45 Adaptation (1/2)

We left towards Torix, Kessiah bubbling with energy again. The talk cleared her mind, and that let her go back towards her usual self. That meant she woke up Althea with a bit more zeal than she needed too.

It was ok though. Althea frowned, grumpy during the mornings like usual as we headed out towards Torix's lair. The breeze was a pleasant cool, and the overcast sky bathed the ground in gray. The empty streets stood like a silent monument to what the city used to be like.

Now the only sound you could hear was rustling trash being blown around or the whistling of wind. Normally I wouldn't notice this kind of stuff, but the gloomy day brought out just how empty everything was now.

That was when we reached Torix's house. Several cords were running from the ground, stretching out by an antenna on top of the house. It all looked new, like it was built since the last time I was here.

When we walked inside, I figured out it was. There was a generator built into the center of the house connected with the cords outside. They draped through across the homey hallways and roofs of rooms. Technology was tapered onto the wall, enabling an instant communication of information.

At the center of it all, Torix scribbled onto a summoned blackboard. He would carve his finger into the expanse of black with white mana, like drawing on darkness with snow. When we walked in, he turned towards us,

”Excellent. You're all here.” He walked up beside us and summoned a slight shift in the coloration of the air. As this subtle wave past us, all sound around us cancelled. Within the distortion, Torix spread his hands,

”I've devised a method of safely clearing out new areas.”

Althea crossed her arms, ”Really?”

”Indeed I have. The primary differences between the old plan and the new plan may be separated into three primary points. Firstly-”

He pressed his fingers together, making the floating blackboard pop into the bubble. Torix tapped it,

”I have summoned several tiny insect creatures. I've made them explore Yawm's camp to gather information. Yawm is centered within the growing world tree at the center of Springfield, as I believed he would be.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”The fuck? A world tree?”

Kessiah leaned over, ”Basically a giant tree that sucks up a planet's resources. It's how Yawm and his followers got to such a high level.”

Torix pointed his finger, ”Precisely. He won't leave that world tree before finishing his infestation. That gives us time. His followers are the problem.”

Torix pointed at a miniature map of Springfield with dots all over it, ”These dots represent named ones that Yawm has either brought over or summoned.” He pointed at several red dots, each of them moving slowly. ”These are the followers.”

We all nodded as he continued, ”This will track their movements. Depending on the day, I will assign areas they are far from, allowing you all to clear out areas with relative safety. I've arranged with the steel legion to allow target encirclements that will let them still make progress despite the inherent complexity of this operation.”

Torix pointed at the hanging cords, ”These allow me to communicate with them. I'll use this to communicate with each of you as well using our own talking devices.” Torix pulled out three glass spheres with gray ring lining the centers of them. He handed one to each of us.

”Do you remember what this does?”

I nodded, ”Yeah. It's one of those obelisks, right?”

”Correct. These will allow each of you to visualize the data and instructions I send to you in real time. Kessiah will explain their operation. I've also created a private network for only our use. The steel legion will be told nothing of any of this. Trusting them too deeply is too risky for us now.”

Torix grabbed the map of Springfield on the blackboard and pulled it out. A three dimensional hologram thing came out of the board. Underneath the map was a layout of tunnels. Torix pointed at them,

”The underlying sewer system underneath Springfield is a relatively unexplored area for Yawm. We will use it for mobilizing the steel legion and you all from here on out. This will hide our movements during the operation.”

I smiled, ”Ah, then you'll guide us away from the followers while we take out different areas. It's like guerilla warfare essentially.”

”Exactly. That, and I'll be giving one of my more powerful summons to Kessiah in case something...unexpected happens again. I looked at this whole issue far greater nonchalance than I should've. I will not underestimate Yawm or his followers again.”

Kessiah sighed, ”Neither will I.”

Althea uncrossed her arms, ”Sounds like a solid plan.”

Torix smiled, ”That isn't all in fact. I'll be splitting these areas so that you may take down the named ones during each mission. They will be much like the disciples of Dakhma's. The location of this base will also be hidden with a few more cloaking spells and some jamming technology now, for good measure.”

Kessiah grinned, ”Good to see the old Torix is back.”

Torix shrugged, ”I just needed to clear my head and rest for a day or two. If all of you are rested as well, I've already drawn up a few routes you can take when you're ready.”

I shrugged, ”I'm down if the others are.”

Kessiah clamped her fists together, ”I'm ready. I'll teach that stupid, smug, bigoted piece of shit who's boss.”

Althea gave a curt nod. Torix snapped his fingers, making the distortion that captured the sound disappear. A rush of white noise filled my ears as Torix said,

”Then I'll see you when you all come back. Follow the routes of your obelisks. They'll show you the way from here.”

Kessiah draped her arms over my and Althea's shoulders. She grinned between us, ”Let's go give this shit another shot.” She walked out the front door before turning back towards us, ”Come on. I'll show you guys how to use the obelisks.”

We walked outside the house, Althea's steps light and mine heavy. Once we reached outside, Kessiah lifted her obelisk, shooting a bit of mana into it. The sphere expanded around her. I'd never seen the energy from outside. It was a ball of pure white sitting in the middle of open space, like a ball of textureless paper.

The ball returned back to the sphere as Kessiah raised it up,

”So here's what you do. Put your mana into the thing. The obelisk will then use your unique signature of mana from there on out. You can customize them later if you're into that.”

I lifted the sphere out in front of me. Charging my runes, an orange light poured into the ball before the wall of white wrapped around me. No noise was let inside of it, just like before. All around me was a lush, green forest. I was standing on a small island in the middle of a creek. Cicadas hummed in my ears, and the rustling of the stream calmed me.

A map appeared then integrated into Schema's interface. With a thought, the orb shrunk back into my palm. The two dimensional square took up a little bit of my peripheral vision, but it didn't get in the way. I pursed my lips,

”So you can change Schema's interface?”

Kessiah turned, ”What? Of course you can. On the open market, you can find all kinds of adjustments for it.”

I put my hands on my hips, ”Well shit. Alright, I'm ready to go do stuff if you guys want to.”

Althea still surrounded herself in the white of the obelisk. Kessiah shrugged, ”She's probably adjusting a few settings. You may want to do that yourself before we leave.”