After Inertia and I recovered, Calbern explained that he intended to get a new set of upgrades installed, and that he felt it best to reclaim the materials Conflict had used. Though he also admitted one last thing. "I have grown rather fond of the rumble. It is rather disquieting to move so... smoothly."
Inertia's hiss of approval overrode any objection I might've made, already focused on the quality of the upgrades.
Fearing for my safety, I darted down the stairs, leaving the two of them as they tore Fang apart side-by-side. Nodding to the sentries who seed far more diligent than they had a couple days ago, I passed through the Waygates to Verdant Point.
Conflict had already delivered on its favor to , and there were several stacks of tal panels waiting for . The alloy wasn't as fancy as the upgrades that had been used in Fang, but it was good quality tal. One of the ones that Inertia wanted more of for our next airship.
Grabbing one of the panels, I confird it was just small enough to fit into my tier 2 storage ring so long as the ring was completely empty. I spent the next ten minutes ferrying half the panels through the Waygates towards the bluff. Then I went to find Xoth, who was drinking tea with Vetrov and several others I recognized, but didn't rember the nas of.
After telling them of the panels, and giving them a set of instructions on how to slot them together, I made my way back towards the bluff, where I intended to put those who didn't intend to stay. Since I was putting the transients there, I added a pair of security doors for the farm tunnel, creating a few Keystones which I delivered to the farrs on site.
I suspected those doors were going to give headaches in the future, simply because people lost keys all the ti. I'd probably want to make it so it wasn't too challenging to update the locks, but for the mont, I didn't want to spend too much ti on them.
With the food at least partially secured, I decided to make a multipurpose tunnel leading in the direction of the bluff. It would've taken a lot longer than I was willing to spend to make it the whole distance, but it was only the work of a couple hours to push it to the first of the ravines between the bluff and the Waygate.
It, and all the other ravines between the Waygate and the bluff, were free of farms, since we'd wanted to avoid putting critical infrastructure too close to the mountains. While it wasn't ideal to put people there either, it was a temporary solution. It also kept them closer to the wall. No matter where Nexxa ended up, that ant they'd have less distance to travel.
With the tunnel complete, I started making proper foundations for the shelters within the ravine. Thanks to the influx of mana from the raging storm, along with the interlocking nature of the shelters, it only took another day to put together twenty temporary bunkhouses.
I'd skipped stopping for als and sleep, since I knew the Defier wasn't slowing down in its efforts, and I was doubtful Nexxa was either. By the ti I was done, I was rather out of it. Still, I'd built sothing that the old USSR could be proud of. Blocky, sturdy and utterly lacking in anything I would’ve called artistic flair. With half a dozen rooms in each, they were enough for several families to share.
The shelters were not my finest work.
Already, I was thinking of how I could improve them. But… there were other things that needed to be addressed first.
Like their actual permanent ho.
Was ti to talk to Vaserra.
When I went to ntion my plan to visit Vaserra, Tamrie wisely directed to bed first. I hadn't even realized it was past midnight.
The lightning had really picked up the last few days. To the point it had felt like midday, the sky had been so bright.
The next morning, I elected to recruit Calbern for the visit. Even with my protection, the amount of lightning in the air made moving through the storm a perilous task. If the Defier wasn't loading and unloading above the clouds, we probably would've had to put the relocation on hold.
We reached the west bluff, and I was reminded of another item on my list that had never been checked off. There was no way through the bluff. Not for Fang, at least.
Expanding the passage took an hour, as I used the excess mana of the storm to bulldoze my way through. Once I was done, I realized how much ti I'd wasted building the shelters instead of brute forcing them with mana. Kinda out-thought myself on that one. I blad it on deciding to build them while sleep deprived.
Passing through four heavy stone gates, all of which could be barred from the inside by sliding equally heavy stone bars in place, we drove Fang through the newly expanded tunnel.
The change was imdiate. While lighting still crashed down, it no longer filled the air in sheets of light. I also realized I'd beco used to the continuous peal of thunder rolling over .
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The lack left a sort of hollow emptiness in my ears.
"I can actually hear Fang," I said with a laugh.
"We have endured a rather continuous cacophony, haven't we?" Calbern called back.
"Indeed," I said before letting the silence settle over us.
It didn't take us long to reach the stronghold. Unfortunately, Vaserra wasn't there, and they didn't expect her back for at least a week. Thankfully, the guards did tell us where we could find her. Sort of.
Vaserra was patrolling the five vales, checking on the sheep, making sure her people were okay.
Back when I’d been going through Balthum’s journals, I'd found maps of the nearby regions. They weren't perfect, but after talking with one of the local hunters, we were able to plot out her rough route. And just as importantly, we figured out a route Fang could follow.
It took us a day to track her down, at the northernmost of the vales. She was down inside the vale when we arrived. Already, I could see the changes from her taking over. Where Sarpit had forbidden them to build outside their narrow strip along the river, Vaserra was already encouraging them to develop farms. Farms that were being prepped even with the storm overhead.
