Chapter 13. Destination Unknown
The two women gathered in the library. Solvienne still looked as elegant as ever, however she did now sport a travelling cloak and a plain looking dark green velvet dress that still managed to sport some lavish looking needlework around the hem, across the bodice and at each elegantly flared cuff. The only real change that suggested a somewhat different approach to her decisions over her normal feminine attire were the rather stouter looking boots she now wore upon her feet instead of her light slippers.
Nar’Allia smiled. Not for her the womanly attire, the flowing dresses and robes, the plain but still pretty adornments that hung around the neck and wrists. No, she was wearing deer skin breeches and tunic, over these she had put on Serinae’s chain mail and bracers and the two short swords strapped at her waist. She contented herself with the fact that a similar T’Iea stitch work had been worked into the fine supple leather, but the articles she wore would have looked equally fine upon a male body as they did on hers, with some adjustments to the tailoring of course! The quiver also hung there, already filled with ethereal arrows.
Nar’Allia heard a dull thud upon the table, her attention distracted from her preparations. There in front of her lay the jet-black portal stone. She looked from the stone up at her sister. Solvienne was holding out her hand for Nar’Allia to grasp. She had a smile upon her face, an unspoken invitation to grasp those slender fingers, a small act, yet one she knew would gesture a goodbye to the safety of everything she knew and herald a venture into the unknown. Nar’Allia couldn’t help wondering at the confidence that Solvienne portrayed in that smile, she couldn’t help thinking that perhaps it should be she who led, she who guided. But perhaps neither of them knew what lay ahead, the only difference was that Solvienne had no clue of the dangers that may lay there, whereas Nar’Allia had already ventured upon those paths. A thrill of excitement passed through her, it was enough to make her gasp. So reaching out, she sighed and grasped the offered hand.
Solvienne looked back at the stone and said, “well, sister, here goes something for nothing.” She smiled and picked up the stone from the table on which it lay.
Immediately their surroundings blurred, they were vaguely aware of the sound of the air about them rushing away from them, but they did not really feel any movement or wind, it was more of an impression on the senses than an actual physical movement. But there in front of them a spinning hole appeared and they had the feeling of being stretched, elongated into infinity, for it seemed to take an eternity for all parts of them to stretch towards the dark hole. Then everything went black. But the darkness only lasted a second or two; a light appeared and grew in front of them. It glowed brighter as they traveled rapidly towards it. Their vision returned to normal, but they could see nothing, wherever it was they had appeared was in darkness, night time perhaps. They still had a queasy feeling inside their stomachs, Nar’Allia bent down and placed her hands onto the firm surface beneath their feet in an effort to stop the uneasy sensation of movement for they knew there couldn’t be any movement in reality, it was probably just an after effect of the transportation through the portal.
But the perceived motion did not seem to abate, they were still experiencing an odd rocking, jerking sensation. Nar’Allia was reminded of traveling on the back of the Duagnuats, the creatures of burden that the human tribes used to traverse the Rust Desert. But somehow this was worse; it was far more pronounced and not so rhythmical somehow. Nar’Allia concentrated on the touch of her fingertips, she felt the floor, moving her fingers across the surface, what she felt was hard and cold. It felt like metal with small ridges criss-crossing it. She looked closely at it, as her eyes were becoming a little more accustomed to the gloom. It was indeed metal, the ridges were little raised bumps, they were all highly polished, even worn flat in places. She had seen something similar before, she knew these ridges were usually set into metal flooring to reduce the risk of slipping accidentally, especially when the soles of ones boot were wet or muddy. They were on all fours, a very undignified position, kneeling on a moving metal floor in the almost total darkness. A regular clanging sound of metal against metal could be heard. She sat up on her knees and tried to see around her. Where in the Maker’s name were they?
They seemed to be in a small room. There were obviously no windows. The walls were covered in tubes and pipes and electric cables. There was nothing homely here, no pots or pans, pictures or any other adornments. Just a functional metal room. It was hot, stiflingly hot. Some of the tubes and pipes had wheeled valves upon them and others handles or levers. A bench to one side was cluttered with odds and ends, metal objects of unknown use and other paraphernalia, tools of some kind lay amongst the debris. Other hand tools were set on a rack attached to the wall.
