Breaking Step (Dungeon Runner 3)

Breaking Step, Chapter 90

Tibs bypassed the guard's shield, planted the sword in its chest, and pulled up, cutting it and making it lose the last of the essence animating it. It crumbled as it fell back, then all that was left behind were a handful of silver coins.

"Is it just me?" Mez asked, flaming arrow in his bow, searching for more targets. "Or have the numbers of guards we keep running into increased?"

"He's making up for not using magic," Tibs said, picking up the coins.

"Or," Don said. "The city's authorities have realized criminals are roaming the streets, and are looking to stamp that down." He looked up from the cut in his arm at the staring archer. "It's just a thought."

"And we're the criminals in those thoughts?" Mez asked unhappily.

"What would you call a gang going around, breaking into every house and stealing anything of value?"

"Who's paying the protection money?" Jackal asked.

"That's not how that works," Mez replied.

The fighter stared at him. "How else do they keep the city from devolving into chaos?"

"Laws," Mez replied, raising a finger and sounding like he didn't understand why he had to explain it. "Order, enforcement, and the sentencing of those to don't obey them."

"So, Tyranny," Jackal said flatly.

"No. A fair system with fair laws and corresponding punishment to motivate people not to engage in criminal activities."

Jackal snorted.

"Tibs, where do you stand on city order versus chaos?" Don asked.

He shrugged. "My street was chaos run by criminals. I never went outside of it to know what the rest of the city was like."

"Forget other cities," Mez said in exasperation. "Look at Kragle Rock. The laws are—"

"We're slaves to the guild," Jackal cut him off. "Sent in the dungeon to either die or become stronger, so they can use us against whatever gets in their way. I think you're proving my point."

"Okay, that's fair," the archer admitted. "But for the folks living there, they don't—"

"The guards don't bother stopping thieves from breaking into their houses," Jackal stated.

"But that's just so they can train," Mez said. "They don't take anything."

"Because I don't let them," Tibs said. "And Irdian wants the guards to catch us. We're just better than they are."

"Which proves my point even more." Jackal beamed. "And remember, the nobles have their own guards against the city's orders. That doesn't speak to a—"

"Fine!" Mez snapped. "You made your point. There's nothing that can be done. The world's a breath away from falling into never ending chaos."

"That isn't what Jackal is saying," Don said in a conciliatory tone.

"It kind of is," the fighter objected.

"The world isn't about to fall into chaos," Don insisted, glaring at the fighter. "But that isn't because criminals get stamped out. Criminals exist within an ecosystem alongside the rest of society. By their nature, the strongest ones get challenged and either defeat—"

"Kill," Jackal said.

"Those weaker, or are replaced, increasing the chaos and leading to more people challenging them, keeping that chaos mostly contained. Even when they are able to keep everyone in their place, it's still a disorganized system, which can easily fall right back into a contained chaos. It leads to a system that isn't particularly effective as disrupting the rest of a city. Jackals family, who has f—"