The duo watched them approach, weariness written across their faces.
Sebastian still seemed confused by their arrival but grateful. “Many thanks for your help, whoever you are.”
Ben introduced himself and the team. “We briefly mentioned it to Cass—the systems sent us to rescue the two of you.”
“The systems? To rescue us? What?”
Allison stepped in, explaining the Protectorate and the kinds of missions they usually received.
“This is the first time we’ve been sent to rescue people because of their importance to humanity, so I guess you can feel proud that the systems have singled you out,” Ben said with a wink. “Is this your home?”
Cass shook her head. “No, not at all. We’ve been traveling for the last couple of months, using our abilities to help wherever we can. A few days ago, we came across this place. It’s both an orphanage and a retirement home—I think the idea was to have the young ones exposed to some wisdom and bring a bit of chaos into the lives of the old ones. Anyway, they were struggling to get food and other things already, and then the dungeon creatures chose this place as part of their rampage.”
“Honestly, we probably would’ve died here with the kids and elders if you hadn’t come. But I don’t know what to do with them…” Sebastian said.
“Don’t worry about that—we have already welcomed them into the Protectorate,” Allison replied.
“You can afford to take them on and feed them indefinitely?” Cass asked incredulously.
Ben shrugged. “I don’t know how many people we took on, but we already produce a food surplus and can expand if needed, so that’s not a problem. We should also have enough people to take care of them. ‘Protecting everyone’ is one of our values.”
The two looked at each other, trying to process all they had heard.
“Is there nobody who takes care of dungeons this close to civilization?” Anne asked curiously.
Cass and Sebastian shared a bitter laugh. “Where have you been the last two months? Most people still sit at home and hope all of this will go away. The institutions have either failed or consolidated to a few handpicked locations. From what we’ve seen, civilization’s pretty much dead,” Sebastian said.
That was sobering news for Ben and the team. They had seen horrible things happening, but while things in Simonston were far from perfect and people were suffering, there was still some semblance of civilization.
“Our mission was to save you. Will you join us in the Protectorate?”
The two looked at each other again. This time it was Cass who responded on their behalf. “First, truly, thank you for rescuing us—we appreciate it. However, we believe we can do more good if we continue to travel the lands and see whether there are more people we can help. So unfortunately, we have to decline your offer.”
Sebastian nodded along with his partner.
Ben nodded. “That is a very selfless decision, I—”
He was interrupted by a blue notification.
Congratulations on completing your mission. For your effort, you are awarded a one-time portal token. Once you have added a Spatial Anchor to the Protectorate Pillar (500 SC in the Settlement Interface), any person can use the portal token to create a portal to the settlement.
A thin blue lattice formed on his palm, solidifying into a marble slip marked with a small indentation—clearly meant to be broken to activate.
“Hmm, it looks like the Meta is not yet done with you,” Ben said as he handed over the token to Cass. “If you break this, a portal to the Protectorate will form. It’s single-use. If you ever need to flee or need help, don’t hesitate to use it.”
“That is quite something!” she exclaimed, and Sebastian seemed equally impressed.
A few minutes later, they said their farewells, and the team returned to the portal. There they saw Adam step through it, frantically looking for them.
“We are under attack!”
***
They burst out of the portal just before it closed, and within seconds Ben had leaped onto the palisade.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
He saw at least forty Warriors at the clearing’s edge, but it was hard to tell, as more could be hiding in the gloomy forest behind them.
Two men stood a few meters before the rest, apparently waiting. One of the two was Smith, the Warrior lieutenant who had visited them and taken Adam and the others hostage. The other seemed even older, but even from a distance, it was easy to see that he was in a leadership position—the way he inspected the settlement with his hands clasped behind his back, like a king surveying his domain.
Steve climbed up beside Ben. “You already know Smith. The other is their boss, Warren Gooding. Has been around for a very long time. Bad news ever since. We tried to get him many times, but he always managed to get out of it. If he’s here, he’s brought the organization’s true hard core with him. They should be a different caliber than the ones you’ve dealt with so far.”
“All of them?”
“No, I suspect there to be ten to fifteen elites—the others more of what you know.”
Ben nodded. “I’m not sure what they hope to achieve. Even if they were to succeed, they must know the price they’d have to pay would be enormous.”
“Maybe. But first of all, the leaders have never seen you go all out, and second, even if they had, this is a question of dominance for them. You attacked them on their home turf; you killed some of them. They couldn’t let that stand, even if they wanted to—that’s not how their culture works.”
