Soul of the Warrior

Reivyn took his last step through the portal into Wispan. Kefira next to him took in a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. He glanced at her and saw the big smile on her face. The joy was contagious and he smiled back.

Reivyn looked around and took a deep breath of his own. His awareness of ambient Mana was just that much higher that he could feel the subtle difference between Regions, and there was something about the Mana in Wispan that was just a bit fresher than the other empires they had traveled through.

If I had to put it to words, it would be more pure, Reivyn thought. The difference is marginal, but I’m sure an extended period of time in it would evoke a difference.

Now that he thought about it, the Imperial Guards in Wispan were a step higher in quality than the others he had seen in other Regions. He didn’t know if that had anything to do with the difference in environments, but he would guess that it at least had a small effect.

“It;s good to be back home,” Kefira said.

“You weren’t even gone all that long,” Reivyn pointed out.

“Irrelevant,” Kefira retorted. “There’s just something about coming home. It feels like a small burden has been lifted from my shoulders and I can relax just a bit more.”

“More than on our beach vacation?”

Kefira gave Reivyn a deadpan look.

“I think we need to talk about your definition of ‘vacation.’ In the month we were there, we had less than a week's worth of free time. In fact, I think we worked harder while on ‘vacation’ than any other time, including with your crazy dad driving us in our training.”

“His what dad?” Refix asked, walking up behind them.

“His ‘lovely’ dad,” Kefira said without missing a beat. “I was just saying to Reiyn how much we all appreciate you being there to guide us in our growth.”

“I’m sure,” Refix chuckled. “I’m just glad to help.”

“Sure,” Kefira said with a sweet smile.

“Anyway, I’m going to rush back to the palace and find your mother,” Refix addressed Reivyn. “You shouldn’t dally too much behind me. There will be no hope for you if we delay seeing her too long.”

“I don’t have any other plans,” Reivyn shrugged. “The mercenaries can wait. I’m sure Jekle can come to the palace to give me an update on the company. Speaking of,” he turned to Xudrid and Vyria stepping through the portal. “Are you two headed back to the barracks?”

“Yeah, we don’t see any reason to delay,” Xudrid nodded his head. “You want us to tell them to send Jekle to the palace?”

“If you would,” Reivyn nodded.

“It’s no problem,” Xudrid nodded his head. “But now that we’re talking about it, it’s a good time to inform you that we’re going to be resigning from our positions and returning home to the Sect. We’ve accomplished more than we ever set out to do for our Life Experience. It’s time to fine-tune our Skills and prepare for the next Tier.”

“That seems pretty short,” Reivyn replied, a bit surprised. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s more about quality than quantity. We trained with an organization, participated in field exercises, fought in a war, traveled through the veil directly, cleared the Hard Mode of a Tier 4 Dungeon, visited the ocean, saw a Tier 8 Region… And those are just the major accomplishments. The Sect has everything else we need to gain Experience and train our Skills in preparation for the next Tier.”

“When you put it like that, it’s hard to argue,” Reivyn nodded his head. “However, there’s still the Dungeon here in Willowan. I’ve secured a spot with the military for preferential entry. It would be a shame for you all to leave before you had a chance to delve into the local Dungeon.”

Xudrid exchanged a quick look with Vyria. She nodded her head.

“Sure, that’s a good idea. You want us to join your Party?”

“Yeah, that works. My dad won’t be coming with us this time, though. He has his own things to do, and he probably wants to spend some time with my mom and sisters.”

“Sounds good. He might make it too trivial if he came with us,” Xudrid chuckled.

“Alright, well, we’ll go in the next couple of days so we don’t keep you guys away from home any longer than necessary.”

“We appreciate that. Just send word to the barracks when and where to meet you.”

“Will do,” Reivyn said.

Reivyn clasped hands with Xudrid and nodded to Vyria,. Vyria nodded back with her typical cold expression, but she couldn’t keep up appearances when Kefira suddenly embraced the young woman in a hug. Kimberly snuck up and hugged her from the other side. Serilla just gave a small smile as she watched from the side.

