Enmity of Atlas

Trenton headed through the door to see a tall man practically wearing rags spinning around in a circle while hugging Lilly.

“Delis! Gods, what were you doing here!? Couldn’t you have at least bothered to send a card ahead?” Trenton shouted out exultantly.

Delis stood in front of the cart, a battered cloak drawn across his shoulders, its marking long since faded away. He chuckled, slowly coming to a stop as to not give the child he was holding whiplash. “Couldn’t even get out of the driveway before I’m being berated. Am I not welcome in my own home anymore?” He took a step forward, shifting Lilly to his left arm, using his right to embrace Trenton. “I’d heard there was a big ball tonight, thought I’d stop in to say hello to the old folks around town…and you too, I suppose,” he said, a mirthful expression lighting up his otherwise dulled features.

Trenton stood pretty tall on his own at 6’1”, but Delis easily stood over him by a couple of inches at least. On top of that, Delis’s time traveling the plains had left his muscles toned like they were sculpted out of marble. It made Trenton, who himself boasts quite the impressive figure, look like a child in comparison.

Trenton took a step back, gauging the weary look in Delis’s eyes. Aside from his perfect physique, he looked like a mess. His clothes were coated in dirt, grime, and dried blood–giving him a distinctly gritty aura–and his hair was more akin to a rat's nest than a neatly trimmed hedge. Probably best to get him sat down somewhere, and quickly.

Behind Delis, Trenton noticed a smaller man, easily a foot and a half shorter than him, gazing about with wide eyes. Even though it has been a couple years since Trenton had last seen him, the man's thick brown beard and large battle axe strapped to his back made him easy to identify–Delis’s dwarven companion–Brus.

“Y’folks never do skip on the decorum, do yah? Mind if ah come in?” he said, a friendly smile on his face.

“Sure, cause we let any poor old bastard stay the night if they ask nicely enough. Especially when they take care to track dirt onto the carpets. Gotta make Mave earn her paycheck, ey?,” Trenton responded sarcastically, lightly elbowing Brus’s stomach.

“Don’ need tah be a little bastard abou’ ih. Was jus’ bein’ polite,” he shot back indignant, lightly pushing past Trenton. Despite how many times Trenton has heard Delis speak, his thick accent never failed to make him laugh. They really did talk differently in Avar.

“If you’re going to break and enter, least you could do is face me eye to eye,” Trenton laughed after him. Brus flipped Trenton off without turning around as he and Delis saunter off, Delis using his free hand to slap down Brus’s finger. What a guy. Always glad to see him stop into town.

Now with the rabble taken care of, Trenton turned his gaze to the small cluster awkwardly standing just to his side. Well, Leo was standing awkwardly–eyes boring into the pavement. His mother standing just behind him looked quite comfortable.

Leo’s appearance wasn’t anything spectacular. He was quite tall, standing just a little shorter than Trenton, but he was also a bit lanky. Trentons vigorous training sessions with Walibeld had left him broad shouldered and well built. Leo did undergo training as well, giving him some definition depending on the lighting, but it was with a different trainer, meaning his training was much easier and more infrequent than Trenton's. The only other notable physical trait was Leo’s fiery red hair and eyes–the distinct trait of a pyromancer. Now of course, not all pyromancers had red hair, but everyone with red hair were pyromancers–a real square and rectangle situation. It was even considered a brand of honor for a pyromancer to have red hair in some places, even though it meant absolutely nothing.

“Delis stopped by our place asking for a ride over. He seemed to be in a mighty rush, so we acquiesced. I hope you don’t mind. I understand we aren't supposed to arrive for some time yet, but I hope you’ll be able to host us in the meantime,” Leo's mother stated apologetically.

“Of course not! Head to the parlor and you can take a little reprieve from the day's heat. Thank you, also, for bringing Delis here. it’s a long walk from the city gates,” Trenton responded heartily. Leo's mother made her way past Trenton, giving a friendly nod to Trenton, Leo stopping for a moment as he passed to whisper into Trentons ear.

“I didn’t know what to say. I felt so awkward. What do you even do in that situation?”

“Suffer,” Trenton said, patting Leo on the shoulder and steering him inside.

As Trenton shepherded Leo into the foyer, he remembered that his father wanted to see him. it would probably be best to do that now lest it lies forgotten, something that Trenton had definitely never done before. He pushed Leo onward, assuming he could make his way to a room that he'd been to hundreds of times before on his own, and trudged his way to his fathers office. Inside, he found his father, Theodore Boulreguard, gazing intently at some papers on his desk, his brow knit together in concern.

