Hyperion Evergrowing

Chapter 196: Mountains

Hylon’s eye twitched as an hour of pointless back and forth bickering and inane arguing turned into a second, then a third. He found his gaze wandering the inside of the temple, trying to distract himself from the growing boredom of standing behind his grandfather as those too scared to act bickered with one another.

His eyes unfocused as he reached out with senses he wasn’t overly familiar with, the stagnant auras of those in the temple who had stalled on their progression brushed up against his own, and Hylon zoned out, pressing his own fledgling aura up against them. It was only rank one, having been the most recent skill he had acquired. For the past few years his life had been little more than training, then chores, then more training. Not everyone who Silas took in pursued the life of an Adventurer, but those who did found themselves the subject of an almost cruel training regime.

But it was effective. It had been an almost indescribable relief when he had finally obtained the [Trainee] class, Hylon had almost cried at the thought he could finally rest. He had actually cried when he found out the main way the class earned experience.

Hylon poked his aura inexpertly into those around him, but nobody seemed to notice. It wasn’t unexpected, most non combatants never bothered to train the emanation of their soul, never learned how to control it, and just like a muscle one’s aura senses would atrophy if unused. He was fairly sure that if Silas wanted, the old man could flatten everyone in this room into the ground with just the weight of his presence. It was power and control that he aspired to, even if he knew it would take decades, maybe even his entire life to reach.

Poke.

No reaction

Poke.

Nothing.

Poke.

Poke.

His awareness slipped away from the room, a sudden bout of dizziness overtaking him. Hylon rocked in place, blinking owlishly as he glanced around. What had he just done? He was flexing his aura, but then…

Someone reacted. He thought, shaking his head. The fog of unexpected disorientation fading now that he focused. Hylon studied those within the temple more closely. It wasn’t Sharp Nose, not Spotty Cheek, not Long Beard, his aura was like a barely aflame fireplace, nothing disorientating. Frilly Dress, nope. Shiny Scalp? Not him either.

He had been going around the room in order, but had had the good sense to skip over the magistrate. Hylon squinted, and suddenly he could see the masked adventurer standing behind the town’s leader. She was in a similar position to himself and his Grandfather, just behind and off to the side.

Hylon hadn’t really thought much about the strange girl, though now that he thought about it wasn’t that strange? It wasn’t every day you saw someone walking around with a mask made of smooth, white wood. Nor did most adventurers wear such ragged and patchwork clothing. And she had seen the dungeon? How? What on earth would somebody be doing up in the mountains during turbulence?

Indignant at being rebuffed so easily, and more than a little curious, he poked forward with his aura. The mask shifted slightly, orange eyes locking onto his own. A wave of disorientation washed over him, but it was far less impactful than the first time it had happened. He exhaled, shrugged and grinned slightly, rubbing the back of his head. The adventurer held his gaze for another few moments, then looked away.

Sheesh. Intense. He thought, refocusing on the conversation taking place.

“-This is foolish! In what world do we act before amassing more information and seek council the guilds and the noble houses?” Long Beard yelled, slamming a bony hand down onto the armrest of his chair. What part of his face that wasn’t covered in wisps of greying hair was bright red.

“The news is already being disseminated.” Silas explained, having stolen the seat of a council member who had left to relieve themselves, and then had never returned.. “But we have limited time, swift action is required to save lives.”

“Attempting subjugation without proper preparation is a foolish endeavour.” Another member of the council said. “We should wait for reinforcements.”

“But time is of the essence!” Another called.

“We should consider evacuating the town!”

“Our homes are defended by walls! Let the break come, we’ll withstand it!”

“These people…” Silas grumbled under his breath, grinding his teeth together. “Fools, the lot of them.”

Hylon stifled a yawn and tried not to shuffle in place, but damn this was boring. What on earth was so complicated about this whole situation? It needed to be dealt with, so they should just go out and do it. He worked his jaw, then he yawned for real. Stretching he looked around, only to see half a dozen glares aimed in his direction.

Silas tapped his cain onto the ground, making a sharp crack reverberate through the temple. “It appears this meeting has gone on for too long. Reach a resolution on your own time. Magistrate, do I have your blessing to recruit from the local populace and prepare for subjugation?”

The magistrate considered, then nodded, earning several outraged cries from some of the more stubborn council members. “Yes, and you may procure supplies enough for a two week expedition. We’ll send runners to the nearby villages asking for more volunteers. With any luck, the adventurers who were staying in them throughout turbulence will answer our call.”

“Wonderful. I would have hated to have needed to seize control over your lovely town to ensure its safety.” Silas said, standing with little effort. He glowered at all those present, then pointed at the masked adventurer. “Come, girl. You’ll need to show us where the dungeon is located, and any more information you may have will be invaluable.”

