2 months later

“Hey! Slow it down. We aren’t too much further to get there. You can keep the pace down for a guy with no balance.”

The road to Skyfa had been long and oftentimes the group had decided to take cross country “shortcuts” to make the journey faster. This of course ended up with hacking through brush and stumbling over roots and occasionally fighting some wild animal. And while that wasn’t too bad for Wren and Bella, for Javi, everything was made ten times harder. Despite time passing, he was still not used to the lack of an arm.

Eventually, he stumbled out of the woods, panting and exhausted and all together done with cross country traveling. But then, he wouldn’t have to do any of that any longer, for before him was the mighty city of Skyfa. High up on the mountain side were massive tethers, chains tying the city to the mountain. And it was needed, as without it, it looked as if the city would float away. Built as a ring around three quarters of the way up the mountain, the city stretched out on great platforms that appeared unconnected to the mountain itself. Indeed, it seemed to be rising up of its own volition while the chains kept it where it was.

Steam and smoke rose from all across the city, but it quickly mixed together with the clouds and was forgotten. Occasionally, Javi could swear that he heard the banging of a hammer in a forge, even though they were much too far to hear anything. Even at such a great distance though, he could tell that this was a city of great technology and great wonder.

As Wren and Javi stared up in wonder at this marvel that was truly unlike any city they had seen in their world, Bella turned to them and gave a wide grin, pronouncing their arrival. “Welcome to the great city of Skyfa! The city that touches the sky. Filled with the greatest technologies this world has ever seen. If you want something created, this is the place to go.”

“Wow.” Wren stepped forward but kept his gaze locked on the city. “How is that possible? The city is made of metal. How can it float in the sky? What kind of Aether is being used to make it function like that?”

“How would I know? I ain’t a scientist. You’ll have to figure it out from somebody up there.”

“But more importantly,” Javi said. “How the hell do we get up there?”

“About that. I’m not entirely sure. Alicia told me about a traditional route that she took up the mountain, but apparently there is an easier method. Though I’m willing to bet that line might know.” Bella pointed over towards the base of the mountain where a line of people had formed. “They look like the awaiting entry types, wouldn’t you say?”

Wren nodded. “Sounds like as good of a plan as any. Let’s go.”

The three continued their march forward. Javi was grateful that they had taken a break but this downhill towards the base of the mountain was quite rough on him. God damn it. Some of us can’t go fast without worrying about tumbling the rest of the way down.

It took a few hours to get all the way to the line. Once closer they could see that the line was made up of people with carts and strange creatures to pull them. Somewhat horse-like, but with scales instead of fur, 3 sets of legs, and a bird-like head. Javi leaned over to Wren. “Do you know what those things are?”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Grandans.” Wren responded. “They are common work animals and could be seen as an equivalent to a horse in our world. But much stronger and sturdier. Wild ones are not something you want to encounter. They were in the third animal guide we were given.”

Well, I only read the first two. Guess that explains it. As they were discussing, Bella moved ahead and talked to the person at the back of the line.

“Hey, what’s all this about? Are you not heading up to the city?”

The stranger turned to look at her. He was a tall middle-aged man with shoulder length black hair combed back and mild, sun kissed skin. But most notable, was that when he turned around, they could see that the left half of his face was covered in a mask. A mask detailed as a screaming fox. He smiled as they approached. “Oh yes, this is a line of sorts to get into the city. Though I think you’ll find it unmoving for quite a while.” He spoke with a deep voice that caused Javi’s skin to crawl. Every one of his instincts told him not to engage with this man and he could tell Wren was reacting the same way.

Bella however, seemed fine. “What do you mean? Did something happen?”

The man looked at all of them for a moment and smiled again. “Oh yes. There was some sort of incident in the city. One of the great craftsmen of the city was robbed. They ended up shutting down the airlifts in the process to limit the escape routes the thief could take. This wouldn’t be too much of an issue, however part of the mountain pass collapsed recently and our carriages and grandans can’t make it through.”

Run.

What was that voice? Javi swore he heard something. And it only worsened how he felt about this man. The sooner they ended this conversation the better. Before Bella could respond he decided to step in and cut her off. “That’s too bad. Luckily, we don’t have a cart. We should be able to take the mountain pass just fine. It’ll be a long journey so we should go ahead and go. Right Bella?” He subtly grabbed her arm as he talked and squeezed it hard to try and indicate that they needed to go.

At first she looked confused, but quickly caught on that something was wrong. She withdrew alongside him. “Sorry, for leaving in such a rush. But we really must hurry.”

And so they departed. Away from this strange man. Away from the fear he made Javi feel. As they walked away, Javi spared one final glance back at the man and did what he had been taught to do for all opponents.

Name: Drefga Alpha

Class: Overlord

Strength: ???

Speed: ???

Durability: ???

Intelligence: ???

Charisma: ???

Luck: ???

Abilities: ???

Titles: Agent of Voxen, ???

Under any and all circumstances, do not engage.

And as Javi looked up from the befuddling Analyze, he locked eyes with the man and he could tell. While he had gotten nearly nothing about this man, about Drefga, he had gotten everything about them. And with all of his strength, Javi wished to not have to encounter him again, even knowing it is inevitable that they will do so.