Book 5 - Chapter 4 - Assembled (1/2)

There were very few settlements in the southern wastes that could count as ‘cities.’ None of them could compare to the power or scope of the Northern Barrens. However, that didn’t mean they weren’t a potential threat, and if three of them were able to organize this quickly it meant they’d been planning this for some time.

It made sense. Greenland City had come under foreign influence, and using the well-defended outpost they could build a fine foundation. It was only a matter of time before these outsiders tried to extend their reach to the rest of the southern wastelands – which was exactly what Cloudhawk was planning.

Instead of waiting for that day to come, it was better to be proactive. Seeing the writing on the wall, leaders from these three settlements agreed to work together.

It’d been less than a week since the coup. Cloudhawk had to assume there were spies, as that was the only way the cities could have learned Greenland changed hands so quickly. Word was must have gone out through something like messenger pigeons the moment Cerberus was killed. The minute it was received, these vipers slithered from their nests and gathered for an attack on the city. Hoping to take advantage of their precarious status as new leaders, perhaps Greenland might change hands again.

The wasteland had its own rules, and when outsiders came to try and impose their own they had to be dealt with. Even beasts protected their territory, to say nothing of grizzled wastelanders who fought and bled every day for what they earned. They weren’t about to tolerate a place as rich as Greenland City coming under foreign control, not when they could have it for themselves.

Cloudhawk was both surprised and frustrated. He’d just gotten back and assholes were already causing trouble. Rather than sit around and wait for conflict, though, he gathered the four thousand strong warriors of Greenland City and organized a defensive line.

Once again Cloudhawk’s wastelanders displayed impressive efficiency in following his orders.

Just five days after Cloudhawk took control, Greenland City had a shifting black line appear at its borders. Maybe ten thousand savage fighters were licking their chops and waiting for a cut of what Greenland City promised. They were a motley crew with wildly different equipment and hardly seemed organized, but there had to be close to ten thousand of them.

Some of them rode twisted mutabeasts, others rode in vehicles. Some wielded massive shields and others crude buster swords. Peppered among them were mutants several meters tall with heavy weaponry. From gear to appearance, there wasn’t anything unifying these killers. Strategy and unity was not a wasteland strong suit. They fought for themselves, each one competing for a greater cut of the winnings.

“So many?”

Cloudhawk looked over the milling soldiers with a scowl. He used to live here, and never had he thought the barren and sparsely populated southern wastes could gather such a force.

Hellflower looked at the two sides and gauged their situation. “Without Autumn’s help and with you sick, I’m not sure we can rely on a few thousand half-assed troops. Even with the advantage of our walls I don’t think we’ll be able to fend them off.”

The creases in Cloudhawk’s weathered face deepened. He couldn’t think of a way out.

From among the enemy forces a large man, perhaps two meters tall stepped forward. He had a strange look about him, for his skin gleamed with a metallic sheen form head to toe. At a glance it was hard to tell if this was some sort of armor, or if he’d somehow absorbed a metal for protection.

“I am Iron Grizzly!” The hulking man shouted toward the defenders. His booming voice felt so intense the soldiers could swear they saw sand being pushed by the sound waves. “Listen up: This place belongs to me now. Surrender and I let you live, otherwise you’ll wish I let you die.

“That’s right!”

“Men go to the mines. The women we’ll have our way with ‘till they’re no more use!”

The wastelanders shouted and brandished their weapons, making themselves look as fierce as possible. It was like two wild animals meeting on a narrow path. Neither was willing to back down, for if they gave in now they’d have lost before the fight even started.

As the wastelanders shouted their curses and dark promises, the air between the two armies shimmered. A figure stepped into view, appearing from nothing.

Gasps ensued and the wastelanders staggered back.

He was a strange in a gray cloak, and those close enough could see that he was covered in bandages. Such a strange figure, appearing out of nowhere, made them both wary and curious.

Iron Grizzle glowered at him. “Are you a man or some sort of ghost?”

Cloudhawk didn’t respond immediately. He slowly drew his eyes across the uncertain faces of his enemy. “I am the new ruler of this place. You traveled hard to get here so fast, it couldn’t have been easy. Maybe you could use a rest. We’ll sit, have a talk. Life is a precious and fragile thing and we can lose it in a blink if we aren’t careful. I’m willing to overlook your grand display today.”

“You think you can intimidate me?!” Iron Grizzly spun around to his men. “You saw what he can do. This piece of shit must have come from the Elysian lands, a mutt in the service to those killers. Demonhunter tricks! Fuck, they think they can just walk into our territory and take control? What do you think about that?!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Many of them didn’t know what an Elysian was, but a few were more widely traveled and knew what the word represented. Elysians and wastelanders mixed about as well as oil and water. No way in hell they were going to let an Elysian set up in their territory!

Cloudhawk had hoped to scare them a little, but instead he’d only managed to rile them up. This wasn’t just some group of wasteland thugs, and though they obviously feared Elysians they were still itching for a fight.