Mark had never been more grateful for power naps than now, because after he and Sam returned from the Insitute, they began preparations for the descent in earnest.
Ethel and Karter had taken Sam's warning to increase defense across their territory to heart and had assigned them all duties in preparation for this.
Daphne and Chloe were dealing with supply chains and rapid responses. While Mark dealt with the creation of defensive vantage points. Sam worked with Karter to select their offensive force, and Ethel managed it all.
Their initial plan was to take half of their fighting force with them into the underground, while the other half remained to protect their people. However, those numbers needed to be revised once they realized how things were changing for the worse up here.
With the Loyalist’s retreat to the walls, conflicts were becoming commonplace. People were taking advantage of the lawless zones more so than usual. This in turn made factions reinforce their boundaries.
Karter crunched the numbers and they decided that a unit of around three hundred fighters was the limit of what they could spare. Their territory had expanded rapidly, and while they weren't struggling to guard the perimeter, Karter thought it prudent to have roaming parties outside their territory. If anything happened in the lawless zones near them, then their people could act to help. This would also double down as an early warning system.
Mark had heard that with the lockdown of so many factions, places like the healer's house suffered, though they were still protected by minimum personnel, the increase in injured was becoming a worry. Mark chose not to close their clinic, even though only a few people were willing to travel at the moment. He needed his people at the ready if things got out of hand.
Jonathan had remained down in the tunnels since last night, however, thanks to Gibby, a rotation of fighters looking to train followed him down. Though he never came up himself, on their shift changes, they delivered news regarding his current state.
In this manner the evening disappeared, consumed by the night, and in the early hours of the morning, they finally managed to get things in order. Pushing through the night would be possible and beneficial but the problem was that tomorrow was going to be life or death and they needed everyone in peak condition.
That went doubly so for Jonathan, so Mark and Sam headed down to the training grounds.
When they arrived and descended into the darkness they found the current team on duty fighting back intermittent waves of Corrupted. Though the area was already cleared numerous times, it seemed they had tunneled into a hub-like area. Causing a good number of Corrupted to merely pass through in search of ‘food’.
The team down here pointed them in a particular direction and they headed down the main tunnel. Less than a twenty-minute journey they found Jonathan resting up against a sewer grating with several Behmoths and all manner of Corrupted lying dead around him.
He saw them coming a mile away and when they got to him, no words were exchanged but Mark could see the guy was finished. His armor remained in good condition but the same could not be said for the rags he was currently calling clothes, nor the dirt and blood that covered every available inch of him.
Jonathan looked at the two of them, nodded, and then holding up the amulet he offered it back to Mark.
Mark activated the waystone to make the trip back up to the surface. They were once more transported out of the dark damp tunnels in a flash of brilliant silver light. Mark had adjusted it to bring them to the rooftop after the last incident in the meeting room.
As tired as Jonathan looked, he still insisted on meditating. Mark was still recovering from using the technique for the last couple of days, so it wasn’t as effective as usual and he couldn’t imagine Jonathan got as much for it either, but he still did it for the guy.
Source: Mediation (+16 Prana, +32 exp points)
After that, Mark got a good couple of hours of shuteye and then went straight back to work. He was just busy directing lines for personal ration distributions when a car he recognized—or, more accurately, the guild's green insignia—pulled up.
There was only one person in the guild who had permission to bypass their patrol like this.
Moving over, Mark tugged at the polished door handle and took a step back. Mr. Xiaolan Wei climbed out of the vehicle with a grunt of acknowledgment, and Ning Wei followed shortly.
Moving parallel to them Mark smiled.
“Well, Mr. Xiaolan, Ms. Ning Wei it's good to see you both.”
Mr. Xiaolan steadied himself on his cane.
"Likewise Mr. Young. Now would it be possible to trouble you all for a time I have a request."
"Mr. Xiaolan should already know he is welcome here. Come inside"
Before it could become a scene Mark scattered the gawkers. Wrapping their group in a screen of opaque force and directing them toward the lobby. Which had been turned into one massive staging area at this point. Karter, Gibby, and Ethel were surrounded by numerous desks, documents, and personnel
When they got there Jonathan was the only other lead there with them. Ethel stood when she saw the three of them approaching, stretching out her arms wide.
“Mr. Xiaolan, if you had told me you were coming I would have received you personally.”
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Jonathan had moved closer to Ning Wei, greeting her with a silent smile.
Xiaolan just made a dismissive wave of his hand.
“It's no fuss Ethel I have come to ask a favor of you.”
The use of her first name raised a brow, but right after that, her eyes softened.
“If it's within my power I will do what I can, old friend.”
“You are busy so I’ll make my ask and be done. Please look after Ning Wei for me.”
Gibby narrowed his eyes at the man.
“Mr. Xiaolan, I have seen personally the resources you can bring to bear. Are you saying you don’t have sufficient protection?”
Xiaolan snorted but didn’t take his eyes off Ethel.
“Higherlings at best, can protect my life. But for what I’m asking now, I need real loyalty. Someone I trust to move mountains to keep my little girl safe. In these times of uncertainty, competitors are always looking for weaknesses. Will you protect my family once more?”
There was an unknowable light in his eye, as though he knew something they didn't.
Xiaolan let his cane clatter to the floor, it looked like he was about to kneel but Jonathan moved to his side. Steadying him with an arm.
