We trekked across the open planes for the rest of the day, heading in the direction of the town while we make our way through the waist high grass that danced in the wind around us.
The air was noticeably cooler than the forest we landed in, but the sun still beamed brightly down on us with no trees to offer us respite from its' gaze.
We travelled across endless rolling hills, giving the planes the appearance of a rolling sea of green grass, until as the sun begins lower over the horizon, we finally catch a glimpse of our destination.
In the distance, we can make out wispy columns of smoke, lazily drifting high into the sky from fires warming homes.
As the sun sets, we continue to head towards the smoke, and after cresting one final hill we set eyes on the town.
Before us lay the distant settlement I had seen from atop the mountain. With high stone walls decorated with crenulations, it was truly a sight to behold.
I could just barely see the tips of slanted roofs over the top of the wall, and the entire town was surrounded by a ring of neatly planted trees that offered a modest amount of shade to the travelers passing through its' gates.
Although the sun had now completely set, leaving the planes shrouded in silvery light from the planet's moon, there were still many wagons and people coming and going through the towns large, wooden gates.
Deciding it would be best to observe for the time being, I laid myself prone on the crest of the hill, motioning for everyone else to do the same.
For the next couple hours we listened intently to the people passing by us on the road below, paying extra attention to the interesting dialect that many of them spoke to their travel companions.
I suddenly got a bright idea and formed a scope in my right hand that normally was mounted on the anti-material rifle.
Using the scope, I specifically focused on the gates of the structure, finding six, armored guards carrying spears along with another more ornately armored guard carrying a sword.
As travelers would approach the gates, they would hand the guard with the sword a small piece of metal that must have served as a kind of identification in this town.
As the guard inspected the plate, the other six guards would inspect the contents of the wagon, before nodding at the man with the plate, who waved them through.
They repeated this process hundreds of times, inspecting every person and wagon that wanted entry into the town.
Lowering the scope from my eye and scooting across the ground towards Mindal, I whisper to him when I get within earshot.
"It looks like they're inspecting everyone that enters through the gate. We're going to need to either get our hands on some identification, or find another way in."
He nods in return before beginning to speak, but before he can, a massive roar from the sky interrupts him, echoing out across the tall grass.
My head snaps upwards towards the source of the noise, and I spot a familiar reptile I had seen when we first arrived in the forest.
Above the town, flew the enormous "Dragon". It darted about in the night sky, swooping down at the travelers seeking entry and causing the guards to start ushering people inside the walls while most of the wagons scattered in every direction.
The dragon seemed to care little for the individual people running about in panic, making pass after pass at the fleeing wagons, biting down on the four legged creatures pulling them and tearing monstrous chunks from their flesh as it lifted the wagons high into the air before they came crashing back to the ground.
With most of the people behind the thick, stone walls, the guards had now emerged from the gates, with the heavy wooden doors shutting behind them.
They must have made a trip to the armory before leaving, as they now all carried large, wooden bows and quivers of metal tipped arrows.
The ornate guard raised his sword to the dragon and barked orders to his men, causing them to draw back their bows and aim at the giant winged reptile.
He barked another order and the guards released their arrows, sending them flying high in the sky towards the dragon.
As I tracked the arrows, I could immediately tell that these men were well trained, as almost all of the projectiles were on a perfect trajectory to strike the reptile.
When the arrows finally found their mark, they hit the scales of the monster with tremendous force, causing a loud CRACK to ring out in the sky, but unfortunately they failed to penetrate its' thick armored hide, and fell harmlessly back to the ground.
Although uninjured, the dragon seemed infuriated by the arrows, dropping its' current prey from its grasp and turning to look at the armored men on the ground before narrowing its eyes in anger.
With an angry roar, the dragon dived towards the men at a blistering speed, rocketing down from the heavens like a noble bird of prey, before straightening its' wings outwards and knocking the guards to the ground.
Fearing the worst, I watched the men closely as they lay on the ground completely still.
Their armor was badly dented inwards, and many of them losing their helmets in the fall, causing gashes to form on their heads that bled profusely.
But much to my surprise, every single man slowly but surely stood back up and retrieved his bow.
The lead guard, now having lost his helmet which his long blonde, hair to the night air, raised his sword to the dragon once more and the men drew their arrows.
As they let the next volley fly, the dragon nimbly dodged out of the way, twisting through the air like a snake before turning to dive at the guards again.
