Chapter 25

“I’ll organise ramp stuff,” Ivey declared, jumping to her feet.

“And I’ll come with you and check with Chua and Alisha about where the best place to attack is.” Luke told them.

“It’s mirrored,” Daniel interrupted. “Or as good as. Fewer doors through.”

Alex raised an eyebrow at that statement. On their current floor, the zombies had controlled the floor for too long and almost seventy percent of doors had been broken and Daniel had recycled others since.

“They’ve taken down every single door below, which is frustrating.” Daniel told them. “Have to go through an extra step to scout.”

“Bye,” Ivey called out and then she and Luke ran upstairs.

Alex stayed. “I like a collaborative approach, but if you’ve decided already, then lead with that fact.”

“Is that your business head talking?”

“Life, business, common sense.” Alex shrugged. “If you had started with, ‘We’re attacking downstairs later today let’s discuss the best way to do it’. I think that would have both gone smoother and been more productive.”

Daniel grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Alex hesitated like he was considering asking something else, but changed his mind. “I’ll help Luke make sure the fighters are ready.” He left and Daniel was alone briefly before people started arriving.

Flower pots from his current floor and the two higher floors were brought in.

There was a knock.

He looked up and Jordan walked in. “I heard I’m needed.”

Good job Ivey, Daniel thought to himself. It was impressive that she had realised that Jordan would be useful. Despite that, he held up a finger to show that he required a moment. Presently, he was focused on the floor below, where he was using his excess mana to prepare the windows below. Eventually, they were going to have to blow them out, and that would require a lot of preparation. Currently, he was just positioning his conduits into the right spots. Priscilla was on over watch to ensure no feral wandered in and noticed what he was doing. Given they were preparing a surprise attack he did not want to risk giving them any early warning. Delicate roots slipped into the seal and steadily replaced. He could only do the work in spurts because whenever a wandering zombie got close he would cease the activity. The zombies might lack observational abilities, but they were predator, and they were fine tuned to see any movement.

Priscilla sent an image of a zombie five doors away, but getting closer and he pulled his consciousness back.

“Yes you are,” he told Jordan. “I want to build a ramp so we can go out this window and exit onto the floor below.”

Jordan raised his eyebrows and went and looked out the window. “I assume out of plants.”

“I was thinking something like this.” He produced the diagram Cindy had put together. It had a detailed design sketched out. Vines with a specific length going vertically and then a thin sheet of wood to create steps. Horizontal vines, guild rails and other stuff to tie it all together.

“The slats are being made from doors?”

Daniel nodded.

“So you’re really after vines with these three types of properties.” He pointed to where Cindy had scribbled details of the structural material. It included a lot of numbers and a couple of words.

Type A: Able to support two tonnes of weight with minimal stretching

Type B: Stretchable up to thirty percent. Support twenty kilograms of weight.

Type C: Ten percent stretch and load bearing of three hundred kilograms.

“I can work with this,” Jordan muttered. “I assume as general principal the thinner the vines are the less energy it takes you.”

“Generally. But weight is probably the better measure.”

“Understood.” Jordan looked thoughtful and then, with a visible shudder moved away from the window. “Would it help if the plant is programmed to grow to a certain size?” He pointed at the precise length measurements that had been written. “Or does your magic not care?”

They both stopped talking when Trudy entered the room.

She smiled cautiously. “I hear you needed fertiliser and water.”

Understanding went through Daniel. “You got the level?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

“I’ll need you in a minute but…” Daniel turned to address Jordan. “If it’s programmed to grow to exactly the right length that is best. Otherwise I’ll grow till it’s about right, but the end product will be a little wonky.”

Jordan dug into his pocket and pulled out a dozen different seeds, planting them quickly into the pot in front of him. “Can you help?”

A green and blue glow rushed from Trudy’s hands into the dirt before Daniel could do anything. The rough cut tan bark in the pot physically broke down into smaller pieces and became notably wetter.

