Chapter 99 - Guest of a Friend

  Alex might disagree with me about distributing the Heal spells, but I was going ahead with it anyway. People were suffering and dying out there for lack of modern medical care. A few stones weren’t going to fully resolve that crisis or end our lack, but I figured it would at least be a good start.

  I flew over to Fenway first, where MacGregor was doing a terrific job of knitting together a large band of the refugees from deeper in downtown Boston with those who’d lived near the stadium prior to the event. Even at a distance it was easy enough to see the work they’d done.

  Fenway Stadium was the heart of their community. They were well along the way toward walling in the complex, turning it into more of a castle than a stadium. The field inside those walls was largely covered with military-style tents, but there were a few actual buildings under construction as well.

  MacGregor and his community were clearly digging in with the intent to stay.

  Even at the late office afternoon hour, people were still hard at work. They were tearing down the buildings nearest to the baseball stadium, ripping them apart to clear space for whatever they planned to construct next.

  I was spotted by lookouts posted high on the stadium walls. They blew horns to warn those below. The lookouts must have recognized me, because the horn calls they sounded didn’t cause panic or alarm, although plenty of people looked up, saw me, and pointed.

  This wasn’t my first visit. I’d been there a few times already, so I knew where most things were, including MacGregor’s command tent. As I dropped toward it, the man himself stepped outside and waved up.

  “Castle!” MacGregor shouted. “Good to see you again!”

  I touched down gently on the ground beside him and shook his offered hand.

  “Likewise,” I said, smiling. “I’ve got some good news for a change, too.”?????????

  “I’m all ears,” MacGregor said. “We could certainly use some good news. People are doing all right, man. But I won’t deny that it’s been a difficult transition for many.”

  Difficult transition? That had to be the understatement of the century, I figured. Thanks to good leadership, MacGregor’s people were doing much better than most folks, but nothing about life after the Event was easy or simple.

  “It starts with something new,” I said, working my way toward a big buildup.

  “How is it good news that things are changing again?” MacGregor asked, interrupting my chain of thought.

  What he said made me pause and think. His words probably mirrored how most people were feeling. They’d all gone through so many changes already, and most of those had been extremely negative. Of course people would react to more change with fear and mistrust.

  I couldn’t blame them. Hell, if I hadn’t been there to take down the fungus giant, would it have been run rampant, storming communities and causing even more death and devastation? The answer to that one felt like a probable ‘yes.’

  “Well, some of it’s good, some maybe less so,” I allowed. “But it’s important info, anyway.”

  “Understood,” MacGregor said. “Come with me. I’ve got an office now where you can fill me in with relative privacy.”

  I followed him back inside the big tent, where a large map board dominated the entry area. It showed the area right around Fenway, and I saw marks for everything from new construction to dangerous regions.

  MacGregor led me past that big table, down to a smaller tent attached to the side. He pushed aside the flap and ushered me into a small room with a desk, a handful of folding chairs, and a flawlessly made-up cot in the corner.

  “Pardon the mess,” MacGregor said. “Housing is a little tight right now.”

  “What mess?” I asked. “Your bunk there looks like a Marine made it.”

  He blinked, giving me a hard look. “You’re not former service. You don’t have the look.”

  “No, you’re right. Dad was, though.”

  “Ah, that makes sense. Sit, please,” MacGregor said, waving me toward a chair.

  We sat, and I began telling him about everything that I’d seen in the dungeon. I started from when I arrived and found a new building that had appeared out of nowhere. That shocked him, and he asked a few questions before we went on. I told him about the gong, about how none of Alex’s people were able to ring it, but I was.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Was it your Strength that let you do it, or your tier rank?” MacGregor asked.

  “I honestly don’t know. We’ll need to have someone else test it, someone with a high enough overall rank whose focus is something other than Strength.”

  MacGregor gave me a grunt and gestured for me to go on, so I did. I told him about the doors opening, the fungus giant piling out, and how we managed to kill it. I passed along the news of its deadly spore attack, and the incredible luck of finding a high tier white crystal as a drop. Then I told the story of how we entered the dungeon, what we saw inside, and how we battled our way through to the boss at the end.

  “If I am getting this right, we ought to be able to go in there, too?” MacGregor asked. I nodded. “Okay, so as soon as we have a party strong enough to handle this place—which will take a while, I admit. Your friend Alex has the jump on us in terms of powers and spells. But once we can, we ought to be able to send a team in there to get some of those stones, too? Because we could truly use some healing power ourselves.”

  “That sounds spot on,” I told him. I wasn’t too sure how long it was going to take him to have a party strong enough to beat the place, but maybe I could help. “I can’t solo that dungeon. It’s way too strong for me alone. But once you get a party high enough rank to help me out, I could assist you in getting a team through it.”