All of a sudden brilliant light shone into her eyes. The bright light was accompanied by a loud clang, a sound reminiscent of a large piece of metal being flung against an even larger piece of metal that was unmoving. She blinked and eventually realised that in fact the light was not brilliant at all, just seemingly bright because of the lack of ambient light within this chamber. She stood and grasped Solvienne’s hand to try and steady them both against the constant movement of wherever it was they found themselves. She helped Solvienne stand and together they stood leaning upon one another for support. Then Nar’Allia noticed that a door had been opened and had been flung back against the wall in front of them, this was from where the light had suddenly shone upon them, for through the now open door could be seen a comparatively brightly lit corridor. They made their unsteady way towards the door. Solvienne hung back, when Nar’Allia looked back to see what she was doing she realised that Solvienne was placing the precious portal stone she still held into its small pouch, now attached to her belt. Nar’Allia also noticed something else. Behind Solvienne she could see a short figure. She slowly moved her hand down to her sword. Nar’Allia however knew that in this confined space she wouldn’t be able to use the sword to much effect. But she did not feel a threat as such so she released her grip upon the pommel of the sword and regarded the dark shape moving around before them. The figure suddenly turned and there before them stood a small man, smaller than an her. Nar’Allia thought him even smaller than a Grûndén. A Pnook then, he was a Pnook! He wore a baggy one-piece dirty coverall; it was rolled up at the sleeves and legs to the right length for his size. He wore a mask with thick glass lenses that magnified his eyes comically. He seemed to stare at them with his lips parted, with what looked like an unintentional sneer, but it looked to be his normal facial expression.
Solvienne said, “hail to thee master Pnook.”
The Pnook did not seem to acknowledge this remark, he just looked in their direction, walked past them, back through the door and shut it with another loud clang from the outside. They were plunged into darkness once again. The Pnook had made no acknowledgment of their presence what so ever, as if they weren’t even there.
A particularly violent movement of the deck below them made Solvienne fall forward, Nar’Allia was able to catch her before she fell to the deck. Why of course! Suddenly Nar’Allia thought, yes a deck, that was what came into Nar’Allia’s mind due to the strange movement, she felt they must be on a ship at sea, a metal ship at that. She then thought of the metal ship in Port Town on the coast of the Rust Desert, could that be it? Could they be on a Pnook battleship? But then she thought of what she had heard about the scuttled vessel in Port Town being the last remaining survivor of the great fleet that the Pnook once operated. Perhaps then they had built another in the intervening years? She remembered the harbour vessel that the Pnook had used to tow the captured Ocean Belle into Port Town, yes the Pnook still used metal ships. But what in the Maker’s name was the link between Solin’s house in Amentura and a Pnook battleship?
They regained their feet and staggered over to the door through which the Pnook had passed not minutes before. Nar’Allia found a sort of wheel device; she indicated to Solvienne th
at it should be turned, for she had seen such a thing before on the battleship in Port Town. This time Nar’Allia did draw one of the short swords and this she held in defensive pose. Solvienne grasped the wheel with both hands and tried to turn it, it moved and creaked getting easier to turn the more she did so. Then suddenly the door opened inwards as it had done before, it was quite heavy and with the sudden lurching motion of the vessel opened sharply. Solvienne was forced to let go of the wheel quickly for otherwise her hand would have been twisted badly and risked being broken at the wrist. She rubbed the place where her wrist had been jarred. Nar’Allia had stepped through the doorway intending to be the first through so that if necessary she could swing her sword without hindrance. Solvienne followed Nar’Allia through the open door.
They found themselves within a well-lit area, but not in a corridor as Nar’Allia had initially thought but in a larger chamber. Solvienne turned and waited for the right motion of the ship she then pulled the door closed again with a clang and quickly turned the wheel on this side to secure the door tightly shut once more. It would have been dangerous to leave the door swinging with the movement of the vessel. They looked for stairs, or some way up onto the deck above, for they assumed they must be deep down in the bowls of the ship, but they had no way of knowing how far below the open air they may actually be. Both women were starting to feel even queasier with the horrid movement of the vessel. Perhaps the battleship was caught in the midst of a storm at sea and it may not be such a good idea to seek the outside deck of the vessel after all.
