8 Before the Wall
After a few hours of rest, followed by two and a half hours of running, Cairn and Kai'ankh finally reached the outskirts of Austral Castle Town, also known as the Great Wall of the South.
"That's quite the sight..." remarked Cairn. The southern wall of Austral spanned the gap between two mountain ranges, forming a colossal, concave stone structure more than ten kilometers across and at least a hundred meters tall. If Cairn had to compare it to something, it was like a massive dam, but instead of stopping water, it prevented monsters from the Frontier from traveling further north.
"This is what becomes possible when the Sovereign Races join hands to achieve a common goal," said Kai'ankh. "Hundreds of years ago, the First King of Man, Alfred Arcturus Runegraad, joined by the Champions of the Elves, Dwarves, and Felidae, managed to repel the hordes that had spread their influence through Cliabhaan, the northernmost tip of the Central Continent."
"Why did they stop here?" asked Cairn.
"Duty, greed, and fatigue," replied Kai'ankh, closing her eyes and exhaling a sigh. "If you recall, I mentioned previously that most monsters originate from Dungeons. While it is possible to destroy Dungeons, doing so comes at a cost. Dungeons gather Mana and Life Force from the atmosphere and disseminate it to their surroundings, qualitatively improving the conditions of the land. When a Dungeon collapses, not only is that benefit lost, but a phenomenon known as a Mana Efflux occurs, swallowing everyone within and producing an explosion capable of erasing entire cities..."
"That's...not ideal..." said Cairn, sporting a wry smile.
"Indeed..." muttered Kai'ankh, her expression becoming solemn as she added, "But that isn't the real issue. So long as Dungeons are frequently cleared, their difficulty diminishes until only weak monsters can be found within. The problem is that, as the monsters' strength decreases, so does the quality of their items. Because of this, opportunistic individuals began laying claim to Dungeons, restricting who could access them, and utilizing the resources within to expand their power and authority."
"Sounds like something humans would do..." remarked Cairn, earning an affirming nod from Kai'ankh.
"That's what stopped Alfred and his companions from continuing further south," said Kai'ankh. "They needed to address internal issues that were weakening the alliance. As such, the Kingdom of Runegraad was formed with the endorsement and support of the Restia Church, establishing their Kingdom with the Cathedral of Light as its center."
"So now the Kingdom is responsible for regulating the Dungeons at the 'behest' of the Restia Church..." muttered Cairn, earning another affirming nod for his troubles.
"It's better that way," attested Kai'ankh. "Lady Restia does not tolerate nepotism or corruption among her adherents, so there is little chance of the Church being swayed by external influence. Some have tried, but the outcome was always the same. The corrupted adherent would lose their abilities and suffer blindness, while the person responsible for corrupting them would suffer insatiable hunger and lose their sense of taste."
Hearing how severe Restia's punishments could be, Cairn inhaled sharply through his teeth. It was undoubtedly a good thing, as corruption within organized groups and religions was the cause of a lot of systemic issues. Still, the notion of being cursed with hunger and unable to taste anything caused his stomach to feel heavy. It also cemented the idea he shouldn't do anything to piss Restia off...
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Despite its massive size, the Great Wall of Austral only had a single gate through which people and supplies could pass. It was more than twenty meters tall and ten wide, but due to the rampage of the Rahagora, there was a queue of hundreds of covered wagons and a veritable city of tents forming a perimeter around the entrance.
Giving voice to Cairn's thoughts, Kai'ankh said, "They're refugees. The Lords of the Frontier have been increasingly active in the past few years, so many fled here only to find they lacked the funds to pass through the gate. If you have a coin purse on you, watch it closely..."
Even before Kai'ankh had finished speaking, a group of children wearing little more than rags approached them, seemingly chasing one another in a game of tag, but their eyes told a very different story. They were smiling and giggling, but Cairn noticed a desperate glimmer in their gazes as they pretended to be oblivious to his and Kai'ankh's presence but looked them over from top to bottom.
Pulling out the pendant that had been nestled between her furry breasts, Kai'ankh held it up for the children and those eyeing them from among the sea of tents to see as she declared, "I am a representative of Lady Restia. I know you're experiencing hardships, but please do not forget the tenets that separate the Sovereign Races from monsters..."
Seeing the pinky-sized, rune-covered wooden totem denoting Kai'ankh's status as a Neophyte, the group of children stopped pretending they were playing around and immediately dropped to their knees, hands clasped in prayer as they looked up at Kai'ankh and began pleading for alms.
Knowing the pain of hunger, Kai'ankh looked up at Cairn, her wine-red eyes appearing even larger than usual as they glistened with the light of the rising sun. Fortunately, the moment she did, a ping sounded in Cairn's ears, followed by a transparent blue window obscuring his vision.
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Quest Name: Alms for the Poor
Quest Rank: F-A
Description: For life to have ups, it must also have downs. During those times, a single act of kindness might be all it takes to pull someone from the darkness and back into the light.
Objective(s): Feed the group of refugee children(0/17)
Optional Objective(s): Find a solution to the food issues plaguing the refugee camp(0/1), Discover why the Representatives of the Restia Church located in Austral haven't stepped in to mediate the situation(0/1)
Rewards: Variable
Failure Condition(s): Turn a blind eye to the situation or fail to find a solution within seven days.
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Seeing the contents of his new Quest, Cairn's brows creased ever so slightly. He wanted to help, but he also knew that other refugees would flock to them the moment they started passing out food.
Coming up with what he believed to be a solution, Cairn said, "Let's do things this way," while reaching into his mantle to retrieve a [Grain Pill] from his Inventory.
Holding up the earth-colored ball for the children to see, Cairn asked, "Who among you is the leader?"
