B2 Ch 1: Refugees

[Year 21 Month 7: Continued]

[Blessed: 6235 – 1203]

Roughly sixty percent of the citizens made it into the tunnels, with most of the blessed population surviving due to their higher trust in my words. Large swaths of the invading army had been slain, but several of the faster ones had managed to outpace the fog, including the general who had slain the mini-boss.

Everyone that I was close with was fine physically, a little rattled mentally, but overall okay, yet there was a good portion of the population that were just… erased, by the mist.

It was, in many cases, my own fault, as some of the presumed to be safe bunkers were not completely airtight, and if they were, the seals would have been eaten, as they were manufactured like most other materials. Those who evacuated to the bunkers when the armies approached would have been trapped in a box and watched as the mist slowly crept closer to them, consuming random citizens, then their loved ones, and then themselves.

Although I doubted it, all I could do was hope that their deaths were painless.

Unfortunately for the dead, there was little time to mourn; we were still on a tight schedule, as the devouring fog was slowly seeping down into the tunnels. It would be several hours, but if there is a universal trait, it would be self-preservation.

People were pushing and shoving in the evacuation tunnels and chambers, trying to get farther away from the slowly creeping death. It was hard to fault them, as many were just parents trying to protect their kids and find their loved ones if their loved ones made it.

I didn’t have enough functional golems to manage the chaos properly. The ones that were still intact and not used for bomb rushing the Vexus boss were busy at work moving both people and goods into the dwarven ruins.

Yet, I wasn’t completely alone in my endeavor. Osbert and his guards still existed, and with a little information, they quickly got to work, ushering everyone further underground.

The captain had been shouting for a while now, but persisted nonetheless, “Come on, everyone! Once everyone is safe, we will help you find your loved ones, but please, keep moving!”

Further down in the tunnels, Astrid was busy, having collected what supplies they could before being moved underground. Technically, most of it was already down in the Burrow, but it still had to be transported.

Even Penelope was helping, as she had been at Gorn, and knew most of the tunnels leading further into my facility, letting many of the beast-kin escape before the mist had rolled across the smaller town, much to my relief.

There wasn’t an easy way down into the dwarven facility, but I did have a few arachnid golems that could climb up and down the vertical shaft, ferrying a few people each time as quickly as they could.

If this ever passes, I will need to create a lift system; just a simple elevator or two would make all of this way easier.

To be honest, I should have set it up long ago. While I could make excuses for it, I wouldn’t.

Thousands of people still needed to be saved. The dead will have their time.

There are a few major problems that we will run into. First issue, but arguable lesser of the many, is the space. I deactivated the traps in the two rooms I have opened, but considering the second area is maybe enough to fit fifty sleeping people, it would not work with the population we have all been shoved into the area.

The main area that had the crucibles would probably be able to squeeze everyone in, but it would be a tight fit, leading to many issues with cramped spaces and irritated people.

There’s a ton of vertical space, though, that is unoccupied. Probably about seven floors’ worth of space, if we were to reduce the ceiling height… I could use my golems to construct it, but there may be a better choice.

Quickly, I contacted Metis, who had been restarted once there was enough mana regeneration available. “Metis, are there any refugees with skills able to build structures or something similar?”

She took a moment before responding, “There are three such individuals, two are adventurers, and the other is the beast-kin you spoke to in the Burrow, Yezin the rat beast-kin. He developed a form of Chlorokinesis after experimenting for long enough.”

“Could you please bring them together for me?” I asked. It would be easier to debrief them all at the same time. Maybe they would have an idea of how to solve our space issue.

“Yes.”

While I waited, I turned my attention to the surface. The miasma was still lingering, but with a good portion sinking into the tunnels and the rest moving on. Somewhat worryingly, it didn’t seem to move ‘naturally’ like on the wind or anything else; instead, it followed its own path, one that brought it in contact with as much life as possible.

When it had hit Runehold, I was a bit busy to truly notice, but with Codex always keeping data, it showed that every time it consumed matter, it would grow in size. Even now, I could see the flora and wildlife being consumed by the blight-like phenomenon, as it continued to roll across the fields and groves of trees, the mana was sucked out of the nature, and used to create more of itself.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

A self-replicating fog then? Or maybe it’s like a swarm of locusts, just on a smaller scale?

The ‘sinking’ nature of the fog would make the last option unlikely, but like most things with magic, the Vexus didn’t follow all the rules of nature. Even my own abilities went beyond what should be scientifically possible.

Curiously, several of my pillars closer to the Wildlands could still see lush greenery. While a good portion of the region had been wiped away and reduced to nothingness like everything else, there was a large swath of it that maintained its life, like a small oasis in the middle of a desert.

Going by the curvature, it’s probably a tenth of what it used to be. That being said, a tenth of the wildlands is a tenth more than everywhere else. I will need to explore it eventually, perhaps after most of this mess is cleaned up.

Cutting through my thoughts, Metis contacted me, “The three have gathered. We have approximately another two hours till the accessible ruins are full, and another two before the mist makes it all the way down the tunnels if we collapse the rest.”

“Okay, handle the tunnels while I talk with these three.”

Acknowledging the statement, Metis left me to the conversation.

I sighed, Alrighty, let’s see what we have here.