Urgently Hurrying Along

"About damn time it showed up," Toth muttered, "The various military songs were starting to drive me insane."

"We know Toth," Edward said as he stretched his arms, "We know."

Another three days of distortions and rain later and the balloon finally arrived. The travelers had been kept under watch and had their rations limited, but their compliance did allow them some limited movement (most notably, being allowed to bathe and use the latrines as opposed to a spare bucket). This did nothing to limit the suspicion of captain Harvey however who made sure her commanding presence was always known.

"I'm still surprised that bitch is even letting us go," Amber growled as she spotted Harvey across a muddy field as she talked with some soldiers, "Might as well have confiscated our clothes while she was at it with her paranoia."

"At least we will have all of our belongings sent with us even if it's in a box," Sil bounced on his fit and flickered his tail, "We should be fine once we clear our names...again… Maybe spend the night in a cell again at the worst."

"Sil?" Wraith called, facial expression blunt and devoid of any amusement.

"Yes?"

"Stop talking."

Susan snorted in amusement before her expression hardened as Harvey and the soldiers walked over. In truth, she had some negative opinions of her own about the captain. Harvey was somehow more suspicious than Edward and far less tactful than even Amber when she was in a bad mood. But, Susan could not fault the captain for her vigilance and her professionalism. Harvey was a bad host but a very good military officer and border guard.

"Captain," Amber saluted as the group of soldiers came to a stop in front of her.

"Corporal," Harvey nodded, "Is your group ready?"

"We are."

"Sergeant Stanley will be your escort to the Castle," Harvey pointed at one of the soldiers who nodded, "I've given him the details so don't even think of any funny business."

"He'll expect none from us."

"Even so I'm afraid precautions will have to be made," Stanley walked up as he looked at Wraith and Sil, "Can't have a guest fly off or someone punch a hole in the balloon. I'm sure you understand."

Wraith scowled at the implications, "You just had to make it obvious."

Sil said nothing and swung his arms behind his back, face filled with dread. It was obvious that his brief time without the Light was traumatizing and he had no desire to experience such a feeling ever again.

"You'll be quartered in the storage compartment for the duration of the trip. Any movement topside will result in you being escorted and watched by an armed guard. Your equipment will be under armed watch at all times in a secure location. Any resistance will be seen as hostilities to the Kingdom and you will be dealt with as appropriately. Do you all accept these terms or shall I leave you with the captain to deal with you?" Stanley barked out.

"Will we be bound?" Sil asked quietly in a fearful voice.

"What? Speak up!"

"He's asking about the use of magic restraining binders, sir," Susan supplied the explanation.

"No, so long as you obey my commands for the duration of our journey. While this is against standard procedure, two of you are supposedly in league with the Kingdom and you all have been decent...guests so far. Continue your good behavior and all will be well."

"Well then what are we waiting for? Shall we get going?" Toth asked cheerfully, much to the confusion of the Cherrystone soldiers.

"I now know what it's like to be in a Barsuk with too many people," Edward groaned as he squirmed and accidentally elbowed Amber in the ribs.

The balloon cargo hold was cramped, uncomfortably cold, and barely lit. After a small hassle to get everyone inside and in places they could fit, the balloon took flight and started to jostle the group about. Complaints and groans were quick to follow after an hour of turbulence. Despite the large size and carrying capacity of the balloon, it was clear that sergeant Stanley was taking after Harvey's caution and was staying true to his word of storing everyone in the cargo hold.

"I think a Floaty Thing is more comfortable than this even if it's the same thing," Susan muttered as she leaned against the hull, "Ever be in one, Wraith?"

"The hell is a 'Floaty Thing?' That could describe literally anything that floats," Amber yelped as Edward accidentally hit her again, "Hey watch it!"
"Floaty Things are Floran balloons," Sil answered as he curled into a ball and yawned, "Wake me when it's time to eat something."

"Well we're definitely going to have to Embrace the Agony for this trip," Toth grumbled as the magical lamp, the only source of lighting, hit her in the head.

