Elevation of Mana Chapter 191 Return to Rolan's

We did not make it to Rolan's tree before we were intercepted in a major way. A flying wing of elves rose from the canopy, heading straight towards us looking none too pleased as we closed in on the city. Well, a wing might have been an exaggeration, there were only eight, and they were hardly in any kind of formation I could identify. At least our guests didn't attack before getting closer to investigate.

On Earth we'd have had to radio down, use call-signs, get permissions on where and when to land, and all that nonsense that pilots had to deal with. This world however was a bit different, and rather than go through any of that Chien just leaned out the window and waved them to us. A few moments later an elder crawled through that same window, looking extremely unhappy.

“Who are you and why have you brought this beast to our home!” he roared.

“What beast?” I asked. “Oh, and I'm Justin, I was asked to come by Rolan and the others.”

“What-what beast? The beast you've strapped this box to you fool!”

“This isn't a beast, it's basically bags of air.”

“How in the name of the forest is that supposed to work!” He seemed to not believe me, and be quite unhappy about that fact.

“That's a long explanation, which if needed I will give to Rolan. Now, where should I land?”

“Remain aloft for now, I will consult with the Ancient on where he desires this... thing.”

As he jumped off the craft and back into the air I heard the laughter behind me, my assistant barely able to breathe.

“Don't laugh yet, if they decide to take us down we'll be in for a world of trouble,” I told him.

It was true too, this thing had too much ordinance on it to do anything but go down in a ball of flames and poison. Whatever was below us would be thoroughly cooked, and I couldn't risk it all falling into the hands of a potential enemy. If it came to it I'd destroy the whole thing rather than let it be captured too, something I was more than capable of.

“Don't worry, Rolan was good people,” he said with a smile.

“I know, but that doesn't mean everyone below him is, and no small few could cause real trouble.”

It seemed there was little to worry about though, as soon the large tree we were heading to began to shift slightly. In the end it was only branches moving by a few degrees each, but when dealing with a plant bigger than skyscrapers a few degrees wasn't a small thing. It was followed up by a flash pattern inside the hole the moving branches had made, one I recognized as the signal for 'safe' from long ago.

“Alright, slow and steady, let's bring her in.”

“Her?”

“All ships are female, didn't you know that?”

“How is this a boat?”

“A sky boat.”

“We were calling it a blimp though?”

“Is this really the time for this?”

“Why not?”

With a sigh I just shook my head and got back to the job at hand. There was clearly a landing spot for us, and while steering was... poor, that didn't mean we couldn't slowly bring it in. If nothing else I could just adjust our trajectory and speed with my own magic, tiresome, but easy enough.

Surprises continued though, as there was a crowd on the branch we came into. Rolan was there, casually causing vines to carefully move to our mooring points and a cradle to grow beneath us, all the while looking a bit surprised. There were dozens of elders, most clearly much older than myself, including old Jina.

“So they called you out here too?” I asked as I landed, having not been informed of that.

“Indeed,” she confirmed.

“We needed everyone we could get,” Rolan added. “So you weren't the only one called. Most of the elders of Atal are supposed to be poorly suited for what we're doing, too young or too specialized for other things, but you two will be a great help.”

“And what are we doing exactly?” I asked.

“Going to kill those beasts, I hope you brought enough... whatever it is you do,” Jina explained.

“On another note, did you threaten my messenger?” Rolan asked. “Why?”

“Because he's an ass and didn't tell me any details, you really should have included those.”

“To be fair,” Jina added in. “I wanted to beat the man too.”

“Let's put that aside then. Did you bring weapons?” the Ancient inquired.

“Not as many as I'd have liked if we're to go to war, but a few. Get me where I need to be safely and I should be able to contribute well.”

“We can arrange that.”

The two gestured me to follow and we made our way towards the tree proper. With a look back I could see Chien lounging in the cabin of my blimp, giving me a thumbs up. He didn't need to be there for what came next, probably didn't want to, and we needed someone to watch the craft anyway, so his choice was what mine would have been. He could and would make sure nobody started messing with things they needed to leave alone.

There was only one more surprise before the meeting.

“What is that abomination?” I asked, looking at the tangle of ropes around the hanging platform.

“Ah, the new elevator. My own inventor changed it to go along with your suggestions.” Rolan seemed almost proud for some insane reason.

“He clearly wasn't paying attention.”

“Come now, it's much better than it used to be.”

“I'm flying.”