Chapter 29 Part 2

Sal waved to Prilock as he approached behind a block of chanters. It was eerie to walk by a group of people so focused on one task. It was like watching an ant colony--each person played his part seemingly without the knowledge of the other. Sal studied their faces. Most of them were sweating. It didn't seem like saying words should be a process that caused sweating, but Sal reasoned that maybe it was a combination of the concentration required and the stress. Perhaps many of these people had never been under attack. Sal would have watched them for longer, but his peripheral vision caught sight of Prilock who waved back in greeting.

"Hey Prilock, you know, after two weeks, I figured I'd better ask you who these attackers are."

Prilock looked at him with what could best be described as bitter amusement. Then he answered. "So you are telling me you don't know the Metheons?"

Sal searched his memory. He did recall the Metheons. In his time, they were described as a nomadic group of people who had attacked Undertown. There were, of course, no mentions of chanting and electrical air currents.

"You mean to tell me these guys out here attacking are Metheons?" asked Sal inquisitively.

"None other than," replied Prilock.

"What's the deal with your community members? Why are they all so strained-looking?"

"Undertown wanted to remain neutral. Part of the reason we wished to remain so is that most of us have never seen any combat. Not only that, but this psi barrier requires a lot of energy to generate."

"Just sounds like a bunch of words being tossed out to me," replied Sal.

"That doesn't really do it justice. Have you ever tried to clear out your mind and think only of one thing for say, thirty seconds? If you have tried it, then you know that the mind is difficult to discipline. It wants to wander, and if it doesn't get to wander it often throws a tantrum. What these people are doing is maintaining a level of concentration while at the same time trying not to let fear interfere with their concentration, which they surely have. In addition to that, they have to maintain concentration at a certain level of strength to keep the shield up and balanced against incoming attacks. If an attack comes in that the shield does not hold then the attack will likely be successful and result in the death of many of the people here."

"What do you have by way of defenses other than this shield you are generating?" asked Sal.

"Nothing," answered Prilock.

"Don't you at least have some counter-attack chant or something?"

"No," began Prilock. "We were hoping to remain neutral during this conflict. It is our opinion if we hold this shield eventually the attackers will grow tired and leave. We needn't harm them."

"Have you ever seen combat, Prilock?"

"Yes, I have."

"Then you should know that holding up this shield is not going to result in tiring them out and having them politely ask to be excused."

"It might," said Prilock.

Sal sighed. "No wonder you people came up with Iron Bastion," he muttered.

"Iron Wha?" asked Prilock.

"Never mind," said Sal. "Would it change your mind if I told you that I knew these attackers would not leave even if you held this shield for a thousand years, and that in fact, if you continue to hold it your entire town will be mostly slaughtered within the next week and a half?"

Prilock appeared to deliberate the question thoughtfully. "I would say there is no way you would be able to know such a thing, but for some reason, if you were to say it I would be inclined to believe you."

Their conversation was interrupted as incoming electricity slammed against the shield. It was rather beautiful in a deadly way. As the incoming energy hit the shield, it would create a rainbow of hues as the shield resisted that which was thrown at it. If one looked closely enough, however, one could clearly see that some of the energy from the attack leaked through. A small finger of electrical energy might eek its way through the shield. Fortunately, the shield held the majority of the charge out, so that that which did make it through was so weakened by the time it penetrated the defense that it merely played a few inches under the dome of the defense. After the incoming barrage wore itself out, Sal resumed his conversation with Prilock.

"What the hell do these guys want anyway?" asked Sal.

"Pretty much what attackers always want. To conquer. We are just in the way," answered Prilock.

"What if I told you I could help you in ways you might find hard to imagine?" asked Sal.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Prilock.

"I mean what if I could get these guys to leave and inflict some casualties while doing so?"

"How would you do that?"

"That I can't tell you, but what if I could?" asked Sal pointedly.