He forced his mind back onto the job and pushed mana into the seeds that Jordan wanted him to grow. He knew the drill and after a tiny stem emerged a single flower blossomed on each of them. Jordan went to work and Daniel took advantage of a gap in the patrols below to continue to get his magic into the right spot. The battle plan required simultaneous entry through three different windows.

“Daniel.”

“Sorry,” he apologised to Jordan and magiced the flowers to the point they created a viable seed.

“Don’t need to apologise. I’m in awe at how powerful your growth spells are.”

“Yours is proving to be just as useful.”

Jordan looked up a grateful expression on his face. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“I’m confident you’ll solve our food issues.”

The new plants sprouted and then when he focused down stairs he had primed the third window or that remained was to learn how to pop them out.

Jordan did his magic. “Create a seed from just this flower.” He pointed.

Daniel suspected it did not matter, but it was a beautiful deep purple with an orange centre. As instructed, he matured the flower, it wilted, closed, and the colour drained away till it was a dry husk.

Jordan poked it. A single seed dropped out. “That’s vine one. I’ll work on the other.”

“Really?”

Jordan beamed with excitement. “Primary supports. It was easier to create than I expected.”

Daniel turned attention to the pots and the moment he put a seed into the soil Trudy channelled her power and stopped, impressed

The crappy soil of the pot now looked like the potting mixture that his sister had bought from Bunnings for the plants out on her deck. The sort of soil that as a farmer he had been insanely jealous of. With an appreciative nod, he prodded the seed and funnelled a small amount of his power into it. The growth was explosive. Roots spread throughout the available space and the main stem shot a metre straight up into the air.

Even as it filled with life, the opposite happened to the soil. That rich texture that Trudy’s spell had created remained, but it became bone dry.

Trudy gasped in surprised. “Stop.” She appeared to be simultaneously annoyed and impressed. “That’s…”

“Awesome?”

Trudy laughed. “No Daniel. Inefficient. You stuffed the soil up and now I need to rebuild. Next time, let’s go slower and if I channel while you do your growth everything will go smoother.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe… anyway.”

“What?”

“Were you showing off?”

“I…”

“Don’t deny it. You know how soil works and you’re a farmer. A systematic approach wins every time verses…” She laughed again. “That?” She concentrated and power flowed and once more the dirt was converted to rich soil. “Slowly this time.”

Once it looked like the soil was finished, he dripped his mana in.

Trudy kept channelling, and gradually Daniel increased his output. She kept pace, and he ramped up the power to the point the vine was growing at the rate of a metre every fifteen seconds. The amount of material he was creating was extraordinary.

Ivey decision to get Trudy’s this skill was genius.

Jordan provided Type B seeds and Daniel switched his focus to them. When Trudy needed a break, he split the doors into the thin planks that would form the base of the stairs they were making and then, whenever Jordan called for help for his experiments; he gave the other man what he desired.

“God, between you and Trudy. This is almost easy.”

“What you did before the magpies. Forcing the growth.” Jordan shook his head. “That was incredibly inefficient. I’m not surprised that adding Trudy into the mix and plants that you don’t have to force to grow in abnormal ways has simplified things.”

“Everything I’m doing you had to do earlier.” Trudy pointed out. “And I reckon my spell is more energy efficient.”

“That’s for sure.” Daniel agreed. “Trudy makes a vast difference and I wonder if we get a supply of water in addition to your efforts, whether that could speed things up further. Efficiency aside, Jordan I love what you’ve done. It makes the process a lot less mentally draining. It’s incredible. All I need to do is prod the plant to grow and those changes you made means it naturally creates exactly what we need. All things equal, I think the two of you have improved my efficiency six times.”

“Hear that Jordan. I’ve increased his efficiency over five times and you’ve helped a little too.”

Jordan chuckled. “Daniel, do you want to attribute our contributions?”

“Absolute not.”

They all laughed at him.

“And if you force me I’m going to say it’s all Trudy.”

She snickered. “I’m not that scary.”

“Do you know what Zach would do to me if I upset you?”

