Solomon's Crucible 76. The Aftermath (Patreon)

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The walk home wasn't as bad as Solomon had expected. They were walking with a big group of fellow escapees to start out with. Even after they split off to head for his parents' place, leaving the mass of students who sought refuge downtown, it was a quiet trip. The only interruption came at the paws of a single, easily-dispatched, mutated raccoon. 

It took a little longer to walk than it had taken him and Kanmi to cover the same distance on horseback, but they covered the distance just the same. Julie and her brothers split off to head for their family home. They planned to meet up the next day to try and harvest some resources. Maybe even brave the dungeon. They had a long trip ahead of them, and the better prepared everybody was the safer it would be.

Julie also volunteered to find their newest follower a place to sleep. Solomon was grateful for it. He had enough on his plate already. Planning Kanmi's rescue, getting his family up to speed with the system and his home brew firearms, figuring out how to get as many people as possible to Glide safely... he should be all right, as long as he took it one thing at a time, but it didn't leave him with much time to spare.

He knocked on his parents' door as the sun began to set.

A moment later, his dad opened the door. "You're back. Is Tiffany-"

He was cut off by a hug from his daughter. Behind him, Solomon's mother peered over his shoulder with a smile. Then she looked past Solomon and frowned.

"Where's your friend, dear?"

Solomon stepped inside, giving his dad a chance to close the door. No need to expose his parents to any danger while they talked. Then he led the way to the living room, taking a seat on the couch with a sigh.

"He got caught," Solomon said. "I'm going to have to go back."

His parents sat together on the loveseat, facing Solomon across the coffee table. His mom put a hand on his dad's knee before she spoke.

"What happened?"

At the same time, Tiffany slid onto the couch next to him and asked her question. "Who's this friend?"

Solomon thought for a moment before deciding to answer his sister first. They all needed to be on the same page for this conversation. With an apologetic smile for his parents, he launched into the highly condensed story of his first day after the system arrived. Tiffany frowned when she discovered that Solomon's friend had started out as a freelance invader of their planet, but she let him continue. He finished by explaining his plan to evacuate as many people as possible from the city to his fortified stronghold.

Then it was time to fill his parents in on his day. He related the mishaps they'd experienced in visiting Tiffany's dorm. He left out the gory details, although he had a feeling his dad at least was reading between the lines. After describing his escape and rescue of Tiffany, he sighed.

"I got as far as I did on surprise and being underestimated," he said. "I don't know how I'm going to get Kanmi out of there when they know I'm coming and what I can do."

He and Kanmi together had been no match for one of the one hundred invading elites. If the enemy forces reorganized to put three or four of their strongest fighters on guard duty, Solomon didn't like his chances. Even the boost from Powder Charge would only go so far.

"I don't see why you should risk your life for an alien," Tiffany said, "no matter what the odds."

"He got captured trying to rescue you," Solomon replied.

He understood her skepticism, but everything Kanmi had done since their original duel had suggested that he was on the level. He'd already proven himself a valuable source of information, and Solomon hated the idea of leaving him in the lurch.

"Are you sure he's still alive?" his dad asked.

Solomon nodded. "We're still in a party together."

The minimap displaying Kanmi's location wasn't very useful right now. It would let him track Kanmi's prison down if he made it back on campus safely.

"If you get killed trying to rescue him," Tiffany asked, "then where will we be?"

"I don't want to die, you know," Solomon said. "I won't leave until you guys are all well armed. Worst come to worst, you can conquer your own spot in the middle of nowhere."

Solomon thought that his own little patch of forest was pretty well located, but it wasn't like he had picked it after careful study of the best possible location. Even without the rights to a location, his family ought to be able to do all right with the advantage of firearms. He'd made sure his parents knew the secret of powder manufacture and he'd leave them with plenty of supplies to tide them over until they got enough grid points to make their own.

All of that ought to be academic, though. Solomon wanted to rescue Kanmi. He'd give it his best shot. But the bottom line was that they were friends and business partners. There was no blood oath between them to look out for each other. If he couldn't bust him out without taking on suicidal levels of risk, then Solomon would walk away. As Tiffany had reminded him, he had responsibilities to his family as well.

"About the guns," his dad said. "I have some good news."

"Oh?" Solomon asked. He'd be happy to get the technological side of things offloaded onto somebody else. His knowledge of guns didn't extend much further than pointing and shooting, and he was happy that way.

"Hank had an honest to God needle gun in his collection," he replied. "He thinks he can rig it up to work with your magic powder by tomorrow morning."

Solomon smiled. "Sounds like my morning is booked. We should also try and get you guys some more grid points tomorrow."

The prospect of a firearm that could be used from a serious distance would change all sorts of things. For a start, he could party up with Hank and get him credit for his engineering work. Then he'd act as a safety net for his family while they worked with the system a bit. While they were getting themselves ready to make a safe trip back south, hopefully he'd come by an opportunity to help his friend.

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