April walked silently down the street that held banks of snow despite the warmer weather they had since the System initialized. She spotted a pair of ‘red bands’ patrolling the street and ducked into an alley before she herself was spotted. Fucking pricks. Selling out to the Mayor. She considered using her skills and abilities to end them, but decided against it. Seemed that part of being a large city to the System also enabled a pretty effective law enforcement system. Once the head of the city designates something a crime a bounty is placed on anyone who breaks said crime. Which meant that if some Antifa loving leftist twit installed herself as the city leader you end up with quite the shit show.

Instead of murdering the pair of idiots in the street she decided to use her ability, Darkness Consumes You, which gave her 10 seconds of invisibility to get to the other end of the alley before they reached it. She sprinted silently around the building as the two officers passed the alley, none the wiser that one of the leaders of the Resistance was just walking close enough to spit. April hurried to a building a block from the city wall that had been largely smashed a few days before when a horde of monsters had made it over said wall. While most of the building had been leveled, the basement was still accessible and made a good meeting place when you didn’t want the Mayor and her Red Bands to catch you plotting her overthrow.

From what her people could gather, Mayor Carol Blevins happened to be in her office when the System initialized and plopped the settlement core right on her desk. Of course the shit for brains Mayor believed this to be fate and picked a class, Mayor of course, and claimed the Core for herself before anyone could say otherwise. Of course no one cared at first, because, you know, monsters and death. The people that survived after that had gained considerable power, though apparently not as much power as a city leader holds.

The taxes came first. Ten percent tax on all earned UMC wasn’t bad to start. No one really complained. We were too busy dying and coming to grips with the vagaries of the System. No one flinched a day later when the tax rate increased to fifteen percent. Too busy mourning the death of their loved ones. By the time the population stabilized the tax rate was up to fifty percent.

By then the Mayor had gotten the remainder of the police force under her control. When the wall went up checkpoints were established to shakedown adventurers that were returning from dungeon dives. If you didn’t pay the tax you weren’t allowed back inside the city walls. Then the adventurer licenses came. Now you couldn’t leave the city without a pass, and you had to renew the pass every time you left. No help came from the local Air National Guard base because a big ass dragon torched it on a flyby as it was headed south.

All settlement cores were also confiscated upon entry. In the name of progress, ergh! If you wanted to keep your cores you’d have to set up your own settlement, the problem with that is you needed to head out deeper into the wilderness that was overflowing with bigger, tougher monsters. Flagstaff commanded an area twenty kilometers square. And you couldn’t build an independent settlement until you ventured more than double that distance.

Then there was the issue of the Red Bands. This was the Mayor’s personal goon squad that had rolled out of the desert a couple days ago. They were all inmates that seemed to have been released. She asked the few officers that lived in Flagstaff about that and they told her that only a handful of officers had been watching the inmates since initialization since the majority lived in either Flagstaff or Snowflake. Meaning they had to make a choice. The choice was to release the ones that were serving time at the minimum custody unit that were assumedly non-violent. Nonviolent my ass! She had seen them more than once beat a man into unconsciousness for violating the city laws.

Speaking of laws, an interesting thing about the System was that when a City had codified a law it would automatically monitor everyone within the city limits and report to the designated authority if a law was violated. Violators would have a bounty placed on their person, and the system didn’t care if the bounty was collected ‘dead or alive’. So of course the Mayor made it a crime to withhold declaration of your dungeon earnings. So if you wanted to reenter the city and maybe rest, you now had no choice but to declare your cash and gear earnings. And the Red Bands always took the best of your earnings. It wasn’t uncommon to see them wearing your hard earned gear the next day.

April’s rage was already worked up as she reached the meet point having had to avoid another Red Band patrol. There was no secret knock because the door was torn off in a previous monster attack. It wasn’t a place that was constantly manned, only visited when they needed to meet with those of a like mind. She climbed down the stairs leading to the old building's basement and was pleased to find the people she had intended to meet were already here.

