Mac Cameron stood behind the Administrator and watched the events involving the Merchant Chairman unfold. He remained silent as the frightened man called out the legitimacy of Mac’s information and observed as the Guard Commander silently slipped behind the crowd and positioned himself in accordance with the Administrator’s wishes. At her signal, Gerard drew his sword on the Chairman and held it there as the surrounding members of the village’s leadership were made to realize the true depths of their foolishness.
‘It’s sad,” Mac thought ruefully, “Even in a video game, people are going to people. Or would it be AI are going to people? I don’t know.” He shook his head and followed the Guards that were tasked with leading the Chairman to the cells below the keep. Nobody paid him any mind and he was all but forgotten under all the fear induced clarity brought about by the Administrator’s little charade.
When the Chairman and his Guard were halfway down the hallway, Mac held up a hand and spoke up, “That’s far enough, I’ll take it from here guys.” He tossed each of the men a pouch of gold for performing their task without question and raised his chin casually towards the front door, “Go ahead and make your way down to the walls, I have a feeling you’ll be needed soon. Oh, and remember, keep your mouths shut.”
The two Guards clapped a fist to their chest and bowed lightly, “Sir.” Within a few moments, only Mac and the Chairman remained. Patting the merchant on the back, Mac couldn’t help but chuckle, “You did good, Seth. I think you might have overdone it though. Judging by the smell, some of them might have really crapped themselves.”
“Good. They’re getting off easy. Traitors deserve far worse.”
Squeezing out a short smile, Seth Mercer, Chairman of the Regnad Merchant’s Guild, reached into his pocket and brought out a small pin and a vial, “A trick of the trade. With a small dose of this, even someone like you would look like death warmed over. It doesn’t last for long, but that’s what makes it useful.”
“Cool.” Mac muttered dismissively. He wasn’t really interested in how it all went down but had agreed to play his part so that he could secure the trust of the Administrator.
With an awkward shrug, Seth returned the items to his pocket and asked, “So what now?”
Mac tossed one more bag of coins at the merchant and motioned towards another door, one leading out into the grounds surrounding the central keep, “Take your pay and head out through that door. Proceed until you reach a small, guarded door on the outer wall and exit the Academy through there. Head to the Guard tower by the western gate and there should be an escort waiting to take you to the Capital; where you’re to stay until after all of this mess has been dealt with.”
Seth took the second coin purse and nodded, “And the traitors?”
Mac smiled coldly, “I wouldn’t worry. I’m sure the Administrator has plans for them.”
Shuddering under the detached look in the Warrior’s eye which contrasted with the heaviness of the words he spoke, Seth bowed hurriedly and disappeared through the door without another word.
Left alone in the hallway, Mac lingered only for a moment before returning back the way he had come. As he approached the door to the Administrator’s office, the doors opened up and a flood of anxious looking people exited; all of them chattering quietly among themselves. Mac waited until he thought the last of the people had left before he stepped into the much emptier room, closing the doors behind him.
On the floor in the middle of the room, the live map projecting the status of the village was still present. At the far end of the room, Administrator Reed was talking with the only other people left behind: Guard Commander Gerard, the robust Academy instructor Isla, and another man with shocking red hair, dressed in a fine peacoat, that had remained silent throughout the entire meeting. Catching sight of Mac observing them from across the room, Administrator Reed motioned for him to join them. A short time later, all five people stood in a semi-circle as they peered down at the situation map.
Speaking first, Administrator Reed fixed her auburn hair and looked at the remaining members in turn, “Those that are still in this room are the only ones that can be trusted with the true defensive measures for the village. I would like to personally thank each of you for your trust in me and for going along with the previous farce. This village has been prosperous and without conflict for far too long. It’s tough to know which peacetime leaders will retain their luster during the dark times, and those that can’t will cling to their power even at the cost of those that depend on them. Having traitors in our ranks is something that we shouldn’t tolerate, but they certainly couldn’t be allowed to remain hidden in the heat of battle. Thanks to your help, we were able to smoke out most of those that would’ve posed the largest threat to us during this operation and countermeasures will be implemented to ensure that their interference is minimal.”
Everyone accepted the gratitude without comment. The Administrator continued, “Currently, the number of men we have manning the walls is insufficient to the task of repelling the invaders, because of this, I plan to have several of the instructors of this Academy join Guard members on the wall as support units to handle the large majority of the attacking Rogues. To that end,” at this moment the Administrator waved her hand in the direction of the only person yet to be introduced, “due to the seriousness of the situation and the vital importance that the Capital places on maintaining the security of our eastern borders, the Order has sent us one of its few Arbiters to oversee the disposal of the more powerful among the Rogues. Arbiter Mitchell spent a lot of resources to arrive on such short notice from the Capital and I expect everyone to provide him with their full support. From this moment forward, he will be the one running this operation. Arbiter.”
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
With a deep nod of her head, the Administrator transferred her command over to the silent Arbiter. Mac studied the man as he stepped forward, a subtle darkness shadowing his face.
‘Mitchell? That’s an odd coincidence.’
