Chapter 142: Kill’em With Kindness

Anna poked Will in the cheek, causing his eyes to snap open.

With three big blinks, he was awake and aware. The caravan had cut its way into the Wyrd Stronghold’s clearing, and about twenty feet inside the clearing was the welcome party.

Beyond them, a massive stone wall jutted out of the grass, an impressive hundred feet tall. The sort of thing you could sit and stare at…if one were so inclined.

Stifling a yawn, Will pushed himself out of Anna’s lap and hopped off the wagon, heading towards the front with Loth.

She was wearing her new modified Cuirass of the Cruel Tyrant, so Will wasn’t too worried about an ambush. She could soak an absurd amount of damage, and in doing so, would boost the stats of all of her allies.

Will peered at the figures ahead of them as he matched Loth’s pace.

There were some obvious bureaucrats, men with ledgers, ink stains on their fingers, myopic vision and weak shoulder muscles.

The figures at the center were both familiar and unknown. One was Mark Wyrd, watching Will with intense focus. The other was a woman with dusky skin who bore a passing resemblance to Nephir Akul. She had the same ink stains as the others, but the way she carried herself felt much more dangerous to Will.

The bureaucrats had a hyperawareness of both the approaching caravan and the jungle beyond. A behavior that told Will flat-out that they were weak enough to fear what was out there.

She seemed completely at ease at an approaching army of Climbers.

Interesting.

The woman took a step forward and gave a graceful bow.

“Welcome to the Wyrd Stronghold.” She said, her voice cutting through the silence. “My name is Amanda Akul, the wife of Mark Wyrd. It is an honor to receive a celebrity such as yourself.”

Will snapped his fingers. “That’s who you remind me of!” he exclaimed. Will had heard the baron mention a daughter…shortly before exploding.

“I bid you welcome you to our stronghold.” Amanda said, motioning behind them. “It isn’t much but any respite from the constant threat of the jungle is a blessing.”

Our Stronghold? Will thought.

Amanda glanced past them, her gaze lingering on several identical Anna’s and Ria’s before returning to Will.

“You are Wiliam Oh?” She asked.

Loth nudged Will’s wrist, slipping him the box with the gauntlets.

“That’s correct.” Will said, taking the box and stepping forward. “Here is small bribe, as a gesture of goodwill.” He placed the box into the Akul scion’s hands.

“Gift,” Loth corrected quietly.

“But it’s a bribe?” Will asked, glancing down at Loth.

Amanda’s lips twitched in a barely suppressed smile as she opened the box and inspected the Relic.

The faint smile slipped off her face.

Gauntlets of Bloody Rejuvenation

+8 Resistance

+8 Focus

+5 Strength

+12% Thorns

4% Lifesteal

A small amount of lifesteal above what is required to completely heal the wielder is stored to be used on future wounds.

“How did you get lifesteal on a pair of gauntlets?” She asked, handing the box to Mark Wyrd, who gave a similar wide-eyed expression as he inspected the Relic.

“We found a pair of Gauntlets with good Thorns damage and had a crafter in Akul add the lifesteal affix.” Loth answered.

“Ah. Shame it isn’t a natural affix. Still, it’s an outstanding…gift.”

Will glanced past Amanda at Mark, who was studying the gauntlets with a pensive frown.

“Why hasn’t he said anything?” Will asked.

“…Greetings,” Mark Wyrd said, a tone of barely suppressed pettiness coloring his voice.

Ah. Will’s eyes narrowed.

“I decided that I was better suited to handling diplomatic matters,” Amanda said, moving to stand between the two of them. “Especially after the…tension between you and his father.”

Will cocked his head.

“You decided?”

Amanda took a step back and ruffled her taller husband’s hair in an overly familiar way, causing the rugged Thorns Tank to turn beet red.

“We make all our decisions together, but admittedly, this was a bit more me than him. We’ve been married since we were twelve, you know. Ten years now, actually!”

“We should do something to celebrate-” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed her husband’s red cheek as Mark silently glared daggers at Will.

“Now let’s not stand around forever, we need to get your caravan sorted before dark. This way to the entrance!” She stepped away and motioned for them to follow her. “Come along, Mark,” She chided her husband gently, causing the nigh-unkillable Thorns-Tank to blush more, and follow along behind her with his head hanging down.

“…I like her.” Loth said.

Will raised a brow.

“It’s an act, obviously,” Loth said, “Designed to defuse tension. But it’s her act, not Mark’s. Which, in and of itself, implies that some of what she said is the truth.”

“Right this way!” Amanda Akul hollered, waving back at them. “The entrance is around the moat to the south side!

“Is Travis handled?” Will asked.

“He’s gotten crippling ‘food poisoning’, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Loth replied. “He shouldn’t be in any condition to do anything stupid for at least a couple days.”

“Alright, let’s do this,” Will muttered, rolling his shoulders before motioning for the caravan to follow him.

The next few hours were the most tense Will had experienced in recent memory. Despite the grand welcome and hospitality, everything felt as though it were an instant away from catching fire.

Anna was pale and trembling, Bee and Ria both looked like they were going to start a fight, and Jean was mortified, her fingers shaking as her body seemed to revolve between rage and fear.

When June stepped away from the dinner table, was that to stop a heist, prevent Travis from causing trouble, perform her own heist, or just to use the bathroom?

Did Reggie eat so fast because he was trying to get in position for combat…or was it because he was Reggie?

What About Mark’s minions, entering and leaving constantly?

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

One by one, everyone excused themselves, until it was just Will, Mark and Amanda.

“Sorry, we don’t have the money to bring servants all the way up here,” Amanda said, gathering everyone’s dishes and taking them to the kitchen, leaving just Will and Mark alone in the room.

“…I want this to go smoothly,” Mark said, leaning his chin on his knuckles. “If we fight here, we’ll cripple both of our Strongholds…at least.”

“…I want everything to go smoothly too.” Will said with a shrug.

“Then why are you so tense? You look like you’re a hair’s breadth from jumping across the table and trying to kill me.”

“Because a good chunk of my caravan has…history with the Wyrd family.”

Even Will had some. Mark had almost killed Loth, after all.

Although Will had vented most of his anger when they fought on the 4^th Floor.

“I see…” Mark mused.

“How many of them are left?” Will asked.

“How many of what?”

“How many of the handlers who tortured young Climbers into Tangled, lobotomized them, and used charm Abilities to control them…are still alive?” Will asked.

“…Most of them.” Mark said.

“Why?”

“Because they’re assets. Valuable ones. You don’t destroy an axe because its prior owner used it poorly. They use their Charm Abilities to keep monsters away from the Stronghold, or pull them in to be harvested. They produce value for this Stronghold.”

“I have it on good authority that several of them enjoyed their time under your father.” Will said.

“I can assure you that nothing like what my father did is happening now.”

“It just seems odd that you’re offering these people sanctuary, when it would be in your best interest to mend bridges with other Lords by distancing yourself as far as possible from the Tangled experiments as possible. I know you’re not particularly squeamish. You’ve got half the Tangled pipeline lingering around, ready to start back up any time you want. You can see how other Lords might take that, right?”

Mark opened his mouth to answer.

“…Are you and your father immune to Charm Abilities, Mark?” Will asked. “Or in the relentless pursuit for the perfect Thorns Build, did you neglect mind control? What’s your Focus at?”

Mark’s jaw snapped shut.