It had only taken Quarilyn two days to get a gate built to the specification the giants required. The bigger issue was the power generation we needed for it to run on the Earth side. Similar to the problem she had faced when setting up the connection between the homestead and the United States, we just didn’t have the power. Though in this case, we had the mana flow. It just wasn’t a concentrated enough amount. The power demands were too high for her to even power it with her own mana reserves.

  We had been going back and forth on it for days with Quarilyn and Elody trying several things and making zero progress. We were nearing a point of considering trying to take the supplies through the spire. Thankfully, though, the solution had finally presented itself after a long conversation with Karlinovo.

  With that last missing step out of the way, we finally had the gate connected. Both Travelers had been more than willing to help. We now had food being transported back to Earth. And while that stress was gone for now, it didn’t remotely mean we were in the clear just yet. It did, though, mean that we even had an official agreement signed with Tomta by the end of the day. All he had really wanted to do was see our world first hand before he allowed more of his people through.

  “You know, Dave, most faction leaders would never have allowed the Reltleons to settle on their world, let alone people with as few resources as you have,” Tomta said after signing the document.

  “I honestly don’t care what most worlds would do. I have very little interest in the games the Spiral factions play,” I said, too tired from all the politics and desperation of the last couple of days to pretend otherwise.

  “And that’s a big part of why I like you, but now with this done. I wish to get back to my own world. I trust I will have my people back within the week?” He replied.

  “Yes, that should be more than enough time to get the supplies where they need to go,” Laura answered.

  “Good, because your world’s mana flow is far too weak to keep the transports in the air for much beyond that. I look forward to our next meeting.” And with those words, Tomta and his guards left the dining hall, with Pryte following. I didn’t have the energy at the moment to see him off personally, and I didn’t think he expected me to either.

  “You know, Dave, I’m honestly impressed with everything you’ve managed to do here. I think I owe you an apology,” Laura said, once we were alone in the room.

  “For which thing exactly? We’ve been through a lot.” I had no idea which of the many fights, most of which were justified on her part, that she had decided an apology was warranted.

  “Part of why I sided with the president so strongly is that I doubted your ability to accomplish anything. Some of it was likely bitterness from how we ended, but even beyond that, this would have been more than you could handle at your best. But you’ve changed. You aren’t even the same Dave I met all those years ago. There’s a different spark in you, and I’m sorry I didn’t see that initially. As Alex has hammered home into me so often recently, you didn’t deserve any added hostility from me. You had enough on your plate. So, yes, I’m incredibly sorry.”

  Before I could reply, the door burst open, and Karlinovo came striding in with Elody in tow. “Dave, we have a new problem,” he started to say.

  “One second,” I said, cutting off Karlinovo, annoyed with the interruption. “Laura, I appreciate it. But now I think I have to meet with my people, and I imagine you want to see the kids before you get back to the comforts of your own home.” The moment was just too awkward to stretch.

  “Yes, I do, thank you.” While the air between us may have been less hostile after our exchange, it would still never be what it was again. We both knew that, and I was sure that was why she left without another word.

  “What is it now?” I asked, looking at the two of them. Elody had an odd look on her face that I hadn’t really seen there before. What was that about?

  “For the spike to work the way we want, the best, and really only viable spot to put it is in the arctic dungeon. The problem is we are now relying on that mana to keep the gate working,” Karlinovo replied.

  “Great,” I said, dropping my head into my hand in frustration. “How do we fix this?

  “We already know how to fix it. It’s the ramifications that we don’t know,” Elody answered, resting her hand on my shoulder before she continued. “We need to place a dungeon core within the spike, with ownership of the dungeon. That will let it regulate the flow to the gate and into the Earth as well as any cables we attach to it.”

  “And at the moment, we only have one spare core. And it’s not one I would call remotely sane yet,” I replied, fully understanding the problem now.

  “Correct, which makes this decision entirely yours. I’m sorry we are putting another burden on you so soon,” Elody said gently.

  “This is an incredibly bad idea, but I will at least talk to the core again. Maybe Corey can convince them of something,” I said, doubting this would go well at all.

  Most of the ermines had fled at Grant’s approach. Likely, all of them would have escaped had the moose not decided to involve itself even more in the situation. A shield appeared around one of the creatures before it could vanish from sight entirely.

  “Go search the buildings, as quick as you can. We need to get this back home. I have a feeling the moose knew it was out here, not sure why it thinks we need to capture one though,” Grant ordered the men.

  While they ran off to start the search, he grabbed the shielded animal easily enough and secured it safely in the bed of the truck. As he hopped down, the moose walked up to him, bowed its head, turned, and ran away. Grant had no idea what that had been about, but he wasn’t going to question it. Nothing made a lot of sense anymore.

  There had been no one in the town, and Grant was glad for that. Transporting people along with the shrieking animal would have been a nightmare he didn’t need. As it was, the noise was enough to kill any attempt at conversation. He was incredibly glad the moment he was back and able to hand the little monster off to Glorp. They could figure out what to do with it, and he could get back to saving people.

  The Velvet Sworm Empire is notorious for being one of the worst slavers within the factions. Their brutality is so bad, few factions will ever publicly trade with them. In recent decades, this has led to a realization that with the right applied pressure and support, a simple slave uprising could be turned into a universe-wide addition to a hungry faction. Now, what was once a sprawling empire is fighting for its own survival on the fringes of the Spiral.

  Factions, Dynasties, Royalty, and the Holdings by Trig Plunderscan

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