Chương 48: Cold War

Enzo held up a hand before anyone else could speak.

"These are all important issues," he said.

"And they'll be addressed." He turned to Sumi.

"How would you feel about taking on the role of Head of Magical Research? The animals, the plants, the Beast meat, anything that involves studying how magic interacts with the world around us." Sumi straightened in her chair, eyes brightening.

"Yes. Absolutely." She smiled.

"Thank you."

"Good. Everyone with a magic-related question that isn't about combat or defense goes through Sumi first." He looked around the table.

"She'll investigate, and bring me anything that needs my direct involvement." Ruth looked relieved. His mom looked delighted. Jack gave a short nod. Enzo turned to Kenzo.

"And you're Head of Magical Combat. You'll work with Frank's Watch and Pops' hunters on integrating magic into their operations. You'll help assess magical threats, advise on what magic equipment our people need, and train mages in combat. Like Sumi, prioritize what needs to be brought to me."

"Bro." Kenzo glanced between Enzo and Sumi.

"Don't I get a choice?"

"Traitors don't get to choose." Kenzo opened his mouth. Then grinned.

"Fair." Signe snorted from across the table. Enzo looked around the room.

"I understand there are a lot of things that need attention, and they'll get it. But I called this meeting for a reason." He leaned forward.

"The Steel Soul Riders have been secretly moving shipping containers full of Eaters into position around our territory." Ruth held a hand to her belly.

"Are we in danger?" Enzo shook his head.

"We located several containers and killed the Eaters. And we'll do more sweeps to make sure we didn't miss any, but it's very clear that this is a serious threat." He took a breath.

"We all knew it was coming. Once they took over the city center and started demanding resources in exchange for food they'd hoarded from the local supermarkets, it was just a matter of time before things escalated." Jack frowned.

"You escalated things when you threatened them."

"They had one of ours," Pops said.

"We assumed the worst, that they wouldn't return her peacefully, but my son did try to negotiate." Enzo nodded at Jack.

"You're right. And we'd do it again. But we'll also fight for you and everyone else in this community the same way." He paused and looked around the table.

"What matters now is that this isn't going to stop. I called this meeting to discuss our options and to work out a plan. Matt, give us an idea of their numbers and the situation over there." Matt pushed his chair back and walked to the far wall, where a map of Mill Valley was pinned.

"When I left, the Riders had around six hundred people under their control. Most of them are just locals who joined up for food." He tapped the center of the city.

"This intersection is the heart of Gus's operation. The supermarket is their food storage and distribution hub, and they control everything within a half mile." He tapped a spot directly east, right across the street from the supermarket.

"The Riders took over the old retirement village for the club members. Over twenty of them survived the rain, but they recruited pretty hard the first two weeks. They call the new members 'Prospects.' They had close to fifty when I left. Probably more now." He glanced around the room.

"Gus doesn't trust most people. Only those with a vest are allowed to be armed most of the time." He turned back to the map and drew his finger southeast, along the bay.

"Gus was also pushing to secure this section of the bay. There are half a dozen docks and marinas in Sausalito, roughly a fifteen-minute ride from their main base. He believed fishing would solve their food situation long-term." He turned back to the room.

"Based on how quickly they were growing before I left, I'd estimate they have somewhere around eight hundred now. Besides Gus and Danny, they had nine other mages when I left." Enzo nodded.

"What about the group they've been fighting?" Matt turned and tapped the supermarket on the highway. Enzo recognized it. He, Val, and Sumi had passed it the day they arrived back in Mill Valley. The people there had fenced it off. Placed armed lookouts on the rooftop. Matt continued.

"Right. There's another faction across the 101. Two to three hundred people. Three mages confirmed, probably more." He shrugged.

"I don't know much about them, but unlike Gus, they arm everyone. Bows, spears, whatever they can make. They've been in an active standoff with the Riders since the first week, when everyone began to realize there were no more food shipments coming." Val leaned back in her chair.

"Do you think they'd work with us?" Matt shrugged.

"No idea. Gus said they approached them to discuss bringing their groups together, and that they attacked first. I believed him at the time, but now? I don't know."

"We should at least try, shouldn't we?" Ruth asked. Murmurs of agreement went around the table. Frank nodded.

"So who do we send? And how are we getting them there safely?" Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. The room fell silent.

"I'll do it," Signe said. She smiled.

"I'm not doing anything else, and there's a chance someone over there will recognize I'm a local." Enzo frowned. Kenzo shook his head.

"You can't go alone." He turned to Enzo.

"And you're not going either."

"I'll go with her," Pops said, glancing at Enzo.

"We can circle north of the city until we meet the highway. I have some old friends out that way too. If they survived the rain, they'll be with this group." After a moment, Enzo nodded.

"It's a good idea. Tomorrow, though. And we should send some scouts to the bay, too. If the boats there are how Gus is keeping his people fed, then…" He trailed off.

"I'll send a pair out that way today," Matt said.

"It's safer for them to get close under the cover of darkness." Jack turned to Enzo.

"I'm not disagreeing that something needs to be done, but we should be clear about what's being discussed." Enzo took a breath.

"You're right. The Steel Soul Riders are a threat. Hiding Eaters in enchanted containers is just their first attack against us. But it probably also means they're stretched too thin to come after us directly." He looked around the table.

