Chương 26: Refuge
"Lady Cassia!"
Kade shouted in reverence.
Lady Cassia was the mind behind the operation. Residents of the slums took note of her being Lady Nephis' strategist and planner.
Her gentle and vulnerable outward appearance gained her a lot of affection and favorability from both men and women in the slum.
"It's alright Kade. Thank you for guarding the gate for us."
She spoke in a soft and grateful voice.
This was a large part of the reason why residents adored her. She did not take anyone for granted and always expressed gratitude.
Kade was jubilant that she knew his name. As far as he knew, they had never spoken face to face.
"Follow me"
With that, she turned around and slowly walked into the congregation of destitute buildings and shelters.
Aldric walked in measured steps. Not overly eager to follow her.
They walked through the outer settlement.
Now on the inside of it, Aldric could see that there was a much better atmosphere here compared to the castle.
The castle had a stench of hopelessness but here. Here there was a wealth of energy. He could see each person: trading, building, cooking, butchering and eating with complete presence. Not worried about other sleepers troubling them. It felt like a tribe.
The heart of this phenomenon was the Changing Star.
Following her first hunt in the Dark City, she offered her spoils to the residents at no cost.
For free.
It was shocking to the sleepers who knew of only bartering or begging in the settlement.
She spoke of humanity and kindness.
Something they had forgotten in this cursed realm.
With that, she cemented her leadership. She and her cohort continued to provide for the settlement and received undying loyalty in return.
Aldric could only applaud Nephis's machinations. It was disturbing to see the results of her actions in real life.
This was the biggest reason for his cautious and cynical viewpoint on the story's characters.
When he first entered this world, he often thought that the cohort could be like his family. The only thing that he knew in this unknown world.
But thinking back to the Forgotten Shore and its conclusion, that naivety was crushed.
It took some time for his mind to process it.
Like when you recognise something is bad for you but you still do it.
With enough thought, Aldric now firmly believed that he could only completely trust himself.
After all, this was not a fantasy but real life. People were not 2-dimensional characters that would stay loyal for the rest of their lives from one interaction.
People change.
And the worst part is that you do not know until it's too late.
They finally came across a large ramshackle lodge. It was on the outermost edge of the settlement. Most vulnerable to attacks from wandering nightmare creatures.
Most didn't know the intention behind this but he knew.
Cassie stopped at the door and turned to face him.
He could see her pale blue eyes and the vacant look she had. It was visible that she was blind.
All of a sudden, Aldric senses could feel that she was staring at him. Not in a literal sense but as if she was peering into his soul.
It felt very shallow and surface level but Aldric's senses could still feel it.
"I see."
"So that's why."
She whispered softly like she had the greatest epiphany.
She had a large smile on her face. Her eyes were wide as if someone had told her she won the lottery.
It was strange to see.
What could have caused her to have such a reaction?
Aldric didn't have any time to think as she opened the door with a spring in her step.
Numerous helpers of Nephis were walking around doing things. It was teaming with life.
The lodge acted as a hub for the settlement as they were now unified under Nephis' leadership.
"Lady Cassia"
"Lady Cassia"
"Lady Cassia"
Cassie was greeted numerous times as they walked through the living space. With reverence and respect. She was the front-facing image of the cohort. She leads the helpers in distributing meals and such.
They took a seat in a quiet corner.
"Welcome to the outer settlements. We shelter those who can't stay in the Bright Castle for whatever reason. Food and shelter are provided at no charge. We hope you can give a helping hand however you can."
"I'm a hunter so I bring back resources needed."
Cassie nodded.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Cassia but you can call me Cassie. I'm part of Lady Changing Star's cohort."
"Nice to meet you, my name is Aldric. I've been in the dream realm since the last winter solstice."
'does that mean he was part of our year group? but Caster said...'
"Same. It's nice to meet a newcomer here." She spoke in an excited voice.
The conversation ventured off onto other things as she showed him around.
He was allocated a small cot near the left side of the room. It lacked a lot of privacy as it was near other sleepers.
Aldric knew that he needed other accommodation.
She mentioned that the cohort was not present at the moment and that he would see them around.
He thought about why she was so accommodating to him even though she barely knew him.
'Maybe she saw something'
Through the day and the following day, Aldric slowly settled into the place. He was not anti-social. Smiles were reciprocated and greetings were returned. But he did not go out of his way to seek them.
----------
It was the afternoon of the next day.
Aldric was studying the large map adorned on the wall. It was drawn up by experienced pathfinders of the Dark City.
He had been doing this all day.
