"I understand this is entirely a failure on my part, but somehow I hadn't realized the diversity of species that would be here," Laura said, her mouth nearly hanging open as we left the waiting room into one of the many Spire pathways.

"Yeah, it kind of got to me at first, too, just don't mention to them if they look like an Earth animal, they get really offended by that," Maud said cheerfully as a message window popped up.

Gamma: How? Why did the experience window come up so quickly? What did we miss?

Corey: Mel joined us for the battle. Apparently, he is quite the capable warrior and ended the battle with a single blow.

Dave: Sorry guys, next time I'll make sure you get some training. If we end up going dungeon raiding, I'm sure there will be plenty of mana beasts in your future.

Corey: I wish to discuss that idea in more detail before we actually start down the road. We need to find a way to convince the cores to surrender.

Dave: Entirely agree, and yes, we can have a giant planning session on that exact topic.

Corey: Thank you.

Beta: I really wanted to use my mana orb.

Maud: Awww, it will be okay, Beta, I'm sure the Empire will need you soon. :)

I closed the chat window, not really knowing what to say to that. I didn't like disappointing the dungeon cores, but at the same time, I was glad for the lack of a hard-fought battle to the death. It made for a much less stressful day, and with what we still needed to do, that was a welcome change.

"Hey, do you actually need us all for this, or can we catch up with you later? Cecile and I want to try to get some information about our home while we're here," Elicec said as we passed through an indoor courtyard. It had been designed to simulate a natural environment, similar to a rainforest on Earth.

"Yeah, that's fine, just don't do anything stupid, and meet us back in the waiting room," Pryte replied.

"I'll take care of 'em, but I won't be back in the waiting room. I've got some shit to take care of myself. Don't worry, I'll meet y'all back home as soon as I'm done, I promise. There are just some people that need ta know about the tree," Mel said, his face and color looking guilty at leaving us.

"Hey, don't be gone too long, we need your angry face to keep us motivated," I said, smiling at the man.

I suspected I knew some of what he had to do, and I had zero intention of trying to stop him. If those trees were now as rare as he said, that meant there were others of his kind who likely needed access to the only one we had. That likely meant more refugees in the city, but I couldn't turn my back on Mel's people after everything he had already done. We'd cross that bridge when we got to it.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, don't ya worry. Earth is the only real home I've got these days," Mel said, a hint of despair accompanied his words. Without any more goodbyes, he led the brothers off down a different path as we continued on ours.

"Any idea where Mel is heading off to?" I asked Pryte.

"Not for certain, but I could place some likely guesses. I had a feeling he'd eventually want to find some of his people after the cloud tree prize. That's a hard-to-quantify asset we have," he answered, as he turned and looked at all the trees around us. "As far as I know, there isn't even another one in the Spire anywhere, and there are some extremely rare trees here."

"I'm surprised Cecile isn't trying to grab any seeds then," I replied, picturing him trying to replicate anything like this back home. The greenhouse he would need to pull it off would be colossal.

"Oh, he did, I spotted him grabbing several seed pods and acorns. Once he truly has his full gardens up and going, it's going to be something to see," Elody added.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Were we just going to have to terraform a whole planet for Cecile to build a nature preserve on? Actually, now that I thought about it, we'd likely need to start figuring out which planets would be easiest for things like that. With chaotic space working by essentially eating our universe, the further we are able to spread out a network to detect it, and quicker transport would make handling the issue far easier in the future. That was assuming, of course, we were strong enough to fight back the monsters waiting for us at such tears.

"Dave, we've talked a lot about the immediate solutions that need to happen, but what really is the future of the human race amongst all of this?" Laura asked, opening her arms wide as she gestured to the multitude of species wandering nearby.

Ignoring that some of the people here were humans from their own universes, I considered what she actually meant. "That's a hard question. Pryte and I have discussed it a few times, and every time we do, things have already rapidly shifted from our earlier predictions. The future is malleable. But I'm going to do my best to make sure Earth survives to see it," I replied. Whether I was up to the task, I had no idea, but she didn't need to hear that part.

"I just wish I could be around in a hundred years to see where this all goes." Laura's voice had a hint of sadness to it.

