Chapter 194: Trouble
Hylon pushed his way through the gawking crowd of townsfolk, moving his way towards the source of the morning's commotion. Most stepped aside as they noticed him, their heads dipped in greeting, others he had to gently move out of the way with a hand or the occasional shoulder bump. Most of them recognised him, he had lived among them for months, but even still they shot wary glances at the spear strapped to his back. He stifled a yawn with a fist as he broke free from the crowd, not wanting to let the fact he had only just woken up to be too obvious.
It probably worked, most people were looking at the corpse of the beast that had been carted into town. Not that he realised what it was right away, at first glance the thing looked more like a large bolder than any living being. Only the eight rust red coloured legs, and two shovel shaped pincers poking out from under the rock, that itself was as tall as his shoulders and almost as wide, made him finally comprehend what he was seeing.
It was a Summit Hermit Crab, a beast local to the Varan mountains that flanked their homeland to the west, a natural barrier that divided the northern kingdom from the empire to the south. Hylon hadn’t personally seen its like before, but having been forced to study the local bestiary’s by his grandfather, it wasn’t a completely alien creature. With an affinity for the rocky landscape of the mountains, the beast, while not a monster, had a habit of causing trouble for itself whenever it wandered from its natural habitat.
But why is it here? Did a hunting party from the mountains bring it back? He thought, his bleary eyes taking in the scene. Did this species migrate? Hylon was pretty sure they used ancient water filled caldera to lay their eggs, so there wasn’t any reason for it to be so low in elevation.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
“- with well over a dozen more spotted in and around the fields.” A man was saying, his appearance unkempt and wild, his tanned skin and hardy physique common among those who lived along the border. “We only just put our livestock back out to pasture, and already three are dead. Things are already bad, if they get any worse we’ll starve!”
“How on earth does something like this kill a sheep?” Said someone from the far side of the beast's corpse, Hylon only noticing them for the first time as they stood and planted a solid kick into the animal’s rocky side. Their voice was familiar, and not in a good way. Hylon wanted to turn around and go back to sleep, he already knew this would end in some sort of disaster.
“Goats, not sheep.” The first man corrected, one of the local farmers from the look of him.
“Same thing man, who cares.” Said the second with a dismissive snort. “The question still stands. What did the crab do, roll on top of them?” He kicked the massive boulder atop the crab’s back once again. It didn’t budge.
Hylon pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too early for this. The kicker was Jed, a man half a dozen years Hylon’s senior, and an adventurer just like him. Though, technically the man was in the employ of an official guild, while Hylon was not. A fact the more experienced adventurer enjoyed reminding him of. Hylon had shared a turbulence shelter with the man, alongside some others of similar background, and it was three months of his life he would never get back. He took a step back, retreating into the agitated crowd so as to not draw attention to himself.
“-You need to get rid of them. Quickly, before they do any more damage.” The farmer said with more than a little urgency, the conversation having continued while Hylon’s mind wandered.
“Sure thing, my party and I will take care of it. For a price, of course. My guild’s services are not cheap, I’m certain you understand?” Jed said, turning to the farmer. The adventurer puffed out his chest as if to show off the metal badge in the shape of a flower pinned to it. His grin was as wide as it was fake, his eyes sparkling with a heroic amount of greed. Jed’s smile turned to a sneer as the farmer looked away, several of the other village folk surrounding the crab’s corpse not meeting his gaze.
Murmurs started up among the crowd, and Hylon could understand their worry. They couldn’t pay, not after their harvests were pilfered by raiders in the days leading up to turbulence. This village was lucky in that not everything had been stolen or destroyed, since the roads had opened up, news had spread that several settlements further south were far less fortunate.
“We cannot afford the Sunflower guild’s dues, we pooled everything we had for protection over these past months.” A woman said, and the murmuring continued, growing in volume.
“You have a duty to protect us.” Another villager called. “We pay our taxes to the count, shouldn’t that be enough?”
“You may not have heard, but there’s a war going on down south.” The adventurer said, leering at those who had spoken. “Resources are tight, we can only offer handouts to those who provide the kingdom… value.”
Bastard. Hylon thought, clenching his fist. It’s trash like you who have no value. He stepped forward, anger chasing away the better part of his common sense. A confrontation here wouldn’t do anyone any good, let alone him, but the injustice before him mixed with a series of bad memories spurred him to action. Hylon pushed forward, but before he could speak up the older adventurer continued.
“What? Nothing to say? You’re all a bunch of lazy, good for nothing cowards. I knew being stationed here during turbulence was a waste of my time but wow, you’re all truly worthless.” Jed laughed, slapping the nearest farmer on the back. “Maybe we should feed all your sheep to the crabs, I’m sure they taste nice when cooked.”
Hylon saw red, his heart pounded in his chest and adrenaline spiked as he resolved to intervene. His awareness sharpened as his body reacted to the imminent confrontation. He opened his mouth to draw attention to himself when he paused, something catching the edges of his perception.
The sound of rhythmic tapping pierced through the growing worry, and those in the crowd turned their attention towards its source, their faces shadowed with anger and despair. An older man approaching his later years with grey hair and a face lined with wrinkles strode down the street, his weight partially supported by the wooden cane he struck against the cobbled street with every step.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Grandfather. Hylon realised, letting out a breath and forcing himself to relax. The silent crowd parted around the newcomer, the older man’s presence washing over them like a warm breeze.
“Well then, something appears to have caused a commotion. Would somebody enlighten this old man?” He looked down at the dead crab and sniffed. “Other than the obvious, I mean. Let's not waste time.”
