Beastborne- Mark of the Founder

by James T Callum

  “How so?” Hal asked, turning to the red-skinned man.

  Altres’ spade-tipped tail lashed around behind him as he struck a pensive pose. “Well, presumably you do not have them where you come from. It would be like explaining what rain is, or wind. It is a basic fact of Aldim.” At Hal’s curious look he added, “That’s the name of our world.”

  Elora pushed Altres aside then turned back to Hal. “It is a deadly storm of chaotic mana that destroys and corrupts the land around it in ways nobody can predict. Monsters spawn from within the twisters of condensed mana that touch down from the clouds. Some even spawn from the mana strikes that resemble lightning.

  “If we’re caught in it, our best bet is to run and never stop running. But the Manatrees within each Sanctum or Sanctuary generally keep the surrounding region clear. And what Manastorms appear are weak and fleeting. If you see colored lightning or clouds that are vibrant hues, tell us immediately.”

  As gruff and blunt as Elora could be she was surprisingly patient with him.

  She had been kind as she could be while keeping up a brisk pace. Now that they had put a day between them and potential pursuit, she seemed to have relaxed a little. Hal wasn’t sure that Fallwreath would send anybody after him.

  After all, the only people who knew where he was last seen were dead. Hal imagined it would be pretty hard to find a single guy among all the prisoners that had escaped. Though he did feel a pang of guilt for leaving them to their fate.

  “What is it?” Ashera asked, studying his face. Her horns were bright and snowy in the dull afternoon light.

  Hal shrugged one shoulder and went over to the campfire where they were roasting some wild boar that had been caught. It smelled… well, it smelled like ham. I guess some things are the same no matter where you are.

  “I feel bad about the prisoners,” he admitted.

  Ashera followed him, hands folded behind her back. “You did what you had to in order to escape. And I dare say, quite a few of the prisoners will have been able to flee the Sanctum even with the lockdown. From what you told us, if as many cells were set free as we believe, there would have been well over a hundred people freed.”

  Hal sat down on the grass. “But I left them as soon as I could.”

  That wasn’t entirely true. He didn’t have the same level of bloodlust that swept up that particular group. And, apparently, neither did Altres. The man - tiefling, he corrected - was quick to leave the large group as well.

  Some of the Rangers watched him. They always did. Hal wasn’t sure what to make of that. Most of them didn’t talk to him or bother to engage with him but they very clearly listened when he spoke.

  Unlike when Altres was around them. That guy could get a stone to open up and start talking.

  “And are you responsible for every wayward person you help out?” Elora asked, raising a blonde brow. “Is it your duty to shepherd every lost soul from the moment you lift them from the muck until the day they die?”

  “Well… no.” Hal rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. He knew it wasn’t as simple as he made it out to be and yet he kept on talking. “But I freed them and immediately left them to fend for themselves. Shouldn’t I have at least tried to lead them out? Maybe we could have stormed the gates and broken out as a whole.”

  I really need to get my Charisma up. He was far from happy about the plight of the prisoners, but he was having a hard time getting his feelings across. Whenever he tried, they came out whiny and dour. Not at all how he meant to express himself.

  At least it wasn’t as severe as having 1 INT. Nothing could be worse than that.

  Ashera folded up into a cross-legged position across from him. “The likely outcome of that would have been your death at the hands of the Sanctum Guard.

  “Even if they did not kill you, or you somehow managed to fight off seasoned men with decades of experience and superior arms, we would not have been able to take the prisoners with us if we had found you.”

  That made Hal sit up. “What? Why not? Don’t they deserve freedom as much as anybody else? Some of them were wrongly convicted.” The Quest prompt had been fairly explicit.

  Ashera held up a hand and smiled gently at him. It had an immediate calming effect. “Peace, Hal. I am not saying they did not deserve our help. I am saying we could not.”

  “What Ashera is trying to say,” Elora put in, “is that we are not equipped to protect and feed more than we have with us right now. Especially not so near to the Founder’s seat of power.

  “If we found them a few days from Fallwreath? Maybe. But to take such a large group of uncertain loyalties and temperament so close to Fallwreath would be suicide. Tell me, how many Rangers have you seen openly walking alongside us this past day?”

  “Not that many. A couple at a time, if that.” Hal realized that, for the most part, he didn’t see any of the Rangers until it was time to break for camp. Every so often there’d be a bird call through the woods that would be answered by another somewhere else or by Elora.

  Since it hadn’t seemed like a terrible ordeal to make it as far as they had, Hal didn’t think they were in any true danger. But maybe they weren’t in any danger because the Rangers were perpetually dealing with the threats, whether they were people sent after him or wild creatures.

  “You see?” Ashera said to Elora. “He understands.”

  Elora looked less than convinced. She was about to open her mouth when Hal spoke instead, “What you’re saying is if we had gone through the woods a hundred-strong, even a dozen or more, we’d be easily spotted. The Rangers are good but I don’t think they could hide that many people from detection or protect them from the threats I’m sheltered from.

  “I get it. It’s only with a small group could we hope to make it out of Fallwreath’s borders. Not to mention hunting and organizing shelter of any kind for so many people would be a nightmare.”

