Putting his back to the wall next to the door, he reached out slowly and turned the knob. The moment he did, two rounds impacted the door from the other side. He flung the door open, and two more shots rang out. Fuzzy squealed and fell over on the stairs where he’d been standing. Allistor realized too late that the bear had been in full view of the open door. He cast a heal on Fuzzy, then jerked his head around so he could see outside.
He cast Mind Spike on the first person he saw before jerking his head back. A single shot was fired this time, and it pinged against the door. Leaning out again, he cast Restraint on the other guard. The man froze, and Allistor stepped into the doorway. He quickly put a slug into the gut of the frozen guard, then a second. The remaining guard was writhing around on the ground, his gun tossed aside.
Allistor turned and cast another heal on Fuzzy. It didn’t seem necessary, as his little buddy was already on his feet and walking out the door. The bear growled as he walked up to the living guard. He turned to look at Allistor, who said, “Do your thing, buddy. One of these two bastards shot you.”
Fuzzy gave his best bear cub roar and bit down on the man’s throat. The screaming ceased when he jerked his head and ripped away flesh and vocal cord. The guard choked to death on his own blood even as Fuzzy chewed on his flesh. Allistor left his bear to his meal and walked over to the edge of the roof.
He didn’t hear any more gunshots, so he looked up toward the hospital building across the street. He waved a hand, and received waves in return. A voice called out, “All clear as far as we can see!”
Another voice from the water tower shouted, “Clear here too. We count thirteen dead guards! Counting those two you just took out!”
Allistor did some math in his head. Thirteen dead out here. Two scouts, six in the ambush, three more in the dock. The man and woman by the little girl, the one with the knife in his throat. Twenty seven total. Moira had thought there were maybe thirty left. He shouted as loudly as he could so that both overwatch positions could hear him. “I get twenty-seven total, then! Keep an eye out, there may be a few more!”
Allistor paced around the edge of the roof, scanning the streets and alley below for any movement. He briefly considered going back down and searching the warehouse, but an idea struck him.
He opened his interface, found the Outpost tab, and tried to claim the warehouse. The message he received made him smile.
You have conquered an enemy camp by eliminating one hundred percent of enemy forces. Do you wish to claim this structure as an Outpost? Yes/No
Allistor clicked Yes and the usual golden light surrounded him. He didn’t add any frills, as he was in a hurry. Instead he let the system do its thing, then called out, “Nigel! Can you hear me?”
“Of course, Lord Allistor. Congratulations on your victory, and the new Outpost.”
“Thank you, Nigel. Please give me loudspeaker. Full volume.”
“Ready when you are, Lord Allistor.”
Allistor shouted to add to the volume. “Attention, perimeter team! The warehouse buildings are secure! Work your way to me. Check every building, every car, every bush! Do not let anyone past you! Each of you give me one shot if you can hear me.”
All around him single shots rang out. He smiled and took a seat on an air duct that ran across the roof. The sun-heated metal burned his butt some, but he didn’t care.
He tried to avoid looking at Fuzzy as the bear mauled his victim’s face. Helen arrived, along with the other two who had followed him into the building. One of the men saw what Fuzzy was up to and lost his lunch. The other chuckled, and said, “Right on, Fuzzy bear.”
Allistor looted the two bodies, leaving their weapons for the others to pick up. Calling Fuzzy away from his meal, they all walked back down the long stairway. His primary ambush team were standing around a group of about twenty survivors sitting on the floor. As Allistor approached, another group of twelve walked in, escorted by the backup ambush team. They joined the first group sitting on the floor, and Moira pointed to one of them, saying something to the fighter next to her.
Allistor moved up to her other side. “Something specific about that man?”
Moira jumped slightly, not having heard him approach. “Yes. I never saw him with a gun, but he worked for Barden. And he took full advantage of the… spoils.” Moira pointed to a dead woman on the floor across the room. “He raped that woman, and at least one other that I don’t see here.”
