The first time he had truly come close to a catastrophe was turning out to be a stressful experience. It was a truly eerie sight, a swirling mass of clouds crackling with a red glow and flashes of golden lightning. Every so often he saw gigantic shards drop down and he was reminded of the lucid dreams he had, how they seemed to have portrayed the very storm in his eyes.
It was nearing the end of the day as they cautiously skirted the storm. Suzuran was already fast asleep, napping on his shoulder for some reason, though he could entirely understand why she was asleep. Provence was in the passenger seat, guiding Dur'nar through their route. That was until a rather sudden, but ultimately minor.
"Why did the doctor give me these? I can't make heads or tails of these equations."
"Maybe I can see," he said. Provence wordlessly handed him the sheet and he looked. After a bit he noticed Reed had been writing and asked for a blank piece of paper and her pen, which she provided. Suzuran yawned as she woke up from the movement and buried her head deeper into his shoulder, which almost made him a diabetic.
"Ok...so…wow, this is advanced. Doable, but advanced."
Soon, the only sound within the transport vehicle was of the pen as Evan wrote down his method of mathematics and soon realized these were equations to describe the path and strength of the catastrophe over time with meteorological data. He still did it and handed it back to their guide who gave an impressed whistle before adjusting their path.
Everyone in the front was hyper focused, Reed went back to her own writing, and Folinic continued to stare out the window with a worried gaze. Lisa, or Suzuran as he had now taken to calling her for the mission, was nuzzled into his side and sleeping soundly.
If not for the low booms and crackles from the nearby catastrophe, he might have considered the ride peaceful, but the air felt too eerie for him to comfortably close his eyes as he eyed the deadly storm with curiosity and caution.
Wei Yenwu had described them as natural disasters, which made sense looking at one up close. It was like a hurricane or severe thunderstorm, crackling as it practically rained these giant crystals into the earth below, creating a soft rumbling in the earth below their feet.
Yet part of him found it oddly, serene in its own twisted way.
Regardless, they would soon approach Wolumonde's region of rest, and there they hoped their questions would be answered. They had left early in the day, and they had also been rushing to the area. It was why Suzuran was so tired, they had gotten up at the crack of dawn and were driving nonstop.
Once they finally reached their final stretch, and Provence made Evan do some more catastrophe calculations, a collective sigh of relief was done mentally among everyone. The catastrophe was past them, and now all they had to do was locate Wolumonde. For that, they would rely on Provence's expertise as someone who had to skirt catastrophe's before and then find her way to civilization.
Past the catastrophe, they came across the rift that had opened up in the earth itself, a dark scar filled with giant originium crystals from the catastrophe.
"What an incredible sight…" Evan said as he looked at the wide scar in the earth that stretched on for miles. While the crack itself had been formed by the earthquake, the catastrophe had clearly widened it further by sending fragments of its might into the crack, some of which had clearly exploded, leaving larger dots and curves in the scar. It was so deep, he couldn't see the bottom.
Soon he heard footsteps beside him and saw that Folinic had a rock in hand. With zero warning or interest upon her facial features she pressed a button on her watch and tossed the rock. All present waited eagerly, seconds ticking by as long as minutes until they heard a loud and low boom echo out from the chasm.
"Forty seconds…" she muttered to herself.
"So around…eight kilometers down, give or take some hundreds of meters…" Evan affirmed.
It dawned on them there that this disaster was close to a calamity for the region. First a chasm opens in the earth, only to be widened and warped by a passing catastrophe. How often did something like that happen?
"So, could we not throw things into the possibly volatile hole that could blow this region sky high?" Provence asked in a surprisingly lax way for the wording. Evan silently stepped away from the divide, Folinic following shortly after. "Alright, we're close to Wolumonde. Let's get a safe distance from this landmine and…find out what state the region's in."
Provence had spoken the last part with knitted brows of worry, and her tone suggested she wasn't looking forward to seeing the damage caused by the enigmatic storm they had just spent the whole day skirting. Either way, they would soon arrive in Wolumonde, and they would finally, hopefully, get some answers.
