There's a little girl wandering through the woods a little inland.

This is not the path back to her mother. Clearly. But she keeps going, turning this way and that, trying to recognize a particular knotted tree or patch of moss.

Eventually, she decides to push what little magic she's been able to muster - picks up a vaguely suitable branch and shakily floats as high as she can, looking for some sign of a road, or, or, something.

The forest sprawls for a fair distance. At its edges is a swirling, iridescent fog that she can't see through. There's a bare patch over there, where there's solid ground without trees or mist, and what looks like a pier.

As good a place as any to float towards, lost as she is.

...Is this the monsters' doing, somehow?

No signs of any monsters.

There's a single ship tied to the pier, apparently floating in the mist, and as she gets closer she can see a person walking towards the cliff overlooking the docks. The person doesn't appear to have noticed her yet.

A flying ship. A magic thing!

She waves and shouts 'hello' excitedly. In an unfamiliar language, of course.

The woman looks up. She waves after a moment, calling out, "Hello!" in the most common trade tongue.

...How about English? Greek? "Hello?"

She floats closer, slowly, on that crooked tree branch.

Nope.

She tries a couple of other tongues, one of them very similar to Greek but not quite mutually intelligible.

When none of them get a reaction, she frowns and mutters to herself some, then calls out, perfectly understandable, "Hello! I hadn't known there was anyone else on this island. Are your parents around?" It isn't clear what language she's speaking, is the thing.

"I'm on an island? I was- I was going back to the camp at Sandanski? Ma's there."

"Oh, I'm sorry - I think the realm might have... picked you up. It does that, sometimes, when people are lost."

"...So this is not Macedonia? Wild magic! I've heard of wild magic doing weird things."

"I've never heard of 'Macedonia.' I'm not sure about wild magic, but the realm has a magic of its own. It's... capricious."

"I thought world-magic was nice. Are you a Witch, ma'am?"

"In this realm, the world's magic is - like the world itself. Neutral to people. And I'm a magic-user, though I don't think I'm your world's sort of witch."

"Okay... How do I go back?"

She floats down and lands, shakily. Seems tired.

"I'm... Not sure. No one's ever returned to their original world that we've heard of, without having some sort of native ability to move between worlds. A few kingdoms are working hard on a solution, though."

She sighs. "Here, let's get you inside. There's beds, and I can make us some food."

"Can I- Can I send a letter back? Mom needs to know I'm 'kay."

"Not unless your magic can. You should be able to return to the same moment you left, if you're worried about your mother missing you - this realm's not entirely synced time-wise."

The little girl shakes her head. "Just got magic. Just flying and pretty lights. Dunno my special magic yet."

"That sounds like very nice magic. What's a special magic?"

She quotes from a textbook or something, "Every Witch has their own special power, a magic uniquely their own. Some gifts are common, and yet each is slightly different."

"I think I've heard of a couple of magic systems a bit like that. Personalized magic is very cool. Magic comes in all sorts of types, here, since the realm pulls from multiple worlds."

"It could almost be fun if it wasn't kidnapping me."

Her stomach growls. "...Food?"

"Yeah, it can be mean like that. C'mon, food's this way. What's your name? I'm Sarati." She starts leading the girl to the cliff face, which has little apartments and walkways carved into it.

"I'm Grenadine. Who made this place? It's neat. Cliff houses."

"I don't know. It's been here a very long time, since before I first started sailing."

"Are there lots of places like that? We're talking because of your magic? What's that stuff?" She points at the mist.

"There's Cloudshear, an entire city built into cliffs, if you mean the architecture, and yes, there are a lot of ancient places I don't know the origin of, if you mean the age. It's very disappointing, I like knowing the stories of the people who built a place. And we're able to talk because of my magic, yes. I have very personal magic, that only works on me, but I can trade something with a spirit I know to get you able to talk to everyone you meet."

"That stuff is the ley, that connects the islands. Or, what we can see of it from the outside."

"I have so many questions."

They arrive at the base of the cliff. "Well, like what? And, here we are, the kitchens are all on the ground floor."

"What kind of kingdoms are here? How do maps work if there's just islands and Ley-mist-stuff? Is there a North? What's a spirit and what will you hafta trade them?"

She laughs a bit.

"Well, there's three big kingdoms - Bajilda, Madeza, and Frisland. The first two are on continent-sized islands, and Frisland is across multiple islands. There's also a bunch of medium-sized kingdoms, like Oten, which is on the same island as Bajilda. Bajilda is ruled by a king and queen, Madeza by a Speaker who's elected by the nobles, Frisland by an Empress, and Oten by a Council. But most of the kingdoms are really small, just on one little island.

"Maps can either show the islands and the connections between them, or can be just of an island. There's pathways between the islands, called ley-lines. Some of the biggest islands have colder parts that're a bit like going north in a normal world, but it's not really organized.

"A spirit's a type of person who's very magical and old, and usually either looks like an animal or doesn't have a set form. The one I know is a cat-spirit who owes me a favor - I helped her find something long ago. Spirits like stories the most, but will trade for most things humans will. Books, silks, spices, and flowers are common."

"Do you need to do anything special to fly between islands?"

Grenadine observes the kitchen hungrily as she asks.