This time, instead of sweeping them off their feet, the dragon landed on the ground in front of them with a loud THUMP, before raising its head and standing proudly over them at its full height.
The dragon must have been close to 30 feet tall, making the guards seem like ants in comparison. But the guards stood fast, dropping their bows and drawing their weapons in preparation for a melee engagement.
The dragon made the first move, charging at the guards and swiping a clawed hands at the closest man, sending him sprawling across the ground.
It then spun around, sweeping its tail through the rest of the guards and knocking them to the ground before standing over them with its drooling maw agape.
Sensing their impending doom, I fully materialized the anti-material rifle in my hands, and loaded an armor piercing ballistic capped shell into the chamber.
As the dragon stretched its neck down to gorge itself on the armored guards, I carefully place the crosshair of the scope on the creatures chest and steady myself before pulling the trigger.
A loud BOOM rings through my ears and the rifle rockets back into my shoulder, causing me to slide backwards a couple inches.
The armor piercing shell whistles through the air, before impacting the thick hide of the dragon and shattering its scales.
It lodges itself in the dragon's torso, before detonating and sending a spray of blood from within the entry wound.
The dragon roars in pain, falling to the ground and thrashing about as blood continues to pour from the massive wound.
It continues to thrash about before climbing to its feet and begin flapping its wings in an attempt to escape.
Unfortunately for the dragon, Mindal had reloaded my rifle.
I take aim at the dragon's shoulder, where its wing was attached to its body, before once more pulling the trigger and feeling the rifle press into my chest as it sent the round hurtling down range.
It made contact with the shoulder joint, before detonating and severing the wing entirely, causing the dragon to fall helplessly to the ground and let out another roar.
Having now successfully immobilized the dragon, I reabsorb the rifle back into my body, before forming a blazing fusion sword in my right hand.
I raise myself up off of the ground, before giving Mindal a thumbs up and charge down the hill towards the beast, my heavy body sending shockwaves through the dirt as I run.
When I reach the injured beast, It was struggling to climb to its feet, now losing copious amounts of blood from the two wounds I had inflicted.
As I raise my sword high above my head, the dragon turns to me and roars, lashing out with a clawed hand in a last ditch effort to survive.
The hand impacts my side but I hardly budge, causing its claws to shatter against my thick armor from the force of the impact.
The reptile's eyes widen in disbelief as I stand over it like an executioner, and in one swift motion, its head falls from its neck and hits the ground with a meat thump while its body crashes to the ground shortly after.
With the dragon now dead, I jam my left hand into the open wound in its torso, absorbing its mass until I'm left standing alone, now over a thousand pounds heavier than when I started, and leaving only the dragon's head laying on the ground.
"You've absorbed a new ability! Would you like to apply it to your nanites?" The woman suddenly says within in my head.
As soon as I nod to confirm, I immediately feel the nanites within my armored shell condense drastically, adding almost three times as much armor to my body than before.
As I inspect the changes to my armor, I'm suddenly interrupted by the sound of the armored guards climbing back to their feet.
Once the ornate guard has fully recovered, he heads to each of his men to check on them, and after he confirms they're all alive, he makes his way over to me.
Having seen the guard approach me, Mindal, along with the rest of our men, now rushed down the hill with their weapons raised to back me up.
Seeing this, the guard raises his hands with his palms outward to show he means no harm, and I gesture towards my men to stand down.
He crosses the rest of the distance before he stands before me, looking up at my massive armored form.
He says something to me in his native tongue, but I wave my hands in front of my to signal my non understanding.
He seems to think for a minute before pointing at the dragon's head on the ground and turning back to me to point at me while making a chopping motion with his hand.
I nod my head in confirmation, and he smiles, before sticking his hand out in greeting.
I take his normal-sized hand within my massive one, taking great care not to crush it, before gingerly shaking it up and down and releasing it.
His smile grows and he laughs loudly, before beckoning towards his men for them to come greet me as well.
I motion for my men to move forwards and over the next few minutes everyone shakes hands in greeting, with the guards exchanging unknown words with everyone, before the lead guard gestures for his men to collect the dragon's head and for us to follow him inside the town walls.
When we approach the gates, they swing inwards, revealing hundreds of armed guards laying in wait within.
When they spot me and my men, they raise their weapons until the lead guard barks out an order, causing them to visibly relax.
They clear a path for us to enter the gate and he turns towards me and motions for me to follow.
