Chapter Two

The school was a single story building located within the same area of Avalon as Troy’s shop. People went about their days as Ambrose passed by, many of them calling out to him in greeting. It reminded him of the days before the System, just normal folks doing normal things.

The Knights of Avalon were split into two groups, the Sword of Avalon and the Shield of Avalon. The ladder was in its infancy, and served at the police force for Avalon. The harsh reality was that people did bad things, and now they could do bad things with super powers. With more refugees coming into Avalon every day, they were a necessary group.

There hadn’t been any major issues yet, but that would change as growth increased. It was inevitable.

The school had the same gothic edginess as the rest of the town, all dark wood and darker metal. Its large double doors led into a reception area. A blonde woman was typing into a laptop. There was no internet with the System having shut it down somehow, but the laptops were still useful for storing information, writing up documents, and more.

He marveled at how easy it was to set up everything. The System store provided all kinds of earth technology, plus more that could be done with arrays.

“Hello, Chelsea.”

Chelsea Mays was a southern woman with blonde hair done up in a professional bun, wearing a pants suit. Her features were sharp, almost bird like, but her blue eyes shined like the ocean on a sunny day. Chelsea gave him a sympathetic smile,

“Mr. Severen, come to check up on us?”

He nodded. Chelsea was one of the former slaves from a town he had burned to the ground for participating in such an evil practice. She had been a secretary before the System and now chose to use her skills for the school that had been started.

She knew Ambrose was here to check up on the kids, and more importantly, Jenny.

“Do you think she’ll talk to you today?”

Ambrose contorted his lips until he wore a sad smile.

“Probably not, Chelsea. She had good reason to think I killed her father.”

Chelsea sighed, leaning forward, eyes sad.

“All of us here for the start knew what Darren did for us, and we all knew you had goals beyond us and still do. Our eyes were open, Mr. Severen.”

Ambrose chuckled,

“And you think that matters to a pre-teen girl? All she knows is that she called out for help, and I didn’t answer. That’s enough for her.”

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Chelsea pressed her lips together, clearly wanting to say more, but then she rubbed her tempning back.

“You’re probably right. Well, I would say good luck, but I doubt it will matter.”

She flashed a smile. Ambrose nodded and went through the door on the right leading into the classroom. The teacher, a middle aged man with honey brown skin and a black haired crew cut paused in his history lecture. He reached up, adjusted his glasses, and then clasped his hands together.

“Well children, it looks like we have a special visitor today! Hello Mr. Ambrose, what can we do for you?”

Ambrose smiled at the room full of children who turned to look at him.

“Whoa! That armor is so cool!” One boy breathed.

“Are you really a demon like they say?” A girl asked.

Ambrose held up a gauntleted hand. Almost as if by magic, the room quieted at once.

“I just wanted to stop by to check on all of you. Avalon is working tirelessly to bring some semblance of normalcy back to your lives. I’m glad to see you are learning, and are safe.”

Ambrose meant it, even if he had to say it in his ‘leader’ voice. Something genuine must have come through because admiration burned in many of the children’s eyes.

Except for one.

Jenny, often known as little Jenny to many, had nothing but hatred storming through her brown eyes. Her jaw was tight, her frown was so deep Ambrose wondered if it would fall right off her face. Her pencil actually bent, she was clutching it so hard.

He heard a breath of air leave her nostrils as she relaxed her shoulders. The hate never left her eyes.

Do I look like that? When it comes to Eric? More than likely he did, but the difference was that Eric had no good reasons for what he did, and was directly involved. With the kids seen to, and answering a plethora of questions, he waved to the teacher, and left.

He had hoped Jenny would want to speak to him and clear the air. Maybe it would be a good idea to stop checking. His presence likely only fanned her anger. He stopped by the barracks, which were_ towards the east beach, built on a clearing.

It was not only where the Knights of Avalon stayed but also trained. Men and women hacked at dummies set up in a gated training yard filled with sand, shot arrows, and used skills in one gated area.

A group was running on the beach below, and others were practicing martial art forms. He greeted many of the men, offered tips to some, and made sure to introduce himself to any new recruits. He didn’t know much about being a leader; Raylen had never taught him that.

What he was learning though is that people expected you to care. You had to be present; you had to make an effort to show that you had their best interests at heart. Ambrose could not spend every waking moment doing this, but whenever he returned, he made an effort to go out among the people and talk to them like regular human beings.

He inquired about one Knight’s wife, and how she was holding up. He commented on the growth of one woman’s child. He remembered names, and clasped hands, squeezing shoulders.

It was exhausting.

It was also necessary.

Eventually, it was time to go to Darren’s Hall. Darren’s Hall had evolved to be the town headquarters and town hall. Andrea’s office was there, and nearly all the planning and policy was discussed behind its walls.

Ambrose had a meeting with Earth's two other forerunners today.

He was excited to find out if they knew anything about Eric. He also wished to question them about the Incursions, anything they knew about it, and inquire about their settlements.

Andrea wanted to establish some kind of working alliance. He didn’t care much about that as long as he got what he needed out of them. Darren’s Hall was the largest building, two stories in fact, with the first story open to the public, and the second one being headquarters.

Not a lot happened on the first floor. There was artwork, and crafted pieces on display. A place to get answers to questions, and applications to start a business or have a home built. Ambrose didn’t ask much from his citizens. Just do your part. Eventually he wanted to establish a free market of sorts, but he ensured everyone was housed at least.

As Avalon grew that might become more of a problem, but it was an issue for another day.

Ambrose had arrived, and it was time to see what these forerunners knew.