I took the time to cultivate and fill my core with the excess mana I absorbed. I was excited while thinking of what powers I'll get when I can finally form Pillars.
It was midafternoon when we arrived in the city and there it only took a few minutes of walking the empty streets to reach the store where our group holed up. A much-needed smile touched my lips as I watched Eliara gaze around, mystified. She was mesmerized by the tall buildings and skyscrapers.
I chuckled, "Mithra'Vheen has buildings just as tall you know?"
She was now prodding a minivan in curiosity, "Yes, but your people built all this without magic. It must have taken ages to construct!"
"Some of the tallest buildings can take around five years to finish. Most buildings only take a few months to a year to complete," I replied.
"And what are these things?" she gestured at the cars dotting the roads.
"Cars, trucks, vans. Different models have different names. Broadly speaking, they are vehicles. Basically, horseless carriages." I smiled.
"Ah, we have those too. Though they look very different to these things. They are rarer too, expensive. How do these move?"
I pointed to the fuel cap, "A combustible fuel called gasoline gets poured in there where it settles in the fuel tank. It is then fed into the engine. A battery, an electrical energy source, is turned on which allows a spark to ignite the fuel in the combustion chamber which in turn allows cylinders in the engine to compress precisely measured amounts of fuel to the point where it ignites pushing the cylinder down. this all happens hundreds or thousands of times a second creating enough kinetic energy for the wheels to propel the vehicle forward or backward. Something like that. I'm not really a car guy." I shrugged.
Sparkles were practically shooting from Eliara's eyes. Asha and I shared an amused glance. Then my eyes widened, "Hey Asha, I just realized something. You've been on Earth long enough to see technology progress from swords and arrows to modern day. How was that for you?"
Asha blinked, not expecting the question. A contemplative look crossed her face, "I never really thought about it". She played with her hair, grimacing at how grimy it was from the long travel, then replied, "It was amazing. On Veru, society, in terms of technology, progressed extremely slowly. When those with power live for centuries, innovation is less of a pressing need. Here though, your kind jumped from fighting on horseback and using fire to light up your homes to, this, in a blink of an eye." She waved a hand around her. "It's rather amazing, especially when you add that Earth had no magic," she finished.
Eliara mouthed a silent, "Wow", and I smiled.
"Yeah, we're pretty great." Asha rolled her eyes but held a smirk. I paused a few steps away and grinned, "Though I'm glad to see this new world isn't all gloom and doom." I kneeled down and plucked a few glowing blue and purple flowers that looked like a spiraling mix between a rose and a water lily. I tucked one behind Eli's ear who smiled shyly and took a deep breath. The flower smelled of vanilla and mint. These will be great to liven up the settlement so it isn't all suburban fallout chic. We finally made our way back to the store and stopped dead. I let out an impressed whistle and said, "Speaking of innovation."
Our guys had been busy. There were four shipping containers connected by sheet metal creating a closed off wall in front of the entrance with a ten-foot gap for traffic. On top of the containers were a waist high plywood wall reinforced with sandbags like a WWII encampment. A railed chain link gate was installed at the opening. Barbed wire was woven through the links as well as lining the top of the containers. There were four people manning the containers with a bell installed on either side of the containers. A makeshift bridge of thick plywood connected the gap between containers.
The people on top of the wall wielded compound hunting bows and there were open oil barrels with homemade spears filling them. I could see through the barbed wire that there were a couple of people behind the gate wielding spears and machetes. They all wore Kevlar vests and SWAT armor. They raised their bows, but one recognized me and shouted for the others to relax.
The woman who shouted looked behind her and shouted down, "Grab Frank, they're back!"
She was vaguely familiar, but I didn't know her name. She said to us, "It's about time! Thought you guys got lost. See you picked up another stray. I—," she cut herself off and focused on Eliara. First looking at her odd arm, then staring at her ears, "Is, is she an Elf?" Her voice was trying to hold back excitement.
I chuckled, "Half-Elf, but yeah. This is Eliara, but let's hold off on introductions until we're inside."
