Many days have passed since the arrival in Osterania, as Nekara has proven to have some difficulty in arranging passage from the town by airship … since no airships have arrived at all during this time. There are hints at troubles in the shipping lanes, rumors of piracy being on the rise that might dissuade skittish merchants from taking their chances at more remote ports – ports that aren't renowned for being able to protect their visitors from corsairs, or simply don't offer enough in the way of profit to merit the risk.
Still, there are jobs to be found for one with wings. For one thing, the fishermen find it very convenient to have someone who can fly, and thus can scout overhead to see where large schools of fish can be found, or where sea borne predators are lurking. As winter is giving way to springtime, the fishermen are particularly busy, and Alptraum has been able to net himself an even 70 shekels so far.
However, just when the weather is starting to get nice, and things are almost getting comfortable in Osterania while waiting for an airship ride, Alptraum's sleep is disturbed yet again, fourteen days after Candlemass … and this not even on a holiday!
Ziggurat of Sunala
A nearly barren mountain rises up through an endless expanse of gray – alternately seeming like swirling mists, or the waves of an ocean, or a seething mass of spirits. The stars are completely blotted out by a turbulent blanket of clouds, in which a storm eternally rages; although there is no sun nor star nor Procession to light the way, the mountain is nonetheless lit in a flickering foxfire glow by all the violent exchanges in the heavens, though the shadows shift this way and that.
Some of those shadows have more substance than others, as shades of departed Eeee priestesses prowl the skies for those that would think to deviate from the winding path of broken bone and red stone that goes up the mountain past solemn statues, cenotaphs and twisted trees. At the summit is a ziggurat of stone, its steps stained by blood, each tier engraved with depictions of Sunala administering countless means of death to faceless mortals. Atop the ziggurat is a blood-stained altar, illuminated as a focal point from some unseen source of light.
… or, rather, the appearance of "light" only underscores the form of absolute blackness that stands amidst it, broken only by eyes and hair of white – a living shadow puppet, a silhouette and patches of light, an illustration of sharp contrasts amidst a realm of gray.
Alptraum witnesses this. He witnesses it as if he is there, but not really. He sees it from the perspective of one standing at the base of the ziggurat, looking up toward the goddess of death, but he cannot turn his head, cannot look about – is aware of his surroundings, but unable to focus on them, is aware he is not alone, but not of who might be with him. The dream is a message … and he has no choice but to listen.
"My children," the being says, "a child is being held by My enemies in the sky island of Rephidim. I am calling each of you because you are among the few to be in the realm of Ai, the lands that Rephidim passes over. The child must be saved, and I shall greatly reward whomever shall fetch her for Me, and take her back to her home in Babel."
Nicodemus's Shiny Shoppe of Rephidim
This store is full of countless crystals and baubles, sharing in common the fact that they are all shiny. The store itself is larger than any Alptraum has ever seen before, perhaps comparable to four city inns joined together into a single building, and it's located within a city larger than any in Sylvania, though not quite the shining gem of the sky with spotless streets that surface-dwellers might imagine from time to time.
Still, there's something unreal about the scene – details that are a bit fuzzy here and there, some more refined than others, as if it were an old memory being relived, where the more "important" aspects are more immediately recalled and others are neglected as irrelevant. (And there's also the matter of how exactly Alptraum knows this is called the Shiny Shoppe, as he sees no sign.)
What is vivid here, though, is sound. The sounds are crystal clear, as can only be heard by Eeee ears.
The glittering splendor of the Shiny Shoppe's interior is broken with the shattering of glass, as a display is knocked over during a struggle between some large Jupanis in shiny red armor with tabards of white, bearing the same "Star and Crescent" symbol seen at the Church of the First Ones, and a golden-furred black-spotted feline child. She cannot be a Savanite, though, given that she's screaming, "No! You can't take her! Stop!" There's another creature, a red-feathered avian-like man with legs like a Rhian, briefly visible. Then, in the confusion, a couple more guards press through, taking with them a struggling Eeee girl – black fur, white hair, wings that look as if they may have once been tattered, then sewn back together in an attempt to mend them.
By now, Alptraum's seen more than his share of black-furred, white-haired Eeee … but there's no mistaking … this is the one. This is the one he saw in his dream so long ago … this is the one who somehow appeared at the Dew Drop Inn. This is her. "Pouncer?" she cries. "Don't hurt her! She didn't do anything!"
And then the scene changes.
