Crossing Worlds 09: Back to Aesperia

     Their return to Crimdalina was met with suspicion and glad tidings. Rhulan explained to Queen Thistle; as well as to Haki and his team that her power may very well have been interfering with the device; and that it may be in their best interest to simply take an air-ship. Hollia decided to hold her tongue on the whole truth, following Rhulan’s lead, afraid that the revelation of what happened could start a fight between her grandmother and Rhulan. Afraid not simply about igniting a battle between these two titans of magic, but also that her grandmother could with a word end her adventure and have her sent home. It is clear Queen Thistle suspected something else had occurred, yet despite this chose to not pursue the matter. Haki was extremely apologetic about his transporter not working; Queen Thistle and Rhulan agreed that it was best he not know Rhulan’s particular power was responsible for the malfunctions. All was arranged a ship was readied. The journey by air-ship was barely not worthy, traveling over the forests, Rhulan watching the world below with great interest; seeing from above how the land had changed. The forests, the lakes, the tip of the Archae Sea, all familiar; the new sights such as the Great Wall, the new kingdoms (their castles and towns barely peaking out of the dense foliage of the land. Days passed in this manner, as the air-ship flew about in a slow manner, the forests turned to mountains as the ship turned south, and then to desert. Rhulan questioned why they were not going down the coastline; the answer was that Diego city and the coastal cities have city charters to protect commerce forbidding direct air-ship travel; they would have to stop a good distance from the coast, the nearest air-ship port being Oasis City.

    ******

    Oasis City, not a massive city by any means, nor is it the small desert towns they had seen in the Sae-Kingdom and Magnus Empire. The land here from above was a strange sight indeed as the desert gave way to forests that surround a giant lake, the center of which seemed to be a blue mountain. On the ground, outside the air-port they get a closer look at the sea and the mountain of water spiraling up against gravity towards the sky, its slow current making a fat cone resembling a mountain as the peak stops inside a giant floating silver mechanical ring.

    “The Oasis Mountain,” says Rhulan.

    “Wow,” says Hollia standing beside looking up at it.

    “Your empire had some impressive technology,” says Gold Wolf.

    “That is not our tech,” says Rhulan.

    Gold Wolf smiles, “then it is precursor tech?”

    “No,” says Rhulan with a smile, “during the age of the Rhulan Empire scientists examined this device, our findings no doubt are common knowledge.”

    She looks at Hollia and smiles, “that device which we called The Goddess Ring, pulls the water from this lake, however it siphons the salt out at the base of the mountain of water so only fresh water reaches the ring. The ring stores the water in a sub-space container and once every three months expels out a massive cloud that rains down the water for a hundred miles around the lake. Hence despite the incredibly salty lake this area is an oasis.”

     “But,” says Hollia thinking about it, “Miss Rhulan, if it’s not Imperial tech or Precursor what is it?”

     “We,” says Rhulan, “called it Goddess Tech, best we can tell it came after the fall of the Precursor civilization, built by unknown forces, the gods and spirits tell us it was the goddess of this universe, but we have no way of confirming this…had no way of confirming this at any rate…any who…it is one of many wanders not unlike the Castle of Seasons and the Wedge that helps to maintain the environments of this world. A complex system of environmental control mechanisms. I am glad to see no one has thought to compromise this one like those fools in the Sae-Kingdom sought to compromise The Wedge.”

    “Anyway,” says Gold Wolf, “we’d better get to the hotel and contact Crimdalina to tell them we landed safely.”

    They walk away from the garden park like area near the edge of the Oasis Sea outside the air-port. Cata takes one last look at the water next to the raised sidewalk and railing separating them from the water seeing a bunch of tangled up Brine Kelp and a rather large cray fish like creature just under the surface eating on it, a creature known as a Brine Beast to the locals. A name she only learns a few hours later when at dinner one of them is being served to them with butter and biscuits.

   ******

       Many miles to the south a familiar face is resting against a rock, Scrags.

    “What are you doing?” comes a woman’s voice, followed by the pale thin, black gown wearing form of Sally appearing before him.

    “Sitting on a rock.” says Scrags.

   “No,” says Sally, “Why did you help them? Why are you not following them? I told you it was your destiny to…”

    “Shut up you crazy bitch,” says Scrags standing. He points at her, “I already said I’m not your champion. Honestly I don’t care about whose right or wrong between you and Rhulan. If you want some hero to be your champion why don’t you go and be all creepy and cryptic to someone who gives a damn. Instead of oh…I don’t know someone who isn’t an A-moral thief maybe? Hmm?”

    Sally lets out a loud *shreik*, but steps back as a blinding light engulfs Scrags.