They all came to the pillar. However, a door was before them. Grimm continued nonchalantly. He pressed the button next to it. They all waited about 2 minutes in complete silence, before the door opened, revealing a chamber large enough for all of them to fit in.
“Umm….what’s this?” Nicholai asked.
“This is an elevator. It’ll take us up to the upper village.” Grimm answered, prompting everyone but Katreena to question his statement. They all stepped into the elevator. Once it began to move. Everyone but Grimm tripped slightly. They tried to stand still in the moving chamber, yet were getting dizzy.It also didn’t help that the chamber was dark from the frontal screen being blocked off. Which was soon coming to an end. As the screen was removed as they crossed the line where it reached on the pillar. All of them could now see the bright village from above. They all crowded on the window to gravel at its beauty. Grimm remained behind and smiled at their child like wonder. The wonder was interrupted as soon as it came.
“Hey those clouds. They clouded our view of the village.” Ezra let out a pun, it amused no one. After a few seconds of white clouds, the chamber darkened again. Then it rose up into the glowing sunlight. The doors open and they stepped out into Cloudwick’s upper layer. They immediately noticed something about where they stood. The ground was incredibly soft. “Woah!”
Ezra and Nicholai shouted in glee. They dropped to their knees and put their hands onto the ground. “How is this possible?”
“Hell if I know.” Grimm said before walking around on it like nothing was bothering him. “Let’s go. We need to get to the mayor.”
“I’m already here!” All of them turned to the sound of the voice. However something else had occurred. There were 10 women all in 2 single file lines. They all were dressed in giant round white costumes, and had short to long blue hair. They were all dancing to music being played by a small band. Ezra turned to see Nicholai tapping his toes.
“What, it’s a good beat.”
“Here he comes! (Here he comes!). Say hello!(Say Hello!). To the shining ray of sunshine, blessed to the land! It’s our wonderful Mayor BEN!” The group stared confused.
“NEBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB!” Ezra tried to speak but was instantly cut off by the dancers finishing their little song. Before them then came the mayor of Cloudwick, Benneb. He was a small man riding uptop a cloud. He was dressed in a white robe and had his hair colored the same as the dancers.
“So this guy runs this place?” Nicholai asked.
“I think he’s the mayor servant.” Ezra followed up. The man before them became furious at the two young ones.
“I’M THE MAYOR YOU IDIOTS!” Benneb yelled at the two. The dancers all gathered around him and glared furiously at them as well. Benneb took his eyes off them and spotted his friend Grimm. He jumped off his cloud and onto the tall man. Climbing all around his upper body.
“Hey get off me you little shit!” Grimm grabbed Benneb and held the little man before himself.
“Wassup, big guy.” Benneb said while trying to reach over and hug the tall man.
“You know why I’m here right?” Grimm responded.
“That’s right. Come on, let’s go to that restaurant and talk.” Grimm sighed at the small man’s request. He looked over to the young ones he brought with him. Nicholai to him looked like he could use a good meal or two. No other urge was felt but the one making him go along with the mayor. He carried him in hand and they all stopped at the upper villages’ best place to eat. Cloud 10.
“Leave the horse outside.” Benneb said to Ezra. The swordsman and the mare looked at each other and sighed. Ezra had a different idea.
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“Actually. I’m gonna stay with her. You guys go on ahead.” He said.
“You sure.” Nicholai asked.
“Yeah. If I have any other questions I’ll just come for them afterwards. You just fill me in on anything I might end up missing.” Ezra said to the mage. “Plus. I’ll let you get this chance to pick up some leads on your pops.”
“Alright. Alright. Guess I’ll see you in a bit.” Nicholai affirmed for his friend.
“Don’t cause any trouble.” Grimm said before the rest of them all retreated to the restaurant. Ezra looked back at Anabelle and they started to wander off into the new village.
They started to see the major differences between the upper and lower layer. The ground was split with a large glass pane that was stretching throughout the village. Ezra noticed some weird tubes beneath the panes.
The residents each had their clothes the same cloud white color. The clothes showed no open spots for showing skin at all. Each building had large panels on top of it. Ezra notices weird devices set up all over the town. These devices dispensed items and other materials the people were using.
