The Way Ahead

Chapter 44: The Aftermath: Now Addition-Free!

Level Up!

Skill Points 404417

Progress to Tier 2: 635/1590

Alchemy Level 4651

Athletics Level 3033

Firestarting Level 3738

First Aid Level 2628

Flexibility Level 2730

Outsiders Almanac Level 7778

Packing Level 1718

Congratulations! For slaying a foe stronger than you, you have unlocked the Giant Slayer path!

Congratulations! For successfully defeating the bandits led by the Catabolic Alchemist, you have unlocked the Superior Alchemist path!

Congratulations! For ousting its previous inhabitants, you have unlocked the Master of the Ruined Tower path!

Edwin unsteadily rose to his feet from his slumped position, his tasks running through his mind. Okay, he needed to cut down Minsix, check up on Niall, and chain them all up to somewhere they couldnt get away from. Then, he needed to somehow get the si- four of them to whatever that town was, about a days walk from here. He doubted theyd go willingly, so hed probably have to drag them along and it would be a whole hassle hed deal with that later. For now, hed just gather them all up and figure out how to keep them from running away while he slept.

Minsix was firmly unconscious, hanging limply from one leg, but he was alive, and Edwin, after a brief attempt to haul the man back up to the balcony, just cut the line and let him fall the last little bit onto the mounds of ivy coating the hill. Once on the ground, the man lay limp and unmoving, and it was only Edwins supernatural vision which allowed him to see the mans chest slowly rise and fall to reassure him that he hadnt killed him in the fall.

Getting down the tower was a challenge Edwin hadnt entirely anticipated. His defeat of Minfive and Minseven had left some three steps missing from near the top of the final landing, and Edwin now trusted the strength of the surviving stairs even less. Still, he was able to just drop down from the hole in the floor onto the steps to bypass the problem altogether, though how would his prisoners do it, or would he have to carry them down? Ugh. There were so many logistical problems involved with taking prisoners. Theyd just be executed anyway, he was sure. But he didnt want to be the one who actually wielded the executioners axe. Was he being silly, and should he just grit his teeth and kill them anyway? Probably. But he resisted the part of himself that advocated for him to just kill them all. He took most of them alive for a reason, after all. That wasnt how he wanted to be.

Edwin knelt by Minsixs thoroughly unconscious body, looking at how flush the bandits face was after hanging upside down for ten minutes? Not very long, at least, though he didnt know how long exactly. He removed the shackle from around the mans ankle, switching the manacle to his wrists. With a heave, he picked up the really heavy minion, straining not quite as much as he had anticipated-

Level Up!

Skill Points 417418

Progress to Tier 2: 636/1590

Packing Level 1819

-Ah, that made sense. Still, hauling Minsix wasnt easy, magical enhancements or no, but he accomplished it. He dropped the limp body near the center of the first floor, fastening the chain so he was wrapped around a support post, then, as a last bit of extra precaution, bound the mans ankles in several coils of rope as well.

Before Edwin returned upstairs, a thought struck him, and he gathered up all the weapons from where they were stashed near the door, dumped them outside, and set them on fire. He couldnt use them, and it didnt make sense to leave the clubs (why did they all use clubs? Ah, wait, it probably had something to do with trying to not make their victims bleed too much, didnt it?) in a usable state.

Level Up!

Skill Points 418420

Progress to Tier 2: 637/1590

Firestarting Level 3839

Mana Infusion Level 6263

Okay, the Skill Points had seemed like a good idea at first, but now it was just getting annoying. With a quick mental flex, he changed it so it would only display if he had at least three different skills leveling. Anyway, with that taken care of, Edwin hopped up the steps to find Niall.

The bandit Alchemist was pretending to be unconscious when Edwin finished coming up the stairs, but given he was in a completely different orientation compared to when Edwin had left him, he wasnt buying it, I know youre awake.

Niall didnt respond, and Edwin belatedly remembered to pull the gag he had made for the alchemist off, cutting the cloth holding it in place.

Niall spat out the fabric in his mouth, Did you have to? Tha tasted foul.

Edwin shrugged, I couldnt have you warning your men.

