Eri stared at the imperial commanding officer sitting before him with no small amount of concern.

  “You look terrible,” he commented.

  “I’m not the one missing an arm,” the woman grunted. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Her attire was a mess. The scent of booze and sweet smoke clung to her.

  The lieutenant at her side looked pained at her utter unprofessionalism. Dulcina’s face remained neutral, but Eri knew her well enough to sense her disapproval.

  The four of them were currently in a command tent set up somewhere outside the fortress on the beach. Eri had offered for the meeting to take place on the corvette, but the lieutenant named Kain had adamantly refused on grounds of distrust. Likewise, when Officer Amber suggested the imperial fort, Dulcina openly claimed it would be unwise for Eri to risk imprisonment at their hands in his condition.

  It was clear there that a heavy distrust had built between the expedition and the imperial forces over the last week. Eri had been surprised by the hostility, as was Officer Amber in her rare moments of lucidity thus far.

  In the end, the two groups agreed to meet on neutral ground instead. Upon the beach, Chosens from both sides were warily watching each other. The guns from the biovore corvette and the castle were trained upon the opposing side.

  Eri doubted it would really come to open conflict, but the fact that both groups brought weapons to a peaceful discussion between trusted allies was extremely concerning.

  Eri coughed. “So… I understand that some friction has come between our two groups. I’m still trying to understand how that happened.”

  “Yeah, me too.” The officer turned to her subordinate. “What the hell, Kain? I was gone for a few days, and you have our men ready to wage war against the nobles? You’re not usually this incompetent.”

  “With all due respect, you were thoroughly debauched for an entire week, Commander,” Kain said through gritted teeth. “The expedition wants the frigate. We are not in a position to give it. The battle last week has cost us all our warships. The logistics outpost cannot defend itself without a powerful naval presence, as the last battle has proven.”

  “Your incompetence is not our burden to suffer,” Dulcina coldly remarked. “Given the circumstances, we are well within our rights to keep the frigate. You would have endured greater casualties had we not intervened.”

  “We are, of course, grateful for your assistance, and we are not so honourless as to forget the debt owed,” Kain bowed. “Under imperial law, however, we are under no obligation to give away military assets to independent parties regardless of circumstance, especially when we are in desperate need of said assets ourselves. You are welcome to repair your corvette with the use of our shipyard and help yourself to a reasonable amount of our supplies, but you cannot expect us to give you an entire warship.”

  “That warship is not yours to give,” Dulcina stated flatly. “Are all imperial officers as shameless as you are? It would explain the current state of the Empire’s military.”

  Kain remained unaffected. “I assure you, I do not do this out of malice or greed, but necessity. This fort needs that frigate. I agree that it is shameless, but make no mistake. This is non-negotiable, and—”

  “For fuck sake, Kain, just give them the ship,” Amber groaned. She turned to Eri, who was taken aback by the desperate intensity in her bloodshot eyes. “You, boy. If you take the damn frigate, will your group leave us be?”

  “Um, sure,” Eri said uncertainly. “Once it’s repaired, of course.”

  Amber nodded immediately. “Done. Kain, get them whatever supplies they need to get that boat sailing. Have the men help with the repairs as well. I want this expedition out of sight from this island as soon as—”

  Kain slammed his hands against the table. “Commander, you cannot be serious!”

  “Does this face look like it’s not serious?” Amber drunkenly pointed to herself. “This is my serious face, Kain. I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

  “We need that warship, Amber! You know we do! Our men cannot afford to stay here much longer, and—” Kain cut himself off, evidently remembering the room’s other occupants. He glared at Eri and Dulcina. “My apologies. Please ignore her words. It’s clear my commander is not in the right state for negotiation. We will resume this some other—”

  “Amby~ Are you here?” A cheerful voice from outside called. There was the sound of a scuffle as the men outside moved to block someone from entering. “Tell your soldiers to let me in, lover!”

  “Guards, don’t let her in! She takes one step in here, I’ll have you lot on latrine duty for a month!” Commander Amber tried to shout the order, though her voice edged closer to a despairing whine instead.

  Eri looked at the commander curiously. “You know Kalisa?”

  “So that’s what she calls herself now?” Amber groaned, pulling forth a bottle of clear liquor from under the table. “Whatever. She’s cursed all the same. I want her away from this island immediately, so take your damn ship and go!”

  “You’re giving up the frigate that easily just to avoid her?” Dulcina asked, puzzled. “That seems like a disproportionate response. Kalisa’s harmless.”

