After sending all the factions home with newly executed agreements, which took well past dinner hour, Allistor and Amanda thanked everyone for their help, and retired to their quarters. Allistor had obtained a list from Longbeard of all the known dungeon core types. He and Amanda cuddled on the sofa as they went through each one, discussing the potential benefits and weighing them against the others. There were elemental dungeons of air, water, earth, and fire, as well as obscure types like puzzle dungeons, and several that featured skill challenges. Allistor especially liked one that featured cooking skill challenges, joking that Meg could be their tank.
There were cores specifically for melee types, and casters. One that stood out, called a paladin core, challenged those who wished to become servants of one god or another, testing their faith and courage as well as whatever skills their chosen deity favored. Amanda pointed it out, reminding Allistor that paladins and priests in games often had divine spells that allowed them to resurrect dead companions.
With the adrenaline of the day fading, the two of them finally gave up on the list, leaving the decision for another day. Allistor set down the list and scooped Amanda into his arms, carrying her toward the bedroom. “Now… does this dress have a zipper, or buttons, m’lady?”
*****
Several hours later, with Amanda snoring softly next to him, Allistor lay awake worrying about the future. Pulling up his character sheet, he mumbled to himself as he reviewed the numbers. “I need to get stronger. We all do.”
Chapter 4
Allistor was midway through breakfast in the main dining hall when Bjurstrom came running up. “Got a problem, boss.”
“Who and where?”
“Well, we did like you asked, and started sending small teams to each of the parks that shows as having trespassers. The satellite scans have helped a lot, showing us right where they’re camped or have built homes. Most of the time we’ve found individuals or small groups, some families and such. They’ve either agreed to leave, relocate to one of our strongholds, or taken the oath in return for being allowed to stay where they were. Having a big spaceship land nearby, and high level humans accompanied by battle droids march into their area, has discouraged them from fighting, mostly. Others were convinced with food and decent weapons.”
“But not now.” Allistor guessed.
“We’ve got one group that won’t listen at all. Not far from home, too. They opened fire as soon as our people got in range, nearly killed one of the noobs. They painted Screw Allistor across the gate of an old-school wooden palisade, and refuse to speak to anyone. Best guess, there are ten of them in there.” He paused. “Do you want us to just take them out? They did try and ambush us.”
Allistor shook his head. “Take me there. Let’s see if we can resolve this peacefully.” He picked up his still half-full plate and followed the airman to the teleport pad. A moment later they were in the Warren, walking toward one of the Juggernauts. Bjurstrom climbed into the driver’s seat, and Allistor took shotgun. As he got in, he noticed three others sitting in the back, cleaning rifles or munching on snacks. They all smiled and waved in greeting.
Bjurstrom drove them almost due south for a short distance along the same road on which Allistor had first found Helen. It wasn’t long before they entered the Medicine Bow National Forest territory. A notification flashed up on Allistor’s UI that trespassers were inhabiting his property.
They turned down one dirt road, then another, and Bjurstrom was just slowing when a bullet pinged off the vehicle’s windshield. He slammed on the breaks, then reversed about fifty yards before coming to a halt. “Seems like they’ve moved out from their shelter a bit, probably hoping for a lucky kill.”
Allistor used the vehicle’s loudspeaker to call out to the trespassers. “Whoever you are, this is Allistor. I’m not here to hurt you, I just want to talk. There’s no reason we can’t work something out here.”
Another bullet bounced off the vehicle, this time right in front of Allistor’s face, and a voice drifted through the trees. “Screw you! You’re the greedy bastard who owns every park in the country! You don’t need this place! Go away!”
Allistor tried again. “Yes, I own all the parks. And I keep getting this annoying notification about you trespassing here. Come talk to me, and we can sort this out so I don’t have to keep hearing about you.”
“We killed one of you already! Leave now, or you’re next!” This time the bullet struck the hood of the Juggernaut, then the windshield, before zooming off into the trees.
“I don’t need this shit.” Allistor said to the people inside the vehicle. “How far is their compound, or whatever it is?”
“About half a mile up the road.” One of the men in the back offered. “We were part of the first group to come here.”
“Alright, drive. Fast. Make this asshole sniper run to catch up to us. Maybe somebody at the compound is feeling more reasonable. If you catch sight of the sniper, shoot him. He thinks he already killed one of us, and doesn’t mind killing more.”
Bjurstrom floored the accelerator and the vehicle shot forward. There was another single shot that struck the left side as they passed the sniper’s position, then nothing for the minute that it took them to cover the distance to the palisade. More shots rang out, and an RPG raced toward them, missing the moving vehicle by less than a foot and exploding into a tree behind them. Allistor wasn’t worried, he knew from experience that even an RPG impact wouldn’t do more than scratch his Juggernaut. He had them stop about fifty yards out, and tried the loudspeaker again.
“This is Allistor. I’m here to talk. Please stop shooting.”
More shots rang out, and a man stood up from behind the wooden poles that made up the wall. As soon as Allistor saw his face, he cursed loudly. The man shouted, “I know why you’re here! You want to finish the job! You want to kill me and all my friends!”