“Mr. Xiaolan, If you trust my grandmother enough, to come here in the first place, then we will never turn you down. We protect our own, as far as I'm concerned you are one of us. Ning Wei will be safe here, be at ease.”
Jonathan's voice was steady and endearing, but this was not his practiced mask. He meant this deeply, it seemed to give a measure of peace Mark had not seen in him since the news.
For a moment, Xiaolan’s face twitched in relief, but a stoic mask covered the emotion so quickly that Mark doubted his eyes. Ethel’s face was bursting with pride as she watched Jonathan; a resolute nod in Xiaolan's direction was all the words she could manage.
Ning Wei looked at her father, pale with worry, and yet she did not try to fight him. Instead, she hugged the older man and stared at his back as he left the lobby alone.
Ethel ushered them back to work, assigning Ning Wei to assist Jonathan in catching up with his duties. The morning burned into the afternoon and all too soon it came time to leave.
Rows of their chosen fighters collected near the edge of their territory. Sam, Jonathan, Daphne, Mark, and Chloe were at the front. Right behind them were people like Gibby, Brian, Isabel, and Sofia, along with Franklin, Andy, Maggie, and Tommis acting as their leads.
Karter and Ethel would remain at base, alongside Donny, Abby George, and Ning Wei.
Though their numbers were nowhere near what they were on the way to the city, Mark was certain their strength was comparable. Without civilians to protect Mark was sure they could be even more effective in removing the Corrupted.
The warm days had been replaced once more, by torrents of chilling air. When the call to march went up from Jonathan their numbers moved towards the meet-up point near Builders quarry.
Mark and Sam floated overhead watching the teams moving out. At least a third of their fighters were capable of some form of flight, but Sam had issued an order to remain at ground level for now.
They were waved off by Karter, Ethel, and Ning Wei, who quickly shrank behind them as buildings moved to obstruct them. Jude had given them a powerful two-way radio in case of emergencies and they needed to rush back, hopefully, it would work where they were going.
Once they were out on the streets Mark noted that the neutral zones were more chaotic than he'd ever remembered, and that was saying something. No groups willingly approached their small organized force, but he could just see the light that lurked in their eyes. The journey was without issue and Mark took that as a good sign.
On arrival, he saw a vastly different space than when they were last here. The area had been organized to cater to a large number of people. Parts of the honeycomb-like walls had been knocked down to create a large open space, while the debris and ruins had been removed to minimize obstructions. The massive void of structures and people made it impossible to miss the lonely Dungeon entrance that had been excavated.
It sat out in the weak afternoon sun, oozing an air of calm malice. Its white masonry reflected no light. The last time Mark had seen this entrance, they’d had to travel underground for a good while, but by the looks of it, NAS had been busy making it easier to access. It was also at this time Mark noticed the gradual slope running downwards at a decline towards the entrance. It made Mark think someone had turned a smooth pyramid upside down and pressed it into the earth; the scale was just so large and gradual that it was not immediately apparent.
At first, Mark didn’t understand why they did this, but he then realized they were using the terrain to their advantage. Over two dozen towers had been set up around the perimeter as sniper nests, where they would pick off anything emerging from the Dungeon entrance. There were walls in between them, but those had been lowered to allow access to the area.
As big as NAS was, these preparations were no small undertaking.
Even greater still were the numbers Mark was seeing. NAS had sent out a call to arms to all their allies and even the public domain. This time, quantity was all they cared about. NAS's main force had around forty thousand fighters, though bringing that many to bear here was impossible, as, like their Order, they had people to protect.
If he had to guess by the numbers gathering nearby, he was looking at a force of around five thousand fighters from NAS alone. Several other factions, their Order included, made up an additional three thousand fighters.
All in all, putting aside the numbers on the walls, Mark was looking at the largest collection of fighters gathered under one joint purpose.
Eyes scanning the surrounding faces, Mark searched for people he recognized. The first to stick out was from the other allied factions nearby. Tyler from Tyler’s Tygers was not hard to miss as his people collected around him in a disorganized mass. He couldn’t seem to stop staring daggers over at a relatively small group of people in simple civilian clothing. Mark couldn’t figure out who they were until he noticed the pompous face of Rupert Daning staring anywhere but at the seething man. Meaning this was the Inscriptionist guild. Mark had to assume they were here in a support capacity as he had been under the impression they were non-combatants.
Beside them, Mark noticed Jade and Shameez from Reflections, surrounded by a gleaming pool of polished armor. All of their combatants were easily identifiable by the cold light they reflected amongst the other smaller factions.
NAS forces were present, and though Mark had seen glimpses of Lisa or Nathan, no one had as of yet arrived to greet them.
Mark didn’t mind and further searched the crowds, he was looking for Patrica Williams. Mark had been worried she would choose to remain uninvolved because of the trauma she had experienced down there. However, he found her soon enough, with only a mild look of dread on her features.
She was surrounded by hundreds of her faithful, enough that Mark could feel their Ideal’s presence from over here. For the first time, Mark also saw a pairing of women next to Patrica who wore similar embellishments on the simple gowns
Mark observed only a few fights break out, which considering the number of people here, was pretty good. At the same time, he saw that many groups chose to refrain from mixing with others. Each remained within its own faction's boundaries. It was at this time that Mark noticed Lisa arriving with a group on her heels. She stopped in front of Patrica and had her follow her over to Reflections, where Jade joined the group, then Tyler, and so on. When she made her way towards their group Sam stepped forward, it was time to figure out what was going on.