January 24, 2019, 3:05 pm.

Once I inform the others I've seen the coastline, not much changes, simply continuing our journey. While our current travel is unremarkable, we have seen a few interesting sights over the past few days.

Before we finished leaving the forest, we skimmed over a glade filled with snapping flowers that Demo insisted he needed a sample of.

After the forest, we flew over dry, grassy fields with lion-esque six-legged felines that watched us with bemused detachment. Thinking about the state of those fields reminds me that it's autumn here.

Good thing we're headed south.

The last distinctive creatures we came across were a herd of the grazing deer-like creatures prancing across the surface of a tepid marsh.

Despite the fact I'm literally flying everywhere, the sight of the deer creatures left me in awe when we observed them. They weren't just moving across the marsh, instead, regularly stopping to dig beneath the surface to wrangle sustenance from below.

Honestly, if not for the mana storm, today's journey would be rather unremarkable, mostly low grasslands without so much as a single six-legged lion.

A few hours later, we stop for our meal break. Flying higher while the others land, I try to gauge the distance to the coast. We've made it nearly halfway.

"It looks like we're only a few hours out," I tell Beth and Tipan as I land. Josh and Roberts are both practicing nearby, firing thorns and water arrows respectively. The trees they're using for target practice are already getting beat up and we've only been here for a few minutes.

"What do you think, Tipan? Press on? Or break for the night?" Beth asks while setting her glider to the side.

"Yes," Tipan replies, failing to keep a smile from her face.

Beth just sighs in response, settling herself into a folding chair she pulled from her inventory. Despite my ability to make furniture out of nearly anything, Beth prefers the permanent one Josh and I crafted.

So, now she has her very own, personal, lawn chair.

Once Beth is settled in place, she turns to Tipan who's setting up her own chair

"If we go tonight, I imagine we'd be able to stay in the local shelter. But I've no idea what facilities they have," Tipan supplies once she's comfortable.

"Hmm. I'll ask the boys what they think once they're done playing around," Beth decides while Smoulder and I start preparing a late lunch. Despite what the system says about my cooking, my reheating skills are top-notch.

After lunch, it's decided we'll continue on our way. The sun is just starting to sink below the horizon when Tipan calls out, "there it is, to the south. You can see the tower."

I can just make out a faint white pillar thrusting from the shore. Magnifying my view, I discover the 'stronghold' we're headed towards is reminiscent of a beach resort. One of those super nice ones, like one that mom would brag about this or that boyfriend taking her to, with individual cabins and drinks with tiny umbrellas.

The other thing I notice is a distinct lack of walls. Other than the tower, I don't see anything that could be mistaken for defences. Even the tower looks as much showpiece as fortification. It's intricate, spiralling, patterns bathed in the ruddy glow of the setting sun make it challenging to discern much detail from the distance.

Grouping together as we fly closer, I approach Tipan, commenting, "I expected a stronghold to be more… Strongholdy." I emphasize my point by creating a square fort out of shaped dirt, holding it in front of us as an example.

Laughing gently, Tipan responds, "Each one of those dwellings is capable of resisting a dragon's worst teething fit. And that's just based on what I can see of their base construction materials. I know in the Aetherium, any controlled stronghold node gives its linked structures additional benefits. The least of which includes increasing their durability. I can only imagine the Lords have advanced features I've never heard of available to them."

"Creative freedom while maintaining structural integrity? As a basic feature? Wonderful," Roberts notes excitedly while we move closer. That is pretty cool.

"Awesome," Josh agrees from above me where he and Beth are flying.

The size of the tower becomes more apparent as we move closer. It must stand a kilometre or more above the nearby cabins. The cabins surround the tower, stretching out to the north and south, with a large 'bump' near the tower.

Sheltered on its westward side, I can barely make out a bay enclosed in two reaching arms that reach out from the tower. They nearly encircle the bay, hiding most of its contents from view from our current approach.

"There should be landing platforms for aerial visitors near the tower. Since it's their territory, flight abilities aren't supposed to be used without a license," Tipan informs us, then points, "I think that's one, there."

Following her down, we alight on an all-wood platform which is about halfway between the outer ring of cabins and the tower. At the edge is a set of stairs leading down. And next to those stairs is a bored K'tharn carving a wooden object. They're lost in their work, only glancing up after Beth clears her throat.

They nearly drop their carving, only catching it between their lower claws as they tumble forwards.

"Vaus-damnit. Where the hell did you come from?" she chokes out, glancing up at the now-empty sky.

Beth waves in the general direction behind her as Tipan steps forwards, "Hello, we're looking to enter the stronghold. Are we permitted to enter? Oh, and would you be willing to direct us to a place to rest?"

"What?" the guard asks, staring at us before focusing on Tipan. When she stares at Tipan, suddenly, her fur stands on end, and she hisses out while bowing slightly, "Sure thing, your royal Skyness."

Tipan sighs but doesn't respond as the guard gives her directions. To the Aetherium garrison at the far northern tip of the stronghold.

"Actually, we were hoping for unaffiliated lodgings," Beth interjects, stepping forwards the moment the guard mentions the barracks.

