Chapter 231: Forgiven, Not Excused

Karius kept clapping Ravian on the shoulder until the latter began to wonder whether his master had decided to verify his identity another way now that the white gleam had faded. Each blow carried enough force to make his former body buckle despite himself, yet now he stood unmoving, simply watching the man who seemed ready to tell the entire front about his return.

"All right, I’m back. You can stop announcing it now."

Karius’s laughter subsided, but he did not immediately withdraw his hand; it lingered on his disciple’s shoulder as his gaze shifted from Ravian’s face to the spot he had been patting, as though something had caught his attention amid his joy. Ravian noticed at once, but made no attempt to retreat or belatedly feign pain, since nothing would arouse more suspicion than a failed attempt to conceal something his master had already noticed.

’Wonderful. I haven’t even entered the camp, and I’m already giving him more reasons to interrogate me about what I’ve been doing all this time.’

"So you can withstand this old man’s hand now?" Karius said, a smaller smile settling on his face before he withdrew his hand and turned toward the guards, who stood rigidly at attention as though their weapons had not been pointed at Ravian moments earlier.

Their commander stepped half a pace forward and opened his mouth to explain, but Karius spoke first.

"Did he try to force his way inside?"

"No, sir, but he refused to let us take him into custody until you arrived."

"I was already standing here waiting for you," Ravian said, looking at the guard. "But they were overestimating themselves."

"You—" The guard commander’s anger flared, but he did nothing. He did not dare.

Karius glanced at Ravian, and that brief look suggested he had little trouble imagining the rest of the conversation that had taken place before his arrival, then returned his attention to the guard commander.

"You were right to stop someone carrying no proof of identity, and I have now verified it myself. Everyone, return to your posts."

"Yes, sir!" the guards answered together, nodding with a respect and discipline that reflected the extent of their training.

Ravian did not object, though he had a few observations concerning the part where they had drawn their weapons. He did not want to begin his return by asking his master to punish soldiers who had been trying to do their jobs, especially now that he was certain Karius would not kill him at the gate, at least for the moment.

It was fortunate that he had worded his earlier answer carefully enough to dispel whatever doubts his master might have harbored about his identity.

The questions he might face behind a closed door about where he had been and what he had been doing, however, were another matter.

Karius headed toward the entrance and gestured for him to follow, and Ravian finally passed through the gate under the guards’ watchful eyes. He felt their gazes settle on his back but did not turn around; there were more pressing concerns ahead than a handful of Walkers who had almost tested their bodies’ durability in a decidedly unpleasant way.

The camp was already bustling with the start of the day. Soldiers carried equipment, others gathered near their units’ quarters, and men exchanged instructions beside supply wagons, but much of that activity slowed when the company commander appeared alongside the white-haired youth whose return he had so dramatically announced moments earlier.

Some looked at Ravian with curiosity, while others kept their eyes on Karius, perhaps trying to understand why he was smiling as he walked through the camp at a time like this. The man made no attempt to hide it, leaving Ravian with an irritation whose cause he could not quite identify.

’Did he really have to shout that? I could have come in quietly and gotten this over with without...’

The thought trailed off when he remembered the words he had chosen to announce himself to the guards.

Well, perhaps he had no right to complain about that particular detail.

"Have you finished counting everyone staring at you?"

Ravian looked up at his master, who continued walking without turning toward him.

"I was just wondering whether you announce all your disciples’ returns this way."

"I don’t have any other disciples, let alone one who disappears for weeks, then comes back and asks the guards to tell me he’s arrived as though he’d only stepped out to buy bread from the bakery."

The reply on the tip of Ravian’s tongue vanished when he saw Karius’s smile fade a little, though it did not disappear entirely. His tone was not angry, but that did nothing to soften the impact of his words.

Ravian’s sudden disappearance had upset the man far more than he had expected.

"We’ll discuss this inside."

That was all Karius said before they continued on their way.

When they reached the central building, Antonius was standing at the entrance speaking to an officer, but stopped the moment he saw them. His eyes moved to Ravian, studying his face a second longer than necessary, before he slowly exhaled and bowed to the company commander.

"I see you’ve found the subject of the report, sir."

"He found me this time, after quite the absence," Karius replied, then gestured upstairs. "No interruptions unless it’s an urgent matter concerning the front, and bring something to eat and some water."

Ravian opened his mouth, but his master looked at him before he could speak.

"You’ll eat, then we’ll talk. You were staring at every food wagon we passed."

’Was it that obvious?’ Ravian scratched the back of his head in embarrassment but said nothing.

There had been nothing in the orc camp fit for a human to eat, and the exhausting transformation had consumed a great deal of his energy. Before that, he had traveled through space, which had also taken its toll, leaving him thoroughly worn out now.

He followed Karius into the office and remained standing until the man closed the door and went to his desk. The map was still spread across it, surrounded by papers and small weights securing its edges, but this time Karius folded it and set it aside before sitting down and indicating the opposite chair.

Ravian sat carefully, conscious of the restraint the simple movement required, easing the pressure on the armrests before settling his hands on his knees. Karius followed the movement with his eyes but made no comment, waiting until his disciple looked up at him.

"Now... where have you been?"

There was no white gleam this time, but Ravian refused to take comfort in its absence; he already knew his master possessed a means of testing the truth, and he had no intention of discovering its limits by lying to him.

By now, Ravian was almost certain that Karius saw him as far more than an ordinary disciple, which was why he wanted to reveal part of the truth.

And if that judgment proved wrong?

He would simply kill himself and return to the beginning of the day, changing his answers to suit his future plans.

And so...

"In the capital, for much of my absence. I stayed at Earl Viola’s residence there. Anyone can verify that."

Karius remained still, but his gaze changed enough for Ravian to know he had not expected that answer.

"The capital?"

"Yes."

"We were searching for you in the forest, and you were staying with one of the wealthiest nobles in the capital?"

He spoke slowly, and Ravian found that measured delivery more unsettling than any shouting he had anticipated. He made no attempt to lighten the mood with a smile, nor did he mention that his stay at House Viola had been far less peaceful than the description suggested; his master seemed more upset by the idea of his staying with a noble than by his departure itself.

Ravian therefore hurried to explain.

"I hadn’t planned to end up there, and I had no way of ensuring a message would reach you," he said, the latter part, of course, intended to ease his master’s irritation.

"And yet you managed to return on your own." Karius raised an eyebrow.

"After the circumstances changed... considerably."

Karius leaned back slightly and folded his arms across his chest.

"Ravian, I’m glad you’re alive, well, and back in one piece, but don’t make me regret starting this conversation calmly."

A brief silence fell between them, broken by a knock before a soldier entered carrying a tray of food. He set it in the space cleared of the map and left, while Ravian stared for a moment at the bread and generously seasoned meat before him, its delicious aroma rising straight to his nose, then reached for a small piece while trying to keep himself from drooling.

"Tsk." Karius snorted in irritation. "Just eat first. We’ll continue afterward."

It was as though that had been the signal.

Ravian immediately fell upon the food, devouring it without pause as though it might disappear at any moment.

Karius watched him, caught between anger and pity for the state of his only disciple.

’He really does look more like a wild boar than ever,’ he thought, watching Ravian tear into the meat as though he might devour the tray beneath it as well.

Then Karius closed his eyes for a moment, making sure Ravian did not notice.

’Welcome home, you damned troublesome disciple.’

Karius had already decided to forgive him, but that did not mean he would let him get away without satisfactory answers and a suitable punishment.