Soul of the Warrior

Chapter 52: The Calm Before

Chapter 52: The Calm Before

Reivyn ran along beside Erik and the others on their horses. He matched steps with Erik, and he, after several minutes of running, felt his Forced March Skill kick in. It reduced a lot of Stamina consumption. He kept his armor on, as he was still wary of any stragglers from all those months ago from the beast tide, but he removed his helmet, and so did Erik.

Judging by his outward Stamina consumption, Erik either has the Forced March Skill or something similar to reduce his burden while running long distances. He should be able to keep it up for several hours.

Now that they had put a lot of distance between them and the Dungeon, the heat and feeling of humidity were no longer a problem. The Party continued running along the road, occasionally having to avoid downed trees. The devastation continued on for as far as Reivyn could see. They spent a couple of hours just traveling in silence, and eventually, the damage to the surrounding trees began to thin out.

"...lp," Reivyn waved for everyone to stop running for a second as a noise reached him. After they stopped moving and got quiet, Reivyn tilted his head in the direction he thought he heard it come from.

"Help," Reivyn clearly heard the sound this time, and he perked up.

"Someone is calling for help," he informed his companions as they looked at him. "It's a little ways further along the road, but it sounds like it's coming from off in the trees a bit."

"We can't leave someone that needs our assistance," Melissa said.

"Yeah, let's go check it out," Teilon concurred. Everyone nodded their heads at the plan.

The Party resumed running, and once they reached the approximate location adjacent to where they heard the calls for help coming from, they halted their horses and headed off in that direction.

"We're coming to help!" Reivyn cupped his hands and yelled back. The others had been able to hear the cries for help for some time, and it sounded like it was coming from a young boy.

"Ok!" They heard the reply.

The trees weren't particularly thick, and most of them were still standing, but they still couldn't see whoever was calling from the road. After heading in that direction for a few minutes, though, they finally happened upon the scene. A young boy, around seven or eight, was standing next to a clump of fallen trees that had an older man trapped beneath it. The trees hadn't crushed the man, but it was clear that he wasn't able to get out on his own.

"Oh, thank you, thank you," the boy said, nearly in tears. "I was about to have to go run to the village and look for help, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find my way back. My dad can't yell loud enough from his position for it to carry far enough to hear."

"It's ok," Melissa hugged the boy to her, comforting him. "Everything will be fine, now."

"Those trees are a bit too big for all of us to move," Reivyn said as he looked at Teilon and Erik. Erik bent down and picked up a woodcutter's axe. "That'll help. Here, I have a Skill with axes that's pretty close to my Sword Skill, let me." Erik showed no surprise on his face upon hearing that statement, and he simply handed the axe over.

"You'll want to cut the side that's not load-bearing first," Reivyn heard come from under the main tree. It had fallen over in a tangle of other trees, and it was kind of at an angle. "It's not pressing down on me, so you don't have to worry about the vibrations affecting me."

"Alright," Reivyn said as he approached the side that was elevated. He turned to face Teilon, "I'll cut through the trees here, and if we still can't lift the trunk over, you and Erik will have to hold the load while I cut it off of the rest, too. We might get Melissa to use an Ice Wall to help hold the load."

"Sure thing," Teilon said. Erik nodded.

Reivyn assumed a stance to chop the largest trunk. There were several trees that came down in a pile to make a perfect cage, and the non-load-bearing side was up almost at chest height.

Reivyn took a deep breath and activated Devastating Strike as he took a mighty swing. The axe sliced right through the first trunk and embedded itself in another underneath it. He yanked the axe head out of the wood and took another swing, severing all of the remaining trees.

"Alright, let's try it out," Reivyn tossed the axe down and grabbed ahold of the mess with Teilon and Erik. They threw their weight into it, and they managed to lift it up a bit.

"I think I can get out if you can hold it there," the trapped man called out. Reivyn looked at his friends, and they nodded back.

"Ok, we can hold it," Reivyn answered. The weight of the trees was just within their range to hold, and Reivyn could feel his face turning red as his veins bulged. The man quickly scrambled out, and Melissa and Larissa ran up to drag him the rest of the way.

Once the man was all the way out, Reivyn and the other two let the trees back down and quickly stepped out of the way. Teilon bent over and heaved air, and even Erik was out of breath for a moment.

The boy ran up and hugged his father as he stood up. He didn't look like he was injured, though.

