— CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN —

  The Meteor Spire

  {Lucy}

  At the heart of Stonehearth City stood the Meteor Spire - a massive needle of polished black stone - either marble or granite - that reflected the crimson sky in distorted waves. Legend had it that it was a single piece of rock that fell from the sky and was then carved out into the spire. A wide moat surrounded it with a single bridge extending from the eastern side.

  Around that was a plaza shaped like a doughnut with the tower as its hole. It was a clear spate of cobblestone that was normally the bustling heart of the city's markets. Now, however, it was deserted. Not a single person moved across the vast open space - only debris and abandoned market stalls.

  We observed the area from an alley between apartment buildings.

  Fritz pressed his back against the brick wall of the apartment building. "Is this a trap? It feels like a trap."

  "It's gotta be." Percy said. "This place is too important to leave alone."

  "Alright, I've got an idea." Fritz said. "You know how in war movies they put a helmet on a stick and raise it over the trench to see if it gets shot?"

  "Command Sharp: Trace." Percy said.

  Fritz rolled his eyes. "Ok, sure, or that."

  A green semicircle manifested around Percy's right eye, slowly around his iris like the hand of a clock.

  All three of us had taken the time to unlock the ability while we were grinding in the sewers, so I activated my own Trace. The world shifted slightly as the spell took effect, overlaying my vision with holographic trails.

  Suddenly, the empty plaza wasn't empty at all. Countless ghostly green footprints materialized across the cobblestones. I could see our own paths leading into the alley - three distinct sets of footprints trailing behind us.

  Out in the plaza, the tracks formed dense clusters that cut across the edges of the open space, moving from street to street. They were packed tightly together, suggesting groups moving in formation. Signs that groups of soldiers had passed through to move across the city, but there were only a few stray paths going into and out of the spire. It really did appear to be abandoned.

  "Looks clear." Percy said. "I'll go first."

  Ducking low, he darted out into the open plaza and took cover behind an overturned cafe table. There, he paused and looked around, but nothing happened. No snipers, no shouts, no ambush springing to life.

  Percy waited a few seconds, then bobbed his head up for a better look. Still nothing. He made another quick dash, keeping his profile low as he zigzagged across the plaza.

  Fritz and I watched as Percy bounced between abandoned market stands, benches, and decorative planters, using each as momentary cover before moving to the next. Once at the bridge, Percy crouched by the stone railing and waved for us to follow.

  The open space felt horrifyingly exposed after the relative safety of the streets. Every step across the cobblestones seemed to echo in the silence, and the back of my neck tingled with the certainty that someone was aiming at us from one of the countless windows overlooking the plaza.

  But no shot came. We reached Percy at the bridge without incident, both of us breathing harder than the short sprint should have warranted.

  The bridge across the moat was wide enough for a carriage, made of the same black stone as the tower itself. It had no supports - just a single arch of polished rock with sturdy railings on either side. The three of us then ducked low behind that railing as we crossed to a tall archway carved directly into the black stone, standing open without doors.

  The interior was cooler than outside, and our footsteps echoed in the cavernous lobby. The ceiling soared at least forty feet above us, creating a sense of vastness despite relatively modest floor space. Two small fountains flanked the central path, their waters still flowing despite the chaos in the city outside. Comfortable seating areas with plush couches and low tables were arranged around the perimeter, all empty.

  At the back of the lobby, two staircases diverged - one curving upward along the outer wall, disappearing as it spiraled toward the upper floors, and the other descending behind a safety rail into the building's basement levels. Poe had speculated the governor's office would be upstairs, Percy, leading the way, motioned us toward the basement.

  As we approached the descending stairs, I caught the faint murmur of voices coming from below. Percy raised a hand, signaling us to stop, then made a series of incomprehensible gestures that I assumed were meant to be tactical hand signals.

  Fritz leaned toward me. "Do you have any idea what he's trying to say?"

  I shook my head. "Not a clue."

  Percy, apparently giving up on silent communication, simply began creeping down the steps. Having no better alternative, Fritz and I followed.

  The staircase curved around, depositing us in what appeared to be an underground shopping mall. The space was unexpectedly vast - two stories high with shops lining three walls on both the main floor and a wrap-around balcony. The fourth wall housed a train platform - the Celestia Grand connection.

