The natives of Faerûn had experienced the sensation of being pushed backward while riding horses or aquatic mounts.
Today, however, they had been blessed with their first taste of genuine g-forces.
The lighthouse's upper section was a pointed disc surrounded by a wall of reinforced glass. As it ascended, the passengers could clearly watch the distant horizon slowly sink beneath them. The earth fell away, and the blue sky became so clear and empty that it set their hearts racing, as though they had fallen into an endless realm of pure blue where nothing else existed.
Red lights flashed rapidly throughout the cabin. At regular intervals, the tiefling girl's crisp voice came over the speakers. Her calm, detached delivery remained completely unhurried.
"Passengers, please keep your seat belts fastened. Turbulence may occur during ascent. There is no cause for alarm. Current altitude, five thousand feet... ten thousand feet..."
The rocket's main structure trembled faintly within the torrent of magical propulsion, making it seem as though it might break apart at any moment. In reality, it was as stable as solid bedrock. Unfortunately, even those tiny vibrations were enough to cast an enormous psychological shadow over the passengers. It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff only for someone to suddenly shove them from behind, sending a thrill of mortal terror racing from their tailbones straight into their brains.
Everyone who still had the strength to scream did so.
Even the dignified, self-controlled paladins could not stop themselves from sucking in sharp breaths. The veins stood out across the backs of their hands as they clung desperately to their armrests.
The clerics stared wide-eyed and shouted the sacred names of their gods. They knew how to deal with falling at deadly speed, they could cast Feather Fall. But what were they supposed to do about rising at deadly speed? There did not appear to be any arcane or divine spell specifically suited to the problem.
They could hardly cast Time Stop, even assuming any of them possessed such power.
"Stay calm, stay calm... Perhaps the worst that will happen is an explosion. We can use Shield, then Feather Fall. Yes, that should work... And if anyone gets blown into pieces, we can put them back together and cast Resurrection... Tyr protect us. The children of the earth shall not die in the sky."
One cleric muttered continuously while the young people sitting beside him grew deathly pale.
One of the three aquatic representatives had already rolled his eyes back into his head. A perfectly respectable amphibious creature had gone into the sky and was now blowing bubbles like some distant fish ancestor dragged out of the water. The other two managed to offer a few mocking remarks, but their faces had turned indigo, and they soon fell silent as well.
As time passed, the rocket's speed gradually stabilized. Once the acceleration decreased, the passengers no longer felt as though they were being crushed into their seats or struggling for breath.
The red lights changed to a gentler amber. Although the vessel still trembled occasionally, the shaken passengers finally found the courage to look outside.
At some point, an endless sea of clouds had appeared beneath them.
Doric's voice came over the speakers.
"Twenty thousand feet."
Zim looked around the cabin. Most of his fellow passengers were either terrifying monsters or grim-faced strangers. Only a handful were people he could truly call companions.
Forcing a smile onto his face, he raised his voice.
"It is an honor to be here with all of you and, uh... to witness this journey together."
Even the coldest sahuagin managed to produce a stiff smile that looked three parts friendly and seven parts murderous.
The cleric of Tyr pointed toward a dark shape rising along the northern horizon. The land still appeared almost perfectly flat, though the faintest curve could now be seen. From this height, they could see farther than any of them had imagined possible.
"Look over there. I believe that is the Spine of the World."
The Spine of the World was a vast, towering mountain range in northern Faerûn. Its peaks blocked the freezing winds of the northern seas from sweeping farther south.
"Have you ever been there?"
"No, but I heard about the Spine of the World in the stories of the dark elf ranger Drizzt Do'Urden. Now I have seen it with my own eyes, haven't I?" the cleric replied with a smile.
For a brief period, the rocket traveled at a steady speed. Everyone quietly admired the landscape from high above, their minds emptied of all other concerns.
Livia felt the tension within the other passengers gradually ease, so she took the initiative and spoke to the aquatic representatives.
She was intensely curious about why so many of their people had gathered beneath the lighthouse.
The sahuagin chieftain possessed a face of almost indescribable ugliness, yet his expression carried an unexpected serenity. His black eyes studied Livia for several moments before he gave a low chuckle.
"Feeble land-dweller, you have no idea how fortunate you are. You know nothing of the sacrifices we made. It was all for..."
The merfolk general and naga warlord suddenly snorted. They clutched the amulets in their hands and began praying silently.
The sahuagin chieftain immediately stopped speaking.
The paladin, who despised evil with every fiber of his being, tore his gentle gaze away from the scenery. His eyes swept across the naga and sahuagin like blades.
