Chapter 18: Across the Sky

"Well I have to admit matey that I'm quite puzzled. If you're trying to get to Demingrad I don't know why the hell you don't get a port. If you took one from Gbazu south Rouge you could move straight to Ralaport then Fletz and Demingrad very quickly. Everyone ports these days. If you were going somewhere across the sea I wouldn't question it but why on earth do you want to go all the way to Demingrad without a port?"

"Good question," replied Megufu, "I'll tell you why. I'm an artist. I don't want to just port places. I want to see things and breath in the air. I want to see what it used to be like before people could just teleport. I want to see the wide world of Endiness – not just the one we all know today"

"You're crazy," laughed the ship owner, "I got some bad news for you though. We ain't going to Demingrad"

"Where are you going then?" asked Megufu with a sigh

"Barfa in Mille Seseau. We're a transport ship. We're importing vegetables for Harzi-Enterprises"

"That's on the way though isn't it?"

"You could look at it that way," he laughed, "Have you ever been to Mille Seseau?"

"Never in my life," replied Megufu honestly, "Come to think of it I haven't been to Demingrad either"

"Mille Seseau's a desert. Trust me you don't want to go there. There isn't anything in Mille Seseau except for sand worms and bad tempered farmers. There's a couple of towns here and there with ranchers and stuff but Barfa's the only small city. It's a farming city and that's about it. Very few people go there except to trade. There's a fast road up north into Demingrad which I guess if you had a magi-wheel you could drive it but…"

"That's fine. I probably won't find anyone else who'd be going that far by air in Rouge"

"You're making a mistake matey. You sure you want to tag along?"

"That I do," replied Megufu firmly.

"What are you offering then?"

"300 Kerbs as we agreed"

"I'd barta for more heh, but I'm in a good mood today. I'll let you off with that"

"Thankyou, I greatly appreciate it," said Megufu, "Who else will be with you?" he asked carefully thinking warily of the authorities.

"About fourteen workmen. Three or four farmers who were on holiday in Rouge returning home as well. I'm just surprised you're coming. I've never had anyone on board who didn't live in either Rouge or Barfa," the ship owner looked at the ground for a moment and then up again slyly, "You're not in any trouble are you? You're not on the run or something?"

"No," replied Megufu quickly, "Just artistic purposes that's all"

"Good," laughed the man, "Because I wouldn't have a criminal aboard my ship"

"I understand perfectly. I'll warn you if I see any"

"Heh… you're a laugh you are. Alright then matey, we'll set off in an hour. It's quite breezy up there so if you want to walk around the deck you might want to wrap up warm – but I see you've got a coat anyway. You'd probably prefer to stay under deck I'd imagine as it really does get quite chilly at night"

"Is it hard work keeping the ship running?"

"For a few people such as my self yes. The rest are just here to help unload things. I'll let you off that since you're paying"

"Sorry I don't believe I have your name…"

"Pichel – Captain Pichel and yourself?"

"Megufu," answered Megufu

"Alright then Megufu, I'll see you later"

"Again thanks very much"

The ship itself was a great metallic monster. It was one of the floating freights that Megufu knew only too well from his days working in Lohan in Dale. They'd float slowly overhead shadowing the ground in a worrisome black. It was run by magic of course as all things were in Endiness. It was a huge metallic oval shaped thing with pipes and metal grilling wrapped around it. In length it was about three quarters the height of the twin castles in Fletz. For such a huge thing Megufu was surprised at how few people were on board to run it.

When it finally took off it did so with a loud roar of wind and elevated vertically slowly until it was above the clouds. There was a continual noise of motors and propellers all throughout the flight. Behind him as the clouds parted Megufu watched as Rouge disappeared. Distantly he could see the museum as a dot on the horizon. Slowly it disappeared below the clouds and so did what he knew of Kongal. Above him the sky was blue and the sun shone brightly in the sky. It made him think of the dragoons.

There were four decks to the ship. The third contained the control room near the front where Pichel steered and storage to the back. The fourth was just storage space and the second was for people to sleep in. The 1st was of course on top in the air with the continual noise of the motors. Railings were everywhere to stop people falling into machinery or even off the platform. There were two large vents with fans inside on the top that Megufu found himself staring into.

It was an overnight trip - so Pichel had said in their conversation. Megufu spent a long time walking across the top of the ship. He was reluctant to talk to the other workers. He kept himself wrapped up and spent most of the time near the edge gazing down at the clouds and thinking of what crazy things had happened to him in the last few weeks. The black coat, he was wearing, had been stolen from a mall in Rouge. The money he had stolen from an electronic shop. It seemed to him quite defeating that as a 'legendary dragoon', he had to resort to stealing and thieving to survive.

In his possession, he now had three dragoon spirits – one of which was his. At least as they were now, they couldn't be doing any harm elsewhere, and while he had three it meant that it was impossible for anyone to make up the set of seven. Somehow it had all become so much more than the money that he had been offered on the first day. He had become a rebel against Virage by force. There had been no choice in the matter. Phleg would have killed him if the spirit hadn't reacted and shown him its true coulers.

It was a refreshing feeling being up in the air. The black coat made him feel comforted somehow. The spirit liked the dark couler and the security. Somehow he knew that. The dragoon spirit had a mind of its own.