The once dark room is now lit up magnificently with the help of the glowing Fire-Musca and the Xi-Fu whom cares for it. Lian stared at the Fire-Musca from the safety of the bubble. To Lian, they were like glowing dandelions blown by a warm updraft.
"Stay close wuuuuuuurble. We are about to pierce the Mooze!" Continued Granas, his voice croaking ever lower.
"What Moose?" Thought Lian to himself, his expression as blank as could be.
"If your face is any indicator, the mooze is a thin layer of durable jelly, it separates the outside from the in. The beauty of this jelly is that it is made in a way where only the specific thermodynamics of the Xi-Fu bubbles can penetrate it with relative ease. Weather or any other hazards are stopped dead on its bleedin' tracks." Explained Granas.
“I uh...appreciate it Granas.” Mumbled Lian in uncertainty.
"Thank me not, Ezekiel, for the danger you may encounter is yet to be seen." Said Granas, his voice void of emotion.
"Woah! The platform is shrinking! " Shouted Lian
“Lucky for you boy, this is not on that list.” Laughed Granas.
“Come this way, the platform will now shrink before piercing the mooze. Come, come, do not dawdle! Les, you fall along with your kin.” Continued Granas.
Lian gasped and staggered toward the center of the platform as he observed the entirety of the platform shrink ever smaller.
“Incredible. Is this the work of the Fire-Musca!?” Asked Lian.
"Not quite, the numerous chemicals in our body allow the Xi-FU to manipulate the platform in which you stand. This is...how humans put it… the “maintenance platform”, thus the only platform to be capable of such transformation. The platforms size is merely being regulated by yours truly. After years of grueling excavations and expeditions, we Xi-Fu have found a deposit of a semi-metallic substance that is capable of expanding and shrinking at a moment's will, provided of course you bear the talent that the Xi-Fu possesses at birth.
“Chemistry.” Replied Lian in excitement.
“ Precisely. The Xi-Fu are taught numerous different chemical compositions at birth, some for creation and others for practicality. The mastery of chemistry comes to the Xi-Fu as crawling comes to baby humans. Wuuuuuuurble. Thus, the key to many of the architectural wonders you see in New Dwarden today. This particular kind of deathly metal is called Mortemmetallum, or Poam for short; named after the Xi-Fu Poamineralisk, who risked her life securing such a resource. Poam is an extremely valuable semi-metal for many reasons, most of which involve doom and rarity. This precious semi-metal is found on the tip of mountains and at the base of pitch black ravines. Most people refer to this kind of semi-metal as the "Blood Sponge", simply because it's remarkable durability, flexibility, and notoriety. Unlike most semi-metals, this one is the most capable and wanted from a metallurgical standpoint. One must venture inside nightmares to retrieve minute sums of Poam. It is the reason why most pieces of Poam are decorated so, a chronicle of how it was obtained." Said Granas
Lian stood in place, gawking at the surreal art displayed below his feet. In fact, he was so taken by Granas’ explanation, he had not noticed the platform pierce the Mooze above him, that is... until Granas gently pushed him towards the outermost railing.
“The platform is done shrinking Ezekiel. Please do not let this vista miss your eyes boy, as this view is normally reserved for an old Xi-Fu, much less any human. Wurble.” Said Granas with a stern voice.
The vista was unlike any other indeed. The mysterious New Dwarden was gazed upon with yet a different veil, high above the clouds, even higher than the numerous Cherubim that densely populated New Dwarden. Nessiah's humbling balcony was merely a visual appetizer compared to what Lian had before him, as the time was now dawn, and the Sun began to peer over a new world.
“New Dwarden, the giant city, a city of steam.” Thought Lian.
Lian could almost crumble under the weighted excitement, he had stumbled upon a new city, and maybe even a new world, far from home. Lian resisted the urge to point out the many mysterious wonders New Dwarden presented before him, like a child in a toy store, he remained energized and wanting yet quiet and opportunistic. Be it the numerous gears riddling the sides of almost every Cherubim, the enormous instrument shaped buildings that were blowing blankets of steam from their respective holes, or even the giant people who stood towering above the lively crowd, Lian was trying to see it all. He spotted people of all heights and colors hanging out in the parade below, whales that flew so close to him he can touch them, even other Ignorpa of various different colors sticking to the many walls New Dwarden had to offer.
Lian shot his gaze towards Granas, trying to hold the immense excitement behind the safety of his lips.
"This has surely been an unexpected twist for the night. I have never had such a long conversation with a human being, let alone one that is as young as you, it is quite different indeed." Said Granas, noticing Lian’s overbearing excitement.
"I see people with red skin, green skin, yellow skin, and every skin! The Cherubim look like giant iron flutes, and people live in these! This is amazing Granas, there are creatures and people here that I’ve yet to even dream of meeting. The smells are- the sounds is- wow." Said Lian, his voice falling under his bursting excitement.
"It would be wise to remain calm, as what you see here is merely a morsel of the bigger meal. New Dwarden holds many secrets, even to we Xi-Fu. You must remain unfazed by what New Dwarden may present to you, should your mouth remain open, it will be noticed, and your tongue will be cut accordingly. " Asked Granas toward Lian
Lian nodded in understanding as his tears began to roll down his cheeks, his mother and father most certainly in his thoughts.
As quickly as the rotating platform came up, it began to make it's way down. It was as if the platform was tossed from one large shaft to another one far below.
