156. Of journeys, jumps and a little bit of civilisation

Cassandra Pendragon

After last night's storm, the sun was burning mercilessly, it's glare reflected on the sea below. I was flying through an oven, heat and light a shimmering haze around me. I had to blink tears from my eyes every few seconds while sturdy leather straps chafed against the skin on my shoulders. Without my regeneration I would have turned into a hot mess of blisters long ago. Damn it, I had never wanted to find out how a pack donkey felt, especially not through an applied lesson.

When Ahri had returned, she had brought a bag of gold Xorlosh had given her, a makeshift harness for Pete and a few metres of straps, which we had used to bundle him up tightly. Now he was dangling below us, safe and sound, while we worked our butts off to haul him across creation as fast as possible and I couldn't even complain properly, since Ahri was suffering through the discomfort stoically. While I still thought that bringing Pete along had been the right call, my aching body begged to differ, emphatically enough to even drown out the gnawing fear that grew in my stomach with every second. What had happened to my family? Were they still alive? How would we find them? A plethora of questions I couldn't answer before we arrived in Free Land was continuously churning through my mind and a small part of me was grateful for the painful distraction the journey provided, even though I would have given my left hand to finally arrive.

"Tell me again, why can't we wait for the dwarfs? We could travel in comfort aboard one of the ships and we wouldn't lose more than a few days, a week, tops. Half of them are following us anyways while the rest heads towards your brother with the kids, aren't they," Pete inquired from below, his voice hardly audible over the whistling wind.

"Because we don't have a few days," Ahri called back exasperatedly. "Are you deaf or have you already forgotten what's happening? Besides you're not the one who has to carry a heavy human through the sky, so would you kindly stop your moaning? I'm not complaining either, even though I can still smell the mead on your breath, even from up here." Maybe she wasn't coping as well I had thought. Usually she was much more patient than me, but it seemed like the flight had robbed her of her tolerance for stupid questions. Quite understandable and Pete truly smelled like a tavern after closing hour.

"And who's fault is that?" He barked back. "I didn't want to leave without a bath and a bite to eat, either, so you can keep the attitude to yourself, missy."

"Missy? You do realise that I could simply drop you? We're, what, like 1000 metres above the ocean? It's a long way down… plenty of time to think about your mistakes and stupidity."

"Enough, you two," I interjected. "I don't need your bickering on top of everything else. Let's just get there as quickly as possible, shall we? And Pete, if you truly want to talk, why don't you tell us what we can expect, once we arrive?" He mumbled darkly under his breath but was careful to remain quiet enough that we couldn't make out what he was saying. I couldn't imagine that it was flattering, though.

"Alright, Free Land… well, has either one of you been to a city before?"

"I have," Ahri replied, with a brave attempt at sounding friendly. "When I made my way form the north, I passed through a handful of them but I never stayed for long."

"That's something, at least. Free Land isn't overly huge, by human standards. I'd say around 50000 people live in the city, give or take." I whistled through my teeth, I couldn't even begin to imagine how so many people could be penned up together. No wonder humans had a tendency to become greedy. With so many of them around, they'd have to fight tooth and nail for food and shelter. A cold shower ran down my spine when I imagined how it would have been like to grow up in a place like that. What rattled me the most: it probably wouldn't have been too different from my own childhood, in case I would have been lucky enough to be born into a noble family. For a commoner, though…

"And another couple of thousand live across the island, working, or rather being forced to work to provide the city with a modicum of resources, food and water. Most commodities are traded for, however, or simply taken from the neighbouring islands by force. Free Land has the most airships in the region and they use them to keep their neighbours weak and disorganised, one of the reasons why the pirates have some support among the islands. Most inhabitants would cheer at the prospect of them actually striking a significant blow against the city." He paused and when he continued I heard a shadow of regret or maybe pain in his voice.

"The city itself is…messy. Only profit matters, profits to the most powerful seven captains. Each of them commands a small fleet of airships and they are the most cruel and vindictive of the bunch. Consequentially, they are also the ones in charge. There's no real authority or organised force that keeps the streets safe, though, basically they live by the law of the jungle. If you're strong enough to do something, you can go right ahead, there won't be any consequences, unless you interfere with the business of one of the captains or your victim is strong enough to fight back. Slavery, murder, rape, you can name any one of the beautiful blossoms that grow from human society, they are all tolerated within the borders of Free Land. As you can imagine, if you're wealthy, the city can be paradise but if your poor, you're fucked, royally."

