A Soldier's Life

Chapter 191: Let’s Get Cooking

The three mages cleaned as I prepared dinner for them. I also worked on a separate meal for Zyna using my dungeon harvest. Neither meal was complicated, as I put my mediocre cooking skills to use.

For Renna, Flora, and Livia, it was rice with diced smoked ham and a cheese sauce. For Zyna, it was a thin-sliced fire bear roast in a thick gravy made from fat, butter, and flour. I burned my one attempt at a loaf of bread. The thermal stone worked by adjusting a vent to regulate the hot air in the oven, but it didn’t have any markings. I needed to experiment more to get it to the correct temperature and make my own marks on the device.

When the sun set, the mage students were again filthy from a hard afternoon’s work. Sunset marked the end of their of punishment for the day. I served the three mages massive portions. Renna complimented me, smiling, “You prepared us a nice meal. Thank you.” Personally, I doubted the food was better than what the Mage College offered since they serviced First Citizens.

They had been working hard on the cleaning, and I hadn’t had time to check on their progress. “How far did you get in the cleaning?” I asked as I sampled a small bowl of slightly overcooked plain white rice.

Flora groaned, “It is going to take us a week at this rate! But it is worth it if you cook this much food for us.” Her expression shifted from annoyance to a smile.

“I am looking forward to learning from Chancellor Zyna,” Livia said as she spooned more of the rice and diced ham onto her plate. Where did the last serving go? She then smothered it, using most of the remaining cheese sauce.

Watching them eat the hot meal gave me the idea that I could prepare meals and store them while they were still hot, like when I stored the meat pie in Macha or the fresh bread in Sobral. Either I could cook these future meals myself or have a much better cook prepare them for me, but it would be good to have quality meals on the march without having to cook.

Not that Lirkin had been a lousy cook; he was excellent, but it usually took him over an hour to prepare a decent meal for the company on the move and twice that with a kitchen. I was thinking ahead for my time with the Hounds. If I were alone in the wild, my time would be better spent elsewhere.

I couldn’t believe it as I watched the three mages eat everything I prepared: twelve cooked cups of rice, two pounds of diced ham, and a quart of cheese sauce. The cheese sauce was just a hard cheese that smelled and tasted like Parmesan, which I dissolved in heavy cream over heat.

“I ate while I cooked,” I replied, encouraging her to finish. That was true, and it was my favorite little white lie. The ring of sustenance was dulling my appetite, it was an incredible artifact. It allowed me much less sleep and one-third less food. I could tell it was drawing aether from the environment since it was comfortably warm on my finger. I had to frequently cover it in charcoal dust to conceal its shiny brilliance, but it made my hands look dirty. My spider-silk gloves would fix this issue.

A knock in the common room had me excuse myself from the unabashed gluttony to answer. The porter I sent for cooking recipes stood there. “Sorry, sir. My wife did her best, but most recipes are passed by word of mouth. A few of her acquaintances wrote out some of their favorites here.” He produced a folio with two dozen sheets. He also had three slightly stained books. I read the titles.

Recipes of the Boutan Caliphate, Traditional Orc Dishes

One Hundred Regional Breads from Across the Continent

Cooking with Auroch, Fifty Recipes a Baron Would Enjoy

“Thank you for your effort.” I took the books and loose sheets. Another thought occurred to me. “Can you find out if there is someone in the city familiar with roasting cava beans?”

“Cava beans?” He replied, confused.

“They are found far to the south and need to be prepared specially—fermenting and roasting, I think.” I had checked in my dreamscape, and I didn’t have the knowledge from Earth to draw on.

“I will do my best, legionnaire,” the porter said with a nod. He looked pleased as he left since I hadn’t asked for any of the coins back, even with his meager findings. I tried to recall if I had ever seen a recipe book on Earth to put into the dreamscape. I thought the answer was no, but the dreamscape would confirm that. I might have searched for a few recipes online when trying to impress a date, but that was about it.

