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Chapter 176 - Irrefutable Evidence
🕑 Added 2024-11-11 22:25:43 +0000 UTCChris
I shifted in my seat as the time stretched on, waiting for the meeting to start. While it was usually Council meetings that would take place in this room, it was arranged for a different reason today.
The furniture was hastily moved and replaced where necessary, the walls were decorated with the things we had available and rugs were placed down.
Where it used to be a bare-bones stone room, it looked more welcoming now that Abigail threw up some decor.
The fur rug wasn't from something I had killed myself and was of a lower level E-ranked best, much to my displeasure, but it wasn't all that bad. Having something I personally killed would be better when meeting a foreign delegation but we made do.
Yes, a foreign delegation was the reason for all the activity taking place inside the castle.
Honestly, I hadn't expected any visitors for a while yet which was why Abigail had to hastily prepare the room for outsiders.
The bare walls and rough stone floor weren't a problem when it was only us going over management issues, but we had to make it presentable for other people.
Abigail wanted to dedicate a specific room for meetings like this but I always delayed it until now. It felt silly for that to be something we focused on when there were so many other things on our to-do list.
I had thought everyone was busy building back up civilization like we were doing here, expecting it to be at least another year or two before people sent out delegations.
I was proven wrong as we received notice from our far-ranging scouts that they spotted a group of people set to arrive soon. While this usually meant refugees or wandering clumps of people, this time it was different.
The scouts reported that the group was bearing a flag and all had insignias or patches that matched. In other words, it was a coordinated group from an already-established Pylon coming our way.
The scouts noticed the group far to the Southeast and they were on a heading that would bring them directly to the castle. Knowing that, we speculated they had a Profession or Class that could point them in the direction of a Pylon.
There was no other plausible way for them to know we were here.
While frustrating to know that was even possible, it was better to know now so we could come up with solutions to fix that problem. Professions like those were quickly becoming known as 'Divination' professions.
While there was a pure 'Divination' profession, there were others that were only on the fringes of what people considered divination. Austin's Explorer profession was one that I considered on the fringe.
A few of his skills could use information he had no knowledge of and point him in certain routes based on that. It wasn't far-fetched to believe a divination-type class or profession pointed this group in our direction because we had a pylon.
While hiding my Pylon wasn't the problem, it was what other kinds of information that could be obtained through divination I wanted to block. I had no idea what was possible through random and obscure professions and I wanted a defense against all forms of spying or espionage.
Finding an Anti-Divination Formation would be difficult and require a long time to research, but it was best to start that now. Gabriel would have to help fill in some of the gaps where I didn't have the Runes, but we could do it.
While countering Divination would be annoying, that didn't help me with my current issue.
I had people I didn't know coming to my City for unknown reasons.
I did not like being in the dark like this.
Maybe it's time to start an intelligence department? We don't have many people or resources to dedicate to it, but we can get it up and running.
Those thoughts were cut off as Abigail entered the room hurriedly and started rushing around to different things. Straightening things that were already straight and fluffing things that were already fluffed.
It was easy to tell that this surprise visit had caught her off guard and she had spent every second after finding out about the group trying to make the room perfect.
She claimed she was going for a somewhat utilitarian room with some decor to take the edge off.
I wasn't exactly sure what that all meant but she spent the last hour buzzing around switching things around so the room would fit her vision.
The only correction I had made, or rather an addition, was placing my hammer in the corner of the room leaning up against the wall. She wanted to remove the weapon as it sent the wrong message but I stood firm.
We knew from the scouts they carried weapons but even without visual confirmation, I knew they had them. No one went out into the wild without a weapon.
The option to take their weapons before they entered the City was there, but I didn't want to do that. I hadn't done it to the others who had joined us and I wasn't going to start now.
I wouldn't want it done to me and I would not do it to others. They were taking a risk coming here and the least I could do was let them keep their protection.
If they chose to draw them inside the meeting room, that was what my hammer was for.
Most would see it off to the side behind me and think I couldn't get to it in time before they got off an attack. Those people would be wrong.
I could pull the weapon to my hand with [Ice manipulation] faster than they could draw their weapons. Practicing doing so was something I did often and I had gotten quite good at it. While the link between the weapon and I was still far above me, it helped locate where it was even if I couldn't see it.
I practiced the move mostly so that when I lost it in battle or dropped it for whatever reason I could re-arm myself quickly. The fact it would work in this new way was an added bonus.
