Path of the Deathless (Book 3 Completed)

34 (I) Recon

, TacStrat 101, Phoenix Academy34 (I)

Recon

“So. What is for breakfast?” Adam asked, yawning. He blinked blearily at what Shiv was preparing and just stared ahead. His red hair was getting long and messy, parts of it clinging to his face. Sleep and nourishment became less and less of a necessity for Pathbearers after certain thresholds, but after the events of the last day, the Young Lord slumbered like he was one of the dead. “Are those… snakes?”

“Yeah,” Shiv grunted. “Give it a second. I’ve tried frying, slow roasting, and even boiling these with soup. You’ll get to try all three types and tell me which one you like best first.”

“Are you using me as a taster?” Adam asked, still frowning at the snakes. “And snakes? Really? Aren’t those poisonous?”

“Not entirely. Glands got harvested by the Sisters already.”

Adam shrugged. “How long have you all been up? Wait, how long did you sleep? It’s always damned hard to tell in the Abyss. There’s no sunlight, and the glowing veins make it feel like we’re living in perpetual twilight.”

“Slept about two hours. Maybe. Probably less. You were out cold by the time me and Uva got back from the waterfall. It’s not far if you want to clean up.”

“I think I’ll pass for now,” Adam said, trying to comb his hair with his fingers. “You won’t believe how many bugs are around this place… I’m surprised none of them managed to get into our camp.”

“That’s because the Sisters dosed the place with pheromones, and I keep crushing the larger bugs with my Biomancy. An ugly dog-sized scorpion thing with three tails got pretty close to your tent at some point. It’s part of the soup now.’

Adam froze and watched as Shiv dropped another slice of snake flesh into the bubbling cauldron. “Are you trying to gain a Poison Resistance skill?”

“That’s actually not a bad idea. But no. Sisters took the stingers too. Uva said they could make something useful with that.”

The Young Lord looked around at their camp. Aside from him, Shiv, and Valor floating at the opening of the cave they chose as campsite after their ambush, he saw only empty tents and the doused campfire. A set of alarm and minor protection wards circled the entrance of the cave, the spell patterns shimmering weakly with mana. “Where is everyone?”

“Scouting. Preparing. We got a Weaveress Shadow Cell coming in soon too. Trapdoor, according to Uva. They might have some details about the gate and how we can get closer among some other things. Uva also said they’ll be interested in talking to you about yesterday. Something about an after action regarding tactics and strategy.”

“Ah. Wonderful. It’s exactly like I’m back in TacStrat 101. Hopefully I don’t run into the Weaveress equivalent of Irons.” Adam paused. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d give a bloody lot for the man to be yelling at me right now. He would know how to take that gate—gate raids are practically his favorite thing in the world.”

“Sounds like an interesting guy.”

“He is. He would probably like you. To some extent. You’re his kind of person. Do or die. Try, try, try again without any hint of frustration or despair. And… Oh, that’s starting to smell really good.”

Shiv handed Adam a bowl of scorp-snake soup, and the Young Lord regarded the meal for a moment. He sniffed and then tentatively took a bite. His expression went blank. He closed his eyes. And . “How do you keep doing this? This is absurd. I had a Master Chef for almost all my life.”

Cooking > 25

Shiv grinned both at Adam’s begrudging praise and at the two levels he got for Cooking. “Yeah? Well, your Master Chef doesn’t have Biomancy to judge the state of the meat. Or Georges.” Shiv’s grin faded. “Did he… have a fine mustache? Was kind of emotional at times?”

Adam stopped mid-swallow. “Yes?”

“Ah, shit,” Shiv said. He wasn’t sure how to go about this. He remembered the chefs slaughtered in the kitchen. The only reason he probably wasn’t among the dead initially was because Roland Arrow came personally to speak with him.

“What?” Adam said, his voice more severe.

. Shiv looked down and grunted. “He’s dead. So are most of the other people who used to cook for you. Kitchen got hit during the assault. I went back looking for Georges and found them. That’s where I got the chestpiece—it was given to me by a dying Family Guard… Feather, I think his name was. He and his sister both died fighting too. They all did what they could.”

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The Young Lord stared at Shiv for a long minute. His face was calm, but there was a war raging behind his eyes. After a small eternity, he took a sip of soup. “I thought about throwing you off myself. Off Blackedge. When I realized you were the one helping me. Even when I was fighting the raven, there was something in me that hoped you were a reason for this, that I could finally be done with you.”

Shiv didn’t say anything. He just listened. Adam’s expression flared with brief anger and frustration. “But then you went and did the worst thing you could to me. You proved to be a man. And a good chef. And you have no idea how much this makes me you.”o look around here.”

Ikki sighed. “But we just moved…”

“Sisters, break camp,” Uva said, her voice rehearsed. She looked at Shiv again, and sank her magic into his mind.

Shiv smiled slightly.

She narrowed her eyes.

“Why’s my tent knocked over?” Ikki complained off to the side.

Shiv said.

Uva rolled her eyes but failed to hold back a slight blush.

He chuckled and went back to finishing breakfast. But though Shiv felt done with conversation for now, conversation was not done with him.

Valor said. Shiv grunted.

“I guess,” Shiv said. Then, as he started flipping plates with cooked meat, he decided on anger. “Just one problem: Why should I care about that? My whole life, people hated me for what my parents did. For what I was. He hated me too. But like his dad, he just seethed and suffered my existence from a distance. Too noble to come strike me down, too passive to do anything, too miserable to let this go. So they prayed for the system to punish me.”

“Fine. But it’s not my lesson to teach.”

“Why should I care?”

Valor answered honestly.