Val was perusing the dictionary of runes Karl had given him, relaxing in the back seat of an abandoned car out in front of the warehouse. He was trying to make better sense of the language and its references. Huginn had noted runewords to him before he left to report to the Old Man, but he had yet to bother looking into it. The control involved in combining runes to form runewords was complicated, but not the major problem for him. He could hold a plane of air for carving for only a couple seconds still. This remained the difficult roadblock, but surmounting this obstacle would only come with practice.
Nearby, some residents were gathering supplies and inspecting the condition of the buildings Val had cleared of ghouls. Many of them looked tired, but they seemed determined to do what they can while the area remained clear. Val himself felt pretty alright, it seemed he could go for a few days without sleep and not suffer greatly.
He did not want to hang around the warehouse much. He had already gotten wrapped up in several exchanges that felt awkward for him. Some people were asking if he could teach them magic, some were thanking him profusely, others wanted to know how long he would stay. His responses were a combination of "Don't know." And "You're welcome." He really did not know how he might teach someone what he knows, as the nuances of how to use magic was a kind of instinct for him because of the brand. How it worked, he was not sure, and he was not used to the emotionally charged gratitude from people he did not even know.
The sound of flapping wings stole his attention away from his reading.
"Still studying the runes?" A feminine voice asked.
"Mmm. Can't really make heads or tails of some of these. I kind of get what they do, but some of these seem like they can do a variety of things based on the context or way I use them. The untranslated parts are just gibberish to me." Val replied.
Muninn seemed to be in a chipper mood. "Have you tried reading it upside-down?" She jested.
"Funny, what've you been up to this morning? Wet your beak in another pot of coffee?"
"It is a delicious drink your people created, though I feel I have gotten the shakes." Muninn was almost hopping, seeming to be unable to get a proper footing on the windowsill of the car door.
Val raised an eyebrow. "It'll do that… You didn't have a whole cup, did you?"
"Not a whole cup, I sampled many cups."
"Super… Look, you should probably have some water." Checking the time, Val noted it was less than ten minutes till noon.
Val stepped out of the car, stretching his legs and looking around. He was feeling a bit bored after all the excitement the night before. Everyone was pretty busy moving salvaged supplies, a few of the mostly intact houses had solar panels installed on their roofs. A crew of people was busy carefully working to inspect them for damage. They might have survived the rolling EMPs that struck the planet, if they could fix some houses up, they could reclaim them as functioning homes. If the house was too damaged, they could always salvage the panels and try to reinstall them on other buildings.
"Hey, Muninn, do you know if there are any other surviving groups nearby?" Val asked.
"Not directly nearby, but further to the North, perhaps a couple days by foot, I noticed some cars on the road had been cleared. I'm not sure who or what it is, but someone is trying to clear the main road." She explained.
Val's brows furrowed. "Someone is trying to clear the interstate…? That should be other survivors, I can't imagine anyone else would care."
"Just to be clear, modern humans are not the only ones who prefer to travel by road."
"You think there's something else out there?"
"I cannot say for certain, but if it is not humans, it would not be goblins either. They and other primitive races are not organized enough to care, and they dislike large open spaces. It has been too long since I have seen any of the Elder races. Elves tend to remain hidden from the world, and the Orcs do not leave their territory so easily. If it is not humans, it could be the Dwarves, they love their roads." Muninn explained.
"Elves? Noble, proud, pointy-eared people?" Surprise colored Val's face, though it soon gave way to interest.
"Yes, if the two realms have been merged, they should be here, along with a cohort of other species that would threaten your 'modern view' of the world." Muninn noted with amusement.
"Tell me about them, are they historically friendly to humans?"
"Once upon a time they were. The Elves were one of the first of the Elder races to instruct humans on the use of magic, seeing the potential in the diversity of your species."
"Right, and then we turned and killed them with it."
"Yes…" Muninn confirmed with regret in her tone.
"How did we even win? Aren't Elves supposed to be these demigod-like beings, stronger, faster, wielding powerful magic?"
"Elves have very long lives, some can live for a thousand years, or longer. While they are more powerful on average by the individual, they are not quick to reproduce. Once they had magnificent cities, powerful artisans who together could shape mountains and plains, even force the oceans to make way for their grand designs. Human aggression and treachery bled their forces, and after a few centuries, they had all retreated to the woods, mountains, and even underground. When the gods began their crusade to drive back humanity, the Elves did not answer the call." Her tone seemed to shift towards anger as she mentioned Man's part in the fall of the elves, leaving a curious look in Val's eyes.
"So even if I do run into them, they probably hate us by association, great." Val grumbled.
"Not necessarily, when the Ancient Human Empire took arms against them, it was my lord who enlisted some of the other gods among the Aesir cohort, and some human groups outside the Empire, to help them retreat and establish new homes. Many of those groups made an enemy of their own kind. The armies of the gods crusading against Man, and their own kind, hunted them. Ultimately, they remained with the Elves. You would have to ask my lord for more details, as I was not there, but I suspect that is why the Elves did not join the crusade. If anyone knows where they might be now, it would be my lord." She explained.
Val was thinking about stories and legends he had read about Elves, wondering how much of it was real and what was embellished. Comparing it with what Muninn had explained, it seemed some of it was quite real but seemed to only mention the parts after they had retreated from the world.
