“The Iron Order is catching up to us in points.”

Morgan approached Jerik and Nicholas as they were just starting their mid-day meal, and stated the sentence bluntly. Both of them paused in the act of transferring a spoonful of soup to their mouths and looked up at her. Nicholas’ face showed blank shock. Jerik, meanwhile, felt a spike of annoyance at the words.

“How?” He asked abruptly, letting the spoon drop back into the bowl, not caring that broth was splattered across the table. “We wiped them out to a man. How can they almost be caught up?”

“My best guess is that they had supplies stashed outside the city in case someone did what we did. But that’s not what matters.”

“I disagree,” Jerik said, his brow furrowing. “You’re telling me that after all that effort, he has a chance to win anyway?”

“There’s a lot in his way,” Morgan said, lifting her hands in a pacifying gesture. “He has to get the keys, doesn’t he? And we already own one of them, maybe two. So if he wants to face Kan-Menora on his own, he’ll have to go after Max. And that puts all of Haven in his way.”

“You’re forgetting that he took part in the fight before,” Jerik reminded her. “With the Golden Dawn.”

“But the entire platoon was wiped out.”

“Yes, but he could have kept a copy of the keys,” Jerik said. “The second he has a million points, he could teleport to the dungeon with his platoon, and fight him. We’re still two weeks away.”

“They’re not going for the dungeon,” Morgan said. “They haven’t even left Zenken yet.”

Jerik shot to his feet. “He took over Zenken again?”

She nodded slowly. “Turns out he was just waiting for us to be gone long enough. He took it yesterday.”

She handed over her tablet, and he looked down at it. Sure enough, there was a long list of names shown as killed there, all of them by a member of the Iron Order. Magnus himself showed up several times, often shown killing clusters of other players at once. Bombardment, he thought. It was stupid, as it took out a lot of the city, but it was also effective. He’d be surprised if half of Zenken was still standing. But even half destroyed, it was still a strong position to hold, and now Magnus did.

“He’s tightened security down,” Morgan said gravely. “Nobody leaves or enters the city except his men. He’s got enough members to hold it as long as he wants.”

“How’d he manage that? After the street gangs were run out, he lost nearly ninety percent of his platoon. He can’t have more than-”

“About that,” she interjected, taking the tablet back long enough to switch to the information page on the Iron Order. “New information came in about his members. Apparently, he took a leaf out of your book. He’s trained a new core, and he’s welcoming any new member that wants to join.”

“What is he offering?”

“Five hundred thousand points,” Morgan said. When Jerik let out a snort of disbelief, she added, “For whichever person kills you and brings him your rifle.”

“Averin wants it, no doubt,” Jerik said. He scrolled down the list of names on the screen. “Wait. I don’t see him listed as a member anymore. What happened to him?”

Morgan could only shrug. “No clue. Maybe they had a falling out. Either way, that’s fine, because it means that he can’t put up any good defense against you.”

Jerik looked up again. He knew exactly what she was getting at. “You want to take Zenken back.”

“If we can,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “But mainly, I want to take him down for real this time.”

He was surprised to find that he didn’t dislike the idea at all. “But can we take an entire city? I mean, if we wait a week, then we’ll have nearly five hundred people behind us.”

“I don’t think they’ll agree to help with that,” Nicholas said, speaking for the first time. “They’re not interested in player politics. They only care about making sure that Kan-Menora dies.”

Morgan nodded in agreement, putting one hand on his shoulder. “Nicholas is right. Zenken is a player-made city, and it’s a fight between players. I doubt they’d care. They might even switch their view if Magnus stands a chance of beating us. Whatever kills Kan-Menora faster.”

Jerik opened his mouth to argue the point, but something made him hesitate. Was it the desire to defend a new ally? Or perhaps a stubborn refusal that anyone could be so callous and dishonest? But deep down, he knew that she was probably right. And with acceptance of that came a fierce resolution. If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t care who owned Zenken. He didn’t even care what kind of a ruler Magnus was. The only reason he’d killed him before was because he was a target. Someone had offered four hundred thousand points for his death, and Jerik had needed the money.

Now, however, it was a matter of competition. Magnus was closing in on him fast. And he wasn’t about to let the past months of effort go to waste. He glanced past Morgan to where the Smoke Brigade was resting. They looked relaxed on the outside, but they kept looking over at him, waiting for a reaction or order. They’d already heard what was going on and were waiting for his decision. He caught Jack’s eyes in particular. The other sniper of the platoon was leaning casually against a fence post. Jerik nodded.

