Chapter 84: Cheep!? 83

Cheep!?

Chapter 83

Niko supposed that Orson wasn’t too terribly upset by the news of the underground hole they had found. In retrospect, that issue wasn’t something to be overly concerned by when compared with the Massacre Hornets. 

The guild itself was a hothouse of activity, more so than before, even, with people doing their best to take any jobs they could, both to earn funds and to keep the area as cleared out as possible. By ‘cleared out’, the guild pretty much meant ‘sterile’, and the adventuring parties were busily chasing away the local fauna while laying out various incenses, powders, and other such things that could be made with traits that beasts disliked. 

This was, apparently, only the first stage of containment for a confirmed Massacre Hornet presence. The issue was that they didn’t have enough tier three groups present to risk running close to their suspected territory, so for the time being the hornets would continue to grow apace. Still, Niko figured that this would help slow their expansion.

If they were especially lucky, they might bypass Greenleaf entirely, given that the hunting grounds around the city would be so much more depleted than anywhere else. 

Still, as much activity as there was, that didn’t mean that the various teams didn’t have downtime in between. Everyone needed rest, and it just so happened that the Wyldwalkers and Aelphis Team Two were resting in the cafeteria lounge after both completing their respective missions. 

“A hole into the underground, eh?” The gnomish team leader, McNabby, swirled the liquid in his cup thoughtfully, “Earth Wyrm tunnel?”

Ronald nodded, “Looked like it. An old one, but there’s definitely still Earth Wyrm activity down there.”

McNabby clicked his tongue, “So long as it’s just one or two, that’s fine. Every decade or so you’ll get an area practically swimmin’ in ‘em. Big mating seasons that last a year or so. Just a gigantic headache for anyone that has to deal with it.”

“They’re territorial normally, and that doesn’t really go away then,” Priscilla, the Basiliskin sorceress explained, “They just get angrier since they can’t get rid of each other, so instead they go after anything else in the area.”

“Happened right under an old city in the heartlands,” McNabby snorted, “Didn’t bother trying to hold it, we just left and came back a year later.”

“Was the city fine?” Skye, interested, joined in.

“Oh, aye, they didn’t much bother the city with no one in it. We did end up having to rebuild part of the waterways, but what can ya do?” McNabby chuckled, “My grandad was a part of the restoration efforts. Gave ‘em the excuse to redo the whole thing.”

“What about that… what’d you call it again?” Priscilla asked, frowning, “The freaky thing.”

“Kotyuk?” Skye offered.

“That’s the one. I’ve never even heard of those before, are they common around here?” The sorceress questioned.

Skye shook her head, “Around here? No, not at all. But my old teacher had a few run-ins with them in the depths.”

“What do they do? Their method of hunting, I mean,” The man nearly as big as Ronald asked. Niko remembered his name was Max, and he primarily used the bow on his back. Admittedly, Niko didn’t have a name more fitting for the ridiculously large build of said bow. Niko doubted many people could use such a thing, but the heavy bow was very clearly his favored weapon, given the fact that he had three sealed, large quivers of arrows on his person. Unstrung, Niko could almost mistake the dang thing for a staff.

“They have some hypnosis effect on eye contact, possibly a paralyzing venom they can inject through its arm things, but if you’re out in the open they also have the proclivity to charge at you. This one didn’t seem dextrous with that movement, though, so Ronald just speared it.” Skye explained, and then shrugged, “It’s not that bad of an opponent if you don’t have to deal with the eyes.”

“How did you deal with the eyes?” McNabby asked while scratching his head, “As a rule, we stay away from mind-affecting monsters when we can.”

“I hit it in the eyes with a foam potion,” Mithel happily volunteered, “Can’t affect what it can’t see, right?”

Scenn, the bright orange haired woman of Aelphis Two, snickered, “That’s true for most things.”

Niko, had sat down across from Russel, the Silver Grier, and couldn’t help but nod along to the conversation, though he didn’t actively engage. He was halfway in his own thoughts, going through some final considerations for his attempt at creating a fourth pattern. 

“Something on your mind?” Russel tilted his head, “You’ve been in and out of the conversation for the last hour.” 

“Ah,” Niko blinked and gave an apologetic smile, “Sorry, didn’t mean to ignore anything.” 