The skill also helped pick things up from afar without requiring me to get up, but that wasn't worth mentioning. It wasn't like I used it to be lazy. It was for training reasons.
While I waited for the group to arrive, I pictured what everyone else was doing right now. The castle was still under construction and people were outside working on it and they would undoubtedly see the people entering.
It wasn't like I was going to keep the meeting secret, but it was slightly annoying to know the group would see an unfinished structure. Painting the picture of strength was difficult if there was no wall and the building still had scaffolding hanging off of it.
My vision of a steadfast stronghold that intimidated people was a long way off sadly, and our first meeting with an outsider was under less... pristine conditions.
It wasn't hard to pick up the sounds of footsteps as they neared the meeting room and I stood to greet my guests. It wouldn't do to be rude before even introducing myself.
How courtesy would work going forward was going to be weird but standing to great guests was common sense anywhere.
Before the door opened, I gave myself a once-over to make sure nothing was out of place. I didn't have a dedicated outfit for the occasion, but I had on the nicest clothes I owned.
My tunic and pants were made from E-grade cloth with hems lined with strips of fur from an E-ranked beast. It was a mixture of warm and cold wear as the temperature started heating up. Full winter fur wasn't necessary anymore.
A wide belt, more like a sash, split the two and held minor things I kept on me. My coin pouch and potions were chief among them.
My boots were free from dirt and blood as I had cleaned them after my dungeon run in the morning and I made sure to give them a polish before the meeting.
My hair and beard still needed some love but they were at least groomed, if missing a needed trim.
My days were busy and spent doing hard labor, worrying about my appearance could wait until we were better set up, if at all. My care for that sort of thing fell to the wayside once the world ended but there were times I had to be put together and look good.
My hair was nearing shoulder length by now and it wasn't even uniform in length anymore. Times where a monster or weapon chopped bits off made it hard to keep uniform.
The length caused it to fall on either side of my face but I tried to keep it pushed back.
The only thing I cringed at while looking over myself was the color of my clothes. We didn't have any dyes or colors to them which left me in drab tans and browns instead of colorful attire.
The door nob sounded, causing me to straighten my tunic and stand straight to meet the group.
I already had their descriptions from the scouting group but I wanted to get a feel for who had come.
Aura was a funny thing and the more I learned about it the more I liked it. It was a measure of a man. It spoke of who a person was and made it easy to get a picture of who you were dealing with.
Reading an aura took skills and experience but I was working on being able to do so. Gabriel helped but there was a nuance to it that I couldn't rush.
The things you could read from an aura were hard to put into words initially and people could hide things, like I was doing.
Or trying to do. It was impossible to know whether or not they had better sensing skills than I did hiding skills but I was doing my best.
I usually didn't like to hide my aura as it was uncomfortable to do. I had to pull everything in and stuff it down to keep anything from leaking out which made doing so feel stuffy.
There were times it was beneficial to do so, to remain stealthy mostly so beasts couldn't detect you, but it was also done to hide what you wanted to hide.
While the group had over ten people in total, only three were led to the room I was in. While the room would fit all ten, it seemed they were only there for added security during their trip.
The three who entered were the strongest, though, which probably made them confident in protecting themselves. Even if I could take all three on my own.
I dismissed that thought before I got overconfident. Even if I knew their levels, it was arrogance to assume I could beat them. They could have ways to falsify what level they were or other esoteric ways around the skill.
Knowing their level didn't come from my own skill, [Identify], as it failed to give anything once again, but from a different person who had a better identification skill.
From their report, the three who entered were level 61, 63, and 67.
Close to what level I was, but still below and I doubted they had the same rarity class that I did.
Still, I wouldn't assume anything but it was hard to fight the rising confidence I felt.
While their levels were near my own, the feeling they gave off was nowhere close. They were even weaker than the aura Jonathan gave off and he was a defensive expert.
While they might have been hiding the rest like I was, I doubted it. They gave off no other indication of being strong.
The first in the room was a taller gentleman who stood just over six feet and he wore what I expected from a guard.
He wasn't fitted in heavy plate as they most likely traveled a long way, but what he had approached half-plate. It had enough metal reinforcement to come close to heavy armor but not enough to push it over the edge.
It was obvious he was a warrior without even noting the two-handed sword on his back. He had removed his helmet before entering at some point and revealed matted-down black hair to match a dark beard.
