73 Expedition Preparations

--Eira POV--

Lifting Eden from the ground and onto her feet, I look toward Annie and the Congressman. Annie closes the door and blocks it, but it doesn't matter as I'm next to the Congressman before he can regain his senses.

I smile at Annie, "Annie, go find your brother, please. You two go spend some time with Aponi for a while."

"Okay, Miss Eira," Annie replies.

"Annie! No! Don't listen to her, Annie!" Congressman Miles yells.

Annie's frowns showing some melancholy, "...S-Sorry, daddy. Miss Eira wouldn't hurt Luke, if she was she'd have already done it."

Annie looks at me for confirmation, and I nod dubiously.

Congressman Miles just stands there speechless as Annie leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

I motion for the Congressman to approach Jacob Groth, "Don't look so dumbfounded Congressman. Just go over there and let's have a chat."

He furrows his brow, "If you!"

"Congressman, just shut up. Do we really have to do this every time? It's so tiring going through this with you every time, just listen."

The Congressman grimaces and looks toward the ceiling, "Whatever. Just say what you want, or I'll call for the soldiers."

"They wouldn't get here before you hit the floor. Anyway, take a look at this man."

Following closely behind, I prod the Congressman toward Jacob.

"Is this Jacob Groth?... What? What the hell happened to him? Did you tar and feather the poor man?" the Congressman asks.

The Congressman reaches down and tugs at one of the feathers while Eden moves closer to hear what I have to say.

I roll my eyes, "Don't be stupid. Nothing happened to him, this is just what he looks like… Well, it's his actual form and not an illusion anyway."

"That supposed to make sense?"

"Well, I'm not fully sure what he is either; I just know what he isn't."

\u003cAnaylze\u003e won't work on him for whatever reason. It still gave me stats, name, race, etc. but it was obviously fake. I only knew it was an illusion because his stat points were those that a normal level 1 human could not have. I've used \u003cAnaylze\u003e on hundreds of humans, and none of them at level 1 went above an eight in any stat ever. This guy had some as high as fifteen or twenty. Not human for sure, and only those that practice illusions or shapeshifters can have a completely human appearance and anatomy.

"What he isn't?" Eden asks.

"Not an angel, aswang, selkie, or anything like that. Maybe, a beast or animal taking a human form and then layering an illusion on top? Perhaps, they replaced the real Jacob Groth or maybe the real Jacob Groth never existed. Anyways, just theories, but these kinds of beings are going to start popping up, and some are going to be really dangerous."

"Other beings? How dangerous? Worse than the Crawlers?" the Congressman asks.

I shrug, "Ah, well, I hope the first wave won't be that strong, but the ones to come later will probably destroy entire cities if they're in what they consider their 'territory.' It'll vary depending on what shows up where." I answer casually.

"..."

I continue, "Anyhow, we've talked about this before, I want you to find people of influence, power, and wealth and offer them refuge here if they help with setting a foundation for a new society as well as assist with any immediate issues that could arise."

"Why would I ever do that for you?"

"Well, you don't have to look at it as you doing something for me, but for others. I've planned to make this place a safe refuge in a sense for a while now, but then things kept popping up and occupying my time. It's been annoying, to say the least."

The Congressman looks at me doubtfully, "Why would someone like you want to build a refuge? And here of all places?"

"Mostly, for my own goals, and in this case, others will benefit as well. Running around in an unfriendly world as it collapses as a nomad or whatever isn't optimal. As for why here, it's because I don't recall any powerful beings calling this part of the world their territory… Well, there were some but they don't move around very often. Anyhow, I was originally shooting for Seattle, but then things happened." I sigh and continue, "Plus, now with this storm, the Crawlers, and world affairs rapidly declining, it'll be perfect for hiding any of our activities as coming here and checking on things will be difficult."

"And where do I come into this again?"

"As I said, I want you to lead a secret exodus of powerful people to Anchorage, and also I still want to know the location of the nearest facility full of 'special people'; if I can't get it from the Senator, that is. To help you, I'll provide you information in order for you to rapidly gain influence as quickly as possible."

"..."

I give him a big fang-filled smile, "Anyway, I'm not willing to take no as an answer. Take Annie and Terry with you and start as soon as you get back. Luke is staying here and will be awaiting your eventual return. Once you return, if you do a good job, you can live here in what comfort the new society can offer."

"What am I supposed to say? I don't want to do anything for you, and I'm not leaving without my son."

"Then you aren't leaving? However, I recommend you think about your options and what refusing means to you and everyone who could survive events to come otherwise."

"Why would things fair any better with you?" he asks.

"Beings like me will survive and thrive, while indecisive and cowardly people will perish or live under someone's thumb. So you can either stay here and live in the camp and the lowest rung of society to come, or you can lead and thrive and be the thumb that others can live under."

"Doesn't that put me under your thumb either way?"

"It's more like you'll be my thumb instead of being under it. Ah, but don't think that means I'm not willing to cut a thumb off to survive, so don't think you're irreplaceable."

"..."

"I'll take your silence as a yes. The first thing I want you to do is to find someone who can fund expeditions into Anchorage if the snow gets too much to handle. Additionally, look for information on the facilities in case I can't get it from the Senator. Anyway, I look forward to having a slightly more mutual relationship from here on, Congressman!" I chuckle cutely.