Sarati sets down her bag and moves about the kitchen, familiarizing herself with it. There's no food already in it, but the pans and such stay put. "You need a ley-ship, like mine, or some very rare magic. Do you have any preferences on what to eat? I'm not sure I'll have anything you'll recognize, though..."

"Anything is fine." Compared to slightly rotting potatoes and wild acorns, and sometimes not even that, that refugees subsisted off of.

"Okay. I'll whip something up. Would you prefer tea or water to drink?"

The meal is a sort of fluffy, slightly sweet grain with different sorts of raisins cooked into it, served with dried salty meat of some kind that's been spiced lightly. It doesn't take long to prepare, luckily. "Ship's provisions, unfortunately, so not the most appetizing thing, but better than some manage."

"You'd give something like tea to me?"

"...It's really really good. Almost no good food left in south-east Europa 'cause of the demon war. Thanks."

"It's no problem. You can have some honey to sweeten it, too. I actually trade in rare teas and spices, and what's the point of being a tea-trader if I don't indulge every now and then?"

"The demon war sounds scary. Maybe when we find our way back to your world we can bring some food with us."

Gren shakes her head. "You'd need lots of food... Yeah, they're scary."

"Well, then maybe we can bring people somewhere here. Many of the islands have room."

"That would help. I heard getting people across the sea is what's taking so long...You really think I can go home? You said I couldn't earlier."

"I'm sure you'll be able to someday. Hopefully someday soon, we don't want your mom missing your childhood."

Gren nods. Oh look she's crying softly. Trying to hide it. "If we- Bring back things for the Witch-Knights. To help fight the demons."

"Do you want a hug? And I'm sure we can do something to fight the demons - there'll be people wanting to help, and we can bring back this realm's magic. Something the demons have never seen before."

Hugs from random people she met ten minutes ago - even if they're feeding her - are a bit of a dubious prospect. She shakes her head. "...Guess I should tell you what I know about them."

"If you want. It isn't urgent."

"People say they came from outer space. They're - big, black, flying things that blow everything up and breathe out poison gas. They live in a giant storm."

"There's bound to be a way to filter out poisonous gases with our magic. Possibly with items, that we can share with the Witch Knights."

"I don't know what the warriors actually need. Didn't get talk to them much. But I think that would help some."

"Yeah. And I'm sure someone who's had more experience with fighting than me would be able to come up with more. We'll be able to go back and forth, too, so if we don't bring everything they need on the first try, we can come back for more."

"I heard gossip about this Witch they call Unity Mother. They say she bullied all the kings to fight the Neuroi instead of each other. That's pretty wow, kings fight each other all the time."

"That is very impressive. It's hard to get people even within a kingdom to work together."

"Yeah."

She finishes her food and doesn't seem to know what to do next.

"Do you want to hear some stories about this realm?"

"Oh, yes! This place sounds like fun."

"Well, I was born in little village that wouldn't appear on any maps. in the kingdom of Bajilda, on the continent-island Shras. My family tended to an orchard along the Asseri River, and in the distance on a clear day I could see the grand city of Khamar rising out of the desert plains. Khamar has many beautiful gardens and temples, and I always dreamed of visiting it. It's called the golden city, because when the sun rises and hits it just right, all the rooftops light up like golden light. There are many spires and sparkling domes, and there is a unique kind of bird that only lives near the city, and who has feathers like jewels and makes a sound like ta-ta-ta-ti-ta every morn."

"When I was about your age, a traveling teacher came to our village, and taught me all sorts of wonderful things. For the first time I heard about distant lands and far-off peoples. I learned as much as I could, then saved money until I could afford a ticket on a caravan to the city - and from there to Elgadzhi, the oldest city in the world, and a major port. I impressed the captain of a ship called the Nightingale, and got a job cleaning. I visited many places and met spirits and elves and dwarves and the Incusai, who are very little and have beautiful wings in all sorts of colors, which usually match their skin."

"Mom and dad were turnip farmers. I was going to end up one, too, until I got magic."

"What happened when you got magic?"

"Witches are rich and powerful! The Baron gave mom her own plot of land and signed a release of serfdom for me."

"...And then the Demon War started right after that."

"I'm sorry. That must have been tough."

"...Don't wanna talk about it anymore."

"Okay. Do you want to talk about something else? I can tell you more about this realm."

"What was Khav- Khamar like?"

"Wondrous. Many of the gardens are open to anyone, and they all have fruit trees from many islands, and you can pick fruit to eat. Some of the trees are magical - one had flowers that glowed in a silvery light like the moon and fruits that taste like your favorite spice. No one in Khamar goes hungry for long, because there's always places to find food being given away, at the gardens and temples. And the paving stones are small, in either black and white, and the colors form patterns in the ground. Let's see... The university's main building has one of the grandest domes on the continent, and the walls of the interior are decorated with calligraphy. The queen also has a winter palace on a hill just outside the city, though I've never been in. It's all white, and the gates are covered in intricate carvings of flowers. What else... The people are rather like people everywhere, but there's plenty of kindness to be found, and in the summer there's a great festival nearly every ten-day. Oh, the market! The great market is in a grand building. It's never closed, and there's a stall selling musical instruments, and one selling pet birds, and another selling fine silks, and yet another selling books from every part of the realm - you can find just about anything there."

"Wooooow. Sound so pretty. What kind of money?"

