Chapter 100 - A Warning from the North

  The flight north to MIT took me over the Charles River, its waters reflecting the deepening twilight like a ribbon of molten copper. Below me, the city continued its slow transformation. More buildings had collapsed since the last time I'd flown this route. A few had burned down, while others showed clear signs of damage, probably from monster attacks.

  MIT's campus was easy to spot from the air. Like Fenway, they'd begun the serious work of fortification. Walls were going up around the perimeter of the main campus, constructed from a mix of salvaged materials. Wooden watch towers stood at intervals along the area where the wall was slowly being built, each one manned by sentries who tracked my approach. Several of them pointed and stared. Drum beats sounded a warning call.

  I didn't blame them for being cautious. In this new world, anything flying toward you could be friend or foe.

  As I descended toward the center of campus, one of the sentries must have recognized me, or at least recognized that I wasn't an immediate threat. A small group of people emerged from what looked like a command building and waved me down toward an open courtyard as I neared the ground.

  I landed gently, my boots touching down on cracked pavement that had probably once been part of a parking lot. The welcoming committee approached with cautious smiles.

  "Cameron Castle?" A woman in her thirties with short-cropped dark hair and a longsword slung over her shoulder stepped forward.

  ”That’s me! Have we met?”

  She shook her head. “No, but I’ve heard plenty of good things about you. Welcome back to MIT. My name’s Linda.”

  “Well, nice to meet you,” I said, returning her smile. "I'm looking for Neal Lloyd. Is he available?"

  "He is. Follow me."

  She led me through a maze of tents and temporary structures. The MIT community had clearly been busy. Everywhere I looked, people were at work constructing buildings, organizing supplies, training with weapons, and working on what looked like engineering projects. It made sense. If any group was going to approach the apocalypse with systematic efficiency, it would be the folks from one of the world's premier technical universities.

  We arrived at a solid-looking building that had weathered the Event relatively intact. Inside, Linda guided me to a second-floor office where a tall, thin man with graying hair and wire-rimmed glasses sat hunched over a table covered in maps and notes.

  "Neal," the woman said. "Cameron Castle is here to see you."

  Lloyd looked up, his tired eyes brightening with interest. He stood and extended a hand. "Mr. Castle, this is an unexpected pleasure. Been a bit since you last visited us! Glad to have you back. Please, have a seat."

  The woman departed, closing the door behind her. I settled into a chair across from Lloyd's desk, suddenly very aware of how terrible I must look. My clothes were in tatters, I was still sporting dried gore from the dungeon in places I'd missed, and I probably smelled worse than I looked.

  "Sorry about my appearance," I said. "Been a rough day."

  "So I can see." Lloyd's expression was curious, but not judgmental. "What brings you to our community today, Mr. Castle?"

  "Please, just Cameron. And I've got some news you'll want to hear. Both good and concerning."

  I launched into the same explanation I'd given MacGregor. I told Lloyd about the appearance of the dungeon building, the gong that only I could ring, the fungus giant, and everything we'd encountered inside. Lloyd listened intently, occasionally jotting down notes, his keen mind cataloging and processing every detail.

  "Fascinating," he said when I'd finished. "So these dungeons are appearing spontaneously, they're extremely dangerous, but they also provide a high number of crystals as rewards. And you're saying the white crystals can heal injuries? We’ve seen a variety of colors, but no white ones yet.”

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  "That's right. Which brings me to why I'm here." I pulled out the second Heal crystal and placed it on his desk. "I wanted to make sure your community had access to healing magic. People are suffering, and if I can help alleviate some of that, that's just the right thing to do."

  Lloyd picked up the crystal with surprising reverence, holding it up to the light. The white stone seemed to glow faintly in his palm. "This is... remarkable. Mr. Cas—Cameron, what can we do for you in return?"

  "Nothing. It's a gift."

  He gave me a long, measured look. "You realize what you're giving away here? The strategic value of healing magic is incalculable. You’re quite right that we need this, and badly. You could ask for almost anything in trade."

  "I've had this conversation once already today," I said with a tired smile. "Look, I'm not a trader or a businessman. I'm just trying to do the right thing. Your people need this. So here it is."

