Chapter 28: Benevolent Hugh

Hugh stored their bicycles in his inventory before they joined the slow procession into town, wincing as his Book's weight increased and tugged at his belt. Any more and he was fairly certain the makeshift belt pouch wouldn't hold.

The town wasn't a big place. They passed three buildings to reach the town square where the Genesis Spear rose up out of the ground like a Great Wizard's Tower. Unlike actual Egyptian obelisks, this one had no writing on it. Its only feature was a single open archway at the bottom, inviting him to enter.

They didn't go inside, however, since Hugh had demanded an escort to the Gateway first. The procession led past the Spear, beyond several more houses, and to the biggest building in town. It had to be a former church of some kind, considering the few lingering shards of stained glass in the windows and a steeple rising up over the door.

The crowd silently parted to let Hugh and Dex through. The spokeswoman waited for them at the entrance.

"The Gateway you seek is under a hidden cellar beneath the pulpit," she said, gesturing to an alabaster podium at the forefront of the room. Much like the stained glass, it held no images of worship on its surface, leaving Hugh to decide what was worthy of being considered holy on his world.

"How is the cellar door opened?" he asked in his best authoritative tone. "Does it have a special trigger?"

"Nay," she replied. "Its protection lays in the secrecy of its location. It requires mere might to lift the hatch. I'm certain between you and your companion, you'll have no trouble. We Nomads would assist, but our strength dwindles by the hour."

"What is your name, Nomad?"

"I am called Maeve, Great Sire. Only Maeve. My familial name was lost to time and I have never known another."

"Well, Maeve, you've proven yourself honest and honorable. I must travel to Nexus to manage my affairs—that can not be changed—but I will not leave you to die while I consider what to do about this world. Now, we go to the Spear where I will seed this land with new plants and new animals. You will prove your worth by studying them while I'm gone and find ways to cultivate as many as possible. If they must be harvested, I expect no part of my gifts to be wasted. I will also be leaving my Engineer and his Assistant behind. Together, they will craft you a series of tools I wish the Nomad people to learn to wield. Do you understand?"

The change in Maeve and the Nomads' mood improved with every word Hugh spoke. By the end, they were smiling and their eyes were tearing up with suppressed joy. No doubt, they'd be partying by the end of the night. Hugh almost hated to miss it.

The procession back to the Spear was more of a jubilant festival compared to the solemn funeral it'd been before. Even the worst of the malcontents were smiling with budding hope, although Hugh didn't like the gleam in the old Mayor's eyes. If Hugh guessed right, the Mayor would—

"I'll show you the way inside," the old man said, sliding up next to Hugh with an ingratiating smile plastered on his face.

"I think you've caused enough trouble," Hugh replied, not bothering to lower his voice. "I don't know if you want to watch me work the Spear so you can see the correct way to handle it or if you just want to get me alone for some nefarious purpose, but you will not get your wish. Until you repent and show yourself to be as honest and honorable as Maeve by admitting to everyone what you've done, you'll find no kindness from me."

The old man spluttered and tried to profess innocence, but Hugh wasn't buying it. The Nomads' AI didn't appear to be particularly robust. There were no layers of intention and plot here for him to peel back, because the Nomads' story wasn't meant to offer in-depth gameplay. As far as Hugh could tell, Thrive was three games in one—a building game, an adventure RPG, and a slice of life game. The Nomads were the interface for the building game and, as such, their RPG elements were woefully underdeveloped at this stage.

The old man was exactly what he seemed—a greedy old miser hoping to get his hands on power. Hugh supposed the RPG gameplay could develop over time if he let the old man run loose, but he wasn't interested in letting that happen. Building up the Nomad society would be hard enough without having to fight against one of them at every turn.

Hugh stopped walking to face the miser squarely. "Are you the one who messed with forces you didn't understand and caused the Life Drought?"

The wrinkled old man froze, his scripting upset by Hugh's blunt question. Hugh gambled on the fact it was programmed to read Hugh's stats and respond accordingly, choosing the path meant to play against his strengths. And since his highest stat was Empathy, Hugh thought he'd answer with either a plea for forgiveness or a self-righteous tantrum. Either way, Hugh would win.

The miser paled, his face falling as if he knew he was facing his execution. "I did," he confirmed quietly. The Nomads around them bristled as his words carried across the crowd. "I was young and stupid and thought I could solve all the world's ills when I discovered the Spear and learned what it could do. But no matter what I did, I only made things worse. I thought if I brought a godling here and watched him use it, I could fix my mistakes even if you chose to abandon us."

"The Spear wasn't meant for you," Hugh replied. "You have two choices before you. You can either continue your quest for power and potentially bring the survivors of your misdeeds to ultimate ruin or you can repent and spend the rest of your years working with your own two hands to rebuild the world you devastated. The choice is yours, but you have granted me dominion over this world by summoning me here. If you choose power, I will consider you my enemy and I will not hesitate to strike you down. If you choose repentance, your punishment will be to act as guardian of the Spear for the rest of your days, ensuring no one enters and repeats the mistakes you have made."

"You would assign me such an honorable task and name it punishment?" he asked in confusion.

"Considering it means you'll spend the rest of your life looking at the most powerful artifact on this world, knowing you'll never again enter it or have the chance to use it—yeah. For you, it's a punishment. Every time you look at it, you'll remember what you did and be reminded of your shame."

"The Great Sire is wise and benevolent," he said solemnly. "I will repent and accept my punishment."