The plan was working. They had made it into the keep through the maintenance gate without issue. His men had done as promised, and cleared the guards. No one knew they were on the inside.
Lord Dorchen’s palms were covered in sweat, he couldn’t seem to slow his heart rate. Every second he waited for the ping was panic inducing. Finally, it came.
‘We’re in position to take the Center, we have confirmation that the heirs are on site. Awaiting the command.’ said the team leader tasked with acquiring the Cosgrave children.
He looked around at the eyes of his men, and saw their determination. The smell of the stables they were hiding in, couldn’t cover the stench of weapon oil and leather. They’d been preparing for this moment for years. Firming his resolve, his heart beat finally slowed, and he knew it was time.
Opening his link, he sent the official challenge for the seat of City Lord. Immediately after, he sent out the signal for all his teams to begin their assignments.
Two seconds later, all the links in the room lit up, and Lord Dorchen knew his son had succeeded in cutting off the city’s communications. ‘Now it’s my turn,’ he thought.
“All right men, it’s time for us to do our part. Remember, we isolate her in the throne room, and this war is as good as ours,” he said loudly. Turning toward the doors, he joined his men as they surged toward the castle.
There was no one to impede their journey through the gates, the guards were obviously busy dealing with the city wide link disruption. Everything was going to plan.
As he and his men were almost through the large entryway, the gate at the entrance slammed shut. The giant metal monstrosity was shockingly loud as it dug into the ground. Its impact did more than just injure several soldiers, the gate effectively kept half of his force outside the castle. Along the balcony, guards poured out carrying crossbows glowing with enchanted bolts. Lord Dorchen and his men watched as the doors along the walls slammed shut, sealing them in.
City Lord Heleema Cosgrave stood tall on the balcony at the end of the entryway, surrounded by her forces. With an essence assisted voice, her words echoed through the room.
“Lord Dorchen, your challenge is accepted. I assumed you’d bring a larger force, my preparations may be a bit much. Regardless, order your forces to stand down. Concede defeat and you’ll be turned over to the Populators, otherwise you’ll die here and now.”
Looking around, Dorchen realized it was over. Even if his men got the heirs, it wouldn’t matter. Either he fought to the death here, or he surrendered and the Populators executed him for treason. He was finished. Without options, he met the stare of the City Lord.
“Congratulations, and may your path remain wide and clear.” He said to an entryway shrouded in silence. With those final words, he activated his escape cloak. It cost more than a mansion in the inner ring, but you can’t spend money when you’re dead.
With a golden ‘pop’, he disappeared.
-----
Nero awoke to the site of a bruised ponce shaking him. “Are you alright?” the young man asked.
“I’m fine… did it work?” Nero asked, while raising himself to his elbows and looking around. The hallway was destroyed. The wall closest to the bomb had collapsed, and over his shoulder he saw the remains of the former guy-in-charge painted across the wall. He muttered, “I should have woken up in a hospital.”
Nero heard a voice quietly ask, “Ask him if he knows where the mage went?"
Noticing a head of auburn hair on his left, he realized these must be the Cosgroves. “What mage? And What happened to the last guard?” he asked, trying to force his brain to start working again.
The young man who had forced him awake said, “We took care of the last guard. We need to know what happened to the mage that killed these men. Is he a Wayfinder that didn’t hold to the accords? What can you tell us about him?”
Realizing that they didn’t know he was responsible for their freedom, he almost blurted out that he was the mage. But, something in the way the young man phrased the question caused Nero to hold off on taking credit. Feigning a look of confusion, Nero replied, “Why do you ask?”
The siblings exchanged a glance. Then the brother replied, “If he broke the accords we’d have to know his reason. There is a lot going on that you commoners aren’t privy too. If he belongs to a rival house, we’d have to offer compensation. It is not a good sign that he ran off after causing this much death and destruction. It’s a good thing that you’re covered in blood, and look the way you do. He must have thought you would be dead soon, or maybe he just wasn’t paying attention. Regardless, if he realized you were alive, you may have become his victim as well.” He stood up and looked around the hallway.
The young man added as an afterthought, “We wouldn’t have noticed you were alive either, if it weren’t for my sister. She is a prodigy in the field of psychic detection.”
The lady walked over and looked down at Nero who was still sitting on the ground. “Were you awake when the mage was here? Did you see them?” she asked while staring at Nero.
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Nero had a massive headache, and all his joints were sore. He was way too close to that last bomb. Deciding that he was no longer in the mood to play hero, Nero stood up and said, “I didn’t see a mage. Do the hallways or offices have cameras?”
The two of them traded glances again, this time the girl shook her head and shrugged. The man turned to Nero and replied, “There aren’t any visual recording devices here…. Who are you?”
Nero had waited two lifetime’s to say this line, “No one of consequence.” he chuckled to himself, causing his headache to flair up.
Wincing in pain, Nero said, “Look, we need to get out of the hallways. Do you have any ideas on where we can contact the guard, or better yet the army?”
The two nodded in unison, then started walking toward the lobby. The woman started talking like she just assumed Nero would follow behind her while listening intently. ‘Fucking rich people are multi-dimensional constants. Just like staples and silverware,’ Nero thought to himself while following along.