Before entering, I tell Mindal and the men to wait outside for me just in case this is a trap.
Mindal nods, and the men all spread out to lean against the trees that surround the town, before I follow the guard and enter the gates.
As I walk past the guards waiting within, they all stare up at my massive form in awe as my heavy feet thump against the cobblestone road while I walk.
He leads me down the winding road, with curious faces peeking from primitive houses in amazement as we pass by.
Eventually, we reach our destination. A large, stone building with ornate marble columns supporting the roof.
He leads me inside, and I duck through the doorway, entering a beautiful marble foyer with curved granite steps leading to a second floor.
He motions for me to stay where I am, before he walks up the stairs and enters an ornate wooden door, leaving me standing in the foyer with the six guards and a dragon's head leaking blood onto the marble floor.
After a short time he returns, exiting the door with a plump, neatly dressed man following behind him.
They seem to be talking excitedly between themselves as they walk down the stairs, before the plump man spots the head leaking blood all over the floor.
He turns to the lead guard and begins speaking angrily, waving his hands vigorously through the air.
The lead guard laughs loudly before speaking to him and gesturing towards me.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Remembering that he has a guest, the plump man suddenly straightens his jacket and clears his throat before moving to greet me with an outstretched hand.
I gingerly shake his hand and he says something to me that I don't understand, causing me to look towards the lead guard for help.
He quickly speaks to the man, no doubt explaining the situation, and the man turns back towards me before nodding.
He then calls out loudly, causing a door to open in the back of the foyer and another sharply dressed man walks in with a pair of glassed perched upon his face.
He enters the room and listens to the plump man, nodding along to words I can't understand.
Once the plump man finishes speaking, the man with the glasses moves to greet me with an outstretched hand which I return.
He then motions for me to follow him, and the lead guard nods in agreement, so I follow him into the room that he had emerged from.
The room seemed to be some kind of study, with large, dust tomes filling bookshelves within the walls.
In the center of the room is a large, ornate, wooden desk with a large glass sphere resting atop it.
The man takes a seat behind the desk and places his hand on the sphere before motioning for me to do the same.
The instant my hand makes contact with the glass, the entire sphere shines with a bright glow before abruptly vanishing.
The man sits back in his chair and folds his hands over his lap before speaking.
"I've just used magic to cast a translate spell between us so we can communicate for the time being."
Now being completely surprised at my understanding of his speech, I just stand there staring at him for a second before responding.
"So this is magic." I say in awe. "Now I understand what could be so useful about it."
The man dons a confused look on his face before responding.
"You've never seen magic at work before? Now it makes much more sense that you don't speak the common tongue. Where exactly are you from?"
"A far of land." I lie. "We don't use magic in my homeland so we rely on technology instead."
"Very interesting." Says the man. "Well anyways, I am Magus Zacharia and I have been given the honor of welcoming you to the town of Erstan."
"This spell should wear off in about six hours so let me lead you back to the Lord of the town so that he can greet you personally."
After finishing speaking he gets up from his chair and leads me back to the foyer and the waiting group of people within.
The plump man and the lead guard are talking about something in hushed tones when we return, and abruptly finish the conversation when we get within earshot before turning to face me.
"Ah our friend has returned." The plump man says with his arms spread wide. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Lord Regith Alterious, the ruler of Erstan."
"I would like to formally thank you for your assistance in slaying the dragon. We would have been in quite the pickle had you not intervened."
"It's nice to meet you." I say in return. "I am Officer Clark of the Federation and think nothing of it, I couldn't just let your men die after fighting so valiantly." I say as I nod towards the lead guard.
"All the same." The Lord responds. "We're grateful for your help, as I'm sure Captain Geylin and his men surely would have perished if not for your aid."
After he finished, the lead knight who must be Captain Geylin nods his head in agreement before the Lord continues.
"I don't mean to be rude my good sir, but I am very curious about what exactly you and your men are doing in these lands."
"Erstan is on the very far border of the Magus Empire and the forest beyond the mountains is home to all kinds of nasty beasts that would love to feast on any unlucky stragglers that wander inside."
"We were sent by our leaders to discover new lands and establish diplomatic relations with any civilizations we may find." I lie. "We spend the last week traveling through the forest before spotting your town when we crossed over the mountains."
"Interesting, very interesting." The Lord says in thought. "No one's ever made it through that forest alive before so it's entirely possible that a kingdom may lie beyond."
