Although the four of them reviled the idea of commanding a glistership, their feelings were eclipsed by joy and exhilaration. This time, they had really escaped. They were going home. And, all the while, they were sailing over the beautiful, vast Deepwoods.
For the first time since they had left Twilight's Edge, they were finally getting three square meals a day. Several crates of food and barrels of water were stacked in the hold, and in no time, the four of them felt healthy and energetic once more. Before long, they were also using the logbaits in the forehold to haul up various creatures of the wind, which they cooked and mixed with the rations.
Bron and Celestia would spend hours and hours leaning against the balustrade of the Mollus Leddix, staring out over the glades and stands of exotic, mighty trees. To think that this wonderful forest had once stretched all the way to the Phraxfields—no, to the Twilight Woods.
"It's beautiful, all right," said Durix, gazing out at the rolling sea of green beneath them one day. "But be grateful we're sailing over it, rather than hiking through it. The Deepwoods are treacherous. Any number of savage, bloodthirsty creatures call it their home."
"I know that," said Bron hastily. "But it's not just that the forest is beautiful, Durix…this is how it's supposed to be. This is what everything was like before the Blight came."
"And it's what we fight for as Pirates Academic," said Raziel, clapping a hand on Bron's shoulder.
Having been so involved in escaping from the Empire, Bron hadn't thought about the Pirates Academic in a long time. He remembered Raziel's promise to him, and his heart lifted. This adventure had surely proven that he was up to the danger and excitement of a pirate's life. Besides, after the atrocities he had seen—and felt—his desire to fight Vartolius Xax and the Phraxguardians had increased a thousandfold.
He couldn't wait to see them all again—his grandmother Leris, High Librarian Murtus Lodd, and all the others he had known in Omniphrax. Nor could he wait to see the city itself, with its four great floating rocks, the Stone Gardens, old Undertown, and the vast expanse of farmland and glades in the Mire.
But he had to wait. The Edgeworld was a vast place, and they had ended up far to the west. By Raziel's estimates, it would be a few more days before they even reached the Edgelands. Omniphrax itself was still several weeks away.
By now, even Bron and Celestia had grown bored with staring out over the Deepwoods, and they had decided to tidy up the Mollus Leddix, removing as much of the Phraxguardians' evil work from the ship as they could. They rounded up all the shackles and chains and threw them overboard. After finding a jar containing a spare glister, they smashed it open, releasing its contents into the sky. However, they did not dispose of the weapons. In case they ran into another glistership, they needed the ability to defend themselves.
A couple of days later, they were searching the lower holds of the ship, when they found a tightly furled barkscroll sitting on a table in one of the larger cabins.
"What's that?" said Celestia.
"Dunno," said Bron, picking it up and unrolling it. He could see that it was a letter. His eyes widened as he looked at the name of the recipient.
"It's a letter for Vartolius Xax himself!" exclaimed Bron.
"It is?" said Celestia, sounding amazed.
"We need to show this to Captain Tollinix," said Bron. He dashed out of the cabin and through the halls, Celestia keeping close behind him. They emerged on the deck, and started for the control tower…almost bumping into Raziel, who was emerging from the sliding doors.
"Bron! Celestia!" she said, surprised. "What's going on?"
Bron pulled out the letter and began to read it aloud:
Memorandum to Vartolius Xax, Supreme Glorious Leader of the Deepwoods and Most High Phraxguardian of the Edgeworld:
This notice is being sent on from Great Glade to inform you that the materials required for the repair of the sky ship Vilnix Pompolnius are set to arrive at Riverrise on schedule. The shipment shall be sufficient to cover all of said repairs, including the damage to the primary channeling tube of the glisterbeam and the lower bodies of the fifth and sixth propulsion ducts.
Upon proper installation of these materials, the sky ship Vilnix Pompolnius will be fully skyworthy once more, allowing the Phraxguardians and the Great Glade Military to resume their campaign of assault on Twilight's Edge in western Omniphrax.
In addition, the United Leagues of East Glade Manufacturing Facilities would like to wish you the swiftest and easiest of victories in your attempt to wear down the defenses of Omniphrax, as we understand that the ultimate destruction of Omniphrax will put an end to all resistance against the Empire.
Written in the utmost sincerity,
The United Leagues of Great Glade, Leagues of East Glade Manufacturing Facilities Division
Bron lowered the barkscroll. Nobody spoke for several seconds. Everyone looked pale and grim.
"So, Vartolius Xax is trying a new strategy," muttered Raziel finally. "He'll just keep pounding Twilight's Edge again and again."
"What will that mean?" said Celestia, sounding apprehensive.
"It means that at this rate, Omniphrax is done for," said Raziel. "The Phraxguardians have the entire Deepwoods at their command…all the soldiers and materials they could possibly want. If they keep repairing the Vilnix Pompolnius and attack repeatedly, we'll suffer a lot more damage than he does…and eventually, Twilight's Edge will be torn up enough so that it can no longer hold back invasions. The Phraxguardians will be able to sweep across Omniphrax unimpeded, slaughtering everyone in their path."
