Chapter 890 (1/2)

“You are just going to walk in?” Decklan asked as he hurried to keep up with Randidly’s deceptively long strides.

Randidly chuckled. “Don’t sound so worried. You already said that the settlement below is only the warriors from the defeated Toad Lords too weak to join another faction right? So there isn’t anyone that can stop me. And a guide would help things along immensely.”

Decklan seemed to consider that, as the two walked through the long halls of the castle toward the gate. After hearing some sparse geographic details about where Randidly was heading and creating Neveah six more Riders to expand the spooky ranks in her service, Randidly was ready to head South.

Besides, the more quickly he left behind this moral quandary the better. Even now, he could feel his Crown slowly absorbing a portion of the Aether here. Randidly had never thought about it before, but it seemed that actions he took while in a leadership role gave the Crown something more than experience.

It gave it a Path.

The Path that it would earn here… well, Randidly was ready to move forward. All in all, he was tired of chasing things down and he was working up a fair bit of resentment toward Roy who was forcing him to be in this situation.

And if he Frogpeople misbehaved, he would work out some of his accumulating frustrations on them.

“Good luck,” Decklan said shortly. Randidly turned and spared him a glance, carefully studying the man for any remnants of the emotional detonation that had happened on their initial meeting. There were some traces around his eyes; his gaze was tired and red-rimmed. But the previous explosion would have delayed the eventual collapse.

For now… it would have to be enough. To solve the problems of those who follow me… That is not my Path. I only open up the future so they have the capability to choose. That is the Crown of Upheaval and Gloom.

When they reached the gate, it lowered with a dull boom that sprayed mud and sludge from the far side of the moat. The frog people had already been let out after their pleas before Neveah, but the elevation of the castle meant that any noise here echoed in the surrounding area. Randidly could see some in the camp below turn and stare at the sudden noise.

At this distance, they looked like ants. Tiny, numerous creatures that marched out of their strange buildings to peer uncertainly at the source of the commotion.

Randidly slowly let his face split into a smile. Over his head, the true Crown of Upheaval and Gloom condensed into an austere grey metal circlet with long spikes sticking upward. And in the grey and dim world of the constant drizzling rain, the Crown itself seemed to radiate a sickly light that illuminated Randidly.

But a small question from Decklan stopped Randidly just as he was about to bound down toward the camp.

“How do you keep moving forward? Isn’t it… heavy?”

Randidly tilted his head to the side and looked at Decklan. He was a scarred and broken man. That much was clear. But Decklan had also determinedly continued to fight for the good of Donnyton. For all of his flaws, he was strong.

He deserves better than this, Randidly thought to himself.

But then another voice answered, Don’t we all?

“Mostly because I don’t think about it,” Randidly answered quietly. “All I think about is what I need to do next. And I keep reminding myself of the consequences if I wouldn’t act. That’s all any of us can do.”

Then Randidly left Decklan and rushed down the slope toward the camp.

Instantly, the Frogpeople below scurried into action. They seemed to trip over themselves as they struggled to array themselves into a defensible grouping. Dozens turned into hundreds as they continually streamed out to form a loose line at the edge of the camp, directly in Randidly’s way.

Although no one drew weapons, Randidly could tell that tension was very high in the camp. A brief Aether scan confirmed that they were all in their high 40s and 50s in terms of Level. These were strong individuals that could wreck a small Village on Earth.

Their misfortune was encountering Neveah and Randidly. It was a hard truth, that this violence was the simplest option to stopping a tragedy. But the fact remained that they had chosen the easy option, willing to sacrifice the lives of the Frogpeople for the good of Earth.

Although the System is at fault… we will have to carry our sins, Randidly reflected warily as he rapidly destroyed the distance between himself and the camp. And in his mind, Decklan’s question reverberated.

Is it heavy?