  “That would be amazing,” MacGregor said. “Alex wasn’t wrong about those white crystals. Healing spells! Damn, but we could really use that. It takes far too long for people to recover from injuries, even if they have a few Stamina stones slotted.”

  I grinned, subtly reaching down to my pocket where I had the stones stashed. “Well, that might be something I can help with a little. See, I got a few of those Healing stones.”

  I pulled the crystal out and laid it on the desk between us, then slid it over to him. MacGregor picked it up, rolling it over in his hands. His face had a startled, almost awed look.

  “What can we give you for it? Assuming you’re willing to trade, that is.”

  “It’s yours,” I said. “I have three of them. I’m dropping off one here, one to the crowd at MIT, and one to the Harvard enclave. I figure it’s important to share the wealth around a bit, especially when it comes to Healing. People are in pain, hurting… If we have the ability to end that, I figure we have the responsibility to do it.”

  MacGregor just stared at me for a long moment. Then he laughed. “Boy, you need to learn some negotiating skills.”

  “This wasn’t a negotiation,” I said. “It’s a gift. It’s why I came here, to get you this. Give it to someone who can use it well, and start saving lives. That’s all I ask.”

  “Mmm. I think we can do better than that. Vasquez!” MacGregor said, raising his voice on the last word.

  A few seconds passed before a young man stuck his head through the tent flap. “Sir?”

  MacGregor glanced toward the man, then back at me. “Natural Armor is your strong spot, yes?” I nodded. MacGregor turned back to Vasquez. “Go to the crystal vault and fish out the highest tier Natural Armor stone we have.”

  “On it, sir.”

  The kid vanished, rushing off to complete his task. I turned back to MacGregor, twisting my mouth. “I thought I just told you this was a gift?”

  “Sure. And the one I’m giving you in return is a gift, too,” MacGregor replied. “Don’t turn me down. We had an ant nest spring up a block away, couple days ago. We’ve got plenty of Natural Armor crystals, and precisely zero Heal stones. Your gift is worth a lot more than what I’m giving you. But we have our pride. Let me do something for you, eh? The stronger you are, the better able you’ll be to get us more of these, after all.”

  “Okay, fair enough,” I replied with a shrug. “Alex wants me to get to tier ten on the Natural Armor, anyway. He thinks that might unlock some new powers or something. If I can get a little closer, maybe it’ll make him less pissed at me for giving away the Healing crystal.”

  MacGregor went stiff as I said that, and I realized maybe that wasn’t information I should have passed along. I was tired, though. Exhausted, even. I wasn’t paying quite as much attention to what I was saying as maybe I ought to be.

  “Didn’t want you to give them away, did he?” MacGregor said at last.

  I shook my head. “We had a short disagreement about it.”

  “I get it.”

  That surprised me. “You do?”

  MacGregor nodded. “Sure. Wealth is always going to be power, and in this world, crystals are now the most important form of wealth we have. There are some crystals that are super common, like the clear ones. They’re still valuable, but not as much as the rarer ones. Now, you have these white stones, which so far we can only get from a dungeon that can only be beaten by Alex’s top warriors with you backing them up. That makes white crystals the most valuable things out there, for now, anyway. He could ask for whatever he wanted in trade for them, and people would pay.”

  “You think he planned to trade them, and I’m undercutting them by giving them away?” I asked.

  “You’re not a very good capitalist, son. Let’s put it that way. Your friend is, though. He’ll probably still trade some to us, but since we have one already, he won’t be able to wring as much out of us in exchange.”

  Vasquez came rushing back, a single grey crystal cupped in both hands. “I have it, sir. One tier four Natural Armor.”

  He handed it to MacGregor, who thanked him, then dismissed him. The former police captain handed me the stone. “For you, for your services, for your constant help. We can’t possibly thank you enough, but this is at least a token.”

  I only hesitated a moment before taking it from his hand and slipping it into the pouch where I kept most of my spare stones. “Thanks. I’ll use it well.”

  “I know you will.”

  After that, it was getting on time for me to depart. I still had two more communities to bring these crystals to, and Alex wanted me back at his place in time for his celebration. MacGregor walked me out and gave me another hearty handshake before I flew off.

  “Stay who you are, Castle. This world is going to shape some people into things they’re not. I’ve seen some of it already, people twisting into crueler versions of themselves. You have a good, kind heart. Try to keep it that way, eh?”

  “I’ll do what I can,” I told him.

  “That’s all any of us can do.”

  With that, I sketched him a little salute with my hand, and launched myself back into the sky, racing swiftly north toward the river and MIT.