Chapter 584: The First Pillar of Civilization
My mango trees were burning.
Half the mountain was burning, one of the endless wildfires dotting the landscape. A cursory look suggested some asshole Classer had dropped a [Firebomb] or something similar on our villa - it was nearly charred black, with burnt and blackened trees surrounding our home, followed by a ring of fire around it. Trees crackled and popped, sap boiling out and exploding, while flaming branches fell over, spreading the fire more. The enchantments I’d laid on my orchard had slowed the flames down - only sensible, given that I lived with Auri - but it was clear at a glance that the trees were beyond saving. They weren’t in the ‘edges of the trees are getting crispy’ phase, they were full-on ‘burning bush immolation’ phase.
As much as I loved them, as often as I’d enjoyed their tender, succulent fruits, they weren’t what was important right now.
“Bunker.” Iona and I said at the same time. Fenrir needed no encouragement, immediately diving down towards his burning lair. He unhinged his jaws and a mighty [Ice Beam] went through the inferno, the temperature plummeting to an uncomfortable degree.
Sentinel Skater whooped behind us and dove straight in, firing Icy blasts from her hands. Auri fluttered down as well, and while not quite as dramatic as the other two, she was remarkably effective. The moment she got near, the flames were simply snuffed out.
Fenrir pulled up near the concealed entrance to the bunker, and Iona and I fearlessly dove off. A suspicious rockslide had buried the entrance, and Iona swore as she started to grab rocks larger than she was, and simply hurled them away.
“Everyone’s alive.” I said, seeing them through [The World Around Me]. “They’re unhappy, but alive. Going in.”
I [Teleported] through the meters of rocks, appearing inside the bunker.
We’d dug it out over the years, and when it became clear that we wanted to also have a safe spot for Orthus village, we’d spent significant time and effort expanding it again and again and again, enough room for some 200 souls. It wasn’t comfortable room, to be sure. The bunk beds were four to a room, the sanitation was basically a line of holes over a single deep hole, the food was as basic as could be, Iona had to bend her neck to navigate the low hallways, the ventilation was questionable, and there was always the lingering question of ‘what do people DO while stuck in here’, but the point wasn’t comfort, the point was pure survival.