APPROXIMATELY 30KM NORTH OF RACHAR

NETLIEN

Worlds, this is too much walking! I am not a brehm! This artifact better fetch a really good price to make this worthwhile. Maybe I should have paid for the boat. It wouldn’t have been any quicker, though, having to go around Reektooth’s Point. Takes just as long as walking. At least I wouldn’t have had to walk. But I would have had to pay. Sometimes I’m to cheap for my own good.

Wait, what’s that? I think someone’s coming up behind me on the back of an aneen. I might be in luck!

Excuse me? Hello there! Sir, could you spare a moment?

GELMENT

What do you want? I have no spare food for you.

NETLIEN

No, no… I don’t need any food. I’m assume you’re heading to Mulen?

GELMENT

I am, but I need to be on my way. I’m on a strict schedule.

NETLIEN

Well since I’m headed to Mulen, I was wondering if you could take me the rest of the way?

GELMENT

I’m afraid not. Like I said, I’m on a tight schedule and I need to be there in less than three days. An extra rider would slow us down.

NETLIEN

I understand, er… what’s your name?

GELMENT

Gelment. Now if you don’t mind–

NETLIEN

Netlien.

GELMENT

Netlien.

You said you’re looking for a ride to Mulen?

NETLIEN

If you wouldn’t mind.

GELMENT

Hmm… you’re a small one, so I doubt you’d weigh down Elmis here. We should be able to make it in time.

NETLIEN

Elmis?

GELMENT

My aneen here. She’s a good girl. Well?

NETLIEN

Well what?

GELMENT

Let’s get going. Climb on. It’ll be a tight squeeze as I wasn’t expecting to carry anyone else, so you’ll have to push that load back best you can.

NETLIEN

I should be able to manage.

NETLIEN makes grunting sounds as she tries to hoist herself onto the aneen

GELMENT

Here. Grab onto my arm.

Both NETLIEN and GELMENT grunt with effort

GELMENT

There you go. You set?

NETLIEN

I think so.

GELMENT

Let’s go. Hup!

The aneen sets into motion

Soon after NETLIEN begins sniffling

GELMENT

What’s the matter with you? I hope you’re not allergic to aneens, cuz if you are–

NETLIEN

No, I’m fine. I think it’s the tree pollens making my eyes water. So Gelment, you must be a trader of sorts?

GELMENT

A delve. Why?

NETLIEN

Well you’ve got quite the load here. I figure you must be taking it to Mulen to trade.

GELMENT

Stuff I’ve found exploring. You know the Hornbone Ruins?

NETLIEN

Is that the pair of giant curled bony looking structures that look like they’d burst up from the ground ages ago?

GELMENT

Yep. I found my way into them, did some exploring. You lose sense of direction due to gravity changing as you go through it. I got lost a few times, and I’m a damn good delve. I’m sure I would have starved to death in those ruins if it weren’t for a colony of cave qui living in there. They told me how to find my way out. It was worth it, though. Managed to find a lot of iotum along with a few nice pieces of numenera.

NETLIEN

So you’re a numenera collector, huh?

GELMENT

Please. I can’t wait to rid myself of it. I just want to fetch a good price for whatever I find.

NETLIEN

Then what do you do with the shins you make off your sales?

GELMENT

I fund my next exploration. Delving ain’t cheap.

NETLIEN

So you go delving to find iotum and numenera to sell so you can fund your next delve? I don’t see the point in that.

GELMENT

That is the point! It’s about the exploration, the findings, the interesting ruins that have sat untouched for thousands, even millions of years! You know, that’s why I prefer my own company. People just don’t get it.

NETLIEN

Well I certainly appreciate you being willing to put up with me for a few days.

GELMENT

Normally I wouldn’t have. I was ready to pass you by. Something about you, though… I figured you were alright. All I ask is that you don’t jabber in my ear the whole trip. I like the quiet.

NETLIEN

You’ll hardly know I’m here.

GELMENT

Oh, and my little tent barely holds me so I can’t sleep you in it. Seeing as you don’t have one you’ll have to make due sleeping under the stars.

NETLIEN

I’ve done just fine so far. I think I’ll be alright.

GELMENT

Alright, then.

