Chapter 6: Aftermath

“Miriam?” a voice called, piercing through the haze of sleep. “Miriam?”

“Huh?” Miriam sat bolt upright, opening her eyes. “Wha’ is it?” Charlene was standing over her, a triumphant look in her eyes. Miriam’s gaze was drawn to the fresh bloodstains marring the champion’s coppery armor. I wasn’t the only one who fought and killed today… Torchlight provided the only illumination. Miriam didn’t know how much time had passed, but her Hp was back at its new maximum of 47 points. She still felt incredibly tired, however.

“We won!” Charlene exclaimed with excitement. “We killed ten or twelve of them and managed to capture six. The rest ran off.” Her face grew somber. “They came at us primarily from the west, like we were expecting. What we weren’t expecting was for them to have a gravity wizard schlep some troops behind our lines. Thanks for dealing with them.”

Miriam internally screamed, her face twisting slightly. I killed them! I didn’t ‘deal’ with them, I fucking ended their lives! They were people, entire people, whose life became numbers that increased my power. How fucking sick!

“What’s wrong?” Charlene asked. “Are you all right?”

I don’t want to deal with this right now, Miriam thought. She remained silent.

“Is it about the killing you did?” Charlene asked. The bluntness of the question surprised Miriam, piercing through her emotional torpor.

She sighed. “Yes. But I don’t want to talk about it.”

Charlene sat down next to Miriam. “That’s okay,” she said. “When I first killed someone, I felt revolted. This wasn’t a monster or an angel or a demon - it was a wretch just like me.” She shivered. “But he tried to kill me. I only struck in self-defense. Each night, as I lay shivering, I told myself, ‘it was you or him’. And eventually, I began to believe it.” She rubbed her forehead. “Also, those cultists you killed?”

“What about them?” Miriam said blankly. Charlene’s describing exactly how I felt.

“They were despicable wretched beings,” the champion snarled. “They lived to plunder and ravage innocent herders and builders like us. We make, they take, we protect. We tried to get them to join us, you know. Back when they first arrived in the area.” She laughed bitterly. “They outright denied our request, and chose to extort us. They made their choice, and it’s up to us to ensure that they suffer the consequences.”

“I suppose that’s a good point you make,” Miriam replied. “They seemed awfully eager to kill those villagers. But rationalizing my actions still doesn’t make it feel any better for me.”

“Eventually, it will,” Charlene said. “But we must still remember to not inflict harm without due reason. Several of the cultists surrendered tonight, and we’re going to let them join our community.”

“Why?” Miriam asked. “Didn’t you say that they were evil? Sounds kind of hypocritical to me.”

“They were evil at the time, but we gave them a choice to not be evil,” Charlene explained. “You see, the cultists probably didn’t have any spiders or herd animals. Extorting us was their only source of food, save for surrendering to us. Some of them took the choice, others didn’t. The latter group were the truly evil ones, and they either perished to our weapons or will starve in the wasteland.”

“I see,” Miriam said. “That sort of makes sense.” She shrugged. “It’s just, I haven’t had to deal with this sort of experience before.”

“Everyone has that thought at some point in their lives,” Charlene said. “But in this world, you have to experience and inflict suffering. Either you have to fight monsters on the fringe of society, or fight each other in more densely populated reaches.”

Miriam didn’t speak for a while. She just sat in silence, staring at the rocky wall illuminated by faint torchlight. Eventually, she shifted and sat up. “What time is it, anyway?”

“A few hours before dawn,” Charlene replied. She yawned and began to lie down on the ground. “You can heal your wounds with just an hour of sleep, but you need a full eight in order for the rest of your body to work. Anyway, I’m going to sleep, and I suggest you join me.”

Miriam didn’t need to be told twice. She reclined back in her sleeping position and closed her eyes.

“Hey, wake up, everybody!” a voice called. “It’s dawn. It’s safe to come out now.”

“It is?” Miriam groggily asked, opening her eyes. She’d fallen asleep rather quickly, but she felt much more rested than she had previously. “It’s dawn?” Of course it is! Man, I’m so inarticulate in the morning. If only they had coffee in this world…

A flash of blinding light seared across Miriam’s eyes. She cringed and shielded them with her outstretched arm. After her eyes adjusted to the sudden increase in brightness, she saw that someone had opened the large round door. Bright, albeit red-tinged, sunlight shone through the open portal as villagers walked through it to the outside. She couldn’t help but smile a bit. I lived to see another day… She thought about the people she’d killed and looked at the ground. But they won’t… She stood up and brushed a thin layer of reddish dust off of her robe. She gritted her teeth. What happened, happened. Rationalization won’t make a difference. I’m alive, my allies are alive, and that’s what matters.

