Aster Fall, Ch 50: Horned Hunter (Patreon)

“Why would people work for Outsiders?” Sam growled to himself again as he flexed his talons, his attention turning to the three traitors that were still alive. After they were tied up, they had been tossed to the side of the room against one wall.

Even after killing the Visionary, his anger was still running hot. If there had been more Outsiders here, he would have torn them to pieces. He looked toward the traitors, holding himself back from heading toward them.

They deserved to die, but there were people here who had more need for retribution than he did. All around, the Ice Sylphs were freeing the last of the prisoners. There were about a dozen of them altogether, with a mix of classes and levels.

Most were human, but there was one dwarf and a gnome, which was a race Sam hadn’t encountered before. The basalt gnomes back in the Abyssinian Plains had only shared the name. His gaze moved around the room, settling on a handful of the prisoners as they were freed.

Forest Gnome. Tinkerer-Wizard. Level 32.

Mountain Dwarf. Brewer-Hall Guardian. Level 35.

Human. Painter-Weaver. Level 28.

Human. Warrior-Herbalist. Level 41.

Human. Enchanter-Diplomat. Level 43.

Those were the ones who stood out to him the most, and the ones who were the most spirited. The others had standard farming and artisan classes, along with a few Guards and Warriors. Their eyes were dim after their experience here.

The trapped beasts were left in their cages, since they couldn’t be freed yet. The Ice Sylphs passed their hands over the bars, freezing the inscriptions and chilling the interior, and before long the beasts fell into a deep slumber, their fur dusted with snow.

There were about a dozen of them, mostly weaker beasts in the Level 30-40 range. They must have been brought up from the lower slopes.

“We’ll release them once we’re gone,” Siwasir said as he saw Sam looking around. “It would not be right to rescue them only to kill them now. They can run free and find their own fate.”

Sam nodded, turning his attention back to the prisoners. Rope marks and bruises decorated their bodies, but they were alive. The Icebloods must not have wanted to harm them too much before they were sacrificed.

Their expressions were grave as they were freed from their cages and looked to where the flaw had been. For some, it was a look of disbelief. For others, it was gratitude. The silence was broken a moment later, however, when one of the prisoners stared at Sam and shouted.

“Demon!”

The man who’d just been freed stared at him, his hands curling into fists. His clothes were tattered, but they had once been rich robes made from blue brocade. It was the Enchanter-Diplomat.

Sam reached up reflexively to his amulet, only to find that it was off. He wasn’t wearing his hood either. He’d been thinking about destroying the flaw and not about rescuing prisoners who could see his face.

A sense of frustration filled him as he prepared to speak. How many times was this going to happen? Before he could say anything, however, Siwasir’s voice rang out across the chamber as he came to his defense.

“He is not a demon from your legends.”

The Ice Sylph looked around with a chilling light in his eyes, fixing his attention on the one who had shouted. Ice crackled angrily as it formed across the floor, turning into swirling lines like the patterns in the ruins.

He pointed at Sam, indicating the swirling light of the World Law and the aura of experience that was gathering around him. There was also a trail of moonlight in three colors that was rippling around his aura, an echo of his connection to the Moonlight Relic.

The energy highlighted his horns and cast his features into sharp relief, but instead of making him look evil, it made him look otherworldly.

“He is the Horned Hunter of the Moons,” Siwasir declared, his voice grave, “your savior and a Guardian of the World Law who seeks out demons and destroys them. He is also a native of Aster Fall and a friend to the Ice Sylphs.

“If you oppose him, your invitation to this valley will be rescinded. You will no longer be allowed to dwell here or to study the ruins. Moreover, you will have insulted your benefactor. It is due to him that you are alive and free. Look!”

As Sam turned around, the silvery aura of experience continued to build up around him and the halo of light intensified. The voice of the World Law descended, echoing throughout the room. Unlike usual, this time the first words of the World Law were heard by everyone.

You are Acknowledged as a Guardian of Law.

Title Recorded: Horned Hunter of the Moons.