"Oh. You mean you're not…" the K'tharn's hackles settle down as she inspects us again. "Of course. Don't know what I was thinking. You'll want something close to the Spire, I imagine. Better access to its restaurants, shopping, crafting facilities and training zones. Plus, the harbour."

This time she provides Tipan and Beth with a different establishment and informs us that the Spire access is available from sunup to sundown, so we've missed it for the day.

"You're here a little early if you came for the Great Tidal Festival by the way," she mentions as a prompt appears.

Beth replies as I read the prompt. It lists off the terms and conditions for entry to the stronghold. They're far too long to conveniently read, but when I scroll directly to the bottom, I discover several options, one of which will make understanding the terms much easier.

"Wow. It's like a disclaimer from home," Josh comments as I check over the options.

There are three. Refuse the terms, accept the terms and download a shortened list or accept the terms but don't download the list. Both of the acceptance terms also require paying a fee of five emgee for entrance to Glimmering Sands.

Choosing the download option, the emgee transfer immediately as I open the much shorter list.

"Welcome to Glimmering Sands. While you're here, try to be a decent sapient. This includes but isn't limited to the following.

Don't steal. Don't murder. Don't harass. Don't assault. Don't fly without a permit. Don't annoy Lord Thansone. All rules are subject to change or exclusion at Lord Thansone's discretion. Remember, you had a chance to read the fine print before you entered."

Huh. Those seem like reasonable rules. Well, except that last one. But you need things like that to deal with trolls.

"Yeh think these terms are a little extravagant?" Demo observes as I finish reading.

"It mostly just says don't be an evil jerk," I reply, peeking over the edge of the platform with Smoulder on my shoulder, both of us watching the people moving below. "I don't see what's so confusing about that."

"How can yeh know that already? I'm still on page one where it explains the basic rights of individual species."

"There's a downloadable summary at the bottom," I reply as I watch a gaggle of laughing K'tharn walk by. At a glance, they kind of resemble Rufka but their fur is more of a greyish brown colour, not nearly as beautiful as her tawny brown.

I'm probably biased.

"Indeed. An excellent example of 'too long, didn't read' if ever there was one," Roberts notes while looking over the enclave beside me. The word enclave feels wrong now that we're here. This is more like a small community or village. Okay, probably too many people to be a village. But the individual styles of the cabins lend themselves to the word. The only unifying features of the cabins are the glossy black roofing and the wooden material used in their construction.

"You know what tl;dr is?" I ask Roberts as we make our way down the stairs ahead of the others. I can hear them talking behind us but only barely. Smoulder, of course, is already on the ground waiting for us. The no-flying rule doesn't apply to bouncing off the railings.

"The internet isn't just for young people," Roberts replies, stopping when we reach the bottom as I collect Smoulder. We watch a pair of K'tharn walk by, chatting in what Uthica referred to as Unerse, or 'the deep tongue.' It's strange hearing the low and echoing sounds coming from K'tharn.

"I wonder if we're able to teach the K'tharn English," Roberts ponders as we continue our trek towards the indicated inn, closer to the tower. After only a few blocks of walking, I'm already getting antsy to fly again. It's faster and since it requires mana, it feels more invigorating, even when moving at a relative crawl.

"I imagine so. Vausian is mostly the same language that Uthica grew up with as a kid," I respond as yet another set of K'tharn walk past us, giggling amongst themselves. "Does this place feel like a tourist resort to you?"

"I must admit it's not quite what I expected of the first settlement we came across," Roberts inclines his head in agreement as we approach the 'cabin', Ocean's Breeze. Cabin seems to be a misnomer as I consider it's size from the front where a short set of stairs lead up. It's easily half the size of our apartment building back home.

It's decorated in an ocean motif that helps confirm we're at the right place. There are aquatic dolphin-esque creatures carved into the log walls and something that reminds me of a sea-based long-neck dinosaur features prominently over the entrance, its eyes watching us enter. I'm pretty sure there's a name for the dinosaur I'm looking at, but I don't know it.

Given our proximity to the ocean, I would have expected the aquatic motif to be more common, but this is one of the few cabins with one so far. While I'm rather taken by the design, Smoulder's not impressed. Too many fish.

"Those are some sweet carvings," Josh comments from behind us where he's holding Beth's hand.

Aww.

"I didn't realize they put such an emphasis on the artistic aspect here. Each building could easily be a Commander's residence in the Aetherium," Tipan remarks as Roberts leads the way up the steps.

"It's a beautiful sight, to be sure," Demo agrees as Roberts puts his hand on the door, pushing it open.

Inside we discover a rather typical setting for a hotel back home, a service desk sitting before us. However, there's no one at said desk when we walk in. We browse the lobby as we wait. It feels almost like a gift shop, prices for miscellaneous knick-knacks popping directly into my mind if I focus on an object for a moment. And there are a lot of knick-knacks, from little centimetre long carvings of aquatic creatures to a great moving chime of assembled shells that shifts in the gentle breeze blowing through the lobby. A minute later, a K'tharn with striking black and white colouring emerges from a back room greeting us with a smile and flattened fur. Despite the fact she's clearly a K'tharn, her colouration reminds me of a skunk.

