Capítulo 438: Chapter 438: Rejoined, Renewed...... It all begins here.
Tuesday Night, January 27th, 2241. Golden Gate City of The Angelos District. North of SkyHaven....
Cities. So cluttered-- so full. Full of crime, full of lust, greed, treachery, order and chaos. It felt ironic to also call these places the Homes of Heroes. It felt ironic that it was these very places that Monsters of often the worst kind found a home. Attracted to the monoliths and architectural marvels of the Old World. Attracted to the massive concentration of vulnerable humans.
It left the wilds beyond open, free. Monsters roamed but they did so of their own accord. No pushing and pulling forces, only the natural way of existing. The hunt... the defending of their own. Monsters were like man in that regard out there in the deep wilderness the world had to offer. Rollan could see the similarity as he rode near the city full of man.
Sure, there was no forest, no den in a cave full of Monsters fit with the strongest guarding their territory. It was instead man. In a building of brick and stone, stationed with guards. Their claws came in the form of steel swords and magic. Their fangs the art of diplomacy instead of sabered incisors.
Even so, the air had never felt so poisonously violent. Watching him with eyes blackened by monetary gain, political upheaval, human drama..... and who knew what else.
Rollan suddenly missed his old grove dearly. The silence. The beauty, the serenity. The clear purpose of staying away.
No....
No, it wasn't that black and white. Never. His grove was a cage. He was free in body and caged in mind. His cage being the aged liquid bars of ale..... to calm the roused spirits in his mind. To stop him from remembering. He failed everyone. So, he ran from what remained.
No more running. It was time to build. Whether that be a building-- a massive castle of fortitude and iron-hearted ideals, or a double-edged sword of vicious intent. He was not sure. But he could feel that something was building. Something beyond himself yet aligned with what he once saw for the world.
And he wasn't even the main architect. The main architect wasn't even present, but all those joined by him were.
Bound in Knights armor and black cloaks, Piet and Canis ran beside him. The clunk and bang of their armor like a beat to shatter the silence. Their hooves made it sound like they were only Heroes on horseback in the shadows.
But the only one riding the back of something was Rollan. And by the gods it was no horse.
It was an adolescent Primal. Diamond-like fortified scales adorned the contours of it's face and ran down it's back. A trail of wild jewelry befitting royalty in a wild land. It's black scaled body blended in with the ground.
But not as well as their second Primal and unseen guardian, Loba.
She wasn't very social. Rollan may have had Elven blood as an abandoned government experiment gone awry, but Loba still only really warmed up to one person. Even so, she guarded them like a hawk..... if hawks had sabered fangs and camouflage reactive fur.
She was so elusive, he sometimes missed her even with his Natural Vision. Many didn't know this, but he could see entire city layouts when he was fully recharged. She was an impressive specimen. They all were. But they would need to be beyond impressive for what was to come.
The group came to a stop suddenly.
"Oui, you run well today, Diamondback." Rollan said as he patted the Primal's gigantic head and slid him a piece of Kobold meat.
CHOMP!
Kobold meat....
Canis shook his head in disappointment from beneath his Knights helm fitted with two holes for his horns.
"Cannibalism is the diet of warriors, no?"
The Satyr brothers snorted as they looked out into the darkness.
"Oui.... well, Monsieur la Bête is the outlier in many things. He doesn't count." Rollan replied as if their snorts were full sentences he understood.
Speaking of counting. They had approached an area of high activity. Probably their last area before reaching their destination. A fork in the road. One led to the Golden Gate trail. A massive multiple mile long street that was the way most people exited and entered Golden Gate City. Heavily guarded and monitored for safe Night Running travel. Street salesmen and even small shops lined it. It was like a small town. A resting point among other things. Rollan could smell the Brothels from where he stood.
On the other side of the forked road was Golden Gore Pass which laid ahead about eight miles. Even so, he could see it. Perfectly. In fact, he saw it miles before he reached where he was currently. It ran over treacherous waters punched into the Angelos District. Black and cold, teeming with Monsters that fed on whatever fell from the Golden Gore Bridge. It was once beautiful. Soothing red metals shaped and held by wires like borders on a walkway meant to hold the greatest of giants. Wheeled machines of the old world used it as a mode of travel and a tourist attraction.
Now it repelled more than it attracted. Of all the Old World remains in the Angelos District. The Golden Gore Bridge was one of the largest. Wars had taken place on that bridge between Man and Packs of WereWolves, Vampire Covens, even Kobold Clans praising Sea Serpents in the waters below.
The constant violence left the beauty of the bridge stuck between all out destruction and chaotic rebirth. Some of the metal wires were replaced by Monsters corpses. Human skulls lined the walkways. The black road was cracked, showing the many mangled bodies hidden within. Monstrous Nightmare Beetles and Dire Rats dominated the metal framework below like a disease. A disease just waiting for man to enter. He wondered what faction of Monster now dominated the space.
After running through Golden Gate City, Rollan learned that it took great severity in reclaiming the bridge. This included laws and sanctions making it easier for Heroes and Enforcer groups to take up the task. Unfortunately, it was a bad investment. As long as it stood, there would be monstrous attraction.
And human repulsion.
"Parfait."
Without even specifying, Piet tightened his gauntlets and stomped his hooves aggressively, spraying sparks of light out behind himself. His Knights armor made him look doubled in size beneath his cloak..... as if he wasn't already bulked from head to toe.
