Dokeshi March: Chapter 14 (Patreon)

Chapter 14

Grant was awakened by the sound of something frying in a pan.  It was probably the most effective way to wake him up from a dead sleep, next to a giant spider attacking him.

<Thanks for the idea!>

An orange spider dropped down from the ceiling rafters, and Grant sliced it in half by reflex using Iaijutsu.  He didn’t even blink, just rolled to his feet and started for the light of the fire.

“I take it Sarge is already starting your daily training?”  Suki was crouched over the grate in the fireplace, flipping what looked like pancakes in a frying pan.  “I decided to let you get some rest, so sunrise is only about two hours away.  After we eat, I’ll take a nap while you clean yourself up outside.  The well is by the stables.”  She wrinkled her nose as he got closer.  “You need it.”

“Thank you.”  Grant was stretching and rolling his shoulders, trying to relieve the soreness from sleeping in armor.  “I definitely need to clean up before we leave.  I can smell myself.”  He got a little closer to lean over and take a look at what she was cooking.  It looked like pancakes, but it didn’t smell like any Grant had seen before.  “What kind of pancakes are those?”

“Oh, these aren’t pancakes.”  She flipped a pancake-shaped food item before looking up at Grant.  “These are dehydrated salmon-oatcakes!  I blended them myself!  They are super healthy, and will give you the energy you need to face the day!”

“I’m sure they will.”  The dejected and defeated tone of his voice went completely over her head.

“The salmon is a variant from District February’s northern mountain streams, and it has been proven to have the highest protein content of all non-monster fish ever harvested.”  Suki’s excitement at the high quality of the food she had packed was evident in her wavy hand motions and faster speech.  She sounded like a person trying to make a sale.  “The oats are grown in the deepest valleys of the southern plains, where the soil imparts the best nutrients seen this side of the January border.”

“But, pancakes…”  His whisper fell on deaf ears.

<I think this explains some of the ridiculous food prices in District February.>  Sarge was obviously amused at Grant’s continued struggles to find what he thought of as ‘good’ food.  <On the bright side, your body really does need a lot of protein to recover properly from the healing yesterday.>

They ate quickly, with Suki humming happily as she ate the dry and fishy patties.  Grant practically ran out to the stableyard so he could drink almost a full bucket of water.  The patties somehow managed to be both wet and suck all the moisture out of his mouth at the same time.

It took a lot longer than he expected to get clean.  The dried blood of the Uchi-oni had turned into a kind of sticky paste that just didn’t want to come out of the creases in his armor.  Or his hair, for that matter.  He was contemplating just cutting it off when the sound of a snapping twig forced him to look up from his cleaning.

The sun had yet to peek over the horizon, and a group of four men in the cut of the clothes House Tuesday traditionally wore were stumbling around in the twilight.

“Are you sure you saw smoke coming from the chimney?”  A high-pitched and scratchy voice echoed down the narrow alley into the stableyard where Grant was standing.

“Shhh!  Keep your voice down, you idiot!”  A clunking sound of metal meeting metal soon followed.  “If anyone is in there, we don’t want them hearing us coming.”  The second voice sounded like it came from an older man, who carried the tone of a man used to giving orders.

“Why does it matter?”  The third voice was much deeper, and obviously came from the biggest of the four.  “We stole these uniforms from the Peacekeepers, so anyone we order around should listen.”

“Yeah!  This should be the easiest robbery in the history of robberies!”  The fourth voice sounded too young to be from someone associated with bandits, and it put Grant on edge.  He had been robbed by the desperate in the past, and he didn’t relish the thought of losing his armor and belongings again.

<This group sounds harmless, but you need to treat every battle like your life depends on it.>  Sarge paused for effect.  <Because it does.>

“Suki let me get some extra sleep.  I think I can take care of these four without disturbing her.”  He quickly started slapping his still-wet armor on, doing his best to keep it quiet.  “I don’t want to kill them, but I will if I have to.”

<A warrior is useless if the does not rise above others.>  Grant buckled on his sword over his armor and looked down at it, obviously confused at what Sarge had said.

