The Arbiter
Copyright© 2025 by James Girvan
Chapter 43
Oddly, I slept fairly well all things considered. Making a decision about something that had been bugging me for ages has the tendency to do that.
‘We’ were entering the Blue portal today according to Grace but I hadn’t been told exactly which ‘We’ that would be. The Seniors hadn’t gone into a portal since we’d been here that I was aware of and if I had to guess, I’d bet that they’d maxed out their ability to dive the Blue, or at least as deep as they were willing to go right now.
Jimmy made a decent breakfast, full of protein and a few carbs. Despite being a total douche, I’d admit he was a decent cook; he even prepared six lunches for us to take along so I guess we were taking a full team of one sort or another. There were two cars full, with Grace and Jimmy along with the three girls we’d dove with last time into the Purple one. So the same team? The team’s packs rode in the back seat with Sarah, and I could smell the trash bags we had in the trunk. Despite supposedly leaving the camp today, Grace wanted it all to be tidy and neat and I wasn’t sure what to think about that since she was planning to threaten, beat, and rob someone on the way out.
How they would ever have found this Blue portal is beyond me. Smack-dab in the middle of an ancient barn At one end it looked like it had been an old blacksmiths shop and at the other end there was a tractor that was older than my father. Both ends of the place were covered in old pigeon shit and smelled like cat piss. Some Norm must’ve parked an old trailer or something like it that had covered it up, since there were deep tire tracks on either sides of the glowing gate.
Someone had made an attempt to make a Tips and RIP’s folder in an old three-ring binder that sat conspicuously on a crossbeam on the wall it was partially covered in shit too. ‘Standard Blue Portal, single graveyard. Level 1 has single mausoleum with swordsman.’ The words ’Greatsword without shield’ were added beneath this in a different handwriting. ‘No Boar hounds until 3rd time through.’
Nothing was written about level two or three and not a thing about lost Weapons either. The last entry date was four and a half months ago.
“You guys aren’t much for writing eh?” I glanced at Jimmy and he had the same look on his face that Grace did; mild discomfort.
“We made a mistake, and advertising it won’t help anyone.” Grace said with an almost imperceptible yawn.
The bitch was yawning over dead and wasted Weapons. “This is exactly what is supposed to be shared. Hell, there could be groups just about to make the same mistake today and sharing your fuckup might save lives. The number of Weapons in the world is small and is dwindling already since there aren’t more being made. If these Breakouts continue we are going to need all sorts of Weapons to protect ourselves or just pacify the portals beforehand.” I quit talking, their faces just went blank when I’d mentioned the bigger picture.
“Anyway, I’m not running this portal with this team. Footman and I are the only ‘Frontliners’ really, and to be honest neither of us is what you’d consider a ‘Heavy’. Your low-level archers won’t help much with the groups of skellie’s and I know for a fact that the Boss at the end basically shrugs off fireballs, so Tina’s down to being just another blunt weapon.” I paused, looking at her and Jimmy. “You can’t join us or we’ll just hop to a deeper level and die all the same. I’m sorry but that’s how I’m calling it.” This explanation was completely true, but I still felt like I was wimping out as I delivered it.
“What about Sara? She no help?” Grace threw out, acerbically.
“We’re still developing her, but with a sceptre which is basically just a fancy little mace she’s a support position also. She’d just get mauled in there when Footman and I went down.” I tried using the same snarky-yet-bored tone she’d demonstrated just a moment ago, but I’m not sure I managed it all that well.
“I don’t see what the issue is. There’s six of you. I heard some hick bitch up in Michigan took on a whole dungeon’s worth of Skeletons by herself during the first outburst and she lived.” She taunted.
“I saw that video, chick’s a classic tank! Couldn’t have been more than four inches between her head and the top of a doorframe. Swung that broadsword like it was a fucking 2x4 with no finesse or apparent skill. Damn lucky too, from what I saw when she sucker-punched that Boss Skeleton with a desperate lunge, just when it looked like she was all done in.” Most people had seen that video. Even Mace had remarked: ’That’s fuckin’ hot’ after watching that huge-titted brunette smash and wobble her way through a store full of skellies. There was even a porn version of it, but they’d used a blonde. Definitely a lot of smashing and boning going on in that one. My favorite line? ‘Hey! That’s not a femur!’
Grace grit her teeth. “No way I could convince you? I could include this!” She held out a token I’d seen in her inventory already and assumed it was the source of her Skill. It wasn’t.
‘Token of Resilience: Increase Endurance by 2. Requirements: Level 3 or lower, Melee weapon only, Total Endurance not to exceed 10. Transferrable.’
Holy shit I was tempted. Skeletons never tired, and being able to keep swinging for longer was never a bad idea. Unfortunately I’d still only be so strong, and only hit so hard.
