The Realmsic Conquest: The Hero of Legend - Book 1 [2015 Watty Award Winner]

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The castle's food galley, once a drab dining hall for the Realmsic Council and staff, now served as the Legionaries' mess hall. Rectangular tables that could accommodate 50 hungry soldiers each lined the room. But with staggered patrol shifts and unpredictable work routines, the galley rarely stayed filled. Seku grabbed his food from the chow line and sat by himself on the far end of the galley.

Poking at his food with a fork, he tried to identify the contents. The vegetables were grown from the castle's garden and were always good. Meat, however, was a different story due to the shortage of cattle. It had become customary to season all meats the same, regardless of their source. Identification of the meat was relatively impossible.

As he moved the food around on the plate, a Legionarie carrying a tray sat across the table, a few seats opposite him. Neither man acknowledged the other, which Seku was fine with. Unless soldiers were friends, they never spoke or sat directly across from one another.

The soldier seemed to be equally puzzled by the ingredients in his meal. A large gaping laceration stretched from the man's right eye to the bottom of his jaw line. Although no longer bleeding, it looked fairly new and painful.

Seku couldn't resist. "Does that hurt?" he asked the soldier.

"Not anymore," the Legionarie replied, seeming to know exactly what Seku was asking about.

"That's quite a battle scar," Seku said matter-of-factly as the man chewed. It was hard not imagining how painful an injury it must have been. The punctured skin was irritatingly red and swollen near the stitches.

"It ain't from battle," the man responded with a full mouth, neither looking at him nor speaking directly to him. Seku could tell he was agitating his comrade.

"My apologies, soldier. I meant no offense. Must have been a terrible accident."

The soldier slammed his fist on the table. "It ain't from no accident either," he growled, this time looking directly at Seku. The man's face was bright red with anger.

The Legionarie pointed to his cut. "This is what happens when you ask questions 'round here."

For an instance, Seku couldn't speak. The man's torment was obvious by the pain in his voice and the suffering that lined his face. "What type of questions would result in such cruelty?"

The man looked around before speaking again. Leaning over the table toward Seku, he whispered, "Questions like the ones you're askin'." The Legionarie then lowered his head and returned to eating his mystery meat.

But Seku's inquisitive nature had been piqued. He wanted answers. Clearly, he would be getting none from his comrade unless he pressed him ever so slightly.

"Ha, ha, ha, you had me going for a moment," Seku grinned, folding his arms around his chest as if suppressing an even greater laugh.

The soldier looked up, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?"

"Well, surely you're joking with me, and that's just a battle scar. It's so obviously a battle scar that you felt the need to poke fun at an old soldier for not minding his own business. I don't believe that there's a question that could result in such brutality."

The Legionarie slammed his eating utensils on his tray, spraying some of his food across the table. "Don't toy with me, old man!" he scoffed. "If you so eager to know what happened, then you try askin' questions 'bout the Warlord and see if you don't end up just like me, or worse!"

The soldier stared unflinchingly into his eyes. Behind their anger, Seku could sense a hint of sadness. He glanced over his shoulder at the other inhabitants of the room. They were all engaged in their own doings, paying neither of them any mind.