Vitmori POV

Back down below my mountain, I watched as Lars half dragged, half walked Isaak down the stairs with Joli following behind them, carrying a couple of packs of equipment and other goods. Isaak looked rough, but taking a closer look at him, I could tell he was just exhausted, and nothing was actually wrong with him... Actually, he seemed to be stronger than when I saw him yesterday, he's even got a mana heart now. That's... Interesting. I didn't think it could be developed that fast without... Well... Without something like me making it happen.

Seeing Lars looking around the room I had just carved off of the staircase in order to make a new floor between Frisby's old chamber and the slime spring room, he gave a nod of approval at what he saw. "This is a nice little cave. A bit of a walk, but it's good enough."

I couldn't help but chuckle softly as I shook my head. "Oh, this isn't the cave I was talking about, this is just the foyer, essentially." I mused as I walked over to the far wall, deciding to be rather showy as I press my hand up to the wall and made the stone slowly vanish, pulling the wall into my storage and revealing the training room I had spent all night building. Stepping aside, I glanced over at Lars and Joli as they looked around the recreation of my long-lost home. Even if I wasn't doing all this for them, their expressions were well worth all the effort I put into this place.

"I wasn't aware that there were ruins down here... By the gods, how old could this place be." Lars wondered aloud, shouldering most of Isaak's weight as Joli pulled away to get a closer look at one of the buildings.

"They must be hundreds of years old, at least, just look at this, enough space for a whole community, all of which was lost to time." Joli wondered aloud as she walked up the steps towards an entryway with no doors, peering at the empty space inside before stepping back.

I had a hard time maintaining my composure, though I at least managed to keep a casual expression as I spoke up, interrupting their musings. "It's actually only a day old, well, a night old. I just finished making all of this on a whim for my own training, but you all are free to use it." I explained as I walked past them before looking at their faces again and flashing a small smile.

Joli was stunned and silent for a moment, looking over the entire room and at the similar-looking buildings around her. Lars found his words first, looking around in a similar state of disbelief as Joli. "Y-you built this in a night? Truly? All this... You could house that whole community in just one of these buildings, hell you could probably house the Order down here and then some." He considered aloud.

I took a moment to chew on that comment; I could definitely house everyone here, though it certainly wouldn't be all that comfortable without some real work being put into this place. Ultimately, I wouldn't want to drag anyone to live underground if they didn't have to. But who knows, this place could certainly be useful as a sort of shelter or bunker in case the Haven needs to be evacuated for any sort of reason. Instead of explaining myself, I decided to just move the topic along. "Perhaps, but this is not a place designed to be lived in, this is a training room, and you're here for training, right?"

Lars nodded as he looked around, and I could tell he felt lost on where to go. Though it was around then that Joli found her words as she started walking up towards me. "Vitmori, what is this place? I don't mean the training room as it is, but what is it supposed to look like?" She asked curiously.

I blinked with vague surprise at the question and took a moment to consider an answer. "This place is a recreation of my old home, at the very least, a street that I was around rather often." I start to explain as I look further up the road to a certain rooftop. "This street, in particular, was part of the residential district, so people lived in most of these buildings, while a couple of them were used as local storage lots and trading hubs for the few traveling merchants." I then point out another building up ahead of us. "That one over there had a pretty good diner on the second floor, the owner and head cook there was a Cuban man who could work miracles with just meat and rice." I mentioned with a bit of a smile, looking around the street as I walked a few more steps down the sidewalk. "This building over here served as the main trading hub for this part of the neighborhood, most people had some sort of trade after so many years and would make things we needed for the day to day, most people traded bullets, although knives, nails, and various odds and ends could be traded for all sorts of creature comforts like cookies or bars of scented soap among other things." I could see Joli following closely behind me, listening intently to what I had to say as I rambled on, even if there were a few things she didn't understand.

Lars on the other hand found a bench to lay Isaak down on, the teen sleeping soundly once again after being made to walk so far while being blinded and deafened. Once Isaak was as comfortable as he was gonna get, Lars walked over and spoke up. "So how many nobles were in your village? All these manors with shops and restaurants built within them, they must have been rather influential and wealthy." He considered as he looked among the buildings around them.

