Universe's End

Chapter 266: Delegation

Colonel Manson felt himself fidgeting, forcing himself to squash the agitation a moment later. He’d gone through far too much training to let himself feel nerves like this.

Just act natural.

“So… Colonel Manson, you said, was your name?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the Osferian gave a quick nod as the woman crossed her arms, slightly frowning.

The one other person in the room looked at ease, which put Colonel Manson further fromease. The woman was a high-tier seven, but the man, towering, with a dark complexion and amber, nearly golden, eyes, was something else entirely.

General Badger, I will not question your orders, but… maybe an under-general would have been a better choice for this mission than just a single colonel.

He would voice no such thoughts out loud, though.

“Delegation,” the towering man said, his voice a velvet rumble that commanded authority but also had a hint of mirth. “From the other Founders.”

“Correct,” Colonel Manson answered.

“Of course, this occurred while he was gone,” the large man said as he crossed his arms. For as powerfully built as he was, there was a tautness to his muscles, lithe power like a bird of prey rather than a lumbering bear or giant.

“What Chief Protector Apostolos means to say,” the woman said, a slight sideways glance toward her ‘partner’ that reminded Colonel Manson of how the Rogue and the Monk sometimes behaved. “Is that the Lord Founder, the Grand Architect, is not here presently.”

Intel to possibly-

“But he will be returning shortly,” the woman answered as if to squash that line of thought. “Until then, we are going to have to hold you, for safety concerns, of course.”

“Am I being taken prisoner?”

“No,” the Chief Protector answered. “But having recently dealt with the likes of the Bird not that long ago, some caution is warranted on our end, as you can likely understand.”

“I do,” Colonel Manson said. Not much was known about the Bird, outside of the fact that the stories told of it being some monster capable of hunting even Founders. There had been debates about how much to read into that. Still, everyone knew there was a chance the looming threat would become a very real, very present one in the near future, had it defeated the Architect and the Vanguard.

Of course, that hadn’t happened; hell, they hadn’t even realized they’d been facing off until after the fact, but there was some weariness regarding the sole remaining Founder faction, given their triumph over the Bird.

“You will be afforded guest rights,” the woman said, briefly flicking her hair over her shoulder. While Colonel Manson had no way of knowing, not long ago, the discussion of what ‘guest rights’ even entailed had been a rather hot debate, largely regarding the citizens that belonged to their staunch ally, and when they would eventually find their way to their beloved city.

Then there was also what remained of the Bird’s faction, the former people of the Voice, and whether they’d be given guest rights or simply be incorporated.

Either way, the Colonel was lucky that he hadn’t arrived even two weeks prior, where, without a clear consensus, he would have found himself under glorified house arrest.

“Do note, guest rights mean you won’t be allowed to go absolutely wherever you’d please,” the woman followed up.

“As our Esteemed Luminary has said, you will have some guides at all times, who will also double up as guards should the need arise.”

“And how long until the Architect returns?” Colonel Manson questioned.

“I’d bet less than a week,” the Esteemed Luminary said. “Until then, do enjoy our city of Ehkorrus. While I cannot speak entirely on behalf of the Architect, he has made it known that he has no direct desire for conflict with the other Founders in the same fashion as we had with the Bird.”

“Is that it? You do not wish to have me questioned in greater detail?” Colonel Manson asked.

“For now, no, not really,” the Chief Protector said. “As I’m certain we already have a general idea of what you would convey, and it’s doubtful that it would be your faction’s intent to surrender.”

“No,” Colonel Manson said.

“Then there is no point in conversation for now. If you wish to collect intel on our defenses, we can assure you, there is nothing you will be able to pick up from just wandering the city, outside of our walls. I say that, in part, as a warning and, in part, as a favor to you. Enjoy the city until the Lord Founder returns and then perhaps deliver a positive message back.”

Colonel Manson maintained a level expression, neither frowning nor smiling, as he simply nodded.

“Harrison?” the Chief Protector called out as a large man entered the room, an equally large axe slung across his back.

“You called?” The man asked.

“Why don’t you show our… guest around the city?” The Esteemed Luminary said.

“Sure, if you say so.”

With a simple shrug, the large man gestured toward Colonel Manson.

“After you.”

“Was that wise?” Irene sighed as she remained in the room, alone with Apostolos.

