Cruising through the break in the storm clouds, the Blue Locust 2 drew near Galrahn, revealing a vast expanse of smooth, rolling grass plains stretching to the horizon. Far below, the wind raced over the land, sending waves through the green in endless, rippling patterns. With her keen eyesight, Aralynn could see the individual swaying blades, bending and rising with the gusts like an ocean of grass.
These weren't arid grasslands either—they were lush, vibrant, and alive. When she was younger, Aralynn had read about such a place in the books her father kept around—they'd arrived in a biome called the windplains. Temperate, sometimes even chilly, the windplains were characterised by their ceaseless winds that carried a constant low howl across the land.
The grass here grew thick and vividly green, sheltering strange creatures. From their height among the clouds, most of these creatures would have been invisible to the naked eye, but being a birdfolk related to a bird of prey, Aralynn's vision was far sharper than the average person.
She spotted herds of grassrunners—deer-like grazers—moving in loose herds, their shapes tiny as pinpricks against the vast green. In the distance, a swarm of greater windchasers roamed—carnivorous wasps the size of adult humanoids, drifting through the tall grass in search of prey. Shafts of sunlight broke through the clouds, dancing over the land and glinting faintly off the swarm's incessant wings.
Then the city appeared. At first, Aralynn didn't know what she was looking at, but as the airship descended, details came into focus. She wasn't the only one who was confused.
Seeing the party's mixed expressions, he laughed. "Welcome to our destination—Galrahn, the city of the titan's hand." He puffed up his chest, magnifying his voice through magic. "Captain to all hands—prepare to dock!"
TItan's hand it was indeed—the sprawling city of Galrahn was built on top of an outstretched colossal stone hand. In fact, colossal didn't even begin to describe the hand or the city: the hand was easily if not larger than the size of a mountain in itself.
Aralynn picked up details of the city as they headed for the tip of the index finger. Galrahn seemed to crawl like a colony of a billion ants, except that each ant was a building, with infrastructure changing from finger to finger.
In the palm of Galrahn lay the main city, with residences and general businesses. The other fingers spread out into more specific fields: the thumb was an agricultural district, the index finger was a travel and mail hub, the third finger was a merchant and market district, the fourth finger was the entertainment district, and last but not least the pinky finger seemed to be resident to the mages of the city.
Galrahn's sheer size became apparent long before they touched down. Tram lines crisscrossed the city in every direction, their stations scattered across the sprawling expanse. Massive elevators linked Galrahn's upper and lower levels, and from subtle details—chimneys sprouting from the ground, scattered openings in the stone, and bits of structure jutting from the hand's rocky sides—Aralynn realized that parts of the city's infrastructure had been carved directly into the colossal stone hand itself.
In fact, the majority of the city was probably carved into the stone hand and hidden from view.
The Blue Locust 2 circled slowly above the airship docks until a magically amplified voice boomed across the sky, directing them to a specific pier. The vessel descended steadily, and soon the party was once again surrounded by the noise and bustle of airship docks. However, this was on an entirely different scale. Port Escus might have been a premier trading hub and Calyr a sizable city in its own right, but both were utterly dwarfed by Galrahn. In addition, the index finger was only the transportation hub, a portion of the city.
From her vantage point, Eve could see that the stone finger was in itself the size of a large town, and it was almost inconceivable that the docks that stretched on with no end in sight were merely a portion of a much larger city.
Once they moored, dockhands hurried to lash the ship to the pier. Celran had Hadarai drop the anchor, then personally checked each knot before giving his approval. Satisfied, he called for the cargo to be brought on deck and began marking each crate with quick strokes of paint—delivery instructions, most likely for Brass Hand contacts. The party pitched in and it was quick work.
After the last crate had been secured for transport, Celran called out to the party and crew. "We're done. Everyone, over here."
The crew and the party gathered as he continued. "There's been trouble bothering the Brass Hand's leadership—I don't know the details, but it's bad enough that every available agent might be called up into action. That's why I'm giving you this."
He handed Perona a smooth, dark stone threaded on a leather cord. A single, clean hole had been drilled through its top, turning it into a simple pendant.
"This is a communication stone," Celran explained. He pulled out from one of his many pockets a matching stone necklace. "Whoever has possession of the stone will be able to speak telepathically to the matching stone, which I have. This'll allow us to converse over long ranges, which might be necessary considering how large the city is."
He adjusted his tricorne hat. "For now, feel free to explore the city. I would recommend taking a look at the arcane and marketplace districts—or even the agricultural district. You all noticed where they are, yes? Just in case, Cozith and Champagne Pop will accompany you. I'll stay—there's still paperwork to be done after docking. I'll have to file a couple travel reports and register our dock space."
Cozith stepped forward alongside Champagne Pop, a deckhand. He was another birdfolk, like Aralynn, and had sleek black feathers that reminded Aralynn of crows. Perhaps he was related to them, like Aralynn was related to ospreys.
"Oh, and one more thing," Celran said. "Keep your Brass Hand signet rings hidden at all times. Since my last visit, Galrahn's started running a hunting force of sorts that handles the undergoing of the city, and it wouldn't be a friendly interaction if our affiliation was found out."
The warning hung in the air for a moment, but Perona brushed it aside like it was nothing; Aralynn highly doubted that the half-elf heard anything after the mention of a market district. Hell, the Perona's eyes were practically shining. Clutching the pendant, Perona grabbed Aralynn's sleeve with a smile.
"Time to go shopping~"
Aralynn sighed and waved goodbye to the captain and the rest of the party. Perona dragged Aralynn down the docks with the rest of the party, Cozith, and Champagne Pop in tow, heading for a massive elevator that led them down to the main city.