Vyria seemed a little lost at first, but her expression softened and she embraced the two girls in return. They separated and Vyria nodded to everyone.

“You two stay safe,” Kefira said.

“We’re going to see them again in a couple days,” Reivyn rolled his eyes.

“What do you know?” Kefira poked him in the ribs after returning to his side. “This is technically the farewell. It’s the appropriate time. When we get done with the Dungeon delve, we can just wave and avoid all the tearful goodbyes, now.”

“Sure, sure,” Reivyn said, holding his hands up.

Teilon and Refix shook hands with Xudrid as the girls did their own thing. Once everyone had said goodbye, Xudrid and Vyria simply went off on their own toward the barracks. Refix waved at the others and hurried toward the palace.

“Well,” Reivyn shrugged as he looked around at everyone else.

Nothing more was said and they all stepped out of the teleport circle to follow Refix back to the palace.

The first thing to strike Reivyn was the sheer number of people walking about. There were far more people present than had been in the city when he left. It was a mix if Adventurers and soldiers marching about in formation. The odd non-combatant was actually rare to spot in the crowd around the city center holding the teleport circle.

“What’s with all the people?” Reivyn asked.

“You don’t know?” Teilon retorted, giving him a sideways look.

“Why would I know?” Reivyn asked back.

“Well, the Adventurers are all here for you,” Teilon answered.

“For me? Why?”

“They’ve all heard about your mercenary company, and they want to join,” Teilon shrugged. “At least that’s what I heard the empire over. I thought there were a lot of people waiting to use the teleport circle over there. I did tell you, but this is crazy.”

It was hard to walk through the crowd because there were so many people. Reivyn had an advantage with his Divine Sense as he could see beyond what most others could. He could clearly see the ebb and flow of the movement of the crowd, and he steered his companions that way.

“I can’t accommodate this many people!” Reivyn exclaimed.

“Of course you can’t. That doesn’t stop them all from trying, though. Plus, as far as I know, your mercenary company was hiring quite a bit of people.”

“Why would they do that? I never gave any orders to aggressively expand.”

“All your mother told me was that she would handle it,” Kefira shrugged. “I guess it got a bit more out of hand while we were gone.”

“A bit more out of hand?” Reivyn asked with a crooked smile.

“Well…” Kefira just gestured at the dense crowd.

Reivyn shook his head ruefully.

“I’ll never admit this to anyone but you guys, but I’m not ready to command more than a company,” Reivyn shook his head. “I could do it, but it wouldn’t be the best. I need more experience, not just for myself, but also for my reputation.”

“Well, Daddy sent some military officers to assist with the organization and logistics of the training, that much I know,” Kefira replied. “They’re following your and your mercenaries’ training plans, but they’re facilitating more of it getting done at a time.”

“That’s one problem taken care of,” Reivyn nodded his head. “I’ll think of something. It’ll work out.”

“That’s the spirit,” Teilon said with a smile, clapping Reivyn on the back. “I was worried there for a second. I’ve never seen you anything but utterly confident in your own abilities before.”

“That’s because I’ve never been presented with something I wasn’t confident in accomplishing,” Reivyn shrugged. “Well, there were a few instances back in Magron I can think of, but those were in-the-moment situations that I couldn’t back down from.”

“Really? I never noticed.”

“Hah, that time the demon crawled up out of the ground with all those Revenants was one of them. Most of the soldiers were incapacitated, so I’m not surprised you didn’t see. I was terrified in that first fight with a Revenant. I had no idea how to hurt it, and I just got lucky from flailing around with my Mana.”

“Meh, learning experience,” Teilon waved it off like it was no big deal. “You were fine. Plus I do distinctly remember Knight-Captain Reifold raining holy wrath upon the heads of that demon and undead. You were probably never in any real danger unless you just couldn’t hold your own long enough.

“Speaking of, Knight-Captain Reifold was particularly powerful for a Tier 3. I’m pretty sure he was only an Epic Class.”

“His Class was associated with the Sun Church, if you’ll recall,” Reivyn pointed out. “His Mana was like that of a Priest: it was infused with a hint of divinity, and it was particularly effective against Abyssal demons and undead. Everything else we saw him take action against were Tier 2 or lower.”

