Hyperion Evergrowing

Chapter 107: Flames

Bells tolled in a steady cadence as Leif walked down the main street of Klos. Bleary eyed humans gathered in small groups outside homes to watch as the night sky was tainted a vibrant orange. It reminded him of the turbulence that had ignited the clouds above Far-reach, and that wasn’t a pleasant memory.

But this was just a single building, it didn’t herald an undead assault or imminent fight to the death. A large crowd stood in the invisible dividing line between the main street and the plaza that was the market. Empty stalls lined the sides of the street and groups of men and women in hastily donned armour shoved free standing stalls out of the way. Leif recognised them as members of the Ahle-ho guard, with some local guards mixed in.

The fire had destroyed much of a tall three story structure, and had jumped to the smaller bakery that shared a wall with it. Buckets of water were being run from the nearby well, then tossed onto the flames. A family with several young children stood off to the side, their hunched silhouette outlined by the orange glow of fire. An older man was lying on the street, two soldiers kneeling over him, one with a hand placed to his chest.

Leif pushed his way to the front of the crowd, the people parted around him but two soldiers who were standing to keep everyone back saw him emerge and stepped forward to stop his approach.

“Healer.” He said, not slowing as his aura brushed against theirs.

“Ah.” The closer one said, shuffling awkwardly while the other went from ushering him back to gesturing him to come closer.

Moments later he was standing over the prone man, his face was covered in soot and ash, his hands covered in bright red blisters. A flash of light came from the hand of a woman who was kneeling beside him, the man just coughed violently in response.

“He has smoke in his lungs.” She said, her voice pitched with panic. “I don’t have the strength to heal the internal damage.”

Leif squatted down, heavy traveller cloak billowing out as he did so. He placed a hand on the man’s chest, to any onlookers it would look to be covered in a gauntlet of ivory wood. A flash of light emitted from where his hand connected with the injured man, it was the same colour as the flash that had come before, only far brighter. The burns along his hands and arms immediately began to fade, the puffy red skin returning to a more normal tan.

The scion felt his healing energy pass through the man’s body, travelling not only to where the burns were located but his bones, organs and muscles. The ageing man’s eyes snapped open as he let out a hacking cough, blood and flem splattering the ground as he let out deep, wheezing breaths.

Smoke in the lungs. Leif thought, mentally recalling his knowledge on different aspects and their healing properties. It was a general rule that if a skill stated it could heal, it could heal a general array of ailments and injuries. Some aspects were more efficient than others, while some were far less effective in certain situations. Getting rid of the physical substance within his body would require… what? Wind aspect healing?

“How long was he inside the building?” Leif asked, sending another pulse of healing energy into the man’s body. It was highly inefficient, but he could brute force a solution, he would need to be cognisant of how much strain his patient's body could handle though.

“A few minutes, or so we think. He was a neighbour who ran inside to help get the kids out.” Said the soldier with the healing skill.

Leif glanced over to where the family with several children was standing. Several were crying as they watched their home, and likely workplace go up in flames. “Any other injuries? What about people still inside?”

“Only minor burns, nothing healing balm couldn’t fix. And no, there shouldn’t be anyone else inside.”

“I see.” He said simply, letting a trickle of his cultivated vitality flow into the old man. Leif guided the energy to the lungs, there he coaxed it to consume the last of the smoke. The man’s eyelids fluttered, then closed, his breathing becoming steady and rhythmic. “A day or two of rest, but he’ll be fine.”

Leif stood and walked over to where the owners of the now smoking pile of rubble were looking on with forlorn and vacant expressions. He introduced himself, offered to heal them, but was subtly rebuffed by the mother of the children. None of them seemed more than a little worse for wear, so he didn’t challenge her decision.

Stolen story; please report.

The bakery was put out, but not before half of the building had turned into ash and memories. The work had sped up tremendously when an adventurer had volunteered their services, summoning three little dancing water spirits that repeatedly threw themselves into the burning building, exploded, then were re-summoned. The summoner got some chuckles when he mentioned this was the first time he had ever found an actual use for the skill, but humour was hard to muster for many of the people gathered in the market square.

