“The night of the wake, after you left for the wilds, was an absolute shitshow,” Elmer began as the elevator creaked its way slowly to the sixteenth-floor. “Jacob Stone, Judy Brass, and Cosmo Shufflebottom sent their people into… Billy, knock it off.”
“I’m sorry, man,” Billy said, failing to hold in his chuckles. “It’s not enough that the guy dresses like a 1990’s cereal mascot, but his name – I just can’t take him seriously.”
“Well, you need to start,” Elmer ordered. “Because as of this morning, the EnergyWave CEO, as well as Stone and Brass, are the most powerful players at the Tower. And of those three, Cosmo is the most unpredictable. That makes him the most dangerous.”
Billy fell silent as Elmer continued.
“As I was saying, after the CEOs saw how strong the Freelancers had become, they sent their people into the wilds to fight and level up,” Elmer continued.
“A cold war,” Calista chimed in. “Both sides building up their strength and trying to stay ahead of the other.”
“Exactly. It worked, in a way. Their recklessness has cost the lives of forty-six people since you left. Another thirty-nine have joined the Freelancers – the few that found themselves on the wrong side of their former bosses. Even that worked out for the CEOs, as they quickly banished their dissenters while framing us as the collective malcontents.”
Elmer sighed as they passed the sixth floor.
“Everyone else? They doubled down in their loyalty to their CEOs and started following orders. All those previous level one players who were too scared to leave the towers? They finally left the tower and started to level up.”
“You didn’t mention Ms. Cook, the CEOs for the agriculture bureaucrats,” Calista observed curiously.
A subtle smile appeared on Elmer’s face. “Well, it hasn’t all been bad news. After Stone and Brass locked us out of the tower and threw us to the wolves…”
Lightpaw’s ears perked up, and Milly placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“It’s just a human expression,” she whispered. “It was goblins and ogres, not actual wolves.”
Elmer raised a curious eyebrow before continuing. “Ms. Cook – Alison – was absolutely livid. She had grown discontent with the direction of the other CEOs, but after the Battle of Tower Beach she pulled her people out of their alliance entirely.”
“Turns out, Ms. Cook and her staff weren’t just gardening all this time,” Billy chimed in. “Those farmers are a tough bunch, and a few of them, including Ms. Cook, had been sneaking into the wild every morning to hunt monsters. They were as powerful as some of our most advanced Freelancers.”
“After the CEOs sent their players into the wilds that day, Alison and her strongest employees marched into the CEOs’ penthouse. I don’t know exactly what happened, but the next evening, her team had laid claim to Tower Four and moved in. They had left nothing but bare walls behind in Tower One.”
“Fuck, she is a hell of a woman. Brilliant, powerful, and just a wee bit scary,” Billy praised.
“Yes, and she’s waiting for us in the war room,” Elmer said, as they arrived at the penthouse. “Because what happens next will shape the future of both the Freelancers and the Farmers.”
Like the medical floor, the penthouse had started to resemble a proper war room. Four tables had been set up across the wide-open floor, paper maps purchased from the Emporia stretched over their surfaces. There was a map for each terrain, and dozens of tiny wooden figurines were placed on their surface. Milly watched in wonder as the figurines moved on their own across the map and flashed different colors.
Lightpaw peeked his nose over the table and watched in fascination as one of the figures changed from white to red.
Harriett strolled over to the fox, apparently unperturbed by the fairy’s appearance. The artificial hand she had received after the Battle of Tower Beach was shaped into a short, straight-blade knife as she carved another figurine.
“Red means they are in a battle,” Harriett explained, touching the top of the figure gently with the knife. “That’s Mohammad’s team. They’re only an hour out, so they likely came across a goblin hunting party. It shouldn’t take long – Mohammad’s team is one of our strongest.”
The figurine shifted from red to white.
“There, see? White means they are on the move. Blue is healing. Red is fighting. Black is… well, we don’t want to see black. I can incorporate more colors and extend the map’s range as I level up, but this is all I can do right now without taking more advanced artificer magic. That’s a type of magic that lets me enchant objects like these figurines.”
“Such comforting magic,” Lightpaw praised. “To know if your friends – your family – are safe and when they need help. It is a real gift. My people have wandered the terrains for generations, and we only know if our clans are safe when we arrive at the Gathering each year.”
Harriett beamed with pride. “Well, little fox, I don’t know who you are, but any friend of Calista and Milly is a friend of mine. We’re all busy on projects – just trying to survive, you know – but when things calm down, perhaps we can talk, and I can make one for your family.”
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For the first time since they had arrived at the Castle of Glass, Lightpaw looked hopeful. “I would like that,” he said gratefully.
“Unfortunately, calm may be a faint hope,” came a throaty, confident voice from the penthouse office. Alison Cook stood in the doorway and leaned against its frame. In her late forties, the bureaucrat carried herself with a casual confidence that belied her small stature. She wore a flowing green robe that stretched to her ankles and her long black hair was tied with a thick, thorny vine that slithered like a snake. She carried a quarterstaff, a green gemstone embedded at its pinnacle. Her heterochromatic eyes – one green, one blue – were calculating as she took in their new arrivals.
“Alison’s bureaucrats and the Freelancers don’t have an official alliance, but we’ve been working closely together,” Elmer explained, moving to Alison’s side. “Between us, we have about a hundred and thirty players. Stone has over five hundred. But our collective numbers have been enough to dissuade the CEOs from open hostility. Our players were stronger. So they’ve focused on leveling up their players and collecting equipment and magical items, just like us. The cold war materialized.”
