Novel Full Chapter 1911 Searching for Direction
Chapter 1911: Chapter 1911 Searching for Direction
— Kat —
The conversation really did end up as a back and forth between ’Grandma’ and Weaver with minimal input being given by the others. It was slowly hashed out that Kat and Hedera would be responsible for getting another town to agree to the upgrade within the week. Some allowance would be made for if they were in active discussions, but that was the final number they settled on.
Kat and Hedera weren’t entirely sure what to make of it. A week seemed like quite a long time… but if they had to do some challenges first it could be harder. They also didn’t know the condition of the other settlements… so… “What are the other settlements even like?” asked Kat.
Pol scratched his chin and said, “Well… reports from the other towns have been pretty spotty and have gotten worse over the years. I don’t know if we have anything particularly up to date. Well, with summer and winter anyway. Spring we know roughly what’s going on at least.
“They have a number of smaller settlements that get abandoned when the pollen storms roll in. After that they hole up in their main city… which still isn’t that large. Sadly… we don’t know where that is and I think it’s the right time of year for the pollen storms to be out in full force. You won’t be having a fun time there… but at least you know the city is possible to be found. We’ve had… issues with the other two.”
Pol seemed unsure if he wanted to continue or not. Grandma just laughed and said, “We got cut off from the other two. Summer used to be the largest of us but years and years ago they just… vanished. A bunch of spires appeared all around the desert and some big magical storm rolled through. No idea what happened to the city and we’re not sure if they’ve rebuilt much of anything. It’s rough making the trip and even with Summer being a neighbour we just don’t have enough of a reason to brave the desert and take the risk. Those sands can be killer…”
Pol sighed. “Yes there’s that. As for Winter… in response to Summer more or less vanishing over night they turtled up massively. Sealed all their towns and whatnot… against everything. Some will open occasionally for outsiders and to let the townsfolk explore a bit. Just… don’t count on it everywhere. There are quite a few towns that are now completely closed off. They won’t open for literally anything. I’m not sure if even an apocalypse would get them out of their holes.”
Skrool huffed. “They’re already worried about the apocalypse. That’s why they’re hiding. If it came to town they’d really batten down the hatches. Might even weld the doors shut if they haven’t already.”
“Ah… yeah I guess that is the case,” muttered Pol in agreement.
Kat ran her fingers along the table a few times, “Alright so what exactly are you expecting from us here?”
Pol shrugged, “From my understanding the plan is that we open the path but keep in secret from the town until you connect somewhere else to us. I don’t think anyone really cares which of the three you pick, but you have a week to get the job at least started. Er… no pressure I guess? And… did we ever establish what we’re paying them for this?”
“It should be Weaver’s job to pay them,” said Grandma. “She’s the one that needs the paths open.”
“I’m broke,” deadpanned Weaver. “I was attacked, had most of my possessions destroyed, and then spent years withering away while struggling to keep what little sanity I had left… and I simply don’t have anything to pay them with. Well… there are the chests but frankly I still think those should be destroyed…”
“You can destroy those things?” asked Grandma. “We tend to just leave them wherever they are because nobody can damage them. Though I used to know a guy who used one as a door to his panic room.”
Weaver’s little silk avatar looked like it let out a big sigh. “No. Or well… not easily. I have a few things I can test and I’m not certain I want to destroy them… but I don’t know for sure I can…”
“Probably can’t in that case,” said Grandma with a shrug. “Still, they can work as payment.”
“Ah… I don’t….” Weaver tried to say.
“They’re now payment,” stated Grandma.
“For the first one,” said Weaver firmly. “If I’m doing this, I want them gone as soon as possible.” Grandma shrugged back at Weaver, unconcerned.
*Are… we good with this?*
[I mean… it’s an excuse to go to some of the other biomes and perhaps meet some other teams? I don’t know why we haven’t seen anyone yet but surely we’ll at least HEAR about other contestants if we make our way to one of the other towns.]
*Hmm…* “Are you ok with that Hedera?” asked Kat.
Hedera shrugged. “From the sounds of things this might be the best biome… vanishing cities, sandstorms, pollen storms, freezing temperatures… at the same time I do understand that we’re probably better off exploring more.”
“Alright,” acknowledged Kat as she turned to face the three at the other end of the table. “Where do you recommend we go?”
“Not Summer,” said Pol instantly before shrinking down on himself and sort of scooting backwards into his chair.
Grandma rolled her eyes at this but didn’t say anything so it was on Skrool to speak up. “We can give you the location of towns for Spring and Winter… and Pol’s right about Summer. Best to just skip over them and not risk dealing with roaming the desert endlessly. In regards to the other two… I guess it depends.
“If you want to go to Spring you’re going to need to make your way through either of the other two but it’s the most likely to just allow you into the town. The problem with Winter isn’t finding the town, it’s getting inside… and I’m really not sure how you’re going to manage that.” Skrool shrugged. “At the same time, you might not even make it to Spring in a week if you’re unlucky.”
*Um… is that like… normally? Or taking into account that I can fly and we’re all ’Rank 2’ because of the contest?*
[I’ve got no idea. We haven’t really tried to travel between the sections at all… and we just added a rule, maybe, that trying to cross over will delay you for a while. It might be too much of a risk to go for Spring with everything in mind.]
*I guess I’ll just ask.* “Does the fact that I can fly change those calculations?” asked Kat.
“With people?” asked Skrool.
“With A person,” corrected Kat.
“Hmm… I suppose it really depends on how well you can deal with the weather. I don’t have perfect information and if you can fly… well maybe there’s a way to sneak inside the towns in Winter. I’ve never had to consider that sort of thing,” admitted Skrool with a shrug.
Kat sighed, “Alright what do you all recommend?”
“Spring,” said Skrool and Pol.
“Winter,” countered Grandma.
Kat glanced between the three of them and then turned to Weaver. “Ur… um… how should I know?” Weaver said sounding more uncertain than ever. “I guess I trust ’Grandma’s’ judgement with these sort of things but I really wouldn’t know myself.”
Kat sighed and turned to Grandma. “Why pick Winter when those two are picking Spring?”
“They want Spring because it’s the closest thing we have to a sure bet. We do consistent, if infrequent trades with them. We trust that they’ll accept the deal after some thought and maybe a task or two. Winter is walled off and they don’t know if you’d be able to change that.
“Heck, I don’t know if you can change it either… but I know they deserve a good kick in the ass. If you can shake things up in Winter then I think it’ll be for the best for everyone but that’s just my wishful thinking in my old age. I don’t know for sure that you’d be able to do anything, I’m just willing to push you towards it.”
“So… avoid Summer? Even if I’m trying to go to Spring?” asked Kat.
“Oh no, not at all,” said Grandma with a wave. “If you can deal with the heat AND you can fly? Then there’s not all that much Summer can throw at you that can’t be dealt with easily. It’s probably the faster way to Spring… bit of a boring way to do it though.”
Kat sighed at the mixed response she received. *So… what we could go to Winter and perhaps make some progress towards Spring while investigating the towns and trying to get inside… or we could run straight through Summer. Risking whatever is there and potentially not earning that many orbs if we’re rushing over in the air… but definitely being the faster one.*
“Actually wait. Which way is which? Is Summer the one nearby, or is it Winter?” asked Kat.