“That’s a good point. I wonder if I could take him, now.”

“Maybe?” Reivyn was skeptical. “Like you said, he had an Epic Class, and the main thing holding people back in Tier 1 Kingdoms is a lack of opportunities to unlock higher-Rarity Classes and Dungeons that provide enough Experience. With the appearance of the Revenant Dungeon, Knight-Captain Reifold should have all the opportunity and Experience he needs to continue advancing.

“Magron can’t hold a person like him for long. If I had to guess, he’s already moved on from his position, and he might even still be a higher Level than you, and I would bet his Tier 4 Class is also at least Epic. He might have gotten a Life Experience boost fighting against Abyssal demons and the Dungeon Break wave to push for a Legendary, though probably not before he’s ready to advance to Tier 5, if I’m being honest.”

“Good point,” Teilon said, adopting a thoughtful expression.

“Hmm, something seems to be happening up ahead,” Reivyn said, leading his group off to the side.

He could see a platoon of soldiers dressed a bit differently than the rest making their way toward the teleport circle. The crowd actively got out of their way as opposed to mostly ignoring them like the other patrols, so Reivyn assumed there was something special about them. He wasn’t overly familiar with all of the designations within the military, though, so he didn’t know what it would be.

Despite leading the others off the path, the soldiers unerringly followed his direction and continued to advance towards them. Reivyn frowned but decided to go ahead and stop and wait to see.

Eventually, the crowd parted like a curtain in front of the oncoming soldiers, and the leader walked right up to Reivyn. His helmet had a red plume that all the other soldiers Reivyn saw in the area lacked. He carried an intricate baton in one hand and a rolled up scroll in the other.

Kefira noticed the man and the other soldiers behind him and frowned.

“Are you Reivyn,” the man asked, marching right up to Reivyn.

“That’s right,” Reivyn didn’t deny it.

The man placed his baton under his arm so he could unfurl the scroll with both hands before reading from it.

“Under the authorization of Magistrate Fowleu, Adventurer Reivyn hereby under arrest for the charges of insulting a noble, assaulting a noble, and conduct unbecoming.”

The man rolled the scroll back up, secured it, retrieved his baton from under his arm, and nodded to the men behind him all at once. Reivyn noted a distinction in the way the man addressed him as simply being an Adventurer.

Two soldiers stepped forward. They didn’t draw their weapons, but from what Reivyn could tell, they were prepared to. One held a familiar pair of shackles in his hands. Reivyn took it all in and simply held his hands out, not putting up any resistance or trying to argue. These men weren’t the ones going after him, so it wouldn’t make any sense to argue with them.

“Hold on. Excuse me!” Kefira stepped in front of Reivyn, shielding him from the oncoming soldiers. “What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself.”

“Bystanders will remain to the side,” the man with the baton said impassively.

“Bystanders?” Kefira repeated. “Bystanders?! Do you know who I am?!”

The man didn’t so much as glance at Kefira.

“Girl, if you knew how many times I heard that, or a variation of it,” he rolled his eyes and sighed. “Get out of the way. Stop interfering in official business.”

“Oh? And what if I don’t?” Kefira stood her ground and crossed her arms. She raised her head to look down her nose on the men with an imperious air.

The man placed his baton on Kefira’s shoulder and looked at her for the first time. Reivyn saw no recognition in the man’s eyes. He truly didn’t know who she was. Serilla unsheathed her blade and held it at her side, ready to strike. The man wielding the baton glanced at her but didn’t lower his baton.

“I know you young nobles love to try and throw your weight around, but I’m on official Constable duty. When you see this baton, it’s the same as seeing Magistrate Fowleu himself, and as a Noble Magistrate, his rank when exercising his authority is equivalent to a member of the Council of Lords.”

Kefira reached up and brushed the baton off of her shoulder nonchalantly.

“Noble Magistrate Fowleu would not dare speak to me in that tone of voice, much less one of his lackeys.”

