One of the benefits of his storage device was that he could pack up and leave within seconds in any situation, rather than having to bring all of his goods and chattels along with him. As he followed the path made out of footsteps, more joined into the trail, some of which were far larger than that of Edgar’s. Jonathan frowned. He was beginning to get worried.

The trail started to widen the further he went, and it seemed to lead to a small town in the distance. It was looking more and more likely that Edgar had been captured. Jonathan picked up his pace, racing along the path at hundreds of miles per hour. He reached the town a few minutes later, and stopped in front of the gates. From inside, he could hear Edgar’s voice, speaking animatedly. He let out a sigh of relief. It seemed as if the man was safe for now.

Jonathan knocked on the gates, and waited until someone responded. The gates swung open slightly to reveal the slightly bored looking face of a town guard, who paled upon seeing Jonathan, clad in expensive armor and weapons as he was. Jonathan seized the side of the gate and pulled it wide open, walking in. The guard fell backwards, but Jonathan paid him no heed.

In the center of the town, where there seemed to be some sort of town square, Edgar stood upon a pillar of swirling wind, extolling the virtues of Jonathan’s mission. As far as he could tell, Edgar was trying to convert these people to their goal of freeing the Ash Heaps from the clutches of Granath.

“What has Granath ever done for your people? You are left to rot out in this desolate corner of the realm while that worm and his cronies feast upon the spoils of the world in their citadel. When was the last time you ever shared in that wealth?”

Along with Edgar’s natural charm, there was an undercurrent of a more powerful sort, likely stemming from his Politician skill. This allowed him to capture the attention of the townspeople, and all of them were gazing at him raptly. Upon hearing his final question, a few brave souls cried out their disagreement. Heartened by this, Edgar kept going.

“I say that it is time to end all of this! An end to the suffering that you share with the true people of this realm. Granath is but a stooge of the higher Hell circles, and he is here not for your benefit, but to feast upon your souls! The simple truth is that most of us here are not here because of any sin, but because of a cabal of uncaring gods that value their own ego over the lives of their creations!” A few people in the crowd tried to hush Edgar, but he spoke even louder. “What are you afraid of? There are no gods here! They treat us like playthings that they can just discard at a moment’s whim, without a care in the world. Well, no more! The first step is rebellion against our current citation. What do you say, Jonathan?”

Everyone turned to Jonathan, who was standing at the side of the crowd, watching Edgar in interest. It looked like it was time for him to join in. He would have some words with Edgar about simply walking away later. He started up towards the middle of the crowd, speaking as he did so.

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“When I came to this realm, I was the meanest of beings, the weakest of creatures to walk this world. However, I refused to give in, and as a result I grew and grew in power, stealing from under the very nose of Granath, and even killing one of his Tier 2 lackeys. It is a long and hard journey that I walk along, but it is one that is not a choice. It is not optional. It is the only way that we will ever be free!” By this point, Jonathan had stopped, regarding every member of the crowd. “I know that this will be true, for I am not just any man. I am the Hellbreaker!”

Jonathan sent out the description of his quest to everyone in the vicinity, eliciting a series of gasps from them. At this point, Granath already knew who he was, and a little extra information would not cause the worm to search for him any harder. To his surprise, most of the crowd knelt in front of him, but a few ran off towards the gates, heading out into the ash. He let them go. There was really not much that they could do in any case. Jonathan walked up by Edgar and gave the man a pointed look. Edgar looked a little bit abashed, but he hid it for the benefit of the crowd.

“Now, will you join our crusade? We are not asking you to do much, save for preparing for the day that your freedom comes. When that time comes, you must be ready, for the new world will need stewards.”

That declaration was met with a deafening cheer, and Edgar smiled. Jonathan smiled as well and then grabbed the man’s arm, tugging him towards a nearby alleyway.

“What was that?” He asked as soon as he was out of earshot of the others.

“What do you mean? I saw an opportunity, and I took it. When I was out patrolling, I met a group of gatherers from this town, and they seemed to be impressed by my strength. In a town like this, so far from the center of the world, barely anyone likes Granath, and most of them hate him.”

“Don’t you think that they will be punished for this? We won’t be here to protect them.”

“Protect them from what? All they did was listen to us. Granath might be a monster, but he isn’t psychopathic. He won’t kill an entire town because his ego was tweaked.”

“I suppose you’re right. However, we need to keep going. We cannot linger here for any longer than we need to,” Jonathan suggested.

Edgar nodded in response, and the two men stepped back into the town square. They did not know it yet, but they had started something larger than either of them combined, the first spark of resistance against Granath and the Hells themselves. However, as of now, it simply was a single town that had been inspired to seek something beyond their origins.

A moment later, Edgar raised one fist for silence, interrupting the hubbub of the crowd.

“I can tell that you all are quite enthused about this, but I must implore you not to spread the word of this until the rebellion has actually started. I would hate for the forces of Granath to kill you out of hand simply because they believe that you are involved in this.”

The crowd fell silent, taking this message into heart. It was a sobering one, but one that was wise to heed. Although the seed of rebellion had been planted in their hearts and minds, it would be no good if it died with them. Jonathan was still a little bit miffed at the fact that Edgar had drawn them into this, but he supposed that the purpose was sound. Hopefully this would not backfire.