"Oh, you probably will be. If you're worried about your natural lifespan, remember how Dave looked before all of this. At least in that regard, he isn't a unique case," Pryte replied, causing yet another stunned look to cross Laura's face.

"Hey, is that the place?" Connie asked, ending the current topic of conversation and saving Laura from further laments on her age. Personally, I thought she looked nearly as young as when we had first met. However, that was probably tied to what remained of the spark between us. The earliest memories were still some of my favorites.

"Sure is, Tomthy probably isn't there just yet, but we may as well grab a table," Pryte answered as we made our way out from under the trees into the corridors that housed the many shops of the Spire.

"Hmm, aren't you the ones with the new faction that pulled off such an impressive victory against Pachydresti?" a voice called from a nearby table as we passed it.

I turned, catching sight of the man who asked it. Was he human? He certainly looked it, though his features were a bit sharper than you'd expect on people from Earth. His style of dress reminded me of a banker from the nineteen-fifties, and accompanying it was a sort of half smile that I wasn't entirely sure how to interpret. It seemed that meant that my improved perception could only take me so far.

What I did catch, though, was that he had been sitting alone at a table. There was no food or drink in sight. Had he just been waiting here for us?

"We are. I'm Dave," I said, reaching out my hand in an offered handshake. I may as well be polite. I figured the more allies we could drum up, the better.

"Well met, I'm Ghalad, a prince of the Praetor Dynasty," the man replied. He did not return my handshake.

"You're really leaving us, Mel?" Cecile asked, echoing Elicec's unspoken thoughts on the matter. Mel had been one of the few people who had really helped them when they were starting out. And while they had been separated before, during their trip to Earth with Dave for the first time, he still didn't like the idea of losing the man.

"I ain't leaving ya idiots forever. I've just got a lot of shit I need ta get started on. Things have changed more than I'd ever thought possible when we first met, and well, that means I've gotta act on it," the cloud man replied.

"Where are you going then?" Elicec asked, not expecting a full answer.

"Too a couple of the many places I've called home since the first one fell. There's people who need ta know about the tree. It might not be too late ta get some of the young exposed ta it, and that's all I'm saying fer now!" Mel answered gruffly.

"Fine, don't tell us, but you better come back. After what you just did on the last floor, well, I've got a lot to learn from you!" Elicec gave Mel back the same tone he had just received.

"Hah, ya bet yer ass I'll be back. Now get yer asses going. That building over there should have any mail if ya somehow have some, but they should be able ta get ya any news too," Mel said, slapping the Twinoges on the back before floating away, without a single goodbye.

"I hope he's not gone for too long," Cecile said as they entered the building.

"I doubt he will be. He can't stay away from the kind of chaos Dave pulls behind him. Even if he claims to hate it, that man is having the time of his life," Elicec replied as one of the clerks motioned them forward.

"How can I help you two?" a large mantoid asked.

"Just wondering if there's any news from our homeworld. It's pretty unlikely, but we figured we'd check while we were here. We're from Erkinmushave," Elicec replied.

The Clerk started fiddling with something behind the counter that Elicec couldn't see, and after a few seconds looked back up at them, raised an arm, and gave them a quick scan. "Ah, good, Cecile and Elicec. We do actually have a letter for you. As for news, there hasn't been anything public about your homeworld, though how a letter managed to get here from your parents without something happening seems odd. I didn't think Wrenderling Dwarves let their holdings participate in off-world communication. But none of my business, I suppose, here you go." The clerk passed over a dark brown piece of leather that had been folded over itself several times.

"Thank you," Elicec said, not sure what else to say. How had his parents gotten them a letter? Considering Cecile's silence, Elicec was sure his brother was just as confused. But as much as he may want to read it, that was going to wait until they were back on Earth. He didn't need prying eyes trying to get a glance at it. Their walk back to the waiting room was an unusual silence for both of them.

One of the wonders housed within the Spire are the gardens. Each floor has its own garden, and the higher you go, the more spectacular they get. Countless extinct plant life thrives deep in these lush courtyards. What amazing sights could be hidden on the restricted floors?

A Visitor's Guide to the Spiral Tower by Greg.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.