April’s boyfriend, Grant, was standing with his hands pressed against a table with a hastily assembled diorama of the settlement. His piercing blue eyes lifted at her approach. She didn’t bother smiling as she glanced across the room. Across from Grant was the Dwarven man named Gregor whom they had gathered to meet. He stood just under five feet and had what April felt was a gloriously braided mane of hair and unrivalled beard whose own braids easily reached his stomach. It made him look like one of the dwarves from the Lord of the Ring movies she thought.

“Miss, Dunbar, a pleasure as always” He said politely in his rough sounding voice.

“Thank you, Gregor, I’m anxious to hear what you have for us.” She looked around the room as the other two occupants joined them at the table. “Let me introduce the twins, Betty and Barry, the only other high level rogue types we have currently aligned with our cause.” She waved to the diminutive pair of raven haired twins who smiled and nodded in greeting.

Gregor eyed them skeptically then offered a greeting, “Well met Betty, Barry.”

“We appreciate you agreeing to meet us. So let’s not waste time, how can we be of service to each other?” April asked, moving the meeting along.

“So let me start by filling you in on some information the sprites in your head probably won’t offer up. As you know we are considered refugee’s on this planet. My people mismanaged our own dungeons and mana and were overrun by increasingly powerful dungeons. What you may not know is that as refugees we must align ourselves with the nearest settlement or city. We are not allowed to claim our own settlements unless there are no native settlements or cities within 500 of your kilometers.”

“You’re right, our VPA’s haven’t informed us of this.”

Ember, April’s Personal Virtual Assistant appeared over the map table, “I am terribly sorry Miss April, I am only allowed to provide answers to specific questions or assist when it’s clear your life is in danger, otherwise I am required to allow you to find your way within the system on your own.”

April dismissed the annoying brain leech with a flick of her wrist, “Ok, Gregor, so what did you have in mind?”

“Your current city Mayor has rebuffed our delegation and refuses to treat with us. Normally we would simply move on, maybe East to where the Valkyr had gone, a city called Winslow? Apparently there’s a far more forward thinking individual there that has established a settlement and already offered another group of refugees sanctuary. Even gave them management of his first dungeon from what I hear.”

“So why haven’t you?” Grant asked curiously.

“That, lad, is a complicated problem, the short of it is we barely made it off our own planet and we are down to only a fraction of the fighters we once had. We are mostly women and children and would likely not survive the trip with a large enough population to save our race from extinction.”

“Ok, so you don’t have much choice but to form an agreement with Flagstaff, and the current Mayor is unwilling to deal with you. You can’t simply roll in and take out the Mayor yourselves without further losses, so what are you proposing?”

“Aye, we couldn’t take out your Mayor even if we had the resources without significant repercussions, we would instantly lose our refugee status if we did so and be marked for bounty. We can only defend ourselves if attacked.” He explained the further limitations of his status, “So after talking to your man, Grant, here, I think I can help your people force a ‘change of management’.”

Gregor now held April’s rapt attention, “Go on.”

Gregor smiled knowing he had her hooked, “My people are good at digging tunnels, considering we live underground for the most part, and I know we can get you past the walls of Mayor Blevins’ personal compound.”

“Besides being provided sanctuary, what would you require?”

Gregor barked out a deep chuckle, “Keen lass. We do have a… request. We’ve found a large vein of Thorium ore. It’s very valuable. It falls within your city’s domain though, and we would need to set up a management contract. We would like a 50/50 cut of the profit.”

“If you can come through on your end, consider it done.” She extended her hand and clasped arms with the smiling dwarf.

“Give us two days to dig the tunnel and set up the exit.” He said as he turned to a hole in the wall that April hadn’t seen before he disappeared through it.

Grant looked at her and shrugged and the four began planning their attack on one Mayor Carol Blevins. Two days came and went fast with the four bursting with anticipation the entire time they waited. Others within the resistance knew they were preparing something, though, when asked, April would advise the less they knew the better. She wasn’t certain of their chances at success and didn’t want to drag the others down with her if they should fail.