I returned with my recipe collection to find Zyna seated expectantly at the head of the table. I retrieved the pot of sliced beef in thick gravy from the kitchen, and she didn’t look impressed. The other mages had gone quiet now that Zyna had appeared. I was guessing she had some teleportation magic that was allowing her to sneak into her bedroom suite because she most certainly didn’t enter through the common room.

She tried the meat and chewed it for a while. “It’s a bit tough. Maybe cook it on low for a few hours next time.” She continued eating and didn’t comment again. I could tell she wasn’t enjoying the food itself but the extra benefits of the dungeon harvest. Between bites, she conversed with everyone at the table.

“I just came from a meeting with the other three Chancellors.” She looked pointedly at Flora and Livia, “There will be training runs for the Mage Aspirants in two weeks. Just some simple game hunting.” She turned to Renna, “You are being sent to the Eastern Woods, across the river, to hunt gnolls in three weeks.”

“I am not ready!” Renna squealed in shock.

“Six instructors and twenty legionnaires will accompany your class. We need battle-tested mages because we’ll need you sooner rather than later,” Zyna said sternly, cutting off any further protest. She didn’t like being questioned.

“Will I be one of the legionnaires sent to guard them?” I asked, getting Zyna’s attention.

“We can talk later,” the fire mage said, killing the conversation while she turned her attention to the chewy dungeon meat. She looked at the mages, “You are dismissed. At breakfast tomorrow, drop your tray of food on First Citizen Lucia while walking to your seat. I will be there to discipline you.” Although Zyna was expressionless, I couldn’t help but smirk. She was helping them be assigned to work here while getting some revenge on one of their apparent antagonists.

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“And me?” Renna asked eagerly.

“You can accidentally attack me in class with flame spear,” Zyna said evenly.

Renna’s eyes widened, and she whined, “I haven’t finished learning these spell forms yet!”

Zyna arched an eyebrow, “Then you better finish learning them tonight. Go!”

The three mage students scurried away like scolded children. I think Zyna was a big softy underneath and was helping them the best she could. “So, what is the big secret?” I asked as we heard the door close.

Zyna relaxed in her chair. She turned over her thoughts. “There are some things they are better off not hearing and spreading rumors about. It is thought the Caliphate orcs are planning to land and press for the ruins of Atlantium. We don’t know where yet, but we are guessing they are waiting to see if we discover anything useful before launching an invasion. We have already detected their more powerful clerics scrying around Macha.”

She sighed, “The Esenhem elves have claimed the Amatalhos Isle, and we cannot challenge them to retake it and also protect the ruins. They are waiting for us to discover something valuable before landing in the Empire. The Bartiradians are not waiting and are skirmishing with our forces. This is making both of us weaker for the elves and orcs.”

“Well, what does that mean for us? And for me, training with the Hounds.” I inquired while processing.

“The wheels of war turn slowly. But once the momentum builds, it becomes unstoppable,” Zyna said, tapping her fingernail in cadence on the empty plate. “The ruins under the swamp cover thirty square miles and are almost half a mile deep, so it will be some time before we find anything useful. From the last report, they have stopped excavating in favor of building defenses for the coming conflict.”

“Will you be on the front lines?” My question stemmed from selfishness; if she were, it meant I would have to go too, unless I had already been assigned to the Hounds.

“No. The Chancellors of the Mage College are responsible for defending the city and the Imperial Palace.” Zyna said heavily, feeling the pain of responsibility.

I wondered, “If this suite is for the War College Chancellor, why was it empty for so long?”

Zyna replied curtly, “I was the last War College Chancellor. The Emperor doesn’t always have a Chancellor for each of the four towers.” She nodded to me, “Chancellor Evander is sending over a crate of old alchemy books tomorrow. I told him I was dabbling again. You can request what ingredients you need using my name. As a Chancellor, I have a budget that I rarely use.” Zyna stated dismissively. “I suggest you focus on the simple poisons for your future with the Hounds.”