Allistor motioned for the man to get to his feet. “Is this true?”
The man stammered, wringing his hands together as he spoke. “I… I didn’t want to work for him! He made me! Said I could do what he said, or die. I didn’t have a choice!”
Allistor’s growl was nearly as low as Fuzzy’s. “You didn’t have a choice not to rape women?”
“No! I mean, he made me. I…” The man dropped his hands, hanging his head in resignation. “I had a choice. I just… I thought that’s how things were going to be from now on. The strong make the rules. I wanted to be one of the strong, not one of the victims.”
Allistor pointed to a spot away from the others. “Go stand there.” As the man complied, with two rifles pointed at him, Allistor turned to Moira. “Any others?”
She shook her head. “As far as I know, all of these people were prisoners. Some of them were on work crews with me. A few others I saw out foraging at gunpoint.”
Allistor surveyed the group. “How about you? Any of you see anyone in this crowd that worked for Barden in some way? Other than at gunpoint?”
A man near the back stood up. He pointed down at a woman in a sun dress near the center of the group. “She shared Barden’s bed. I saw her going in and out of his quarters willingly enough. There were no guards escorting her.”
All eyes went to the woman, who began to cry. Allistor motioned her forward. She reluctantly got to her feet and stepped around the others until she stood in front of him. “Is what he claims the truth?”
She nodded her head, but when she spoke she said, “He took my little boy. Said as long as I did what he wanted, Jeremy wouldn’t be hurt. Barden let me see him every three days for an hour.” she whimpered, tears rolling down her face.
Allistor looked around, not seeing any small boys. “And where is your son now?”
She shook her head, sobbing now. “I don’t knowww…”
“Sit back down. We’ll see if we can find him.” The woman dropped to the floor where she stood, hugging herself and rocking back and forth as she cried. Allistor took a step back, uncomfortable with her proximity.
“Anybody else?” He looked at the group. All the heads were shaking ‘no’ or not moving at all. “Alright. Let’s deal with this quickly. You survivors need to know that we think we’ve killed every one of Barden’s people now. You’re all free to leave, or to join us. I’ll talk to you about that a bit later. We have these two people here who cooperated in one way or another with Barden.”
He moved over to the man and motioned for him to get up. “What should be his penalty for multiple rapes?”
There were multiple responses that ranged from “Shoot him!” to “Death!” to one woman’s vehement “Cut his nuts off and feed them to him!”
Allistor waited for the demands to die down, then asked everyone in the room, prisoners and his people alike. “Any one of you object to executing this man?”
No one spoke up.
The man began to try and negotiate, saying he’d leave and never come back. As Allistor took hold of his arm and began to march him toward the door, he switched to begging. “Please! I can do better. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to… I mean, I didn’t want to…” As they reached the door, Allistor pushed the man ahead of him with his left hand, drawing a 9mm with his right. Without ceremony, he raised the weapon and shot the man in the back of the head. The body fell to the pavement outside, and Allistor looted him before stepping back in.
You have completed a hidden quest: Punish the Wicked!
F
or eliminating the murderer Barden and those who committed crimes in his name, and for the unflinching execution of Justice, you have been awarded the title “Vindicator”. Reward: 100,000 klax. Vindicator’s Seal. Experience points awarded: 85,000
At the same time the message popped up on his interface, he also saw a large number of Fame Points awarded, and a lesser number of Infamy Points, he assumed from a different faction. Not for the first time he wished he knew how the Fame Points system worked and who was awarding them. He had a lot to learn before the year was through.
Taking out the Vindicator’s Seal, which had been deposited in his inventory, he Examined it.
Vindicator’s Seal
This item is awarded only to those who show a willingness to serve Justice. Like all Seals, it is bound to the bearer upon receipt and cannot be stolen or removed, even in death. Attributes: The Seal grants +2 to Will Power, +2 to Charisma, and +1 to Luck. In addition, the Seal may be used to verify the veracity of statements made by any accused you have detained.
