Chapter 8: The Wanderlust

Curt Dreithart had to sign in at the Chief's office before he made the trip up to Agremonth. It was the early hours of the morning now; Curt usually took the night shifts guarding the castle, because he didn't have anywhere else to be. He'd only moved into his own house a few months ago, and he wasn't living with anybody. Waking up at dark o'clock had been a difficult transition for him to make, but that whole stage appeared to be over – he woke up and got out of bed quickly, had two cups of canephor to help wake him up, and was out the door feeling pretty spry. It had rained the other night and the town of Zamasea was humid and hot, but it was still dark, so it was bearable.
He was surprised to see that Chief Decan was actually in his office today. “Early morning, Chief?” asked Curt.
Decan sighed. “Late night, actually. I have to handle all the Icelus business, on top of the festival.”
“What's the problem there?”
“There's just not enough people volunteering to do security this time around,” sighed Decan. “I've had to pick up a few shifts at Agremonth myself. I tell you what, Curt, if there were more people who jumped up to help like you, we'd be better off.”
Curt sheepishly smiled. “I just do what I can, sir.” He crossed the room to the sign-in board and his eyes followed down to the bottom. He almost leaped back in shock when he saw whose shift he was going to be taking over. “Bairdsley?” Curt turned to the Chief. “Since when does Bairdsley help out with anything?”
Decan shrugged. “Once word got out that we'd caught Icelus, we had a couple new volunteers for guard duty. My problem is, they all stopped after one shift and nobody wants to help with the festival. Now if Remont would volunteer for that, that would be a big help to me.”
Curt huffed before taking the quill and signing his name. “Figures,” he said. “He only tries to help when there's something new or exciting for him.”
“Oh, I wouldn't be too hard on him,” Decan said without looking up at his paperwork. “He had a lot of responsibility put on him at a young age. And it's not like we can make anyone volunteer.”
Curt shook his head. “I suppose so,” he said. “Anyway, Chief, good luck with your work.”
“I'll need it,” said Decan. “Go on and give Remont a break.”
It was lighter outside when Curt emerged so he started to hurry down the winding country road to Agremonth. It must have been nice, he thought, to be Remont and have the money and ingenuity to build a sphere-cycle or an airship so that you could take off any which way without a care in the world.
Curt noticed the Bairdsley estate, perched at the top of a hill a mile or so off, and couldn't help but glare at it.
The trip would have taken forty-five minutes, but Curt found himself kicking a stone all the way up the trail and that probably cost him a good fifteen minutes. The sun was dawning when he finally arrived at the entrance to Agremonth, and even then he still had to make it through the castle, which was always eerie and quiet in the morning.
But he got there alright; the dungeon was a pretty straightforward walk through a few halls and then down a stairwell.
“Bairdsley,” Curt called out. “You there?”
No answer. He was probably asleep, the irresponsible git.
Curt cast his gaze around and didn't see a single living soul. Maybe Bairdsley was in the cell area?
“Bairdsley!” Curt hollered after opening the door. “You there?”
Still nothing. Curt furrowed his brow and walked along the rows of cells, casting light into each one. He didn't know for sure which one Icelus was in, but... she had to be here. Right? Where the hell was Bairdsley?
“Icelus!” he shouted. “Are you here? Answer me!”
He just got closer and closer to the end, to the last cell, and still nothing. Curt closed his eyes as he got closer and silently hoped he would see Icelus there, slumped against the wall, looking at him.
He opened his eyes.
She wasn't.
A chill ran through Curt's spine; he knew he had to go back immediately and tell Decan. The town was an hour's walk away and he had just gotten here, but it didn't matter. This was important – no, vital. If Icelus was out, there was no telling what damage might be done...
Remont Bairdsley is going to have a lot to answer for, he thought as he took off running.

Marc was still staring at the portal that had been opened in his room. Behind it was Icelus – it had only been two or three days since he had last seen her and it felt almost like he was looking at an old friend.
“Marc,” she said. “I need your help.”
Remont popped into view from the left side. That might have shocked Marc even more than seeing Icelus. “Yeah,” said Remont, “we're all here too and we also need your help. Just so you know.”
Marc's mouth was agape. “Oh my g- what?” he stuttered out.
“Aaaaand you need to make a decision fast, too,” Remont said, pointing to the edges of the hole, “this thing's gonna close soon.”
“I...” Marc pointed back to his kitchen, “haven't... fed the fish...”