Bjurstrom looked to Allistor. “Friend of yours?”
Allistor shook his head, trying to remember his name. He was frankly shocked the man had survived. Last time he’d seen him, the man was badly beaten, broken, and walking into the wilderness unarmed. He couldn’t recall ever hearing his name.
“You! You’re a Lakota. Standing Bear’s nephew!”
“That’s right! And you’re here to try and kill me again!” The man’s voice was whiney even as he shouted the accusation. Allistor pulled his sniper rifle from inventory and opened his door, setting the rifle down by his leg.
“What? You lying little shit! It was you who shot me through that closet door after you were caught waiting to ambush me! And I didn’t lay a hand on you! It was your uncle and your own tribesmen who beat you and banished you!”
“Because you told them to! You bribed them!”
“I’m the one who kept them from killing you, you moron! And I came here today to talk to some strangers about trespassing. I had no idea you were here, or even still alive. And frankly I couldn’t care less. Put down your guns and come out here, let’s talk this out.”
He got out of the vehicle and stood behind the open door, casting Barrier in front of the door to help stop any incoming rounds. Within seconds, the whiner lifted his rifle and fired. Allistor held his ground, even though the round shattered his Barrier spell and plinked into the window in front of him.
“Alright, that’s it. You’re a dead man. I’m through giving you chances!” Allistor growled through the loudspeaker. “The rest of you, you can still live. Send that little shit out here, or shoot him yourself, I don’t care which. When he’s dead, we can talk about your living situation!”
Allistor sat back in his seat, lifting his rifle as the crowd behind the wall began to mumble, and the chief’s nephew began shouting and cursing at them. Allistor calmly raised his rifle, set the forestock in the crook between the vehicle door and frame, and sighted through the scope. After a single deep breath, he pulled the trigger.
The annoying whiner’s head exploded, silencing all the others ins
ide. Allistor put down the rifle and stood up, speaking once again through the loudspeaker. “The rest of you, minus the sniper that’s somewhere behind us, I have nothing against. If you’d like to come out and speak civilly, we can come to some kind of arrangement. On the other hand, if you fire at me again, you’re all dead. I’ll give you one minute to think it over.”
Looking to Bjurstrom, he said, “Use the Juggernaut’s sensors. I want to know when that sniper walks up, and where he is. You three in the back, dismount and spread out in the woods. If you see him before I get him, put one in his chest.”
The three didn’t hesitate, exiting the back door and quickly fanning out into the underbrush. Allistor figured if the sniper had run to follow them, he should be arriving any minute. Bjurstrom checked the sensor display and shook his head. No sign of him yet. Allistor was hoping he’d show up, and he could shoot the man himself. Save his people that burden. Killing fellow humans, even murderous assholes, wasn’t easy to live with.
“We’re sending someone out to talk!” A new face appeared atop the wall, an elder man with snow white hair. “Please don’t shoot.”
“Come on out! I’ve already told you, I mean you no harm.” Allistor stood behind the door once again, watching as the gate opened and a woman strode out. She had her hands up and was dressed in blue jeans and a flannel shirt, the unofficial uniform of the territory. As she got closer, Allistor could clearly see both fear and determination on her face. He waited until she was within a few feet of the vehicle before speaking again. “Don’t worry, you’re safe. Now, let’s start again. My name is Allistor, what’s yours?”
She hesitantly lowered her hands as she replied, “I’m Diana. Why are you bothering us?”
“Short and to the point. Okay… I’m not here to bother you, I’m here to help you. Maybe.” He looked behind her at the wooden palisade. “You’re obviously not doing too well out here, and you’re squatting on my property. If you and your people would be willing to become citizens of Invictus, you could improve your situation considerably.”
“And your way of helping us is by killing an innocent man? And what for? For a small piece of land that’s like nothing compared to all that you own?”
Allistor glared at her, his temper and blood pressure both rising. She actually flinched when he moved his hand to run it through his hair.
“You know what? Screw you, lady. Innocent man? You heard him admit to trying to kill me before. And you actually saw him shoot at me. Then you walk all the way out here to throw a bullshit accusation like that at me?” He turned to Bjurstrom. “Call in one of the ships. Let’s just flatten this place and move on, I’m done wasting my time here.”
“No! Wait!” She took a step forward, her eyes wide. “You can’t just kill us all!”
“Why not? You’ve tried to kill me and my friends here more than once now. You’ve refused my offer of help. Should I just leave you here to continue hating me and potentially try to kill more of my people? I don’t know how you folks survived this long, but you’re clearly too stupid to continue. Go back and tell your people to send out any children you have in there. I’ll spare their lives. You have about ten minutes.”
Tears rolled down her face, and her shoulders slumped. “Please, no. They sent me out here to talk to you. I don’t want to be the one that gets everyone killed. Please.”
“Then cut the shit. If that was some kind of negotiating tactic, it was stupid. I don’t feel the least bit guilty for killing that asshole, so that wasn’t going to help you. Listen to me carefully. You have nothing in there that I need, or want, except your lives. I want you to live, and thrive. But not if you’re all out to hurt me or mine because you believed some line of bullshit that guy fed you.”
