Less than a week later Alden shifted in Jisellda’s saddle. On his left resided the Hamilayan mountain range, the massive outcrops of stone piercing the sky. On his right Arthur was silently standing with him, both of them watching the oncoming beast. Even from this far away Arthur could tell just how massive it was. Easily over 30 feet long and 20 feet wide, it was a truly colossal beast. There were a few beasts that matched it, but not many. Arthur spat to the side one last time before side-eyeing Alden. “You ready kid?” Alden just smiled and nodded, very unconcerned. He could feel his heart pumping in his chest, that mix of excitement and dull nervousness in his gut. It fueled him, sustained him. “I’m ready. You sure you’re gonna be able to handle containment old man?” Arthur just chuckled before breaking out into a hacking cough. “I’ll be fine. You worry about yourself kid.” Alden nodded and Arthur began moving away, the stone and earth shifting underneath him. Apparently, Arthur was a granite and pyrite mage. He specialized in wards and containment and would be key in holding back the hydra barreling down on them. The plan was simple; Alden would be the bait on a particularly appetizing Aether-dense beast. The hydra would be struck a few times to get its attentions, and then Alden would run like he was on fire as the Hydra chased him. Run depending on how active and excited the hydra was feeling. Alden adjusted, lightly tapping on the bow he had been given. It was enhanced by several magnitudes and was a fine weapon. Nowhere near Alden’s staff, but few things were. Instead, the weapon would very easily allow him to fire from absurd ranges, especially over the open plains that surrounded them. Alden sighed as he watched the form of the hydra inch closer. This was going to take a while.
A little over 6 hours later the hydra had finally moved close enough that Alden would be able to hit it. It was roughly half a mile away, Alden easily aiming the bow. He mentally traced the arrow, feeling the wind and breeze against him. He let his breathing submerge into a calm pattern and slowly moved his Aether through his Aether channels. He could feel the mana moving through him, feel that intoxicating sense of power. His breath calmed. His eyes focused, his ears muted everything but the wind and his heartbeat. He loosed the arrow. The enchantments on the bow flexed with incredible power, launching the projectile far, far into the air. It arced, the arrowhead blazing gloriously with mana in Alden’s senses. The arrow peaked; before hurtling back downward. The enchantment was very simple in theory and practice. After it lost contact with the control enchantments it became ‘armed’. When the now armed enchantments on the arrow detected that the momentum was zero it would activate a weight-increasing enchantment. It was very expensive to enchant disposable ammunition, but in this case, it was worth it as the arrow hurtled down with a force rivaling what the bow had initially launched it at. The arrow came hurtling down and punched into the scales of the hydra. Then there was an explosion as the arrow consumed itself to fuel the next set of enchantments. Alden smiled as the beast focused slowly on him. A few of the others had been wary that it may have ignored the arrow, but Alden had made sure it wouldn’t.
He grinned as the beast began to roar and move towards him. He could see it pouring on the speed, trying to catch up to him. It was still moving slowly- just at this point it was moving closer to a horse’s trot than a man’s walk. Alden moved Jisellda’s head to the side and knocked his heals against her flank. She began to move, trotting off towards the mountains. He took a slanted angle, one that would cross diagonally beside the Hydra. The beast once more roared out in anger and rage and began to adjust itself. Alden just settled himself into the saddle, watching the beast come as he cycled mana around his channels.
It took around an hour for the hydra to reach the mountain pass, a small tunnel between two massive peaks. It was both one of the most tense and boring moments of Alden’s life. Hydras were fierce monsters and Alden had no wish to tangle one if he didn’t have to. Jisellda performed excellently, following his directions even when the beast pounded down on them. Alden whistled as soon as he made It through the pass, the sound echoing over and over. The agreed upon signal- would tell the other mages that the Hydra was following him. Alden continued to move, always staying just one step away from the Hydra, the gap just a little too wide for it to cross. He could feel the beast wanting to turn it away- the spell he had manipulated it with was beginning to fade in power. Its desire to attack the infuriating insect that was Alden and devour him had faded to lethargy and irritation at the chase. Alden gently grasped Bob as he performed another trick-he flared Bob’s mana. A bond between a beast-mage and their beast endowed some special objects upon the beast. One of these was the ability for the beast to slowly form its own mana reservoir- although such a thing to a lot of time. Alden had gone for a different idea. His enhancements imbued in Bob were still flush with Aether, the spells taking time to settle and perform. By flaring Bob, he basically rang the dinner bell, causing the Hydra to go crazy. It refocused its attention on Bob and began to race towards them again. Alden smiled as he kept moving with Jisellda having to stay one step ahead. He would have liked it to not expose that he knew such techniques- but he very much doubted many would recognize what he just did.