"Well, with that aside." He says while shrugging. "You and your men are welcome in my town for as long as you desire. I'll have Zacharia pay you the bounty on the dragon's head so that you and your men can purchase some supplies and get some rest before continuing on your journey."
When he finished the Magus hurries off towards another room before returned with a large pouch and handing it to me.
When I look inside, I find that the pouch is filled with thousands of small golden coins, stamped with the face of a man wearing an ornate crown.
"That dragon has been a thorn in our side for quite a while, so I believe this amount of gold should suffice." Says the Lord as I count the coins.
I discretely absorb a single coin before replacing it in the pouch and hand it back to the Magus standing by my side, causing everyone's jaws to hit the floor.
"I can't take payment for slaying such a terrible beast." I say."Give this gold to those that suffered from the dragon as my apology for not slaying it sooner."
"My goodness!" Exclaims the Lord with a smile. "You are truly a noble warrior Officer Clark. The people of Erstan will surely be thankful for your generosity!"
"Think nothing of it." I say. "Although I do have one request if you don't mind."
"Not at all!" Replies the Lord. "Speak and it shall be yours."
"I would like to acquire a map of the region. If you could point me to a vendor to purchase one from I would be truly grateful."
"Nonsense!" Says the Lord. "I'll have Zacharia retrieve one for you immediately!"
After he says this he motions to the Magus who hurries off, before returning with a large, detailed map in hand.
"This is a military grade map of the Magus Empire, It should meet any needs you may have." The Magus says as he hands me the map.
I nod my thanks at him and the Lord speaks again.
"Thank you once more Officer Clark. Captain Geylin will escort you back to your men so that you may rest and resupply yourselves."
I nod in acceptance before Geylin takes the lead and we exit the building.
We travel through the winding roads once again until we reach the gates, which open to allow us passage.
I make my way over to Mindal and my men and fill them in on the situation, before I lead them back to the gates and Geylin leads us to a decent inn to rest for the night.
He pays for our rooms and bids us goodnight before leaving us to settle in.
Mindal and I share a room while the rest of our men bunk together in four others to get some rest.
As the night progresses Mindal and pour over the map I was given, memorizing every detail and absorbing the map so that we could provide copies to our men.
From looking at the map, Erstan was the southern most town in the Magus Empire. The Empire spanned nearly the entire continent, with the forest creating a natural barrier separating the northern land mass from the south.
The southern continent had been roughly mapped, but it seems like they had been unsuccessful in sending exploration teams through the dense trees to obtain a more detailed mapping of the land.
The Empire was composed of thousands of smaller towns, with roads spanning the land and connecting them to larger cities farther inland.
At the very center of the Empire was a large city labeled The Vein, which appeared to be the capital.
We continued pouring over the map until the sun began the crest the horizon, shining light through the window in our room.
After another hour I could feel a slight tingling sensation that I assumed was the spell wearing off.
My assumption was confirmed when the woman suddenly spoke within my head.
"New ability detected! Would you like to apply this ability?"
I accepted and felt a tingling sensation one more, followed by a jolt of electricity that signaled my ability transfer to Mindal.
He smiled as he felt his new ability take hold and I absorbed the map before we both left the room to wake up our men.
After they ate and donned their gear once more, we left the inn. And after some much needed directions and a short walk, we arrived at a bustling marketplace filled with people.
After a short conversation with the men about what supplies we would need, I formed a small pile of gold coins in my hand and gave ten of them to each man before we all split up.
I strolled past the tents of the marketplace, browsing their curious wares and causing many shoppers to look up at me with curiosity.
I continued to walk around until a small tent nestled within an alleyway caught my eye.
There were all kinds of strange materials on a blue cloth table, with many of them seemingly glowing in the shade of the awning.
Behind the table sat an interesting creature. A small girl wearing a large ratty cloak over her head.
She seemed look very sad, as no one would come near her little stall, so I decided to see what she had for sale.
When I approached the stall, she looked up from her table at my legs and hopped up from her stool, expecting a normal sized person to be in front of her.
When she realized how tall I was, she had to crane her little neck at a weird angle to meet my gaze and shrank away when she did.
"What have you got for sale here little lady?" I ask with a calm tone. "I don't think I've ever seen items quite like these."
Seemingly shocked out of her fear at the idea of a potential sale, she starts jumping up and down, speaking excitedly.
"Yes sir!" She says. "You'll never find magical materials like these in the whoooooole Empire!"