I nodded a thank you. “What about the mage aspirants and Renna? Will they be safe on the hunt you mentioned?” I asked. For some reason, I had this innate drive to protect the women.

Zyna winced like she had been struck. “You will not like this, but Antonia has plans for Mage Aspirant Livia. She needs a healer for one of her plans. And preferably a healer no one will miss.”

I considered her words and asked, “Will she not survive Antonia’s plan?”

Zyna looked apologetic. If I was cynical, then I could guess she was manipulating me by telling me enough truth to win my trust. “I couldn’t give you a truthful answer. The mission is not within our borders and may not even occur with everything else happening.”

I would not be a sacrificial pawn in Antonia’s quest to replace the Emperor. I just nodded, playing along, but I would keep the young Mage Aspirants out of harm’s way if I could. “And what of the gnolls? Will Renna be safe?”

“The gnolls themselves will not be overly dangerous, twenty at most. I am supervising the gnoll hunt. You will be able to keep an eye on Renna as each mage will have a personal legionnaire protector,” she gave me a knowing look. “Renna has enemies among the other new mages. You might have your hands full, as they will be more dangerous than the gnolls.”

“I thought Renna was promised to the Emperor’s son. Why is she being targeted like this?” I asked, puzzled.

“That is exactly why she is being targeted. Jealousy, positioning for favors, and general dislike of a commoner passing them in status.” Zyna replied heatedly. She turned the conversation, seeing I was becoming agitated, “I talked to Master Mage Janus about essence consumption.”

My distaste for Telhian politics faded with the possibility of learning a shortcut to utilizing all the essences I had collected. “What did he tell you?” I asked a bit too eagerly. Zyna had caught me in an emotional swing.

She smiled slightly. “You can consume one of each type: physical, mental, and magic affinity essence in a day. The downside is that the essences draw on your body reserves to catalyze the essence. This means the essences will likely be less effective if used together. That’s why consuming only one essence each day is suggested—giving your body time to recover.”

Zyna waited as I processed the information before explaining further, “Your body’s ability to process an essence is like this cup.” She placed a small teacup from the table in front of her. “A minor essence is like this pitcher of water.”

She took a pitcher and filled it to the brim with another. “When you consume an essence,” she poured the pitcher quickly into the cup, with most of the water spilling over the table, “you are unable to catch most of it, and much of the energy disappears.” With a quick spell, the water steamed and vanished, leaving just the full glass. “So pouring three pitchers into a single glass is a waste. And to answer your next question, major essences and apex essences are just purer, refined water, but will also overflow.”

“So, all I need is a bigger glass, then?” I directed the conversation.

Zyna laughed musically, “There are convergence spells that can give you a bigger glass. But I am sorry to disappoint you, as they must be utilized as a spell form. The essences are filtered through your body, and you need at least forty affinity to imprint them. I don’t think there are five mages in the Empire with an affinity that high, and they all choose a different spell form for drawing aether from ley lines and the environment more effectively.”

“That is unfortunate,” I said, acting mollified. I already had that spell form but was not going to reveal it.

Zyna nodded conciliatorily, “Be aware you can not consume the same essence repeatedly. You will start to experience diminishing returns in time.”

“How many essences before that happens?”

“It varies from person to person, and each attribute differs for everyone,” she said uncertainly.

The information was extremely valuable. My spell form was obviously a significant advantage, and I couldn’t understand why mages would choose the siphoning aether from ley lines instead of extracting the most from essences. Maybe essences were rare—or perhaps my super high affinity made the spell form manyfold more valuable. I was anxious to experiment. I stood and started clearing dishes, nodding in thanks, and asked one last question for the evening, “How are you getting back into the suite without using the tower stairs?”

Zyna smiled, “An artifact tied to the suite that allows me to return here from anywhere in the Mage College. All the Chancellors have one keyed to their own tower.” Well, she had just told me she could appear at any time. Another step in building trust with me.

An hour later, I was locked in my small room holding two minor essences…

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