She fucken used his placebo! They grow up so fast! Warm feelings of pride welled up within his chest.

Now he needed to hype this further. Showing the bunker, albeit a cool digs, was not the kind of majestic display to entice politicians. They craved power and ascendancy, of which there was plenty to have. But currently, it was mostly abstract; the quarantine saw to that.

So with the bunker ruled out, he only had other preplaced rifts to consider. That was a small issue since, by the nature of the interdimensional gates, they only cut between realities. They were not pure portals; as such, most of his rift gear did not function while in the bunker.

This was a minor hiccup since the bunker did have bridge rings designed to solve just this problem. Looking like large flat drums on the outside, inside two conductive rings were housed in parallel with a small gap between them. Playing with orientation and tunnel length presented diverse solutions, but for now, a slim wall mounted bridge plate in the rift room would suffice.

“Thank you very much, Kay, your assistance is always indispensable.” He knew she might never believe it, but the sensitive touch of a native could not be undervalued. Many engagements could and had gone sour very quickly without them.

“So, Ms Sepha Shalen, while our elixirs digest, would you be so kind as to extol some figures regarding Elgelica? How many souls live in this majestic place, do you know?”

Evident pride was writ large on Sepha’s features as she spoke. “Why, Elgelica is one of the mightiest cities in the world! Certainly the largest of the elves’ in the west. Census from five years ago counts us having 1 million souls. Mostly elves of course.”

“Not bad! For a preindustrial society that’s commendable. Also, I compliment your city on its sanitation. Septic tanks at the base of trees is a savvy solution.” After seeing the outhouse at the Cask, he took note of them on his way over, and the pattern became clear.

“The business of defecation is not under my direct purview,” Sepha made a strained expression, “but I shall be sure to pass the... commendation on.” Apparently, talk of shit was perceived to be below her, and ‘below’ is where everyone wanted it to stay. He could relate.

“Yeah, well maybe you haven’t seen a cholera outbreak of two, to appreciate Elgelica’s civic wisdom.”

“The wellbeing of the trees was noted to improve with the aforementioned additions if I recall my studies. What is this ‘Kolera’ you speak of?”

“A water or foodborne disease that can kill hundreds of thousands in a matter of weeks.”

“Elgelica is a city blessed by the divine with health. You seem to imply this is not by chance?”

“Serendipity more like, but enough talk of actual shit. Since you know what a million looks like, can you imagine a billion?” said Jon.

“Your land has a billion souls?! Impossible!”

“More like trillions in the greater world. My neighbourhood is about nine billion strong.”

“Preposterous, you cannot hide a million men and women, much less a billion, in the known world without a trace! We elves keep detailed records going back a thousand years, such a place would be long since found out,” said Sepha.

“Dunno bout that. You guys still haven’t discovered half your world, never mind ours, but you have a point. We could not hide if we were from here, fuck I’m only one person, and I sent ripples. So what is the inevitable conclusion?”

“Your people do not exist, and you are a liar. Or, you are not from ‘here’, wherever in gods’ names ‘there’ is. That’s the answer you want, isn’t it, Jon?” replied Sepha.

“Bingo! So how did I get here? Please place your attention on the silver ring behind me.” The rift activated.