CHAPTER 591: ARE YOU SURE?

Mason waited and tried not to get too excited about the idea of Jeong coming right to him. It was too easy. And too stupid. There was no way Jeong would put himself at such risk so soon.

“Anyone got eyes on it?” he called to the others. He squinted and tried to make it out, but whatever was coming was still too far to tell. Maybe someone else had a better vision power.

No one seemed sure. So they waited. It didn’t take long before a man’s stature became clearer. He had dark hair and wore the strange, eastern white robes. Mason was about to charge out to meet him when he got close enough to see it wasn’t Jeong.

He was young and maybe brown skinned, and as he got to the bottom of the hill he slowed and raised a hand like he was pushing an invisible button. The system crackled like a loudspeaker had formed.

[Karthik Lal, Chief Messenger of the House of Jeong, would like to invoke a temporary Pact of Neutrality with the House of Mason. He will be unable to harm you, and you will be unable to harm him. This will cover a specific event or duration of time. Event proposed: ‘a single conversation, and the return of Player Karthik to the holy city, or fifteen minutes, whichever is longer.’ Do you accept?]

Mason felt his eyebrows raise. It was time to get Haley. He intended to send her right back, wanting her nowhere near the violence. And he had a feeling the east had about a hundred times the knowledge he and his civilians did about interacting with the system. But a little knowledge was better than nothing.

He ignored the text and the messenger as he took out his mobile Teleporter Beacon. Then he set it down, knowing she’d been waiting. He couldn’t use her summon power to bring her somewhere unsafe, but he could use it to send her home after. This time he remembered to turn it on first, then stepped on the button. He tried not to smell the unpleasant arcane power.

Haley blinked into existence in a formal pant-suit, looking around but mostly eye-glazed as she read the same prompt he was seeing. She gave him a nod, like there wasn’t a problem she could see.

He accepted the ‘pact’, and the system text vanished with a satisfying green click.

Karthik came up the hill with a nod. He looked maybe twenty-five. Clean cut and handsome. Mason thought of him as a kid until he remembered he was probably younger.

It also took him a moment to recognize the guy as the player he’d killed in a duel in the Neutral Zone. Some maze with a chomping steel trap. An angry Streak had managed to, er, chew on him a bit, until Mason arrived and ended things.

“I remember you,” he said. “I’m sorry I lost control of the wolf. But it was a good fight.”

The young man showed him nothing. He didn’t look afraid, angry, anything. He hardly looked interested. It was impressive self-control, considering. Mason hoped he wasn’t dealing with another psychopath.

“The emperor of man greets you, Duke Mason,” Karthik said with a clear, strong voice. “He says this conflict is unnecessary. He will happily make peace with you and your warriors. He offers a system enforced Pact of Neutrality that will last six months. A temporary truce between your house and his.”

The text immediately appeared on Mason’s profile. Sure enough, it looked like there was some kind of fancy system for great houses to make deals. He scanned it quickly, and it looked basically to be what the messenger said it was. But he glanced at Haley.

“Seems like a proper contract,” she said, blue eyes glazed. “There’s options of the terms are broken. Ways to make truce. It’s not like the stricter ‘pacts’ it can apparently do. Sorry, by the way, I hadn’t even realized that was a thing.”

“So I can break it?”

“With penalties. Fairly costly penalties. Experience, prestige, patron point loss. It scales to hurt you more the more powerful you are.”

Mason took a breath. He didn’t trust Jeong in the slightest. If he wanted peace, it meant he wanted more time to figure out how to kill Mason and his people. Or it was a trick to put them at ease.

“How the hell did he know we were coming,” he muttered. But it was ‘new earth’ and he knew there was all kinds of things he didn’t understand. The settlement probably had some kind of alarms, or maybe they just had scouts or scrying magic. He needed to figure out how to respond.

“I am also to inform you,” Karthik said, still with no expression or tone, “your brother is now the emperor’s guest. He sends his regards.”

Mason stared, and the messenger stared right back. He was a second away from rushing down and ripping the man’s head out of his body before he remembered the ‘pact’.

“In fact.” Karthik smiled just slightly for the first time. “Many of you have friends and family in the holy city.”

Mason knew then he shouldn’t have allowed the man to approach at all. This had nothing to do with any kind of ‘peace offer’, though Jeong would probably take one if he could. All he wanted to do was threaten people they loved. To play his first round of cards.

