Nero Walker, Book 4 Ch.83 (314)

Unwilling to wait for the blood to fully dissolve itself into the ether, Noxie Crusher wiped down his axe head with the rag he always kept looped through his belt. His current mood was about as foul as the beast’s corpse he’d just slaughtered. They’d been on the march for days, and the continual interruptions by these reality wrinkles and their beasties were getting on his nerves.

“Hey, Crusher! How far do ye think we are from the human’s city? And what are the chances we’ll make it there before daybreak?” asked one of the warriors who’d come along as an escort for the rune mages.

Shrugging as if he couldn’t care less, Crusher replied, “Fair, I’d say. At least that’s what Shroomcarver claims.”

Crusher’s half-interested reply had the warrior moving on to bother someone else, likely another one of the warriors who currently had nothing better to do. Meanwhile, a few of the rune mages were busy extracting essence crystals from the beasts they’d killed, while two others were shutting down the reality wrinkle that had been spawning these monstrosities.

Their entire party could be considered middling to large, but that hadn’t stopped them from making good time. Which was a plus as far as Crusher was concerned, as he’d been told explicitly that he needed to move quickly before anyone else made their move on the lad.

Included among their numbers were ten warriors of considerable strength for the region, a four-man party of rune mages led by Ertoon Shroomcarver himself, and finally five dwarves serving as ambassadors and negotiators for the upcoming meeting with Lord Walker.

Crusher had been put in charge of all of them and given strict instructions to keep everyone in line. The last thing he needed were rune mages pestering their target with questions or warriors foolishly challenging the young lad to an honor duel. He’d done his best to explain to them all the consequences they’d face if they caused any trouble, but he knew well how unruly dwarves could be when they found something interesting to play with.

Pulled out of his thoughts by Shroomcarver approaching, Crusher greeted him with a measured nod.

Returning the gesture, Shroomcarver leaned onto his staff while keeping his voice quiet, “They should be done in a minute. The wrinkles here are weak and haven’t had much time to stabilize. But the ‘density shift’, as the humans call it, is making the entire area unstable. I admit that they’re right to worry about it. You should also be aware that this may not be the last of the troubles we face before we arrive at the human’s wall.”

Understanding the subtle implication the rune mage was making, Crusher replied, “Ye still believe this to be a waste of our time?”

Grunting a bit in acknowledgment, Shroomcarver replied, “I just don’t see how we’re supposed to convince a hero of their people to leave them to their troubles while instead coming to our aid.”

Crusher, tired of having the same argument over and over again, replied, “You haven’t met the boy. He’s not really one of them. Over my years, I’ve met countless human politicians and ‘champions’, and they’ve all spent their air bellowing about humanity and its duty to spread their vaunted ‘civilization’ as they call it far and wide. But the lad we’re going to see seems to be his own man, and with a good enough offer, you can be sure he’ll hear what we have to say.”

Shroomcarver’s grimace made it clear that he remained unconvinced.

Unable to stop himself from chuckling at the look on the rune mage’s face, Crusher added, “This is really about ye not believing what the Battleborns claimed, am I right?”

Shifting uncomfortably, Shroomcarver replied, “No! I’d never question their honor. But, it does seem a little difficult to believe that some beardless child of the surface can calm the aetheric winds with nothing but a wave of his hand. Ye can’t deny that all of this sounds a little too unbelievable.”

Not arguing with him, Crusher replied, “Well, the king sure as shit believes it. By the time we’re back, the Battleborns will have cleared out at least a few caverns of kobalds and no doubt locked down at least one of their portals. We’ll just have to see if the human lad can repeat his performance for ya.”

Having been eavesdropping on their conversation, one of the warriors interrupted them.

“They shouldn’t have been dispatched! Those were kills that could have tempered the steel of our recruits. It’s a waste to just wipe them lizards out like that. Battleborns should be saved for if and when they’re needed! It’s a disgrace to waste them like this,” he griped, his voice carrying across the clearing.

Several of the warriors called out their agreement while others, both rune mages and members of the leadership alike, nodded along in agreement.

