Jo came down to walk alongside them, while the rest of the humans remained spread out, peering warily over the ruins around them.

'How the hell did you two end up like this?' she asked immediately, staring at them. 'Huh, I never realised you guys were actually human. I thought you were from this place, like the People or something.'

'We are not human,' blurted Maric immediately, and Kleos could sense the man's affront at the very idea.

'This was Nicolai's doing,' put in Kleos, as Jo subjected them to a confused up-and-down glance. 'In the depths of the castle there was an object known as a Coffin. It was capable of turning the dead into the living, when provided with physical matter.'

'Physical matter?'

'Corpses.'

'Ah.' She nodded, not in the least surprised.

'Who'd that bastard kill, then? Bet it was someone we knew,' came a snide voice from above.

Glancing up, Kleos saw one of the others staring down. The man's helmet visor had slid open to reveal a face scrunched up with hostility.

Jo cleared her throat. 'Uh, yeah. That bastard Nicolai,' she said without any particular inflection. 'Who was it?' Accompanying these words she shot a very meaningful, raised-eyebrow look at the pair of them.

Kleos understood immediately what the look meant. Play along. But he could feel Maric's confusion, felt the man preparing to say something damning.

'Eh? I thought you and him—' began Maric, only for Kleos to appear to trip on a rock and stumble sideways. He planted his foot with quite some weight on top of Maric's own and turned it, grinding at the soft top of it. While in the Coffin he'd spent much of his time investigating his new body, working out where it was strong and where it was weak.

He was rewarded with a shriek of pain. 'What the fuck! You moron!' howled Maric, lurching and hopping away.

Don't say anything about Nicolai, Kleos did his best to hiss with his thoughts. He caused too much trouble, that's what she's trying to tell us. Act as she acts!

Maric shot him a foul look but didn't start yelling incriminating things, and Kleos sensed an annoyed acceptance from him. You could have simply warned me via thought, said Maric. Instead of attempting to crush my foot!

Oh, I suppose I could've. Kleos took a pleasant breath of the fresh air, and smiled. Whoops.

'Don't be too loud!' Jo was snapping at Maric. 'It's not always safe out here. Things from the jungle have started taking up residence in the ruins, finding crevices to hide in. They're not too present here, close to the tower, but you never know.'

'Yes, yes,' muttered Maric.

'It was just some humans who ambushed him,' said Kleos, returning to her original question. 'Me and Maric were contained in a metal box, we couldn't see who it was or what occurred exactly, but we heard enough to know they were some kind of bandit group. They caught him emerging from a teleport and demanded everything he had, but, well…'

'He did the kind of things he does and killed them all,' said Maric with waspish finality.

Jo nodded. 'Sounds about right.' She cleared her throat and raised her voice. 'That bastard sure did like, uh, killing people.'

'He's lucky he ran away, or he'd be the one getting killed,' put in the guy above in a mutter, and the others around echoed similar sentiments.

'Ran away?' spoke another, a short woman on the outskirt of the group, who kept her eyes pointed warily outward. 'Nah. He's out there, somewhere. Sneaking in and fucking shit up!'

Kleos and Maric exchanged glances, wide eyed.

'Is he?' asked Maric, fearful.

Jo made a face. 'Some people think so. We don't know for sure.'

'I know for sure,' spat the short woman. 'All the food rations I'd been stocking went missing, just last week! Who took 'em, eh? It was him, fucker, that piece of shit…' Her voice faded into a faint angry murmur.

Jo cleared her throat. 'Be as it may,' she called, 'we're in dangerous territory right now. Less worrying, more watching.' In stark contrast to her orders, she glanced back to Kleos and Maric, and continued speaking. 'I guess you two saw him last, then, before he left. What was he…' began Jo, only to trail off with a glance around. 'Nevermind,' she muttered.

'What were these two to him? They allies of his?' broke in the guy above, staring suspicious at both of them before looking to Jo.

'Nah, these two used to be undead. They were both just heads when I knew them. He kept them as captive sources of information. They know a lot of useful stuff about this world. Actually, it was these two who told Maxine about the Trade Link being the only place of safety. We'll take them to her, and I'm hoping they'll be willing to help us.' She gave them another meaningful look. 'Of course, not in slavery as it was with Nicolai.'

Maric smiled. 'Yes, it's a relief to be free of the mad vicious evil human,' he said, sounding quite happy to speak the words which, Kleos knew, was pretty much what he'd felt the whole time about Nicolai. 'I would be happy to assist you wonderful people in any way I can!'

