Land of the Blades

29. Adapt

Caster walked out and glared at the sky too for a few moments. Then she asked me if I could trace a telescope for her. As it wasn't a sword and I didn't remember even seeing one directly, I only managed to materialize a very simple one, more akin to what pirates and sailors had used in their golden era. That was enough for Caster, as she reached her conclusion after just one quick glance.

—That isn't a planet or a star —she said with a somber tone, almost afraid to end her sentence—... it is a meteor.

Caster ran to the interior of the school while Phos and I took a glance at the supposed meteor through the telescope. It had the distinct tail being projected against where the sun was, which make it look as if was traveling sideways, but that was a mere illusion. The iconic image of a meteorite with its tail straight behind will only happens once it starts to burn in the atmosphere.

We soon followed Caster and found that she had already informed the rest about what we have seen.

—A meteor? —Jade worriedly said.

—The last time a meteor passed near the planet, it brought a catastrophe —Euclase added, with a hand covering her mouth.

Adamant seemed lost in his thoughts.

—It is too much of a coincidence, this has to be influenced by Franny —Caster said—. I need to verify its trajectory, but it is very likely it will crash against the planet.

—If that happens, we will... —Dia started to say.

—No, you will be fine —Caster interrupted her—, I-I will put a spell to protect the school, and we will dig a tunnel for extra caution. You don't need to eat, so we can stay inside until it is all over.

She was very nervous, trying to make her hands stop shaking. Dia held them and made her look at her eyes.

—That sounds like a great plan, let's work all together.

Caster relaxed a bit, managed to smile a bit and nodded.

We started to work immediately, Caster assigned a team to build a proper telescope and get data about the movement of the meteor, and another to build the tunnel right in the center of the school, while she focused on getting the protection spell working. As Dia was her "master" she was asked to help her, even if that only meant holding her hand. Bort didn't look too pleased about it, but used her anger in productive ways, cutting pieces of the marble floor until she broke three swords.

By the morning everyone was completely exhausted, but he had reached the end of the marble, and we had gotten enough information to know the meteorite will hit the planet in two days. Moreover, Caster was able to discern exactly where it would fall, if it kept its trajectory, in a map drew based on the knowledge of Livy from the oceans.

—According to its size, speed, and the place where it will hit, we should be safe with the protective measures we are taking. The school will be hit by the shockwave, so everyone needs to be inside, and in the tunnel for extra caution. We can't underestimate Franny's attack.

We kept working on it, but I noticed Livy looked very worried and anxious, so I took a moment to ask her about it.

—I... I'm worried about my people. I swore to help you until I had repaid the crimes my liege committed, but they will not know about the meteor until it is too late. Maybe if I told them they would have enough time to run into the Deep Trench, they will surely be safe there.

—Livy, you have already done a lot to help us, you don't have any debt to repay —I said, petting her head—, you can go with your people whenever you want, I'm sorry if I never told you that. Go and warn them, watch over them, and come back to tell us everyone is fine after that. I might even go visit your land once this is over.