Chapter 63

Green Pines Cemetery, Etson - 12:19 PM

“I have a few questions,” Thomas said, his voice resigned.

“I’ll answer them to the best of my ability.”

“Okay, so Seraphim is going to have some big thing at the end of the main scenario. Are you sure?”

I snorted. “About as sure as I can be, though for the sake of full disclosure I’ll admit that I don’t have confirmation. Look at any shitty middle manager you’ve ever worked for that berated you and took credit for your work, now put him in charge of half of Florida with ambitions that scream at him to do whatever’s in his power to get ahead. That’s the kind of scum sucker Seraphim is.”

“I know the type,” Thomas grumbled. “Why the time limit? Noon tomorrow isn’t exactly a lot of time to prepare.”

“I have it under good authority, aka this nugget of news is actually confirmed by a trustworthy information dealer, that Seraphim is in time out right now. He’s unable to contribute to my demise, which he knew would happen and that’s why it got pushed back three days.”

“Sorry, but, it did get pushed back three days. We’d still have another day if we attack tomorrow,” Francis said. “Why tomorrow?”

“Because Seraphim gave himself an extra day’s buffer just in case. His time out was only for two days, not for the three I originally anticipated.”

“So we need to go to war a whole day earlier than intended with a population that’s already dreading it, and for that we need the Etson Faithful,” Thomas mused.

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it.”

“Tommy, you can’t seriously be considering this,” John said. “This guy’s a lunatic! Think about your sister, for god’s sake! Just this morning you were talking about ripping him a new one!”

“Do you think I haven’t?” Thomas asked, his voice suddenly grave. He turned to John. “Do you want me to take this warning for granted? I am thinking of my sister, John! I’m thinking of everyone! Yes, I’m furious with Anthony. He lied to me about putting my people out of the way and admitted as much straight to my face. He’s the reason why my sister has a limp now despite the fact that she’s in perfect health. I’m goddamn livid, John!

“But what you don’t seem to be able to get is that I can’t let that get in the way! You can talk shit all you want, and I’ll join you, because at the end of the day talking shit is free. But if you think that I can dismiss him because he lied to me? Because of the injuries Gloria sustained? Then I don’t need you by my side, John. If I can put my anger at this man aside so that we can work towards everything being better, then so can you. Kayla and Anthony wronged you, yes. They wronged me, too, but we are not in a position to throw them away. We do not have the luxury of holding grudges.”

John looked ready to yell back, his face now fully red with rage, but he threw his arms up instead. Turning around, he stormed off. “I’m going to hunt a monster or two. Do what you want.”

We watched as John stormed off, though he didn’t go far. I sighed. “Sorry, Thomas. I know I’m asking a lot of you and your group.”

“You’re asking us to speed up our demise,” he responded quietly.

“Well, tactically speaking, attacking on our terms is better than waiting for theirs,” Francis admitted.

“Kayla, Jeff, and I all spent last night clearing out the forest of things that would stop us from getting to the Vespae’s home faster,” I said. “We relocated a dryad that the Vespae were coercing into protecting the forest, killed their trap master and one of their stranger members, and released a village of Kobolds who agreed to help us fight.”

“Kobolds?” Thomas asked.

“Little scaly dudes,” Francis answered excitedly.

“Other kind of Kobolds, the furry kind.”

“Little furry dog dudes?” Francis looked horrified. “In Florida of all places?”

“Jeff said the same thing. The system is unkind to everyone,” I retorted with a shrug.

“But they’re monsters?” Thomas asked.

“Technically, but not all monsters are monsters, you know? Some monsters are NPCs where you can talk to them, get quests from them, coexist, blah blah blah. It’s not bad just because it’s a monster,” I said. Thomas released a deep breath, and I gave him a smile. “Don’t worry about it. They’ll join us in the fight and they’ll be a big help. But, we still need to discuss what’s going on with the Etson Faithful.”

“It does seem like we’ve taken our time getting to that part of the discussion,” Thomas grumbled.

“Well, other stuff was important. I went on a tirade at John, you went on a tirade at John, but now he’s gone so we can discuss things,” I said jovially. As Thomas glared at me, I busied myself with my arm. The skin’s color had changed so that it looked like I was sunburned rather than roasted, and the pain had died down into a stinging tingle. All and all, much improved even though I wasn’t at full health yet. “Though, getting the Faithful to listen to me might be a little… harder than it normally would.”

“What did you do?” Thomas asked, eyes narrowed.

“So, I went into their territory yesterday afternoon and stole items from a safe to give to Kayla and Jeff,” I admitted, though I held up my hand when Thomas opened his mouth to speak. “The Faithful hadn’t gotten into the safe yet and I knew they’d be after me so I decided to deny them some resources. This was way before I knew about Seraphim only being gone for two days instead of three. Father Alexander sent goons after me and I kind of had to beat them up.”

“Had to?” Thomas arched his eyebrow at me.

“I may have gotten it into their head that they can’t beat me because my stats and items are better than theirs. I may have beaten up one of the Father’s inner circle and his most bloodthirsty enforcer. But,” I raised my hand up again. “He was instructed to bring me in and was willing to use force to do it. I did not start the fight.”

“No, you just stole their stuff,” Thomas accused, crossing his arms. “Which would explain why they started charging more points to borrow their healers in the field.”

I ignored that part. “So they don’t like me, but having them in the war will save a lot of lives. You will not believe the difference between having a war with only a few healers and having a war with a lot of healers. Like night and day.”

“Every party needs a healer,” Francis added.

“Then, what? You want me to waltz in there and ask Father Alexander to forgive you and prepare for war?” Thomas shook his head. “You know that’s not going to happen.”