“What is that supposed to mean?  I literally just said I was going to beat them.”  He stepped out into the narrow alley that led to the street from the stables.  “Am I supposed to stand over them after I win?”

<Just… don’t worry about it.  Defeat them quickly, and try to keep it quiet.>  Sarge sounded exasperated, which mirrored Grant’s emotions perfectly.  <We really need to get your mental cultivation higher.>

“Gentlemen, I believe you are looking for me.”  Grant stepped out of the alley onto the street behind the four bandits.  They all jumped and spun around, pointing their weapons at him.  It was hard to see with only the first rays of the sun starting to brighten the sky, but it was immediately clear these men had nothing to do with the Peacekeepers.  All four were carrying spears, but they were obviously of low quality.  More like broomsticks someone had nailed a piece of pointy metal on the end.  “I have no fight with you.  I suggest you take those clothes off, and end this before something bad happens to you.  No one would ever believe men so poorly armed were Vassals of House Tuesday.”

“Ha!”  The man with the high-pitched voice took a step forward.  “There’s four of us, and only one of you.  I think you should be the one to think about… stuff!”

“Yeah, what he said.  Just give us your Time, and we will be on our way.  You can’t win.”  The big man with the deep voice planted the butt of his spear on the ground, but leaned it forward in a threatening manner.  “Numbers make all the difference in District March.”

“Let’s just stick him, and get out of here.  We can’t be the only ones who saw his smoke.”  The young bandit was looking around quickly, as if waiting for someone to sneak up behind him.  Which is actually what Grant had just done, so maybe he wasn’t unnecessarily paranoid.  “There are bigger groups than us running around out here.”

Instead of continuing the conversation, Grant unsheathed his Uchigatana and swiped through three of the tops of the four spears pointed in his direction.  The young kid was too far back to reach him without Grant exposing his side, and his ribs were too sore to take even a light punch from the big guy.

All four stumbled back in surprise, and Grant lifted his sword diagonally across his torso.  They stood in silence for a few heartbeats, the bandits clearly not experienced enough to be used to sudden displays of violence.

“Well boys, I think I’m going to call it a day.  It’s too early to deal with a Wielder.”  The older man straightened up and tossed his stick to the ground.  “The system must be down still, because we didn’t see the damnable combat screens.  Now’s the time to get some honest trading done in the market, before it comes back on.  This was a stupid idea, anyway.”  He gave Grant a nod, and turned around to walk away.

“Just like that?”  The man with the high-pitched voice stomped his foot in anger.  “You’re just going to give up without even trying?”  The other two were already backing away, following in the wake of the older man.  “I’m no chicken!”

He reached out and snatched the spear from the younger bandit, and spun to stab Grant in the chest with it.

Damage taken: 0 piercing (12 mitigated)

The makeshift spearpoint bent flat against the metal bands that made up Grant’s chest armor.  It did rock him back a step, and the ache in his ribs intensified with the blow.  He smacked the flat of his blade against the temple of the bandit, dropping him like a stone.

<I told you to take every fight seriously!  Just because it looked like the fight was over, doesn’t mean it’s over!>  Grant grunted in agreement at Sarge’s words.  He had let his guard down, and he paid for it with some aggravated ribs.  He knew that if the bandit had been an actual cultivator, it could have been far worse.  <Expect some serious training after this.>

“I know.  I’ll do better,”  Grant mumbled under his breath.  “Come get your friend, and get out of here.  I have a long way to travel today.”  The three men scrambled to pick up their unconscious compatriot and quickly started away.  “And think about giving up banditry!  It doesn’t suit you!”  He shouted at them as they disappeared around the corner.

<The sun is up.  Time to wake up Suki and get moving.>  Sarge waited for Grant to sheathe his sword and head back to the well to finish cleaning the gunk from his hair.  <Good job not killing them.  No matter how much you hate, or how much you suffer, you can't bring the dead back to life.>

This time, Grant understood exactly what Sarge was trying to say.