Max had learned to stop screaming as he was tossed through the air. It helped to keep his eyes shut and ignore the falling feeling. That didn’t mean that tears didn’t leak from the edges of his eyes. They had to be traveling at least seventy miles an hour. He was starting to get windburnt, like he had spent the entire day skydiving.

The pace was grueling, only stopping when they ran into monsters that pierced through Ebba’s bell card. Max didn’t see most of the fights, but the one he did see was impressive. A lizard yeti caught up to them and whipped at the Igra with its furry tail. Borts took a chunk out of a nearby tree, transmuted it into knives, and blinded the creature. All in one motion.

Furtis lined up his hands and waited for the beast to stumble to a stop. Green sparks sprayed out of his hands and flew forward in a cloud. Wherever the sparks touched, burnt away in a flash of red light. The monster was dead in seconds. They collected the monster core and were off, keeping up a brutal pace.

Max relaxed slightly when they got to the mountain range separating the third and second layers. Chunus only threw them most of the way up the mountain, having them walk over the top so they didn’t get flung over it. As they walked up the side of the mountain, Max noticed something interesting. It was super easy to walk up here. The mountains were high enough that the centrifugal force was lower here. It was like the gravity had been turned down.

Once they reached the top of the mountains, they got a beautiful view of the second layer. It was full of rivers and temperate forests, completely unlike the jungle they had just left. Off to their left, an upside mountain floated in the air. It was distant, but Max guessed that it was the floating city of Bespin.

They didn’t get to enjoy the view because Chunus threw them off the peak of the mountain. Max felt his stomach protesting as they fell and fell. The wind rushed by his ears as they flew all the way down the mountain in one go, being caught in the foothills.

Thankfully, they didn’t get thrown again as they landed. Max was able to get a proper look around. There were pine trees in the foothills, oak and cedar further in. There were splotches of red further in, groves of trees from Ebba’s homeworld. To their right was a section of blue and purple trees with yellow leaves. Max wanted to go check it out, but he had no desire to leave the group.

Borts stretched and said, “We’ll break here for a bit, then head out to The Regal Father. It’s a city in the middle of the second layer, I figure that counts as halfway for our deal.”

Ebba cleared her throat and said, “Actually, I was hoping you could drop us off at The Twelve Meditations instead. It’s my home town and about as far away as The Regal Father.”

“I know it. Used to work as a climber in the city’s tower, back when I was earning my third tier. It’s more spinward than north, but I’m fine with dropping you off at The Twelve Meditations. As long as it’s what Gus wants.”

Gus looked up from where he was laying flat on the ground. “Yeah, sure, whatever.”

Max took out his bottle and stumbled over to a water berry plant. The constant wind had really dried him out. James had the same idea and they rehydrated together. Afterwards, they sat under the same tree.

It was relaxing on the second layer, more than he had been expecting. The mana was less dense here, and that ineffable sense of tingling pressure was lessened. It was like moving from a crowded city out to the suburbs. Not quiet, but much less oppressive.

“Now that we have a minute, James, can you do me a favor? I have another citadel card I bought, but I wanna test it out before I permanently add it to my deck.”

“Sure, hand it over. I’d love to try out a new card,” James said.

Max got out his Actuator card and gave it to him. Once it was in his deck, James uprooted a nearby fern and transmuted an actuator. It was a small thing, about two inches by four inches. It had paddles on the ends with a ball joint in the middle.

“You should be able to move it around with your mind,” Max said.

James nodded and stared at the actuator with intense concentration. After a few moments, the metal paddle started slowly moving. It moved up and down, left to right.

“Is that as fast as you can make it move?” Max asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” James said and handed over the small device.

Max tsked and looked it over. It wasn’t that useful. It moved too slow to weaponize and was awkwardly sized. The idea was great, and he would love to make something with a few of them, but it wasn’t immediately useful. He decided against adding it to his deck, at least for now.

“Thanks anyway, buddy.”

“Anytime.”

“We got a gray legger coming this way,” Furtus said, staring into the dense forest.

Chunus stood up. “We could deal with it, but I really don’t want to deal with the mess. Let’s get going.”

“What about you, Fooby?” Borts asked. “I know we’re on the second layer, but I bet you a game that the gray legger’s got a good core.”

“Oh, if you are willing to do the fighting, sure. I’ll stay right here, out of the guts splash zone,” Fooby said and folded his arms.

“Come on then. I bet I can lock it down for you. I know Bootus and Chunus aren’t willing to waste mana on anything not mission critical, so it has to be you,” Borts pleaded.

Gus slapped Max on the shoulder and said, “Borts, take Max with you. He can make a hammer that will explode in the monster’s stomach. Just chuck it in and stand back.”

“Is that true, Max? You wanna kill one of the strongest monsters on this layer?” Borts said eagerly.

