Scenery flashed by faster than Alex could see whilst he perched on the back of the Sled. Yas had been running the thing as hard as possible to catch up to the convoy, but it had had at least 2 hours head start on them. By his reckoning, they had been going flat out for roughly an hour or so, which meant that from what he could remember from the battle-map in the dining room they were getting close to the town that surrounded the Council compound. Opting to let Yas keep focused on the pursuit, Alex started trying to visualise how things would go. He was essentially going in completely blind into hostile territory, with little to no weaponry, no backup and potentially an entire continents worth of armed forces expecting them. Fun times.

Not allowing the situation to mount in his mind, Alex instead decided to break it down into manageable parts, the same as he used to do whenever he led his team into new content in any number of games. The first thing they needed to do was get the lay of the land inside the town itself and find somewhere they could hole up and run reconnaissance. Alex knew that their friends would have been taken straight to the compound, but getting in there was going to be problematic now that everyone seemed to know who he was. There was no way he could storm the place himself, and Yas was going to be no use in an attack, as their skills lent more towards being at the rear of any action. Hopefully once they got inside the town Yas would at least know the layout, as Alex felt the beginnings of a plan start to form.

The sled started to slow down and Alex looked up just in time to see a huge wall made from what looked like frosted glass crest into his vision. Yas veered off the road sharply and set the sled to rest just inside the edge of the trees that lined the way into the town. Alex realised that town didn’t really cover the size of the place. The wall was at least 20 feet high and completely sheer. Apart from the gatehouse, there was no other building visible. Yas hopped off the sled motioned alex to do the same.

“From here we need to ditch the sled. From my brief stint on the town guard I can tell you that you can see the entire area for a LONG way from those walls. Have you any idea what the plan is?”

Alex grimaced, as this was the one area he had no plan for. “Not as such. Do the walls extend under the ground at all?”

Yas nodded, “Yes, there are tunnels and temporary detainment cells for anyone that gets caught at the gate.”

Alex considered this and headed deeper into the trees to run some tests. He activated Earthshape and started tunneling into the ground in the middle of a little clearing. After a few seconds a decently sized little hole had been formed and with a thought Alex deactivated his skill. The ground here was much harder, with the groundfrost making it a lot more arduous to move. Just those few seconds had completely drained his stamina bar completely, and there was no way he would be able to get them under the wall in good time. Running his hands over his face, Alex pondered how each realm sorted the separation of their elements. Obviously this was Frigid’s realm, but as evidenced by the presence of the ground he was manipulating there were other elements present. He turned to Yas.

“Yas, how is there earth/ground here considering this is Frigid’s domain? Surely everything should be ice?”

Yas was surprised by the question and it took a few seconds for them to put together an understandable answer. “Without too much detail, it boils down to alliances and deals. Within reason, most realms need more than just their own power to fully sustain a population efficiently. In exchange for something, Frigid allowed Adareth and their nature realm a small amount of sway here to allow flora and fauna to more easily exist. Frigid could have come up with a way of fueling it with their own influence, but it would have taken a lot more effort for the same result.”

Alex was shocked at this level of detail and gave an impressed nod. “Is that stuff that's taught as standard here?”

“Not at all. I have always been interested in the other realms, and how I can use their knowledge and ideas in my own work. I have probably got more knowledge on the subject than 90% of the population because I enjoy the researching.” Yas bragged slightly, glad of being able to use their knowledge.

Thinking on this new info, Alex wondered if there was a way to draw more power from Adareth the same way he did with Chronos and his time powers. He would gladly owe a tithe of whatever was required in exchange for the power to help his friends, and by extension the whole Veil. Alex formed a small chair for himself and Yas and plonked down to see if he could come up with a new skill or something that might help get them into the town. Closing his eyes, Alex tried to envision everything he could imagine about nature, and how everything in nature is done slowly but surely. He needed a way to speed up the process without upsetting the balance.

