Chapter 128 - Portals

Blake stood next to the shore of Goldwater Lake and watched as the long line of civilians hesitantly moved through one of the portals to Pinetop. With over a thousand people rescued from Prescott over the last couple of days, four separate portals were required to accommodate their queues. 

Prescott, Payson, Pinetop, Phoenix… Why does every city in Arizona start with the letter P?

Blake shook his head at the irreverent thought as the line of families steadily dwindled. He had been extremely surprised by the level of interest in relocation. Over the last few days, the streets of Prescott, had seen very little activity. He assumed there were, at most, five hundred people still alive within the small city located two hours north of Phoenix. 

The fact that over a thousand people swarmed to the meetup location, luggage in hand, meant that at least another two thousand remained. Despite Jennifer’s work on his reputation’s restoration, there were many who still believed he worked for the Architect or killed indiscriminately. Warner’s own propaganda also did not do him any favors.

Black impatiently tapped his foot.

While he was annoyed at their wrongly held beliefs, he could not really blame them. They did not know Blake, and they were subjected to numerous rumors and accusations which targeted him. People tended to believe the worst in others, something of which Blake himself was guilty.

Well, over a thousand people still trusted me enough to show up. If there’s that many people here, who knows how many will join from Phoenix, Tucson, and the other large cities.

“You look awfully pensive,” Jennifer’s loud voice surprised him from behind. “What’s on your mind?”

Blake turned his head and observed the influencer draw near, her ever-present bodyguard, Bobby, in tow. He nodded to the silent man in greeting and then answered her question. “Just thinking that we’re probably not gonna have enough housing for everyone.”

Jennifer frowned. “Are you sure?”

Blake shrugged. “No, but if this many people are joining us from Prescott, imagine how many will show up from the bigger cities. I thought it would take weeks to reach fifty thousand people. At this rate, we may hit the limit today.”

“How many can join the Black Diamonds again?” she asked.

“It’s faction hall is still level two, so only five hundred,” he replied. “But, Indigo said they should reach level three in two days. Then the Black Diamonds can invite up to five thousand people.”

Jennifer grimaced. “That’s an awful name, can’t we change it?”

Blake shook his head as Bobby snorted and muttered, “... no worse than Terran Alliance.”

“Hey!” Blake replied in faux outrage. “I put my heart and soul into coming up with that name!”

Bobby chuckled. “Next time, try putting your brain into it, too.”

After that, Blake could no longer hold his severe expression and laughed along with him. “How’s the shield working out for you?”

Bobby glanced down as he raised the defensive armor attached to his left arm. “Honestly, it seems kind of overpowered.”

“How so?” Blake asked, confused.

“Well, for one, it’s completely bulletproof, which is utterly ridiculous.” Bobby replied.

“Why is that ridiculous?”

“Because this thing only weighs like five pounds, even though it’s four feet tall and two feet wide. It’s got to be, what, only two millimeters thick?” Bobby slammed his right hand into it. “Yet, it feels indestructible.”

“It’s enhanced by nanomachines,” Blake reminded him.

Bobby rolled his eyes and groaned. “That doesn’t mean it can break the laws of physics.”

“I never said it does. Just because I don’t understand how it works doesn’t mean it’s magic. I don’t understand string theory, either,” Blake pointed out.

“Actually,” Jennifer interrupted. “I did a podcast on string theory, and quite a few scientists think it’s been disproven now. Although, it does still have its supporters.”

“See?” Blake grinned. “If scientists don’t even understand physics, what hope do we have?”

“Touché,” Bobby accepted the correction, then continued. “Anyway, if it just stopped there, it’d be amazing, but it goes further. It comes with its own spell as well.”

Before Blake had given Bobby the shield, he had tested out the ability, Stone Barrier himself. It did have some restrictions. In order to be activated, it required contact with the ground, and could only be used once before it needed to be recharged. Also, unlike the castable version, the ‘C’ shaped defensive wall it formed in front of the shield was not customizable. Yet, despite those limitations, Blake had to admit it was quite powerful.

It did have some advantages as well. Because it was enchanted onto the shield, the ability did not take five seconds to cast, it activated immediately. It also allowed a pure chi user like Bobby to use it, as long as he found someone with mana to recharge it afterward.

