As we spotted the walls through the trees, Camilla stopped walking.
"I will cancel the clone skill now. Thank you again Frey." She smiled and waved as her body slowly vanished before me, i managed a smile back before she was completely gone.
As i neared the gate, more branched broke in the forrest floor around me.
My wolves had come to greet me, and howled loudly with their tails wagging like happy dogs.
I sent them back in the forrest to help escort the group.
"You are finally back i see?" Rolf stood above the gate with Chioma. "We heard the howls, i thought it might be you." He had a huge smile on his face. I noticed his arm around Chioma as they stood there looking down.
"And i see you two are getting rather comfortable with eachother." I smiled back.
Chiomas dark face turned red, it looked cute as she scuttled away from my uncle.
"Take this boar and prepare it at once." I yelled to my units on guard at the still doorless gate.
"Rofl, gather the others at Calfs house, i have a lot to tell you."
His eyebrows twisted, understanding that something important had happened. He vanished from the top of the gate.
Inside the house Rolf had gathered with Calf, Chioma, Charlotte and Magnus.
"I might have been too hasty. What i have to say i want some other people to hear aswell. But at this moment, Erik is escorting the other camp here. Around one hundred people can be here at any moment." I looked around their faces as we sat in the stone couches.
Only Calf rose up and spoke. "Then let's wait untill we've welcomed them." He left out the house.
The all the others followed him out. Only Rolf remained.
"What's wrong Frey?" He asked, worry apparent in his face.
"I'm just tired. A lot have happened in a short time and i think i need to sleep."
Rolf made his usual smile and leaned back into the couch. "It's important to rest. Even with our new world and strenght, we are still human. Our minds needs the rest to proper process and store everything that has happened. Without it, we could shut down."
He then stood up and slapped my shoulder. "Sleep now. I will help manage things with Calf untill you wake up. Then we can talk." He talked firmly, leaving no room for debate.
I smiled to myself as he left, i am still his young nephew after all.
Under the fur blankets in the stone bed, i checked my status before falling asleep.
I realised i had reached level 15 and a new single use ability was flashing.
*Choose a class upgrade*
*New core unit. / Skill: Legions land.*
So we get new class-skills from leveling up, i though as i had a closer look.
New core unit: Choose an additonal core unit for the legions roster.
Skill: Legions land - An area buff that increase the effectiveness of legion units, while simultanously decreasing the effectiveness of enemies.
I guess i wont know more specifics before i choose one.
A buff for my legion sounded amazing. But the units was the center of my current strenght. And adding another unit to the core seemed the better option.
*Choose a unit*
*Human Mage - Human Priest - Legion Worker*
The mage could certainly improve the offensive magical power of my legion! The priest on the other hand, could be crucial to my lines in battle.
I thought back to the battle with the dark dwarves. If i had healers like that behind my units, they could be unstopable!
But the worker unit. It seemed strange that a unit like that would be amongst such other strong choises.
And ofcourse, curious as i was i had to go with it.
*Legion worker unit implemented into core roster*
My unit count was still 100/100. I didn't want to kill a unit just to summon a worker, so i had to wait to find out what it could do.
But for now, i closed my eyes and went to sleep.
I awoke much later. The sun had set and i could smell fires and roasted boar in the air. Stumbling to the doorway i looked outside. Many people was sleeping on the ground. But many was yet awake, spread out around a large fire next to the profession portal.
"Are you fully rested now?" Chioma came to me with a plate of roasted boar. "I'm sorry, but i don't have a proper recipe for it yet, so it is chewy and the flavour is bad. But it is still much better than the taste of ash." She smiled as she handed it to me.
"Thank you Chioma. It smells really good." My stomach growled and i was very hungry as i saw and sniffed the meat.
I went back to the couch and started eating. By the time i was done, people had gathered around me. Magnus had made fire with large flames at the fireplace.
It was in the middle of the night, and i could see their faces flimmer from the light of the fire. Chioma, Rolf, Calf, Charlotte, Camilla, Magnus and Erik with Emma resting her head on his lap.