A wide smile was plastered on her face, "You got it, Boss! Open the gate." she commanded. The men below complied and using handles welded well away from the barbed wire, they pulled the gate open for them to pass through. Fear and curiosity were dominant on the faces, though a few of them held recognition.
A familiar, smiling face welcomed them as Frank exited the store. "Ha! Well, if it ain't our fearless leader! And you've brought friend. Heya, ma'am. The name's Frank, I've been holdin' down the fort while these fellas have been out braving the wilds. You a Vampire too? Ya got same lookin' ears as our friends here." the boisterous man stuck out a meaty hand for Eliara to shake.
After a moment's hesitation taking in his energy, she smiled politely and shook with her normal hand, which caused Frank to have to change the hand he proffered, and replied, "I am Eliara. A pleasure Frank. No, I am not kin to these two, I am a Half-Elf."
"Half-Elf? Guess that makes sense. What's the other half? I'm guess angel seeing as you're so pretty." he let out a full belly laugh.
"No, human."
"Frank, you sure your missus would take kindly to you flirting with another woman?" I raised a brow.
"Aw, just being polite boy, 'sides, I could be her grandpa!" he grinned.
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"Think again, half of her is Elf. She could be a hundred years old for all you know." I snarked.
His eyes widened at Eliara, and she replied, "He is correct Frank. The Elvara are long lived people. Half-Elves inherit some of that longevity, especially if they cultivate. However, you are not wrong in this case. I happen to be in my 31st year."
I raised my brow in surprise, "Oh hey, me too!"
Frank relaxed a touch, "Whew, it would've been weird ta' treat a lady that looks so young as my elder. Well, no sense talking out here. Let's get you some food and you can tell us what'cha been up to. That weird contraption you sent us didn't elaborate much."
Asha said, "That model was cheap and could only record so much."
"Makes 'bout as much sense as anything these days." Frank replied frankly.
"Looks like y'all got a tale to tell just the same, though I'm betting we gotcha beat." I grinned.
Seeing the commotion, people inside started to follow in interest until we got to an area that was acting as a kitchen. Seems like they were using a backyard foundry to hold a contained fire for cooking. I was also impressed to see hovering magical lights dotting the area.
Finally, we settled down and began our tell. People oohed and aah-ed at the appropriate moments. The children in the group cheering when we got to the point where we fought the group of Gnolls and saved the Dwarves; I toned down the violence of course. There was one adorable little girl who was staring gobsmacked at Eliara and her bioluminescent flower. I pulled one of the flowers, which I had put in my storage and gave it to her and her eyes went even wider. She stared at me, star struck, too overwhelmed to remember how to speak. She started to jostle flicking her eyes from me to the flower to Eli. Her mother chuckled and nudged her and reminded her, "Ashley, what do you say?
She let out a loud and rapid, "THANKYOUSOMUCH!", and immediately began showing off her prize to the other children.
Smiling, I continued my story. When we got to Mithra'Vheen, Eliara took out her snap-sphere and projected appropriate pictures in the air. Everyone gasped at the hologram and the kids tried to touch it, to no avail. Eliara giggled at their antics. She showed the mountain city, the Amethyst Cathedral, and other impressive sites around the city. I continued my tale and we got to the part where I was petting the cloud grazer.
The crowd was gob smacked. I let them soak in the image. Had it been a normal recording or photo, some may have claimed it was photoshop or CGI. The fact the image was in the form of a floating hologram projected from a jeweled eyeball held by a Half-Elf kept even the most cynical silent. I then got to the hospital.
"After that, we came across the hospital. It... was bad. Even now, I keep wanting to sugarcoat it for y'all." I clenched my fists and my gaze hardened, "But I can't do that. Not now. Ya'll have done an amazing job with this place, and I'll hear what y'all have gone through in a bit, but in this world, you need to know what's out there. You can't be sheltered anymore." Thus, before parents could grab their kids I went into detail about the monster and what it did. I did gloss over how I devoured it. I need them afraid of the monsters, not me.