Despite their misgivings and complaints, they slowly settled in for the uncomfortable trip. After a few hours, the others agreed that Sil had the best idea and fell into a fitful rest. Hours later, they were given hardtack and water and the chance to relieve themselves before going back down below. As night fell, they had managed to get into another fitful rest with some reorganizing.

In the morning they had been given the same rations and limited movement before being told by Stanley they would be taking a detour to avoid a stormfront and to expect heavy turbulence. After hours of this (along with the world distorting into clay and different accents), the trip resumed under its calmer conditions. The travelers, thoroughly jostled and restless, began trading stories to pass the time.

It was during the second day into the journey where fate took an even worse turn:

"Feral fellbat!" a voice called out from above.

"What the hell is it doing this far north?!"

"Go away! Shoo you sorry version of a dragon!"

"Sounds like they're having fun up there," Amber commented before the entire balloon shifted violently.

"Should we be concerned?" Edward asked as the lamp went flying towards his face, forcing him to raise his arms in defense.

"Feral fellbats are vicious but usually smart enough to realize balloons are not worth their time," Susan answered before she was thrown over by the maneuvering, "Of course, there's always exceptions."

"This is a terrible means of flight," Sil muttered as he was thrown into Toth.

"If this or the music could kindly stop for an hour it would be greatly appreciated!" Toth snarled as she and Sil fell over onto Amber who squealed in surprise.

"Don't even think about it," Wraith warned Edward who was starting to turn green in the face, "You throw up on me and I'll feed you to the fellbat!"

"Real source of motivation there Wraith," Amber groaned before huffing and glaring at the two on top of her, "Both of you get off of me. Laying on the floor is uncomfortable enough without being crushed."

A half hour later with the world pixelated:

"You all still alive down here?" Stanley asked as he investigated the cargo hold.

Fortunately, the actual cargo was secure and had remained stored with the exception of the lamp. The travelers on the other hand were bruised and glaring at each other. Despite them not saying a word, it was clear that they were very much alive and equally agitated. The sergeant quickly found himself the ire of their discomfort, each with varying degrees of borderline demonic fury that seemed to be magnified by the pixelation.

"Uh… Right… We will be setting down to inspect the balloon shortly. You'll be free to move about until we are back into the air, under guard of course," he said quickly as the gazes continued, "I'll leave you be…"

"All in favor of never traveling by balloon ever again?" Sil asked in exasperation.

"Seconded!" Edward said quickly, voice mixed with agitation and agreement.

True to his word, Stanley let the travelers out of the cargo hold as his crew inspected the balloon. As the world distorted back to normal, they all paced to stretch their muscles and get rid of the pent up frustration. The only consolation from the whole ordeal was that they were out of the cargo hold.

"Can't believe I'm going to say this but I actually prefer the damn Desert over this," Amber grumbled as she kicked her legs to stretch them, "At least that hell was steady and you didn't have everything shaking about."

"When you ride on the back of a giant insect everything shakes," Edward muttered as he laid on the ground with his eyes closed, "But I agree with that statement. At least that ride didn't have a bone thresher trying to shake us apart."

"Fellbat," Wraith commented.

"Do I sound like I care?"

"Wow… That has got to be the angriest I have ever heard you get," Amber said.

"Now that I think about it-" Sil started.

"Stop talking," Edward snapped as he leaned up to glare before he looked at the guards watching them, "And what are you looking at?"

"And the music still is going," Toth sighed, "I think we've Embraced the Agony enough for one day but the music clearly thinks otherwise."

"Wait… You said 'Embrace the Agony' when we got on board that damn thing. Is that seriously what this song is called?" Amber pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Unfortunately."

"Toth, whoever picks the songs in your head is evil."

"Tell that to them."

"Would you please stop talking?" Edward asked.

"Welcome to my world when I use my implants," Amber gave him a smug look.

This quickly resulted in a mixed argument over headaches, travel aggravations, music, and just general complaints. Sil sat out of it and merely focused on stretching as he watched the scene unfold alongside the guards, Susan, and Wraith. Despite still having reservations about traveling with the group and the most stressful flight of his life (which was saying something), everything about this felt...normal somehow.

Of course there's still the matter of these, he rubbed his wings through his vest before catching the sight of Stanley walking up to them, And getting back into that Decay damned deathtrap.