"Just to be clear though, the human rebels were largely comprised of humans weak in magic who wished to escape from the Empire's reach. It would likely be assumed by your magical aura that you are of the old Empire, or whatever they have become now. You may not realize it, but you have not been doing much to control your aura. It was common per the arrogance of the old Empire to flaunt their magical prowess." Muninn added.
"Easier said than done, I can't even sense this aura you're talking about."
"You will, in time. You must have noticed your body has grown more accustomed to magic in the last few days. Your body is still adjusting to the brand, have patience. Before long, you will be in a better state to explore your new powers." She reassured.
Lunch was being served from carts to the people working outside. The kitchen staff offered Val a sandwich with a healthy serving of bacon in it. Much of the meat that was served was some kind of cured or dried form. Val still had his own food, but accepted it with a tinge of guilt. He really was not doing much work since the sun rose, but Jim had told him even if he had nothing to do, his presence would make everyone feel safe as they worked, so he hung around. The staff also handed him a bowl filled with birdseed he assumed they took from the pet food aisle, offering it to Muninn with some amusement. She had sampled it with a funny, conflicted expression, to which Val could not help chuckling. He tore about a third of his sandwich and gave it to her before walking over to where he saw Jim taking a break.
"The hero eats with us mortal men now, eh?" Jim jabbed. He seemed considerably less nervous around Val after the night's events.
Val just rolled his eyes, taking a seat on the curb. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow? Your boss mentioned a few missions of key importance, but I'm guessing today is going to be mostly scavenging the immediate surroundings and then preparing."
Jim stopped joking around. "Our headquarters, downtown, about a mile down the road from here. Chief is putting together a couple working trucks and some supplies. We're going to take a team of ten and try to clear the road to there, clear the armory and evidence lockup, and see if we can salvage any old equipment."
"What do you need more guns for? As far as I know, there aren't any other survivors in this city you need to be worried about, and it doesn't work well against the ghouls anyway unless you've got something of a higher caliber than your handguns."
"There are rifles with a large enough caliber to do something to the ghouls from a distance — though not as useful in the dark. There are also some shotguns we can take, you mentioned the ghouls just need to be disabled, take out the heart, and their body stops working properly. Those guns can do that, no problem. More importantly, though, we need the riot gear, that'll give us the protection we need to confidently clear the monsters ourselves. All of that aside, there're already complaints about bacon and canned meats. Might do some hunting in the area." Jim explained.
"Makes sense, I'm guessing boss-man wants me to escort the convoy and help clear the building?"
"If you don't mind, yeah, our folks are brave, but not all that thrilled about the mission, it'd be a huge boost to morale if you're around."
"When do we set out?"
"0700 tomorrow, we're trying to clear some roads today, we want to reach the station in an hour ideally, the sun's going down earlier these days, and we don't want to be caught out in downtown by dark."
Val nodded in understanding. "I'll come along, just wake me if I don't get up myself."
"Thanks. You should talk to the Chief if you need any details, he's drawn up a rough plan of the station. He's probably in his office now."
"Sure, I got some other questions to ask him, anyway." Val finished his sandwich and started heading off to the warehouse. He asked Muninn to notify him if trouble showed up. Everyone was taking a break by now, and he figured he had an hour before they would start up again in earnest.
Richard was in his office with a pair of glasses on, referencing maps and drawing up surprisingly detailed floor plans of some buildings by memory.
"I was told the plans were rough. Didn't know you were an architect." Val remarked as he strolled in. He could have knocked, but the door was open regardless, so he did not bother.
"Ha, no, but I studied structural engineering in college."
"How does a structural engineering major give up that kind of money and stability, then join the police force?" Val raised his eyebrows, having a hard time imagining someone would take up a tough course of study, then not use it. Val himself studied computers but proceeded into IT, though it never amounted to much more than a job to him.
Richard shrugged and smiled. "Life has a way of drawing you in directions you did not intend for. I assume you did not major in swordsmanship and magic, yet here you are. You're here about the mission I'm preparing, right?"
"Yeah, where do you want me?"
Richard handed him a precisely sketched floor plan with entrances and rooms detailed out. Approximate length measurements gave him a sense of the size and shape of the structure. There were two large rooms shaded in red, which Richard pointed to.
"This time, there is no need to clear the entire structure, I don't want you guys taking any unnecessary risks. Armory, and evidence lockup, just get all the contents of these rooms and anything of use you find on the first floor, then get out. The station is too far out of the way from where we are. Aside from the equipment, there's no value in holding the location. If you encounter any ghouls, there will be two officers on hand whose priority is to catalog, take some samples, then help you move the bodies for burning." He explained seriously, putting extra emphasis on avoiding needless risks.
"Sure, this should be straightforward." Val wanted to clear as many ghouls as he could, but he knew it would be easier to do so later once the residents were better equipped to help.
Now, do you know how you would like to be paid for your assistance?" Richard eyed him curiously. Previously he had asked for a pocket watch, he had no idea what was motivating Val's goodwill.
"After the mission, when you have a moment, I would like to know everything you remember about the day the disasters struck." Val said seriously.
Richard raised his eyebrows in surprise. "That should be easy, it has not been too long… I remember nearly every detail, I've relived it in my nightmares ever since. Is that all?"
Val shrugged. "We can chalk the rest up to an IOU."
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