  On the balcony level to our right, a small group huddled around a large cork board - Stonehearth's version of the Player Market board.

  "...could get at least fifty marks for that." one of them was saying, his voice carrying in the large space. "These idiots left so much good stuff behind."

  "Check if there are any good potions listed." another said. "The guys back at the castle will pay triple for combat boosts."

  Percy pulled up his UI and typed a message in our group chat. A notification flashed in my peripheral vision:

  [Percival]: Looks like standalone opportunists, not a dedicated defence. I say ignore them.

  Fritz and I nodded in silent agreement. We backed away slowly, using the curved wall of the staircase as cover until we were out of sight, then retreated to the lobby. There we swung around to the other staircase and crept into the upper floor.

  The upper floors of the Meteor Spire narrowed like the neck of a bottle, transforming the spacious lobby into a claustrophobic maze of corridors and office doors. As we climbed the stairs, our footsteps echoed off the polished stone walls, each sound amplified in the emptiness.

  Trace still showed minimal foot traffic - no one had passed through in some time, but that didn't discount the possibility the Fringe left someone in an ambush position during the initial attack last night. Their footprints would have faded by the time we got there, so we still had to do a sweep through the area to make sure we weren't going to be hit from behind.

  Most of the hallways were arranged in a grid - straight corridors intersecting at right angles with doors spaced evenly along both sides. The first floor above the lobby appeared to be dedicated to clerical work - rows of identical offices.

  Fritz positioned himself at the junction of the main hallway and the staircase. "I'll keep watch here." he said, balancing his spear across his shoulders. "Make sure nobody comes up behind us."

  Percy and I nodded, then proceeded down the first corridor. The methodical room clearing quickly became a rhythm. At each door, we'd position ourselves on either side. Percy would count down with his fingers - three, two, one - then Blink directly inside. I'd follow a split second later, pistol raised and scanning for targets, covering the side of the room opposite to where Percy materialized.

  "Clear." Percy announced after the third empty office.

  Papers still sat on desks. A half-drunk cup of coffee had congealed into a brownish sludge. Someone's jacket hung over the back of a chair.

  "This is creepy." I said. "It's like everyone just up and left in the middle of the workday."

  "Let's keep moving." Percy said. "Ninety-eight more floors to go."

  We worked through the building systematically - one floor at a time, one corridor at a time, one room at a time. Each level became a slightly different variation on the theme - accounting departments gave way to resources administration, then infrastructure planning, then public relations.

  The monotony of empty offices was broken occasionally by conference rooms, lounges, or utility closets. One floor was nothing but filing cabinets - thousands upon thousands of them stretching from wall to wall. Another held what appeared to be some kind of testing laboratory with magical instruments gathering dust on long tables.

  By the time we reached the fiftieth floor, exhaustion was setting in. Even with Percy's Blink ability saving us some effort, climbing that many stairs was taking its toll.

  "Whoever designed this place," Fritz panted, leaning against a wall, "clearly never had to climb it themselves."

  "You'd think there'd be an elevator." I said, massaging my calves.

  As we climbed higher, the floors began to change character. The workspaces became larger, more personalized. The titles on the doors grew more impressive - 'Deputy Minister' instead of 'Assistant Coordinator.' The furnishings improved from functional to ostentatious.

  On the ninety-ninth floor - the second from the top, we emerged into a circular hallway that wrapped around a central meeting room. The hallway itself was wider, carpeted in deep crimson with ornate light fixtures casting a warm glow along the curved wall.

  "Fancy." Fritz whispered.

  Eight doors were spaced evenly around the circular hallway, each made of dark wood with decorative carvings. But directly opposite the staircase, on the far side of the meeting room, stood something different - a set of double doors made of polished mahogany with golden handles shaped like lion heads.

  If there ever was a place for a governor, it would be there.

  We approached cautiously, our weapons drawn.

  Percy said, "I'll go deep in the middle. Lucy, left side. Fritz, right side."

  We nodded and took positions on either side of the door. I clicked back the hammer of my revolver. Fritz held his spear at the ready, its tip pointed slightly downward in a position that would let him thrust quickly at anyone charging out.

  Percy backed up several paces, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. "On three. One... two..."