The Eeee girl is seated in a dark chamber, the details of which are obscured by shadow. The room is alive with scent and sound, however – the echoes off the walls suggesting a low-ceilinged room somewhere deep in the earth, hewn from solid stone. There are hints of incense in the air, and the barest sensation of some sort of magic circle around the girl, though the details are too indistinct to focus on. There are others in the room, robed – a Korv, a Khatta, and some sort of serpent-man the likes of which Alptraum has never met before. It is very cold here, and the girl shivers.
"The link must be suppressed," the Korv's voice caws. "Dagh take it, she's fallen asleep again! Wake her!"
And then there's the image of Sunala again, occupying all of Alptraum's vision, such that there is not even room to take in the ziggurat or the other gloomy surroundings. "The girl is Life and Death," Sunala says, as translated from Babelite, though the actual name she says is "Srinala." "She must not be allowed to come to harm, nor any of those who have sought to protect her, or My enemies will rejoice. You are to take no action that might put the girl Pouncer Zoltan or her brother Enos Zoltan at risk."
She continues, "Within the city of Rephidim, those faithful few who call themselves the Body of the Sisters await to act in My name, but none of their number are gifted to receive visions from Me. My children must wake the Body, and stir it into action, before the mages of the College slay the girl against My wishes. You must act quick – "
The dream abruptly ends, and Alptraum wakens immediately … to hear an Eeee scream. He's back in his bed, in his room at the inn. It must be some early hour in the morning, before dawn … and the scream came from the Grey Room, where Nekara is staying.
The Blue Room
This room at the Mystic Inn is dominated, as one might presume from its nickname, by various hues of blue, though the walls could use a fresh coat of paint. Mosaic patterns of seashells and pebbles cover the floor and the top surfaces of all of the room's furnishings – mostly just abstract designs, but occasionally suggesting the shapes of sea creatures, real or fanciful. A bed with a thick mattress and actual bed sheets is a nice deviation from the straw mats common in so many inns … except that the room's major drawback is that it was created with Skeeks in mind, hence everything is just a little too short.
Alptraum bolts upright, his hair whipping about wildly. He scoots out of his bed and grabs his trousers, then quickly slips them on. "She would have to scream. Sunala might have told us more if she hadn't," he grumbles, looking irritated. "It better be important." Once his belt-sash is tied tightly, he heads to the door and opens it, leaving his shirt and the rest of his belongings untouched. Quickly, he makes his way to the door of the gray room and knocks, loudly. "Nekara!" he calls out. "It's me. Open up."
There are a few shouts and grumbles from other rooms, as a number of the inn's patrons are prematurely stirred from their slumbers by the commotion. "Pipe down out there!" comes a mousy squeak from the Red Room.
There are some shuffling noises from within the Grey Room, and then the door cracks open, revealing the face of Nekara, white hair spilling in front of her face. Her eyes finally register recognition and then, "Come in!" she hisses, and reaches out to grab for Alptraum's arm.
Alptraum enters, not needing further encouragement from Nekara's tug. He walks a few feet into the room, then looks over toward her, silver eyes peering through his white hair. "What was with the scream? Are you in danger?" he asks. "Or did you just have the same dream I did?"
Nekara slams the door shut, and throws the bolt, then clutches at her robes, which she has hastily thrown about herself with no time for fixing her hair or other decorum. By the looks of her and her bed, she must have tossed and turned violently in her sleep. She takes a few moments to catch her breath, then says, "Your dream, was it of our Lady, with a message concerning a girl – a walking, speaking Srinala?"
"That would be the dream," Alptraum answers and nods. "Did you see the other parts? Where she was imprisoned? That was the girl who saved my life, Nekara. That is the one from my dreams." He crosses his arms over his black-furred chest and watches the other Eeee for a moment, then says, "Request or not from Sunala, if she's in danger, I have to go. She probably saved my life back in Sylvania."
Nekara says, "Yes … yes, I … I saw it … no, I felt everything she felt. I was there. I felt her terror. That … that is why I screamed." She looks up to Alptraum. "I am not certain what path to take. I sensed that there were others receiving this dream – I don't know how, but I could tell. I have been charged with taking you to Babel; if I allow you to come to harm… "
"Then you go to Babel and I'll go on to the sky island. I'll take full responsibility for myself," Alptraum replies firmly. "I remembered sensing her when I first met her. Almost as if she was my little sister. Her eyes are like mine, or were so in the dream. I can't turn away from someone who saved my life and might be related to me." He pauses, then asks, "Which brings me to a question. You were sent to find me, correct? What exactly were you told to look for? Perhaps you were to actually find this girl."
