Chapter 29: The Allied Worlds Theory
Reidar’s summoned sprites scouted ahead while the humans searched for a viable place to camp.
They found a proper location near a rocky outcropping that provided cover from three sides, but George was confused about it since it wasn’t there two weeks earlier.
"You have to get used to it. You were probably asleep when the terraforming kicked in, but I was awake. Watching everything change like that... it was scary. So honestly, things are different now? It’s really no big deal."
"I can only imagine," George said. "I mean, there is a stream here now."
"It doesn’t even make sense," Mike said. "Why a stream anyway? The system must have made everything random."
"Regardless," Erik said, "I don’t think it was the system that made all of this." That immediately grabbed everyone’s attention. It was reasonable to assume that the cause of all that was going on was the system, and here there was someone who openly stated that maybe it wasn’t.
"Why so?" Sarah asked.
Reidar understood the others didn’t give much thought to the situation. It was understandable, given that they had to think about their own survival, and being lost in their thoughts might be dangerous. It wasn’t true for Reidar. With the Rift-sprites, he had a lot of time to do whatever he wanted.
"It’s just because of what the system said..." Reidar paused.
"Based on it, all of this should kind of be natural, but it wasn’t like the system said this clearly; it’s just what I understood from what the system didn’t say. Again, I’m not sure about this."
Reidar scratched his head, more out of nerves than any real itch. Putting all this into words was hard and felt incredibly awkward.
He’d spent days turning it over in his mind, and even now, trying to come up with an explanation felt impossible. He could see the doubt on the others’ faces.
If it wasn’t the system, then what caused all this? The silence stretched as they waited for him to break it.
"As much as I’ve understood, the Guardian system is some sort of protection that someone created for us to survive."
"Care to share the reason why you think so?"
Reidar paused as he recalled one of the very first messages the system gave, but he wasn’t sure the others saw it. It was almost like those first messages didn’t have to be seen, but they were there in case someone stayed awake despite the situation. Statistically, that was bound to happen, so, in a sense, the system made them only for the selected few that could share the information, although the reason for this was unknown.
"I’m kind of sure one of the first messages said that ’The Allied Worlds’ wished us good luck."
"Curious," Margaret said. "It would mean there is some kind of group that had access to magic for quite some time and that is in some way connected to the system. Maybe they even created it."
"Exactly. That was what I was thinking," Reidar said. "I’m also inclined to think this is something natural because of one of those early messages. One was a Critical System Alert about a containment failure, which then talked about mana overflow. The second was about an emergency protocol being activated."
"I read those too," Sarah said. "So, you think the monsters are appearing and getting stronger because of mana?"
"That’s what I think," Reidar said.
The survivors laid out their bedrolls in a circle around the fire pit. They’d gotten lucky. The gas station had them in stock, probably because there were camping spots nearby.
Watch schedules were discussed and assigned, but all of them were worn out, including Reidar.
Frank gathered firewood while Margaret and Linda prepared their evening meal. The inventory helped keep everything fresh, as if time stopped inside of it. Because of that, they decided to usually just cook large quantities of food once a day so that they would be able to eat while moving during the day.
As darkness fell over the woodland, the fire blazed to life. Orange light flickered across the exhausted bodies of the survivors.
"We covered a lot of ground today," George said. "If I’m not mistaken, we’re more than halfway to Three Lakes. Tomorrow should be easier. The forest thins out up ahead; there should be more open space, and I’m pretty sure I recognized some of the markings today, so I’m confident we’re on the right path."
The others nodded. Though it was clear the earlier discussion was still giving them something to think about.
"These Allied Worlds," Linda said, stirring the pot of stew. "Do you think they’re human?"
"Could be," Reidar said. "But I’m inclined to think that while there might be humans among them, not all of them are. The name suggests multiple planets. Maybe they’ve been through this before, so they know how to help survivors. I don’t think they would have helped us if they did it to begin with, if they were the cause of all this."
Sarah poked at the fire with a stick. "But why would they care about us? What’s in it for them?"
"Maybe they’re just good people," Linda said. "Or maybe they need allies for something bigger."
Reidar considered the possibilities. "I hope not. I don’t even want to imagine what could be bigger than all of this."
