Hyperion Evergrowing

Chapter 122: Ahle-ho at Last

“How long has it been since we were last home?” Nayet asked, the adventurer skipping ahead of their small group, happy humming to herself as a full pouch of coins jingled at her hip.

“Seven, no, eight months now.” Tollumi said, his eyes scanning the horizon as they crested the rocky hill. “But the answer is too long, far too long. I wonder if the guild finished the gymnasium expansion, you’d think that after half a year it would be done but that project has been on hold ever since we joined.”

“Yeah, but it would only happen if Silverfang sold the adjacent property, and they’re way too land grabby to not push the price as high as possible.”

Leif listened to the back and forth, passively absorbing information as he kept pace with both adventurers. His attention was arrested when Nayet let out a whooping cheer as they reached the apex of their ascent, the coastal city of Ahle-ho finally being revealed in its full glory.

Towering walls of white rock rose in segmented tiers, the tiled roofs of homesteads and businesses mixing together in tightly packed districts separated by massive thoroughfares and plazas. Ahle-ho stretched along the coast, several outlying farming communities dotting the outer edges of the settlement, their fields like green patch-jobs having been sown into the hardy ground.

Leif’s only prior experience with a city, or at least the only experience he remembered was the destroyed remains of Pherin. Ahle-ho dwarfed the abandoned and desolate settlement many times over, and that was without being able to see the parts of the city built down along the cliffside.

“You see the massive building with all the painted spires?” Nayet asked, turning to him with a massive grin stretched across her face.

“I do, it's not exactly easy to miss.” He replied flatly.

“Right, well, I think being ostentatious was the point. That's the palace, you can’t really tell from this angle since we’re coming in from the north but it's actually built right up along the western wall. Behind it, and completely out of sight are the sky docks. You’ll never see so many skimmers in your life.”

“The large circular building dominating the skyline over to the left is the coliseum, it’s where the guilds test themselves and jockey for position. Most of the guild headquarters are spread throughout the city, but all the guilds that matter own buildings nearby to the coliseum.” Tollumi added.

“Guilds… I just realised I’m looking for somebody and I don’t even know what guild they belong to.” Leif said as the road they were travelling on merged into another wider path, the well kept dirt transitioning into carved tiles perfectly interlocking with only the barest hint of a gap.

Several groups commuted along this road, merchants and farmers making up the majority of travellers, however there were several individuals who could easily be identified as adventurers by their arms and armour. Tollumi and Nayet were strange in that regard, Nayet not wearing armour and Tollumi being able to store and summon his own. A pair of guards in matching uniforms patrolled casually along the right side of the road, occasionally inspecting carts and luggage.

“You don’t know? Why didn’t they tell you?” Nayet asked.

“I think he just forgot, we weren’t exactly planning on separating until the very last moment.”

“Ah, yeah, that happens sometimes, things can get pretty crazy when monsters are involved.”

“That happens.” Tollumi said with a snort. “We haven't even told you our guild allegiance.”

“We haven't?”

“We have not.” He affirmed. “Sorry Leif, adventurers normally exchange that information when they meet, but since you’re not affiliated with any guilds we never actually introduced ourselves properly.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

“We’re members of the Twin Heart guild, one of the five prime guilds within Ahle-ho.”

A pair of guards approached the trio and Tollumi stepped forward to meet them, Nayet picking up the introduction in his stead. “Unlike most other guilds, Twin Heart actually has branches outside of the city. The main branch is in Ahle-ho, they wouldn’t be one of the prime guilds otherwise, but we have a presence in Sablaris, and even within the empire.”

“Sablaris…” Leif said, his mind working with the enhanced memory granted by the [Intelligence] attribute alongside the [Wisdom of the Ages] skill that had capstoned his time as an [Amber Blight Spriggan]. “I recall a friend mentioning a sister branch to the guild I’m looking for being present there.”

Tollumi glanced over his shoulder, the man having summoned his armour and warhammer to show the guards. “Now that's an interesting coincidence, I’m not sure how many guilds have foreign branches, let alone branches in Sablaris.”

“Who is it that you’re looking for?” Nayet asked.

“His name was Darius, dark hair, green eyes.”

“Mist powers?” Nayet asked, looking amused.

“That’s right.” Leif said, glancing as the guards moved on from Tollumi and towards him. For a moment he panicked, did they know? How did they find him out? But it turned out they had a device that could detect spatial storage, nothing to do with his inhuman nature. He summoned the Academy token from his ring and one of the guards choked, waving him forward without any questions. “Do you know him?”

“Do I know the son of the guild leader? Well, not really, he’s pretty elusive, but I know of him.”

Leif stared at her, Nayet started to laugh.

“You said you were an expedition auxiliary?” Tollumi asked as he ushered them to continue along. “I remember the guild leader's son being involved in the failed expedition up north, don’t tell me you were involved as well?”

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He nodded. The man snorted in amusement.

“Well you found us, probably easier than you thought huh?”

“A little, I somewhat expected a prolonged investigation, or something like that.”

They continued towards the quickly approaching walls of the city, the two adventurers pestering him with questions about the expedition. The closer they got to the city the tighter the press of people seeking entry became, the traffic being buffeted by those exiting the city along the same road. Men and women in official looking uniforms ushered people to stay in orderly lines, but wherever they weren’t looking the press of people quickly returned to a disorganised mess.

A pack of dogs with wagging tails chased a group of laughing children up and down the outskirts of the line while parents and guardians tried to recall them. Someone was even selling hot food out the back of their wagon, a crowd of travellers shouting out their orders to get the vendors attention.