“S-seize control?! Who do you think you are?” Long Beard screamed, standing with far less grace. He opened his mouth, spittle flying in outrage, but before he could make another sound the man’s eyes bulged, his limbs locking up and he stumbled. Silas just raised an eyebrow as his presence rose to tower above all present in the temple, then he turned and marched out.

“N-noble?” Long Beard gasped, suddenly looking stricken.

Hylon tried not to laugh as he followed his grandfather out of the temple, their footsteps and the clack of wood against the smooth stone floor a rhythmic accompaniment to the melody of anger and confusion they left behind.

A third set of footsteps, these much softer, joined them a moment later, and Hylon looked over to see the masked adventurer. He hadn’t noticed back during the meeting, but she was actually shorter than him. She also didn’t seem to be armed, which wasn’t too unusual, he had left his own weapon back with his other belongings.

“Hi.” He said, holding out a hand as he walked. “I’m Hylon. The old bastard is my grandfather.”

“Lucia.” She said, not taking his hand.

“We’ll do proper introductions later.” Silas said, glowering at a moss covered statue that they passed depicting a god of some sort lifting a plow and horseshoe. “Getting information back there was like pulling teeth. What was the situation with the dungeon? How active was it? Monster composition?”

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“The dungeon is located in a series of ravines and canyons.” Lucia said after a moment of consideration. “It was quite active when I last saw it, several earth and stone elementals in vaguely humanoid shape were just beginning to wander free from its influence. The worst part was the shifting rock, entire paths could become opened or closed with little warning, and rockslides were common.”

“I see. Fairly standard ground aspected dungeon, though dangerous. The monsters and beasts that call the mountains home are rarely as weak as an oversized crustation, and conflict between them and the dungeon’s spawn will cause a sharp rise in levels for any survivors.”

“But there sure were a lot of them. The crabs, I mean. We had to clear about a dozen of them off of the road a few hours out of town.” Hylon said. “Not that it was a problem, of course.” He continued, shooting a look at the masked adventurer. She didn’t seem to notice, her eyes facing directly forward.

Silas grunted, leaning into his cane as their family came into view. “I hate to pull rank, but I’m going to need to do just that to get things moving in time. Anyone of able body and mind will be highly encouraged to join the subjugation. I assume this isn’t a problem, girl?”

Lucia shook her head.

“Wonderful, we’ll assign teams on the road. Hylon, relay everything to your siblings. I want you and Rou testing the fighting abilities of those I send your way.”

A large, bald boy unloading one of the carts by himself perked up as he heard his name. He saw them and waved, taking a large box into one arm as he did so. “Hi pops, Hy, what’we doin?”

“We’ll try and be ready to depart first thing in the morning, but these things often take a while.” Silas said with a sigh. “Try not to kill anyone, but don’t go easy on the volunteers either. We need bodies, but the fewer liabilities the better.”

“Right.” Hylon nodded. Then Silas turned and marched away, the old man’s posture changing visibly as he did so, his figure becoming more dignified.

There was a thud, then Rou plodded over to where he and the masked adventurer were standing. “What’we doin? Was there trouble in the-big-building? You guys were gone for a long while.”

Rou was a head and shoulders taller than anyone Hylon had ever seen, and twice as wide. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he had a good heart. Well, he assumed it was good, it pretty much had to be to pump enough blood around such a large body.

“Grandfather is going to collect volunteers for the dungeon raid. We need to test those that arrive.”

“Aight.” Rou said, taking the task in stride with a lop sided. The boy turned to Lucia. “Do you need a weapon?”

It was an innocent question, but Hylon saw the girl’s posture tense, her stance shifting in a thousand minute ways to prepare for an outbreak of violence. It was all he needed to know that they didn’t need to test her fighting abilities.

“No, no. We’re testing the townsfolk, to see how much training they have, who’s strong enough to bring along. We don’t need to test an adventurer.” He said quickly, raising his hands.

“You an adventurer?” Rou asked Lucia, his eyes going wide. “That’s awesome. We just play pretend, it’s a lot of fun.”

“I’m still in training.” She said, relaxing slightly. “I still have a long way to go. I’m nothing compared… I’m nowhere near where I want to be.”

“Right.” Hylon said. “But that’s part of the fun, right? Progressing up the levels. Getting new skills. And dungeons are the best sources of experience, or so I’ve heard. Honestly I’m looking forward to it.”

She inclined her masked head slightly in his direction, then started sweeping her gaze over the mess of carts and belongings. Rou jogged back over to the cart he had been unloading and got back to work, a squeal of laughter coming from a pair of younger kids as they watched him heft two barrels, one under each meaty arm.

