Soulforge Legacy Series

A loud buzz cut through the space. “Sorry,” Xander quickly tapped against something. “I have to get back to the Spire. Ginger, would you mind…”

“Yeah, yeah.” She waved him off. “Get going before you get into even more trouble.” With those words, Xander rushed out of the room.

The moment broken, I closed the box and looked at her. “What do I owe you for this?”

Ginger shook her head. “It isn’t a problem.”

“No. Really.” I insisted. “You have no idea what this means to me.” Well, she might know a bit, but unless one has experienced losing control over their own body, they wouldn’t ever truly understand. I just had to hope that I wouldn’t ever have to feel such a thing again.

To my surprise, Pendragon stopped her and spoke up instead. “How about one favor. You can, of course, refuse, but I want you to promise to hear us out before deciding if you will do it or not.”

That was a fairly dangerous promise. Though, while I didn’t know Ginger as well as her brother, something told me that she would never use it. Not unless she had no other choice. Mostly because her brother would probably kick her ass.

With a nod, I agreed to his condition. The system chose that moment to inform me of a new message. One that was flagged to be opened as soon as I received it.

Kyren Vulpier. You are hereby assigned to the Jacks Squad. You are to report to Unit 751’s headquarters in the Northern sector by 8 PM. Failure to do so will result in punishment in accordance with Article 91 and city policy.

Welp, no rest for the wicked. Apparently, my new assignment was starting now. The question was, would we be training inside the walls or visiting a crucible? And where was my sword?

“Hey,” I looked at Ginger, hoping she had my sword and not Xander. If he did, I was kind of screwed. “You didn’t happen to pick up a chisa katana during that little fight with the bugs, did you?”

“Oh,” the warm light of the room glinted off the dull magical steel of a blade as she pulled it from her inventory. “It is a nice blade. If not for the fact that it has been fighting to get back to you, I might have asked to keep it.”

A soft vibration raced down the blade as I grabbed the handle. It almost felt as though the blade was saying hi. “How did you manage to keep it anyway?”

“Soulbound enchantments can take up to a day to return to their owner.” The jeweler spoke. “But, if there is nothing else, please leave. I have to get a few things done before I leave for the night, and I don’t like to leave customers unattended with the merchandise.”

Something glinted through the air. Flickering by me as it made its way to the man. “’preciate it.” He waved at the puzzle box. “Don’t forget your box.”

I didn’t argue with him. The thing was cool, and who knew what else it could be used for. It would also make for a great place to store the collar if I ever had to remove it. And it went into my inventory. Though I doubted that would be the case if I put the orb into it.

With everything safely stored, we made our way outside. “Where to next?” Ginger asked. “More shopping?”

I quickly shook my head. “Not right now. I just got my assignment, and I have to report in…” My eyes widened at the time. It was almost seven. Sure, I got up a bit late, but where the hell did the rest of that time go? “Just over an hour.”

“Hmm.” Pendragon sounded neutral. Like he wasn’t surprised by any of this. “What squad?”

“The Jacks squad?” Ginger burst into a fit of giggles. “What?”

“You will either fit in or hate the people there.” That was all she would say before practically rushing off in a direction. With little other choice, I rushed to catch up. Even going as fast as we were, the trip took a good forty-five minutes, and from what I could tell, we were only going a quarter of the way across one section of the city.

Around us, the buildings changed once again. Not to something modern, but to a bit more rustic in design. I don’t mean rustic as in old or decrepit. In this case I meant it in the way someone from a building full of technology and convenience calls a place with little more than running water.

And it wasn’t just one building. Nearly every building around us was done in the same style. Oh, and did I mention that it was that odd military gray color that military houses tended to have?

Not that the gray stayed gray. Various pieces of art covered the walls that isolated multiple clustered buildings and kept people from prying. Even the sign above the fence gate had been thoroughly tagged. Though that didn’t stop me from making it out.

Unit 751 – The Deck

While it was an assumption based on a ton of movies and shows, it almost looked like this unit had been nicknamed The Deck. Why? No idea. But something told me I would be finding out in a matter of minutes.

Pendragon’s muscles bulged as he worked to move the gate enough for the three of us to get past. The loud grinding shriek of the hinges didn’t go unnoticed. Dozens of eyes swiveled to stare at us. And the number only grew as more and more came to see what was going on.

Pendragon ignored them all. His stride ate up the walking path between the gate and what looked to be a command center. Only, instead of any sort of computer or desks, the place was pretty barren. In a room that could fit a dozen or more people, each with their own workstations, sat five people. Four of whom shared two desks, reading or doing something to pass the time.

As for the last person. She sat at a desk that was absolutely covered in papers. Her fingers dug through the piles as she pulled things out, referenced them, before tossing them on top of another haphazard stack.

“Hello?” The oldest one in the room called. Which was saying something as I didn’t think elves got old enough to have nothing but gray hair. “Is there something you need from our unit?”

