Sanctuary

Draven woke up feeling refreshed. His body was now fully adapted to his new mana pool and he could instantly notice he would need to be careful not to use too much for simple tasks or risk breaking things. Like every day Draven hopped over to the Mayor's terminal to see if another Iron Town had joined the network. And to his surprise, there was another one listed. It was called Sanctuary and he had already received a message from them yesterday. 

Sanctuary: [Hello, my name is Jordan Mills the Mayor of Sanctuary. We would like to establish a relationship with Ironforge to trade knowledge and overall gain a better understanding of our situation. Many of my citizens expressed their desire to give a list of everyone's names to determine if any family friends or relatives may be at your location. I'm sure your people would also be interested in this.]

Draven felt reluctant to announce his numbers but at the same time they had no idea of where they were and were far behind them in terms of levels if they just now found an Iron Town. 

Ironforge: [Hello, Jordan from Sanctuary. I am Draven the Leader of Ironforge. I apologize for the late response we had our first Monster Invasion yesterday and I have been unable to answer until now. I have been waiting for another Town to show up within this communication hub for quite some time now. I'm glad to see another group survive and establish themselves in an Iron Town. I am willing to share knowledge but there is only so much I am willing to share through this terminal. I have attached a list of my citizen's names I expect you to do the same in a timely manner.]

Draven sent the message and was about to stand up when he saw that someone was replying to the message already.

Sanctuary: [Please wait! I will get the Mayor immediately. He has been awaiting your response.]

AL are you able to discover their location? Draven asked curiously. 

<I can attach probing software to the list of citizens you attached message after they open file I establish a connection their Terminal and download information but have keep maintain until is complete.>

"Do it. How long do you need them to keep the file open?" Drave asked.

<To 10 get the Map Data alone I shouldn't need more than minutes. The probe has been installed.>

Sanctuary: [Hello Draven, It is a pleasure to speak with you. So the Monster Invasion is true? I hope you and your citizens were able to withstand the invasion without suffering casualties. How strong were the monsters that attacked? We have been worried about the invasion since learning about it.] 

Ironforge: [Whether the invasion is difficult or not depends on your Level If you don't have a couple of people in the Bronze Rank or higher by the time it appears you may be in deep trouble.]

Sanctuary: [Bronze Rank? That seems rather high for an Iron Town invasion. We will increase our efforts and focus on leveling up then. I have attached a list of our citizens as well I hope this will help some people find each other again.]

Draven smiled, he wanted to see their response to see if they would leak their current strength to him. Now he knew for sure they had no one in the bronze rank. 

Ironforge: [Thank you. I have received your List could you please open ours up for a moment there are a few VIP people on there that I would like to know if their relatives are in your Town as they are known scientists and engineers who may help us rebuild in the future.]

Sanctuary: [Of course I have the list open which people are you looking for exactly?]

< Connection with Sanctuary Terminal has been established. Beginning Transfer of Map Data.>

Draven took his time before answering to give AL as much time as possible.

Ironforge: [Toward the bottom of the list there is a Harrison Grey his Uncle is a known biologist who may be able to shed some light on our physical changes given the proper resources. His name is Jared Grey I don't see him on your list but perhaps he is not yet a citizen in your town but still in your Novice Village. Do you have any other Biologists in your Town that have a background in Genetic Mutations?] 

Draven was making all this up he didn't need any scientists but he wanted them to leave the File open for as long as possible. so sending them on a goose hunt for a few minutes would do the job.

after a few minutes passed AL announced the Map data had been extracted and he would now focus on getting any and all information he could for as long as the file was open. A few more minutes expired before Draven got a response.

Sanctuary: [I am sorry to say that we are not aware of anyone with the surname Grey but I admire your dedication to getting answers to what has happened to us. Have you discovered anything noteworthy about our situation?]

Draven checked his Map and saw that a new section had become visible to him. Far to the north he saw an Iron Town listed as Sanctuary it was surrounded by forest and fields. It would take him about an hour to fly there at top speed so it wasn't out of his reach to visit. 

Ironforge: [There are quite a few things that I have discovered that may answer some of your questions but like I said before I am unwilling to share certain information through this Terminal we will have to meet in person so we can talk more in-depth about such topics.]

