Starting a Career

Getting used to the army life is hard for every new soldier enlisting. Most missed their soft beds and own rooms, proper sautéed root vegetables in the finest sauces and rothé steaks with spider eggs on the side. For Valdor, the start was difficult for different reasons: Never had he had so much to eat and so regularly. It took proper willpower to resist the urge to overeat oneself. After he had been suffering from the nausea for a few weeks and gotten more used to the continuity of food always being available, his sense finally got through; he slowly started to adapt to eating more normally and not like he would have never seen food before, stuffing his mouth full of stuff and making people stare at him. But back then, Valdor didn’t really care if people stared at him, and just later realized it was completely because of his lack of any good table manners and not, at least, completely because he would have been lowborn. He ate more than the biggest guys, despite being the smallest of the new recruits, which caused eye-rolling and muffled laughter in the others.

Well, being as petite as he was had more downsizes than perks. The first few months were an absolute torture to him; it was more than enough for him to wear the thick and uncomfortable leather armor, which felt too heavy for him. And if you added all the things one would need to pack in their backpack for even a short patrol in the tunnels, things weighted in total more than half of his weight!

So even when he tried his best, he got bad looks from his comrades if he failed to pull his weight. Valdor was ashamed of himself, but he had already thought of everything he could do to ease his burden; optimizing his packing, trying to think alternative ways to carry things and then, as the last thing, what he could drop off the load. So, he had dropped off everything but the bare necessities, and was still dragging his feet, barely managing to stay with the group. Only his fear of failing pushed him forward. He didn’t want to go home and meet his sister -mother would be angry, but there was nothing he would be able to do about it. Most of all, he didn’t want to disappoint Liara, to whom he had promised to buy something nice when he would get his hands on his first paycheck. He just would need to hold on a little longer!

They were patrolling the tunnels that day. Easy job, as the difficult cases were handled by the real soldiers. There was nothing out of the ordinary happening, apart from a small cave-in in one of the old mines. So, as there was nothing this rookie group would have been needed for immediately, they were sent to investigate the mines, just in case if it would pose any problems in the future.

“…What a waste of our time…”

Murmured one of the soldiers, whose name Valdor recalled being Bhinatar, from a family Glowclaw of which he had never heard before, but apparently, they were important in this city. Or so Bhinatar wanted to represent himself and it was enough for docile Valdor to accept him as a higher-ranking man. Bhinatar was one of the younger ones, handsome and tall for a man and having received excellent training he liked to chew on Valdor’s pitifully weak frame. The tall man had tried his best like a few others to get him kicked out of the group, but he was the most vocal one. Yet, of course he didn’t dare to act in such way in front of the superiors. Loud to complain, perhaps, but not stupid. And Valdor could understand it, even if it hurt. Even when he tried his best, he just wouldn’t be enough for Yanta’s ‘gracefully high standards’, as Bhinatar liked to comment ever so often. Well, of course Valdor understood that Bhinatar’s critique was on point; he was literally the weakest link of this rookie group, and if he would fail, it would also add to the burden of his squadmates. Well, at least Bhinatar was correct (unlike some people turning their noses up just for him being of a no house) when he kept mocking him for his thin ‘spider legs’ and arms which were ‘thinner than a matron’s patience’, whatever that meant. He had never seen a real matron from up close, at least as far as he knew. And he liked to keep it that way, as if they were like any other woman, he didn’t want to stand in their path.

The old mining tunnels echoed in a familiar, almost comforting way when they made their way through the opening of the mine.

“Be careful, there is still a risk of another cave in. Don’t touch anything, we’re just inspecting.”
Their leader, Tazagh’eth Steelhand, a more experienced soldier of a rank of staff sergeant, whose job was to teach the newbies like Valdor. The man in question was a good man who only meddled in the horseplay of the rookies If it got out of hand or was absolutely necessary for the execution of the current task at hand. He probably knew how to choose his battles and true enough, he was always listened whenever he spoke.

There were small signs of the reported collapse. Some loose rocks here and there, and the supporting beams were under a heavy load, Valdor noted. He had been crawling in mines like this when he had been young, helping mother to check for the small openings. Such a though job for a kid to do, but anything goes when putting the bread to the table. And as a child so young he had never really thought of the dangers involved in tasks like that. He just had done everything like a good boy would.

And suddenly the group stopped. Valdor almost bumped into his comrade, Spir’glothin Whisperstep, who was a tall and lanky boy almost as old as Valdor himself. Quiet and somewhat serene looking guy who rarely spoke without being spoken to.
“…Cracks in the walls. This is enough, everyone out!”
The Staff Sergeant Steelhand commanded and everyone was alarmed by his very stiff voice. Of that tone the whole group knew this was dead serious issue, so all started to hurry towards the entrance, almost running… all, but Valdor, who teetered after them, already worn out of all the physical activity.
And then a huge rumble filled the air with dust, smoke and rocks. Instinctively Valdor pressed his back against the wall, and when the air started to clear, he could see the ceiling had caved in ahead of them. Everyone was coughing because of the heavy dust and Valdor readied his daggers, because he knew that things could come crawling out of the hole… once a nest of angry knell beetles fell on a group of miners and even though those insects were quickly taken care of, the workers were deafened for more than a week from the screeching. But nothing seemed to have fallen in with all the debris this time.