"Thank you! We mostly use different types of silver coins. I have some with me if you want to see." She pulls a handful out of a pouch in her bag. They're all different sizes with different designs, but a commonly is calligraphy in the middle surrounded by stars and floral designs.

"We used copper and iron. Yealts's forge can melt it and turn it into tools, so a bunch of copper coins is worth one axe or whatever. Silver and gold is weird nobles' money."

"I think we used to have some copper coins, but silver's now pretty common."

"I think it'll be nice to see that city. Even if I can't go home yet." Yaaawn.

"I think it's about bedtime."

"Yeah. Chores first?"

"We just have to tidy up a bit, then pick out rooms."

Grenadine is methodical about cleaning up.

She holds on to her stick throughout, and really seems to enjoy the view once they're done.

"You're really good at cleaning! What sort of room do you want?"

"I don't care. Warm, I guess."

"Well, let's see what we can find." She leads the way to the stairs up to the bulk of rooms; there's a few that are directly above the kitchens, and tend to stay pretty warm, so she shows Grenadine one of those. It also has a fireplace, though there's no wood. The bed's near the window, overlooking the docks. "Does this work for you?"

"This is a good room. Thanks. Goodnight?"

"Night! I'll be in the room next door, if you need me." And she heads over to tuck in for the night.

The next morning, she makes breakfast (oatmeal, with more raisins), and when Grenadine gets up, tells her, "I need to keep moving, to get to my next port of call. You can come with me, if you want, and I can take you to my friend to get a wider translation spell, and then to anywhere in this realm from there."

"You said nobody can fly into the mist without special magic? And this place seems really empty. I'd better go with you."

"Okay. I can show you some of how to fly the ship, if you'd like."

"Ooh. How fast is it?"

"Pretty fast! Outside of the ley, I could cross this whole island in minutes. Inside - there aren't really distances, but I normally make it to Bajilda in a month or so. At top speed with no long breaks, I could make it in two weeks, which very few ships can beat."

"Grown-up Witches are really fast, too. How does it work? More different magic?"

"Yes. Do you want a full explanation? I built and enchanted the ship myself, so I know a lot about it, but non-specialists don't tend to find it interesting."

"Craft-things are interesting! When you can spare the time to learn about them."

"They are! We'll want to head out soon so we can make good time to the next stop, but I can explain the ship while I'm getting it ready to launch."

"Maybe I can help." She swings the stick sideways and hops onto it. "Witches can carry things flying. I'm not strong at it yet, but I can carry forty pounds if you tie it to my stick."

"You can help carry my bag, then, if you'd like. It's a good bit less than forty pounds."

"Sure." So she ties it to the front end of the stick and floats after Sarati with it, a good deal steadier than yesterday.

When they get to the ship, Sarati shows her where to store things inside, then takes her back to the deck.

"We need to raise the sails before launching," she says, pointing to where large poles are laid across the top of the ship. "There's a pull system to help." She shows Grenadine how to operate it.

The sails, when extended, are gossamer thin, shimmering slightly in the morning light. They have abstract designs and calligraphy embroidered into them in light thread. "The embroidery's not just for show; it has magic in it, strengthening the sails and lending them speed."

Gren stares, fascinated, at them. "...Huh. Are other parts of the ship magic too?"

"All of it, really."

She looks around some more. "Do you mind if I fly around some before you leave? I think... I'm not sure."

"Go ahead. I have a lot of work to do in the engines, too, if you don't mind skipping that."

"What's an engine anyway? I'll ask later, I wanna try something..."

She floats off.

Sarati watches her for a bit, then goes and gets the engines up and running.

Grenadine is mostly flying closer and away from the ship, looking at the sails, looking at the mist, looking at the forest.

Eventually she comes back inside, still looking thoughtful.

"Did you figure anything out?" Sarati asks, returning from the bottom level where the engines are when she hears Grenadine land.

"I think... I can tell where magic is."

"Cool! That's a pretty useful ability."

"I guess so. It's not one of the common kinds of special magics."

"It's pretty hard to do with native magic, especially to any level of detail."

"So now I'd really better learn all I can about it."

"About your magic?"

"About your magic!"

"Silly me, of course. Well, there's lots of different kinds in the realm. The native kind is shareable, and so are a lot of the widespread magics."

"Being a Witch like me isn't shareable at all. It's random which girls get magic."

"Only girls?"

"Yeah. Only girls. And not many."

"That's interesting. I've heard about gender-selective magic, but it's pretty rare. Usually not learnable, of course."

"I don't know any more about it. I don't know much about most things that aren't farming I think."

"That's okay. I can teach you some things, and there's schools you can go to."

"Neat. We only had school some years."

"I think some remote places in Bajilda still do it like that. Growing up, we only had classes when a traveling teacher was in town, but the kingdom's been doing a big push to get everyone a better education."

"Anyways, do you want to come watch me get the engines started?"

"Sure. What's an engine anyway? It sounds smith-y."

"Engines are a type of machine. I can show you a very simple example once we're in motion. These engines turn stored energy into motion, and help control the sails and make power for the lights and the ship's magic."

"I guess the magic has to come from somewhere if you're not a Witch."

She watches.

The main ship has two levels, lit by smooth, heatless lamps recessed into the walls, that give off a pleasant light like sunlight. Their rooms and some storage is on the main level; Sarati leads Grenadine down a ladder to the bottom level - "Engines are down here, and more storage."

