Chapter 179: Guilt
Chapter 179: Guilt
The sky was clear, the sun was still shining brightly, and it would continue to do so for at least another three hours. Wiping a glob of sweat away from his face, Zach tried not to appear as overly impatient or rude, but it was difficult. Right now, there was a lot going on, and to be honest, it was kind of overwhelming.
As Zach eyed the mounds of loot and treasure, which sat at the bottom of the several-mile-long, spiral-shaped “trench” he’d blasted into the terrain with his ring, the adventurers, along with Fiona Darkmae and her guild, were crowding around him and Jimmy, encircling them and shouting out questions, encouragement, and many other things, only some of which Zach could actually make out.
“You did great!” Fiona said to him, her voice filled with enthusiasm. “Now we can rebuild the roads and the market square just like it was before.”
Although Zach had mostly been ignoring everyone for the past few minutes, what Fiona said to him stood out. He turned his head in her direction. “Wait, seriously? But what about when that thing spawns again? Maybe it’s not the best idea to build the market on a boss spawn, especially now that you know it’s there.”
She shrugged. “Yah, well, there’s no record of that boss in any of the guild archives, and those go back over 800 years, so…so yeah, we’ll document its existence and worry about it 800 years from now.”
Zach sighed. “That’s probably what the people in Den of Ziragoth figured, too. And it’s what they’re planning on doing again.”
Kal, who was holding his arm, squeezed a bit more tightly, though not enough to be painful. “That’s their home, Zach. Umm, you’re being really insensitive.”
I better not start this argument up again.
Zach—and incidentally, most of North Bastia—all had varying opinions about the Den of Ziragoth, as it was now a political and social issue in addition to a practical one. Many people, such as most of those who lived in Whispery Woods, felt very strongly that it should be rebuilt, but North Bastians everywhere else were opposed. Zach was in the latter camp. He just didn’t think it was all that smart to kick the can a thousand years—or however many—down the road, because people tended to forget things, and things tended to get erased with time. Next thing you knew, the tragedy was happening all over again.
Kalana, however, fully believed in restoring the town and making the citizens there whole. Fylwen did as well. In fact, in her very first address upon claiming the region of Whispery Woods, she promised to make rebuilding the town and helping the people her top priority. Kalana also planned to visit there next week, and she wanted Zach to go with her, too. Zach still did not know how to tell her the truth: that he actually couldn’t.
I’m not ready.