“Our gods were once mortal. Even the truly evil, the vilest of them, once had an earthly existence.

The Others were born immortal.”

Chapter 60

The line moved quickly, and within a half an hour he was standing in front of the counter. The person standing across from him was a short man, spindly, with a rat like face. From the weak Mana Wil could sense, the man was a Rank-less.

The worker looked him up and down briefly, pausing on his Ursine cloak, before pulling out a sheet of sheepskin parchment and a quill. Dipping it in ink, he looked back up at Wil with a disinterested expression.

“Name?” He asked, quill hovering over the form.

“Wil”

“Anything else?” He said, as he wrote ‘Wil’ on a blank spot at the top of the page.

“Just Wil.”

“Alright ‘Just Wil”, rank?”

“3” Wil answered, already not liking the man’s attitude.

“Ok, specialization?”

“Mage, Academy trained.”

The man raised an eyebrow at the answer, looking over Wil again briefly before looking back at the page.

“First timer?”

“No, I was in Whitewater last night. They told me to report here.” Wil explained.

“You’re late, only a few days left until night. Hoping to miss it, were you?” He said, frowning at Wil.

“I got sidetracked up north.” Wil responded, flushing red with anger at the accusation.

“Ok, ‘Just Wil’.” He said, pulling out a bag of coins from under the desk and placing it next to the parchment. “Half now, half when night’s over. Just need a drop of blood here,” he said, pointing at the bottom of the paper. “And an Oath on the goddess.”

Wil was surprised. He hadn’t signed anything when he left the capital for Whitewater, although he suspected that his father was the cause of that.

He pulled his sword out of its sheath slightly, nicking his thumb on the blade. Taking a brief look through the document, he firmly pressed his bloody thumb against the sheepskin.

“What Oath do you want?” Wil asked as he wrapped his thumb in the bandage the man offered. Wil could smell a faint scent, like his healing potions coming from the bandage. He wouldn’t be surprised if the wound healed in a few minutes.

“To serve faithfully in the defense of the walls for the time you’re here. No running at the first sign of trouble, no stabbing each other in the back for loot, the usual thing. The goddess watches over us, she’ll enforce the Oath on the Legion’s behalf.” He said as he rolled the parchment up, stacking it with a pile of others.

“Here.” He handed Wil a small token, a circle of blue. “Swear on the Goddesses’ mark.”

“I, Wil, swear on Secundus that I will serve faithfully in Aachen until I am released from my duty. I will respect the laws of the Legion. So may it be.” He said, using a similar oath that this father’s retainers used when they joined his house guards.

“Alright, now that’s out of the way, this is for you.” He said, pulling out a round glass orb from a bag next to him.

“What’s this?” Wil asked, holding it up in front of his face for a better look. It appeared to be made of solid glass. It was heavy, and Wil couldn’t feel any Mana coming from the object. He pushed a little of his mana into the ball, and it glowed briefly before fading away.

“God’s Blood and Bones, you are green! Nobody explained anything to you before you came here?” The man exclaimed, shaking his head at Wil’s lack of knowledge. Wil flushed red with anger and frustration at the small man’s attitude.

“Okay Chief, listen up. That there is your golden opportunity, your personal road to riches.” The rat faced man said, pointing at the glass orb.

“How so? I thought we were paid by the Mercantile Association to reclaim Aachen and defend the walls?” Wil asked, confused.

“You are! But that just a small part of it, why do you think the mages are here? They didn’t build a Spire to look at the ocean.”

“So, they gave us this ball for what reason?” Wil asked.

“Since you’re a rookie, I’ll explain it nice and slow for you.” The man slowed his speech, talking to Wil like he was a child. “See, you’re here to fight the undead right? Dead bodies come back to life?”

“I am aware of what the undead are, thank you. What’s your point?” Starting to lose patience with the man in front of him.

“Well, the undead, they keep getting up even if you bust them to pieces. They full of ‘negative energy’, that’s what the mages say. Anyway, used to be that we would have to get the clerics to come around after a fight, to make sure the dead stay down.”

“But a few months ago, the Mages came up with that little beauty in your hand. It collects the energy that fuels the undead, makes sure they don’t get back up. Blessed by the Goddess herself, the clerics cleanse the orb, and the mages collect the energy inside.” The man explained.

“And you, my friend, get paid by the mages for every piece of it you collect and deliver to them.”

Wil took a moment to digest what the worker was saying.

“If I’m understanding you correctly. We are paid by the Merchants to defend the walls and reclaim items from the city. And for a bonus, we use this,” Wil held up the orb, “to collect the corrupted Mana fueling the undead, and in return, the mages pay us a bonus?”

“You got it chief! Here’s your money.” The man behind the counter said, handing will the pouch of coins.

“Come back after the night for the other half. Anything you collect in the city gets handed in to the Merchant Branch. They’re easy to find, big sign on the front of their building. Turn that Orb into the Spire when its full, or you need some extra coin.”

“How does it work?” Wil asked, gesturing with the orb.

“Just hold it over any of the undead, but only after they stop fighting. The orb only pulls in the free energy surrounding them, it doesn’t work if it’s still sticking to the bodies.” The man waved Wil off.

“Now, that’s it. Lodgings are marked, just look for the sign out front.”

Wil took the pouch of coins and the orb, leaving the counter and the annoying man behind.

Standing next to his horse, he looked around the town for the sign for lodgings. It was easy to spot, every street corner was clearly marked, and he followed the directions to the Auxiliary lodgings easily.

Leading Snowflake down the street, Wil looked at the grey stone wall that towered next to the town.

Now that he was closer, he could spot markings etched into the stone. Symbols of the goddess, Secundus, along with runes for strength were easy to spot. Nestled amongst them were also wards against the undead and negative energy.

Finding the street for the Auxiliary lodgings, he saw that it was a series of large wooden two-story houses. A sign on a small building at the closest end of the street led him to a brief conversation with another legion Rank-less, who handed him a key and pointed out where he would be staying.

He brought Snowflake to a nearby stable, paying a small fee to care for the horse. His building was in the middle of the street and his room was on the second floor, with a view of the stone wall directly ahead.

Each building had a common room on the first floor, with a bath and food being served. Everything was covered for the time they served here.

Wil quickly had a meal and a bath, before collapsing exhausted on his bed. Tomorrow would be the last day before night fell, and he would need to get as much information as possible to prepare.

Planning his day, Wil quickly feel into a dreamless sleep.