Chapter 41: The Boar Feast

The party rested on a valley. The camps were set near a stream of water that splits into two paths. The leaves on the trees had an autumn blue feel to it. The party of Asmara was rather small now unlike the past weeks. Fifty men and women comprise the party. The party was larger than this but with how things are with the people leaving left and right. It cannot be helped.

He kneeled near the stream of water inspecting the water. He tasted the water and felt that it was alright to drink it. He filled his water pouch and told everyone to do the same. The party has one wagon and one carriage left. The horses are gaunt to the point that the ribcage of the horses can be seen. The horses have been pulling the wagon and the carriage for a week straight until the lady allowed everyone to rest here. Unlike the lady, most of the party is tired trekking the roads. The overworld is a wide place. Walking through the overworld without horses is rather tiresome and dangerous. The lady has the privilege to ride her carriage while the rest of the party is taking turns in riding the wagon that has the supplies. Most of the horses have already been killed back in the village while some were stolen away by the deserters.

There is barely anything to eat until the party encountered a caravan to demand some food. The lady, however, takes the food, and most of the wines that can warm bellies are in her carriage. The guards of the lady are all dead. Most of them were slain in the battle in the village. But the lady strikes fear in the hearts of the men and women with her power. The maid sometimes shares the wine but only when the lady is too drunk. The Captain doesn't drink that much so his share is mostly split within the party.

Speaking of the Captain he is the one that gets the end of the stick. If it wasn’t for the Captain’s ability to hunt for his own food then the Captain would have already starved. He saw how the Captain forages for his own food. The captain was good at it. Some try to imitate the Captain but end up with nothing. Some manage to hunt some dire rabbit that is the size of a wagon’s wheel. They take it apart and keep it to themselves to eat. No one is willing to share their food with how hard times are. Only the Captain is the foolish one that would try to do that.

The Captain survives somehow without his magic. He feels like the Captain isn’t really a Magus. They do not see the Captain wield his magic with how his crest is partly sealed by the Lady. Many in the war band wonder how strong the Captain is when he has his magic. The Captain is limited and is disadvantage without his magic. But that doesn’t stop the captain from being a survivor.

...

The Captain was gone for awhile. Some thought that he might have fled already while some said that they shouldn’t wish for that. He also wondered where the Captain was. Then he saw the Captain carrying a boar on his shoulders. The boar was rather big. It had four wounds in the head. The wounds are from the arrowheads that pierced deeply in the skull of the boar. The party went to the Captain and asked how he got the boar. The boar was something he spotted eating on a thicket the Captain said. The rest believed the Captain and ask what should they do with the boar.

He saw everyone wants a piece of the boar. So he told everyone that they should roast it in a pit and have the boar roasted. The Captain thinks that it was a fine like everyone does. So the Captain and others started looking around for any wood and then even told the others to keep it a secret from the lady. The lady already has most of the food so they rather eat it without the lady knowing.

The party then gathered lumber in the forest. The others were in charge of creating a pit while the Captain skinned the boar and stuffed some herbs inside the boar. He asked the Captain what he put in the boar. The captain replied that it was mostly herbs that can make the inside smell less. The herbs can help in purifying the odors left behind by the entrails and feces that stuck inside it while he was removing the organs.

The organs of the boar were quite a mess. The Captain only managed to somehow kill the huge boar easily when it was eating a thicket. He suspected that the boar was sick and was eating the grass to heal itself up. He was quite impressed with the boar and told the Captain he is pretty good with the bow.

The Captain replied that he was better in using range weapons rather than melee ones. Hearing this made him tilt his head, wanting to retort the Captain on how much of a great fighter he is in close quarter combat. The Captain then told him that he is a magus and he is only using the weapons to survive.

He asks the Captain if he is being troubled without his magic. The Captain then replied to him with a wary expression that indeed he was being troubled by it. The Captain made a rather grim expression as he explains how he could have done more things if he didn’t have any magic. He told the Captain if he hates the lady for sealing his crest.

The Captain looked at him with a raised brow and answered that he doesn’t. He told him that weeping about parts of life doesn’t change things. He could be mad for all he cares but it doesn’t change the fact that he can’t get his crest back unless the lady wants to. Even the lady has to honor her deal. If she does not then the Geas will surely affect the lady.

The boar got its butt stab with a pointy end with a stick. The party got a bit smile on their face when they joke about it. The others smiled as their crude words reach their eyes. The Captain too smiled about when they started roasting the boar in the fire pit.

The party gathered together near the fire pit. Most of the men and women of the party gathered with wines on their hands. The wine came from the maid who noticed the party. She didn’t want to bother so she instead helped the party conceal what they are doing. She promised to make sure that the lady won’t find out and even give the party some few wines to drink.

The Captain handled the roasting. He stirred the embers while constantly poking the flesh of the boar. He then took some batter he made with herbs and a few spices and wipe it on the flesh of the boar, giving it a wondrous smell. The party could smell the aroma of the batter mixing with the pig. The others have saliva floating down their lips. While some sip on their wine to keep the hunger in check.

The party sang merrily while the boar got roasted. The night has come and the wind blew hard about in the east. The party was cold but with the fire pit near them, they didn’t freeze. The Captain was eagerly roasting the boar until it was done. Some wanted a lot of it but the Captain made sure that everyone will get a share. He then took something out of his leather bag and roasted it along with the pig. It was five skinned rabbits wrapped in leaves and codfish’s he got from the river.

Seeing the skinned rabbits the party smiled up to their ears. They are about fifty men and women staying near the fire pit, while the others made their bonfire too. Everyone felt relaxed for the first time in days. Many men and women died during the week. It put a lot of stress into them. The Captain probably noticed too but he was unsure of what he needs to do in order to help them.

The party then started eating, sharing the boar’s meat. The Captain was the one serving so he made sure that everyone gets their own piece. By the end of the boar became a skeleton. Most of the men started eating their share while the others started drinking. The gathering near the roasting pit then turned into a rather mellowed one. Their stomachs have been filled with food and wine indeed. But the guilt in their hearts didn’t seize. They could eat the boar and relax due to the Captain. They think the Captain has been really selfless of late. And most of them have stick to him for the most part when the lady isn’t there.

If the lady was a normal person then they would gladly side with the Captain and defend him. But with how they are mere normal soldiers and mages. How can they offend a noble lady that has the power of an ascended knight? They are not bad and they are not good either. They are just humans that want to survive. The Captain, however, understood all of this and just jested for them to eat up.

Hearing the Captain shrug off their guilty confessions made them scratch their heads.

What a helpless Captain, the Ardent Magus was.