CHAPTER 120: NO NIGHT RAID?

Dominic didn’t have high hopes for the night’s sleep when he lay on the cot, but he drifted off to sleep in seconds, fast enough that even the Royal Guard was impressed with his ability to sleep anywhere.

And the fact that even while asleep, the Area Barrier spell that he erected didn’t fail.

That was unusual, but neither the Guard nor the Princess knew if he had a magitech item that he was charging to keep the barrier up or if he had cast it directly.

However, there weren’t any impacts against the barrier, and the only thing moving outside the city was the group of infantry clearing out the bodies from the battle.

Dominic was sure that he would wake up if something hit the barrier, he was usually a light sleeper, and the sound of a massive stone shattering against the invisible barrier would be loud enough to wake anyone.

But he didn’t wake until the sun began to shine in the window.

He hadn’t thought of that when he placed the cots. Princess Alexis was in the dark to his right, but the early morning sunlight was directly in his face.

The guard at the door nodded at Dominic as he quietly sat up and took a canteen from his storage cube to splash his face and wake up a bit more.

{Any news overnight?} He asked, using the Wavemates nation’s military hand signals.

The Royal Guard looked confused.

"Any action overnight?" Dominic mouthed silently.

The guard shook his hand, then motioned for Dominic to join him.

"What hand language is that? It’s not the Royal Signal." The guard whispered.

"It’s the Wavemates Military sign language. I thought that it was common for soldiers everywhere, but I noticed that your unit uses a different one."

The Royal Guard nodded. "Most of the coastal nations use this one, and we had always assumed that Wavemates did as well, as it’s simple and one-handed, so it can be used with a weapon. But you say that they used another among themselves?"

Dominic nodded. "Well, I guess it’s a lost art now, as the Wavemates Army no longer exists. But there should be a few people out there who still know it."

The door swung open a little and the guard from outside the door leaned in.

"It’s not completely lost. The Trade Guild uses it for their senior officers. They’re super secretive about it, though. If they think someone saw them using it, they switch." He explained.

"Oh, I didn’t know that it was the same sign language. Now, that is useful information. The Trade Guild is a pain to deal with. They say that they only negotiate with members, but when you ask how to get a membership, they just say that you would know if you were eligible." The guard inside the room muttered.

Princess Alexis cleared her throat. "Is gossiping about the Trade Guild what everyone needs to be doing right now?"

Dominic shrugged. "We have no reports of night attacks at all, not even an attempt at the wall. That might not be good news, but until something happens, we’re just standing by."

Princess Alexis nodded.

"Alright, send the maids to get us some breakfast, and we will eat before the Marquis gets up. He has stomach issues, so he only eats unseasoned food." She explained.

Dominic smiled. That was an important consideration. Unseasoned food should be a war crime of some sort.

The maid came in a few minutes later, and Dominic smirked at the expression on the Princess’ face. The meal was ordinary enough, scrambled eggs and potatoes with flatbread. But the only sign of seasoning was the butter that had been used to pan fry the previously boiled potatoes.

Dominic pulled a small vial out of his storage cube. "I have kitchen pepper if you want."

The Princess gave him a confused look.

"Oh, it’s a blend of spices that most people keep in their kitchen. Like a signature spice blend that gets used on any dish that doesn’t need a specific flavour. There is pepper, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and a few other spices mixed in." Dominic explained.

He shook some over his meal and passed her the shaker.

"Well, it’s worth a shot. It doesn’t sound like a super spicy blend."

Dominic chuckled at her reluctant acceptance, and the Royal Guard winked at him before addressing the Princess.

"It’s not intended to be for spice, it’s to add flavour to stews. A commoner trick because they can’t afford to buy whole bags of certain spices, so the spice store blends this up in bulk, and then people alter it as they please. Chili powder and curry powder are both cheap, so they’re not part of the mix." The Guard explained.

Dominic chuckled. "You know, the Royal Kitchens have a jar of it as well. It’s just easier to premix your spices when you want something to taste the same every time. They’ve actually got a half dozen that I could see the last time that I was there, all premixed for different dishes."

Princess Alexis smiled as she tested the belatedly seasoned food.

"Well, I learned something today. How the Imperial Kitchen works their culinary magic had never been a topic that interested me, and the Royal Army has dedicated cooks when we deploy." She explained.

The only sounds in the room were the clanking of cutlery on plates as they finished eating, and the silence was beginning to disturb Dominic.

From all that he knew, sieges should be a bloody, brutal thing, with thrown boulders, attempts to burn the city, and infiltration teams being sent to try to breach their defences.

But for some reason, the Dagos Army outside of Burton was simply sitting there, waiting for something. They hadn’t attacked since last night, and they hadn’t done much scouting either, if it hadn’t been enough to warrant a report to the Royal Guards.

Could they have reconsidered their strategy when the airships stopped their invasion fleet and landed them outside the walls?

That didn’t make sense either. Not when they had sent a thousand vehicles to the city full of soldiers.

There were more people outside the walls than inside them right now, by Dominic’s estimation.

Yet, still, nothing was happening.