  He didn't say three. Instead, he sprinted forward and kicked hard at the center where the doors met. They flew open with a thunderous crash, and in the same motion, Percy disappeared in a flash of blue light, the magical filaments of his Blink spell trailing behind him.

  I burst in immediately after, weapon up and seeking targets to the left. Fritz mirrored my movement on the right side. We swept the room - checking corners, behind the door, scanning for any movement.

  The office was massive - easily three times the size of any we'd seen before. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of the east side of Stonehearth City, currently tinted red by the crimson sky. A massive desk of black marble dominated the far end of the room, positioned so that anyone sitting behind it would have the city spread out before them. Behind the desk hung a painting of the Meteor Spire itself rendered in oils.

  Percy had materialized standing on top of the desk, his sword drawn and ready. He turned in a slow circle, scanning the room from his elevated position. After a moment, he sheathed his blade.

  "Clear." he announced, jumping down from the desk. "Just like everything else in this place." He started to rifle through the cabinets.

  I stepped behind the massive desk, running my hand along its polished surface. Despite the grandeur of the room, there was surprisingly little in the way of personal effects. No photos, no mementos - just a sleek metal box where a phone might normally sit, embedded with small lights and unfamiliar symbols.

  "He said it was at the desk, right?" I asked, examining the device.

  Fritz peered over my shoulder. "Is there a terminal, like in front of player-owned houses?"

  I cautiously pressed my finger against the metal box. Immediately, a holographic display sprang to life above the desk. Text appeared, glowing softly in the dim office:

  'Stonehearth City Administration Center'

  'Only the governor may access this terminal.'

  'Current Governor: Unknown#18950'

  'Would you like to initiate the claim process? Warning: will notify the current governor.'

  "Hold off on that." Percy said, abandoning his search of the cabinets and striding over to the windows. He stared down at the plaza below. "This has to be a trap."

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  "What do you mean?" Fritz asked, leaning his spear against the wall.

  "Think about it - the Fringe takes over the city, drives everyone out... but just happens to leave the most strategic building completely undefended? No guards, no lookouts, nothing?"

  "Maybe they're stretched thin." Fritz suggested. "Controlling the whole city can't be easy."

  Percy shook his head. "No. We're on the 99th floor. Someone specifically came up here and took the governorship. That's not random looting; that's deliberate. They knew it was here, and they want someone to come here and press that button. When we do, the Fringe will pour out of wherever they're hiding and converge on us."

  Fritz scratched his chin in thought. "Or it's just a messy situation and they don't care about the fine details. The Fringe isn't known for its organization."

  "I don't want to take that chance. Not until we know more."

  I pulled up my menu. "I'll message Poe and ask for advice."

  Fritz nodded. "Alright, let's see if there's anything on the top floor."

  Fritz and Percy left while I brought up my messages.

  -Fritz-

  The top floor of the spire was an observation deck - a glass dome with a complete view in all directions a hundred floors above the ground. Even through the smoke, we could see it all. To the west, mountains rose like jagged teeth against the horizon, dark and ominous to the south and white and snowy to the north. To the south, the plains faded into the sands of desert dunes blowing across the horizon. To the north was the rough-cut blend of dark greens and reds of the badlands, then fading to the dark green expanse of the taiga as it approached the foothills of the mountains. And to the east, the colorful farmlands that spread out in the direction of Celestia Grand.

  Closer in, the city itself was a disaster zone. The sun was still an hour or two above the mountains, but the city was as dark as night, lit only by the fires raging through it. Streets we'd walked through on our way in were now impassable, choked with debris or flames. Entire blocks had collapsed or were actively burning. The smoke was so thick in some areas that it completely obscured the buildings beneath. Maybe it was because of the difference in angle, but it looked so much worse than when we arrived.

  Percy, who had been walking around the edge of the observation deck, suddenly stopped. "There!"

  I hurried over, following the line of his outstretched arm. He was pointing at a district on the west side of the city.

  At first, all I could see was another curtain of smoke, but then the wind shifted, and I spotted it - a dense pack of meteors concentrated over a particular section of the city. They crashed into buildings, each impact sending up geysers of debris and sparks. A sea of flames rolled through the streets in their wake, consuming everything they touched. And then, something moved in the smoke. Black, skeletal wings - massive things that spanned wider than several buildings - flapped over the rooftops.

