The Crystal Rose: Chapter 2
By Gary Shum
Creative Writer
The cold winds pelted his face like snakebites as Vim stood at the edge of the railing, watching the sea of clouds stretch out below him. It was the first time in almost four years he had seen them from this angle. The wooden deck let out creaks and groans beneath him as they soared through the sky.
“My my my, is this Vim Alderman I see before my eyes?” an old voice said from behind. The music-like drawl was familiar to his ears.
“More of a shadow, I think.” Vim turned around. Sira Dalson stood by the metal railing, gray hair a little grayer, bony features a little sharper, yet vitality just as bright and powerful as the first time they met.
“A shadow? Hardly.” The aging woman caught him in an embrace. “How are you doing, old boy? Family well?”
Vim forced a smile. “Mostly.”
Wrinkles appeared at the woman's lips. Vim had almost forgotten that she had the intuition of a hawk. “Money's tight recently,” he added.
“Ah.” Sira nodded, stepping back. “There are better ways to make money than going on life-or-death expeditions, you know.”
“It's what I'm good at.”
The old lady was midway through a retort when a clattering of boots against wood cut her off. A young man with goggles a size too large walked up to them. “Sir Alderman, Madam Dalson, Lannel—Captain Lannel, I mean—would like to see you.”
“Captain Lannel?” Vim raised an eyebrow.
“Oh leave it be,” Sira said, pulling up the ruffles of her fur coat. “He makes all the greenhorns call him that, the eccentric fool. Less so of late, but still.” She raised her chin towards the boy. “Tell your captain that we'll be there in a minute.”
“Aye aye—” The boy caught Sira's glare. “I mean, yes ma'am.”
“It's spreading, I tell you.” The old woman shook her head. “Shall we go in? Wouldn't want to keep our captain waiting, would we?”
Vim nodded, following her into the cabin of the airship.
The captain's room of the Skyscraper was a deliberate replica of an old-fashioned galley, wood tables, barrels, steering wheel, and almost everything else looking as if it came straight from a pirate ship. If he took the time to look closely though, no doubt he would've found switches and levers hidden just out of sight.
“Welcome, mateys!” Lannel said, stepping away from the papers draped over the desk. “This is the room of the famous—“
“By the gods, Lannel, we're here on an expedition, not some joy ride.” Sira rolled her eyes. “Would it hurt to keep a modicum of professionalism here?”
“Just trying to lighten the tension.” Lannel raised his hands up in defense. “The men are tense at having to arrive so close to snowstorm season.”
Vim paused, not sure if he had heard that correctly. He cocked his head. “Snowstorm season?”
“It's the winter solstice, Vim. As in Glacierwind.” The man put on a pair of brown-rimmed glasses, pointing to a chart on the wall. It was a colored graph of weather patterns. “Estimates show that we have just under a week until the Glacierwind comes in. Experts back home are saying it's the biggest one in more than a hundred, maybe a thousand years.”
Time had become a blur to him, the last few months. Vim let out a breath. “Just our luck.”
“Oh no, this is no luck,” Sira chimed in. “It's the earth pulse from the Gardens. It's been wreaking havoc with the weather. People have had to evacuate from several villages already.”
“Earth pulse? It's begun pulsing?” Vim looked at another table. Sure enough, there was a chart outlining the vibrations in the ground, all emitting from one origin point.
“We wouldn't have found it if it didn't,” Lannel said, a dark look crossing over his face. “We wouldn't have found any of them if they didn't.”
Vim glanced at his former colleague. The man had gone through his fair share of troubles since they parted. There was something older, more jaded about him. Vim probably looked the same way himself. It had been a long time since he looked in a mirror.
“Anyways,” Sira said, cutting into the tension, “the point is, we have five, maybe six days at best, to make it to the Gardens in time. It's either that, or wait the Glacierwind out, and who knows how long that'll take.”
“Or if the Gardens will even be there when it's passed.” Lannel looked out the window.
