Chapter 324 - Warning Intuition

Chris

I gestured to the side of the courtyard and Austin followed behind me. It wasn't that I needed to keep the conversation secret, just that I didn't want any casual interruptions.

Ones that standing near the bar would entail.

I looked Austin up and down and finally got a good picture of him. This was the first time I'd seen him in over a year. He had a few new scars and looked weathered, but overall, he looked good. His aura felt stronger and I could tell he had a good chunk of levels under his belt compared to the last time I'd seen him.

"You look rough, bud," I said, hiding a smile.

"You're one to talk," Austin shot back and thumbed at the portion of my chest showing where my newest scar was visible, "What ate you up and spit you back out?"

"One of those 'fluffy bear cubs' you were disparaging earlier. They have a bit more bite to them than fluff."

"I can see that. To leave a mark on you is no easy feat." He said with eyes lingering on the scar a bit longer.

What he said was becoming increasingly true. My Fortitude alone was high enough to straight up ignore most attacks. Taking the next step and refining my Body to Copper only made it better.

There were so many attacks I could outright dismiss. There was a certain glee to be had in doing so.

While I pulled him aside to get some information, it was Austin who struck first.

"I heard you had a fun day with The Reservation." Austin mentioned, "What happened there? I didn't think you were going to get involved."

"I wasn't. Marcus called in his favor." I said gruffly. I hadn't wanted to get involved at all but would have if it came to it. I doubted the combined might of the two Factions would have been enough to beat Marcus anyway. Not with the Wards I helped put in.

"Then I figure he has a few fewer enemies he needs to fight."

"I did what needed to be done." I said, "Nothing more."

"If you say so." Austin muttered, "At least you made it back."

"Yes, at least I made it back."

Austin sighed, "Alright, I guess you want the juicy details of my glorious journey."

"If you wouldn't mind. Specifically, what you found out in the West. Did she do it? Did she make it through the mountain?" I asked.

Austin smiled, "She did. I wasn't able to learn much, but keeping something that large hidden was impossible. There were hundreds of workers there when she broke through and she organized hundreds of Scouts to go through to the other side. It wasn't possible to hide that much movement."

"Were you able to get through?" I asked. Reaching the West wasn't of that much importance to me, but it was a nice thing to know. The continent had been split in two by the changed Rockies, and Jayla just made the first step to reuniting it.

I'd suggested going around the mountains in the North, but that was deemed impossible. The mountain range stretched far into the Arctic Circle, and that area was already deadly enough without the mountains added.

"No, she wasn't letting anyone through that weren't Scouts or her own fighters, but I did hear that they ran into another Faction on the other side. I don't know the name or how powerful they are, but I know they encountered one another."

I wonder what resources they have on the other side? How much is she going to restrict it? Maybe a visit is in order, I thought.

"Is that all you wanted to know?" Austin asked, "You don't care about the fighting in the South?"

I grunted, "Knowing him, I doubt there will be a time when there isn't fighting in the South."

Tracy's attempts to keep me updated were helpful, but ultimately not necessary. I didn't much care what went on thousands of miles from Frostheim. The news that Sparky, for Stormbringer was too pretentious to refer to him as, was off fighting another Faction wasn't helpful.

"Who is it this time? Three Rivers or Miami Valley?" I asked, but didn't much care for the answer.

Even if my hometown sat in Miami Valley, it felt like so long ago that I'd lived there. The Stormlands fighting there didn't bring up any feelings other than my lack of care.

"Three Rivers," Austin answered.

Ah, not surprising. Three Rivers was situated directly South of Chicago and built their City where the Ohio met the Mississippi. Technically, there were only two rivers, but the name stuck.

"How many does that make now? He started in Indianapolis, conquered Chicago early, and I heard he took over St. Louis too. This makes four large Cities?" I thought out loud.

"Yeah, his attempts to push West into Iowa were met harshly by the Heartlands Alliance. I was surprised he didn't push harder." Austin said.

"I'm glad we got out of there. Too many Factions and people in one place. It was bound to get tense after things settled down." I said.

Austin laughed, "Like that would have mattered. After Lakeshore-"

He saw my face change and stopped suddenly. "I'm not proud of what I did there and I don't like bringing it up."

"Alright, I get it. Just imagine my surprise when I heard about it on the road! You should hear some of the stories!" Austin said.

My face stayed firm, "I'd rather not."

"Fine, fine, be like that." He said, "Anything else, my liege, or can I go enjoy myself."

"Go. Be an annoyance to someone else." I said and watched as he drifted off back toward the crowd.

Things were changing rapidly, and events were heating up everywhere it seemed. Marcus was one event, but that wasn't all. What was happening in the South with Nick was another. Rachel spoke of potential fighting in the East, too.

The whole place felt charged and ready to blow.

I wasn't sure I liked it. I imagined things would slow down after everyone reached D-rank, but just the opposite happened.

Dungeons were outgrown, and resources were running out. The area between Cities that once felt like endless wilderness had slowly shrank.

There was a pull in my chest. An intuition. One that said that something was coming.

One I wasn't happy with feeling and one I'd felt before.