Nekara says, "My instructions were very clear in that you were a boy, not a girl, and I am fairly certain you are not the latter." She runs a hand through her hair, and starts to straighten up, slowly recovering her composure. "If you are intent on going to Rephidim, then, I shall go with you. If I simply went on to Babel without you, I would be neglecting all that has been asked of me, and my life would be rightfully forfeit."
"I am quite male," Alptraum responds with a chuckle. "As for your life being forfeit – are you saying if I had refused to return, you would have died?" He blinks.
"Let us not get distracted by irrelevant lines of thought," Nekara says. "If it is settled that we must go to Rephidim, then there is no time to waste. Get your things together – if we cannot get an airship here, then we will fly further south to Deltaport, and find transport there."
"It's hardly irrelevant, but we can discuss that later," Alptraum answers. "I'll grab my things and wake Autumn-Storm. If we can get transport here, she goes with us. If not, well, I'll try and see if she'll stay here for a bit and wait for us to return. Or, catch the first airship available." He turns and heads back toward the door. He glances back and asks, "Anything else?"
"I'll make some arrangements for a room for her, then," Nekara says. "The rates here are not cheap, but this is the only inn in town for outsiders. That is all, then."
"I have just one more thing," Alptraum says, pausing to rest his hand on the doorknob. "If you got a good look at that Khatta, try and remember what he looked like." With that, he opens the door and heads down the hallway to Autumn-Storm's room, where he knocks on the door.
The door opens – Autumn-Storm is already dressed. "What's happening?" she signs.
"We're making an immediate detour," The Eeee signs in reply. "Remember that little Eeee that prevented the magic of the Inn from affecting me and probably saved both our lives? She's in serious danger, up on a sky island called Rephidim. Nekara and I are going to try to rescue her. You're welcome to come along or stay here. Nekara can arrange for a room. You might have to stay, should we not be able to get airship transport fast enough."
"Go with you … or be left alone here without an interpreter? I'm inclined to go with you, then," Autumn-Storm signs.
"I'd prefer you to come along in any event, just telling you your options. If anything, you stand out a lot less than we do," Alptraum signs, then grins. "Sorry that we seem to keep dragging you from place to place, but, I do owe that Eeee something for protecting me. And just so you know, we know she is in danger from a dream – a dream in which Sunala asked all who could hear the message to help. Nekara may bring that up and I didn't want you surprised." He pauses, then adds, "And hey, she was able to stop that necromancer's magic once. She might be able to help us find him."
Autumn-Storm furrows a brow at the talk of dreams and especially of Sunala. "I'll let you worry about the mystical parts. I'll focus on practical things."
"Good, you can keep myself and Nekara in line, Alptraum signs and grins gain. "I'll get packed and meet you back out here."
The door pops open again, without any politeness of knocking first. It's Nekara, and she looks like she's ready to go, though her hair is still less-than-perfect. "Have you said your goodbyes yet? And you still aren't dressed. I'll go make payments for the room," she says.
Alptraum turns to face Nekara. "She wants to come. So, if we can get transport here, she's coming. Besides. We stand out. We might need her simply because she doesn't stand out."
Nekara frowns severely, then says, "If we can get transport. I have had no end of frustrations so far. If an airship is available now … then it shall surely be a miracle from Sunala Herself… I'll visit the harbormaster, just in case."
Autumn-Storm signs, "I'm all packed."
"Do that," Alptraum replies as he passes by Nekara and reaches his room. He opens the door and steps inside. Quickly, he finishes dressing and makes an attempt at claw-combing his hair into reasonable shape. He then ties it back and puts on his tattered hat. It only takes him a few more minutes to pack his things and sling his crossbow onto his shoulder and step out into the hallway once more.
Autumn-Storm is already out in the hall, impatiently waiting on the bat. "Well, let's be off, then!"
Alptraum nods and smirks. "Sorry, I'm not as used to packing on the fly," he replies. "Let's go."
At the harbormaster's, Nekara rushes up and grabs Alptraum and Autumn-Storm by the arm, as if pulling on them might make them go any faster. The reason for her rush is very evident – There is, miracle of miracles, an airship in port today, though it's the sorriest-looking bag of gas that likely ever plied the skies of Rephidim. (Not that Alptraum has ever had a chance to see one up this close – they don't often fly over Sylvania, on account of the freak storms and legends of flying ghosts and other undead nasties.)
"I've secured passage for us," Nekara says, "though it leaves little for my remaining funds. The captain knows a desperate traveler when he sees one, and to charge extra for Babelites wanting to go to Rephidim." The priestess glowers. "Babelites that won't sleep with him, in any case, the wretch."
