After Gree, Phil and Nat managed to get past the military camp, they entered a very steep terrain, with several uneven zones where the vehicle had a hard time trying to overcome, but in the end, they managed to get back on track to enter Falladis through the commercial route, the next problem they faced was the sub-species of dragons that happened to often roam around that route, they were called ‘Wyverns’ as they presented a drastic change over time which made them evolved to be smaller and lose the front limbs, leaving the wings and lower limbs with sharp claws. “You know, it would be funny if we happened to get attacked by Wyverns in this god-forsaken route” –Gree pointed out while poking her head out of the window. “Thankfully those brave soldiers that we passed a couple of hours ago managed to hunt the majority of the Wyverns in the vicinity, they made a nice report and I happened to read it on our way there, heh.” –Gree added with a pretty satisfied and mug look.

“Sometimes I feel like you know every single one of their moves, you scare me Gree.” –Nat added with a worried expression on her face as if Gree was some sort of mind-reading monster. Phil simply sighed while driving through the commercial route, passing some interesting spots where Gree took a couple of pictures as if she was a tourist while the vehicle was on movement.

Phil kept driving for hours in order to get through the mountain range and reach the next customs point they were supposed to arrive at, but as soon as they arrived, the general structure of the place was splattered with what seemed to be a viscous black substance, on which Nat instantly flinched in disgust and Gree instantly got out of the car to take a sample and mess with Nat in the meantime. This is obviously the result of an attack made by the virus hordes, but the odd part of it is that there are no remnants of a fight. –Phil instantly addressed the situation while driving through the customs gate while Gree jumped into the back seat and Nat panicked when the sample got closer to her, jumping to the front seat as Gree remained in the back seats searching for something in their belongings.

“I certainly dislike this ooze splattered all around but it will serve as a nice reference point for some thingies I will be messing with.” –Gree mentioned while grabbing a device that resembled a modified monocle to then put the sample underneath the lens, to check it. “You guys might know this already but the zombies we fought with Sinns and this ooze might come from a similar hive, so we better skedaddle before whatever left this comes back.” –Gree suggested after taking a glimpse on the substance, sealing it in a test tube afterwards and placing the tube in a sort of cloth inside a briefcase.

“The only thing we need to focus on right now is to seek shelter in Casamira.” –Phil replied while turning left as the road bifurcated, following the map they had.

Casamira is a small village with a complex cavern system dug up through generations of miners, the selling price of the metals have dropped since the mine has been very rich on a wide variety of them. The village also has a special magnetic anomaly that causes trouble to certain satellites and some electronic devices; this is one of the reasons why the Falladis government have deployed a lower amount of defences to this town, despite the recent attack of the infected hordes.

“Gree are you sure it is a good idea to go to that village? It doesn’t seem like the safest place in the world.” –Nat asked while checking the map in an attempt to find other towns nearby.

“I actually chose it because it has many dwarves that know how to infuse materials with other’s magic, it is basically something to keep you busy while Phil and I laze around and do some tourism inside the caves.” –Gree snickered while putting away the briefcase. And maybe find interesting materials to upgrade our weapons with; we will be busy for the next month if things go well, I also have the funny feeling we need to get prepared for whatever happened to the customs building. –Gree thought while opening her laptop to check some information before entering the magnetic field of the village.

After the three of them drove closer to the village, they noticed there were some fortifications being built around it, the foundation of a large wall was already settled and many dwarves were working on it. Nat was marvelled since she hardly saw any other dwarves back in Argos and this was the first time she saw them work so diligently, feeling pretty proud while the car passed through one of the entrances of the village. “Well, it is true that Dwarves are very hard workers, but they are just doing their best to protect their home, mostly since it is only natural they might know what is lurking in the vicinity.” –Gree pointed out noticing Nat’s excitement.

“What is going to happen to this Village?” –Nat asked, forgetting what they saw in the customs building while sitting down properly once again.

“I presume they are building a wall around the town to avoid a possible horde of infected; the more prepared they are, the fewer casualties they will have, so it is a defence designed by someone who is expecting a battle.” –Phil explained while searching for an inn he could drive into, keeping his eyes open at everything in front of them.

“Wait but how do they know about that?” –Nat asked while turning to see Phil and switch her sight to Gree.

“Simple, there is just a super genius in the village who can also predict the future and alerted everyone about the incoming hordes” –Gree shrugged with a smug look on her face.

“Or maybe there were guards who survived the raid to the customs building and came to alert the village.” –Phil countered while finding the Inn and driving into their parking lot.