“The clinical and detached answer is no,” Apostolos answered. “An enemy agent being given a tour of our city probably isn’t wise. But if there is one thing I’ve tried to better understand over the years, something Rory taught me some time ago, it’s information warfare. We can ascertain several things. First, why did he come alone instead of in force?”

“Because delegation doesn’t need a full group?” Irene offered.

“Wrong,” Apostolos said. “Think about it. When we have groups travel to and from the Reverse Mountains, where is the bottleneck?”

Taken from NovelBin, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Coming from the Reverse Mountains,” Irene answered. “The Null Window is a near-perfect travel doorway, but even then, we’ve got to keep the sizes manageable. But from the Reverse Mountains, it becomes far more limited due to the energy required and other logistics.”

“Exactly. And we have those because of Rory. They don’t have a Rory. So, it’s likely whatever mechanism they’re using to make long-distance travel possible-”

“Has some limitations,” Irene answered.

“Bingo,” Apostolos said, copying one of Rory’s favorite words. “My guess is that while that Colonel Manson is serving as a delegation, the more important point is serving as something similar to a branching node they can use to latch onto. His demeanor, while he stayed composed, slipped in a few spots, meaning he was nervous. I’d reckon he is far from a heavy hitter, probably a high-ranking Proven, far away from a top-level Elite. He’s disposable, even if he isn’t intended to be disposed of.”

“You’re saying, while they’re not purposely sending him to the wolves, if the wolves do get him, it’s not a major loss.”

“And we’re the wolves in this case,” Apostolos nodded. “So, if we can assume they can’t instantly send a large force at us, that gives us some time to work with. Better to avoid directly adding to potential friction by antagonizing the man so he delivers information about us being evil.”

“You know, we could have just killed him,” Irene said as if it were only a minor issue.

“Sure,” Apostolos agreed. “But two points. First, Rory wouldn’t want us to be wanton murderers.”

“I don’t think he’d honestly care that much either,” Irene countered.

“Maybe, maybe not. But I think we should at least try to live up to our better selves and aspirations. Maybe Rory wouldn’t care that much, but I know he also would want us not tobe outright homicidal.”

“Alright, fine, and your second point?”

“Bait,” Apostolos answered. “Our theory is that Colonel Manson is meant to form some sort of sympathetic tether between wherever their main forces are and Ehkorrus. What if that weren’t the case? We kill the man, and they arrive all the same? Hopes of avoiding the worst-case scenario are heavily weakened.”

“You think we couldn’t take them in a fight?” Irene asked.

“It’s two Founders versus four Founders, best case scenario.”

“But they don’t have the aid of a Siege Wave bolstering their forces.”

“And? Monsters are, for the most part, mindless. The Bird managed to finagle the Siege Wave into an organized assault, but the opposing Founder faction is composed of four Founders. Even if the numbers they could bring to bear are a hundredth of what we faced during the Siege Wave, it’s led by four Founders and individual enemies who are likely far more dangerous when you consider tactics.”

“So, we need to avoid total war,” Irene said. “But I still find it hard to believe such lesser forces could overrun us.”

“Winning or losing is almost inconsequential,” Apostolos answered. “It’s the total loss of life that matters. What if we lost half of our forces? Or even worse, what if Rory fell in the battle against four Founders? You felt the clash between him and the Bird. By the by, the Bird had the far more impressive aura. I’m not saying the Bird was stronger; it died in the end, but I’m saying that each Founder should be considered a peer to Rory, surpassing him in some areas while lacking in others. Could Rory take the hits that the Vanguard could?”

“No,” Irene admitted.

“Exactly. So, we avoid the worst-case scenario by making the most of the information we have. Killing Colonel Manson would, at best, delay the inevitable, while souring attitudes. Better to instead leave a good impression while also giving time for Rory to return.”

“I swear, if he hadn’t appeared under a flag of delegation,” Irene sighed. The man had been spotted approaching Ehkorrus, literally waving a white flag. There had been a scramble to convene the top leaders of Ehkorrus for a rush call on what to do. In the end, it had been Irene and Apostolos who had made it clear they weren’t going to harm the man, at least not until they learned more.

Which is where they were now.

“By the way, were you serious about your assumption of a week?” Apostolos asked.

“Oh, yeah. Mostly because I received a notification of delegation as the non-militarized leader of Ehkorrus.”

