He was about to walk into the cavern where they had holed up when he heard a group of people marching nearby. He turned and ducked inside, peeking out at the approaching crowd. It seemed like there were around one hundred people walking towards the cavern with a singular purpose. They were being comparatively stealthy, but Laurence appreciated that moving any amount of men over three was at minimum difficult. At maximum it was a near impossibility.
As the troops approached the cavern, a small young woman walked out of the middle of the column of men, focussing on her ring as she walked towards the cavern. “This is it. This is the place”.
Laurence smiled and walked out of the cavern, waving at the troop. “Winoa! Over here!” He ushered the group into the cavern and sat down at the far end. “I’m glad to see you’re here! Things are worse than I feared. Did you get my last recording?”
“I did, what the hell happened? Could you not stop the seal from being broken open?” Winoa sat down opposite Laurence and smiled. She grabbed a couple of rocks and began juggling them absentmindedly as she waited for Laurence to give her an update.
“I went into the camp to deal with a large chunk of the Lupe. I had no idea how many people you would be bringing, so I went into their camp and poisoned their water supplies. They still have to wait for three days or so before the seal is complete so I am hopeful for the results”.
“Is this who you brought us to see?” A brash voice filled the cavern. “He’s a Saint! He’s worthless to us. What are we even doing here?”
Winoa looked back and frowned at the voice. “Algar, you’re being rude. Laurence is more than a Saint. He’s stronger than most Heaven rankers I know”.
“He may be stronger than Heaven rankers, but what do I care. Just because your mother is an Elder of the clan doesn’t mean you supercede me. I’m still the leader and the Immortal of the group, and that has not changed one bit”. The man was short, around the same height as Winoa, which while acceptable on a woman often made men much more unhappy with their lot in life. Algar, however, still managed to exude an extreme sense of power from within. He was like a typhoon, blustering and uncaring for the decisions of lesser figures. Lesser figures that included Laurence. “You said there were more here? A couple of Heaven rankers right? They need to join in with the fray, I’m not sending in my men alone”.
“Are you kidding me? Do you think we need to pay attention to you? We aren’t members of your clan, nor are we soldiers in your army. Why should we do anything for you?” Laurence stood up. He was willing to fight, but the orders of Algar managed to set him on his hackles.
“Simple, you do as I say or you never leave this floor of the tower. I know the adjudicator for the next floor and at a single word he would happily turn down a few Saints from passing to the next stage for say... a millennium. He’s immortal, he doesn’t care. If you want to progress, you will do everything I say, boy. Bring out your friends and join us in the fray or you will be locked in this hellhole of a floor for the rest of your piddlingly short life. Do you hear me?”
Laurence took in a deep breath and clenched his fists. “Fine. I’ll bring them out”.
“There are two Heaven rankers right? Don’t take too long or I might just decide to call my friend anyway”.
Laurence swore under his breath before walking back into Yun’s world. Slamming his fist into the gateway between Yun’s world and the tower, he called out for the group to assemble and one by one they traipsed in front of him. Louisa was looking particularly bright as she prepared for her ascent to Heaven rank.
“What’s all this then?” Jim frowned as he jogged over to the gate.
“We’ve got trouble. The Immortal leading the group that Winoa brought along is an ass. I don’t know what got into him but for whatever reason he’s decided that I have to fight in the upcoming siege of the valley, and to add onto that I need to bring along two Heaven ranked people. I know Louisa has her ascension tests coming up Yun, and that you can’t fight because of the world, so I won’t ask you to, but that means I need Jim and Cleo to come with me instead”. The more that he thought about the situation the angrier it made him. He hated not being in control of his own destiny and Algar was the perfect example of that. The more he thought about what he had to do, what he was unwilling to let happen out of his control, the more the fires of hatred burned within him. It was like a flame that had caught to oil, unlike anything he had felt before. Since he had escaped the Lupe prison he had felt all his emotions far more clearly than ever before, but this was something else. If anything were to happen to cleo or Jim he knew that he would not be able to brush it off. He would not be able to say it was anyone’s fault but his own for not being strong enough.
“I’ll be with you either way, Law. You know this”. Cleo smiled and held his arm as she so often did as of late. “I don’t care if someone tells us to fight or not. I was going to be there with you no matter what”.
“I know, and thank you, Cleo. It’s more of the fact that he has taken away our ability to choose this that angers me”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there too. We’ll warp the battlefield together,” Jim said, smirking and adjusting his jacket. “There’s no way that anyone of those Lupe bastards will be able to touch us”.
“I admire your confidence,” Laurence smiled. He was not so sure. He had been near the Lupe leader and felt his strength. As much as he was loathed to admit it, they did need Algar. He could fight the Lupe leader while they could not. They were just soldiers in the upcoming battle, unlike the Immortals who were the leading the charge.
“Then back to the tower we go. Back to fight the good fight, my friends!” Laurence smiled before walking out of the gateway. It was time to face the Lupe for once and for all. They would pay greatly for what their leader had tried to do to him. He would make sure of it.
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