"I'm sorry," Ahri said quietly. "It sounds like a horrendous place to grow up in."

"I survived, that's more than most people can say," Pete replied, his tone conveying without a doubt that he didn't want to talk about the past. "Lucky for you, I still have some friends, or rather people who won't rat me out the moment I walk through the door. We can start there, a fey, a dragon, a kitsune and two elves are bound to have caused a ruckus if they were taken by anyone. What's troubling me is how to get the two of you in without the whole city knowing. You're about as inconspicuous as a flying whale and I don't see you getting through the gates without half the slave market following on your heels, eager to pick you up."

"That won't be a problem," Ahri answered. "I just need a little time and a place where we can put on a disguise. From what you said, I imagine it won't be too difficult to find an abandoned hut or something similar on the island, will it?"

"No, but I don't see how you're going to hide your tails. By now, the both of you have enough of them to fill up a room, you won't be able to hide them beneath a dress. But if you think you can manage, I'll trust you. In that case, we'll land close by and make our way to the city on foot. At least it's daytime and your wings won't light up the sky like an asteroid. If a few people see you, it won't matter too much, but if the wrong crowd gets wind of your arrival, it might turn out ugly. Especially if they're already waiting for us." "Why should they?" I asked.

"I hate to break it to you, darling, but if your family has been kidnapped, it stands to reason that they are expecting someone to come after them. Assuming you'd have just subdued a party of magical creatures, wouldn't you be on the look out for their friends? Or, if they were really drugged, who is to say that they didn't spill the beans and told their captors everything they want to know. I don't mean to agitate you further, but interrogation is an art form in Free Land."

I froze and dropped a handful of metres, causing Pete to swing below us wildly, sprouting colourful curses. Crap, I had never really thought about what might have happened to them if they were taken. Maybe I hadn't wanted to deal with the possibility but they would definitely have been questioned. Knowing them, I didn't think they'd break, no matter what was done to them, but…Silently I rose back up and increased my speed while a spike of icy fear spread from my stomach. By all the gods, I was such an idiot. What had I been expecting? I had to reach them, now.

Energy flooded from my core, an invisible wave that rushed through the sky and highlighted a path I could follow. Without thinking I wove a tight net of force around my companions and propelled them along the glittering stream. We turned into sparks of stardust, a streak of light that thundered through the sky faster than the eye could follow. Colours became blurry and the world trembled around me as if shaken by a giant hand, a maelstrom of power that gobbled us up. For an eternity we hung between one moment and the next, reality reduced to a folded tunnel. We raced through swirls of churning matter, passed by spots of darkness and light until we reached the end. With a thought I twisted the raging magic, ripped it apart so it would spit us out again. My wings flared brightly, tearing through the walls around us and from one moment to the next, we were hovering over a different part of the ocean, a huge island on the horizon.

A satisfied smirk crept across my face, even though I was panting heavily, until I heard the desperate cries of Pete. While I had managed to pull him and Ahri along, the contraption that had tethered him to us hadn't been so lucky. He was falling towards the ocean below, his arms flailing wildly while he cursed the day he had gotten involved with angels and demons. Before I could react, Ahri folded her wings and raced after him, a streak of crimson fire against the blue of the sky. She caught him quickly enough but instead of thanking her, his yammering intensified.

"What the fuck was that? How… why… you're both insane, you hear me? Insane!" He screamed while she beat her wings to reach me again. "I'm so done with all of that magical shit. I swear, everywhere I turn there's something crazy happening! You can teleport? How's that even possible? Why would you…"

"Will you shut up," Ahri interrupted him. "You're still in one piece, aren't you? At least sulk in silence." When she had come close to me again she added: "but I'd like to know as well, since when can you teleport on a whim? I thought you needed some kind of a connection to make a jump. And that felt much more violent than the last time you took me along for a ride."

"I don't really know… but I guess since I can now use my magic consciously I can forge a bridge of some kind… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tried with both of you tagging along. That was stupid."

