Chapter 418 - Unexpected Development

Chris

Outside Fort Hope

I pulled Remi to a stop just as Fort Hope came into view and stared out at the thick stone walls. The city had come a long way since the first time I’d seen it. Back then, it was a hodge-podge of wooden stakes and mounds of dirt.

Now, it looked like a proper city, with the defenses and fortifications to defend it.

At my halt, everyone behind me sprang into motion without needing to be prompted. Wagons were unpacked, and the first stakes of our camp were getting hammered in, preparing for the siege.

I dismounted with a wince. My body still ached, and my Spirit, even after months, still hadn’t healed. Being without it was… difficult. You never knew how valuable something was until it was gone.

Upgrading my Body without it was a process I never wanted to go through again. If circumstances hadn’t been what they were, there was no chance I’d have gone through with it.

But they were.

And here I was.

Status

~~
Name: Christopher Zalenski
Race: (D) Human*
Class: (D) Warden of the North(Legendary) – Level 128
Profession: (D) Adept Runesmith(Epic) – Level 107
Affinity: Arctic
Faction: Frostheim (Leader)
Title: Viscount

Strength - 3827
Agility - 1759
Perception - 794
Fortitude - 3175
Endurance - 2057
Vitality - 1280
Intelligence - 687
Wisdom - 1094
Acumen - 646

Free Points: 0

Laws: Lesser Law of Ice (Tier 2), Lesser Law of Wind (Tier 2)

Body Stage: Body of Copper(Northern Wind Body, Might of the Arctic Body)
Mana Heart: Perfect Ignition (Stars of Primordial Frost)

Spirit Stage: Anchor Formation
~~

The Runesmith levels were nice, but not all that impactful. Building the chamber needed had taken the work of months, and was the large chunk of essence gained. Patching up everyone’s armor, including my own, fixing weapons, and forging a few new ones got me the rest of the way.

Level 128 had come from Pierre. I’d hoped to get more from Ryan, but it wasn’t to be.

Every Free Point had been thrown into Endurance in the attempt to patch up a sinking ship. Without my Spirit to reinforce it, the stat was struggling to keep up with the demand I placed upon it. I got tired quicker. Battles took more out of me. I had to sleep more often.

If I were asked to run back and forth between Gemini City and Flame Falls now, it would take twice as long and leave me exhausted on the other side. Even with the boost I gained from Body of Copper, increasing my physicality, it wasn’t enough to make up for the loss from my Anchor.

Enough, I pinned my negative thoughts. Focus on the now, not the past.

The siege would be more difficult, but not impossible. We would take the city all the same. Even with the walls, towers, and weapons stationed atop them, the end result wouldn’t change.

I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be back here under these circumstances. I knew some of the people inside the city. Fort Hope wasn’t all that far away, and traveling back and forth wasn’t too difficult. The same could be said for the Oathbound. Some of whom we would be fighting against were friends.

But we couldn’t ignore it. Fort Hope was the key to reaching further East. It stood in the way of reaching the rest of New Canada, and not only was marching around them silly, but it was also tactically unsound. Everyone knew not to leave an enemy at your back.

“Hugo, start setting up the trebuchets,” I called out to the man.

Head Builder Phillip and Uncle Brayden were our best Builders, but they didn’t specialize in combat, nor did they enjoy it. Both would have come if I’d asked, but I hadn’t. They weren’t the only Builders in the city.

While the Oathbound focused on combat, that didn’t mean they ignored their Professions.

Hugo, one of Elliot’s Lieutenants, was a fine Engineer. I wasn’t sure what grade his Profession was, but it was more than good enough to be put in charge of the construction efforts. Others with Carpenter or Woodworker Professions followed after him. A few Mages moved to help, while Lumberjacks and Woodcutters got started cutting down and processing the lumber they would need.

A few hours was all they would need before the siege weapons would be ready. Portable walls, towers, and battering rams would follow if they were needed.

Before I could begin coordinating the Enchanters and Wardsmiths, Hal shouted at me, “The city gates are opening!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing. We were still thousands of yards away, but if they aimed to charge us, we needed to form ranks quickly. Shields and weapons were readied, and I grasped my hammer. I strained my eyes to see what was happening, only to see a lone figure step out of the gates before the gates slammed shut behind him.

The figure’s armor gleamed in the sun with an unnatural radiance.

I couldn’t make out his features, but I had a guess at who it was.

“Gabriel, you’re in charge of Warding the camp until I get back. The supplies and enchanting materials are in that wagon.” I said, “I’ll go see what he wants.”

Just in case, I checked the straps on my armor and made sure everything was prepared. Ashton had surprised me before, and I wanted to be ready for anything.

Before I could walk out toward him, Hal grasped my shoulder, “Be careful, Chris, it could be a trap.”

I nodded, “I will.”

As we walked toward each other, no one atop the walls pointed weapons at me or aimed any of the larger weapons. The large ballistae and catapults remained positioned where they had been, and did not track my movement. That didn’t mean others weren’t hidden behind the walls doing exactly that, though.

Once we got a few hundred feet apart, we both stopped. The distance was getting larger as levels were gained. It used to be a few dozen feet away.

“Ashton,” I greeted stiffly.

“Christopher,” He said back, “I heard what happened in the South.”

“Then you know why I’m here.”

