Once the elders were finished with their interrogation and exploration of his storage space, they both seemed to have come to an agreement. That being that the world was sufficient, especially if Mash would guarantee some protection. He agreed and requested that they leave the large tree alone. To treat it as a powerful creature, and one not to be bothered. He told them to build their cities outside of the tree’s domain. He didn’t define a specific range, but they seemed to understand. After a little more exploration, they gave Mash a surprisingly detailed map that outlined where their cities would be.

They used the large tree to center the map, but Mash realized that they even wrote down a speculated size of the tree. It was smaller than reality, but he didn’t correct them. The accuracy of the rest of the map was impressive, but it seemed like they hadn’t taken up that much space. He still didn’t think it would be enough, but they insisted it would work. Apparently, on top of having a small world, there just weren’t that many people either. They claimed that his world would easily be able to hold all of their people several times over, and that was before the losses they recently experienced. He couldn’t help but feel bad when they mentioned it, even if they didn’t blame him for it.

The discussion had been interrupted by Jill who arrived suddenly. She teleported directly in-between Mash and the two elders. Her sudden arrival was mostly because the other side had finished their preparations. There were a few who adamantly did not want to abandon their world, but most had agreed to the move. That was good, and he knew that he couldn’t do anything to convince those who would remain. It seemed like all people had a stubborn sense of nationality. Mash had asked about the children as they would be at the most at risk, but Jill said that none would remain. Even if some adults chose to stay and fight, they hadn’t been willing to risk their children in the same way.

The two elders with them asked to meet with the other elders. They believed that sharing information of the world would convince some of the those that did not wish to leave. It wouldn’t be hard, and the plan was set.

Mash didn’t open the portal, rather Jill teleported the two of them out and to one of the cities. It was apparently the capital, a city known by Tavish. It housed the most people too. The world shifted and Mash dropped a short distance onto the stone below. Jill had set her anchor on a roof it seemed. The stone was a grey color and was completely smooth. Mash wondered how they managed to make stone like this, as he knew now that they didn’t have any traditional magic. His gaze drifted from the stone to the rest of the town, and he found it blocky.

The whole city was shaped like a square and was packed with tall square buildings. Now that he saw how the city was designed, he could imagine how the elders had come up with the schematics for their map. The city had almost no free space, other than a single square near the center of town. It was a park, but the rest of the city was almost comical in its design. To him, it seemed like it was an intentional design meant to cram people into a small space. It was interesting but also a little jarring. Mash wasn’t sure if he was fine with cities being like this. In the other city, he had been far more normal. He would ask them to design more like those even if it took up more space.

It wasn’t that the city didn’t have its own charm. There was a cleanliness to the city that was unmatched. Mash didn’t think he had ever seen a place so clean. The other surprising thing was the amount of movement. The efficient layout of the town allowed people to move more freely, and they easily moved through the streets. Mash could see that lines had formed from the main entrance; several carts also filled the streets there. As much as he wanted to explore the town, he knew he wouldn’t have time for it. As soon as they arrived the elders left, probably heading to meet with the others. It was decided that they would proceed with the plan in good faith, and the two elders would only confirm the validity. If they had decided to protest the decision, then Mash would try his best at closing the portals.

They weren’t sure if it was possible, but Jill might be able to manage it. Her accidental explosion might be able to mess with them. Although, the danger for that was a bit to high to test. Even if it did work, she didn’t think she could avoid the backlash. Even if Mash or Luke were there to try and protect her, none of them wanted to take that risk. Plus, it might do even more damage to the world itself. That skill was too volatile to test with, so they settled on evacuation as the primary focus. It might be somewhat cowardly, but it would avoid a lot of death. The two elders that left would initiate the move. Mash knew he would have a few minutes before the thing started, and he wanted to explore the city with the time he had left.

I’m going to walk to the entrance. Come get me, if I’m late.”