Scowling, Crusher’s voice snapped back like a whip, “Oh, ye all believe ye know better than the king, do ye? Well, I’ll be sure to let him know that when we return to the mountain. I’m sure he’ll have some wonderful assignments to dole out for those of ye who are so wise and accomplished. Leaders and strategists like you should be given tasks commensurate with your skill sets. I wonder who of ye would be up to serving as the chief sewage consultant or maybe earn the title of head ditch digger?”

Immediately, they all returned to what they’d been doing, making every effort to appear as if it hadn’t been them who’d said anything.

Turning his attention back to the mouthy warrior, Crusher added, “And you, ye should make yerself useful and scout the perimeter. And while ye do, consider what it might mean for us to find someone who can close portals at will, and why the king himself would want to personally see a demonstration of that ability before he contacted the council of kings!”

Even Shroomcarver seemed to agree with him, as he added, “We’ll soon see if the reports are true, and ye can rest assured that there are plenty more kobalds for our armies to kill without having to rely on a few paltry caverns for yer practice. The king knows what he’s doing, and ye spouting yer nonsense is just proving to everyone here how little ye know.”

Crusher and Shroomcarver watched the sufficiently chastened warrior stumble away while Shroomcarver whispered, “While I might not necessarily believe everything I’ve heard, I do admit that if half of what we’ve been told turns out to be true, we absolutely need to acquire this human child’s techniques.”

Seeing as the reality wrinkle was finally taken care of, Crusher offered Shroomcarver a half-hearted shrug in agreement before lifting his axe to rest against his shoulder, saying, “Aye, that’s the plan.”

—--

The archmage took his time explaining how pillars worked. But rather than just answering Nero’s question directly, he’d for some reason opted instead to imitate Nick’s lecturing philosophy… attempting to slowly bore Nero to death.

Yet Nero, having learned his lesson, kept his mouth shut and just listened. Although most of what the archmage was saying were things he already knew… sort of.

The archmage started by describing the process of acquiring pillars, and listing at what levels pillars were chosen: ten, fifty, and one hundred. He explained, in depth, how the concept of them being the ‘pillars’ worked, coming together to hold up and define a person’s identity. There were also bits of information mentioned, referencing a person’s ultimate ‘unity’. In short, all sorts of metaphysical word vomit that both sounded important and mulched Nero’s brain like an intellectual woodchipper.

Eventually, though, some useful information did slip through despite the archmage’s best efforts.

At one point, he referenced examples of different pillars and how they might be developed by different people. For example, protection-type pillars like ‘defense’ and ‘shielding’ could both be fed enough stars to create physical shields made of magic. Shields exactly like the ones Knight Angelton used. And according to Jennings, even non-protection type pillars could eventually be manipulated into doing the same.

“OK. That all sounds plausible in theory, but how exactly would that work, exactly?” Nero asked, finally choosing to interrupt the long-winded archmage.

Jennings, having gotten caught up in what he was saying, replied in confusion, “How does what work?”

Nero, rolling his eyes, replied, “How can a pillar be manipulated into doing something specific. Like, what are the limitations, and if you wouldn’t mind, some real-world examples. Most of what you’re saying, I’ve already read about, but without any practical knowledge… none of it means anything to me.”

After taking a moment to parse through what Nero had just said, Jennings replied, “I suppose I can understand how you’re having trouble conceptualizing the process. Without having grown up seeing examples of how pillars developed, you’d have no contextual understanding of what pillars represent. No matter how much effort you put into studying the subject, ultimately you're limited by your lack of experience.”

Nero replied with a bored, “Uh-huh.”

Jennings, barely paying attention to Nero, tapped his chin in thought. But, after a few seconds, he snapped his fingers as if he’d thought of something brilliant.

Leaning forward in his seat, he said excitedly, “Let’s use your maid, Ms. Davis, as an example. I’m assuming you’ve read her file?”

Nero offered the man a blank look before replying, “I’ve skimmed it.”

Sagging his shoulders for a moment, Jennings shook off his disappointment before continuing. “Ms. Davis’ parents operated one of the higher-end hotels in Gate 9. She grew up doing odd jobs around the hotel; delivering food in the restaurant, cleaning and handling room services, among many other simple tasks. She embraced the life of a service worker, mastering it at a very young age and incorporating that perspective into her identity, and consequently gained her pillar ‘service’ as a result.”