The bandit leader sighed in resignation, Well, you got me, then. This day was always going to come, wasn it? He stopped for a moment, before quietly asking, I suppose theyre all dead now?

Edwin shook his head, Just Minfive and Minseven. Even they werent entirely intentional. Im not like you, I wont just kill whoever just because its convenient. he insisted, trying to convince himself as much as Niall.

Niall turned away, his voice filled with sadness, Minseven was with me for two months. The lad had barely broken free, an now hes gone. Are you content with yourself?

Edwin felt his emotions try to take over, but locked his empathy for the serial killers away before it could do anything, Yeah, well every last one of your victims had lives of their own. He rolled Niall onto his front and yanked on his chains, dragging Niall up by his manacles, Now its time you pay for that.

Nialls gaze hardened, Then jus kill us now. Get yourself a Path for the trouble, dont just deliver us like a bunch of helpless slimes to the Empire.

Edwin hesitated, then steeled his resolve, No. Thats a line Im not crossing. I took you prisoner, and so youll face justice, and thats not something I can provide. Not really. Now move it, I want to keep you all in one place.

Ha! As though theyd give us any kind of justice. Theyll take one look at us an send us to the noose.

Edwin shrugged, Then thats whatll happen. Now, do I need to kick you down the stairs, or are you coming willingly?

Im movin, Im movin, Niall grumbled.

It took some corralling, but Edwin eventually got all of his prisoners more or less in one place. That said, he did leave Minsix on the first floor, chained as he was to a support post. Minseven and Minfive he dragged outside in the fading light, covering them with cloth behind the tower, doing his best to never look into their lifeless eyes, and mostly succeeding. Niall, Mintwo, and Minfour he shoved into one of the rooms on the second floor, after giving it a quick search to make sure it didnt have anything weaponizable in it, then barricaded the door with as much random stuff as he could, turning it into a makeshift prison cell. He wished he could have refreshed their potion KOs, but he didn't have any left, what little remainder was on the rag after wiping most of it onto his thrown knife having either evaporated or dried out.

By the time he had their cell secured to his satisfaction, Edwin was exhausted. His wounds may have been taken care of by his healing salve, but it did nothing to offset the bone-deep weariness that came from pushing himself to his limits, and the emotional rollercoaster that the day had been, to say nothing of the actual fight. Still, he couldnt sleep yet. First, he needed to secure his room to ensure that if they broke out of their room, hed have warning before the bandits were on him. Once that whole process was finished, Edwin was barely keeping himself on his feet. The sun had finished setting some time ago, and he swayed in the darkness, before hopping onto his bed.

Edwin wasnt sure if he actually fell asleep before his head hit its pillow, but it was a close race either way.

Edwin did not, thankfully, wake up to an alchemist with murderous intent standing over him. Instead, he just woke up on his own, even the trills of birdsong which normally pulled him from slumber not capable of penetrating the stone walls of the tower. He stretched, almost completely rejuvenated, and (after grabbing his weapons), unbarricaded the door and cautiously peered out.

Content that his efforts to keep the bandits contained had been successful, Edwin ventured out of his room, double-checked the barricading into their room (it never hurt to be sure), and started claiming his loot from his vanquished bandit camp.

In the lab, he grabbed the Grimoire, some very basic lab equipment (tossing away anything that seemed to have so much as even a hint of biological remains upon it, which was a lot), including a nice variety of bottles and vials, and a good amount- probably five pounds- of dried herbs and other plants. Despite his reluctance, he did look through the notes, taking the ones which might actually be of use. They were a memorial to those who had fallen, he couldn't let it all just go to waste. He'd just need to be careful who he let see them, maybe discarding them once he had them memorized. A good haul, even if he couldnt help but shudder every time he came across something that was very obviously from a murdered passer-by. A large bird-like skull that had to have been from an Avior, a perfectly preserved human heart, even the jar of eyeballs he had noticed the first time he looked around no longer brought fascination, just nausea. There was just... so much, and the sickening feeling he got from handling any of the potions seemed to have almost seeped into the very tower itself.

This entire place would burn, he decided. Hed gotten anything of value out of it, and it would serve as a funeral pyre for Minfive, Minseven, and all their victims. It would also ensure he didnt miss anything that might leave this tower valuable to a more people like Niall in the future. He didnt know if ghosts were a thing here- he should probably figure that out, actually- but if there were, destroying the lab would probably set a few to rest.

