The Revelers (Serial 1)

Act 3 - Chapter 41: Ari

I follow her and leap into the hatch, entering the dimly lit container filled with heavy plastic boxes. Rowynn and I open the rear door, allowing Samza and Mezos to sneak into the storage vessel.

"Quickly," Rowynn urges as the truck's electric motors hum. "Sounds like we're moving soon." She closes the door and we hide between the containers.

Samza inspects a nearby box. "I wonder what's in these things."

Mezos checks a meter on his book-arm. "Whatever is inside, it's letting off some unstable aetheric energies."

Rowynn says, "Unpurified aetheric crystals are my best bet. The Aether Domes in Esthial would harvest these crystals and purify them, amplifying their magical properties. I'd imagine The Aether Dome here on Earth would do the same. However, where they're harvesting them is a mystery to me."

"I guess that gives us a reason to shut that place down," I say.

"Yes." Rowynn nods.

Twenty minutes pass by and the vehicle is still moving. Mezos checks his tablet. "We're about two kilometers away from The Aether Dome. It seems the driver is being cautious because of the sandstorm."

For each unnecessary minute passing by, I wonder what's happening in Black Rock City. Perhaps the invasion is still going on. I wonder how long the gang can hold up. The Hoon Squad, Cithara, Miss Hikaru — all of them. Yet, I need to focus on this mission, and that's shutting this place down and rescue Mathilde.

"It stopped," Rowynn says, as we no longer feel movement. The engines stop whirring and it sounds like the driver is exiting the truck.

Mezos says, "According to the GPS, we are now at The Aether Dome."

I hear a conversation through the metal walls of the shipment container. It sounds like the driver is talking to someone.

The driver says, "The reason I'm late is that my communication modules malfunctioned, and the GPS signals were poor. I had trouble navigating through the dense sandstorm, so I used the GPS app on my phone, which resorted to me taking a longer route than usual."

A second voice, high-pitched, sounding vile and wicked, says, "Let us make haste, then. The Usurper is growing impatient."

A short moment later, a loud clunk sounds from above us.

Rowynn's body floats towards the ceiling of the shipment container. So do Mezos and Samza's book-arms. My triggerblade is also moving upward. I think it's a magnet. Yet if my skeleton has metal in it, then it sure isn't magnetic.

"It's a magnet," Mezos says as he removes his arm from his metal sleeve contraption. "It's moving this giant crate somewhere." The boy wobbles as the container remains suspended by the powerful magnet.

Then a loud thud bangs the floor as the magnet deactivates, and both Samza and Rowynn descend. Instead of landing face first on to hard steel, Mezos casts a floating spell, cushioning their fall. Mezos's book-arm and my triggerblade also take a gentle descent.

Rowynn grunts, "that was not a pleasant feeling." Her voice turns robotic and mutters, "Reinitialising programs. Checking digital and physical modules. Data integrity complete. Now rebooting." Rowynn's eyes glow for a few seconds, then return to a normal hue. She speaks in her normal voice, "Well, lass. I forgot what it's like being around powerful magnets. No matter, it's a minor thing."

I scan the area with Librascope. It seems we're in a caged outdoor area housing other shipment containers. However, I don't spot any security drones. Only robots hauling cargo to and from the shipping area. Instead, as we exit the shipping container from the rear hatch, I spot strobing red lights near the entrance to the facility. Next to the door is a card scanner.