Nero interjected, “So, pillars can provide clues as to a person’s personality and background? That’s somewhat interesting, I admit.”

Jennings replied quickly, “Obviously, but that’s not the point I was trying to make.”

“OK. Then what point were you trying to make?” Nero replied just as quickly.

Furrowing his brow, Jennings replied, “I was getting to it!”

“Uh-huh,” Nero replied.

After harumphing, Jennings continued, “Over the years, as she leveled, she used her stars to enhance and broaden her pillar into what it is today. She can anticipate what people under her charge need or want. As an ability, it has an instinctual interaction with the ether, molding and adapting itself toward its goal. In her case, her subconscious is able to read the ether and intuitively understand a person’s fate to aid in her efforts to provide them service. Her pillar, by her own decisions, has allowed her to fate-weave on a limited basis and in a very specific way.”

Nero nodded, somewhat understanding what the old man was getting at. “So, what you’re saying is that she could have developed her ‘service’ pillar in an entirely different direction and not learned how to anticipate fate, or whatever?”

Somewhat smugly, Jennings replied, “Exactly. Her pillar of service could easily have developed into an ability to radiate a cleaning spell, or an enhanced personal space, one which would allow her to carry any number of support items. In fact, she could have developed her pillar to provide shields and defensive measures for her chosen benefactor, in ‘service’ to their goals and aspirations.”

Finally getting it, Nero replied, “So, she could turn it into a defensive pillar with enough levels and stars dedicated to that effect?”

Shaking his head, Jennings replied, “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. What I’m saying is that her pillar, however it is being used, is and always will be a service pillar. However, its application and use are determined by her intentions and growth. Like all pillars are. The breadth of the applied concept is practically infinite. Granted, there are more likely paths one could take, but the development of a pillar is entirely personal and impossible to predict.”

Nero nodded. “That’s why all the books are so infuriatingly vague on the details. Any pillar can be manipulated into doing anything. I kind of already knew that. But what I still don’t get is that if that’s true, then what’s the point of even having them defined in the first place?”

Jennings replied, “Pillars are essential to understanding oneself. How you choose to develop them and what you do with them defines who you are. You’re identity is inextricably tied to them. Over time, you can alter them, but you can never change the core of who you are. Like a tree, it can grow in different directions, but the trunk will always remain in place.”

Scoffing, Nero noted, “You guys really do like your nature metaphors, don’t you?”

Shrugging, Jennings allowed Nero a moment to process everything he’d said before pivoting the conversation toward the reason he’d come here in the first place. “Interestingly, this subject isn’t all that distant from why I’m here.”

“Oh?” Nero replied curiously.

“I’ve just come from a meeting of your house heads, along with a few of your more proactive followers. They’ve elected me to be the one to talk with you about a few of the more troubling problems you’ll need to be addressing in the near future. But, that’s not all, I also need to discuss with you the sensitive subject of what you did during the meeting you had with the army upon your return to the staging outpost,” Jennings said, somewhat ominously.

Picking up his coffee cup, Nero leaned back into the couch. “If this is going to be about people using whatever ‘reality-breaking’ ability that I’ve displayed to either try to control me or influence me again, then we really don’t have to talk about this. The plan stays the same, I’ll wait for the dwarves before deciding where I’m going to run off to. I know myself well enough to understand that attempting to plan anything will lead me and everyone else to ruin. Like I said before, if you all want to theory-craft, go ahead, I’m not going to stop you. But what’s going to end up happening is only ever half up to us. The other half will always be up to whoever decides to do something stupid and piss me off.”

Jennings, after stifling a chuckle, replied, “Yes, quite. Nevertheless, we do need to discuss your status as a potential planar lord or fledgling god who’s able to manifest on the material plane.”

Shaking his head, Nero replied, “No, we really don’t. I’ve just finished reading about planar lords and gods and stuff. I even took the time to go over everything Vera and Nick sent me… well, most of it. And you should know by now, as well as I do, that I’m neither one of them. Sure, it’s plausible that I somehow have developed a personal plane, and however that happened, I couldn’t tell you. But even if I have, the plane is not in either the upper or lower planes and is entirely separate from them, spiritually speaking. At a guess, I think it might be nothing more than the natural reflection of my identity in the ether.”