"It worked, didn't it? But next time, a small warning would be very much appreciated."

"I didn't… it wasn't really on purpose. When I imagined what might be happening to our friends I panicked and I just wanted to get us there as quick as possible. I didn't know it'd work out like that."

"Great, that makes me feel so much better," Pete grumped. "In the future, could you please restrict your experiments to the more resilient variety of your friends? I only have one life to lose, you know?'

"I'm sorry, really. At least you don't disintegrate in the void, you should have seen how Erya looked when I took her along…"

"Again, that's supposed to make me feel any better? Just… Could you not try out your abilities for the first time when I'm around? That's all I'm asking."

"I can't promise," I smiled, "but I'll try. Now, could we get over my vices and return to my virtues? That's Free Land, isn't it?" He seemed on the verge of arguing but ultimately shook his head and turned around in Ahri's grasp.

"Yeah, home sweet home… it might have been one hell of a ride but it was fast, I'll give you that. Fast and suicidal… Since we are this close, can you tell if they are in the city or at least on the island?" I closed my eyes and focused on the glowing spark of energy within Viyara I could always feel burning at the edge of my perception. It was there, still subdued but much closer than before. I couldn't tell where she was exactly, but I'd have wagered one of my tails that she was on the island in front of us.

"She's there, I'm sure of it. I can't say for certain if she's in the city or somewhere else, but she's definitely on the island and still… unconscious? Or drugged."

"At least we know we're not on a wild goose chase. Can you find her if we get close enough?"

"Probably not. I might be able to tell when we're getting closer but I won't be able to pinpoint her exact location."

"Well then, we have to get to the city, even if they're kept somewhere else, we'll have to pick up the trail there. Do you see the forest close to the outskirts? If you fly high enough, you'll be able to get there unseen. And I'd very much appreciate it, if we could get moving. Beautiful as you are, Ahri, dangling from your shoulders like a sack of potatoes isn't the most comfortable experience in the world. And I'm still trying to keep my last meal down after your wife dragged us across the continent in the blink of an eye… So, for both our sakes, hurry up." She didn't reply but I saw a small smile play around the corners of her mouth as she shot upwards in a shower of crimson sparks. I followed hot on her tails, my attention wavering from the growing island in the east to her shapely behind from time to time. If I hadn't been worried sick, I might have enjoyed the view quite a bit.

We were too high to make out much detail as we crossed over the city but when I sent a trickle of power to my eyes, I could still discern the ragtag fashion in which the streets and windswept buildings sprawled away form the harbour which sat at the centre of the city like a spider in its web. Air ships in all shapes and sizes, from small barges, barely visible from the distance, to huge cruiser, which towered over the surrounding vessels, filled the landing stages with the colours of their sails and the thick, smoky swathes of their furnace. Throngs of humans streamed across the wooden walkways, which had been built along the cliff and protruded over the abyss to make room for the incomprehensible number of people, and even though I couldn't make out their faces, I spotted the fur covered bodies of several beast kin tribes interspersed through crowd. An amazing amount of booths lined the sturdy constructions, selling food, necessities and, form time to time, freshly arrived commodities form one of the ships. Luckily we were too far away for any smells or sounds to reach us, but the sight alone nearly made my eyes water, chaotic as it was. In a way it reminded me of a colourful, agitated anthill.

The harbour itself was nestled in between seven flat hills at the western edge of the island, the top of each crowned with an opulent mansion or maybe even a castle. Precious metals lined the roofs and shimmered under the bright sunlight, turning each palace into a softly glowing work of art. Luscious flower gardens with small, artificial creeks and gargantuan trees surrounded the buildings, providing a natural barricade against the turmoil of the city. At the edge of the grounds, immense walls circled around the perimeter, well hidden behind the living green of the gardens but an insurmountable obstacle for anyone who tried to gain entry from the outside.

Broad, dusty roads connected the manors and the harbour, dividing the city into 8 districts. Each one of them had a wide, open market place at the centre, beating hearts that kept the behemoth around them alive. Metals, scrolls, herbs, cloth, spices, woods, animals, slaves…. Everything under the sun was put on display and sold down there, without the slightest regard for anything but profit and I could imagine vividly how the sentient wares down there felt. It had to be hell.