They still had a very standard market place. Still selling fruit, meat, and vegetables alike. However the more of the village the more weird devices and mechanisms they began to notice. Ezra had never seen things like this before. Most were constructed of metal and had numerous buttons to press. A river was passing through the village as well. And there were children riding vehicles of some kind at a rapid pace in the water.
“What kind of place is this? What the hell is all of this stuff? I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Ezra spoke in awe as he and Anabelle continued around the village.
“Hey! Look out!” A voice yelled at them from behind. They turned to see what it was, and a quick moving land vehicle was charging at them. They dodged out of the way quickly. A large man with sparkling orange hair and the same white attire was operating the vehicle. He stopped just at the stop where the two were walking pass, and unloaded four large crates at the front door. “Delivery!”
Ezra walked around the man’s mode of transport to see its entirety.
“You new to town?” The man asked Ezra.
“Yeah. I’m visiting with some friends.”
“Ah. Great. You seem pretty interested in my Cloudbike.”
“Cloudbike?” Ezra asked.
“Yeah. This baby helps me make deliveries to the upper and lower layer of the village. Though old man Benneb wont let me take it down there. I’d love to drive this thing around the field.” The large man spoke estasically about the vehicle. “What you ain’t never seen anything like this?”
“No I haven’t. In fact I’ve never seen anything like this stuff. What is it? Anabelle you gotta see this.” Ezra motioned the horse to witness the Cloudbike’s features. 3 strong rubber wheels, an iron frame that held it all together, and a motor to keep it running. All painted in the same white as the clothes of the citizens. Ezra looked in total glee.
“You know. That old man might be a bit busy. And I just finished my last delivery for the day. How about I show you how to ride it?” The large man asked. Causing Ezra to nod happily.
Grimm, Katreena, Nicholai, and Benneb had all been seated inside of the restaurant. They had been served a meal to start them down for their conversation.
“So. the day has finally come. The empires are sending knights to attack. Guess it’s time tp put Operation Core into effect.” Benneb said.
“Operation Core?” Nicholai asked back.
“It’s our sure fire way to make sure that the empires don’t beat us, and the Freelands returns to its former glory. For you see. This lands name holds more meaning than you think. It was once called something else. However due to time. Things have changed.” Benneb began.
“Why is it called the Freelands? And what was it originally called?”
“It’s original name.has been lost to time. For more than 3000 years, it has remained the Freelands. But one thing was known about this land. IT WAS THE HAVEN OF TECHNOLOGY!” Benneb preached.
“The Haven of Technology?” Nicholai confusingly said back.
“Long ago. The Freelands was a thriving home for all things technology. There was science, biology, and of course technology. Everyday life was dependent on the gadgets and mechanisms created by the top inventors and scientists. However, all of that went away during a great war. The land wasn’t just science and technology. There also existed a faction of mages who lived on the coast of the continent. They were led by a mage named Culion. Culion was powerful and unstoppable. He led a rebellion against the technologically advanced people. And in the end. He won. In the end most of the land was destroyed, so Culion blocked off what remained of the other civilization by erecting a giant mountain.” Benneb spoke of which he knew.
“What!? What if there was still people living on the other side?” Nicholai questioned furiously.
“That’s the point. There were survivors. The survivors of this land who were stuck in this small spec of land decided to create a village away from the mages, and hide from them. So they built Cloudwick. Or maybe just the upper layer. But with that. All of the technology that existed in that time is now present here in this village!” Benneb answered. Nicholai took in all of the info. He stood up and looked out the window, and now got his glimpse of all of the stunning technology that had been passed down from generation to generation. 3000 years of work all sitting in one spot.
“So…..now what?” The young mage asked the mayor.
“Our goal is simple. We will tear down Mount Culion, and expand th village across the continent! We will recreate what was once gone!” Nicholai was amazed at the possibility. However he still had many questions. There existed way more villages than Cloudwick. What would happen to Dustgarde, or even Fayspell?
“So I’m guessing it’s called the Freelands because it’s free of technology like it used to have.” Nicholai asked.
“That seems to be the reason.” Grimm quickly answered.
“I have a question. What about the other villages that are around the Freelands?” Katreena broke her silence to ask.
“That’s my plan. I don’t intend to make a land of just technology. It will be a empire of magic and technology!”