[Beastborne: Tower of Blight] Chapter 21

Hal plucked the bundle of stolen goods off the oppa’s back and set it aside. Then he walked over to his bed, rolled up some blankets and put them in front of the fire… then he set the oppa atop them and let go.

“I’m not a warden,” Hal told him. “Not a cop, not much of anything, really. I won’t let you steal from me, but I’m not going to hold you or punish you either. You want to stay, there’s a warm spot in front of the hearth for you.”

Hal motioned to the door. “You want to go out into the cold? That’s your choice, but I want to make it clear: I can’t go chasing after you again. There’s too much to do. Either you stay put and help me out, or not. The choice is yours and yours alone. You’ll be cared for here, as well as we can. A warm bed, hot meals, and a safe place to sleep.” Hal shrugged. “That’s all I can offer you.”

The oppa was surprised by this. He looked around, from Snowley to Vorax’s prison, to Hal and then the hearth. “...Alright, but as soon as you doublecross me, I’m out! Didn’t know you mates had it so bad, on account of you seeming so powerful. And me being here less than a few hours, maybe.”

Vorax shifted back into a mimic chest and bounced over to the fireplace. A long purple tongue snaked out and reclaimed the bones, then his lid snapped shut, and the mimic went utterly motionless.

The oppa looked a little disappointed at the lack of a literal prison. Hal shook his head. He didn’t get the oppa. Did he want to fight? Was it some sort of game to him?

Hal went back over to his workshop table. He looked over his shoulder at the oppa. “Even my power can’t keep everybody safe,” Hal admitted bitterly. “Some things require a village to do, little oppa.”

The oppa glared at him. “I’m full grown, y’know.”

Somehow, Hal doubted that, but he didn’t say anything more. “Well, I can’t just keep calling you oppa. You said you didn’t have a name, so… how about Hermes? He’s the God of Thieves back where I come from.”

The oppa stared at him as if Hal had just appointed him with otherworldly power. “Hermes, eh? I don’t mind being a god!”

I don’t think it works like that, but sure, Hal thought to himself. If the oppa wanted to think of himself as a god, he would let him.

“All right, Hermes,” Hal said. “Have you eaten anything recently?”

He shuffled his paws self-consciously. “...I guess not.”

“Then I think it’s high time we get you some food. I’m hungry myself. If you’ve only been here a few hours, I’m surprised somebody hasn’t snatched you up and tried to feed you and baby you themselves. Then again, with the blizzard and the Tower…” Hal sighed.

The oppa looked curiously up at him. Then at the cozy and warm cottage. “So… ya just gonna let me stay? Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“What if I steal from ya again?” Hermes asked, with a sparkle in his dark eyes.

“Then I’ll catch you again.” Hal told him.

Despite what he had said earlier about not having time to catch him again, Hal knew Hermes was lonely. How he came to Aldim was anybody’s guess, but Hal still remembered how he pleaded in that tiny voice not to leave him out in the cold.

He would never do that to him. He might not be able to take him into the Tower, but he could make sure Hermes had a safe and warm home with plenty to eat.

Hal’s words seemed like a challenge to the oppa, but also one he might want to wait on. Just a bit. Until he had some food.

“Then let’s get some grub, mate.” Hermes leapt off the stool and scampered by Hal’s feet.

“You want to wait here while I get it, or come with me?” Hal asked.

“I want to go with ya. See what this place is like a bit.”

With a whistle, Vorax blurred and refolded his shape into a dark cloak nestled around Hal’s shoulders. “You won’t be able to see much in the blizzard,” Hal told him. “And you should probably hop into a pocket here. It’s bitterly cold outside.”

Hal opened up a pocket on his hip beneath the folds of Vorax’s cloak, making sure he didn’t open up one of Vorax’s countless stomach pockets. The oppa would be safe in there, but he didn’t want to seem like he was trying to feed the oppa to Vorax.

Komachi had ridden inside Vorax before with no harm done, but Hal still had nightmares about it sometimes.

Wiggling his butt like a cat ready to jump up high, Hermes leaped in. Much to Hal’s surprise, he initiated something only Komachi had done before.

Hermes readies soul aeder equip.

