Chapter 20 Offence is defence (1/2)

Quiet was something commander t.i.tus had found very difficult to come across over the last few days. This expedition had come as surprise, well outside of the usual schedule and an endless number of things needed organising before departure.

The Queen providing her own personal Guards had been unexpected but helpful, the Legion had been expecting regular front line soldiers to plug the gaps, worthy soldiers to be sure but far from the quality and discipline of an outfit like the Guards.

With their a.s.sistance, most preparations were expedited the second they showed up in their burnished, decorative armour, polished to a mirror s.h.i.+ne and started demanding things hustle along in the name of the Queen.

t.i.tus brushed his hands along his desk, feel the smooth stone surface. Incredible stuff, stonewood, grew just a like a tree, straight out of the ground deep into the Dungeon, but was solid stone the whole way through. The flecked, dark texture of the stone had always pleased him, to the point he'd hauled this slab back to surface on his own back in order to fas.h.i.+on this desk.

His hand drew down to the underside of the desk, right next to the wooden draws that had been attached beneath the surface. He pressed for a moment and waited. There was a soft click and a small rectangular section of stone began to rise on the surface of the desk, its seams invisible just a second before.

Using one hand t.i.tus lifted the section up to reveal a small fabric lined compartment beneath, inside were six small gla.s.s vials, capped with twisted silver carved with tiny but precise runes. Two of the vials were empty but the other four contained a brilliantly glowing liquid, the blue light instantly filling the dark office.

With a sigh t.i.tus began to roll his sleeve up his arm, when the sleeve moved past his elbow, intricate script began to appear, stamped onto his skin. Concentric circles of strange symbols, not inked onto the skin but imprinted in some way that left them pulsing with a semblance of life.

Taking one of the vials, t.i.tus placed the silver cap directly on the center of the network of symbols.

Slowly at first, then with growing speed the circular designs on his arm began to rotate and emit light. As they gathered speed the liquid began to drain out of the vial. Faster and faster they span until the sparkling fluid was completely gone.

Unclenching his teeth, t.i.tus returned the vial to case and fixed his sleeves. He then carefully returned the case to its compartment inside his desk and replaced the cover, which slowly sank into position until the seams were once more invisible.

The commander grimaced, hopefully he wouldn't need another one of those for a while. As always however, the injection lifted a weight off his shoulders that he hadn't quite realised was there. As if he'd been grinding his teeth and only now did he stop and realise just how tight his jaw had been.

Enough of these distractions, thought t.i.tus, time to get back to where a good Legionary belongs.

Abruptly standing, he moved to the corner of the room where his oversized battle axe rested. Using a single hand, he hefted the huge ma.s.s of metal and threw the haft over his shoulder. He'd have to get the old thing sharpened today if he wanted to get it prepped in time for action.

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”Do you have any idea why they are bringing those guys down with us Mirryn?” Donnelan asked.

Mirryn shook her head. She was also puzzled as to why the ragged group of a dozen prisoners, each of them sentenced to death, where being escorted into the Dungeon by a squad of senior Legionaries.

The two trainees had finally reached level thirty in their respective jobs, Mirryn as a ranger and Donnelan as a Fire Mage. When a Legionary reached level thirty they were able to be promoted to full Legionary status, however the induction ceremony took place deep in the Dungeon.