The energy of the experience settled onto his skin, shining like a brilliant sun that radiated throughout the room with a relaxing, confident gleam. At the same time, a new line appeared below his name with the title inscribed on it. It came with a note: “Title granted by local authority.”

Then the World Law continued, so that only Sam could hear.

You have fulfilled the requirements to remove the Trait: Defiant.

Your Trait: Defiant is annulled and replaced with the Trait: Guardian of Law.

You regain +2 Charisma.

Authorities of Law will no longer dislike you on sight. Instead, you gain a small advantage to Charisma when speaking with them. Due to your shared goal, they will be more inclined to believe your words.

He felt his skin itching for a moment as his features shifted, correcting themselves. Some part of the World Law’s energy also changed, removing a shadow that it had laid on him. He felt his spirit springing up with a new freedom, as if he were unconstrained.

On his status page, the trait for Defiant shifted, the name blurring as it was replaced by “Guardian of Law.”

As a one-time reward for proving your dedication as a Guardian of Aster Fall, you may choose one Class Ability and one Subclass Ability to upgrade by a tier (to a maximum of Elite).

Future rewards are available if you continue to protect Aster Fall.

Make your choices now.

Time seemed to slow around Sam as the choices appeared in front of him. There were a lot of Class and Subclass abilities he needed to improve, but the opportunity in front of him wasn’t one he could waste. He needed to choose skills that were otherwise very difficult to raise and that could enhance his ability in battle.

He frowned as he stared at his Subclass Abilities, which were where most of his combat ability came from. Essence Shield and Crystal Focus were both at Advanced, and Combust Aura was at Basic. Raising any of those would be useful.

For his Class Abilities, he had Reclaim Aura, Identify Aura, and Aura Storage at Advanced. Shatter Aura was at Elite already, which meant this reward wasn’t useful for it, and Imbue, Intensify, and Assume Aura were all at Basic.

All of them were useful in some way, but he crossed off Assume immediately, as well as Identify and Aura Storage. Those could rise in their own time.

Assume was effective in battle, especially if he used it to imbue an aura into his spells or a scroll, but it was limited by the auras he had available. As for Identify and Aura Storage, those were linked to Reclaim.

As for what was left...Imbue was useful for enchanting and would help him make more powerful artifacts. He needed that to be higher if he really wanted to harness Advanced or higher auras. It was also a core part of his class, and who knew how many artifacts he would have to make to upgrade it on his own.

As for his subclass, Essence Shield would grant him better defensive abilities, and Crystal Focus would enhance his awareness for both battle and enchanting. Neither of those addressed his main problem, however, which was running out of essence in battle.

The short list he had left was Reclaim, Imbue, Intensify, and Combust. If he were able to reclaim higher-level auras, he would be able to get more essence from them and also use them in enchanting. If he upgraded Intensify, he could charge the auras he already had to hold more.

As for Combust, he wasn’t sure what would happen if he upgraded it, but it should give him more efficiency or speed. Perhaps it would let him harness more of the energy in an aura.

Unfortunately, the first three of those were all from his Class, and he could only choose one of them, which meant his choice boiled down to Combust and one other.

In the end, he chose the one that was the hardest to improve on his own.

Reclaim Aura has been upgraded to Expert.

Combust Aura has been upgraded to Advanced.

The power of the World Law descended, swirling into an enormous whirlpool as it swept into his body and raced along his meridians. He could feel his connection to the world deepening, as if a veil were being pulled back, and a sharp awareness of the natural auras around him stabbed into his mind as Reclaim Aura improved.

Reclaim Aura was not a simple ability. In order for it to work, he needed to understand what he was dealing with. At the same time, Combust Aura was the opposite side of the coin. Where Reclaim caused an aura to condense to a point so it could be manipulated, Combust Aura destroyed that point, pulling it apart for energy.

His mind felt like it was about to split apart as the meaning of the two abilities shuddered through it. The sense of Ice, wind, the other elements, and even the life force of the people and beasts around him echoed wildly in his senses as his awareness improved.

Then it was done and the abilities settled into place.

Time restarted as the world began to move around him again, and the silver light gathered around him bathed the room in its glow before it faded away, leaving just the taste of winter pine in the air.