"Thank you for helping," the man enthusiastically said. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"I don't think it's over, either," Reivyn said. "There was an issue with the Dungeon several day's journey to the mountains. We think it might be a break. You need to get your family, and the rest of the locals, and get to Magron. If you have any horses, riding or work, doesn't matter, I suggest you load them up."

"You think it's that serious?" The man said with a somber expression.

"Definitely. And it's always better to be safe than sorry," Reivyn said. "Do you need any help getting to the road?"

"No, I'm not hurt," the man said as he picked his axe up. "Thanks again."

"No problem."

"It's what we should have done," Melissa supplied.

"Alright, let's get back on the road. I know we warned him to get his family and others moving toward Magron, but we should go ahead and spread the word along the way, too."

The Party made their way back to the road and continued their journey. The village the woodcutter and his son were from wasn't too far away from where they encountered them, and after about fifteen minutes of quick travel, they came to the village.

There were several buildings that had collapsed, and Reivyn could hear people crying as others worked on clearing some debris. There were a couple of white sheets over what were obviously bodies off to the side of the village square. The scene sobered the party further.

"We should take some time to help out," Melissa said with a somber tone.

"Yeah," Reivyn agreed. The others dismounted and they began helping the villagers clear out some rubble. Melissa helped with some support Castings of Ice Wall to help with the weight, and Larissa helped tend to any survivors, giving drinks of water to the villagers moving rubble.

The Party spent about an hour helping to clear things out, and one other deceased body was recovered, but several others were safely rescued. Reivyn located the village headman and motioned him over as he got a drink of water to slate his thirst.

"I know this is terrible timing, but the cause of this disaster isn't over with. You need to pack up everyone, and I mean everyone, and move them along to Magron. It's not safe out here."

"I see," the older gentleman looked at Reivyn and the others as he contemplated. "We have several horses, but not enough for everyone. We have just enough for the children. Can you take them with you ahead of the rest of us? If there's anyone we want to get to safety, it would be them."

Reivyn looked at his companions, and he saw approval on their faces. It might slow us down a little bit, but that's a small price to pay to save some kids, he thought.

"Ok. Tell the parents to pack some things and get them loaded up. We'll take them with us and settle them in the local barracks. It's off to the right after entering the city, so you can find the kids there once you arrive in Magron," Reivyn said.

"Thank you, thank you," the headman said as he clasped Reivyn's hands. He thanked each of them individually before moving off to see to it.

"Thank you," Melissa said to Reivyn.

"There's nothing to thank," Reivyn replied. "I would want the same thing for my sisters if they were in the same situation."

The Party rested for about twenty minutes before several horses, some leaden with three children, met them at the road to Magron.

"Alright, it's time to go. Don't worry. You'll be reunited with your parents soon," Reivyn said. Melissa moved her horse over so that she could better supervise the children that had joined them.

"You don't have a horse," a little girl pointed out.

"I don't need a horse. I'm as strong as one all on my own. I'm gonna run," Reivyn flexed his bicep. Several of the children snickered. "Ok, let's go."

Reivyn and his party met two other villages with some damage to them, and they picked up an increasing number of children to tag along. The other two villages didn't have nearly as much damage as the first one, and nobody lost their life, so they were able to organize their evacuations much quicker. They still opted to send their children ahead, though, when they saw the train of kids attached to Reivyn's group. They had a total of eleven other horses, carrying 21 kids under 10.

The villages they encountered after the third one didn't see any damage, and the earthquake didn't cause any devastation to the surroundings. The forest opened up to the plains, though, shortly after, so it would have been a moot point, anyway, as the lands opened up to much larger farming operations.

The villages at this point, also, didn't choose to send their kids ahead, and if Reivyn hadn't promised to take them all the way to the barracks, he would have been tempted to leave them with the other villagers in order to get word to the city quicker.

It'll only be a couple of hours difference at this point, and I did say I would get them settled at the barracks. I'm sure it will be a lot easier to get them space if I'm the one there talking to Knight-Lieutenant Brand about it.

"We're almost there," Reivyn said to the entourage. "A couple more hours." They had passed the last real village some time ago, and the countryside was now dotted with smaller communities that just tended to the lord's fields. They still spread the word to get to the city for anyone that was still out and about, though.

