Torri Illan - Flight of Fancy

I woke up this morning with a dull headache.  It wasn't long before I found my way to the medicine cabinet.  I've had too many  of those days lately.  Maybe if I caught it early enough I could stop it.  No work today.  That’s a relief, I thought to myself.

After a quick shower I thought I saw it in the mirror.  Five nights I had seen it.  Stupid Vinsce.  I should give him a punch in the gut for that.  Of course, I'd never tell him.  I needed to get away.  I needed to clear my mind.

I grabbed my KI and sent Hannah a quick message.

"Lets do something fun today"

A few moments, and then my KI flashed with a message.

Sure. I'll take you on an adventure! :)

I closed my eyes for a moment.  A flash of memory.  The Spiral glowed in the darkness; a sound comes from behind me.  I turn to the cloaked figure with daggers in hand.  In the darkness I can hear the sound of blood dripping.  He moves fast toward me.  I force myself awake again.  It's no wonder I haven't been sleeping well.

My hands were shaking again.  I shook my head in hopes of loosing the memory.  My KI flashed again.  Meet me in the Watcher's Pub.  A few links later I was met by Hannah.

"That was fast."

"Yeah, well I figured you'd want to get started early."

"You're not wrong."

Soon we found ourselves in Er'cana.  I had been here before, but never felt the need to return.  I left the lighting of the cavern to others.

“So, why Er’cana?” I asked.”  I turned to see Hannah with bundles of what appeared to be bamboo and canvas.

“Gimme a hand with this.”  Hannah said as she passed one of the bundles my way.  “You’ve been here before, right?”  I nodded.  "I've been working on a project for the past few days."  We began walking from the link-in zone.  "I've been collecting bamboo from Eder Kemo over the last few weeks.  And I lucked into an old DRC tent from a rooftop in Ae'gura; I doubt it will be missed."

“And your plan?”  My question was answered with a grin and a point toward the cliff that brought an
abrupt end to the trail; that was presumably was the cause of the broken tram tracks over head.  “How is a tent going to help you?”

Hannah laughed.  “Not a tent.  A glider!”  I stopped walking.  Hannah turned realizing I was no longer following her.  I began to protest.  Of course, it wasn't long before Hannah had convinced me of her plan.  Convinced, but not thrilled about it.

The glider was large, but still only big enough to support one of us.  Lucky me.  It seems I was going to ride it across the gap with rope in hand.  The tricky part was getting onto the track; but after some time and a few bruised ribs later, I was balanced on the track with the glider.

“Are you sure this is gonna work?”

“Absolutely.”  Hannah called.  “I used it in Eder Gira just the other day.”

I thought briefly about how the steam vents in that age would have made for a prolonged flight and then readied myself for the jump.  I had a short run of track before me.  As long as I didn't slip I should be able to get the lift I needed for the glide.  Ready.  Go.

My heart hung in my mouth as I jumped from the end of the rail.  I tensed up expecting the ground to rush at me.  It was only after hearing Hannah cheering that I realized I had closed my eyes.  I looked around and found I was gliding across the gap.  It was working!

Then I heard a tearing sound.  I looked to the side and saw wing was tearing.  The glider began to roll to the left and then pitched forward.  In a spin, I dropped the glider and reached out to anything I could catch.  When my sense of direction returned, I realized I had one hand on the lip of the gap.  The glider had wrecked below me and I was sliding down towards it.

I fell.  I was dazed from the impact. When I came to my senses again, I opened my eyes to Hannah shouting down at me from the edge of the drop.  My clothes were soaked.  The water was deeper than I expected.

“Torri!  Are you alright?”

“I’m here.”  My voice was weaker than I had expected.  I reached for my Relto.  It must have been lost in the crash.  Where did it go?

I stood up and checked again for any serious damage.  “Torri, I think I’m going to need a rope.”  I continued my search for the book.  It must be here somewhere.  I wouldn't be leaving this pit until I found it.

A rope descended from above.  Hannah wanted me to test it before she climbed down to help.  I took the rope in my left hand and placed the other on the canyon wall in front of me.  I felt a strange sensation.  A soft blue glow drew my eye.

Quickly, I drew my hand back from the wall.  There it was again.  I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again.  The spiral was still there.