As he led the hydra further and further into the mountain, Alden kept looking around for the escape tunnel. Again and again, he raked his gaze across the stone, curse words threatening to spill from his lips when he came up empty each time. Finally, a flare of fire caught his attention, directing him towards a small hollowed out section of stone. Alden wasted no time and urged Jisellda to move faster and faster, moving from a heavy trot into a full out sprint. The mountain goat raced towards the opening, her mana reinforcing her muscles and breath. Alden could hear the hydra shrike and begin moving even faster as it saw him disappear. Alden pushed Jisellda harder, the cool tunnel giving way before them to reveal a mountain ridge. Alden let Jisellda come to a gradual stop, sighing as his heartbeat slowed as well. Atop the ride the rest of the mages huddled, all staring down as the beast crossed the marked corridor. The plan was simple; lead the beast on a merry chase through a narrow passage, collapse said passage, and trap the beast in an artificial set of caves and tunnels. Most of the groundwork had already been done beforehand, consisting of the excavation and reinforcement of the tunnels. It had taken extensive work and resources to construct- but now the kingdom had a pet hydra located on its border with many powers in the stone. Alden saw Arthur move above the hole, stone shifting as the reinforced granite structure was placed over the hole. It looked reminiscent of a pagoda, a intentional choice in some ways. The structure itself served to anchor the massive ward that Arthur had been constructing- a ward that used the Pagoda as a focal point. Numerous smaller wards were slaved into a complex system of interlocking spells. Luckily for Alden, and the other mages, there were far enough away that the massive Aether drain didn’t affect them. Alden couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. He had expected something much more exciting for his first mission.
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They returned to the city, victorious and all alive. They were to report at the palace tomorrow to receive their rewards from the lesser vault. Alden barely slept, instead focusing on his numerous Aether techniques. Many mages dismissed the use of such techniques- after all many of them only gave minor advantages, took a lot of work, and could even have disastrous consequences. Alden, however, was of a different mind. Every advantage, no matter how small, added up. Every small percentage increase, every small bit more skill contributed to a mage being more effective. After years of work those small advantages, Alden had cultivated had turned into massive turning points, completely reshaping him as a mage. Bob clucking brought him out of his thoughts and Alden laughed. “You’re right buddy. Much too heavy thoughts to be thinking about right now.” Alden laid down in bed for a quick nap before tomorrow. He was very excited- after all they were going to get glorious, glorious loot.
The next day Alden was up bright and early at the palace. They weren’t going into the main hall of course- there was a minor wind that swept of behind the building and below that wind resided the lesser vault. Arthur had given them each individual times to appear- it would help keep what each person got a secret and allow them to show who merited the most from the mission. Alden was first since he was the bait. The only person who could have argued against his position as first would have been Arthur, but Alden suspected he had already been promised something. Arthur was waiting impatiently, shifting from side to side. When he saw Alden coming up, he smiled, revealing his yellow teeth. “You’re early boy. Good. Make this easier. Follow me, follow me now, I’ll take you to see what you need.” Arthur’s gruff voice washed over Alden as he was ushered into the building. There was a security desk, but it was waved aside by Arthur. It turned out that the old man must either be trusted or already talked to security, as they let them down after only a brief conversation with Arthur. They descended down the golden and marble architecture to revere pragmatic and solid stone construction. They came down to the vault- a massive door, enchanted and inscribed heavily. Arthur grunted as he produced a key from nowhere, opening up the vault. Rows upon rows of shelves appeared before Alden. He entered, eyes darting form one place to the next as everything overwhelmed him.
Arthur just chuckled, limping towards a small table in front of them. “Close your mouth boy, or you’ll let the fly’s in.” Alden’s jaw snapped shut with a click as Arthur dropped something down on the table before him. Alden’s eyes were drawn to the noise, revealing a solid and thick-looking book. Besides the book Arthur dropped an unattuned Aether crystal. “Well, boy, here are your first two rewards. The Aether crystal’s already been harvested so it’s not nearly as valuable but it’s still a good material used for various artificing purposes. As for the book- it’s a collection of every known chicken mage and their spells they used. It’s a lot better than most will get- command was more than willing to give a little extra for the role you played in the plan. It doesn’t hurt that most chicken mages haven’t achieved any appreciable amount of power. You’re the first I’ve heard of that willingly took on an adventure, so I wish you the best of luck.” The man gestured to the hall around them filled with different items. “As for your next rewards you have your pick. Anything you can see you can pick- choose wisely. Or not. I don’t care.” Arthur snorted and flopped down into his seat as Alden slowly wandered. The vault was massive, and Alden could easily spend the whole day in here- although he thought that Arthur wouldn’t be appreciative of such an action. He strolled past artifacts of all different times- enchanted swords, spears, hammers, shields. Various books on spell enchantment and enhancement, although only basic works. Various gems and precious ingredients. Small gold blocks hung on the floor. Alden couldn’t believe such a display of wealth, nothing he had seen before could compare. He wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, eyes just watching the beautiful items. He knew what he needed though- he headed back to Arthur and cleared his throat at the snoring form. The man opened his eyes, glaring at Alden. “Done?” Alden shook his head before speaking. “No, I wanted to ask you to find something for me. A book on the various cultures and peoples on Gelid.” Arthur just eyed him for a moment before snoring again. “All the things in here and you want a book on different people. Whatever, follow me.” Not long after, Alden left very satisfied with his rewards. He gazed at the mountains, feeling that itch again. Perhaps it was time to wander some more.