They all looked at each other, ashen faced. "What do we do?" said Bron.
"Well, the good news is that we know what the Empire is up to," said Raziel. "But I don't know what we can do about it. All we can really do is get to Omniphrax and alert the Senate. Who knows? Maybe we'll think of something."
But Bron could tell that Raziel didn't believe what she was saying. None of them believed that there was anything they could do. Vartolius Xax's plan was simple, but brutish and seemingly unstoppable.
Bron suddenly became aware that the air was growing misty and cold. Looking down at the ground, he saw that the trees were thinning, giving way to a flat, rocky landscape.
"We're in the Edgelands," said Raziel. "I've got to go and reset the autopilot to take us east." She scurried away. Durix left too, looking sick with dread. Celestia and Bron were left staring at each other.
"Do you think we've got a chance, Bron?" said Celestia, her eyes wide with anxiety.
Bron seized her hands in his. "I don't know," he said, looking at her. "It's going to take a miracle. But, who knows? Maybe we'll get one."
And now, the Edge itself came into view. The Edgeland pavement simply fell away into the impenetrable blackness surrounding them. Suddenly, the Mollus Leddix began to turn. The strong gusts and currents buffeted the ship as they fought against the wind. Suddenly, as the fog temporarily lessened and Bron looked around, he noticed something. There was something glowing out over the Edge.
He turned and dashed for the control tower. A confused Celestia followed behind him, and they dashed through the sliding doors and up the staircase. Bursting into the cockpit, where Raziel was flipping dials and switches, Bron said, "Captain! Look! There's something out there, a few hundred strides to the north!"
Raziel looked in the direction Bron was pointing, and the color drained from her face. "That's another glistership," she said. "And it's coming straight towards us!"
She toggled a large switch at the top of the control panel, and seized a directional stick in her hands. "We're going to have to manually fight this thing!"
The enemy ship loomed from the darkness, pulsing with energy, and swooped in beside them. Several crossbow bolts struck the side of the Mollus Leddix, causing it to lurch slightly.
"What kind of weapons have we got?" said Durix frantically, tearing into the cockpit.
"Not many," said Raziel. "This ship wasn't designed for combat."
"Well, let's give them a taste of whatever we do have!" said Bron fiercely.
Raziel pressed a button. A few phraxfire globes flew at the other ship, exploding on their deck, but the hammerhead goblins on board hastily extinguished the flames.
Suddenly, the other ship released several of their own phraxfire globes. The four of them felt the bombs tear into the hull of their ship. Flames were pouring out of the side of the Mollus Leddix, and the ship began to list to port…towards the Edge.
"How do we put out the flames?" screamed Durix.
"The water barrels should do it, but we haven't got time!" said Raziel desperately. "First we'll have to get rid of this other ship!"
She pressed the phraxfire button again, but nothing happened. They had used up their supply. Frantically, she tried to steer the Mollus Leddix back on course, but the ship was now drifting over the side of the Edge cliff, towards open sky. The steering system appeared to be damaged.
Another volley of phraxfire globes flew towards the Mollus Leddix. Once again, the glistership shuddered violently as the explosions ripped into the side, and the listing grew worse.
Suddenly, one of the phraxfire globes collided with the left glisterjet. There was a tremendous BANG, and the clearwood jet chamber shattered. The steady red glow of the glisterjet was replaced by wild, brilliant flashes of rainbow light as the glister within escaped into the blackness. Instantly, the Mollus Leddix began to sink below the level of the cliff. Its job done, the other ship turned and set off for the Deepwoods.
Frantically, Raziel pulled another lever, boosting the other glisterjet to twice its power. The starboard propulsion ducts screamed and the glow from the jet chamber became blinding. "Come on…come on…" coaxed Raziel, sweat pouring down her face. Through the swirling mists, the cliff edge came into view once more.
The stress was too much for starboard jet chamber. The glister within died completely, and the glisterjet flashed and died completely. The Mollus Leddix was in freefall! Down it went, gathering speed, plunging into the blackness below the Edge.
Celestia and Durix screamed. Raziel tugged fruitlessly on the controls. Bron held on as the glistership plummeted.
"We've got to get to the glow-skiffs!" yelled Raziel, dashing for the door. "We can use them to abandon ship and control our descent!"
Fighting the terrifying weightlessness of their fall, they pulled themselves down the stairs of the control tower. "Through there!" shouted Raziel, pointing to a hatch they had never been through before. Beyond the hatch, they found a small emergency glistercraft suspended between the dead propulsion ducts. In response to the freefall, the craft had automatically lit up, ready to jettison in an instant.
"We'll have to jump!" screamed Raziel over the roaring and howling of the wind. "But we only have one shot! If we miss the raft, we'll separate from the ship!"
Praying to Earth and Sky that they would make it, they leapt forward…and landed squarely in the glow-skiff. Raziel pulled a lever at the rear, and with a snap and a whoosh, the small craft split from the Mollus Leddix. Bron felt no change in speed—if anything, they seemed to be accelerating—but Raziel was able to steer the ship, and the light of the small glisterjet cast a surprisingly strong glow over their surroundings. Bron could just make out the side of the Edge cliff as they continued to plunge down.