Canis approached Rollan, catching his sword as the Druid dropped it for him.
"You bring that back to me if things get bad, no?"
Canis nodded. He recently learned bits and pieces of words.
Rollan hopped off Diamondback. Rolling his shoulders as his Elemental Shroud ignited, bubbling his muscles and straightening his joints until he was once again the Druidic Warrior at the prime of his physical and spiritual power.
"Let's get one last fight in before we regroup with the others, hm?"
***
Four hours passed by in a blur of violent combat and midnight travel. If Canis and Piet were Reborn like the NightRunners that traveled alongside them, they would've loved the experience gain. Then again, it wasn't as if they didn't gain any experience.
As a matter of fact, they were growing at a great rate.
He hoped the same went for the others. According to Claude's letters, it was. Oddly enough, Rollan felt excited despite his discomfort. After a week apart, they were now only miles away.
SkyHaven's northern entry point loomed in the distance. The air in the area felt different. Despite it being a City, it felt like the desert in the Vada District. Seedy and evil. Something akin to wildness, perverted by outside factors.
Rollin suddenly remembered Claude saying there was a Midnight Wardens Guildhall in southern SkyHaven.
"Merde..... we cannot stay here. I hope you have a plan, goatboy."
Suddenly something in the bushes shifted. Loba took off, purring yowls radiated from her unseen frame. After a few minutes, Rollan found himself focusing on something in his Natural Vision.
The shape of people, in the forestry. Three men and a four-legged tusked beast, all over six feet in height and none very slight in frame. Fighters. He could hear the footfalls of the heaviest of them, covered in thick armor with two short handles sticking out at their sides. Axes.
"I see...." Rollan muttered.
The man at the center stood the tallest. Close to Rollan at six foot five and glowing like a streak of flame with the Natural energy held within. He'd grown.
"Welcome home, Beast of beasts...."
Claude stepped out of the shadows with the others.
"Not really welcome is it, Rollan?" Claude replied as he wiped sweat from his brow. Despite it being very much winter still, it was hot. Summer hot. There wasn't even any snow. The Red Knight of Rage was not happy.
Rollan nodded in agreement and hopped off Diamondback.
As he approached Claude, he realized the man may have grown beyond his previous height..... and weight. His hair hung down his back, loosely held together by a band of roots, leaving the rest to hang down to his chest. The lower half of his face was covered by a half mask designed to mock the shape of a Gnoll snout. Or a Lupine Muzzle. Rollan didn't question it, it felt like something he'd wear. Restrictive. Self-punishing. Some things he hadn't fully grown from.
He still wore his Druidic Cloak over his shifter friendly armor. Only now certain parts were fortified with heavy metal armor for more defensive support without sacrificing too much mobility, he could smell Ursula on them. He wore no shoes-- something many Druids Rollan knew did to stay better connected to Nature. Smart.
Throwing knives and daggers lined his gauntlets and shin guards along with two spears at his back. New for surely but stained with blood. He even wore a belt now, fit with packs full of seeds, salves and oils. A functioning Druidic Warrior.
Like Claude, Ursula looked more suited for battle than before. More experienced. She wore a metal infused bear skull fitted with crow feathers as a helmet along with a full set of sectional heavy armor crusted with frost. She seemed adamant on keeping herself cool even in the heat.
Cassidy was his usual self. If not a bit more comfortable. Stronger, as well. Ma was already catching up with Piet while Ursula, Canis and Frosty managed to group hug despite their physical differences.
"I'm glad you're ok, Rollan." Claude said suddenly.
"Oui, likewise." Rollan said before bringing the shifter into a hug. "Something tells me you face me as something more than a Shifter of the Silver Ranks, Monsieur."
"I did what I had to. We did what we had to do." Claude replied.
"And do you know what we must do know, hm?"
"Yes. I'm taking us to my father's home. It's outside of the city. Your grove can be there. Actually, I need it to be there. I need your help."
Rollan took them out of there hug and slapped Claude's shoulder, "You saved my life, goatboy. If you need something from me, you say it. I do it, hm?"
"I need you to guard the pack, Rollan. Me and Ursula have to go back to the University by Monday. We'll be safer where we can be protected as students instead of simply kids. Ronin and the Red Knight will come for us. It's better if we're away from you all and guarded by law when that happens. I don't want Ursula or Cassidy in a Detection Corps holding cell."
"Done." Rollan said, "Kind of cyclical, no? You were once my guard, and now..... well."
Claude continued, "That's not all, Rollan."
Rollan raised an eyebrow as Diamondback walked past him to sniff at Claude.
"I need you to guard Cassidy, specifically." Claude ran his hands along Diamondback's head as Loba circled him.
"Why?"
"I'm going to make him like me."
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
_Avatar0FFury_
_Avatar0FFury_ Uh OH. We cooking. Lemme know what you think. We back in SkyHaven. Number 2 got the city hot and who knows what else. The University awaits! Thanks for the powerstones Sonuis, Shazac, Alex99, shadowwolf1928, Bop_, Nate_Winslow, Ominous_Reader, MAESTRO, OSIRIS, Drachenk1nd, Alex_Walk, krissch_, Fuang, Arameus, omeroford, train_master, zombie_lovehart, Amith_Sydney and Deiontre_McClinton!
What we thinkin for Cassidy? Malformed, Regular, Potential or Variant?
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