“Oh, no, I’ve just been sitting here.” Russel corrected without any acid in his tone, “I’m just curious what has you so wrapped up? You’re acting like Priscilla when she’s trying to figure out a problem.”

Niko opened his mouth to say it was nothing before he stopped. ‘Well, there’s probably no harm in talking about it.’ He thought to himself, and with a mental shrug, said, “I’m going to attempt to put together a new essence pattern. I think I have what I want it to do in mind, but I don’t know how I want to get there, you know?” 

Russel’s expression grew especially thoughtful at that, “Oh, that’s fair. I would have thought you’d have made your second one already. You must have been thinking about this for a while.” He said while looking at the food on his dish, contemplating what advice to give. Thus, he missed the wince on Niko’s face as his thoughts bounced back and forth between remembering that other beasts most certainly didn’t have as many patterns as him, nor was he putting this off for so long just because he was being careful. In all honesty, he still didn’t really need it per se. Three essence patterns covered the wide variety of his needs, and he suspected that it was for that exact reason that tier three creatures were such a pain to deal with.

Most would grow into the same kinds of patterns, and at a pretty similar rate to those of their type, and not deviate all that much. That said, those patterns tended to be built for a very specific purpose, or, like with himself, were meant to cover everything they could reasonably expect to face or need on a day to day basis. However, Niko could go the extra mile, being that he was an entirely sapient, Alterra-Venris-gifted beast that didn’t need to rely on instinct alone when coming up with inspiration for his patterns. Not to mention the ability to load up on even more patterns than others of his tier. Peck, he could match the pattern count of a tier four at tier two, provided his attempt today didn’t fail.

Russel broke into his thoughts by saying, “Well, I don’t know what it’s like for the humanoids, but for me, it was pretty easy. I just focused on what I needed and then provided a vague idea of what that was supposed to look like, and things sorted themselves out.” 

Niko heard the particular focus on the word, ‘Needed’ and assumed that will and intent played a big role in things. He’d known that already, of course, but it was nice getting confirmation from an outside source. “Do you think it would be stronger if I tried to include how something should work in greater detail?” 

“Hmm… Maybe? I don’t really know for sure,” Russel shrugged, “If you try, let me know how it goes. I’ll try that when I tier up again and see what happens.” 

“Profiteering off of my efforts?” Niko teased.

Russel snickered unapologetically and raised his upper set of arms, “Of course! What are friends for? Well, that’s what McNabby says all the time, anyways.” 

Niko, speechless, shook his head and shot the gnome a look that went unnoticed. The Phorus then turned back to Russel, “Thanks for the advice, I think I’m going to go upstairs and try to put something together.” 

Russel nodded, before perking up, “Oh, take your half-elf friend with you, you’ve got something like a bond with her, right?” Niko blinked and nodded slowly before the Grier continued, “Priscilla got a little boost when I did mine around her, so it’d be a good idea to have her around, too. Y’know, unless you don’t want her to mooch off of you,” Russel said the last part with joking sarcasm, and Niko couldn’t help but shake his head.

“I’ll let her know, thanks, Russel.” Niko lifted a clawed wing and waved to him.

“Anytime,” The Grier said, before happily digging into another portion of his meal after having come up for air long enough. Niko shook his head at the sight, but knew that he was being hypocritical. If he wasn’t so preoccupied himself, Niko would have happily engorged himself on delicious food, as well.

Skye noticed him stand up, and tilted her head to indicate her unspoken question.

“I need to go upstairs, can you come with?” Niko asked, noting her brief reluctance when her gaze flicked to her food. 

“Sure, I’ll come up with you,” Skye said before taking a bit of bread and stuffing some odds and ends of potatoes, stuffing, and shredded chicken onto it and folding it up. 

“Need help?” Ronald asked after them.

“I don’t think so?” Skye turned to look at Niko who shook his head, before confirming, “Nope, be back later.”

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Ronald nodded after a second and seamlessly injected himself back into the conversation at the table. A few curious looks followed after them, but Niko paid it no mind. For all they knew, he was going to bed early. 

“So, what’s going on?” Skye asked with a trace of worry in her voice, “You okay?”

Niko nodded, “I’m going to attempt to make another pattern.” 

“Here, in the guild?” Skye asked with clear confusion before shaking her head, “Right, you don’t need any focusing ritual or anything.”

