Chapter 4 Part 1 of 3 (Patreon)

Elan checked his gear as Special Team Two checked their armor. Instead of carriers they wore a motley collection of armor.

“How do we look?” Elan asked Erik who was standing off to the side of the changing room.

“Like a trader and his guards. You ready for this?”

“Yup, the reports from the first group of agents that met with our contacts didn’t find anything. It’s also kind of my job. Once I confirm that we don’t have people searching in the surrounding area we can start moving people to the lower realms.”

“Okay.” Erik looked to Storbon. “Keep him safe.”

“Yes sir.”

Their sense of ease had disappeared. They’d become harder, more disciplined.

“Director,” Storbon indicated for Elan to follow him.

“If we see trouble, we’ll try to avoid it. If someone makes our position, we’ll fight and flee. We cannot return to this location,” Storbon briefed his people as they walked. “Do not use rifles unless it’s on my command, then go straight to railguns.”

“Sir,” the others replied as they finished checking gear.

They walked past the medical tents, which had decreased in size over the last three days. Very few people were still in the buffing field.

They moved through the open gates that led to the teleportation formations and passed under the ever-watchful railguns.

“Bravo, you’re up first.” Yao Meng and half of his team, supported by CPD members that had been pulled for the mission, stepped onto the teleportation formation first and faced outwards. They pulled out their weapon, preparing their mana.

“Launch in five!” a controller counted down. “Two, one!”

A flash of light and they were gone. Storbon grabbed Elan as the other half of the team rushed the pad with Elan in the middle of them.

“Set!” Storbon yelled.

The pad flashed and their surroundings changed.

They moved off the pad with weapons at the ready.

“All clear!” Yao Meng said.

Storbon relaxed his guard.

“Okay, now the second part. Let’s get the mounts and carriage prepped.”

***

Storbon opened the door to the inn. People huddled against the wet breeze as Elan and the rest of the group entered, water streamed from their waterproofed beast skins.

“Ah, Ackleod! I wish that you had better weather!” Elan chuckled as he moved to greet a tanned man who was sitting with a few guards off to the side.

The agent laughed. “It always rains when you’re around. A round of drinks for my companions, Tyrrol!”

“Certainly.”

“Oh, and a plate of your cheese, if you will.”

“Right away, Mister Ackleod.”

Storbon used his eyes to communicate with Yao Meng, who nodded.

They took over two tables near the agent and Elan, watching the entrance and the rest of the inn’s tavern and seating area.

The inn keeper’s people came around, delivering beer and laying down a plate of cheese, bread, and dried fruits for Elan and Ackleod.

He paid the waiter and settled in to talk.

Storbon’s sound transmission device pinged. He joined the three-way conversation, drinking from his beer. The alcohol was washed out by his body cultivation.

“We’re connected now,” Elan said.

“Another Talon appeared over Vuzgal, called the Luminare, bigger and stronger than the Eternus. The Eternus is their weakest Talon, the smallest. They use it to check on possible dungeon sightings because it’s cheaper to move. They are searching for more information on us. The Willful Institute is continuing to push their attacks.”

“Are they allied with the Black Phoenix?” Elan asked.

“We don’t think so.”

“They’re using it as a smoke screen; don’t admit anything, and people will make their own assumptions,” Elan said.

Storbon grunted, hunching his shoulders. He scanned the room again.

“Go on.”

“There has been no action in this area. None of the sects have shown up, or the Black Phoenix Clan. Alva has been relatively quiet. The decision to allow people the freedom of movement has been given. The council didn’t want to reveal us due to a lack of movement.”

“Wandering Inns, and the Sky Reaching Restaurants?”

“The Black Phoenix is investigating, but they’ve not pressed it. Since all this started, we have been trying to keep the Sky Reaching Restaurant separate. There could be issues in the Third Realm Alchemist Headquarters. But they would have to have much bigger balls to attack a restaurant in an Alchemist Association-controlled city.”

“What about in the First Realm?”

“Aditya has increased the amount of claimed land. He is offering great deals to draw in people to build. They’re stretched pretty thin but are using mercenary forces to bolster their forces. Most are Adventurer’s Guild members in disguise.”

“What of the guild’s status?”

“The Willful Institute hit all of the known Adventurer’s Guild locations. The Guild members are all located in the backup dungeons.”

“We will have to create multiple guilds to break them up and scatter them, so they appear to be different guilds.”

“Yes, sir.” Ackleod pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil, jotting down notes as Elan broke off a piece of bread and took a slice of cheese, eating it.

“Have the Associations made any noises?”

“They’re looking for us. They have increased prices on the Willful Institute, don’t know if they’re doing anything against the Black Phoenix Clan. We need eyes in the seventh realm badly.” Ackleod rubbed his face and took a deep drink.

“What about the Black Phoenix Clan?”

“They’ve got every sect that was at Vuzgal looking for us. The sects armies are attacking everyone they can. They need victories to remove the stain of loss.

Silence fell as Storbon drank.

“What about transportation?” Elan said.

“We checked all of the totems. They are good to move our people.” Ackleod took out a packet and passed it to Elan. “Inside is the plan to move people back to the lower realms, the plan for the guild members is a bit different. We will have them act like the new guilds as they leave the dungeons, pick up some jobs on the way.”

“Will establish some credibility. Good.” The packet disappeared into his storage ring.

“Is everything in place?”

“Yes, sir, we’re ready to move people back as soon as they appear.”

“Good.” Elan took out an envelope and handed it to Ackleod carefully.

“These are the names of the fallen, take it home, make sure that the people know.”

Storbon gritted his teeth as his stomach turned, without any help from the beer. Yuli, Jamie, and Sang.

He looked for their faces among his team, but his chest only tightened with the loss.

“Yes, sir. I’ll have it sent out within the hour.” Akcleod carefully stored the envelope.

“Good, we will start moving people tomorrow.”

***