Aster Fall (Guardian of Aster Fall Book 2) Read online

  Aster Fall

  by David North

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  High Peak Publishing.

  Cover Illustration by MiblArt.

  Copyright by David North.

  Aster Fall 1: Leaving the Village

  It probably wasn’t a good idea to incinerate the villagers, but it was tempting.

  Currently, a pack of idiots was blocking their path out of Cliff’s End. They were led by Nelgen, the village's main landlord who was more than a little shady.

  This conflict had been building up over the last three days, ever since the crook had come to bother them and his father had tossed him out onto the street.

  "Move aside," Jeric’s voice rang out in the air as he frowned at Nelgen, who was standing in front of them. His voice was a low growl filled with warning. "You don’t have the right to block our way, nor do you have the ability. You should have recognized this already."

  Sam was fairly sure his father’s thoughts were leaning in the same direction as his, except that Jeric didn’t want to cause trouble while his wife and daughter were right next to him. Only that and some old familiarity with these people was keeping him from moving them out of the way.

  They'd been home for three days. Most of that time had been taken up by packing. They had enough dimensional bags that they'd been able to take everything important. They'd never had that much.

  Now, they were leaving, or at least they were trying to.

  Since returning, he'd learned quite a bit about the village that he'd never known, including how deeply Cliff's End was connected to bandits in the area. Finding that out hadn't made him happy. People only moved here when they were desperate, like his parents had been.

  Cliff's End was one of the few independent villages in the kingdom. Something about the location meant monsters didn't come here very often, which allowed it to exist where other villages couldn't. It was distant enough from the major trade routes that the cities weren't interested in it, but it had become a popular resupply point for bandits.

  It wasn't entirely bad. The village council did a good job of maintaining peace in the village, under the theory that a neat house was better for business than a messy one.

  Nelgen was one of the main contacts between the council and the bandits. He sold illicit goods through the village to make them look more legitimate and provided the bandits with supplies. The rest of his money came from owning a significant chunk of the village and charging rent.

  He was a weakling, but he was good with money, which gave him some leverage.

  Now, Nelgen had set his sights on Sam's mother, which was the main reason Sam wanted to send him to an early grave. The possessive gleam in his eye made everything clear, especially to someone with a Wisdom as high as Sam's.

  It didn't help that Jeric and Sam were hiding their identities. As far as Nelgen knew, they were an adventuring party who'd come to pick up Aemilia. Jeric was pretending to be his own cousin and Sam was a reclusive Wizard who was part of the group.

  "Aemilia, please...a Seer is so important to the village." Nelgen looked stubborn as he tried to fold his arms across his flabby stomach. His lanky hair and goatee were combed flat, making him look like a drowned rat that had tried to give itself a bath. "Won’t you stay? How can you be sure these adventurers can guarantee your safety? Isn’t it better to stay here and let the village protect you?"

  For all of his fake concern, the men blocking the road made it clear that he'd come to stop them by force if they didn’t agree to stay. Specifically, if Sam's mother didn’t agree to stay.

  Jeric was at the front of the group, leading a horse that Aemilia was riding. Sam was doing the same for his sister. Next to him, Krana was riding on her pony. Lesat was on his horse at the back, still dressed in his usual full plate, except that his helmet was hanging from his saddle.

  They hadn’t brought extra horses with them when they arrived in the village, but these were more than strong enough to carry double.

  He could feel pulses of mana fading away from his amulet as it made the villagers’ gazes slide away from him. When he’d made the new chain to hang it from, he’d enchanted that with a pattern to blur the sight of anyone looking. It helped to keep some of the mana expenditure down if people kept trying to see him.

  It made him look like a blurred, cloaked figure with indistinct edges.

  "Aemilia," Nelgen continued, directing his quavering voice to Sam’s mother, "can’t you see that these adventurers are no good? They have no respect for laws or authority! They’ll probably abandon you to bandits as soon as you leave. You don’t know how many are out there. Stay here where I can keep you safe."

  Sam listened to the man’s nonsense with one ear as Crystal Focus spread out more widely around him, but nothing else was moving so far.

  Perhaps he should have expected something to happen. Life in the village had always been full of problems.

  Sam glanced toward his mother and hid a smile. From the way her eyes were narrowing, it looked like she might beat Jeric to the punch. Literally.

  Objectively, it was easy to see why Nelgen was interested in her. His mother was a statuesque beauty with classic features, high cheekbones, and blond hair that ran down her back like a waterfall. Her eyes were the blue of a summer sky, and just as likely to be filled with sunlight as a storm.

  Even if he’d been honest about his interest and everything else had fallen into place...the rat in front of them was in no way suitable for her. He had money, but in every other way, Nelgen was reaching above his station.

  Not that Sam was biased, of course.

  Since they'd arrived home, they’d been left mostly alone by the other villagers, except for a few friends of his mother’s, who had come by to say their farewells and share their regrets that Jeric and Sam had never been found. That had been strange to listen to when he was standing right there.