The engine room takes up the center stretch of the bottom floor, metal pistons and gears moving seamlessly with a quiet hum. It's not clear what it's all doing, but Sarati points out the energy sources - tall cylinders hooked into the walls. She's checking them for problems like cracks, then turning them on and reading the pressure gauge (which she shows Grenadine how to do). 

Some of the gears also need to be oiled and then cleaned, and occasionally a cylinder has to be removed and a new one put in.

"It almost feels like I could charge them up. Like that army Witch showed me how to do with jewelry back home."

She doesn't try it.

"Do you want to try on an empty one?"

"Maybe later. I might break it."

"Okay." And she finishes getting the engines prepared.

She stretches when she's done, and says, "Do you want to head up and watch us leave from the viewport? It's quite the sight."

"Yeah. What does flying in the mist look like?"

"Beautiful. Like frozen lightning and stars." She leads them upstairs. 

The main room of the ship is rather plain, with boxes acting as tables and chairs and benches along either wall. There's no window in sight, until Sarati walks up to one wall and taps it, sending a jolt of energy into the smooth surface. It ripples and goes transparent, showing part of the dock and the mist.

Cool. "You gotta be careful about how big your ship is, right?"

"Bigger ships do have challenges, yes, especially in storms. The largest can hold as many as two thousand people, so you can get pretty big."

"That's a town not a ship."

"They are pretty ridiculous, huh."

"You've heard of lots of cool things."

"I've been at this for a while. You'll see some cool things, too."

Nodding, she watches Sarati prepare the ship to leave.

There isn't much left. She needs to go through and check that everything's secured properly - she explains to Grenadine what to do in case of a storm - and then, warning Grenadine not to distract her, leans against the wall opposite the viewport, plants her hands flat on it and closes her eyes, then hooks into the ship's magic and starts to direct it. (She usually does this from the engine room, but here works just as well.)

Gren can't really feel magic in much detail yet. But something magic is happening, for sure.

With a shudder, the ship starts to move. The view out the port slowly changes, the docks and the island sliding away as they move into the mist, the ship occasionally rocking when they hit a particularly rough patch, until it surrounds them utterly. Then, the ship pitches forward then back, then sways side-to-side, and settles with a groan. The mist recedes, and they're in the ley. The iridescent fog is denser but lower, sculpted into what look like waves moving parallel to them. Glimpses and flashes of frozen lightning in impossible colors arc between the waves, the occasional thin tendril extending up into the area of thinner mist. Something that looks vaguely like flecks of stars streams through the air at high speed, making a low moaning sound that almost harmonizes with the engines' hum.

"Is it dangerous to go outside?"

"Yes, if you're not a trained navigator. Mostly because storms can come on suddenly."

"How does the crossing-magic work? What would have happened if I just flew into here without your ship?"

"You'd probably get turned around in the mist, and not manage to enter the ley. The crossing magic - reaches out beside itself, in a different direction than we can see. Then it gathers a lot of energy and jumps the ship sort of sideways, into another, adjacent spot. Some spirits can sense that direction, and move along it, so they can travel in the ley without a ship. Humans usually can't, though. The ship helps me sense the added dimensions so I can navigate."

"...Sounds really complicated."

"It is. I had to go to school for a while and learn a lot before I could design my ship."

Grenadine looks rather a lot like she wants to understand it, but she stays silent.

"I have some paper around here, I could teach you the basic idea? And draw out a simple engine, too."

"Ooh, thanks!"

She fetches paper and pencil.

"For the ley, there's - let's say that you lived in a flat world. You could only go side to side or forward or backward, not up or down. You wouldn't be able to see anything above or below you. There's something like that for us, who have up, down, side to side, and forward and backward. It's really hard to move along that, but some things can."

"For the engine..." She sketches a river, and a wheel sticking into it. The wheel is connected to a rod, and then to another wheel. "This is how a watermill works. You can use it to do things like grind grain. It's a very simple engine. There's also steam engines..." And she sketches a fire under the outline of a boiler, with water and rising steam in it. The steam goes into a pipe, then hits a wheel a lot like a windmill. "The fire heats the water, making steam. The steam enters the pipe and goes to push against the fan blades. The center of the fan is usually connected to a stick, which is connected to a special type of wheel called a gear. Do you have anything like these where you're from?"

"There's a water mill down in Haverstead. But no windmills. So... Hot steam makes wind? Or is wind? And then it works like a little windmill?"

"Yes. Steam likes to go upwards and out, and when it can't escape, it pushes against things. If it's in a small pipe, it pushes very fast."

"Huh. Is that because it's steam or because it's hot? Hot air blows out of a house when you open the door in winter."

"It's because it's hot, yes. Heat is a type of energy, and hot gasses that have a lot of energy like to move fast and get bigger."

"Huh. And sounds like you can make big fancy engines out of it. Like the ones downstairs."

"The one downstairs works a bit different - it uses a combination of magic and magnets to turn the rod, since it's safer and the engine can be smaller that way - but the basic idea's the same, yes."

"Engines are faster than using the wind or rowing. We should tell ship people about this when I go home."

"That'd probably help a lot, yeah. Would you like to know more?"

"Yeah!" Lessons are captivating enough that she doesn't want to go explore the ship and play around for at least a couple of hours.