Trenton did have a hand in the company, mostly seeing to organizational and managerial work his father was too busy for, but he didn’t work too much. He only worked about 30 or so hours each week in what time he could find between training sessions. Back when they were first founding the company, Trenton and Delis were averaging 80+ hour work weeks just trying to help their father get it off the ground. Starting a company from nothing was no easy task. But nowadays, things were more laid back, the success of their prior work granting them a rather luxurious life of opulence. Well, more laid back as far as business work. With Training included, Trenton would often find himself swamped with tasks, the 90 hour work weeks keeping him busy. Today was the one exception due to the big event later that night, something Trenton was incredibly grateful for.

Theodore looked up, catching Trenton mid thought, “Do you need something?”

“Sorry, Delis just showed up, didn’t say a word about it to me beforehand, either. Thought you should know,” Trenton replied, brining himself back into the moment.

Theodore used the impromptu break to lean back, stretching his sore muscles, his tense expression easing up, “Truly? I hadn't heard a word about this.”

“Yeah, guess he can just come and go however he pleases. He's heading to the parlor so we could have a chat. Oh yeah, Brus and the Fairfelts were here, too, if that matters,” Theodore stood from his chair, stretching for a moment, before making his way past Trenton. But as he made to step through the doorway, Trenton held out his hand to stop him. “Mave told me you wanted to see me. What about?”

Theodore stopped in the doorway, contemplating for a moment. “It can wait, surely. It’s hardly of enough importance to bother you right this very moment. Remind me about it tomorrow…and grab your mother, would you?” he said absentmindedly as he exited the room.

Trenton quickly made his way to the garden where he found his mother watering a patch of statice purple flowers, her favorite. Despite the fact that they had servants to tend to every facet of the house and its undertakings, Trenton’s mother always insisted that she spend most of her time tending to her little garden just to the side of the house. Trenton never bothered her about it, anyway. She had such a keen eye for colors and their combinations, especially in regards to flowers, something Trenton sorely lacked. Engaging short pleasantries, Trenton told his mother to head to the parlor, ensuring everyone’s presence for Delis’s return gathering.

When they got to the parlor, Trenton saw Brus andTheodore deep in conversation about the state of affairs in Dasellium while Delis shut his eyes. Beside them, sat Mrs. Fairfelt, who was drinking a warm cup of tea, likely prepared by one of the servants. And, finally, running wildly around the room was Leo who seems to be entertaining Lilly with a thrilling game of tag. It was unclear whether or not Lilly was still holding the worm, but for its sake, Trenton sincerely hopes she tossed it outside before she started running around.

Shifting his gaze from the two children running rampantly about the room, Trenton looked at Delis peacefully snoozing on the couch. Trenton was exactly right. Delis was exhausted. Trenton took a seat next to Delis, deciding to let him rest as opposed to trying to wake him like some sort of wicked necromancer. Although, he already looked like a corpse…maybe it would’ve worked. Once everyone was seated, Brus took a look over the group, a measuring look.

“Don’ tell meh’ ah got even smalla. Y’lot er lookin’ fit for giant’s!” he shouted with a big smile on his face. Although dwarves don’t get shorter as they age, their already small stature made them seem like children. Trenton recalled a time hearing someone say once that every dwarf was born 4 feet tall, and instead of growing taller, they grow wider every day they’re alive. That probably wasn’t true, but looking over at Brus, Trenton decided there wasn’t enough evidence to make a certain decision one way or another. “But ah suppose yer curious about what happn’d, yeh?” At this, Lilly and Leo rushed back to the couches, clearly interested in Brus’s tales.

With Delis still softly sleeping, Brus went into a garrulous speech about the journey they had undertaken since last they were in town 2 years ago. He talked about traveling north, up the Liafer, crossing the Thalian range, visiting beautiful natural sites, exploring the various cities of Verulik, Lagasia, and Elteran, and slaying great beasts, all before describing a meeting he had with the Conqueror, at which point Delis woke up. Conveniently, he made no mention of Vie, a woman who was traveling with them the last time they stopped by.

“Wait, you got to meet him!? Like, in person!?” Lilly cried out, almost not believing it.

