Chapter 108 - Vote

Jack sat atop the castle, staring out across the vast city that they had successfully laid siege to… mostly… Turns out they may have jumped the gun on killing the king a little bit. What the U.F.E. had expected was a quick transition into power. What they got instead was all the remaining Crowen soldiers turning insane, like rabid dogs let off the leash, and no king to rein them back in.

The U.F.E. spent the better part of three days trying to stamp out the remaining Crowen forces. The city had more or less turned into a complete war zone, with sections of it either destroyed or on fire. Just when Jack thought things might finally calm down, it all got dramatically worse.

Someone had killed that prick business guy, Max, or whatever his name was. They found him crucified in the temple. First reaction was that maybe it was the Crowen taking revenge on him for his betrayal. The second theory was that someone was hunting presumed key holders to the dungeon of Xinnolath. That put everyone on edge, and to Jack’s great annoyance, there was now a deadline to complete the dungeon. Devin, the U.F.E. commander, wasn’t interested in sitting around waiting for someone to hunt the key holders. He was ready to form a group and go inside the second Rodeo showed up with the seventh and final key we had looted from the king.

That’s why Jack was on the roof of the castle. He was hiding. He had zero intention of entering that dungeon with Rodeo still alive – a point he had made abundantly clear several times over, which only seemed to fall on deaf ears. No one had the history that he had with the man, and despite his clear acts of terror and violence against the U.F.E. he was all but in their good graces for helping kill the king. Some people were actually treating Jack as the suspicious one now, with how adamant he was against going into the dungeon.

Jack frowned in frustration as he stared down below at the ground. He spotted Sam, who was shading his eyes as he stared directly at Jack, sitting up on the roof. He started to wave and beckoned Jack to come down.

How the hell did he know I was up here? Jack wondered, standing up and dusting his pants off. Jack took one step off the roof and began to float gently to the ground.

He grinned as his graceful fall came to a stop in front of Sam.

“How’d you do that?” Sam asked, eyes wide.

Jack took out a necklace that had a long black feather on it and handed it to Sam

Featherfall Trinket

Type: Trinket

Tier: Uncommon

Enchantment Slots: 3/3

[Featherfall – 3 Slots]

Makes the wearer of this trinket as light as a feather, slowing one’s fall speed dramatically

A simple crow’s feather.

“My portion of the loot,” Jack offered. The king didn’t have much in the way of loot, and to Jack’s great annoyance, Gideon had insisted upon a “Fair loot distribution,” when it came to deciding who got what. Why the hell the dragon needed the king’s rare polearm from the first floor, he had no idea. He was pretty sure Gideon was only taking the loot to piss Jack off. The worst part was it worked. Rodeo took the key, and that left Jack with the feather. He hated how much he liked it.

“This is awesome. Can I hold on to it to test it out?” Sam asked.

“Sure,” Jack shrugged, and Sam pocketed the trinket with a smile.

“So, what did you want?”

“Another meeting,” Sam grimaced, “This one is a serious one. I think you better come this time.”

“No. People are just going to scream at me the entire time when I refuse to enter the dungeon. Everyone knows where I stand on the-“

“Sarah is there,” Sam interrupted.

Jack squinted at Sam, a little annoyed that he had learned how to play Jack. He hadn’t seen much of Sarah. She was off helping, well, everyone over the past few days. Plus, she was mad at him for refusing to go into the dungeon. Her argument was that we needed to complete the secret floor quest for the sake of humanity, and we couldn’t let personal grudges stop us from doing what was right. Jack's counter to that was only a complete moron would enter the dungeon with Rodeo. The conversation didn’t go well from there and she had been avoiding him since.

“Fine. Where are we meeting?”

“Follow me,” Sam said, turning and walking back into the castle. Jack followed him.

As the two made their way through the winding corridors and long hallways deeper into the castle, Jack noticed that Sam had been quiet.

“What’s your problem?” Jack asked, pushing Sam on the shoulder slightly. “Normally you’d be giving me a lesson on the finer points of skill point distribution or some equally boring shit by now.”

Sam was quiet for a moment longer, still staring at his feet.

“How does it feel to use your abilities?” Sam asked out of the blue.

“It fucking sucks. It breaks everything and hurts like hell every single time. Why?”

“So why do you use them?”

“Because I have to,” Jack shrugged.

Sam nodded at that and went quiet again. Jack squinted at him and then glanced around the hallway. The castle was littered with U.F.E. soldiers. For the first time since joining up with them, they all seemed happy, relaxed even. It was subtle, but it looked like everyone carried themselves a little taller, the weight of war no longer bearing down on them.

