Chapter 29
It was not long after leaving the labyrinth that Cort found himself once again outside the tent of General Ryza Ulgrim. Even with the enhanced stamina the Core had given him, Cort's body still ached. He was craving rest, but he had made a promise. To himself and the general.
Whatever suffering he would be subjected to, it was for the good of his diving party.
"I am Yan Cort," he told the two guards outside of Ryza's tent. "I have an appointment."
One of the guards gave him a nod, and they raised their weapons to allow him inside. The moment Cort stepped inside though, Ashen yelled at him through their mental link.
On your right! High!
Cort did not look as he raised his arm to block the incoming blow. He had expected such a trick by Ryza. Random attacks were an old training tactic he had been raised on. What he caught was not a punch or kick, though.
A wooden staff had collided with Cort's arm. Had he not prepared his arm guards before coming to the tent, the blow would have broken the bone. Instead, it just made Cort wince in pain as he pushed the staff away.
"Ashen!" someone barked from further into the tent. Ryza was standing in the center of her tent, glaring intensely at Cort. At last he realized that the person who swung the staff at him was actually Leaf.
"Come out this instant, you old weasel!" Ryza continued shouting. Cort immediately felt Ashen crawling up his back.
"My apologies, General Ulgrim," Ashen replied, half of his response muffled as he struggled getting out past Cort's collar. "As you are aware, it is my duty as the young master's guardian to keep him safe."
"You and your mindspeak will not interfere with the training. It is the same rule we had when Yan was a child."
Ashen nodded meekly. "I'm sorry young master. In this place she outranks me." He dropped to the ground and dashed over to climb atop the desk nearest Ryza.
"Just know that she ordered me to do that," Leaf told Cort, smiling nervously. Ryza again glared at the both of them, and the smile vanished as they turned to face her. They bowed without a word, and Cort wondered if Leaf was also a personal student of Ryza's.
It would make sense, given how he seemed ready to faint under her gaze.
"Raise your heads, children," Ryza said. Her voice was calm, though her words annoyed Cort.
"I am not a child, Ryza," Cort stated. His voice was calm, though anger must have been showing on his face. Why else would the General instantly close the distance between them and lodge her fist into Cort's stomach, driving all the air out of him and sending him to his knees?
"Private Grasswhistle, why do I call you and Yan children?" Ryza asked as Cort sputtered and caught his breath below her.
Leaf took a moment to answer, likely not recognizing Cort by his first name alone. "Because we have been gifted with strength, but lack the maturity to use it," Leaf recited. Cort remembered the instruction, and knew the phrase that followed it as well. "We are children playing swords on the floor of our fathers' home."
"That you are," Ryza said. Cort was suddenly yanked back to his feet by his hair, facing Ryza directly. "I realized what you were lacking the first time I trained you, Yan."
"What's that?" Cort asked. He was given another hard tug of his hair. The pain jostled his memory, and he quickly realized the error in his speech.
"I'm sorry, master," Cort continued. "What have you realized, master?"
"The true progress of Gracious Lily is formed in the bonds made with fellow warriors," Ryza answered, finally releasing her grip on Cort's hair. "When I first trained you I was younger and believed that I could treat you as a peer considering your natural talent. I overestimated you."
"I'm sorry, master," Cort said. This was the way of Ryza Ulgrim. A student was to lose all their pride before they could be forged into a master. "I disappointed you."
"From Private Grasswhistle's reports and your performance in that duel, I understand you have grown marginally stronger," Ryza stated. "At this time, Leaf is better than you. The gap is not as large as the one between you and a proper master. This will motivate you to improve faster in order to match your peers."
"I understand, master," Cort replied. The worst part of navigating her logic was that it was usually correct, even if it was blunt and disparaging.
"Spar with each other," Ryza ordered, taking a seat and watching them closely.
"Master, Cort looks like he has engaged in a dive all day," Leaf dared to interject. "It would not be a proper gauge of skill, and I could hurt him badly."