Niko made sure not to look at her, uncertain that he’d managed to keep a pitying expression off of his face. It really was just more convenient for him, all things be told.

They made their way to their shared room, and Niko simply sat down on his bed. Skye frowned, and followed suit on hers, “I feel like this should have more aplomb to it, y’know?”

“Well… I don’t really think I need that?” Niko considered the matter for a few seconds, “It’s important, but I don’t want to make a big deal out of it.” 

Skye’s frown deepened momentarily, clearly dissatisfied with that response, “You know what, hold on.” She said as she dragged over her bag. Niko watched her curiously for a few seconds before she pulled out a small bottle of something with a triumphant look on her face. “I knew I had something in here.”

“What is that?” Niko tilted his head as she levered open the cork on top.

“Wine,” she answered simply, “It’s not a lot, but I keep a small supply on hand just in case.”

Niko nodded at that as she continued rummaging through the pack. “No glasses though.” She tapped the side of her backpack in thought before shrugging to herself and pulling out two wooden bowls. “It’s not fancy, but it’s something?”

With a chuckle, Niko took the bowl gingerly between his claws, “It works.” 

Skye beamed at that before pouring the wine out between their two bowls. They were both only about halfway full, but somehow that just made it more charming. 

“Alright, the celebratory drinks are ready,” Skye put her drink on the nightstand beside her, before receiving Niko’s and placing it beside hers. “Ready when you are.”

“Thanks, Skye,” Touched, Niko smiled warmly before taking a deep breath. “Alright, I’m going to get started.” 

“Good luck,” Skye stated, before sitting up attentively on the bed and watching him.

For a few seconds, Niko just closed his eyes and remembered when he’d created the patterns he currently had. The leg patterns were the most challenging, and as he recalled, he gently navigated his own pseudo-veins, poking and prodding as he went. The pattern gleamed in his inner sight, illuminated all the more as he gently prodded his essence into wakefulness, not quite activating fully, but not sitting inert, either. He moved outwards and upwards from there, feeling the empty spaces between patterns, the closed edges. Within his body, he traced out the whole of his ethereal self, and then, just as before, he mobilized his essence with the vaguest of intents around each of the patterns. 

He felt them easily flex at his touch, but Niko didn’t rearrange any of his current patterns, instead, he refocused his intent on a main highway of essence, moving both through his throat and deeper into his lungs. Strands of essence began to thread together, firming up and forming a kinship with one another, an ethereal pattern coming into being. Niko threaded parts of it upwards, linking it into the patterns in his head, the other parts of his neck, and then shot a few stray lines down into his legs. Another trunk of essence patterning shot across his spine, readily able to link into the rest of his body at will, or with future patterns. Part of the goal for this pattern was to bind everything together, and to provide an additional framework alongside the more natural highways that his essence traveled along.

To that end, he deepened the channels, the motions gradually becoming harder to perform, but as of yet not hindering his progress at all. More highways would allow more throughput, but that alone wouldn’t be sufficient. Instead, Niko focused on boring a ‘well’ within the center of this pattern, residing between his metaphysical lungs. Tightly coiled and compacted essence veins fused together, forming a pressurized container that would, hopefully, hold a significant amount of essence on its own. 

For the first time since the process began, itching sensations began to race through his body, and then it felt like a spike was being driven through his innards. Niko didn’t try to resist the pain–he knew that it would earn him nothing–and instead let it flow around him. He worked slightly slower, trying to ensure that he wouldn’t miss anything as he went. While pain wasn’t what he could call a friend, Niko may as well have had a key to his home made for it for how often it had visited him in his old life. 

‘And this life, actually,’ Niko snickered, nearly losing concentration. Strands threatened to unwind, and Niko grabbed a hold of them with his will. He didn’t even spare a thought to chastise himself, as he refocused himself anew on the task at hand.

Now came the hard part.

‘A pattern to enhance and embolden, to supplement my other patterns. That’s the bare minimum, now let's see how far we can reach…’ Niko galvanized himself, bringing to the fore what this pattern would do. The most esoteric of his patterns was the stealth pattern, and a proof of concept that he didn’t need to be constrained to ‘physical’ limitations. Essence affected the world in strange ways, magic, he could say without inhibition, was just a way that essence could be moved, or guided with intent. Ronald could project telekinetic formations from his body, Skye could become part tree, Mithel could cheat chemical reactions and move liquids, and Dachna’s abilities could affect the mind. 

