The crunch of his feet on the pebbles below ground mixed in the sound of chatter. The grass was dry in this area, south of the rivers bend and the gurgling stream blossoming from it.
They had cut nearly south, traveling towards the Border of the Great Oak Duchy with the Daro County as well as the Barony.
Grass had grown more sparse and the dirt drier, rocks and pebbles made for better ASMR when walking, Myron judged, and the change in scenery did good for his spirits.
“So you’re telling me that in a Dead Zone, It is harder to replenish your Aether?”
“Almost. I’m saying that in any Zone without the Type of Aether an Aimon needs, is made out of; call it however you want. In any such region it takes more time for an Aimon’s reserves to replenish.” Syl answered and Rhamon to his side nodded.
Hana walked beside him and Mery was carrying an exhausted Dakini on her back for a change.
They had used the Transformation Ability and exploited Dakini’s lungs and wings for kilometers. Carrying Myron and Mery both for such a long distance had taken a tall on her body. So she was getting some well earned rest.
If Myron was able to he would be carrying her as well. Yet another reason for him to begin Cultivating, despite not having enough time to understand the depths of it.
“There it is.” Rhamon pointed in the Distance.
Down South, the terrain turned desolate, for a patch until it split. To the West from there the land shone with a multitude of colors and a sheen that Myron couldn’t quite place, while further South than that, Boulders grew straight up like pillars and trees popped out the side of them.
With their roots digging into the rocks and their canopy sweeping out, pulled down by gravity, and causing the whole tree to droop.
“Now that I see them. They both look fun.”
“We can only go to one place.” Rhamon reminded Myron, though he didn’t need it.
“And you wish to go South?”
“Not anymore.” The Kentauros squinted at the County spreading before them as they took their first steps down the slope and onto the rough patch of earth. “Those Guilders made me change my mind.”
“Why them?”
“Guild Presence is lessened in the Baron’s lands. If I have to worry not only about the hunters sent by the Emperor, but also the money hungry guilders chasing after me then I’d rather choose the Wild West from the Tame South.” He explained and Myron nodded.
“It works for me either way.” He picked up his pace.
Myron skipped forward, once, and then twice. He felt a thrum move through him. His eyes sharpened into a glint.
In a move that he would have never been able to accomplish just weeks ago, guided by his enhanced and near superhuman instincts, like those of a hardened veteran, he dove out of the way and rolled through the coarse dirt as an Aimon burst through the Earth.
It’s body was small with two little legs and big arms that moved like curtains of slime above its head. It turned around through the air like a fish out of water and dove back into the dirt as if it wasn’t solid.
“What out everyone.” He said as he spread his legs and stayed on his toes, his eyes looking down.
“It won’t come again.” Rhamon asseced and reassured Myron. “It’s an Ambush predator.”
“You know what Aimon that was?” Myron asked.
“If my eyes didn’t fail me then it should be, a Pumble, known in the Imperial circle as the unfortunate Aimon. Born with the, argued for, strongest Typing combination, but with none of the temperament, or power to accomplish its destiny. It is considered to be the Baron’s greatest mistfortune to have such an Aimon within his territory. The Ground swimmer is a menace to all human structures, and difficult to catch, yet even when captured it is incapable of defending its trainer from even weaker opponents, on paper.”
Rhamon explained and Myron curled his lips down. “That makes me want to find one and Bond with it. Just to show how useful it can be.” He walked up to the little hole from which the Pumble had come out and cupped his hands around his mouth.
“You can do it little guy! I know you are very strong! I believe in All Aimon!”
Satisfied he got up and kept moving forward.
“Can we expect our march through these lands to be like this?”
“You can for the Most part feel safe with the fact that Syl and Rhamon are a major deterrent.” Hana responded, showing a similar sentiment to Myron when it came to the Pumble with a frown. She mouthed to Rhamon about their cuteness.
“Under normal circumstances I would consider that fact and agree with Hana.” Syl spoke up. “But I do not think this Territory is mere Wilderness. This is a land at war. The Aimon will be agitated. Not to mention. The Destruction of an entire region it bound to smash into the bordering regions like dominoes. To diminishing effect, but an effect none the less.”