"And what makes these so special?" I say laughing heartily. "I'm sure there are plenty of other merchants selling materials here."
"No sir!" She responds. "These materials were gathered from the forest beyond the mountain! No one here is brave enough to gather in those woods!"
"And you are?" I ask curiously. "No offense but you don't seem like the fighting type."
"No sir, my older brother does all the fighting." She says. "I stay in the town to sell the materials while he's out gathering."
"Ah I see." I say. "So what can you tell me about these materials? What can they be used for?"
She gives me a strange look before responding.
"Are you from out of town or something? Everyone knows what magical materials are for."
"Yes, actually." I say with a laugh. "I'm from a far of land where magic doesn't exist so please, indulge me."
She shrugs as if to say "If you say so." And points at each object as she explains their properties to me.
Apparently, magical materials can be harvested from monsters, certain plants, and veins that grow deep in the earth, with the veins being the most powerful and rare.
Magical blacksmiths can then use the materials to add special properties to weapons, armor, or jewelry, depending on the needs of the buyer.
From what I could gather, the materials she was selling were mainly low grade reinforcement materials, meant to add extra durability to whatever was forged using them.
She continued describing to me the uses of all the materials until eventually she got to a large fang at the end of the table.
"Now this is a really special material." She explained. "This is a basilisk fang filled with paralyzing venom. If you forge a sword with the fang, it will gain the properties of the venom, poisoning whatever you stab."
After she finished she stretched her arms out proudly before speaking.
"So what'll it be sir? Does anything catch your eye? I'll even throw in a new customer discount, just because I'm feeling nice!"
"I'll take all of it." I say, causing her to sputter in surprise. "How much do you want for it?"
"You can't afford it." She says while eyeing me suspiciously.
"Try me." I say as I cross my arms.
"Hmmmmm." She hums while thinking of how much she can squeeze out of me.
"I'll let you have it for one gold coin, and no cheaper!"
I laugh before materializing ten coins in my hand and placing them on the table, causing her jaw to hit the floor.
While she stands there staring at the money, I discreetly absorb the materials before turning to walk away.
Before I go, I turn back to her and speak.
"If you and your brother are looking for full time employment, come find me at the huge granite mountain at the edge of the forest." I say as I point towards the mountain looming in the distance.
Before she can respond, I walk away, heading towards the center of the market to wait for my men to finish shopping.
I don't have to wait very long, with Mindal and the men returning with loads of fresh meat and fruit to take back to the base within a few minutes of me waiting.
After everyone is accounted for, we all head to the main gate to begin the trek back to the base.
When we arrive at the gate, Captain Geylin is waiting for us with the six guards from last night.
As we approach, they all shake our hands again and thank us for our help with the dragon once more.
"We were happy to help." I tell the Captain which seems to surprise him.
"I thought the translation spell would have worn off by now." He says. "The Magus must have used up most of his magic to cast one to last through the night."
"Oh it did wear off." I reply with a laugh. "I just figured out how to cast it on my own."
The Captain stares in surprise before shaking his head and laughing.
"You really are an interesting bunch! Well, you're welcome back here anytime!" He finishes by grasping my massive hand in a firm handshake once more.
"Thank you Captain. If you ever need our help again, come find us at the granite mountain." I say as point towards the mountain. "We're more than happy to lend aid to such honorable men."
He nods in acknowledgment and I pass through the gate with Mindal and the men in tow.
I takes us almost another full day of walking through the waving grass and rippling hills of the planes before return, and by the time we reach to the tunnel Rathor had dug for us, the sun is just beginning to dip below the horizon, sending streaks off red light through the sky.
And while we had been slaying dragons and buying supplies, Rathor had been busy.
When we crest the final hill before the tunnel, everyone stares in amazement at what lay before us.
What had been the beginning of a concrete wall when we left, was now a towering fortification, studded with protruding cannon pillboxes and topped with numerous machine gun emplacements.
Embedded in the wall was an enormous plasteel gate that reflected the red light from the sunset onto the fields below us.
Cameras were mounted along the entire wall, allowing views of the outside world from within the safety of its confines.
As I inspect the wall I notice that much to my surprise, the cannons and machine guns are slowly panning back and forth across the field on their own!
As we approach the gate, all of the turrets swivel to point at us, causing some of the men to feel uneasy, before a loud clanking sound is hear and the gate begins to raise.
