Getting home safely was apparently too much to ask.
I knew it would be from the moment the first monster fell.
We couldn't continue north. The fliers that had been strangely absent had finally been found.
A contingent of dragon-like beasts, though with sickly purple and yellow flesh blocked our path. As if the skin wasn’t bad enough, their limbs were malformed and when one approached, its mouth split open in four sides as it attacked.
Plus side, they weren't immune to Storm. A single Lightning Bolt dropped three of them. Not much resistance either
Too bad the sky was so thick with them they blotted out the sun. It was an example of the pure, unbridled power of simple mass.
As they closed in on the Iron Curtain, they proved that with enough mass, even a Djinn-souled Starbreaker and a Hydra-souled Magus Protectus couldn’t keep up.
If it’d been just the two of us, we probably could’ve fought our way through, flying past the living wall of flesh.
“This will not work,” Starbreaker said from beside me. We were standing side by side atop the Iron Curtain, being pushed back by the pure volume of ash and raining body parts.
“Figured that out on your own, did you?”
“We will need another way to pierce through. We should return to Central Command.”
I glared at the wall of flesh, unleashing spell after spell upon it. Even the combination Nexxa had developed to clear monsters en masse wasn’t enough to put a noticeable dent in them.
The gunk was building along the sides of the Iron Curtain, dragging it down despite our efforts.
“Fine. We’ll go back.”
Needed to keep the crew safe.
When the Iron Curtain flew away, the false-dragons didn’t follow. Whatever the flying creatures were doing, it wasn't universal slaughter. “They’re defending something.”
“So it would seem. I’d heard the norther border was infested, but the reports were… pathetically inaccurate.”
“Whatever it is, it stretches for at least a couple hundred miles in either direction,” I said, my augmented Eagle Eyes not able to see either end of the massive gathering.
“The report said they’re rallying across the entire northern border. Mana levels are dropping. You can feel it.”
I closed my eyes. He was right. Not too reassuring. We went inside and I called Ari. Sidhe was able to confirm that the barrier stretched all the way to the coast. They weren't just any flesh-eating flying monsters either. Apparently these were void heralds. The monsters Thozgar's depth charges and great cruisers tried to root out of the sea.
My interface had called them Terrorgaunts.
When I finished my call, I found Starbreaker trying to wear a hole in the observation deck. He continued as we swung back to Central, cursing up a storm as he talked to numerous people over his strange spider device that sat on his face. Apparently a communication device.
I had some curses of my own to spare. It wasn't just the physical dimensions being blocked. They'd somehow managed to weigh down the seventh dimension preventing any teleportation from bypassing their blockade. I might be able to blast my way through it but even fighting them would be safer than that.
From what Sidhe and Starbreaker were able to gather, the Front had become one of the safer places on this side of Ro’an.
I felt there was some irony in that.
The flesh monsters weren't the only new thing in the sky. We didn’t see them ourselves, but Starbreaker grumbled about little silver drones, so of course I found out what I could.
“Sidhe says they’ve been spotted darting out from beyond the Front, scouring the monsters with the sort of ease Nexxa could,” Ari said, gesturing to her side.
That was one point of relief.
“Want me to come get you?” Nexxa asked, having chosen to sit in on the call when we confirmed I wasn’t able to return. Bevel was there too, but she was unusually silent. “Probably only take a couple days.”
“Thanks sis. But no. Pretty sure I could fight my way through. Long as everyone’s safe, better for me to stay.”
“Totally get it.”
“So, what are you doing then?” Ari asked, her voice flat. Probably because Sidhe was in the room, giving live updates.
“Returning to Central to start on repairs. At least for now. Then we’ll see.”
“Let us know. Even if you have to send it through the courier network,” Ari said, reminding me that Terra Vista had a whole other communication network I never used. She was good at subtle hints like that.
“I will. Love you guys.”
“Stay safe Papa! Love you,” Bevel called. Her voice might’ve been the loudest, but it wasn’t alone.
Bidding goodbye, it wasn’t long before we docked at Central. Most of the damage had been to the structure. While Inertia would need me to touch up some of the enchantments once she was done, for the moment I had nothing to do.
Since we were there anyway, I decided to check on the Undercity. Considering how poorly they’d been treated even before disaster hit Central, I was worried.
When Calbern and I stepped off the lift in the Undercity there seemed to be a bit of a commotion going on. A number of those gang members with hammer and chisel tattoos were standing near the lift, calling out for people to listen. I recognized Poppers standing atop one of the food crates.
Which was surprising considering we'd come down into a district I hadn't visited before.
