Leaving the fountain behind, he moved on, towards the tier. He still had quite a ways to go, and he wanted to be there and back to where he would start hunting for Ariana by morning.
The idea of stalking and the hunt overwhelmed his desire to think about what the Goddess said in moments, and he was back to skulking about in the shadows, darting from open area to open area in humanoid form, only to shift to cat form to get across those vulnerable areas. He navigated the tier quickly, and a vault up got him to the next tier, which was a border tier. He could see a much higher wall rising up at the end of the tier, meaning he'd have to climb the next one. This tier was exactly like the last, with walled manors separated by paved streets, large enough to make straight streets that would take him right to the wall. It looked to be the same as the others, a quick trot to the wall.
But halfway into an intersection of streets disabused him of that notion. He was padding out in cat form, when something big suddenly impacted him from above. His first instinct was flight, but whatever it was had claws in him, and a maw was biting at the back of his neck. There was no pain involved, but it happened so fast that he reacted like the animal he resembled. He rolled over on his back and shook off the attacker, then scrambled to his feet and arched his back, hissing threateningly at his opponent. The speed and surprise of the attack had made him feel more foolish that afraid. To be taken by surprise like that! He hoped Triana would never find out about this.
It rolled over itself and got to its feet, chirping animatedly. He got a good look at it and caught its scent, and it confused him slightly. It was a Drake! A rather large one, a good span longer than Chopstick or Turnkey, with iridescent green scales, reptillian wings, and a long tail. It sat on its haunches and looked at him curiously, as if it had never seen anything like him before, then its serpentine tongue flicked out of its mouth and it chirped again.
It was playing!
Tarrin lowered his back and sat down himself regarding the curious reptile. Chopstick and Turnkey had started out on his bad side, but he'd warmed up to them. They would even sleep together, in a nice warm little bundle on his bed. This one was a stranger drake, but drakes were animals, so they had broad generalities in their personalities. Drakes were generally intelligent creatures, curious and inquisitive, but they were very playful and affectionate. Phandebrass had done a good job raising his two drakes, and from the looks of this one, it was also well cared for.
It looked right at where Sarraya hovered invisibly, and he heard the Faerie snort. "Don't even think about it!" she said challengingly. "You alright, Tarrin?"
"Fine. It was just playing. It's someone's pet."
"What's it doing out in this cold?" Sarraya asked. "It won't stay active very long."
"Then it must have just gotten loose," Tarrin replied.
As if an affirmation of that, a voice suddenly called out. It was a child's voice, and it spoke a language Tarrin didn't understand. Tarrin darted to the shadow of a wall as a gate opened some distance down one of the streets, and a youthful Aeradalla exited from a manor's grounds. It was a male, looked to be only ten or so, and what immediately caught his attention was that the child's wings were bound together with leather rope, right at the main joint. Why do something like that? It must have been some kind of cultural custom. The child called out again, and the drake alighted from its seat in the intersection and flew to the child. The child caught it in his arms and laughed, then nuzzled at the reptile and carried it back into the walled manor.
"Cute kid. He must be spunky," Sarraya mused.
"Why do you say that?"
"They had his wings tied. We do it to certain children who don't have the sense to stay on the ground when it's needful," she replied. "Since he can't reach the bindings, he can't take them off without help."
"I was wondering why they did that," he told her, then they turned and moved on.
"Flight can make you too giddy to keep your senses," Sarraya added.
"Doesn't seem to wear off for some."
That earned him a smack on the ear.
The rest of the journey to the wall passed without incident, and he hesitated a moment when he reached the base of it, waiting while Sarraya looked at the ledge above to ensure nobody would see him climb over it. When she returned with news that the way was open, he shifted into humanoid form and quickly started up the wall. It had been cut by tools, and enough of those toolmarks remained to give his claws purchase on the stone. He ascended the wall quickly, slipping over the top and quickly returning to cat form, then dashing off into the shadows. It was there that he paused to catch his breath. The air was so thin, the activity had worn him out, and he struggled to regain his breath.
"Getting tired?" Sarraya asked.
"It's the air," he panted.
"I know. I've been having to land every few minutes to catch my breath myself. Let's just take a few to recover, alright?"
"No argument here," he agreed.
They lounged against the wall until Tarrin felt ready to move again, and they were off. The open space on this tier was more than the space occupied by buildings, huge manors separated by large gardens with many fountains. The tier was more green than paved, filled with grass, flowers, small trees, and many other types of plants. The paved streets wound through those idyllic gardens in a roundabout fashion, giving the place the illusion that it was on the ground rather than two longspans above a desert. Since his view was obstructed, he relied on Sarraya to guide him to the next wall, which was one of the small ones.
"There are only four more tiers," Sarraya told him as he vaulted up to the top of the tier wall. "One more above this, up another big one, up one more, then we're at the top level."
"I figured as much," he replied. "Then I get to climb up that tower in the center."
"Well, let's get cracking," she said.