“Well, it’s perfect for a bodyguard,” Blake stated.

“It is,” Bobby agreed. “I just wish it wasn’t so expensive to recharge.”

Blake frowned. “How much is Montgomery charging you?”

“Five hundred thousand nano. Can you believe it? That’s highway robbery!”

“Oh please,” Jennifer rolled her eyes. “You act like it’s coming from your wallet, not mine. Besides, after testing it a couple of times, I doubt you’ll ever use it again unless we’re in combat.”

“That’s beside the point,” he insisted. “It’s the principal of the matter! We’re supposed to be friends. Who charges their bro that much?”

Blake smiled and glanced back at the steady progress the refugees had made. Ten minutes were almost up, yet a quarter of the line remained.

They’re moving slower than I thought. Looks like we’re going to need another portal.

A few minutes later, the portals expired, and Blake himself requested a new one. It cost an extra million nano to summon, but was well worth it. They did not have nearly enough vehicles to transport over a thousand people. And, if he were to escort them all the way to Pinetop on foot, it would take days, if not weeks.

Besides, I can make a hundred million nano a day. Well, I can if I ever get back to doing scenarios.

He sighed loudly at the thought, and Jennifer shot him a frown.

While he had technically had the time to complete a scenario, over the past few days, he had been busy collecting refugees and scavenging supplies. By the time he finished for the day, he was exhausted, and it would have been too risky to enter the ColoColo portal.

After the final refugee walked through the portal, Montgomery and Jeff escorted their prisoners to Pinetop prison. The ex-Black Diamond faction members had their hands bound behind their backs and were linked together with rope. 

Of the original eighteen captured, only nine remained. The rest were lost when they failed to return from the portal. Before they were sent in, they had been split into four groups and were supplied with spare level zero weapons. Once they returned successfully, their nano was confiscated, and their thoughts were read to ensure they held nothing back. Finally, it was time for him to leave.

“We’re up.” He said to Jennifer.

Blake waved goodbye to Jeremy and Jimmy, who would stay behind despite their protests, then entered the portal behind Bobby and Jennifer. Unlike combat scenario portals, there was no void between locations. Travel was instantaneous, and nausea was reduced.

Despite the smoother transition, he still smelled and then spotted a few piles of vomit off to the side. However, a worker was already in the process of cleaning up the mess.

“Please move off the platform quickly, so others can come through,” said a bored voice beside him. The woman’s tone and cadence suggested she had stated the same thing thousands of times before, and could not wait to be done with her task. Bobby and Jennifer had already left the relatively small room with a quick wave in his direction, but he remained behind to talk to the attendant.

“Actually, I’m the last one from Prescott,” he informed her.

Her brows rose in surprise as she recognized him and her bored demeanor dropped. “Viscount Summers! I apologize, I did not recognize you.”

“It’s fine,” he assured her. “I’m sure you’ve seen thousands of people pass through here already today, and have to be tired.”

She nodded and then crossed off a line on her clipboard. “Yes, and we have thousands more coming. So far, the refugees from Phoenix, Tucson, and Prescott have arrived. It looks like St. Johns is next, then Willcox, Sedona, and Flagstaff.”

“How many have come through so far?” he asked.

The attendant smiled nervously. “I’m not sure. Someone else is in charge of that stuff. I just make sure people quickly get off the platform so we don’t waste time and nano.”

Blake nodded and glanced around the room. At level one, the portal room contained four platforms. Once it was upgraded, that would double to eight, but until then, portal use would need to be rationed.

He thanked her for her time, left the building, and almost immediately stopped once again.

Wow. That’s a lot of people.

The streets were packed with people waiting in line to be processed. Queues stretched in both directions as far as he could see, and moved at a snail’s pace. He noticed that sweat glistened on most people’s foreheads, and shirts were damp. Despite the higher altitude, it was still eighty-five degrees outside, and it looked like the crowd would be out in the sun for hours.

We need to deliver water to everyone while they wait before anyone passes out from heat stroke.