This was extremely necessary for Aldric as he was planning to hunt. He did not want to join a hunting group that was already set. Given his damage-dealing abilities, he would not fit well in an already-formed group.
Making up his mind, hunting alone seemed like a better idea. Maybe he could hire a pathfinder to lead him through the city but that was it.
With his mind resolved, he began to move forward to his first hunt.
Exiting the lodge, he took a step outside and felt a familiar feeling.
A feeling of rejection and opposition.
It was a lot weaker this time but Aldric could only attribute this feeling to one person.
"So you're here."
With steel grey eyes looking straight through him, a soft voice spoke.
Chương 27: Proposition
The bright light of the artificial sun pierced through a dusty old window. The beam illuminated an abandoned workshop.
It had a large workbench in the centre of the room as well as broken tools lying around. The corner of the left side of the room held a short staircase that went above half a level. Once climbed, It opened to a small suspended living area with a king-sized bed built into the floor, a wooden wardrobe and a wooden drawer.
A young teenager was seen sleeping on the large bed.
Onyx curly hair was ruffled attractively, resting on caramel-toned skin with no imperfections. Silk robes adorned his tone aesthetic physique.
Today was when the meeting would be held. Cassie had invited him to a meeting between Nephis' inner circle.
He and Cassie had developed a close friendship.
The oracle would often seek him out to chat about mundane topics like the waking world. He had revealed a lot about himself in conversation but it was regarding things he had no reason to hide. Like how he made his way to the Dark City.
Aldric made sure to keep all things of value hidden and often reminded himself about the things people can do in sheer desperation.
Who they would betray.
Often though, she would stare at him with a strange look of what he could only describe as hope. As if she wanted him to do something.
Regarding Nephis, he remembered when he first crossed paths with her when he joined the settlement. She stared at him and made a comment about him arriving.
The conversation did not go further than that as she walked away after staring at him in awkward silence. As if promising to keep an eye on what he does and accomplishes.
Aldric had an idea of what would be discussed in the meeting.
Close to two months had passed during his stay at the settlement.
He had ventured on 27 hunts in the time he spent here. Religiously, he completed 1 hunt every 2 days. One day hunting and the next day would be rest and training.
Numerous Awakened rank creatures and 3 Fallen rank.
He had defeated a few Fallen creatures in the caves but the Fallen in the Dark City had more soul cores and it was teaming with other horrors that were ready to join the fray.
These Fallen creatures were often found majorly wounded.[Insight] had given him the signal that he could defeat it.
Aldric had finally gained an Ascended ranked memory.
As much as a hunter Aldric was, he could not comfortably hunt in the Dark City alone without knowledge.
The Dark City was more like an ecosystem than a hunting ground. You did not know whose territory your hunt would cross over or if there was an even stronger prey waiting for a meal.
Aldric was not naive enough to think his previous hunting in the caves could be repeated here.
The caves were separated into manageable areas. Each type and rank of creature had its own den.
You might ask why could he not hunt like Sunny.
'I don't want to develop that sort of fighting style. To fight in the dark like a survivor.'
It would be a disgrace to the pure destructive ability of his darkness as well as his mentality.
For his goals, he had to be able to see beyond himself. Be unbreakable and willing to die trying.
He viewed his runes.
Dark Sprites:[602/1000]
His darkness had grown.
After he had defeated the stone mimic, he remembered it was at 267. More than doubling his Sprites was an arduous task. The Dark City gave him a space to get stronger.
Gaining this much strength did not go unnoticed.
To move forward with his goals, Aldric had no reason to withhold his strength.
If there was a challenge he would welcome it.
Following his frequent and successful hunts, he would come back to give the people extra food to ration. It was part of giving back for the free meals given and to make himself known.
He had a reputation for strength and was called the monicker.
"Dark Hunter."
Second only to the cohort of Nephis, he was seen as the strongest resident of the settlement.
Out of his claimed workshop, he walked towards the main lodge where they had their meals.
Being greeted with looks of respect and admiration, Aldric took a plate and sat down to eat.
You might think that it was an exaggeration for the residents to feel that way about him when he didn't do anything for them directly but respect is gained from action.
Seeing him return every other day with a fresh corpse to disassemble rain or shine was noteworthy.
And he kept going.
It was like you were a beginner runner who wanted to run more often and saw the same guy running past your house every morning. You would not give it much thought day by day. But over time, you slowly lost the motivation to go and gave up. Just as you do so, you see the same runner who continued where you gave up. Most people would feel the utmost respect for such a person.
