Chapter 3

Preparations

"Ah! How good it feels to be home!" Reaver declared as he stepped from Bowerstone Market's street onto Bowerstone Industrial's great roads, which all led to the massive factories that filled the sky with thick black smoke. Giant ships slipped through the slow, murky river waters, while grand vessels from Aurora brought spices, metals, and rugs to the city. As Reaver was bouncing happily through his city, he noticed a riot forming around one of his factories.

"Reaver doesn't care about us! Reaver doesn't want what's best for us! He only ended child labor because the Queen forced him too! When it comes down to truly caring for the people of the city, only our mayor, Page, does so! I say, we protest Reaver and force him to hand over control of Bowerstone Industrial to the government!" Reaver smiled brightly. It had been a while since he'd gotten to shoot an innocent.

"Oh, my dear worker, I don't think I've forgotten about my rules of complaining!" Reaver drew his pistol and shot the man in the leg, sending him to the ground rolling in pain. The people of the riot drew back in shock as Reaver walked over to the ring leader and stared right at him, calmly reloading his pistol with absent minded precision.

"I gave you benefits and schools for your children. I emptied the sewage from Bowerstone into the Mourningwood and saved you the disease and stench. I loyally helped the Queen raise the money needed to protect you from that awful Crawler. Just because I have very strict time limits on bathroom breaks and a general ban on complaining, it doesn't mean I'm a tyrant. I'm quite loving, once you get to know me." Reaver shot the man again, right in the left shoulder, maximizing pain while minimizing chance of death. Torture had been a pastime he'd dabbled in for about thirty years.

"Now, tell me, what exactly is your beef with my factory?"

"It's your-" Reaver shoved his cane into the man's mouth before he could finish. He leaned close, pretending to listen, then stood up and pointed to the factory workers watching.

"What's that, corrupt management from the board of directors? I'll see to clearing out the administration and returning this business to the clean and respectable practices it is famous for!" Reaver said, pushing through his workers to the headquarters, a small tower high over the many factories of Bowerstone Industrial.

Reaver burst through the doors of the room to find a full meeting of the entire board of directors. They turned to him and all humbled themselves at his presence. "Perfect."Reaver thought.

"Why, Chief Executive Reaver! What a pleasure to see you here!"

"It is so good that you have returned!"

"How are profits?" Reaver demanded.

"Booming as always! Since we run schools, we can get our taxes returned by the government. Except for that damned corporate tax which the Mayor of Bowerstone controls."

"What a shame…is it true…that we have become a corrupt organization?" Reaver said almost sadly.

"What? Uh…I wouldn't know of any corruption…" The chairman offered. Reaver drew his pistol and shot him, this time aiming to kill. The man was dead before he knew what happened.

"Your lack of enthusiasm on the subject exposes your guilt. I think it's time we started over with our board. Reaver Industries is cleaning house!" Reaver fired at another board member and hit him between the eyes, scattering his brains all over the wall. The other board members started to run, Reaver's pistol shots ushering them out.

"Now…I need some new members…" Reaver said, smiling at the carnage which was formerly his meeting room. He left the tower and immediately went to the pub. He found three men drinking. One was heavily inebriated, and ranting about the administration of the factories. One man saw Reaver and tried to stop his friend, but to no avail.

"Dave, I think you should stop talking!"

"Now you listen here Steve! Those idiots don't know what they're doing in this factory! Why, I could run this company better'n those stupid wankers!"

"Excellent!" Reaver yelled. The drunken man turned around and a sickly pale color filled his face.

"Mr. Reaver…sir…I didn't…"

"No, you did, I heard you myself. And you know what, you're right! So, you and your fellow drinkers are official members of the new board of directors! Report to the headquarters tower tomorrow morning! And leave the drinks at the pub."

"Really mister Reaver? You won't…hic…be disappointed!"

"Good. Carry on then." Reaver turned and found a foolish looking woman standing out in front of her house, sweeping it carefully.

"Are you ready for the opportunity to make money with no real work or pressure on yourself?" Reaver asked, not just to her but several members of the community.

"Well, my goodness. I suppose so." The woman replied.

"I'd say so! That's what I do for a living." A beggar, who Reaver found in Bowerstone proper, responded.

"Well…if I don't have any real work, I'd be happy to do it!" A somewhat psychotic man who'd Reaver found perusing hammers and with an obvious inclination to kill said.