After Blake messaged his mother through the interface with the idea, he maneuvered to the front of the line to determine the source of the delay. However, when he arrived, he was surprised at the efficiency of the process. Organizers directed people to administrators seated behind desks. Each station held a purpose, and once that objective was completed, the refugees moved on to the next.

Each family or individual was questioned on their background, skills, and type of employment they wished to pursue. Once everything was written down, they were invited to the faction, assigned a room, and then escorted to their new living quarters by a guide. As they were led to their domicile, the faction’s rules were explained and questions were answered.

All together, at least two hundred people were employed in the endeavor. The longer he stood out in public, the more people recognized him. Most just greeted him, but some wished to enter long conversations, which delayed everything. When he realized his own presence only served to slow things down, he quickly fled down the street in search of his father. After a few minutes of travel, where he hurriedly returned numerous greetings, he entered his dad’s level three cookhouse and searched for an empty seat in the dining room.

Unfortunately, the line outside the building was not just for show and almost rivaled the queue outside the portal room. The room was packed, and not everyone had a seat. Half the occupants chose to eat while they stood within the air-cooled dining hall to escape the heat. Servers tried their best to hurry their customers along to make room for those who waited, but he could see they were only partially successful.

Blake wove through the busy dining hall with his head tilted down to avoid recognition. He passed through the door to the kitchen, where he found Peter, hard at work. His father was joined by five other cooks who labored over their stoves. “Wow, you guys are busy!”

“Blake! Welcome back!” his father smiled at the sight of his son and quickly embraced him. However, the gesture only lasted a moment before he was forced to return to his task. Six dishes on the stove top required his attention. Without his constant focus, they would be ruined. 

“Take this,” Peter addressed a teen who ran meals out to the dining room. “It’s only temporary,” Peter informed Blake as the kid scurried from the room with the plate. “Jordan and his workers are building four more cookhouses as we speak, and more laborers are being trained as cooks.”

“Uh,” Blake drawled out. “Shouldn’t that have been all done, before we brought thousands more people here?”

His father snorted as he stirred the simmering meat. “Oh, we already built four. We just didn’t expect to rescue this many people so soon. Although, it’s not as bad as it looks. Almost everyone is hungry, and the first thing they want to do when they get here is eat a good meal. Or stand in the air conditioning.”

“I don’t blame them,” Blake said dryly. “After all, that’s why I’m here, too. I’m tired of travel rations.”

“What?!” his father exclaimed in mock hurt. “And I thought you were a good son, who just wanted to visit his father!”

Blake snorted. “I can visit while I eat.”

“Well,” Peter poured stew into a bowl. “I’ll cook up something special on one condition.”

“What’s that?” Blake asked warily.

“You bring some food to your brother and have a talk with him.”

“Sure,” he agreed easily and then glanced at his father suspiciously. “What about?”

“Oliver is obsessed,” his father told him, voice laced with concern. “The only time he leaves his workshop is to sleep. The rest of the time, he’s busy making potions. Your mother and I are worried about his mental state.”

“Hold on, wait a minute. First, you’re concerned he has no work ethic, now you're concerned that he’s working too hard?”

His father gave him a dark look before his attention returned to the cooking. “How long has it been since you talked with your brother?”

Blake shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe a week or two? I’ve been kind of busy.”

“You have,” Peter agreed, and then added pointedly. “Oliver isn’t the only one who needs to take things easy.”

“Oh, don’t work, I plan on taking a nice long break today before I get back to grinding out scenarios in the morning.”

“Maybe you should rest for a few days to recuperate.”

Blake shook his head. “I don’t have that kind of time. I’ve been level two long enough as it is.”

Peter shook his head and muttered, “Both of you boys are the same.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, confused.

“Oliver’s worried that the other alchemists are catching up to him, and he’s going to be left behind. His disease is causing him problems with the higher level potions, and he’s worried he’s going to be replaced.”

Blake frowned. “I thought he was doing well.”

“He is,” his father confirmed as he added more seasoning to the pan. “But he said he has to work twice as hard to stay in first place. Said he has to if he wants the ‘First’ achievements, or whatever.”

I didn’t realize there were that many non-combat achievements. I wonder what he gets for them.

“I have no problem talking with him, but I doubt he’ll listen to me.”

“Just try, that's all I ask.”

Blake nodded.

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