Harpyn awoke the next morning with a renewed sense of purpose. And a sore neck. But after a long stretch and a yawn, he was able to crawl back across the sideways cabin, drop down through the door, and make his way slowly back to the open hatch where he’d first entered the cargo hold.
It didn’t take long at all before he was back on the ground and he had oriented himself to the map. By his calculations, he merely had to follow the canyon ahead until it ended in a wide delta where the River Themieus spread its many fingers. The letter, still tucked in his pocket, suggested that the city of Olanyi was three days’ flight, but he wasn’t certain when the letter had been written. Judging by the map, it looked like it might only be a day and a half if he moved quickly, and that was exactly what he intended to do.
Having had some luck with the light spell, Harpyn decided to test out his teleportation again. When he’d first arrived, his magic had felt off, but when he said the word and stepped forward, he was pleased to find that he had leapt ahead along the canyon by quite a distance. He walked a little while longer, making sure he wouldn’t feel sick afterward. And of course, he now knew that using too much magic too quickly would only deplete his abilities further. So he made a plan to walk as far as he could and only use teleportation when he absolutely needed to. Once he got closer to the city, he could use his magic freely without fear of being stuck out in the hot canyon alone.
He walked and whistled all day and found a suitable place to sleep that night in a shallow cave along the canyon walls. After two full days without seeing so much as a mouse, he wasn’t terribly concerned about predators getting him in the night.
On the second day, he noticed that the craggy rock walls of the canyon began to change. Ragged trees started to sprout from between the rocks, clawing their way upward against all odds. He must be nearing water, and not just the slimy kind he found on the inside of some of the canyon’s deeper caves. He was very grateful for the few supplies he’d had on him when he was brought to this strange place, because he just couldn’t stomach the thought of drinking that slimy stuff, even if it was a matter of life and death.
A sound broke the silence and Harpyn froze in his tracks, looking all around. All this time, his own cheerful whistling had gone unanswered, but now he heard an animal calling out proudly and he knew he must be nearing the end of the canyon. Overhead, he spotted an oversized nest hanging loosely over the edge of a rocky outcropping. He watched for some time until a large, colorful bird sailed down from the sky and landed at its edge.
It had a huge plume of red and yellow tail feathers that trailed after it like the tail of a comet. Harpyn stayed perfectly still, not wanting to alarm the thing.
Finally, it spread its great wings and took to the air once more, circling twice until it caught a thermal and lifted up over the edge of the canyon to disappear. Harpyn wondered briefly if there were eggs in that nest, and if so, if he could climb that high to get one for himself. But after considering his options, he decided it best that he get to the city and find a less challenging meal.
Before long, Harpyn found himself navigating a web of streams and swamps, scrabbling over rocky inclines to gain a better view of the river delta. He pulled out his map, careful not to let it get wet, and turned in the direction of Olanyi. Far out in the distance, he could see a dark shape jutting out of the ground and straight toward the sky. From where he stood, he could not make out its exact shape, but he knew that this must be where Olanyi stood.
He put the map away and started moving again, relishing the calls of the colorful birds as they flew past. He saw shimmering fish in the rivers and an odd number of furry animals scurrying back and forth between streams and burrows. All in all, he was kind of starting to appreciate the beauty of this strange world, and he was eager to see what Olanyi had to offer. If it was a city big enough to host airships like he’d found in the canyon, he had no doubt it had once been a bustling place. He only wished that Anaya and Brugo were here to see it with him.
It didn’t matter, though, because once he reached Olanyi, he was confident he would find the secret to getting back home, and then he could show his friends everything he had learned. The magic was the answer.
With his sites set on the dark shape on the horizon, Harpyn marched along purposefully. At last, he found himself looking at a structure that slightly resembled a tree. In fact, it might once have been a tree, the way the trunk twisted and curved down into the earth, spreading wide roots in every direction. But instead of being covered with green leaves, the top of the tree sprouted hundreds of platforms, hanging high above the ground. In the tree’s side, he could see a wide opening, and the prow of a great airship just barely poked out from the opening.