…

…

…

Half an hour later, the Congressman leaves after chatting for a while longer. If I'm to be honest, I wanted to replace the Congressman with someone more influential, but things have only gotten worse, and I likely won't find anyone else anytime soon. Add to the fact if the Congressman sets up relief missions and such to his own district of Anchorage, it won't draw much suspicion. In the end, the biggest things at risk are Annie and Terry.

I decided to send Terry for four reasons. Firstly because Annie is a child, and some things are simply impossible for her. Secondly, if something goes wrong, Terry can take Annie and run. Thirdly, Terry can act independently to do things for me on the side. Lastly, the final reason is one that I hope motivates him and gets him to cooperate fully with me... Anyhow, Terry's methods are different from my own, but I don't really care as long as he gets what I need done.

Eden and I trade information and happenings since we last saw each other. As I'm processing all the information Eden has given concerning the Shadow Demon, Eden's familiar voice again rings out.

"Eira..."

Hopping back on the shelf, I begin kicking my legs as I was earlier, "Hmm, yeah, what is it, Eden?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What's that?"

"Do you know anyone named Klena?"

"Klena?"

For some reason, Eden's question makes me feel uncomfortable and melancholic.

"I-I don't think so…?" I answer with uncertainty.

"What about your mother?" Eden asks.

"My mother?... Uh, maybe, I don't know." I reply.

'Callista probably knew a lot of people, who knows.' I think to myself.

I continue, "Why would you ask about something like that?"

"N-no reason, I was just curious is all," Eden responds.

Glancing back at Jacob Groth, I notice the illusion is starting to reappear, making him look human once again.

Suspicious, but not wanting to continue this line of questions I respond, "Okay. Let's go, Eden, we can't stay in one place for too long, or we could be found."

"But…"

"He's not going anywhere, we'll find a way to wake him up," I say.

Eden looks at me, worriedly, "Isn't it only a matter of time before they find us?"

"Eh, maybe, that's why I think once Terry, Annie, and the Congressman leave, we'll also prepare to leave the hospital for a bit. That way, we can do some research on the Crawlers and allow things to deteriorate here. As things get worse, they won't be as worried about finding us and both the soldiers and citizens will be more receptive to us."

"Okay, but what do you mean by research?" Eden asks.

"Well, first of all, I'd like to figure out what that tar demon did to the Crawlers and learn how that is going to affect us now and in the future. Second, I want to know if anything else is out there that might cause us problems. Finally, we need to gain some essence and see about doing some training."

Eden looks out the window where the snowstorm has only worsened.

"How long do you want to stay out there? Won't we freeze to death?"

"Hmm, I don't know, probably a week or two? We can't stay away too long, or things might progress beyond the point of no return. As for the weather, once you all raise your constitution, this kind of weather won't have as much of an effect on you anymore… assuming it doesn't drop to ridiculous extremes which I doubt as that simply wouldn't make sense whether this is a natural or magical storm."

Eden looks at Jacob, conflicted, "Oh… what about Bryan and the mute soldier? Also, Audrey and the Staff Captain? Are we going to try to find or get them back first?"

I purse my lips thinking, "Is that soldier mute now?... Hmm, it's a good point though, perhaps we'll wait around until it's too bad to leave. Once we confirm none of them are loaded into a helicopter or something, we'll head out. It would be nice if we could just find them beforehand, though. Anyway, taking them with us is just baggage, and I'm not sure if any of them got into the system, not that I'm very interested in leveling them too much."

"Okay. Then let's go… I don't want to stay in here any longer, or I might change my mind."

Jumping down, I motion to Eden, and we leave Jacob Groth in his room for now. I took Eden to Granny's tent, where she went to sleep. After that, I reactivated the top hat and walked around the camp listening to conversations and such to gain information on world affairs. Most everything was still as before; it was just people talking about the storm, cults, protests, and mysterious sightings of creatures.

Once I'd done that for a few hours, I went to speak to Annie and Terry and told each of them what I expect of them. Terry was very hesitant, but when I told him the fourth reason, he agreed reluctantly. I'm sure he is aware that there is a chance the Congressman might betray him, and he'd also be missing out on leveling, but again he agreed despite that.

So as night falls once again, I find a tranquil corner of the camp. Spotting an old tree, I climb it to observe the night's happenings. From the roof of the hospital, I can see the helicopter carrying Terry, Annie, and the Congressman lifting off into the snowstorm. The soldiers move onto the wall preparing for a night of fighting the Crawlers once again.

One young man bounces around excitedly, 'He is obviously not a soldier. Maybe, the man who got into the Beta?' I think to myself.

"I'm gonna kick some ass and gain so many levels!" the young man shouts.

I shake my head, 'Yeah, that's him.'

"Boy, shut up. Just shoot at those things when they arrive. It should be any minute now." a soldier says.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, we'll see if you'll talk to me that way after I leave all of you in the dust!"

"Whatever, boy." the soldier replies, shaking his head.

���Well, I'm a bit excited to see how this plays out. It's nice to be able to just watch for once.'

Kicking my legs, I await the show to take place shortly… to mine and everyone else's confusion, the Crawlers never showed.