Chapter 41

Etson - 4:11 PM

As Jeff had said, Etson City Hall was a few blocks away from the Square and the base of operations of the Faithful. Although he and Kayla were nervous traveling so close, I only indulged them slightly by avoiding the most populated areas and changing into clothes that weren’t similar to the gear they had seen me in last. People were coming and going into the safe zone all the time, they wouldn’t notice one more if I was smart about it.

So I changed into a brown jacket, blue jeans, black sneakers, a plain black trucker hat, and kept my head down. While the streets weren’t especially crowded, people stopped to see Jeff and Kayla while others stopped to pet Corwin. No one gave me a second glance; at least, no one made a fuss about it. I would be making my own fuss soon enough.

After navigating the streets, city hall was in front of us. It was a tall building that was situated at the bottom of a steep hill. Like everywhere else in downtown Etson, it was made of bricks though the windows here were tinted except for the few on the third floor that were broken. There was only one public entrance, though there were back doors that could only be opened from the inside. I ignored those as I started reequipping my gear.

“Are you sure you shouldn’t wait until we’re inside first?” Kayla asked, looking around. There were only a few people other than us, but she watched them as they watched us.

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “Besides, there’s going to be guards from the Etson Faithful in our way, so I’d rather be prepared for them.”

Jeff stopped, prompting the rest of us to do so. “So your goal is to pick a fight with them?”

“No, no,” I said, then tilted my head. “Well, not them. Some of the Faithful, sure, but not these particular members.”

“And what are you trying to accomplish, Anthony?” Kayla asked sternly, narrowing her eyes.

“Oh, man, is that your serious librarian voice?” I asked, grinning. “Nice, love it. But to answer your question, I’m killing two birds with one stone. Normally I wouldn’t come here at all, but you asked the question and I see no reason to let them have more resources when you two can put them to better use. I guess it’s technically three birds. Four birds? Either way, it’ll be a really potent stone.”

“You’re not going to kill someone today, are you?” Jeff asked, his voice as stern as his wife’s. “Because we didn’t sign up for that. Monsters are all fine and good, but other people?”

“Nah, the goal isn’t to kill them,” I said, waving my hand. “Scare them? Sure. Hurt them? Very likely as it’ll depend on them. Rob them? I mean, technically they don’t have the treasure yet, so not really.”

“Before we round this corner and see those guards,” Kayla started slowly. “Since you’re not working alone anymore and we don’t like being dragged about all willy-nilly, how about you tell us the plan?”

I nodded. “Alright, that’s fair. So I’m going to go up to the guards, introduce myself if they don’t know me yet, and scare them into going to get backup. Inside, I’ll explain why there’s no government anymore and lead you two to a safe in the basement.” The two opened their mouths to say something, but I stopped them with a hand. “Yes, I know, basements and Florida don’t mix. The system put it there. In the basement is a safe. Inside the safe is stuff that will help you two.”

“And you don’t want anything inside?” Kayla asked.

“Nope. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t bother because I’ve already got a good setup going. I actually forgot about it until your question, funnily enough,” I explained. “But the Etson Faithful have a lot of different paths they can choose going forward from this point, and denying a potential enemy's resources is like, war 101. They already know about the safe but they haven’t cracked it yet, hence the guards. So, they’ll report and send a group that will, I’m guessing, be mostly comprised of Father Alexander’s thugs.”

“So we just know he’s sending thugs?” Jeff asked.

“Oh, hell yeah, that guy is shady as fuck,” I responded. “They’ll want to kill or capture me and their heads will be full of delusions of grandeur about how Seraphim will reward them and the city will be saved. I mean, an alliance with the Vespae? They think it’s going to be all fine and dandy but humanity will really become second class citizens to the bugs. That’s how the Vespae operate. Lives will be saved for as long as it takes for someone to be offended at their treatment and attack a bug, then all gloves are off again.”

Kayla and Jeff looked at each other before nodding. “Alright, hurting is fine so long as they start it,” Kayla stated. “But no going overboard.”

“Don’t worry, there’s a short list of people I’m actually going to kill, and I assure you that they deserve it.”

“Not sure if that’s as assuring as you think it is, but it’s good enough for me,” Jeff said. Kayla nodded in agreement.

I finished putting on my belt and grinned. “Excellent, glad to hear it,” I said with a thumbs up. I approached the entrance to Etson City Hall.