Moving through those tiers was quick and easy, because the ones below the top level were just like the one he'd just left. More huge houses, like mansions, surrounded by walls, separated by large patches of tended gardens that made the upper levels of the city look like some vast park. There were no Aeradalla out on those levels, allowing him to rush through them quickly and without hindrance, letting him get up the next three tiers quickly. He climbed up the last tier just as the moons signalled midnight, and looked out on a large plateau, probably a longspan across, that held only four buildings and the rock tower leading to the strange obelisk at its pinnacle.
The buildings were arranged around the rock tower by points of the compass. The building north of the tower of rock was a large palace, from the looks of it, with an ornate fence enclosing a massive grounds and an even more massive mansion. The building west of the spire, the one he'd come up facing, was a huge monolithic structure with carved pillars, made of marble. The building to the south was a multi-storied tower with many ledges and balconies, also made of marble. He could only make out a single sliver of the building to the east, since the large columned structure and the rock tower blocked his view, but it didn't look to be very large. The land separating those four buildings was nothing but grass. No flowers, no trees, no bushes, only grass. The rock tower rose from the center of that pristine lawn like a black column, soaring overhead. The object was at the top of that spire of rock, inside that strange black-stoned obelisk that rested at the top of the five hundred span tall pillar of basalt. He was also very close to the Conduit that ran through the center of the city, and it looked to go right through the top of the obelisk and run down the center of the pillar, which rested at the exact center of the Rock Spire below.
He had no idea if anyone was watching, so he immediately shifted into cat form and bounded across that grass. It smelled lovely, and had very few other scents interfering with it as normal grass usually did. Normal grass usually had scents of worms and insects and mice and other animals, but this grass was almost sterile in its lack of other scents mixing with the smell of grass. There were smells of earthworms, but that was about it.
The altitude and thin air had probably prevented any insects from migrating up to the city. The worms had probably been brought along in the soil that had been imported up.
It took him a little while to get to the pillar, and when he was standing at its base, he was impressed. He shifted into humanoid form and looked up its sheer face, seeing that it was absolutely smooth. It was like glass, and almost as shiny as glass. Putting a paw on it told him that there was nothing, not even a pore, for his claws to snag as holds to get him up the pillar.
That was unexpected, and it messed up his plan. He couldn't climb the pillar, not on his own. It was too slick, too smooth. He wasn't a spider, he couldn't walk right up the side of it. And the stone was basalt, tough and dense, and it would resist any attempt to drive his claws into the stone. More than likely, it would break his claws rather than give him a hold.
He looked up at the pillar, his mind pondering the problem, when Sarraya interrupted him. "What's the matter?"
"I can't climb it," he admitted in a growling tone. "The stone is almost like glass."
Sarraya became visible, putting her hand on it tentatively. "It's like it's been polished," she grunted. "I'll bet that it's as shiny as glass in the sun. A black-backed mirror."
"Well, you have any ideas?" Tarrin asked.
"Give me a minute," she said, frowning as she looked up the column. "How fast could you get up there if you could climb it?"
"What kind of question is that?" he asked.
"I think I can do something to give you traction on the wall, but it won't last but a moment," she told him. "It comes down to whether or not you think you can climb up there before the spell effect wears off. It's going to wipe me out, so I won't be able to do it again."
"Oh. Well, it's not very high. If I can move without worrying about slipping, I could go up pretty fast."
"It's the only thing I can think of at the moment," she sighed. "Unless--"
She reached out with her hand, and he felt her use her Druidic magic. Spiderweb suddenly spun out of her hand, and it quickly coated the side of the pillar in a sizable patch. "This would hold you, but the drawback is that it's going to leave a trail of sorts," she said. "They'll know someone was up there."
"I can't have that, Sarraya," he told her. "We'll have to go with the other idea."
"Alright, but it's a gamble."
"Everything we've done so far is a gamble," he shrugged. "Besides, I have some Druidic ability of my own, if you recall. I think that if I fall, I could fix it so I don't get killed when I land."
"What do you have in mind?"
"You'll see if it happens," he told her bluntly.
"I hate it when you want to be mysterious," she muttered. "Alright, get ready. When I do this, you're going to be able to stick to the wall, just like an insect. Keep in mind that the effect is only going to last a moment, so you can't waste any time. I'll catch up once I get my breath, so don't worry about me."
"Alright," he said, putting one paw against the mirror-like stone of the pillar. "Whenever you're ready."
"Get ready," she said, and he felt her again come into contact with her power. He felt a sudden angry buzzing in his paws and feet, which quickly disappeared. "Go!"
It was creepy. He pulled up around his paw, and found that his paw was sticking to the stone. It released when he pulled away, and in a matter of seconds, he found a quick and easy rhythym of motion that allowed him to climb up the wall nearly as fast as a human could run. Tarrin was much stronger and more agile than a human, allowing him to carry his entire weight on one paw or foot, letting him haul himself up the wall by huge chunks with every placing of a foot or paw. The wind pushed against his face, cold air that was too thin, and he almost immediately became winded. But he was mindful of Sarraya's warning, and dug down deep inside, keeping his eyes locked on that ledge that marked the return to safe, level ground.