The airship flies flags that bear the star-and-crescent Alptraum saw associated with the Church of the First Ones and on the guards in Rephidim, though this sign is incorporated into a larger coat of arms – perhaps some sort of merchant's seal. If anything, the flags look like the best-kept part of the whole ship, and look rather out of place in comparison to the dingy, run-down-look of the whole.
Alptraum smirks and says, "He asked that, did he? We'll make due with what you have. If it comes to it, I can get funds in the city, I'm sure. People don't always pay attention to their coin-purses, you see." He looks toward the ship, then swallows, "And that's it, Avralie? I'm not sure that thing could fly. It looks awful!"
It's still the wee hours of the morning, and the horizon is just beginning to light up as the sun starts to peek over the silhouettes of the foothills to the east. The airship has landed at docks intended for naval vessels, since they're the most open area available, and it can just as easily be tied down there as anywhere else. A number of large fellows – obviously come with the ship, given the size of the locals – unload crates and sacks from the craft, while a moderately well-groomed Jupani stands atop the gangplank, adorned in a frilly version of seaman's gear, giving his new passengers a lopsided grin. There's something different about this type of Jupani, though – his legs are built differently, and he doesn't have as much of a mane as Jupani that Alptraum has seen before. In a way, he looks more kin to the wolf-beasts that prowl the woods of Sylvania than any Jupani he has seen before. Nonetheless, "Jupani" is the closest to a description of his species that comes to mind. "Ahoy there!" the Jupani barks out. "Good morning, ladies. Welcome aboard the Happy Maid."
Autumn-Storm gives a raise of the eyebrow as she eyes the figurehead on the front of the wooden ship-gondola. The figurehead is very obviously meant to represent a female Jupani of what must presumably be idealized proportions.
"Good day," Alptraum calls back. "Thank you for taking passengers at such short notice."
The Jupani looks faintly disappointed for a fleeting moment as Alptraum speaks, but quickly covers it, as the threesome makes it to the gangplank. He doffs his hat. "Ah, my pleasure, my pleasure indeed. We'll be setting off as soon as our cargo is off."
Alptraum looks at the Jupani oddly, wondering what that look was for. Then it dawns on him and he inwardly sighs, thinking, "No, I'm not female." "Where should we stow our belongings? How long to you expect the trip to take?" he asks. "And oh, I'm Alptraum, and the Savanite is my friend Autumn-Storm. Who might you be?"
"Captain Dash," the Jupani claims, and for some reason, the name has the faintest twinge of familiarity, though Alptraum can't place it at the moment. "Oh, a Savanite, eh? I've heard wonderful things about your kind." He reaches for Autumn-Storm's hand to kiss it. She obliges, and puts on a smile, though it doesn't look genuine to Alptraum's eyes.
Alptraum hmms and says, "Captain Dash? I swear I've heard that name before… " He then moves over closer to Autumn-Storm, then puts his arm around her shoulders and says, "They are quite the amazing kind. She's one of my best friends in the world. And boy, you should see her fight. Why, I saw her take down a monster up in Sylvania. Wouldn't know it by looking at her, would you?"
Captain Dash's ears push back ever so slightly. "Sylvania … really? Ahem. Well, please, make yourselves comfortable in your cabin."
"Thank you," Nekara says, coldly. "We will try to do so." She strides past him, toward the steps leading below decks.
"Yeah. Heard about some treasure up there and figured the stories about monsters had to be exaggerated. Surprise, they're not. We were nearly killed up there and found nothing. So, we want to get far away from that place as fast as we can," Alptraum replies off-handedly. "Looks like our luck improved some, though. We found you." He grins to the Captain, then proceeds onward, saying, "Let's get settled, eh, Autumn-Storm?"
The cheetah hurries after Alptraum. Once they get to their cabin, they can see that Nekara's promise to try to get comfortable was far more honest than saying that they would be. The "cabin" is merely another room that looks like it was meant to serve as part of the crew barracks, only that due to the peculiarities of dividing the deck up into quarters, this little room was left over, and a couple of bunks were stuck in it. (Someone's going to have to take the floor.) A brief glimpse of the captain's quarters reveals that if there's any money going into the ship, most of it is going into his bedroom. As for the crew, they consist of a couple of muscular Rhians, a couple Jupani, and maybe four or so men that have features like the rats and vermites that skulk about in little rat holes in Sylvanian inns and granaries. Somehow, the rat-men seem perfectly at home on an airship such as this.
"I can take the floor," Alptraum mutters as he looks around the dismal surroundings. "I've slept in worse."