Returning smiles and greetings with nods, he focussed on his meal.
"Any hunting today Al?" A young voice spoke.
Aldric identified the person as Jude.
His pathfinder.
Jude was an 18-year-old male who had learned the ins and outs of the Dark City from one of the pathfinders in the slums. He came to the slums as a helpless sleeper and made something of himself. He was still a rookie by Effie's standards apparently.
Aldric paid him in soul shards for his services. Jude acted as a consultant for which areas that he should hunt in and which to avoid.
He was a great asset to Aldric. Wasting time scurrying around the Dark City was not part of his plan.
"Not today. Got a meeting with the leaders."
Jude raised his eyebrows at the comment.
" Maybe you'll finally get an invite to the inner circle. I know you are close with Lady Cassia."
"Who knows? As for Cassie, we are just acquaintances."
Finishing up his meal, he left the conversation there.
Aldric spent the next few hours training and meditating.
-----
It was time for the meeting.
Heading straight towards the back of the stone lodge, he found Cassie waiting for him at the door.
"You're here. Come in."
With that, she opened the door and guided him in.
It was a room with a large wooden table in the centre of the room. A large window opened to a breathtaking view of the Dark City. On the wall beside the window, large maps were drawn on monster hide and old paper.
Aldric looked at the people sitting in the room.
There were 7 seats but only 3 were in use.
Cassie quickly sat to the left of Nephis who was sitting in the centremost chair. To her right, Caster sat silently appraising Aldric.
Without being offered, Aldric walked towards the empty chair on the opposite side of the table and sat in a relaxed posture.
Whatever this was, he was not below these people.
"Let's get straight to the point. Aldric, I want you to join us on an expedition."
The white-haired beauty spoke in a clear voice.
Caster did not seem happy about the offer but contained his dislike well.
Cassie offered a smile that had an unknown depth to it.
Aldric had already known what this was about. Cassie had already spoken to him, entertaining the idea of joining their group for hunts.
"Give me all the details."
Aldric spoke in a calm demeanour.
Flipping the large map on the wall, she revealed the secondary map that was crudely drawn and cryptic. It had strange symbols representing unknown valuables.
" I'm sure you know about my struggle with the Bright Lord Gunlaug. Cassie might've already told you."
She gave a look to Cassie that was knowingly ignored.
" I am planning an expedition to recover something that will aid me in my battle against him and take over the castle."
Aldric had noticed the lack of details that were told but it was more than he expected for an outsider.
As close as Cassie and him were, it was only enough to get him in the room. They wouldn't reveal all the details to him now it seemed.
They had gone on to talk about the proposition for close to an hour.
Nephis primarily led the talks and Caster chimed in with specific details about anything in particular.
He had revealed the [Stone Coffer] and its uses. He figured that there was no point in hiding it if they were going to be journeying together for months.
Aldric made sure to ask why she needed him in particular.
She responded.
"You are strong. You are one of the only sleepers known to have taken down a fallen rank creature alone. You do not have a close relation with the Bright Castle and from what Cassie told us, your journey to the Dark City crossed paths with where we want to go."
He had also asked her about their conflicting nature.
"How do you plan to work around our abilities working against each other?"
"It's pretty simple. I will be the vanguard of the group and you will be in the rear. We will swap when needed. As long we are far enough from each other, our powers shouldn't weaken each other."
They had noticed this during a joint hunt between all the hunting groups in the settlement. When near each other, the darkness and light often overwhelm each other, fighting for supremacy. Whichever one had more output at the time snuffed out the other.
" I'll join the expedition. Given how long it is, I need some time to prepare. When will we leave?"
"5 days from today."
With all things said Aldric had left the meeting room and headed back to his home.
Caster spoke.
"Do we really need him? between the two of us and Effie, we can deal enough damage to the creatures. Our team is already full with Sunless being a scout and Kai providing aerial support."
Nephis gave him a long look.
"The more quality fighters we have, the better. He is very strong. I'm sure you felt the weight of his soul essence. It would increase the success rate of our expedition by a lot."
"His existence in the slums also gave our group more leeway from Gunlaug as tales of his feats have reached the castle. And with closer proximity, we can learn if we would support our takeover of the castle."
Caster nodded and silently relaxed his aggravated mind.
********
Hey everyone, how are we doing?
Forgot to write my usual yap last chapter. So sorry.
What did we think?
Someone mentioned something about his personality. I hope to be able to show it now that he will be interacting with characters rather than just tell you.
Love all the engagement. Is a genuine pleasure to go through the comments.
With that said, catch you on the flip side.
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