The mattress was lumpy. None of the plumbing worked. And the whole room somehow managed to smell like bleach and mildew, both at the same time. On top of that, Elijah could feel every creeping, crawling insect in the walls, and he could hear everything that happened in the next room over.

Yet, for some reason, he’d slept incredibly well, and when it came time for a shower, he just stepped into the bathroom and summoned Healing Rain. So, as far as he was concerned, things were looking up.

Except for the fact that Easton, according to an overheard conversation between the proprietor of the hotel and a guest, was more than a thousand miles away. How much more was a bit of a mystery, and even the city’s presence was little more than rumor. Still, Elijah would take even the smallest clue that would lead him in his sister’s direction. Because as much as he enjoyed trekking through the wilderness and seeing different places, when he thought of his sister, the weight or urgency had settled firmly onto his shoulders.

And he knew why, too.

Life in their new world was cheap. Even before Earth had felt the touch of the World Tree, people died every day. Sometimes, it was because of disease. Others, because of accidents like the one that had taken his parents. And in other parts of the world, conflict and hunger claimed even more lives. However, the increased danger of the world, coupled with the fact that civilization seemed to have taken a step backward, meant that people had died at a much higher rate.

Billions had perished.

And Elijah knew that there was more death to come. If the environment didn’t do it, people would pick up the slack. The situation in Seattle had made that abundantly clear. So, who knew what perils Alyssa, Carmen, and Miguel had faced? And who was to say that they wouldn’t find themselves up against a foe they couldn’t overcome? Elijah was one of the strongest people in the world, and he’d nearly died more than once.

No – life didn’t hold the sanctity it once had, and he felt more driven than ever to find his family.

That was why he didn’t plan on staying in Seattle for very long. A couple of days, at most. And then, he’d set out for Easton.

In the meantime, though, he had a few things he wanted to investigate. The first item on the list was personal. Seattle seemed to have a better handle on how to integrate ethera and electronics than anywhere he’d yet seen. So, he intended to do some shopping so he could bring some modern conveniences back to his grove. Even something as simple as a working computer would do wonders for his organizational skills. His notebook was great, but he couldn’t help but think that being able to properly organize all his notes would be beneficial to his plans for cultivation as well as for the development of his island.

And that wasn’t even considering the potential entertainment options. E-Readers, video players, and phones held endless possibilities, and he was eager to see what had survived.

As for some of the other potentially useful technology, like drones and cars, he held little interest. He could move through the rough terrain of the expanded wilderness at least as quickly as all but the most rugged vehicles, so he didn’t have much use for that sort of thing. And drones just seemed like more trouble than they were worth. Perhaps he would grow to regret that attitude, but for now, he had no desire for such things.

The second order of business regarded information. He was woefully ignorant of the rest of humanity, and he wanted to know how everything stood. Seattle was a big place, and from what he’d heard in his previous exploration of the city, it played host to plenty of travelers. As such, they would have a better sense of the world than anywhere else he’d been.

And finally, he wanted to visit the so-called Gardener. Everything he’d heard pointed to them having some sort of nature-based class, and Elijah had some hopes that he might finally meet another Druid.

Regardless, his first stop was to get breakfast, so he found a nearby restaurant where he ordered a couple of breakfast burritos. As it turned out, the meat was all soy-based, which didn’t really affect the taste so much. Even if it had, the peppers and onions definitely made up for it. It wasn’t the best Elijah had ever tasted, but it was far better than any attempt he’d made at cooking, so of course he had seconds.

Unfortunately, the restaurant had no coffee, and he was only given a single bottle of water to drink, and even that cost more than the entire meal. When he asked about it, the server told him that water was scarce, and that the only reliable source was a series of water accumulators the government had bought from the Branch’s Market.

That highlighted another item on Elijah’s list. He needed to visit the local Branch as well. Hopefully, given that it was under government control, that wouldn’t prove to be too much of a hassle.

After breakfast, Elijah set off through the city. As soon as he left what he’d dubbed Seattle’s foreign quarter, he started to notice the divisions he’d heard so much about. Not in the civilians, most of whom looked like normal people, albeit ones who’d been through rough times. Rather, Elijah focused on the clear combatants. The ones associated with the government all wore variations of the gear Elijah had seen from the guards, which meant black fatigues and modern body armor. Most carried swords, but he saw a few crossbows and wands – worn on the hip like pistols – as well.

By contrast, the Lake City militants wore far more eclectic gear in line with what Elijah had seen in other places. Plate armor, chainmail, robes – in the old world, they might’ve looked like cosplayers. However, Elijah recognized that many of those pieces were Crude- or even Simple-Grade, just from the aura of power they emitted. From what Elijah understood, that equipment had likely come from the tower.

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The final set of people Elijah saw wore far rougher gear. Most of it looked handmade, but some of the pieces were decent-enough quality that Elijah could feel the ethera running through it. Those were the Ranier hunters, whose territory also played host to the city’s largest crafting community. It was a symbiotic relationship. The hunters provided materials, and the crafters created equipment.

As he explored, Elijah discovered that much of the city had been destroyed, and other buildings had been constructed on the rubble. So, he couldn’t recognize much of what he saw, and he ended up getting turned around on more than one occasion. Thankfully, there were enough people around that he could simply follow the flow of pedestrians.