Yas looked around aimlessly as Alex reflected. Staring off between a couple of trees nearby, they noticed a thick mist starting to enter into the clearing they sat in. Over the course of 5 minutes, the mist thickened to the point that Yas could barely make out Alex sat just a few feet away. From inside the mist, a figure seemed to take shape in front of Alex, and Yas yelped at the sight before trying to jump to their feet, only to find themselves unable to rise.

Peace little Fridigian, I mean you no harm. I am here to assist your friend in his understanding of my realm and powers.

Eyes still wide with fear, all Yas was able to do was nod as the entity swept over Alex and bore him to the floor.

Alex was trying to wrack his brain to come up with a useful skill or ability to get them under the wall unseen when he suddenly felt himself engulfed by something and pushed off his seat.

Hello little Nexian. Please do not be alarmed. I felt your drawing of my realm and the frustration you felt, and I am here to help as best I can.

Alex shook with adrenaline as the immutable power of Adareth encompassed him and spoke into his mind. “Adareth? I apologise for my intrusion to your realm.” Alex began, desperate to get off on the right foot. “I seek a way to get myself and my friend into the town, and possibly into the compound to put a stop to a great evil.”

I am aware of what you speak. All the realms have felt the shockwaves of whatever atrocities have been occurring here, and I have come to offer my aid directly as Frigid seems to be willing to allow these transgressions to continue. I ask no tithe or price for what I am about to offer. Instead I ask that once this crisis is averted, rather than returning to Nexus you allow me to bring you directly to my realm. I also fear that something similar is happening here as well, and formally request your aid.

Alex’s mind reeled at this information. “Also happening there? You mean that whatever power has corrupted the Fridigian Council is also trying to encroach into your own realm?”

Indeed. I can feel them like a poison slowly infesting my worlds and people. I know not why they are here as my sight is being blocked, but I am worried.

“Then I accept your terms! Any help you can give me to end whatever is happening here is greatly appreciated, and I swear on my connection that I will come and do my best to aid you.” Alex swore. This corruption needed to be stopped, and he wanted to help as best he could.

That oath was not needed, but I thank you for your sincerity. What I offer isn’t a skill in itself, but rather an unimpeded draw on my realm. This will allow any of your ground and nature abilities to be performed with far less drain on yourself. I must go now, as I only have limited powers in Frigid’s domain. I worry for Frigid, as they have been uncontactable by the other realms for some time. Take care.

Alex felt a gentle pressure push against his mind as Adareth removed the blocks on his connection to their realm. “Thank you Adareth. I shall be there to aid you soon!”

Adareth’s Blessing: Adareth has removed the restrictions on your connection to their realm allowing you far greater draw with no need to expend your own energy to facilitate. All resource costs for Nature and Ground based skills reduced dramatically.

The mist receded quickly and Alex found himself back on the chair with a terrified Yas staring at him. “Yas! Are you alright?”

Yas opened and closed their mouth a few times before managing to sputter, “A realm?! You drew the attention of an entire realm?! What is it about you that keeps these events happening!”

Alex grimaced, unsure of how to answer the question. “I don’t know Yas, but Adareth gave me their blessing and requested my aid in their own realm after we root out whatever evil is here.” Yas just stared at Alex unblinkingly for a long while, until he looked away. Eager to put this blessing to the test Alex reactivated Earthshape and focused on his existing attempt at creating a tunnel. It didn’t seem to act faster, but watching his stamina showed that the drain was basically non-existent now. His passive regeneration was more than keeping up with the draw, so Alex tried to pull more power through his connection. Like opening a tap, he found he was able to control exactly how fast he drew upon the power. Pushing it until he noticed his stamina bar begin to drop, Alex dropped back just enough to keep the draw on his own power neutral.

Earthshape augmented.

With this new power, Alex swiftly shaped a shaft down vertically for roughly 40 feet with handholds formed directly into the wall to allow them to descend. “Yas, can you put the sled back into its cube form and bring it with us? Once i’ve made this tunnel, we may be able to use the sled to quickly travel along it.”

“You’re really creating a tunnel into the town from all the way out here? How are you going to know where to bring it out?” Yas questioned.

“I won’t really. I’ll just dig up really slowly and peer out.” Alex shrugged, unconcerned now that he had so much more control over the power he had.

