Chapter 93: War Never Changes
War. It was a possibility that was always just on the horizon, something even the old Will had been cognisant of despite his limited knowledge of the world. They were known to happen without fail every few decades, and it had been a while since the last one, to the point where people joked that the next one was overdue. There was never any talk about world peace here in Frontier, unlike back on Earth, where idealists still dared to dream of a world without conflict. That was easy to imagine, when the only species capable of taking part were humans; even if they never came close to the reality, it still remained a possibility in theory; when there were endless hordes of monsters up north that craved the flesh and blood of mankind, that calculation changed drastically.
According to the old myths, attempts had been made to exterminate the monsters in the distant past, grand crusades that embarked beyond the walls led by mighty heroes who performed deeds worthy of song by the day. Those same myths never spoke of the outcome of such expeditions, and the last such attempt was centuries ago, yet the monsters remained: the outcome was fairly clear in that respect. By the time of my grandfather, the notion of peace had become a very practical thing: if there wasn’t an active, large-scale incursion past the walls, then humanity was at peace. Eventually, that would change, the seasons turned, and the monsters always came back.
“Wirerrrlrllllzzzkpt-”
Amelia tried to speak my name just then, perhaps to issue further orders or to give some kind of warning, but whatever she was trying to say devolved into meaningless gibberish before abruptly cutting off. The Adjudicator vanished in a final puff of smoke, and at the same time, I felt a noticeable weight sink into me; nothing debilitating, but enough to tell me that something was wrong.
[Long distance communications blocked.]
My attempt to call Amelia again didn’t even pass the first hurdle, though this time the System gave me the reason outright, which again indicated a change in approach by the aggressors, having abandoned stealth in favour of maximum disruption.
“I can’t reach any of the old crowd living beyond Heaven’s Reach,” Kyle spoke up a moment later, confirming that he was suffering from the same issue.
A wide scaled disruption of communications; truly a textbook manoeuvre in the immediate lead run up to boots on the ground. Another tremor ran through the ground, dislodging dust from the ceiling older than I was.
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“Let’s go,” I decided, suiting action to words as Kyle fell in behind me, both of us beginning the climb back up the stairs.
I had no idea what awaited us there, but given the choice, I’d rather face danger on the surface than run the risk of being buried alive; I wasn’t necessarily afraid of death, having experienced it already, but that still ranked pretty high on the list of the worst ways to go. The Warden was nowhere to be seen when we emerged back on the first proper floor, while the guards paid far more attention to us too. There were far fewer of them now, just four to a floor, their knuckles white as they gripped their batons for dear life.
“ES3, copy. S plus, estimate?”
Occasionally, one of them would bark out a code phrase as we passed, likely already on the line to what passed for their command structure, but I had no time to dig into the matter, choosing instead to press on as fast as we could while following their example.
[Pumpkin - Level 4 Cat.
Call connected.]
“What’s going on?” I barked, relieved that short distance communications still worked.
“Everything’s on fire!” Pumpkin replied succinctly, while the wails of the damned sang around him. “I’ve got Harvey with me, we’re heading back to the inn!”
“We’ll meet you there.”
[Call ended.]
As our brief check up ended, we finally made it back out onto the surface, and got our first look at the damage. Pumpkin had been right, everything was on fire; thick plumes could be seen in the distance, converging upwards to envelop the top of Heaven’s Reach in a searing hellscape. We got off light, I realised, the relative cold down at ground level forcing the smoke away towards warmer climes. We still weren’t safe though, as more than a few houses had caught on fire, the blaze slowly spreading from one terrace to the next, helped by the densely packed nature of city construction. We ran past the lot, ignoring the men and women frantically pulling their possessions out of their homes, or trying desperately to fight the fire.
[Owen Goal - Level 1 Civilian
Mike Hawk - Level 1 Farmer
Noah Deer - Level 1 Merchant]
Despite there being more people out than when we arrived, most were too preoccupied to notice our flight, but a few bucked the trend, turning towards us with abject despair on their faces, pleas for help at the tip of their tongues. Before I could tell them to mind their own business, all three of the busybodies pitched forward, a bolt in each of their right eyes. Behind me, Kyle reloaded his hand crossbow all while keeping pace with me, his lips thin and eyes filled with resolve and slight regret.
[Hydra’s Teeth: Bolts are envenomed upon firing and dissolve after thirteen seconds.]
“Can’t use stealth while running, so this is for the best. Last thing we need is people telling tales and blaming us for tonight.”
It was a commendable display of ruthlessness, to be expected from a veteran adventurer who grew up in the bad part of town. I just nodded once, before returning my attention to our outbound flight. We made really good time, running at full pelt, and even made it most of the way back to the merchant’s district by the time the first monsters spawned, emerging from sickly green pools of bile to bar our path.
[Skeleton Soldier - Level 5]