Jordan was sitting at the desk in the mayor's office with a group of his subordinates standing behind him reading the messages as well. "Why won't he tell us over the terminal?" One man asked. "He just wants to know our location to attack us." Another spoke up. "Maybe he doesn't trust whoever built these terminals?" A woman asked "Either way it's too dangerous to tell him where we are. They already defended against a monster invasion so they have people in bronze rank already," an older man said. Jordan was rubbing the bridge of his nose in contemplation. It was a risk but if he truly had important information then he needed to know. If he was by himself he would have already agreed to meet with him but he was in charge of protecting over 2000 people he couldn't just risk their lives on a whim like that. 

Sanctuary: [Would it be possible for me to meet with you in Ironforge or somewhere in between so long the distance is within a few day's travel I would be willing to make the journey alone.] 

Draven smiled at this he was willing to come alone, so he at least cared about his people and that was admirable. But Draven didn't have time to play games and it would take that guy forever to walk here. The longer it took Draven to get everyone under his banner the longer it would take to get everyone on the same page and level up faster there was no need for several groups around the world and he didn't want to risk there being several golden portals eventually. He needed to take over every town and ensure Humanity was all focused on achieving their goals as one and not separated where every large group was doing their own thing while fighting for resources with other groups the concept of different countries needed to go. 

Ironforge: [Sorry no can do. It would take you forever to get here, I am much faster. I will come alone and will be there within a couple of hours you can either be friendly and we discuss your future options peacefully like adults or not and I will tell you how things are going to happen. I don't need you to tell me where you are I already know. I will see you shortly.]

Sweat started to form on the brow of everyone within Jordan's Office as they all did not know how they were going to deal with this situation.

< File has been closed I was able to gather data on the local area and what resources are available there. It seems they are rich in various herbs and resources such as wood. Their location is significantly inferior to Ironforge. They will struggle with gathering stone and metal for building and crafting weapons and armor.>

Draven walked downstairs and seeing his dad there he gave him the run down about the Sanctuary. "So you are planning to take them over as well? we don't have the space here in Ironforge unless you start building some more accommodations. once the Other two novice villages get here we will be full in fact all of them might not even fit." James was on the same page as Draven if they wanted to build the Golden Portal then they needed everyone to pool money into their economy and if what was beyond the golden portal was dangerous they would be screwed if another large group didn't fortify it and allowed our world to be invaded through it. They could only allow one portal to exist and it needed to be heavily fortified and guarded at all times. It was them against their captors and beings from other worlds and "them" needed to be all of humanity. if they needed to conquer every town and village first to make it happen then so be it. 

"Don't worry I don't plan on bringing them here today we should still have time before their invasion to bring them here so we will wait until after the other two novice villages have moved in. But I want to go over there and explain the situation and give them time to come to terms with it." Draven said as he contemplated on how best to deal with the situation.

"Okay I'll join you then I'd like to check out that new area as well and I can help you in talking with them. Someone has to keep an eye on you." He said smiling. So long you can keep up I don't mind Draven said but I was hoping that you would be here in case some building needed to be built in the off-chance new citizens show up today." Draven said. "I doubt both groups will come today but if you are worried then why don't you just build a few more places now before we go? There should be plenty of stone in the storage facility." James said.

AL can you please build some low-cost apartment buildings along with another medium-cost building?

<On it they should be completed within a few hours.>

Draven then pulled out all of the lizardmen XP orbs he had gathered from the invasion and started eating he already had 300 Dragon SP after eating the boss's Orb so he just needed another 300 before getting his wings. After having eaten all the Orbs he was now at 641 Dragon SP. Draven clicked on the Adlosecent Dragon Wings and hit accept. He grabbed hold of a nearby chair to prop himself up as his back started to split open on both sides. Bones began to punch through the holes in his back.

"AHHH FUCK! He screamed as his hands shook while gripping the chair. He put too much strength into his grip causing it to break and without support, Draven fell to his knees as more bone and tissue came shooting out of his back to form his new wings. James looked on in horror as he saw his son endure this pain. He wanted to go over to him and help him with a healing spell but when he looked into Draven's feral pain-ridden eyes his instincts told him to stay away for now. Draven was panting as the worst was over, he now felt a strong itching sensation coming from his wings and more tissue began to form over them until they were fully fleshed out and covered with scales and spikes. His injuries quickly healed as the process started to come to a halt. He needed to sit for a while but he was ecstatic about finally having wings of his own. 

James walked over and helped speed up the healing process and Draven felt much better afterward. "Ok, I'm ready I need to have a few words with the guards on duty for today and then we can head out," Draven said acting like nothing had happened. "So we're just going to pretend that didn't happen? You don't wanna talk about it or anything like that?" James asked looking questionably at Draven. "No point in talking about it to a Pod Evolver you wouldn't understand," Draven said as he came up with the term on the spot. Draven was already on his way out the door. James came running after him "What do you mean Pod Evolver? Don't act like it's our fault you have to go through that!" He exclaimed as he followed him out. 