After Emma had awoken in the tent, she had refused to leave Eriks side. She was dealing with her trauma and she saw his as some kind of guardian angel. But i didn't say anything, as the rest seemed to accept their connection. Camilla had propably told them what had happened while i was asleep.
I began to tell them what i had to share.
"Firstly, i have decided it is time for me to start my journey. The day after tomorrow, i will go to the blue bridge." I waited, looking at everyone in turn. But noone interrupted me.
"Secondly, there is a few things i just want to say. Tomorrow, i will clear the second floor in the profession portal, to see what lies there. Additional i will spend the day helping Calf to get the area in order before i leave. But what i really want, or need to share, is this."
I withdrew the black egg from my inventory and laid it on the stone table in front of everyone.
"Wauw!"
"What is that?"
"Amazing!"
They all uttered some kind of comment after laying eyes on the egg.
It was huge. Half a meter wide and as long as my legs. The shell was deep black and reflected the light from the fire, making it seem alive.
Rolf seemed nervous as he looked me dead in the eye while the others touched and commented on the egg. If anyone had a solid theory, it would be him.
"What can you tell us about it Frey?" Rolf demanded.
"Not much, the description only say that an unknown create will hatch under the right conditions. What creature it is, and if it can be controlled, is unknown. The hatching conditions is allso unknown." I sighed, looking back at my uncle as he spoke another question.
"Where did you find it?" The others gave him room as he reached out to touch it, studying it more closely.
"Well uncle, that leads me to the last thing. I have gained knowledge about what have happened to our world."
They all gasped, looking from the egg and back to me. Noone moved a muscle in anticipation, waiting for me to talk.
"As i went to the camp where i found Camilla and her group," i nodded to her, and i noticed Emma had sat up straight, listening closely, as i gathered air to continue.
"A portal descended before me. It was very different than any we have seen so far. Four times the size, and different kind of materialized edge."
Magnus grinned shortly, "and ofcourse you walked in!" But Rolf shut him down fast, allowing me to continue.
"Inside the portal was too plain to be normal. I found myself on a mystical island, there were only grass on an even ground. No vegetation at all. Water all round me. Only a castle appeared on the other side."
I gathered my thoughts and adjusted my seat.
"Allow me to skip to the essentials. I met a demon called Araphanion. He came from another world. What happened to ours, have happened to countless others. Yes, we are not alone in the universe."
"Wait up! What you are saying is unbelievable!" Charlotte blurted out.
Rolf tried to calm her down, but she insisted.
"Demons! Really Frey? They dont exist! They are a fairytale! And other worlds? Noone has ever seen a real alien before!" She seemed hysterical as she spoke. But even Charlotte knew deep inside that after all that had happened, it didn't sound as comical anymore.
Calf had been quiet the entire time, but now spoke. "So a demon came to you through a portal from another world, continue please."
And i did just that as Charlotte sunk back into the couch.
"When worlds experience what he called the awakening. The shockwave we survived. Portals will forever fall unto our world. To test and prepare us for the war. He let me know that everything, as a said, was at war. He spoke of alliances and conquests. But the most important part is that i defeated him, i closed the gate. And that after a conquest have been started against another world, our world will be locked for atleast a year. That means that we have a year before someone can appear again."
I let the information sink in as they were all quit in thought.
After a while they obviously had a lot of questions and i answered the best i could. I told them that portals would decrease in time, yet never stopping. And that Araphenion seemed to think that our portals was rich becouse they where new. And they our world could, eventually, make conquest unto other worlds aswell. Though i admitted i didn't have a clue how it worked.
As we all sat and discussed between us, Emma suddenly interrupted us.
"What will you do with the egg? You found it in that castle didnt you? So its an alien?"
The question snapped us back from the debates over the table and we all looked at her.
"I guess that is true Emma. And i don't know exactly. I know the egg, as an item, is bound to me. But i honestly have no idea what to do with it.
"Then, can i have it? After i touched it, i think i can feel it. Like a throbbing pulse of blood in my body, i can feel it."