Sarati remembers enough of her early lessons to piece together something age-appropriate, though she occasionally mentions concepts probably past Grenadine's level.

She is a clever, if not brilliant, child. Plenty of it goes over her head but she learns plenty as well.

Sarati occasionally has to get up to check on something in the engines, but is otherwise focused on filling out Grenadine's physics education. 

After a few hours, the view outside the port changes as the star-flecks press closer. The low moaning rises to a howling, and the ship starts to shudder. Sarati stands, says to Grenadine, "There's a storm coming, get yourself buckled in," and puts their papers inside the box forming the table. 

"What's a buckle?"

"A way of securing straps, so you won't fall down if the ship moves too much. Here - " She leads Grenadine over to the side of the ship, and points out the straps. "I'll help you get secured, okay?"

"...Okay." Sarati knows what she's doing.

She settles in next to Grenadine. "This looks like it'll be just a small storm, but I'll need to be steering the ship directly. Do you want me to close the view port?"

"Only if you want."

She looks decidedly uncertain, but... Afraid would not be the right word.

"Okay." She leaves it open, and buckles herself in, then plants her hands on the ship's hull and closes her eyes.

Steering the ship through the storm is tricky; even with one as minor a this the air fills with a sound like static electricity, and the ship keeps pitching forward and back and shaking and shuddering, sometimes rather dramatically. Everything is tied down tightly, though, so while the passengers get jostled the boxes all stay in place.

The view outside brightens, swirls of colored light competing with the rising mist. The frozen lightning grows closer and bigger and some of it starts to move. The ship passes under a few arcs, delicately threading through the tendrils.

Sarati knows what she's doing. Sarati knows what she's doing. It's just like the Witches - don't worry, she's trying to be safe too.

The storm ends after about an hour. Sarati relaxes with a sigh as the view returns to mostly normal. "We're clear. You okay?"

"Yeah. You were right about being strapped in."

"I need to go downstairs and check on the engines. You okay staying up here, or do you want to come with me?"

"The engine is cool, can I watch?"

"Sure."

She heads downstairs, and shows Grenadine the steps of checking the engine for damage or strain. The engine's in good condition, luckily, and doesn't need any maintenance beyond the basics.

All that whirling metal is kind of intimidating. But neat.

"Those glowy things have magic in them? I wonder if I should try charging one..."

"I can find you an empty one at the next stop."

"How do you charge them usually?"

"I usually take them to a shop that can charge them for me."

"Well, I wanna try it."

"I'm not sure it's safe to do so while the ship's running, but once we're stopped, certainly."

"Okay. Do you mind if I go play? I'll stay away from anything magic."

"I don't mind at all. I'll be in my cabin; let me know if you need anything."

Gren goes off to explore the corners of the ship - the non-dangerous parts, anyway. Maybe she can find a puzzle or doodle on something.

There's still the papers from earlier, including the writing supplies. Other than that, not much, unless she's willing to dig through the boxes.

She will doodle on the papers. Spare paper! and a good pen!

She can't write very well yet, so labeling all her doodles seems like a good idea for practice.

Sarati compliments her on her doodles when she sees them.

The afternoon of the next day, Sarati says, "We're approaching the island of Thyls. I'll need to go up top for this. We can restock here, get some more things for you."

"I don't need many things. I want to try and charge your magic and explore some though."

"There's a bit to explore in the village itself, and the lakes and rivers around it are pretty. There's no sun on this island; instead vents under the ground produce heat, and the lakes are filled with glowing creatures and plants."

"No sun? What's next, a place with no down?"

"I haven't found one yet, but maybe!"

"Is it very cold out though? Do I need a coat? And ooh, do you have a real broom? Random stick isn't very good at flying."

"It's not very cold at all; it tends to stay slightly warm here year-round. I don't have a broom, but we can certainly get one in town."

"The Witch Knights use things that aren't brooms but kind of look like them. They're easier to fly. I don't think a place that doesn't have Witches would have any of those though."

"Could you draw one? If they're not magical, someone might be able to make one."

"Oh, I can try. I don't remember too much about them... And that sounds expensive..."

"Probably depends on how hard they are to make, I guess. Do you want anything else while we're in town? You could use more clothes... Do you want to get books? Any toys?"

"Depends how much money what I have is."

She fetches a small bag from inside her clothes somewhere. It was pretty well hidden.

Out comes a single large silver coin and a few copper ones. They're all pretty crude - the silver one has a portrait on it and the copper ones have an image of a crow.

"I can pay for things, easily enough."

"Not until I used up my courier money."

"Well, how about I pay you to refill the canisters? Since you'll be saving me a lot of money by doing that. I can pay you one hundred silver crescents per canister; one crescent is worth a decent meal. It's not the local currency, but it's accepted most places."

"I don't know how much I can refill them yet, but that sounds fair."

"Well, why don't I get us docked, then you can try?"

Nod, nod.

She goes up, and after a few minutes they slide out of the ley. Thyls glimmers below the stars, buildings lit up softly in blues and greens and purples. It's hard to tell, outside of the village, where the sky ends and the ground begins, since there are little lights like stars scattered over the landscape. 

"Welcome to Thyls," Sarati says, coming back in once she's gotten the ship fully secured and the engines turned off. "Want to go ahead and try charging a canister?"

"Yeah!"

When one is fetched, she touches the end. "Feels like silver."

