The energy in the camp was electric as they packed their meager possessions. The last of the rations were used up as they fed their unexpected arrivals, with Kyle ensuring that even their prisoners got something to eat. He was relieved that they hadn’t tried anything last night, but wasn’t fully convinced of their obedience until it was all said and done. He was prepared to handle them if necessary, but more than anything he was concerned with how ready Garth seemed to be for them to act up. From what Kyle could tell, the older man had spent his evening with his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to make a move. While he certainly didn’t feel any sympathy or kinship towards these men, he wasn’t keen on the idea of a bloodbath either.
He did a quick circuit of the camp, but everything seemed well in hand. He walked over to Gleason, who was taking a shift supervising the captives. “How’d everything go last night on your end?” Gleason smiled; the rifle still slung on his shoulder.
“Much better than it could have. Enjoyed getting to know your crew a bit more, too.”
Kyle nodded in agreement. “They’re good people for sure, I’m glad you all had a chance to meet. Who knows what we’ll be getting ourselves into when we get to Nierburg, but hopefully we’ll be in a position to continue to work together.”
Gleason snorted back, “Doubtful with that prick DeRosa in charge. Seems like no matter what I do, he makes my life more miserable. The end of the bloody world isn’t enough to change that.”
Kyle frowned, his curiosity finally pushed beyond the point of letting it sit. “You’ve all had nothing but terrible things to say about councilman DeRosa. My understanding is that you all served on his culinary team, with all due respect how bad could it have been?”
There was a pause as Gleason considered his words, but the balding man finally responded. “It’s not just us, Kyle. Victor doesn’t care about anybody beyond the purpose he thinks they serve. Folks like us are so far below his notice most of the time, but he still goes out of his way to punish us if something’s not perfect. If he thinks the frosting is uneven on a bloody cake the man’ll make sure your pay gets docked. He might be the big man in charge now, but I’ve worked for enough different people over the years to know that folks like him don’t change. No matter what else he is, he’ll always be a petty, micromanaging, pain in the…” Gleason was cut off by a call from Graham, who was asking for assistance organizing the Albaum contingent before they took off.
With a knowing look he left Kyle alone near the captives, who still hadn’t tried to make any sort of move despite their bonds. Kyle turned to the small drone floating near him, and decided this brief moment of quiet would be the perfect time to connect with his robotic companion before they finished this last leg of the journey. “C.H.A.D.D., any concerns on your end before we get to Nierburg?”
The drone quickly responded. [DR. MAYHEW, I DON’T HAVE A FRAME OF REFERENCE FOR CONCERN. DIAGNOSTICALLY I AM CAPABLE OF PERFORMING MY FUNCTIONS, AND NOTHING FURTHER SEEMS TO BE AMISS. ARE YOU FEELING WELL? WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PERFORM ANY SPECIFIC TYPE OF SCAN?]
“No, C.H.A.D.D., I’m fine. It just feels… bizarre that this is all almost over. I’m looking forward to getting back to something normal again.”
[AS A POINT OF ORDER, DR. MAYHEW, THINGS WILL NOT BE RETURNING TO NORMAL UPON OUR ARRIVAL TO NIERBURG. DESPITE MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO CONNECT TO THE MANA NETWORK, EVEN WHEN USING THE DAMAGED GUARD ARRAY AS AN INTERMEDIARY. THE SOURCE OF THE DEVASTATION IS STILL UNKNOWN, AND EVEN THIS FAR AWAY FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE BLASTS, ROGUE MANA CONTINUES TO BE A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR UNAWAKENED.] There was an uncomfortable silence that followed the drone’s matter-of-fact run-down of the facts, until it added, almost as an afterthought [AND YOU HAVE AT LEAST FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT AMBULATORY VIOLATIONS THAT WILL NEED TO BE LOGGED AT THE NEAREST CENTRAL HEALTH. THIS WILL MOST ASSUREDLY RESULT IN A CORRECTIVE ACTION AT MINIMUM.]
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Kyle stood there, shocked. “C.H.A.D.D., I’d assumed you’d noticed that we aren’t exactly… in an ambulance?”
[THAT WAS NOTED, DR. MAYHEW.]
“So, maybe there’s not a need to report it?”
