Story:Alto/Chapter 2

Birds sing, the morning sun shines through the forest, and a quiet river flows under a water wheel. A young man stands inside the kitchen of his forest shack, a pot resting on red hot coals as he cooks up his morning breakfast. A simple meal, containing mostly grain stored at the nearby wheelhouse and some bird meat he had hunted for earlier. Its bland taste is exactly why he makes it.

As it is a meal that largely cooks itself. It gives him time to get ready for the day. He had been called into town the previous night. For what, he wouldn’t know. But if they were calling for him then it must be serious.

They only ask for the outsider when nobody can come to an agreement.

Despite this he was under no time crunch. So long as he got there that day, they would wait for him. The town knew that the young man moved at a pace more fitting for his elders. This is part of why they valued him. Slow, methodical, and careful was every action he made.

Though that didn’t give him an excuse to waste their time. Once he had finished his breakfast it wouldn’t take long for the young man to put on his shirt, pants, boots, and knapsack. Despite not being one for fashion, he did make an effort to look presentable. Though he sometimes wondered if his brown jacket, with its decorative sleeves, was a bit much for the small town he lived near.

Yet the main purpose of the jacket and boots was to protect him while walking through the forest. Early mornings was a time when he would often step on mud and have to contend with the forest’s annoyance of his desire for the path untamed. But regardless of the silent protest, such resistance is what made him happy to walk through it. Finding ways to walk with the forest while seemingly going against it is an activity he cherished. To the point where, even when finding an arboreal wall, he would refuse to harm the plants stopping him.

The young man began his walk through town just the same as any other; he peered from building to building. The farmlands were hugged between the city center and his forest home, and he enjoyed watching the hard workers. It was because of them that few had to hunt like he chose to. The outsider and the farmers had a good relationship as well. His job was mostly to care for the water wheel and make sure that it could make flour and fabric out of the raw material he was given.

Thankfully his walk didn’t require any approach towards the overglorified factory that rested within this ring. He wasn’t a fan of Kevor setting up his workshop within the farmlands of town. Though it seemed as though both Kevor and Clyde had left for the meeting by now. A sign that he may have been running more late than he initially thought. But this wouldn’t deter him from stopping to smell the flowers. He waved and chatted with the people of his town while he walked through, not a care in his mind.

This especially became true when he hit the middle ring of the city.

The homes of all who don’t work in the fields were located here. Some of the residents of this small town even ran little shops out of their living rooms. Though the town had no official currency, people mostly bartering for goods and services, they often treated food like coin. Because of that there was a saying within the town that the young man often held close to his heart.

“Having your weight in grain made you rich. But having friends and family to share that grain with made you wealthy.” And so he brought vegetables from his garden into town, trading it for things he would need when he returned home and giving some to those he felt needed it more than himself or the merchants. Besides, he could only carry so much while still having to navigate home.

Then came the inner ring. Here was the library, shrine, gathering halls, and the Grand Tower. The tower had many names. Sky Pillar, Heaven’s Tower, Beacon of Alto. Everyone called it something else. But to the young man, it was simply the Grand Tower.

“Grigori!” He recognized the impatient voice. There stood a man dressed in chain and gambeson. He gave a smile to the annoyed glare.

“Ryo. My apologies for being late.” Grigori’s airy voice and lighthearted tone was accompanied with a chuckle.

“Why do you never take these meetings seriously?” A blond haired man covered in soot and dressed in overalls asked. Grigori refused to answer him, knowing that it would only lead to an argument.

“It’s strange to see you dressed in your armor, Ryo. Is there something special happening today?” Grigori tilted his head slightly as he asked. An annoyed grunt was heard from the blond man due to being ignored.

“I had explained as much already.” Ryo’s initial answer granted him a look of disappointment. “Today I am travelling into the tower. Dahlia and Clyde had already cautioned me against this, worry not. But it is something I simply must do.”

Grigori looked over to a older, rugged man and a young girl. The man was dressed not dissimilarly to the hard working farmers, with only a pistol at his hip and his advanced age showing a difference between himself and them. The girl was quite the opposite. Her light brown hair and green dress were very clean and well kept. Especially when compared to other four standing at the tower’s base. He then turned back to Ryo. “Then why was I called here? It sounds like your mind is plenty made up.”

Ryo sighed as the rugged man answered.

“With a counsel of four, we’d run into problems.” His voice was rough and slow. “Should we ever be tied on a vote, we would be unable to break it. Which seems counterintuitive to me.”

“Why not bring in someone new to take his place while he is gone?”

“Or just let me not be apart of this weird decision stuff...” Her displeasure to be part of the council wasn’t new. Grigori shared a look with the reluctant councilwoman before the two looked to the rugged man in unison.

“If the people had a sixth man they trusted, we’d have brought him or her in. But no such person exists. As is, each of us fill a very important role to the town.” Grigori’s eyes went wide. “Wait, so is there none to replace Ryo in the council or his shrine?” Four sets of eyes went to Ryo. The significance of this question gathered the attention of onlookers who had been hanging around as well.

“I’m surprised you’re the first to bring it up, Grigori. And no, I do not. But I put faith in the people to decide how to conduct themselves while I’m gone.” Ryo admitted.

“I dunno. Sometimes when I return home from coming into town, my shrine will have people hanging around with no clue what they’re doing.” The girl pointed out in response. Ryo’s glare turned to her.

“Yours fills a much different purpose than mine, Dahlia. The Shrine of the Earth is meant to be a communication point between the living and the dead. The Shrine of the Sky is between mortal and immortal.” Both Dahlia and the blond man scoffed at Ryo’s harsh reminder.

“Not all of the spirits are ghosts, y’know.” Dahlia pointed out. Though, with the exception of Grigori, such words would fall on deaf ears. But she knew they would before she said it.

“It’s all rubbish anyways.” The blond grumbled. He squatted down, resting his chin on one hand. “The dude’s going to go into the tower and find nothing. I’m calling it right now.”

“Kevor,” Ryo gripped a sword at his hip, “how dare you-”

“Both of you, calm down.” Grigori called out. They both looked at him, as it was rare for Grigori to raise his voice “We’ll make our decision once Ryo leaves. Then when he returns, the five of us will reconvene.”

They silently agreed. Ryo walked up to the twin, stone doors leading into the tower. He gazed upon them for a moment. So unremarkable, they were. Nothing about them seemed special. Yet he went inward regardless, pushing the doors open and gazing around the inner room. Grigori could hear his excitement and disappointment at the blank, inner sanctum.

Just like all who went in before, the doors closed on their own.