“Marc!” Icelus shouted, “you and those stupid fish, I swear. Get over here!”
Marc gulped. “Yes, ma'am,” he said, and so he did.
Going through the rip was as quick and as easy as falling. Well, except for the part where he doubled over in shock. He had to adjust to the Oniron air again. Remont rushed to catch him.
“Is he okay?”
Icelus, wincing, nodded. “It's normal. I'd forgotten about it, though.”
Behind them, the portal that had been opened by the crystal silently dissolved into nothing. Marc's breath slowly evened out and he steadied himself.
“Icelus...” Marc crouched down to look her in the eye, and then raised his hand and put it on her head, as if to assure himself that she was really there. “You're okay.”
“Yes,” she said. “And I'm glad you are, too.”
They stood there in silence for a second.
“But don't pet me, please.”
Marc took his hand off her. “Remont!” he said. “What are you doing here? Where are we? Are the others with you too?”
“It's my house!” said Remont. “Icelus was being held in Agremonth so she couldn't do anything when the Nexus got destroyed. Lya and I broke her out – and, yeah, her and Osette are upstairs having an argument, or maybe they're getting our ride ready now, I don't know – anyway, we're trying to restore the Nexus!”
Marc sighed – half out of sadness and half out of sympathy. “So... Piper's plan worked.”
Icelus grimaced. “Yes.”
“I'm sorry. I should have been there to help.”
“You weren't at fault. I was the one who sent you away. Otherwise you'd have been trapped with me.”
Marc reached around and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Yeah... but I wanted to help you. I still do.”
“Will you?”
“Yes,” said Marc without hesitating.
“Are you still afraid?”
Marc looked at Icelus and took a deep breath. He had given this a lot of thought – these were rehearsed words. “Yeah. It's not your fault, not at all. I was just... a kid who was scared of a weird thing. I was really, really scared. But I'm... older now. I can try to remove myself from it. But it's still there, always. I know it isn't what you want to hear, but that little bit of fear comes up every time I see you. All I can do is tell myself it's silly, and it doesn't make sense and remind myself: it's more important to help you. So,” he finished, “you don't need to worry about me. I've seen how much this means to you. I wouldn't put that at risk.”
Icelus said nothing for a while, instead alternating between staring at Marc and staring at the floor. She opened her mouth, got out a syllable, and then choked it back. Finally she said, so quietly as to almost be inaudible, “I don't know how humans show affection... but if you really wanted to pat my head you could.”
Marc broke out into a broad smile and laughed. “That's fine,” he said, and once more crouched down to meet her at eye level. “I'm just glad we're okay. I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Marc.”
They remained like that in silence for a second before a noise interrupted them – it was a loud, resonant, brassy ring that spread across the whole house.
Icelus was the first to ask. “Is that - ?”
“The doorbell,” Remont replied. He walked over to a small panel by the door and pressed a button on it, then spoke into it. “Lya, are we expecting company?”
A short pause, then Lya's voice came back through a speaker. “No.”
“Thought so. Is the dirigible ready for liftoff?”
“No. Can you stall them for... I don't know, ten minutes?”
Remont nodded. “I'll try for fifteen if I can.” He took his finger off the console and turned to Marc and Icelus. “Guys, head up to the takeoff pad on the roof. You can't miss it. It's a roof.”
“Takeoff pad?” Marc was confused, but he saw Icelus take off out of the room and hastened to follow her.
Remont took a deep breath – he knew this had to happen eventually. The only question was whether he was about to come face-to-face with an angry mob or just a single guard asking about Icelus. Whatever the case, he had to go down and greet the visitors.

When the news reached Piper that Icelus had escaped her cell, he really was worried. Piper's plan was a success, but Icelus was older and more knowledgeable than him; if there was a way to restore the Nexus, she either knew it or she knew how to find out. And she was angry – if there was ever a good motivator, it was anger. He had to remind himself not to get complacent: even now, he had to continue to take direct action. That was what he was doing now.
Piper and the seven guards behind him finally reached the front door, and it was Piper who pulled the bell. He could hear it ring inside the house.
A minute or two of silence followed.
“Is he gone?” one of the guards, Tally, asked.
“It's a big house,” Piper responded. “Besides, we're not here to accuse him of anything.”
Finally, footsteps were heard behind the door. Piper heard a creaking noise as they swung open to reveal Remont Bairdsley. Remont looked surprise to see Piper, but not scared.