If not for the piles of fresh originium and destroyed forest around the town, it would have been a rather peaceful and quaint visit.
While they were treated with suspicion before being allowed to enter the town, news that they were here to help quickly turned the mood of the sentries and they were allowed in and pointed towards the Rathaus, which Evan assumed was essentially the town hall.
"It's awfully cloudy…"Evan remarked.
"That's not unusual in Northern Leithanien, in fact, this region is famous for its fog and clouds at this time of year," Suzuran explained. When she got a few stares of surprise, she fiddled with her staff and said, "I read a travel guide before coming, since we couldn't acquire a local guide, yet…"
"Well, what else do you have to share?" Dur'nar asked, prompting Suzuran to give them more information.
"Well, Wolumonde is one of eight towns in the region, the namie meaning Eighth Moon, and is a key stone in the flourishing northern trade network of Leithanien."
"Flourishing, isn't exactly the term I'd use to describe the place…" Folinic curtly observed while looking around the gloomy, cloudy, wet town that was currently silent.
"It did just get hit with two natural disasters…" Provence countered as she looked around.
"It's odd, even in disaster regions people would make an effort to communicate, but no one dares come out to greet us, almost as though we're targets of suspicion," Dur'nar commented as she watched the windows and doors carefully, seeing some townsfolk peek their heads out for a look.
"Do you think it's alright for us to be walking down the street like this?" Suzuran asked as she gripped her staff tightly.
"We'll be fine. The widespread use of arts in Leithanien has brought two benefits: a flourishing fine arts scene, and a broad tolerance of the infected," Folinic explained. "At least you get the right to live…"
The last sentence was a somber reminder to those there that the infected weren't welcome everywhere, and, according to Folinic, not allowed to live everywhere. Evan had seen it back in Columbia, while the infected were allowed to have more legal rights than any other nation on Terra by some accounts, they were effectively second class citizens. It sounded as though Leithanien law limited them, but from what he had heard in passing it was a situation where society largely tolerated the presence of the infected.
As they continued to walk through the town, Evan felt a small pull on his arm and looked down to see Suzuran had grasped his free arm, still fiddling with her staff as she looked around.
It was then that he was reminded of this poor girl's state, the fact she was at Rhodes to primarily get treated for her oripathy. While doctors were optimistic about her diagnosis, and it sounded like she had a full life ahead of her, his heart sank at the thought this lovely little light had to suffer the illness, and the emotional baggage that came with it.
"Ah, a Gendarmerie," Dur'nar pointed out. Indeed, ahead of them, about to cross paths was a man in a military style uniform. At this, the man took one look at them and stopped dead in his tracks.
"Ah, he's reaching into his pocket…" Suzuran whispered to herself next to Evan. "He's pulled out a cigar, now he's switching hands, he pulled out a lighter…he lit the cigar. He put the lighter back and switched hands again. N-Now he's walking away…?"
"Excuse me," Folinic said before stepping forward, prompting the officer to turn around and face them, waiting for the group to walk up to him before taking another puff. "You're part of the local Gendarmerie?"
"...Yes, but I'm off duty," the old man replied.
"Hey, what's your name?" Dur'nar asked. "This is our first time running into one of the Gendarmerie since coming to town."
"As I said, I'm off duty. I don't really want to talk to strangers while I'm off…I have my own business to deal with. Goodbye."
"Yikes, someone's in a foul mood," Provence quipped. "You'd think a Gendarmerie would be more interested in strangers when you're expecting help."
"He was kind of rude, but I think he's been through a lot…" Suzuran tried to explain, her eyes still staring at the man as he retreated.
"Hah!" Folinic exclaimed before replying, "As though we're not tired ourselves! We don't need to waste time on him though, let's go find the local-"
"Schultz Severin! There you are!" a caprinae woman shouted before running up to the officer who started coughing mid-puff. "The infected are protesting again, the Gendarmerie are on the scene, but we need you leading-"
She stopped and looked at the cigar in his hands and puffed her cheeks through pursing her lips and then scolded him with the same breath, "You're smoking again! Please, you have an image to maintain, and it's not healthy. You need the trust of the people and-"
She noticed his gaze shift to the group of foreigners and all stopped moving.