"Wait…no pressure to myself…it sounds like there's a catch…" Reaver promptly shot this man, unwilling to accept an attack on his character from a commoner.

"Do I gotta leave my home in Brightwall?" Reaver just then noticed it was the spitter from Brightwall who'd he just asked to join the board of directors.

"On second thought, never mind…it's a scam anyway and I wouldn't dream of taking money from a vigilante!" Reaver started to leave when a man jumped out in front of him.

"I dreamed of taking money in a scam once. If you're running one, I want in!"

"Wait a minute…you're…oh my…" Reaver suddenly drew back, recognizing the man as he revealed his face. "You were one of my factory managers. Mr. David Boyle. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here because you are ripping somebody off! The Queen put me out of business when she didn't let me control Understone. I tried to conquer the area again and again, but soldiers started marching around, and I couldn't do anything! If you're offering another chance to get rich quick, I'll take it!"

"This is a legitimate business! I wouldn't dream of scamming somebody!"

"Wait a minute…" The man spat at the stone street and left a visible amount of chewed tobacco on the ground, "I thought you said…"

"I'm not referring to that business!"

"Then what are you referring to?" Boyle said, pulling out an old crossbow, the wood stained and gouged, it's drawstring frayed. Reaver could have killed the two in a heartbeat, but an all-out fight wasn't what Reaver wanted at the moment. The immortal sighed and decided to resolve the situation immediately.

"Congratulations gentlemen, you have both been appointed to the board of directors. And no, you don't have to sell your house in Brightwall. Just come west to Reaver Industries headquarters once a month. And don't spit in my building or I will shoot you. I mean it!" the Brightwall spitter nodded and launched another ball of chewed tobacco onto the ground. Boyle laughed manically and began rubbing his hands together. Reaver pinched the bridge of his nose then looked at the two.

"Tomorrow, nine o'clock, don't be late or I will maim then kill you." Reaver shook his head and went back to the headquarters now with enough replacement board members. With the band of idiots he gathered, he could do whatever he wanted. Not that he really cared what the board thought, but a radical reversal in business practice needed board approval. And only a stupid board would go with what he was doing.

"Now for setting our plan in motion," Reaver said, going to a meeting room in the building and starting to draw the new business plan on a giant white presentation sheet.

"Dwellers are the Queens to command as always Page, I don't understand why you've gathered us here for this," Sabine grunted, lighting a cigar and taking a long drag.

"Wait Sabine, let me explain my plan."

"I don't really know why I'm here then either. Brightwall doesn't have armies, other than the guard, which you command Major Finn."

"I understand Samuel…but…"

"My men are ready to fight at the Queen's command. We followed commands exactly as her majesty instructed, and we will do the same again."

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" Page screamed, slamming her fist on the table. Saker, Sabine, and Samuel all hushed themselves at this. Boulder, Sabine's bodyguard, was also in the room, but simply continued to stare blankly at Page and Ben Finn as they spoke, his only reaction to the display of anger was to shift his weight so that he was closer to Sabine. Page sighed at the silence of the room and smiled.

"Now, pay attention." Ben Finn started, pointing at a large map of Albion and Aurora hanging on the wall, "We will need a small army of Dwellers to stand watch at the entrance of Wraithmarsh, as a sort of choke point. The rest of the Dwellers need to either go west to Bowerstone or stay in the Dweller Camp. Saker, you'll need to split your men into three groups, one to the north, in Brightwall, one to cover for the Dwellers southern entrance, and one final army to go to Bowerstone to receive orders from the Queen. I would ask that the Mercenary camp be abandoned for this."

"Fair enough," Saker responded.

"You are a friend, and speak for the Queen Major Finn! My men will move as you have instructed," Sabine agreed.

"Alright, my guards will withdraw from Mistpeak valley and bolster Brightwall, but I can't promise that you won't carry the brunt of the load at the village Saker," Ben said.

"My men understand their duty. They do as they are told, or I gut them."

"Now, Samuel, I've got a very special task for you," Page said, leaning over to the man.

"What…what's that?"

"A guild seal. We need a guild seal."

"Why would I have a guild seal?"

"I found this book in Brightwall Academy. Oh, and let me give this back to you." Ben Finn said, taking out Reaver on Reaverand handing it to Samuel.

