in the hallway, her head sticking out of the door of Angelina’s room.

“Hey! Harald, what the abyss is going on?” She asked.

“Lanvers is in trouble with the undead. The troops on board are leaving the ship to go help.”

“Who are you talking to?” I heard Angelina say in the background.

My eyes went wide, and I backed away from the door.

Florence lowered her voice to a whisper, “She remembers nothing. The touch felt like a dream to her. I told her she drank too much and fell asleep eating pudding.”

“Florence, find out what is causing the alarm.” Angelina yelled.

Angelina might be over the events of last night, but I was not. I went to the deck without another word.

Royal troopers and rail staff scurried around the deck while sleepy guests watched. A giant ramp led from the common area in the back of the ship to the ground. One horse pulled a wagon with supplies for the twenty men lined up in a formation. I wondered how they planned on getting it through the forest. No doubt it would be time-consuming.

“Are you going?” a voice asked from behind.

I turned to see Elaine dressed in a travel outfit. Upon seeing her, I could not help but smile.

“I thought about it, but no.” I told her.

“Why not?” She looked confused.

“There are a bunch of reasons. I don’t know how to fight undead. I haven’t had a lick of training yet. That’s the whole reason I’m going to Ashmere. Lanvers is too big a town for us to make a difference. My patron has not instructed me to help.”

Elaine bit her lower lip and her face grew worried the more I went on.

“And you?” I asked. “Has Erzaal given you a quest to help?”

Elaine shook her head.

“I think you should stay here then.” I said.

“But.. I’m a [Lightbearer]! I can attack the undead from a distance!”

“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “You don’t know how many there are.”

“Elmont’s going,” she said. We both watched him jogging across the deck in a breastplate with a shield. Across his waist was a complex-looking belt carrying a surprising array of potions and liquids.

“Yeah, but he has been trained. And I doubt he is rank 1, like us.”

Elaine sighed. “I… I think you are right. I shouldn’t go.”

“It would be foolish.” I agreed. Then, changing the subject, I added, “How about we go have breakfast. I need to tell you about an interesting development with the Angelina situation,” holding out my arm.

Elaine wrapped her arm in mine, arching an eyebrow, “Oh this I have to hear.”

…

We arrived at Felbrigg, just after lunch.

I remained with the three noble ladies in the common room for the rest of the trip, but things were tense. Elaine, who had until last night kept her distance from others, had not been received well by Angelina. Angelina seemed to take Elaine’s presence as a predator encroaching on her territory. Knowing the feelings she harbored for me, despite not actually knowing me, made things awkward for me as well. Still, Elaine handled her with surprising care and grace. Florence mean eyed me when she thought I was not looking, but I decided I did not care.

If she tried anything, I would be more than happy to curse her again.

The four of us made plans to travel the rest of the way to Ashmere together, but they were in vain.

Nearly as soon as we disembarked from the ship, a man in decorative armor dismounted from a massive warhorse and stalked up the ramp toward us.

“M’lady, I have eagerly awaited your arrival,” He said, kneeling in front of Elaine and reaching out to grab her hand. The entire thing looked rehearsed and staged.

From his dark purple hair, I could tell he was nobility. He had a thin but handsome face that contradicted the large muscles of his body. It was as though he was hard and soft at the same time.

“Ah, Lord Kestev, I thought you would be at Ashmere by now,” Elaine said, offering her hand.

Lord Kestev kissed her hand and stood. Then said, “Please M’lady, call me Reynold. The tales of your beauty have been greatly understated, I see. Or maybe it is just because there are not enough words to describe it.”

Elaine smiled politely. And Reynold continued,”I have been at Ashmere for the last month. When I heard you were coming to join our sacred institution, I rushed to greet you. I have long awaited the day to see you in person.”

Elaine seemed at a momentary loss for words. It was uncharacteristic of her, and I suspected there were greater implications to Reynold being here. I politely coughed next to her.

After which, he looked over at me for a second. Reynold blinked, apparently not liking what he saw. Then his face turned red. “What are you doing? Stop standing there gawking at your betters. Make yourself useful and load their bags onto the carriage!”

I looked at Elaine, who frowned. Then Florence, who smiled. And finally, at Angelina, who was about to erupt.

Elaine spoke first. “Reynold, this is my good friend Harald. He is a fellow Ascendant, and he is traveling with us.”

“Ha! As if!” Reynold scoffed. “A grifter and ne’er-do-well more like.”

Elaine’s frown deepened, but she did not argue with him.

Reynold noticed and tried to move forward. “Anyway, enough about commoners! I have a carriage already waiting to take you to Ashmere. All of you ladies would be welcome to come along, of course.”

“And Harald?” asked Elaine.

“Alas, I fear there is not enough room for five,” Reynold said, shaking his head in mock sadness.

“Not a problem,” said Angelina, jumping in with a gleeful smile. “We couldn’t ignore Lord Kestev’s wonderful generosity. You ladies join him, and Harald will ride to Ashmere with me.”

Reynold smiled beautifully, “It’s settled then!”

I gulped.