Tower of Souls

The moment he was out of sight of the crowd in the square, Cameron started running. He needed to take the time to actually read his abilities and understand what he could do, but out in public wasn’t the place for it- at home, and alone, seemed like the best bet.

At least until the Recruiters started showing up; he wasn’t sure how he felt about working for a big Family or Guild... but none of them seemed to care about the Outer Ring, and would likely never set foot there if it wasn’t for someone like him popping up occasionally- well, not exactly like him, but anyone with a Rare Class or better...

But what choice did he have? As far as he knew, anyone that wanted to climb had to join a Guild or Family; there was just no other way to do it. They provided more training and resources, as well as people to group up with- because, by all conventional wisdom, climbing alone was no different than suicide.

It was just too dangerous.

Knowing that every second mattered if he wanted to have a plan before people began flooding his apartment after him, Cameron raced into his building and up the stairs. Just as he reached his door, a weathered voice called out to him from behind.

”What’s the rush, son? Can’t stop for an old man anymore?” Davis said with a chuckle from his open doorway.

Hiding a grimace, Cameron turned to face the old man; as one of the few people that made an active effort to look out for him, he respected Davis too much to simply ignore the man... And this was a tradition of sorts for them: While Cameron didn’t care for big crowds and big events, he made sure to go to all of them and share what happened with his neighbor who couldn’t attend.

His eyes flickered briefly to Davis’s missing leg, and a thought formed: his neighbor had been through a great deal in his long life, and knew quite a bit... Maybe he could offer some advice to help navigate the impending insanity?

Sighing, he hurried back to the old man’s apartment and motioned inside. ”No... I mean, yes, I can stop for you... Ah...” Running a hand through his hair, Cameron closed his eyes to try and figure out what to say.

”Sounds like something big went down.” Davis chuckled before waving the young man along and entering the apartment, leaning heavily on his crutch. ”Come on, you can tell me all about it- preferably while sitting.”

Davis’s laughter washed over him as Cameron followed along, shutting the door behind them. As the old man slumped into his favorite chair- the cushioned arms worn ragged from years of use- Cameron cautiously took the seat across from him.

”So, I’m guessing we got a Classer or two this year? Something better than a piddling little Common like me, I mean.” Davis grinned, trying to put him at ease- something had clearly rattled the boy, though what it could be...

”Uh, yeah. It was... pretty big...” Cameron muttered with a nod, slowly collecting his thoughts. ”It went as usual for a while with no one Awakening... Then Markum got an Uncommon Class-”

”That wicked little bastard!” Davis interrupted with a growl, banging his fist on the arm of the chair. ”After all the years you and your folks spent with his family, and that little shit just-”

Visibly restraining himself, the old man slumped back in defeat. ”Well, fuck. I... I don’t know how to help you, boy. I know how that little prick has been to you, and I... I just...”

”...I’m sorry, son, but there ain’t much I can do about an Uncommon Classer. Maybe if I was in my prime, and not crippled like I am...” Burying his face in his hands, Davis struggle to hold back his tears; he knew enough of how Markum had treated Cameron, and what was likely to come next... and he knew he was powerless to stop it- he treated the boy like family, and was treated the same in kind...

”You shouldn’t be wasting time here, son. You need to grab your things an go!” He snarled suddenly, his head snapping up and eyes filled with an intensity Cameron had never seen. ”If you hurry, you can find a place to lay low in another district before that asshole comes looking. I’ll do what I can to throw him off or delay him-”

”It gets crazier.” Cameron said, cutting him off.

”That doesn’t matter, boy! I can hear about the ceremony from someone else! If you don’t get moving now-”

”A Mythic Class!” Cameron cut in loudly, before the old man could work himself into a frenzy. ”Markum won’t be coming because-”

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”Mythic!? A fucking- you have got to be shitting me!” Davis exclaimed, eyes going wide at the thought before narrowing again. ”But that doesn’t matter! He can just wait for all the hubbub to die down and all them Innies to run off with their prize-”

”Just let me finish, you old fart!” Cameron snapped, then grimaced- he had never so much as raised his voice at Davis; the old man was practically his only friend.

Davis glared at him for a second before grunting an apology. ”You’re right son, I shouldn’t be running all over you like that- even if I can’t really run anymore... But you really ought to hurry up if you want to actually make it out of the district...”