“No, it won’t,” I agreed. “The head honcho is going to want to play the whole scenario by the book, which means waiting for the scenario to start properly.”

“Which is where the overthrowing part you mentioned comes in,” Thomas guessed.

“Yeah, kinda,” I said with a sigh. “Look, I understand that you don’t want to antagonize them. They’re the biggest source of healers in the city even after some of them left to join you. What I really need is for you to just… be there. You don’t even have to say you’re supporting me. You can be completely neutral and wait to see what happens, if you want. But I do want you to be there.”

“And if they attack you?”

“You don’t have to get involved if you don’t want to,” I said. “But I feel like the Faithful are at a tipping point. Father Alexander did not come off great after the Zeppelin fell, and there were deserters. People know who I am, and they know what I did. Now he’s charging more for healers and, if my memories are any indication, using those points to kit out his most faithful followers. Even if I don’t convince the head, I’m sure I can convince the body. I already asked Kayla to infiltrate the Square so she could talk to Gabrielle about the Kobolds and what an alliance with the Vespae would mean. It’s not pretty.”

Thomas went quiet as he thought it over. Francis and I looked at each other for a moment, but it didn’t take long. “Just showing up is going to make it seem like I’m already on your side,” Thomas stated. “It risks alienating the healers, but I think you’re right that the people will want to trust and protect you. When I went to Gloria after the raid boss fell, Alexander tried to pull me aside and demanded we stop all communications with you other than to capture you.”

“Thanks for not doing that.”

“You’re welcome. I told him to shove it, because I was angry and all I could think about was Gloria,” Thomas continued. “I went to apologize, but we never met. He kept putting me off until I decided that my time was being wasted and left. I think our relationship is salvageable, but not if I do this.”

“I understand that I’m asking a lot, and that it’s putting your people in danger, but I wouldn’t be here if I could do it all on my own. The raid boss was one thing, but the Vespae are a whole other thing. Especially because I used my get out of jail free card on the Writhing Zeppelin.”

Sighing, Thomas shook his head. “What time do you want me to be at the Square?”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Let’s shoot for six PM, before it gets dark. I have some stuff I need to do in case shit goes south and it’s going to take me a good while.”

“Six, alright, plenty of time, then,” Thomas said absently.

“And before you go,” I said, turning to Francis. “I didn’t forget, I still have gifts for you.”

The young man’s face lit up as I pulled out the gear I had gotten from inside of the dungeon. The Charred Bone Breastplate was first, and he slipped it on over his head like a t-shirt immediately. It changed proportions to fit his body. He tried to move around in it; the armor was a little bulky, but not by much. He’d get used to it. “Wow, thanks, man!”

“More where that came from,” I chuckled. I pulled out the branch and choker for him, though I left the skill book in my inventory. “The choker is for your sister after she gets that boon from the bird to keep her clothes from catching fire, but the Tinder Twig and Charred Bone Breastplate are both for you.”

“Damn, dude, I don’t know what to say.” Francis looked completely ecstatic, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“How about thank you?”

“Thanks, man,” Francis said, suddenly hugging me. The bone armor he wore was hard and uncomfortable from this side, but I hugged him back anyway.

“No problem, Francis.”

“I have something for you as well,” Thomas said, and I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “I met the mysterious mister J. Wilson last night.”

“The guy who took out the last Vespae stronghold?” I asked, surprised. “Why didn’t Gloria mention that to me?”

“Gloria wasn’t there for it, and I didn’t tell her. She’s been through enough.” He opened his menu and started flicking through his inventory. “Jeremiah Wilson was very interested in you, though.”

“Jeremiah Wilson,” I repeated. That was a name I didn’t recognize. I watched as Thomas finally found what he was looking for. He pulled it out, and I felt my complexion pale.

“Yeah, he said to give this to you. Said you’d know what it meant.”

I took the slim card from Thomas gingerly and stared down at it. Just touching the card stock sent a light painful tingle through my fingers. It was a light blue business card with a smiling demon on the front. The name Doctor Pustibule, MD was printed in dark, blocky letters underneath the picture. I flipped it over to see another note, this one hand written.

“You have something that belongs to me,” I read aloud. “Fuck.”

“What is it?” Francis asked, moving to get a better look at it.

“It’s a summoning card,” I replied, running my fingers through my hair. I realized that I hadn’t replaced the Straw Hat of the Seer or Krinkee’s Bandolier yet, and began pulling them out of my inventory as I explained. “The Demonic Doctor Pustibule was a demon that had taken up residence at the University of Stanley. While I was up there, I killed him and took his scalpel, but not before he offered me a summoning card. At the time my head was a little messed up, and it didn’t occur to me that he might have had more of these little bastards lying around.”

“If you killed him, then why is he leaving you handwritten notes?” Thomas asked, crossing his arms.

“Demons don’t operate at the same level as most monsters do. Like angels, they don’t really die when they’re killed unless you go through a lot of hoops to do it right. Normally, this means killing the demons in hell.”

“Oh, shit, like in Doom?” Francis asked, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Yeah, Francis, like in Doom.”

“So Jeremiah must have found one of these and summoned the demon,” Thomas concluded. “But what’s in it for him?”

“Points, power, a race change, free health care,” I listed with a shrug. “Demons can be very persuasive and very dangerous. They’re-“ My words trailed away as I saw John running towards us, waving his arms and yelling something. Thomas and Francis noticed this and turned to see.

“- the deck! Hit the-“

By the time we understood him, it was too late. A loud crack filled the air from the other side of the cemetery. Pain bloomed in my chest as I flew backwards, crumpling in a heap against a gravestone.