金瓶梅第2部

Tycondrius looked down at his hand.

He was subconsciously holding onto Pale's wooden bowl with a vice-like claw-grip.

He swallowed his saliva and forcibly willed his hand to relax, allowing the boy to take that which was specifically prepared for him.

Nutrients...

Tycon selected the ingredients for Pale's meal, not for him as a convalescent patient, but to behoove a youngling in his growth period.

"Mmmm..."

The boy cried as he ate. Undoubtedly, they were tears of joy.

"I... I really... really missed this," Pale said, his voice filled with emotion, "Thank you, Sir... Thank you so much."

Tycon turned his back. He keenly felt his own rising emotions marring his expression.

He felt that perhaps... it was the last time he'd be taller than the boy. Surely, with just a single bowl of fortified soup--

"Sir, may I have another?"

"Serve it yourself," Tycon snapped, still looking away.

--with just a single bowl of soup... the boy was going to physically outgrow him.

...Unless?

"Boss?" Pale called.

Tycon turned his head back, "Go ahead."

"Can I have some of this meat?"

"Of course. Everything on the meal cart is for you-- and drink the juice, as well."

"Thanks, Boss."

Tycon turned away, once more, to hide his guilt-- his shame.

He had actually considered withholding food from the boy! Only a monster would do such a thing. If he were in the young man's position, he'd have committed murder for the bare mention of the notion!

No... he could not do that to Pale.

He was a valuable ally... and once he proved himself, he would be the next leader of--

"Sir, when's the next time I can talk to Sasha?"

"Finish your gods-damned meal, boy! Another word and I'll shove the entirety of that boiling pot down your loquacious throat."

"Y-yessir..."

After the exchange, Pale finished his meal in relative quietude.

He enjoyed himself, nearly finishing the contents of the cast iron pot and emptying the container of fruit-drink.

"Are you ready to make a report?" Tycon asked.

"I am!" Pale exclaimed, "So much has happened, Sir!"

"Keep it concise, young man," Tycon groaned. "Recall major events, *only.* I'm not in the mood for superfluous details."

The boy talked.

He... went on... and on... completely ignoring Tycon's wishes.

After a period of time and several bouts of requesting clarification, Tycon understood Pale's journey as such:

The Hero Team began their questing in the Sleeping Country, Nemaya Strana-- with the Lich Queen's blessing, of course.

There, they uncovered and resolved *several* lizard plots aimed at destabilizing the nation or controlling respectable points of interest. On multiple quests, they even worked in tandem with the Queen's Royal Protector, General Gobbuto.

The Nemayan territories were largely free of lizard control. Following the logic, Tycon and the anti-lizard offensive had Pale and his companions to thank for that.

From there, the Hero Team followed lizard activity into the Outer Planes, beginning with the Plane of Ice. There, they recruited a healer, a Genasi with a water-type bloodline.

That person died.

Losing a capable individual with a high-tiered Healer Class was a devastating loss.

Anyroad, the reason Pale had appeared older than he should have been was... simply because he was.

Time worked differently in the Outer Planes. The boy had been gone for over five years instead of the two-and-change since Tycon had last seen him.

However, his time amongst the Outsiders granted him some understanding of the stances and ideologies of the four major elemental planes...

The Realm of Dirt had allied with the lizards, as the age of ash and otherwise was an inevitability.

The Realm of Air actively opposed the lizards' draconian ways, ever-contrary to the free-spirited natures of their denizens.

The Realm of Ice was largely neutral, though, before her death, Ice Princess Vanya had rallied significant support to the Hero's cause.

The Realm of Fire was functionally neutral, but that was because everything in that place remained largely hostile to all factions involved.

Most recently, the Heroes had unearthed a lizard plot to occupy City-State Forcen.

Forcen was difficult to attack by both land, sea, and sky, due to a ring of mountains and so-many gravity-manipulating, earth-type manifest zones. However, if the lizards were to use those manifest zones to mount a siege, Forcen would have little recourse.

...Two and a half moons prior, the lizard goddess, Jerim Jya, bid Tycon to travel to the Bristlebear Highlands.

The threat to Forcen explained the rationale behind that mysterious command-- which assumedly stemmed from Neerin Neelia's predictions.

Barring special circumstances, Pale and his companions should have arrived in the Material Plane there, in relative safety, and by the 77th sun...

However, that dreaded special circumstance came to pass.

A creature known as the Flamebriar Monarch ambushed the Hero Team, resulting in the death of the Ice Princess and, subsequently. Kimura Taree's desertion.

Pale and Troia, being logical individuals, sought to prevent the Flamebriar Monarch's forces from flooding into City-State Making.

The Kimura whelpling did not agree. Instead, she chose to strike off on her own to hunt down an ancient fae creature in its ancestral homeland.

She desired vengeance. Naught else mattered to her.

Taree was undoubtedly the stupidest hatchling Tycon ever cared for...

"--but despite her decision being infuriatingly ignorant of both the dangers at hand and the unlikelihood of her success," he sighed... "the girl is at least consistent."

"That's why we have to hurry up and defeat the Plane of Fire's invasion," Pale insisted, still sitting on his cot. "Then... then we can go after Ree..."

The desperation in the boy's voice conveyed his concern.

"I'm sorry, Sir," Pale sniffed. "I know... a professional... isn't supposed to cry."

"Hah," Tycon chuckled quietly. "As leaders, you and I must keep a brave front in front of our allies and subordinates. For now, in this moment, young man... you and I are brothers."

Tears did not necessarily indicate weakness.

Pale was a young man who could rejoice and cheer at the success of his fellows. It followed naturally, that same young man being stricken with grief by their loss.

However, grieving for the living was inappropriate.

"However," Tycon placed a reassuring hand on Pale's shoulder, "this is not the time for tears, young friend. The fate of Kimura Taree is not yet set. It seems that she needs a Hero... and I will personally see to it that she gets one."

",