William wasn’t sure of what to think of this stranger called M, he had watched the man hop around the stronghold, dashing into any little food establishment he laid his eyes on and tasting the average meals like they were fit for a king. That and also the absurd amount of money he kept splashing around, the most people had here was a few bronze diamonds to their names, only their lord Ash and a few of his close accomplices had a thousand or more silvers to their names. The crisis had given them an abundance of silver and a thousand or more gold coins, but Ash in his authority had locked them all in the treasury under the flimsy excuse that they were funds for building up the military and emergency expenses.

For weeks after that William had begged and pleaded for funds, given his share of the rewards to most of the poor and needy in Ash for sustenance, and survived only on the military rations being provided by Ash, but their leader had turned a blind eye to their plight, stating that those who couldn’t survive were better off dead. It had taken a lot of self-control not to unleash his power on that slimy excuse for a leader. As such, he had been slowly building a group of people loyal to himself, he was prepared to lead a coup against the current regime. The only thing holding him back was levels, he needed them to get as strong as a level thirty initiate, and then he’d launch his attack against Ash and his cronies of level thirty-five cronies.

A bunch of level thirty-five men versus an entire army of level thirty warriors and mages? William believed they’d suffer losses but they’d still come out on top, and now that there was a level forty-five among them? well, things were looking bright for them. He stopped again and sighed as M came out of another shack that served as some sort of grilled meat establishment, relishing the taste of the meat as he licked the sauce of his fingers and the pick it had been on, smiling at William.

“There you are! I was afraid I’d left you behind” M said as he came close to William,

William honestly doubted that, there had been times on their walk back to his home on the far end of the stronghold where he had tried avoiding the man by melting in the crowd, only to see the M appear at his side, totally unaware or so he pretended that William had tried to lose him.

William thought it was the other way around, he had one eye on M and the next thing he was nowhere to be found, only to look around in shops and see M sitting while staring wide-eyed at whatever meal the cook was making. At first, it infuriated him, the man had seemed eager to help him and now he took him round the stronghold on a tour, till he noticed the pattern. M had been dropping a noticeable amount of money as a tip, paying not in bronze coins but silver and gold.

It had taken a while for William to realize this and when he did, he grew shocked, M was spending the entire budget of the stronghold at a single shop at a time. When he had asked the man, M had only raised an eyebrow at him and told him,

“Figure it out, it’s quite simple”

And William did, by spending exorbitantly, the cooks had excess money seeing as one gold coin was a hundred silver coins and a silver coin a thousand bronze coins. They could buy an abundant of grains from the warehouses belonging to the stronghold which went for as much as fifty bronze coins a bag, William was sure Ash or one of his cronies would realize something was going on sooner or later, but by then it would be too widespread and too late to find out the source.

By then, William was pretty sure his rebellion would have happened seeing as his men were close to level thirty.

Spending money on the restaurants was just the beginning, M had gone to shelters holding abandoned kids and homeless people, dropping a bunch of silver and gold coins discreetly among the caretakers who were overburdened with too many mouths to feed and too little money to buy things that were grossly needed.

William could understand the restaurants, but here? what would feeding the homeless accomplish in a short time?. Sure, he was happy they would be able to go to bed on filled stomachs, especially the kids, but they served no use to the rebellion. M had sighed when he had asked, rolling his eyes and paused on the road with a barely eaten piece of meat in his hand,

“What makes the populace meek and gentle?” M had asked,

“when power is held over them” William had replied,

M shrugged,

“Meh, true, but it’s mostly hunger and money. So, what happens when you take away hunger and the people can now think?” M had asked again,

“They rise in revolt” William had whispered in realization, how had he missed that?

Moyo had nodded at him and hopped away again to another establishment that William no doubt knew he’d have to go find him, but he had left William stupefied, what other angle wasn’t he looking at? it was then and there that he had resolved to milk every piece of advice out of this stranger, assuming he could catch him first of course. He led M down the road, his home just up ahead,

“Your ruler does realize that he could upgrade the living capabilities of his stronghold for a few bronze coins, right?. Take you all from savage-looking homes to as better as cottages right?” M had asked suddenly,

William nodded, stating that it was one of the things Ash had failed to do. He had watched the hands of the stranger tighten into a fist in that very moment before releasing just as quickly, but in that brief moment, William had seen something in his eyes and missed a step.

