The Disciple: A GameLit Progression Fantasy by James Clay

Author:James Clay [Clay, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, GameLit, Isekai, LitRPG, MMA
ISBN: 9781961488021
Publisher: Meanderer
Published: 2023-10-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Laurel

Laurel was pissed.

‘We’re working hard to save lives by making more food. And farmers, those who should be closest to the soil and plant life, burned their neighbor’s farm down!’

She understood why they did it. Food prices had been dropping for weeks and there was no end in sight. But that was no excuse. Not only did they burn the farm and likely doom 1,000 people to starvation, one of the farm workers died in the blaze.

Laurel sighed as she breathed in the cool night air. She could smell the nervous sweat on her teammates. She was worried too. Not only would they be fighting for their lives in a few minutes, they were going to kill their neighbors. People that, not long ago, she would have considered her people.

Now they were “others” that had to die. If they didn’t, more farms would burn.

‘Enough. Just do the job,’ she told herself.

The alliance’s council—Dan, Dolan Aristides, and her mom—had decided that they needed to make an example. Her mother was the leader of this mission, mostly because she was the most ruthless of the three. Dan was also on the team, along with a few members of the Aristides and Naïlo clans, including Laurel. She was grateful that her mother hadn’t asked her to lead the team. She was pretty sure she couldn’t have done it. Just being on it was bad enough.

‘Face it, Laurel. It’s just as bad. Whether you give the order or not, you’ll still be a child killer.’

That was the true horror of this mission. The council had decided that only children too young to remember would be permitted to live. Everyone else had to die.

The logic was straightforward. Anyone they left alive, besides young children, would be their enemy someday, and another mouth to feed with not enough food. The alliance was not going to feed their enemies, so it was kill them quickly now, or slowly later.

‘Or the alliance loses.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘Maybe we deserve to lose.’

The only thing that kept Laurel going was her family. The kin she had known and loved for decades and, Goddess willing, would know and love for centuries more.

She remembered that night when Zed had started to open up to her, when he had that dumb story about people in a canyon and choosing who to save and who to let the stampede kill. Laurel thought he was heartless. And he was, but she understood it better now. You can do awful things to save the people you love. For her, that was the only reason she would do it.

Laurel broke out of her reverie when she saw the signal to advance. The team moved slowly through the darkness, choosing their steps carefully to be quiet and avoid twisted ankles. They had no interest in burning the farm, so they carried no torches. Only the moons and the stars lit their way.

They spotted one guard sitting in front of a fire. He pulled a branch out of the fire to light a cigarette and contentedly sat back, smoking and contemplating the night.

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