Chapter 25 - The Great Extinction

"I'm sure all of you must be hungry. I doubt that you were able to pack food while being chased by hundreds of guards. Let us eat." Offered Commander Alia as she gestured to a few Calidum Lutum Guards to bring food here, speaking their own language. With the little invasion plan put behind them, food would be the most polite thing to offer.

Mogranius had an instant reaction the second he heard the word "Food". He spoke up in a sort of loud way "Food?!. Finally. We have been eating plants and nuts for the past TWO days. I need freshly cooked, delicious meat!"

Meat. A rather hard to get food. Even the hunters who don't live in Lan Zhe, have it hard and it can possibly be dangerous with more WildBoars than people roaming in Ignis. "It is the most difficult to gather food while avoiding being seen. As ten foot people, my men can not hunt animals without being noticed quite a while away, furthermore we can't leave Lan Zhe often or it would attract many people here." Reasonable! But it is still a bit cut in their food supply considering that these 10 foot tall people could wrestle Source Bears.

Considering their disadvantages, Eric can't figure out how exactly these people kept a steady food supply if they remained in hiding. But he put his social anxiety aside for a bit and  dared to ask her about it. "Perhaps our gang can help you out with that situation. But may I ask, how did this entire town have a steady food supply if all of you remained in hiding. Hunting seems a bit impossible. So how did you have a steady food supply?"

To this at least, she could reply with pride. A big smile on her face formed and she even rose up on her toes in enthusiasm. As if it was the light in her eyes! "Our indoor farm! We have a big one." But sadly, her enthusiasm met an end when she recalled the farm's current condition. "Sadly, our food is barely half way through from growing and our supply from last year is almost at its end." After finishing that sentence, she continued with a calming matter. "But let's not worry about that now. Now we shall eat."

After finishing her sentence, a guard approached with what seemed to be a two foot long and wide bucket of food. It had a lot of vegetables in them. Melons, water melons, bread too, cabbages, etc. The bucket also carried a few fruits that are growable deep underground, such as gr.a.p.es and oranges.

Eric's tongue drops down after seeing so much taste filled food but his curiosity  at this point is greater than hunger. He asks, "You were able to grow all of this underground? You said you were short on food!"

Not used of the Ignites eating habits, wearing a perplexed look on her face, she answered. "We did and we are. This bucket who could feed four of you heavily, can only barely feed one guard for a week."

The gang didn't exactly have the chance to count how many people are there, basing it only on how many people they saw, Stefan noticed one key fact. "Well in that case your farms must be miles long." And they might be. It would sure take a lot to feed this many people year round!

Commander alia proudly answers. "They are. Each farm is a mile long. Except for the fruit farms. They are half a mile long, each." This doesn't exactly make sense. How many farms could there be? And how wide are they exactly? Because if one farm is ten meters wide but stretches a mile, it can't really provide enough for this town.

Woldemir being a farmer himself for quite over a decade, insisted. "You have to give us a tour later."

But before Commander Alia was able to say a word, they were hearing Mogranius doing a..rather shameful act. Not shameful as in running around n.a.k.e.d. But still shameful. Mogranius didn't seem to mind that there was no meat. As the vegetables and fruits seemed just as fulfilling for a dry empty stomach! A second before anyone said anything or even managed to reach out for food, Mogranius already made his way to the Bucket and was already... flirting with the bucket. Yes, with the Bucket!

"You are a beautiful food filled Bucket aren't you. Oh yes you are. Oh yes. "After that he proceeded to chuck down as much food as humanly possible and ended up eating half of what the bucket offered before anyone even reached out for the food. He then was laying on his back with his belly fat and big, saying under his breath. "Now that's a meal..."

Commander Alia after witnessing such animal like eating, she had the urge to ask a question. But it came out as a joke. "He has a big appetite, that's for sure. But yet he doesn't seem overweight. I wonder if Akareas put him on a diet."

Mogranius replied under his breath as he raised his finger on the air to grab attention. "Yes. I was not aboard with her plan though."

Eric follows up as he got shocked simply because Commander Alia mentioned the name "Akareas". "You know Akareas?"

Commander Alia shakes her head from left to right, which of course signifies that she doesn't. "No no. personally I did not meet her. But the Guards talk about the great Extinction a lot."

Stefan follows up while chewing down on some wheat bread and boiled potatoes. "The great extinction you say? Are you talking about the Blue Goblins?"

Happy that these Ignites know about such rare to come upon knowledge, her entire face smiled as she repeated. "Yes Yes." Afterwards continuing. "Like my men, the Blue Goblins were Lava Controllers. But unlike my men, they didn't plan to burn everything to the ground. Sparing no one, including children!"

Eric follows up in disgust but he did not stop eating of course. He was too hungry to be dramatic. He asks, "In that case I'm glad they are gone! Less work for me. But how does Akareas connect to this."

A second after they saw Mogranius standing near the edge of the Volcano, looking down at the lava. As if he wanted to look more attractive. Which kind of worked. But yet again no one saw him stand up and walk his way there. Perhaps he used the invisibility spell because of the Volcano providing little or no smoke. "It's where Akareas discovered her powers. As a fan of nature she was just happily running across a field, Only sixteen years old. A hole suddenly caused by the blue goblins made her slide and tumble all the way down to their underground town. Which was quite a few miles down."

Commander Alia decided to add a few words of her own towards this topic. "Indeed it was a few miles. It is a miracle how she survived. But it's good that she did. Legend has it that she tumbled down a day before the Blue Goblins were about to burn everything to the ground."

Then Mogranius was suddenly a foot apart from Commander Alia, staring directly at her eyes with strong seriousness, and slowly said.

"I'm telling the story." After that he walked his way to the edge of the Volcano again and continued. "Yes it was one day before the invasion. A Blue Goblin who opposed her own kind's plans, rescued Akareas and got her back on her feet in no time. But once the Blue Goblin King discovered that his own kind aided a non Blue Goblin, he executed the one who rescued her. Dumped her down on Lava!"

Relating to his past experience. Eric asked. "That's what triggered her powers? right?"

"No. It was something else. The Goblin King was ten foot tall while his troops were five foot each. He saw it fair to duel Akareas one on one. After throwing her a vicious beating, Akareas discovered her powers out of desperation. Without an outburst that is. She started controlling lava. Putting an end to a five thousand people civilization."