  There was the sound of several heavy thuds — bodies falling to the ground — before cheerful humming and footsteps approached the tent. Kalisa’s furry ears poked into the tent before her grinning face appeared. “Hey, Amby~ Your boys were playing too rough, so I put them to sleep for a little.”

  “You poisoned them?” Kain demanded.

  “Of course not! They’re still alive, aren’t they? Gave them a few love bites with my needles. Only minor paralysis and nightmares for the next twelve hours!”

  “She’s mostly harmless,” Dulcina corrected herself, exasperated. “What are you doing here? I told you to stay on the ship.”

  Kalisa hummed. “Got bored. Wanted to see my girl pal here. She locked herself away from me! Rude!”

  “Go away!” Amber hissed, hiding behind Kain. “I don’t want to see you!”

  “... Alright, let’s just ignore that for now. Lieutenant, regardless of the ship’s ownership, we both want to see the frigate repaired,” Eri pressed on. “I have fifty dwarves from the Throngdravi Clan onboard. With the aid of your naval resources and the island’s shipyard, we can have the frigate operational in a few weeks, rather than the months it will take for your engineers alone. The matter of the frigate’s ownership can be settled during that time, after your commander recovers from her… ordeal.”

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Kain grimaced. “And if we still refuse to give you the frigate after it has completed repairs?”

  “Then you can have the ship. Consider the aid of our dwarven engineers as an apology for traumatising your commanding officer,” Eri smiled.

  The group left the tent sometime after, with Dulcina dragging Kalisa from Officer Amber.

  “Is that wise? We have no guarantee that the imperial military will give up the ship,” Dulcina stated, clearly unhappy.

  “They will,” Eri said confidently. “They don’t know it yet, but our purposes align. I’ll explain more when we get back.”

  As he walked along the beach under the wary eyes of the soldiers, Eri studied the new quest that had just popped up.

  [Main Quest updated! ‘Manifest Greatness; Go West!’]