Looking around the room they could see nothing in the way of a ladder or steps. The little Pnook they had seen previously was still in this chamber he seemed to be busy wiping things with a cloth and inspecting some gauges and dials that were positioned above a desk. He fumbled around with his hands as if he couldn’t see anything. Ah so that’s why he hadn’t acknowledged them, the poor fellow must be blind, or very short sighted. There could also be seen various levers and other mechanical controls, the Pnook gripped one of these wrapping the oily cloth around the lever and pulled on a trigger like device. The lever moved and clicked as it engaged once more into a notched wheel that could be seen below it. Before Nar’Allia could stop her, Solvienne went up behind the Pnook and tapped him on the shoulder.
As before the Pnook took no notice of her.
“How rude,” she tapped him on the shoulder again, still the little man gave no response.
Nar’Allia shrugged. She scanned around the room and her eyes eventually alighted upon a mass of flexible piping hanging in a bunch in the corner of the room, as this piping swung to and fro she thought she saw a wheel similar to the one that operated the door they had just come through. She indicated this to Solvienne who nodded in understanding. They made their way over, Solvienne ducked beneath the pipes that were swinging about. One hit her on the forehead, but luckily they were not heavy, just more of a nuisance the way they continually swung about. There was indeed a further door behind the pipes and tubes, so whilst Nar’Allia kept a wary eye on the Pnook, Solvienne turned the wheel as before, but this time with more care. Once opened, Nar’Allia again went through the door first, alert and with the short sword at the ready; Solvienne followed and closing the door secured it behind them.
They now found themselves in a low corridor. The walls seemed to form a sort of flexible concertina, the whole thing shook and bounced around in a haphazard fashion, Nar’Allia thought they may be inside the bellows of an accordion, a musical instrument of the type favoured by some human bards. At least that is what it looked and felt like. It was also noticeably much hotter in here, stiflingly so in fact, the air smelling of some bitter, rancid odor. As the tube flexed around and twisted in a very odd fashion, they found it difficult to walk and make any progress, for the floor was made from a series of interlocking metal plates that seemed to hang upon two rows of steel cables running the length of the corridor. They made their way slowly along this corridor holding onto two more steel cables that formed hand holds through the structure. Eventually they came to another door at the far end. It was a relief to stand upon a firm metal plate set into the floor before the door. This door was of a similar type to the one they had just passed through. Opening it they stepped through into yet another metal room.
This one was larger and brighter still and seemed to be cleaner somehow; it didn’t have the same stale smells as the previous compartments they had been in. It also didn’t seem to swing around quite so much as the chamber in which they found themselves when first arriving inside the ship through the portal. This space was also larger. Strange suits of clothing hung on the walls. One-piece coveralls in a thick leather-like material. Weapons also hung on racks, projectile weapons similar to those Nar’Allia knew the Pnook used. She knew the Pnook preferred this type of weapon, for they were diminutive in stature and not heavily built and strong in arm. In fact the Pnook were not a race of fighters at all, they relied on tools and technology to do the hard work for them, so remained unskilled in more traditional forms of combat. Nar’Allia remembered the stories she had been told. Out of all the races the Pnook had perhaps suffered the most because of their lack of prowess on the battle field. They had fled their city in the east, abandoning it to an overwhelming enemy, the Ognod hordes and the T’Iea’Neat’Thegoran.
As they looked around a door in the far corner opened and another Pnook stepped into the chamber. This Pnook was dressed in a similar fashion to the first, but he was taller and his coveralls seemed to fit him better. But unlike the first Pnook they met, this Pnook very quickly saw them and jumped back in shock, his eyes also appeared overly large beneath the glass lenses had a look of apprehension in them. But before either of the T’Iea could say anything the Pnook relaxed, he flung both arms up and began to laugh. He held his stomach in both hands and was laughing loudly and with much gusto. The T’Iea looked at one another in confusion for the Pnook laughed so much he sat heavily upon the floor.
Frowning, Nar’Allia dropped the sword to her side, she did not think the Pnook capable of attacking them he was so preoccupied with laughing so hard. Again she and Solvienne looked at each other shrugging as they did so. The Pnook continued to laugh and eventually they also couldn’t help but chuckle at the comical situation they now found themselves in.