Almost like he heard Mac’s thoughts, Arbiter Mitchell’s eyes met Mac’s and a sly looking smile creeped across the Arbiter’s face before vanishing like smoke. Mac frowned.
“Ollie,” he mumbled under his breath, “what’s the deal with this guy?”
As it had been since he returned from his trip into the hills, the AI remained radio silent, completely ignoring Mac.
‘Tsk. Just wait until I get out of here, asshole.’
“Thank you, Cynthia,” Arbiter Mitchell began, returning the Administrator’s nod. He took a moment to study the map below them before stating, “The situation isn’t good. There’s no way to disguise that from any of you so it’s best to be honest. The size of the enemy forces is egregious, it really is astonishing that so many troops could be gathered outside of a region, but that is the reality that we must face. There are nearly twice the number of enemy Rogues than we have Warriors, and this ignores the estimated four hundred non-enhanced troops that make up the bulk of the attacking force.” Pointing to the banner that hovered above the enemy on the map, the Arbiter probed, “Do any of you recognize that banner? I find it hard to believe that a random upstart would choose to declare war on one of the Four Regions without a grievance.”
Mac saw the Guard Commander trade looks with Isla, who gave him a nod. Sighing, the Commander grunted an affirmative, “I believe I know who’s behind this assault, sir. His name is Luca Bryson. He was the son of Mark and Alana Bryson, who, until a decade ago, lived here in the village.”
Administrator Reed glared sternly at the Guard Commander, “Why are we only hearing about this now?”
“Lack of intel, ma’am,” the Commander said plainly, “Luca Bryson was identified as someone with enough potential to take the Selection Exam back before we had the Academy system. Unfortunately, Luca had a wife, and a kid on the way, so he refused the summons.”
With wide eyes, the Administrator inhaled sharply, “They must’ve sent a Retrieval Squad to bring him in by force then.”
An uneasy look was suddenly on the Commander’s face as he confirmed it, “That they did, ma’am. When the squad arrived to take him in, Luca must’ve resisted something fierce. What I know came from what we found during our clean up and then through our investigation into the situation. An investigation we conducted after the squad had returned to the Capital. With all due respect ma’am, I’ve never been able to sleep right since.”
“Isla, can you confirm this?” the Administrator asked.
“Yes, ma’am. The squad was debriefed upon their return to the Capital and the report was added to our records once the Academy was finished.” the reliable looking instructor spoke up, “According to the report, the prospect, Luca Bryson, refused to comply with the squad’s requests and demanded that they leave him and his family in peace. Obviously, this wasn’t something they could do, but the man wouldn’t listen to reason; even going so far as to use one of his farming tools to assault a member of the squad. That’s where the report becomes dicey, ma’am. The squad reported that the prospect was killed in some sort of accident, after which they returned to the Capital to report their failure to retrieve the prospect. Judging from the lack of corroborating testimony in the follow-up report, it would seem that an investigation was never properly conducted on the Order’s end to verify the claims. Most likely, someone in the squad pulled some strings to keep it hushed.”
Arbiter Mitchell looked to be mulling things over, a hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his hip. After a moment of deliberation, where the others were also busy with their own thoughts, he made eye contact with the Commander, “How can you be sure that the one in charge is this Luca Bryson?”
“I can’t.” the Commander responded matter-of-factly, “However, the symbol on that banner is the Bryson brand. Their cattle used to be bought by almost everyone around and that brand can still be found on farms all around the area.” The Guard Commander turned dour before adding, “Moreover, Luca Bryson’s body was never found, and his entire family were all killed the day the Retrieval Squad visited the farm.”
Without anyone noticing, a solemn mood had descended on the room. Only Mac stood to the side, engrossed in the story and a notification that he'd just received. While he was only here now to save Taylor and return to the real world, this was still a game.
*Ding*
[Hidden Chain Quest Activated]
[World Quest {Sins of the Past} added to the Quest Log]
“Nice!”
The solemn mood was shattered by Mac’s inappropriate outburst and all eyes fell on him.
‘Shit.’
“Care to share with the class, Warrior Cameron?” Arbiter Mitchell enquired casually.
Luckily, Mac had an easy answer at the ready, “A mission from the Order regarding the defense of the village. The compensation is actually pretty good. I, uh, apologize for the lack of tact.”
Thanks to the Star Order's unique ability to offer missions and share messages with their members directly, through the Alpha menu in Mac's case, the explanation was pretty common.
The Commander, a regular human, was the only one to look confused. Arbiter Mitchell’s eyes glimmered for a moment with apparent humor. Administrator Reed, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to ring Mac’s neck out of embarrassment, but a disturbance at the door saved the day.
Bursting open, the doors swung wide as a member of the Guard rushed in and performed an abbreviated salute before breaking the news he’d come to deliver, “Sirs. Ma’ams. We have a situation. A few minutes ago, several homes near the village center burst into flame. Other fires have begun to pop up along the adjacent streets, but no one has been able to find the culprit. We believe it to be the work of traitors.”
Arbiter Mitchell’s good humor turned sour, “Seems the traitors were one step ahead of you, Cynthia. We no longer have the advantage of time. This battle has already begun.”