+10 Insulation | +2 VIT

Together they went to Kow’s Inn. They didn’t trudge through the snow because Hal unleashed a stream of golden Dragonfire to melt a path clear from his cottage to the tall inn, impressing Hermes once again.

“Is that Dragonfire?” Hermes asked from his pocket. “Awesome!”

There were dwarves outside, clearing away the snow. With his Spirit fully restored, Hal easily swept away the snow in a hundred feet around the inn, turning it into a flash of steam.

Before he was finished with breakfast, the snow would be back, but at least the dwarves would have a break.

Once inside, Hal wasn’t surprised to see Kow absent. He was likely still in the temporary longhouse with the large fireplace, keeping Ashera company.

Kow’s Inn employed more than just the eponymous innkeeper, however. Several people were hunched over their morning meals. Karaks came and went, delivering food and clearing plates. The place was subdued, but bustling all the same.

Hal wasn’t sure if it was because of the weather or the Tower, but there was a pall about the place. People still went about their tasks because there wasn’t much other choice, but their energy was sapped.

Don’t blame them, Hal thought.

His presence, however, was a shot in the arm to the people who noticed his arrival. Soon, the people ate with a little more gusto. They moved a bit faster with their heads held high.

Hal didn’t know why they cared, but it clearly lifted their spirits to see the Founder up and about. While he wasn’t watching Hermes closely, he could sense that the oppa was paying close attention to how other people regarded Hal and how he treated them.

That didn’t change Hal’s actions much. He acted the way he usually did. He greeted each person as he came upon them, ordered some food for himself and Hermes, then picked a central table for maximum visibility.

It meant his meal would be interrupted frequently, but that was worth seeing the tired, haggard faces split into a grin.

Their Founder had gone into the horrible Tower. The same Tower that had laid low nearly a quarter of their population and just about half of all the best fighters in Brightsong.

And he was walking around like it was nothing.

While Hal and Hermes ate, the Founder went over his status, assigning his attribute points and looking over his progress from the last few days.

Hermes watched him, but more and more he watched how everybody else looked at the Founder. He ate like a starved creature–because in a way, he was–asking for thirds and fourths, which were promptly given without any question.

That was one thing that Hal noticed, distracted as he was, that Hermes picked up on. Despite how bad things were, everybody had more than enough food to eat.

Thank you, Hamrin, Hal thought to himself.

[STATUS]

Hal Williams

Level: 68

Discordant Stone: 8,000/55,000

Strain: 0/100

Wyrd: 0/100

BP: 31/35

Classes

Novice: 10

Beastborne: 39

Oathforger: 14

Osseochemist: 5

Resources

HP: 1,125 (+75)

SP: 865

MP: 2,590 (+75)

Attributes

STR: 20

VIT: 50 (+38)

DEX: 20

AGI: 20 (+16)

INT: 67 (+11)

MND: 100 (+22)

CHR: 70 (+36)

Regeneration

HP/hr: 198.3

SP/hr: 151.5

MP/hr: 502.9

Monster Core (Copper V)

The nascent gold-black spirit of a Beastborne that defied death thrice, reforged with the indelible mark of Dream.

Evolutions

Spirit Capacity (Tin II) | Essence Splicing (Tin I)

Beast Magic Scaling (Copper V) | Osseochemy Synergy (Copper IV)

Aetherochemical Apotheosis (Copper IV)

Progress

Next Tier: 89%

Mutagen: 21%

Rank: 99%

Mutagens

Deathbreaker (Copper II): After death, your Spirit Capacity is considered one Rank higher than your actual.

Dragon Force (47%): Gain the ability to manipulate the primal force of dragons while Splicing Dragon Family Essence.

Terrestrial Essences

(Plantoid Family)

Morbolger: (Copper III) | Treant: (Copper III)

Planttrap: (Copper III)

(Beast Family)

Disara: (Copper I)

(Lizard Family)

Ganor: (Copper I) | Serpent: (30%)

(Vermin Family)

Insect: (Copper III) | Spider: (Copper III)

Diremite: (Copper II)

Terrestrial 2 Essences

(Aquan Family)

Stonefin: (Copper I)

(Amorph Family)

Slug: (78%)

(Bird Family)

Mortal Essences

(Beastmen Family)

Goblin: (Copper III) | Thesp: (85%)

Slimeback (Copper I) | Giant: (65%)