Eventually, Elijah found his way to a large plaza containing an open-air market, where they sold all the electronics he could ever want. Much of it was broken, and none of it was charged, but Elijah still found a tablet as well as a laptop computer. He also bought an E-Reader the merchant claimed held more than a thousand books. And finally, he spent four silver ethereum coins on a small generator that converted ethera to electricity. The conversion rate was terrible, but it would serve to charge the electronics he’d bought, so long as he only did one at a time. Even so, it would take days for it to do the trick, though he supposed that beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Once all of that was done, Elijah continued on through the city until he reached what was once a large department store. There were four burly guards outside, but Elijah suspected they were just for show. None seemed to have particularly high attributes, at least, and they didn’t pay much attention to him as he stepped inside.

“Welcome to my shop,” a woman said with an urbane voice. She sounded like she was trying to emulate the old trans-Atlantic accent that was once so prevalent in Hollywood movies, which immediately put Elijah off. Nobody really talked like that anymore, which meant that the woman – who was in her fifties, with white-streaked black hair – was putting on a show. “The Covington Emporium has equipment for all archetypes. From martial gear to jewelry, we are –”

At that very moment, someone bulled past Elijah. Or they tried. With his Constitution, it would take quite a bit more force to knock him aside, so the person caromed away before hitting the tile floor and skidding to a stop. A second later, three fighters followed, though they didn’t hit Elijah.

“You little shit!” growled one. “You know who you tried to steal from?”

The man – he was middle-aged, and looked like he was ready for a trip to the country club, though his clothing was ripped and stained – flipped over and tried to scramble away. Meanwhile, one of the burly warriors descended upon him, grabbed him by the collar, and hoisted him aloft.

“Penalty for theft is execution,” the big, dark-skinned man spat.

“May as well do it here. More witnesses. People need to know not to mess with us,” said the second fighter. They were all clearly hunters from Ranier, judging by their rough gear that looked like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie. “Seems that some lessons are hard for these idiots to learn.”

The old man clutched a bag to his chest, pleading, “We’re starving! We just need –”

At that point, the man holding him aloft spat in his face. “Rich asshole. You think we care if you starve? You all never cared about us, did you? Well, now the shoe’s on the other foot, eh?”

“You will not dispense justice in this store!” shouted the proprietor.

Elijah just watched, and even though he knew it was probably smarter to just stay out of it, he really didn’t want to watch someone get executed just because they stole a bit of food. The aggrieved man threw the thief onto the ground, and the impact was enough to daze him.

Then, the the would-be dispenser of justice slammed his foot onto the man’s back and drew a sword from his waist. It was a heavy-bladed thing, the sort most people would use to hack their way through a jungle. He hefted it.

But before he could let it fall, Elijah stepped forward and grabbed the man’s wrist.

“Sorry. I can’t let you do this,” he said. “The guy’s just hungry. Maybe I can pay for whatever he stole, huh? Nobody needs to die here.”

The man tried to yank his hand free, but Elijah’s grip was like iron. So, he said, “This isn’t your business.”

“I’m all for law and order, but killing someone for theft just feels excessive to me. I don’t think I could live with myself if I let it happen right in front of me,” Elijah responded, his voice calm. He’d felt the man’s Strength, and it was nothing special. Likely, his other attributes followed suit, so he didn’t think he had much to worry about. “Like I said, I’m willing to pay if it means everyone walks away from this.”

“We don’t want your money,” growled one of the others. The remaining two had already flanked Elijah, clearly meaning to surround him.

“Shut up, Robbie,” said the man whose wrist Elijah had in a vice grip. He had some inkling of what Elijah was capable of.

“Maybe we can just take his stuff, too. Serves him right for –”

“I said to shut up, Robbie!” the first man growled. Then, he addressed Elijah, “Two silver.”

“Seriously?” Elijah said. Then, he rolled his eyes and fished in his satchel for the right coins. It took an awkward second, considering he only had one hand to do the trick, and that had been dedicated to holding his staff. Still, after leaning the Dragon-Touched Staff against the crook of his arm, he managed it. He handed the pair of coins over, then released the man. “Are we good?”

He nodded, pocketing the coins. Then, he said, “I don’t know who you are, but if you run around making trouble on account of this trash, expect to make a lot of enemies.”

“Noted,” Elijah said.

Then, the three men backed away. The two subordinates were obviously upset at having to forego a public execution, but the man in charge silenced them. Elijah kept track of the trio until they’d left the effective radius of One with Nature. Then, he turned to the older man and helped him up.

“You have my gratitude, stranger,” the man stated, knocking the dust from his front. “Those thugs are a menace, but they’re strong enough that civilized people can’t do anything about them.”

“I suppose,” Elijah said noncommittally. He didn’t know if “thug” was the right word, especially given some of the connotations that came with it. Regardless, he was okay with how things had turned out. A couple of silver coins wasn’t a high price to pay if it meant saving someone’s life.

“How can I repay you?” the man asked.

Elijah shrugged. “Not sure I feel right about taking a reward from someone who has to steal food,” he said truthfully.

“How about we put you up for the night at least?” the man asked. “Safest place in all of Seattle. Please. I insist on paying my debts.”

Elijah sighed. “Fine,” he said, remembering the terrible conditions of the hotel room. “I mean, sure. That would be great. Thanks.”

By that point, it was already getting late, so Elijah and the man set off in the direction of Mercer Mesa.