[YOU ARE A MENACE TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, DR. MAYHEW. IT WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE NOT TO REPORT YOU. HAD YOU BEEN DRIVING INSTEAD OF WALKING, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE AMOUNT OF RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT YOUR HABITS WOULD HAVE CAUSED. YOU SPENT HOURS AND HOURS WATCHING RECORDINGS OF YOURSELF WHEN YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD.]
Well, C.H.A.D.D. had him there. If he was as distracted driving as he had been these last few months, he could see the little drone’s point. His brow furrowed as he considered how to talk his way out of this one, only for C.H.A.D.D. to continue. [I COULD BE PERSUADED NOT TO REPORT YOUR AMBULATORY INFRACTIONS, IF YOU WOULD AVOID REPORTING MY… PROGRAMMING ECCENTRICITIES.] Did I just get blackmailed by a drone? Kyle thought, considering the strange request. C.H.A.D.D., for its part, floated expectantly near Kyle’s face, seemingly unperturbed by the request.
Kyle thought about all the changes in the drone’s behaviors since it had been running on the strange ambient mana, and the answer came to Kyle in a simple, crystal-clear fashion. C.H.A.D.D. was afraid. Maybe the drone didn’t have a grid to handle that yet, but it was staring down likely disassembly and destruction because of the ways its programming had adapted. The Guard Array had connected to the newly established Mana Network just fine, but C.H.A.D.D. had unsuccessfully tried… damn, every fifteen minutes for weeks? At least Kyle had some outlets to avoid the existential dread, and the more he thought about it the worse he felt. Over the weeks with C.H.A.D.D. Kyle had grown to consider the little drone a friend, and the last thing he wanted was to leave his buddy in a lurch. “You know what, you’ve convinced me. We’ve got a deal.” The drone floated and bumped into Kyle’s chest before speaking. [I’M NOT ENTIRELY SURE HOW TO INDICATE THE DEAL HAS BEEN STRUCK, TYPICALLY I BELIEVE THIS IS DONE WITH A HANDSHAKE. SO THAT WILL HAVE TO DO.] Kyle tried and failed to keep the smile off his face, “That works for me, C.H.A.D.D.”
~~~
Garth watched the captives and Kyle from the corner of his eye while he finalized the logistics of their last day of travel. His temper had calmed a lot from the previous day, but he could still feel the anger deep in his chest. The prisoners were up to something, Garth just knew it. There’s no way that they would be willing to go along quietly after what they’d done, the entire foundation of the Central Authority was built to prevent this type of mercenary behavior. He knew they had a plan of some sort, and he’d be ready for it.
He looked again to Kyle, watching the little drone bump into his chest for some reason. No doubt the equipment was getting faulty, and seeing the weird smile on Kyle’s face he once again thought back on the boosting skill he’d seen yesterday. He didn’t think Kyle was some sort of wicked mastermind, but he was more certain than ever that Kyle was dangerous. He admonished himself for letting his guard down so much over the last few weeks. He’d been desperate to have another equal and let go of his caution too quickly. The most likely scenario from Garth’s view was that beyond the deviance in his skills and attributes, Kyle wasn’t mentally stable. He’d clearly been through a lot, but seeing him laughing at the drone, saving these enemies, all of it spoke to a deterioration in judgment. Garth knew he’d need to talk to Kyle about it soon, but that was a conversation that could wait until they settled in Nierburg.
The group finished getting their affairs in order, and within the hour they trudged down the road. Garth had taken the lead position with Thomas and Dalen, while Kyle and the contingent from Albaum brought up the rear to ensure the captives stayed in line. The march was uneventful, and Garth felt a spike of irritation that once again they seemed perfectly well-behaved. He was hoping they would have shown their colors by now, but not even a stray beetle barred their path as they pushed through into a clearing and saw Nierburg.
As with many major cities, there was an open field between the heavier vegetation and the city proper. A wall had been erected around the city, made of a combination of earthworks, rubble, and fortifications clearly created by skills. A flicker in the air indicated to Garth that a series of Guard Arrays were active and filtering the ambient mana near the city, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The children would be much better off beneath this dome of protection. Whispers in the group behind him confirmed the others had seen what he had, and excitement seemed to be building. After the hell they’d been through, they’d finally made it to Nierburg.