Amazingly, Suzuran was the first to speak, having failed to keep her thoughts in her own mind when she said, "Ah, so he's the Schultz…or Schultheiß…"
"Did something happen…?" the woman asked, but before anyone could speak the Schultz spoke up.
"Nothing, Tatjana. Thank you for all your hard work."
"Ah, thank you," Tatjana said with an earnest smile before returning her attention to the foreigners. As soon as she saw those of them in Rhodes Island's uniform, her face lit up. "Oh, you're from Rhodes Island? Thank goodness you're here, welcome to Wolumonde. You must be on your way to the Rathaus, oh, we must be in your way!" Her gaze turned to Severin and she began stammering, "Of course, it should be the Schultz who receives you…but he is really needed at Zwölftontechnik Strasse…um…"
The Schultz cleared his throat then said, "Very good, Tatjana. You take them. I'll go deal with the infected situation. Apologies, but our situation here is dire…as I'm sure you know."
"Yeah, we've been spending the entire day skirting the catastrophe, and we came across the rift," Folinic pointed out.
"Ah, so you've seen the Great Rift, that saves us a lot of trouble…" the Schultz said before taking another puff. "The infected, new and old, are riled up. If you don't want to get mixed up in that nonsense, stay away from Zwölftontechnik Strasse. That's where we're quarantining the infected."
"We're experts at dealing with the infected, and some of us came here to treat them. We have minimal supplies, but we're ready to assist the town," Folinic explained.
"Just like Doctor Atro…" Tatjana muttered, but it didn't escape Folinic's gaze.
"You know of Atro? Where is she?!"
Tatjana and the Schultz exchanged glances before the caprinae woman looked away and the Schultz stepped forward.
"You've had a long journey, it wouldn't be right to drag you into our mess as soon as you arrived, after skirting a catastrophe no less."
"...So where is Atro?" Folinic asked with narrowing eyebrows. She looked to Tatjana who seemed to grow even more nervous, but the Schultz drew attention back to him and responded.
"She's not here right now…"
"So where is she?"
"She…" the Schultz began before a set of footsteps came running to them.
"Schultz Severin! Fighting has broken out, and the infected are armed!"
At this, the Schultz's demeanor completely changed and he turned to the Rhodes Islanders and with a commanding voice said, "If you want to help, now's the time. Come with me."
Folinic and Provence were first to run with the Schultz, Evan and Suzuran were given a tap on the shoulder by Dur'nar so she could say, "Stay close to me" before they went running towards the scene.
Amazingly, the quarantine zone wasn't far away, and the few Gendarmerie that were there had formed a line with roadstop barriers and riot shields. People gathered had their hands gripping whatever they could get their hands on, but some in the crowd wielded actual weapons such as swords as they tried to break through the quarantine barrier.
They didn't have time, however, as the rebellious cityfolk soon breached the overwhelmed Gendarmerie and poured into the streets. Chaos quickly ensued as the streets quickly turned into a free-for-all melee and their arrival only forced them into it.
"Evan, draw your weapon!" Dur'nar shouted with her own already out. He complied and she stepped forward to prevent a few from charging him. "Also, give us orders, or I will."
He looked around, noting how most Gendarmerie were overwhelmed and that most townsfolk were poorly armed.
"Assist the gendarmerie with arresting those who attack, but try not to hurt them badly."
"Got it!" Dur'nar said before bashing her shield forward, sending townsfolk to the ground. Their resolve quickly broke at the show and they ran, but more came, spurred on. "Reed, take some of the pressure off!"
Reed proceeded to charge forward into the melee, using the handle and blunt sides of her spear alongside the pommel to push anyone off balance who wasn't paying attention or using it to counter their weapons before using blunt force to beat them to the ground if necessary.
