Chapter 16 - Potential Growth

  Run. Pick a landmark. Blur. Run. Over and over, Alex pushes himself to keep going. After every Intent-movement jump, he spends a few minutes just running normally. It’s hard to find the proper balance so that he can avoid the creeping headache that usually accompanies overuse of his intent and will. But giving himself time to just run serves another purpose too.

  The hounds’ howls continue to follow him, even if they grow more distant with each intent-fueled jump. Or they were growing more distant, until an answering howl comes from ahead of Alex again. “Oh son of a bitch…” Alex huffs as he adjusts his course to angle away from where he thinks the sound is coming from.

  Corvus wings down to glide just a foot above Alex’s head. “Our pursuers may be beasts, but that does not mean they are unintelligent.” The crow says as Alex prepares to make another jump.

  When the world snaps back into focus, Alex replies. “Yeah, no shit.” He growls out between huffs of breath. “Ambushes, tracking, long distance pursuit. ‘Hound’ is fucking accurate.” With his focus on his continued movement, Alex doesn’t really care that he was snapping a bit.

  Another haunting howl joins the hunt from Alex’s left, closer this time. He adjusts his course again. Bracing himself for the inevitable migraine, Alex makes several jumps in quick succession. He barely pauses long enough to pick another landmark to move towards before activating the Intent-movement again. The hound’s howl changes pitch behind him, even as it falls further away with each leap.

  Briefly, Alex considers another long-distance Intent-movement jump to bounce back to the other surface of the cavern. But after a look up to gauge the terrain, he abandons that idea. From what he can see, the ground there is littered with sharp stone stalagmites. Navigating that would be a nightmare, even if he could avoid skewering himself on one with the leap.

  His train of thought is derailed when a series of howls pick up the call. Not as close, but still worrying. Alex angles off to the right. “How many of these things are out here?” He complains in exasperation.

  Despite being rhetorical, Corvus answers. “This region has no governing entity holding the territory. Its owner relinquished their Animus ages ago, and allowed themself to be destroyed. The Territory turned wild. There’s been no attempt to cull their numbers as long as they don’t venture into the neighboring lands.”

  Alex listens, somewhat glad for the mild distraction from the burning in his legs and lungs. His head isn’t fairing much better, feeling like an icepick is being driven into the backs of his eye-sockets. But the Stone Hellhounds aren’t willing to let him have time to recover. A pair of sonorous voices raise the alert in their haunting tones and Alex is forced to deviate again to avoid the sound to his left.

  Alex is about to initiate another jump, but pulls up short. He skids to a halt, sending a scattering of pebbles flying. “SHIT!” He snarls, whipping his head around to make sure there’s no immediate threat. “The damn things have been herding me. They keep driving me to turn right.” He pants, chest heaving as he tries to get as much air as he can. His shirt is basically soaked though, and his pants aren’t much better. “A couple more turns and I’d be headed right back towards the bigger group.” He says between huffs.

  Corvus swoops down and perches on the knapsack. “You are correct. This is their primary tactic if the initial ambush fails. Trust your observations, you have the right instincts for this.” He says, notably not giving Alex any insights into what he should be doing to avoid them.

  Alex narrows his eyes as his gaze sweeps the area. No large boulders in sight, just scrub-brush and a few larger trees starting to appear. He closes his eyes and tries to steady his breathing, working to recapture the clarity of mind. But before he can mentally reorient himself, another howl cuts through his focus. This time it’s in the direction he had been traveling. The pitch and tone are different too. “I think they know I’m onto them.” He says, turning to his left at a random angle. He picks the furthest landmark he can see, a large tree with snake-like curling branches.

  On a gamble, Alex focuses on one of the lower limbs. Then he pushes off while kindling his intent. The world blurs in the familiar way, and then Alex is left airborne, arms and legs flailing. “Oh Sh-” With a heavy thud, Alex lands chest-first onto the thick limb, almost sliding off. But he manages to wrap his arms around the branch and halt his fall. With a groan, Alex heaves himself up, straddling the tree’s limb and scoots back to rest against the trunk.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Gulping air, Alex turns to look back to where he’d been a moment before. Seconds drag into minutes without another signal-howl. Then Alex sees movement. A hound approaches where he’d initiated the intent-movement. Then another. Then more. Alex’s eyes widen as more and more hounds appear. Before Alex gives up counting, there’s at least a dozen of them.

