The entranceway and common room was a mess. There were fragments of the shattered door mixed in with makeshift barricades. Smoke was heavy in the air, remnants from the explosions and smokers being used in a confined space. Several residents of the mine were hidden beyond the barricades and tensed as they saw us approach, relaxing when they recognized Arthur.
“It’s safe now. You can tell everyone we will have a town meeting in the mess hall in an hour” Arthur told them. He led us towards the foreman quarters and closed the door to the office behind us. I settled in on one of the wooden chairs that were part of the room upgrade as Arthur and Captain Tuol did the same.
“So Tuol, where do we go from here? You tracked us to our new home and attacked us. You killed some of my friends today.” Arthur said in a low, intense voice before continuing. “Some would argue it would be safest to just kill the lot of you. Send a message back to the King that he’s not welcome here.”
That was not how I expected this conversation to begin. I wasn’t sure if Arthur was using a negotiation tactic or if that was how he truly felt. Well out of my depths in this situation I took a back seat and allowed Arthur to do the talking. Marci let out a shrill chirp from my shoulder and voiced her agreement with Arthur. The falcon was angry.
Captain Tuol let the silence stew for a minute. He was clearly a man used to intense situations, he didn’t seem phased at all by the prospect of death. “I think we both know you won’t do that Arthur. As gratifying as it would be, the consequences would be enormous. You don’t know what the King is like now. He’s become paranoid, obsessed with leveling and gaining power. He’s a non combat class, he can only level by completing quests and reigning as King.”
Captain Tuol considered his words before speaking again. “I’ll let you in on a little secret for old friendships sake. The King has a quest to subjugate the entire kingdom, should be easy right? We are all citizens of Eter. Well not anymore, the framework decided that several border towns and various other places would become towns, such as this mine, unaffiliated to Eter. He can’t complete his quest until that changes.”
“Not everyone is so keen to join or rejoin Eter. He has sent emissaries to every unaffiliated town. Those who won’t join or are dragging their feet get a special army unit, such as this one, to force them to comply. Then there's Sylar here.”
Captain Tuol turned to look in my direction for the first time since the conversation started. “The leader of the nation that invaded his, unannounced and unprovoked, and murdered his citizens is the highest level in the known world. The second highest? A teenager a few months post graduation from the stryker academy, thought killed in a scouting mission. Wanted for murder of his squad and suspicion of being a Norx ally if not an outright asset.”
My eyes must have given away my surprise at what the Captain said regarding my squad. “I didn’t murder them! It was an accident! The framework gave me a...”
“Sylar.” Arthur said, giving me a look to stay quiet. As badly as I wanted to defend myself and clear my name, I trusted Arthur completely.
“We know you murdered them. There is a feature of the framework you might not know about all the way out here. Probably not even in Burch. The King spent some of the town points of Etes on a graveyard that displays the tombstone of all dead citizens. You pay a small fee in silver or trade and can view the tombstone of anyone you know the name of. It only works if the person is dead. On that tombstone it lists how they died and what or who killed them. You are listed for all four members of your former squad Sylar.” The Captain said with distaste.
“So you take a former lieutenant general of the first army that was stripped of rank by the King. Then a treasonous criminal interferes with and attacks a rightfully appointed mayor of a town of Eter performing his duties. Said former lieutenant general flees the town with this criminal and holes up in the forest. The King believes you are fomenting an insurrection, Sylar. You are his highest priority until you are brought in or killed.” Captain Tuol finished.
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“That's madness Tuol. The kid is 18, he’s not about to lead an insurrection against a sitting monarch.” Arthur shot back.
“Doesn’t matter how old he is Arthur, the King doesn’t care if Sylar is the one at the head, or if it's you.” Captain Tuol responded with a pointed look.
“Ah. I understand now.” Arthur said after a minute of contemplation. He turned to look at me and said “the last conversation I had with the King did not end well. He asked if I thought I would be a better King and I answered truthfully, that many would make a better King. That’s the actual reason for him stripping my rank and banishing me from the capital.”
“Why do you still follow his orders Tuol? If you are willing to blatantly admit his paranoia, question his decisions? Arthur asked.
“It’s not so simple Arthur,” Tuol shook his head sadly, “the framework, it...enforces his orders.” He took a moment to consider his words but started again before Arthur could interrupt. “It can’t make you follow them, and you can be creative with how you choose to complete them. As soon as you disobey or refuse an order from a superior the system marks you. Whomever you gave the order to will get a notification. My family lives in Etes Arthur, The King has placed the families of all captains and above under guard. If we disobey, our families will be imprisoned or worse.”
“Madness!” Arthur yelled, standing up and slamming his fist on the desk. “Why do the people of Etes standby and allow this?”
“They are scared Arthur. The world changed and left them weak. An average combat class human is now on par with the greatest soldiers of the world before the framework. They have skills that defy logic, the questing, the notifications, it's all overwhelming. The King provides safety and structure. The beast waves killed thousands, many homes in Etes go unused, shops closed down, entire neighborhoods abandoned. What do you expect of them?” Captain Tuol retorted.
“So what do we do now Tuol? You can’t disobey an order and I will not turn Sylar over to you.” Arthur stated blankly after calming down.
“I won’t be disobeying an order. As you well know standard army practice is that if a unit reaches a casualty rate of 5 in 10 we must immediately extricate and return to the closest city for resupply and await orders. We successfully tracked the former town members of Burch and identified the priority target. We established a defensive perimeter and engaged following standard practice. We were ambushed by a superior number of beasts under the control of Sylar. We will retreat and make our way back to Etes and report the failure of the mission. I cannot predict what the King's reaction will be. Just know that next time there may be the entire first army at your doorstep, not just my advance unit.”
“Understood.” Arthur replied. “We will need your soldiers to leave all weapons and armor behind as well any supplies not critical for the march back to Etes.”
“You will not make any friends among the rank and file with that decision Arthur.” Captain Tuol replied coldly.
“I do not need friends among those who would attack citizens of Eter, compelled by a paranoid mad King or not.” Arthur replied just as coldly.
The two stared at each other and the chill in the room was not only from the dropping temperature. Forcing the soldiers to leave behind weapons and supplies seemed antagonistic to me but I had trusted Arthur this far. Captain Tuol suddenly stood and gave a stiff nod to Arthur before making his way out of the office, and the mine. He announced the conditions of surrender to his soldiers to vocal displeasure. The soldiers were almost at the point of refusing the order.
Sensing the tension in the air, Halev pounded his chest and roared. The forest apes pounded their chests in response and roared back. The soldiers, reminded of the situation they were in, complied after a tense few moments.
I stood next to Arthur in the clearing watching the soldiers remove their armor and gather only the supplies they could carry for the march. They were taking more than they needed surely but Arthur remained silent, his point made. When they were ready they formed ranks and marched out of the clearing in a westward direction towards the great plain north of Etes. They would travel the path back to Burch and from Burch it was a five day march to Etes. We had bought one week of peace with our victory here. We had Survived.