The man who had been reprimanded by Siwasir was staring at him, stunned silent as he saw the World Law’s blessing radiating from the man he’d just called a “demon” in front of him. His expression was a study of confusion and shock, but it was difficult for him to argue with the light shining around Sam.

As a capstone to that, a moment later, the experience from the fight flowed toward Sam, accompanied by a bubbling river of joyful, drunken bubbles through his blood.

Congratulations, Guardian. You have used your Class skills to slay the enemies of Aster Fall.

You gain 450,000 experience.

Total Class Experience: 55,159,990 / 56,000,000

There had only been a handful of enemies here, so it wasn’t enough to get him to Level 80, but he was close. The Charisma from removing Defiant raised that attribute to 54.

He wasn’t sure what the title Siwasir had created was all about, but he could see it now listed beneath his name on his status page. He looked down at his hands, flexing his talons, and then he turned toward the man who had shouted.

The world felt thinner, somehow, as if it were no longer repressing him as much. It was partly due to his Charisma increasing and the force of his personality pushing against it, but most of it came from the new Guardian of Law trait.

For the first time, it felt like the World Law was on his side.

If he had an ability for his Charisma, he might have been able to harness it to persuade the crowd, but for now all he could do was speak naturally. Fortunately, Charisma helped to convey meaning, making it more likely that he would be understood. Siwasir’s words had already set the man back on his heels, so all he needed to do was speak a few words to convince him.

“I’m not a demon,” he told the man as his eyes glowed with bright, crystal blue flames. “I’m an Enchanter and this world is my home. These were my enemies as much as yours, and now you are free. The area directly around here is clear of Outsiders.”

He ignored the man’s confusion. If anything came of this, he would deal with it later. Right now, there was a Grand Flaw to close. He turned, waving his hand toward the pile of gear that was scattered across the tables.

“You should take your things and go. The ruins are not safe. Help the others here to leave as well. Highfold is on the other side of the mountain to the east. As for us, we are heading to destroy the Grand Flaw, which is the origin of all of this. The church is on their way as well. You do not want to be caught up in the battle.”

The man gave Sam and the Ice Sylphs a confused look, his forehead wrinkling, but as he listened to Sam’s words, he calmed down. Speaking intelligently had made Sam far more understandable.

“An Enchanter?” he asked with a frown. There was a tremble in his voice that marked his uneasiness, despite his attempt to hide it, but at the same time there was some strange interest there. He straightened his shoulders, taking on a more dignified appearance as he tried to assert his authority.

“Then you should know that I am Telen Borel, Expert Enchanter of the Ancestral Sun Enchanter’s Guild,” he declared imperiously, raising his chin into the air. His clothes were in rags, but his attitude made it irrelevant.

“I thank you for saving me and my team, and I know the other unfortunates here feel the same. These Outsiders and their monsters captured us three days ago and were certainly planning to kill us. The Highfold City Guard is not capable of doing their job! I request your assistance now in returning to the city. Once we are there, I will reward you well.”

He paused as he studied Sam, a slight frown forming. There was a tingle of energy as Sam felt his Analyze. He was still hesitant, his gaze flinching away from Sam’s face, but after all the Charisma that Sam had added recently, it wasn’t because he was ugly.

“You say that you are an Enchanter,” he added, “but surely it must be a profession for you at most? If you demonstrate your ability, I can grant you an apprenticeship with my guild. We are one of the foremost researchers of ancient ruins. Every apprenticeship is highly competitive!”

Telen was becoming more confident of himself by the moment now that he was free from his cage. He looked at Sam with a pompous curiosity, trying to decipher the puzzle in front of him. The idea of Sam being an Enchanter had got his attention.

Clearly, he’d lost his mind.

Sam’s eyebrows rose, and then he turned to Siwasir as he decided to ignore him. Whatever the man had to offer, he doubted there was anything that could compare with the Moonlight Relic. Not to mention, he was acting like he was the one who had freed all of the people here.

“Let’s go,” Sam said to Siwasir as he turned away. “We can’t delay. At the very least, we should try and gather some information before the rest of the forces arrive. We need to see what the Outsiders’ defenses are like.”