“So what's the plan? Land at Tokkai and hope we can trudge fast enough to make it in three?” Vim shuddered at the thought of getting caught out in the storm, body vanishing into snow, never to be seen again.
“No, I've secured a landing site at a small village to the east of Tokkai,” Lannel said, pointing to a white spot. The village wasn't on the map. “We'll land there, and push straight through the mountain pass. The route should easily save us two days.”
Vim nodded. Five days were plenty. After that, they could wait out the Glacierwind for the week or so it took to blow over, and use that time to search the Elder Ruins.
“Well, all things considered, it shouldn't be too hard to make it in time,” Sira said. “And even if we don't—“
“We have to.” Vim clenched his fist. “We have to make it before the Glacierwind hits.”
Sira looked surprised at his outburst. She slowly nodded. “The time we have should be plenty. Don't worry about it.”
Lannel glanced over the two of them. “So, anyone have any questions? Opinions? Complaints?”
“I have one,” Vim said. “Do we know anything of the layout, what to expect inside the Gardens?”
The room went silent. He had evidently touched on a sore point.
“Sightings of the Ruins are rare as it is, much less information about the interior.” Sira said, slowly. “From what we can tell though, it seems to be a castle like structure. Same as the other ruins.”
In other words, he was going in blind. Vim gave her a short nod. “Thanks.”
“Any other questions?” Lannel paused at the silence, then closed his eyes. “Alright then, I'd recommend you two go get some rest. Sleep is going to be a scarcity once we're out there in the cold. Better stock up on it now.”
“What about you?” Sira cocked her head. “Are you just going to stand there?”
“There are some last minute preparations I need to make. Nothing you two can help with. Sleep, I'm afraid, isn't going to be a luxury for me.”
Sira looked at the man for a moment, then shook her head. “Suit yourself. I'm going to get some much-needed beauty sleep. It's been forty years since I was young, after all.”
Vim watched her walk out into the hall, then turned to Lannel. “I'm going out to...check things out then,” he said, knowing how flimsy that sounded. “You sure you don't need any help?”
“I wish.” His friend shook his head, tired eyes visible behind the glasses. He let out a long breath. “Sorry, no I don't.”
Vim nodded and stepped towards the door. He had his hand on the knob when Lannel called out his name. He turned around.
Lannel sat in his chair, leaning back. He paused for a moment, then raised his hand in a thumbs-up gesture—a gesture from their younger days. “Good luck.”
He felt a wave of nostalgia pass over him. Vim smiled and returned the gesture. “You too.”
Stepping out into the hall, he looked over the walls, then retraced his steps, walking back the way he came. He wasn't sure if he got the all turns right, but he ended up at a wooden door, nonetheless. Vim pressed his hand against it and pushed it open.
A sharp wind cut into hall. Every muscle in his body tensed up, eyes slamming shut. A shiver coursed through his bones. It was cold. Colder than before. Vim barely managed to crack his eyes open, vision blinded with white.
Wait a second. White? He blinked, almost sure he was seeing things. White powder sifted down from the sky like soft feathers. Vim held out his hand. They melted when they landed on his skin. His head pounded.
It was snowing. From above.
A glimpse of oversized goggles caught his eye. Vim bounded through the layer of snow and to the boy. “What's going on here? How is it snowing?”
The boy looked at him, tilting his head, “What do you mean?”
“We're above the clouds,” Vim said. “How can there be snow?”
“Oh, you haven't heard, sir? It's been like this for days now. Snow keeps falling from above, and no one can tell where from. Captain Lannel says it's likely some sort of backlash from the earth pulse. Or Elder Ruin. I'm not sure.”
Vim brushed past the boy, moving towards the railing. He gripped the cold metal with both hands and peered out into the mist. From the distance, a shimmering blue glow lit the air, a beacon in the storm. It shined and pulsed with an ethereal light. He drew in a breath.
It was out there, somewhere, the Ice Gardens, the Crystal Rose, the place he had to reach. They were all waiting for him. To uncover them. To reach them.
And it would supposedly take only three days.
Vim shook his head and staggered back to the cabins.