Eventually the Pnook regained some of his composure, for he stood once more and still chuckling he bowed low and said with some exaggerated formality, “good day my ladies. A warm welcome to thee, especially milady Nar’Allia, it is indeed the greatest of pleasures to see her once more.” The Pnook seemed to come to a conclusion, he waved a finger in the air in front of him and he removed the thick goggles he wore, he slid them up until they sat on his forehead. He then pulled the thick leather face mask down and tucked it away under his chin. The skin around his eyes was bright white and clean in comparison to the rest of his face. Obviously the goggles he wore kept this area free of grime and dirt from the interior of the battle ship. He smiled again and said, “Nar’Allia? It’s me.” He gestured towards himself with both hands and looked expectantly at Nar’Allia as he tapped himself on the chest with a thumb. He looked a little hurt as he said, “Narny? Don’t you recognise me, my girl?”
Nar’Allia stared at the Pnook, something was dawning in her mind, for one thing she did not know many Pnook, and then there was only one Pnook she knew well enough to be on a first name basis with, especially one that called her Narny. She couldn’t believe it, but she placed the sword back into the scabbard and then giggled. She walked forward to grasp the Pnook hand before she said, “by the maker, JDC?”
The Pnook laughed and said as he grasped her hand in both of his, “the very same milady.” Then with a questioning look upon his face he said, “well you are a big surprise to say the least”. He searched her face as if looking for some sort of confirmation. Then he smiled broadly and said, “I didn’t know I had any stowaways! But never the less, welcome aboard the Land Train.”
Nar’Allia was astonished and also a little relieved to find that their rather rash decision to try the portal stone had landed them amongst friends and not amongst enemies. She was astounded, but eventually she managed to find her voice, “JDC, this is incredible, of all the places ….. I mean, I would never have guessed in a million years, the Land Train? By the Maker, your Land Train? Where are we, on the western continent? I mean yes, sure the Land Train, but in the Rust Desert?”
JDC held his hand up in a gesture of submission, “yes and yes and to your last two questions yet two more yes’s.
“Whatever have you been up to since I last saw you last? Nar’Allia was about to ask more questions without waiting for an answer.”
JDC held up his hand in a gesture of submission, “so many questions and not a chance to answer them!”
Nar’Allia stopped talking but her mouth remained open as if it still expected more words to issue forth.
“What I have been doing? Well, life has been much the same as it always has been,” he said with a shrug. “Citac and me, well we still traverse the desert, we eke out a living where we can, much like we have always done. Although my contacts within the human nomadic community have been less than cordial since our visit to the Jethrent all those years ago. For it seems that the hidden valley, the cistern with the blue lake remains closed since we were there last. I daren’t show my face amongst the human tribes these days, I guess they would do nasty things to me should they catch me. My guess is that they don’t actually know I have returned for they do not attack or hinder the passage of the Land Train so I guess they just think it is Citac aboard as they have become used to over the last years. Sadly, I remain hidden aboard the land train. That is the downside. The upside however is that I have managed to gain friends within the Pnook community once more in Scienocropolis. The ruling regime has changed much since my day. No one recognises me in the city or Citac for that matter and I’m not about to enlighten them on that front.” Here he winked at Nar’Allia who smiled.
Nar’Allia thought about the story JDC had told her all those years ago when they travelled together aboard the great Leviathan machine. How he had told of being banished by the Pnook community, falsely accused as a murderer and banned from boarding the great battleships that fled across the Trad Ocean to the continent of the Rust Desert beyond. However he had followed them somehow, yet on making his presence known, he had yet again been shunned by his own people and tossed into the desert to fend for himself along with the old Pnook king and his son prince Citac whom he had mentioned before. So the other Pnook, the first person they saw after coming aboard, he must be Cirac the young prince. Nar’Allia was pleased with JDC’s news though, for she had always felt it unfair that JDC should be alienated from his people especially as he claimed innocence from those crimes of which he was accused and she believed him. She voiced her thoughts by saying. “But that is good news indeed JDC, you must feel very relieved to be back amongst your people once more?”
“I am yes, of course but …., well that’s another story, perhaps for later.” For now he scrutinised them with a questioning look. “But I am more interested in you. How in the Makers name did you manage to turn up here, we haven’t stopped in two days and I can’t believe you could have traversed the desert unnoticed? Did you just appear out of nowhere? Did you use some new T’Iea trickery?”