Mash spoke and jumped from the roof. He dropped toward the ground and used wind magic to control his fall. He easily avoided any people and had begun his exploration of the streets. There were many children and women walking the street. The children of both the Kishiv and whatever the elders were was recognizable. The women were also recognizable but only because of their clothing. Most women here wore large robe-like clothing, whereas the males wore much tighter bound cloth. The variety of colors in the clothing made the streets look like they were painted by a child. It was interesting to see. The buildings had wooden walls but stone floors and ceilings. The stone was smooth while the walls had divisions in them that were more similar to bricks. Wooden bricks were something he wasn’t expecting to see.

He couldn’t help but rub his hands against one of the walls. That prompted several more whispers, all of which he chose to ignore. The stairs were the more annoying part anyways. Almost everyone looked towards him, even going so far as to tap others to alert them of his presence. It was foolish to think that he could explore the city freely, but he was just curious. It may have been a mistake, but he kept his gaze straight. Although, he paused when he heard some of the whispers.

“He’s the reason for this.”

“Only a child.”

“The elders think he will save us?”

“Is this really a wise choice?”

“I wonder what power he holds.”

They chased him, but the ones that stood out the most were the ones that mentioned his involvement. The people here knew what he had done. The elders had kept their word and spread the truth to these people. However, the reason he froze was the lack of blame being thrown his way. The voices he could hear spoke instead of concern and disbelief. Many of the people treated him as a child. He didn’t expect it, considering that he looked nothing like either of the races here. These people were far more understanding than his own.

That was one worry that was building slowly in his mind. How would his own people take the truth? His family aside, he was sure that most people wouldn’t be forgiving. Depending on how many had died on his word, he could understand receiving some serious punishment. Mash knew firsthand how cruel his people could be to kids, and he was far older now than he was back then. The people here were showing a lot of empathy, and he was glad that they were the ones going to his world first. He would need to be careful about how he handles his world going forward. These people weren’t very strong, and they seemed to be kinder than most as well.

He thought about that as he roamed through the city. The people here looked more monstrous than most, but that didn’t make them monsters. On the other hand, Daniel’s people were unnaturally perfect looking, yet they were consumed by a primal lust for power. Jeral especially had been desperate for it. Mash would confront them one more time and tell them of what he did. Well, he wouldn’t meet with Jeral but would speak to Daniel once more. Daniel was a good person, regardless of what the rest of his people were like.

The city was fairly uniform and not much had changed as he walked through it. The one thing he noticed was more of those Servitors about. They cleaned the street and guided people. With those things around, maintaining a city became easy. He wondered if the elders were going to bring them. It would certainly help with developing some of their cities. Mash would help too. At the very least, he could set up some of the foundations for the cities. As he got closer to the gate, he started seeing the caravans. Most of which were filled with cattle. The beasts looked somewhat like a mix between cows and pigs but were a bit larger than them. They didn’t make any noise which was a little odd.

He arrived at the front gates before the elders and saw Jill, Red, and Luke standing there. They were talking with one another, but Mash noticed that there were no elders yet. He slowly walked towards the others, seeing the rows of people lined up. Mash wondered how big he could make a portal and guessed this was the best time to test. The others noticed him, and Luke waved him over.

“We were told to tell you to make the portal now. The elders want to know how big it can be.”

Luke spoke once Mash was close. It was something Mash himself was curious about. He nodded and walked past them without stopping.

“Got it. It will be something new for me too.”

Mash stopped a few feet away from them, but close enough for them to help him if something went wrong. He didn’t think anything would happen, but he wasn’t sure what would happen if he half finished something. Focusing on the pace before him, he imagined a massive archway forming. His energy drained rapidly, and he realized that he would be vulnerable after doing something like this. He trusted that the others could protect him and finished the portal.

It had drained nearly all of his energy. It was larger than the city gates and could easily let all of the people through. Mash knew he would need to recover his energy and sat down to use his inhuman hibernation but froze. His mind was still recovering, and he was still working through some things. Using this skill now would be problematic. The plan demanded it of him though. The dirt beneath his hands crunched as he closed his hands into fists. He wanted to use the skill without altering his mind but didn’t know if it was possible. Instead of trying it on his own, he told Priscilla to try and defend his mind from the skill. He just had to hope that she could stop that aspect.