"I'd normally get mad, but not even I missed this…"

"Anyway, I found this at your library." Ben Finn removed Guild Seals: The Symbols of Heroes,and dropped in front of Samuel, who snatched the book with a great deal more concern.

"This is one of Garth's books!"

"I tried reading it and, while I'm not the most preeminent reader, I got the gist of the book. If you get us a guild seal, we can get into the Reliquary and get to Hammer's and Garth's tombs!"

"How do you know about…Reaver…" Samuel said, shaking his head. He looked back at the two and sighed.

"I cannot make promises, but I will take you to the Reliquary. Are your mercenaries ready Saker?"

"Always, sir!" Saker said saluting.

"Then we will take the army with us. Come, we leave as soon as possible. And I need to get to Bowerstone quickly," Samuel said, standing up and starting out.

"You know what you must do! If we lay out the army as such, we might be able to defeat the darkness coming to attack us again…"

"Darkness is attacking us again?" Sabine stuttered, jumping to his feet. Saker stood up as well. Samuel, somewhat shakily, came back in the room.

"Um…" Ben Fin started. Page turned to him and gave him a stare which killed the rat watching behind him.

"I thought we were just going to keep it at an outside invader...not tell them about the Dueler."

"It...slipped out."

"Yes, it did. Sabine, please…we need…"

"All the more reason! I'll get every soldier I can find in my camp and the mountains and form the largest army ever from the Dwellers."

"I'll call in some old favors from the mercenary warlords in the mountains as well. I'm sure there are still a few highwaymen who will answer Saker's call."

"I'm will alert the Brightwall militia and start defensive measures. We will minimize casualties in Brightwall, that is, if you think it will help…"

"More than you can imagine. Now that everything's out in the open, we have proved that we defeated the darkness before, and we will defeat it again. Come, let us do our part," Ben said, raising his gun.

Garth slipped quietly through the castle gardens, the moon the only source of light over the dark courtyard. Garth noticed great statues of the famous Albion Heroes of old, including one of Sparrow, who stood vigil over the Southern garden. The statue of Logan was disturbing, and his sullen expression was only darkened by the poor lighting. Not that anything disturbed Garth, not since the Life-Eater struck Samarkand. "Why do I have to keep reminding myself that?" he thought to himself.

Garth continued through the garden until he reached a small pavilion. Right below it was a set of stairs which no doubt led to the room Garth was looking for. He slipped quietly down the stairs and opened the door. As he continued, he found the tomb of Sparrow and his wife, but very far apart and revealing a path deeper into the ground.

"I remember this…this was a construction of the Hero's Guild. Lucien turned it into an escape route, which Sparrow no doubt claimed for himself. Now…let's see here," Garth followed the path through to a small fork, one of which led to a cove.

"This has to be what I'm looking for. This is where Lucien kept it. But how did we get in it?" Garth touched one of the broken pillars, then another. Nothing seemed visible from the outside. Garth looked at the pillar for a while before casting a spell on it, which had no effect. He blasted a nearby pillar with another spell, but it did nothing as well.

"What is the secret old friend?" He drew up a great deal of power, then created a huge fiery explosion around himself, but to no avail. Nothing changed.

"Dammit…" Garth looked around and saw nothing. He started out of the cove and to the path again.

"Maybe its further down," Suddenly, a small statue of a woman holding a candle lowered its arms to reveal a flit switch. It was red and glowing. Garth blasted it with a fireball and the statue shook and slowly moved back to reveal a drop.

"No stairs…Sparrow was really hiding this…alright, let's see what you've got down here…" Garth dropped down to a lower path, bracing his fall with a gust of air magic. The first thing he saw was the shining, shimmering mountain of gold which Sparrow had no doubt died with. But he also saw Sparrows main weapons, a rifle which was an unholy invention, marked with the words "Hal's Rifle," a large sword which Garth recognized as the Daichi, a weapon created in Samarkand, a hammer with a amethyst for a head, and a fireball gauntlet Sparrow had created for himself, the usual Heroes Guild symbol that was normally on the back of the hand replaced with a soaring sparrow.

"Wait a minute, Sparrow didn't need a gauntlet to cast magic either…or…ah, this tool enhances one's Will. Clever of you old friend," Garth took the gauntlet and held it in his hand.

"I'll lead some soldiers down here to recover this gold. The weapons I'll give directly to the Queen. It seems Sparrow was a truly vain man, hiding his weapons in a way even his children would not find," Garth said, shaking his head.