“Chief Decan!” said Remont. “What brings you here?”
“An emergency, Bairdsley,” said Piper. “Can we come in?”
Remont nodded. “By all means.”
Piper and his unit of guards swept into the foyer and took a brief glance around. “Sorry to bother you,” said Piper. “We won't be very long. We just need to ask you some questions.”
Bairdsley was good at many things, but Piper could already tell that he wasn't a good actor. The signs were all obvious once you looked for them: how he crossed his arms and made an attempt at feigning confusion by lifting his eyebrows and raising his voice a bit... but it was all too overdone, the facial expressions were too deliberate and the body language subconsciously communicated his desire to put a wall between Piper and him. Piper noticed all this before Bairdsley even opened his mouth to ask, “What's wrong? What happened?”
Piper knew that failing to make eye contact would give away the game as surely as Bairdsley had just done, and refused to make the same mistake. Piper fixed his gaze on the other man but allowed a hint of worry and uncertainty to creep into his voice as he explained: “When Dreithart showed up for his shift this morning, he found that Icelus had broken out.”
Bairdsley let out a little fake-sounding gasp. “This morning? But that's-”
Piper gravely nodded. “She escaped on your watch.”
In response, Bairdsley slowly hung his head in his hands. “Oh, no. I can't believe it.”
“So we need to ask you some questions, Bairdsley,” said Piper. “We need to know when she might have escaped and where she might have gone.”
“Of course.”
“First: when did you check on her?”
Bairdsley looked at the ground, still not making eye contact with Piper. “I checked her immediately after I started my shift, and then...” he let the pause sound out before starting again, “about halfway through? Maybe a bit later.”
“Dreithart didn't see you when he clocked in for his shift. You didn't check on her right before you left?” asked Piper.
Bairdsley shook his head. “No, sir. I know I was supposed to, but... I decided to leave a bit early,” he finished sheepishly.
“Bairdsley,” said Piper sternly, “That's against protocol.”
“I realize that, sir. I apologize.”
Piper sighed. “Still, Icelus didn't escape because you took off early. You're sure she was there when you checked on her, and it was halfway through your shift?”
Bairdsley nodded earnestly. “Yes, sir.”
“Well, then, we have a two or three hour window when she could have broken out. Unless Icelus has transportation of some sort, she'll be somewhere in the surrounding countryside. She might be hiding somewhere in the town. I won't rule it out. We have a general area to look in. Let's move out,” he said to the guards. Of course, he wasn't actually going to around the area; he was already confident of where Icelus was hiding, thanks to Bairdsley.
“Sir!”
Piper turned around. “Yes, Bairdsley?”
“Sir, I'll help you with the search. I have a sphere-cycle and I can cover a lot of ground with it.”
Piper maintained the considered expression on his face. Bairdsley was trying to draw them away from Icelus's hiding place. Piper had to dissuade him. “I'm not sure about that, Bairdsley,” he said, “this morning was only your first shift. You should leave this to the more experienced guards.”
But Bairdsley would have none of it; he practically slid up to Piper. “Please, sir,” he said earnestly, “Icelus killed my great-grandfather. I've heard stories from my grandfather Mackenzie about her rampage across the town. She needs to be stopped as soon as she can, and I want to help.”
His speech was so passionate that Piper nearly went back on his suspicion of the man; but now it was clear a different tack was required. “Very well, Bairdsley,” he said. “Go put your armor on, quickly. We will be here.”
Bairdsley nodded once more. “Yes, sir,” and took off upstairs.
Piper quickly wheeled around once he was out of earshot. “I need someone to follow him.”
A brief murmur of discussion ran through the guards. It was Tally that finally stepped forward. “I can do it, sir.”
“Good. Now, Bairdsley might be going to his room, which is up two flights of stairs and second to the left in the hallway on the right side of the third floor. There's also, I think, a wardrobe that's tucked away in a large closet under the stairway on the second floor. He might be there instead. If he's anywhere else – especially in the large library straight ahead on the top floor or on the takeoff pad on the roof – don't hesitate, come and get us. Do you understand?”
Tally looked bewildered. “Have you been here a lot, sir?”
In fact Piper had only been here once, but he just knew these things. He didn't have time to go into detail, though. So instead he just said “Yes. Now hurry!” and set Tally on her way.
