Braided Sky
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PftA Book 4 - Chapter 20 - Exploration Vacation
🕑 Added 2024-11-29 05:01:34 +0000 UTCMars.
I’m not sure what I expected to see upon our arrival since I knew that efforts to terraform the red planet were well underway, but a thick carpet of vibrant teal certainly wasn’t it.
“Is it some kind of moss?” I asked as I stared at the landscape from within the protective dome surrounding the small but well-constructed settlement about half a mile from the edge of a large crater.
Hundreds of Alliance members were present. It was obvious at a glance that few of them were native to Earth. In fact, most were demis of one sort or another, making me wonder if certain races were better suited for the harshness of a semi-habitable planet.
I supposed it made about as much sense as anything else.
“It is a particular type of Air-attuned moss that was bred specifically for terraforming projects such as this,” Master Kairos replied. “It is one of the hardier strands that can handle inconsistent gravity and feeds off solar radiation. By the time the atmosphere is capable of accommodating mundane life, the moss will have gone dormant. The change in color will be an obvious sign to researchers that the next stage in the process is ready to begin.”
“How long will that take?”
Master Kairos shrugged. “Likely decades without high-tier intervention or an army of mages assisting with the endeavor.”
“And I’m guessing that high-tiers don’t want to step in because it takes away opportunities for those at lower tiers to develop and progress?”
Master Kairos beamed at me. “That’s exactly it.”
I shook my head but continued to examine the world outside of the dome. Aside from the moss, I noticed a few scraggly plants dotting the landscape. They didn’t look particularly healthy, but the fact that they were surviving at all was promising.
“Can we visit other areas of the planet?”
“I don’t see why not,” Master Kairos replied. “A minor Barrier modification should be all that is needed to leave the dome.”
After giving me a moment to make the necessary adjustments, Master Kairos once again offered his hand. I only hesitated for a moment before taking it and teleporting us to the top of the nearest mountain.
From a distance, the settlement looked like little more than a smokey dome surrounded by thick teal carpet. There was no liquid water visible, but Spatial Sense informed me there was a vast underground lake forming from a slowly melting chunk of ice.
After spending a few minutes observing the scenery, I teleported us to another location. After a few more jumps, I realized that aside from the lighting, everything looked basically the same.
There were a few frozen lakes that felt like they were made of something closer to dry ice than true ice, but other than that, the landscape was just the same teal moss-covered hills and valleys.
My initial excitement quickly faded.
“It’s a little anti-climactic,” I said disappointedly.
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I just expected more, somehow.”
“Give it a few more years. Maybe we can visit again right before you return to the dungeon. They’ll be farther along by then,” Master Kairos suggested. “Or you could always wait until you leave the dungeon next time. I imagine this place will be completely different by then.”
= = =
The moon was a lot like Mars, except that there was no moss covering the ground, the settlement wasn’t quite as established, and a view of Earth decorated the sky.
Master Kairos and I spent an hour or so exploring the surface and a few underground caverns before heading back. The lack of obvious terraforming made our short exploration a bit more interesting, but even the novelty of walking on the moon soon grew old when the scenery lacked variety.
Like on Mars, we mostly avoided the colonists and kept to ourselves, even though I could tell that Master Kairos wanted to interact with some of the ‘locals.’
I was pretty sure the older Time Mage wanted to call me out for my new anti-social tendencies, but he never did. I appreciated his restraint.
Besides, it wasn’t like I wasn’t aware of my increasing desire for limited solitude.
I didn’t mind spending time with him, Zavira, or my immediate family, but even my extended family was hard to handle in more than small doses. It was a stark difference from how I was before entering the dungeon.
After dropping Master Kairos off at his island, I teleported to my room in the villa. The sun was already up, as were my grandparents and little sisters.
“Hey, Kaylee,” I said to the toddler when I exited my room and saw her at the kitchen table. I was happy that she was no longer leery of me. “Guess where I went!” After waiting a beat, I said, “I went to Mars and the moon!”
Kaylee’s eyes grew wide, and Grandma jerked slightly at my comment.
“You went where?” Grandma Katherine asked.
“I went to Mars first. It’s not a red planet anymore. It’s covered in teal moss now,” I explained. “There wasn’t really much to see aside from the settlement there. The one on the moon was pretty much the same.”
Grandma looked out the window, eying the barely visible moon in the morning sky.
“The moon doesn’t look teal to me.”
“The moss was on Mars, not the moon,” I clarified. “The moon is still mostly gray dirt. The dome and the settlement are basically the same as the one on Mars. Did you know that the moon rotates now?”
I grabbed a muffin out of the basket. There were several other baked goods available, courtesy of the villa’s chef.