She pushes magic, looking strained.

It's big, and sucks up her magic greedily. When she's done, Sarati places her palm on the side, sensing the magic inside. "That's exactly what was needed! Thank you. It's about a fifth of the way full, so does twenty silver crescents work?"

And now Gren is sleepy. "Yeah 's fair."

"You okay?" she asks with some concern.

"Used up lots and lots of magic. It's like running around. Can I have a snack?"

"Sure."

After a few minutes, she's looking much less worn-down. "Do you think I can find a moneychanger for my coins since the silver crescents are used here?"

"I don't think so; it's a pretty small village. Though a smith might make the trade, since they'll have a use for the metals. You might also be able to save them and trade them later, once we're in Cloudshear or even Bajilda."

"Good idea."

Gren follows Sarati out into the village, looking around with hungrily curious eyes.

Most of the buildings are only one or two stories, with white plaster walls and grass roofs. They're almost all decorated with swirling motifs in glowing colors, murals depicting people and animals or just abstract art. The paving-stones glint slightly, so they're easy to see. Most of the people are humans or a strange sort of person, taller than a human and often with green hair and bright eyes like a cat's, though there's also a few animals in clothes, going about their business and occasionally talking in a language Grenadine can't understand. 

Sarati leads her to a little shop out of the way; the sign above the door has a picture of a book with a golden-green eye on it. She ducks into the store, which is full of books on narrow shelves. There's an old-looking cat at the till, who calls out, "Sarati! It's been far too long! Who's your little friend?"

"Kar! Sorry I've been busy with routes! My friend's Grenadine; she's a first-gen, just arrived, and needs a general translation spell. I was thinking about calling in that favor you owe me."

"No need! I'm always happy to help another first-gen. Always confusing, your first few days. Or years!" He turns to Grenadine. "How're you holding up, dear?"

"Hi. Everything is weird like a fairy tale, but Sarati is nice. And it turns out Witches can give magic to things."

"Are you a Witch, then? And, yes, this realm is incredibly strange, even to one used to magic. Here, let me cast that translation spell..." He jumps to the floor and pads over, then pats her with his paw. "There, now, you should be able to understand anyone you care to. Has the occasional bug, but it's overall a reliable spell."

"Yeah. I'm a Witch. And there are more kinds of people here too! Not just more kinds of magic and land."

"That's why I like running my shop! I get to meet everyone who comes in looking for books that way."

"Ooh, book shop. That must be expensive."

"Most new books run about two silver crescents each; these are mostly used?" 

Kar nods. "Prices vary, but they're about six Bajildan pieces - those're twenty to a crescent - to one crescent. Newer books cost more, of course."

"That's really really cheap. A copy of the Bible would cost... Uh... Forty crescents? Lovril's weather almanac cost I think it would be fifteen?"

"How are books made where you're from?"

"Monks write them, of course."

"Well, here, you put blocks with letters on them into a frame, then ink the letters, then press them onto a page. I think there's a new invention, too, making that all faster. You can do lots of copies of books very quickly that way, so books tend to be very cheap."

"...How many things like that and engines are there? I might need lots of books when I go home."

"Oh, lots. At least hundreds. I think I have a book on inventions, if you'd be interested."

"Well how much does it cost? And how big is it? I'm not great at reading."

"The one I'm thinking of has pictures most pages, but, yes, that is a consideration. Hmm, let's see if we have something geared more towards your age group..." And he vanishes off into the stacks. After a bit, he comes back with a book floating behind him. "It's not as thorough as it could be, but this is part of a Madezan encyclopedia set for children. Don't have the rest of the set, I'm afraid, so it'll be just eighteen Bajildan pieces. It has lots of drawings, so the price is a bit higher." The book is bound in faded but still intact cloth, and was once a bright green. It's titled 'Encyclopedia of the World: Technology and Science.' "You might be able to find the rest somewhere bigger, there's also a book on history, geography, and biology in the set."

"I'll buy it!"

With some of what seems to be the fairly large amount of money Sarati is paying her. It's a bit of a novelty.

He gladly trades her one silver crescent for the book and two smaller silver coins that he identifies as the Bajildan pieces. "Thank you for shopping with us!"

"Thanks for the translating magic! It's warm."

He chuckles. "You're quite welcome, young lady!"

"Do we go to other shops now, Sarati?"

"Sure. What would you like to get next?"

"I need a broom. And maybe new clothes I guess."

"Well, if I remember right, there should be somewhere to get brooms this way..." And indeed there is, along with other wooden goods. (Most people make their own brooms, but the carpenter sells slightly nicer ones, for people who can't be bothered.) The brooms are fairly affordable - the carpenter will sell them for ten silver Bajildan pieces each.

She floats idly on a few and picks the one that works best. It's wider at the end than most of the rest.

Clothes after that? And she kind of wants to buy a knife if bringing it up doesn't alarm Sarati. "Even a little knife is useful for lots of things."

Clothes! There's a tailor, who doesn't really sell ready-made clothes, but has a pattern for quickly adjusting skirts and loose blouses, which'll be ready to pick up before they leave. (Sarati's fine with her buying a knife; they can head to the blacksmith's after clothing for a proper little utility knife.)

Gren's opinions on clothes are 'they should be cheap and durable'. The knife should have a nice sheath she can put on her belt.

Cheap and durable is practically a specialty!