“I’ve got an ability like yours now,” Sam finally said.

“That the thing that put you out of commission for three days straight? Heard you almost died. What’s it do?”

“It’s my same [Chrono-Warp] ability. It just got a new addition. Now I can teleport to places I’ve been in the future.”

“Sounds overpowered.”

“It is. Which is why I can’t use it anymore.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because the option to jump into the future only appears when the chances of me dying are greater than the chances of me living. It’s complicated, but If I use it, the chances that I die when I come out the other side are really high.”

“Huh… and who’s deciding these chances exactly?” Jack asked, a little confused.

“I don’t know, the Tower, I guess,?” Sam shrugged. “Even worse, it requires lifeforce to use. Gideon made me promise not to use the ability. He said something like that will only grow more dangerous every time I use it. I barely survived this time, so I’m inclined to believe him.”

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

“So what’s the problem, then? Just don’t use it.”

“But what If I need to use it? Then what?”

“Then use the ability.” Jack said matter of fact.

“You aren’t any help. I thought you might have some decent advise since your abilities practically kill you every time.”

“Listen Sam. I don’t know what sort of advice you’re looking for here. I use my abilities because I have to. It’s that simple. I’m not thinking about how much it’s going to hurt, if it might kill me, or what the consequences are going to be. All that shit is future Jack’s problem. If you don’t want to use an ability because it might kill you, that’s perfectly fine. Only you can decide what’s worth your life. You want some solid advice?” Jack asked, stopping in the middle of the hallway and turning to Sam who nodded back in earnest.

“Do whatever the fuck you want,” Jack grinned.

“That’s not advice,” Sam said, his face turning annoyed.

“It’s worked for me pretty well,” Jack said, throwing an arm around Sam.

“Because you have me and Hannah to clean up your messes.”

“That’s fair. I’d like to change my advice then,” Jack said, stopping again and turning to Sam. “Find someone to clean up your messes, that’s my advice.”

Sam rolled his eyes and walked away.

“Hey, that was good advice!” Jack said, chasing after him.

The rest of the walk was quiet, Sam pointedly ignoring Jack as they made their way to the war room.

Inside, Jack found Hannah, Sarah, Gideon, Devin, Rodeo, and several of the U.F.E. elites talking amongst themselves.

“Glad you could finally join us.” Devin said, sitting at the head of the table.

“Aww, a surprise party? For me? You guys shouldn’t have.” Jack said, taking a seat next to Hannah. He glanced at Sarah, who was staring at him, only to quickly look away.

“So what’s on today’s agenda, chief?”

“The dungeon of Xinnolath.” He said flatly.

“Color me surprised.”

“The portals aren’t working.”

Jack cocked an eyebrow at Devin.

“You can’t get them working, you mean?”

“No. I mean, the portals are very clearly tied to the dungeon of Xinnolath. We can trace literal conduits leading from the portals down to the dungeon. For some reason, they’ve diverted the power of the portals that lead off this continent to the Dungeon.”

“And you still want to open it? Does anyone even know what’s inside? I feel like everyone thinks I’m crazy because I don’t think we should be going inside. Dungeons suck, and this one sounds like it’s going to take the cake for shitty experiences. Also, we still haven’t figured out who killed the guy that you all swore soul oaths to? I feel like that’s a bigger deal then anyone is making it out to be.”

“As far as I’m concerned his death was a gift. One less monster I have to concern myself with.” Devin nodded.

“It’s not just the portals, Jack. This is the secret floor quest. I know you’ve heard the rumors about how it’s supposed to transform our floor. Gideon's all but assured us it will. We have to do this for humanity. Things are getting worse, not better. We need this, and soon.” Sarah said, joining in on the conversation.

Jack stared at her for a long moment, and then glanced over at Rodeo, who had his feet kicked up on the table and hands behind his head, a lazy smile on his face. He winked at Jack.

I could just kill him right now. Might work. Jack mused to himself. Gideon leaned in suspiciously and his eyes went hard, like he knew what Jack was thinking.

“Well, we aren’t going in, and you need our keys to get inside.” Hannah said matter of fact.

“I understand your concerns-“

“You really don’t, if you still think going inside with Rodeo is a good idea.” Jack interrupted.

Rodeo began to chuckle.

“Tell me,” Devin said, taking a deep breath and recollecting himself, “What could he possibly stand to gain by killing all of us inside the dungeon? It makes absolutely no sense. Yes, he was our enemy, but he’s done nothing but support us since. If I can put his offenses aside and see reason, so can you.” He finished, voice deep with anger.