  "That's the world boss, huh?" I asked.

  Percy nodded.

  The creature continued on a meandering path through the western district, leaving ruin in its wake.

  On the other side, in the far east, was the Guard's evacuation zone. It was easily the most intact slice of city, for whatever that was saying. Buildings still stood, and the fires were actively being put out. Remembering the state of everything we'd passed through, I didn't want to think about what was left of the rest of the city.

  "What are the Fringe after?" I wondered. "Why would anyone want this?"

  "That's a good question." Percy said. "The Fringe are opportunists. They steal things, they disrupt trade, they pick off stragglers. This is something else. They aren't stealing anything - they're destroying. And they aren't hurting the Guard directly - they released a world boss that's wrecking the city indiscriminately."

  "Maybe they want to force everyone to leave? Take over the city for themselves?"

  "What would be the point? The city's trashed, and they'd be stuck with a world boss they can't control."

  "What about the governor controls? Maybe that's valuable enough to risk all this?"

  "Maybe..." Percy frowned, considering. "If this place's governorship controls the entire Celestial Plains region, it would affect the whole Stonehearth Plains, the Faustenburg Plains outside the city itself, and the Southern Walk. We'll have to see what that lets them do there, though."

  That's when Lucy called up the stairwell.

  "Fritz! Percy! I just talked to Poe. The Guard have people on the perimeter of the plaza - we're clear to go ahead with the claim!"

  Percy immediately headed for the stairs. I lingered a moment longer, staring out at the burning city.

  From this height, the fires formed patterns, almost like constellations - beautiful in their way, despite the horror they represented. The setting sun cast everything in shades of gold and crimson, the smoke turning the light into muted halos around the taller buildings that still stood.

  Despite everything, it was a great view. The only trouble was - who was going to walk up 99 floors to see it? The place desperately needed an elevator.

  With a sigh, I turned away and followed the others down the stairs.

  By the time I reached the governor's office, Percy and Lucy were already at the terminal, staring at the floating display. A progress bar crawled across the screen, filling slowly.

  "It's got a 5-minute timer." Lucy said.

  Percy stood by the window, scanning the plaza below. "No movement immediately."

  Lucy said, "According to Poe, the 'Unknown' listed as the current governor means they died. There won't be any alert sent to anyone."

  "What if they have a player named 'Unknown'?" Percy asked.

  Lucy rolled her eyes. "What's more likely - that they got the one player that took the name 'Unknown' to work for them, or that they got caught in the crossfire down there?"

  "Likely doesn't mean true - that's how you get one over on your enemies! Intelligence agencies will put a lot of effort into setting up their cover operations!"

  "Like Argo." I nodded

  "Or that time the CIA faked a vampire attack in the Philippines!" Percy added.

  Lucy sighed, turning back to the terminal. "Then you let me know when they show up."

  The progress bar finished filling, and the screen transformed, populating with a host of panels, charts, and options. The interface expanded outward, forming a semi-circle of interactive elements around the desk.

  Lucy smiled. "Governor Lucia? I don't mind that."

  Percy snorted. "I have more respect for 'Captain'."

  "Thank you, Quartermaster."

  "What have we got, Gov?" I asked, stepping forward to join them at the desk.

  The three of us crowded around, examining the various tabs and windows that floated around us. Percy pulled up the camera in his menu and started taking pictures as Lucy flipped through the tabs, skimming the contents.

  "Adjust tax rates on taverns, restaurants, other facilities, NPC shops, player shops." she read aloud. "Looks like they've set them all to minimum."

  Percy leaned in closer. "We've got to compare shop prices across the regions. Do they have an income history graph?"

  Lucy tapped on another tab. "Here's a ledger of deposits."

  I whistled at the numbers scrolling past. "No wonder the peacekeepers always have the latest gear."

  "How is that collected?" Percy asked. "Does it go straight into your inventory, or is there a till we can check on the way out?"

  Lucy navigated through several more screens. "It looks like I can set permissions on collecting, so there must be a physical place. There's nothing in there now, though."

  "Fringe must have grabbed it on the way out." I said.

  Lucy flipped to a new tab that displayed a map of the entire Celestial Plains region. It was covered in routes and labels, a complex web of lines connecting various landmarks and settlements.