Faces paled, some grew green around the gills, and the children old enough to understand what I was saying started crying, hugging their parents. I hadn't noticed at the time, but Eliara took a photo of the monster after the fact. It was whole enough that they got the idea of what it looked like in life. "I'm sorry everyone, but that is what is out there. The monsters are no longer spooky stories. Most of them out there are simply beasts trying to eat and survive, sure. But there is pure evil in the world now, and if you put your heads in the sand, you'll end up dead or worse. I'll leave you with that. Frank, let's go somewhere private and you can tell me what happened here." I hesitated then added, "You don't need to be powerless. As of now, all of you will die facing down that creature, but with hard work and knowledge, you can gain the power to fight. To survive, and I will have you survive.
Frank stared at the photo, holding onto his wife's hand. I don't think even Frank knew if it was to comfort her or himself. When Eliara shut off the projection, he jolted and looked at me. He stared for a moment, an undecipherable look on his face before he nodded and led me to the manager's office.
Once inside with the three of us, he closed the door and sat at the desk. There was only one other chair, and I gave it to Eliara. Frank let out a shuddering breath and said, "That was some fucked up shit you laid out, Victor. Pardon my French, ladies."
Eliara simply nodded, not understanding the expression and Asha shrugged and said, "Fuck it, if there's a time to curse it's after seeing that thing."
He let out a humorless laugh, "Forget the kiddos, I think everyone's gonna have nightmares for a while. I get where you're coming from, Victor. Not everyone will though."
My lips pressed into a hard line, "Tough. In this world, the strong rule and if we have any chance of surviving, we can't revert to Democracy and expect it to work. While they debate on what to do or if we have a council acting as congress to approve my decisions, then we'll be torn apart by the creatures clawing at the gates. However, that will be a discussion for later. Tell me how you guys handled the past while."
Frank looked at me a moment, pondering my words before answering. He said it had been quiet for the most part. After a couple of attacks by small monsters or the desperate, they got the idea to barricade. It was hard work to get the containers from semis that were parked in the loading area, but with teamwork and some 'redneck ingenuity' they managed to detach the trailers from the cabs of the trucks and pull them to the front. They got them into position and got them off the trailers. Using rope and muscle they got them in position.
I was quite pleased to hear how they managed to weld. Turns out, so long as you keep oxy-acetylene torches on the lowest settings and are very careful, you can use them. Since it's letting out less gas than you'd normally have to use, it will last longer as well. Asha also assured him that there are spells that can be used as a substitute.
They also came across a SWAT truck and a hunting store where they got plenty of supplies for defense. They had nearly doubled their initial numbers however and food was starting to become a concern. Asha waved that away as well as there are plenty of edible creatures out there and as people began to cultivate, they would need less food as their bodies started to rely more on mana to fuel their body than food. Apparently, there are alchemical brews that can replace food entirely. It doesn't taste too good and are usually used in times of extreme need like natural disasters or during sieges.
A few had died in the various attacks towards the beginning, but now they only get light wounds if that. The people who got the hang of some basic spells before we left were also vital in driving off threats. Asha nodded smugly at that, proud of her teaching skills.
Frank's telling lasted about three hours as he had gone into much more detail about the state of things then I had. I stayed silent for the most part, only asking for clarification every now and then. When he finished, I smiled, "Well Frank, I'm damn proud of y'all."
He waved it off, "Aw, ain't much to it. It was a collective effort. Though I have to introduce you to this one guy. He feels a bit shady iff'n I say so myself, but he knows how to lead people. Brought a good size bit of people when he showed up. Thought they would be trouble but they're behaving themselves. A couple of his guys we need to keep a close eye on, but he's keeping them in line. I don't think he wants a fight since he has his ol' lady here. Hang out here and I'll go grab him." I nodded and Frank departed.
If there's someone here like that, then it must be a gang leader or something. Maybe someone in the military? I'll have to hold my judgement until I see him. A few minutes later, Frank tracked him down and returned. He opened the door saying, "Found him. He was out doing some scavenging for us and just got back an hour ago. Sorry to interrupt your dinner Rico, but the boss man wanted to meet ya."
My stomach dropped as I saw the man, the bastard, Rico Alvarez. This man got my brother killed.