There was a long list of Jiera’s coast cities that were known to the people of Garlen but there was no telling if they were built over a mana geyser or not. More importantly, they might have been destroyed by the lost cities after their escape or occupied by monster tribes.
Corpses were but food for monsters and the now-empty houses were a perfect shelter for anyone with enough brains to turn a handle. The Wayfinder moved at moderate speed, to give the watchmen the time to look for signs of settlements or of the presence of monsters.
“I don’t get it.” Kelia said while searching the ground with Life Vision while Lith flew at a low altitude. “If the monsters of Zelex can only stay on a mana geyser it means that Jiera’s Council shared with Garlen the location of a few geysers.
“Why don’t we just go there?”
“For a few reasons.” He looked left while she looked right. “One, having monsters and humans cohabitate right off the bat is a bad idea. Any problem might easily escalate in a conflict that we can’t afford.
“Two, the mana geysers offered by Jiera’s Council are all located in dangerous regions adjacent to the area of influence of at least one monster horde. It’s the perfect position for the tribes of Zelex to whittle the numbers of our enemies and keep them contained but a nightmare for everything else.
“Third and last, even if it was a safe location, once the human settlement expands, where are the monsters supposed to go? Away from a geyser, they revert to their feral state and age quickly.
“The Warp Gate must be positioned in the center of the mana geyser and pushing Zelex’s tribes away is a death sentence. Again, not a good idea, if you want to build a long-lasting alliance.”
“Really? How is that possible?” The Empire was kept out of the existence of the Harmonizers and had little information about what had made the children of Glemos suitable allies for the Kingdom.
Lith brought Kelia up to speed, mentioning Morok’s father but painting him solely as an expert at manipulating life forces. He left out the deal between the Council and Zelex to not tempt the Empire to sabotage their relationship with the Kingdom.
Lith was an expert healer and could make up a few details while attributing the rest to the genius of the dead Tyrant and feigning ignorance. On top of that, monsters were naturally drawn to mana geysers.
As abundant sources of world energy, the geysers allowed the monsters to naturally alter their life force and use it to attempt to reverse the effects of their fall. It was plausible that someone had exploited the phenomenon for their experiments.
For everything else “I don’t know” was the standard answer.
“Wow!” Even with the few bits of truth in Lith’s story, there was more than enough to give Dusk a lot of thought material.
He was a great expert in life forces, maybe the third greatest on Mogar after Roghar and Baba Yaga. The pieces of the puzzle at his disposal made sense but the huge gaps in Lith’s story kept him from seeing the full picture and exposing the deception.
“Kolga, Zelex, and the elves.” The Red Sun thought out loud. “You seem to be connected to everything even here. I refused to believe those silly rumors until now but you really are bad luck, Verhen.”
“Thanks.” Lith turned around, giving them a sarcastic bow. “It means a lot to me, coming from a genocidal maniac like you.”
Kelia’s/Dusk’s eyes flared up in annoyance for a second but he didn’t answer. He was still used to being so powerful that no one dared talk back to him while Lith was used to living with Guardians.
Even if the Red Sun was still at his full strength, he would leave no impression on the Tiamat.
As they moved, the map on the holographic screen became wider until it shrunk to fit the new borders while keeping everything in perspective. The explored area grew from every side thanks to the multiple DoLoreans and the Wayfinder all moving in different directions.
Flying on a car at low altitude wasn’t much different than floating on a train but Kelia’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm at the simplest discovery. She had much more personal space on her seat and she could look in every direction to take in the scenery as they advanced instead of looking at it from a single perspective.
Also, the DoLorean was much nimbler and had greater maneuverability. She loved it when Lith performed a trick at the wheel to dodge a herd of animals or a wreck on the road so she often asked him for an encore.
“Look, there’s a city there.” Lith pointed at a distance.
“I don’t see anything.” She deactivated Life Vision and squinted her eyes as Lith steered the DoLorean toward their new destination.
“Sorry. Sometimes I forget I’m not human anymore.” He sighed. Lith had two eyes ablaze with Life Vision while the other five looked around normally.
Most mystic senses had a limited range to not overload their master with information and also because energy signatures faded away quickly with distance.
“Why the sighing?” Kelia asked. “Sure, having seven eyes is a bit creepy but it’s damn useful.”
“It sure is, but if you put it together with my mass, the enhanced eyesight, and everything else, I have to constantly hold back just to not hurt those close to me. Heck, I couldn’t even ride the DoLorean I made if not for gravity fusion.
“I had to relearn how to do everything from scratch because everyone and everything is as tough as paper to me. The worst part is that it’s not that I don’t get upset anymore, I simply can’t afford it.
“If I slap someone’s hand away, I shatter it. If I bump into someone, I kill them. Don’t get me started about crowds.”
Dusk and Kelia pondered those words, thinking about how would they deal with the issue if Kelia’s bloodline awakened upon reaching the blue core.
“Still, you make it look so effortless that I never noticed it. I think you are really cool.” Kelia said.
Lith would have considered it an attempt to manipulate him with flattery but it took him a single glance to notice the honest admiration in her eyes and the childish enthusiasm in her voice.
‘I guess I’m a rockstar now. Right, Solus?’ Yet no one answered him and the smile creasing his face dimmed a bit.
The DoLorean slowed down until it stopped in an empty area. Lith’s Tiamat eyes failed to spot a living being for hundreds of meters and Life Vision confirmed to him that there was no one hiding around them either.
“Why are we stopping?” She said and after noticing his gloomy expression, she added: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to belittle your hardships. I know we aren’t friends, but I like to consider us rivals just like our respective countries.
“I really look up to you Magus Verhen and-”
Lith opened the door as he said: “Get out.”
Kelia found herself covered in a cold sweat as she left her seat and prepared for the worst.