  They needed to find a better place to live, somewhere secure where they could grow in peace, developing their skills and new classes. Somewhere that had access to the wild areas to hunt monsters and was close enough to a large city that they could take advantage of the resources there.

  They needed to establish a real home.

  That was why they were leaving the village. It wasn’t a suitable place for them any longer. It lacked the resources that a larger city would have and the people here knew too much about Sam and Jeric’s old difficulties in unlocking their class.

  News was slow to reach the village, but a way to change a primary class or the appearance of a demon would still draw attention.

  They weren’t sure where they were going to settle down, but they could discuss it while moving toward one of the larger cities. They needed one with a school for Altey, so that she could be prepared for her Class Day. She was at the right age now to start that. They also needed some shops where Sam could acquire materials for enchanting and where his father could sell what he made.

  Perhaps they would go to Ebonfar, a medium-sized town that they’d passed on the way here from Osera, or to Highfold, which was near the mountains to the east. That one was a bit farther away, but it offered better access to wild area
s for hunting monsters.

  Sam pulled his attention back to the conversation in front of him. Growing up here, Sam had seen a lot of village nonsense, but he’d still expected better of Nelgen. Apparently, he’d been wrong.

  "But Aemilia, think of the village and all the good you could do here." Nelgen wrung his hands together as he looked between Jeric and Aemilia. "The village will be so desolate without you. A Seer is such an important class here!"

  This time, a weak red aura was beginning to radiate out from Nelgen as he spoke. The energy in the ability was familiar, marking it out as some form of Persuade. Sam shook his head as he saw it, as well as the rising red-gold aura around his father that reached out to block it. His father's face was hard.

  Nelgen was still pretending to be polite, but in reality, he just wanted a Seer to assist with his illegal business, as well as Aemilia herself. His ability wasn't very powerful compared to Jeric's, probably still in the Basic tier, so the attempt ended there, but it did mark out Nelgen's personality.

  The thugs behind Nelgen were moving closer. There were five of them, none with a very good reputation. Surtek, the Smith, was one of the strongest and rudest individuals in the entire village.

  The others were part of the semi-official village guard force, a sort of militia that helped to protect the wall in normal times, but the worst of the bunch. They were the ones you’d find drunk or harassing someone in the tavern rather than doing their real job.

  Over the months of travel back to the village, Krana had helped him to acquire the Analyze skill, which came in handy now. It was still at Basic, but it was extremely useful. His attention swept across all of the guards. He already knew their names, so the prompts came up with those as well.

  Nelgen. Human. Level 34 Merchant/Messenger.

  Surtek. Human. Level 32 Smith/Warrior.

  Tuni. Human. Level 21 Guard/Carpenter.

  Hatlis. Human. Level 24 Warrior/Mason.

  Yuro. Human. Level 25 Hunter/Farmer.

  Berek. Human. Level 20 Guard/Smith.

  It was nothing very impressive. Sam had been at Level 42 when they left the tunnels and he’d jumped up to 45 on the way home. The points from those had gone into Intelligence and Aura, bringing him up to 88 in each, and to Wisdom, bringing it to 46.

  For two and a half months, it wasn’t a lot of experience, but there had only been a few monsters on the way. His father had reached Level 38, and Krana and Lesat were Level 37. Altogether, it placed their group well above whatever Nelgen thought he could accomplish here.

  His mother’s experience was growing as well, now that she was using her Seer abilities every day. She’d reached General Level 18, but her Historian class was still stuck at Level 1 until she wrote down what she saw. They’d brought some blank books from Ebonfar, but she hadn’t had a chance to write in them yet.

  The magical abilities that came with Seer meant his mother could deal with some of these thugs on her own, if needed. The person Sam had to worry about the most was Altey. She was only ten, almost eleven now, and she didn’t have any magic or Stamina to protect herself. He would need to create a protection amulet of some type for her.

  As soon as the thought occurred to him, he began to design what it would look like. A three-dimensional image of an amulet began to spin in his mind’s eye as runes surrounded it. He let the idea float to one side as he focused his attention back on Nelgen.

  Once they were settled down, the whole family could focus on growing stronger together and on paving a better way for Altey in the future. He had a job to do when it came to sealing Flaws and fixing the Seal, but he needed to grow as much as possible first.

  "Nelgen, this is not your business," Aemilia spoke up from next to Jeric, her voice firm. "You do not even know what you are talking about. I have no reason to stay in the village. Now, move aside before you cause any more trouble."

  The reins pulled in Sam’s hand as the gelding tossed his head and stamped. He saw Altey reach out to pat the horse on his neck, which made him smile before his attention was drawn back to the front.

  "Move, Nelgen," Aemilia ordered, her voice hardening. "You may think that you have the authority in the village, but you do not. The village has a council and you are only one member. You should remember that. But even if the entire council were standing here, we would still be leaving. This is no longer a place for Altey and me to live."