“Hilarious,” she said, and stood and started channelling once more.

“Thank you.” Daniel once more turned to focus on the plant.

“My stupid class is useful?”

“Yes Jordan.” Daniel answered seriously. “As far as I’m concerned you’re the second most important person we have. Fuck Beau. That bastard almost screwed it all up.”

“Yeah, I’m not proud of that. It’s no excuse, but I was shell shocked and thought my skills were useless. I had given up.”

Daniel patted him on the back. “We’ve all had those thoughts. But as horrible as the world is, Magic is something else isn’t.” Another vine grew rapidly perfectly straight and the thick centre was exactly one and a half metres wide, with a less stiff vine on either side to tie it to the rest of the structure.

“Yep. And here are your last seed.” Jordan stood up and absently brushed down his pants to dislodge the dust and dirt he had accumulated from the ground. “Am I still needed?”

“Keen to kill some moths?” Trudy teased.

“I’m not going to turn the experience down. And I’ve some experiments in progress there.”

“Would it help if I?” Trudy nodded at the rich soil that Daniel was using.

“Very much so.”

“I’ll be back,” Trudy told him. “Don’t,” her nose wrinkled. “Wreck my soil while I’m good.”

Daniel grinned broadly. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” They turned to leave. “Hey Jordan, I still want a blood sucking vine or something equally diabolical.”

Jordan grinned at that. “I’ve got everyone looking out for a plant base for that one. Once they get me something close, I’ll get you something perfectly optimised.”

Daniel thought for a moment. “There was a plant that was alive upstairs that I never had time to examine.”

“That one’s already part of my collection.”

“Does it do anything?”

Jordan hesitated for a bit. Drumming his fingers on his thigh. “Its best ability is a hypnotic magic. That in of itself isn’t that impressive, but if I can combine it with something truly nasty. Maybe poison thorns or these blood drinking vines you’re dreaming of then…”

“Hey hold right there. Is that judgement that I just heard? Blood sucking vines sound cool.”

Trudy snorted. “You’re what almost thirty?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“Such a child.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Jordan said. “Done right. They’re not just cool they’ll be useful. I’m going to try to get an effect where they can actively suck vitality away from its victims. Sort of like that moth ability. Then you’ll be able to set up fields outside that between the hypnotic properties and the special vines the monsters will die if they attempt to go through it. It’ll make our tower so much safer.”

“Can’t wait. I’ll collect it tomorrow.”

“I didn’t say that.”

Daniel scratched his head, happy to let his mana regenerate for a moment. “Surely you’ve worked corporate? I was sure you would have experienced bosses with the ‘I want everything yesterday type of management’.”

Jordan laughed. “I have, but I ignored them. You might not get your weaponized plants for a couple of days, but I’m close to completing the magic fruit tree… sorry I mean that plant that if anyone pushes mana through it that will speed up the growth of fruit.”

“Tonight?”

“Yep, you hang it outside in the sun. Give it access to buckets and buckets of water and pump mana into it and it’ll work really well. It’ll absorb all the nearby sunlight and use that along with water and oxygen to reduce the mana load. Then you’ll be able to watch the fruit grow.”

“How did a smart guy like you get stuck with Beau again?”

“I ain’t that smart. Plus, I had given up and was looking for easy. You were right to kill him. I don’t know if he was broken before the event but something was wrong with him.” Jordan shivered. “He was horrible, and I spent my whole time pretending that it wasn’t evil but instead represented a better path than the one of blood you were pushing for. I was an idiot.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

The two of them left and Daniel got a runner sent upstairs to collect Cindy. With the materials mostly created, it was time for the next stage.

Almost five minutes later, Cindy bustled in, accompanied by her two dogs and Finigan. She oohed and ahhed over the materials before taking each of the vine type and putting them through rigorous testing. Apparently, they passed because she switched her attention to assembling a bridge. It was type of like making together Ikea furniture but easier.

Finally, the first ramp was ready.

“One of three done.” Daniel cheered.

She shook her head. “We need to do testing.”