As she disappeared up the stairs, Piper found himself wondering if Remont had it in him to go against his town's edict and break out Icelus – but if it came to a fight, well then, he had a secret weapon behind him that Bairdsley wouldn't see coming.

Remont dashed up the stairs and threw open the door to the roof. The top of their house was a huge and entirely flat balcony, the better to store their airship. Remont looked around.
Okay, everybody was here – Marc and Icelus and Lya and Osette. Lya was operating the turbines on the underside of the dirigible.
The dirigible itself – an airship that Remont had named the Wanderlust – was quite a thing to behold. If he had been from the human world, he would have known that it was similar to a blimp – it had a large, inflated balloon on the top – the “envelope,” it was called – and an undercarriage for pilots and passengers. Unlike a blimp, the undercarriage was not a one- or two-man room – it spanned the entire length of the ship, consisting of three different rooms with space for around ten passengers, and was held to the envelope securely with a complex lattice of ropes.
On both sides of the undercarriage were turbines – getting them primed to start spinning would provide thrust for the vehicle. Once those were rotating, all they had to do was cut an extra set of ropes that tied the dirigible to the roof and it would be off.
Obviously nobody else here knew what to do, though, because Lya was the one doing work while everybody else stood around awkwardly. Not that this was unusual. At least Osette had the excuse of currently carrying all the maps and some of the supplies, but Marc and Icelus were just goggling at the Wanderlust.
On his way up, Remont had grabbed some of the silver rods that the three of them used to defend themselves against nightmares with. He gave one to Marc. “Here you go. If they break through that door, hit them.”
“With this?” Marc asked incredulously.
“Have a better idea?”
“Don't they have guns?”
“Well,” Remont said, “we have the high ground.”
“Okay, but -”
Before Marc could get another word out, Remont dipped over to check on Lya. “Turbines looking okay?” he shouted.
She gave him a thumbs up and hopped off. “I'll get to the cockpit, you check the engine's okay.”
“Wait,” said Remont. “Take Osette's stuff first, she can defend Marc and Icelus.”
“Good idea. Osette!” Lya shouted to Osette, who still had her hands full of the maps and atlases that they needed to determine their course. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah,” Osette responded quietly. “Um...”
Lya didn't let her finish. She ran over, grabbed the books and scrolls from Osette's hand, and ran into the undercarriage. Remont came second, handed Osette a polearm, and took off after Lya.
Osette was bit mortified and helpless, and slowly became aware that Marc and Icelus were looking at her, as if she was their leader now. How did that happen?
Suddenly, behind the door, a loud pounding noise was heard. Then another one. And another. They had been located, and now the guards were trying to break through the door.
Marc looked at Osette. He held his polearm awkwardly and unnaturally – he had never fought with one of these things before. “They're coming through now,” he said. “I don't know if I can take them.”
“Oh...” Osette said. “You just have to...” she made a few broad, swinging motions with her weapon – she had had ample practice with it and the movements were easy enough for her, but she didn't know how to explain all this. Not now. And she was only getting a blank stare from Marc in response.
Just then, a shot was heard from behind the door – a screech of metal on metal. They had shot the lock, and now the door was hanging open. The door was kicked wide open by the lead guard, who had her rifle at the ready and charged in.
Osette took one look at the guard's posture – her finger wasn't on the trigger yet, so she wasn't about to imminently shoot them. Maybe they had been given orders not to kill? Regardless, it meant there was an opening, and Osette needed to take advantage of it.
In a few swift movements, Osette leaped forward, knocked the gun aside, twisted the polearm, rapped the guard's hands hard so that she dropped the rifle, landed, kicked it away, and smacked her enemy on the head to daze her.
That was enough punishment for one person, but there were other guards crowding the stairwell trying to get up.
Osette then heard Icelus shout. “Osette, get away! Marc, grab my back!”
She didn't know what Icelus was trying to do, but there was no time to think. Osette rolled back until she was level with the two others and shouted “Go!”
Marc put his hand on Icelus's back and there was a brief flicker of electricity – and then Icelus roared.
This wasn't an ordinary roar, though – it was almost like a wave of energy, directed at the dazed and stumbling guard on the roof. It hit the target square-on, and sent her flying back into the stairwell, colliding with the other guards and sending them tumbling back down. Osette flinched at the sight.
They were safe, briefly.
“What was that?” Marc asked.
“Some of my old power returning,” said Icelus. “I won't be fighting elder gods any time soon, but it's something. Thank you, Marc.”