  "I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go." Nelgen’s jaw wobbled as he tried to harden his approach. "You’re too important to risk. You’ve already been able to send messages for us that would take days normally, without the risk of traveling! You could do so much good here."

  "By good, you mean the messages you want me to send to your trading partners." Aemilia frowned at Nelgen. Her temper was legendary and it was starting to come out now. "I’ve told you before that I won't help you with that. I know how you got the money you have and I'll have nothing to do with it. Are you really trying to trick a Seer?"

  "My connections protect this village! How do you think we can live here without cooperating!" Nelgen’s thready voice was rising as well now. "Giving them a few messages and supplies is the least I can do! I thought you would know what was best for you. When you settled here twenty years ago, I was the one who gave you a place to stay! I didn’t even charge you rent the first month!"

  "You only owned the house, Nelgen!" Aemilia was getting angrier. "The rent was paid then and it’s more than paid now. Now get out of the way!"

  Nelgen started to say something else, his arms rising into the air as he began to gesticulate, but Jeric cut him off.

  "Enough!" Jeric ordered, his voice booming as his own anger at Nelgen began to overflow. "Last chance to move aside and make this polite, or I’ll be moving all of you together. We have places to be and the daylight is burning. Your connections are your business as long as they don’t come to trouble us."

  Nelgen’s mouth hung open like a fish gasping for air as he tried to find new words. He wasn’t used to being defied in the village.

  "Are you threatening me?" Nelgen’s pitch rose higher, like a goose being strangled, as he began to fumble in his pockets. A moment later, he pulled out a short metal rod with a translucent crystal affixed to one end. He held up the wand, pointing it at Jeric. His posture changed, becoming more confident now. "I knew you were a criminal!"

  His attention turned to Aemilia. "You have to stay here for your safety! I won’t allow you to risk yourself!"

  Nelgen turned toward the thugs with him as he ordered, "Stop them! Throw the adventurers out of the village and take Aemilia back to her house."

  The thugs started to walk forward, their muscles flexing, at the same time as shielding abilities flared to light around Jeric, Aemilia, and the others. It seemed they wouldn’t be leaving here without some trouble after all.

  Sam shook his head as crystal flame began to condense in the air. To onlookers, it looked like the silent wizard in the group had suddenly erupted into flame. A growing spiral of cerulean blue flames was rising up all around him.

  He’d seen enough bandits on the way home to create a special category in his mind for people who would rather prey on others than fight monsters for resources. If someone wanted to act like a monster, he didn’t mind treating them like one.

  Behavior was what defined the difference between what was human and not. These thugs were overconfident and willing to do whatever Nelgen told them to, whether it hurt someone or not, which put them on the same level as monsters.

  They were making the wrong choice in bothering his family.

  The thugs came closer, with Surtek leading the way. The Smith was renowned for his drunken behavior, but even Sam was surprised when he pulled a club from his belt. Behind him, the others did the same, pulling out short truncheons and blackjacks.

  With a wave of Sam's hand, the crystalline geometry of an Essence Shield formed in a half sphere in front of their group. A moment later, a wave of crystal flame flowed forward and se
aled the area around the thugs and Nelgen, locking down everything around them in a Crystal Field. Nelgen and the thugs froze in place, their movements halted.

  The only thing stopping him from going further was that Surtek's son, Kilien, had once been a friend of his. A half dozen points of his essence flowed away into the spell as he felt them struggling against him, but it wasn’t difficult to hold it. None of them had significant abilities to fight against the Crystal Field.

  Sam’s palm straightened and he swept his hand to the side, sending the entire pack tumbling away as he cleared the road. It was a bit of a strain to move that much weight at once and ten points of essence drained away, but the effect was satisfying. The thugs went flying, rolling across the ground until they slammed to a halt against the wall of a nearby house.

  As for Nelgen, Sam sent him rolling a bit farther, making sure that he landed a good forty feet away. By the time he got there, he was covered in a thick mixture of dirt, mud, and horse manure.

  The Crystal Field around them disappeared, letting the thugs shake themselves out as they tried to stand back up. They'd landed fairly hard, so they were a bit slow. Nelgen was even worse, shaking in anger as he tried to straighten his clothes. When he managed to stand back up, his face was a mask of frustrated rage.

  He’d lost his wand in the impromptu flight. Now, it was lying on the ground to one side of the road. Sam picked it up with a flicker of crystal flame, bringing it to his hand as he analyzed it.

  Wand of Ice Bolt (Basic)

  [Ice Bolt: Fires a directed bolt of ice at a specific target. Damage is related to the amount of mana infused.]

  It wasn't anything special, but it could be a good toy for Altey, to help her protect herself in the wild. Sam wiped away the traces of Nelgen's energy from it with a flicker of crystal flame. Then he tucked it into one of his belt pouches. He'd alter it for her later.

  "Let’s go," Sam suggested. He continued to maintain the Essence Shield around them, turning it into a full sphere in case anything else happened. His parents looked back at him and then towards Nelgen.