"Cort can receive no injury beyond repair," Ryza replied coolly. Cort shivered, remembering all the spars he endured with Ryza. All the limbs that he had to get stitched back to his body as she insisted upon using real blades.
The young men turned to face each other, Leaf silently mouthing "I'm sorry" to Cort as they each took their stance.
–
The staff of The Pit, including kitchen and wait staff, had to stay in the "dorms." The dorms were a bunch of cheap tents with cheap beds made for the cheap staff to stay in cheaply. These tents, while still magically enchanted to have more room on the inside, were crammed with at minimum ten staff members at a time.
While Cort was getting his ass kicked in a military tent by Leaf, Haley had returned to her dorm tent located behind The Pit for the evening. Dinner service was still ongoing, with a large crowd still waiting to be seated, so she would have some peaceful hours alone to wind down after her day.
A single moment had gotten Haley involved with Yan Cort beyond their meeting at The Pit. As she laid down in her squeaky bunk, she wondered about that moment. She could have just stayed hidden in the vines, waited for Lady Spriggan to come along and slaughter them, and take their stuff.
Just like she had with the group of divers before.
Instead, she showed herself. And since then she had been exposed to the frantic insanity that was Cort's party. Haley had never thought she would meet a dark wizard in her life. Not only had she met one, she watched a mere man try to take it on in a straight fight.
And Haley had managed to tangle herself in a dive group that was going dark wizard hunting.
They were a strong group, and hanging around with them was sure to net her more money. Every coin counted, but was money enough of a reason to risk tagging along on what was inevitably a suicide mission? Then there was Cort's insane plan. One week straight of hardcore diving, then the floor boss.
It couldn't work. Haley knew it just couldn't work. Emile may be strong, Cort was getting stronger, and Lond was solely focused on improving the fire magic. They had not seen Lady Spriggan, though. The ent mother would tear all of them apart.
And yet, Haley was still planning out how to best approach the next day of diving with them.
"This is the second night in a row you have skipped your shift," a deep voice announced to the dorm tent and made Haley jolt upright in her bed. Rakshan, dressed in one of his more garish robes, was standing at the foot of her bunk.
"I'm exhausted, sir," Haley replied. She reached into the Secret Savings Stash, and retrieved a pair of gold marks. She tossed them at the Jicotti man standing before her, and he caught them and deposited them into his pocket in a singular motion.
"I thought our agreement was I would let you dive as long as you still made your every shift," Rakshan reminded her. "I did not push it yesterday. Your eyes spoke of witnessing horror, and I could not let my customers see that."
You don't know the half of it, Haley thought, laying back in her bed as she continued to listen to her boss. Diving was far more lucrative than waiting tables, but staying in the dorm tents saved her money renting a tent from one of the other companies in the Remus encampment.
Then she recalled that first chance meeting with Yan Cort, and realized there was a way to keep Rakshan happy.
"You remember that Imperial boy you talked to the other night?" Haley asked. "The one with the grandfather you know?"
Rakshan, who had started for the exit of the dorm tent, came to a start. "Cort was his name," Rakshan said without facing Haley.
"He's in charge of the dive group I'm with now," Haley continued. "I overheard him and his friend saying that he would be training with General Ulgrim. Trying to get stronger."
Rakshan remained still as the silent pause filled the tent. Haley crossed her fingers and prayed. The Jicotti fighter was always looking for powerful warriors to entertain his guest, and to further hone his precious apprentices. Cort would be perfect for that.
"Tomorrow night," Rakshan said. "Get him here tomorrow night, and we shall discuss our arrangement more." With that, he walked out the tent and left Haley alone again. She considered how to get Cort to The Pit again. As she laid her head down and closed her eyes, she felt honesty was the best approach.
A tinge of honesty, at least.
Don't worry guys, Haley thought as she let the accumulated tiredness overtake her. I'll pay every last coin, and we'll be together again.