  “You’re right, Ashera,” Elora said. “Perhaps he is ready to understand what’s really going on around us.” Something softened in her tone toward Hal.

  Hal looked at them curiously. “Does this have something to do with the Founder Rebels?” The notification had made it seem like there was something brewing under the surface. He couldn’t mistake the subversive thread that wove its way through much of Elora’s words.

  The two women looked at each other, even Altres nearby perked up and came over.

  Elora raised a hand to halt whatever Ashera was about to say. “I know what you are about to say. I already said you were right.” She turned to Hal. “You are mostly right. The Rangers are part of a larger group of rebels known as the ‘Amatire’ or the Hope in Common.

  “For years they have been building up supplies and safe houses just waiting for the day a new Founder showed up. One with a kind heart. As a member of that group, it is my duty to protect you and the Manaseed we have in our charge.

  “You could change the world, Hal. Make a real difference. My home is unrecognizable. You’ve seen what my own mother tried to do. The current Founder tortures and kills anybody he sees fit. If you were to take the Manaseed and plant it, not only would you become immortal but you would be able to create a Sanctum. A safe haven for every oppressed soul in Aldim.”

  Hal felt like somebody just threw a bag of bricks at him and he was struggling to hold onto them. “That’s a lot to ask,” he said softly.

  Elora reached out and grabbed his forearm. “I know. And none of us are going to force you. We only want you to keep an open mind and not dismiss it out of hand. Please, Hal. This may not be your world… but it could be.”

  “What did you do back home?” Altres asked.

  Hal stared at the grinning fangs of the ruby-skinned tiefling. “I… was a driver.” When everybody looked at him curiously, he explained it in greater detail.

  “So you took people from one place to another,” Altres mused. “You could be a king here, Hal. More than a king. Immortality is no joke. And magic like you would not beli
eve, all at your fingertips. Why go back to a world where you’re a driver when you could stay here and be immortal?”

  “And not just immortal,” Ashera added. “You could make a difference. You could decide the safety and health of a kingdom. You could undo all of Rinbast’s mistakes. And even if you preferred not to confront him, you could make a home for people who are without one.”

  Ashera swept her arm out wide toward the mossy oaks to the north in the dense wood they were sheltered in. “People live on the fringes of society in fear of Manastorms that can destroy everything they have ever known because they find that preferable to the tyranny of the current Founder.

  “I could see the fire in your eyes when you realized how horribly unfair you were treated by the Founder. Now imagine if you had no magic. No means of escaping that prison.”

  “I would be dead,” Hal agreed softly.

  “And I would have starved to death,” Altres said somberly. “All for writing a few silly songs and poems at the expense of the Founder. You saved me, Hal. Make no mistake, you could save many more. There are dozens of dungeons even worse than the one we were thrown into.

  “People whose only crime is that they spoke out against oppression and unfairness. Guards kill indiscriminately and suffer no repercussions. They are little more than thugs the Founder uses to keep people in line. But what choice do they have? They would have to travel beyond Fallmark and that journey would be beyond all but the most seasoned adventurers.

  “But you Hal. You could change that. You could give them an option.” Altres shrugged. “Either way, I will follow you and help where I might best. It is the least I could do after you saved me.”

  “Nobody is pressuring you, Hal,” Elora said. “But it is only right that you understand what is at stake. If you somehow found a way to go back home, the Founder would eventually find us and slaughter our families then us. As much as I do not like it, we are at your mercy.

  “If you choose to go back, none of us would stop you. That is your right, it is your life. But if you choose to stay… if you choose to fight.” Elora’s eyes misted, her voice grew tight with emotion. “We will die by your side. This I swear. You will never want for allies.”

  To Hal’s surprise, the Rangers that had gathered around them in a loose circle were nodding their heads in agreement. Even Ashera and Altres.

  He had seen just a glimpse of what these people must go through. Could he, in good conscience, leave them to that fate? Even ignoring the many gifts he would gain, he could have a life full of purpose and adventure on Aldim.

  And magic. Real magic. On Aldim he could grow in ways that people back home could only dream of in games, movies, and stories. It was all real here. If only he agreed to stay. But it was a monumental decision. One he couldn’t make lightly.

  “Man, am I glad you guys like me so much that you wouldn’t ever dream of kicking me out now that I know Hal’s secret,” Altres said, draping an am over Hal’s shoulder. “Right? Guys? I need constant reassurance and attention or I die. Hey, where are you going?”

  12

  That night as they stopped to camp, Hal bustled around helping to set up. It had been at his own insistence that he do something useful. So, Elora had given him the task of finding kindling for the fire.

  Not the most prestigious of jobs but he felt it was only right to try and help out. They were saving his life, after all. And with such a big decision to make that would affect so many lives, keeping busy stopped him from dwelling on the enormity of it all.

  Hal’s Darkvision had gone up two Levels and he could now see roughly 20 feet in the pitch-black darkness. While it didn’t stop him tripping and fumbling about in the dark, it did make it easier for him to spot bits of deadfall that he gathered up into his arms.

  For the first time since leaving Sanctum-Fallwreath, Hal realized he was alone. Elora had trusted him. After everything she told him, she trusted him to go out on his own without a bodyguard.