“Except two days ago, things changed,” Alison added. “The Event Timer was ticking down to another disaster. We were all getting desperate – CEOs, Farmers, and Freelancers. None of us were ready for what the AI Director would throw at us. We weren’t strong enough.”
“Exploring the local area – the safe area – wasn’t adding very much to the event timer,” Billy explained. “The deeper and more dangerous the exploration, the more time gets added.”
“So I called a meeting between the three factions of the Castle of Glass. Needless to say, it was a… tense conversation,” Alison said. “But we came to an agreement. The CEOs would head for the closest arena, and the Freelancers and Farmers would focus on developing the Castle of Glass’ defenses and necessities. The wall, the barbecue pits, the farm. We couldn’t keep living day-by-day, hoping for the best. We needed to plan for the long haul, and we all knew that. Even the CEOs.”
Elmer stared out the window, his voice low. “It felt like a betrayal. How many friends did we lose on the beach because the CEOs locked us out? Yet without some kind of peace, what hope did we have to survive this God Contest. So we set aside the hate, and we made the deal.”
“We didn’t realize what a mistake that was until they returned this morning,” Alison said. “The CEOs had taken twenty of their players with them. Only three survived, along with the CEOs. But they beat the Arena of Domination, and the feat made them strong. Very strong, and it gave them equipment that eclipsed anything we have found exploring near the tower.”
“With that one victory, they’d blown past all of us,” Elmer said, defeated. “And cast themselves at the conquering heroes. The saviors of the tower. The completion of the Arena added fifty days to the Event Timer, saving us from its wrath, and, in the eyes of their loyal employees, solidified them as the leaders of the Castle of Glass.”
“As soon as they returned, Stone demanded that Elmer and I submit to their leadership. They’ll be waiting on the beach now for our answer.”
“And if you don’t?” Calista said, a defiant look in her eye.
“What do you think, huntress?” Alison said, her eyes flared. “The CEOs believe their survival rests in having complete control of the Castle of Glass. I spent enough time alongside them to know that they will use any means necessary to build their power and survive. Just like they did with their companies back in our world.”
“They weren’t successful companies,” Milly countered. “They were failing companies, run by failing CEOs, housed in the worst real estate in the city.”
“And that’s makes them so dangerous, witch, and you need to understand why. These three - they did not find the success they craved back in our world. EnergyWave was being sued and on the verge of bankruptcy, Legal Eagles was a two-bit law firm surviving on lackluster cases and reject lawyers…”
“Hey, some of us were decent,” Elmer half-heartedly protested. “Well, one or two of us.”
“And Acicentre was being investigated by the government for fraud.”
“We were?” Milly and Calista said in unison, surprised.
Alison nodded. “I overheard Stone and his second-in-command, Joseph, talking about it. Stone would have spent the next five years of his life behind bars if the God Contest hadn’t happened.”
Alison moved to the window next to Elmer, staring out at the beach. “These are people who craved wealth and control in our world, yet it was slipping through their fingers, their dreams unfulfilled. The God Contest is their second chance at glory – at power – and they will do anything to achieve it. They are desperate for it, and they are dangerous.”
“They aren’t the only ones who are dangerous,” Calista declared. She withdrew the Spear of Pinga from her inventory and clutched it in her hand. “I won’t let our friends become pawns in their power fantasies. And I made a promise to the fairies that I would find them a new home. I intend to keep that promise. Milly?”
“We’ve faced worse than this today and survived,” Milly replied, though her stomach fluttered. She had faced down monsters this morning and won, yet the thought of confronting Stone filled her with anxiety. “And Stone and Brass already declared me an enemy of the tower.”
Elmer and Alison glanced at each other.
“We were hoping you’d say that,” Elmer beamed. “We didn’t tell our people of their demand because they would want to fight. It would have escalated into war – a war that we couldn’t win. Alison and I were about to submit to them when you suddenly appeared.”
“Our math has changed,” Alison added, clutching her quarterstaff tightly. “I spent a week alongside those assholes, and that was more than enough. I have no desire to be subservient to them.”
“Nor I. Ms. Brass wasn’t a kind boss,” added Elmer. “She was cruel and vindictive. Even if we were to surrender, I doubt our people would last long under their leadership. We’d all be declared enemies of the tower, one by one.”
“The one good thing about the God Contest was no longer being employed at Acicentre,” Calista chimed in. “Like hell I want to return to that. How much longer do you have to deliver an answer?”
Elmer glanced at his watch. “Fifteen minutes. We’re to meet them on the beach.”
“Shit,” Calista swore. “Milly and I haven’t leveled up yet, and we’re still half-exhausted from this morning. I don’t suppose we can ask for more time?”
“I once saw Judy fire an intern for bringing in her coffee two minutes late,” Elmer answered. “Plus, they know you are back. The sooner we confront them, the less time they have to prepare.”
“Then we’ll do what we can along the way,” Calista said, and she turned to Lightpaw. “Lightpaw, I want you to head back to your people. If we succeed, I’ll return to the valley. If I’m not there within the hour, take your people and move them away from the valley as quickly as you can.”
“I don’t think so, Ms. Gale,” Lightpaw countered stoically, once again the Chief Elder. “You know there is no safe place for my people in the wilds. This is our only hope. I will be there when you confront these CEOs, so I may advocate for my people. Just as you are an unexpected arrival, so too might I play such a role.”
Calista wanted to disagree, but the Chief Elder’s eyes were firm.
“Just promise me that if things go south, you’ll run,” Calista asked, and the elderly fox nodded.
“Then let’s not waste time,” Elmer sighed, as he removed a steel double-headed axe from his inventory.
“I just want to make one stop,” Milly insisted, hitting the button for the second floor. “There’s a stash of magic potions I need to borrow.”