“Nar’Allia laughed, “there is more truth to that than you know JDC,” she giggled again and then said, “but I was going to ask you a similar thing, I thought you must have brought us here or at least known how it was done?”
JDC just shrugged, he obviously didn’t have a clue.
Then Nar’Allia motioned to Solvienne to give her the bag containing the portal stone. Solvienne unhooked it from her belt and obliged. Nar’Allia carefully took the bag, upturned it onto a metal workbench and out rolled the portal stone.
JDC came closer and scrutinised the stone, “by the Maker, a key stone no less?”
“Yes JDC it will transport you to another place, back to the house where we came from perhaps, although that has yet to be proven. But at least I think it will. I hope it will.” She laughed again as she carefully prodded the stone back into its bag using the end of a pencil that she picked from a pocket in the front of JDC’s coveralls.
Suddenly something dawned on JDC’s face, “ah, a portal stone, that smacks strongly of the Keepers.” He thought for a while then smiling in a sort of understanding he said whilst nodding his head slowly, “Amndo, that old dog.”
“Amndo? Is he with you?” Asked Nar’Allia in great hope and surprise.
“Yes he is here. Well not exactly here, not on the Land Train, he hates the motion, says it makes him sick, but that seems an irony to me for I finmd its motion far less upsetting than traversing those darned portals the Keepers are so fond of! No, he is in Scienocropolis, at least that’s where I left him last I saw him a few weeks ago now. He does travel about a bit undertaking business that only he knows of, but he did promise to await my return, but who knows with a Keeper, they seem to be able to appear and disappear on a whim.” He looked at them with one eyebrow raised and said, “a bit like you.”
Nar’Allia laughed, then said, “tell me everything JDC, tell me everything that has happened since we last saw you after you dropped us off the Leviathan, back in Dahl’Ambronis?”
He motioned for them both to sit upon padded stools that swung out from the wall of the room. “Well milady. It has been quite some tale. After we left you and Jonas. Amndo and me, well we flew around for a while, well many months actually trying to find a place where we may hide the Leviathan away from any and all prying eyes. At first our thoughts were to replace it back in the hanger facility where we got it from. But it seems that was no longer an option as we confirmed the facility had been destroyed from within as we suspected. When we arrived back at the hidden valley we found that the cistern was empty of water and much of the inside that we climbed down had fallen in. You suspected as much at the time if you recall.”
Nar’Allia nodded as she remembered their fleeing the facility amongst the earth-shaking tremors and explosions caused by the great engines of the facility overheating. The old caretaker they had met had turned off the coolant water from the cistern. They had exited the facility through the large tubes that once carried the coolant. They had a guide, a maintenance machine she had nicknamed Tidbit. The resulting explosions had threatened to bury them beneath the sands of the Rust Desert. They had only managed to exit just in time before the desert claimed the facility back once more. She wondered about Tidbit, she hoped he survived somehow for she had developed quite a fondness for the cybernetic machine whilst they travelled with him through the facility below the desert sands. He had unwittingly saved their lives on a couple of occasions. She also wondered about the cistern. They had gone there as part of the caravan of the human nomads. They had mostly had an enjoyable time there, for the cistern was a beautiful oasis in the desert, a well-kept secret. Yet there had been darker episodes in that tale also.
But JDC was still talking, “we discounted taking the Leviathan back east, for we dread the thought of the T’Iea’Neat’Thegoran detecting our presence and risking the leviathan falling into their hands. We did not deem any hiding place could exist within the great forests of Dahl’Ambronis and we certainly did not deem the realms of the Grûndén or the Ognod’s to be wise hiding place, for these two races we thought would not hesitate to use the machine as an offensive weapon if the need arose. So that left the Pnook. I argued against this, for reasons I’m sure you can fathom. But Amndo said he would negotiate with the Pnook as an independent mediator. So I dropped him in the desert at an encampment where a friend of mine lives and this friend provided transport to take Amndo to Scienocropolis. Don’t ask me how he did it, but Amndo managed to persuade the Pnook, to provide a secret sanctuary for the Leviathan machine. We are not a war like people and would not use the machines power to dominate. Rather I think they saw an
opportunity to satisfy there curiosity and perhaps discover and to explore new technologies. Whilst we were there in the city, low and behold along comes Citac and the Land Train, so I re-joined him and that is how I happened upon my old ways once again.”