At once, the camp came alive with activity. People rushed to pack up their tents and gather their equipment. Jerik made sure he had Paragon attached to his back and his firearm at his side. Both were firmly in place, so he made his way over to where Athena was currently sitting. Lowering his voice so that nobody else could hear, he asked her, “Will you come with us?”

To kill a man who’s profiting off the suffering of others? I’m offended you have to ask.

“Even if we’re abandoning the cause here?” He asked. “I know you want Kan-Menora dead.”

Call it a gesture of trust. I trust that you’ll return to the hunt after this business is taken care of.

A broad grin crossed his face. “Of course. I still want to win this thing. I just have to take out the competition first.”

“And you think we’ll just be okay with you leaving us?” That was Max’s voice. He hadn’t failed to notice the sudden burst of movement from the platoon’s position. Nearly everything was packed up now. Jerik turned to face the warrior. “You’re going to abandon us to settle a personal score? Isn’t killing Kan-Menora more important?”

Just that reaction alone cemented Morgan’s thought that the Menoran army didn’t care who won. They just wanted to win. He held Max’s challenging gaze for several seconds before he answered. “I’m taking a detour.”

“In the opposite direction,” Max said bluntly. “Taking our best fighters with you.”

Jerik took a step forward so that they were nearly nose to nose. “Not our best fighters. My fighters. My men. I trained them, they follow me.”

As if to show their support of this statement, the command group and Jack all moved to stand behind him. Jack even half-lifted his rifle, clearly itching for a fight. Max took a hesitant step back, seeming to notice at that moment that he was outnumbered. His armor could only protect against one shot at a time. He’d basically admitted the fact to them, and so he knew he couldn’t stop them all at once. Vernex was behind him, looking very intimidating, but Athena stood beside Jerik, and her eyes were fixed on the dragon, ready to react.

“You’re coming back as soon as you’re done?” He asked. He wasn’t nearly as challenging now, but he was still angry. “You give me your word that as soon as you’re done killing Magnus, you’ll return to the army?”

“Have a little faith,” Jerik growled. “I’m not a liar.”

“But you also haven’t promised.”

Jerik looked away from Max to Morgan, who gave him a small shrug. “Fine. If the fact that I’ve agreed to help you isn’t enough already, I’ll say it again. I’m going to kill Kan-Menora. I’ll put an end to him, and end to this monster plague. You’re welcome to join me in that goal if you like.”

He deliberately worded it in a way that left no doubt. He was the leader, and he wouldn’t consider himself a follower of the Menorans. He was doing what they wanted him to do, but not out of respect for them. He was his own man. Max nodded his understanding, and Jerik took that as the end of the discussion. But as he turned away to start packing his own equipment, Max surprised him.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not,” Jerik replied at once, not even looking around again. “I don’t know you, so I don’t know what role you can play. We don’t have time to figure that out.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

He paused mid-stride, thinking. The fact that Max had just asked him for an order didn’t escape him. “Wait until everyone’s gathered, and march for the second General. We’ll meet you there.”

He heard the sound of Vernex’s wings as the dragon took off. No sooner was he out of earshot than Nick spoke up. “I don’t trust it. I know Max. He doesn’t back off that easily.”

“I think he realized he doesn’t have a choice,” Benji said brightly. “You’re a scary one when you want to be, Jerik.”

“Thanks,” he said dryly. “Get your gear together.”

They wasted no more time talking, all scattering to their tents. He caught Nick’s arm and held him back, however. “Do you think he’ll follow us?”

“Probably,” the young man said. “Either that, or he’ll send someone to do the same. But he’ll probably come himself.”

“Even if it means that he has to leave Jel-Kenna’s side?”

Nick chewed his lip thoughtfully. “I hadn’t thought of that. He is her Guardian, after all. So he’ll send someone else. Yes, that makes sense. He won’t leave her side if he’s sworn to protect her.”

Jerik shook his head wearily. “I don’t care if he follows. But if he tries to interfere, I’m not letting that slide. Can I count on you to help me if we have to fight him?”

He nodded at once. “Of course. I fight for you. You’re our best shot against Kan-Menora, so I’m on your side. No matter who gets in your way.”

“Good man,” Jerik said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Go pack your stuff up now. We’re leaving in half an hour.”

He returned to his own tent, and, thanks to his experience camping out in less than ideal conditions, had it packed up in ten minutes flat. He shoved everything into his Tek Crate and slipped that into the sack over his shoulder. Now he just had to wait for the others. He turned to the Tek Griffon, his newest and strongest ally. An idea was beginning to form in his mind.

“Athena, how many people can you carry at once?”