1.11 – The Ironback Mountains

Rika trudged up through the foothills as the heath turned from rolling, heather-covered hills to something altogether more rugged. Soil gave way to stone, and the promise of more craggy and broken terrain was all that lay ahead. Stands of oak and birch became more frequent as she climbed and finally left the heath for good. It was early enough in the day that the sun was low against her back, and early enough in the year that the air remained cool. The summer heat would come, even on these mountain slopes, but for now she’d be spared.

At midday she stopped for a small meal by a stream tumbling down the hill, splashing a cool mist over the rocks it spilled over on its way to the heath below. Marin had left her with a few days’ travel rations. Mostly dried meat, hard cheese, and half-stale bread. Enough to get by on, at least. After her meal, she continued onward. The road emerged from a thick patch of trees that had obstructed much of her view ahead. Without thinking, her hand drifted to her sword as the sleek gray shapes bounded over the lichen spotted boulders scattered over the hills ahead.

Wolves. They were lean, as it was early in the year still. A half dozen, by her count. Enough to be dangerous, but they looked to be keeping their distance. As she continued on, they seemed to be staying within sight of her intentionally. When the afternoon had begun to grow long, one of them ventured closer than any of the others had throughout the day.

Gray Wolf – Level 3

The wolves had levels? She hadn’t questioned it inside the Trial. It made sense she’d be facing creatures with levels. Even with her meager Ascendant class, the trial needed to challenge her.

As if prompted by her thoughts, Chryson spun around so that his cosmic expanse of an iris was level with her own. “Everything has a level. Some creatures even receive classes, of a sort, at least. You’ve just been unable to see what’s always been there. That’s where I come in.”

“Speaking of,” Rika said, “do the wolves have Oracles of their own? I sort of assumed anyone with a class did, but I haven’t bothered to ask.”

“Oh, goodness no.” Chryson sounded almost offended at the question. “Such simple creatures wouldn’t know what to do with a being of my capabilities. Although some of the lesser creatures, like kobolds, for example, are awarded Oracles should they grow strong enough. Their interactions with the class system are of a different sort. They can see levels much like you can, and they know what their own stats are, for example, but their relationship to it is limited. The Watchers view such creatures as lesser—at least until they prove themselves. Base animals, on the other hand, can never receive a proper class. Particularly strong specimens may be granted special abilities, or a new subtype, but they will forever be simply animals.”

Once again Rika was keenly reminded of just how little she truly knew of the world. She currently didn’t even know enough to start asking proper questions. But at least Chryson seemed helpful enough, regardless. The more little tidbits he fed her, the more she filled out the sketch of things. And the more that filled in, the better she’d learn to guide her inquiries.

She let the conversation drop as the sun inched ever closer to the horizon. As it grew dark, the wolves would likely grow increasingly bold. She needed to find a safe place to camp, preferably one with a good rock at her back, and she needed to find it before nightfall. Eventually, she found a suitable spot. A large outcropping of dark gray stone broke through the soil. The surface was spotted with lichen, and a sort of wedge cut into the lee. It would shelter her from the wind. She figured this would be the best she’d find.

With her back to a boulder and a fire blazing in front of her, Rika settled in for her first night alone. Darkness fell far more swiftly than she anticipated. The Ironbacks to the west first cast their shadows across their feet, and soon after night came to the highlands. As the stars wheeled overhead and Rika fed her slowly dwindling supply of wood to her fire, the wolves called to one another across the craggy, broken hills.

It was the most unnerving thing she’d ever heard. There was nobody around to shame her for it, and she wasn’t too proud to admit her fear. Chryson, at least, was there to keep her company. Well, in the capacity that he could, at least. Free will he may have, but he struck her as a fairly incurious creature. Most of their conversation began at her prompting.

“What exactly are you?” she asked. “I mean, you called yourself an Oracle. But what does that mean?”

“I am a being crafted of knowledge, and a conduit for the Watchers’ divine will. It is my duty to serve the one I’ve been assigned to, and aid them in forging their strength through the adversity brought by their choices. I have lived for a hundred of your human lifetimes and more, and I have served countless individuals. Most met fairly inglorious ends.”

“Are there any hard limits to what you can provide? Knowledge-wise, that is.”

“Hard limits, only a few, and none that might concern you. Not as you are now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, turning from the dancing flames in front of her for the first time since the sun dipped past the peaks.

“You asked me once how your stats would advance as you leveled. I could not answer that. But once you gain levels, I can speak more on that matter. As you advance in power, as you stamp yourself upon this world, you will change. Your desires will change. The path you carve will lead you to places you cannot currently fathom. When you have tempered yourself in the fires of adversity, I will provide you with the guidance you need. That, Miss Rika, is the core of my purpose.”

Rika let the silence stretch out after that, broken only by the occasional mournful howl floating across the hills. She tapped one finger against her upper arm as she hugged her legs close to her chest. Everything Chryson had just said could occupy her for hours. And so she let them.

There was a thread. One that she could only just pick out. It ran through her trial, through the question her skills had asked therein: “What will you make of yourself?” The very idea of the trial itself, the epithet of its patron. Promise. The Lord of Beginnings and the Uncertain Journey. Chryson’s direct and less-than-direct mentions of gathering strength, forging herself into something greater, and the class system’s very purpose. But she couldn’t see where it led. She let herself drift in thought until eventually she drifted into sleep.

This narrative has been purloined without the author’s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Morning came, and the sun on her face pulled her from a light doze. Her fire had died to embers, but thankfully she was unharmed. While it seemed she’d been perhaps overcautious to fear the wolves, she’d never heard of anyone dying from an abundance of caution. A quick meal to stave off the hunger pangs, and she set out across the highlands once more, climbing ever closer to the peaks themselves. It didn’t take long for the wolves to return. They kept more of a distance this day, and her nerves from the previous were calmed. As the sun neared its zenith, they left her.

She’d found herself after a day and a half of hiking in the mountains proper. The road, such as it was, had narrowed to a track barely wide enough for a single oxcart. It wound its way up the slopes and around boulders and crags. Oak and pine peppered the mountainsides to her left and her right, not thick enough to be a proper forest, but not so sparse that she could see as far as she’d like. She didn’t think the sudden disappearance of the wolves had to do with her elevation. If anything, the cover should have emboldened them.

Once again she found her hand straying to her sword. “Chryson, is there anything you can tell me about this? The area, the wolves, anything?”

“The Ironback Mountains are a free region, under the control of no lords of record. The Adventuring Guild oversees the safety of the settlements here, with some towns hosting branch offices to coordinate quests throughout the region. Typical quests one might find are the fairly standard sort for an unsettled region such as this. Clearing monster dens, eliminating particularly dangerous animals, escorting caravans to more settled territory, and similar. Rewards are consummate with difficulty, and the Ironback Mountains is an attractive location for novice adventurers to whet their appetite. The closest town, Canyon Falls, is home to a guild branch office. If I may suggest, you should continue along this road. Canyon Falls would be a good place to begin your career as a freebooter.”