Opening his eyes wide, Jennings replied, “Yes, that’s exactly what I surmised. Admittedly, I’m a little surprised you’ve already realized that.”

Shrugging, Nero replied, “It wasn’t all that hard to figure out. I mean, the whole planar lord thing is about those douche-nozzles trying to imitate gods by tying themselves to a plane that already existed. And since gods developed their plane when they ascended, then it stands to reason that their existence is tied to their identity when they reach level 100. And, this is just a guess mind you, but I’m assuming that successfully moving on to a higher plane of existence requires assimilating your plane into your core before somehow taking it with you. Also, unless I’m wrong, I’m thinking that this is what you were hinting at when you mentioned all that crap about having personal connections to grow while not allowing yourself to be tied to them, right?”

Jennings, very obviously flummoxed, replied, “Uh… yes, that’s correct… more or less.”

Nero, after taking a sip of his coffee, continued, “And I’m also guessing that the other thing you wanted to talk about was how I froze the ether in the room, causing all the magic to go haywire?”

“Um… yes… that’s also correct,” Jennings replied weakly.

Nodding, Nero said, “Well, on that particular subject, there isn’t all that much I can tell you. I have no idea how I did it, and I haven’t been able to do it again. I’ve tried. But, following the idea that everything here is a metaphor, I think I can take a guess at what happened. I’m pretty sure I rejected the concept of magic, or more accurately, I enforced my idea of reality on the surroundings. Since the only reality that makes total sense to me is based on the world I used to live in, copying that framework onto this reality turned off all the magic. I guess what I’m saying is, I think I somehow ordered the world to stop pissing me off and to intead temporarily start making sense.”

Utterly confused, the look on Jennings’ face resembled a tired and overworked dad trying to figure out a new T.V. remote or a geriatric mental patient attempting to use a messaging app.

“Alright, I can understand how you’ve had trouble understanding how reality works here, but why do you assume you have the power to enforce your will on reality in such a profound way?” Jennings asked.

Shrugging, Nero placed his coffee cup back on the table before replying, “Because I did, and I’m not sufficiently indoctrinated by whatever rules you accept as part of the way things work. In fact, I’m almost positive that I have you to thank for it. You’re the one who’s actively been limiting my ability to learn how things are supposed to work here, and have gone out of your way to ensure that I’ve mostly had to figure things out on my own.”

“Well, it’s important for everyone to find their own path, and any interference and information that is too freely given will chain you to accepted concepts and tactics,” Jennings replied quickly.

Nodding, Nero replied, “I’m not disagreeing with you. Actually, the more I learn about how the ether and everything works here, the more I can understand why your government and laws are set up the way that they are. I bet the fact that I don’t have parents or authority figures here to emulate or learn from has been one of my most profound advantages. But, I also am starting to understand why you were so worried about me not having ties to the people around me. Just by reading about those planar lords, I can see how losing oneself to one’s goals could make a person disappear into the ether. Without having an externally defined identity, there is nothing tying me here to this plane of reality.”

Cocking his head to the side, Jennings asked, “How do you mean? You believe you understand what happened to the planar lords? That knowledge shouldn’t have been part of the information packets you’d had available to you. Or at least no one who’d had access to it should have given it to you. That would be an egregious and concerning violation of the law.”

Nero chuckled. “No, it wasn’t stated anywhere in what I read. But it also wasn’t all that hard to figure out what happened. Those idiots allowed their identities to deteriorate. Simply put, by tying themselves to a plane they didn’t make, they allowed the identity of the plane to influence them. And when people used those weird rituals to gain power from those plains through them, that made the problem even worse. I’m not surprised that at some point the world just decided they weren’t ‘there’ enough anymore and decided to blink them out of existence. Their existence is probably still part of their planes, diluted to all hell and impossible to put back together.”

Jaw open in shock, Jennings replied, “That’s… an interesting interpretation of events, which is also surprisingly accurate. You do have a way of seeing and understanding things in an uncomplicated and direct manner, simplifying complicated concepts quite a bit.”