Myron nodded, appreciating the more somber note of reality Syl offered before having his shocks blown off.
He somehow hadn’t noticed, but suddenly, Myron found himself walking and bouncing with his every step. He looked down and saw his feet sinking into the glossy surface of the dirt below his feet, a deep gray-purple, with gradient stripes like glitter. He was pushed away, never penetrating the slightly gelatinous surface.
Then again, and again. He picked up speed from a walk to a jog and then to a skipping sprint as with each step he was bounced harder by the ground up into the air, until with courage that he didn’t have in his last life and a whole lot of balls he pushed with both feet, tucked them in, and spun head first.
He nearly landed the Front-flip before his legs flew out from under him, having barely caught the ground with the tips of his shoes.
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“Gufaw!”
“Damn! I thought I had it!” Myron snapped his fingers at the indignity.
“PUHAHAH! Myron, that’s so funny, do it again!” Dakini and Hana broke out into laughter.
Mery copied him and tried to fall flat on her face, but her body pulled her into the correct stance and flow all on its own accord. She stomped the gelatinous earth and kicked a bouncy pebble with a pout, making the ruckus of the princess and fox couple all the more intense.
Myron grabbed Mery and walked forward.
Then, to remind him that this was a foreign land and that he shouldn’t play, the earth from under him slipped. He fell back first along with Mery down a slide and into a goop. Suddenly the flat terrain that had spread before them didn’t appear to be so flat.
They had just fallen down a cliff, which had slumped under its own weight and gave the illusion of of gentle slope. Like the gut; beer belly; of some middle aged father, it had a bump and then a drop back into the waist line.
Thus Myron found himself wading through thick, blue slime the color of water and with the feel jell-o.
“Mery…” He gulped down a piece of the gelatinous water, it was like a bomb of crystal clear water from the mountains of heaven. He shook his head and brought himself back down to earth. “Pull yourself out of here.”
“I won’t leave you to drown in this… what do you call this?”
“Slime… It’s water, it’s the quirk of the land. Don’t fear for me. Just go, and then you can help me.”
Mery listened and pushed water down from her feet. She flew up with a wet plop and landed safely atop the lake. She then walked forward slowly and steadily. Unitl she was on hard - not really but compared to the lake it is - ground, and turned around.
“Now what?” Dakini shouted from up above, flying and hovering above them, looking down.
“[Water Whip]” Myron said and brought his arm up and out of the surface. “Don’t hesitate even if it will hurt me, just heal me up later.” Myron frowned and struck Mery with a glare.
She went past her hesitation and a whip of water spread out from her arm, it moved with life of its own and snapped around Myron’s forearm with a crack. He grunted through the pain even as his blood begun to seep into the water.
She pulled, once; twice. Myron popped out. With another tug he was sliding over the lake and onto the ground right next to Mery who immediately doused his arm with a [Healing Soak].
“Could you always target singular body parts with this Ability?”
She shook her head. “No, my Control has increased as of late. It’s only natural now, and I think that I can do much more. The more intense the concentration, the better the healing factor.”
“Agreed, make it part of your training. You will damage me with a whip or two every day before bed to heal me.”
“That’s crazy.”
“No, it’s fine. That’s what it is. It is important that you become better at healing. I won’t always have it this easy, Mery. We are entering dangerous territory.”
He waved about as he stood. The Land of soft earth and bouncing rocks, or gelatinous waters and twisted trees that looked like candies. Yet they were not. This was a land, home to Poison Types more than anything. He saw another pair of those Pumbles sticking their decidedly pumpkin heads and bodies out of the ground, staring at them with predatory intent.
Only retreating when the rest of the party joined them down the slumped cliff from a safer route that wasn’t such a quicksand trap.
“That went well.” Syl noted and Myron made a look at her before scoffing.
“If you have time to joke at my expense then you have time to march forward and away from anyone that may seek to do us harm. Is that right?” He said and Syl stilled. Her joints locked and she took off.
Myron grabbed her and she turned to look at him, her eyes still. “I wasn’t being serious. You weren’t shirking your duties.”
“Yeah? I wasn’t being serious either. I am not a soldier.” Syl flashed him a smile and flicked his forehead.
“She’s just a worrywart.” Dakini nodded.