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“We’re going down?” Asked Lian, his eyes dulling of excitement somewhat.
“You have not forgotten your quest Lian, have you?” Asked Granas.
“No, sir.” Replied Lian steadfast.
“Swallow that excitement wurble, or your journey may end here.” Said Granas, his voice like a whip.
“May I ask one question Granas?” Asked Lian, his voice winding down.
Granas nodded his head in approval, knowing full well that the child that stood before him was doing his absolute best not to withhold his excitement.
"Those buildings are huge. Can we get the bubble to land in any specific area? You know, for emergencies and such." asked Lian reluctantly.
Granas looked at Lian intently, stepping closer and closer until finally he crouched and looked at Lian eye-to-eye.
“That is your question?” Asked Granas suspiciously.
“I must know. Yes.” Said Lian, nodding his head in approval.
Granas opened his mouth widely before Lian, revealing his long tongue and incredibly slimy interior. It was then that Granas' usually stern face uncharacteristically burst into laugher knowing full well Lian had selected such an odd question in a time where he could not ask many.
Lian shifted his eyes nervously, wondering if he had done something to upset Granas. The question he had asked, was one his mother would’ve certainly wanted to know and he was determined to perhaps one day tell her. Granas could only continue to laugh at the intent behind Lian’s question. After a hearty yet short laugh, Granas put his long slimy fingers upon Lians left shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes again.
"Listen here, Ezekiel. We certainly could, although even master chemists such as Xi-Fu are going to have a hard time maneuvering Poam this big. It takes extreme temperature manipulation and extreme focus in order to drive something this large. I’ve been around for many many years, so casual conversation does not tax me so. Say I shrunk this to about the size of a sewer cover, then maybe I’d be able to get across a number of Cherubim." Explained Granas
“Does that satisfy your query Ezekiel?” asked Granas.
Lian nodded his head in interest. In his mind, Lian was shooting questions towards Granas like a machine gun, but Granas was right, he must compose himself prior to walking into the festival below. Lian stood straight and waited attentively for Granas next command.
Granas began to warn Lian for the inevitable descent of the Borboohas, while Lian struggles to sturdy his composure for the descent.
"Grip something Ezekiel, the descent may upset your human stomach." Scolded Granas.
"...This Borboohas... is actually one of the smoothest things I have ever ridden on." Said Lian in astonishment as the Borboohas slowly rotated downwards.
“It is made for creatures of every pasture. We are careful not to upset their organism. Now pay heed wurble.” Said Granas.
The Boorboohas came to an odd halt and Lian was greeted with a weird warm feeling; it was as if he had just jumped over the moon and landed upon a gelatinous cloud.
"Welcome to the Viridi, a haven for departure, and the landing zone of the Borboohas." Explained Granas as he slowly retracted the bubble from around the Poam.
Lian was stunned yet again in amazement. He stood center in a very mechanically impressive room, surrounded by different platforms ready to take civilians into their home. Like the previous elevator shaft, this room was also riddled with many gears and pipes protruding just as much steam as there previous counterparts. The room was sepia lit, yet large and round. It had an opening at the top for the Borboohas, but had a long tunnel at Lian’s right, presumably where the rest of the platforms would take route.
“It’s like we ’re inside a grandfather clock and then we moved into a tinier version of that. Amazing. Truly amazing. Stunning...just stunning.” Mumbled Lian under his breath.
"Well Ezekiel nevermind this, did you not say you were in a hurry!?" Said Granas suspiciously
"Of course...um Granas, it was very nice to meet you and this has been an amazing experience. I am in your debt." Expressed Lian with a determined smile
The air between Granas and Lian was oddly still, almost as if for a moment Granas felt an extreme form of compassion for this young human named Lian. Almost...
"Get out of here Lubberwart, wuuuuurble. Prove to me that I wasn't wrong in letting you breathe! The backpack! The child and fox must be covered, they will only attract attention!" Shouted Granas with a widened smile.
Lian nodded his head and extended his hand hoping for a handshake out of respect, only to be met with an awkward smile from Granas and a pouch of coins; embarrassed of his delightful interaction with Lian, Granas nervously laughs and sends Lian on his way.
"One moment Ezekiel. To get out of here place this into the Relo’s mouth, next to the mooze gate!" Yelled Granas in response to the boy's departure.
Granas tossed a small metal ball with particular engravings of what appeared to be different fruits, all of which Lian appeared unfamiliar with.
“It’s the creature next to the mooze door, it allows special access in the Cherubim during special times such as today. Oh and the pouch, it has 50 talons, it's enough to survive. Now go.” Said Granas, his voice fading farther and farther.
Lian stepped closer to the exit, it had a sign saying push to open, yet it appears the conventional giant wooden doors were not available right now. Instead, Lian was met with a small creature, about the size of a ruler, holding it’s little arms out next to the door. The creature was a pale white, it’s only distinct feature was it’s two tiny black dots for eyes. Like a miniature child, it just stood there looking upwards at Lian with its tiny right arm extended. Lian crouched down and handed the creature the small tiny metal ball. Shortly after, the creature's eyes lit-up and gently pushed the metal ball within its body. It’s tiny body soon began to adopt the metal balls patterns and slowly even changed it’s pale white skin to green. To Lian’s surprise, the creature merely looked at him and bowed, extending its left arm towards the door. It was time to go. The nearly clear mooze had opened up, and the world of New Dwarden is mere steps away.