“Where are you going?” Telen demanded as he saw them start to withdraw. His head whipped around the room, taking in the three traitors who were still alive. His hands curled into tight, angry fists. “What am I supposed to do with these...criminals?!”

Sam ignored him, as did the Ice Sylphs. He wasn’t unsympathetic to the prisoners, but now that the Outsiders were dealt with, the major threat in the area was gone. They were all around Level 30 to 40, which meant they were reasonably capable of getting back to the town on their own.

“Your job isn’t done yet!” Telen’s voice became more strident as he saw them leaving. “You have to escort me back to Highfold. These mountains are dangerous!”

Sam shook his head, refusing to look back as he headed toward the corpses of the Icebloods. He bent over the first one, searching for the aura in it. With Reclaim upgraded to Expert, his speed at finding it was almost instantaneous.

The taste of frozen blood filled his mind, more piercing than ever before. The last time, it had been a hand grasping at an icy ledge. This time, it came with a sense of despair. It was a wolf’s winter where the skies turned to blood and the land descended to chaos, where no bonds held one person to another.

It was part of Aster Fall, but it was a part that was wild and destructive, something that had to be reined in or destruction would follow.

A moment later, an Aura of Blood Winter (Expert) swirled free from the corpse and coalesced into a shining, brilliant sphere in his hand. It was brighter and a bit larger than the Advanced auras.

He pushed it into the storage in a hurry, unwilling to expose himself to it any longer. As soon as he did, he felt the storage dimension trembling. Just like the last time, the edges of the space began to warp under the intensity.

As he’d expected, as soon as the aura was inside, the storage shuddered as it began to expand. A responding force from somewhere else pushed back against it, stabilizing it.

Aura Storage has been upgraded to Expert.

Capacity has been increased to 1,200 auras.

The brief notification flashed in his mind and then disappeared. A moment later, the dimensional pocket was quiet again as the ripples in its structure vanished.

“What are we supposed to do with these traitors?” Telen shouted again, drawing Sam’s attention back to the present.

“Kill them if you like,” Sam said over his shoulder. “Or take them to the town to be judged. They’re the ones who captured you. I think you can figure out an appropriate punishment.”

He didn’t care what happened to the traitors, and he doubted they would be walking out of the cavern now that the prisoners were free. He couldn’t think of a more fitting judgment for them than to leave them at the mercy of the people they’d been about to sacrifice.

As for him, he wasn’t in the mood to kill more humans. The Visionary had been enough.

He continued to ignore the Enchanter’s protests as he collected the auras from the other Icebloods. The fellow was asking too much if he expected him to throw aside the Grand Flaw just to take him back to the city.

There were five corpses here, but he only managed to get three of the auras. It turned out there was a spike in difficulty in reclaiming Expert auras. At 65 Wisdom, he only had a 55% chance, instead of the 75% he’d expected. It meant he was going to need 95 Wisdom to maximize it, which was a lot to invest.

He could have tried to gather Advanced auras instead, but a sense of stubbornness made him try for Expert on all of them. It didn’t take him long to finish, and a moment later he was heading for the entrance and the last two corpses there.

By a stroke of luck, he reclaimed both of the Auras of Blood Winter (Expert) from the Iceblood Hunter and Warrior by the stairs. Then he turned, swiping his talons through the air as he called to the essence in the Outsider corpses scattered through the area.

Dozens of brilliant stars rushed toward him, sinking into his blood as they joined the Second Layer formation. He was in a hurry, so he willed the World Law’s notification to be more condensed. After a moment, it cooperated.

Essence Constellation (Second Layer): 3,861 / 7,500.

Attribute Gain: +2 Strength, +3 Constitution, +1 Agility, +4 Intelligence, +4 Aura.

He let out a deep breath as he tilted his head, his ears catching the sound of the captives moving about the storage room. Someone overturned a table with a jangle of metal striking the stones and a dull thud. There were angry shouts, as well as the thump of feet and the clash of steel.

The sounds intensified as he turned away, heading toward the plaza above, but neither he nor the Ice Sylphs looked back.