Blood for Power: A LitRPG Apocalypse

After a little more searching, we found the power generator that Bart was using to recharge the robots. It was buried under some floorboards in the workshop. It was unremarkable in appearance. Just a metal cylinder with tubes and cables attached with different switches on top of it.

I was hesitant to touch any of it, even when Roan assured me it was much safer than the robot power cores. I wasn’t putting much stock in his assurances, but we needed to remove the bars protecting the doors and windows.

It was trial and error with the switches that eventually caused the bars to retract.

“Finally, let’s go,” Hugo said.

“Wait.”

I went back to the dead automatons. First, I tried to remove the armor robot’s clamps to see if I could use it as a spirit fighting weapon. Unfortunately, they seemed to be tied directly to the robot. When I did finally remove them from its body, the System message only recognized them as ordinary clamps.

Still, I took them, both bodies, and the power generator under the floor. Everything went into my inventory.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Denying the enemy.”

I wasn’t going to give Bart or someone else the chance to return here and repair the robots.

We left the shop empty and broken. Roan was quiet the whole time. I think he was waiting for me to start.

We found a rooftop a few blocks away that would give us some privacy, and then I began with the most important question.

Lucas: What’s happening with you? And since when do you need to research something basic like a Tower enemy?

Okay, that was two questions. I got ahead of myself. I was trying to appear calm, but inwardly I was seething. Both of us could’ve died while waiting for him to find an answer.

The brand on my hand lit up. The mark I’d received when I’d pledged my allegiance to Roan. He didn’t make it hurt like last time, but it tingled and the message was clear. Watch your tone when addressing me.

Roan: Since we last spoke, my access to Tower information has become more restricted. My research as you call it, was me finding someone with engineering experience who recognized the automaton design and then bribing them for the relevant information.

The Officiator was right. Tanver Vhar has cut him out of the loop completely. That wasn’t good news for us, since I trusted Vhar even less than I trusted Roan.

Lucas: So instead of backstabbing the other gods and being in charge of the Tower, Vhar backstabbed you and removed your access?

Roan: Yes, that is correct.

Hugo: What does that mean for us? Is Vhar going to come after us?

That was a good point. Having an enemy gain control of the Tower could be a death sentence for us.

Roan: No, he’s probably already forgotten about you two. You were merely a means to an end for him.

Lucas: What about the other gods?

Both Yakeshi and Samara wanted me dead. That much I knew, but it was difficult to gauge the mood of the other gods. How many of them were indifferent, and how many of them felt betrayed at the Golden Door when Vhar and Roan made their move?

Roan: That is the reason why I’ve been absent recently. You asked before about a tribunal. Well in order for one to be called, seventy percent of gods need to vote in favor of calling one. I’ve been hopping from planet to planet since we last spoke. Shaking hands, kissing babies, and bribing or threatening every lesser god not under another’s sway to vote for me. It's exhausting. I came back to check on you two because I needed a break from it.

Hugo: What happens if you fail and one gets called anyway?

Roan: It would be bad. A trial would be held to determine guilt, and if found guilty, that god is then marked for death. You don’t just become persona non grata, every god swears an oath to kill you on sight. Personally, I think the whole concept was a waste of time. It merely allows for cowardly gods to unite and take out the strong. But I was overruled when the original idea was raised.

Lucas: So if a tribunal is called, then they’ll kill you?

Roan: No, they’d try to kill me and everyone connected to me, which includes you two in case I needed to spell that out for you. But that’s only if a tribunal gets called and if it doesn’t go our way. And if that happens, I have an insurance policy.

That sounded ominous.

Lucas: Which is what?

Roan: I won’t say, but it’s closer to mutually assured destruction than a get out of jail free card, so let’s hope I don’t have to use it.

Hugo was growing restless. We’d asked about Roan’s situation and he’d complied by answering our questions, but none of it helped us right now.

Hugo: So where does all of this leave us?

Roan: The same as before. Forget about Vhar. Forget about the other gods. It’s considered bad form to call a tribunal and attack the accused at the same time. Yakeshi will want to do this by the book. None of them will touch you.

There was another question nagging at me. One I’d had since we’d encountered the human faction that belonged to the church.

Lucas: We ran into some worshippers in the city who worshipped a god called the Harvest Mother. Have you ever heard of her?

Roan: Were they Tower Climbers?

Hugo: No.

Roan: Then it wasn’t a real god. It’s just a story that’s tied into somebody’s quest line. What’s a gothic Victorian-esque city without a dash of horror from a religious cult?

Lucas: So we have nothing to worry about externally, but we shouldn’t count on you for help in the Tower either.

Roan: Correct, although I’m working on regaining my former access to the Tower, so I’ll be in and out of contact for a while. Is there anything else before I go?

I looked at Hugo, who shook his head. I said that we were good, and the conversation ended there.

We thought about what he’d said. It all sounded plausible, but I couldn’t help but feel like we’d picked the losing side. Like everything was tipping against us. I had to hope that Daisy would make contact with a solution soon. This was not a ship either of us were willing to go down with.

The next thing I did was take out a piece of paper and write a message on it. I had to hope this would work.

“Flit, I have a message that needs delivering,” I said.

Nothing happened. I glanced at Hugo, who shrugged. Maybe there was some special way to summon him? I was about to ask Roan when suddenly I heard a stone crack.

I looked over the edge to see the goat man scaling the building with only his feet. The stone wall would crack as he skipped up towards us. The way he moved was almost playful, but judging from his glower when he reached us, he was anything but.

“Is there a reason we couldn’t have done this on the street?” he gruffly asked.

I apologized and offered him the letter. “Can you deliver this to Enzo?”

He nodded and took the letter, which contained a brief rundown on what I’d discovered so far, but with a few key details left out. It ended with me requesting another meeting in person, which I believed Enzo would grant.

The letter vanished into Flit’s inventory.

He turned to leave, but Hugo was curious about his powers, especially since he wasn’t a Climber.

“Is that all it takes? People just call out to you and you appear?” he asked.

Flit stopped and clenched his fists. “No, it’s not. When someone makes a request, I’m forced to run to you. I’m not here by choice. I didn’t want this life. I’m a prisoner who’s stuck in this stupid city until the fighting has ended. Which will be never by the way. Even when the Tower is finished and the city and all its inhabitants get returned to their original location, I’ll still be stuck here ferrying messages between the warring factions.”

“I’m sorry,” Hugo said. He hadn’t meant to touch a nerve with his question.

“How’d you end up here in the first place?” I asked.

Flit suddenly looked tired. His ears twitched, and he sighed. “That’s a long story. Now I’ve got to go. I can’t stay in one place for too long. There’s always another letter or package to be delivered.”

I thought he’d jump down to the street, but instead he hopped from roof to roof. Skipping across the roofs with a speed and grace that I’d never match on my best day.

“He’s trapped here like we are,” Hugo said.

I nodded and while I was sympathetic, there was little we could do for him now.

Dawn was also breaking, and I beckoned Hugo to my side. I knew where we should go next, but we had to hurry before the sun rose too high.