Chapter 153: CIty-Building
The alligator reached the entrance of the airport without incident. They certainly drew attention on the way, but every single person kept a respectful distance, not willing to test the newly minted Dragonrider or the Nomad. The residents of Empress City had already received the preliminary guidelines that had served Ghost Reef and knew the expectations when it came to tolerance of wildlife, but the alligator was the first example for exactly how much the ballgame had changed. It only took one look to decide that they’d prefer to be allies. If anyone harbored doubts for treating animals as equals, they were quashed by the majestic specimen in front of them.
Marcus and Jackson had managed to navigate the shard from the isolated break room all the way to the passenger entrance of the airport. The front of the airport was a grand construction with a cathedral glass roof that easily eclipsed 50 feet above their heads. It was criss-crossed by curved metal beams that decorated the ceiling, and extended all the way over the drop-off area. Large circular planters contained slightly overgrown shrubs that spilled over their edges with small palm trees situated in the center of each, but it was otherwise a completely unobstructed sunroom-like area.
The wide open space curved around the central waiting area with a dozen wide doorways leading into the airport terminals on the inside and multiple lanes of empty roads on the outside. Beyond the roads, there were broad pathways that led to the various parking garages from a centralized courtyard. Each of the pathways had a unique designation, like Flamingo, Tarpon, and amusingly Alligator, to help travelers remember which garage housed their vehicles. A corresponding pedestrian bridge, decorated with the associated animal, led over what was once a highly trafficked place full of waiting vehicles and hurried visitors.
The residents of Empress City fully replaced the missing vacationers and had formed a relatively orderly line that extended down the roads, away from the garages, in order to queue up for access to the shard. The crowds in and around the parking garages made a completely separate group, lining up to visit the jail instead, and they had naturally avoided mixing up to lessen the confusion. The droning of hundreds of conversations hushed with the arrival of the beast, but the alligator paid the sudden attention no heed, diligently following Coop as he went straight to the shard.
Almost everyone present was in the process of leaving the Endless Empire and selecting professions or registering with the warden. Jackson and a handful of others stood near the shard, providing direction to anyone that needed it and advice if they so desired. Throughout the day that Coop and the girls had been at the golf course, only about half of the residents had completed the first task, and they were the ones being organized by Fabiana and Marcus in planning out the city.
When the alligator approached, there wasn’t a single peep of complaint that it was skipping the line. Charlie and her mount were natural VIPs. The animal simply nudged the shard with the tip of her snout and stood perfectly still for about 30 seconds before turning and moseying back the way she came. Jackson didn’t even comment before he started waving the next few people forward while keeping a wary eye on the animal.
Coop addressed Jackson instead, curious about the impact the alligator had on the settlement before they had arrived. “Have you noticed less Primal Trackers roaming around the city?”
Jackson was surprised to be called out, distracted by the alligator, but he swung his attention toward Coop. “Primal Trackers? Ever since the wave of them during the event, there have been noticeably less. Still some, but not enough to become a problem. They mostly come from the north and south these days.”
Coop nodded. “Probably because of that one.” He suggested with a thumb toward the alligator. “You should probably figure out all of their spawn zones and have people get levels around there.”
Jackson absently ducked his head. “I believe the people forming the adventurer’s guild branch will be prioritizing that after the battlefields are cleaned up. Marcus made sure we would have a method to get people leveling and warned us about leaving the monsters to develop on their own.”
“You better make sure to level too.” Coop suggested as he backed away, catching up with the slow retreat of the alligator. “Don’t let anyone catch up!” He shouted over his shoulder. Jackson gulped as he received his assignment.
“All done?” Coop asked the gator once he was back by its side, but it simply continued retracing its steps. “Right.” Coop shrugged. “I suppose we’ll escort you back out.”