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He stopped, staring up at the enormous structure, puzzled by its very existence. It seemed to defy gravity with all of its appendages and adornments, but still it stood, proudly blocking out the sun from where he stood.
“How do you get in?” he wondered, looking around the base for some kind of door.
He did not immediately see any kind of entrance to Olanyi, but he supposed that may have been by design. After all, if you had air ships, why would you ever need to walk in by foot?
He sat, wondering what he should do next, when he noticed a bit of movement inside the open bay with the airship. At first, he thought it might just be a bird or something that had taken up residence in the old thing. But then he saw more movement, and when he really listened, he heard the beat of drums from deep inside the structure’s trunk. It was like the thump-thump-thump rhythm started at the tree’s core and worked its way out through the roots until it found its way to the soles of his feet.
Could this be real? After the airship and the empty canyon, he’d assumed that he was alone in this strange place. But now, he wasn’t so sure. There was definitely movement up there, and it wasn’t just a bird. It was people, and there were many of them.
Alarmed, he looked around, wondering if he should seek cover, but he knew it was too late. If they’d had anyone watching, they would’ve seen him coming from miles away.
“Best not to delay,” he told himself, getting to his feet and heading straight toward the tree’s broad base. Once he arrived, he would find a mage to speak to who could answer some of his questions. Then he would see about that meal, and he would find a way back home. Simple enough.
He was nearly at the base of the trunk when another site gave him pause. This time, the beast that flew overhead did not have colorful feathers that captivated his imagination. Instead, it had a long reptilian body and scales that glittered like fire in the sunlight. It opened its mouth and let out a screech that filled the air, giving him an uneasy feeling. Dragons?
With a deep, shaky breath, he wove his way between the roots, climbing over them and sliding down them as they tangled together. He was just about to descend the final gnarled bunch of them when he saw another human walking ahead of him, and it just so happened that this man was wearing the dark robes of the mage’s order.
Harpyn nearly shouted with joy at the sight! Finally, someone who would understand him!
He was just about to go careening toward the stranger when the dragon gave another sharp cry from overhead and then came wheeling down to land in front of the mage. Harpyn watched, stunned, as the thing craned its neck and allowed the mage to scratch under its chin. He was still marveling at this when a second mage appeared from between the enormous tree roots, walking forward to greet the first man.
Another mage!
Harpyn was beside himself with glee and started forward when a bolt of black shot out of the first man’s hands and struck the second man square in the chest. The second man fell back, a scream cut short into a mere squawk of protest before he hit the ground. Harpyn blinked several times, slinking backwards and crouching down to keep from being hidden.
The first man let out a sharp, wicked laugh and the dragon adjusted its wings, observing the fallen man like he might make a fine meal. But to Harpyn’s relief, the man and his dragon turned and walked away, disappearing through a door that blended into the base of the tree tower, nearly invisible to outsiders.
With a shaky breath, Harpyn kept an eye on that door as he crept forward. The man couldn’t be dead, could he? Harpyn had never seen magic like this before. Well, except for the lightning sword. But he had never seen a human wield such power, and the thought of it made him quite nervous.
He reached a place where the ground was flat and dry, and he knew if he wanted to get a closer look, he would have to walk out in the open. But the way he saw it, there was no other choice. He whispered a few words of courage to himself, and then he darted out across the open space, skidding to a stop when he reached the fallen man.
A small sound of alarm escaped his throat as he examined the man. He was dead, all right. Very, very dead, in fact. A blackened spot spread out across the man’s chest where he’d been struck, having eaten away at the man’s robes entirely. But even as Harpyn stood there, he was watching the man’s corpse decay.
One second, he looked like he’d been dead a week. The next, he looked like his body had been out in the weather for months. His skin turned gray and paper thin, and then it began to peel away, exposing bone and muscle that crawled with maggots.
Harpyn turned away, afraid that he might lose his meager lunch. When he finally summoned the courage to turn back, the man was merely an old skeleton, bits of the bone disintegrating and blowing away in the harsh wind.
In mere minutes, the man’s body had entirely vanished and there was only a faint impression in the dirt where he had lain. Harpyn stood staring at the spot for a very long time, suddenly unsure if these were the kinds of mages he could call upon for help.