She apologizes in Unerse but when everyone else glances at each other in confusion, she switches to Vausian before I can step in, "my apologies visitors. Do you understand Vausian?"

Nodding, Roberts responds, "Indeed, we do. We were told you might have rooms available?"

"Yes, I do. And at a very competitive four emgee per night," she pauses as she checks over our party. "Though I'm sad to say that I only have two rooms available."

"Hmm. Are there any other inns nearby? We'd rather not be split up," Beth explains, levelling her gaze at the poor K'tharn.

"Yuh-yes, there's another Inn just two buildings down and across the path. The Falcon's Catch should have room for the rest of you. I feel I should mention, if you're all needing your own rooms, you're unlikely to find them in a single building this close to the Spire."

"Oh. Why is that?" Roberts asks politely, stepping between Beth and the desk attendant while inspecting a squid carving.

Huh, I think he did that on purpose.

With a more level voice, the K'tharn responds, "most visitors prefer to stay near the Spire. With flight being illegal and running being frowned upon, it's a time saver. You're lucky you're here now. A month from now and you'd be arriving during the Great Tidal Festival."

"I've never heard of this festival. Is it a local affair?" Tipan asks, drawing the K'tharn's attention for the first time. The K'tharn glances at Tipan for a second before fainting, disappearing behind her counter.

Tipan sighs again while Roberts makes his way around the counter and Beth glances at her with a sideways gaze.

"The locals sure do take notice of yeh. Yeh some kind of royalty or something?" Demo asks, tilting his hat back while pointing at Tipan with his toothpick.

"Hardly. It's my fur. There's a silly rumour that it signifies an especially strong connection with Vaus. An avatar of destruction, master of wind and lightning. A rumour that the Aetherium has clearly proven is fal…..se…." Tipan cuts herself off as her eyes go wide. She turns to stare at me for a moment then sits down hard, missing the chair she was reaching for, landing on the floor instead.

"Am I missing something?" Demo asks, looking back and forth between us.

"Eh. Just your typical government lying to everyone about anything and everything," Josh shrugs.

"A common symptom of those who inhabit the system I imagine. I suppose I'll have to grow used to it as well," Demo nods.

While they're talking, I go over to offer Tipan a hand up. While she does take my hand, when I tug on her, I pull myself to the floor instead of pulling her up.

Right, I'm still a weakling.

Sitting next to her, I figure I can do the next best thing and hold her hand. Smoulder, noticing my desire to console Tipan, is also nuzzling up against the aforementioned hand.

"It's just like everything else," she mutters, staring at her upper hands where a spark of electricity is bouncing around. I'm postulating that she's got some wind mana going too, but it's a little less visible.

"Yep," I agree, nodding as though she's said something wise and profound.

Tipan turns to stare at me for a second then starts giggling.

"Thank you, Alexis," she finally says as I hear a groan from behind the desk.

"Uhh. Anytime," I reply. Not sure I did much, but hey, at least she's feeling better!

We stand up while the K'tharn behind the counter stares at Tipan for a second. When she doesn't explode or turn into a magical ball of kitty death or whatever she's expecting, she finally speaks. "I've never had a skyborne in my inn before. My apologies, my lady."

"Thought she said she wasn't royalty," Demo mutters behind me as Tipan stiffens.

"Oh. That's quite alright. No harm done. But perhaps it would be best if I stay in the other inn," Tipan assures the troubled K'tharn.

However, the innkeeper's eyes draw open in shock as she proclaims, "you'll do no such thing. You'll stay here or my name isn't Pefe La'mew. And the first night is free. As an apology. I'll even throw in dinner for you and your companions. After they've had a chance to secure their lodgings, of course."

Tipan is shocked, only able to mumble out a demure, "Okay," in response.

Josh and Beth decide they'll stay with Tipan, though at first Beth insists we should stick together until everyone has their rooms figured out. But Roberts and I convince her we'll be safe enough. We're only going a couple of doors away and I can reach her over comms.

With that decided, Roberts, Demo and I make our way to Falcon's Catch, Smoulder on my shoulder and a sense of relaxation in the air.

The Falcon's Catch is simple to find following Pefe's instructions. Unlike most of the other buildings here, the exterior is rather plain with just a single sculpture of a majestic bird over the entrance, its wings forming protective eaves against the weather.

Stepping inside we're hit by a heavy wave of smoky incense. It's almost as thick as the trial I ran through. There's no desk or lobby in this room. Instead, there's what I would describe as a large bird resting on….. Is that a bean bag chair?

I'm guessing it must be the falcon featured in the name. Given the pipe hanging from its beak, and the way it turns its head to stare at us when we enter, I'm guessing it's also the proprietor.

It continues staring when Roberts speaks, "Excuse me. But we were wondering if you had rooms available?"

The silence grows long, Demo holding the door open while we wait for a response.

After a minute of us not moving, I'm about to suggest we leave when they sigh while waving us forward, "fine. I've got the space. But there are no meals and I don't do room service."

Damn.

I hate to say it.

But I think Beth got the better inn.