___

Two Years Ago

The decision to delay my evolution was weighing on me. On the night of the Solstice, it felt like such a good idea, but the longer I waited, the more I reconsidered.

News kept coming in of more and more people reaching D-rank and it felt like I was falling further and further behind. Even though I knew it was stupid to compare myself to others, I couldn't help it.

Austin had reached it on our journey back and had ventured nearly to the point of reaching his first skill choice. Abigail went and did it right after I'd decided to wait.

Rachel too.

It's not a sprint, I kept telling myself. What I kept feeling as 'falling behind', was of no productive use. I had never been the one with the most levels, but I'd always been the one with the most strength.

It didn't matter if others rose 10, or 20 levels ahead, as long as I stayed true to myself. A delay now would set me up for more later.

I'd checked my options every once in a while and not much had changed. Of the five options for my Class, none had changed. It wasn't that much of a surprise, as I hadn't been focusing on it that much.

The possibility of jumping up to Mythic was so small it really wasn't worth the time. It was my Profession that I was hoping to see the change and in one of the options, it did.

I knew they would if I pushed for it, but seeing it helped ease the worry. It wasn't a rarity jump like I hoped, but it was a change nonetheless.

One of the options going from Apprentice Armorsmith to Apprentice Weaponsmith didn't do much if they were both still Rare. It did make me consider that I'd been making more weapons than armor lately, but other than that, it wasn't all that helpful.

I wanted Epic.

The 16 stat point per level difference didn't seem like a lot until you totaled it over the 100 levels of D-rank. 1600 stat points were. Not to mention some of those would be in Strength and Endurance which would kick my passive skills into effect.

1600 stat points were worth the wait. Even if it let a few people get ahead. With time, I would come out on top. Of that, I was sure. I threw myself back into forging and enchanting but I couldn't help but feel a pull in my chest.

I meditated on it, even sat on the healing bed to relax more, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake the feeling.

Something was wrong, and I couldn't pinpoint what.

For days, the feeling persisted. Getting stronger at times, and weaker at others. It was throwing me for a loop and nothing I did made it go away. Days became weeks, and it began to affect my work. The consistent pull was grating on me.

The feeling got worse when Abigail came to visit me. She did so every once in a while, to talk about City development or some other task or information she wished to inform me of, but this time was different.

There was a look on her face. A... weariness that alerted me to something wrong.

"What is it?" I asked, mildly concerned as things were going in a direction I didn't like. And going fast.

"Have you been to see Grandmother lately?" She asked.

The question was so unexpected I didn't know how to respond. I expected news of an attack or of something else going wrong. Not... that.

"Not lately," I said and waved at the slabs of metal and unfinished weapons, "I've been a bit busy."

"You should," Abigail said, "Ashely just spoke to me and said that something is wrong and she can't fix it."

My face hardened, "What do you mean she can't fix it? She's put me back together from scraps before."

"I don't know any more than that, but she's telling people she can't fix it and it would be in their best interest to," Abigail paused, composing herself, "spend their time wisely."

I completely stopped what I was doing and for a moment, even the pulling feeling was forgotten, "Are you saying what I think you're saying." My words were barely a whisper.

"I think I am."

I sat down hard and the hammer fell from my grasp, clattering on the stone floor. No. This can't be. "What about healing spells? Potions? Did you see the Merchants?"

"Ashley tried all of that before alerting anybody."

"She's our best Healer! You're telling me she can't heal her!"

"Chris," Abigail's voice hardened, "I'm telling you what our best Healer told me."

"But- but..."

"She's old, Chris. The levels helped for a time but she hasn't gained one in ages. You know that." Abigail said, "I don't even know if she wants to level."

I had known she had stagnated at level 25. She hadn't gained a Law nor done anything else required to evolve. She hadn't wanted to. I knew what would result from that. I knew what would happen. I just hadn't thought it would be so soon.

"Has anyone told Austin?" I asked. Austin had left to go traveling again and I wasn't sure where he was. His communications were sparse.

"No one knows where he is. We're trying, but I'm not holding out hope."

My work was forgotten and the unfinished weapons stayed that way.

Everyone tried to get her to evolve. To do something that would get her a few levels, but she firmly refused everything.

It wasn't until after that I realized she planned it that way.

The only reason she had held on for as long as she had was to make sure she saw her family safe. With the City secured and people forging ahead into D-rank, she was content.

She wanted to be with her husband. We had seen how she had shut down after Granddad's death, but I always thought she would get through it eventually.

Then her son's death. Then a second son's death. And countless grandchildren.

It had been too much.

One of the last things she said was she was off to see her family again, and that she would be waiting for us.

It was so... unexpected. I felt so blindsided. I was trying my best to advance my craft and the next thing I knew we were having a funeral.

And for all that was good and holy, the damn pulling never stopped.

We buried her in the open spot next to Granddad and we mourned her passing. Drinks were shared and stories were told. It felt different than before, as it wasn't the result of a battle. We all knew that this was what she had wanted.

It made things easier, but it still hurt.

It was the next day that the feeling flared. I still wasn't sure what it was warning me of, but I knew it was coming soon.

It wasn't until a Messenger came galloping full speed into the City that I found out what.

Lakeshore had attacked the mine.