Chapter 47: Morning Errands (4)

Thadius cleared away the message in time to watch Old Man Tony’s queen come face to face with his king. Behind her was a gallant knight who was prepared to give his life for her.

“Checkmate.”

“Where did she come from!?” Thadius protested.

“Ho ho, you’ve gotten better Thadius, but you’ve still got a ways to go!”

“Dammit.” Thadius sighed in frustration, but the anger soon turned into a smile. “It’s good to see you old man. I thought you were dead.”

“Dead? Me?”

“I went by your house, but it looked like the hut was turned upside down.”

“Hmm...must have left the door open.”

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They both enjoyed a good laugh and reset the chess board. Then Thadius pummeled the man with questions.

“How’d you know it was me?”

“I didn’t at first. I thought you were Corban in disguise. He was the only one I knew with Fightin’ Spirit like yours, but then we started playin’ and you came to mind. Even if you had died the mountain, I knew you’d come back, you bein' a Traveler and all. So when the first year passed and you didn’t return, I figured you’d met an old friend. ”

“But how did the way I play tip you off?”

“I’ve played enough games with you to know that you favor your queen ho ho.”

Thadius sighed again as he sat back in his chair, but it was Tony’s turn to ask the questions.

“How is the old goat anyway? You must have finished his trainin’ if you’re all the way out here.”

“I finished his training, but Corban’s dead.” Thadius aid sadly.

“Illness?”

“Me.”

“Hmm, he was gettin’ pretty feeble. At least he died fightin’. That’s all he ever wanted.”

“Yeah.”

“Still, what brings you to Todos youngin’? There’s a war goin’ on you know!”

“I’ve heard about that, and I think that’s what I’ve been seeing on the people’s faces as I walk through the city.”

“What you see in the city is somethin’ a little different.” Tony said as he shook his head.

“What’s goin’ on old man?”

Old Man Tony was silent for a while before he spoke. “It’s the Travelers here Thadius. Some of ‘em are up to no good.”

“I can't say I'm surprised. I was attacked in broad daylight the day we showed up.”

“We?”

“Christina and Yuna.”

Tony looked at Thadius with a confused expression. So Thadius explained in detail what had happened on the mountain. He talked about his progress in restoring Tegaia’s power and Yuna's banishment. Then he explained how he used Tegaia’s power to restore Christina’s sight, and their journey to the capital.

“So Tegaia is and runnin' again. You actually did it...” Tony said in awe.

“I’m not done yet, old man. I still need to build her a church.”

“It’s not about the building Thadius. It’s the people you need to worry about.”

“But there still needs to be a building right?”

“If you feel the need for it, sure. But what good is a church with no one to fill it?”

“True.” Thadius agreed as he quickly tucked his cloaks in his inventory. He had waited until the coast was clear before he shed his Victor Wolfe-Jagger costume. His belt flashed when he stood up to take it off.

“Ho ho, I see you stopped by the coliseum. Did you have fun?”

“You’re not the first person to ask me that today.” Thadius sighed as he shook his head. “The fighting gets my blood pumping, but it’s not like I wake up and say ‘Let’s go killin’!’”

“ You’ve still got a good head on your shoulders then. It's good to know that Corban didn’t infect you with his fighting disease. He couldn’t wait to go to the coliseum. The fool was in there almost everyday, talkin’ ‘bout how ‘practice makes perfect!’”

Thadius swallowed hard. He had thought the same thing. “Isn’t that the best way to get combat experience? Exposing yourself to fights?”

“Ho ho! You too huh? I spoke too soon about that head on your shoulders.” Tony chuckled. “Did you consider the army Thadius?”

“I did, but I don’t want to stray too far from Christina. And Yuna would have a fit if I went off to battle without her.”

“Thadius, who did you pass in order to get into the city?”

“The...city guard.” The moment the words left his mouth, realization dawned on him. “But they don’t do much fighting do they?”

“The city guard has to be strong too, Thadius. They rotate shifts to go out into the wilderness to get real combat experience. And out there Thadius, you don’t have to hold back. You didn’t fight at full strength in the coliseum did you?”

“I didn’t try to kill everything in sight if that’s what you mean.”

“That too, but what I’m talking about is your hunger to learn Thadius. That thirst for knowledge that I saw in the young man in my hut. The coliseum is too restricting for a youngin' like yourself.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Then tell me, how do you think you did in the coliseum?”

Thadius took a minute to look back and collect his thoughts. “Truthfully, It was like everything I learned from my master went out the window when those drums sounded.”

“How so?”

“Being surrounded by so many people that wanted my blood just made me lose it. My form was terrible, and the whole thing just turned into a hack and slash festival. At least until the last fight anyway.”

“Your fight against the Silver Champion?”

“Yeah. I kind of regained a little bit of my reason then. Corban told me that I needed to gain experience through application and experimentation, but I can’t do that if I don’t apply what I’ve learned. If the coliseum showed me anything, it's that I'm far from my final form. With that in mind, my first hurdle is maintaining discipline during combat..”

“And the city guard is just the place for you to learn that.”

“The city guard, huh. How long are these excursions in the wilderness?”

“Less than a week. Every soldier in the army started in city guard, and every last one of 'em has taken a trip into the wilderness. But truth be told, I don’t think the city is gonna have very many guards in the near future.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I know what I know, so mark my words. In half a year’s time our armies are' gonna come beggin' for reinforcements. They'll conscript anyone who knows how to swing a sword and anyone that can use magic.”

“You think they’ll take Christina?” Thadius was already on the edge of his seat when it came to her safety. If they took her to fight on some battlefield...

“Wouldn’t it be best if she was assigned to your unit instead of some stranger’s?”

“But I'll be a guard right? If the army comes for her…”

“Ho ho. I don’t think you’ll be there for long, and Christina won't be an initiate forever. Once she graduates, she'll assigned to a squad in the city guard like every priestess before her.The real question is, where will you be when she’s sent to the wilderness?”

“.......”

“And I don’t know anyone who needs Tegaia more than fresh rookies who just finished basic training.”

As Tony talked, switches went off in Thadius' brain, multiple birds were being hit with one stone, and light bulbs were lighting up all over the place. Needless to say, he was convinced.

“When is the next excursion?”

“Tomorrow.” Tony smiled.

“Where do I sign up?”

“Right here.”

Thadius got up to go into the building, but Tony stopped him. “They don’t leave until early morning. Take some time to think on it first, then if you still want to go, come back. This also gives you time to tell the girls that you won’t see ‘em for a while.”

“Right.”

After saying goodbye to the old man, Thadius ran off down the street. He quickly made his way back to the inn to kill time. Since he saw Christina and Yuna only a few hours before, he decided to wait until the afternoon before he went back to the church.

He stormed inside the building, and was ready to jet up the steps to his room before he remembered something. He backed up and went to the counter where a middle-aged woman was wiping the surface.

“Excuse me ma’am, are you the owner of this establishment?” Thadius asked her in a urgent tone.

“Y-yes. Is there a problem?”

“Yes there is.” he said, pointing to the staircase. “There are no guardrails for those stairs. Gods forbid if someone were to slip. They’d have no way to catch themselves on the way down. As a patron, I fear for my life everytime I go up and down. Please address this immediately, lives are at stake.” Without another word, Thadius turned and climbed the staircase with his robe swishing from an unnatural wind.

Once he was in his room, he pulled off his robe and went to work stitching it into his new armor. Just as he started, a message popped up in front of him.

[Jeeves is watching]