The tingling in his paws and feet returned what seemed only hearbeats after he began, and he instinctively understood that the Druidic spell that Sarraya had worked on him was starting to fade. He doubled his pace, literally jumping up the stone by leaps and bounds, using his agility to keep his paws and feet within reach of the surface, only to make contact for a brief instant before vaulting himself higher. The upper ledge got closer and closer, and his eyes fixated on it as the rest of him worked feverishly to get him to that point before the spell faded, and he plummeted back to the ground that grew further and further away with each second.
The spell disrupted just as he made his final lunge for the top, causing his feet to slide off the stone just as they sprang to cover the last of the distance. He realized he was going to be short, so he reached out with all his might, stretched out to his absolute greatest, reaching for that sharp ledge. His claws just barely managed to catch the edge of it, and for a panicked moment he scrabbled against that perilous hold to stabilize himself, feeling his claws slide on the hard, smooth stone. But the hooked claws managed to find purchase on the sharp corner of the ledge, and his body relaxed when he felt that he had a hold on it. He blew out a sigh or relief between labored breaths, feeling his lungs cry out for air and his muscles burn from a lack of breath, leaning his forehead on the cool stone and silently thanking the Goddess for strong claws.
By main force, he dragged himself up and over the ledge, then rolled over on his back, rising up briefly to get off his tail, then laid there until he managed to get his breath back. He didn't care who saw him by then, so thankful he was that he simply made it.
Sarraya managed to drag herself up to the top of the spire a few moments later, landing on top of his chest and sitting down heavily. Her tiny shoulders were heaving as she panted, but she looked at him and gave him a mischievious grin. "I see you made it," she puffed.
"Barely," he said in reply. "It gave out on me just as I reached for the ledge."
"Sorry about that," she wheezed. "If I wouldn't have made that spiderweb, it would have lasted a few seconds longer."
"I made it, that's all that matters," he said dismissively. "The only problem now is how to get down."
Sarraya looked at him, then laughed. "We didn't think that far ahead, did we?" she admitted ruefully. "I tell you, Tarrin, you're a bad influence on me."
"I guess it's contagious."
"Well, we can just wait a while and rest, and I can use the same trick to get you down. Since you'll be going down instead of up, you'll probably be able to get to the ground faster."
"Right. I could jump off. That would get me down faster."
She looked at him, then stuck out her tongue at him. "I meant safely," she said archly.
"I'd be perfectly safe. At least until I hit the ground, anyway."
She looked at him crossly, then laughed. "What's gotten into you, Tarrin? You were never this funny before."
"Blame it on the air," he said absently, dislodging her as he sat up. She settled in on his thigh instead as he sat up and looked towards the obelisk. It was about fifty spans high, made of the same black stone as the pillar. But the obelisk was made of blocks of stone, not one piece, constructed with four sides that sloped to a central point, like a pyramid. The sides were relatively steep, and he could see that there wouldn't be much room inside. Probably one very large room, or a few smaller ones. He had the feeling that it would be one room. The place looked like a temple or shrine, and things like that demanded large rooms to showcase the holy objects that they often contained. This place seemed to be little different. He couldn't see an entrance, but he also could only see one side of the obelisk very well. Its shape and design told him that it was four-sided, but he couldn't see the other sides. "No entrance on this side," he noted.
"What side are we on?"
"West, I think," he said, looking up at the Skybands to determine his direction in relation to the obelisk. "West," he affirmed confidently.
"Let's try the north face. Humans have this thing about north. I've never understood why."
"An irrational need t
o follow directions, I guess," he told her as he dislodged her again as he got up.
"What do you mean?"
"The compass always points north," he told her as she managed to flitter up into the air.
"Ohhh," she said, following him as he rounded the obelisk to get on its north side. "I get it."
Despite Sarraya's concepts of humanity, there was no entrance on the north side of the obelisk. He continued around to the east side, and that was where he saw the doorless opening. It was a wide archway, with a keystone at the top made of a pure, snowy white marble that totally contrasted with the black stone surrounding it. Tarrin gave Sarraya a flat look before crouching down and getting up against the wall, and then creeping along the wall until he reached the edge of that arch. He couldn't hear anything coming from inside, but there was a light emanating from within, a pure white light that was made by no fire, torch, or candle.
He peeked around the opening, and found himself looking into a singular large chamber, a chamber that filled the entirety of the inside of the obelisk. Its floor was tiled with pure gold squares, with silver mortar holding them together. The floor was burnished and polished to a mirrored shine, reflecting the white light within. The interior walls of the obelisk were unadorned, the same glossy black rock as the outside, also reflecting the light and making the inside of the obelisk as bright as a cloudless day. There were only three objects inside that grand chamber. One was a rather plain wooden chair, its back to him. The second sat within that chair, and from his view, he could see that it was an Aeradalla that, for some reason, only had one wing. The third was the within the light itself, being generated by the Conduit that ran through the center of the chamber, hovering some six spans off the floor, just over the head of the seated Aeradalla.
It was a crown.
A large crown made of gold, beaten gold with eight tines circling its golden circumference. Inset into that gold at each tine was a gem, each a different color that he could see. And from that crown emanated the powerful magical energy he had sensed rides ago, a magic that had drawn him to it like moths to a flame. From that distance, he could see the energy flowing through it, coming from the Conduit in which it had been placed.
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