Chapter 228: Alone At LastFive members of Castile’s company were mixed in with other unfamiliar legionnaires: Blaze, Mateo, Adrian, Lirkin, and Kolm. Adrian started laughing good-naturedly. “Look at our new Hound. All dressed up and ready to hunt the enemies of the Empire.” He approached, and we clasped wrists as equals. “Is Konstantin well?” he asked softly.“The other pups needed a few more weeks of seasoning,” I smirked. He nodded, looking a little relieved.“After a few months with Konstantin, I expect they would differ in your opinion.” He clapped me on the shoulder.Hercule was agitated by my familiarity with the company—or maybe by the fact I had friends. “Hound, let’s head out. If we start now, we can make Freidival by dark.”I rolled my eyes out of his view. Covering nearly a hundred miles was not feasible, and I could tell he was angry. Maybe he had pieced together that I had tainted his canteen. I made a gamble and turned and held up two large silver coins, “Are you sure you don’t want to get some breakfast on me?” Two large silver coins were two weeks’ pay for a Hound, and I guessed correctly that Hercule was easily bribed.His eyes betrayed his greed, and he snatched the coins. “Meet me at the west gate in an hour.” He led his horse away, leaving me with the company.The company was forming around the Displacement Mage, and I fell into step with Adrian. “How has the company been? Is Castile well? Is Maveith still with you?”Adrian was as congenial as ever. “We have been stationed here for eleven weeks. Castile won’t admit it, but she deserves a rest. We have been conducting short expeditions into the surrounding towns. We have accounted for seventeen goblins and a pair of centaurs. We discovered one doppelgänger that managed to flee and also exterminated a nest of giant centipedes,” (...)