Bruce wordlessly handed him the handkerchief and Lucas started cleaning himself from all the blood that accumulated on his body during reclamation of the prison. Bruce’s prediction that it will be lightly guarded was proven true, but Lucas was still surprised at the incompetence of the guards at the main gate. Anyway, he focused on what the Bruce was saying.
“… and they will come to draw us out. But, with a massive rout that took place, it will take some time for them to hear what happened here and organize a serious answer. So, some of you I do know, but still we should introduce to each other. I will start” Bruce said and went into explanation who he is and what is this whole thing they were doing. Spurred by Bruce, the rest of them started introducing themselves. Most of them were locals, some burgeoning adventures arrested during the night of the occupation and bigger share of people were crafters, people who weren’t ready to give up on the progress they worked so hard to achieve. But, the two people who caught Lucas’s eye were a man and a woman that were one of the last to introduce themselves. When the time came, they gave short answers that they aren’t from here and foolishly ignored the rumors about Camp Hearth, trying only to pass through it to shave some traveling time from their destination. The moment they set foot on the plaza, however, they got into an ambush and given the option to either go back to level 25 or taken to prison. Seeing they were in the prison, Lucas knew what choice they made. He was the last one to introduce himself and a lot of people cringed when he started talking, the massacre he committed still fresh in everybody’s memory. Anyways, with introduction out the way, Bruce returned to the planning of their next move. When prompted, Lucas took a container carrying all of their most precious materials out of the ring and put it in front of the crafters, their looks one of pure astonishment. Braver amongst them took a step forward and started inspecting what was on offer, pearls predictably the ones getting the lion’s share of attention. Even adventurers stepped to inspect, their eyes focusing on pieces of Naga armaments which still waited for a retrofit. Lucas was delighted at the interests everybody showed at the loot, his eyes still mostly on two strangers. The woman was taller of the pair, but not by a large margin. Her slender form was comely even the gray prison garb, proportions on her face perfect, topped by the pair of bright green eyes. The man shared a lot of features with the woman, relaying they were, if not brother and sister, some kind of relatives. They noticed his staring and, after a little bit of hesitation, they crossed the distance and stood in front of him.
“Hey, Lucas, right? I’m Ted” the man was first to introduce himself, Lucas taking the offered hand and shaking it.
“Maggie” the woman was shorter, prompting Ted to roll his eyes.
“Relax, Mags. My little sister is a bit guarded when it comes to new people” Ted explained.
“It’s okay” Lucas spoke. He was still numb from the massacre he committed and although Bruce handkerchief did his job, removing the layers of blood that were on him, he still looked intimidating. The conversation Bruce had was still in the direction of the logistics, with only interesting information being that he expected the counter – attack to come in three days. He returned to the pair that interested him so much.
“What brought you to this hellhole?” Lucas asked.
“As we already said, we just wanted to take a shortcut. A nice bed and a warm meal also wouldn’t hurt. All those rumors we heard we thought as exaggerated. We were wrong, and now I guess we owe you our lives” Ted explained.
“Don’t mention it” Lucas said, his ears perking as Bruce part of the conversation finally moved from the logistics to the concrete parts. Once again, Lucas was asked to take something out of his ring, this time it was pearl – carrying shells he gathered at the wreckage dungeon. Everyone gathered put out a gasp as they identified the shells, the wheels in their head spinning to come to the same conclusion that Bruce and Lucas already arrived. While everyone else marveled at the pearls, Bruce sauntered to the Lucas and the pair.
“Making friends?” he asked “Anyways, there is a quick task if you are up for it?”
Lucas nodded, and Bruce explained the details. He was to visit some of the workshops in the Crafters row, where he was to extract tools and some additional materials for their crafters. Hopefully, he was to finish his task before the curfew came, to avoid any complications. Nodding, Lucas prepared to leave, before Ted stopped him.
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“Let us come with you.” he simply said. Lucas looked at both of them, Ted resolved and Maggie sure. He simply nodded.