LATER, IN THE DARK OF NIGHT

NETLIEN

Good. That’s what I was hoping to hear. Now, let’s see if we can find that numenera while he’s out deep. I know there’s something in that pack.

NETLIEN

Easy, girl. Shhh. Just go back to sleep. That’s it. Okay, so let’s see what we’ve got…

NETLIEN

Between the dark of night and my eyes watering, how am I supposed to see anything?

Ah! A glowglobe! I should be safe to light this thing up with him in that tent.

Ah, that’s better. Now let’s see what we’ve got here. Nope. Nope. Ugh. Mustgrain. How can he eat this stuff? I bet the aneen wouldn’t even eat this. Okay. A bunch of io and parts. Some apt clay. Not enough to make my eyes water this much, there’s got to be something–

Got it! Ooh, pretty! Smooth! It feels like it’s imbued with some serious numenera! I should know what this is, I’ve seen something like this before. I’m sure it’s really valuable iotum. Let’s get you into the light so we can have a better look at you.

NETLIEN brings the glowglobe closer to the object. Suddenly a loud CRACK! is heard and the area is flooded by bright light several meters around

NETLIEN

Worlds! I can’t see!

GELMENT

What in the prior worlds was that! Where’s that light coming from? It’s nearly blinding!

NETLIEN

Gelment! Help me! I can’t see anything!

GELMENT moves toward NETLIEN

GELMENT

What happened over here? It’s the dark of night and it’s lit up like midday out here! What did you do?

NETLIEN

I didn’t do anything!

GELMENT

I see my pack’s been opened. What were you doing in my pack?

NETLIEN

Nothing! I… it fell open and something rolled out, a glowglobe. I turned it on so I could see to pick it up and put it back, but then–

GELMENT

Where is the glowglobe, then? What is all over your hands?

NETLIEN

I don’t know. I–

GELMENT

Let me see…

I know what this is from. This is the remnants of a midnight stone! Did you try to take my midnight stone?

NETLIEN

No, like I said, it was the glowglobe…

GELMENT

Which you brought too close to the midnight stone and it activated it! That’s what this bright light is from! You tried to steal from me!

NETLIEN

No, not at all! I was trying to put it all back in–

GELMENT

And you’ve destroyed a nice piece of iotum at that!

NETLIEN

Come on… you trust me, remember? Sweet, unassuming Netlien!

GELMENT

So you had me fooled as such. You’ll have to make your own way to Mulen. You’ll not be riding with me.

NETLIEN

I’m sorry, Gelment. I didn’t mean to–

GELMENT

Shut it! Come on, Elmis. We need to be going.

GELMENT collects the bag and begins packing it back onto the aneen

NETLIEN

You can’t leave a poor blind girl here, now. Please, Gelment.

GELMENT

Lucky for you, your vision will return soon enough. For now you can suffer your own undoing. Hup!

GELMENT and the aneen can be heard riding away.

NETLIEN

Well, I guess it’s back to walking. That stupid stone probably wasn’t worth breaking the charm now, was it? Oh well.

I wonder how long it’ll take before I can see again…

CLOUDCRSYTAL SKYFIELDS

JANUAE

I would never have thought a sathosh ambush in the quiet wake of a storm would offer me such good fortune, but here we are. Wherever “here” is, that is.

It’s not long before I realize where I am. A vast barren wasteland sprawls outward all around me, extending into the distance. I have no sense of direction as the sun is not visible in the sky, masked by endless cloud cover. Yet a look cast skyward dazzles the eyes as the diffused sunlight is refracted in a myriad of ways, reflected onto the ground in an array of magnificent colors. The sea of clouds far above are not comprised of water vapor, but of crystals.

I have jaunted to the Cloudcrystal Skyfields.

Repeatedly illustrating the dangers of this place to the bandits I spent the last week with had made it penetrate into my mind. Thus, my impromptu jaunting attempt naturally brought me here. Strewn throughout the land all around me are crystals that have fallen from the clouds above, chunks and shards the size of my fingers, some the size of an aneen, others even as large as city buildings. In the distance I could see giant crystals the size of an entire city. I’m not sure when or at what intervals these shards and pieces and chunks had fallen to the ground, but I would do well to avoid being in the shadow of one’s descent, no matter the size.

