'You're lucky that your man had this glass doohickey installed,' said Plen, pointing behind the wheel at something on a small chest. 'As soon as the tower started moving, it showed me you and your mate were in trouble.'
The device was a shard of glass standing upright on a metal plate. The glass stood on its sharpest corner, seeming to defy gravity, and around its base were the letters “d'Aseere”.
'No one is to look in this glass,' said Dastardly. 'I think this is the Shard that sent Siy insane.'
The airship pulled back from the rising creature, the knight and the gnome were watching the scene. The tower was nearly twice as high in the air, standing on top of the carapace of the mother City. People were running for the deep road entrance or any other way they could escape the valley.
'The Clockwork City is nowhere near as big as that thing!' said Adrian.
The bulk of the mother City was a circular body that the Turretial grew straight out of like a giraffe's neck. While the Clockwork City's body was open to the elements, this was domed over with a glass look-alike. Inside the hemispherical enclosure were hints of activity, both the mechanical, with moving gears that were the size of buildings, and the organic, the suggestion that trees and strange kinds of animals were kept within the dome.
Beneath the body were four legs that jutted out like a spider. Each had hundreds of moving parts, all to keep the great mother City slowly climbing out of the ground and over the valley wall.
'What is it doing? You stopped the madman!' said Plen.
'It's an animal,' said Adrian. 'Who can guess?'
Dastardly pointed behind them. 'Look over the Pan!'
Across the featureless flats was the Clockwork City, walking its spidery lumber towards Hox.
'The mother and the child are going to meet on the Pan,' said Dastardly. 'We need to warn people not to get up there. Adrian, would all of the Kings and leaders have brought their communication stones with them?'
'I know our King certainly did,' said the knight. 'We need to find Siy's.'
'There are drawers in the chest,' Plen said. They pulled at them and tipped the contents out on the deck.
'Here it is,' said Adrian. He held up a rock. It was just a rock, except for two runes scratched into it. He handed it to Dastardly.
'I was expecting more than this,' said the freelancer.
'They would have been made after the loss of the congress,' said Adrian. 'The symbols are what holds the power. Put your thumb on the swirly one and think of everyone.'
Dastardly did so. 'Anybody who can hear me down there! Spread the word, go anywhere but the Pan, just get away from Hox!'
The three adventurers watched as the mother and child came closer. Little groups of people started running south.
'I think they heard us,' he said. Suddenly, the stone shook in his hand. The Shard shook in rhythm and showed the image of Waory and the Land-Regent.
'What's going on over there, Medieval?' the Regent's voice came through the stone.
'Quite a lot, Sirus, I'll explain later. If you don't mind me asking, where did you find your communication stone?'
'I would prefer you call me by title, Dastardly, but the stone, that was quite silly. Embarrassing even.'
'It was under the royal lounge,' said Waory. On the glass face they could see the Land-Regent give Waory a poisonous glance.
'The Clockwork City and the mother are together,' said Adrian. The child had climbed on top of its mother's dome. The mother tucked its legs in and a jet of fire came out from its underside.
'This can't be good,' said Dastardly. He pocketed the stone.
'What?' said the Regent.
'The mother City is preparing to –'
The fire had gotten so hot it was nearly invisible, and was rushing out at incredible speed. Around the mother creature dust and smoke were swirling but through it the adventurers could see the feet leave the ground.
'It's taking off like a fire rocket!'
The creature's speed grew exponentially and it shot up into the sky, leaving a trail of white and grey haze. The mother and child continued higher and higher until they couldn't be seen.
'Off to another world,' said Dastardly. The others looked at him blankly. 'Assuming they came from the sky, they're probably going back to search for their home.'
'Is it over?' asked the knight.
The air wave from the jet hit their ship, spinning about like a cow in a tornado. Plen did his best on the controls by the wheel, but the knight and the freelancer were thrown to the sides and hung on for their lives. When the wind subsided, they unsteadily climbed back on board.
'I think that just lost us everything but the rope,' Plen said. 'That Shard could've been useful.'
'It's still here,' said the freelancer. Plen T. was holding it nonchalantly in his right hand, the other on the wheel.
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