She followed the villagers down the incline to the main level of the town. The group began to disperse, everyone going their own separate ways to home or work. She stood in confusion for a moment, then remembered that June, Jared and Melinda were probably waiting for her at the inn. The tall, broad building wasn’t hard to find. A sign depicting a spider holding a mug in one of its limbs proudly declared the place to be named, The Drunken Spider.

Such a creative name… Miriam thought as she pushed open the doors and entered the common room. Melinda stood alone, wiping off a table. She looked haggard and exhausted, with dark circles beneath her eyes and patches of dust covering her robe.

“Jared’s in the back,” she said flatly, gesturing to the kitchen. Miriam nodded affirmative and traversed the common room. It looked like the cafeteria back at her school in between lunch periods, with its vacant chairs and empty tables. She felt a ping of nostalgia for her life on Earth, then shoved it aside. I’ll go back, I just need to pay off my debt first. But how will I go back, even if I pay my debt? It’s not like anyone here knows where or even what my world is.

“Miriam!” Jared exclaimed, rushing over to her. “You’re alive!” The short, sturdy man gave her a quick embrace, then stepped back. “I heard that some cultists snuck ‘round the back and tried to kill the civilians.”

“You heard correctly,” Miriam said bluntly, reminded once more of the events. She put her hand to her forehead again. God, I’m so pathetic. I can’t stop talking to myself about what happened…

Jared seemed to notice her discomfort. “Are you okay?” he asked. “You seem kinda… introspective, shall we say?”

“I’m fine,” Miriam barked. “I’m okay.”

“If you say so,” Jared replied skeptically. He grimaced. “We got in a real tough spot during the fight. A lot of the cultists ganged up on Melinda, and she was reduced to less than 10 Hp. Not from a single attack, thank Order.” He paused. “But taking that much damage don’t do good things for the mind.”

“I understand,” Miriam said. “I saw her on the way in.”

Jared paused, looking into her eyes briefly before glancing away. He cleared his throat. “Anyway. Today, I’m gonna teach you how to make soup.”

“Can’t be that hard,” Miriam said slyly. “It’s just throwing ingredients into a pot. It’s not exactly rocket science.”

Jared smiled, seemingly getting the metaphor even though he probably had no idea whatsoever what a “rocket” or “science” were. “That’s where you’d be wrong, madam,” he laughed. “Making soup is nothing short of an art. You have to be extremely careful to get the ratio of the ingredients right…”

Over the next hour, Jared explained how to make soup, demonstrating his instructions to Miriam. Thankfully, most of it was recap for her. She’d made more than one batch of soup in her days, especially when she had been living on her own before meeting Tom. Tom… How are you doing? Probably worried sick. Don’t worry… I’ll be home soon enough… Eventually, he had decided that Miriam was proficient enough in cooking and left to do some other task.

She was just carrying an armload of spider jerky to the boiling pot when the door burst open. Surprised, Miriam put the food on a counter and turned to see who had intruded. June had entered the room, along with a rigid-postured, green-haired woman Miriam recognized as Mayor Frances. A pasty young man with sandy hair named [Calvin: Wretch Lv. 7] was tagging along, looking at the ground. He wore tattered black robes that Miriam recognized as similar to those of the cultists she’d fought earlier. I bet he’s one of the captives we took…

“Miriam?” Frances called. “We need to talk.”

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Oh god, what could it be about? Did I do something wrong? I don’t think I did anything wrong… She remembered when she had to attend meetings with her school’s principal and a misbehaving students. There was always the subtext that, somehow, the student’s poor discipline was Miriam’s fault, no matter what words were spoken during the conversation.

“What about?” Miriam asked.

Frances and June sidled over to the cauldron, Calvin in tow. The whole occurrence reminded Miriam even more of those godawful meetings she did everything in her power to prevent or avoid.

“You see,” Frances began, “we have reason to believe that we severely damaged the cult’s combatant power and resources in last night’s battle. We only estimated their total numbers at 100 or more, and this offensive proved that they are individually far weaker than us.”

“Also,” June continued, “we interrogated the captives we took. Most of them eagerly told us where their comrades were hiding out - a cave a dozen miles to the west in the Iron Hills. Also,” she gestured to Calvin, “This fine young gentleman agreed to guide an attack party to deal with them.”

“Hello,” Calvin said. He sounded very timid.

Frances cleared her throat. “As June was saying, we’re putting together an attack party to deal with the remaining cultists. Charlene already agreed, and we’re sending Melinda as well ‘cause she’s one of our more proficient fighters.”

“So where do I come in?” Miriam asked.

“Let’s not beat around the bush,” June said. “You’re in debt to Jared and I. But, we have a special proposal for you.”

Miriam’s heart beat louder. I think I know what it is… “What is it?” she asked neutrally.