“Ah, geezer.” Jed nodded, though it wasn’t a respectful gesture. His posture shifted from arrogant overconfidence to wariness over the course of a few seconds. He looked around, meeting the gaze of a handful of other adventurers watching off to the side. “We were just talking about things that lacked value, wonderful of you to join us.”
“Insults so early in the morning? How charming of you. Has the quality of adventurers fallen so far here in Varan that they no longer respect their elders, hmm?”
“Respect?” Jed scoffed. “Since when did you start making the mistake of thinking you deserved respect? Or have you forgotten about your failures in your old age?”
“That’s enough.” Hylon yelled, stepping forward before he had time to think. “You go too far, Grandfather is three times the man you will ever be!”
Jed sneered, his hand lowering to the hilt of his sword, but Hylon’s grandfather spoke before the adventurer could speak, his eyes creasing with amusement. “Ah, there you are, boy. Fear not, I am not offended by the words of children, there is no need to jump to my defence. Besides, I believe there is something more important to discuss than any injury my pride may or may not have suffered.”
“Our livelihood is under threat, Sir Silas.” The farmer said, shooting a filthy look at the younger adventurer who himself looked as though he was bottling up barely contained anger. Fortunately one of his party members moved forwards to whisper council into his ear. “We would appreciate your wisdom in this matter.”
“I’m afraid it’s likely worse than that.” Silas said with a frown. “I’ve lived around these parts for over a decade now, and I’ve only ever witnessed these beasts migrate from their homes on one other occasion. They’re stubborn creatures, you see.”
“What is that, grandfather?” Hylon asked, similar questions were murmured from the crowd behind him.
“It’s bad, I’m afraid.” SIlas said, giving Hylon a fond smile. Then his expression turned serious as he faced the villagers. “Is the term 'dungeon break' familiar to those gathered here?”
Hylon’s heart sank. Jed laughed, everyone else was dead silent.
===
“Are you certain it's a break, grandfather?” Hylon asked as he walked alongside Silas, moderating his speed so as not to pull too far ahead. The older man’s steps were uneven even with support from his cane. The two were making their way through the village, heading towards the turbulence shelter on the settlement's outskirts.
“Have I ever been wrong?” Silas asked, raising a greyed eyebrow.
“Uh… not about this sort of thing, at least not to my knowledge- Owch!” He cried, rubbing the side of his head.
“Wrong answer, brat.” The old man scolded, though the blow hadn’t been anywhere near hard enough to truly hurt. “What have I taught you about dealing with your elders?”
“To placate their fragile egos?” Hylon mumbled, this time ducking away from the strike, Silas’ cane whooshing over his head.
“Correct, but you’re not supposed to say it so openly.”
“Right, right.” He grinned, catching an amused twinkle in his grandfather's eyes. “But a break, that’s bad, really bad.”
“Not if we catch it in time. But yes, with most of the kingdom’s adventurers pushing into the wilderness to the west to reclaim it, we’re dangerously undermanned down here near the border. Luckily, I doubt the dungeon we’re dealing with is too old. It’s likely only been alive for a handful of years, if we’re lucky, though locating the thing may prove to be a challenge.”
“What if the break happens before we can do anything? If monsters flood down from the mountains…” Hylon said, trailing off as his imagination ran wild. People would lose their homes, that was for sure.
“Brat… recall what I’ve taught you. Surely your thick skull helps keep what few pieces of important information are rattling around up there safe and secure.”
“I’d be less stupid if you stopped hitting me.”
“What was that?” Silas growled, lifting his cane menacingly.
“Nothing, nothing.” Hylon laughed, then he frowned, trying to recall what he knew. “Dungeons usually break in stages, right?”
“Indeed.”
“And the first is usually… an alteration of the surrounding environment. I think.”
“Dungeon’s naturally affect the world around them regardless of if they break or not, but yes, you are correct. The first stage is an enhancement of that effect, usually resulting in an exodus of beasts and monsters living nearby as the landscape changes. This can take months, or even years.”
“So that’s why the crabs are migrating down from the mountains?.
“Perhaps, perhaps not. As I said before, they’re stubborn beasts. What is the second stage?” Silas asked.
“Monster manifestation. Outside the dungeon, I mean.”
“Hmmm.” The older man said. “And what happens when such creatures emerge into the outside world?”
“They displace the local animals, even more so than before, you get beast migrations, monster waves. Like what happened in the west? The undead dungeon people say was in Pherin City caused the creatures that lived in the former territory to crash east and south when it broke?”
“So they say. Information about that incident is fragmented at best, but from what I’ve heard from my sources, that is indeed what appears to have happened. And it is likely what will happen here along our border with the empire if nothing is done to prevent it. Though the scale of deviation will be nothing compared to an undeath aspected dungeon.”
Silas came to a stop outside a rundown clinic, tapping his cane against the wooden steps leading up to the front door. “Go and get your sister, then we’ll collect the others. I suspect that we will have a week, perhaps two, to gather up the forces needed to challenge the dungeon.”
“Will the proper guilds prevent us from joining in?” Hylon asked, his mind drifting back to the scene in the village centre.
“They won’t have a choice.” His grandfather said, smiling mirthlessly. “It’ll be all hands on deck, we’ll even get volunteers with non combat classes joining us due to the lack of personnel at hand. And if any try to block our rightful access, they will learn that I am not as toothless in my old age as they believe.”
Hylon grinned. He liked the sound of that. Both seeing Silas teaching a bunch of arrogant clowns a lesson, but also finally doing something worthwhile. Despite the danger, despite the risks, there was no quicker way to grow stronger than a gauntlet of powerful monsters.