“I do,” He said, his voice full of… disappointment? “I told him not to. I warned him, many times, yet he did it anyway.”

“Warned him of what?” I asked.

“What would happen if he went through with what he planned. His goal was to drag you into two wars to weaken you, and if there was a chance, kill you.” Ashton said bitterly, “I told him it wouldn’t work. Told him and Pierre that their plan was stupid. It would just piss you off.”

“You were right,” I said before moving on to why I was there, “Is he here?”

“No,” he shook his head, “I don’t know where he is. No one I’ve reached out to has seen him either. Wherever he is, I don’t know.”

“Did you know about the sword?” I asked.

“No. I don’t even know where he got it, either.” He answered, “He didn’t exactly keep me in the loop.”

Ashton could be outright lying, but it didn’t seem that way. He seemed genuinely disappointed with what had happened.

“Do you wish to settle this between the two of us? Or must we do things the hard way?” I was wounded, yes, but I was confident I’d still win. It would also be so much easier if he said yes.

“Woah, woah, woah, hang on,” Ashton raised his hands placatingly, “We don’t have to do all that.”

Before I could ask what he was talking about, his right hand swiped through the air a few times. His mana remained still, and he didn’t seem to be doing anything besides swiping at the air.

That was until a dome of light expanded from the center of the city. A dome of bright, white light rushed out in all directions. It passed through the walls, over the land outside them, through Ashton and I, passing over my army, and continued into the distance.

The only reason I wasn’t swinging already was that I knew the light wasn’t an attack.

It came from the Pylon. It was the same light that rushed out every time land was claimed, and happened every time a pylon was upgraded. The System menus didn’t require hand movements, so him doing so was for theatrics. Or to prove his actions.

Ashton hadn’t upgraded his pylon, and there was no new land that needed to be claimed. The only other reason was if the land was claimed by a different Faction.

Or, in this case, if Faction affiliation was changed. Ashton had left New Canada, and now Fort Hope was unaffiliated with any Faction.

“When I warned him against going through with it, I told him what would happen if he did. I knew the first city you’d march on would be mine. I also knew we would fall before any help could come. Even if it did come, I didn’t like our chances.” He said. “If the cause had been just, and we’d been in the right, I would have fought to the end. But it wasn’t, and his greed would have killed my city. He knew I would leave his Faction going into it, and he did it anyway.”

I was caught off guard. This wasn’t what I was expecting when the parley was called for.

“You’d break your Oath?” I questioned.

“I broke no Oaths.” Ashton clarified, “I broke no contract, either. When I joined New Canada, I did so because I naively assumed it was what was right. Rejoining the government was only natural. It was only later that I realized my mistake.”

“He didn’t have you pledge loyalty? Service?” I asked, confused. It was one of the first things I asked of anyone. An Oath of Loyalty.

Ashton chuckled ruefully, “No. He accepted our affiliation because he needed the resources we had, and assumed that a day we would leave would never come. He tried to put some new contract in front of me a few months ago, but by then, the ship had already sailed. The others signed. I did not.”

Well, fuck.

“I have, nor want, any affiliation with him or his Faction. Not anymore.” Ashton said, “In that spirit, I don’t want to fight you, either. Anything that can be done to avoid this, I will. Search the city for him if you want. Go through every house and warehouse, if that’s what it takes. I won’t kill everyone here because of my pride.”

“You’d just let us in?”

“If you promise not to harm the civilians, yes. Your goal is to find Ryan and his sword, is it not? So I will prove that neither is here.”

What the fuck am I supposed to do now?

I’d declared war and was expecting a battle. I thought we’d be fighting to take the city right now, not to be offered to search it.

Part of me wanted to do it anyway. I couldn’t be sure Ashton was telling the truth. I wasn’t certain this wasn’t some elaborate scheme. Plus, my feud with Ashton hadn’t been settled. There was still the fact he allowed the mine to be attacked, but was that worth sieging the city over?

No. It wasn’t, even if I wanted to. My gut told me this wasn’t a lie, and I couldn’t ignore it just because I didn’t like what it said.

“Fine,” I sighed, “I agree to harm no one besides Ryan, unless we are attacked first.”

“Very well,” Ashton nodded, relieved. He waved a hand in the air, and the city gates began to open once more. This time, they remained wide open.

Ashton didn’t turn to leave.

“When I first started this and formed Fort Hope, my goal was to do what was right. To protect my home. I want to get back to that ideal. I lost myself to greed and ambition, I admit, but I also know where that path leads, and it’s not one I want to walk again.” He said.

I said nothing. I was clueless where this was coming from, and more importantly, where it was going.

“I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, and I know that I’ve made some mistakes, but I hope that I can make up for those mistakes.” He wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands, and he seemed anxious now, which was odd. If anything, he should have been anxious before we agreed not to fight. “Your Faction has lived up to that ideal, even when it would have been easier not to. I want you to know that I ask this not because I’m currently Factionless, but because I truly believe it.”

Oh. Pieces began to fit together.

“Viscount Zalenski, if you’ll accept, I would be proud to swear myself to you and enter your service. I’ll swear any Oath you ask of me as long as it's just and right. I’ll swear to defend that Oath, even when my blood is spilled and my body is broken. Until my last breath.”

How was I supposed to answer that?