The Pact

Silence. Silence was what the three men heard at the top of their watchtower for quite a while.

Eventually, Duncan broke that silence with a frown. "Just how powerful are you, Shiv?"

Shiv started, having been deeply submerged in his thoughts as he stared at the fires and destruction below. "Hm?"

"Briggs and I were fighting those wolves, and those monsters were destroying us! But then they hear a howl and run off, so we pursue and find them all dead and maimed at your feet."

Shiv sighed. "I guess I'm more powerful than both of you combined."

Duncan snorted and Briggs shifted, and silence fell again.

It was again Duncan who broke the silence. "I want to make a pact with you two." His tone and expression were about as serious as they'd ever seen him, so his two conversants both turned to look at him. "I want all three of us to promise each other that no matter what happens, to each other or for each other, we won't stop until we see this planet burn."

Shiv cocked his head to the side and studied the young noble. There was madness flickering in his eyes. Shiv wondered briefly if the same madness was being reflected in his own eyes and shrugged. "Sure. That's what I'm going to do anyway." He turned back to the city and grimaced. "Burning the world is a heckuva way to go about cooling off.

Duncan either didn't care what Shiv had said or hadn't heard him. His eyes were focused on Briggs, who was staring back at him with an unreadable expression. Finally, Briggs nodded and looked back at the remnants of the city.

"I want you to say it out loud." Duncan had a dangerous edge to his voice, and Briggs ignored him, though a glint of warning could be seen in the short warrior's eyes.

"He agreed in his own way." Shiv didn't really care at all about the promise. He was going to get home, no matter who was on his side or who was against him. "Let him be. Do you agree to this pact you've suggested, Duncan?" Shiv leaned his head back and looked at Duncan from the corner of his eye.

'Yeah, he's crazy.' Shiv observed the flickering light of madness roar to life in his ally's eyes until he felt that it could engulf him.

"I agree to the pact. I will persevere and will continue on, no matter how discouraged I get, until the entire world has been destroyed."

Silence again fell upon the tower, and they all watched the city burn completely down and turn into a playground for only the most powerful and hardy animals that had been cooped up in the farm.

***

"Hiya, Blaze." Shiv smiled at the little girl when he saw her sitting beside the cooking fire.

She looked up with excitement and waved at him wildly. "Daddy! You're back!" She shook Uriel awake and grabbed her crutches to hobble over to him.

Shiv laughed and gave the normal-sized wolf a dark look while hugging his adopted daughter. "Has the shaggy longtooth been with you this whole time?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Brother wouldn't leave me alone. He stuck with me all day everyday."

"Hmmm." Shiv shrugged. He would catch the wolf doing something wrong. He just had to be patient. "I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were alright. I'm about to go hunting."

"Aha! I found you!" Duncan's voice from behind caused Shiv to jump and turn with wide eyes.

"What are you doing here?!" Duncan had said that he was going to focus on getting his soldiers ready for the upcoming hunt, so why was he here at Briggs' camp?

"I followed you." Came the reply in a 'well duh' tone of voice. "Hello, what is your name?" Duncan knelt and peeked around Shiv at Blaze.

"Are you a plant?" She blinked at him with large, curious eyes.

"Hah! What kind of a question is that? Are you a plant?" Duncan avoided the question and turned it back on her.

Blaze narrowed her eyes at him, then looked up at Shiv. "Is he a plant?" Then her eyes widened. "AM I a plant?"

"You're a pretty flower." Shiv patted her head, then added, just in case, "flowers are plants."

"Am I a pretty flower?" Duncan also looked up at Shiv with wide eyes.

"You're an ugly weed." Shiv told him scornfully, then looked at Blaze. "Weeds are also plants."

With both of them satisfied, Shiv grabbed Duncan and they headed back to the city to begin the hunt. They intended to level up many times over the course of the next few days as they fought and killed the incredibly powerful monsters trapped within the walls of the ruined city.

"Did you guys get the plan figured out?" Shiv asked as they walked back, as much to stop Duncan from humming as to learn the answer to his question.

"Hm? Oh, yes we did. That Briggs is a very sharp and experienced man. But he's also ruthless. I respect him, but I don't like him." Duncan rambled. "He is very traditional and strict in his thinking, which I am not. Whenever we're making plans like that again, I would appreciate it if you would be around to act as an intermediary when necessary." Duncan said all of this in a casual tone, but Shiv felt almost as if he were being given an order.

"I might be able to manage that. When I can't, you're just going to have to make it work on your own, though." Shiv said with as much confidence as he could muster. He wasn't used to leading people, which was why Briggs was such an important asset. But now Duncan had joined the group, and he was a noble, who were told from the cradle that the entire world belonged to them. Shiv supposed that there was no avoiding the clashes the two men with their very different beliefs and methods would have.

"You speak logic, but I don't like it." Duncan laughed. "I might be able to manage it, however." There was a hint of mockery in his tone as he parroted Shiv.

"Good."

They talked about various other topics during their walk, and Shiv came to learn a bit more about his new ally's personality and quirks, of which he had many.

He also came to learn more about the noble's history.

"I was adopted. I haven't the faintest idea who my parents are, do you?" Duncan said with sarcasm and spread his hands out and did a slow spin as they walked.

Shiv realized that the man did actually have familiar features. "No, but you do look familiar. Who are your real parents?"

"Ah! So you've met the royal family?" Duncan said with astonishment.

"We just left the capital."

"So? Just because you've been to the capital doesn't mean you've met the royal family." Duncan laughed.

Shiv hesitated, then shrugged and said, "we left the capital in ruins, with all of its inhabitants dead."

Duncan stopped. Shiv stopped as well and looked back at him. "Everyone is dead?" Shiv nodded. "That's… impressive. How many cities have you destroyed? I was under the assumption- false, I know- that this was your first conquest."

"Nope. This is our second."

Duncan didn't speak for the rest of the walk.

***

"Blaze doing well enough?" Briggs asked when Shiv and Duncan showed up at the gate.

Shiv gave the affirmative.

Briggs nodded. "Let's get started." He waved at someone on top of the wall, causing the gate in front of them to open enough for the three men to enter.

"Remember, everything in here is likely to be even higher a level than even we are. So be wary of even the smallest creature we encounter. Do not let yourself get separated under any circumstances… and try to stay alive. Whoever gets the kill, gets the kill." Briggs laid out some ground rules for the other two men as they warily, quietly made their way through the scorched ruins.

It wasn't long before they encountered a pack of creatures that looked to Shiv to be a mix of jackals and scorpions. "Hey guys, have I mentioned how much I hate this place?"

Duncan frowned at him. "I don't think so."

"Yes, many times now." Briggs said at the same time. They glanced at each other, then moved in opposite directions to flank the jackals. Shiv created a wall of earth on the opposite side of the group of creatures, preventing their escape, then set himself on fire. They all looked at him with their beady bug eyes and tensed the telsons at the end of their wicked tails.

"Come at me, ya slimy, disgusting, hellspawned, mismatched-" Shiv almost thought the monsters could understand his insults, with how quickly they threw themselves at him. He stepped back and summoned a wall in front of him, then heard the whoosh of wind and the shattering of ice.

The noises of battle went on for several seconds before silence again fell. "Woah. Those things were really high levels." Duncan's voice let Shiv know it was safe again, so he got rid of the wall.

Just as he had expected, the abominations were all dead. Some with ice sticking out of their armored, furry torsos and others with wounds from invisible blades. "That's the first group. Only two hundred more to go."

Duncan scoffed. "At least."