“Everyone alright? Give me a headcount.”
Valdor heard The Staff Sergeant Steelhand’s voice, accompanied by a hiss. One by one, the numbers went on and as they regrouped, it was found out that everyone was alive. Few had scratches and small cuts from stones, Spir’glothin had gotten a knock on his head and was probably suffering from a concussion. The Leader himself had suffered the worst damage, when a huge boulder had knocked him down and rolled over his leg, which now was clearly hurting. The whole shin looked bruised and bloody. And they had no healer with them today.
“We need to get out of here!”
Bhinatar sounded slightly panicky. Valdor had seen the same in some workers after shafts had collapsed and they were in shock. You got used to this kind of things happening eventually, but maybe it was Bhinatar’s first time. And no one had even died, but Valdor didn’t want to undermine the feelings the noble boy was going through.
“No, stop! Don’t move them!”
Steelhand growled at the poor boy, who had approached the wall of rubble which now blocked their way back to the entrance. Some light could be seen through from the top, where seemed to be a tiny opening. It was good, Valdor noted calmly; they would have a sufficient flow of air and not suffocate to death, which could also happen in case of cave-ins.
“What, why not?”
Bhinatar wasn’t thinking clearly, his pale yellow eyes wide as plates and his voice trembled like an untuned string instrument. “Because if you start to move the stones without preparing first, you can cause more rocks fall down on us!”
Steelhand huffed and tried to pull himself together, but with a broken leg it was difficult. Valdor stepped closer to the rubble when some other started to gather around their leader and offer to patch him up.
“The supporting beam gave in under the pressure. If we move any rocks now without supporting the ceiling, I think it will come down.”
He gave his verdict out of habit, after inspecting the position of the biggest rocks. There was nothing they could do without proper tools. He didn’t expect a comment, so he was surprised when he got one as he let his backpack down.

“Hey. Bloodworth. You’re small. Can you fit through that hole?”
Bhinatar stared at him frantic look in his eyes. He was still panicking. Valdor lifted his head and inspected the opening in the left corner of the rubble.
“Hmm.”
He pondered, but Bhinatar took him by the shoulders and shook him like a sack of root vegetables.
“Well, how is it?!”
“I-I-I-‘m n-not s-sure…!”
Valdor tried to answer but end up stuttering when suddenly being shaken like he would have been a carpet in need of dusting. He bit his lips as his shoulders were sore because the straps of the backpack had rubbed against the armor and the unfit armor had caused painful sores on his skin.
“Hey, Glowclaw. It’s alright.”
Spir’glothin came to Valdor’s aid and gently yet calmly took Bhinatar’s hand off Valdor’s shoulder’s. Bhinatar tried to take a deep breath to get over his shock. It was also a good sign, Valdor knew. The noble boy would soon be with them again.
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”
The Staff Sergeant Steelhand commented, surprising everyone.
“You’re small enough to fit through the hole and light enough not to disturb the rocks.”
The older man added and now everyone stared at Valdor, who felt even smaller. Blush crept on his dusty cheeks and he tried to say something but ended up just nodding.
“I-I can try…”
he mumbled, embarrassed when he went closer to take a better look of the opening. It was a tight fit, and completely impossible with his clunky leather armor, so he started to strip down. Everyone stared at him and he felt sick to his stomach, but did what was needed, until he only had his undershirt and pants on. With his belt and the daggers he probably wouldn’t fit through, but wandering in the Underdark without a weapon was the fastest way to get killed. He got curious looks when he unconventionally slid the other one of his daggers into his boot. That was the way of the streets, after all.
He didn’t look back but started carefully climbing the rubble. A few pebbles rolled down under his feet and he stopped each time that happened, listened to the rocks and bettered his grip. When he reached the hole, he made a quick assessment; the gap was wide enough for him to fit through, but it would need a little wiggling. And not just that, but he was more concerned that the ceiling would collapse further.

“Bloodworth. Go inform the barracks about the situation. Try not to get killed.”
Valdor only nodded to the staff sergeant and without any bigger ceremonies he started to squeeze himself through the hole. He had almost gotten to the other side, when a more loose rock gave in under him and the bigger one on top of it between itself and the wall. Valdor let out a small yelp, but he was almost on the other side, so he decided to just deal with the sharp edge sinking deeper into his skin and he yanked himself free, even when it hurt. He tumbled down on the other side, less acrobatically than he would have wanted. Luckily no one saw him rolling down like a small flumph. The rock’s sharp edge had made a nasty scratch on his shoulder, but he tried not to care about it. Just a scratch, after all. It wasn’t even a kick. Valdor took a deep breath, and after taking the last glance towards the collapsed mouth of the mining tunnel, he picked up pace and started to jog back to the city.

