Knights Apocalyptica

Chapter 109: Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

It was impossible to find the perfect moment. Erec kept looking for an opportunity to tell Boldwick about the change to his Blessing—but people were always around. Someone was always in the presence of the Master Knight—Gwen, the Duke—any of their party members on the expedition.

He trusted most of these people. Garin—Boldwick, Gwen even. Hell, he knew that Colin wouldn’t share his secret either.

But there was Olivia, Dame Morgana, and the Duke… He couldn’t know what their plans were.

Days bled together in a blur of brown and blue; sky and dirt, as they stomped their way across the wastes. And eventually, the need to spill the secret diminished a bit. There’d be a better time to tell him; since it didn’t fundamentally change anything about their situation. It only complicated the return. It was also a potential new resource if he could determine what it meant. As long as the sky above didn’t split to burn him alive with a column of silver flame, he would survive.

It didn’t take long before the impromptu road lessons began. Dame Juliana made the primary push for dedicated time, being a teacher through and through. At her behest, the Knight Commander would pull the initiates away from the caravan and break down a topic of her choice, sometimes with a guest teacher. She mainly focused on her favorite subject, ‘practical wasteland survival.’

After a night of camping in a shallow cave, she woke them up early and started her lesson while the rest of the expedition prepared the wagon for travel that day. She leaned down next to a mound of green moss a little further into the cave, by a still pool of water, her knife pulled free and slipping under its roots. She cut it free from the dirt and rock below. “Edible,” Dame Juliana claimed, “yet, as you can see while I’m extracting it. It’s not exactly clean.”

She twisted the moss around for her students to see, pointing out the dead bits and the dirt still clinging to where she had shaved it free from the terrain.

“Depending on the environment, there’s a possibility of it being tainted. But if you’re in a position where you need to eat moss, it might not be the highest priority. Keep that in mind, but when you’re arguing to yourself about starving to death right then and there or long-term poisoning, you have a clear pick.” Dame Juliana explained and then reached into her bag. She pulled out a small pot and poured some of her canteen's water into it, creating a thin layer of water.

Next, she held up her right hand and formed a delicate and efficient red glyph. Only for it to break apart into tendrils of fire that condensed into a circle in the air, she held the pot over the cycling flames and boiled the water.

“Moss might fill your stomach but is not very nutritious. If needed, it might keep you going long enough to track down an animal.”

As the water boiled, she directed Garin to hold the pot and worked on the section of moss she’d cut. With careful work, Dame Juliana removed any brown sections and dirt. Once ‘clean,’ she shoved the moss into a cloth pouch and began to hammer away on it with a rock, then once done, untied the cloth and scraped the resulting green paste into the boiling water. The air flooded with a musty tang that curled Erec’s nose as it cooked.

He shifted in his spot, wanting more than anything to escape this.

“Dear, oh dear, is this your normal form of class, Dame Juliana?” Olivia asked, pouting as she stared at the green muck in the pot.

“Something like this: I try to keep the advice broader than specific examples of edible moss in my beginner's course. And with a focus on bigger picture survival issues—like sourcing water, what makes up a defensible shelter, or how to hide within the environment to throw off monsters.” Dame Juliana stirred the pot with a twig. “Regarding that—certain forms of moss can cause stomach issues for those with lower Vitality, especially when eaten raw. Boiling it can help as well.”

“What’s the furthest you’ve gone from the Kingdom?” Garin asked as he wrapped an arm around Olivia’s shoulder.

The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by their teacher, who gave a disapproving snort. “Sir Garin, please keep your hands to yourself. It does not suit you to distract other students during class. Spend your free time as you wish, but I expect you to behave when I’m sparing the time and effort to teach.” Garin quickly dropped the offending arm in question. “To answer your question, I spent half a year on an expedition north. We left when it warmed down here and began our retreat when snow fell up there. If you range far enough, I can confidently say you’ll see many more environments than this barren wasteland. Likely, you’ll see some on this trip.”

“What about the west?” Erec asked.