Over the next couple of hours Alex proceeded to create a spacious tunnel all the way into the heart of the town. He moulded supports in every few meters to ensure the structure held its shape with the sheer amount of weight above it. Whilst he worked Alex peppered Yas with numerous questions about the town and compound to try and gain some idea of what they were getting themselves into. He learned that the town was actually called Yriad, and other than the business owners it essentially worked as a gigantic barracks for the forces stationed there. Alex frowned at this, unsure how none of the Fridigians had clocked that the Council appeared to have basically created themselves a massive protected base to rule over the planet. He also found out that compound was a bit of an understatement, as the Council building was roughly half the size of the entire town. It was built more like a feudal castle, and would make an exterior attack nigh on impossible. As soon as he heard this, he changed his plan and instead decided to try and take the tunnel straight under the compound.

“That won’t work Alex.” Yas said sadly when Alex voiced his intentions. “There is an enchantment around the compound to prevent such an attack. We never really understood why, as it seemed to be a huge waste of power, but in light of everything we have found out I can now assume it was just another layer of protection to ensure that nobody could get to the Council.”

“Bollocks… Okay, back to plan A then. How much further do you estimate we need to dig?”

Yas turned back the way they had come and squinted through their Ocular Augmentor. “Well so far you’ve dug roughly a mile or so, which means we should be inside the walls now. Where did you want to come up inside the town?”

“I wanted to come up near to anywhere that would have weapons and armour so that we can get geared back up?”

“I’m insulted you would rather get generic weapons and gear than let me create you something!” Yas feigned offense and gave Alex a look of mock outrage.

“I didn’t know how long that would take you! I wanted to just get something serviceable, and maybe get a proper sheath for this weird blade I took from the asshole I fought back at the base!” Alex shot back quickly, flipping Yas the bird.

Yas motioned for Alex to hand over the blade, which had so far resisted every attempt Alex had made to try and pull up its description. Taking the blade gingerly, Yas flicked it with their fingernail and listened to the tone intently for a few seconds. Alex tried to ask what they were doing, but recieved a scowl and hushing in response. Yas triggered the blade a few times with the switch, before frowning and turning back to Alex.

“You aren’t getting this back for a while. I have never seen Frigidtech bastardised like this before, and that worries me. The effect looks similar to what I can achieve with FrigSteel, but the compounds used here are alarming. Leave it with me, and once we find somewhere to hole up I will make a list of what I will need.”

Alex was shocked at this, he had guessed the weapon was strong, but for it to worry Yas made him glad he hadn’t tried to use it in combat yet. Setting his mind back to his task, Alex slowly formed a ladder up through the ground towards the surface. As he punched through, he quickly realised he had come up directly in the middle of a street with pedestrians walking along both sides. Crap. Sparing a quick glance around to try and gain some sense of bearing, he heard a shout on the street and quickly ducked his head back down into the hole. He immediately started to close off the hole behind him, but not before a hand came down to try and grab at him. Panicing, Alex let go of the formed rung and made his body drop slowly whilst he closed the ground in around the hand. As he reached the bottom, the entire upward shaft closed behind him, Yas was waiting for him.

“You got seen? Fuck, there goes any semblance of surprise we had left… Did you at least see where you came out?”

Alex nodded in response to both questions and took a calming breath before replying. “From what I could see, it looked like I had come out in the center of a wide road with foot traffic on both sides. There were small buildings lining the road on both sides, and what looked like a big, sweeping hill that rose off in,” Alex gestured in the direction he remembered, “that direction. I only had a few seconds to look, sorry Yas…”

Yas bent down and using their finger, drew a surprisingly detailed map over the course of a minute or two. Looking it over, Alex was able to see that it was the exact street and layout he had described. As Yas finished their rendering, they circled a building further up the hill Alex had seen. “This is where we should come out. My old Frigidtech mentor had a residence there, and it should be empty now, but still stocked with tools and stuff. My mentor hit level 100 and got released a year or so ago, and never left the building to anyone which means it should be safe for a little while.”