Jack stood up from the table and walked towards the door. One of the U.F.E.s more capable warriors, Hank, was blocking the door.

“Move.” Jack said, hands falling to the hilt of his daggers.

Hank didn’t budge an inch. He simply stared Jack down.

“We are going to put it to a vote.” Devin said from behind.

“Vote all you want. I don’t give a shit what you decide. We aren’t going in.”

“If the motion to enter the dungeon gets struck down, then so be it. But if the vote is successful, then we will be entering the dungeon. With or without you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jack asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’ll place you under arrest and take the key from you.”

Jack’s jaw practically dropped at the stupidity of that statement.

“You can’t possibly think that would work.” Hannah added from the side.

“I know who you are, Jack Atlas. Did you really think I had forgotten the matter of you killing a U.F.E. commander back at the garrison? I overlooked you because it was a time of war and I needed every resource I could get, but do you honestly think I have forgiven you for your crimes?”

“I mean, yea? Sort of? You’re in charge now, aren’t you? Seems like I did you a favor. Also, let’s not ignore the fact that you knowingly used me for the duration of the war, bit hypocritical to turn against me now, don’t ya think?”

“Look who is sitting to my left,” He said with a gesture towards Rodeo, “I’ll use whatever and whoever I must in order to save lives.”

“Oh good. The dictator cliché.” Jack said with a roll of his eyes. “So what happens when the vote wins and I still don’t play ball? You think you can arrest me and throw me in prison?”

“I chose this room for a reason, Jack. You’re deep inside a keep now owned by the U.F.E., surrounded by the strongest soldiers I have, and Gideon has also assured me he will not let you get away. Tell me, do you really think you can escape this?”

Jack glanced around the room, all eyes on him. Hannah gave him a small, tight nod. Sam had his same wide-eyed look as always. Sarah looked back and forth between him and Gideon, an unsure look on her face.

Jack ‘tsked’ in annoyance and sat back down. The tension practically bled out of the room.

“I’m glad you could see reason. Very well, let’s quit wasting time and put this to a vote. I vote yes, we enter the dungeon. Rodeo?”

“Yes,” he said from behind a big, toothy grin.

“Sarah?”

“Yes.” She said matter of fact.

“That’s three,” Devin continued, “Gideon, can I assume you’ll be voting yes as well?”

“No.” He said matter of fact, “I think we should hold off for now.”

Sarah turned to him, a shocked look on her face. Jack hated the dragon, but he had to admit, that was a hilarious turn of events.

“Can I ask why? You’re the one who has been preaching how imperative it is we enter the dungeon.”

Gideon stared at Sarah for a long moment before answering.

“Some things shouldn’t be rushed into. Jack has a point; we have precious little information as to what’s inside. I understand reconnecting with your peoples is important, but it couldn’t to hurt to keep researching. You can’t honestly tell me you’ve worked your way through this castle’s secrets yet, can you?”

Devin only gave him a tight nod in response. Jack was grinning ear to ear. They had won.

“Ja-“

“Fuck no.” Jack said, staring down Rodeo who had seemingly lost his smile.

“Hannah?”

“No.” she grinned.

“Samuel?”

There wasn’t a response, and all eyes in the room fell on Sam, who was staring down at his hands.

“Samuel?” Devin asked again.

“Yes.”

“What?” Hannah roared, standing up from her desk.

Jack closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat and letting out a long sigh.

“Everyone will have two days to prepare, then we enter the dungeon.” Devin said matter of fact.

Jack got up to leave, but Hank didn’t move.

“I’ll need you to swear to me first, Jack, that you won’t try to run away.” Devin said.

“This soul oath shit is starting to get really annoying.” Jack said, throwing a glance at Gideon, who still wore a look of concern on his face that the vote had passed.

“It’s because it’s new and novel,” Gideon started, “people have been betraying each other since the beginning of time and for the first time in their lives, the universe is enforcing their promises. I assure you; the novelty wears off rather quickly. You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone on the upper floors willing to swear a soul oath. Asides, I’ve been informed that your people are rather… litigious? It should come as no surprise that-“

“Gentleman, perhaps this is a conversation for another time.” Devin interrupted. “Jack, swear your oaths, and let’s be done with this matter.”

Jack glanced around the table. Hannah was still staring at Sam with fury in her eyes. Rodeo was grinning at him. Gideon had a resigned look on his face and Sarah had him fixed with an evaluating stare.

“Fine.” Jack finally said.