“And I didn’t?”

“Probably because we were convened, it went to me instead. My guess is that Rory also received the same notification, or at least a similar one.”

“Well, I just hope he doesn’t get delayed,” Apostolos sighed.

Colonel Manson wouldn’t lie. From everything he’d seen of the city ‘Ehkorrus,’ it was a jewel of civilization. Oh sure, between their home base within the Tidal Grove, and the Monk’s city within the High Crest Mountain, they controlled two growing villages, if not outright cities, each with a population numbering ten or so thousand by this point.

But Ehkorrus? It had to be at least two or three times the combined size. Unlike his home in the Tidal Grove, a partnership of civilians and the military that had blossomed after the Spear and Woodsman had joined forces, which was before his time, Ehkorrus seemed entirely focused on civilian aspects; no patrols or squads were constantly marching or drilling.

Colonel Manson had thought it rather lax or sloppy at first, until he’d begun to notice the men and women always streaming around, carrying weapons and chatting as they made their way to a place he’d been informed was called the ‘Adventurers Guild.’ Manson had assumed that was the name for their military until Harrison had happily informed him that there were various combat factions, including the Adventurer’s Guild, city-employed guards who sounded more like their own soldiers, and even private groups such as the so-called ‘Rong ‘family.

It occurred to Manson that being told such ‘secrets’ so readily was, again, sloppy operational security. That was until he’d reframed it within his mind, that it was never meant to be a secret.

Which meant the actual state secrets were far more, well, secretive.

Colonel Manson wasn’t here specifically to spy or collect such intel. Still, he’d been told if he happened to learn any, there was no harm, just so long as he didn’t get himself killed over useless things.

His main goal was to strengthen the location tracking. Regardless of whether he was here or not, it would eventually happen, but once they’d had enough lock on to send in one person, they’d done so. It would be impossible to move enough people fast enough to set the stage for a full-scale assault, even if they’d tried to take them by surprise by letting the bond strengthen naturally without sending someone in first, so the idea of a rush assault had been tossed out by leadership. Better off sending a delegate, perhaps opening up communication, and making the entire thing happen on better terms.

If there was one thing everyone agreed upon, it was that launching a full-scale assault on the Architect’s home base, allied with the Vanguard, sounded like a grueling, brutal campaign that, even if they won, could exact a heavy toll.

This is why I’m only a Colonel and not one of the big whigs.

So, in the end, the best course of action was for Colonel Manson to go in alone, open dialogue, and see where things went from there.

Which, somehow, turned into him sitting at a table, eating something called ‘Ice Cream.’

“So, the Spear and the Woodsman were your original Founders?” His guide, the man named Harrison, quizzed.

“Correct. I was born shortly after they joined together as a single faction.”

“Oh, so you’re not that old,” Harrison said. “Tier seven, though, not too bad.”

“Base tier seven,” Colonel Manson corrected. Anyone with any decent grasp at gauging the feel of another person’s aura would be able to pick him out as a low-tier seven instantly. He’d actually only received the promotion to Colonel recently, one of the requirements being that he had reached tier seven.

“So, what’s it like?” Harrison asked, leaning in curiously as he took a sip from the black liquid he referred to as ‘coffee.’

“I’m not sure I’m allowed to disclose such information.”

“Bah, aren’t you on envoy duty or something? That’s sharing information and stuff, right?”

“I wouldn’t classify it that simply,” Colonel Manson said, still getting used to the more laid-back nature of the Ehkorrians.

“Well, given how stiff you are, I’d bet life was rough for you,” Harrison said with a hint of pity.

“Not so much,” Colonel Manson said, feeling the urge to defend his home from slander. “I joined the military, so of course, I went through tougher training. General Badger only expects the best from us.”

“General Badger?”

“It’s-” Colonel Manson paused, realizing he’d freely spoken the General’s nickname. “The Woodsman.”

“Ahh, I see,” Harrison nodded. “But life wasn’t bad?”

“No,” Colonel Manson said, but even as he spoke, Harrison noticed him glancing around at the many different food stands and bustling life.

“Hah, if you say so,” Harrison chuckled before he appeared to look at some sort of notification on his interface, invisible to Colonel Manson. “Well, that was quick.”

“What was?”

“Seems like the Big Boss is back already.”