The second was who I presumed to be the leader. The man stood a touch shorter than the leading guard and was obviously either a mage or healer. It was sometimes hard to differentiate the two as they wore similar things.
The staff he held was the major give away but he also didn't come off as a warrior. How I knew if someone gave off the warrior vibe, I didn't know but I trusted what I felt.
What surprised me was while the leader had the highest level, he didn't feel the strongest to me. That honor belonged to the woman behind him, holding down the rear.
Her eyes swept over the room with an experienced grace. Going over everything before dismissing it. Her eyes lingered on my hammer for a beat longer than normal but she moved on to finish surveying the room.
The bow strapped to her back had Runes carved along its length and the wood it was made of was high grade. I wasn't sure how high grade without getting my hands on it, but I doubted it wasn't at least a Rare weapon.
Which stood out because they were difficult to make. Vinny and I working together could make Rare weapons, but they took costly materials and a lot of work to push it that far.
Even though the woman was clearly a Ranger, she came off as a powerful warrior to my senses.
While I observed them, they did the same to me. It wasn't hard to see their eyes give me a once over but it was hard to tell what they were feeling. Nothing showed on their face and they kept their expressions neutral.
Before the meeting, Abigail tried to coach me on what to say and what not to say, but most of it was superficial. I didn't care to play the games, so I didn't.
As we stared at each other, the leader took it in stride and didn't hesitate to introduce himself before doing the same for his two associates. They came to my home, they should be the ones to introduce themselves first.
"Hello, my name is Carson Trelliam and the two next to me are Noah Daniels and Victoria Franklin. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He gestured to the man and woman respectfully before putting his hand out for a handshake.
"Christopher Zalenski." I answered while taking his hand in mine.
The handshake wasn't very firm but it was solid enough to not be soft. A border he was treading closer to than I would have.
After introductions, we all sat around the table that was prepared. Their three chairs stood opposite my own at the two ends and I was the one to ask a question first. It was on my mind and I wanted an answer to it before we moved on to anything else.
"How did you know we were here?" I asked.
For some reason, everyone assumed I was Canadian when meeting me and my American accent threw people when I spoke for the first time, but they didn't show anything to suggest they were surprised.
"That was due to a member of our city actually, and I'm not certain of the specifics if I'm being honest with you. She can tell where a pylon has been planted and pointed us in the right direction." The leader, Carson, answered, confirming our suspicions.
That's so cheating. That would be a great ability to have so we could map out all the pylons near us.
Before I went too deep into the benefits of having such an ability, I asked the million-dollar question.
"Why are you here?"
After asking for the reason for their arrival, I got ready to pull on my hammer. If they were here for a fight, I was ready.
"Before we get into that, am I right to assume you are the owner of the pylon here?" He asked.
My nod confirmed his assumption and he continued.
A serious expression dawned on his face before he spoke and his face matched his tone, "We've come seeking aid."
What he said surprised me. For some reason, a call for aid wasn't on the list of things I thought he would say. Trade, cooperation, demands, all were on the list of things I expected, but a request for help wasn't.
What's strong enough for someone to call for aid instead of just leaving?
If a monster was too strong for a group or city to handle, evacuating to somewhere safer was common sense. Sending out groups asking for help wasn't.
He continued, probably sensing my doubt, "We've been sent to warn and ask for cooperation in facing the threat we've uncovered. A grave threat that looms over everyone in the area. Maybe all of Northern America."
At this point, I was becoming skeptical of who was in front of me. A threat? Really? We dealt with those on a daily as various beasts tried to attack people.
"What could possibly be so grave for you to claim that? The trials won't start for years yet you claim to know of a threat big enough to affect a continent." I asked letting my skepticism leak in.
I had just met the guy and he was going all doomsday on me.
"Demons. We've found irrefutable evidence of Demons."
Comments
Demonlord
Thanks for the nice chapter π DEMONS, YEAH!!! Also a good way for Chris to level AND relieve some stress in combat π maybe he even can go all out again and show his strength that no one messes with them ππ
Alexander C Hyde
The door (knob)nob sounded, causing me to straighten my tunic and stand straight to meet the group.
Buck
Demons? Did not see that coming. TFTC!
Guilherme Castro
TYFTC!
Tristan Conscente
Thank you for the chapter!