Marc grinned.
Remont's voice came from behind them. “Hey! Get on!”
They all looked. Remont had opened the door of the undercarriage for them – the vehicle was ready for liftoff. Now he had to cut the ropes.
Marc, Icelus and Osette piled into the undercarriage and felt the tethers tying the Wanderlust slowly lighten, until there was just one left, and then the unmistakable sensation of weightlessness as the airship lifted off – and there was Remont, quickly sliding in through the open door and shutting it tight behind him.
Remont breathed a sigh of relief and let himself slide down until he was on the ground. He was here, Lya was in the cockpit. Marc, Icelus and Osette were all laughing with relief. The maps were safe. Everything had gone off... mostly okay. He began to chuckle.
“Not done by a long shot,” he said to himself, “now we gotta find that crystal.”

Marc had to sit down for a minute. Since stepping through the portal it had been a constant stream of excitement, and he was grateful for some downtime.
The airship looked like it was made from technology that wasn't near Earth's level yet, but the Wanderlust flew pretty smoothly, and was decorated nicely. There were three rows of three seats each, more than enough to hold everybody, plus a door in the back that led to the engine room and a sliding door in the front that opened up into the cockpit.
Icelus was curled up on the floor, looking for all the world like she was asleep; Marc knew better, though. She was probably just conserving her energy and preparing for what they were about to do.
…what were they about to do?
“Remont,” said Marc.
Remont had been sitting on the ground catching his breath, but got up and sat next to Marc when he called him. “What's up?”
“Where are we headed?'
“Oh...” Remont chuckled. “I guess in all the hubbub we never got around to telling you. I'll show you – hey, Osette.”
Osette was near the front of the room, with her maps spread across the floor, mentally calculating and checking them. She looked up. “Yeah?”
“I need to catch Marc up to speed about where we're going.”
Rather than let him do this, Osette picked up one of the maps and walked over to Marc. “We're about here – you can see the little mark that denotes Zamasea – and we're heading... southwest. Here,” she pointed to a blank space on the map that she had marked with an X, “that's where we're going. It's the site of a big crystal formation.”
“Crystal formation?” Marc looked at Remont hoping to get some clarification.
“Well, it used to be that before the Nexus got destroyed, psychic energy would flow in from the other world into ours and create nightmares. Now that the two worlds are cut off,” explained Remont, “there's only a finite amount of energy in Oniron, and it's creating these crystals.”
“Oh!” said Marc. “That sounds like a thermodynamics thing.”
“What?”
Great. Now he was going to have to explain physics. “We learned it in school,” he said. “Energy is never destroyed, it just goes into another system.”
Remont nodded. “That sounds like what's going on here, kinda. But there's no reaction to determine where the energy should go, so it's kind of just... swirling around and then taking physical shape. The excess energy is taking the form of crystals – either small ones like these,” he reached into his pocket and held up a small, purplish crystal for Marc to see, “or big formations of them. We've got word that this one is more like a cave formation than a rock.”
“That's... a lot of energy,” said Marc.
“Yeah, but only if you know how to use it. Nightmares can do it – they used to draw on their own energy to power their spell circles. I bet if Icelus got a grab at that crystal, she could do some damage.”
“My priority is restoring the Nexus, Remont,” said Icelus from her curled-up position.
“But you do want to do some damage to Piper, right?” Remont said slyly.
There was a brief, dignified pause, as if Icelus was offended at the idea, before she spoke up again. “...Yes. Yes I do. But that's not a solution. We need to find a way that we know will restore the Nexus. Amassing power for its own sake is no good if we don't know how to use it.”
There was a creak as the door to the cockpit opened and Lya stepped through. “We should be good on autopilot for a few hours. What's happening here?”
“Icelus brought up a good point,” said Remont. “We don't have a plan to actually bring the Nexus back. We need some information first.”
Lya crossed her arms. “Well, where could we find out something like that?”
“I have an idea,” said Icelus. “It would require a detour – Osette, you might have to help me locate something on those maps.”
Osette smiled and nodded. “Yeah!”
“What is it?” asked Remont.
“Well...” Icelus uncurled herself and stood up. “There are other deities besides me. I haven't seen most of them in many, many years. But they would know me, and they might help me. There is one deity I know in particular. His name is Solon. My duty was to be the guardian of the Nexus, but his duty is to be a repository of magical knowledge.” She paused here. “I guarded the Nexus, but I did not know all of its secrets. Solon likely does. If anybody knows a way to restore or recreate it, it would be him.”