“I heard something about that,” Grandma said hesitantly. “I haven’t noticed any changes, though. Maybe the craters look a little different…”
“I heard that tech guy took over the moon,” Grandpa Paul interjected from his seat at the table. “They said he was trying to turn it into some kind of resort or something after the aliens made him a noble.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” I admitted, though I was certain it wouldn’t take much effort to find the information. Sure enough, within minutes, Lisa had compiled a report on the topic.
I skimmed over it, quickly learning about the businessman who’d been granted a Barony and traded the territory he’d been given for the moon. Of course, that was after attending a special academy on one of the more established Alliance planets.
I could certainly see the appeal of turning the moon – or at least part of it – into a resort. The novelty alone would draw people in. Not everyone was bored as easily as me.
I sat next to Kaylee and shared my muffin with her. Eventually, the rest of the family woke up and started separating into groups to explore the island.
Aunt Mindy continued to stare daggers at me before heading out with my mom, but I ignored her. I certainly wouldn’t be inviting her on any future vacations, that was for sure.
“So, I think I’m gonna challenge the dungeon after I hit Tier Four,” Gabby said later in the day when she caught me alone.
“Yeah?” I asked. “What about your little brother?”
“What about him?” Gabby asked in confusion. “He’s already awakened, so he’s basically an adult, right?”
Her brother hadn’t joined us on the trip to Hawaii since he had something planned with some of his friends. I felt a little bad about him missing out, but it was his decision to make.
“You’re really okay with leaving him behind?”
Gabby shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. His affinity is decent, and he was talking about sneaking through one of the portals to attend an academy in a couple of months.” Gabby paused and glanced around quickly, ensuring we were not being overheard. “Don’t say anything. Mom would find a way to guilt him out of it if she knew.”
“I won’t say anything,” I promised. “If you think it’ll help you guys, I’ll try to get the dungeon primer finished before you leave.”
“You’re writing another one of those?”
I nodded. “I figured it might help people prepare, even if some of the details change before they get there. The basics should still apply, even if the elements and creatures shift.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Gabby replied. “I got myself a copy of that game guide you shared before you left. It’s been real helpful for me and my friends.”
“I’m glad,” I said before shifting the topic slightly. “Make sure you tell your parents. Don’t just run off and leave them without a word.”
Gabby groaned. “Emie, you see how my Ma is. All that’ll do is cause another argument. And Pa is barely functioning as it is. I doubt he’d notice if I left.”
“Still. I think you’ll regret it if you don’t at least say goodbye, “I said with a sigh. “Also, you might want to let them know that they’ll have to connect to a kiosk to send and receive messages with you while you’re gone since they don’t have an upgraded interface.”
“You know she’s gonna blame you no matter what,” Gabby said with a smirk, not acknowledging my comment.
“I know,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “I don’t really care all that much, to be honest.”
= = =
The mermaid luau was an interesting event.
We sat at tables on the beach while hula dancers performed on a floating stage. Behind the stage was an elevated tank that connected directly to the sea beneath.
I wasn’t sure if it was some kind of enchantment or if it was a matter of physics – much like pet auto-waterers worked – but the effect was pretty neat.
After the first round of hula dancers and fire jugglers exited the stage, a group of mermaids swam up from the bottom of the tank and began their magic-infused performance.
The difference between the two performances was stark, and it was obvious the mermaids were a crowd favorite.
I almost felt bad for the regular hula dancers.
We had a group surfing lesson the following day, followed by a hike up one of the dormant volcanoes a day later.
Aunt Mindy and Uncle Anthony didn’t join either outing.
When the end of the week arrived and our stay at the villa was over, I returned my extended family to my grandparents’ apartment and prepared to leave.
“Thanks for the vacation,” Grandma Katherine said as she gave me a warm hug. “It was nice seeing you.”
“You, too,” I replied automatically.
I was glad that Aunt Mindy and Uncle Anthony had left as soon as we returned. I really didn’t want to go through the motions of saying goodbye to either of them.
“You make sure you come back and see us before you head back into that dungeon, you hear?” Grandpa Paul added as he patted my back several times.
“Okay.”
I withdrew as the rest of my immediate family said their goodbyes. Gabby snuck up next to me and nudged my arm.
“We’ll probably leave in about six months.” She said it quietly, hoping not to be overheard.
“Maybe we’ll run into each other on the eighth floor,” I said with a smile. “I’ll probably be there for a long time once I return, so don’t push yourself too hard. Climbing with a group takes longer, but it’s a lot safer.”
Gabby nodded. “We should hang out again before I go. Maybe we can get together with my party, and you can help us prepare? Anderson is decent with enchantments, but it’d be good to have an expert give him some pointers.”
“Sure,” I agreed. “I don’t mind meeting up with you guys before you head out. Just message me and let me know.”
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Lorie York
Thank you