All at once, over the screaming rush of wind, Bron heard an earsplitting crash. From the faint light of the glow-skiff, Bron saw that the rock was changing—it was no longer a sheer vertical drop, but a steep slope. As they continued to descend, he saw thousands of pieces of the smashed Mollus Leddix tumbling down the side of the rock face.
"We escaped just in time," said Raziel shakily. "We've reached the level of the Edge cliff known as the Great Fluted Decline—the level where the rock starts to become more of a slope. It looks like the Mollus Leddix just smashed into the slope."
"Why are we still going down?" said Durix in panic. "Why can't we go up again?"
"If we tried to reverse direction, we'd overwhelm the glisterjet. You saw what happened back up there. And then we'd be dead for sure. These glow-skiffs are designed to get the crew of a ship down to the ground safely, and can't handle a powerful ascent."
"But what's to stop us dying down at the bottom, even if we do manage to land safely?" asked Celestia. "We've got no food, no water, and no protection from the wind or the cold, not to mention the Edge Wraiths and other beasts said to live down here. And anyway, it was never officially proven that there is a bottom. We could fall forever!"
"We won't fall forever," said Raziel. "The descenders of Library Rock have enough evidence to say with confidence that there is something down there."
But she didn't respond to the rest of Celestia's statement. She didn't need to. Everyone knew that they had no chance of getting back up to the Edge, which meant that they were as good as dead anyway. Bron supposed that landing safely was only a gut reaction born of their raw instinct for survival.
The glow-skiff was dropping far more quickly than they would have fallen on their own. Raziel was gunning the engine to ensure faster landing. Even as it was, however, they spent hours dropping. The cold wind was inescapable. It flooded Bron's ears and eyes, and seeped through his skin as though they were underwater. The atmosphere was heady and misty, and Bron felt as though it was dulling his senses. Every so often, he heard the muffled screeches of unknown monsters as they came close. However, they were moving so quickly that nothing chased them.
Eventually, the Great Fluted Decline became less and less steep. Raziel started to slow the descent, redirecting the glow-skiff so that it was traveling forward as well as down. Before long, the Fluted Decline had ended entirely, giving way to a straight sloping expanse which continued beyond their sight. Bron had no idea how close they were to the bottom. He could barely think at all; the icy mist seemed to be deadening his mind.
Slowly but surely, the slope was leveling out. As it did so, Raziel made the glow-skiff fly slower and slower. It seemed that they were getting close to their destination, although Bron didn't know how he felt about the end of their flight. It would certainly be a relief to stop falling, but what would they do when they finally landed?
Suddenly, Bron could see the bottom. The jagged rock gave way to a barren, utterly smooth stone plane. Raziel brought the glow-skiff to the bottom, and touched down. The light from the glisterjet flickered and died. Everything was pitch black.
"Well…this is it," came Raziel's voice, cutting across the eerie wailing of the wind. "We're at the bottom of the Edge cliff."
Of all the situations they had landed themselves in, none of them had seemed as final, as desperate, as inescapable. They were all alone in a place without light, warmth, or life. There was nothing here. Nothing, except…
"Look!" Bron cried out, pointing. "I see light!"
Then he realized that his arm was invisible in the blackness, and lowered it. His sheepishness, however, failed to dull the surge of excitement. He could see a tiny, faint glow somewhere far away…or was it close by? He had no perception of space here in the absolute darkness. But then, he reasoned, it couldn't be that far away, or it would be invisible in the mist.
After a few moments, Raziel and Celestia gasped. Evidently, they had seen it too. "Where…I can't…ohhhh!" said Durix. "Yeah, there it is!"
"What is it?" said Celestia, puzzled.
"I don't know, but there's nothing else for it," said Bron. "Let's check it out."
They set off, their footsteps and ragged breathing the only indication of each others' locations. As the light began to appear larger, Bron suddenly noticed that the air was changing around them. The air was a little warmer, and the rushing wind felt more like a slight breeze. What was more, the wind sounded different, as though it was blowing around a bunch of large objects…or buildings…
"What is this?" A sudden, sibilant hiss sounded in Bron's mind. "Intruders? Spies?"
There was a pause, during which Bron felt an unpleasant sensation, as though icy hands were sifting through his thoughts. He shuddered, and faint noises from the others indicated that they were experiencing the same feeling.
"Omniphrax academics…" the voice continued.
"Who are you?" Bron thought. If this invisible creature could make itself heard inside Bron's mind, surely he could make himself heard inside the mind of the creature.
"I am Tintifuce," said the hissing voice. "And I know your names. Durix Hentadile… Celestia Drave… Raziel Tollinix… Bron Rackis. Yes," he said, sensing their surprise, "I am a waif."
Bron's mind was racing. They had encountered a waif. This could mean only one thing—and Tintifuce promptly confirmed it.
"Yes, Bron Rackis," he whispered in his mind. "This is New Edgelands."