“Uh huh. Girl, you’ve tested my patience enough. You’ve gone from bystander to accomplice.” The Constable jerked his head toward several other soldiers. “In fact, go ahead and place all of them under arrest.”

Several other soldiers detached themselves from their neat rows and produced more shackles from their storage pouches. Serilla made to raise her sword and engage, but Kefira motioned for her to put her sword away and stand down. She held her own wrists out like Reivyn and waited to be shackled.

“Hahahaha, my father is going to love hearing about this,” Kefira said. She sounded genuinely amused at the situation.

“I’m sure he will,” the Constable snorted. “If you are actually of the nobility, you have certain rights. Someone will be dispatched to your residence to inform your family of your arrest, but they’ll have to wait until trial like all the rest before you can be released to their custody.”

“Oh, we’ll see about that,” Kefira smirked. “Enjoy completing your ‘official duty.’ It’s likely to be your last.”

The Constable shook his head and looked at one of the soldiers under his command.

“These noble brats all think they’re above the law.”

The soldiers didn’t waste any time and clapped the entire group in chains. With Reivyn and Kefira not putting up any kind of resistance, and after Kefira told Serilla to stand down, they all let themselves be placed in the magical hand irons. Teilon had an amused look on his face as he glanced down at the restraints.

“I know I’m a bit of a rogue, but I never imagined it would one day come to this,” he said. “And because of something Reivyn of all people did. Hah! Wait until I tell Kailey and Riley that it turned out it was their brother who was the mischief maker all this time!”

Teilon was quite pleased with himself. Kimberly just rolled her eyes at his antics.

“Come along,” the Constable said, turning and walking off.

Two soldiers grabbed each person on either side and escorted them with the rest of their squad. The pedestrians all watched the goings-on with interest, but they stayed out of the way and didn’t comment too loudly one way or the other. That didn’t stop Reivyn from hearing everything said within his Divine Sense range, though.

Most of the comments were assumptions that Reiyn and his friends were some guilty brigands apprehended by the just law enforcers. Several of the people seemed to be a bit knowledgeable on the law and made comments on the procedure.

The interpretations were varied, but arresting Teilon and Kimberly was almost universally condemned as overreach. Most people figured it was justified to take Serilla into custody because she had brandished a weapon at the Constable and his men.

Even more people were just confused about the whole situation. It had been many years since insulting a noble had been prosecuted, and most people had forgotten it was even technically illegal to do so. They also couldn’t imagine a circumstance where someone could assault a noble without the noble’s guards intervening in the first place.

All in all, it was a confusing, yet entertaining, event for the people near the teleportation circle.

Reivyn didn’t bother himself with the thoughts of the true bystanders. His mind was already racing, trying to figure out the situation and a counter to it.

“The only person I can think of that fits the bill of the charges is Oryin,” Reivyn said to Kefira.

“Oryin Fowleu,” Kefira responded. “The Magistrate is probably one of his uncles.”

“Ahh, I see,” Reivyn nodded his head. “We’ve been gone for a month. Plenty of time to cook up some false charges. Add a little false witness testimony, and you’ve got yourself a case.”

“Well, to be fair, you did kind of humiliate him,” Kefira chuckled.

“Kind of?” Teilon exclaimed. “You dragged the poor boy down the road by his throat while running without missing a step!”

“Well, it’s still false testimony because he was under my command in a battlefield situation,” Reivyn defended himself. He looked at Kefira. “He was under my command, right?”

“Absolutely,” Kefira confirmed. “I know he denied it at the time, but all of them were explicitly informed before they were allowed to go that they would be in the chain of command just like anyone else. You were second in command, thus, they were within your right to order and discipline.”

“Good. I already have an idea on how to handle this.”

“Why?” Kefira asked. “Once my father finds out what happened, it won’t matter.”

“That only solves the issue of our arrest,” Reivyn shook his head. “I’m talking about handling Oryin as a whole. You get yourself and the others released as soon as possible, and try to hold your father back from lashing out until I’ve enacted my plan.”

“Alright, I trust you,” Kefira smiled.

Reivyn smiled back, and not just because he was looking at Kefira. He was already envisioning the eventual fallout of Oryin’s little ploy.