There's a variety of nice sheaths available for knives, some of them decorated with faintly glowing swirls like stylized waves, some of them plain, all of them fairly good to high quality. 

After Grenadine picks out a sheath, Sarati says, "Anything else? There's bound to be somewhere to buy toys or something."

"I don't need toys. I got a book."

"Okay. How about we go get a room at the inn, then?"

Gren is ready to rent a room of her own if Sarati doesn't want to share.

You can get a two-bed room for decently cheap, but Sarati's willing to leave that decision up to Grenadine. 

The inn has a sign out front of a glowing jellyfish holding a tankard of foaming beer. The inside is already decently crowded, mostly with humans and the other, green-haired species common to the island, but also a few clear foreigners - a reptilian individual of mysterious and indistinct gender, a group of short winged humanoids in a variety of colors, and a person with mottled, wet grey skin and no hair. 

It's basically a tavern. Gren is not sure if anyone would want to talk to her.

Do they have apple cider? She kind of misses apple cider.

They have a different kind of juice, but not cider, no. No apples around here.

She'll try a few different juices. She has enough money for that.

And then she declares a certain one being the closest to apple juice, and therefore delicious.

Sarati orders something glowy and foamy (and bitter, if Grenadine wants to try any). 

Dinner's all variants on seafood. Mostly fish soups. Some exotic things, like dried jellyfish. 

"When we wake up we can go explore some of the lakes, if you'd like, then head out."

"That's beer isn't it? Ma says beer isn't good for kids."

"Nah, I don't like the taste. I'm not sure you'd like it, though, it isn't sweet. Some of the springs around here have bubbles, so you can make foamy drinks with them. End up being kinda sharp-tasting."

"Yeah, no thank you."

Fish soup is an excellent rest of dinner. "Exploring the lakes sounds fun."

"I like them, and they're popular with travelers."

Finish dinner, and off to bed?

Sure.

Gren spends the evening working the clothes she was wearing into a crude little bag, using that utility knife. They're not very good as clothes anymore, but they can still be useful.

"Would you like a needle and thread to help with that? I have some on the ship, and the inn-keep might let us borrow hers."

"Sure. I'll use yours later, thanks."

"Okay."

The next morning, breakfast is yet more fish.

"So, you want to go exploring today?"

"Yeah! If I'm here anyway, I want to see all the cool places."

"Okay!"

Sarati had, luckily, thought ahead and packed two glow-lamps, so they can better see the path outside the village. She shows Grenadine how to turn the lamp on and off, then leads her towardsthe tangle off lakes and rivers that make up most of the island.

Gren has her own glow - soft light produced by magic pushed out from her palm, if she needs it.

"All the glowy plants and things are  really cool. I want to see one of the hot vents."

"Most of them are underwater, but I think there's one above ground this way. Be careful, they're dangerous to get too close to."

"Yeah, I'll be careful." Gren hums cheerfully as she floats along on her broom, darting ahead of Sarati or circling around.

Soon enough they come to a vent. The plants around it are strange - flat and brought orange or red or purple - and there's colorful ponds of hot water that Sarati warns her away from. The actual vent is a big crack in the ground with steam coming out of it.

"Where does the heat come from?"

"Underground. This island is hot under the surface. I'm not sure why, though."

"It's still really neat."

"Yeah!" And onward to explore more places.

Gren wanders a little further all the time. She can always go up and find Sarati's lantern.

This looks like a particularly pretty little lake, the way there's a foresty-thing all around it.

There's a splish-splashy sound, and a burble, and then a voice.

"Who're you?" It seems to be coming from the lake.

"I'm Grenadine. I'm just looking around 'cause it's pretty around here. Who're you?"

The water ripples. "I'm a lake!"

"You're a lake? Does that mean you're a spirit like Sarati told me about?"

A small wave. "Maybe! What're you?"

"I'm a Witch. A human with my kind of magic is called  a Witch."

"What kinda magic is that?"

"It's the only kind of magic I knew about. It just happens, some girls are Witches. I can fly and make lights. I can probably make magic shields when I'm older."

"Cool! I only have lake-magic. What's your world like? Are there lakes there?"

"I don't know how to sum it up. There are lakes. There's also the sea, which is like a huge lake with salty water that covers whole parts of the world."

"Wow! Is a world like an island?"

"I think so. It's a really big island if it is."

"That sounds so interesting. How do the fish live if the water's salty?"

"Ocean fish are different kinds than river and lake fish. I don't know how exactly they're different. But ocean fish usually die if they go to rivers, and river fish usually die if they go to the ocean."

"Is there no one there to help them out? I keep my lake good for the fish and other creatures."

"There's supposed to be a God who watches over the whole world like that. I don't know about that though. Would God let the demon invasion happen? Or fires and droughts and plagues and things?"

Uncertain ripple. "I don't know. I know I can't always stop things from happening to my lake. People throw trash in it sometimes. Maybe a world-spirit would have so much to take care of they couldn't do everything. A whole world does sound like an awful big charge."

"Maybe. Do you mind if I have a drink of water? Would it probably be okay to drink? Water sometimes isn't, at home."

"Sure! It's okay for humans."

So she drinks, cupping the water in her hands to do so. "It was nice to meet you but I probably should go back soon. Sarati will be looking for me."

"Okay. You're a really nice human. Thanks for telling me stories!"