They made their way to the crushed building that they last met in and found Gregor waiting for them with a smile. The short burly man was certainly rooting for their success and they silently slipped into the tunnel he had created and made their in silence for what seemed to be miles. When April considered just how far the compound was from the wall she realized she was correct in her estimation of the distance they travelled. Though Grant didn’t have a rogue type class as she referred to it, he insisted on going with her. They argued for a time before she reluctantly assented.

The four of them stopped when Gregor motioned them to and the stout man looked up at a hatch in the ceiling of the tunnel. “This is it. Once you guys are up, me and my boys will seal the tunnel behind us. Can’t be seen as a threat to your Mayor should you fail, though I have faith in ye.” He motioned the group forward and several more dwarves emerged from the darkness and readied themselves to move the hatch and boost the humans through the hole. “When yer ready, lass.”

“Alright, remember, we need to force the Mayor to submit control of the city to us or kill her outright. I’d prefer to force her to submit, if we have to kill her we need to make a bee-line for the City Hall where the Core is anchored. Everyone ready?”

The twins and Grant nodded, then the dwarves pulled the hatch open and all four were bodily tossed through the hole. No sooner had they landed in the grass on the West wall of the mansion than the hole behind them was sealed up as if it had never existed. They scurried over to slip into the shadow of an arched walkway and gather their bearings.

“Alright, you all know the plan, us three will infiltrate the mansion, Grant, you force your way into the City Hall and cause a ruckus.” She leaned in to the beautiful man and kissed him hard on the mouth. “I love you.”

He smiled and hesitated a moment then returned her affection, “I love you, too.” And then he was off for the main entrance to pick a fight.

April and the twins raced around the back of the mansion as the sounds of fighting rose up behind them. Focused now on the task at hand she pulsed out with Life Sense and a visual representation of all living persons appeared as a colored haze wherever she looked, even through walls. The new information informed her that the majority of the guards had moved to assist with the commotion at the front of the compound and only a few patrols of two or three stood between her and her target. She motioned to the twins and they leapt to the second floor walkway and sought a way in through a window that one of her people who served as staff left open.

The trio slipped into a store room with several shelves of different food stuffs. April bristled at the stockpile considering there were people on the street who were only eating once a day due to the stiff taxes. She opened the door and found herself at the corner of a hallway that led both to the front of the mansion and towards the Mayor’s home office. She activated Darkness Consumes You and slipped across the hall to hide behind the wall as a three man patrol of Red Bands walked up.

As her ability began to fade she spun around the corner with daggers drawn and plunged them into the neck of the first man in the group. The Twins emerged and cut down the other two. All of them gathered were slightly startled when the first of the notifications rolled in.

WARNING! You have broken the laws of Flagstaff.

WARNING! For the crime of [MURDER] you have been reported to the authorites of Flagstaff. A bounty of 10000 UMC has been placed on your capture or death.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have gained the title ‘Race Traitor’ x1.

What the fuck!? Race Traitor? She had expected the bounty, though if all went well it wouldn’t matter because she would seize control of the City Core. She caught the body of the man that she had killed as he started to slump forward and dragged him into the storeroom. The twins did the same and then they stepped quietly back into the hall and made their way towards the office.

April let out another pulse of Life Sense and scanned the building and saw another group of guards between her target, curiously a new life signature was in the room with the Mayor. The trio moved to engage the next patrol and disposed of them quickly. Another pulse of Life Sense let April know there were no more guards between her and the Mayor and whomever was in her office with her. She grimaced as she received another Race Traitor title notification.

April and Betty stood on either side of the door while Barry prepared to kick the door in. She nodded to the male twin and he launched forward with a powerful kick that sent the door tumbling into the room with a loud crack. When Barry planted his foot and moved to advance into the room the sound of a gun going off boomed across through the mansion and the young man tumbled backwards, shock on his face, as blood sprayed from several wounds in his chest.

“BARRY!” his twin, Betty, screamed and moved to aid him.