  Lloyd was quiet for a moment, studying me with an expression I couldn't quite read. Then he nodded slowly. "We have very little we can offer that would equal this gift. Our strength lies in knowledge and craftsmanship, but material resources are extremely limited."

  "I told you, I don't need anything—"

  "But we'd like to give you something anyway." Lloyd interrupted gently. He gestured at my shredded clothes. "I notice you seem rather hard on your wardrobe. Almost every time I’ve seen you, your clothes are in a state. We have a small group of crafters who've been experimenting with new materials, combining pre-Event fabrics with some of the more interesting materials we've harvested from monsters. They've created some surprisingly durable garments. Perhaps we could outfit you with something that might last more than a single dungeon run?"

  I glanced down at myself. He had a point. This was at least the fourth or fifth set of clothes I'd destroyed since the Event. My Natural Armor protected my skin just fine, but it did nothing for whatever I was wearing.

  "That would actually be really helpful," I admitted. "Thank you."

  "Excellent. It'll take a few days to complete, but we'll get word to you when they're ready." Lloyd carefully set the crystal down on his desk, treating it like the precious resource it was. "You've given us an incredible gift, Cameron. We won't forget it."

  "Just use it to help people. That's all I ask."

  "We will. And..." Lloyd hesitated, then continued. "If you're serious about helping communities build up their strength to tackle these dungeons, MIT would be very interested in coordinating with you. We have some brilliant minds here who could help optimize party composition, analyze monster patterns, develop tactical approaches…”

  "I'd like that," I said. "Once you've got people strong enough to make an attempt, let me know. I'll help however I can."

  We talked for a few more minutes about logistics and the current state of the city. Lloyd shared some of MIT's findings about monster patterns and spawn rates. Apparently they'd been keeping meticulous records, trying to find predictable patterns in the chaos.

  Eventually, I stood to leave. "I should get going. I've got one more stop to make, then I'm due back at Alex's place for a celebration."

  "Harvard?" Lloyd asked with a slight smile.

  "Yeah. Figured they could use one of these crystals too."

  Lloyd's expression shifted, becoming more serious. "Ah. Yes, they could certainly use it. A messenger from Harvard arrived here a few hours ago, actually."

  Something in his tone made me tense. "What did they want?"

  "They were warning us about a new threat. Apparently a pack of werewolf-like creatures attacked their enclave earlier today. Several people were injured, some seriously. They were asking if we'd encountered anything similar and if we had any healing capabilities to spare." Lloyd gave me a meaningful look. "I suspect your arrival with that crystal is going to be very timely."

  My blood ran cold. Harvard was where Maggie and Emmy were staying.

  "How bad were the injuries?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

  "The messenger didn't provide specifics, just that they had wounded who needed help. Why? Do you know people there?"

  "Yeah. Friends." I was already moving toward the door. “I’m sorry, but I need to go. Now."

  "Of course. Cameron?” Lloyd called after me. "Be careful. The messenger said the creatures fled after the attack, but they think the things might still be in the area. At least one of them was supposedly quite high tier.”

  I barely heard him. I was already running down the hallway, my boots pounding on the floor. I burst out of the building and launched myself into the air without breaking stride, activating Flight at full power.

  Maggie and Emmy had to be okay. They had to be.

  The sky was darker now, the sun having fully set while I'd been talking to Lloyd. I pushed myself faster, streaking northwest toward Harvard's campus. Below me, the darkened city sped past. My mind raced as fast as my flight. A werewolf creature? That was new. I pondered what strengths and weaknesses it might have. Thanks to Alex, I knew that magi was shaping itself to our myths and legends. That meant these creatures were probably fast, strong, smart, and difficult to kill. Something like that could coordinate attacks and do some serious damage. How many people had been hurt? Were Maggie and Emmy among the injured? Or worse—

  No. I couldn't think like that. They were fine. They had to be fine. I'd given away healing crystals to help save lives, but what good was that if I couldn't save the people I cared about? The towers and buildings of Harvard's campus came into view ahead, and I pushed myself even faster.