"I barely told you any stories! That was more like facts about my world. I'll give you one for real before I leave."

And she commences a shaky recollection of the legend of Seralda, the Witch who made peace between wolves and men, creating dogs.

The lake is delighted by the story.

Yay! And then Gren goes into the air and looks for Sarati's lantern.

She's not too far away.

Swoop!

"Hi Sarati I met a lake!"

"Hi Grenadine! Were they a nice lake?"

"Yeah. We talked for a while. People who aren't human-shaped are interesting."

"That's been my experience, too."

"Kinda scared I might make them mad though. I don't know what not-humans want."

"Well, many of them want the same things humans do, but spirits can be harder to model."

"...This world is the most interesting and weird and scary place I've ever seen."

"...I haven't been to any other worlds, so I wouldn't know to compare."

"It's a weird place," She says with finality.

"Well, do you want to head back to the village now, or keep exploring?"

"Do you think I missed anything important in the town?"

"Not really. It's a pretty small town."

"Then I guess I should explore out here a little more. I don't think there's much magic out here."

"Yeah, not that I really know of on this island..."

"I'm tired. And if I wanna see a place with no sun I can just wait for night time."

"Alright, then. Let's head back to the inn for the night, then we can set out when we wake up."

"Sure thing, Miss Sarati."

And back to the inn they can go.

Sarati gets the ship ready fairly quickly in the morning. 

Gren wants to keep charging that magic power cell! The one she started but didn't finish yesterday. She has more magic now.

She can be doing that while Sarati's running around the ship getting it ready, then.

"Thank you for this," Sarati says when she hands the power cell to Gren. "It's a big help to me."

"And you said you'd pay me for it. It's a magic job! Just what I'm supposed to do with magic."

"That's certainly one way to look at it, yes."

"You use magic for things just like anything else. Fun things and work things too. That's what mom always says."

"Your mom's a very wise person, it sounds."

"I miss her. I'm glad you're helping me maybe go back home."

"I'm glad I'm able to help you."

Gren goes quiet.

She finishes charging the cell - for now - and takes deep breaths and looks like she's trying not to cry.

"...Are you okay?"

"...Maybe."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"I know what I'm sad about. I miss my mom."

Hug?

Hug. Some confusion about the hug, but hug.

Sarati is not entirely sure what to do about upset child, but she does her best to be comforting.

"I'll make sure you get back, with help," she says.

"Yeah. That's- That's what we need to do."

"Do you want to talk about home? I find that sometimes helps me, when I'm missing things."

Grenadine will tell her the story of the giants! One of the creatures that roamed the Earth in the times before Witches - they were strong, fast, devilishly clever. The story tells of them succeeding at one thing and the next and the next. But they are so, so hungry, all the time, and eventually there are so many giants that there is not enough food in the world and all the giants starve and most other creatures starve too, but life recovered, eventually.

She listens attentively!

"...That's just a story though. I don't know if it actually happened. But I like the story."

"I like it, too. And stories often have important things to tell us, I've found."

"I know lots of stories. They don't all seem that important. I don't think the one about the crazy chicken is important."

"What's that story?"

"Roga was a kid who always got into trouble and did silly things. Like stealing shiny things, putting goats on roofs, making nobles fall into mud... He made a witch mad and the witch turned him into a chicken but he escaped her and kept doing crazy things."

"Well, maybe that one's lesson is don't turn people into chickens, since it didn't exactly work. But you're right, some stories aren't meant to have lessons. My old literature teacher would have a fit if you told her that, though."

"There was a guy who said the kind of stories people tell say things about them and that Ostkav folk tales said that Ostkav peasants are stupid and in-cli-ned to crime and not pious."

"I think that says more about the guy than it does about the peasants."

"He spoke Venetian, mom said. People say Venice is made of snobby fake nobles."

"Why are they fake?"

"They're just rich. Not actually noble. Don't own land and have royal titles. I don't even think there's a king?"

"Well, maybe Venetian nobles are defined differently. Nobles in Madeza don't have to own land, for instance, and there's no king - instead the Great Speaker invests them with a hereditary title, and a lot of them are the heads of merchant houses. Nobles in Bajilda are often scientists or captains or generals who've made a major contribution to the kingdom, or their descendants."

Grenadine shrugs.

"What's your home country like?"

"...Farm-y? We had a farm. Turnip farm."

"Are there any other stories you liked? I can tell a few I've heard instead, if you'd like."

"Most of the other stories are church stories or things about my neighbors. You're not supposed to tell church stories outside of chruch and telling things about my neighbors is gossip."

"It's good of you to not gossip, then."

"I could tell you about the Witches and the monsters. I guess."

"Do you want to talk about those?"

"We need to talk about them if we're gonna bring stuff to help fight them back."

"Alright."

Gren describes the Witches, using blasts of magic and bombs and bows and arrows on the Neuroi. The Neuroi will heal good as new in only a minute, so they have to beat it really fast, all at once. Neuroi shoot red arrows of light that explode things and light them on fire. If they hang around in one place long enough they make poison gas that kills humans and animals. Neuroi fights last for minutes at most. Lots of Witches die fighting them.

She doesn't seem to want to keep talking about it.

"We'll figure something out," she says, then changes the subject, to a rather lighthearted tale about a jewel-bird tricking a sandcat.