  "What are these?" she asked, hitting buttons to toggle some of them off and on. The lines changed color or disappeared entirely with each button press.

  I squinted at the map. "Connections of some kind? Is there a fast-travel network?"

  Percy pointed at a side panel filled with text. "No, it's mail distribution - see? 'Mail synchronization wave times'."

  "'Synchronization wave'?" I asked.

  Percy took several pictures of the panel and shrugged. "We'll figure it out later."

  Lucy nodded. "So they can shut off mail distribution within the region, and shut off connections to other regions." She swiped to another tab. "What else?"

  The permissions page appeared, showing options for granting access to various governmental functions. Lucy scrolled through the list.

  "I can give permissions and make keys for governmental duties." she said. "Including access to the gubernatorial estate and prison facilities."

  "There's a button on 'justice' over there." Percy said, pointing to a tab labeled with scales. "What's that?"

  Lucy pulled that tab open, revealing a list of options related to criminal sentencing. Each crime had a slider next to it, currently set to various positions.

  "It's full of options on severity of automated prison sentence times." she said, adjusting one of the sliders experimentally.

  I leaned in, reading the descriptions more carefully. "Well, that's good - it looks like there's a cap on the maximum sentences - they can't keep someone imprisoned forever. They have to let them go eventually."

  Percy was still taking pictures. "There'll be a workaround. Recapture as they're let out of the cell and thrown right back in on a different charge."

  "Hey, look at this." Lucy said.

  She opened a new window showing a detailed organizational chart of the city's administrative structure - from the governor at the top down through various departments, bureaus, and positions.

  "Every position has specific permissions," she explained. "And I can appoint people to fill them."

  "Can you make me the head of police?" I asked.

  "Sure." Lucy tapped on one of the empty boxes, filled in my information, and *pop!* I got a notification that I was the chief of police.

  "You want anything, Percy?" Lucy asked.

  "Getting this job done would be nice."

  She made a new job title labeled 'Getting-this-job-done', then tried to put Percy's name in for it, but got stuck on the ID number field. The input box only allowed numbers, but Percy's ID was 'R-0'.

  "Ooh, looks like that ID glitch strikes again."

  "Tough luck, buddy." I patted him on the shoulder.

  Still taking pictures, he said, "You wouldn't catch me dead working for the government."

  Lucy tapped on a tab labeled 'Security' that opened a set of sliders and toggles. As the panel expanded, her eyebrows shot up.

  "Oh, this could help! We can adjust how the NPC guards respond to different situations. Look, we can set them to prevent all combat inside the city, don't interfere in player-player combat, or offer no protection at all."

  "What's it set to now?" Percy asked.

  "It's currently set to allow PvP." Lucy said, scrolling through the options. "So the guards will only target the world boss, mobs, and criminal behavior."

  Percy said, "If you set it to no protection, the boss won't have anything to distract it. It'll tear through the city unchecked."

  I said, "But if you increase the protection level, the guards will stop the Fringe from attacking civilians."

  Percy shook his head. "Yeah, but the guards will also go after the World Guard peacekeepers."

  Lucy said, "I think we should leave it as-is. We don't know enough about the balance of forces out there to start messing with it."

  Lucy continued navigating through the tabs, pausing briefly on various administrative functions. Then she flipped to a section labeled 'Market Analysis'. The display filled in with a comprehensive breakdown of every item traded through the city's market board, complete with price fluctuations, volume, and even time-of-day trends.

  Lucy hopped on her feet and let out a squeal like a teenager at a boyband concert. She immediately started searching up trade goods and taking pictures of their trade histories. "This is exactly what I've been looking for!" She continued searching items at a frantic pace.

  I glanced out the windows, noticing the thickening smoke on the horizon. The red sky had darkened further, now streaked with black plumes rising from the eastern districts The Guard were losing ground against the fires. "How long do you want to be here?" I asked, trying to keep the edge of concern from my voice.

  "Just a few more minutes!" Lucy replied without looking up. "It's hard to get records this complete! Do you have any idea how valuable this data is? I could-"

  She was interrupted by a notification popping up on her UI - a message. I could read it over her shoulder:

  [Jefferson]: Guard have lost control of the boss. Extract immediately.