Instead of answering, Pendragon shoved me toward the woman. After a minute of odd silence, he gestured at her. “Give her your name and orders.”

“Oh, right.” In an effort to mimic some of the stuff I recalled from TV, my feet came together and my voice flattened. “Kyren Vulpier. Reporting as ordered.”

“Kyren,” she pulled a few pages over and scanned through them. “Kyren.” Given how she tossed them to the side and started to scroll through the air, she moved onto her system. “Kyren. Ah, found you. Assigned to the Jacks.”

“About fucking time.” The voice of the man next to her boomed out. “They have been waiting for a replacement for over a month.”

“Not that they need it.” To my surprise, the woman at the other shared desk was another Foxkin. And here I was thinking they were rare.

“With Zara and Cressida out for a couple of weeks after the last training accident, they need all the help they can get.” The words carried from one of the people to the side, even as he continued to read a book on biology. Or, at least I thought it was about biology. Whatever it is, it wasn’t in English. “Maybe take it easy on them for the next week, Dmitri.”

“You think I should take it easy on them?” The big man boomed. “If anything, I should work them harder. That way, they won't get hurt as easily. Though if you are worried for them, maybe you should join them in training for the next week.”

“Don’t antagonize the bear unless you want to join it for a meal.” The old elf said in a falsetto voice. Acting as though she was imparting some wisdom to me. “Anyway, according to the file we received, there is little information on you. I don’t even see a weapon or magic type listed.”

That made sense. No one had asked me what weapon I used. Still, I kept my answer short and to the point. “Short sword and fire.”

“Another fire user.” The biology reading one groaned. “Just, please keep the burns to a minimum. We don’t have enough burn cream as it is.”

“Dmitri, take the new girl to meet her unit and get her settled.” The woman working on paperwork cut in. Her hand continued to fly over the page as she continued. “New girl, breakfast is at 0600. Morning training starts at 0700. Don’t be late. Pendragon, get out of my compound. I do not need any of the Jokers getting it into their heads to challenge your ass.”

Pendragon laughed at that. “You and me both Captain Obaseki.” Before he left, he locked eyes with me. “Learn everything you can while you can.” Then both he and Ginger made their way out of the compound.

“Come with me.” The big man’s deep voice next to me nearly sent me into orbit. Not only had he gotten up and across the room in moments, but there hadn't been so much as a noise or puff of air to give away the movement.

Outside the building, people continued to stare. Not at the big man, but at me. Tracing my steps, my movements. Almost as though they were getting my measure. Like they were predators learning about their prey in preparation for whatever came next.

“In this unit, we have eighteen different squads. Each squad is comprised of twelve individual people. They are as follows: Ace, Kings, Queens, Jacks, Numbers two through ten, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades, and Jokers. The squad you are assigned to, the Jacks, is led by Lieutenant Saoirse Mbeki. You will listen and follow her orders unless ordered otherwise by someone with a higher rank. Am I clear?”

My head bobbed up and down as I tried to take the place in. For somewhere with little to recommend it, there seemed to be quite a few people. Each of whom were doing something different. Some sparred while others exercised. There were even a few playing cards.

“AM I CLEAR?” His tone made it clear that he needed me to answer him verbally. Something that was probably required by everyone here.

“Yes.”

“YES WHAT?” His head spun to shoot me a glare. Warning me to choose my answer carefully.

“Sir, yes, sir.” Yeah, I wasn’t going to take the chance to see what he would do if I answered incorrectly a third time. I was lucky to even get that first chance to correct my answer. Not that I expected to be given such leeway in the future.

Standing just outside the door to what looked like a bunk house, was another Foxkin. “Major Dmitri.” Her feet slammed together as she brought a fist to the middle of her chest. “May I ask what brings you to this squad’s barracks?”

With a wave of his hand, she relaxed. “Just dropping off a replacement for Ulrick.”

Her eyes raked over me and her expression twisted in both disappointment and annoyance. “It is always refreshing to get assigned newbies to break in. The challenge is good for the team.”

Was she calling me useless or a burden? Something told me it was a bit of both. “Get her situated then come to the command center for the briefing about training for this week.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” With her acknowledgement, the man lumbered back along the path we just came down. She waited long enough for him to get around a building and out of sight. “You better be a fast learner or you might find yourself reassigned to one of the numbers squads.” From her tone it almost sounded like the numbers was a group of squads no one wanted to join.

With that, she led me into the building and immediately into the nearest door. “Olenna,” at her word, the woman in the upper bunk rolled off the bunk. As she landed, she came to attention. “This is…”

“Kyren.” I supplied.

“Kyren. She has been assigned to our squad with no warning. She will be sleeping in this room until she is reassigned.” She made it sound like she thought I wasn’t going to make it here. I almost wondered what she knew that I didn’t. What could make it so I had no chance in hell of surviving whatever this place had to throw at me?