“What mark would the group be?” I asked, not putting out the idea that I was tempted, and weighing the odds.
“This would be the first time any of you went in, so 24-26 skeletons and the boss, usually in groups of three or four.” She said with a shrug, as though it wasn’t a big deal to have two dozen armed men attack you in small groups.
From an outsider’s prospective it might have looked like a fair fight; basically we were going to be 2-on-1 for a series of five or six fights, then 6-on-1 for one final fight. Problem was the archers and Sarah. I was assuming that they’d be basically useless so it looked more like a series of 1-on-1 fights with a 3-on-1 finale with a huge Boss. I recalled how Mace went toe-to-toe with a few Boss’s and wasn’t all that sure I could do the same thing; even with all my recent enhancements.
“Sorry sweetheart,” I passed her wonderful little token back to her. “ ... this can’t be done. I like to fight, and I like Silver but this group is gonna lose someone if we go in there, maybe a few someone’s.”
Grace looked livid, and I couldn’t imagine why. Sure she was going to be out some Silver, but why would she risk some of her followers to do so? I mean, I’d throw Robbie to the wolves to save my ass if I had to but I’d need to have a better reason than just Silver. Grace flicked her head to Jimmy as though to get him to do something. For his part, Jimmy just gave a small shrug.
“I think we can do it Albio,” this came from over my shoulder. I hadn’t expected Robbie to speak up, and certainly hadn’t expected him to go against my opinion. “ ... Sarah is going to be a bigger help than you think.”
“Her and Tina together might make up about the same as you or I, and even if that’s true we’re still only about three effective fighters against every group of three or four Skeletons.” I replied. The math still didn’t work.
“So what?” Robbie shrugged, pointing between us. “We’ll get through it implying he and I and we will protect Sarah. If Grace doesn’t care if her people live or die, then why should we? Take ‘em along and let ‘em fend for themselves.”
I glanced over at the girls who were visibly pale at Robbie’s casual refusal to help them live. “Good point. Ok, you’ve convinced me Footman. Let’s go then.” I delivered with quite a bit of cheer, like a man who’s had a burden lifted from my shoulders. Grace looked surprised at this turn of events. “I’d like to borrow that token though, it’ll help me out and...”
Tina interrupted, the loudest and boldest of the trio. “You’re just gonna send us there to die?” she pointed at Grace accusingly. I hadn’t planned on doing this yet, but Robbie forced my hand. Probably not a bad timing for it though. “And you’d just let us?”
Grace looked about, backpedaling from her former aggressive attitude. “I just wanted to make sure he had good reasons for refusing to go...” she said lamely.
“I protect my people, and I’d do what I could for you ... within reason.” I shrugged. “You already had me help you once, and we ran through training and team positioning the last few days. Did you think that all the stuff we do outside the portals is just for fun?” I was just poking at the girls since they mostly had ignored our exercise and skill building classes.
“I’m not ready...” “I’m out” “No fucking way!”
The girls had all seen the light at this point.
“Wanna try it ourselves?” Robbie asked with a grin. Cheeky fucker.
“We could probably handle all the normal skeletons, but at least one of us would be fucked up by that big guy at the end. We’re just not Tankers like that.” I used the local dialect for the Frontliner type of Weapon.
Robbie shrugged and walked back to the shitbox, I followed along not even sparing a glance at Grace. Tina and the archers twitched like they wanted to come along, but ended up going back with Jimmy and Grace.
“Find a place to dump this trash, it stinks in here.” Robbie drove to the rear of the Dollarmart and we threw the bags into the big bin after Robbie quickly picked the padlock like a pro. Nice skill to have for a Rogue.
“You said that Sarah would be an asset on that blue portal back there. Did you mean it?” I asked over the back seat that still faintly smelled of trash.
“Yup, she don’t talk exactly, but we’re getting used to each other. The collars help, and her weapon is a bit like a bonus against dead things.” The Rogue replied without taking his eyes off the road. “We could’ve made it, you know.” He was almost certainly talking about the Portal.
“Yeah, probably,” I paused and thought about how to word it. “ ... but the group would’ve been diminished though, and at least one of us would’ve been injured. I value you two more than that.” It was true, but their value had more to do with the protection they could offer me and not the girls.
“Here, I can’t pass you the experience you’d have gotten but I can give you the Silver.” I dropped forty lumps in the cup holder, hoping to appeal to his love of cash. Robbie didn’t say anything further, but the Silver disappeared fast enough.
I threw myself at chores as soon as we got back. Avoiding the three ‘girls’ and Grace was my actual goal though. As a side note, I reaffirmed my longstanding opinion that women’s toilets are always worse than men’s.