Chapter 171: Details

Excerpt from the book “Energies of the world” By Rosalie

Did you know food contains energy? Yes? Well, I don’t mean whatever it does to keep us functioning. The food itself takes upon itself the energies of the world. Vegetables take on the natural energy of the world, for example.

The amount and type of energy vary a lot. Usually, it will remain at a low level. This is expected, given vegetables’ poor energy retention, unlike magical crops that thrive on the damn stuff.

Let me tell you a story. The story of The Green Orphan. A young boy, no older than 3, was left on a mountain. Born of infidelity, he was left for dead. A cruel fate. Yet, fate had other plans. That grove on that forested mountain was mounted upon a great natural energy well. Ones that only form from the death of ancient beings, massive magical forests, and damaged dimensions. It was literally crawling with natural energy. This boy consumed the vegetation to live, absorbing the energy. It changed him, warped him. He was no longer a boy, for he was part of the world. It came with great power and significant restrictions.

He wanted to find his family; alas, that mountain was both his savior and his prison. Our story doesn’t end there, though. Many years later, his mother returned in hopes of burying his bones. A sense of responsibility for the child she abandoned. Or guilt, humans are complicated.

My rather dramatic entry into the Elves camp didn’t go unnoticed. Shinning emerald eyes spin towards us. The sea of green was broken by the occasional aquamarine and dark shamrock.

Looking around, I quickly realized that calling it a camp was a little incorrect. What was once a hastily constructed base has flourished into a busy town. Albeit, a small one.

Buildings and roads have been erected in a hexagonal pattern. Living trees grafted into towering treehouses with sturdy brick buildings underneath. All lit by torch bugs trained to sit atop tall wooden polls.

Suddenly, the sea of Elves splits like a wave around a rock. A young, unfamiliar man rushes towards me. His muscular frame made him appear strong, but upon reaching us, he began to pant for breath. All muscle and no stamina, how I know of this pain.

Once the wind returns to the young Elves’ lungs, he speaks.

“Aeternum! What brings you back here so soon?” He appears genuine, but the absolute stupidity of that question stunned me silently.

Thankfully, Paul answered them in my stead. “Might be the dimensional hazard over yonder.” He points towards the hastily constructed portal.

A look of realization dawns on the Elves’ face, “Yeah, sorry about that. We are getting ready to reunite the dimensions.”

Creasing my brows, “reunite, I thought you were creating a bridge?”

The elf pales ever so slightly, “Sorry, I misspoke; it is only a portal.” A single drop of sweat drips from his brow.

Crossing my arms, “I am sure it is. Now, where is the head scientist?”

“He is busy running the portal.” The elf hastily says.

“And his female partner?”

“Her too.”

Stretching my fingers outwards. The slight frustration dissipating with the mundane action. “I need to speak with someone in charge. They, as far as I am aware, are in charge. Sort it out.” I added a slightly aggressive tone to my voice, causing the elf to pale marginally more.

“I… Will see what I can do.” He says in haste before running off.

Turning to Paul, “just a portal?”

“Not ah chance!”

“Thanks, buddy.”

Well, I am inclined to believe the unbiased dimensional being. What’s with the lying, then? It doesn’t make sense; they had my blessing to build a bridge.

I was shaken out of my thoughts by a light jab from Paul.

“They back.” He simply says.

The once more breathless elf returns, gasping out, “follow me.”

So, as requested, I follow him. He guides me at a far more leisurely pace through the crowd towards the portal.

Once we came within a hundred meters of the portal, the houses broke away to reveal an encampment full of scientific equipment. The structure I originally built off to the side.

Slowly, we pass the massive variety of technological and organic machinery whirring with life. Their symphony of sound was a deafening cacophony as they kept the portal from crumbling.

Having walked past most, we come to a small station a dash away from the portal. The already sizeable appearing portal having become truly massive as it dwarfs us in size. Within the station, a franticly working scientist is running around. The same one who is in charge of this little expedition.

Approaching the clearly panicked scientist, standing just out of his way. I waited for several minutes until a short lull in his work appeared. He turned to me with bloodshot eyes and a crooked back, “hi, Aeternum,” is all he said.

Stunned by how truly tired he appears. “What happened?” I ask in hopes of getting to the bottom of this rapidly deepening hole.

He lets out a deep breath; the creases in his pale skin shrink by the barest of margins. “I’m not gonna honey coat it; we screwed up.”

Rubbing my brows, “I am gonna need more details than that.”

The scientist glances at Paul for a moment before sighing and speaking. “The dimensions are on a crash course… All are maths useless because of a stupid small error!” Ending his sentence in a shout of frustration as he dials in a small metallic measuring device.

“What error?” I ask, feeling the mounting stress.

“We treated the dimensions like two separate entities!” He screams, eyes going slightly crimson. “They aren’t separate; they are one whole!”

Deciding to ask the obvious question. “Can’t you just turn the portal off?”

“Are you not hearing me? They aren’t two separate entities; they are two puzzle pieces. The moment we tugged on the line, the force of ejection pushing them apart was removed. They are attracting each other! Even if we turn the portal off, they will still come together.”