It had felt like he was staring down the eyes of the crisis boss monster he had faced again, only this time he felt his body lockdown for a few brief seconds., was that the strength of someone close to the acolyte stage? He wondered. M had blown a brief breath, continuing with his nonchalant attitude like he hadn’t looked like he could crush every single person in the stronghold at that very moment,

“So let me get this straight” M started,

“Your leaders have denied your people access to paths, even common ones, locked out hundreds if not more than a thousand refugees at the gates of the stronghold, refused to increase and upgrade accommodation, withholds enough food and money, while also withholding elixirs?” he asked,

William nodded while asking what elixirs were, he had seen the stranger’s eyes widen in shock before he dipped his hand into his cloth that seemed too small to hold the number of things William had seen him withdraw from it, and produced ten red-looking liquids in small glassy containers. William had scanned them and stared in shock. They were called greater healing elixirs with the ability to heal anything short of a fatal injury, even mend bones in an instant, again bitterness flooded him at all the things Ash had held back from them as their leader, if they had these, how much could they had grown? how many lives could they have saved?.

M had given him the express instructions as he produced more and more from his never-ending pocket to get this across quickly to his people who were sick and dying from the crisis finale that happened a day before.

When William asked how much a bottle went for, M had said for as much as fifty silvers, his mouth had hung open in shock, this stranger was spending a fortune on his people for no reason entirely. William couldn’t take it anymore, sure the stranger was helping, but everyone had a price, and he wanted to know what the stranger was before it was too late to do anything about it.

He asked M who stared at him with such decisiveness and determination that he felt like a child in front of the man he guessed he was older than,

“Simple, one thing, for humanity to get stronger” M had said cryptically before continuing his march towards Williams’s home.

Upon reaching the home of the commander of over five hundred initiate and fledglings, M had not uttered a word as he entered the humble abode, the walls made of bricks and wood were bare with just a table in the middle of the room and a pile of clothes and foam that served as a bed in the corner, a wash basing sat near the wall and William had folded all his clothes in a neat bundle next to the foams. M drew the chair that was close to the table and sat on it crossing his legs and staring at William,

“Before we discuss this little…. adventure of ours, what do you know of the world we’re in now?” he asked,

“Not much that I can say, but I’m pretty sure we’re not in America again that’s for sure” William replied,

M nodded as he relaxed on the chair, the stick pick still in his mouth as he nibbled on it absently,

“The truth is, we have more continents now. Some broke in two and expanded, some merged together, but from what I’ve been able to piece together we might have as many as ten sub-continents from as small as two islands together to one as big as the landmass of two Russia put together” M said as William’s eyes widened, M continued,

“Also, each continent has a green, yellow and red zone, which by now you all know the differences I assume?” M said as William nodded,

“Good, then this makes things easier, a fellow wanderer like me told me that the home of the man who appeared in the sky is on this continent,” M said,

“You mean Bastion?” William asked,

If that was true, William didn’t know what to think of it. Should he go begging Bastion for help if indeed it was true that they were close by?, well as close as traveling hundreds of miles in monster-infested areas could be. He dismissed the thought as soon as it came, it was too risky a proposition to make, perhaps when and if this coup was successful, then they can consider it.

Besides the man in the sky had said the gates of Bastion were open for anyone who wanted to grow stronger, meaning the yellow zone was as deadly as it got. William saw M get up from the chair and stretch his light frame,

“You should get those elixirs to your people, I have preparations to make of my own, plus someone has to protect those outside the stronghold your leaders have abandoned and night is fast approaching, pesky monsters in those woods,” M said,

“I take it you have a plan to defeat Ash and his supporters? they’re all in their late level thirties and are approaching forty. Even for a level forty-five like you, I doubt you can take them on alone should you try to do such” William cautioned,

“I’m not taking them out, you are. I’m just going to ensure casualties are down to a minimum, even zero if I can help it” M replied,

“There are always casualties in battle,” William said silently, shaking his head to clear those sorts of thoughts, he turned again to talk to M but met empty space. Shaking his head in amusement he began making his way to the infirmary.