But if it was true, maybe denying his people the knowledge was worse. Better to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Better for his players to understand what they were dealing with.

“Is there a Garet Franks?” Karthik said, calling over Mason’s shoulder. “Your mother Irene misses you. She looks forward to your reunion in the holy city. She says she wishes you had parted on better terms. That she regrets what she said over dinner.”

Mason didn’t need to turn around to know it was true. The silence behind him was confirmation enough. The quick breaths coming from Garet’s direction.

“And Carlton Walker? Your daughter hopes you can reconcile. She doesn’t blame you for the years apart. She wants to see you again, to be like you were on her eighth birthday at Shenandoah.”

A moan escaped the older man’s lips, and Mason heard people literally holding him up. He met Karthik’s eyes, letting the rage build. But he said nothing. His people needed to see. To hear.

“Jeong reminds you all,” continued the messenger, “we are a brotherhood of man. And he is the emperor of man. He suggests you join him in the capital. To embrace him as a friend, and as a liege lord. For the greater good. He will accept any servant who comes to him honorably. Even a rival. Rise above your ego, Duke Mason. Swear fealty to Jeong, and create peace between all mankind.”

Mason finally looked back at his people, knowing his eyes would be hard. He looked for those who might be tempted, and asked himself what he would do if they all surrendered.

Go to the woods, he thought. Go to the fey. Live away from it all as long as possible.

But he’d come back when the demons came. If they went to Jeong he’d still come back and protect them when they needed him. He understood that instantly, and it eased the rage boiling in his heart. He smiled at his people, trying to let them know he’d understand. That maybe the price was too high.

Carl had stood back up, one hand clenched with white knuckles. He met Mason’s eyes and shook his head, looking like he was close to throwing up. No one else flinched, except Tommaso, who looked horrified—like he couldn’t truly believe how ruthless the emperor was. Maybe he was a better man than he seemed.

Mason turned back and put some venom in his voice. It wasn’t difficult.

“Jeong attacks us, kills civilians with demon allies. He threatens our families. And then asks for our loyalty?”

Karthik said nothing, showed nothing. Mason walked forward until he was staring down at him from a foot away.

“I’m going to kill your emperor, messenger boy. And anyone who tries to stop me.”

“Is that the message I should take to him?”

Mason swiped away the offer of peace with the contempt it deserved, then looked at the wall.

“Don’t bother,” he said. “I’ll tell him myself.”

He took off a full sprint, soon hearing panicked footsteps behind him. Maybe if he was fast and brutal, Jeong would hold onto his captives out of fear. Or fail to give the order. Or maybe they were in the city somewhere and would have to be found first.

Whatever the situation, in war it was always best to seize the initiative.

It didn’t take long to reach the city. He ran right to the wall and leapt to the top with a single attempt. A few guards at the top scattered in panic. Dozens more were near the ramparts, or down below, and they all stared like they had no idea what to do.

Mason turned and summoned his bow, putting an arrow a foot from a still running Karthik’s foot. The messenger stopped and looked up, and Mason tapped his wrist like he had a watch.

Ten minutes left, he thought, glancing at the active pact in his profile. Karthik’s jaw clenched, then he raced straight through the stone and ran into the city.

“Remove…” a voice shook from near Mason on the wall. “Remove yourself from the emperor’s city! Or you will be killed!”

Mason stared at the guard, who took a few steps back as their eyes met.

“Hmm,” he said. “I wonder if there’s a third option.”

He inhaled and closed his eyes, the scent of men’s fear more appealing every time he smelled it. He reached out with One with Nature, looking at all the life around him. Life that might be ended soon.

“Where’s Jeong?” he growled, opening his eyes.

An arrow streaked up from the ground, right on target. A bolt of some arcane power. He flicked the arrow away with a hand. The bolt absorbed into his chest with no effect as his resistance flared.

“Where’s Jeong?” he growled again.

The guard swallowed, raising an arm as if readying to give some command. Mason lowered his voice.

“Are you sure?”

His body twitched for violence. His patron god rested behind his eyes, screaming for blood and domination of these little, pitiful things. To attack and who cared what they said or wanted. But Mason cared. He wanted to fight as much as Cerebus. But he wanted to give these men the chance.

The captain’s arm swung down, his soldiers moving to violence as powers hummed all over the wall. Mason was off his platform in a heartbeat. He summoned his Claws and took off the still swinging Captain’s arm mid-air, leaping down into the nearest pack of players below.

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