“So you’re saying you can operate The Vessel all by yourself? What a marvelous contraption. Was it the Savior who created The Vessel?”

“No, the Savior is many things and can accomplish all sorts of wondrous feats, but The Vessel was designed and built by one of the Savior’s very first disciples. At the beginning, before The Fold came into being, the Savior would come across lost souls he was destined to save in these woods and give them the opportunity to cleanse themselves inside The Pit and be born again. Before The Vessel was built, the Savior personally foraged for or hunted for food in the surrounding forests and then sent it to the bottom of The Pit himself. His very first fated ones were so touched by his graciousness and loving nature that they decided to follow the Savior after they overcame their trials and became the first of his disciples. One of them was a former military engineer for the kingdom and he was the one who created The Vessel as well as laid the foundations for what would eventually become the Rebirth Haven.”

“That’s amazing. He personally made The Climb every day just to deliver food and water down there? I only made it once but I was exhausted after I got up here. I was even afraid I’d slip off that final ledge at the last moment and plummet to my death.”

Yoel laughs a hearty laugh and shakes his head, saying, “No, the Savior only made The Climb once when he first passed the Trial of The Pit before it even became a trial for future initiates. The Savior is the strongest earth element sorcerer in the entire world and he can control the earth like it’s a part of his body. He used his magic to swiftly descend and ascend The Pit effortlessly.”

My heart shudders hearing that. I’ll need to clash against the Savior sooner or later if I want to get out of here but if he’s as good of a magic user as Yoel says he is, my already nearly impossible mission just became that much more difficult. To hide my dark intentions, I quickly ask him, “Sorcerer? What is that? I only really know about mages because of the mage’s guild.”

Yoel scoffs and spits on the ground, his saliva mixing into the house’s dirt floor. I’m not completely sure, but I think this is the same house I was forced to leave my things in the night I arrived here. It’s a crudely built wooden house that more closely resembles a shack than an actual house but I won’t voice my thoughts on it. We’re currently searching for my belongings in a massive pile of rubbish in the house’s backroom.

He snarls, “A bunch of talentless, snobbish hacks that rule the common folk by draining them the same way kingdoms do. Magic should be universal and free. It’s innate in every single living person and thus we should be allowing its unhindered circulation throughout the entire population but those conniving snakes constrict its spread by putting a massive price on something that should be naturally afforded to everyone from birth. Mages is a filthy word equivalent to oppression. Sorcerers are the truly gifted who naturally awaken their magical abilities and the Savior is the greatest one of them to have been born.”

“... Right. Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you. How’s the situation with the Plainheart Vipers going? The group that was sent down yesterday were trying to take over The Pit in the name of the Vipers but the original residents were able to subdue them.”

“That’s good to hear. Our crusade against that pit of snakes hasn’t been faring well recently. We’ve lost many good brothers and sisters in the fighting and they’ve come knocking on the front gates of our citadel the past few weeks. We caught that group scouting out our walls and decided to throw them into The Pit hoping a few more brothers would emerge to help bolster our forces.”

“If they did manage to make The Climb, how would you ensure their loyalty? I mean, you’re currently at war with their former gang, aren’t you afraid of being betrayed by them in the heat of battle?”

Yoel’s hands freeze midair as he’s moving away an old leather sack filled with rags. He turns to me with a questioning look on his face and asks, “What do you mean? The moment initiates pass the Trial of The Pit, their souls are cleansed and they become new brothers in The Fold. The same happened to you. When you pulled yourself over that ledge, you were reborn in both spirit and body. There is no such thing as disloyalty in The Fold once they pass the trial.”

Seeing Yoel’s unblinking eyes and how serious he’s acting, I swallow my counterexamples like Ruben who was hunted down like a dog and bled out under that tree trying to escape The Fold. Smiling at him, I rescind my words, “Of course. My apologies, Brother Yoel. I wasn’t thinking clearly and overlooked the fact that there is no such thing as a disloyal brother in The Fold.”

Hearing my words, he beams at me and gives me a hard pat on the back, laughing, “It’s alright, it’s alright. You’ve just become enlightened yourself and you weren’t careful with your words. But do keep in mind doubting your fellow brothers will only work to divide us and in troubled times like these, we must stay united. Believe in the Savior and the process for proselytizing that he created with his own hands all those years ago.”

At this point, he stops laughing, staring straight into my eyes and placing a firm hand on my shoulder right where my wound is, his grip tightening by the second. He quietly uttered without a hint of emotion in his voice, “Remember, there is no such thing as a disloyal brother.”

Shivers run down my spine seeing his cold eyes and I can only solemnly nod to show my understanding. After seeing me nod, he instantly transforms back into the bright, smiling fanatic from before and releases his iron grip to my relief. After that incident, we stopped speaking completely until we eventually found my belongings under all the rubbish. It’s surprising to see all my items intact and untouched. If I were them, I’d take everything stored here and wouldn’t give any of it back unless the original owners worked to improve the cult or something but what do I know, I’m no cult leader. Perhaps they thought it made them seem too much like the kingdoms and guilds they despise.