"But if they are this strong, why didn’t they prevent it all?" Frank said darkly.
"I think they did?" Margaret said. The old lady proved to be quite insightful sometimes.
"The system mentioned the failsafe mechanism broke down, so I guess whatever was keeping the mana back just gave out, and this is their backup plan."
The others paused to think, and for a long time, they were all lost in their thoughts while Reidar’s summons took watch as they rested.
Then Mike broke the silence. There was no point in mulling over all of this without a shred of information.
"So what’s everyone’s plan? I mean, long term. Where are you trying to get to?"
"My parents live in Creamont," Reidar said. "That’s my first stop. Then I need to get to Kingsguard. My wife, Sarah, and my son, Marcus, are there."
George shook his head. "Kingsguard’s what, three hundred and fifty miles from Creamont? That was before all this happened."
"More like a thousand now, I’d guess," Reidar said. It was because of the environmental changes.
"I saw the highway expand right in front of me," Reidar said. "The asphalt literally grew longer while I was driving on it, and those were just the parts that grew. Most of it was just stone, dirt, and plants."
"Jesus."
"Are you sure you are going? It is quite a distance." Linda asked.
"I have to. They’re my family."
Linda nodded. "I get it. I keep thinking about my sister in Rosewood. I have no idea if she’s even alive."
"Have you tried calling anyone?" Mike asked. "I mean, I know the cell towers are probably down, but... maybe not all of them. We might be lucky."
"My phone died on day one," George said. "Won’t turn on at all."
"Same here," Sarah said. "Mine’s totally dead. It won’t charge or even boot."
Frank pulled his phone from his pocket. The screen was cracked and dark. "Same here. Tried everything."
"It’s not just phones," Reidar said. "Cars stopped working too. Anything electronic, really. I tried to take one from the highway before meeting you, but it didn’t budge."
"You think Mana did that?" George asked.
Reidar nodded. "That makes sense. Mana might be acting like a permanent EMP. But I bet there are other ways to travel fast, maybe even ways to get electronics working again. We just haven’t figured it out yet." He paused, letting that sink in. "The system said this is happening everywhere. Other continents are going through the same thing."
"Great," Frank said. "There is no way to talk to anyone, no way to get around, and no clue what’s happening anywhere else. Who even made it past the first day?"
Reidar didn’t care much for Frank, and he didn’t like him either. The guy was always focused on the worst, never on what they could do. He got it. Fear was natural, but staying stuck in that mindset? That’s how one lost their grip. People needed something to hold onto, or they’d spiral, and Frank seemed ready to dive right into the deep end.
Everyone was lost in thoughts of family and friends they couldn’t contact.
"My daughter lives in Summergate," Margaret said. "She’s got two kids. I don’t even know if they made it through the earthquakes and storms."
"At least your daughter’s grown," Frank muttered. "My grandson is only eight. He lives with his mom, my daughter, in Brackenguard. The kid probably doesn’t even get what’s going on, and his mother... well, she’s not exactly the brightest."
"Kids adapt faster than adults," Linda said. "He might be doing better than you think, and the same could be said for your daughter."
"Maybe," Frank said, but his voice held little hope.
"She’s right," Reidar agreed. "The system gave us the tools to survive. Magic, skills, progression. I don’t think your daughter is so stupid as to not be able to get a couple of skills and a good weapon."
"You don’t know her."
"Speaking of which," George said, "you mentioned vendors the first day we met. Where do you think we will find them?"
"I wish I knew," Reidar said. "The system mentioned them but didn’t give locations. Probably in settlements or safe zones since it would make the most sense."
"Three Lakes might have one," Margaret said. "If people gathered there for safety."
"Only one way to find out," Reidar said.
The group settled into their nightly routine. Weapons were cleaned and checked. Equipment was inspected for damage. Plans for the next day were discussed.
Mike took the first watch while the others prepared for sleep. Reidar dismissed his summons and conjured fresh ones to patrol the perimeter for the first half hour so that Mike, who was worn out, could rest some more during his shift. They decided to sleep for six hours anyway, meaning that everyone would have five hours of sleep and one hour of service.