"I-I'll do my best!" Suzuran declared before stepping behind Dur'nar and released a wave of blue flames into the crowd, causing them to panic. Those that braved the fire soon became visibly confused and batted at it, only for them to soon realize it didn't hurt. It did clearly slow them, but that was all the Gendarmerie needed to start forming the wall back up.
Folinic for her part had sent out arts that manifested as something similar teargas which easily helped create an area of denial that allowed more footing and opportunities to the Gendarmerie to reform their wall. All the while, Provence had been tackling anyone who slipped past the line and binding them with rope she had handy on her, which was good since he shuddered to think what would happen should she use her crossbow.
Soon, only stragglers were left behind the line, and one that was now all alone looked at the situation and then to the Schultz.
"What are you doing?! Siding with outsiders and putting us down? Your son died in that fire! How can you still aid those swine?!"
"...Put down the blade, and tell me who pushed you to do this. Who gave you weapons?!" Schultz Severin asked the protester who was drunk off rage. The protester narrowed his eyes and charged, blade held high which allowed the Schultz to easily grab his wrist and pin the man to the ground. "That's assault with a deadly weapon. You think you can walk away after that? The gendarmerie will hold you accountable."
"Hold them accountable?" Folinic asked curiously as she looked at the man on the ground then narrowed her eyes. "What exactly does that imply?"
"I don't need to explain our accountability process to some tourists."
"Tourists?!" Folinic squealed in shock. "We just helped you quell a riot, and we were sent here to help your town, and you call us tourists?!"
"Apologies…" the Schultz said before dragging the man up and handing him off to a gendarmerie officer. "It was a slip of the tongue. We're thankful for your assistance."
"So, will you tell us where our operators are?"
"Not here. I'll see you at the Rathaus, then we can talk about Atro."
Evan looked back to the streets as they remained silent save for the Gendarmerie escorting the protesters they had arrested out. Some screamed and kicked, others were silent, and some were just unconscious. He felt an uncomfortable pit weigh in his chest before glancing back to his allies who had regrouped around him. A gentle presence prompted him to notice Suzuran was once more at his side and he gave her a little pat on the head, which she leaned into and smiled.
"You did a good job," he said, which made Suzuran hum happily.
"Hey, what about us?" Dur'nar asked, pointing to herself. Evan chuckled before walking over and patting Dur'nar on the head. "T-That's not what I meant!"
"Of course you all did well, thanks."
Not long after, his attention turned to Folinic who was spacing out and looking where the Schultz left.
"Are you alright, Folinic?" he asked, but she didn't answer. "Folinic!"
The feline finally snapped out of her trance and looked to Evan.
"Are you alright? You were spacing out."
"The quarantine zone is right here…none of the infected were killed, most just went back to wherever they came from…everything seems so calm now…"
"It doesn't seem all too different from any other place…" Provence agreed, looking at the area. "They have shops, cafes, ads for the fine arts Leithaniens are so well known for…it's rather jarring if you've never been before."
"No one's getting rounded up by guards, murdered, sent to the tundra…" Folinic muttered to herself. "You could say they live well…" A sigh escaped her lips. "It's so different from that frozen wasteland up north…"
Now the atmosphere was awkward for Evan, and he felt out of place suddenly.
"If only every place was so good to the infected…" Suzuran commented.
"Then we'd be out of a job," Folinic scoffed back in response. At this, Suzuran made a squeak of surprise.
"W-Well, that's true, but I'd be really happy about it!"
Folinic gave a giggle then walked up to Suzuran and patted her head as well. "I'm kidding…" she said before continuing. "The fact the infected can roam the streets peacefully, or even protest at all just serves to underscore how unique the situation is."
She paused, looking back towards the Rathaus then said out of the blue, "They're hiding something from us."