Nodding, Nero said proudly, “Yeah, I figured that was what happened. The details, I’m sure, are more complicated and filled with all kinds of technical jargon that I couldn’t hope to understand in a thousand lifetimes. But the gist is probably pretty close to the truth.”

Changing the subject, Nero asked, “So, what do Vera and the other plan to do about the people clamoring for my temple to be built? I’m guessing a simple denial of service isn’t going to be enough for them?”

Jennings replied, “The consensus is that the problem will eventually take care of itself. We’ve checked, and the rituals required for service bindings to your followers won’t work. Therefore, you cannot be legally defined as a god or a planar lord per our laws. Eventually, the religious district will have to make a statement to that effect.”

Nero added, “But in the meantime, I still need to get my ass out of the spotlight, and the city, right?”

Nodding, Archmage Jennings replied, “Yes, that would be for the best. But, I have to again reiterate that you should consider taking some of the quests that have been found through the Tower of Magic. You’d be able to stay within the kingdom, spread your influence and power base, and limit the likelihood of those wishing to control you finding a legal means to do so.”

Scoffing, Nero replied, “Once again, until I hear from the dwarves, I haven’t decided what I’m going to do. All I know for sure is that Dorchester is getting too hot for me, and I really need to get the hell out of here. Getting out of the kingdom might be for the best. And besides, who doesn’t want to visit a dwarven city? I’m betting dollars to donuts that they will be able to teach me a thing or two about magical breweries and runes.”

Suddenly changing gears, Nero asked, “Hey, by the way, on the Thought-Hub I found people talking about ‘The Book of Adventure’ along with a surprisingly large number of people attempting to become adventurers. There were even a few references to me, clearly seeing me as some sort of social influencer. They’re even calling me The Walker, and making claims like ‘I will show them the way’ and other such crap. Do you know anything about that? Should I be worried?”

Jennings coughed into his hand to buy himself a moment. “Well, you’ll have to speak with your followers about that. I had nothing to do with it. But I do agree that this is even more reason for you to temporarily leave Dorchester. Honestly, based on how successful those following this concept of ‘adventure’ have been dealing with the density shift, I don’t think the city will be in any danger in your absence. I, myself, have personally looked over the numbers, and I have to admit that these adventurers are growing both in numbers and levels at an astonishing rate. Your teachings are serving them well. Their dedication to self-preservation while also choosing to continuously hurl themselves into danger has resulted in an unexpectedly successful leveling profile. According to my briefings, the local Tower of Magic has already begun working with two of the Gate’s Research Centers to track the phenomenon. All in all, since this little movement began, already around 30% of the registered hunters in the city have leveled. Although those numbers could just be due to the increased amount of danger the density shift is providing. Time will ultimately tell, I suppose, we’ll just have to wait until we have more data.”

Confused, Nero interrupted his ramblings by asking, “Hold up, what teachings?”

Pausing for a moment, Jennings suddenly began smirking. “You didn’t actually read The Book of Adventure, did you?”

Wary of what the old man was getting at, Nero replied slowly, “Noooo… why? It’s just a manual on how to be an adventurer, right? I figured it was based on the hunters and people who make their living with their swords, which I didn’t think I needed because I already attended that elite summer camp. But, I’m guessing by your tone, they’ve included some stuff from what I’ve said in my speeches and whatnot. They didn’t actually quote me or anything, did they?”

Jennings, still smirking, replied, “Well, you are The Walker.”

Grimacing, Nero muttered, “Balls…”

*Chapter 314 - Having done his homework.

*Spoiler - The good thing about being a screw up is that when you do successfully do something you were supposed to, everyone is impressed.  Although I'm not saying that you shouldn't try your best, you should keep in mind that low expectations can save you from having to always live up to what people expect you to be capable of.

In this chapter, Nero finally did his reading, but it didn't necessarily change anything other than making other people accept what he'd already decided.  I've always found the idea of people accepting someone's 'learned' opinion over common sense somewhat annoying.  Being uninformed or an idiot doesn't necessarily mean someone is wrong.  They're not mutually exclusive.