“So both the Leviathan and Amndo are now in Scienocropolis?”
“Yes,” answered JDC with an enthusiastic nod of his head. “He said he would secure the Leviathan and make sure that it would remain safely out of the way, out of sight and out of mind so to speak.”
“But that doesn’t explain how we came to discover a portal stone in Amentura. A portal stone that took us conveniently here to you?”
“Ah, well like I said that would be Amndo I suppose. We wanted to try and find a way that would allow the ‘right’ people to make contact with us again should the time come. It seemed that our resourceful Keeper friend made a good choice eh?”
Nar’Allia thought about this and then said, “well yes, I suppose. But how and when did he create the portal link and place the key stone where we would find it?”
“Well after we had hidden the leviathan within Scienocropolis. Amndo said he wanted to return to Amentura and to travel and meet with the Grand Master in his home city. Apparently Amndo owns a small house in Amentura purely for the sole purpose of housing a bidirectional portal between Amentura and the Keeper’s city of TeraT’Inu’Itil. Trouble is, no Keeper portal exists between TeraT’Inu’Itil and Scienocropolis. But Amndo was able to persuade the king further, the king was only too pleased to provide air transport for Amndo, to fly him back across the Trad to Amentura and that is what he did. I can only assume that Amndo must have created the portal capability from the Land Train to Amentura whilst we were all in Scienocropolis.”
“But the last I heard was that you had instructed Citac to take the Land Train so the authorities in Port Town could not access it, or what it contains?”
“Well that was easy really. Citac knows the regular routes we took, still take, but the clever little so-and-so had also added Scienocropolis on his regular trade routes so it was pure coincidence really that he should turn up in the city whilst on his regular route whilst we were there, rather fortuitous really don’t you think?”
There was a cough behind them. “oh, Solvi, I’m so sorry. JDC please let me introduce you to Solvienne my sister.”
JDC stepped forward and taking Solvienne’s hand bowed to her, “my pleasure milady. I am very happy to make your acquaintance.” He scrutinised Solvienne’s features for some moment before he added, “may I say milady, you look a lot like your mother, the lady Minervar.”
Solvienne blushed slightly. “I am very pleased to meet you master Pnook, I have heard so much about you both from my mother and from my sister. I am pleased that I may have the opportunity of travelling with you as did both Nar’Allia and Minervar before me.”
“The honour is mine, I seem destined to meet with you all. But I must ask the reason why you have come here, for I fear, however pleasant your company may be, that your arrival spells the start of something bigger. One thing I have learnt is that encounters with your family are usually tied in with more adventurous situations?”
Nar’Allia proceeded to relate to JDC everything that had happened so far, the fact that they had learned from a reliable source that Minervar was still alive and their plans to try and reach her and to rescue her. She also explained some of the things that they had discovered in Amentura. JDC nodded at times, but otherwise listened to all she had to say.
At the end JDC thought for a while before saying, “I know Amndo was investigating much of this, he speaks occasionally of his findings. Even to my untrained ears I can recognise many similarities between what he says and what you to have found within the Lady Solin’s house.” He frowned and seemed deep in thought for a while. Then he smiled and said with some excitement, “but I am currently on my return trip to Scienocropolis, I suggest that we continue with that plan and speak to Amndo and decide from there the next course of action to be taken? I’m sure also that the two if you would enjoy a look at my home city.” He smiled curiously. “There have been some …….. changes since the time of the ladies Minervar and Serinae.”