  He didn’t doubt there was a Ranger somewhere out in the dark watching him. But they clearly didn’t expect him to go off screaming and running into the night away from the responsibility they offered him.

  It’s a start.

  Determined to prove that he didn’t need somebody holding his hand the entire time, Hal gathered up two armloads of deadfall and hauled them back to the camp.

  “Those will make some good kindling,” a Ranger said to him, relieving him of his burden. “But see here? This one’s still green, notice how it bends when you flex it? It’ll produce more smoke than fire.” She tossed it aside. “The rest of these are, however, quite good. You have a decent eye.”

  You have unlocked Survival (Level 0).

  Survival abilities allow you to not only live off the land but to thrive. Survival determines your ability to hunt for game, distinguish poisonous food from edible, and to make camp effectively.

  Not enough to get a skill level though, he noticed.

  Hal was tired. All the marching and constant hiking were more than he had probably ever walked in his entire lifetime. As soon as he sat down it all came crashing onto his shoulders, bowing them with exhaustion.

  He didn’t even have the strength to worry about Angram coming around and insisting on another bout of training. Granted, one or two more rounds would likely get him to Level 5. After the last few bouts, he was less than 100 EXP away.

  All he wanted was to curl up on the ground and fall asleep. Fire or no fire.

  That same Ranger squatted next to him, setting up the kindling in the circle of stones nearby. She eyed him sidelong with jewel-bright amethyst eyes. “Ranger life isn’t for everybody, kid.”

  Hal squinted at her. He didn’t quite have the energy to give her a full glare. “I’m not a kid, I’m in my late twenties.”

  The Ranger shrugged one shoulder, now that Hal had a moment to look at her he recognized the blonde braided hair. He thought her name was Yesel. Yes, that was definitely her. She was the only one he remembered having such striking purple eyes. “And I’m ninety-two. To me, you are still a child.”

  Dang elves and their long lifespan. Why can’t humans be the beautiful long-lived race for a change?

  “Elora was right, you could be a beacon of hope you know,” she said off-handedly to the sticks she was setting up. “Do not take this the wrong way, but not many of my people will welcome you as warmly as Elora and our brethren here have.”

  “Because I’m human?” He wasn’t sure how he felt about that level of racism.

  Yet he had already pegged the elven Rangers as something out of Lord of the Rings or any other high fantasy novel.

  “Partly, yes.” She was blunt, Hal appreciated the unvarnished truth. “And partly because you do not appear to care very much for anybody but yourself. You learn to survive so you do not die, that is not for us. That is for you, so you may return to the home whence you came. This world and its plight? You care nothing for it.”

  Hal rankled at that. Mostly because it was true. At least in part. A flicker of anger unfurled into a tiny flame in his chest but whether it was at himself or Yesel’s accusation, he didn’t know.

  “I do care.” He strained to keep his voice quiet. Controlled. “I care for the corruption that’s happened here but how can I fully understand what’s going on when we spend all day marching through woods that are darker than night half the time?

  “Where I come from, there are lights everywhere. Trees are organized into parks that are easily navigated. And people aren’t trying to kill me every time they see this mark.” Hal jabbed a finger at the rough-looking bandage still covering his left forearm.

  “Of course I want to go home, wouldn’t you want to leave somewhere that has been nothing but brutal and unkind to you?”

  Yesel’s shoulders sagged fractionally. She looked over at Hal with those piercing amethyst eyes. “Believe it or not, I understand. Perhaps your desire to get home is not so selfish. But have you taken the time to see the beauty of this wor
ld, despite its flaws?”

  There was no use in lying. “No, not that I’ve had much time… but no. I haven’t really bothered.”

  Yesel nodded to herself as much as Hal. Her hair fell, covering her face. She looked back at the fire and tucked a strand behind a pointed ear. “Let’s start with the basics. The name of this star, do you know it?”

  “Aldim.”

  That brought a look of surprise from Yesel. She recovered quickly. “Quite right. It is one of three nearby stars.”

  “When you say star, do you mean the sun?” Hal asked. He’d never heard of a person referring to a planet as a star before.

  She shook her head. “No, I mean the star we inhabit. Aldim has three moons, two small, one large and a bright band that splits the sky. Have you seen the band? No? That is a shame. It is beautiful in the morning. Maybe if you stay long enough the weather will turn and you will see for yourself.”

  That intrigued Hal. He wondered what the tides and oceans were like with three moons. And the band could only mean a ring around the planet, which was unique in itself.

  Yesel was about to say something more when a shrill call rang out from the darkness around them. She sprang to her feet, put an arm out, and grabbed Hal him without looking. She pulled him bodily behind her.

  Out came her bow. Yesel nocked it in one smooth motion and held it at the ready. “Stay behind me and stay low, do you understand?”

  Hal stumbled and barely managed to get to his feet. Was everybody around here so much stronger than him? He reached for his falchion and his chains.

  The feel of the [Deserter’s Falchion] in his hand made him more confident. He took out the chains he managed to keep hold of and held them in his left hand. If he had to defend himself, at least he now had the capacity to do so.