“We have to found you some new clothes” he said, seeing how their prison garb could bring unwanted attention. They found some of the uniforms that were stripped from dead troopers and after some time in private both of them came changed. They clearly were uncomfortable in those uniforms, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Getting rifles which Lucas now had in exorbitant amount, they were off. From there, Lucas first inspected them to see how fast were they able to move and was pleasantly surprised to see both Maggie and Ted were able to follow him at the reasonable pace. His first impression about them was excellent and that made him admit how much he missed having competent teammates. They zoomed through the streets of Camp Hearth, only once or twice being forced to change their direction due to the troopers patrolling the streets. Guessing the little altercation at the gate was noticed, Lucas didn’t want to take any risks, which surprised even himself. But he had a pretty eventful week and although most of the wounds were still fresh, they had changed him.
“Is this new Lucas better or worse remains to be seen” he deduced mentally and quickly clamped down on that line of thinking, choosing instead to focus on the task ahead. They were mightily close to the Crafters row and soon they were standing at the beginning of it. Lucas quickly recalled where Bruce said he needs to go and they quickly searched for the first place. A boarded workshop greeted them and with a quick glances all around, Ted took his rifle like a club and quickly broken all of the boards. They entered and Lucas quickly put everything they were able to found into his ring. They repeated the process in next four workshops, every one of them abandoned. Approaching the last one, they saw boards were already removed. That put them on high alert and they entered carefully. Inside of the workshops, three men and a woman were busy looting everything that wasn’t nailed to the ground into big bags. They all wore familiar uniforms and after a squeak of the door alerted them to the newcomers, they jumped and pointed the rifles at the door. They relaxed after registering the uniforms Ted and Maggie worn.
“So, they finally decided to send us reinforcements. There is a lot of stuff to requisition. Here, take this” he said, throwing a bag at Lucas. He took it with one hand and started packing everything. A confused glance was thrown his way by the pair and Lucas simply nodded to them. They helped him pack everything and with three extra pairs of hands, the workshop was quickly emptied. After everything was said and done, Lucas simply took out his sword and opened the slaughter with a “Spin strike”. Circling around one of the troopers, striking at his exposed back. To their credit, Ted and Maggie quickly caught up, Ted already charging with his rifle that he still used as a club. Maggie on the other hand just opened fire, her aim unsure as she lacked any real training in using rifles. It proved to matter little, however, the troopers quickly overwhelmed by the sheer surprise of the attack. Incapacitating the last one with a “Stinging cut”, they quickly tied them up. They took a quick deliberation, arguing whether they should kill them or not. They decided to leave them like that, Lucas still going by the Bruce playbook of showing mercy to force desertion and mass surrenders from the troopers. They picked up their pace, Lucas taking everything they packed into his ring, and marched back towards the prison. The streets were starting to empty out, curfew soon beginning. The fact that curfew was even a thing, not to mention it began at five o’clock in the afternoon was really annoying Lucas. He just couldn’t figure out why the people accepted that without any pushback. He remembered the talk he had with Bruce, wondering if the traditionalist propaganda and returning to the law and order speech they fed the populace were really so effective.
“By the looks of it, it certainly seems that way.” Lucas was forced to agree with Bruce, even though every fiber of his being screamed that was wrong. If the people just stood up, even the biggest advantage troopers had, that of numbers, would be nullified. But the people were now clearing the streets, going back to their homes. Wasting their days and nights and ultimately, their lives. It had to end and people should be able to choose what they want to do, not being forced to anything. And there was only one way to end all of this, do as Bruce says and kill the General.
“I can do that” Lucas mentally said while he was jumping over the wall of the prison. He dropped down back to the wing of the political prisoners where everybody was busy taking care of the shell or sorting through the various crafting materials. Taking everything they brought out of the ring, he was greeted with a chorus of cheers and a satisfied look from Bruce.
“Go rest now” Bruce said and Lucas immediately found one of the cells, dropping into the bed like a bag of bricks.