Alex raised an eyebrow at this. Why would they leave a fully stocked workspace untouched if the owner had left. He asked Yas this question and found the answer perplexing. “Well, generally once a Fridigian earns their release from service any property they have is kept in case a relative joins with the same desire to pursue the Class. My mentor obviously couldn’t remember if this was the case because of the wipe, but we did some… less than authorised checks and found that they had no relatives outside waiting.” Yas finished the explanation with a wry smile on their face at admitting to prior wrongdoing.

Alex found he had the beginnings of a picture building up in his head about everything he had found out about the Fridigians almost indentured servitude, but he kept it to himself for now, not wanting to upset his friend any further. Instead Alex put on a smile and nodded before starting to carve the tunnel in the direction of their new objective. Once there they could rest up and plan properly.

Painfully aware that an alarm had likely been raised above their heads, Alex took this part much slower and relied on Yas’ prior knowledge of the area to plot their course. Nearly 2 hours later, Yas tapped Alex and pointed up to signal they should be in the vicinity of the building now. Alex created another upward shaft and checked to see if Yas had some sort of mirror or something that he could poke out the ground rather than sticking his head out again. Yas produced a little square mirror the size of a credit card and Alex ascended to check the area. Poking just the mirror out, Alex was able to see that he had come up a few feet behind a shuttered building that sat butted up against a towering wall. There were obvious signs of the building having spent a long time without any occupants. Spending a few minutes to check if there were any patrols and seeing none, Alex went back down to ask Yas if what he had seen was the correct building rather than just popping out the hole. “I saw a squat little building with shuttered windows that looked abandoned. There didn’t seem to be any patrols or anyone rushing around from what I could see.”

“That sounds about right, shall I go first? I still have a key to the building and I shouldn’t stick out as much as you?” Yas asked.

“Yeah sure, I’ll follow behind you and sit in a little ledge just below the opening until you signal its safe.”

So Alex followed behind Yas, creating a little hatch to cover the entryway to their tunnel and letting Yas out. He then hollowed out a little alcove just down from the hatch and sat down to wait.

After 15 minutes, Alex started getting uneasy. If all Yas had gone to do was unlock the building, he should have been back well before now. He went to the hatch and lifted it a tiny amount to peer out. Ther building looked the same, but one door was now hanging slightly ajar and Alex could just make out faint noises coming from within.

“Fuuuuuuuuck…” Alex breathed before taking a sweeping glance around the vicinity of the exit. Seeing nobody nearby, Alex pulled himself from the hole and rushed over to the door, cursing his lack of weapons again and activating his passives. He coated both fists in a layer of rock and pulled the door open quietly, slipping inside.

He found himself in a wide entrance corridor that seemed to end in what looked like a shop. Yas’ head could be seen pressed into the counter by a figure that was hissing questions. Slowly advancing down the hall, Alex started to pick up on what was being said.

“... ck ARE YOU and why are you in my home?!”

“Teacher, it’s me, Yas! You taught me everything I know, how do you not remember giving me a key?”

“I have never met you, let alone given you a fucking key to my house. Now tell the truth before I call a patrolling officer in to deal with you!”

“I swear, Zareth, you know me! You even gave me your personal Frigidtech toolset when I graduated your teachings!” Yas pulled out a small case and placed it on the counter next to their face. The figure, Zareth, reached over and opened the case before letting out a gasp and stepping back a step.

“This is… My writing and craftmanship, but I don’t remember crafting these items. This makes no sense…”

Alex had crept right up to the entrance to the room by this point, and chose this moment to enter with his hands held up to show no ill intent. “Yas, what is going on?”

Zareth spun and leveled their weapon at Alex, “Another fucking intruder!? That’s it, I’m getting a Soldier.” They started across towards the main door and Alex leapt across the gap, tackling them. He made himself heavier and pinned Zareth to the ground.

“Yas, answers would be good!” Alex panted, breathless from his exertion. Yas looked like they’d seen a ghost.

“Alex, that’s my old Teacher, but… Younger. And only level 18. I honestly don’t know what's happening here…”