Niko took inspiration from everything he’d seen, and also applied what he already used. Even before he’d considered having a pattern for it, he’d been using his voice as a weapon of sorts, throwing essence behind his bellows and screeches to disrupt and dismay. But, it was also a source of entertainment, his method of communicating, and could become so much more. He felt it more acutely now than before, the essence pattern itching to form at his will. Niko wasn’t quite ready yet, however, and he focused on how it was that sound worked. Sound was just vibration, a propagation wave effect through any medium, like gasses or liquid. It could be so loud and forceful that it could rupture an eardrum, or on such a pitch that it was inaudible to human hearing. Niko took the reality he knew, the science, and then twisted it in his comprehension. Sound was vibration, and sound could become force. Sound could carry meaning, and it could be as different as every beholder–pleasing, or dreadful. The Clarion Call, or the Carrion Call, and as Niko put to words the duality of the pattern, he felt his will strain, his mind flex against the essence in his body. 

Happily, almost hungrily even, his essence responded to his will, and Niko was suddenly very glad that he hadn’t done this immediately after becoming an adult. Essence pulled out of his body in a torrential flood, reserves that had been built up over days and days of activity and from his recent successful hunts drained out of somewhere deep in him. Niko felt the flicker of a shadow within him, familiar and warm, and realized that he was feeling his own soul somehow come closer to his body than before. 

‘That’s disconcerting…’ Niko allowed the thought to cross his mind, realizing that his stored essence was feeding the fire. He felt like he could cut off the flow at any time, to be alright with what the framework was going for already. 

Niko didn’t want to do that, though. Instead, he began to try to help the shaping process along, doing his best to understand what was growing naturally and to help hold it in place as it flexed and moved. As he did, a headache unlike any he’d had before began to bloom in his mind like a firecracker. For a sharp second, Niko almost completely let go of his work, but something touching the edge of his mind managed to keep him moored in the moment. It was another familiar feeling, and Niko could feel the resolute confidence that it felt in him as he delved deep into his inner self.

‘I’ll have to thank Skye again after this,’ Niko gratefully made the mental note, before hammering down into the winding pattern once more.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but Niko did recognize when the pattern stopped moving. In a blur of cognizance, Niko steeled his will one last time and firmed the entire array, the strands suddenly settling and burning into his pseudo-body like a steel-cable mesh, strung between esoteric bones.

Niko smiled, tired and content, before he pulled himself out of his own inner world. When he came to, Skye was sitting in front of him, looking equal parts proud and ecstatic.

“You did it!” Skye cheered and hugged Niko around the neck, “Whatever that pattern is, it’s strong. How do you feel?”

“Absolutely pecking blasted,” Niko chirruped with amusement and returned her exuberant hug with his head and neck, “How long did that take?” 

Skye leaned back, “About three hours,” She said as she stretched out her legs before reaching up to the nightstand, “Everyone else is around town right now getting stuff, I asked Ronald to take your gear in for repairs and some retrofitting.”

Niko surreptitiously glanced at the corner of the room where he’d had his vest and such, realizing it wasn’t there, “Nice.” 

Skye held up one of the bowls of wine, “Here’s yours.”

Niko took the bowl, gratefully,with his claws, whilst noting how tender his entire body felt. Still, a little wine would probably be just fine. “Cheers.” 

Skye chuckled, tapping her bowl against his before they both took a deep swig.

“Ugh… That’d be much better cold.” Skye winced, and Niko likewise wanted to pucker his face up.

“It’s so sour, what is this wine?” Niko said, before noting the aftertaste as being especially fruity and quite nice. He hummed at that, before sipping a much smaller amount. 

Skye followed suit, before blinking, “It’s some wine called Snowberry… and I’m guessing you’re supposed to sip it, not chug it.”

“Noted,” Niko said with amusement, now appreciating the aftertaste a great deal more. The two sat in silence, enjoying the wine, before Niko suddenly said, “Thanks, Skye.” 

She only smiled and said, “Of course.” 

Tomorrow, if possible, they’d try to at least get a training room to see how the pattern worked, but for now? Niko was content to relax. There would be plenty of action soon enough.

 

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