Azimuth: The Elden Throne

?Thank you all for the patience, I've taken a major rest and I'm done with it.

We'll be returning daily updates now and they'll likely remain as such for a while, I'll be warning you all in case something does happen.

In any case, enjoy!

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[Thank you for flying with us!]

/Catching!/

The front doors of the Orbital Craft opened, allowing air to flow outside.

"..."

'... It's hot.'

The golden rays of the sun fell down from the sky, causing him to squint his eyes momentarily as he took in the change in atmosphere.

The first thing Dale noticed as he took a step outside was the heat of the forest and the humidity in the air.

He understood now why his clothes were simpler than before and why his tuxedo had no sleeves…

It was at least fifteen degrees hotter on the outside than inside the craft.

This was what a tropical forest looked like… He should be thankful Summer already ended.

"Mr Houston, please follow me for now, I'll lead you to our driver." Mei said as she walked to a platform floating on the side of the Orbital Craft

Dale silently followed her with a nod, stepping on the platform.

/Fuom…/

The platform immediately lit up, moving slowly as it descended to the ground below.

Once it stopped, a path of neon blue lights that lit up on the ground, as if expecting their arrival.

It wasn't the only one as all around them, dozens of colorful neon paths illuminated the ground, creating a scene not much different from that of an old-style circuit board.

"This place… Is rather odd." He said out loud as he looked around

Instead of an airport, this place felt more like a military base, one that was heavily fortified.

Tall metallic walls with gigantic bolts pinning them down onto the earth.

Protective Pillons with dozens of drones flying in and outside of it… All armed with weaponry he couldn't even identify.

Soldiers, all clad in full-body exosuits as they held large black riffles, stood motionless as they gazed at the surroundings like sentry wards.

One of them, standing not too far from them next to the Orbital Craft, upon seeing Dale, raised his hand to his neck, and after he confirmed something, he went back to his usual activity.

Armored cars and trucks, heavy machinery stationed all around, and many hidden outside of view.

Dale even saw Tanks, of the ground and flying variety, including railgun stations and a very oppressive "Finger".

The Finger was the name given to a top-notch piece of Warfare technology, a stationary cannon that can shoot even the thoughtest of Warships from the sky, even satellites aren't too far off its range.

It is also the only technology that can shoot Warheads across Continental distances, it is considered a tool of National Security and it's not meant to be used in War at all.

Dale didn't expect to see such a weapon here… And it made him think…

Were there Nuclear Weapons hidden underneath him?...

Just the thought alone made a bead of sweat fall from his forehead.

Above all, given its size and shape, this was likely an experimental model a level or two above the ones currently displayed to the public, which wasn't odd.

Nations would rarely display their current Military technological development to the public, whatever they show is likely not what they're currently developing.

Unless they're performing a stunt.

But it raised the question of the reason for its existence...

"Is this even an airport?" Dale asked as he followed Mei

"Depends on who you ask." She replied as she stopped in front of a strange post reminiscent of a traffic light

/Shua!/

Red light shone onto them, scanning them, once it was over, the post shone with greenish light, permitting their passage.

"... If you are a government official with considerably high authority and access… Then this place is nothing but a Private Airport to crypto some magnet with some 'privileges' tied to it."

"While to us… This is the 'Entrance Point'." She said as she moved her right hand to the side

"Everything you see around you is fake, there are no establishments, and those buildings are not meant to be entered nor inhabited." Mei said as she pointed at the massive blocks around them

"After all, it doesn't even make much sense for such a massive airport to exist in such a remote place."

"They are just ruses, shells that house what this place is truly meant for… Even the sky you see is fake."

"What?..."

'Dale squinted his eyes as he looked above.'

'The heat of the sun, the movement of the clouds, the birds flying in the horizon, no matter how much he tried to look, everything looked perfect.'

'Yet, as he focused on the distant animals, he understood, there was no life to them, they were all…'

"Holograms, remember what I said before? All rules of this place lead to the protection of its existence, to maintain the state of secrecy." Mei said as she stopped next to a blue circle

"The sky is false because it is possible to determine our location based on the very topography around us and the positioning of the stars."

"... But that is better discussed later." She added as she looked at the blue circle on the ground

There were several such circles around them, Dale could even see other people around them waiting just like them in circles of various colors.

It seemed all neon paths eventually led here, this place seemed like some sort of hub.