It seems without the bracer I cannot make back-to-back jaunting attempts. Try as I might, even without the distraction of constant noises I can’t seem to trigger the ability. I try to achieve a meditative state, but even with my mind in as clear a state as I could possibly attain, it’s of no use. Perhaps I will be able to regain the ability after twenty-eight hours have passed. Hopefully I’ll find out tomorrow.

In the meantime I set out to wander this arid land. I use one of the giant city-sized fallen crystals as a landmark and walk in that direction. I don’t plan on coming too close to it as no doubt it could provide an optimal spot for an abhuman or creature to lie in wait for a hapless passer-by. The sight of it will at least serve to keep me from getting too lost in my travel.

I have only a day of food remaining and no water, so I hope to find some way of staving off dehydration and hunger for as long as I may be here. From the looks of this place I am far from optimistic. Several hours of crossing over a few dunes and suffering several jabs by broken crystals have rendered me tired, sore, and irritable. However, as I crested another hill I could see in the distance a strange sight, one that might hold the promise of food. Nearly a kilometer away as a guess, there appears to be a valley of sorts, gradually descending to about fifty meters. Ribbon-like plants can be seen growing from the bottom of the valley, lazily waving in a breeze I can’t feel.

As my fatigue and irritation gives way to my newfound sense of enthusiasm I rush down the dune slope toward the valley. The closer I get, the stranger things below appear. Floating in the air of the valley I see finned creatures resembling fish. Slightly above them about where the descent into the valley begins are crystals suspended in a plane. I will have to take caution if I decide to travel down into the valley as it appears gravity takes on a strange behavior within it.

As I near the upper edge of the valley I spot two humans. One is kneeling on the ground, the other laying with their head on the person’s lap, their body levitating a few inches off the ground. I can see the kneeling figure holding a wadded up cloth which they occasionally lower to the ground, but then bring it back up to the prone person, wiping their face with it, sometimes putting it to their lips and giving it a squeeze. I decided to approach these two as they may be able to give me more information as to possible food and water sources here.

JANUAE

Hello? Can I speak with you for a moment?

JANUAE

The person kneeling looks up at me with sad eyes but does not respond. I approach and squat down near them.

QUEELEE-AT

What is it you want, stranger?

JANUAE

I wonder if you can tell me about where I am, maybe where I can find some food and water?

QUEELEE-AT

Please leave us. I’d like to be alone with my friend.

JANUAE

Is your friend okay?

QUEELEE-AT

No. They are dying. Let them die in peace.

JANUAE

I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?

QUEELEE-AT

There’s nothing anyone can do.

There is a moment of silence

JANUAE

How did this happen? Can you tell me what dangers are here so I might be able to avoid them?

QUEELEE-AT

Death awaits you here in the Cloudcrystal Skyfields. There is nothing here but death.

JANUAE

I’m sorry to bother you. I’ll take my leave.

JANUAE stand and begins to walk away

QUEELEE-AT

Wait! I’m sorry. I’m just so distraught. I shouldn’t be so rude. There is plenty of water here. You can fill your container right here. It’s safe to drink.

JANUAE

Thank you. Can you show me where?

QUEELEE-AT

Right here.

Oh, you don’t know about this place. This is Hidden Lake.

JANUAE

Hidden Lake?

QUEELEE-AT

We are right on the edge of it. You just can’t see the water. See the fish swimming in it, the aquatic plants growing up from the bottom down there? The water here is completely invisible, but it is real. Here, reach your hand in, right here.

JANUAE

Oh, I can feel it! How is this possible?

QUEELEE-AT

This is the Ninth World. If the Ninth World is anything, it’s weird.

JANUAE

That it is. Very well, I’ll fill my flask.

After a pause

JANUAE

Can you tell me what happened to your friend?

QUEELEE-AT

The Cloudcrystal Skyfields is what happened to them. If you have any sense you would try to find your way out of here. Go back the way you came.

JANUAE

Easier said than done. I kind of appeared here. It’s a long story. What brought you here, if you don’t mind me asking?

QUEELEE-AT

That is also a long story.

