Before he left the market and continued with his day, Nick had some more trading to do. After a few hours spent perusing the various wares and making offers, he was able to barter a pile of raw resources for some smoked meat and dried fruit that would stay good for a few weeks, especially with the minor preservation effect that his bag now provided. He was already feeling good about his exchanges when he caught the scent of freshly baked bread, a delectable aroma that he had last smelled in another life.

To his delight, someone had learned how to make travel bread from a grain-bearing plant growing along the marsh. Dense loaves with the moisture baked out that should last for a while without molding. He traded for ten of them plus a small prybar, a rope ladder, and a handsaw. Nick swapped the tools and the loaves for some odds and ends from his pack, along with a bundle of kindling and a fat pile of tubers that he’d picked up while crossing the bog.

His last acquisition of the day was a simple leather cap that came down to just above his ears. It wasn’t modified or special in any way, but the armor would help to keep a glancing blow from giving Nick a concussion or cracking his skull. An outcome that he’d been worried about ever since running into the spear-tongue frogs during his early days on the marsh. While it was lighter than he preferred, the cap didn’t restrict his hearing or reduce his field of view, making it an upgrade with no real downside.

Nick wound up leaving the market with more supplies than he’d been hoping to find. Enough to extend the party’s provisions by several days, bringing their combined stores to over a week’s worth of food for five people. Maybe I’ll have enough time to top things off by catching and smoking a few dozen fish before we enter the tower.

On his way out, he slowed his pace, meandering long enough to eavesdrop on various groups he walked past. What Nick heard was alarming. If he understood the matter properly, Jim’s team had taken over by force rather than mutual agreement, and not everyone was happy with the result. It appeared that he was grouping the strongest people together, forming elite teams while leaving the rest to fend for themselves.

The best gear was going to those hand-picked squads, along with choice door assignments that were closest to the gathering. People who complained were silenced with intimidation and thinly veiled threats, and several of them had vanished mysteriously during the night. The official story was that they had been ambushed by beasts, but the rumors implied that Jim was responsible.

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If disaster struck, the elite groups would have an easy time making it into the tower, but everyone else would have to rush to the far side. Some of them were camping there already just in case, which meant that they had to do without the various protections everyone in the main gathering had been provided.

This isn’t right. Jim’s sacrificing the weakest among us instead of trying to have as many people survive as possible. And he’s ruthlessly silencing any dissent from what I’m hearing, although no one has been able to prove anything yet.

Worried about what this development entailed for the future of team Earth, Nick realized that he had another stop to make before he went to join his friends. He needed to learn more about Jim and his followers, so that he could decide what to do about it.

In the end, he figured that the best way to proceed was to hear straight from the horse’s mouth. After a long moment of deliberation, Nick decided to sneak up to Jim’s campsite and learn what the man was planning firsthand.

Before he was willing to risk confrontation, Nick needed to lay the groundwork for his investigation. He began by making a lazy circuit of the area where Jim and his crew had pitched their tents, on the lookout for sentries or other people who might object to his presence. He had only met Jim, Elizabeth, and Ken so far, but Nick assumed that more people belonged to their faction, given how effortlessly they had established dominance over the rest.

He eventually spotted a pair of blond teenagers who were trying not to draw attention to themselves. They were standing near a big tent in the middle of the camp with a ring of gear piled around the exterior. There. That must be the command tent where Jim is orchestrating their operation.

Thanks to his diligent stealth training during the tutorial, a practice that Nick had continued while crossing the marsh, he was able to make his way around the back of the tent without drawing attention to himself.

When the sentries were looking the other way, he ducked between a pile of firewood and what appeared to be sheets of leather drying on a rack, making himself as small as he could. After a few nervous minutes spent looking over his shoulder, Nick was satisfied that no one had noticed his intrusion so far.

Now, how do I find out what’s really going on? He took a long look around, learning what he could from the provisions piled nearby, before deciding that if he really wanted to investigate Jim’s intentions, he was going to have to head inside the tent. He looked for a place where the covering was loose as his adrenaline began to flow.

Nick reached down and grabbed the bottom of the fabric, getting ready to duck under, when the sound of voices drawing near made him freeze in place.