The children were putting up a brave front, even though Reivyn could tell they were a bit nervous being away from their parents. Melissa, Larissa, and Kimberly were really good about seeing to their needs and making sure they were comfortable on the journey, and they helped get them to sleep on the one night they had to spend out in the open.

Reivyn had been concerned they might run into trouble from local wildlife or beasts, but they hadn't seen any sign of such a thing after the last village in the forest.

The kids all perked up at the reminder that they were almost there. Teilon spent a lot of time joking with the kids when he wasn't taking his turn running to let Erik get some rest. Reivyn had been right that he would be fine running, though he did sweat a lot and have to drink a lot more water, but it wasn't enough to impede their progress. Making sure none of the kids fell off of a horse took up more time than anything.

I bet several of them get the Skill. I wonder if that is likely to affect their future development? Reivyn idly wondered.

The last leg to the city was uneventful, and there was no indication that anyone was worried about a Dungeon Break or anything like that. Either word hasn't gotten here, which means nobody in the Dungeon Town was able to get a notice out by carrier bird, or the leaders haven't spread word yet in an effort to keep people from panicking.

The local guards were a little confused at the procession that appeared to enter the city, but they didn't make anything difficult and waved the group through.

"I'm going to take the kids to the barracks and inform the Knight-Lieutenant about what's going on. Do you have a way to secure a meeting with the Count?" Reivyn turned toward Melissa.

"Yes, our name should get us in to see him. We can go tell him about it while you handle the kids and garrison. We'll meet up with you at the barracks when we're done, or send word if anything changes."

"Alright," Reivyn said with a nod. "We'll see you then."

Melissa, Larissa, and Erik took their horses and made their way into the city proper while Reivyn and his crew escorted the children to their destination.

"Why would they meet us back at the barracks? I'm sure they can get some nice accommodations at the Lord's Manor," Teilon said.

"They probably want to introduce themselves to the ones in charge of the city defense," Kimberly pointed out with an eye roll. "Being Caster Classes, I'm sure they want to help defend the city if or when the monsters show up."

"That's a good point," Teilon said.

Reivyn led his little parade to the barracks. The locals occasionally threw them some questioning glances, but the city seemed to be moving about like normal. They eventually made it to the gates of the military compound, and Reivyn greeted the guards. It hadn't been that long since he had been with the troops, so they recognized him easily.

"I need to speak to the Knight-Lieutenant," Reivyn said. "You guys just hang out out here until I get the all-clear," Reivyn said to Teilon and Kimberly.

"Sure thing, Reivyn," one of the guards responded. There wasn't really any need to keep them out, so the guards let Teilon and Kimberly lead the kids inside the compound to wait while Reivyn headed to the headquarters building.

Reivyn stepped in, and seeing that there wasn't anything going on, he skipped walking to the end of the hall and walked right up the forbidden stairs. Just act like I'm supposed to use them, and anyone who objects might still associate me with the Aide to the Adjutant, Reivyn chuckled to himself.

He made his way to the Knight-Lieutenant's office and knocked on the door. After a brief pause, he heard, "Enter," come from within.

"Ahh, Reivyn!" Knight-Lieutenant Brand exclaimed as he spotted his once-Aide enter his office. He got up from behind his desk and came over to shake his hand. "Looks like you've been doing well for yourself," he said as he inspected the new armor Reivyn was wearing.

"Yes, sir," Reivyn said with a smile. "Got it as a drop from the second floor boss in the Dungeon."

"Already delving further in? Make sure you're always careful and don't get complacent," Brand said as he took his seat again. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He indicated for Reivyn to take a seat.

"I think there was a Dungeon Break," Reivyn got right into the main issue. Brand's smile instantly evaporated as he nodded for Reivyn to continue. "I noticed a steady increase in the mana density around the Dungeon, after I pulled my head out of my backside, and got out ahead of the explosion. But there was a giant earthquake that did a lot of damage. I know of at least three people - villagers - who died because of it, on top of all the damage.

"There was a giant beam of light shooting up to the sky that we could see from about three days away, and there was a significant uptick in the mana density even that far out. I suspect we'll have a monster tide to put the beast tide to shame, and I would bet the Revenants that show up won't be restricted by the mana density."

Reivyn laid it out on the table. Knight-Lieutenant Brand rubbed his chin as he thought about the issue.

"We didn't get word from the Dungeon Town, so it's either a total loss or they were unable to send an emergency message out. We need to go inform the Knight-Captain," Brand stood up and motioned for Reivyn to follow him.