“Real Saints walk among us! One who cares for the people!” Poppers declared in half-broken Elinder, holding a hand up in the air. A hand I remembered healing not that long ago. One that had all the fingers except his thumb broken. “A healer, giver of life and air! You have seen his work in the North-West quadrant. You have felt his touch under the broken enchanting halls. We stand as proof of his divine will.”
As I stood in stunned silence, he brought out several others I recognized. Each of whom started sharing their own testimonies.
“He's not talking about who I think he is, is he?” I asked Calbern under my breath, suddenly wishing my robes had a dark hood to hide within.
Calbern inclined his head in agreement, panning his view as the lift ascended behind us. “I fear he is, Master Percival. It would appear discretion is no longer an option.”
I nodded even as the crowd started to turn towards us. We’d stood in place for too long and Poppers had narrowed in on my apparently distinctive face. Either that or it was the clothes. I looked down. Despite the days of fighting and the recent dive into disaster, I was well dressed. Far better dressed than the local folk.
“You know this is why I hate fancy robes,” I told Calbern, Poppers calling out my name and encouraging the crowd into bowing to me. Which they followed along with.
"If one wishes to play the saviour, it is only right they fit the part, Master Percival."
“I don't want to play Savior, Calbern. Just want to help people.”
He didn't dignify my grumbling with a response, simply giving me a slightly raised eyebrow. I suppose that was response enough wasn't it?
Despite my worries, it only took an hour to deal with my newly adoring fans. Trying to convince them not to worship me ended up being wasted effort, considering how many of them needed healing. Leaning into it made them much more cooperative. Especially while under the watchful eye of Poppers and the other recently converted gang members.
“Is this why so many Dragon-souled had people putting up shrines for them? They helped out once or twice and suddenly they were heroes?” I asked Calbern during a moment when I didn’t have anyone to heal.
“As viable a theory as any.”
Another man missing his arm, blood soaking through the crude bandages was brought forth. It was depressing that this was them following appropriate triage.
When we finally emerged from the Undercity I must’ve healed twice the number of folk as I had over the previous few days. Together, Calbern and I rode the lift upwards and returned to the Iron Curtain. Inertia was ready for us.
She hissed and clanked and waved an arm, hustling me inside, where Tresla and Starbreaker broke off their conversation, looking over.
I was so tired it took me nearly a full minute to grasp what Inertia was saying, even with Tresla translating. “Wait, you want to go to the Forgelands? Now?”
Inertia nodded her head once, turning to and waving at Tresla, who bobbed her hood before speaking, “Inertia is concerned for her people; we know Aeternia is safe and she requests, since we are so close, that we go.”
“Not part of the deal, boy,” Starbreaker said, crossing his arms while glaring at me.
“Yeah, well, neither was monsters from space,” I grumbled, walking past him towards my suite. I would talk to Ari first, as long as the caster connected, as promised. Even so, Inertia had done enough I’d go if I could. She was right. Nexxa would take care of Aeternia; we could afford a detour to the Forgelands.
Maybe we could hire some of them. Would be interesting to meet Calamity too.
Plus, there was another reason to go. It hadn't been on the itinerary, because it hadn't been urgent enough to prioritize, but Calbern's encounter with his mentor had been in the Forgelands. While that wasn’t that special on its own, they’d fought at a Waygate Nexus. While I might not be able to connect directly with Home Spark, maybe we'd be able to use the Waygate’s major network to get home.
Starbreaker grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back to face him. His grip felt like iron. “So, you’re going to the Forgelands. What’s next, boy? Flying to the Front? The Hundred Kingdoms?”
“Maybe we will.” I spun around facing Starbreaker, jamming a finger into his chest. "If we need to fly to the Dusk Star, then that's what we'll do. The point is I have a friend who's made a request and I'm going to fulfill it. An ally who has been there for me every step of the way.”
“Friend,” Inertia hissed in agreement, stepping forward and smacking my back hard enough to send me forward a half step. Which pushed Starbreaker back as well, iron grip or not.
“This is important, Starbreaker,” Tresla said.
It was annoying that only Tresla’s words seemed to matter to the man.
“Fine. But if there’s an emergency, I can’t promise I’ll be there to keep you safe.”
“Never asked you to,” I said, pulling his now slack hand from my shoulder.
His eyes narrowed, his aura pressing down on me. Heavier than he’d ever used it before.
My knees shook slightly, but I stood straight.
Without another word, he spun on his heel and stalked out of the room.
“So, might be the exhaustion speaking,” I said, staring after the elf. “But… did it almost sound like he cared?”
“I fear it was not the exhaustion,” Calbern said, his hand much more supportive when it landed on my shoulder.
“Great. That’s… great.”