Rhamon called out, over a hundred meters past them. “Come on! Catch up, you’re waisting daylight!”
Hana nodded beside him and Myron had to shake his head.
They caught up and kept up a decent pace. Every now and again the earth would rock, or lightning would strike. Other times instead of rocking the earth would simply shove them into the air as a great ripple traveled through it.
Only specific terrains had such intensely gelatinous makeup though and thus their trip was mostly free of flight or bounce.
Then, on the convergence of two hills, where they cracked in the middle for a length of their bulk, ten meters high the crack was all on its own. They decided to make a short stop.
It was high time for lunch. If they continued on at this rate, Rhamon believed, they would reach the flat land upon which the main highway leading to the Oak Duchy from the lands of the Baron. They would then skirt that highway, until they reached a proper town. There they could resupply, easy as pie. Rhamon had said and earned a giggle from Myron.
The news of their wanted status, as well as their identities would not have traveled faster than them. The Sky, was mostly off limits in the Empire, especially this close to the Wild. Deep in the Deadened heartlands the story was different, but here, the sky was the territory of Aimon. None could enter for too long lest they be eaten.
So with the their pursuers would come the news and the arrest warrants. Until then. If they could make good enough time, they would be able to visit civilization.
That was Rhamon’s rationale for the route he proposed. Syl was in disagreement to it, as staying even near the highway would put them in even more danger.
“What about the Guild?” It was Syl who asked.
“What about it?”
“They exist in the Baron’s lands don’t they? Can they potentially get the information out there Faster? Actually, I know they can, I’m just wondering if you’ve though about it.” She squinted at the Kentauros.
“They could, and I have indeed taken it as a variable, and counted the guild out. From what I understand the Guild Master of Great Oak City protected you, he even gave you an escape route.”
“That he did, but there is no one to stop the Duke from placing a mission in the Cork-boards of the guild and sending a wave of Trainers adventures into the war bitten lands of the West to get us. I mean, we encountered a pair of Trainers today and it was by random chance that we met them. Imagine if someone is trying to find us.”
“I believe firmly that the Duke would never go out of his way to Interact with the guild and through its channels. Nor would the emperor.”
“How so?” Syl asked. Her arms crossed, her antennae pointing cutely at Rhamon.
“Because of political reasons. The Duke is firmly in the camp of the Emperor, and thus his Second Son. They are strictly trying to downsize the use of Aimon in Combat, and to completely separate Trainers of Aimon from the Military. The Emperor is a reformist and he wants to create an independent and capable Human Army. The Duke agrees.”
“What? If that’s the case then how is the Guild allowed to exist within his lands?”
“It’s not so easy to cut the Guild away. Half the power of the world belongs to the Guild. Or, depends on the Guild. If they Guild wasn’t such a clearly proven neutral party that did not deal in politics it would not have been allowed to exist but it provided a great service.”
Hana jumped in with a little smile. “The history speaks for itself. The guild won’t go down so easily.”
“They’ve fought before?”
“If they’ve fought, No one knows. Because we don’t know what the End of Order is, exactly. What we do know is that the world collapsed as Humanity knew it a few thousands of year ago. Evidence of an advanced society unified across the three Kingdoms has been found, and you know what else?”
“The guild.” Everyone said together.
“Correct!” Hana clapped her hands.
“The guild survived, lived through it all. They and the Empire of Jupiter, the only two names that have been referenced in ancient text.”
Myron put a stop to the conversation as the stew was done cooking. He filled a wooden bowl of his own with a big ladle, three.. No, four entire scoops and sat back down. Assorted meats, vegetables, roots and mushrooms picked up along the way with whatever common spices these people had, and the ever important salt. It came out creamy without any milk.
The Sun overhead, dipped past the top of the hills under whose shadow they took cover. His eyes followed it path into the sky until he met the crack, in the rocks.
His eye caught something, a glint maybe. The glint moved and a white line of glimmering…. Teeth? Replaced it.
He shivered, and made to stand but he didn’t. He put another spoonful into his mouth and chewed on the bits and pieces of the stew. His instincts told him to stay in place. He locked his muscles, and averted his eyes.
Something was there, and it was staring back.