She lowered her head, shaking it slowly back and forth. “Please come inside and talk to the others. I’ll guarantee your safety.” She looked up at him, and he considered for a moment before nodding. Just as he was stepping out around the vehicle door, a single shot rang out, and a bullet tore through his upper arm, spraying the inside of the window with blood. Diana dropped to the ground, and two more shots rang out in rapid succession.
Allistor cast a heal on himself, as did Bjurstrom. A voice called out, “We got him boss! You okay?”
“I’m fine, but maybe next time shoot the sniper before he shoots me?” Allistor grunted, watching as his flesh mended and the bleeding stopped. In a quieter voice, he said “Get up, Diana, before your people think we shot you.”
When she was on her feet and waving back at the wall that she was okay, he asked, “You going to hold that killing against me, too? Or should my people have let him finish me off?”
She looked stricken, and didn’t answer right away. Allistor was getting angrier, when she finally spoke. “That was my brother-in-law you just killed. But no, I don’t blame you. He had to have seen you talking to me. He risked my life, shooting at you.”
Allistor had to force himself to say, “I’m sorry for your loss. Are we still going inside to talk?”
Diana just nodded and turned to walk back. Allistor followed a few feet behind, and Bjurstrom drove the Juggernaut behind them. The other three carried a body out onto the trail, set it down, then followed at a distance. Allistor recast his Barrier, just in case.
The gate opened to let Diana and Allistor through. It wasn’t quite wide enough for the vehicle, so Bjurstrom remained outside with the engine running, ready to smash his way inside if necessary. To his surprise, Allistor found many more than ten people gathered inside the walls. There were closer to forty, at least a dozen of them under the age of ten, and another dozen or so teenagers.
The man with the white hair that had stood up on the wall stepped forward. “My name is Ozzy. I guess you could say I’m the leader around here.”
“Now that whatshisname is dead?” Allistor pointed to the corpse still laying near the base of the wall, half his head gone.
Ozzy shook his head. “He wasn’t our leader, he was just loud and persistent. Had half our people believing his story.”
By the looks on the faces of the teenagers, Allistor thought he knew who the believers were. He stood and faced them, speaking loudly enough for all to hear. “Listen to me. That man was banished by his own uncle from the Lakota tribe stronghold in Thunder Basin. They were trespassers on one of my parks, just like you. I went to visit them, gave them hunting rights, and established an alliance with them. I gave them food, and weapons, and a way to earn more through bounties. I established an Outpost not far from their Stronghold, and we were just finishing a celebratory dinner when this asshole snuck into my Outpost and hid in a maintenance closet, intending to ambush me.” Allistor watched the faces, and most were not changed.
“I gave him a chance to come out peacefully, but the moron shot me through the door with his shotgun. His uncle and tribesmen were going to kill him, but my girlfriend convinced them to let him live. So they beat him within an inch of his life, and sent him away.” A few of the faces showed some doubt, so he pushed. “You heard him a few minutes ago. He didn’t deny it. He just claimed I bribed them to do it. Which I did not. He was already a pain in their ass, as I’m sure he was a pain in yours!”
This time most of the heads in the compound nodded.
“The man outside, Diana’s brother-in-law, took several shots at me before we got here, and you all saw or heard him try again just now. Diana was standing right next to me. We killed him in self-defense.”
Again most everyone nodded, including Diana. “It’s true. He fired at Allistor first. Hit him in the arm.” Allistor held up the arm with the bloodstained shirt.
“Now, I’m going to assume that the rest of you held no more than the standard grudge against me, the one caused by the constant trespassing notifications. And that’s why I’m here. I have built an entire nation of survivors just like you. Folks that have held on through the first year, survived monster spawns and cold, disease, hunger, all of it. You are true survivors, and among t
he last of the human race. I’m here to invite you to join me, join the citizens of Invictus. You take an oath not to harm me or your fellow citizens, and you can live among us in real strongholds. With running water, heat and air conditioning, and plentiful food. I have strongholds from the west coast to the east coast, from Toronto on down to the Caribbean, even one over in England now. And I have taken possession of a whole other planet called Orion. You take the oath, you can live in any one of those places.”
“And if we want to stay here?” One of the teenagers asked.
Allistor looked around. The compound was crowded, dirty, with a large central fire pit and a well pump to one side. “I suppose we could turn this into an Outpost so you have power and water, but I really think you’d be happier at one of the other places. I can send a ship to pick you up and show you our closest Stronghold, or take you all the way to England if you want.”
“How do we know you’re not just going to kill us when you’ve got us separated?” Another teenager asked, sneering as he spoke.
Allistor was starting to lose his patience again. “What’s your name, you rude little shit?”
“Aaron!” the kid spat the name at him.
“Aaron, I could have killed all of you, right here, right now. I could have dropped a bomb on your compound, or frankly, I could walk in here and kill you all single-handedly…” He drew his knife, cast Dimensional Step on himself, and appeared behind the teenager. Grabbing his hair with one hand, he pulled his head back and pressed the knife to the kid’s throat. “And you wouldn’t be able to stop me.”
Shadow Sun Unification: Shadow Sun Book Five Page 6