"Yeah, even I find it really weird," Dur'nar added. "Some of the infected were standing by, waiting with their weapons while others went and pushed down the barrier. Not to mention how everyone's in their homes most of the time as though they're afraid to so much as peak their heads out…"
"Yeah, and the town doesn't look too worse for wear for getting clipped by a catastrophe…" Provence also added in. "Normally I'd expect a few destroyed or abandoned plates, but there's not as much damage to be found in the town itself. It's also next to a mountain and in a valley, like it came here and parked, waiting for the catastrophe to blow over."
"Well, we aren't going to get answers speculating," Evan finally decided to say. "Let's go see what they have to say about Atro and the other operators who were here."
All save for Reed nodded their heads, and the squad made their way to the Rathaus. On the way, they were intercepted by Tatjana who said, "I'm so sorry to have dragged you all into this…it's shameful…"
"Oh, don't worry, we're here to help," Evan said to her.
"Still…"
"Hey, are you part of the local Gendarmerie?" Dur'nar asked out of left field before walking up.
"Not really, but all in Wolumonde undergo some military training. We're so far from any of Leithanien barracks or armory we're expected to muster militias to keep the town safe. When the time comes, we have a duty to take up arms. Uncle…er…Schultz Severin is the highest official in town."
"The middle-aged smoker who doesn't want to do his job…great…" Folinic groaned, earning a bit of a glare from most of her colleagues, including Evan.
"There's a reason he is the way he is…" Tatjana defended while looking to the ground. When she looked back up she asked, "What should I call you anyways?"
"My codename is Folinic."
"My codename is Suzuran!"
"Catastrophe Messenger Provence."
"Dur'nar, former officer of the Columbian armed forces."
"...Reed…"
Finally, Tatjana's gaze turned to Evan and he paused for a moment. He looked to Dur'nar who just shrugged in response. He didn't have a codename as there hadn't really been time to give him one since he got approved for fieldwork, so he decided he would be honest.
"Name's Evan Carvey, I'm the engineer."
"Ah, should I call you Mr. Carvey?"
"No, Evan's just fine."
"It sounds rather Victorian or Columbian...and what race are you?"
"Well…"
"Just take us to the Rathaus already," Folinic interrupted, saving Evan from having to explain himself.
"Ah, my apologies. Come, follow me."
As they followed Tatjana, Dur'nar elbowed him and whispered, "Just say you're from Columbia, no one will bat an eye."
"Thanks," he whispered back before turning his attention back to their guide.
True to his word, Schultz Severin was waiting for them at the Rathaus. He was having a conversation with a bureaucrat while smoking, simply waiting for the man to stop ranting about the riot that had just broken out minutes ago. When Tatjana led them into the room, the ranting stopped and a smile took place on the bureaucrat's face.
"Ah, you must be the ones from Rhodes Island, welcome to Wolumonde," he greeted. "Please, have a seat wherever you please. Is there anything we can prepare for you?"
"Well, we haven't had lunch yet, so if it wouldn't be too much trouble, some food would be appreciated."
"Understood, Tatjana, tell the cooks to prepare a meal for our guests, if you would."
"Very well," Tatjana said with a light nod of her head before leaving the room. Once everyone had found a place to sit in the room, the bureaucrat continued to speak.
"I must say, I'm impressed. We were expecting Rhodes Island's emergency response team to reach us by the evening or even tomorrow, but you made it here in a single day. You must be very dedicated to make your way around to Wolumonde with that catastrophe still stirring. I must say, we're very thankful to Rhodes Island for offering aid."
"Well, we're happy to help those in need," Evan responded courteously.
The councilman smiled before speaking again, "You all must be exhausted from your journey. Please, rest up and tomorrow-"
"We don't have time to rest," Folinic sharply cut off. Now that she had the limelight, she said with a harsh glare, "Either you give us some answers or we'll go find them ourselves. What happened to Doctor Atro and her squad?"
Within seconds the councilman's smile faded and if one looked to the Schultz, he was taking a deep breath with eyes knit closed in some form of pain.
"W-Well, Doctor Atro came to our town…and she's been a great help-"
"Where. Is. She?! I don't have time for your games, you tell me where Atro is or I'm marching to this 'fire' your infected talk about and finding the truth myself!"
