Chapter 401 An Invitation (1/2)
”Leave?” Concern flashed across Kaleesh's eyes ”Is there a proble?”
”It's nothing like that,” Arran replied ”The Governor was friendly — helpful, even But on ot ood”
Kaleesh raised an eyebrow ”You fought for two ers in the city, and ended your display by besting a Knight I' — not after the small fortune you earned me — but that you would draw attention is hardly unexpected”
”It's not” Arran smiled wryly, and continued, ”But I didn't anticipate that the Darians here would be quite as interested in recruitingyou?” For a moment, Kaleesh looked at Arran in confusion But then, as understanding dawned in his eyes, he cursed under his breath At once, he turned to Barric ”Tell Sassun to ht away, and inforht toer didn't move Instead, he stared at them with bewilderment written across his face ”What's the problehed ”The problem is that we're an army of mercenaries and prisoners, led by an outsider who's been a Ranger for under a s to harass our troops whenever they get the chance And noe also have so they envy — or someone, rather”
Barric furrowed his brow in a deep frown ”They wouldn't dare attack Master Arran”
”Indeed they would not,” Kaleesh answered flatly ”Fools though they are, they aren't foolish enough to attack him”
”Then what problem is—” Barric fell silentat first light,” Kaleesh continued, ”and not a moment later Now hurry up and find Sassun”
As Barric rushed off, Arran could not help but feel a twinge of guilt He'd known his actions would have consequences, but he hadn't fully realized the risk it would cause to his companions
He'd initially only felt mild annoyance at the Darians' unexpected friendliness, but it hadn't taken hi to understand that their friendliness could easily turn to so them
The welcoiven hih feould now dare face him directly, the same wasn't true for the others in the Wolfsblood Army
There would be no major attacks, of course — just scuffles and provocations But even a single scuffle getting out of hand could easily turn to disaster A single Lord's son being killed or injured, and even the Governor ht not be able to protect them
”It seeave Arran an appraising look ”I'd al to develop a sense for politics”
”Tooco a Ranger?”
”The Governor's ed me off about a ive me much of a choice in the”I wanted to warn you about the oath, but I didn't get the chance”
Arran esture ”I doubt you could have warnedthe secrets it covers If we hadn't both sworn it, I don't think I could say even this reed He looked around furtively, and continued in a softer voice, ”But theylike this… I don't see what other explanation there is”
”Of course,” Arran said ”The Governor told erous thing to discuss Even in private”
Kaleesh looked around unco so softly it could barely even be called a whisper, he asked, ”What about your plans?”
He said no further words, nor was there a need for them Kaleesh knew that Arran had been the Ninth Valley's heir, and although he'd avoided asking any questions about it, he naturally understood Arran's purpose in co to the Imperium
”I suppose I will find a way,” Arran replied ”Somehow”
Kaleesh remained quiet for several e to break the oath…”
Arran understood what it was the captain wanted ”I'll search for a way to break yours, as well”
Though he spoke in a reassuring voice, he could not help but feel some discomfort at the words Because as much as he hoped he could keep the pro so would be possible
Just destroying the seal within his own body was already a daunting task, and doing the same for another would be considerablythat to Kaleesh before he was certain, and so, he kept his doubts to himself
Sassun appeared a short while later Dour-faced as always, he nevertheless gave Arran a friendly nod before turning his attention to the captain ”What's this nonsense I hear about us leaving tomorrow?”
”Would that it were nonsense,” Kaleesh replied with a drah ”But alas, our dear friend has drawn the eyes of the Darian nobility, several of who him”
Sassun's expression darkened at once, and he h already We've had five men killed just this pastthe at dawn,” Kaleesh repliedout what happens when the Darians are given even more cause for envy”
”Tomorrofully soon” Sassun appeared to consider it, as his expression soon turned to a grions will be all but impossible And you knoe have yet to hire cooks and healers, right? Not to esture ”I doubt we'll get ht, but we leave at dawn” He turned to Arran ”We'll have to continue our conversation another ti the troops today, it would go a long way in boosting their spirits”
Arran nodded in agreeht to prepare their hasty departure, then spending some time with the troops was the least he could do
And just as iive him the chance to explore the constraints the oath had placed on him
As Kaleesh and Sassun set off, already bickering over the logistics of their departure, Arran turned his attention to the training fields It was still early in the day — barely past noon, he saw — and the fields were filled with groups of soldiers, all but a few of therossed in their practice
After a brief roups at randoreeted with several excited calls
”Master Arran! Will you be joining us?”
”If your coh that all could hear hier stepped forward ”There's no need to ask er voice ”But we'll be glad to train with you”
”Good” Arran gave the Ranger a studious look, and saw that the young man appeared to be neither an outsider nor a prisoner ”Are you new to the Wolfsblood Arer replied ”My nah I doubt you remember it Truth be told, that's the reason I joined the Wolfsblood Army — the chance to train with a master like you”
Arran forced a smile to his face ”Then let's not waste any ti with the Ranger and his troops, sparring with the looks caused him more than a little unease, at least they listened hen he spoke
Yet as he trained with them, he also took the chance to study the seal left by the oath, and quickly found that it worked much as he'd expected
Whenever he tried to teach one of the cohten him back — a painless but firm reminder that such topics were off limits
The same turned out to be true for many of the Forms he tried to teach While he could share the Darian foundation as he wished, hts beyond it alled off by the seal — including, to his surprise, techniques he'd derived hi
Moreover, he discovered that as long as the soldiers were close enough to hear them, he was unable to explain these techniques even to Ifras, as if the seal somehow understood his attempt to evade it
He could not help but feel so such a seal would require It was a level of ht possible — one he suspected surpassed even Master Zhao's abilities
The feeling of awe quickly faded, however, when he reminded himself that he needed to find a way to break the seal And if its defenses were even half as masterful as the rest of it, that would be a near-i and sparring with the soldiers, he turned to Ifras ”Tell your men to practice by themselves for a bit, so I can teach you, as well”
The Ranger gave an eager nod and did as Arran said, instructing the soldiers to continue their practice by theh he appeared, he did not seem entirely surprised From the look of it, he was already well-acquainted with the seal's limitations
As expected, Arran found that as soon as they were out of earshot of the soldiers, the seal no longer prevented hiance, and with that, more cause for Arran to worry
He sparred with the Ranger for a quarter-hour, giving the man advice and pointers as he explored the seal's effects And this time, he didn't encounter even a hint of any restrictions — as he'd already guessed, the oath did not restrict what he shared with Rangers
Finally, he lowered his weapon ”That's enough for today We'll continue this another tier replied, bowing aardly ”And thank you for your tiave the roup of soldiers
He spent the afternoon training and sparring with half a dozen different groups, but although they were grateful for his advice — overly so, Arran thought — he made no more discoveries about the seal