'That so?' the guy continued, glaring at Maric, then looking to Jo. 'I don't like 'em. I don't trust 'em.'

Jo narrowed her eyes. 'You don't trust anyone. I said they're fine so shut it.'

'But they've been hiding around here, not showing themselves 'til now? How—'

'Oh, leave it alone, Jones,' said one of the others. 'Captain's led us right so far. If she says they're fine, they're fine.'

'Alright, alright,' muttered the man, raising a placating hand. 'Just making sure.'

'You can do something useful and contact HQ,' Jo added. 'Let 'em know we've found a couple interesting people Maxine'll want to see, and are heading back inside.'

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

'Gotcha,' said the man, pulling a radio from where it clipped to his tactical vest.

'So,' said Kleos, after they'd moved a little further. 'So, that has been our lot. He stuck us in that Coffin, but now we are free and rid of him at last. What has been happening here?'

'Well, the castle fell down, as you've probably noticed. But in terms of us, the people remaining, we're doing alright. We've all come together.' She smiled. 'Was difficult for a bit, there were some bad moments, a few times it almost all fell apart, but Maxine has kept us all together.' She shrugged, and seemed a little surprised to speak her next words, 'And Vikrum, too, actually. He was a bit, I don't know, out of it at first, but recently he just totally threw in with Maxine, seems happy to be her second, and everything's been smooth sailing since then. There's no Chosen or Coalition now. Just all of us, working together.'

'Idyllic,' put in Kleos at length, unable to help a little sarcasm. After all the chaos he'd seen in this place and from this species, smooth sailing and working together wasn't what he'd expected. Still, he had to admit this was sounding good, better than expected.

'These are my guys,' Jo added, gesturing around them. 'My team. They're normally more friendly but I guess they've not warmed to you yet.'

'Just looking and seeing,' said a woman from above, and she smirked in a way Kleos wasn't sure about.

Before getting moving, Jo spent a moment hunting through a bag. 'I kept these rags to tear bandages from 'em,' she said. 'Been meaning to toss them since I got some proper ones, but you can have them. Cover up, stop people cracking jokes.'

Kleos and Maric obediently wrapped the strips of cloth around their waists, then the group led them through the ruins. In spite of Jo's warning they encountered no trouble on the way. As they approached, the tower grew larger, a stone beacon hanging over them and casting a great shadow over the ruins.

As they moved into the area around it, Kleos saw more humans. They had built little outposts in the ruins around the tower, wherever there was a rise, a stony outcrop, they had setups with sandbags and large, mounted guns. The guards at these stations waved at Jo's group, who waved back, everyone seeming to relax as they drew within the sight of the guards.

There were also some balconies on the lower portion of the otherwise seamless tower, balconies which seemed quite out of place. Their design didn't match the smooth white of the tower they were attached to. On these balconies stood more guards, armed with rifles and more mounted guns. There were also two larger guard posts either side of the entrance which were more built up.

'You added those balconies later?' asked Maric, as curious at Kleos.

Jo smiled. 'That was my idea, actually. I was thinking what would, mmm, what would be a good thing to do. Make it more secure, more defensible. Up there they've got better sight over the ruins. There aren't any windows in the tower so that's the best we can manage, 'cept for the watch on the very top.'

Kleos had the feeling she might've been about to say "thinking what would Nicolai do." One of the many marks the man had left. Looking closer at Jo he realised she'd changed, she wasn't quite as he remembered. She seemed more confident, somehow, and there was something… Frowning he watched more closely, and realised she moved in a way that seemed familiar to him.

With a sudden shock he realised what it was. She moved like Nicolai. Not quite, but close. The way she placed her feet, held her body. Looking always in balance and ready to react, yet at the same time seeming to blend almost, moving in a way that didn't stand out.

'Who are these nakeds?' came a cry from one of the guards on the balcony, and the humans up there laughed. He saw one of them holding a radio, and speaking into it.

'New recruits!' Jo threw back. She glanced at them. 'We ought to get you some proper clothes,' she said, then shrugged. 'There'll be stuff available higher up.'

The entrance must once have been a great arch, large enough for a giant to pass through without bending. But it too was filled with stones and mortar. The thus narrowed entrance was big enough for the three of them to move through easily, but not much more. They passed through a short tunnel before emerging out the other side.