Half an hour later they were through the gatehouse and into the city proper. The mass of humans only increased with every step, people bumping into one another as they shoved through contested sidewalks. Buildings carved out of limestone brick and painted vibrant pastels lined every street, large multi-coloured cloth awnings giving the streets below shade from the mid-morning sun.

There was an endless series of scents, sounds and sights, Leif quickly finding his senses overwhelmed as the presences of so many people pressed against his aura, flickers of emotion and intent blurring together into a near unreadable mess.

“Don’t worry!” Nayet called over the crowd. “It’s less busy in the inner districts, once we get a little further away from the walls everything starts to open up more.”

Leif turned to glance back the way they had come and saw that the interior of the walls were dotted with doorways and windows, as if people had carved living spaces into the cities defences to escape the crowds. He felt a hand grab him by the arm and pull him along, Leif snapping out of his stunned revere.

A trio of figures leapt over the road, using the rooftops of the nearby buildings to bypass the streets below. People noticed, but nobody made a commotion at the sight, it was likely more common than not.

“Welcome to Ahle-ho, biggest city in the world!” Nayet said as they stepped onto a much wider thoroughfare.

“Really?” Leif asked, not out of disbelief but instead seeking confirmation.

“Pfft, no, not really. Ahle-ho is pretty small compared to some of the bigger imperial cities, especially the capital, though I’ve never been.”

Pretty small? Leif wondered, not sure if he believed that claim at all.

===

True to Nayet and Tollumi’s word, the overcrowding situation changed as they got further into the city. Where they were wrong however was that it would get better, instead the sheer mass of humanity pressing in on all sides only grew with every metre of ground they managed to conquer from the increasingly dense crowd. Vendors and temporary stalls lined the streets, makeshift structures of wood and cloth that seemed to have grown out of existing buildings.

Carts and wagons were stuck in a deadlock of traffic while swarms of pedestrians flowed around them like a river around a boulder. There was shouting and cursing, an endless barrage of increasingly loud noises that drowned out all attempts at conversation. Leif gave up on trying to talk, instead switching to telepathy and almost making both adventurers jump out of their skin in fright when he initiated communication.

A short figure bumped into Leif, both the scion and stranger becoming briefly tangled before drawing apart. He would have thought nothing of the interaction except for the faint tingle of intent he felt brushing up against his withdrawn aura. “I think someone just tried to pick my pockets.” He sent mentally, slightly nonplussed.

“Yeah, that will happen, it's usually just kids though!” Nayet yelled back at him.

“Don’t you have a money pouch hanging at your hip?”

She didn’t reply for several seconds as they were cut off by the movements of the crowd. “Don’t tell anyone, but the rope is enchanted to resist cutting, ain't no way some street urchin destined to unlock the [Rogue] class can get my precious-”

The rest of her words were interrupted as a nearby vendor started yelling about fresh fish skewers, but Leif got the general idea. Ahead Tollumi’s head poked out over the throng of humanity, the man gesturing towards a side street. Leif made his way over to where the adventurer was directing him, finding that the alley was far less crowded than the main road they were traversing.

“Why are there so many people?” Nayet asked her husband.

Tollumi shrugged. “Not sure, maybe there’s a festival or some sort of event?”

“They might be migrants, refugees.” Leif suggested, when both humans turned to him he expanded on his guess. “When I was in the north, near the imperial cordon there was an incident that destroyed a large part of a town. Beyond the border, in the frontier there aren’t many people who aren’t in constant danger. Assuming the problems are more widespread than I saw, it would make sense people travelled south.”

Tollumi frowned while his wife looked glum. “That might just be it, there were a lot more travellers on the road prior to turbulence, but we were distracted by monster hunting contracts and didn’t look too deeply into it.”

A shrill whistle pierced the air, the constant thrum of conversation and movement dying down for a few moments, a series of distant shouts being heard during the lull. A column of two dozen soldiers wearing the familiar blues of the imperial army cut through the crowd, their presence cutting through the mass of humanity as the armed men and women projected their auras out, filling the air with the domineering impression of steel and discipline.

The atmosphere immediately shifted as tension rose, people shuffled away from the approaching patrol as dark muttering began. The whistle was blown again, then one of the soldiers stepped forward, the space around him clearing out in a matter of seconds.

“In the name of the prince and by his authority, we are putting the streets of this city back into order. All pedestrians step away from the middle of the road, make way for the carts!” He said, his voice being carried by some sort of skill.

Leif felt a small amount of mental pressure followed by an easily ignorable compulsion. Many of the civilians trying to get through the city were affected far more than he was. Immediately people moved to obey the command, even as others started to push back against the compulsion, fighting with everything they had to resist. Chaos broke out as people began to shove and yell, confusion breaking out as half the crowd moved in one direction while the other half resisted them.

The officer shouted again, the same feeling of mental pressure washing over everyone present. “-By his authority, the prince of this city, do I command you into order! Step aside and make way-”

Leif winced as a piece of rotting fruit sailed through the air, a streak of vibrant red that splattered against the soldier's face, sliding down his cheek over several agonising seconds.

“Get the fuck out of our city you damn tyrants!” A hoarse voice from somewhere within the crowd.

“Yeah! You’re not wanted here!”

“Leave and never return!”

“Silence!” The officer boomed, fist tightening on the hilt of their sword.

“We should go.” Nayet said, a pensive expression on her face. “If there’s a riot we don’t want to be anywhere nearby.”

“Wise words dear.” Tollumi replied. “The soldiers won’t be stupid enough to start violence, if the situation here is anything like it was prior to our tour things won’t escalate beyond this.”

The three of them departed, pushing their way down the alley and away from the incident. Leif hoped that they were right.