More than twenty minutes later, Ryan saw another Vertibird helicopter approaching from the distance. Knight emerged from the rooftop entrance with the beryllium oscillator in hand.
As soon as the task was complete, Ryan used BB Boy to call the academy for teleportation.
After returning, Ryan chatted with others at the academy and found out why Knight had been so quick this time—he had skillfully used rune stones for the slow-fall and levitation spells. While descending the building, he used the slow-fall rune to jump directly to the first floor, thereby avoiding the security robots. After retrieving the object, he used levitation to cling to the patio wall and scale back up to the rooftop.
Knight's mastery of available resources had earned him the reputation of being the strongest adventurer in the wasteland. Ryan realized he had learned a great deal just from watching this.
After placing the beryllium oscillator into the institute's reactor, the energy crisis plaguing the organization was finally resolved. Everyone soon gathered to plan their next move.
"I still believe we should minimize casualties," Knight stated. "Even though the Railroad has made mistakes, they've been working tirelessly to eliminate looters and mutant bandits. Their efforts have helped preserve some level of order in the wasteland. They're certainly no worse than the old Academy. They deserve a chance."
This came after Desdemona suggested infiltrating the Brotherhood of Steel's airship and blowing it—and their entire headquarters—into oblivion. Knight wasn't on board with such an aggressive approach.
"How is that even feasible? This is war. Mercy won't earn us kindness," Desdemona replied.
"No, Knight's suggestion actually has merit," Ryan said after considering both arguments.
"You're a wizard, Ryan. Surely you have alternatives," Knight added, eyes lighting up.
"I do have a method that could minimize bloodshed, but only if someone can get me close enough."
The room went quiet as everyone thought deeply. Finally, Desdemona spoke: "How much space do you need?"
"A space of five meters in length, width, and height will suffice. But it must be close to the Brotherhood's airport headquarters. My magic has a range of 200 meters. So the area must cover all Brotherhood personnel in the vicinity."
"Give me three days," Desdemona promised. She teleported back to Tim Hortans to prepare.
The next three days brought an uneasy calm. Rather than launching an assault, the Brotherhood of Steel tightened defenses around their base, pulling in large numbers of patrols. Their withdrawal even forced local militias to occupy several abandoned outposts to fend off monsters and bandits.
As the third day ended, Ryan completed carving the final slab of purified stone from the center of the Glowing Sea—brought by a mutant militia team. Just then, Desdemona and Knight arrived at the Sanctuary Hills fortress.
"We're ready. When do we begin?" Desdemona asked eagerly.
"Tonight. Bring only trusted people. If everything works, there will be little to no fighting. Secrecy and swift evacuation will be crucial if anything goes wrong," Ryan responded as he placed the carved slab into his instrument and stood up.
By eight o'clock, three teams—twenty strong—assembled in the academy's teleportation chamber and were teleported to a street near the airport.
"The Brotherhood cleared this area of mutants and zombies. We've established a safe house nearby," Desdemona explained. "I agree with Knight—regardless of past grievances, the Brotherhood has contributed to the Federation. Let's avoid needless bloodshed."
After a ten-minute walk, they reached the safe house—a pre-war residence. From the third-floor window, they had a direct view of the Brotherhood's giant robot and airship.
"This location is exactly two hundred meters from the airport," Desdemona said. "We spent three days digging a tunnel leading there. At the end, we built a basement to your specifications. Using your rune stones, we ensured the Brotherhood didn't notice."
Apparently, Tim Hortans had quite the knack for tunneling. Ryan chuckled to himself, realizing that even with ample magic, he probably couldn't have crafted such a clean passage.
In the bathroom on the first floor, Ryan found the tunnel entrance: a manhole-sized hole with an iron ladder descending into the earth.
Climbing down, he found the tunnel narrow—1.5 meters wide and just over 1.6 meters tall. Most adults would have to stoop. Thankfully, being twelve, Ryan moved easily through the space.
Ten dark, stuffy minutes later, Ryan arrived at the basement—exactly to his requested dimensions. Metal and wood supports lined the walls and ceiling.
"The old airport's terminal is right above us," said a female Tim Hortans agent. "We didn't dig further to avoid detection by the Brotherhood's tower and sentries."
"This is better than I expected. It'll work," Ryan nodded. He began pulling the carved slabs from his instrument, stacking them carefully.
He constructed a double-layered altar, two meters in diameter and thirty centimeters high. The stones were purified Glowing Sea fragments. Ryan had once offered food coupons to anyone who brought rare items to the militia headquarters. A mutant team ventured into the Glowing Sea—a radiation-blasted zone no one else dared enter—and retrieved many odd materials.
Among them were stones from the nuclear explosion's epicenter. Upon purification, Ryan realized they were ideal for magic. He had the mutants gather more and began shaping and carving them. After etching runes into their surfaces, he filled the grooves with a molten gold-silver mix and polished them to smoothness.
These slabs now formed Ryan's portable altar—far superior to makeshift ones from before.
With everything in place, Ryan turned to the Tim Hortans agent beside him.
"I'll rest for now. The ritual will be more effective late into the night."
He unrolled his sleeping bag and lay down, knowing that when the time came, every second would count.
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