Hylon suddenly felt self conscious. Such a ragtag group of children and teenagers were likely a far cry from any disciplined guild the masked girl was used to. “It’s not much.” He found himself saying. “But we do our best. Grandfather trains anyone who wants to fight, but we all have our place. Some of us trade or do odd jobs around whatever town or village we visit.”

He glanced at her to see if there was any reaction to his words, but she had vanished. Hylon sighed. Whatever, I’ve got a job to prepare for.

===

“I don’t know, maybe you should wait until you actually have a class.” Hylon told the dejected looking boy with hair the same colour as the mud that covered his face.

“But I can fight.” The kid said, brushing himself down as he staggered to his feet.

He couldn’t.

“Right, but dungeons are dangerous, you know? You need a heaping of stats just as much as you do training.” Hylon said, trying to sooth the disappointment that would come from rejection.

“I need to train harder.” The kid said, nodding to himself.

“Sure.”

And a few more years of waiting. You can’t be older than twelve. He thought, but didn’t say. His smile didn’t falter, even if it tried to as he looked at the next in line. It was… not somebody he would ever expect to volunteer to face the manifestations of a concentrated pile of Mana.

“Ma’am, can I help you?” He asked the middle aged woman with a babe strapped to her chest.

“I wish to offer my services.” She said, completely serious. The baby gargled something.

“Ugh, right. I don’t want to be rude…”

“Oh, I’m not offering to fight.” The woman said. “I wish to cook for those who will. Help out around the camp, you’ve already accepted my husband, you see. This way we won’t need to be apart.”

Hylon just looked at her, processing her words for several moments. “Um, okay. Go… go talk to her.” He said, throwing an already harried looking Cerri under the cart. She was running around trying to stop their younger siblings from causing too much trouble, all the while taking notes from a handful of non combatants who’s aid had been accepted already.

The woman smiled and shuffled away, only to be intercepted by a man around the same age and ushered away. The sound of their growing argument rang in Hylon’s ears as he let out a sigh. His eyes almost rolled up into his skull when he saw the waving figure of the elderly man who stumbled forward next.

“No, sir. I’ve already sent you away twice now, you need to be able bodied.”

The man scratched at his cheek, fingertips meeting unkempt stubble. “I’m not drunk no more. I drank water from the well.” His voice was slurred, and he wobbled on his feet.

Hylon glanced down at the growing spot of dampness around the man’s crotch, then mimicked one of Silas’s ‘unimpressed’ looks as best he could. It didn’t work, and the inebriated elder launched into a rant about how he had once defeated a hill troll unarmed. Hylon tuned the man’s rambling speech out, glancing around the area his family had disembarked.

Town guards loitered around, but none seemed to have been sent by his grandfather, instead they were more interested in making sure the scene taking place in the middle of their home didn’t escalate into an incident. Many of them kept shooting distrusting glances at Rou, which was unfair. His brother might struggle to fit through most doorways, but he was no threat to anyone.

There was a cry as Rou tackled an older boy to the ground, pinning him in place with more mass than technique. Rou laughed, his victim was purple in the face from a mix of panic and suffocation.

“Na bad!” Rou laughed, rolling off of the shaken looking teen. “You-c’n come along if ya want.”

The other boy staggered away wordlessly. Rou watched him go, then turned a sheepish look towards Hylon. Their eyes met, and they shrugged in unison. It was probably a good thing they were sending most people away, Silas could get quite picky, his standards more exacting and strict than anyone Hylon had ever met. Not that they could afford to send away everyone, there would need to be concessions made to the quality of their recruits in order to reach the desired quantity.

The old drunk was rambling about how he had choked a wyvern to death, and Hylon nodded away as if paying keen attention. Out of the corner of his eye he was a figure move, but only after forcing his vision to focus did he notice who it was. The masked adventurer stood off to the side, watching impassively with her arms crossed. One of her boots tapped the ground, but he couldn’t tell if it was impatience, or nervousness.

She shot a worried glance westwards, and Hylon followed her line of sight. The peaks of the Varan mountains could be seen just over the town’s rooftops, and he found himself wishing he was among them, fighting for his life against a tide of monsters and beasts seemed preferable to slowly getting accustomed to the scent of piss.

“But the best way to deal with southern merfolk is like this.” The drunk slurred.

“Sir, please put your pants back on.” Hylon begged, giving a pleading look towards a pair of nearby town guards.

“Ya need to show em who’s boss. They might be mostly fishy, but no true man would give up an opportunity- GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME! I AM AN UPSTANDING MEMBER OF SOCIETY!” He screamed as he was dragged away.