Panic followed the announcement, naturally. The cheery atmosphere of the Devil's Den was flipped on its head.
A hefty perturbation had just been left at their door. Some quickly came to terms with this truth, seeing it as a reminder for them to continue climbing to reach their goal. Others, primarily those who'd lost hope in climbing long ago or recently, were more distraught.
"There's roughly four hundred people living here. I finally got around to counting throughout the days you were asleep."
Cross was seated on a chair in the empty amphitheater, which had once been bustling with excitement only a few days before. He was balancing and spinning a disk on his fingertip.
Esme was poking at the disk, trying to knock it off balance in the row behind the man. Worthy was seated beside her, watching the two with a fascinated smile.
Seated a few seats away from Cross, the nobleman Robert was also present. Worthy hadn't interacted with the young man at all in the last week, so he didn't know nor care what he'd been up to. He still had the same ball hovering around him, so as far as the boy was concerned, nothing had changed.
"Four hundred. I see, thank you for doing a tally in my absence. I appreciate it dearly." The armored giant sounded quite disheartened by that number.
Worthy turned his attention away from Esme and Cross, now focusing on War. In a few hours, they'd be departing into the wasteland, back into reality. "I hope you had a nice sleep, Holy Knight." Leaning on the seat in front of him, the child rests his chin on his forearms, grinning.
Truthfully, he was satisfied, the grim nature of their situation aside. War was their best chance at escaping this place, so following him was the natural option. It was just a good thing he woke up when he did.
"Hm.. Nice is one of the words. I prefer odious. It was the first time I let my body relax in a long time. Only when I relaxed was my vision assaulted by a bundle of gut-wretching revelations. I think I'd preferred to have stayed awake." When speaking to Worthy, the grim tone in the man's voice vanished. He spoke in a positive, joking fashion whenever addressing the child. There were still some habits that one couldn't get rid of.
There were others joining them in the room, acquaintances of War's from before the four arrived in the tower.
Walkyr was one of them. He was the man responsible for transporting them all from place-to-place. It would not be a slow process, but it wouldn't be fast either. The gunslinger was leaning against the wall of the stage, arms crossed and hat cast over his face.
If Worthy didn't know better, he'd assume the man was asleep.
Old Lady Haul and her posse were seated on another row of chairs across from Walkyr. They'd purposely placed themselves in front of him, primarily to drag a reaction out of him. It seemed beneath him, for now.
"Yea, I hope you had a nice nap as well, War Reaver." Haul spoke, a mischievous grin on her face. "Now that you've crumbled the hopes of every man, woman, and child in this place — how do you plan on gathering allies, exactly? I'd bet most of them feel some sort of underlying contempt for you."
Worthy shrugged his shoulders at a thought he had. 'True enough. I'd probably hate War if I were someone with high hopes for this spot.'
He was wise enough to not grow too attached, but a bitter feeling still resided. It was not nearly as palpable as everyone else's.
When War looked at Haul, Worthy couldn't see his expression. He'd never seen the man's face, since he rarely removed his armor. The only time it was withdrawn in pieces was whenever he needed medical attention.
It was a mystery how, but Worthy felt that War was not satisfied with Haul's presence. Certainly not because of an old feud, but rather with the kind of woman she was altogether. It made sense. Knights were trusted with the duty of protecting their nation, and Haul was one of the greatest contributors to the nation's danger years before.
War and Haul were not two people who could share a room with each other for long. They were polar opposites.
Now, there was a mutual understanding among them. If Haul wanted to live, she'd need to follow War. If War sought aid, he'd need to accept everyone he could find, especially a woman as capable as Haul. Her support came with the assistance of her lackeys, who seemed to have a unique array of Rewards.
"As it stands, gathering allies must be done in Middle Town. Though I'm fond of the settlers here, I do not think many will be willing to abandon their home. It has stood for many years — it's challenging for anyone to imagine it falling."
The mystical stronghold had existed for decades now, impossibly embedded within the mountainous, biological structure. The fact that it'd remained for that long was a testament to its strength and spesh properties. Now, all of these components are being threatened, perhaps destined to be rendered feeble beneath the weight of the world they rest within.
