Chapter 215: Zodiac Stronghold

Will and Brianna landed on top of a building on one of the outer islands, where they simply stood and admired the network of light-bridges keeping the islands bound together.

“How do you suppose those bridges of light work?” Will mused.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Brianna replied with a shrug.

“Where the hell did you two come from!?” A voice caught their attention, where a man was leaning out a window, hanging long johns out to dry on a pole.

Will silently pointed out into the sky.

“Fliers, huh? Well, new arrivals is over thataway,” The man grumbled, pointing out ahead of them. “And on the other hemisphere of the island. You can always tell where arrivals is because it’s the tip of the constellation, with three light-bridges coming out of it.”

“Much obliged,” Will said, nodding.

“Party of two? Freakin’ idiots who think this Floor is safe enough to bring a girl on a date, I mean seriously…” The man devolved into envious grumbling as Will took Brianna’s hand and flew the two of them away, orienting on the tip of the constellation, where three light-bridges came together on a single busy port.

The two flew over and down until they reached the other side of the disc and gravity flipped, then they flew up against the pull, stomachs angry as they reoriented themselves on the new facing of the bundle of seven crystal discs.

On the other hemisphere of the stronghold was a massive greenhouse that dominated the central island, seemingly made of clear crystal or glass.

They swept past it and oriented on the dock, where several ships were currently disembarking and their occupants were filing up to a single clerk who was processing them with outrageous speed.

They landed and slipped into the line, marching towards the clerk.

When they arrived in front of the clerk, Will noticed a subtle change in his inner ear, and he glanced over his shoulder to find the surrounding people frozen.

Somehow the clerk applied a speed buff to everyone who stood in front of his desk.

So that’s why the line is so fast.

High-level Clerk skills were awesome.

“Name and purpose for visiting? If this is your first time and you’ve got any fish bone or crystal, the exchange counter is that way, ” The clerk said, his pen hovering over a sheet of paper on its own while the man in question flipped through a romance novel. He was wearing fingerless gloves, a wool hat, and a heavy jacket, seemingly warding against cold that Will hadn’t noticed.

Perhaps it gets dark here at night, Will wondered.

“William Oh and guest, for the wedding.” Will said.

The man glanced up at Will, then back down at his romance novel while his pen filled in the form.

…

“Shit!” The trashy novel was flung aside as the clerk shot to his feet, digging through his desk before coming back with a badge made of suspiciously familiar miasmatic crystal.

“Let me just confirm your identity…” The Clerk said, his eyes flickering blue for an instant.

“And your guest…”

The clerk glanced at Brianna and nodded, then handed the badge over to Will.

“That badge will serve as your I.D., and gives you access to most places in the Stronghold, milord, um..” he said, seeming a bit jumpy. “Your accommodations are in the palace, which you um, can find by following the light bridge to the left. Just, um, show the guards your badge and they’ll show you where to go.”

“Thanks,” Will said, taking the badge and walking off.

Most people went to the middle or right-hand bridges, so Will and Brianna broke away from the stream of Climbers early, singling themselves out for a quiet stare from the pair of guards standing in front of the light bridge leading to the palace…which Will couldn’t see.

Will arrived in front of the guards.

They stared at him.

He stared back.

Brianna put a gentle hand under the arm holding the badge and lifted it up, where the guards could see.

Their expression twitched before one nudged tother and they stepped aside.

“Milord.” one said, gesturing to the fancy wooden bench on skis behind him. “The Palace awaits.”

Where’d they even get the wood? Will wondered. Packing that shit up to the 11^th Floor must’ve been expensive. Unless it came from the greenhouse?

As usual, Brianna was more interested in the experience than the logistics thereof.

“Is this the tram!?” Brianna asked, climbing onto the bench and leaning over the edge, staring down at the bridge of light underneath, glowing brightly where the wooden frame touched it.

“Can we walk on the light-bridge, or is it somehow only these trams that can touch them?” She asked no one in particular.

A skinny man stepped out of a nearby booth, a moment of panic showing on his expression before he hurried up to the front of the tram, where he hastily took a seat and put his hand on a wooden pole jutting out from the side of his seat.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Greetings milord, milady,” the skinny fellow said, giving them a gaptoothed grin. “Visiting for the wedding? How exciting. Why, it reminds me of when I married my sweet Nancy some hours ago. Your trip to the palace is gonna be as smooth as butter, I guarantee it. I’ve been fishing these waters for decades, easily, and I know the weather like the back of my hand.”

“…Reese?” Will asked.

Reese’s eyes widened, showing white all the way around his blue eyes.

“Will…How long have I been here?”

“Couple years, maybe?” Will said with a shrug.

“Huh.” Reese grumbled. “Guess that means Nancy’s dead.”

“Nah man, you got married like a week ago!” one of the guards shouted from the shore.

“Oh. Sweet.” Reese asked, glancing at Will. “That’s recent, right?”

“Yeah, pretty recent.” Will said.

“…wonder what she’s like.” Reese muttered, stroking his chin in thought.

“The woman you married a week ago?” Brianna clarified.

“Apparently. I’ve been married…um…so many times I’ve lost track, actually.” Reese mused, trying to count the stars. “it’s hard to keep track. They blur.”

“How do these bridges work?” Will asked, changing the subject.

Reese jolted in place and fell into a professional tour-guide enthusiasm.

There’s gotta be some trick to it. I imagine it’s similar to the Fifth floor, where the ruling family has taken advantage of a natural phenomena to make the space livable.”

“Typically, when the islands get close enough to each other, a temporary light-bridge will form, and monsters will storm across, attacking each other or any Climber that might be taking up residence there.

So, my guess is the Lord keeps a ‘raid’ going indefinitely by capturing some of the attackers and debuffing them until they are essentially statues, which preserves the light bridge…somehow. Just like the way they control kaiju spawning in Akul, actually.”

Reese paused.