Marc saw everybody look at each other and give silent nods. It seemed like a good idea. “Where could we find Solon?” asked Remont.
“He makes his home in a tall spire called Cizruviel. I know roughly where it might be,” said Icelus.
It was Lya who spoke up this time. “That's a dangerous place,” she said.
All eyes turned to look at her. “Has something changed since I was last there?” asked Icelus.
Lya looked downwards, as if she regretted bringing it up. “The last I heard of Cizruviel was that it was taken over by a community of nightmares.”
“A community?” Remont balked. “I didn't know nightmares had communities.”
“Well, most of the ones we've seen were animalistic, Remont. Besides, it's not like they want to open their doors to outsiders.” Lya put her hands on her hips. “People from Oniron generally attack or run away when they see a nightmare.”
“Oh. I... didn't know you had experience with that.” Remont scratched his head awkwardly.
“It was before I met you,” Lya said offhandedly. “Anyway, they'll probably attack us when we get there.”
They all thought about this for a bit. Remont finally clapped his hands together, coming to a realization. “So we just wait until we've gone around to enough crystal formations, gathered enough power to take on the nightmares, and use that to break into where Solon is staying and get him to help us. Easy enough!”
“Geez,” said Lya, exasperated. “Do you just want to blow up or punch stuff all the time? I can't believe you.”
Remont was taken aback at the way she lashed out. “Well, then what should we do?”
“I... I don't know, but that's definitely not the way to do it!” said Lya. “Osette, you agree with me, right?”
“Uh... yeah,” Osette said, clearly confused.
Lya gave a loud “hmph” and stormed out, back to the cockpit. Osette, confused, followed her. “Lya. Lya!” She disappeared behind the door as well.
Remont was agog. He uneasily looked to Marc and Icelus. “I guess we'll decide what to do... later?”
“I suppose so,” said Icelus.
And so they settled in for a long, awkward flight to their destination.

When Lya emerged from the cockpit, it was obvious that she didn't want to bring up the argument. By now, it was several hours in the past. Instead she informed them that they were close to the crystal formation.
“You can come see it up ahead in the cockpit,” she said.
Shoving everybody in that small room wasn't comfortable, and Marc thought he felt the ship dip to the front once they all piled in, but the view was worth it. For one thing, everything for miles was absolutely barren – no features, no terrain, just a dusty blank canvas.
And there, in the middle of it all, a two-story-tall edifice of pure, pulsating crystal, jutting out at odd angles and badly misshapen. But its power was unmistakable; if this area had been anywhere near populated, it would have been snatched up immediately.
“Wow,” said Marc.
“Whatever that thing has in it,” said Icelus, “it might just be enough by itself.”
“I wouldn't place all your bets on that thing just now,” replied Remont, “but it'll help.”
The five of them continued their skyward crawl towards the edifice, all of them feeling relieved and reassured, when a large thump from above distracted them.
Lya jumped up from the pilot's seat and looked around. “What was that?”
Remont glanced around. “I don't know. There's a periscope in the engine room, I'll check the outside. Be right back.”
So he squeezed out and slipped into the back engine room. There was nothing for a few seconds, and then Remont loudly yelled, “Shit!”
“What is it?!” Lya shouted back.
Remont reappeared. “The shadow dogs! They're back!”
“What?!”
“They're on the envelope, trying to rip holes in the airship!”
They could all hear it now: the scuttling, the thick and muffled poking noises. Marc's heart froze in terror.
“Were they there the whole time?” Lya asked.
“I don't know,” said Remont, who sounded like he wasn't concerned with this particular detail, “maybe.”
Then they all heard the same thing: an unmistakable puncturing noise.
All of a sudden, the floor careened and everyone fell sideways. Whatever sense of gravity and balance existed was thrown asunder, and Marc found his head colliding with the side of a seat.
“Everyone hold on to something!” he heard Remont yell.
“We're going to crash into the crystal!” Lya shouted in response.
Marc staggered to his feet and grabbed a seat for balance. “Remont!” he shouted – everyone had to shout now, the wind was starting to whistle in their ears - “Are we gonna be okay?”
Remont's only response was a petrified stare, and the look in his eyes told Marc all he needed to know.
The front of the ship crumpled against the giant edifice, and the world became fire and darkness.


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