It was highly fortified with dozens of soldiers standing around, including watchtowers and heavier machinery.

Even for Dale, without his equipment, he felt a bit threatened by them.

Well, it was bound for a full-powered railgun shot to hurt... Especially if it was followed by a full barrage of everything in his sight.

"..."

There were dozens of people waiting around those circles, some calm, others not as much.

But they were all silent.

Some looked at them for a moment before returning to what they were doing before, either murmuring with each other or closing their eyes as they waited their turn.

No one wished to cause trouble in this place...

However, Dale identified a strange feature about this place... Heard would be more accurate.

No matter how much he enhanced his senses, he couldn't hear what those people were talking about.

Despite only being a dozen or so meters from the closest circle, Dale could not hear their conversation.

It was as if the very air was muffled, and the faint whispers that did reach him were instead overshadowed by the sounds that bloated the background.

He never felt like this before, the closest to this he ever felt were the Spells he experienced as he trained under the tutelage of Qrubin.

/Crackle…/

/Shuuuu…/

Not long after they arrived, the neon blue circle lit up in faint white light before extinguishing.

Immediately after, the ground parted open and a floating car emerged from within, floating silently above a metallic platform that rose from the darkness.

It was a car very much like the one he saw before, but if he were to expand on that, he would say that… It looked bland.

It was a bland design compared to the super luxurious car he entered before, but it also looked 'beefier' if that made any sense.

It was closer to an Official State vehicle than anything.

And albeit faint, Dale heard the sounds of murmurs and machinery running deep within the hole echoing across what seemed to be a mile of metallic tubes and plates.

Cold air blew from within, together with a smell he couldn't quite figure out.

It seemed to be a mix of oil, metal, and other reagents, the kind of smell one would feel at a mechanic workshop…

'Just how deep is this hole? How big is this place even?' Dale thought with a frown as he looked at the car as the hole was covered once more by the blue circle

"Here it is, our driver."

"Please, our schedule is rather tight." Mei said as she stood next to the car

Its doors opened automatically, but there was no one inside.

It looked like their driver was but a computer program, another way to reduce the number of witnesses…

As such, without any complaints, Dale got inside the car.

/Close/

As the doors closed, Dale was welcomed by pure darkness and sensory deprivation, causing him some distress and discomfort.

He tried to enhance his vision, causing his eyes to turn red, but he saw nothing unusual.

It was just the interior of a luxurious car, the reason it was so dark was because the windows prevented all light from passing through.

And to some degree, even his senses were blocked from reaching the outside, heightening his confusion even further.

If he was back at Qrubin's tower, he would've accepted these strange events, but this wasn't the tower of an Archmage on a faraway continent, this was a hidden airport in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.

/Shunn…/

The car began to move, but that was the only thing he felt before his sense of direction washed away.

Soon enough, Dale couldn't even tell if they were moving anymore.

"This is… Rather strange." He said out loud as he rested his head on his chair

As he said that, the inside of the car was slowly illuminated with warm and soothing lights as charming Jazz began to play from a direction he couldn't quite tell.

All of this mix of technological wonders and tricks was causing him quite the stress, it made him wonder just how someone like Testros and Sarferato would fare if they were thrown into his situation…

Would they frown just like he did, or would they lose their composure as their warring instincts kicked in?

He was 100% sure a Karkavan would've burst one of the windows of the car by now...

"It is very uncomfortable but necessary. I don't think I need to tell you why."

"That you don't… But I don't quite understand yet why this place is so important in the first place. A secret base is one thing, but this goes well beyond it."

"Its existence alone makes no fundamental sense for a private organization to own it... Unless the Brazilian government is spending quite a bit of their annual GDP in here."

'Every single one of those military resources aren't cheap to manufacture, much less maintain...'

'Who does this place belong to?'

"Do I have to wait a bit more or can I get some answers as we wait?"

"... Given the circumstances, yes, you are entitled to some answers… But not from me, I don't have the authority…"

"But I do." Someone said from a seat right in front of Dale

"?!"

Momentarily startled, Dale watched in wonder as the lights flickered and a man seemingly manifested atop the previously empty set of stairs.

An old man with a sharp, serious gaze…

"Roger?"

'Did he... Wait all this time to appear?'

"The one and only, come on kid, you thought I would leave you hanging after everything I promised you?"

"It's time to cut some things off our to-do list." He said as a thin smile formed on his face

Indeed… It was time for answers!

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Notes

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