Allistor saw there was a new slot on the avatar in his interface. It glowed with a pulsing purple light. He put the Seal back into his inventory, then mentally moved it up to place it in the new slot. As soon as he did, his stat sheet updated with the attribute increases. “Sweet!” he mumbled to himself. Nothing like an epic reward just for doing what he considered to be the right thing.
Half an hour later the perimeter group had pushed all the way in to the warehouse, bringing with them another fifty or so prisoners they had rounded up outside. Among them was Jeremy, the little boy Barden had been holding hostage, who instantly ran to his mother’s arms. The group leaders he’d invited to his party all gathered around to report. The fighting he’d heard outside the building had involved some casualties. In all, they reported seventeen prisoners had been killed, all by Barden’s men. Two of Allistor’s people had been killed in the battle, and six others injured. Helen immediately went to help heal the injured, stopping Allistor as he tried to join her. “You have things to deal with here.” was all she said.
Allistor turned to the newcomers and went through the same process as before, but neither Moira nor anyone in the crowd identified any more collaborators. Helen returned after just a few minutes, nodding her head. Newly healed survivors filed in behind her.
A quick head count showed Allistor there were eighty-five prisoners total, including Moira. He asked his people to share food and water with all of them, handing out all of the jerky he and Helen had left in their inventories. Then, he spent ten minutes while they ate giving them ‘the speech’ about the workings of the new game-like world, his experiences, and the establishing of the Citadel and Strongholds. He described to them the world he wanted to rebuild, then asked them to join up.
“If you’d like to join us, to help us build our community, you are welcome. You’ll have the choice to stay here in Laramie, or move to the Citadel, or choose one of the other Strongholds. If you join us, you must take the oath of loyalty. Breaking that oath might result in your death.”
Allistor scanned the faces sitting in front of him, looking for any open hostility or fear. Based on recent events, he was pretty sure at least one of the people here was loyal to Barden, or since he and his men were dead, at least hostile to Allistor. He continued to watch as he asked, “Any questions?”
“Will you be paying us to work?” a woman with a small child in her lap asked.
Allistor considered that for a moment. “No, at least not initially. During this first year I’ll be providing food and housing, and a safe place to sleep. I think you’ll all agree those things have some value?” The woman and most of the others nodded. “You’ll be given the chance to pursue a trade, whether that’s crafting or foraging, fighting, farming or cattle herding, teaching, healing, babysitting, whatever. To start with, we’ll be on a barter system. But you’ll also have the opportunity to be earning klax, either from kills and dungeons, or by selling your crafting items. And for those that take up support professions for the community, like teaching the children, cooking, or cleaning, we’ll work out some kind of payment.”
His face darkened slightly. “I will not tolerate any slackers. If you’ve lived this long, you’re not weak, and hopefully not stupid. You’re survivors. You likely have skills we can make use of, or can learn some new ones. I’ll provide some limited training to start with. We’re on the knife’s edge right now, surviving but not yet thriving. There is no welfare system, no free ride. You work, you contribute, or you get put out. Understood?”
Allistor thought every head in the group was nodding. He looked to Helen and motioned to the group. She stepped forward and said, “If you wish to join us, take a knee and repeat after me. If you don’t wish to join us, go stand over there.” She pointed to one side of the big open space. Everyone got up off their butts and took a knee. A short time later the usual light swirled around and into them. But Allistor noticed two individuals around whom no light appeared.
Pointing, he said, “You! And You! Stand up.”
The man and woman he’d pointed to got to their feet, and Allistor raised his shotgun. The moment he did, every one of his people raised theirs as well. The man spit on the floor, smirking at Allistor. The woman just looked terrified.
“You two didn’t take the oath. Did you think we just wouldn’t notice?”
The woman shook her head frantically, holding both hands up in a patting motion. Then she began to sign rapidly with her hands. When she was done, she pointed to her mouth and shook her head.