The councilman opened his mouth to speak, but a loud exhale from the Schultz along with a large release of cigar smoke into the room alongside a short coughing fit drew attention to him.
"Atro is missing," the Schultz flatly said.
"Missing?!" Folinic nearly screamed as she stood up. "There has to be more than that, maybe if you dropped your flippant attitude and told us the truth-"
"The truth," the Schultz interrupted. "Is in of itself flippant. Since Doctor Atro's camp burned down, we have not seen hide nor hair of her."
"Burned down?! When were you going to tell us that?"
"Folinic onee-san, calm down!" Suzuran ordered. Surprisingly, Folinic stopped and the young vulpo turned her attention to the Schultz. "I apologize for Folinic onee-san's behavior, but you tell us Atro is missing since a fire we didn't know about until now and expect us to not be upset?"
"Yes…my apologies, but it's the truth. We don't know whether Atro is alive or dead at this time…" the Schultz explained. It was then that he began a coughing fit and Suzuran stepped closer.
"Schultz, sir, you might want to quit smoking and get treated as it could-"
"I'm fine," the Schultz hacked out. "Just my lungs acting up after a lifetime of smoking."
Suzuran nodded and went back to her seat next to Evan on the couch of the room.
"I believe you will want to talk among yourselves. We will provide you lodging for the night, and we can discuss how to move forward tomorrow," the Schultz said before Tatjana arrived in the room and had her lead them to eat their lunch.
That night, they gathered in a room of an empty inn where they would begin discussion, or as best a discussion as they could while Folinic was pacing around and worked up.
"They're hiding something, I know it. Atro wouldn't just up and disappear, especially not after a fire. And why were they keeping that from us? That damn old fart, making us wait around while they sit on top of the truth. I smell something rotten brewing in this town…"
"Folinic onee-san, please calm down."
"I am calm!" Folinic snapped back. It wasn't until she saw Suzuran's eyebrows arched with worry and her lips scrunching to a disapproving frown did she register how she had been acting. "Sorry…I…"
"No, it's fine, Folinic onee-san is very worried about Atro, I understand," the light said with a radiant, beaming smile that finally made Folinic too weak to stand, as she took a seat on the bed.
"Aww, Suzu's the best, good job," Provence cooed, giving the little light a pat on the head, which she leaned into, enjoying the physical affection.
Now that things had finally calmed down, Evan took a look around the room to gauge where everyone was at. Folinic was sulking on one of the beds, Reed was reading over by the window, Dur'nar seemed pensive and deep in her own thoughts, and Provence was still coddling Suzuran.
Evan decided Dur'nar's thoughts were of interest and walked over.
"What are you thinking about?"
"The state of the gendarmerie in this town. Did you see how easily they were overwhelmed? I don't understand where all the gendarmerie are, or if it was just that small to begin with."
That was an interesting point. Evan did notice that, but he hadn't chosen to occupy his mind with it.
"That, and all the residents seem frightened rather than shaken. I agree with Folinic that something's off."
"Yeah, I get what you mean," Provence chimed in. "I've seen many different towns in many different states, but Wolumonde is clearly experiencing more problems than just contact with a catastrophe. I can't put my finger on it, but something's dividing the town. Normally, everyone would be working together, lifting up the city in a combined effort to save their home, but that's not what I see here."
"M-Maybe everyone's just nervous from the Great Rift…" Suzuran tried to reason. This, however, earned a genuine sneer from Folinic.
"I pray that's all it is, but I doubt it."
The rest of them, save for the draco, exchanged glances before silently agreeing to something.
"Really, are you alright?" Evan decided to ask Folinic. "You've been…"
"Folinic onee-san has been scary for most of the day, more so since coming to Wolumonde."
Folinic blinked twice before pushing herself up. Without a word, she walked out the door.
"Folinic onee-san!" Suzuran called out, jumping from Provence's lap and running after her senior.
Author's Note
Hehe, more update.
Don't really have much to say here other than thank you to those who continue to read and support. Kudos to you all.