Rune Seeker - Book 3: Chapter 40: The Only Hope

“Pardon?” Hiral said.

Does he know he’s an NPC? Or is this something else?

“You heard me. All of this”—Dr. Benza gestured to the wide sky and the three other islands in view—”is inside of a dungeon. Well, I guess, a prototype of a dungeon. A limited one.”

“What the doctor is trying to say,” Laseen spoke up, “is that to test one of our dungeon theories, we built a small subspace, which we are standing within. Unlike how we plan to use the dungeon technology in the future, this one doesn’t contain any scripted, specific events. It is, instead, just a carved-out space from our natural world.”

“Is the island we’re standing on made from solar energy?” Hiral asked.

“No, Laseen’s description is in fact quite appropriate,” Dr. Benza said. “For this, we literally carved out the part of the world we needed and then stuffed it into something the size of a marble.”

“We’re standing in something this big?” Yanily asked, making a circle with his thumb and forefinger.

“Little smaller, actually,” Fenil said.

“If you can do that, why did you need to build a place like Ratchett? Or… or why do you need Fallen Reach at all?” Hiral asked.

“Several reasons, actually,” Dr. Benza said, standing near the edge and looking at the other islands. “First off, the power requirements are astronomical. We barely have the resources for this one. Second, it took more than ten years for this space to stabilize. The area was originally developed for exactly the purpose you’d imagine—to hide from the Enemy—but as soon as we calculated how long it would take until it was livable… well, that plan got scrapped.”

“Gravity and atmosphere were… unpredictable,” Fenil explained. “I’m sure you noticed some oddities in here when you were working on the tunnels. That was only shortly after things became stable enough not to be a one-hundred-percent death trap.”

“Wonderful,” Hiral deadpanned, despite never having been in the tunnels like the doctor believed. That did lead to the question of whether or not the tunnels still existed in…

The hidden room Gauto found! That must be one of the tunnels they’re talking about.

“Third, the space won’t last now that it’s stabilized,” Dr. Benza continued. “The two-year deadline is part of that. Within that timeline—at the longest—the separation between this subspace and the rest of the world will vanish, and it will get spit back out. At that point, we need the islands floating and ready.”

“Will the islands survive that?” Hiral asked. Something must’ve happened for there not to be three other islands up there with Fallen Reach back in normal time.

“There should be no risk, according to our calculations,” Dr. Benza said. “Everything will simply return to its original location.”

“Though, there must still be some instability for them to have arrived over here at the edge instead of at the portal room,” Laseen said, and that seemed to get Dr. Benza thinking.

“True,” Dr. Benza said. “True. Look into that when we get back. But, that’s also why we have groups like them here. To patrol the islands and make sure nothing… less friendly… slips through. I hope that explains your main purpose here, though I’m sure Cederk would appreciate any help you could provide to the construction activities as well.”

“Sure would,” Cederk said. “We can talk about that after. You look like you still have questions for the doctor.”

“I know I do,” Seena said. “How does it all work? How are you going to make the islands fly?”

“That’s a big question,” Fenil said.

“And the answer is very complicated,” Laseen added.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“We’re using a giant system of runes,” Dr. Benza said simply. “Some of the Enemy’s own.”

“So, each island will have runes that keep them in the air?” Hiral asked.

“No. Only this island will have those,” Dr. Benza said. “The four islands are all part of a balanced system. One island—this one—will keep all four in the sky. That one over there”—he pointed at the island on the right—“will be responsible for keeping the clouds away. That one will be responsible for providing training and knowledge in preparation to fighting the Enemy. Finally, the fourth one there”—he pointed to the left—“houses the vault and armory. It will contain all the weapons and equipment our people need to arm themselves for their first dungeon runs.

“Of course, the vault will also be accessed by the dungeon interfaces upon successful dungeon clears to provide the best rewards. But we wanted to make sure people were outfitted for success from the beginning.”

“And you’re going to put a different race on each island, aren’t you?” Hiral asked, the pieces falling into place in his mind.

“They really did tell you everything in the need-to-know briefing, didn’t they?” Dr. Benza said with a shake of his head. “Do they not understand the idea of top-secret?”

“Makers on this island, Growers on that one over there,” Hiral said. “The one with the vault… Let me guess, Builders?” Laseen nodded. “Which means the training one is for Bonders. Each serving a purpose and… let me guess again… maintaining balance?”

“Correct,” Dr. Benza said. “The more checks and balances we build into the system, the stronger the magic becomes.”

“And how many people will live on each island?” Hiral asked.

“Well, food and other necessities will limit population growth, though each island will have its own means to address those things,” Dr. Benza said. “This island we’re standing on will also handle water. The one with the vault will produce supplies the other races need, such as quills and medical salves and potions. That one there has a type of insect nest in it.” Fenil made a face at that. “Don’t be like that. The insects are large, but have nearly limitless uses, from food to transportation. They’re also very adept at learning tricks.”

“Tricks?” Seeyela said.

“So, back to my question,” Hiral interrupted. “How many people?”

“Each should easily be able to support a million,” Dr. Benza said. “A small fraction of our current population, but we’ll only be able to send the young. Those who aren’t… tainted by the old magic.”

“A million?” Hiral said, looking at the Bonder and Builder islands. “And how young is young?”

“Right now, it would be those younger than twenty. Anybody older was born while the old magic lingered.”

“What happens to everybody else? Everybody older than that?” Seena asked.

Dr. Benza shared a look with Cederk. “We will… take our chances underground. Wait until the PIMP project bears fruit. Until it births the guardians we need to beat back the Enemy.”

Hiral’s tongue wetted his suddenly dry lips as he looked at Laseen and Fenil. Everybody else present was clearly older than twenty. “How old are you two?”

“Nineteen,” Laseen said, her mouth tightening into a hard line as she took her father’s hand tightly in her own. “We’ll be staying on the island.”

“And what would happen if people who had the old magic went along?” Seena asked. “If they snuck onto one of the islands?”

“It would weaken the system we have in place over the short term, and lengthen the time needed for guardians to reach the necessary power to defeat the Enemy,” Dr. Benza explained. “There are also a few theorized side effects, such as widespread memory loss, infertility, itchy palms, et cetera, et cetera.”

“Are… we expected to stop people older than twenty from getting on the islands?” Yanily asked, an obvious hitch in his voice.

Dr. Benza shook his head. “It shouldn’t come to that. Very few know about the existence of these islands, let alone their location. We’ve begun the process of moving the people who will live on the islands already, but even they won’t know where they are when they arrive. Like how you were brought up to work on the tunnels, it will all be done in secret.”

“You’re hiding this from your own people?” Seena asked.

Dr. Benza’s head tilted slightly to the side. “We’re not hiding this from our people; we’re hiding it from the Enemy and the servants of the Fallen. They can’t know about this place. Every hope we have rests on success here.

“Please, I understand the logistics of it sound… harsh. But you’ve been there, fighting against the Enemy and the Infested. While you were able to miraculously defeat one, hundreds more exist. And they’re much stronger. This really is the only hope any of us have left.”

Dynamic Quest

You stand on the ground destined to carry the future of an entire civilization.

See that destiny through.

No matter what happens.

Well, that’s not ominous or anything…