“I’ve been as far as the gas-filled canyons. Though, we’ll be avoiding them this time. If his map is accurate,” Dame Juliana shrugged, “wouldn’t want to go back to those anyway. But it’s always a pleasure seeing more of the world. That’s why I was eager to join this expedition; my experience also made me a good pick.” And with that, she was back to focusing on their lesson.

After brewing the moss paste, she poured the concoction into mugs for each of them,

It cooled relatively quickly, and then it was clear what she wanted. Each was to try to drink the foul brew and see how it fared. Erec pinched his nose and downed it in one go. The moss was somewhere between a too-soft salad and grass. Bitter, primarily, from what he tasted despite trying to plug his nose. Garin bit the bullet and took down the moss drink at her Orders. Gwen as well. But two among them had a hard time following the request.

“No.” Colin declared.

“I find that I agree; I don’t believe we’re relying on this for survival right now—so it makes little sense to do this,” Olivia ran her thumb around the rim of the mug as she spoke.

“If you were in my class right now, that’d be a failing grade. Since we’re not, I can’t force you, Colin.” Dame Juliana threw on a vicious grin and narrowed her eyes. “However, you, Miss Gratuiti, serve this expedition as my squire. In this case, as your direct senior Knight, I must insist that you drink it.”

Olivia’s face went white. The mug shook in her hand. But ever so slowly, it began to rise. Her eyes scanned the rest, looking for someone to save her.

Garin looked away, either too embarrassed with his inability to help or trying to hide the grin Erec saw plastered on his face.

Olivia pinched her nose.

“Nope. You questioned my orders; you get to try the moss in its full glory.”

“Cruelty is the way of this world.” Olivia shuddered, then let her nose free. A second later, she downed the drink before the awfulness settled on her tongue. Erec watched with horror and fascination as she gulped and squinted her eyes. Was it that bad?

“Why the green face?” Colin pointed and laughed. “Get it? Because you just stuffed your face with moss?”

The mockery came to a stifled end as Duke Nitidus walked out of the cave and glared at his son. Colin froze.

“It is admirable of you to host these lessons, Dame Juliana. Their content is always compelling, and nobles of our stature rarely find the precious opportunities of the true harsh realities of this world.” The Duke bowed his head at their instructor and then returned a glare to his son. “And how did you find this lesson, Colin?”

“Er—very important,” Colin replied, one of his hands discretely moving over the lid of his mug to hide the moss mixture beneath.

“Ah, is that so?”

Colin nodded.

Erec looked around, taking in Dame Juliana’s exasperated expression and Gwen resting with her hands behind her head, watching the show with a raised eyebrow. Now that Olivia finished her drink, Garin tried to explain himself to her and promised her it was fine to have the vile moss down her stomach. Attention on the lesson was gone and given the morning almost being up anyway, Erec was sure Boldwick would soon come and tell them it was time to go.

“If it was that compelling, why are you refusing to engage with Dame Juliana’s lesson plan?” The Duke gestured to Colin’s cup.

“…There isn’t a point in drinking it.”

“If you were stranded? Without food? Would there be a point to it then?”

“Well yeah, she said that’s why we should.” Colin nodded like a fool, aware that he was on thin ice but not knowing his way around the situation. A chill was in the air, and the sudden intensity of the situation snapped Erec back into the moment.

Colin’s father sighed. “How wise of you. What prudence must it take to realize that you should rely on the right moment for a lesson like this? With how this expedition is currently preceding, I fear you may not find the opportunity to reinforce this vital lesson Dame Juliana has given.” With that, he turned his attention to their instructor. “Ah. A solution. Would you be so kind as to cut and pack more of that moss away? I believe the best action is for my son to truly need it. Then he shall never forget. From this day forward, he’ll forgo rations until hungry enough to beg to eat this moss.”

“Father, you can’t be serious—“

“I’m afraid I very much am.”

“Trouble!” Boldwick’s cry cut through the tension, his voice amplified and carrying an urgent tone that shut Colin right up.

Erec slammed his helmet back on and ran to reinforce.

As soon as he cleared the cave, he saw the problem. In the distance, a massive plume of smoke and kicked-up dust polluted the otherwise flat wasteland. A fleet of metallic shapes was zooming directly toward them.