(*)

He couldn’t deny it, Moyo was having fun acting as a mysterious character. As he sailed over the skies of the stronghold, totally invisible to the people below, Moyo marveled at the mask on his face. Mrs. Martha had called it the face of Anansi, a sort of silk-like mask that changed the face of its wearer into any form they preferred, and to Moyo, it was that of a bald dark-skinned man.

His level had been trickier, they had all come to the realization that should they enter the green zones as their advocate and acolyte selves, the inhabitants of the green zones would immediately see them in two ways, either saviors or conquerors, and the last thing Bastion needed was either of those.

Sure, Bastion needed people to fill up its sprawling landmass due to them owning the entirety of sector one, but they were looking for volunteers and not slaves, hence the current operation they were having in the first stronghold they encountered since entering the green zone.

It was a stark reminder to Moyo that not all of humanity were good people, and Moyo had been an inch away from wiping Ash and his people off the face of the planet for the cruel ways they treated their people. Till he saw William in that alley and their plans for a rebellion brimming in his eyes, he had resolved to support that instead.

Landing on the top of the building where Ash held what he passed off as a court, he answered the transmission he got. Ever since the crisis finished, communication between members of Bastion had been opened up, even over long distances it had proven useful. A hazy image of Annika appeared before him, she raised an eyebrow as she tapped her foot impatiently,

“Hi,” he said awkwardly,

“Where in heavens name are you? I see you found the first stronghold” she said with obvious anger in her eyes,

“Well, you all were moving too slowly and I decided to take a few hops forward” he replied smiling,

“you traveled hundreds of miles!, the only reason we even know of your location was due to Mrs. Martha who has been monitoring you” she replied,

He scratched his head awkwardly,

“Apologies, but where are you guys now?” he asked,

“Mrs. Martha directed us to another stronghold, a series of strongholds though, idiots were fighting between themselves when their crisis began, most of their people got wiped out and the rest were hiding and in tatters, we had to step in and clear the area of monsters, the people are on their way back to Bastion as we speak, Josh and a few sentinels are guiding them back” Annika explained,

Moyo sighed, this looked like it would take a lot of work. After his proclamation in the skies above every stronghold on earth, he had expected humanity, or what has left of it anyways, to rally together in solidarity and start attacking their yellow zones. Instead, from what Mrs. Martha told him, they had turned on each other like typical humanity would do and fought for resources instead of preparing for the greater evil that would soon arrive, in less than twenty days if his calculations were correct.

Rubbing his hand on his face he gave a slight groan,

“Alright, you and the rest of whatever squad are with you should make your way towards me, by the time you reach here I’m guessing I’d be done and we would need to lead a lot of refugees back to Bastion” Moyo ordered,

Annika nodded as she shouted orders behind her,

“How many are we looking at?” she asked,

“Probably a few hundreds, a thousand? hard to say”

Her eyes widened as she nodded,

“That is indeed a lot, we’d pack up as soon as dawn breaks,” she said as she cut the transmission.

Moyo glanced down through the glass roof at Ash and his people who were feasting and dancing while their people suffered, he would make sure they get their due, but for now, he had plans to make. With that thought, he flew towards to boundaries of the stronghold, his willpower as reduced as it was locking in on the monsters that were preparing to attack the easy-looking people who huddled together near the walls of the stronghold, not tonight he thought.

(*)

William watched as the eyes of his people widened in surprise, their injuries that were raw and bleeding healing before their eyes to smooth skin, bones mending back without any pain and pains disappearing in a flash.

His right-hand man Gary stared at him in wonder, the man stared at his now healed ribs like a deer in front of headlights. William and Gary had met during the first weeks of the apocalypse, together they had braved the evils of the new world before making their way to the stronghold ash, they had spilled blood and sweat and tears, and their friendship was one forged in the fires of tribulation.

Gary looked at him again,

“You said who gave you this elixir again?” he asked,

“Some wanderer named Mr. M, a level forty-five initiate” William replied,

Gary stood up and tested his body, throwing jabs and squatting,

“Have to say though, this is good stuff, and he said we could have gotten all these from the stronghold?” Gary asked again, this time William could hear the subtle anger leaking into his voice.

