“What are you looking at?” Harp confronted Luke.

He had been staring at her. Luke gave her the straightforward answer, “You.”

Harp raised an eyebrow, waiting for more. If she had wanted more she should have asked for more, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You look odd,” Luke answered, “I expected Tristan to have exaggerated when he described you.”

She looked him up and down before her eyes widened and she took a step back, “You’re the lightning de-,” she glanced down the shaft, “Uh, Luke, right?”

This response confused Luke, but the answer quickly made itself visible. A chubby man climbed out of the hole in the ground. He was breathing so heavily that Luke wondered if he was carrying another person up the ladder. Once he breached the surface and flopped on the ground, Luke saw he was carrying a pig in a wrap that mothers often used to secure babies. The problem was that the pig had to weigh nearly forty pounds.

Looking up with his beady blue eyes, the man huffed out, “You know the silver devil!”

Luke frowned, getting ready to kick the man back into the hole. Fortunately for the man, Harp stepped between them, “He means that as a sort of convoluted compliment.”

Frowning Luke asked, “How is calling someone a devil a compliment? Especially when he died saving your lives.”

Harp looked down at the man, who had returned to lying face down in the ash, “I think he is mentally challenged.”

The pig man raised a finger, and said without raising his face, “It is true, I mentally challenge myself every day!”

“Thank you, Olaf,” Harp said with a long suffering smile, “Let me talk things out with Tristan’s violent friend.”

Olaf gave a thumbs up. He groaned as two more people shoved his feet out of the way. A little girl with black hair and red eyes climbed out. Luke narrowed his eyes, not red, copper. A woman who was clearly her malnourished mother climbed out. Neither was very interesting, so he pointed them towards Merrick, who was giving out water.

Once they were gone, Luke folded his arms and waited for Harp to start talking, “Is Tristan really gone?”

Luke sighed, “I don’t know. I don’t see how anyone could survive above ground, but if anyone could it would be him.”

He was not sure what he expected from Harp. She was a childhood friend and had helped in Tristan’s recovery. Tears seemed to be the standard reaction from soft people. Harp was not soft. She was not used to violence, but she did not panic, instead, she sagged slightly before taking a deep breath and straightening.

“You may be right, though there is little we can do either way,” Harp gestured to the gaggle of children greedily drinking water, “We need to get them somewhere safe. Nothing is left in the Caldera, we will have to leave and hope to find another group of people.”

That was Luke’s plan. There were no building materials left in the Caldera. The ground had been scorched into uselessness. No fish had been able to survive the temperature shift. Without food and shelter, the Caldera had become little more than a graveyard. He would check the Forest Caldera’s temple, but Luke doubted that he would find anything. He doubted anyone else was alive.

An assumption that was disproven immediately, “Merrick! I am so glad you lived.”

Luke turned to see an old man rushing to give Merrick a hug. How had Eve’s family survived? Looking over the group, Luke had to admit that they were perhaps the oddest group of survivors in the history of refugees. Yes, most people had died, but the survivors had done so as mostly complete families.

Tristan had made sure that both parents and children had been stashed away. This was only true for the miners, everyone else was the only survivor of their family. Several people who had followed the evacuees and Eve’s guards were alone. So was Luke, but that was not a change from his status quo.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Elder River surveyed the survivors, “Everything appears to be bleak, but do not fret, we can rebuild.”

Luke scoffed. He did not bother listening to the old man, he had already told the people who mattered how this would work. If they wanted to follow an old man, then he could get them to safety. He turned on his heel and started walking towards the Forest Caldera.

He had not expected much from the people. Perhaps that was a bit naive, as leadership was predicated on trust. The miners had known him for over half a decade while they only tangentially knew of Elder River. Luke had succeeded in dealing with most of his problems and had assisted in getting them to safety. Elder River had done little to earn their trust, so when Luke started walking, they followed.

Nearly sixty of the seventy-two people left Elder River while he was in mid-speech, “Where are you going? You need to listen to me.”

Eve placed a hand on her grandfather’s arm and shook her head, “Grandpa, this is not the River Caldera. You are not an Elder anymore.”

“I am an Elder,” River disagreed, “It is my birthright, and if it is not mine, then it is not yours.”

“You are old, but not an Elder. That title is given only because the people believe you can serve their needs, it is why the Grass Caldera split from the Plains Caldera. Right now they need martial might to protect them, a service you cannot provide,” Eve gave an apologetic smile to the two guards with artifact axes to either side, “No offense, but you two and my four surviving guards cannot offer more protection than someone on the doorstep of the Heroic tier. Especially as he has the support of Siren’s only surviving elite.”

River grimaced but he nodded, “I see your point, we will follow. For now at least.”

Luke was unaware of the conversation that had just occurred behind him. He was more focused on how slow the group was when children were present. On the way to Lake Caldera, the only two children present had been Jenna’s kid and Chase’s infant. Jenna had no trouble hauling around the boy all day while Chase and Sun Set had to carry their son, as he could not walk.

The miners were not capable of both maintaining a satisfactory speed and carrying their spawn for extended periods. Luke had intended to move thirty to forty miles a day, but that dream was shattered when he found that it was hard to get tired people to move at even two miles per hour. It was infuriating to know that it would take two or three days to reach the Forest Caldera. If he ran it would be a thirty-minute trip. He almost did on several occasions, but it would be difficult to keep his promise from sixty miles away.

The temperature started dropping rapidly and snow started falling. While water kerns were the most common, fire kerns were a close second. Olfred, Helen, and a few others ended up being used as heat sources. Without firewood, the nights were harsh and the little food that Harp had brought with her was quickly eaten. She had only planned for two dozen children, Olaf, Helen, and herself.

For two days they marched through the black ashen wasteland. Unlike the River Caldera, the Forest Caldera was easily visible. They found a large reflective area of land that strongly reminded Luke of ice where the city used to be. He instantly knew that no bunker could survive this level of carnage. The ground appeared to be transformed into a giant pane of black glass that had been dropped shortly after being shaped.

It confirmed the idea that they were only alive because the attacker had chosen not to kill them. Luke did not know why they were allowed to survive. He clenched his fists, never in his life had he been viewed as too insignificant to deal with. The Forest Caldera was a bust. The next place was the nation the Elders had located.

Fortunately, one such Elder was in their presence. Luke turned and made his way towards the old man. Once River noticed Luke’s approach, he stiffened and took a step back. The two bodyguards brandished their axes and interposed themselves between Luke and their master. A part of Luke wanted a fight, he could strike both these people down in an instant. Neither had a force, and both were on the lower end of tier three. It would not be a fight, so he stopped just before them and made eye contact with the elder.

“Old man!” Luke yelled.

“What do you want, boy,” River huffed.

“Where is that group of people you found? The one that was discovered during the ghost crab invasion,” Luke asked.

“We would never make it there,” River said. Luke made a ‘continue’ gesture with his hand. Gritting his teeth, the old man gave Luke the information that he wanted, “It’s nearly three hundred miles away.” There was a mental struggle before he finally spat it out, “To the east. That’s a week long trip. You can’t make it with children.”

Luke was willing to bet that they had simply multiplied the miles per hour by the total hours traveled to get the distance. That would make the other nation substantially closer, as traveling through beast infested territory would slow anyone down. The reasoning for this thought was simple, warriors would be hard pressed to travel forty miles a day in a hostile environment and hauling their hundred and fifty pounds of equipment. That math was a bit too convenient for Luke to trust it.

“Don’t care,” Luke shrugged, “That's where I’m going. You are free to do whatever you want.”