“Uh, maybe? I mean, I can create a hammer that will explode in water, but what’s a gray legger? Should I even be going near it?” Max asked.

“Definitely not. It’s a vicious monster with armored skin. Each leg is as long as a spear and it’s got a dozen of them. But if you have an explosive, just hand it over and I’ll do all the work.”

“It’s not exactly an explosive. I can make a hammer out of pure sodium. It’s a metal that reacts with water and creates heat and hydrogen gas. The reaction will go boom, but it requires something wet. If you get it in its mouth, it’ll probably kill it, but if you miss, it will do nothing.”

“Hand it over then. I’ll give it a go and we’ll be on our way. If I miss, Fooby can take care of it.”

Fooby put his fists together in frustration. “Hey now, I didn’t agree to that.”

Borts just laughed and turned to Max expectantly.

Max shrugged. If it wasn’t going to put him in danger, he would be happy to help kill a monster. He grabbed a pine branch and focused on the atomic details of sodium. He knew his standard framing hammer flew fairly well, so he made that instead of a war hammer.

“Whatever you do, don’t get it wet until it’s in the monster,” Max said as he handed it over.

Borts flexed his gauntlet and said, “Don’t worry, we keep our armor perfectly maintained and dry.”

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He convinced Ebba to come with him so he could sneak up on the monster. Furtis kept watch so no other monsters would sneak up on them with the Disregard field gone.

Borts happily bounded off with Ebba in tow. They headed north-spinward and soon disappeared from sight. Furtis could still see them, but Max didn’t know if it was his enhanced senses or a magical effect of his helmet.

Ebba returned sooner than expected. Borts trailed behind, his helmet facing down. As he came up to Fooby he threw his fist high to reveal a monster core. Fooby groaned while Borts laughed victoriously.

Max walked over to them and said, “How’d it go, Borts?”

“You should have seen the look on the bugger’s face. I snuck up close and tossed your hammer right between its mandibles. It tried to cough it up, but insect monsters can’t throw up. Its mouth started smoking and then a few seconds later, boom! I’ll show you the body when we head out. Speaking of which, you lot ready to go?”

Max nodded and looked back to the others. Gus and Yang were ready to go, but not Lily and James. Lily was sitting on the ground, crying, and James was trying to comfort her. Max was surprised, he hadn’t even seen when that started.

As he walked up to them, Lily sniffed and wiped her nose. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine. What’s going on? Was James talking about Pokemon again? It’s so boring, it could drive anyone to tears.” Max said.

Lily half laughed, half cried and said, “No, James is a perfect gentleman. He hasn’t brought up Pokemon or My Little Pony. It has nothing to do with James. It’s personal. Can we drop it?”

“Sure thing, if that’s what you want. Let’s go,” Max said and held out a hand to help her up.

She hesitated for a moment. Before Max could second guess himself, she took his hand. They walked over to the others.

Before they got really going, Borts led them to the site of his battle. There was a monster there, one that would have been twenty feet tall if it was still alive. It looked like a centipede with javelin-like legs. The monster’s exoskeleton looked a lot like segmented armor. Its head had been blown off and left a slightly smoking stump. The Igra paused to show off for a bit and then they were off.

They flew through the forest, plants continuing to bend out of the way as Borts used his card. Max had a sense of mental whiplash as he watched the temperate forest slide by. Less than an hour ago he was in the jungle, and now he was watching maple and beech leaves flutter about from the speed of their passing.

Another half hour later, they entered a red forest. The trees were different from the ones they had seen on the third layer, but they were clearly from the Lunuk homeworld. The way the trunk split so thinly in the canopy was a giveaway. That and the red color of course. Max promised himself he would learn more about the alien plants when he got the chance.

In less time than he expected, they were at their destination. The city of Twelve Meditations. It was bigger than Wild Plums they had just left. The wall was green and glinted in the sunlight. There were several large hills within the city, notable only because the surrounding countryside had none. Flying machines graced the sky above the city, not quite as many as were in the city of Wild Plums.

As they drew close to Twelve Meditations, they could see more of the construction atop the hills. There were dozens of openings into the hills but very few buildings atop them. There were some log cabins, made out of the same red wood that surrounded the southern side of the city. To the north were a series of ever increasing boulders, and some of the buildings inside the city were made of huge stone slabs.

The Igra stopped in front of the city gates. There was a short line out front with a bunch of haggard people waiting to get in. The Igra stopped and said their goodbyes.

“Your armor is clean and bright, Gus,” Chunus said as he handed back the Sonic Step card. “Next time you see an Igra, don’t use this card. Do offer to teach them Texas Hold’em though! I can’t wait to teach it to my friends.”

Max stepped up and handed over his deck of playing cards. “You’ll need this then.”

Chunus held up his hands. “You don’t have to give that to me, I lost the bet. Underestimated human craftyness.”

“I insist, take it.”

