Chapter 91: The Bridge Plan
Lucas pushed through the war room doors to find Eleanor already deep in discussion, the map spread wide across the table with markers scattered across all three routes and marking them.
"There you are," she said, glancing up briefly before returning her attention to the map. "Come look at this."
He crossed the room, Mark falling in beside him, and Eleanor began talking as she traced a finger along the three paths in turn.
"Your route," she said, tapping the stone path, "has an Avallion that we have to fight and as you said, the survival probability is too low to guarantee whether or not we can kill it. We push through there, we might not end fighting one Golem. The beast must be the type to call for backup once it’s cornered."
Lucas almost flinched. The fact that she was way too accurate unnerved him.
"We’re not sure if calling for backup is what it’ll do exactly. My point is, it’s too unpredictable."
"Agreed," Lucas said, careful enough to keep his voice neutral.
She moved to the second route. "Mark’s route has a Makara Golem they’ve already cleared, but the terrain ahead is still far from the gateway and we don’t know whether something is still waiting for us along the road..."
She moved her finger to the third path. "Mine’s the shortest distance to the Gateway, and we’re only facing a single Hestia since we’ve cleared every possible threat along the way. That leaves ne known threat, in an environment we can actually plan around."
"So we go your way," Mark said.
"Exactly." Eleanor straightened, something firm and determined settling into her expression. "And I want to cross that gateway without a single casualty."
Silence settled over the room for a moment before Mark spoke up, disbelief plain on his face. "Elle. We’re talking about a hundred and fifty people. Moving that many through that kind of place, all at once—"
"I’m aware of the numbers," Eleanor said, unbothered as she cut him off.
"It’s not realistic," Lucas added carefully. "Even organized, a group that size moves slow. We should expect even a few casualties since coordinating a fight with that many variables—"
"I know it sounds impossible," Eleanor cut in again. "But I didn’t build this Faction so my people will fight and pray things go their way. I want to be in control of that. I want a situation where if I say it’ll be alright, it will be alright. Not by luck, but by sheer ability alone."
Lucas sighed. This version of Eleanor was something he didn’t like in the slightest.
The version that refused to believe in luck. The version that wanted to be in control of every variable, including luck itself...
She was a crazy one— those calm eyes were doing a wonderful job hiding the sheer absurdity of her ambitions.
He just hoped that this fervor of hers wouldn’t cost him more than he was willing to pay...
She looked between them and spoke again
"We’ll organize it properly. Fighters up front and flanking, others who are unable to fight protected in the center, a clear formation the whole way. It’s just one Hestia. We fought two the last time..."
Lucas studied her for a long moment, the same stubborn and unyielding resolve he remembered from the moment he’d first found her building after she built a fortress out of nothing and sighed in resignation.
"Okay," he said finally. "Your call. We’ll try to make it work."
"Fine by me," Mark added, though his expression still carried plenty of reservation. "Just saying, if this goes sideways, I get to say I told you so."
"Noted," Eleanor said dryly. "Now — the actual plan."
She traced the map further, indicating the bridge that spanned the ravine before the Gateway itself.
Lucas felt something in his chest tighten at the plan, memory of the fight with two separate Hestia flashing across his mind— the merged form back at the first Gateway, and the devastation it had caused even with full preparation.
If he had any concerns, he didn’t voice them. Eleanor had already accounted for the risks better than he probably could, and second guessing her plan without a genuinely better alternative wasn’t going to help anyone.
’I’ll make it work. Whatever it takes.’
"When do we leave," he asked instead.
"In a week," Eleanor said. "Full Faction, full preparation. We’re not walking in blind and hoping for some kind of divine intervention."
***
They set out the following week, after a full seven day’s with of preparation. The entire Faction moving together in a careful, organized formation — fighters at the front and flanks, the largest group of people Lucas had ever seen kept safely toward the center, the whole column stretching back through the forest in a long line.
The walk took most of the day, Eleanor’s shortest route keeping true to its promise, and by late afternoon the trees finally thinned ahead showing the ravine and its bridge coming into view, the Gateway’s twin spires rising beyond it just as they had before.
And there, exactly where Eleanor had said it would be, the Hestia waited. It was enormous, mane wreathed in living flame as it stood still, watching the approaching column with a set of hollow, patient eyes.
The column moved to a halt at the treeline, hundreds of survivors staring across the ravine at the creature blocking their only path forward, and Eleanor raised her voice to speak.
"This is it," she called. "Formation positions, exactly as we drilled. Fighters forward, everyone else hold the rear and if for whatever reason you are unable to fight—be it fear, injuring or whatever you might want to call it, stay in the middle."
The Hestia straightened its posture and took a step forward, and the system pinged across every face at once.
[Ding!]
[Hestia Class Entity Detected.]
[You have encountered a Hestia Golem]
[Objective: Slay the beast and Successfully cross the Gateway.]
[Survival Probability: 42%]