"If we can negotiate with the 101s, we might be able to force Gus out together. But we also need to figure out how we can pressure Gus directly. If he's reliant on the boats bringing in enough food for his people, then it's an obvious target." His mom shifted in her seat.

"A lot of people will go hungry if you do that though…" Pops placed his hand on her knee.

"Yeah," Enzo said quietly.

"I know. But we need to worry about our people first. And if Gus can't keep everyone over there fed, they might do our job for us." The silence was uncomfortable. He knew Gus represented a threat that couldn't be ignored anymore. And there was no way they could find common ground either, even if he wanted to. Pops and Matt had hidden a dead biker in a walk-in freezer full of refuse when they rescued Signe. There was always a chance it might be discovered. Enzo had threatened Gus in front of his own people, too.

"He's right," Robert said from where he sat against the wall.

"Those thugs have already driven hundreds of people out of the city. Maybe even thousands. How many others have starved because of them?" He crossed his arms.

"Not to mention those they've killed directly. They even tried with us." There were nods around the table. Val straightened.

"Alright, then. We have our plan. Signe and Dominic head out tomorrow to make contact with the 101s. Matt's scouts move on the bay tonight." She looked around the table.

"In the meantime, everyone with magic-related concerns, talk to Sumi. Combat and equipment questions go to Kenzo." She turned to Frank.

"I need the list of new Watch recruits from Robert's group by end of day." Frank nodded.

"I'll have it for you this afternoon." Val glanced down at her stack of papers, made a note, and looked up.

"Good. If there's nothing else, we're done. Department heads, I'll check in with each of you this week." Chairs slid back. People stood. His mom stopped by where Enzo remained seated. She rested both hands on his shoulders and leaned down to kiss his temple.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to put that on you." She patted his shoulder.

"I know you're doing your best for everyone." Enzo patted his mom's hand.

"It's okay. It needed to be said." Pops nodded to him, then guided his mom out of the room. Sumi, Kenzo, and Mary waited by the door. Enzo grabbed his cane and made his way over. Mary smiled at him.

"Sorry to be a bother, but about the shower…" He nodded at her, then turned to Sumi.

"I need you to teach others how enchanting works. Even if it's only the basics." Sumi's eyes widened.

"Me? I can barely handle the shower enchantment even after you build it."

"I know, but the Riders have someone that made an enchantment out of paint and mana crystals. It was degrading fast, but it worked."

"Oh." She frowned.

"Then we should experiment with different materials. Even if they're temporary, it might be worthwhile if it frees you up to work on more important things." Enzo turned to Mary.

"In the meantime, you and Robert can use one of our private ones." Mary nodded.

"Thank you." Then she left the room, heading down the hallway to the foyer where Robert, Frank, and Val were waiting. Sumi turned to Enzo.

"I'll need your enchanting notes." He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a sheaf of papers. Copies he'd prepared earlier. Sumi took them, and flicked through them with a frown.

"You just had these ready?" Enzo grinned.

"I wasn't expecting Val to set me up like that, but I was planning to ask you to take up the role as our lead magical researcher anyway." Sumi glanced up at that.

"Oh. Well, thank you." She paused.

"Kenzo asked me to wait behind. He said you had something to tell me?" Enzo's smile faded.

"I wanted you to hear it from me." He hesitated a moment.

"We found another rift nearby." Sumi's face paled.

"What?!"

"You don't have to worry about it," Enzo said quickly.

"I just… thought you deserved to know." Kenzo reached out and gripped her shoulder gently.

"We've locked it away for now," he said.

"Frank is going to assign a special watch nearby to make sure nobody goes near it." Sumi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She swallowed once.

"Of course. That's smart. We'll need to figure out how to farm mana crystals eventually." She opened her eyes and gave him a small smile.

"Thank you for telling me." Enzo and Kenzo shared a look.

"I'll be okay," Sumi said, glancing between them.

"Really. I will. It just took me by surprise." She raised her stump.

"I'll just have to figure out how to heal for real, instead of just accelerating our natural regeneration. And I think Robert brought us a real clue to that end." Enzo studied her for a moment. She was still struggling with what had happened, that much was obvious. But she was handling it. His gaze lifted to where Val stood. She'd turned to watch them when Sumi shouted, her conversation with Robert and Frank forgotten. Her eyes met his, the worry in them guarded.

Then she mouthed 'thank you', and turned back to the conversation. Sumi continued.

"I've been thinking about mana permanence. All mana types turn back to arcane when the supply of energy runs out. But the Eater at the hospital had grown an extra set of eyes and they didn't change back when it died." Enzo nodded. He'd been working on his own theory, too.

"We know Eaters eat more than just the heart and brain," she said. Her eyes were bright, and her voice had risen.

"Robert admitted he had to be careful with how he was bulking up, because he was eating more. Which is just obvious physics, right? Except he didn't exercise. He used cultivation somehow." She held up a finger.

"What if the missing piece to making permanent change with mana is material exchange?" Enzo grinned.

"I've been thinking the same thing. When I examined Val's ring after it broke, I noticed the silver degrading. Every other enchantment I've seen is doing the same, though materials like paper and paint do it much faster." Sumi smiled.

"Exactly." Kenzo rubbed his head.

"So, I know I'm not a wizard, but I have an obvious question. How do you feed material to mana?" Enzo blinked. His grin faded, replaced by a frown.

"I have no idea."