***

It was difficult. he was so tired he would have just wanted to stop and sit down to take a breath, maybe sleep a little, but he pushed himself onwards. He wanted to help his friends, as this was the only thing he was able to do. His change to redeem himself, to stop being a burden to the group. He wanted to be useful for once! Therefore he kept pushing himself to the limits, and when he finally arrived to the gates, he was almost in some kind of state of trance.

“Hey, where are you going?”
A guard at the gates stopped him and flustered, out of breath Valdor almost fell down when he abruptly had to stop. He had concentrated on so hard just avoiding danger and keeping up a good pace that now when he was forced to stop, just standing felt like an impossible task. He gasped for air and couldn’t answer immediately, panic seeping into his mind. The guard stared at him and was clearly getting impatient, but then he was suddenly saved by a distantly familiar voice.
“Hey, it’s alright. I know him, he’s one of the new recruits.”
A group of young paladins had walked by and now one of them had exclaimed such things which caused Valdor much confusion. How… and who? The guard eyed the group suspiciously, but let it slide this time, deeming exhausted Valdor as a non-risk.
“Hello.”
One of the holy warriors -the same that had spoken- smiled to him and gently placed his hand on Valdor’s shoulder and took him with the group. Valdor felt awkward and he tried to explain something, but he couldn’t come up with anything, so he sheepishly let himself to be guided like a child.

“Do you remember me, Valdor?”
Asked the one who rested his hand on his shoulder. Valdor blinked his eyes, confused. How did he know his name…? His mind worked furiously and from somewhere deep he finally digged it up.
“You’re the guy from the test day.”
“Indeed.”
Nodded the young paladin with eyes of the color of reddish gold. Amalraen. That was the name!
“I’m delighted to see you got in, too.”
“Yes, I-“
Valdor began but was cut short.
“Take a deep breath now.”
Instinctively Valdor did as he was told. It did help, actually, and his mind felt slightly clearer.
“You look like you had something urgent going on. What happened?”
Amalraen continued calmly and walked with him to the headquarters with the rest of his group. Maybe they were just returning from somewhere, or something, Valdor didn’t know, but the others didn’t say anything and just inspected him with mild curiosity.
“We were on a patrol and a cave collapsed. The others are still stuck in the tunnel and I was sent to-“
“That’s alright. Take a deep breath again.”
Amalraen gently instructed and Valdor did so. He felt faint, but hid it. The hand on his aching shoulder was comforting in a very odd way. Almost fatherly, or what Valdor thought to be fatherly, as he had no idea who his father was. He wasn’t sure if his mother even knew that…
“Let’s go make an official report. I’ll come with you.”
The holy soldier said and raised his hand to his friends, when they departed in the corner of the streets. The barracks were bustling with people, but with Amalraen’s help they were able to flag down a higher ranking soldier and give the report.

What happened afterwards was a bit hazy to Valdor, but when they sat in the mess hall and the bowl of stew Amalraen had placed in front of him was half empty, he started to regain his senses. The holy warrior had been keeping him company, even though he wouldn’t have needed to, and they had been idly discussing this and that, Valdor mostly answering questions the other one had asked. Polite, not too probing questions, but something to keep the discussion going on.
“I think I will take my leave now. Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, I…”
Valdor mumbled, blush creeping up his face. He felt odd. Why did Amalraen care so much how he was feeling? It was odd, they barely knew eachother. Yet, he felt indebted to the holy warrior.
“… Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The paladin smiled to him gently and stood up, but he turned around before leaving and placed his hand on Valdor’s shoulder. It felt oddly warm and tingling, making him shiver. His eyes shoot up to Amalraen, who only smiled to him calmly and didn’t say anything before just nodding and leaving. Later in the evening, when Valdor was washing the dust of the tunnels off his skin, he noticed that his shoulders weren’t hurt anymore; the skin had healed perfectly and there was no trace of the nasty scratch on his back either.

Unlike someone would have probably thought, Valdor didn’t become a hero after the incident. No one regarded him in any other way, but one person. And that person was himself. He had done something meaningful and saved the day for once. His group was alright and even their leader was good to go after a short trip to the temple. Valdor knew he could be useful in right situation. He didn’t need to perfect in everything, but if he just would hang in there, he would surely make it. And that he did. He did his best, but also was careful of not doing too much, so he wouldn’t step on anyone’s toes. This event was the first thing to guide him to the right path of safe mediocrity, and that kept him alive and without bigger conflicts throughout his army life… until quite recently.