Nil had come to Ashe Fall with nothing but the simple Nexus-given clothes on his back. His exit luggage was similar. He had the pair of light trousers gifted by Master Seer’s students, and the scroll Selia had stolen for him. The one he gained from Master Seer had combusted after the mountain-top meeting. The Nexus wouldn’t let him take any of his prizes home. They’d sit in the multiversal organization’s storage, but both now sat copied in his Nexus interface. So he could read them whenever he pleased.
Meanwhile, Andrew had a big pack, and, as usual, it was Nil’s job to carry it. He had a lot of prototypes and rejected projects that were still worthy enough to be sold in the Nexus Marlet. There were also several tools and materials that he hoped to take home. Andrew hoped that Layla would let them through as long as none of them left the Forge.
All residents of Master Seer’s manor, a few people from the Forge, and the senior students Nil had befriended saw the pair off at the mountain’s exit teleporter. There were a few tears, a handful of hugs, and lots of bowing. Many asked Nil to get in touch if he ever returned to Ashe Fall.
Once off the mountain, the pair passed through the market. They bought treats for everyone else, and Nil bid the fishmonger goodbye. Much to his surprise, she gave him a teary hug goodbye and wished him better luck for his next arena match. The well wishes caught him by surprise. More people on Ashe Fall seemed to watch Apocalypse Arena than they cared to admit.
“What the hell?” Andrew exclaimed as they walked to the teleporter to the port. “When did this happen?”
“A few nights ago,” Nil answered.
“And you’re telling me this now?”
“I wanted to tell you about Iris’s craziness last night, but you were too busy.”
“Are you going to tell Selia?” Andrew asked.
“Of course. I’m not keeping something so big and insane from her. I tell her more nowadays than her.” Nil sighed. “Well, I would if not for the Weave and their nonsense.”
Andrew feigned horror and dismay. “You tell her more than you tell me?”
“Do you expect me to believe that Susan isn't your primary confidant now?”
“No. But it's like we discuss different things and opinions. It’s a different kind of sharing. You understand what I’m saying. Right?”
“I do.” Nil laughed. “It’s funny seeing you go from a bed-hopper to so smitten and in love.”
“Shut up.” Andrew nudged Nil hard in the ribs. Their Might difference ensured that he barely felt the blow. “How are you feeling about the Hunt?”
“Confident. The format is more in my favor. Source Sphere is amazing at destroying Cursed Ones. I just need to focus on taking them out until I have ten tokens. It's more of a race than the Chase.”
“I’m confident you got this in the bag,” Andrew stated. “It was honestly crazy how you steamrolled through the Chase. If you were up against any other opponent besides Lucy, you would’ve won.”
Nil shrugged. “Sometimes shit is just stacked against you, and there is no other choice but to keep calm and carry on.”
“If you don’t figure it out with a new crazy technique, I’ll figure out something before your next upgrade. Just win the Cleansing so I can get a bunch of soul weapon seeds to quickly get to Silver Realm.”
“You’re not even all the way Bronze.” Nil snorted. “Bronze is eons away.”
“My attributes are almost there, and I should make enough money off selling my goods to buy a Bronze Ascension Token,” Andrew replied. “Layla promised me Earth-side quests of my own. If one of them doesn’t eventually get me a Silver Ascension Token, I’ll make enough money to buy one of those too. You can’t begin to fathom my incredible money-making potential and general extraordinary-ness, Sunny-boi.”
“I’m sorry for underestimating you, oh Great One.” Nil’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “On a more serious note—”
Nil lost his train of thought when a crowd of guards rushed past the pair. One of them almost knocked Andrew down and didn’t even pause to apologize. The pair grumbled, following the armored and armed individuals speed by. They weren’t the only ones to pause and do so. Such sights weren’t common in Ashe Fall. In fact, Nil hadn’t seen a single soldier or guard during his time there. Security forces felt unnecessary in the utopic society.
Stolen story; please report.
“Have you ever seen a guard on Ashe Fall?” Nil asked. More soldiers converged with the initial group as they continued toward the bigger palatial stone constructions beyond the markets.
“None except the few that hang out around the major teleportation hubs and the ports,” Andrew answered, sounding concerned. “Do you think something is wrong?”
“There has to be. Why else would soldiers mobilize in a supposedly utopic society? Do you think we should help?”
“The average Bronze Realm adult is on the same level as you, if not significantly more skilled and experienced. What help would you be? I say we get to the port before this shit spreads. The last thing we want is to get stuck here because some Scourge or Void shit happened. I know the people here are supposed to be enlightened, but the foreigners always get rounded up first.”