JANUAE

It appears we have time. At least I do.

QUEELEE-AT

Name’s Queelee-At. Coming here was not my choice. I was brought here as a slave with Eltry here and nine others, to serve three leaders of the expedition. The team was put together by one of the nobles in Navarene to find out how dangerous the journey through the Cloudcrystal Skyfields might be. We loaded up with a month’s worth of provisions. The water rations were mounted on floatstone platforms while we slaves carried the food supplies. We ventured into this wasteland stocked with armaments and weapons and all sorts of numenera, artifacts for protection and for healing. The leaders were sure we were prepared for anything.

JANUAE

Can you really be prepared for anything in the Ninth World?

QUEELEE-AT

They seemed to think so. They had no idea. I mean, we suffering the occasional sliver of crystal going into one of our feet here and there. Of course if it went into a leader’s foot the chiurgeon sphere that rolled alongside us fixed it up right quick. If it was one of us slaves we were told to tear off a piece of clothing and wrap it, then to continue onward, limping through the pain. But on our tenth day a pair of jiraskar came out of nowhere. You’d think we would have seen them with their sheer size and all those bright colors. But those reptiles are ridiculously fast for how big they are. They each snatched up the two slaves pulling the carts at the rear… all those teeth. So many teeth. So much blood. I’d like to think they went quickly. One of the leaders thrust a cypher into the ground that made half of us invisible, well, those that were within three meters of him. The other two leaders armed up. I was hoping the beasts had their fill and would leave, but they were ravenous. You know, that cypher was wasted? The leader who activated it, who thought he was invisible? Not to the jiraskar. It picked him right up and devoured him. I couldn’t see him but I could hear his screams. Two more slaves were consumed before they seemed to get their fill and finally left.

JANUAE

So strange to find jiraskar out here. I thought they mainly lived in woodlands.

QUEELEE-AT

I thought so too, but we were wrong. The band of yovoki we encountered a couple days later seemed like no big deal after the jiraskar. The abhumans were handled rather easily, though the leaders seemed dismissive of the loss of one of the slaves during that attack, not to mention the several water containers that were destroyed in the process.

I thought the jiraskar was the most horrific thing I’d witness. It was not. It was after we encountered the spring. A spring, out in the middle of nowhere among all the broken fallen crystal in this desolate land, with cute, small, fuzzy three legged all around it. Seemed to good to be true? It was. One of the leaders insisted one of us slaves drink from it to make sure it was potable. Eltry and I refused. One of the other slaves volunteered, shooed away the creatures, then drank a fair amount. The leaders waited, observing him for any ill effects. He seemed fine. So after a few hours the rest of the team drank. Well, except for me and Eltry and the other leader who was still wary. Then we continued on our way.

That night I awoke to strange skittering sounds. The fuzzy little creatures at the spring were all around us in our camp. There were dozens upon dozens of them, scurrying into the area where we were sleeping. I quickly got up and woke Eltry. They finally stirred awake by the time I watched the creatures surround each of the other members of our party. They began nibbling on them, and I watched each of their eyes dash open. I desperately yelled for them to wake up but none of them would move. None would sit up or stand. All except the other leader. The rest of them lay perfectly still, their eyes wide with terror. I could tell they wanted to scream but no sound could be forced from their throats. The three of us who were not paralyzed tried in vain to shoo them away, to scare them, pull them off our companions, kick them, slap them, but it didn’t do any good. There were too many of them and they were too persistent. Because we were mobile they left us alone, not finding us vulnerable enough to feast on. Helpless to save them, we gathered as many provisions as we could carry and made our retreat.

JANUAE

That sounds absolutely horrific. Your intuition served you well, though. I don’t know if I could have kept my sanity after witnessing that.

QUEELEE-AT

It wasn’t easy. I do think our leader had lost her mind, though. She felt the need to press forward, despite the clearly insurmountable odds that lay ahead of us. She still regarded us as her slaves, not allowing us to carry weapons, making us haul the supplies we were able to salvage from the camp, and sparing use of the chiurgeon sphere for only herself. Eltry and I found a way to form a plan between us by only using subtle gestures. I had feigned an injury, stopping and pretending to pull a ten centimeter shard from my shoe, then wrapping one end of it in a cloth to protect my hand from its edges. As soon as we proceeded forward I ran up behind the last remaining leader and drove it into her neck. Eltry held the chiugeon sphere in check as we watched her bleed out onto the ground.