A hot wind blew across the red sands, not for the first time Nar’Allia felt she was reliving Minervar’s travels. She stood there with Solvienne upon the observation platform on the top of the Land Train. She knew she stood where Minervar had stood, saw what Minervar saw as she looked out over the rust desert on her way to Port Town. But Nar’Allia was travelling in the opposite direction towards Scienocropolis. She was going to the same place that Minervar had been fleeing from. The irony did not go unnoticed. One thing was troubling her thoughts though; JDC had said they were very close to the city of the Pnook, yet she was expecting to see the great maelstrom. The massive sandstorm of which Minervar told that erupted around the city. The violent winds that Minervar had described in such vivid detail, winds that gathered the fine sand and grit and blasted all the metalwork on the flying ship in which she flew until it shone like new. Surely, in the same way they would need to fly over the maelstrom as Minervar and her friends had done when they travelled from Amentura across the Trad Ocean and on over the desert to the city of Scienocropolis. Yet so far Nar’Allia had not seen anything that resembled a violent sandstorm or a Pnook flying machine for that matter, she certainly expected that the Land Train, remarkable form of transport that it was, did not however have the capability of taking to the air and flying. But nowhere for as far as her eyes could see could she detect even the slightest cloud of wind-blown sand. This troubled her, they had been travelling for three days now across the desert, she was getting impatient to see the city and to talk with Amndo once again. She decided to go back down into the Land Train and speak to JDC.
His response to her question was somewhat evasive. “As I said Narny, the city is very different from the time of Minervar’s descriptions, much has changed I’m afraid.”
“Changed how? Has it become invisible?”
JDC laughed, ”you will see Narny, you will see. Ah, but even now you can just glimpse the city there, look on the horizon.” He pointed towards an area on the viewing screen in front of the controls where he sat.
Nar’Allia looked into the monitor screen, it showed a picture of the outside, the desert in front of the Land Train. The desert horizon could be seen yes, but it looked just the same as the other hundred times that Nar’Allia had looked into the viewing screen on this journey.
JDC took his hand off the control that controlled the speed of the Land Train and the vehicle slowly came to a halt. “Just let me zoom in a little,” he then leaned across to another console and pressed a button. The view of the desert outside in the monitor seemed to rush forward at great speed as if she had sprouted the wings of a bird and sped even now over the desert, yet she did not sense any forward movement.
As Nar’Allia watched the picture change, something dark seemed to appear on the horizon being viewed on the monitor. Dark shapes, very angular in appearance seemed to get closer and closer. What could they be? She had never seen anything like this in the rust desert the last time she was there. It was then that Nar’Allia gasped. There in front of her she could see high buildings, many high buildings. All glittered silvery in the bright sunlight.
“There, said JDC, “there is Scienocropolis, you see?”
“But, it’s low, I mean it’s not up in the air, in fact it’s on the ground ….. isn’t it? I thought the city floated high above the desert. It had great engines to keep it up in the air, didn’t it?”
“Yes, milady, it did. At one time the city did indeed fly above the ground. High above. But you perhaps remember your mother telling of how some of those engines were purposely destroyed? A final sacrifice to thwart the invasion of the Startmektoken and how successful that act was?”
Nar’Allia nodded her head. She did remember this from the story told by Minervar.
“Well,” continued JDC. “After that act
, the city started to slowly fall to earth. Very slowly, for the remaining engines did not have the necessary power to keep such a mass above the ground. Gravity won over and the city started to descend very slowly. Nothing could be done to stop this and over a period of some years following the Startmektoken attack the city settled gently onto the desert. The weight of the city was great, it did not appear to slow down once the desert was reached, in fact it continued to sink into the sands. Much fear arose, for there was no telling how far the city would sink. But unbelievably it sank until the street level was just a few hundred metres above the sands of the desert. There it stopped to the great relief of all and it remained stable and whole. So there it remains ‘till this day. No longer a city above the sands, but a city upon the sands. JDC engaged forward power once more and the screen blurred violently as the motion of the Land Train increased. JDC ‘zoomed’ back out and the violent shaking of the desert in the screen stopped and the normal view Nar’Allia was used to reappeared.
Within a few hours they approached the city. It was still vast, much bigger than any place of habitation that Nar’Allia had ever seen before. As a child she had thought Tent Town to be big, but what met her eyes now was unimaginably bigger. Tent Town would have easily fitted into the same area of land that one of the tall buildings of Scienocropolis sat upon. How did any race build such a place? Even from outside the city she could recognise many landmarks much as Minervar had described. Although now there was no longer the derelict outskirts of Minervar’s descriptions. But as they got closer they could see that now there was a defensive wall about one hundred metres high that seemed to surround the whole city. At the top it curved outwards overhanging their position. From where Nar’Allia and Solvienne stood upon the viewing platform of the Land Train the effect was to make the city look even more imposing.