Two hours later and the balloon was back in the air. The travelers voiced their complaints but begrudgingly boarded with no other trouble. Fortunately, the trip for the rest of the day was far less chaotic and smoother. They even were given more generous rations as some sort of apology.

Even so, it was far from a pleasant experience for them. Even in calm conditions, the cramped environment did little to ease their frazzled temperaments as they tried to settle in to sleep.

"Would you stop squirming? There's barely any room down here as is," Toth complained as the lamp hit her in the head again while eating.

"Sorry! Sorry. Just have a cramp all of a sudden," Sil apologized as he tried to stretch.

"Ah! That's my tail you're crushing!" Amber yelped as Edward fell onto her.

"Sorry," Edward tried to sit back up.

"Remind me how long it will take until we reach the Castle," Wraith sighed as he leaned back against the hull.

"Another day and a half if I were to take a guess," Susan grunted as she adjusted her foot after it got stepped on, "A bit surprising we're going there now that I think about it."

"Why's that?" Amber asked.

"It's the capital of the Kingdom. The Relic Survey Corps does hold a garrison there, but our main fortress is located closer to the northeastern border," Susan replied.

"And we arrived from the southeast if I recall our direction correctly," Edward stated.

"We did," Wraith answered with a yawn, "And now we're going further west. Who knows? Maybe we'll get an audience with Lord Emeric and explain things to him."

"Ha! As if Lord Emeric would waste his time on us," Susan scoffed.

"I'll ask in the morning," Amber adjusted her hat and leaned back against some crates.

The others fell into a fitful silence after that.

Another two days of travel later and the balloon finally arrived at its destination. The travelers, quite eager to get off, nearly jumped over the side upon docking.

"That had to be the worst balloon trip of my entire career," Susan growled as she was escorted down the gangplank.

"Next time I'm walking with my wings clipped," Wraith agreed.

Amber was about to voice her own opinion before she stopped to blink from the bright sunlight. She realized the balloon had docked to a tower that was in the center of a fort which overlooked a decent sized city below. However, what caught her attention was the magnificent castle that sat in the distance. Despite the brickwork and distance, she could see bright royal red weaved artfully into the design as well as the banners that hung from the walls. She found herself being reminded of her arrival at Crossroad. Despite lacking the same size or scope as Crossroad, it still impressed Amber that such a structure not only existed, it seemingly thrived.

"Enough stalling. Move," a soldier pushed her.

"All right, I'm going," Amber continued walking, "You don't need to push."

"Huh… There's something in the air but it's not the Light," Sil commented as the group entered a hallway.

"Probably would be the Cherry Stones," Wraith replied, "Two separate words."

"Let me guess, magical rocks?" Edward asked tiredly.

"In crude terms, yes," Susan answered, "Assuming we get to clear this confusion up and you're free to go, I'll give you directions on what to look up in a library."

"That's going to have to wait for a formal review," a soldier said as he read a scroll, "Hmm… This is going to take time to sort out. You all will be held separately and under watch."

The world turned flat and rubbery:

"Wonder what our holding cells are going to look like now," Toth muttered.

"Not now Toth," Edward warned.

Another prison… Oh joy, Amber rolled her eyes and pulled on her arms to stretch them, Well I'm definitely seeing the world at least. Though this obviously isn't the way Mom and Dad would have wanted it.

Despite the distortion changing the perspective, Amber was able to get a decent look at the city through a window. A small, giddy flame warmed in her heart. Even with the chaos and her apparent arrest, she was still seeing a new part of the world. Soon enough, she could explore the streets below and experience things she has never dreamed of before.

"Private, escort them to the holding cells," the soldier called.

"Yes sir. You six, follow me," another soldier ordered.

Taking one final glance out the window, Amber followed as instructed. After a lengthy walk through hallways and down stairs, she found herself placed inside a cell. Despite being bare and a bit cold, she was quite pleased with her situation. Afterall, there was a proper bed in the cell. It may not be the best of quality, but it was a bed and after weeks of traveling and the experience on the balloon she was eager to get some form of decent rest.

"Finally," she sighed as she laid down, propped her hat over her face, and started to doze off.