Ben rubbed his nose. “Sounds like playground rules to me, but fine. What do you think they’re waiting for?”
“You.”
“They probably want to deliver an ultimatum to you—if you accept, they’d achieve their goals without having to risk their men.”
He thought about it for a moment.
“You’re not planning to go there, are you, son?”
“I realize there’s no real chance to solve this peacefully, but at the same time, I think I have to try. And I don’t think they can reach me if I decide to retreat here.”
“That is true,” Barry weighed in, having joined them.
“OK, wish me luck!”
***
With that, Ben leaped over the palisade and slowly walked toward the two Warriors, axe in hand. That triggered ten men to step out of the forest and form a line behind the two leaders.
All of them were significantly less pumped up than the Warriors they had interacted with so far, but they looked serious and attentive, inspecting Ben while staying aware of their surroundings. Some of them wore weapons and armor that they must have stolen from Damien’s team.
Ben had to suppress the instinct to hesitate, certain this was a show of force—and showing weakness would hurt their chances of avoiding a bloodbath.
He decided to approach this with a bit of swagger.
Grinning, he asked, when he was about six meters away from the two, “What brings you to our neighborhood, gentlemen?”
“You killed my men, and we thought we’d return the favor.” It was Gooding who replied in a deep, emotionless voice.
“Twice I have given you the choice to let things rest—first with Stemberger, then when I retrieved my people that you had attacked and abducted.” He pointed to the men behind the leaders. “They’re still carrying the equipment you stole from them. But, as I said, I’m happy to let bygones be bygones. I’m not the police. If you leave me and my people in peace, there’s no reason for a conflict.”
“What if I see that differently?”
Ben shrugged. “You said it yourself—I killed your men. I’m not happy about it, and I think humanity has other problems right now, but there’s no doubt in my mind that any attack of yours on my settlement will fail, and this time I’ll make sure that at the end of it there won’t be any Warriors left in Simonston to cause trouble in the future.”
Gooding showed his teeth in a grimace that might be interpreted as a smile. “You talk big game, I have to admit that. But do you really think that a group of spoiled rich people who fled the city has a chance to defend against us? We’ve been at this for decades and haven’t just started play-acting a couple of months ago.” He waved dismissively at Ben’s armor. “Let me tell you how this will go. Option 1: you open your gates, provide us with all your food and a select number of your people for safekeeping, and you get to live. Option 2: we fight, and at the end of it, you’ll be dead, and the… attractive members of your group will have to pay off your debt in other ways.”
That speech turned his earlier comment about wiping out the Warriors from an attempt to bluff the criminals before him into a promise he made to himself. As much as he despised the Warriors’ attempts to control the food in Simonston, the only way for him to stop that would have been to eliminate them—and the crime did not justify the punishment in his mind. Threatening to enslave his people and put them through unspeakable horror was beyond unacceptable and also a hint that similar things might already be happening.
He used his Band of Coordination. Mom, join me at the gate with the team.
“Let me talk it through with my people; will give you a reply shortly.”
Smith could not contain a brief smile, thinking they would get their way. Gooding nodded briefly.
Ben walked toward the gate, which opened to release his team.
“They think we are discussing our surrender to them, so I need you, Mom, to vehemently shake your head.” Allison complied, miming an enraged face as well.
“In a minute or two, we will return to them—then we’re going to attack them and eliminate them all.”
Now Allison and the others didn’t need to act their surprise and shock.
“What happened?” his mother asked.
“They gave me two options: surrender or death and slavery. I’ve tried my best to deal with them peacefully, but that time has passed. We’ll defeat them here and then root them out in Simonston.”
Anne and Jamal nodded emphatically. Michael just watched the Warriors dispassionately.
“I understand. It probably had to end this way. What’s the plan?”
“We need to take out the leaders—and especially their elites—quickly. When I give the signal, Jamal, taunt directly. I’ll go after the leaders. Anne, try to take out at least one elite with [Power Projection]. Mom, take some out with [Growth Caller]. Michael, make sure Jamal stays safe. OK? Now look defeated.”
After a few more seconds, they walked back toward the Warriors.
Gooding looked at him expectantly. “Have you made the smart choice?”
Ben nodded, this time stopping only three meters from the leaders. “We have,” he said quietly.
Now it was time for shock and awe.