(Humanoid Family)

Celestial Essences

(Undead Family)

Aberration: (Copper IV)

(Arcana Family)

Shadow: (Copper III) | Golem: (Copper II)

Mimic: (Copper III) | Doll: (Copper I)

(Dragon Family)

Tyrant White: (Copper IV) | Noble Gold: (Copper IV)

(Outsider Family)

Eldritch: (Copper IV) | Luminat: (5%)

(Avatar Family)

(Elemental Family)

Blighted: (Copper I)

Overall, Hal was more than pleased with the gains he received from the first floor of the Tower. Perhaps going in with a smaller group would be safer, but if that was the case, then it would also lead to less Level Ups.

Not to mention the new essence he received.

Hal had been so busy with all the monsters that he had largely ignored most of the prompts he received because they were too lengthy to deal with at the time.

But now he saw something that simply could not be.

A new Monster Family.

That shouldn’t have been possible. There were 4 “cycles” to the Predator/Prey relationship of monsters. Terrestrial with Plantoid, Beast, Lizard, and Vermin. Terrestrial 2 with Aquans, Amorphs, and Birds. The Mortal Cycle had things like humans, beastmen, and the various races of Aldim. It was one of the cycles Hal knew the least about.

Then there was the Celestial Cycle with creatures that, as the name suggested, came from beyond Aldim itself. These things existed alongside but also outside of it. The Celestial Cycle had two pairs as far as Hal knew. Undead and Arcana, as well as Dragons and Outsiders.

Both sets were in complete opposition to one another, both harming the other while being weak to their opposite. Dragons and Outsiders for example, stood for two very opposing things: Order and Chaos.

Undead and Arcana were two types of necromantic life that were in direct contradiction to one another.

And now… Hal’s mind blossomed with another pairing.

Avatars and Elementals. The blighted essence he received was an Elemental Family essence, and simply discovering a new Family had somehow clued him in to its opposite.

Though what an Avatar was, Hal didn’t have a clue.

All he knew was that he now had a brand-new type of essence never seen before. Something that even Besal and Val didn’t know about.

He would need to try it out once he was done with breakfast.

His Monster Core took a lot more work and training to advance than his Levels did. Given that the Core lacked Levels, Hal guessed that was a fair trade-off. It tended to grow in leaps and bounds rather than gradually and linearly like Levels.

If some attributes give traits at 50 total points, and others like Mind give them at 100, maybe it would be a good idea to raise the attributes I rely upon most to 100 as soon as possible.

Intelligence surely didn’t give him anything at 50, but it might at 100, which was why he was dumping so many points into it.

Not only that, but his Osseochemist and Beastborne Classes both seemed to heavily rely on Intelligence as a scaling factor. Without high Intelligence, his magic would suffer, and his creations with Osseochemy would be significantly weaker.

For as long as I have been on Aldim, I still know far too little about attributes, Hal thought to himself. He knew the basics. Ashera and the others had drilled that into him early on.

However, the advanced uses were beyond him. Learning that increasing his Vitality would help with not only the burden of Strain but also Convergence had been a game-changer. Instead of needing to lift up every attribute so the delta between what Convergence offered and what his baseline was as small as possible, he could just pump his Vitality.

The added physical durability and endurance allowed him to weather the damage just as well, if not better, than splitting up his points among the attributes he wanted to enhance with Convergence.

After all, it was a lot easier to enhance Vitality 5 points every few Level Ups instead of splitting those 5 points between Agility, Dexterity, and Strength.

He still lifted the attributes from time to time. He didn’t want to be completely weak without the aid of Convergence, but he didn’t need to keep them in lockstep anymore.

That had been a massive load off his mind.

Hermes looked up, as if he could see Hal’s status, and gasped. He began to ask rather pointed questions about his Monster Core and various essences.

Before long, Hal found himself telling Hermes all about the various essences he had. Once outside, he even showed off a few of them.

Even as they braved the trek back to his cottage, they were still engrossed in their discussion of Beastborne essences.

You have established a new Soul Companion Bond (Hermes).

Soul Companion Attunement: 5%

Your Soul Companion Bond has deepened (Vorax).

Soul Companion Attunement: 67%

Hal grinned at the prompt. Maybe somebody heard me up there, Hal thought to himself.