"Druid," I began, keeping my voice steady despite the unease creeping over me, "What are you going to do?"
His muscular figure blocked my sight of the door at the far end of the prison room.
"Easy, Sophia," he grunted. “Name’s Hal.” He crossed his arms while holding on to his vine-wrapped druidic staff. "Just here to chat. Nothing sinister."
"And you're with these guys now? The LCS?" I asked, scanning his stoic face for any hint of a response. My heart oscillated between hope and caution.
Hal shrugged. "More or less, I suppose I’ve become one of them, been here a couple weeks. And I took on the job of bringing you lot into the fold. Thought you’d prefer me to random folks you’ve never met before."
"Recruiter, huh?" I asked.
“Give me a bottle,” he said nonchalantly, pointing toward the back of my cage. At my rationed 12-pack of Dr. Peppers.
I went and slid one out of the carton, then passed it to him in between the bars.
I pouted with a hand on my hip. "Your dignity’s gonna let you steal from an inmate, huh."
Hal made no response to my quip, but merely took a gulp, and concluded with a satisfied sigh.
He tapped his staff on the ground, trice.
It began to glow, the twisted vines along its length pulsating with a silver light. The same light rippled outwards along the ground in concentric circles, then formed a wispy, immaterial dome. Within the dome were Hal, Saber, Jack, and myself.
Everything else outside felt strangely distant.
“Silence spell,” Hal told us. “Can’t hear anything outside, and they can’t hear us.”
So we could now converse without prying ears. Strange, though, that he excluded Roger.
“So. Got questions for me?” Hal asked us.
“What is the goal of the LCS?” Saber ventured.
Hal let out a scoff, running a finger through his beard. "Don’t know."
“But you’ve been part of the organization,” Saber asked, a tinge of disbelief coloring her inflection.
Hal shrugged and chugged his Dr. Pepper. "Most of what we do is gathering power and resources, just like any faction. That’s what I’ve been doing. And if you join, that’s what you’ll do. But as for their end game... if they've got one beyond just expanding, they’ve kept it under wraps. Heck, none of us here knows much about the big man in charge. Doublerift. I doubt even the Commander’s got the full picture."
"And you're fine with that?" Saber asked. "Being part of something you don't understand? Working towards goals you don’t know?"
Hal shrugged again. "Look, kid. It’s easier to survive when you’ve got warm bodies around you. That’s why most of us are here."
His gaze passed over each of our faces. Despite the dim light, I could see a glint of concern in his eyes. "You should consider joining too."
I looked to Jack and Saber. The silence hung heavily between us.
“Is that what we want?” I asked the two of them.
“…If we join,” Jack asked, turning to the Druid, “how permanent is that decision? Can we leave any time we want?”
“Any time,” he said. “Long as you leave behind your belongings. All you’ll have left is the necessities you went into Bronze with. Everything else, the LCS claims. Money, magic items, everything.”
I sat down on the edge of my bed, arms folded. “That’s pretty harsh…”
“So you better think things through,” Hal replied.
The ground beneath us trembled.
Dust rained down from the ceiling, and the lights flickered on and off. The guards and prisoners around us scurried about, seeking shelter or means of self-defense. But we heard nothing.
With a wave of his staff, Hal dismissed the dome of silence. Shouting, distant and near, filled the air.
"What was that?" Saber questioned, already on her feet, her voice bristling with anticipation.
The door to our prison room burst open, and a lady skidded through the hallway. She held a crossbow in her hands.
“We’re under attack!” she yelled. “Out, now!”
“We evacuating everyone?” the Druid shouted at her.
“No time,” the lady panted. She looked at something outside we couldn’t see. “Bounty Hall’s breaching the perimeter. We gotta abandon base.”
For the first time in days, I saw a smile play across Roger’s lips.
"Druid," I began, keeping my voice steady despite the unease creeping over me, "What are you going to do?"
His muscular figure blocked my sight of the door at the far end of the prison room.
"Easy, Sophia," he grunted. “Name’s Hal.” He crossed his arms while holding on to his vine-wrapped druidic staff. "Just here to chat. Nothing sinister."
"And you're with these guys now? The LCS?" I asked, scanning his stoic face for any hint of a response. My heart oscillated between hope and caution.
Hal shrugged. "More or less, I suppose I’ve become one of them, been here a couple weeks. And I took on the job of bringing you lot into the fold. Thought you’d prefer me to random folks you’ve never met before."
"Recruiter, huh?" I asked.
“Give me a bottle,” he said nonchalantly, pointing toward the back of my cage. At my rationed 12-pack of Dr. Peppers.
I went and slid one out of the carton, then passed it to him in between the bars.
I pouted with a hand on my hip. "Your dignity’s gonna let you steal from an inmate, huh."
Hal made no response to my quip, but merely took a gulp, and concluded with a satisfied sigh.
He tapped his staff on the ground, trice.
It began to glow, the twisted vines along its length pulsating with a silver light. The same light rippled outwards along the ground in concentric circles, then formed a wispy, immaterial dome. Within the dome were Hal, Saber, Jack, and myself.
Everything else outside felt strangely distant.
“Silence spell,” Hal told us. “Can’t hear anything outside, and they can’t hear us.”
So we could now converse without prying ears. Strange, though, that he excluded Roger.
“So. Got questions for me?” Hal asked us.
“What is the goal of the LCS?” Saber ventured.
Hal let out a scoff, running a finger through his beard. "Don’t know."
“But you’ve been part of the organization,” Saber asked, a tinge of disbelief coloring her inflection.
Hal shrugged and chugged his Dr. Pepper. "Most of what we do is gathering power and resources, just like any faction. That’s what I’ve been doing. And if you join, that’s what you’ll do. But as for their end game... if they've got one beyond just expanding, they’ve kept it under wraps. Heck, none of us here knows much about the big man in charge. Doublerift. I doubt even the Commander’s got the full picture."
"And you're fine with that?" Saber asked. "Being part of something you don't understand? Working towards goals you don’t know?"
Hal shrugged again. "Look, kid. It’s easier to survive when you’ve got warm bodies around you. That’s why most of us are here."
His gaze passed over each of our faces. Despite the dim light, I could see a glint of concern in his eyes. "You should consider joining too."
I looked to Jack and Saber. The silence hung heavily between us.
“Is that what we want?” I asked the two of them.
“…If we join,” Jack asked, turning to the Druid, “how permanent is that decision? Can we leave any time we want?”
“Any time,” he said. “Long as you leave behind your belongings. All you’ll have left is the necessities you went into Bronze with. Everything else, the LCS claims. Money, magic items, everything.”
I sat down on the edge of my bed, arms folded. “That’s pretty harsh…”
“So you better think things through,” Hal replied.
The ground beneath us trembled.
Dust rained down from the ceiling, and the lights flickered on and off. The guards and prisoners around us scurried about, seeking shelter or means of self-defense. But we heard nothing.
With a wave of his staff, Hal dismissed the dome of silence. Shouting, distant and near, filled the air.
"What was that?" Saber questioned, already on her feet, her voice bristling with anticipation.
The door to our prison room burst open, and a lady skidded through the hallway. She held a crossbow in her hands.
“We’re under attack!” she yelled. “Out, now!”
“We evacuating everyone?” the Druid shouted at her.
“No time,” the lady panted. She looked at something outside we couldn’t see. “Bounty Hall’s breaching the perimeter. We gotta abandon base.”
For the first time in days, I saw a smile play across Roger’s lips.