By the time Edwin had packed away all of his haul (including a few small bags, maybe a pound or two, of the various dry foods from the kitchen storeroom), it was approximately noon, and even his Status seemed to agree that hed done enough.

Level Up!

Packing Level 1920

Overall, his pack weighed probably eighty pounds or so, but he was able to toss it around like it was just a moderately heavy backpack. Magic was awesome, letting him pack away half an alchemy lab and have it feel lighter than his textbook-filled backpack from college.

Well, it was time to deal with his prisoners, he supposed.

The bandits had been surprisingly docile. They hadnt offered much in the way of resistance as he unblocked their room or encouraged them to go down the stairs (the minions were tall enough to just step over the gap, and Niall was able to as well, with enough straining). The gleaming knife he held (Turns out steel glowed slightly when you dumped enough mana into it- it took a lot of mana, though. It felt as though his mana had run a marathon by the time he was done) probably factored into it, all told. Minsix was more hostile at first, but after Edwin started waving around his magical dagger, quieted down.

Huh. Magic weapons were apparently a very effective intimidation tactic. Good to know. Did it bypass their Skill defenses or something, maybe? Worth a test in the future. He wasnt sure how effectively he would be able to use Mana Infusion on his weapons, but if he could manage it.

Anyway, Edwin chained his prisoners together, putting Niall at the front, attaching him and his personal manacles to Minsix, who was in turn attached to Minfour, and finally to Mintwo. That way, if any of the minions tried something, theyd be wrenching on Minfours broken arm. Cruel? Maybe a little bit. But it was effective, and that was what he cared about.

Throughout the entire scenario, they had all been quiet (not counting Minsix, who started off shouting), giving little more than vague grunts even as Edwin got them to cooperate. Hed even had to decline the Intimidation skill when it was offered up again. Niall, of all of them, was the first to break their silence, when Edwin carried Minfive and Minsevens body into the tower.

Wha Wha are you doing? he asked.

Im giving them, and all of your other victims, a pyre. Edwin replied, straining under the weight of the body, Its the least I can do.

A pyre? Niall seemed confused for a moment before understanding flashed across his face, No! You cant! This tower has stood for-

Edwin cut him off, Im not letting it stay here for more bandits to move in and kill other people. If anyone cared about it, they would have driven you out.

Niall seemed quite distraught at the sight, even more than he had been regarding the death of his men. Odd, but okay, No! If you burn it, then- he cut himself off.

Then what?

Youll set the grasslands on fire! Niall hastily lied.

Tell the truth, Edwin took a page out of Taras book and held his shining dagger very, very close to the bandits throat, watching as the mans Adams apple bobbed nervously, Ill know if you lie.

Niall cast his gaze down, Youll destroy all of my findings. All my research, gone forever.

Edwin cocked an eyebrow at the alchemist, Really? You dont have that much longer to worry about it, by your reckoning.

Well, yes, but he shook his head, Another might find i one day.

Not much of a concern for you, is it? You wouldnt know one way or the other.

Well, the System- Niall started, but Edwin walked inside, cutting his complaint short.

At the center of it all, he dropped the second corpse next to the first. Around them, he piled the last of the cast-off cloth.

Summoning the last bit of his magical strength, Edwin Infused his skill as much as it would take, laid his hand against the wooden support in the middle of the building, and pushed.

Firestarting.

It was a lovely fire. The flames, visible only through the occasional gaps in the masonry, roared through the wooden supports. Edwin originally planned to stay around until he was sure that the the entire building was gone, but a notification popped up, informing him that wasnt required. So, he corralled his prisoners and started leading them to the road. Behind him, the flames broke through to the roof, and looking in the right direction showed tongues of fire erupting from the top of the giant stone tower, like a massive, ivy-covered candle.

Level Up!

Firestarting Level 3941

Mana Infusion Level 6263

Congratulations! For destroying the Ruined Tower, you have unlocked the Razer of the Ruined Tower path!

Congratulations! For willfully burning down a stable structure, you have unlocked the Arsonist path!