“If you go with the party, we’ll cancel your entire debt,” June said.

Knew it! Miriam internally exclaimed. But… Should I?

“Would this mission be very dangerous?” Miriam asked. “The cultists I fought seemed to be of a much higher level.”

“That may be true,” Frances said, “but the cult leader, whose name is Gazzack, orders his followers to put all their stat points in Charisma.” June winced.

“Is Charisma not a good stat?” Miriam asked.

“Outside of certain rare classes, Charisma is worse than useless,” Frances explained. “Basically, it doesn’t make you more social like you’d expect. It creates an aura that fuddles the minds of people around you. Basically, it means that folks’ll do your bidding, but they’ll be aware of it and it will make them irate.”

“Essentially, that’s why the cult remained together as long as it did,” June said. “All the competing Charisma auras fucking with everyone’s minds, and you won’t even think about defecting. But Calvin here was smart - he allocated some of his points to other stats. We can still feel his aura, but only if we’re really close to him - touching him, in fact.” Calvin cringed at the comment and hunched downward.

“So you can’t see another being’s stats?” Miriam asked.

“Of course not!” June exclaimed. “Might as well ask me if you can breathe rock.”

“Suffice to say, I believe that you’d be suited for this task,” Frances said. “You’ve proven your proficiency in combat, and you’ll synchronize well with Charlene and Melinda. Calvin too.”

“Well, if I had to pick between busywork and enacting justice upon a militarily weaker enemy, then I’d probably choose the latter,” Miriam said. “It’s not like I have a real choice in the matter.”

“Gazzack’s not weak,” Calvin muttered. It was the first real thing he’d ever said in Miriam’s presence. All eyes in the room turned to him.

“What?” Frances asked. “Explain.”

“He’s at least level 30 last time I saw,” Calvin said. “Also, he carries this wicked-looking whip - a chain, really. He’s not afraid to use it, too. The reason why he sent us to die was because he thought that we were getting too powerful for his liking, but he didn’t want to kill us himself ‘cause there’s 100 of us and only one of him. Now, there’s probably only fifty left, considering he probably killed the survivors who escaped the battle or will do so. Those’re probably his inner circle, and by now they’re fanatically loyal to him.”

“You never told me that when we interrogated you!” June exclaimed. “Why not?”

“You never asked,” Calvin said flatly. “All you asked me about was the location of the cult hideout. You never asked me about why I defected, why my friends defected.” June and Frances didn’t comment.

“Anyway,” Miriam said, breaking the silence. “What’s the plan? When is the attack carried out?”

“Patience, patience,” Frances said. “We’re still planning the attack.”

“Sorry,” Miriam said. “Sometimes I get a little too… overexcited.” But why am I eager to attack? What’s wrong with me? Did I just forget everything I felt last night? Oh, god…

“Anyway, we’ll return this evening with a proper plan,” said Frances. “We’ll presumably carry out the attack at night, as it’s cooler and darker. You should get some rest; I talked to Jared and he’ll cancel your shift on the condition that you participate in this attack.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Miriam quipped. She did feel tired. She exchanged her goodbyes with Calvin, June and Frances and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She flopped down on the soft sheets and luxuriated in the comfort. She’d almost forgot how comfortable the bed was, despite it only being a day since she’d last slept there. Goodness, I’m getting soft. When I was young, Tom and I used to go camping all the time…

She woke up on her own a few hours later, feeling refreshed and invigorated. Seeing that it was still a few hours till sunset, she decided to explore the town.

Exiting the tavern’s front door, she got her first good view of Smogvale. To her left and right, the road stretched. On either side of it were rows of squat, red-orange stone buildings with small cloth-covered windows on their upper levels. Smaller paths led from the main road to round stone doors carved into the sheer cliff-faces. The doors looked as if they led to Hobbit-houses, if The Lord of the Rings was a Western instead of high fantasy. The distinction between the freestanding buildings and the rooms carved into the canyon captured her attention. Dozens of people clad in the familiar grey robes were moving around the village, most of them spiderherds bringing their flocks back to town for the night. The sounds of goading, walking and skittering acted as a sort of orchestral accompaniment to the alien yet familiar sight Miriam beheld.

She lost track of time as she sat down on a large stone and began people-watching. Back at home, she’d often go to the nearby park with a book or three and alternate between reading and observing the pedestrians. Home…

“Miriam?” a familiar voice called. Charlene, clad in her shining plates of copper, sat down on the rock beside her.

“Is it time already?” Miriam asked.

“It is,” Charlene said, standing up. “Melinda and Calvin are ready to go.” Without a word, Miriam stood up and followed Charlene through the rapidly darkening town.

“Here,” Charlene said, pulling a piece of jerky from her inventory. “Eat something, it helps with the stress.”