I couldn't help but chuckle at that, the idea of nobility being anywhere within the apocalypse just felt rather absurd to me. "There were no nobles, in fact, the practice of nobles and nobility had been out of style for just over a couple of centuries in my country. There were landlords for these buildings, but that practice was also dead by the time we set up here." I glance over at Lars, flashing an amused smile. "The closest thing to any sort of 'nobility' would be the council members who ran the day-to-day of the homefront. Though it was my family who settled the community and had executive power during emergencies due to our influence, just about everyone who lived here had been helped by my family and our people in one way or another, so we had earned the privilege of that authority." I explained before looking over the buildings again. "Also, these aren't manors. They're apartment buildings, a couple of them are office buildings, but most of them are apartments. This community was built out of a small but urban town, it took a lot of effort to clear and secure, but the infrastructure that was already in place was invaluable and well worth the effort to further fortify and defend."

Joli and Lars shared a look, taking a moment to digest what they understood before Joli piped up, stepping closer. "So, you didn't build the original version of this place? You came in and occupied it like some kind of invading force?" She didn't sound accusatory, and I couldn't sense any malice in her words, just simple curiosity.

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I flashed a bit of a smile, they didn't know. They couldn't have known since I didn't tell them about what my home world was like. "We did move in and occupy the place, yes, but not as an invading force. You see, my world was already over by that point. Monsters in the shape of roaming corpses decimated the world. This place was an abandoned ruin by the time we arrived and set to work rebuilding it." At that, their eyes widened, Joli and Lars sharing another look, though before they could speak up, I answered the question I guessed was on their mind. "Davey and I are from different worlds, so his home didn't follow the same path as mine, as far as I know at least."

"Thank you for that." Lars said with a sheepish smile as he scratched his cheek before looking at one of the buildings around them. "Do you have anywhere for us to be in particular?"

"Nowhere really, though I'd be happy to advise you on where to go and maybe even assist if you can tell me what you're trying to do." I offer, not minding the opportunity to see this place getting some use.

Joli spoke up at that. "Well, we need Isaak to rest for a while longer, after he wakes up, he'll be fed a few pounds of unseasoned, fire-grilled meat and bowls of plain oatmeal so he can fill up." She explained; though she continued before I could speak, seeing the question on my face. "The reason we're feeding him such bland foodstuffs is due to heightened sensitivity to his senses, both taste and smell would overwhelm him if he were to try and eat regular food during the first couple of days. After his first meal, we're gonna teach him one of our mana refinement and recovery techniques before forcing him to spar and move around while actively exerting his new mana heart."

"I see, would you mind if I sat in on the lessons? I have yet to learn how to actually use my own mana heart while moving around." While I could still certainly talk with Reonim later about how he uses his mana heart, based on what Reyvyre said, I'd probably be better off getting this possibly simplified, newbie crash course on how to use a mana heart.

Joli and Lars share another look, I could sense their hesitation. They actually took a moment to quietly discuss what they should do, and I decided to not actively eavesdrop and waited patiently. After a couple of minutes, they came back as Joli spoke up again. "I'm afraid you cannot sit in during the isolation or the teaching of the mana refinement and recovery techniques, though we have no problems with you joining in the mana heart exercise." She explained while being sincerely apologetic.

I suppose that's fair enough. They have their own traditions and practices, and while I could insist, it's not something worth arguing or fighting over. "Very well, if you could just collect me when you're ready for the mana heart exercise, I'll be waiting. Feel free to use any of the buildings, but if you want to be as isolated as possible, then try that building." I suggest while pointing at one further up the road. "That one has a staircase leading down into a basement, you won't get more isolated than that."

Lars flashed a smile as he went and collected Isaak, slinging the teen over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Thanks, Vitmori, we'll make sure to come and find you once Isaak is ready." He said cheerfully enough before the trio made their way off.

Once they were out of sight, the motivation I had to train by myself was now all but gone, as it would be a day or two for them to do whatever they needed to do to get Isaak acclimated to his new self. I had all the time I could want again and now needed something different to occupy myself.