With a firm hand, William led Gary to a corner in the infirmary where jasmine stood with a few loyal people, subtly surveying around to ensure that none of the injured men belonged to another of the two commanders who were under the payroll of their leader were awake or near hearing distance. He turned to them as he showed them the rest of them the remaining elixirs,

“What do we know of this M?” jasmine asked, her green eyes glowing in the lantern-lit room,

“Absolutely nothing, all I know is he’s a wanderer and was in the hall room and no one felt his presence” William replied

“So, some stealth path then?” Gary asked,

“Most probably, the way he kept slipping away today, it was like he was a ghost” William explained,

“Well, as long as he doesn’t betray us and gets the work done, I’m all in for the Santa dude,” Gary said shrugging,

“you’d put the entire operation in the hands of some guy from nowhere?” jasmine asked as she raised an eyebrow

“he’s a level forty-five initiate, as far as I know, that’s the highest I’ve seen of anyone around, not even the strongholds far away in this green zone had such, pity they wiped themselves out” Gary muttered,

William turned to the rest of the supporters, they were their subordinates but they also had a say in this, one by one they nodded in support at the help they would get. William finalized the arrangement, giving jasmine the remaining elixirs, Gary was to go coordinate the men and by sunrise tomorrow they would storm the walls of the palace of ash. Watching everyone disperse, William walked through the muddy streets to the gates of the stronghold where the brown teeth guards saluted him,

“a bit late to go outside the walls commander” the one on the left whom William had taken to calling rat asked,

The man had black sparse hair with one large tooth and wore his dirty leathers that William was sure had seen better days on his body, the one on the right just stared at William like the commander couldn’t raze him to cinders where he stood. He let his sun powers bleed into his eyes as they glowed a bright orange,

“Since when do guards question me?” he asked coldly,

The men stood straight and opened the gates with no further questions and William stepped into filth. The situation outside the walls had always been in a deplorable state and it had been getting worse by the day, but tonight, William came out to meet empty makeshift tents that had been constructed with clothes and wood, none of the refugees were in sight. Puzzled by this he banged at the gates of the stronghold till an archer looked down from the top of the wall.

“Yes, commander?” the archer squeaked, apparently seeing the way William’s eyes glowed,

“Where are the refugees?” William asked in a short-clipped tone,

“They walked straight into the woods my lord like they had a destination in mind commander” the archer replied,

“you’re telling me over a thousand refugees just casually walked into the woods, and none of you raised an alarm?” William asked again,

The archer scratched his head,

“Saw no enemy commander” was all the guard said,

William had an intense urge to shoot the man with a sunbeam right there and then, breathing slowly to calm his anger, he turned back to the woods and began running with all his initiate speed. He couldn’t help but think something bad must have happened to the people, but the wanderer had said he was going to help them, had something bad happened to him too? or probably a level fifty boss or calamity like the people of the green zones had started calling such monsters had appeared. As he got closer to the woods, far from the stronghold that was at a distance behind him, William heard laughter and singing.

Creeping into the woods, William couldn’t believe his eyes. The refugees all sat around fallen logs in a large clearing in the woods, the logs looked freshly cut so they must have happened that day. Children laughed and ran around the surrounding that was as big as the space in the stronghold with bonfires in the middle of each gathering of logs, and the fact that large hogs that had been mutated by the coming of the archailect were roasting above those bonfires, a stream flowed in the distance from what he could see also.

William just stood rooted in place, the shock evident on him, the people were living far better than the refugees inside the stronghold itself, bar a few issues like shelter and comfort but they were warm and happy with filled stomachs, an occurrence they had not experienced in a long while.

William was about to say something when he felt someone beside him, turning as he already knew who it was. He looked into the smiling face of the wanderer,

“Hello William, fancy joining us for a meal?” M asked,

“Is this your doing?” William asked,

M turned back to the people who were clapping and dancing around the flames,

“Figured they needed it, healed the sick, fed them and now they’re happy” M replied,

William swallowed and together they watched the people in silence from the shadows of the woods,

“The resistance is ready,” William said after a while,

“Good, so tomorrow?” M replied,

“By the crack of dawn,” William stated,

“Then I would meet you all on the battlefield” M replied

William stared for a while longer before turning and making his way back to the stronghold, he stopped and turned back to M,

“Thank you, for everything,” he said,

M just smiled, a glint in his eyes,

“it’s the least I can do” M replied,

William nodded and made his way back to the stronghold, a certain hop in his steps….