“You’re right.” Nil sighed, restarting toward the teleportation hub. “The last thing we want is to get stuck here.”
“I don’t mind Ashe Fall. I just miss Susan.”
“And there is also Baba, Emily, and Sammy.”
“There is always Iris. You could—”
“Don’t even start with that shit,” Nil warned, rolling his eyes.
More guards rushed past the duo, and they hastened their exit. Chatter on the way gave them a quick brief of the situation. Edwin Miles, one of Ashe Fall’s three rulers and the person leading all magitech development, had perished. If that wasn’t bad enough, evidence of Scourge activity and forces had been found. The pair knew better than to engage in chatter and gossip when things were so much more dire than they imagined.
Things were chaotic at all the hubs they passed on the way to the port. It was crowded and not orderly, like during arrival or when they returned from gathering excursions—delicate materials demanded that they return via waygates instead of teleportation. Andrew knew the lay of the land far better than Nil and took the lead. He had been through the part several more times and knew some of the guards and officials as well. Unfortunately, none of them entertained him. All directed the pair toward exit immigration.
“Let’s just return our papers and get out of here?” Nil said, nodding toward the desks. A pushy crowd surrounded them. No one oversaw or maintained the queue system, and the usually well-behaved people also seemed to have forgotten all etiquette.
It took them nearly an eternity to get to the front of the line. The person who dealt with the pair just took their paperwork before redirecting them to a waiting area. Their questions went unanswered. They were pleased to find Susan and Shawn already present. There were also a handful of other groups with concerned expressions and shooting each other suspicious looks.
“They say we can’t leave,” Susan said after she had kissed Andrew and hugged Nil. “Apparently, all travel is shut down until further notice. Do you know what happened?”
“Something about Edwin Miles getting killed and the Scourge being involved,” Nil answered, guiding his friends away from the others to a corner of the courtyard. “Might not be true. It's just what we heard on the way here. Everything was fine until we exited the markets. Then all hell seemed to break loose.”
“I don’t like the look of things,” Shawn commented, peeking out through the courtyard’s exit. “They’re blocking off the main exit hub. It looks like they’re also grounding all vessels. Can’t we just teleport back to the Nexus?”
“Not without the paperwork they just took off us,” Andrew replied. “We can’t even teleport back to the grove or academy. They’ve got us trapped.”
“And I thought the druids could sort this out for us,” Susan sighed. “What do we do now?”
“You’re going to follow me,” Selia said, appearing through a wall. “That’s what you’re going to do.” Her face was dirty, and fresh red stained her white blouse’s cuff and sleeve. She extended a hand to them. “LInk up and come with me.”
“Teleporter and vessels are all blocked off.” Susan frowned. “Where will we even go?”
“Just trust me, alright? Things are going to get ugly here super quick. We need to move.”
Everyone followed Selia’s instructions, but Susan hesitated. It took some coaxing from Andrew before she took his hand, and they all phased through the wall together. They passed through dense foliage, a few back rooms, and another courtyard before coming to a stop. It was a private landing pad surrounded by tall walls. A ready vessel waited with an anxious-looking crew and the same woman who had taken away Selia when they first arrived on Ashe Fall.
“It's the last vessel cleared for the waygate,” Selia said. “We need to board before our permission is revoked.”
“What’s going on?” Susan demanded. “Why do you have permission? Why is there blood on you? We need answers, Selia.”
“You can have them later, Susan. Every second counts, and we can’t discuss things here. The walls literally have ears.”
“Are you and the Weave involved?” Susan’s tone didn’t change, and while the others moved toward the vessel, she didn’t. Andrew stood between her and the others, torn and confused.
“Susan, now is not the time!” Selia hissed. “This place isn’t safe for any of us right now. Anyone who doesn’t board in the next ten seconds is going to be left behind and believe me. They’ll all be subject to the inquisition. Knowing someone involved with the Weave alone is enough to get you screwed over.”
Everyone boarded the vessel. Susan voiced her displeasure but didn’t fight Selia. The Druid’s Grove didn’t like the Weave, and it appeared the distrust had rubbed off. Nil considered it uncharacteristic, and it seemed something more was at play. It wasn’t the time to interrogate or talk, and he was glad when the vessel took off. It didn’t take them long to reach the waygate. It transported them to a Beacon World, and the Schema then teleported them to the Nexus, ending their time away.
Love JP and Caitlin
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