The glass front had been blasted outwards and the shards were still everywhere. The concrete ground just inside and the glass just outside of the doors showed signs of intense fire damage. Beyond that was a brown carpet with holes burnt through to show off the stone underneath. We stepped inside, Kayla and Jeff on edge while Corwin sniffed everything he could.

“What happened here?” Kayla asked.

“Soon, just a little further in and I’ll explain,” I told her.

We started walking deeper into the building. Along the floors and walls were scorch marks from the battles that had taken place here. Piles of ash littered the floor, and the smell of burnt carpet, stone, and flesh still lingered. I could tell that the Mills were starting to flag behind me as their footsteps became more hesitant.

“Kayla, this is a lot like what you saw from people coming out of the boss tent at the Big Top,” I said. “And Jeff, this is what you would have seen if I hadn’t shown up in Stanley and defeated that demon, Pustibule.”

“This is disturbing,” Jeff said, walking around a pile of ash.

“That’s an understatement,” Kayla agreed. I could tell from the tone of their voices that they were shaken. It was understandable considering we had already passed by at least twenty human sized scorch marks and we were barely inside.

We entered a large central area in the building that looked like a mix between a cafeteria and a waiting room. The burns here were everywhere and the carpet was nearly nonexistent because of it. Large swathes of the ceiling were also gone, and in some places the second floor could be seen. The smell was worse here, and although it didn’t bother me I couldn’t blame Kayla and Jeff for having to cover their faces with cloth.

“All across the world, government facilities look like this,” I said, stopping and gesturing towards the room. “They’re the ones that are first hit because, and I’ll admit that I’m guessing here, the system administrators want as much chaos as possible at first. Government buildings, police stations, military bases, fire stations, hospitals were all hit hard. Some survived, of course; it’s really hard to take over a military base. Others, like this place, weren’t meant to survive.”

I kicked over a melted metal and plastic chair. “The moment Seraphim’s announcement ended, Etson City Hall was beset upon by Ignan Marauders. Seven foot tall fire beings shaped like humans with thick tails. Even if you can get past the heat they exude, then the only way to damage them is with magical weapons like yours, or special abilities. Five of them were enough to take out this building and all of its inhabitants. There were some survivors, but not nearly as many as you’d hope.”

“And it’s like this everywhere?” Kayla asked softly.

“Like I said, some places survived, others didn’t,” I replied somberly. “Washington DC should have a host of demons controlling it now by now, including their big boss who is a far more powerful demon than should be allowed this early on. They’re trapped in a bubble for a few months, though they’re preparing for war. Ottawa has the opposite problem: angels spawned there.”

“Opposite problem?” Jeff asked with an arched eyebrow. “Are angels really a problem?”

“Look at Seraphim, honey,” Kayla responded.

“Seraphim isn’t a real angel,” I said, scowling. “Despite what anyone would think, angels are a gray area. They’re not bad in the same way demons are, but they have their downsides. Most are very arrogant and they don’t understand people the same way demons do. A demon understands sin. Greed, pride, wrath, lust, all of them. An angel will look at someone and, unless they have a clear directive not to, they’ll judge that person. Then it’s anyone’s guess what happens next.”

“The bible really did have a lot of smiting in it, didn’t it,” Jeff said with a nervous chuckle.

“Who’s there!?” A voice called out from deeper inside the building. A pair of middle aged men came from one of the hallways. One wore a leather breastplate and the other had bracers and pauldrons over a Etson College shirt. They both had swords on their belt, and they drew them as they saw us.

Kayla and Jeff began to pull their weapons as Corwin started growling, but I held up a hand. “Just a minute, fellas, I’m doing a lecture here,” I told them with a smile.

“Like hell you are, this place is off-limits to everyone but the Etson Faithful. Ya’ll need to go,” Pauldrons said.

“Consider it a history tour, you can get some information, too,” I said, putting my hand down. I looked back at the Mills. “So, yeah, demons in DC and angels in Ottawa. As you can probably guess, there’s going to be a big battle sometime in the next five or six months and, spoilers, humanity is not going to win.”

“Stop talking nonsense,” Breastplate said as he approached.

I looked over at him, then down at his armor. “Right side of the chest.”

He paused. “The hell does that mean?”

“That’s where I’m going to hit you if you attack me, right side of the chest,” I explained as if it were a fact. “Full disclosure, my hands don’t work really well right now, so it will be an elbow. Actually… Is your constitution score higher than seven?”