"Do nothing reckless, surface dweller," the comparatively friendly merfolk general warned, shaking his head. "It would not be worth it."
A faint scent of violence crept into the atmosphere.
As always, Doric's voice arrived without the slightest urgency.
"Fifty thousand feet... sixty thousand feet. Deceleration beginning. Passengers, please hold on to your armrests and keep your seat belts fastened."
The rocket's propulsion weakened, and its speed began to fall. The passengers suddenly felt their bodies become weightless.
The unicorn's rear rose an inch above its seat. It turned its head and sank its broad teeth into Simon's thick curls.
"Don't! Good horse, don't!"
The unicorn tore out a clump of hair, bringing tears to Simon's eyes. The enormous beast chewed silently while the horn on its forehead gave off a faint shimmer.
Andrei tightened his grip on his sister's hand and whispered into her ear.
"This iron box is taking us to a flying city, correct? Do you know anyone there, perhaps a member of the local guard? If those creatures try anything after we arrive, we'll create an opening for you. You must run away immediately and find help. Understood?"
The young warlock nodded, then shook her head.
"Don't worry too much, Andrei. Nothing will happen to me before I fulfill the destiny that has been arranged for me."
"Is it too late to convince you to abandon this dark path?" Andrei asked with a bitter smile.
"I have never walked a dark path. What is there for me to abandon?"
Doric's voice sounded over the speakers once more.
"Sixty-five thousand feet... seventy thousand feet... We are about to enter Skylrael. Turbulence ahead."
The rocket plunged into an enormous bank of dense clouds in the upper atmosphere.
The wind erupted around them.
Lightning flashed through the clouds as thunder roared. Surging elemental air howled like a legion of tortured spirits, while walls of wind tore at the atmosphere like enormous grinding wheels. Branching bolts of electricity raced through the darkness like the violet whips of Talos, god of storms, lashing the entire world.
Lightning flashed repeatedly beyond the windows, its brilliance drowning everyone's vision. The deafening thunder and violent vibrations left their ears ringing.
Every passenger's heart seemed to hang inside their throat.
Whenever a gale struck the vessel or a bolt of lightning fell toward it, none of them believed they could possibly survive.
Yet the steel chamber remained stable.
The rocket continued rising proudly through the storm and thunder. It climbed relentlessly, refusing to yield, while every passenger silently begged it not to stop.
Boom!
Boom!
Then, in a single instant, the lightning vanished and the storm subsided.
The rocket had passed through the terrifying barrier. It burst from the clouds and emerged above an endless milky-white ocean.
The sensation was like passing through Hell and being reborn in Heaven.
The emerald city of Skylrael was directly ahead.
It resembled an enormous emerald embedded within the sea of clouds.
Still gasping for breath, the passengers stared through the windows, unable to believe their eyes. The flying enclave was right there, clearly and undeniably visible. They could distinguish its forests, rivers, and fields in exquisite detail. It appeared almost like a lost paradise forgotten by the gods.
"I'm not dreaming..." Bordon said, voicing what everyone else was thinking.
The rocket expended the last of its strength and reached the apex of its flight, where the final traces of its upward momentum disappeared. It stopped in midair.
The pointed cap above the cabin suddenly expanded with a series of loud flaps. Cold steel transformed into bright red canvas, forming a magnificent hot-air balloon that carried the disc-shaped cabin toward the landing platform at Skylrael's southern harbor.
Eight long, slender steel legs extended from the bottom of the cabin and planted themselves securely on the ground. The balloon then collapsed like an enormous red cloth, completely covering the chamber.
Doric's cheerful voice came over the speakers.
"Ta-da! The flight from the Sea of Swords to Skylrael has arrived at its destination. Thank you for your cooperation. Please disembark in an orderly fashion."
A hatch opened in the floor, forming a staircase. The passengers descended and finally planted their feet on solid ground. Every one of them moved as though sleepwalking.
Doric stood at the edge of the landing platform with a kobold welcoming committee, waving enthusiastically.
The passengers did not recognize the tiefling girl, but the moment she spoke, they recognized the familiar voice that had guided them throughout the flight.
"Welcome, travelers! You are the first passengers ever to ride the lighthouse rocket. Nobody died in an accident, did they?"
The expressions of everyone present became rather complicated.
The sahuagin chieftain looked around and drew a soft breath.
Then he suddenly pulled out a dagger.
"What are you doing?!" the paladin roared as he drew his sword.
Every eye turned toward the vicious-looking sahuagin chieftain.
The dagger flashed.
Slash!
Before everyone's horrified eyes, the sahuagin chieftain plunged the blade into his own chest.
Blood poured from the wound like a waterfall.
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