Book 2 Ch 41: Taking Leave

Lys had everyone up and moving back to Southwind quickly after they finished clearing the immediate area of the rift. The knowledge that one of the rifts was able to be held open was something that needed to be communicated to the twins, and Swandia itself, as soon as possible. They made it back in nearly half the time as it had taken them to reach the rift. Lys drove them hard, but they also didn’t have to approach Southwind nearly as cautiously as they had to approach the Lake of Beasts with the large number of rifts and other surprises that seemed to be hidden around every corner there.

Michael himself gave the twins a report on what he’d seen on the other side along with Ollie and Marcus. They were dismissed after the twins let Michael and the others know that they likely would be insisting on increased pay for their contract with Swandia from then on, as well as a number of other assurances and benefits. That meant he had eight days off while that was negotiated.

Michael went back to his tent and enjoyed the lightness of his limbs as he stripped off his armor and threw his kit into the quickly wearing canvas triangle he’d called his home for several months.

“Eight days off, I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself,” said Davi, stretching. “I already had trouble filling the three and a half when you guys were gone.”

“Aw, we missed you too,” said Ollie, deepening Davi’s frown. “Let me go ahead and take the wind out of Michael’s sails a bit by warning you that he has a plan to get us all killed.”

“I thought it was my turn,” said Pyotr with a grin.

“Well, Michael gets two for everyone else’s one. I had mine for the desertion, and now it’s his turn again,” said Marcus.

Michael shook his head, sighing. “I found out from Lys that there are a number of fishing villages along the Lake of Beasts. I told you all that the gods want me to find something out there. I want to use this time to find one of them and charter a boat to get to whatever it is.”

“Ah, a god mission. I am with you, brother,” said Pyotr.

Davi squinted at him. “You agreed to that very easily.”

“I had a very nice time last time I helped him. I see no reason not to do it again.”

“Well, I’m in too. I want to get out on that water,” said Davi.

“I’ll go too. I’ve already outgambled everyone here and need to give them a break anyway. Besides, the last cockfights were…” He looked a bit queasy for a moment. “I just didn’t think a spur could decapitate another rooster like that.” Marcus shook his head.

“I’ll go too. I’m weak to peer pressure and get lonely easily,” said Ollie with a smile.

“Thanks guys, I really appreciate it,” said Michael. He had a feeling that they’d have come up with excuses to come no matter what, except perhaps Marcus, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t grateful for them. “We’ll take tomorrow to get our equipment looked at, let Gemini know what we’re going to do, and see if we can get the location of a specific village that might help us out.”

…

The next morning Michael awoke early as he always did and went right into training. He’d been practicing primarily with his mace since he received it. He’d trained with a sword for so long that he still had to consciously tell himself not to try and stab anything with it, not that the flanges wouldn’t be painful, but it definitely wasn’t as effective as a good solid swing. After a few hundred repetitions with each arm in every direction he could think of every morning for the last several days, he was feeling more confident with it. Once he was done he offered up the effort to Bruntus.

He had a quick bath in cold water and threw on some cleaner clothes, deciding to divine himself in the mirror before he went to check on Trina.

Titles:

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Michael Mann

The Restored

The Wound Man

Godseeker

Champion of Seras

Champion of Nykas

Champion of Bruntus

Deeds:

Bridge Holder

Revenge Denier

Run Conqueror

Resilient Competitor

Fort Healer

Righteous Defender

Castle Taker

Baron Breaker

Rift Sealer