  [Imperial forces are scattered, and only the reluctant Hero of the 24th Crusade, Amber Valance, has the authority to unite them! Unfortunately, she lacks the confidence or the willpower to do so. Recruit her to your cause and add her forces to your fleet!]

  ~~~

  “So… You always knew I was there?”

  “Not always. I only figured it out a few months ago, when our expedition group was making preparations to set out for the West.”

  “What?!” Cedric exclaimed. “But… You never said anything all this time!”

  “I thought you might have returned after four years to secretly funnel information back to the Duskcrowns, so I wanted to lay a disinformation trap for when you inevitably return to them,” Eri explained. “However, you never left Castle Elathion at all. Plus, you never did anything, even when I purposefully left you openings. Eventually, I got tired of waiting for you to make a move. I wanted to dispose of you before our expeditionary group left Castle Elathion for good, but Kalisa found me and talked me out of it.”

  “You were going to kill me?!” the rogue gasped.

  “Why are you surprised?” Eri asked. “You tried to kidnap Dulcina. You attempted to assassinate me! Quite frankly, I had every reason to kill you.”

  “Then… Why didn’t you?” Cedric miserably asked.

  Eri was silent for a moment. “Kalisa was really persuasive. Let’s just leave it at that.”

  The three of them — Eri, Cedric, and Kalisa — were in Eri’s room. The Foxkin was attending to Eri’s wound, removing the bandages from his torso and arm stump.

  Cedric grimaced at the sight. “That’s a really bad wound, Boss.”

  Kalisa hummed. “Left arm gone, pass the elbow and halfway to your shoulders. You’re down a kidney and half your stomach. A Silver Core isn’t enough to regenerate the organs instantly, but give it a year or two, and you should be back to full. Well, minus the arm.”

  “Or I could ascend to Gold right now,” Eri murmured.

  “Putting aside your very curious ability to ascend your Core without waiting for your Tribulation Day, that course of action is something I do not recommend,” Kalisa warned. “We’ve discussed this before. Your Silver Core is still extremely fragile.”

  Eri sighed. “Fine. Let’s focus on something else. Cedric, for the moment, I want you to stay out of sight. Don’t let the rest of the expedition know you are here.”

  “Really? I was… kind of hoping you would induct me into the group,” the man tried. “I mean, I know I won’t be welcome or anything. But slinking in the shadows all these years with only the scary Fox lady to talk to isn’t great for my health. Not to mention I had to keep scavenging for something to eat while we were sailing…”

  “Don’t be dramatic. I left meals out for you every night.”

  “That was you? I always thought you people just had a habit of leaving food out all the time. Also, couldn’t you have just fed me properly? I’m not a pet, damn it!”

  “No, pets are a ten-to-fifteen-year minor commitment. You are just a pain in my ass to keep secret from the others.” Eri sighed. “In any case, introducing you to the group is not an option.”

  “C’mon, Boss, I’m really desperate here,” Cedric tried. “I’m sick and tired of the shadows.”

  “You attacked House Elathion. You were part of the Duskcrowns,” Eri pointed out, though not unkindly. “No one would trust you. Heck, even now, I don’t really trust you. It’s only because of Kalisa’s word here that you are still alive.”

  Cedric was silent for a moment. “What if… What if I’m even willing to put on a slave collar at this point?”

  Eri was taken aback. “That’s… No. I’m not doing that.”

  “I fucked up, alright? I know that. But I was scared. Working with the Duskcrowns… It wasn’t as if I had a choice,” Cedric murmured bitterly. “No one ends up working for them willingly. No half-blood, at least. And no one ever leaves alive. At least, not without a few strings…”

  “Then what made you change your mind?” Eri asked. “You aren’t scared of them now?”

  “Of course I am. But, well… Let’s just say I had obtained informal permission to disappear,” Cedric grimaced. The arm that was missing a hand seemed to twitch as if in pain. “And besides… I’m dying. I don’t want to spend my last years hiding in the dark anymore.”

  Dying? Eri glanced at Kalisa, who smiled.

  “The Shadowalker Artes are powerful, but they come with a price,” Kalisa explained. “Using it rapidly costs the user their lifespan. The pact the Drows made with the Hungry Gods still stands, even if their species went extinct centuries ago.”

  “You never told me about his condition,” Eri snapped at her.

  “You didn’t need to know,” she hummed, utterly unrepentant. “What will you do now?”

  Eri grimaced. He looked to Cedric. “How long do you have?”

  “... The Fox butcher says I have less than two years left. Maybe even less than a year if I keep up my current Artes usage,” Cedric answered. “Look, I’m not asking for much. Just let me eat food on a table for once. Sleep on a bed. Look at the sun without fearing someone would see me. Or just let me talk to people, even if they hate me. I’ll happily give the rest of my years left in your service with a slave collar on, if that’s what it takes.”

  “You…” Eri struggled to think of a reply. A suspicion gnawed at him. “You said you didn’t join the Duskcrowns willingly. What do you mean by that? Were you a kidnapped noble?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not lying!” Cedric panicked under Eri’s suspicious stare. “The first memory I had was waking up on an operating table with a fresh Silver Core burning me awake. I remember still looking like a kid back then. I didn’t know who I was before or how I ended up there.”

  A sinking feeling made itself known in Eri’s stomach. “You… You were a child when you woke up?”

  “Yeah. The same age as you now, I think. Wasn’t the only one; there were a bunch of other kids, too. We all could use the Shadowalker Arts.”

  If the Shadowalker Artes ate at the user’s lifespan, then it made sense to implant the Drow organs in a younger host. But to use children?

  Worse, they woke up with Silver Cores as well. It was obvious that the Duskcrowns intended them to be disposable shock troopers.

  “What happened after?” Eri asked, despite his discomfort.

  “The Duskcrowns pushed us into training for six months. It… It was really bad.” Cedric looked uncomfortable. “Killed more than half of us. But I survived, and then I was out in the fields.”

  Eri noted Cedric’s ageing face and the white in his hair. “How long had you served the Duskcrowns in the field before then?”

  “Um, two years? Give or take a few months,” Cedric shrugged.

  And then after that, he had been stuck slinking around the shadows of Kaldreach for four years, hiding from the Duskcrowns. If what Cedric was saying was true, that meant the rogue had lived for fewer than eight years.

  A Silver Core should possess an extended lifespan, one that easily reaches more than a hundred. But Cedric already looked to be in his final years.

  He was going to die with fewer than eight years' worth of memories.

  It was… cruel.

  Eri was hesitant. “I’ll need to verify your condition, but if you’re telling the truth… I’ll consider it.”

  [New Bond Level achieved! Cedric* (Bond Level 1)]

  “Thank you, Boss!” Cedric said in relief, his voice almost breaking in gratitude. “I swear, you won’t regret it!”

  Eri grimaced. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best. However, and I’m sorry to ask this of you despite your condition, but… I need you to do me a favour.”

  There was a corpse at the bottom of the ocean that he needed the assassin to fetch.