“The closest safe zone should be the Gate 7 army compound. Gate defenses are required to remain active at all times, even during a Noble war. No one is crazy enough to break that rule, especially with the Populators here,” said the sister.
“Wasn’t it a violation to mess with the links? Who do you think declared?” The man asked his sister while they crept through the hallway.
Walking down the middle of the hallway without care, Nero just watched them acting like ninjas. He was tired, and he needed sleep. All in all, he was done playing Die-Hard.
Stopping in place and putting his hands on his hips. Nero interrupted their quiet mutterings, “OK, you guys are safe now. I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but I also don’t really care. Good luck with your war, I’m going to bed.”
As he started to turn around, he heard them both protest. “Aren’t you coming with us?” and “Didn’t you already declare for our side?” both questions meant nothing to him, and he just kept walking off.
Suddenly a large Silver man appeared a few feet off to the side, rippling into existence. Nero hopped back and immediately tried to cast, only to find the essence in the area completely out of his control. As the man stood there like a statue, the two Cosgrave’s bowed and greeted the newcomer. “Champion,” they said in awe.
Completely Silver, with a featureless face and a glowing crown. The only thing that wasn’t silver was his ornate white and gold tabard. He was as large as Captain Angelton and twice as intimidating.
Turning his head to Nero, the silver man said in a deep, quiet voice that filled the hallway, “You were the last active declared combatant. With your decision to retire, no more points can be accrued.”
The champions head swiveled to the Cosgraves. “Thanks to this young man, and your efforts defeating the remaining guard, you two will be recorded as finishing this Noble war as free and active, with one escape to your credit. No points will be awarded for making it to a safe zone. As your side is the victor, you are safe from sanctions,” he said, and the Cosgraves both visibly sagged in relief.
Nero was unable to comprehend how the man was there. He was so used to sensing people’s impact on the ambient essence that he felt like he was staring at something that didn’t exist. “Um…. My lord? Can I… go?”
Swiveling his head back to Nero, he said in an even tone, “Yes Mr. Walker, you are free to leave. If you need medical attention the Center facilities will resume operation shortly.”
Already walking backward down the hall the moment he heard ‘Yes’, Nero held up his hands. “Nope, I’m all good. Just gonna hit the hay. Great war by the way. Totally made sense. Happy to be a part of it. Hope to never see you again,” he said in a happy tone, then turned and started running.
Nero only slowed when he started seeing associates walking around with their smiles back. They gave him weird looks as he walked down the hall covered in shrapnel and blood. He could hear them talking about their experiences during the Noble War, and discussing the posted results. It seemed the links were up and working again. Since Nero had left his link in his room, and he had no desire to talk to anyone, he would have to temporarily live in ignorance.
Finally closing his door, Nero leaned his back against it. He embraced the silence of his room. Unfortunately, he could feel his link on his desk demanding his attention with urgent messages. With a sigh, he walked over and picked up his link. It felt like he could connect to it without even putting it to his temple. The moment he did so, his headache flared, and he cut the connection. Willing it to ignore even urgent messages, he tossed it back on his desk. The messages could wait for the morning.
He started stripping off his clothes while walking toward the bathroom for a hot shower. Catching his reflection in the mirror, he was shocked. He had blood trails from the corner of his eyes, his ears, and his mouth looked like he had tried to eat something raw. ‘I must have popped a blood vessel or two from the shock waves,’ he thought.
Washing his face in the sink, he could feel ripped skin from small pieces of shrapnel. He took a close look at his face and his hands to make sure that he didn’t have any slivers of wood that he’d have to pull out. Other than scrapes and a rather jagged scratch on his left forearm, he seemed alright; aside from a seriously pale complexion and alarmingly dark circles around his eyes.
Stepping into the shower, his muscles loosened under the steaming water. Going over his fights, he realized that all the damage he had taken was from being near the bombs he had set off. Nero decided it might be a good idea to get a book on combat casting, sooner rather than later. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t a good idea to fight with adapted household spells. ‘Although, my bombs did their job,’ he thought.
His thoughts couldn’t help but return to the fact that he had actually done it. He had gotten involved in the story. As a result, he had killed people. Granted they were assholes. They were responsible for kidnapping and trying to overthrow the government. Nero wondered if he should feel bad?
‘Fuck it, I’m not going to waste my time second guessing my actions. I DID something. I saw something I thought was bullshit and did something about it. If people have a problem with it, they can lodge a complaint. I’m no longer going to be a complainer, I’m going to be a do’er….. wait, I don’t think that’s a word,’ he thought while luxuriating under the hot water.
Eventually, Nero got out of the shower, did his business, brushed his teeth, and headed to bed. Idly checking the time, and finding that it was 4 in the morning, he tried to reach out to his link from the bed. He could almost connect, but it was too far away. Grunting, he got up and used the link to confirm his stance on ignoring his pings and made sure to turn off the alarm he had set.
After making sure his window was covered with the drapes, he was finally ready to put this crap-of-a-day behind him.