11 - Asher the Talkative

There he was, the general. His name was Ray Netley. 

From head to toe he was covered in very fancy armor. 

At first I thought that it must have been decorative, no actual armor would look like that, but then I realized, those could have been magic engravings or something like that.

I had no knowledge of the reality of armor in this world, for all I knew it could have been the most practical armor in the whole multi-verse.

As a man of the 'General' class I thought that he must have a high level but, to my disappointment, he was only level 48.

Was 48 considered very high? I can't seem to remember.

I wondered where, or even if, I could find really high leveled people, over 100 at least.

“Hi there, General,” I said to Ray, he rode on a very tall horse, which was walking very slowly to meet the speed of the marching soldiers behind him, “a very nice elf-ish man told me that I should talk to you.”

“Oh, who did, and who are you?” He said, relaxing the grip of his horse's reigns.

“It doesn't matter who did but it matters who I am,” I slicked back my hair handed him my hand to shake it and deepened my voice as much as I could, “Asher Burell, nice to meet you.”

I still wasn’t comfortable with the new voice I got when switching looks, I stopped trying to deepen it. “This wonderfully cold woman is my companion, Faye. You know, I’m not entirely sure what she is. A Paragon, what 'exactly' that is… I dunno, really. I guess an intermediary between anyone and her goddess? Well, you can see her as sort of a High-Priestess then.”

“I see,” he said, very non-partisan. 

It didn't seem like he wanted to talk with me. 

No way! I can't be that annoying, right?

I'm sure he just got a wrong first impression.

“Anyway," I veered to my actual topic of interest, "what are you guys doing? Where are you going to? Are you at war? There are so many, oh so many, soldiers here.”

"We're the Kathe army, and we're headed to the frontier of Landsfor for the yearly skirmish," he stated factually.

Hey, turns out that I was still in Kathe after all.

“What kind of idiot has a skirmish every year?” I mumbled off-handedly.

He heard that and didn't like that comment at all

“We do, and I'd advise you to hold your tongue,” he snapped at me.

I deserved it, it was pretty rude after all.

“What is it that you want?” He asked me.

“Adventure, to meet a few interesting people before I die. Usually, people who are in my situation want power but that's not something I want, but I must admit I already have a lot of it."

He looked confused.

“Don’t worry about it.” I waved it off, ”who’re you anyway?” I asked when I already knew, to make him feel more comfortable.

He announced with a head held high, “I am Ray Netley, Major General of the sixth division of the Kathe Army and the leader of this year’s skirmish army, ten-thousand men strong. Now, leave me be. If you have serious matters to discuss then wait a few days, the king will also join us at that time.”

The king himself?

Mhh, I haven't heard much about the king, to be honest.

I wondered what kind of king Kathe has.

Just an old guy? A wise man with gray hair and a long beard.

Maybe a young warrior type, who'll charge the battlefields himself.

“You sure have netted yourself a nice position, haven’t you? Will he fight alongside with you? The king, I mean.”

He laughed, “no, of course not. When has a king ever fought on a battlefield? But he will be there, close enough, for most, to the battle. Too close for the damned court, that’s for sure, but not close enough to partake in any of the battle, beside overseeing it.”

“There are a few who do fight themselves,” I began counting on my fingers, “a slime, a skeleton, someone whose name rhymes with ‘the douche’. Gilgamesh who was just an actual douche, real-life and fictional.”

Didn’t seem like he was listening but it didn’t matter. I had an idea for a grand entrance.

I waved my goodbyes to Ray and split from the march.