Draven chuckled a bit to himself as he extended his wings. It was a very weird feeling to have 2 extra limbs that you could control. It might not have been as weird if they were an extra set of arms but wings were a completely foreign concept to him and he had no idea how to properly move them. He shifted his wings so he could thrust against the ground and flapped his wings once with great strength launching him into the air. He spun around a few times enjoying himself as he continued to rise high into the sky. Once he reached the highest point before falling down Instincts kicked in as he spread his wings out again and began to slowly glide. With another flap, he accelerated forward. This was a completely different feeling from flying with psionic or wind magic. It was more exciting and felt more powerful. Draven flew towards the Barracks apartment building these rooms were reserved for people who stood guard duty. For taking a 4-hour shift every day and being on call 3 days a week. Which meant they had to show up to the barracks after every shift to see if a spot needed to be filled due to someone not showing up. For their work, they received a free room in the barracks as well as 3 meals a day. They also got priority on XP orbs that Draven or James didn't need anymore before they were given away or sold.

Draven walked into the building "Frank you around?" Draven called out. James had delegated the job of being in charge of the guards after meeting him during the invasion. His reasoning was quote "I want to see the ninja turtle more often and he's a good guy that people will listen to." Draven then heard someone shout through the entrance "Over here I was about to go over today's shifts" he heard Frank say from a communal room near the entrance. Draven walked in and saw Turtle-Man Frank along with 40ish people sitting around. "I'll be quick I need the guards on duty today to clear up the Deserter Camp's. Some of them had the audacity to place their tents directly on the path in front of the entrance they need to go. I don't care if they are off to the side and out of people's way but any tent remotely close to the path needs to be removed. Also, I have permitted Frank to add citizens to Ironforge in case we get newcomers from the other Novice Villagers while James and I are away. You will notice a new option on the terminal by the gate that will allow you to do so. So long our recruiting groups give the ok you have my permission to add them as citizens. There will be no fee to become a citizen as of now so don't try to make some side money." Draven said with a chuckle as if to play it off as a joke but he had a serious look in his eye as he stared at Frank who nodded in understanding. "Okay, that will be all, carry-on" Draven said as he walked back out to let them continue their business. 

James was waiting outside and whistled when Draven came back out. "Look at you being the Boss Man are you going to start telling people they need to come in on Saturday?" James joked. "What are you talking about I have people working in shifts around the clock every day of course people come in on Saturday." Draven not having seen a certain iconic movie didn't catch the reference which made James laugh. "Alright you lead the way I'll follow behind," James said as he spread his wings. Draven did the same and with a few flaps, they were soaring through the air. He was effortlessly flying much faster than he was when using Psionic Magic and his dad had no problems keeping up with his speed which meant James was flying slower for him this whole time. Draven decided to pick up the speed even further and the landscape below him became a blur as they raced through the skies. 

Draven was certain he could go much faster if he used wind magic to push air under his wings or have gusts of wind shooting from his feet but he was certain his dad wouldn't be able to keep up then and he didn't feel like having to look for him later. Unlike Draven, James didn't have a map so it was easy for him to get lost if they got far enough away from any familiar surroundings. The flight was uneventful there didn't seem to be any predators in the sky at least not in this area and within 40 minutes they had reached their destination. 

Draven landed in front of the barrier leading to the Iron Town called Sanctuary. Draven stretched his hand out to see if he could pass through and sure enough nothing prevented him from doing so. 

<Would you like to register as an invading force? if don't won't be able take command of the Mayor's terminal after reaching it and mayor will teleport out whenever he feels it.>

"Yes register us as an invading force," Draven said out loud. "Let's take over this Town Dad" he said smiling. "What happened to talking with them first?" James asked bewildered as he followed Draven through the Barrier. "That was before I knew I could simply become the leader by reaching the Mayor's terminal while being registered as an invading force. How easy is that? Once I'm the leader they won't have any other option but to join us and we can finish this in record time. Draven explained. "So long you don't go all Craig on me I agree that's the fastest way.

"Oh right, I forgot all about Craig we still need to deal with him. But no there's no need for any bloodshed they can't stop me and once I'm in charge they can either fall in line or live in the forest. Sooner or later I will be in charge of all Towns and they will eventually come to me for survival regardless.