[Chapter 16 part 2] Silver - Landing in the Rose Palace

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“Use your wrystal if something comes up.” Lily yelled as she and Astra departed.

“Got it.” Kate strode into the flames. Cool. Silver plunged after her. I don’t have the patience for trepidation.

Kate stood atop a circular stairwell carved out of rock. Yellowish flames from wall alcoves provided lighting. Emissionless fire, Silver decided. Rose had enchanted some at Earth’s End. Since it’s underground, we’d die of carbon poisoning otherwise.

The next through was Light. Jumping into fire appealed to his aesthetic. After emerging, he leaned back to reassure the others. I should’ve done that. Soon, they’d all gathered.

“Thank god that’s over,” Kate said, hugging herself. “Don’t you guys get nervous around heroes like Astra and Lily?”

They looked at each other. “It’s different for us.” Rose offered. “You must have people telling you how amazing Lily is on a daily basis. We’ve never had that. In fact, the notion of fawning over Astra makes some of us nauseous.”

“I guess,” Kate said. “Still, their showdown was terrifying. I mean, there was ice on the wall! I’ve never been so cold.”

“Really? I wasn’t nervous at all.“ Silver wasn’t sure why he went out of his way to state that. He was pleased when Kate looked at him with amazement.

“Ignore Silver,” Rose sighed. “The rest of us are normal. Even we were on edge during that exchange.”

As they headed down, the cat-eared girl studied him. Eventually she said, “You really are fearless.”

“Thank you.” Silver answered proudly. He was pretty sure there was a misunderstanding that he needed to clear up. But he liked having a beautiful girl call him ‘fearless’, so he put it out of mind.

“By the way, this staircase is long.” Silver noted, peering down.

“I know, right?” Kate complained. “Lily just flies up. She doesn’t realize what a pain it is for others.” I might’ve hit a sore spot.

They exited on the top floor of a palatial complex. Beyond it, hundreds of buildings spread out between support pillars in a space larger than Astra’s fortress. An entire city has been sculpted from the bedrock. The surfaces were smooth shiny black with hints of color.

“It’s obsidian.” Kate explained. “This place was hollowed out by Lily’s fire. Neat, right?”

“I like it.” Hope said. “It’s warm.”

“I’m glad you approve.” Fayla said, materializing from a nearby brazier. Silver observed hundreds more such bonfires scattered about the cavern. So she can appear out of any of them?

“Hi, Fayla. Do you know the room assignment yet?” Kate asked.

“I don’t believe Lily has gotten around to that.”

“Really?” Kate said. “Then why doesn’t everyone drop their bags here for now? It’s safe. Few can enter the Inner Palace, and Fayla can keep watch.” The sprite nodded.

With their belongings deposited, Kate continued, “I’ll give you the tour. Anything specific you want to see?”

“What’s this?” Free asked. Across from Fayla, on the wall between the two staircases up, was a list of names.

“Ah, those…” The energy drained from Kate.

“Is that your name?” Hope pointed.

“It is.” Kate said listlessly.

Eying the list, Silver perceived a pattern. The names got shorter and simpler going down. At the top was Alexander, and the bottom was Kate. That’s a little sad…

“So Kate isn’t short for Katherine or something…” Rose said quietly.

“It’s probably long for ‘cat’.” Kate laughed awkwardly. I never though anyone would make Astra’s naming sense look good.

“Lily did that every time Arther brought a child.” Fayla explained. “I suppose Kate will be the last.” What was she thinking putting this here?

“I’m sorry,” Free apologized. “I shouldn’t have drawn attention to it…”

“No, it’s fine.” Kate sighed. “It’s something you were bound to see anyway.”

She examined the stone, “I feel bad for Lily every time I see at it. It’s clear, at the beginning, she really did try. Yet everyone failed to reach the wall, one by one. It makes me worried about my own prospects… It isn’t easy to become immortal.”

This is depressing. “Why don’t we go up to the terrace? I’d love to see the view.”

“That should be safe enough.” Kate considered, “But do you really want to hike back up?”

“Honestly, yes,” Hope volunteered. “Lily railroaded us down here, but we’re all eager for a closer look at the Isle.”

Silver stuck close as they retraced their steps. Kate was still lost in dark thoughts. “What did Lily meant when she said to ‘use your wrystal’?” He asked.

“Oh, this.” Kate held up her left arm, showcasing the small crystal embedded in her metallic wristband. “It’s a communication device and information terminal. You know projectors? It’s the same thing, except smaller and less powerful. They work in most cities.”

