Chapter 34 The Offer

They were a mile off. Smart. Any closer and they’d enter Miggy’s trap field. I wasn’t surprised. I had learned a great deal about this place and its system, but Kaleo had been here for decades. Whatever I knew was a drop in the ocean compared to him. Made him strong. Dangerous.

I had underestimated him before. That would not happen again.

The message had been short, but clear. None of the Komo tribe were to come, only me. If I didn’t come within an hour, he would burn the village to the ground. No negotiation. No taking the Komo as prisoners this time. Comply or die.

So there I stood alone. He wasn’t kidding. There were perhaps a hundred Skybreakers arrayed behind the Warlord. For the Stone Epoch, this was an army. It might not even have been his full power. Just enough to wipe out the Komo tribe.

Ironclad was with him. I had been a little distracted before, but now I saw him by daylight, I saw just how impressive he was. Not as big as Balar, but powerfully built, adorned in hide armour. His helmet appeared to be a bone one, but I’d have bet my last £200 in my bank account that this was enchanted, a unique item. The wolf skull seemed haunted. Alive.

Kaleo smiled when he saw me. ‘Good to see you again, old friend.’ I could see a vein tense in Ironclad’s neck. It gave me an odd satisfaction to see him so clearly unhappy.

‘What do you want?’ I asked. No subtlety, no manipulation. There was no point.

Kaleo still looked every bit the kindly stranger on the road, though his tribesmen deferred to him. ‘A little decorum, perhaps?’ He gestured to a little hide tent that had been set up. ‘Let’s speak.’ I narrowed my eyes. ‘Come on. A little theatrical, I know, but I wasn’t really going to burn the village down. I just needed you here.’

I didn’t believe him. This was a man who’d kill everyone and everything to achieve his goals. I just didn’t know what those goals were. If I wanted to defeat him, that would be the first thing I needed to know.

I nodded and followed him, Ironclad trailing behind us. The tent was clearly at the highest tier on the technology tree. It was the largest I’d ever seen, measuring ten feet in length. At the very centre was a wooden table upon which was what appeared to be a map of the Disputed Lands, drawn upon hide. It looked ancient.

‘Would you like a drink?’ asked Kaleo. Ironclad had taken a stone cup of water, drinking stiffly.

‘You seem very uncomfortable, Ironclad,’ I said. ‘Perhaps more fibre in your diet would help.’

‘I am not uncomfortable,’ snapped Ironclad. ‘I just know you, even if Kaleo disagrees. You can offer us nothing.’

There were three wooden seats around the table. Kaleo took one, but both Ironclad and I remained on our feet.

‘You destroyed the Gate,’ I said. ‘That was obviously your plan from the start. You had no intention of ever letting me through to the next epoch.’

Kaleo gave a sheepish look, playing the wizened old father. I wasn’t buying it, and judging by the look on Ironclad’s face, neither was he. ‘You’re right, I have kept some truths from you, but you deserve the truth.’ He put his hands up in a conciliatory fashion. ‘From here on out. Truth only.’

‘Then speak.’

The Warlord poured himself a cup of water. ‘I know you want to advance. You must know by now there is a second Gate. One that you can advance through, to the Bronze Epoch and beyond. Together, we can defeat its guardian. And then? It’s all yours, I won’t stop you.’

I fought the impulse to roll my eyes. ‘Gee. Where have I heard that before?’

‘I needed to test you,’ Kaleo went on. ‘I’ve been testing you since before we met. I made it all but impossible to gain the required levels to advance to the Disputed Lands, because I needed someone as strong as you. Resourceful enough to help me.’

I felt a glare on me. Ironclad. Boy, this guy hated me. And I think I was starting to understand why.

‘But let me ask you something.’ He leaned forwards. ‘Is this place really so bad? A place where you can be strong. Can be-‘

Ironclad slammed his fist on the wooden table with enough force that it cracked. His eyes flashed, as did Kaleo’s.

‘Wait outside,’ said Kaleo.

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‘We don’t need him!’ hissed Ironclad.

‘Wait. Outside.’ His voice was quiet, but the note of authority was impossible to miss. ‘Now.’

Ironclad complied, stalking out. Kaleo shook his head, watching him leave. ‘He’s strong. By far the strongest avatar I’ve ever come across, but…I spoiled him.’

‘Get to the point.’ I wasn’t humouring him. I wasn’t going to participate in whatever fucked up pantomime this was.

‘Fine. Here it is. Help me get to the next Gate. I will let you through it, then I will destroy it.’

‘Why?’ I asked. ‘What reason could you possibly have to do that?’

Anger flashed on his face. Not for me, but something…far older. A wound I didn’t know. ‘Because I’ve been through the Gate. And the one after that.’ He shook his head. ‘There is nothing there. So I made my choice. I would remain here, safe. I would protect my own. Damn the Trials.’

‘You protect nothing,’ I said coldly. ‘You destroy. Enslave. You’re nothing but a villain here.’

‘There must always be a Warlord.’ He said it in a way that suggested he had said it many times before. I remembered Oma’s words. She had said the very same thing. ‘Every story needs a villain. I had to become that villain, or else the system would have created something far worse.’

And despite everything, that he had lied to me so many times, that less than an hour ago he had threatened to burn the village down, I believed him.

Fuck. I hated that I believed him.