Coming out, he saw inside of the tower was dominated by a spiralling staircase that ran around the wall, winding up and up and up, the space between hollow. Craning his head, Kleos could see all the way to the top of it. It was lit but he couldn't see any light source. Just a dim sourceless glow pasted over everything. Staring at the ground, Kleos realised he had no shadow.

'Weird, isn't it?' Jo grinned at them. 'You noticed that quicker than most.'

The humans' defences continued through here, too. Right ahead of them was a kind of simple building made from chunks of stone mortared together with the same whitish material. He saw holes—for more guns to poke out, he supposed—and a fortified top which was level with the staircase as it crawled by up the wall. There was no one there, which told him it must be a fall-back point.

What are you so happy about? came Maric's mental voice. You're all but bursting with approval.

This is all good, he answered easily. These people are making good decisions. It's more orderly and calm than I expected, too. We can be safe here until we gain some strength.

Must be down to Maxine's leadership, said Maric thoughtfully. She struck me as an intelligent woman. Now the madman is gone I am sure she is running everything smoothly.

'We think this thing has an elevator,' said Jo as they began the trek up the stairs. The rest of her people were all passing by, their steps determined. Eager to get home after an afternoon out in the ruins. Jo's steps were slower, more relaxed as she pointed things out. The people nodded to her as they passed by, and some extended fists which she bumped, giving all of them a quick word, 'Good job today—get some rest—make sure you fix that magazine.'

Once the last was passed she gestured over the banister. 'See that bit?' She indicated a round portion of the floor, which was slightly raised. 'At the top of the stairs there's a platform, with a circle in the middle exactly the size of that. But we can't work out how to get it working so…' She sighed. 'Hope you're feeling strong. I used to have to rest at least twice on the walk up or down. Now I manage with only one. All the older folk just stay up the top. Maxine we says we can't afford to buy everyone new knees.'

'I'd like to have a look at it,' murmured Maric. 'I may know some ways to start it.'

'If you manage to do so, you'll gain yourself a lot of friends right off the bat. Everyone wants it working.' Jo nodded to herself. 'Do that and no one will give you guys any shit over Nicolai.'

Kleos, looking forward, saw the others had already drawn quite a way ahead of them, and attempted to ask her about the whole Nicolai matter. She waved him off, 'At the top,' she muttered. 'Me and Beth have a place. More private.'

It took almost an hour, by the human method of time counting. They stopped four times, mostly due to Maric whose complaints rapidly increased in volume and misery. Kleos, in contrast, enjoyed the walk. It felt good to stretch his muscles, move his body. Overall he was well pleased with his new form.

Jo continued to fill them in on the way up, mostly talking about the different groups.

'Most people are really happy with Maxine. She's a great leader, cares about everyone, makes smart decisions. Thing is, sometimes she does stuff which, well, I mean overall I'm sure it's a good thing but it upsets a few people. You know how it is. She says she just wants the best for us, and that seems to bear out.'

'But when she says that you can only have two guns maximum… that sort of thing… some people who were hoarding guns got pretty upset. The communists are happy though, they approve of pretty much everything she does. Uh. Other people not so much. Beth was pissed… she'd got a nice collection going. Just about shat blood over it, actually. Still angry. Ha.'

'Right now the whole focus is on fortifying the Tower, scouting the area around here, trying to find more Challenges or Quests to complete for points-tags, and working out a new way to get spirit energy for everyone's unfinished Seeds. Since the castle fell, there are no more undead. We've been trying to work out a new way to get spirit energy for Soul Traps.' She shook her head, grimacing. 'A lot of people unhappy regarding all that.'

'I can help!' announced Maric. 'I know of a few Rituals which could work, if you're able to capture some Spirit Beasts.'

Jo brightened. 'Really? Spirit Beasts as in those monsters in the jungle?'

'That's right,' said Maric.

She nodded. 'We've managed to kill a few. That's how I got some of my new Symbiotes, actually. It's risky business hunting those things, though. Any shooting just draws more and more.'

'They'd need to be alive for these rituals to work,' said Maric.

Jo made a face. 'That won't be easy.'

'I may be able to help with that,' said Kleos. 'Hunting Spirit Beasts was a key part of advancing, for my people.'

Jo smiled. 'Well then. If all these promises bear out, you boys might just become some of the most popular people here.'

Kleos and Maric exchanged glances, and shared a mutual thought—that that was exactly what they'd seek to do. They needed allies, and resources. Here they had a way to get both.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.