  The excitement drained from Lucy's face. "That doesn't sound good."

  Percy was already heading for the door. "I'll get a visual."

  All three of us abandoned the governor's terminal and raced back to the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time as we climbed up to the observation deck.

  A tidal wave of fire surged through the streets. Buildings collapsed in its wake, sending up fountains of sparks and debris as it cut in a beeline toward the east side - toward the Guard's safe zone. And its path was going to take it right past the Meteor Spire, through the plaza that we'd have to escape through.

  "Were there any other tabs in the governor menu?" I asked.

  She shook her head. "Not that I saw. Let's go."

  We didn't wait for further discussion. We bolted for the stairs, our footsteps echoing in the empty stairwell as we descended at a dangerous pace. One hundred flights of stairs passed in a blur of burning calves and increasingly labored breathing.

  We burst through the archway onto the bridge spanning the moat. The weather was intensifying. Embers flew through the air, and hot gusts of wind carrying thick smoke whipped across the open space. Each breath scraped my throat and stung my eyes.

  Guards poured into the plaza from various streets, quickly setting up barricades and preparing defensive formations around the spire. Organizing them was a man in suspenders and a button-up shirt with a blazer that was now riddled with burn holes. Head Detective Franz Ferdinand. He didn't look the part of a battlefield commander with his loosened tie and disheveled hair, but his voice carried across the plaza with unmistakable authority.

  "Second squad, reinforce the western approach!" he barked. "I want crossbows on the rooflines with clear sightlines to the bridge! Move!"

  The peacekeepers - many of them looking young and terrified - scrambled to follow his commands. Most weren't combat specialists, but the detective's confidence steadied them.

  As we crossed the plaza, casually walking through over to the eastern exit, Brian called out and jogged toward us.

  "Guys!" he called out, slowing as he reached us. His eyes scanned our group before asking, "Have you found your VIP yet?"

  Percy nodded. "Yeah, it's safe. We're about to leave."

  "Good - things are about to get rough here."

  "Are they going to fight the boss?" I asked.

  Brian shook his head. "No, just regain control. Someone got the idea to kite it into the Spire."

  I looked up at the towering black needle behind us. "Will it fit inside?"

  "The guys seem to think so. Then they hope the infinitely-spawning city guards will be enough to keep it trapped in combat up there so it can never be brought back down."

  Lucy frowned. "What about everyone trapped in combat with it? The escape prevention mechanic?"

  "We've found one way to get around it." Brian said. "By using a portal."

  Percy tilted his head. "There are portals in this game?"

  Brian shrugged. "There must be, because they're saying they can open a portal to the Capital. Entering one takes you so far away that even the boss' escape prevention mechanic gets outranged. So they are going to put a portal up top, then everyone will run in and leave the boss stranded on the stairs."

  "Alright, good luck to 'em!" I said.

  Before we could continue, another man ran up to join our group - tall with a long coat and carrying a rifle slung across his back. Tiberius Drakkan, another member of Steel Rage.

  "Brian!" he called. "Some Fringe are holed up with hostages in the north city. They want the volunteers to reinforce them while the core handles the boss!"

  Brian nodded. "Got it - get the guys together." As Drakkan ran off, Brian turned back to us with a nod. "As I said, you should get on fast." He started to jog away.

  "Hold on!" Percy called after him. "Do you need any help?"

  Brian paused, looking back at us with a mixture of surprise and relief. "If you're offering, we're not in a position to say no!"

  "I don't know, Perce." I said. "I don't think we should hang around here any more than we need to."

  Lucy nodded in agreement. "We completed the assignment and were told to extract. Leave other people's jobs to them."

  Percy's eyes narrowed slightly. "So we're just going to walk away from that? They've got hostages - that's innocent people in danger."

  I looked at the chaos around us, then back at Percy. The thought of fighting other players - other people - even Fringe - made my stomach turn. But the thought of innocent players being held captive was worse.

  "You're right." I said finally. "That's not something we can ignore."

  Percy and I both turned to Lucy, whose lips were pressed into a thin line.

  She said, "I'm mature enough to accept being overruled."

  "Then come on!" Brian turned and jogged toward the northern exit of the plaza, and we followed, leaving behind the relative safety of the evacuation route.