JANUAE

It’s what you had to do to survive. I’ve been in a similar situation. I don’t judge you for what you had to do.

QUEELEE-AT

I’m glad you understand. We took her short sword and buzzer and her share of the provisions and decided to turn back, certain we hadn’t yet made it halfway across this land. We figured we’d head west instead, the opposite direction from Charmonde. The last thing we wanted to do is get captured and brought back into slavery. Our hope was that we could somehow get passage aboard a ship in Harmuth that would take us south to Ghan where very few slaves are kept.

JANUAE

I am from Ghan so I can confirm this is the case. I’ve also spent time as a Navarene slave. If a Navarene slave is anything, it’s expendable.

QUEELEE-AT

So you can see why it’s worth taking longer to get out of this land by going west rather than heading back into Navarene. Maybe it’s not, I don’t know, but it seems worthwhile. More time spent in this land means more dangers, as we found out. The next four days we were actually managing quite well. Then came the crystalvores.

JANUAE

Crystalvores?

QUEELEE-AT

Crustaceans that use these crystal bits for shells. I think that name is a misnomer, to be honest, as I think they feed on radiant energy. These things are normally little more than a nuisance, but they can be nasty if you tangle with them, which we did. Several of them came out of nowhere and swarmed the chiurgeon sphere. That artifact was the one thing helping us get through this wasteland, so we fought them off. They tried to fight back with their claws and mandibles, but they really weren’t much of a match for us. Even with their crystal shells as protection we were still able to handle them, only taking moderate injuries. What we didn’t know is, just before they die, they explode. Blowing crystal fragments and acid in all directions. We stopped trying to fight them after that. Once we were no longer bothering them they went back to consuming the energy from the chiurgeon sphere, and once they’d depleted it they scuttled off.

JANUAE

And you were no longer able to tend to your wounds without the artifact.

QUEELEE-AT

And our wounds were significant. Eltry had taken the worst of the fragments. Without the artifact there was nothing I could do for them, but I carried them anyway. Where I would take them, I hadn’t thought that out. How far, I didn’t know. They were all I had left and I couldn’t just leave them behind. Eventually I came upon this hidden lake. I hoped maybe I could clean their wounds, give them water to heal and rehydrate, but I know nothing’s going to help at this point.

There’s a quiet moment

JANUAE

I think they’re gone.

QUEELEE-AT

It seems they are.

There are a few more moments of silence

QUEELEE-AT

You’ve found your way to freedom, Eltry. I just wish it was a different way.

JANUAE

I’m sorry for your loss.

QUEELEE-AT

Thank you. Can you help me pull their body into the lake? I’m feeling a little weak.

JANUAE

Of course.

JANUAE helps pull the body into the lake.

QUEELEE-AT

Thank you.

Bana-litren sonyi umalian. Polnen tyunt ol umalian se.

Goodbye, Eltry.

JANUAE

So, are you continuing west now?

QUEELEE-AT

I have to. We might do well to travel together. It will improve our odds of survival.

JANUAE

I’m afraid I can’t accompany you. I’m on a mission. I have to leave here as soon as I can. Hopefully I’ll be able to leave tomorrow.

QUEELEE-AT

I can wait until tomorrow, if you’d prefer.

JANUAE

No, it’s just that I… well, I teleported here. I suspect I won’t be able to teleport again until tomorrow. If that’s the case I’ll jaunt out of here as soon as I am able.

QUEELEE-AT

I suppose you can’t take me with you?

JANUAE

It doesn’t work that way, no. If I could…

QUEELEE-AT

I understand. I suppose it would be one less person I have to witness the death of.

JANUAE

Look, I’m sorry I’m unable to…

QUEELEE-AT

Just go. At least there was someone to hear my story. Now that you’ve been able to do that much for me you can leave.

After a moment

JANUAE

I wish you well in your travels. May you reach Ghan safely.

QUEELEE-AT

Just go! Go.

Pause

JANUAE

Very well.