“You guys assured me that it would just be a portal.”

During the whole time, the scientist was doing something. Whether that was using measuring devices or fiddling with buttons on a counter. But now he stops, sitting down on the ground.

His madness brought on by exhaustion seems to recede slightly, “look, I’ve managed to slow the attraction to a crawl. We are working on stopping it, but it’s getting harder and harder. If it was just that, we could stop it, but….” He trails off into mumbling.

“But what?” I demand, stepping forward towards the elf.

“The other Elves, the ones who like it here, they want the dimensions to join. We are splitting apart at the seams.” He says urgently.

Having neglected to wear armor, I do the most excellent form of stress relief possible. I grab my hair and lightly pull in frustration.

“What can I do?” I ask. We definitely don’t need this during a war.

He looks at me with what I could only describe as the most defeated look I have ever seen. His brilliant emerald eyes dim to a bleak green. “Pray,” is all he said to me. Standing and turning back towards his dials.

Taking that as my cue, I turn around and leave with Paul in tow. Head full of thoughts of what is to come.

Well, I think it is safe to assume the young fellow who brought us to him is a part of the faction who wants the dimensions to combine. But I also don’t like praying for the best. Even if we have the godly assurance of stability from Felix.

Turning to Paul, “Paul, do you know how to stop this dimensional collision?”

He usually responds within a second, but he took a moment to think. Bringing his long arm to his chin in thought.

In words clear as a bell, he speaks. “I’ll ask my elder.”

“Thank you. We have a little while but the sooner, the better.”

The seriousness melting away, “Soon as am back home.”

“Alright, let’s go see how bad this war is.” And the best place to do that is by visiting Average, the mayor of the town.

Paul seems to just be happy exploring without being attacked. Which I am grateful for, given his nature as a pain in the ass. Taking out my teleporter, I head into town with Paul. Being well know has its perks. Didn’t get stopped by a single guard as I waltzed through the city.

It looked relatively normal except for a few key differences. First, a lot more guards are on shift. Both on the walls and through the city. A lot of windows have also been boarded up, and there is far less foot traffic. Aside from that, it appears relatively normal. I’m not sure it would have been that noticeable if I wasn’t looking for it. Although, this place does feel like a hair-trigger away from shutting down.

Upon reaching Averages office building, we enter. Well, Paul tried but banged his head on the door frame. He continues in a while, rubbing his head and grumbling about “small men.”

The same clerk was at the desk, thankfully. Approaching, “hi, how are you?”

In his usually friendly manner, “Oh hey Aeternum, here to see The Mayor?”

“Of course.”

“Let me check if he is busy.” The clerk says before strolling towards his office.

Been a while since I have had to wait. But, given the current climate, patience would be wise.

The clerk returned with haste, informing us of a 10-minute wait. Nothing to cry home about.

What felt like an eternity later, we are outside his office door. The door has been replaced with reinforced metal. “Subtle.”

Stepping through, we enter into his office. The office is mostly the same, bar the now missing window and notably more paperwork. He is sat behind it, looking a little thinner than when I last met him. He peers up from his desk, cracking me a thin smile.

“Here about the war?” He says, sparing Paul a short glance.

“You know me so well;,” I say jokingly, walking through his office and sitting down.

In a slightly sour tone, “yeah, I am just a source of information for you.”

Creasing my brows, “you know I consider you a friend, right?”

He exhales, “yeah, I know. Sorry, just a bit stressed.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I say in a consoling tone. “I do need information about the war, though.”

“All I can tell you is this. We started the war by having one of our agents kill the Earthen empire’s princess. The royal family claims they didn’t order it, but it was the spark that lit the tinder. The town is off to the left of the border, so we are out of the direct firing line. Unfortunately, we are right next to the edge. We are at risk of pillaging and being taken over by enemy forces. Especially now, given the value of the town.” As he got to the end, I spotted him slowly breakdown. Even now, he appears to be held together by string and glue.

“I understand the city is in a dangerous position. Didn’t realize it was quite that bad.”

He nods, “that’s why I ask of you today to reinforce the town. Do something to help us. I cant offer you money; all our resources are tied up because of the war tax. I can only offer you my eternal gratitude.” He takes a deep, solemn breath, a tear in his eye, “please don’t let all my hard work burn to the ground.”

“I will see what I can do,” I say, bowing my head slightly. “We can talk later; I’ve apparently got a city to fortify.”

Some life returns to his face at the notion of hope. Turning away and leaving with Paul, I’ve got stuff to figure out.

Once out of earshot, a breath of air leaves my lungs. Turning to Paul, “feeling people’s expectations sucks.”

“Tis why I did a runna.” Paul responds. Shedding a little bit more light on his life.

Nodding, “makes sense.” Rubbing my hands together, “unfortunately, I don’t leave people to die.” Mainly the only town to welcome me. Even if I was still checked. Can’t blame them for that.

“Now, let’s figure out how to low-key reinforce this town. If it’s high-key, it will become an even bigger target.”