Chunus put a fist to his chest and said, “Then I graciously accept. Allow me to give you a gift in return. It’s dungeon loot, but we have verified it isn’t cursed. Inject a bit of your mana and wind will blow out. It would be useful for flyers or dungers.”

Max stared at the strange device and his Insight triggered.

Impeller - Activable

“This is worth a lot more than a deck of cards,” Max said as he mentally dismissed the Insight pop-up. The impeller was a thick tube with holes on both ends. The inside didn’t seem to have anything in it, but light bounced strangely through it.

“You helped us kill a gray legger, this is the least we can do.”

Max put a fist to his chest and said, “Then I graciously accept.”

Chunus laughed and said, “It was nice gaming with you, don’t get killed and we might meet again. We need to head back now. The return journey will take much longer without Ebba’s card.”

“Thank you again for bringing us here,” Ebba said. “Sadly, I cannot loan you the card. The Elders will be expecting it back when I return.”

“Ah well. Until we meet again,” Chunus said and they took off.

Max had been thinking while they traveled. He suspected they grew up on a planet with heavier gravity. Running around here must be like child’s play for them. He wondered if he would be able to run like that when he got his Levitate high enough, or if air resistance would keep him slow.

Ebba almost danced in line. She was so excited to be home again, she kept clenching all four hands together and then spreading them apart. “It’s almost never like this. The city of Twelve Meditations is so great that people rarely leave, so there isn’t often a line to get back in.”

“Wait a second, go back. You said the Elders will want the Disregard card back. If you give it up, how are you going to get us to the first layer?” Max asked.

An emotion traveled through her hands, gone before the translation magic could pick up on it. She said, “Don’t worry, I will still escort you to your destination. I have to check in with the Elders when I arrive, but they will let me keep the card. That was just something I said to make the parting smoother.”

“Ok, thanks. I can see the mountain range to the first layer from here. How long do you think it would take to walk there?”

“Four or five days. The kind Igra have saved us much time.”

Max blinked in shock. She wasn’t kidding. They still had more than twenty days left on their mandatory quest to make it to the first layer. The Igra had shaved off so much travel time, he wished he could thank them again.

A wash of emotions passed through his body. They were going to make it. He felt himself tearing up. He wiped his eyes and refocused as the line moved forward.

“Do we need to hand in our bell cards?” Yang asked.

“No, don’t talk about them, though,” Ebba said without turning to her.

They reached the front of the line shortly afterwards. The guards were heavily armored and Max noticed faint wisps of magic emanating from each piece. Like the guards on the third layer, there was a white core socketed into several spots on their armor. Ebba walked inside without issue, but the Lunuk guards stopped Max and the others.

The taller one said, “Cost of entering the city has gone up. Five eggs for five humans. We have a lot of refugees from the Lady’s Lashes and we are trying to keep the riff raff out.”

Ebba put all four hands together and bowed slightly, “I am a resident. I was sent out on a mission from the Elders of the fourth hill. Elders Vanentin, Humfrid, and Agneta. These are my fledgelings. May we enter for the standard fee instead?”

The tall guard straightened his fingers in disgust. “Humans are not fledgelings. They are beasts at best.”

“Regardless, they are under my care. May we enter together?”

“Fine. Three eggs.”

Ebba handed over tiny golden eggs and said, “May the Elder’s wisdom guide us all to prosperity,” She gestured for the humans to walk inside. She turned back to the guards and said. “What happened with the Lady’s Lashes?”

“It’s Bespin again,” the shorter guard said.

“Broken Shells,” Ebba cursed. “Someone needs to do something about them.”

“You said it. May the Elder’s wisdom guide us.”

They walked into the city together. Max felt like he had walked onto the set of a western. The houses and business were all made of the same red wood as the forest around them. But the construction was clearly human. Square construction, tilted roofs, correctly sized doors. In fact, those were swinging saloon doors right over there. Someone must have wanted to really lean into the vibe.

Ebba gestured around herself. “You can stay here if you want. Humans take the outer circle. Then Igra, then Paj. My home is in the center of the city. Fourth hill, as you just heard. We will meet here again the morning after next, just like last time.”

“Thanks for helping us, Ebba. What’s going on with Bespin?” Max asked.

“It’s a floating city. They’re a bunch of rebels, don’t respect other cities, they just come and take what they want. Mostly humans, some Paj and Igra. They started in the first layer and have been attacking or harassing city governments all over spinworld. They say they are fighting to free people, as ridiculous as that sounds. Something about power to the people.”

“Sounds ridiculous. Anyway, have a nice time with your family. See you in two days,” Max replied, distractedly.

The political situation was concerning news. Knowing his brother, he was absolutely in the city full of freedom fighters. Michael used to piss off their dad by spouting off communist and socialist propaganda. Max knew he had to visit the floating city now, but he wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea. It would be dangerous to say the least.