Gree talked to the Innkeeper and asked for 2 rooms while Phil and Nat began to unload their belongings, leaving most of Gree’s devices in the vehicle. “Nat, I know we just arrived but when we get to finish helping with everything, we will go to the local blacksmith, so prepare your equipment, because I will ask him to take you as an apprentice for a while” –Phil pointed out to Nat as they were accommodating the luggage. Nat nodded in excitement while getting the room ready for her and Gree.

“There are some suspicious individuals that were announced on the radio I recommend you to refrain yourselves from go out too much since they might be fugitives from the Delcyt government.” –The innkeeper mentioned to Gree while she was walking back to the rooms.

Ugh, the old bastard told me this on purpose. –Gree thought while sighing and turning back to the innkeeper, who was wearing a small smile while rubbing his thumb against his index and middle finger, denoting he wanted money in exchange for his silence. With a very annoyed face, Gree reached in her pocket and pulled out a couple of silver coins that made the innkeeper’s smile grow larger.

“Ahem, I hope you enjoy your stay in our humble village” –the innkeeper turned his grin into a more serious face while fake coughing, sliding the coins into a drawer behind the counter of the reception. Gree simply left the reception while stomping in annoyance, entering the room and finding Nat selecting her best tools to go with Phil to the blacksmith.

“What is it? You seem pretty serious so suddenly, Gree. Did the innkeeper try to grope you? I will crush his hands right away if that was the case!” -Nat exclaimed while grabbing her hammer and approaching the door.

“Nah, it’s okay, he is just an old fox, trying to get paid for his silence since he mentioned he heard about us through radio…radio, huh? So it actually works in here.” –Gree explained while slowly sinking into her thoughts in the middle of the conversation with Nat.

Nat simply sighed as she knew this typical behaviour of Gree, who normally begins to babble to herself after realizing something useful for her researches. “Alrighty Gree, Phil will carry me to the blacksmith, I will come back after I get to learn something worth showing you.” –Nat said while getting her tools and walking towards the door.

“Wait, are you going now? I have something I want you to carry for him as well, remember the thingy we used for the escape from the military camp? Well, I want him to make a proper casing for it, and if possible I would want it to-“ –Gree popped out of her trance after Nat opened the door but got suddenly interrupted by another sigh from Nat.

“Just come with us, it would be better if you tell him the details yourself because I will certainly forget.” –Nat countered Gree since she seemed to not have anything else to do.

Probably it would be good to do as she says, that way I could meet the person in charge and ask for guidance in the material-finding situation, plus Phil will be able to carry any possible guide in the vehicle. –Gree made up her mind and accepted to go with them, leaving the rooms somewhat organized and locked. Before they left the innkeeper grinned at Gree and she pulled her tongue as a way of childish disrespect towards him; Phil also noticed and looked towards the man over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes.

Once on the road, Nat noticed a couple of dwarves carrying a sort of rectangular box and Gree convinced Phil to pull over to them to ask for directions. “Hey Hey, yeah we are looking for the blacksmith of the town, and we wondered if you handsome guys knew about him.” –Gree asked the two dwarves in an attempt of catching their attention, which resulted successfully.

The two of them instantly noticed and let the box on the ground, waving and listening to Gree’s question. “Hey missy, we indeed know him, he is the head manager of the manufacturing company of Casamira. We were actually heading to deliver this package to the Village major; he ordered a large casing for a sort of weapon he designed to keep those pesky dead guys away from the town.” –The one who seemed to be the oldest of the dwarves greeted them while the next one was making sure the box was in good conditions after they let it down. “I’m Pascal, and this is Marco, we are currently simple workers from the company but we can take you to the boss.” –Pascal added while Marco waved at them.

“Oh, that would be great! We will help you move this big box and you will be able to show us the way to your boss!” –Nat replied to them almost instantly without letting Gree or Phil say a word, as they simply looked at her in surprise given her excitement.

After the three of them helped the Dwarves, they got information about the project and the vision of the Major. “There was an attack on the town 2 days ago but it was repelled after many people lost their lives, then the radio broadcast announced certain dangerous individuals crossing the borders and presenting a big threat to the nearby towns. So we all took part in the construction of defences to avoid another tragedy.” –Marco explained while they drove towards the building they normally work in, parking where required and walking towards the entrance while Nat took all her tools with her while following behind. Pascal looked at her dumbfounded, then shifting his sight towards Gree as she automatically shrugged.

The three of them got into the workshop where many humans and dwarves worked together to work on machines to manufacture pieces for something. A tall figure wearing a suit was standing in the middle of the workshop, talking with other workers who were wearing some sort of jumpsuit; Gree pointed at him and looked at Pascal who was nodding in response. “He is the founder of this place and the best blacksmith in Casamira, Lorenz Helmschied.” –Pascal pointed out as he turned to Phill and Gree while Lorenz looked towards the group with curiosity.