April cringed and rolled through the door avoiding another blast then spun to face the second person in the room that had been waiting patiently by the entrance. She brought herself up short when she saw Grant’s piercing blue eyes staring down at her then crumpled as his fist smashed into her diaphragm. She stumbled back with her mouth hanging open and eyes wide as she tried to speak but had no air in her lungs to do so.

“Hello, lover.” Grant smirked then grabbed her by the hair and proceeded to bounce her head off the floor. Her vision swam as her breath returned and she rolled on to her back gasping as she looked up at the man whom she had considered the love of her life for the last year. She didn’t see that man anymore though, she only saw something vile and hideous.

“H- how? W-w-why?” April sputtered from the ground.

Grants foot came down on her wrist that still clutched a dagger as he bent down to disarm her, “I told you April, a week ago, that Mayor Blevins held too much power, but you wouldn’t listen. Well, I’m not going down with you.”

April heard the sound of boots on bodies outside the door and imagined that Barry and Betty were getting worked over pretty hard. But, all she had thought for was the rising despair in her gut as tears began to flow at both the betrayal and what she imagined would soon be her death.

“This your girl?” The mayor asked Grant.

“One of them.” He smiled as April flinched at that statement.

Then the mayor stepped around from her desk and looked down where April lay beaten. “How d-did-”

“How’d I defeat your detection ability? Why, with your tax dollars!” She smiled and pushed a button on her desk, suddenly April could sense more bodies than she had when they entered the compound. “That kiosk has a device for everything, now, is this all of them?”

“Nah, but I think I can point out the others, for a price of course.”

“Gimme’ what I want, you’ll get paid.” She said and lifted her shotgun to rest casually across her shoulder. “Is the fucker I caught in the chest still alive?” she called out to the hallway.

A native man who radiated power stepped in to report, “He is. Do you want him to stay that way?”

“Yeah, Charlie, I do, I want an example made. Your boys can have their way with them tonight, tomorrow I want them on the wall.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The man said with a wicked smile and reached over and snatched up April, who looked on in horror as the man gagged and bound her. Her mind raced with the realization of what she had just been relegated to. She didn’t know what the Mayor meant by being on the wall, but she knew what the other meant. Tears poured freely and she could hear Grant laughing as she was carried off unable to break free from the man’s vice like grip.

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Gregor led his people East and looked back in regret at the city of Flagstaff. The notification came soon after he left the girl April and her friends into the Mayor’s compound.

WARNING! The Dwarves of Humphrey Peak have been designated enemy to the City of Flagstaff!

He knew in that instant that they had failed. He didn’t know the details of it but he knew it was so. And so, he ordered his people to march. They still had a couple hundred fighters and he was confident they could protect most of the 10000 women and children that followed. We have no choice. We’re doomed if we don’t succeed. He thought morosely as they moved between the canyons with the highway the humans referred to as the I-40 on his left. He looked one last time at the East wall and the dozens of naked humans that were hung crucified, dying a slow death. The system would ensure they were health regenerated until they starved and dehydrated.

He was about to return to the march when his System enhanced vision saw something that caused his blood to run cold with fury. The young man, Grant stood on the edge of the wall overtop his former woman. The man was laughing as he and the others with him hurled insults and other bodily fluids at the defeated woman.

Seething with rage the dwarf raised his hammer into the air and roared, “I, GREGOR, OF THE BROKEN ROCK CLAN, CURSE THEE GRANT OF FLAGSTAFF AND ALL OF YOUR LINE! I NAME YOU ANATHEMA, AND I SWEAR BY THE BLOOD OF MY ANCESTORS YOU WILL DIE BY MY HAND!” One didn't treat a warrior that way, and betrayal demanded a firm response.

Gregor’s people stopped and looked on approvingly as their leader's declaration echoed across the forest, shaking the trees and earth alike. Gregor smiled in satisfaction as the curse struck the bastard's ears and he flinched and looked around bewildered. April looked straight at Gregor and he thought he saw the glimmer of a smile as the curse landed on her former lover. Silently he swore another oath to April, If I can find help in time, I’ll return for you, lass.