The Brewer's Ascent - Chapter 1

“Have you heard of the ascent?”

The words hung in the air as the two men looked up to the woman who had joined them.

“The ascent?” Cassia echoed.

At his side the stone faced man shifted.

The blond woman peered down through her cowled hood at the man at Cassia’s side.

“Wh-what are you planning to ascend?” Cassia asked.

Green eyes shifted from the stone faced man to gaze upon the soot faced drow, seemingly surprised at the presence of the dark skinned elf.

Turning her attention back to the man she’d aimed her question at, the woman took a moment to decide on her next words.

“The ascent through the firmament.”

“The firmament?” Cassia echoed again.

His mind searched for definition to the word that had left the blond woman’s lips.

Did she mean the barrier between the worlds, established by the creator?

“Yes.” The man at Cassia’s side responded. “I know of the ascent.”

Cassia turned to his friend, “Clay...”

Without waiting to be invited to join them, the woman pulled a chair out and took a seat across from the men.

“Thank you, by the way, for letting me have the medium. It’s been a great help.” The woman said to the man named Clay.

Clay nodded while Cassia felt lost in this conversation.

“Wait, what is this about the ascent? And, who are you?” Cassia asked, turning his attention back to the blond woman who had joined the pair.

The woman bit her lower lip before beginning to explain to the confused drow. “My name is Celeste. I was hoping to ask for assistance from Clay in traveling beyond the boundaries of Orgas by using the ascent.”

Cassia let out a soft laugh. “You’re planning to leave Orgas? To leave this world?”

Celeste appeared annoyed at the man’s behavior. “Yes.” She stated flatly.

At his side, the stone faced man took a sip from his drink as he thought about what the woman had said.

“How were you planning to travel through the ascent?”

Celeste’s annoyance dropped from her face as she turned back to the man she had joined the table to speak with.

“There is a portal master in Kad. He can open a gateway to another plain. With one of his scrolls it should be possible to travel beyond Orgas.”

Clay pondered the woman’s words as he nursed his drink.

Cassia turned to his friend, “You’re not seriously thinking about leaving Jaskar just like that, to leave this world behind, are you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“But… but, that’s insane.” The drow exclaimed.

“No, it’s not.” The blond woman scorned the soot faced man. “It’s insane to want to live ones entire life in the perpetual darkness of Orgas.”

Cassia bit his cheek at the woman’s words. “Orgas may be cast in perpetual night, but it’s home.”

“Not for me.” Clay stated to the surprised drow.

“What?”

Clay set down his beverage and turned to the drow man. “I’m not from Orgas. I come from Purgamous.”

“P-Purgamous?” Cassia was astounded.

Clay nodded as the drow gaped at the stone faced man.

The blond woman seemed surprised by the admission, “I didn’t realize.”

Cassia took a moment to process his friends origins. He had spent his entire life in the perpetual night of Orgas. The shadows still caused trepidation in his heart. But this was his home.

“Okay. So, you want to return?” Cassia asked his friend afraid to hear the answer.

“Yes, I intend to return to the Purgamous. There is someone I must find.”

Celeste coughed lightly. “Well, I think I can help you with that. I intend to travel through the worlds and I think we can help each other.”

Clay regarded the woman with an even expression.

The drow found the hooded woman’s offer of help suspicious.

“What reason would you have for wanting to travel between the worlds. You’re not from Purgamous as well, are you?” Cassia asked.

Celeste bit her lower lip. “No, actually, I don’t come from Purgamous.”

The blond woman raised her hands haltingly to the cowled hood that covered her golden locks. Closing her eyes, Celeste pulled back the hood.

Cassia was perplexed by the woman’s behavior. Why was she so hesitant about pulling down her hood. As his brain processed her actions, his eyes noticed the pink flesh that protruded out from under her golden hair.

The soot faced man blinked as he looked at the woman before him. Her ears stuck out sharply from her head. Not dissimilar to his own. But she wasn’t a drow elf like him.

“You’re… You shouldn’t…” His words were escaping him as he stared vacantly at the elven woman before him.

Celeste hurriedly raised the hood once more to cover her ears. Self consciously the woman looked over her shoulders.

Returning her gaze to the men before her, the blond woman regarded Clay.

“I don’t come from Purgamous. But, I will have to travel through that world in order to return to my home. Like you, Orgas is an alien world to me.”

Cassia collected his thoughts. In a matter of moments he had found not just one, but two individuals who had come from beyond the firmament.

Tales of the worlds beyond his home of Orgas had ceased to interest the drow since he’d entered adulthood. The idea of leaving the ever dark world had long since ceased to be present in his mind. And, now, the man he’d partnered with on one of the hunter’s guild’s missions was planning to leave the Orgas plains on an insane journey beyond.

He turned to his friend, “Clay, are you really going to leave? There’s so much more we can do in Jaskar.”

The stone faced man regarded the drow at his side. “Yes, this is something I’ve been wanting to do since I arrived here.”