The locals had a strange sort of lilt to their Elinder, one that made feel as if the words echoed slightly. An older man actually stopped us and demanded to know what we wanted with the great chieftain.
I'd assured him we just wanted to talk, and that sohow set him off in a string of expletives that drew Vaserra's attention anyway.
"Peace, Jeord," Vaserra said, smiling as she laid a hand on the man's shoulder. "These are my friends."
Despite her reassurances, Jeord continued glaring at us as Vaserra, offered her arm. I clasped it, returning the tight grip as I stepped forward to pat her on the shoulder. "Good to see you're doing well. And that your people are willing to stand up for you."
"Ah, yes, Jeord was a friend of my mother's," Vaserra said, smiling fondly at the older man who stood with his arms crossed as he glared at us. "He still sees as the little cub who ran around his ankles as a child."
I glanced at Calbern at that, who didn't say anything, simply raising his eyebrow a fraction at my glance. Still, I was sure he knew exactly how Jeord felt.
"So, what's brought you all the way to the northern vale? I'm guessing this isn't just a social visit?" Vaserra asked, her eyes flicking upwards to the still present storm with intent.
Before I could respond, I caught a whiff of roasting at, and my stomach rumbled.
"And you’ve neglected your stomach while doing so," Vaserra laughed, nodding to the nearby stand where the aroma had arisen. She handed over what looked like a few shards of bone, receiving several skewers of at in return. "Truly, the need must be urgent."
"Thank you," I said, accepting two of the skewers before she offered the others to Calbern. "And, it's not imdiately life threatening, but it is important. I've got thousands of people coming in, along with a couple Magus Domini, and nowhere to put them."
Vaserra nodded as she ripped a bite off the skewer. For a second, as the juices spilled down her hand, I was reminded of that mont when she'd torn her father's heart out of his chest. Of the primal emotions that had echoed through the valley as she held it over her head.
Then the image was gone, and we were just enjoying an early lunch.
"I'm afraid there is no room in the vales for such. If you wish to contest the clans to the north, there are many unsettled valleys that they leave fallow. The land to the south is inhabited by monsters that even I dare not face, though if you were able to defeat their guardians, it would be the best choice," Vaserra offered, plucking another piece off her skewer. “The storms are milder there, and the rivers wider.”
"That… how tough are we talking? Down south, I an? Nexxa hit Hydra-soul. She's been busy, but I'm sure once she gets here she could-"
"Truly? A hydra souled? And she's coming here?" Vaserra asked, her skewer suddenly forgotten, hanging loosely in her hand.
"I… yes, pretty sure I told you about my sister," I said, taking another bite of my own skewer.
"You did, though you told she had only attained Pegasus tier a year ago," Vaserra said, pointing her skewer at .
"She did," I replied with a shrug. Wasn't my fault that Nexxa was a prodigy.
"Madness," Vaserra cried with a howling laughter. "Do all you et progress with such leaps and bounds?"
"Master Percival has heralded a great deal of growth since his ascension to Mage soul," Calbern answered before I could. "I myself have found my own path easier to tread than since my youth."
"That doesn't have anything to do with . That's all Conflict," I said, waving it away.
"As you say, master Percival," Calbern conceded without conceding a single iota, his perfect posture implying I was sohow underselling myself.
"With a hydra-soul…" Vaserra said, looking into the sky. "Your sister, she is a master of storm, as I recall?"
"Yeah, that's almost an understatent," I replied, glancing overhead. "She could probably turn that into a clear sky just by hanging around."
"Such are the powers of those who approach godhood," Vaserra said, nodding as she joined in gazing upward.
"You say that like you can't literally bring down an avalanche yourself," I said, grinning at her.
"It is easier to destroy than create, I've found," Vaserra said, motioning towards the nearby fields. "I could wipe it all away with a single wave of my hand, but would good would that do us?"
"Ah… right, you guys don't really have nature magic, do you? Or stone?"
"As much as I love Frost Lily, granting control over the fields is not part of our bond, no," Vaserra said, the totems woven into her red her clacking as her gaze shifted towards the south gate where said wolf was waiting with the rest of her pack.
"Could probably trade you a couple days worth of magic for a couple days hunting in Mistvale, once we've got this refugee situation handled," I offered. "Though it might be best to wait till the Howling season's over."
"I suspect it would," Vaserra agreed. "Though if you could spare a few hours while you're here, it would go a long way towards helping them through the winter. We didn't have much ti to secure proper food after I claid my place."
"Should be able to spare so ti, don't you think, Calbern?" I asked, turning towards him.
"There is more good to be done here than we will achieve at ho," Calbern noted, inclining his head in the direction of so nearby children. They were… well, even the healthiest of them looked malnourished.
And there were more people in each of the vales than Nexxa had rescued. With everything in my domain, I'd forgotten the crisis on my damn doorstep.
"Yeah… yeah, we'll…" I looked up at the storm overhead, and the near unlimited supply it held. "How many people can you get planting?"
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