Yawning, Delis sat back up. “Sure did. A giant had somehow managed to wander down from the mountains, through the desolate cliffs, and into the plains just outside of Dasellium. It seemed to be in some sort of mad stupor, and was charging blindly towards the city. We managed to kill it before it got to the walls though, and I guess it must have been some sort of spectacle for the soldiers on guard because we got to have a private audience with the Conqueror,” Delis said, slowly working the weariness out of his voice.

“What was he like? Was he as tall as they say? Did he look strong? What about the armor and his ax? How big were his horns? Was he-” Delis held up a hand to interrupt Lilly.

“Slow down, Lil’. You gotta give me at least a second to speak if you want any answers,” he said, slowly sinking back into the plush couch cushions. Lilly opened her mouth for a second as if to protest, but thought better of it and stayed quiet. “It was nothing too big. He just wanted to congratulate us for our work. He said he’d heard about us for some time, and wanted to give his appreciation for all that we’d done to help Verulik. Apparently, there’s been a big surge of monster activity recently, and all of the kings have been struggling to keep it under control. The guardians have been giving what help they can, but they don’t have the numbers, and were spread far too thin, already. Adventuring parties help keep the monster population in check by just culling whatever they see as they go. Their freedom and independence lets them do a lot more than soldiers, who’re typically holed up in the cities for the people's peace of mind…” he paused for a moment, staring at the ceiling, “...guess we’re doing something worthwhile, afterall,” a small silence fell over the group.

“EE’ WAS ‘UGE! ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE! LIKE FURTY MOUNTAINS STACKED AN TOP O’ EACHOTHER!” Brus burst out, violently shifting forward, and nearly tumbling off the couch. The Conqueror must have left a big impression on him. “AN, AN, AN he wa’ all serious like: ‘Ya’ ‘ave earned my respect. Stan’ tall as proud warriors,’ an’ ah’ll tell yah’ I almos’ burs’ ou’ laughin’. Only thing is, ee’ was scarry. Couldn’ see his eyes ‘neath his helmet, jus’ two black ‘oles. An, an, an he had ‘ihs aura abou’ ‘im. Nah presence, no, but som’n else entirely. Like the way ee’ ‘eld himself even made meh shiver,” his eyes full of intensity as he babbled on.

“WOAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Lilly cried out, her eyes practically bursting with wonder.

By far, Lilly was the most enthralled. Although, Leo could give her a run for her money if he tried a little harder. Often, he would tell Trenton about dreams of being a great hero traveling the plains, slaying monsters, and saving people along the way. Only thing is, if you wanted to be a hero, you had to have bravery, quick wits, and grit, none of which Leo had–and he knew it.

Delis chuckled softly. “He was something, alright. Even knowing he was an ally, it felt like the slightest misstep could mean my death. We didn’t get to see him fighting, so it was hard to say if he's as strong as the stories would have you believe…but having now met him in person, I’d believe it. It’s almost unbelievable to think that 4 other people like him exist in the world…makes you feel small,” he finished, slowly tilting his head back, and falling into another peaceful slumber.

Trenton’s mother and father both looked at Delis sleeping like you would a newborn baby, a mix of compassion and love adorning their faces. Delis was an adult by many years, but he always slept like this when he visited home. Intuitively, part of Trenton understood that he must drive himself too hard, but another part just thought he was narcoleptic, so who knows, really.

“I don’t think we’ll be hearing anymore out of him for some hours. Did he not sleep last night?” Trenton said, looking towards Brus. Brus scratched his head, turning away from Trenton gaze.

“Thin’ ihs’...he was real excited to see yah lot, said we can’ stop ‘til we make it ‘ere. We walked all nigh’. I’d be tired as ihm ‘ad I nah taken some naps along the way…ah told ihm he ougha sleep, buh ee wouldn’ listen.”

For a moment, silence fell over the small congregation as everyone looked over at the sleeping Delis. Well everyone except Lilly who was still muttering in awe about a giant. Brus looked over at her, grinning softly.

“Y’know wah’. I’ll tell ya even more about tha’ gian’ if yeh come with meh,” Brus said to Lilly, walking to the doorway of the room, and bidding her follow.

“We ought to leave as well. Give the boy some time to rest. Lords know he deserves it,” Mrs. Fairfelt said. One by one, everyone started to shuffle out of the room. Everyone, except Trenton and Leo who stood locked eyes in the middle of the room.

“Want to get out of here?” Trenton asked nonchalantly.

“Like you couldn’t believe,” Leo responded, letting his shoulders sag a little to emphasize the point.