After taking a few minutes to change out of my rags and gear up, the both of us walk back outside when another familiar face appears in front of us. It’s Gavin, exactly how I remembered him when we first met, clad in leather armor and with a sword on his hip. He walks up to us with a big smile on his face and exclaims, “Isaac! Or should I say, Brother Isaac! I knew you had it in you the moment we met. I had a feeling I met a future brother that night two months ago and here we are.”

He wraps his arms around me and I have to stifle the urge to run my blade through his stomach growing within me. They’ll get what’s coming to them sooner or later. They’ll all get their just desserts. “Brother Gavin, it’s nice to see you again.”

Gavin lets go of me and inspects me from top to bottom, nodding his head and saying, “I see Brother Yoel has helped you retrieve your belongings. Normally we’d wait a month or two before handing back your things just in case but at the moment, we’re in dire need of able combatants around the citadel. From what I remember you mentioning before, you’re no stranger to battle and we’ll see about that in the coming days. Come, as our newest brother in the fold, you need to pay your fealty to the Savior.”

Gavin turns around and starts heading toward the largest wooden longhouse at the very back of the stronghold. Yoel stays where he’s standing and waves us goodbye. As we’re walking through the stronghold on the outer ring of The Pit, I see several people walking about, tending to whatever daily business they have. It really feels like an ordinary community here that I could easily mistake for a large village or a small town if I didn’t know any better.

The wooden houses are built adjacent to the massive wall surrounding this place and there’s an empty ring 20 yards wide all around the empty chasm of The Pit. I guess they didn’t want to build their houses too close to the giant empty hole in the ground. There’s hundreds of houses built inside of the stronghold’s walls and that gives me a pretty clear idea of just how gigantic this entire place is. Once again, it also reminds me this whole settlement was built by and ruled by absolute lunatics. No one in their right mind would spend the time and effort necessary to construct a stronghold that could fully surround The Pit.

As we’re walking, my breathing gets a little rough because The Climb already pushed my body to its limits and the unfamiliar weight of my sword, axes, and leather pack aren’t helping. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I felt naked without a sword at my hip ever since it was taken from me and knives I carried in my pockets did little to alleviate that feeling. I feel whole again which is nice.

Even though Yoel and I got off the wooden platform at about The Pit’s halfway point from either the front or back, it’s still a long walk to the back of the citadel. The Pit itself has to be at least 2,000 feet in diameter. Whoever built this place really had grand ambitions. There’s hundreds of houses built around The Pit but the majority seem uninhabited. The Fold has 200 to 300 members at most but I think this place could easily accommodate 5,000 people.

Did that engineer really expect his little cult to flourish to such a degree? Madmen, all of them. Seeing me struggling to keep up, Gavin chuckles, “It looks like The Climb took a lot out of you, huh? After you swear your allegiance to the Savior, I’ll help you find a home to settle down in. I’ll also show you around the citadel tomorrow morning before I take you out for some scouting.”

Nodding at his words, I ask something that’s been on my mind, “If you don’t mind me asking, how did this many people make The Climb? I think I’m in pretty decent shape but I had trouble making it all the way up.”

Gavin muses for a moment and says, “Most of the people you see walking around haven’t made The Climb because they didn’t need to. They were already up here. The Fold has about 340 members in total with most of them being descendants of the Savior and people like us, who did pass the Trial, are in the minority. Although we’re all brothers and sisters up here, the ones who have the Savior’s blood in them hold more authority. Make sure you avoid conflict with them or even I wouldn’t be able to help you.”

“... Right.”

After a few minutes, we arrived in front of a massive wooden longhouse with huge oak double doors carved with intricate, beautiful designs. The carvings showed images of The Pit with a muscular, gorgeous man scaling it. Is that the Savior? Gavin pushed open the double doors and inside was a long, empty, carpeted hall. On the opposite side of the hall was a stone throne that rose 20 feet off the ground. On top of the throne was a small, indistinct man that I couldn’t see too clearly from where I was standing.

After taking a step inside, Gavin disarmed himself and placed his sword on a small wooden rack next to the double doors and silently signaled for me to do the same. After placing my weapons and my pack down, he led the way down the carpeted hall and I quickly followed right behind him. About halfway there, he suddenly dropped to his knees and pulled me down with him, making sure my eyes were directed at the ground. For the rest of the way until we were right in front of the throne, we crawled on our knees with our eyes lowered.

Coming to a stop, Gavin loudly proclaimed, “Oh gracious Savior! A new sheep wishes to join your flock. A new brother wishes to enter the fold. He is here to swear his fealty to your rule, his loyalty to your words, and his belief to your faith.”

A moment later, loud rumbling sounds were coming from the throne in front of me and even with my eyes lowered, I could still see the throne visibly shrinking in size. When the throne shrank until I could just make out the toes of the one sitting on it, he leapt off, landing right in front of me. His feet were horribly disfigured, mangled beyond belief and turned inwards toward themselves to the point that the tips of all his toes were perfectly aligned with their opposite counterparts. I couldn’t even imagine the pain he’d go through just by walking with those feet but he was somehow leaping through the air and landing on them. What is the Savior?

I couldn’t help myself and lifted my head up to see just what sort of creature The Fold worshiped as their deity. A horrendous being that could only be described as a blight on the world and all of humanity stood before me. It opened its hideous maw with a demented smile, revealing rotting, blackened teeth hidden within and spoke with a guttural croak, “Broken… shoul.”

What?