"There is only one way we know of to find Gateways. We must slay a monster holding one, or alternatively discover one that's open. The former may prove to be mightily harder than the latter. I've been told an existing theory about the lack of Gateways, and if it is true we will require the aid of anyone still willing to fight."
Haul opened her mouth to reply. Worthy could already hear the condescending, snarky remark she must've brewed while he was speaking to irk his nerves.
"Hell, I don' think we'll be havin' much of a choice at all 'n this matter. Any way or 'nother, if we don't find a Gateway, we're stuck or dead." Walkyr wasn't willing to entertain Haul's heckling. The woman was a sadist who was positively satisfied playing with people's minds. Now was not the time for that, at least for the young who still had years ahead of them.
The older woman rolled her eyes, the grin somehow not retreating from her face. She didn't say anything more, even though she could've.
Others joined them in the amphitheater. Worthy recognized the stocky man who'd let them into the structure. Many of the wounded men and women Esme had been healing throughout the week joined them as well. They hadn't gotten their injuries from idling about chattering in bars. These Climbers were actively searching for ways to escape, only returning to lick their wounds and recover after many failures.
Now that War had announced his intentions, they were quick to jump onboard. Convincing them further wasn't necessary, the beacon of light in this place was moving, and they'd faithfully follow him.
A few dozen people, and as time went on, the number steadily grew to a hundred. There was no time for listlessness in this time of danger. They could continue climbing without War, but their chances of survival would grow slimmer.
Under his metaphorical banner, they had a great chance of survival. Certainly now that they knew that one of the man's Rewards allowed them to be invigorated.
As a matter of fact, after a few hours of conversing, there were well over a hundred people in the room. Out of the four hundred inhabitants of the Devil's Den, a quarter of them opted to follow War Reaver. Once they reached Middle Town, this number was expected to grow more substantially.
Soon, War was standing on the great stage of the amphitheater. There was not much time to learn about one another.
Worthy knew the faces of all these people, but not their names. He knew where they'd normally frequent, but not the reasons behind them. War certainly knew all these things, having forged a closer connection than any of the newcomers could hope to piece together in such a short time.
Personalities and goals didn't matter, though. What mattered the most now was capabilities. Rewards, skills, and knowledge would be essential for what's to come.
War spoke, "Soon, our endeavor into the wasteland will begin. With the aid of Mr. Tellur, the range of Mr. Walkyr's Reward will be greatly amplified. It'll allow us to transport multiple people in quick succession, shortening the time of our transport tremendously."
Worthy had learned what the man's Reward was recently. Walkyr could teleport himself and anything he was making physical contact with wherever he could see. The ability was ignited through the snap of a finger — he'd used it previously to prevent the boy from plummeting to his death.
He didn't know who Tellur was, but he could assume what his Reward was based on War's words.
"When we depart, we must be organized. Those who stray away or are lost… will be left behind. All of you should know the danger the world beyond these walls poses to those who are alone. If you have forgotten, then this will be your reminder."
As far as plans go, it wasn't the worst. The idea was to use Walkyr's ability to transport as many people in bulk as possible. Complications may arise, but as long as they could move in open areas, or places with little obscurations, they'd reach Middle Town with few distractions or setbacks.
"If you have any second thoughts, I will not force you to go. You may remain here or go on your own… What I assure you is that this is the safest way to Middle Town."
Anyone who might've had second thoughts didn't speak them. Their rational thoughts were dominant, taking the path that assured their survival above all else.
"There is nothing more I can add that can alleviate the fear or worry you all have. All I can say is…"
He pauses, scanning through the hundred faces, memorizing all of them. He'd memorized names and he'd memorized stories as best as possible. He thought about how many of them would be able to make it to Middle Town. He then thought about how many of them would be able to survive the journey to find a gateway thereafter.
It wouldn't be realistic to expect zero casualties. The greatest warriors in the stronghold were among them, but it still would not mean everyone would live to see the Prime Settlement.
Thoughtfully, the Holy Knight didn't say those words aloud. He said something far more encouraging to close off his short speech. Two in one day was quite overwhelming, even for a man as mountainous as himself.
"Follow behind me, stand with me, and I will assure that you rise to the next Floor… that you are given the chance to leave this Tower."