Turning to the blond woman before them, Clay spoke. “What is your plan?”

Celeste showed a relieved smile as she gathered her thoughtrs.

“Well, we’ll need to travel to Kad and find the portal master Daniel Rial. We should be able to procure a portal scroll from him. With that we’ll need to travel to one of the vents in the firmament. The portal will only work where the barrier between worlds is weakest.”

“Ok, when do we leave.” Clay asked the woman.

Cassia couldn’t believe how ready his friend was to leave Jaskar and the hunter’s guild behind.

“Wait. Clay, my friend, aren’t you being too hasty with this. There’s no need to rush off into the unknown with a woman you’ve just met.”

Clay regarded the drow man who considered him a friend. “This is something I’ve been wanting to do since I first came to this world. I’m not going to let this chance slip past me.” He turned to Celeste, “When do we leave.”

The blond woman smiled as her eyes welled up. “Give me a few days to gather some supplies for the journey to Kad. If you’ll be staying at this guild for the next few days, I’ll return when I’m ready to find you.”

“Okay, I’ll be here when you return.”

Satisfied by the conversation they’d had, Celeste stood up from her seat and regarded Clay once more. “Thank you, Clay. I really appreciate your willingness to join me. I doubt I could do it alone.”

“Of course.” Clay said.

Turning to leave, the woman gave a last look over her shoulder to the pair of men. And, with a wave, Celeste departed the hunter’s guild. Going, once more, into the perpetual night of Jaskar city.

The woman departed from their meal, Clay began to pick at his food.

Cassia regarded his friend with uncertainty. “You’re really going to leave? Just like that.”

Swallowing the food with a swig of ale, Clay turned to the drow. “Yes. As I’ve already said, it’s been my objective since the beginning.”

Cassia found the idea to leave Orgas to be insane and he didn’t want to part from the man who made such a good partner for him. He thought about all that they could achieve together and didn’t want to see it come to an end.

“Alright, so you’ve made up your mind?” Clay nodded. “Well, you’ve still got a few days before you’ll be leaving. We should go on a hunting mission while we still have the chance.” Cassia said.

Clay thought about his partner’s proposition. He would need more money to finance his journey back to Purgamous, and he really didn’t know of any other employment he could find than the guild.

Clay nodded his head. “Yes, we should find a mission.”

Cassia was relieved to hear that his partner still wanted to hunt. Releasing a breath of baited air from his lungs Cassia turned to the wall of fliers with the posted bounties.

“You just took on a B ranked mission all by yourself. The reward was pretty high. What do you think about going for another such ranked assignment?” Cassia asked.

Clay pondered the thought and absentmindedly rubbed his side. “Yes, I’d be interested in that.”

Cassia got up from their table and walked over to the bounty wall.

Examining the fliers, the drow man saw the rewards for the B ranked missions. They were significantly higher than any of the rewards he’d received previously. One of the missions caught his eye. Flame elementals.

Cassia picked the poster off the wall and brought it over to his partner. “Flame elementals. Looks like a dangerous mission. But, I’m sure we can handle it.”

Clay reviewed the bounty, “Okay, sounds good to me. Let’s check in at the front.”

The pair of men departed from their meals and approached the receptionist at the hunter’s guild hall entrance.

A man sat at the desk reviewing a stack of papers. Looking up from his work, the man assessed the drow and stone faced man that came before him. “Yes?”

Cassia looked to his partner and then turned his attention back to the receptionist. “Hello. We’d like to get some more information on this assignment.” The drow man handed the flier to the receptionist.

The man behind the desk peered down his nose at the image on the paper. “I see. This mission involves flame elementals that are inhabiting a mining site. The Reynal family would like them to be cleared out of the mines. You can find them beyond the East gate. If you would allow me to see your map, I can mark their location for you.”

Cassia pulled out his map that the guild had given him when he’d joined up with the organization. Handing it over to the receptionist, the drow waited while their destination was marked on the paper.

Clay pulled out his own map and handed it over to the seated man and waited while the destination was marked out.

“If you collect the cores from the fallen elementals and return them here, we will be able to give you your reward. This mission calls for 50 elemental cores. Good luck with your mission.” The man said.

Satisfied the two men returned to their table intent to finish their meal.

Cassia thought about the mission. Flame elementals were dangerous without preparations. He thought about the risk of burns the pair of men would encounter as they journeyed into the mines. He had an ointment that he had brewed previously that would work to mitigate the damage of burns. But that wouldn’t be enough for this mission. He’d need something to attack the elementals with.

The drow man thought about the last mission they had underwent. It had been similar. Clearing out a crimson dart frog infestation in the Manat aquastone mines. The use for aquastone was usually limited to a source of potable water. But, Cassia thought it might be possible for him to rig the stones to explode when thrown.

“Clay, would you give me some time to get some supplies ready.”

The large man nodded, “Yes, I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

Cassia smiled to his partner and got up from his finished meal. “See you soon.”