Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Lucan stood on the edge of his newly built road, watching the thick greens of the forest. This was where the merchant had been attacked.

He was flanked by his father’s men-at-arms, the hunter along with his eldest son, and his father. The hunter was kneeling over the tracks with his son, scrutinizing them to ascertain that they weren’t dealing with forest predators.

Lucan glanced down at his armor which had been finished a week prior. He now donned it comfortably. A perfectly-fitted breastplate protected his upper body. Pauldrons made of interlacing polished steel covered his shoulders. Gauntlets, soft on the inside, solid steel on the outside, protected his hands and half of his forearms. A tasset, skirt-like and made of leather lined with small plates of steel, covered his upper thighs, flexible enough for movement yet hard enough to protect the vulnerable area. Thick boots and steel greaves protected his feet and shins, leaving little unprotected between the latter and the tasset. Thick, soft leather covered the exposed area from the knee to the thigh, double-woven with metal mesh in between. Under his upper steel armor was mail that provided additional protection and cover for areas like the one between his gauntlets and pauldrons. His open-faced helmet hadn’t changed from last time though. Lucan still preferred it to anything more intricately crafted.

While the armor was somewhat heavy, it was not cumbersome. Its weight was distributed evenly all over his body, which took nothing away from his balance, even if it took away some of his speed. Training with it in the past week had gotten him used to it enough. It slowed him down slightly when he moved and when he used the Star, but it wasn’t enough to cause him trouble unless he wasn’t prepared for it.

The hunter and his son were quietly discussing something, still kneeling over the tracks. Lucan’s father was standing beside him, or rather, over him. Lucan would be making the decisions today, and his father would observe. He had seen the perplexion on the men-at-arms’ faces when they’d been informed. They now stood lined up beside him and his father.

Lucan couldn’t help but glance back at his road. It stood slightly higher than the surrounding ground, and the earth immediately neighboring it had been dug up into a thin channel to provide easier drainage. The road was made of large flagstones, laid interspersed by thick mortar that kept the path relatively flat and the constituents fixed.

He turned back to the hunter as he heard him giving the final word in the whispered argument with his son. They both stood up. The hunter approached Lucan and his father. He was a man of middle age, his hair a light brown and his face had a severe tautness that suggested he scowled a lot. He had a scar cutting through his brow as though it’d missed his eye by a breath. He came up to them and paused, hesitant whether to address Lucan or his father.

Sir Golan gestured towards Lucan and the hunter nodded, complying. “They’re no wild animals,” he said. “Though the tracks are a bit odd.”

Lucan, who hadn’t known what he would be supposed to do next, found something to grip onto. “Odd how?”

“They leave the impression of hooves, not claws.”

Lucan grew silent, contemplating the description. He pretended he wasn’t trying to delay the inevitable. What was he worried about though? It was simple, find the beasts and the Break. Kill the beasts, seal the Break. Perhaps the memory of the Archsala’wa nearly ripping his face open was still in the back of his mind, grinding at him, reminding him to think twice before getting into a fight he knew nothing about. Suddenly, he realized why so many nobles favored the Analyze Skill. The unknown was scary, and maybe even horrifying.

He finally got himself together as he eyed the men surrounding him and his father, who towered over him like a bulwark. He would be fine. “Well, the Labyrinth can spew out any manner of beast. I’m certain this isn’t the first oddity ever witnessed,” he told the hunter. “Do they lead directly into the woods?”

“Aye.” The hunter nodded.

Lucan pushed against the resistance that encouraged him to delay further and said, “then we follow them in.”

The hunter bobbed his head in compliance, beginning to string his bow and telling his son to do the same.

They soon strode towards the woods. Lucan was flanked by his father on one side and the hunter on the other as they approached the trees and bushes wrestling for territory. The forest here was overgrown and untrodden, which would make their journey more difficult. Two of the men-at-arms stepped forward with blades made for woods just like this one, proceeding to cut a path through vegetation. The party followed them closely, wary of ambushes that could come from the thick greenery. The hunter was foremost after the pair since he’d have to keep an eye on the tracks, then it was Lucan and the hunter’s son followed by Sir Golan.

They were barely four or five trees deep into the forest when a surprised shout came out of one of the two men up front. The party halted and Lucan came up to the hunter. “What is it?”

“They think they’ve spotted the Break,” the hunched hunter said.

The two men-at-arms carefully cut apart some of the shrubs, glancing back at Lucan and gesturing forward.

Lucan observed a crack in the ground not unlike the one he’d seen in Sir Wolfe’s land. This one was smaller though, barely big enough to let one beast out at a time. He glanced around for danger, but he couldn’t see anything through the thickness of the vegetation. He glanced at his father who regarded him neutrally. He was getting no help from him, that was for certain.

Once he grew tired of scrutinizing the greenery around the Break, Lucan decided that anything would be better than staying stuck in place. “Surround it.”

The men complied, spreading out to surround the Break. Lucan remembered how Sir Wolfe had arranged his men when he’d accompanied him. “Stay in pairs at least,” he said. The men nodded but he had the impression that they’d have done that either way

His father shook his head. “When you’re leading, your responsibility isn’t only to fight. You must create space for yourself to observe and command. Don’t take on too much. And don’t be ashamed to pass on some of your combat duties to your subordinates if the need arises.”

“I thought knights were supposed to fight first and foremost,” Lucan muttered, but it was a bit too loud and his father heard him grumbling.

“Yes,” his father said flatly, “we are, when others are in command. It’s then that we have no responsibilities to look after aside from combat, and it’s then that we give it our all. But now there’s no one else in command, is there?”

Lucan nodded sullenly. There had been no chance that he’d impress his father today, and he knew it. Yet, he always felt glum when he failed to live up to his expectations.

At least they’d cleared the Outbreak that threatened their budding trade route, if it could be called that. Hopefully, this forest wouldn’t cause them any more trouble. Even though its very existence was trouble. Thick woods that they couldn’t control nor benefit from standing on their border? He couldn’t help but think they were unfortunate to have it near their road and lands.

Lucan eyed his surroundings before checking on his Blessing. Several of the beasts were now mere corpses. He noted that Cordell and Lee had taken down five of them together, while the others had faced off against a single beast at a time at most. Regardless, he had announcements to check on.

7-Point Star Dance has leveled up.

You have slain a lv6 Hesati and absorbed its Vital Essence.

You have leveled up.

Race: Human

Level: 4

Vital Orbs: 5

Mind and Body

Physique: Copper III 0/10

Spirit: Basic 0/1

Skills (0) 0/100

(Passive) Swordsmanship lv21: Journeyman

(Hybrid) 7-Point Star Dance lv4: Novice (0/1)

(Active) Wraith Strike lv2: Novice (0/1)

His Vital Orbs had swelled to a decent number. He’d wait for the next level which would get him enough Orbs to finally enhance his Physique to Iron.

Another gain from the day was the improvement of his Star. Each level gained from combat during the Novice stage was a Vital Orb saved. At later stages, it would be worth even more.

He hadn’t come here with the intent of empowering his Blessing further, yet he was fortunate enough to take a step further on the path. Still, it was good that the Outbreak had been a minor one and was easy to clean up within a short morning. He was now free to go back to administering his undertaking.