There were murmurs and whispers going around, but they were silenced when a squad of Ahle-ho guard arrived on horseback. Leif recognised captain Peri, but none of the others. Several of the soldiers spread out, asking for witnesses and testimonies about the cause of the flame. The initial building that had caught fire was an equipment repair and minor enchantment store, its loss was a major blow to the town and its citizens.

The captain took the building's owner aside, the two having a conversation out of earshot of the many onlookers. The owner, a bearded man with bloodshot eyes, began to raise his voice after only a minute of conversation. Leif stopped telekinetically pulling charred wood from the rubble as the man began to shout.

“You think just because we service both parties that we’re not worthy of protection? You think accepting patronage from those protecting these lands is enough to turn your back on us? I don’t give a fuck about the petty pissing contest you have going on down south, but I demand compensation for my livelihood going up in flames!”

“Sir, those are some serious-”

“Of course they’re serious! Some brainless cunt just set my home and business aflame! My kids and wife were asleep upstairs when the fire broke out. Do you know what would have happened if I didn’t store the more reactive reagents in flameproof containers? This whole gods-damn district could have burnt to the ground, and me and my family would be dead!”

“Assuming it was not an accident, then I completely agree about the severity of this situation. But to accuse us of negligence due to the customers you choose to partake in business with is a step too far.” Peri said, her voice calm, but by the emotions Leif could sense she was clearly forcing it.

“Of course it wasn’t a fucking accident! I’ve been receiving threatening letters all week! This was a crime captain, and I don’t think you or your men have the best interest of this town at heart.”

There were shouts of outrage, mixed with some calls of support. The collection of adventurers and townsfolk who had been slowly dispersing began to loudly argue, some even pointing fingers of accusation at one another.

“The empire shouldn’t even be here!” One called.

“We would have been overrun by monsters without them!” Came another.

“Ahle-ho only cares for itself!”

“The guilds care more than the empire!”

Leif’s golden gaze scanned the increasingly aggressive crowd. He could sense the agitation, anger and fear building up to a fever pitch. The number of those in favour of the empire was far smaller than those against, but discontent with both was a common stance for the people of Klos to take. The adventurers for their part were mostly keeping their mouths shut, but Leif saw more than one place a hand on a weapon or group up with their companions.

“Order!” Peri called, raising her hand and shouting over the arguing crowd. “I said order! There will be a formal investigation, and the possibility of arson will be explored with the required severity and detail!”

Leif let the following shouts fade into the background as he focused on the feelings he was getting from a certain skill. [Sympathy From Experience] passively fed him information about past events, and the skill had been subtly buzzing against his subconsciousness for a while now. He invoked the aspect of the skill that would overlay his vision with a vague outline of the past, watching as the passage of time flowed backwards, grains of amber light rewinding the destruction caused by the flames.

He saw the sketched outlines of people running backwards into the buildings, he saw the aged man he had healed return to the building with a young child under each arm, then a few minutes later his entrance through the front door. Eventually his vision of the past had gone back far enough that the building was no longer aflame, there was no evidence of any other figures having been present for the start of the fire.

Leif slowly walked around the perimeter of the ruined enchanters shop, he noted that the fire had seemingly started on the bottom floor, but the clarity of what he could see was lacking in most details. As far as he could tell, the fire had spontaneously begun behind the shop's counter, but he couldn’t see what the cause was. He let the skill fade, the golden motes that outlined the passage of time disappearing from his sight.

He walked around the building, stepping back into the market square. He intended to go straight to the captain and tell her what he found, or rather, didn’t find. But he came up short, most of the previously rowdy crowd having likewise gone still.

Two dozen imperial soldiers marched through the town, their armour on full display as they walked in perfect lockstep. Townsfolk and adventures both retreated at their passing, even as tension rapidly built.

“So.” Came a voice that Leif recognised from when he and his companions had been held up at the checkpoint. “What's going on here?”