Allistor lowered his weapon, aware that the other couple hundred guns in the room were more than enough safety. Motioning for the woman to approach, he called out, “Any of you know sign language?”
Richard, who was standing close by, offered, “I don’t, but I’m pretty sure she just said she can’t speak. So she wasn’t able to take the oath.”
Allistor and everyone else in the room just stared at him. He blushed slightly as Helen said, “Thank you for that, captain obvious.” earning a few chuckles.
Nobody in the building knew sign language, but Allistor thought he remembered seeing it on the list of skills from their interviews. He looked at the woman, now standing in front of him. When he spoke, he enunciated clearly. “Can you read lips?”
The woman shook her head, then pointed to her ears and gave him a thumbs-up. Surprised, he asked, “You can hear, but you can’t speak?”
She nodded once, and smiled at him. She had a lovely smile.
“You heard the oath Helen recited. Do you remember it all?”
Again, she nodded, and flashed him that smile. He couldn’t help but return one of his own. Helen chuckled behind him.
“If you agree to the terms of the oath, please nod your head for me.”
She nodded, and gave him a double thumbs-up, which she then converted into a double-guns gesture accompanied by a wink. The light binding her to the oath appeared and was absorbed into her.
Allistor said, “I’d say that was a pretty emphatic yes. Welcome.” He and several others chuckled as he held out a hand and she shook it. “When we have some time, we’ll find you a translator or some paper and a pencil, and we can have a little talk. Starting with your name.”
She nodded, then went to sit down with the others. Allistor turned to the man who was still standing. “You have issues with your voice as well?”
The man spit on the floor, narrowly missing another man who cursed at him. “Nope. I speak just fine.” The man was maybe twenty years old, and the smug look on his face made Allistor want to punch him.
“Then would you like to share with us the reason you didn’t take the oath?”
The man shrugged, and his punchability factor rose even higher. “I’m not gonna swear my life to you or anyone else. I thought I’d just blend in with the crowd, get some food and a good night’s sleep, then see where things went from there.”
“At least he’s honest.” Richard said. “He’s a dick, and I ha
ve the urge to whup his ass, but he’s honest.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Helen observed. “I believe he doesn’t want to swear. But I think he would have stayed and mooched off of us as long as he could. Maybe let us waste a few scrolls on him, give him a weapon, eat our food until he was ready to screw us somehow.”
Allistor looked to the man. “What’s your name?”
“Kyle.” the man practically spat the word out. Allistor waited a moment for a last name, then shrugged.
“Okay Kyle. I don’t like you. Everything about you screams ‘asshole’.” There were grunts of agreement from both groups of people. Apparently, he hadn’t made a good impression among the prisoners either. “But as I have said, every human life is precious to me. So, I’ll give you a rare second chance. Swear the oath, and hold to it, and you’ll be welcomed among us.”
Somehow the smirk on Kyle’s face intensified. Allistor had to restrain himself from punching it. “And if I don’t?”
“Then my statement from earlier was probably wrong, and you’re too stupid to live. The oath the others swore is simple, and basically only keeps you from screwing over your fellow humans. Your refusal to do that says a lot about you. So I rescind my offer. You no longer have the option to join us. Leave. Now.”
Allistor pointed to the door.
“Leave? And go where?” Kyle’s voice became whiny, making him even more annoying. Allistor found himself wondering if the guy somehow had a negative Charisma number.
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Allistor answered. “This Outpost belongs to us. You have chosen not to be one of us. You may not remain here. And as the day is quickly passing, I suggest you go find shelter somewhere. Preferably far away.” Several people clapped, and somebody in the crowd whistled.
“You can’t do that! I lived here before you. I claim this place!”
Allistor just laughed, pointing at the door again. “You have ten seconds to leave, or I will declare you an enemy of the state, and let Fuzzy eat your face.”
Shadow Sun Expansion Page 10
