Spaceships and Magic, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Chapter 160: City Under The Mountain

We wound our way through a series of tunnels, going further and further down until eventually, we came to one of the walkways that I had seen from the banister. 

The city was a lot less impressive all close up and personal. 

Where Prespian City had been a place of sheer technological achievement, the city under the mountain looked like some kind of cobbled-together hodge podge of different technologies and building styles. 

It was as if there had never been a solid plan when they had been building the place, it was all just sort of thrown together as best as everyone could do. 

It spoke of a city that had been started off in the most desperate of times and had then just followed in that vein for the entirety of its construction, spiralling out further and further underground with a mix of anything that the occupants could get their hands on. 

<What's even stranger is the fact that I don't recognise any of this technology,>BB said in the back of my mind, <I have an encylopedic knowledge of almost all the technology in our galaxy, and while I can see some bits and pieces that might maybe use similar science, the tech itself is completely alien to me.>

That just backed up a theory that had been building up in my head. 

There was a chance that I had propelled us further than Yr'Arl had ever intended, farther than anyone in the Guard had ever gone before. 

Not further than any humans, though. 

<Wait, you don't think>BB gasped, or would have gasped if he had the ability to breathe. 

I did think. BB had finally reached the same conclusion that I had, I was surprised it had taken him so long. 

"Hey Dan, sorry, just one more question for you mate," I said, "This galaxy that we're in, not the planet or the system the actual galaxy, what's it called?"

Dan shot me yet another confused look. 

"It's the Milky Way, of course," He said with a shake of his head, as if I were some kind of crazy fool. 

I swallowed hard as my mouth went dry. 

I was back in the MilkyWay. 

Not my Milky Way of course, not the galaxy I had come from in my own universe, but a Milky Way. The Milky Way that the humans of this universe had originated in. 

My manna had brought me here for some reason, caused me to cross the gap between galaxies. Was it to find Dan? It seemed very suspicious that someone from my own universe just so happened to be on the one planet that I just so happened to crash land on. 

He had to be significant somehow. 

A pulse of concern from the predator in the direction of Yr'Arl shook me out of my spiralling thoughts. 

Yr'Arl may not have liked the predator very much, but at this point the creature might be the soul reason he survived this adventure. 

There was too much going on, too many things for my mind to keep track of. 

"Where are you taking us anyway, Dan? Healer better be close, I don't know how long my friend has left," I said, jogging slightly to catch up with the other human. 

The streets were empty. 

That was bugging me. 

Giant city like this the streets shouldn't have been empty, they should have been hustling and bustling with people no matter what time of the day it was. But it was dead empty and dead quiet. 

"Shut up, Jacob," Dan hissed at me, after being in a command position for the better part of a week I wasn't used to being spoken to in such a manner. "We're going to a healer, yes, but when we're in the barrows you need to shut the hell up, okay." 

It was only then that I noticed Dan had ducked down slightly and was walking a little bit quicker than he had been before. 

Something was definitely going on here, I just couldn't put my finger on what, and any investigating would have to wait until I was in a position that I could actually start figuring stuff out, which meant that Yr'Arl had to be safe and the predator had to be safely stashed away where no one would end up seeing it. 

I felt a little push of annoyance from the creature at that thought, but it had to be done. Besides, if I was going out to explore and investigate then who would keep Yr'Arl safe? Some doctor that I didn't know or trust? Not likely in the slightest. 

I felt a more content emotion come forth at that idea, it liked being able to protect someone that I cared for. Bodyguard duty was more than okay in the predator's mind. 

We rounded a final corner and I finally got to see the location that we were headed to. 

It was, like everything else in this city, a building grafted onto the side of another building. A small boxy place two stories tall, with a balcony on the second floor. Hanging off the side was an old rusty sign, it didn't have any words on it, but there was a picture of what looked like a round pill with two wrenches crossed over the centre. 

In any other setting, it would have looked like a nice summer home, if not for the sign, in this one it looked squarely out of place. 

We scampered across the street and over to the door of the building. Dan looked around shiftily before rapidly knocking on the wooden panelling. 

"Come on, come on," Dan muttered under his breath, shifting with uncertainty. 

Nothing happened for a few moments and Dan got more and more shifty. But then, from the depths of the building, I heard the clattering of feet on a stone floor. 

The door flung open and Dan entered as fast as he could, straight into a room so dark that I couldn't even see who had opened the door. 

The predator followed, leaving only me out in the open. 

I'd find out what was going on in this strange city under the mountain if it was the last thing I did.