Making my way back up and crossing through the spitter wolf den, I nearly make my way out before spotting Jack, Legosi, and Oururu all gathered up in the map room, standing around the table as Jack walks across the magical sand display. "And here, this is where the main gang of squirrels are based out of, and where the big boss is located. We strike here, and the rest of this faction is scattered." He exclaimed confidently as he cut his wing through the air.

I couldn't help but smile a bit as I watched Jack saunter around while managing to hold the complete attention of his two much more massive peers. I listen in for a few more moments and figure out that Jack is trying to propose a plan of attack with the aid of Legosi's spitter wolves, all the while Oururu pokes at the holes in Jack's plans and offers his advice on how to better handle various things.

After a few more minutes, I decided to make myself known as I step into the room. "So you're finally taking the fight to the squirrels? What's changed?" I ask with curiosity, walking up to the table and leaning against it.

"Boss! It's a pleasure to see you." Jack chirps pleasantly, Legosi smiling cheerfully at my arrival while Oururu bobbed his head in respect. Jack then looked over the map before hopping over to the simulated mountain and perching atop of it as he turned to look at me. "It's nothing big, Boss; I just have other plans in mind, and I won't be able to give my full attention to them until those squirrelly bastards are handled." He explained, appearing rather confident in himself as remained perched on the mountain and surveyed the simulated forest.

I nodded in understanding as I looked things over before looking over at Oururu, he was currently wearing a long, blue poncho that draped over most of his torso, though he still wore the battle skirt underneath. Overall, he looked pretty good for a snake who recently became a person. "What do you think?"

Oururu flicked his tongue thoughtfully, sitting in a coil of himself while wringing the end of his tail in his hands. I could tell that this act wasn't done out of anxiety, but more along the lines of contemplation. "It's not a bad plan altogether, and while we may not have the numerical advantage, we do have more overall power and even size on them. All in all, it should not be a difficult fight." He said, Jack flapping his wings with excitement, but before he could say anything, Oururu continued. "But... The problem we'll have is having to face their numbers as well as the fact that we would be meeting them in their home territory. The squirrels' have the advantage of knowing that local section of the woods, as well as their overall mobility within the cover of the tree branches which Jack's birds would not be able to easily access from above, and would only put themselves at much greater risk of attack or even crashing if they attacked from below the tree line."

Legosi just looked between Jack and Oururu, listening intently. As clever as he is, he still wasn't too sure how he fit in all this besides just attacking, and I could tell he was just waiting to be given any kind of instruction once the decisions were made.

Jack deflated a little bit, hopping down from the sand mountain and approaching Oururu. "Is there nothing we can do?" He asked curiously, not liking the balance of the current advantages and disadvantages that were listed at this point.

Oururu glanced between me, Jack, and Legosi, the gears whirring as he thought about how to solve this particular dilemma. He turned to watch Legosi again for a few more moments and I could sense something snapping into place in his mind as he had a thought. "Perhaps we could have your birds ride along the backs of Legosi' wolves, the birds could focus on using their magic to attack while the wolves focus on staying on the move and keeping any attackers away using their venom and generally more combat-capable bodies." He offered as he looked between Jack and Legosi.

"Sounds good to me." Legosi said with an eager bob of his head.

Jack fluttered his wings excitedly as he hopped around on the table. "Excellent, when can we get started?" He asked eagerly.

Though at that question Oururu looked over at me expectantly, which I appreciated, as I looked over the map and at everyone here. "Well, before we go off looking for a fight, do we know why the squirrels are attacking us, to begin with? Is there any chance we can possibly negotiate with them and recruit them to our team?" I asked as I looked among them. Though at that question, I could sense Jack getting nervous as he did his best to stare at one of the walls. "Jack... Do you happen to know why they're attacking us?"

Jack sunk into himself, glancing back at me with one eye before chirping out an imitation of a cough. After a few more moments of silence and nervous wing flapping from Jack, his nerves finally got to him as he sighed and looked away. "I may, or may not have found a stash of overripe berries, and I may or may not have eaten them all and got really drunk... I then may or may not have splashed a certain boss squirrel with water when she found me in her stash and made my escape..."

I couldn't help but sigh as I pinched the bridge of my wooden nose. "Jack... Don't tell me you were the one who initiated all this."

At that, Jack bobbed his head. "Alright, I won't."