Cameron smiled softly at the half-hearted joke- and the concern in the old man’s voice; he knew Davis was just trying to help him and look out for him, the same as he had done for years. ”Markum won’t be bothered with me anymore- if anything, he’ll worry about me bothering him...”

Struggling to keep his voice low and contain his excitement, the words spilled out of Cameron in a rush. ”I’m the Mythic, Davis! Me! I haven’t even had a chance to look at what my abilities do, and I know the big Families and such will be knocking on my door any time now...”

”But I don’t know what to do!” He lamented. ”I mean, I don’t know which Families and Guilds are shit and which are good- if any of them can actually be called good! I mean, none of them seem to care what happens to us Outcasts! All I hear is rumors about them squabbling and fighting for power while they ignore how bad things are here, but I’m supposed to join one of them?”

Jumping to his feet, Cameron started pacing nervously. ”And which one? How do I pick the lesser of the evils- especially when I don’t know which is which? I mean, maybe they aren’t all bad... but how am I supposed to know?”

”I hate to say this, son, but it don’t matter.”

”WHAT!?” Cameron froze at the statement, turning slowly to face his friend.

”Sit down, boy, and I’ll learn ya a thing or two.” Davis said, pointing at the chair across from him- then, in a whisper, he slowly added. ”Hopefully it will be enough...”

Once Cameron was seated, albeit on the edge of the chair, he continued. ”The simple fact is... you just have to avoid making a commitment until you’ve heard all the offers, then take the best one.”

”How can you say that? It can’t be that simple!” Cameron’s shock was written plain on his face.

”It ain’t simple, but that’s all you can do.” Davis sighed. ”Epics and Legendaries- and Mythics now, I guess- don’t really get a choice. You join the biggest group you can and you climb. Anything else... is a bad idea.”

”How bad?” Cameron asked, nervous from the uncharacteristic severity in his friend’s tone.

”If you refuse to climb, you won’t just be an Outcast, the whole city will give you hell until you do- and the Innies will do worse.” Davis’s fists clenched in dismay. ”They’ll hound you until you do, and the only way to climb is with a group... which you won’t get without joining one of ’em.”

”But... a Mythic Class! Surely someone-”

”No, boy, they won’t.” Davis grunted, cutting him off. ”If you ain’t part of their organization, they won’t be allowed to group with you- they ain’t gonna risk raising you up just for someone else to get their claws in you.”

”And that ain’t even the worst part!”

Seeing the young man’s growing worry, Davis shook his head with a sigh. ”I ain’t trying to scare ya, boy, but you gotta know what’s coming if you want to face it...”

”And the longer you take to join up... the nastier some of ’em will get.”

”Nastier?”

Davis nodded slowly. ”Some of them... Well, if you haven’t joined a group, they’ll ramp things up. Sending people to harass and beat you, threatening the people close to you... though, much as it pains me to say this, you don’t have to worry about those threats...”

He grimaced slightly, shaking his head. ”In a way, that’s a blessing. I’ve heard stories of some Families taking a Classer’s parents hostage to force them to join- they do it in secret, though, as the Council would punish them for it... but it still happens.”

”Right now, with no one to fight for you or help you, the only leverage you’ve got is your Mythic Class- and that just means that they’ll want you. Make no mistake, son, some of those Families and Guilds... if they think you’re about to join someone else...”

”Well, they would probably rather kill you than see you go to someone else. Anything that threatens to shift power away from them is something they won’t tolerate.”

”Is there some other kind of leverage I could get to help me? To protect me from... anything?” Cameron pleaded, his hands starting to shake.

Davis’s heart nearly broke at the desperation in the young man’s voice- Awakening was supposed to be a dream, but it was quickly turning into a nightmare.

”Other than joining up quick? Without having someone strong enough to protect you...” Davis sighed, shaking his head sadly. ”Maybe if you had a few levels on you, at least fifteen or twenty, you could stand on your own- they won’t risk losing some high Rarity Classers by sending them after you... and, at that level, they would lose a whole group of high Level, low Rarity Classers to the Council’s wrath for taking you out... which would still cost them too much...”

Davis sagged in defeat. ”But... it ain’t possible, son. Climbing alone is suicide. Suicide, you hear me? And won’t no one group with you...”

”I’m sorry, boy.” He began to cry, tears streaming down his wrinkled face. ”I wish I could do something for you... but, Tower preserve us, it really is join or die.”

”And I don’t want to see you die like that...”