Kate twisted her wrist upwards to display a three dimensional map of the Isle. “See. You can access whatever the network you’re connected to has available. It’s really useful.”

“That’s awesome.” Silver said. “Can we get some too?”

“Sure, but they’re expensive…”

That might be a problem. “Would this be enough?” Silver handed his money pouch to Kate. When she looked inside, her face went stiff, and her cat ears went strait up, “This is a fortune!”

What? “Astra told us it was enough to live comfortably for a few months…” Silver said. “Is it really that much?”

“A few months?” Kate repeated. “God, it’s always the same with immortals. Their sense of wealth is so twisted.”

She pushed the pouch back into his chest, “That’s enough to live ‘a few months’ in the finest suite of the fanciest hotel. It’s more than sufficient.”

That’s good, but why is Kate so upset? Did she think he was showing off? It’s hard to read people… At least she wasn’t mopping anymore.

Reaching the surface, they passed a lounge where Wise broke off to lay on a couch, “I’ll rest for a bit. Fetch me once you’re done.”

Silver could practically see the question marks above Kate’s head. To her credit, she said nothing until they were out of earshot, where she turned for an explanation, “What was that about?”

“He’s Nero’s clone. Simply looking at things floods his head with information. He probably wants to conserve energy.”

“Hah,” Kate said blankly. She’ll get it eventually. “Are any of your other siblings ‘different’ like that? Anything I should know?”

Kate was under the misconception he was ordinary. He didn’t have the heart to disabuse her of the notion, “Oh, yes. Many of us are quite special. Dawn and Light come to mind immediately. As for Free… How’re you with bugs?”

“I’m ok with them.” Kate responded. I like how she dutifully answers random questions. “Wait, are we talking about normal-sized or the giant variety?”

“The normal sized but horribly deformed.” Silver replied. “But I shouldn’t badmouth her too much. Maybe she won’t let any escape this time—— Oh, here we are. Why don’t we finish this later?” Kate remained curious but graciously let it slide.

The Isle of Dreams was an upright cylinder with its center hollowed out and a slice removed from its West side. The Rose Palace stood on the West edge, north of the missing section. It’s mostly flat, except here. From the North side, the outer portion of the Isle gradually ramped up as it circled counter-clockwise, ending in their current position. The Rose Place was effectively surrounded on three sides by cliffs: the outer edge to the West, the missing segment to the South, and the eastern hundred-foot drop to the city below.

“Spectacular, isn’t it? Welcome to the Isle of Dreams!” Kate motioned theatrically.

Silver peered South. Wow. On the opposing side, airships of every size were lined up along platforms fastened to the cliff. It went on for miles. Some were the size of Astra’s while others were floating palaces. Cruise ships, I believe. Silver watched crafts maneuvering in and out, then turned his attention west.

Not frozen this time. The sparkling body of water was two miles down and half a mile out. It curved downward as it approached. What’s more interesting is below. Five miles under them, the Isle’s skyriver merged with another and flowed into the ocean. Where this occurred, the Blue Abyss’s vertical surface rose in a giant whirling cone towards the incoming flow.

“What’s that down there?” Silver asked.

“That’s Spiral City.” Kate explained. “It’s far more populated. Not only is there easy access to the Isle, but there’s a dungeon entrance nearby. The greater surface area makes it affordable.”

“A dungeon? Which one?” He asked.

“Lost World, themed after extinct species.” Rose spoke up. “Didn’t you study last night?”

“Of course.” Silver objected. “I just didn’t research what was around the Isle.” I should’ve.

“Maybe Kate could to give us a tour.” Soul suggested.

Everyone looked eagerly towards Kate, who nodded timidly, “I’ll try.” She took a deep breath. “The Isle is three miles wide and five miles deep. It has a population of half——”

“Maybe a visual tour describing what we’re looking at.” Soul interjected gently, gesturing behind.

Turning around, Kate flushed. She’s not used to being the center of attention. That wasn’t a problem he suffered from. Hey, maybe I can help!

“Why don’t you go around clockwise starting here,” Silver offered.

“Sounds good!” Kate latched onto the idea. “So first would be the Adventurer’s Guild.”

Kate skipped over to the east edge. “See those golden buildings?” She leaned on the railing to point. “The ones on the rise are the Guild proper. Below, next to the city, is the public portion meant for tourists.”

“The ‘public portion’?” Hope asked.

“Millions flood the Isle every year. They all want to visit Guild Headquarters, but it’d cripple operations if we let that many in. To appease them, the public portion was built.” Kate does a decent job once she gets going.

(continued in part 3)