As soon as the gate opens, the turrets return to swiveling back and forth over the planes and after the gate is fully raised, it reveals Rathor standing behind, hands on his hips and a smug look on his face.
"Like what you see?" He says, laughing loudly. "While you boys were out partying we were able to get some real work done around here!"
I begin to speak but Mindal interrupts me.
"Where the hell did you find an unmanned turret to absorb? I haven't even seen an unmanned turret!"
"I invented it!" Rathor says proudly. "I figured that since we didn't have the manpower to man our defenses, we'd need something to keep watch."
"What about natives?" I ask, suddenly very worried about the girls brother if he ever appeared. "Will they fire on them without warning?"
"Don't get your panties in a wad Lieutenant." Rathor says with a laugh. "These babies will only fire if they're attacked first. We wouldn't want to attract any unwanted attention now would we?"
I nod in agreement before Rathor speaks again, motioning for us to follow him.
"Come inside boys, I've got to show you everything I've done while you were out galivanting around."
We follow him into the gate and the space beyond is in darkness. But once the gate shuts behind us, hundreds of lights flicker on and I'm in awe at what I see behind the walls.
Attached to every turret, is a long belt of ammunition that passes through a series of rollers, before ending at large boxes of machine gun ammo and cannon shells.
Rathor leads us down the tunnel and into the main area surrounding the granite mountain and we continue to stare at his work.
He had built hundreds of small, automated farms that watered and tended to various crops around the mountain.
Water collectors also populated the area, harvesting dew and rainwater from the air and cleaning it, before depositing it in plasteel containers.
The most impressive construction however, was the enormous concrete star fortress that now surrounded the base of the mountain.
It was topped by hundreds of enormous cannon turrets that swiveled back and forth throughout the valley, accompanied by thousands of machine guns.
Nestled safely behind the walls, were dozens of large caliber artillery turrets capable of lobbing shells over the tops of the smaller mountains and offering supporting fire to the walls on the outside.
We followed him around the massive fortress until we reached an enormous plasteel gate, measuring nearly ten feet in thickness, and after a camera swiveled towards us, it opened with a groan.
As we passed through the gate I noticed even more ammo belts connected to boxes, supplying the numerous turrets that stood watch over the walls, but Rathor continued onwards, leading us to a smaller plasteel door in place of the once rough-hewn tunnel.
We entered the door and walked down a spacious concrete hallway until we entered the storage room.
What had once been a basic artificial cave to store our supplies had now been converted into a large cylindrical room with dozens of doors labeled with signs.
"This is the central hub of the complex." Rathor spoke as he spread his arms wide. "I build it as a central choke point that's easily defendable from invaders."
"Every door is labeled, with most of them leading to quarters for the men or industrial rooms. Some of them however, lead to more interesting things." He said with a smirk.
Mindal and I followed him through a door labeled command, while our men headed to a door labeled cafeteria to eat some food and relax after our journey, and we found ourselves in a large circular room filled with flashing electronics and LCD displays.
"This room is the brain of the base." Rathor explained. "I was able to upload the AI from our nanites into the computer system so she could manage the base and man the turrets."
"I have practically no skill in programming so I had to make do with what I had." He said with a shrug.
"So what do you think?" He said before turning to us.
We sat in stunned silence for a moment before I responded.
"I think you've made more progress than we have." I said. "All we did was slay a dragon, make some new friends, and obtain a map."
"Let me see that map for a second." Rathor said. "I'll link it to our feed from the Devastation."
I formed the map in my hand and passed it to him. He then placed it on a glass table in the middle of the room, triggering a holographic image of the planet to appear above it.
A light quickly scanned over the map and the planet suddenly rotated and zoomed in to show the exact mountain we now resided within.
It zoomed out once again and suddenly a red border appeared around the land the Empire had claimed, showing us a detailed topographic map of the territory. I could even spot a tiny Erstan on the southern border near our mountain.
"You've certainly been busy." I say to Rathor. "This map will be much more useful than the paper one I got from the town."
"I figure that since I had nothing better to do," He responds with a laugh. "I might as well spruce the place up a bit."
After the map is done being scanned, I absorb it once more and we all exit the room and head towards the cafeteria to check on our men.
"So." Rathor says. "You're gonna have to fill me in on this whole "dragon" deal. It sounds like it was a fun time."
So, enter the cafeteria and take a seat, Mindal and I retell the events of the last two days while Rathor listens in with an excited look in his eye.