There was a ton of activity happening all around the visiting JTF party members, though it did not appear organized. Regardless of the situation Travis knew he had to dig into his journal, he couldn't leave a potential rise in power on the table. At the very least he had gone up one level but didn't know if there were new missions, skills or something else. Now that they were being attacked, he wasn't sure if there would ever be time to complete his missions. He wanted to check those first just in case.

  Looking at the mission's page Travis was a little apprehensive. The Lich did not seem super tough in their first encounter, but he was hard to kill. If he had some kind of massive upgrade, he might be close to unkillable. What did Clyde say about these types of situations? Something about how they are classified as boss fights and in almost every game even if a "last guy" type seemed impossible to beat there would always be some type of weakness or gimmick to put him down. That information would not stray far from his thoughts if it came down to a tough fight.

  He also supposed if he did well here then he would complete the first mission. That would get him an infusion of gold which might go a long way to helping make some headway in this stronghold. That's right, he had resolved to try and integrate this place into his faction. Not that he didn't think its current leader did not deserve it but by now Travis understood that he was tasked with glorious purpose. Okay he had seen that movie, and he loved that line from Loki. For real though if there was going to be world ending threats, he would be at the center of them, and this place would go a long way to making himself and the other good people of the world stronger.

  There was just a level of trust he had in himself dealing with crisis that was absence in others.

  Let's take a look at the skills page next, see what's new, he thought.

  There were certainly some growing pains, but he was past the point where these growths in power shocked him. Seeing the threats people faced and knowing that humans themselves could be worse than the monsters sometimes. There was no time for sentimentality and philosophy. It was go time, every single one of these upgrades would assist him in saving as many people as possible. While also attempting to grow something offering a more stable environment for future generations.

  Omar had humanized him to the plight of young people. When he first refused those families into this base the cool hard truth of it gave comfort that it was the right decision. Yet now whenever he thought about it there was a strong twinge of guilt at the life, he may have forced them into. He had fully accepted the role of the hero; Clyde had subtly been working it into his mind that his path leaded in that direction and he was correct. He was the main character, he had immense advantages that others did not.

  The death toll that this mage academy "master" had so casually stated shocked the system. The US invaded two countries because 3000 people died on 9/11, now millions of not billions of people were being snuffed out and it was in service to some sick game. Torak may be onto something after all, well not entirely. Where the werewolf mage was desperate to learn how he had come to be, Travis wanted to know who it was that brought him and others into existence. Find who created Torak and he would know who killed so many of his species.

  Saying species in his head might make one think that aliens were the main culprit, but whoever it was could not be a human, even if biologically they were.

  --

  Clyde walked into the room and saw Travis in deep thought with his journal out. He would have loved to give the man time with his thoughts, but things were happening fast.

  “Major, there is talk of a council of war. I think you should be there.”

  Travis broke from his contemplation and smiled wanly at his friend, “But do they think that?”

  “Probably not. You know how men in positions of power are. They do not want to share it until it's too late, and then they want to spread the blame. I do not know if that is how the people in control here are, but it would not surprise me. It was like that at my college in ways, and I know you said it was in the army too.”

  As they were talking, Patrick knocked on the door. He came in and looked a little annoyed. Travis could sense through his aura that he was jealous. They were about to find out why.

  “My master has requested your presence at the war council meeting being held on the 6th floor.” He didn't have any scorn for the two men he was telling necessarily; he just thought he should be there as well. What Travis said next did give him scorn for Clyde.

  Travis got up and started walking to the door, “Come on, Clyde.”

  Patrick looked at him, “The invite is just for you.”

  “I understand, but Clyde is my magical advisor, and I would not feel comfortable attending without him.”

  There was not much the man could say. He wasn't a complete tool to deny Travis entry for this. He merely motioned for them to follow him, and they walked towards the elevator. “We will use the elevator due to the sensitive nature of your audience.”

  Once the door closed and they headed up, Travis asked the man if he had any news, but Patrick seemed to be tight-lipped. Oh well, he would find out everything he needed soon enough.

  The door opened to the 6th floor, and they walked out. This area was much the same as the others he had seen, except there were not nearly as many people walking around. The doors were closed to the rooms he walked past, and they made the way down the hall in silence.

  At the end of the hallway stood two large men in the same black uniforms, if you could call it that, of the other soldiers they had seen. Except these two had large SWAT team-like riot shields. They also carried sheathed swords. They had faces of quiet professionalism, and Travis figured these were some sort of bodyguard unit. They were pretty impressive if he was honest.

  Patrick moved forward and told the men who he was bringing. They nodded at him, and he turned to leave. Travis and Clyde thanked him then stood at the door. One of the guards spoke, “Before you enter, you will have to leave your weapons with us.”

  Travis thought about it for a second but understood why they would be cautious; no one knew him. He put his weapons in his infinite bag, as did Clyde, and they handed it to the guards. At the last second, Travis did think about trying something, though. You could never be too careful.

  He pulled his gun from the holster and looked at them, “Obviously, this doesn't work, and it was a gift from my wife before, well, you know. I don't put it down. It's not a problem, right?”

  They looked at each other, but what was the harm in letting the man hold onto a gun that didn't shoot. It would be like giving a car that didn't drive to a man with no license; they nodded and opened the door.

  Upon walking in, the strange mix of times and cultures struck them again. There was a modern conference table in the middle of the room with modern office chairs around them. Except inside, the men and women were dressed nothing like modern office workers. There was also a huge parchment map of the grounds and surrounding areas hanging on the wall straight ahead.

  No one paid much mind to the two as they walked in, that was until Master Pavel came over and shook their hands. He greeted them warmly as if they were long lost friends and turned around to what had become a pretty quiet room all of a sudden. Apparently, this mage held sway.