"That would be me," answered a voice from behind Cairn, drawing his attention to a tomboyish-looking girl with brown skin, a mop of silvery-white hair that only reached her shoulders, maroon-red eyes, and pointed ears. Her outfit consisted of a tattered linen top that had either been torn or modified to expose her abdomen, leather shorts that conformed to the contours of her body, brown boots bounded together by string and straps of leather, an oversized belt, and a pair of gauntlets that seemed to be fashioned from monster bones. She also had pale gold markings on her face, arms, and stomach, which, every now and then, pulsed with a faint, magical glow.
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Name: Fuusha
Species: Dark Elf(80%), Human(10%), Elf(10%)
Gender: Female
Age: 39
Title: Big Sis(Cha+20%)
Class: Brawler
[Attributes]
Level: 28/65(Vagrant(20), Brawler(8)]
HP: 5,227/5,704
MP: 895/1,095
Str: 49+8
Agi: 55+9
Vit: 143+51
Int: 66
Dex: 91+14
Cha: 96+19
Talent(s): [Survivalist(20/20)], [Unwavering Spirit(8/20)], [Dark Elf Physiology(28/65)], [Child of the Earth(28/65)], [Streetfighting(25/53)], [Martial Arts(22/48)], [Bedroom Arts(9/45)], [Gauntlet Mastery(15/40)], [Iron Stomach(10/25)]
Skill(s): [Earth's Protection(8/10)], [Earth Imbue(7/10)], [Steal(7/10)], [Crippling Blow(5/10)], [Bite(5/10)], [Lifestyle Magic(5/5)], [Sand Toss(4/10)], [Headbutt(3/10)], [Armor Break(2/10)]
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Noticing [Bedroom Arts] listed among Fuusha's talents, a frown marred Cairn's face. Her age was recorded as 39, but if he was going by looks, she appeared even younger than Kai'ankh. Her height was only 144cm, and while her physique couldn't be called child-like, he wouldn't classify her as mature.
Seeing the look on Cairn's face, Fuusha crossed her arms and asked, "What, you got a problem?"
Shaking his head, Cairn tossed the [Grain Pill] at Fuusha, answering, "Not with you. But I do have questions."
Catching the [Grain Pill] with her right hand, Fuusha eyed it briefly before directing her gaze back to Cairn, declaring, "One pill, one question..." in a no-nonsense tone.
"How about you answer all my questions, and I give these underlings of yours one pill each," countered Cairn. "To make things simpler, I can even pay in advance. Then we can speak in private."
Though she didn't like how 'cocky' Cairn was behaving, his offer was too good for Fuusha to refuse. [Grain Pill]s could be processed into gruel and mixed with other ingredients to feed many more people than the number of pills. Thus, without needing to consider her response for too long, she nodded and replied, "Fine. Cough up the pills, and we'll talk."
Since it would be strange for him to pull all the pills out of his cloak, Cairn turned to Kai'ankh, gesturing to the pouch on the left side of her body as he asked, "Do you mind?"
Shaking her head, Kai'ankh answered, "Please, go ahead," with a smile on her face. She was a little uneasy when Cairn pulled out the [Grain Pill] and acted like he would put the children to work, but she now realized he was just trying to avoid a possible scramble. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was better than anything she could come up with on short notice.
Reaching his hands into Kai'ankh's pouch, Cairn retrieved eleven [Grain Pill]s and a few bundles of Longcat meat wrapped in leaves. If he could casually pull out seventeen [Grain Pill]s, those observing the scene might get the idea he had an abundance of food to 'share.' Thus, it was better to mix in a few miscellaneous foodstuffs to give the impression they weren't as well off as they seemed.
To see the illusion even more, Cairn inverted Kai'ankh's pouch to show it was empty before adopting a wry smile as he said, "It looks like I might have overestimated the amount of food we had left."
Turning to Fuusha, Cairn added, "I'm a little short on the pills I promised. Mind if I substitute a few with Longcat meat? I can throw in some salt as an apology."
As meat was far more valuable than mass-produced [Grain Pill]s, Fuusha didn't hesitate to respond, "Fine. But it's 1kg of meat for every missing pill. If you're still short..."
Though she was going to say the deal was off if Cairn couldn't produce the promised goods, Fuusha knew she would be shooting herself in the foot if he chose to walk. She was far from the only person capable of answering his questions, so before anyone else could step in, she shook her head and said, "Forget it and follow me. If you pass it out here, these brats won't make it far before some asshole robs them."
"That works for me," replied Cairn, placing the wrapped meat and pills into Kai'ankh's pouch. It would be safer to return them to his Inventory, but with the number of people observing his every action, at least one would notice if the pouch was empty after watching it be filled...
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With most people giving them a wide berth as they trailed behind Fuusha, followed closely by the seventeen children, Cairn felt entitled to remark, "You must be a big shot among the refugees. I half-expected someone to step in, offering to answer my questions for less food."
Furrowing her brows, Fuusha stopped mid-step to gaze back at Cairn, her maroon-red eyes glistening with hostility as she asked, "Is that what you were 'expecting' or what you were 'hoping' for?"
Though he maintained his casual demeanor, Cairn deescalated things by pointing out, "If I were that heartless and opportunistic, I wouldn't be the traveling companion of a Neophyte."
As Restia punished those who pretended to be her representatives by branding their faces with the Symbol of Heresy, Fuusha didn't question Cairn's words. Instead, she snorted before turning around and continuing to lead the way, eventually guiding them to a fairly large tent constructed from vermillion fabric, a stark contrast to the makeshift brown and white tents that made up most of the refugee camp...
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(A/N: The lives of refugees are never easy...)