"My companions went ahead to the Count's manor to inform him. They have some sort of background from the Capital, so he should know soon as well. We also picked up a bunch of children the villagers wanted to send ahead as we spread word to evacuate on the way here. We brought them to the barracks because I didn't know what else to do with them," Reivyn said as they hurried down the hall.

"That's good. Good thinking," Brand said as he waved to a soldier walking along the hall. "Go to the gate and see about getting a bunch of villager kids squared away," he gave a quick command. The soldier saluted and hurried to do as instructed.

Knight-Captain Reifold's door was open, so Knight-Lieutenant Brand simply knocked on the door on his way in. The two walked in, Reivyn subconsciously assuming his position a half-step behind the Adjutant.

"Sir, news from the Dungeon," Brand said. "Reivyn here reports that there was likely a Dungeon Break. He didn't see the incident up close, but he saw what matches the description some ways off. The local areas suffered damage, villagers have been evacuated, and Reivyn brought a bunch of children with him to berth here. Word has been dispatched to the Count."

Knight-Captain Reifold set his pen down as soon as he witnessed Knight-Lieutenant Brand enter his office, and he gave a nod to Reivyn's presence like it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

"Good, mobilize the scouts. Alert the city guard. Issue a stand-down order and make sure all of the troops are prepared for battle. Send word to the local church and Adventurer's Guild. We'll need all the Casters we can get. I know the Lord has a personal unit, but that won't be enough for a Dungeon Break from this Dungeon."

"Yes, sir," Brand said with a salute.

"Sir," Reivyn stepped forward. "My companions are Casters, and I can use mana to fight the Revenants and Spectres," the Adjutant's eyebrows went up at the mention of the new monster. "I would like to volunteer for the city defense."

"Accepted," Knight-Captain Reifold replied after a moment of contemplation. "Go with Knight-Lieutenant Brand and assume your previous role as Aide. I know you can fight, and even though you'll be an Aide, you'll still get your chance."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Reivyn said.

"No - thank you."

Reivyn followed Brand out of the office as he prepared to get to work.

"I don't really need anything from you right now, so go to your friends. If you want to help out just stick around, and I'll have someone find you when I do need you," Knight-Lieutenant Brand said, clapping Reivyn on the shoulder.

"Yes, sir. I'll see you then."

Reivyn exited the headquarters and saw that some soldiers were escorting the village kids to an open barracks. The meeting with the officers had been quick and to the point, so not much time had passed. Reivyn walked up to Teilon and Kimberly who were waving goodbye to the kids.

"Melissa and her group are going to meet with us here, so we'll stay here and wait for them for now," Reivyn said as he walked up. "I went ahead and volunteered us for the city defense. No pressure though, I know you guys can't fight the Revenants without assistance from someone who can use mana."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I kind of expected you to from the beginning, and it's something Kimberly and I agreed to while you were gone," Teilon said with a shrug. "We might not be able to be on the front lines against the more dangerous enemies, but we can definitely find something to do."

"Yes, there's no way I could live with myself if I abandoned everyone to their fate. Especially after bringing those kids all the way here," Kimberly added.

"Good," Reivyn said with a wide smile.

The trio took up a position to wait near the entrance, and it wasn't long before they spotted Melissa, Larissa, and Erik making their way on foot toward the barracks. Reivyn stepped out and waved them over.

"How did it go?" Reivyn called out as they approached.

"The Count took our warnings seriously and started getting things moving. We told him you went to inform the Knight-Captain, so he focused on getting his Casters and any others organized. What about you?"

"Same. We got the kids put up in the barracks, and we volunteered to help with the defense," Reivyn noticed that that statement got a nod of approval from Erik.

"We knew you would, and we're going to volunteer with the Casters, as well," Melissa said with a smile. "Wait here for a moment while we go inform the officers about our presence and what we can do. They'll be better able to organize things if they know what we're capable of.

"The Count gave us a place to stay, you guys included, so we can wait for further word while taking advantage of the small luxury that will afford. We're going to be happy we did in a couple of days if we're right about everything."

"Are you kidding? Of course, we're going to live it up with style," Teilon said. Kimberly rolled her eyes and Reivyn just shook his head.

"Alright," he said. "The Adjutant said there was nothing in particular for us to do, yet, so that sounds like a fine plan. We'll head over with you guys once you're done here."