  The beasts sniff around, starting to track in the direction he’d moved. But after a few moments, their movements become unfocused. They circle back towards where he’d stepped off, then follow the trail again. One hound takes a snap at another that wanders too close, and promptly gets snapped back at. The whole group starts to snarl and bite at each-other. Then one by one, they start to disperse. Eventually only a couple hounds remain, settling down and adopting their boulder camouflage.

  Alex watches with rapt attention. “They lost me?” He mutters, a grin slowly spreading across his lips. “They seemed to lose the trail when I moved too far off the ground.” He observes, slowly relaxing more and more as the apparent danger passes. “I bet they think I’m hiding nearby again.”

  Corvus lands on another branch at about Alex’s head-height. “Most likely, yes.” He says, and is about to go into another explanation when Alex interrupts.

  Alex holds up a finger. “Hang on. There’s something I need answered.” He says, and Corvus’s beak closes. “You could warn me to run away from the doorman back in Last-Stop. You stopped me from going after him, then warned me about his attack.” Alex begins. “But out here, you didn’t warn me about the hellhounds until I already noticed them. You didn’t say anything when they had surrounded the spot I slept in. And now, you didn’t mention the herding until I already figured it out. What’s going on?” Alex asks, unable to keep a tinge of accusation from creeping into his voice.

  If crows could look indignant, Corvus was undoubtedly pulling it off. “Alex, I understand your frustration and confusion. The explanation I give will likely sound like semantics.” He sighs. “It is again tied to the limitations imposed upon me by my Title, and the nature of our Deal. With the ram-demon at The 1 Buffet, that moment was akin to me warning you that a path would be a dead-end. Had you followed through with your impulse, there was no outcome possible beyond your path ending. Had you stayed in place, your path would have ended. There was no chance that you would have been capable of overcoming that challenge. So as your guide, I steered you towards a path you could continue down.” He explains with utmost patience.

  Alex listens, wincing at the memory of how close he’d come to getting blasted like that bench. “Ok, yeah, I get that part. So what makes these hounds different?” He asks, his frustration having abated somewhat.

  Corvus nods. “The difference is in your capacity to handle the situation without my intervention. This fundamentally is a challenge you are capable of overcoming. As you demonstrated. I am a guide, as you asked me to be. I am not a nanny or nursemaid, nor do you need one.” Corvus says.

  “If I were to have instructed you on how to handle the situation, I would have robbed you of potential growth. If I were to have warned you directly about the ambush, I would have removed a potential for failure. I would have been closing your pathways, rather than guiding you. Even if a path would lead you towards a worse outcome, it is still your path to choose.” He continues, pacing back and forth on the branch.

  Alex follows Corvus with his eyes. “So you have to let me make mistakes, as long as the mistake wouldn’t lead to an immediate end?” He asks, wiping some sweat off of his face. “So wait, does that mean you can see the future? You know when a ‘path’ is going to dead-end?” Alex gives Corvus a perplexed look.

  The crow ruffles his feathers and stretches his wings before answering. “I do have to allow you to make mistakes and fail. I would be a poor guide if not. As for future-sight, that is an ability I do not possess, nor desire.” Corvus shakes his head. “No. What I do have is a sense of when I should speak up, or when I should remain quiet. Think of it as an instinctive impulse. I ‘feel’ when to act or not. Over time I have learned to anticipate when those moments present themselves. And that allows me to better assess not just when, but how, to offer guidance.”

  Alex listens, accepting the explanation for the most-part. “But you’ve also withheld information when you felt that knowing it would limit me. So really, what you’re doing is making sure I have the biggest number of available paths, and then helping me once I’ve chosen which one to take.” Alex surmises.

  “Exactly so.” Corvus affirms. The pair lapse into a companionable silence. Alex’s sore body desperately needed the rest after pushing so hard. With the hounds having retreated, the ambient sounds of Hell start to pick up again. Alex hears other sounds of life nearby. And with cautious glances, he sees the signs of movement among the scrub. A mouse-like creature with three tails scurries between the bushes. A few birds flit between trees, some having more wings than would seem natural. Alex even catches sight of what appears like a large elk, but the creature has no eyes and an extra pair of antlers.

  Alex takes it all in, enjoying the calm after the hectic chase across Hell’s badlands. “Hey Corvus?” Alex says softly so as not to disturb the critters below. The crow lets out a lil caw. “Thanks. I appreciate what you’ve been doing for me.” He says, leaning his head back against the tree. It had only been a few hours since he slept, but the hard run had already worn him out. The chance to rest is something he can’t take for granted..

  “It is my pleasure, Alex. Deal or not, I am enjoying this as well.” Corvus answers with a touch of warmth to his voice.