Antelligent Design

99. People Helping People

Enid sighed as she stretched out her aching spine. She’d been on her feet for almost two days, and she just wasn’t as young as she used to be. If this catastrophe had occurred twenty years ago, she’d have been in much better shape.

And Derrion would have still been with her.

Her heart panged thinking of her departed husband. The memory of him still ached and she tried to avoid thinking of him too often. You could only prick your finger on a thorn so many times before you learn to stop poking.

She’d thought that with the disaster which befell her nation, and the hectic days that followed, she wouldn’t think of him much as she’d be occupied. And occupied she’d been, to an absurd degree. Even at the height of her trading enterprise, Enid wasn’t certain she’d ever worked this much. Despite the lack of rest, the endless list of problems people insisted on dropping at her table, she found herself thinking of Derrion more and more.

He would have been the perfect person to lead these people.

His slow, warm smile. His quiet strength and the short cut hair he never bothered to take care of. He’d never lost his affable nature, able to talk to the powerful and the poor exactly the same way, with nobody taking offence.

A legend with the sword, able to unlock a rare class after years of training and delving, he’d achieved a level of Skill that Liria had perhaps not seen since its founding. In this situation, his strength, his confidence and his compassion would have seen these people through. Enid had no doubt about that.

But they didn’t have Derrion Ruther, the legendary sword demon. They had Enid Ruther, the merchant, and she was doing the best she could.

Straightening up, Enid spotted a figure in dark leathers at the end of the street and called out.

“Morrelia! Are you back?”

In answer to her call, a hand was raised and soon the too-serious face of the mercenary came into view.

“Enid, how are you holding up?” Morrelia greeted the older woman gruffly.

Enid tried and failed to keep a scowl off her face. Old she may be, but she hated when the younger folk treated her as if she were made of porcelain. She’d been running trade caravans north to the Iron Kingdom before they’d even been born!

“I’m fine,” she snapped, then sighed. “Sorry, Morrelia. I’m a bit tired, but I’m fine.”

The mercenary grunted and leaned against the wall. “You’re holding up better than I am then. I’m absolutely exhausted. I swear you’re made of something different. Mana infused bones or something. How are you still going?”

“Someone’s gotta,” Enid said simply. “It may as well be me. Maybe what they say is true and people get wiser as they get older. In that case, I’d be the wisest person about town.”

Morrelia chuckled, then groaned as she straightened up. “I could drink to that. If we had any time. Have you seen Beyn? He was supposed to organise the next group heading to the Dungeon and it’s time to be going.”

“You only just got back!” Enid protested. “Aren’t you the one pushing yourself too hard?”

If there was one person pushing themselves harder than Enid was, it was Morrelia. Whilst Enid had been working non-stop, all she had to do was organise people, make decisions and calm tensions. The young mercenary had been fighting with the risk of death hanging over her head as she led the inexperienced villagers into the teeth of the Dungeon. During a wave, no less!

“It’s not as bad as all that,” Morrelia shrugged. “The monsters are low-Level, and to be honest, these villagers are as determined and disciplined as any Legion recruit I’ve seen.”

The older woman couldn’t argue with that. The people who’d washed up in the village from the destruction of Liria had proven to be resilient and driven to an almost absurd degree.

She sighed. “Let’s go and find Beyn. I think I know where he’ll be.”

They set off through the village, frequently having to stop as Enid shared an encouraging word with the people she came across. The smiths were still working hard, pounding the metal that had been dug up by workers three kilometres from the village and smelted at a facility they’d completed not a week ago.

Beyn was right where Enid suspected he would be. He’d recently asked Enid and other senior members to allocate a parcel of land close to the centre of their planned town to him, supposedly for the church.

The only question Enid had, was what exactly he was planning on worshipping?

She had a fair idea she knew the answer, but she hadn’t felt brave enough to ask.

The one-armed priest had a small crowd around him. Enid recognised them as the next group to head to the Dungeon. They each had their heads bowed in reverent prayer as Beyn spoke.

“…the spirit of the Great One watch over you and encourage you to embrace the creed of his kind. Selflessness, cooperation, and unrelenting, unwavering faith. With these virtues as our cornerstone, we shall fear no danger, overcome all obstacles and conquer all foes! What say you, brothers and sisters?”

“Aye!” they answered passionately.

“When we are beneath the ground, and the foe presses on us from all sides, remember our creed! Remember that your brothers and sisters are with you. Do not falter, be not afraid! We will rise as a collective or fall as independent creatures. Will you be able to cast aside your ego and unite?”

“Aye!” came the response.

Enid was confused. What was going on here?

The two women watched as Beyn completed his service before he joined them.

“Did I hear correctly, priest?” Morrelia asked quietly. “Did you say that you would be joining us in the Dungeon?”

His face a mask of peace and serenity, Beyn nodded.

“Indeed, I have decided I should join with my brothers and sisters and experience the peril of the Dungeon alongside them.”

“What is happening here, Beyn?” Enid demanded. “You know that you have no business being in the Dungeon!”

The priest simply smiled. His expression was calm, with flickering light burning in his eyes.

“I’ve said it all along, Enid Ruther. I’ve been clear from the beginning, in fact. What is happening here?” He waved a hand at the buildings and hardworking people around inhabiting them. “The world is changing, right here and now. We need all embrace the new order. I shall support our people until it is so.”