“Thanks,” Miriam replied, taking the jerky. Her stomach was roiling, and she wasn’t much of a stress eater. She placed the food in her inventory to eat later.

Shortly, the duo arrived at the meeting point. Frances stood there, alongside Calvin and Melinda. The sandy-haired youth had been given a bone spear that he held awkwardly, whereas the muscle-bound woman was garbed in a gleaming copper chestplate and helmet.

“Uh, I’ll be our guide,” Calvin said meekly. “It shouldn’t take us longer than two hours to reach the cult’s encampment…”

“Repeat to the newcomers what you said before,” Frances ordered.

“The headquarters is located in a long, narrow cave,” Calvin explained. “Gazzack’s chambers are in the far back, and his underlings reside closer to the exit. They have no storeroom; Gazzack stores all the cult’s food and other resources in his inventory. If we kill him, you’ll get your stolen stuff back.”

“Our stolen stuff,” Frances said. “You’re one of us now, buckaroo.” Miriam let out an involuntary giggle at hearing a distinctive Earth phrase like “buckaroo”.

“What’s so funny?” Frances barked.

“Nothing,” Miriam said sheepishly. “I’m sorry.”

“Order above…” Frances muttered. “Anyway, I’d give you some armor, but we don’t have anything beyond what Charlene and Melinda are currently wearing. If you fight armored cultists, I’d recommend taking it off of them when they’re defeated.”

Charlene turned to Miriam. “When someone dies, their inventory becomes accessible to others. Just touch the corpse and you’ll be able to access its inventory like you would your own.”

“Ok,” Miriam replied. No use fearing it now. I’ll have to fight, no point worrying anymore. I’m strong. I’m unstoppable. I have to believe that…

“All right then,” Frances said. “Is everyone ready?” A chorus of affirmatives emanated from the four warriors. “Good. Orderspeed, and may it watch over you.”

“May we always find the roughest gemstones,” Charlene said.

I’ll have to ask her about that expression, Miriam thought as the group began to walk single-file out of the canyon. Calvin went first, Charlene second, Miriam third, and Melinda brought up the rear. Once they had left town, Charlene pulled a torch out of her inventory, lit it with flint and steel, and handed the smoldering stick to Calvin.

From there, they began to trek across the wasteland. The temperature wasn’t overbearingly hot anymore. It felt… almost pleasant, like a summer night. A light wind blew around her, cooling her off more.

“It gets colder at night,” Charlene said. “Just figured I’d let you know before it shocks you too much.” As if in response to her words, a particularly heavy gust of wind swept across the ashen ground, causing Miriam to shiver in cold.

The party moved across the ashen ground. Slowly, the landscape began to become more hilly and rocky, and shortly after, tall, monolith-like shapes made of a dark grey metal began to come into sight.

“The Iron Hills,” Charlene said. “It’s night, so the demons aren’t as active. Anyway, we’re only going a couple miles in, so there aren’t many demons in the first place.” The group continued through the Iron Hills, weaving around the skyscraper-like monoliths with ease. The wind took on a haunting cast, reminding Miriam of a ghost. The whole landscape felt reminiscent a post-apocalyptic movie she’d seen once, with wind blowing through the vacant ruins of skyscrapers.

Calvin stopped near a particularly steep hill. “We’re here,” the young man said. “The entrance is just over this rise.”

“Do we have to be wary of sentries?” Melinda asked.

“Not really,” Calvin answered. “Most of the guards are located in the cave itself. They know that powerful demons sometimes roam the area, and the cultists try not to provoke their ire.”

“Still, we should try to keep as silent as possible during our approach,” Charlene said. The group silently obeyed and began to climb the hill.

Miriam’s heart began pounding hard with both fear and exertion as she began to traverse the sheer incline. She felt like she was running and rock-climbing simultaneously, and she saw her stamina go down on her display. Melinda and Calvin seemed to tire out quickly, their slightly higher levels doing little to improve their

Charlene seemed to be climbing far faster than the others, bounding up the incline with the grace of a cat and agility of a mountain goat as she surpassed the struggling Calvin. As she climbed above Miriam, the latter noticed that the armored woman’s boots didn’t match up with the rest of the set. They were made of a greenish leather with glowing lime-colored lines. Every time she moved her legs, a faint puff of green energy emanated from the boots. Interesting, it looks like those shoes increase her stamina. I’ll have to ask her about them.

Eventually, Charlene paused her climb, signaling for the others to stop as well. She looked down and softly whispered, “We’re here.” Calvin audibly gulped, and Miriam didn’t blame him. Without a word, the quartet slowly climbed to the top of the ridge and peered over, beholding the lair of the Association of Divine Thanatos for the first time.