Chapter 55 Crossroads

I closed the quest log, and looked to Miggy and Ayla. They were crying. I felt…shame. Here I was standing so triumphantly, having conquered my enemy, and they were doing the most human thing possible. Mourning their loss, as the battle raged below.

My eyes widened. Shit. The battle. I closed my eyes. The link between me and my captains was not as strong as that between myself and Larry, but I could feel them down there. Slowly, bit by bit, the command spread through the army. Stand down. Stop the fighting.

The battle is over.

We said nothing for the longest time. I don’t know how long we were there upon the summit, bathed in the silvery glow of the Stone Gate. Ayla and Miggy were talking to one another. I stayed quiet. It felt wrong to intrude. I had barely known Gosha. I think I had said about five words to her my entire time here in the Stone Epoch. Anything I said would’ve been, well, wrong.

I didn’t rush them. That felt unnatural. I had been rushing somewhere, or towards something the minute my bloodied body had hit the deck in the starter zone. Stillness was unnerving.

That’s just the battle talking, I told myself. The adrenaline. But really? I wasn’t entirely sure. All I knew was that I was grateful when Miggy and Ayla got to their feet.

‘What now?’ said Miggy. He hesitated. ‘Did it…did it work?’

I nodded. ‘You did amazing. She…she would’ve been proud. I’m the Warlord.’

‘So Ironclad is dead,’ said Ayla. She looked at me, standing so close I could smell her scent. She should have smelt like ash and musk, but she was like a meadow in spring. I put my arm around her, holding her close. I wanted to do more, but now was not the time. Besides, there was plenty of time. For us, me and Ayla? There was all the time in the world.

Miggy was staring far off. I couldn’t even imagine how he felt. Losing Kaleo was one thing, but honestly losing Gosha…

‘There must always be a Warlord,’ he muttered, now looking at the Stone Gate, and finally back to me. ‘Last chance, Reave. No more Warlords to stop you. Sure, you don’t want to advance? See how far this goes? If anyone can complete the Doomsday Trials, it’s you.’

Ayla wrinkled her nose. ‘Will someone, anyone tell me what the Doomsday Trials are?’

I laughed. It felt good, to just…laugh. I kissed the top of her head. ‘No, I’m not going anywhere. There’s plenty to do here.’ A life to lead. ‘Besides, I’m going to have to help the new Warlord rebuild this place. Maybe give it a new name. The Disputed Lands are a bit on the nose. I was thinking Miguelsville.’ Miggy stared at me blankly. ‘No, no,’ I said hastily, ‘let’s keep workshopping.’

‘How hard did Ironclad hit you exactly?’ said Ayla, as Larry appeared, growling playfully at us. I knelt down, planting a kiss on his surprised snout.

‘I thought a lot about it,’ I said. ‘Miggy, you’re the new Warlord. Not me.’

‘No!’ His protest was immediate, and predictable. ‘You’re the one who beat Ironclad, not me. You deserve to be Warlord.’

I looked to him. Sometimes it was easy to forget he was just a kid. Barely seventeen years old. ‘Being Warlord isn’t about being the strongest,’ I said softly. ‘It’s about uniting others, doing what’s right even when it’s wrong. It needs wisdom, and we both know my wisdom is a dump stat.’ He stared at me. I stared back, and suddenly, I don’t know why we were laughing. Hysterically. Ridiculously. So hard, it hurt, whilst Ayla just stared at us, like we were crazy, and Larry fled down the summit, clearly irritated.

I thought it would be difficult to give away the Warlord title, but actually it was pretty straightforward. A new menu had appeared in my HUD for the Warlord. It was pretty interesting, actually. It was like the Warlord’s Grip in reverse. What had been red zones were now blue in my HUD. And there were so many bars, so many resources.

The Warlord had to keep his tribe members fed, keep their morale up to prevent rebellions. I saw there was a loyalty meter and a fear meter, two ways to prevent anyone challenging the Warlord.

It didn’t explicitly say it, but I could imagine when that meter built to full a rebellion would start, or maybe enemy tribes and vandals would attack. I imagined that fear would be easier to build up, but that it would have some kind of cost. Moral or otherwise.

I shook my head, my mind already racing boundlessly towards optimisation. I saw the option I was looking for.

[Would you like to relinquish Warlord status? Warning: this cannot be undone.]

No hesitation. Hesitation, after all, was defeat.

I knew he felt it immediately. Miggy, the boy who had hidden in a cave for six months, was now the Warlord of the Disputed Lands.

He hugged me, so tight I thought I might fall over. We gripped one another hard. Brothers of the Stone Epoch. My brother.

He let go, and said breathlessly, ‘there’s a lot to do. I’m…going to…’

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‘I know,’ I said. He grinned.

‘Catch you later?’

I did a finger gun. Then immediately regretted it, but thankfully he did one back.

Ayla stared at me. ‘Your sky people ways are so strange.’

‘Yeah,’ I said, running a hand through my hair. ‘This is…standard sky people stuff. Really standard, our customs. I’ll teach you in-‘

And then she kissed me. Probably to shut me up. I didn’t blame her, and I certainly wasn’t complaining. I kissed her back, hard. Ayla, the one person who could actually make my mind totally blank.

‘I should probably head down too,’ she said, her hand still on mine. ‘He’ll need me. And Gosha, her sister…’

‘I know,’ I said. I put a hand to her cheek. ‘You go. I…I’ll meet you down there.’

I saw a flash in her eyes, as she looked to the Gate. ‘No,’ I said, ‘I promise. I’m here with you. There’s nothing through there,’ I said, gesturing to the Gate, ‘nothing that’s worth leaving you. This place is my home.’

She smiled, kissing me again. ‘I’ll find Larry,’ she said, suddenly, ‘yeah, he deserves a treat.’

‘He likes bison steak,’ I said. In my mind, I felt the mental link with Larry, picturing that perfect O on his face.

‘Okay,’ she said, ‘yeah, we can do that. Don’t take too long okay?’

I nodded. Her face radiant, against the blue sky. Then she was gone, and I was alone upon the summit.

I walked towards the Gate. Its light was dimming. It was already powering down. Ironclad…

‘Didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?’

I froze. No. It wasn’t possible, and yet there he was. Ironclad. Bloodied beyond belief, his armour so shredded it was falling off of him. A red glow to him, his eyes demonic as they glared at me. And with a terrible understanding, I knew.