“I-“

“I only ask because if it’s not, then I’ll probably kill you with a strike to your chest and that’s the last thing I want. As my grandmother always used to say, maim and mutilate but never kill.”

“Your grandmother used to say that?” Pauldrons asked, confused.

“She was a rabble rouser, for sure,” I said with a nod. “So are you going to let me finish what I’m saying? Or are you going to come after me? Also, just to be safe, I’m going to go after your sword arm. It’ll break, yeah, but it won’t kill you. Unless your constitution is three or less, but then what are you even doing with your life?”

Breastplate looked back at Pauldrons, who shrugged, then back at me. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Oh, I’m rude, aren’t I?” I asked, approaching. Breastplate raised his sword, but I just offered him my hand. “Anthony Franklin, also known as the guy who killed the Writhing Zeppelin. You know, the corpse that’s still sitting against the safe zone. You may also know me from the stupid main scenario alternate clear condition, but who actually thinks an alliance with the Vespae will be fruitful, am I right?”

Both Breastplate and Pauldrons stared at me in surprise as I spoke to them almost jovially, and the former didn’t reach out to take my hand. I let it fall to my side and turned around. Even as I looked at the Mills, I made sure to keep an ear out for the Faithful. “So, where was I? Right, angels,” I said, trying and failing to snap my fingers.

“So demons in DC, angels in Ottawa. Actually, I guess I’ve said most of what I wanted to say. The long and short of it is that the system dropped monsters on a lot of government facilities both military and civilian. The Faithful mopped this one up late last night.”

I paused and cleared my throat as Kayla and Jeff’s heads shifted. They hadn’t stopped staring at Breastplate and Pauldrons, and I could hear the two Faithful leave the room behind me. “Don’t mind them, they’re probably under orders to report back if I show up.”

Kayla pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “I’d much rather get in, get the loot, and get out before the cavalry arrives.”

“Yeah, and I understand, but kicking their asses will make it so that they’re more reluctant to go after me, then I’ll only have to worry about them on day three, yada yada.”

“I don’t know,” Jeff said, stroking his chin. “Wouldn’t it be the same as declaring war on the Faithful? If they’re as shady as you say, then they wouldn’t care about saying you did this unprovoked.”

“Father Alexander’s going to try to find an excuse to declare war on me anyway,” I responded, shrugging. “If he does it this early before people start feeling really desperate, then it’s going to cause a divide between his faction and the people who aren’t assholes. They’re going to be scared but they’ll also know that it’s better to keep around the people who killed a raid boss than give him up.”

“It’s so weird that you just see all of this coming,” Jeff mentioned.

“To be honest, I haven’t seen this particular scenario in any of my visions, so it is new to me. But I know enough about this city and the people in it to make some pretty stellar guesses that I think will come true, say, 85% of the time.”

“Okay, I know that you’re very confident in yourself, and I know that you have reason to be,” Kayla said. “But this is a whole bunch of people with varying abilities, stats, and classes. How can you be so confident about going up against a group?”

“Oh, well that’s the easy part. Father Alexander can declare war if he wants to, but the best he’ll be able to try is capture me. He’ll also have to convince Thomas that it’s worthwhile for me to be dead. And if he has to convince Thomas?”

“Then Gloria will put up a fight,” Kayla guessed.

“Exactly,” I said, wishing that I could snap my fingers. “Some of the Faithful who stopped the others from going after me? Jeff, you know the ones. I’m sure some of them have already joined Thomas’ group because of Gloria. The power dynamic has shifted even further out of Father Alexander’s hands and towards my safety, and will continue to do so if he missteps. Actually, now that I say it out loud, he probably won’t declare war. Instead he’ll send his top dogs after me. It’s a lot easier to convince Thomas and any other factions that they didn’t kill me, just found me due to my death being ‘natural causes’ like being mauled by monsters. It wouldn’t hold up with modern forensics, but in the apocalypse? It’s unlikely, but could happen.”

“You’ve put a lot more thought into this than I thought you did, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, Kayla, you haven’t had time to think about it,” I said with a soft smile. “It takes a lot of getting used to things and there are bigger issues that you need to worry about. Like your stats and abilities. Shall we head to the basement?”

“Please.”

“Will you want us to help when they come?” Jeff asked as we began walking again.

“Nah, no need, and if you two want to clear out before they come then that’s fine, too. But, if you stay,” I turned to them and grinned. “Well, you’ll see what a big difference stats make in player versus player. I’m looking forward to the demonstration.”