Chapter ninety eight

By the time we were getting close to Berlin I was barely able to stand up. I might be super human but nearly three weeks without sleep would take a toll on anyone. Ace thought that I was being run ragged by their pace but the reason I was being run ragged had nothing to do with walking.

We were plodding through some forests in the biting autumn wind when the trees suddenly stopped and a breathtaking view was revealed. The first time I saw Berlin , I thought that it maybe the most amazing thing I have ever seen. A whole city made out of metal rose above the horizon as we got closer. Everything about the city was colossal, from the walls to the buildings. But what really excited me was something people would think was pretty ugly, there were giant industrial sized smock stacks belching out smoke into the air. Finally a sign that all science and development hadn't been crushed. A sign that man still strived to make and learn not just subsist. Here before me were the closest thing to kin I had left in this world and this place the closest thing to home.

We approached the giant gates, a much smaller door cleverly concealed inside of the bigger gates opened and a dwarf with red hair came out.

"What did I tell you about bringing in stray people ace?"

"Very funny Decker , but you won't laugh when you know who he is."

"Who is he then, don't keep me waiting , it's not like I enjoy standing here freezing my balls off."

"He is the John, Walter's source John."

"Wait, orichalcum John? You don't expect me to buy that do you?"

At this point I cut in," excuse me but if I proved that I was that John then would you let me in instead of standing here in the cold."

"Yeah, sure. But how are you going to do that."

I handed him a small piece of orichalcum," There you go, Walter said that he had never seen anything like it so it should be unique ."

"Did you just give me orichalcum as ID?"

"Sure, why not? Now let us in before we all drop of hypothermia."

The stunned dwarf didn't try to stop us as we went in , he was too busy rubbing and admiring the piece of metal I gave him.

After I went through the door , I just looked at the city in awe. It looked almost the same to the Berlin that I had seen in pictures except for a few differences here and there. The only differences that were immediately evident was that instead of asphalt the streets were made of cobblestone. The buildings all looked like they were made out of metal, even the large glass skyscrapers seemed to have metal shutters that could be shut at a moments notice. The whole city was armored.

But the thing that made me laugh out in happiness was what was on the roads. Cars, there were cars zipping around noiselessly on the streets instead of carriages. Ansell was looking at me with concern,

"Are you all right?"

"I am fine.......No I am more than fine, I feel freaking awesome!"

"People always have funny reactions when they first enter Berlin, but I think your reaction takes the cake. If you are so excited about these cars which are simple contraptions made with the spin rune , wait until you see some real machines."

"You use enchantments?"

"All dwarves are given two runes when they come of age. The rune for spin and the rune for heat. They may seem useless but to a dwarf they are the most precious thing."

"No, I wouldn't say they are useless . Wait , what do you mean real machines?"

"You didn't think that we were fighting the witches using these puny armors did you? Come on , let me show you one of the destroyers, then you'll know what a real machine is."

I finally understood how charlie felt when he was invited to the chocolate factory.