Zane's hand was now tired, but he couldn't let go of the rope. The behemoth was moving fast.
This isn't the adventure of a lifetime I expected in other realms. I swear I'm going to sell fast paints when I go back home. I'm never setting foot out of Ashburn ever again. How bad can selling fast paints be? It can't be worse than this.
It had been around what Zane estimated to be an hour. Zane didn't know how long it would take them to reach their destination.
The gentlets didn't seem to be tired in any possible way. They even seemed to be enjoying themselves. Easyglow was holding the rope with a single hand while his other arm was spread wide like someone enjoying a roller coaster ride.
Then Zane saw that the wisps were changing from multicolor to blue. Most of the wisps Zane could see were blue with traces of other colors, but mostly blue.
It reached a point where Zane could only see blue wisps all around him.
The wisps were a blurry haze—he could only make out a dream-like smear dissolving into blue streaks, like watercolor bleeding across a canvas.
From a distance, Zane could make out what looked like a tornado of blue wisps about two kilometers from their position. The behemoth was heading toward the tornado of blue wisps slowly.
Zane could feel his suit inflate as the pressure from the tornado pulled him toward it. The rope was now swaying toward the tornado but still attached to the behemoth, which seemed untouched and unbothered by the tornado of blue wisps.
Zane watched in surprise as Zest let go of the rope and whizzed past him, plunging into the tornado.
Are we supposed to let go?
Zane asked himself as he looked behind him at the other gentlets, who also let go of the rope one by one. Zane was the only one holding onto the rope now. He didn't know why the gentlets had let go.
He then decided to let go as well. Maybe the tornado had something to do with their destination.
Zane's hand let out a silent sigh of relief when Zane freed the rope from his grasp. The tornado then pulled Zane's body toward it. Zane felt like a feather floating in the wind.
He then plunged into the tornado, which pulled him downward in a spiral.
---
Zane now felt dizzy and woozy. He had just been through a tornado that spun him around in circles countless times. A fresh, revitalizing feeling washed over him, returning his focus to clarity.
Zane swept his gaze around where he was. There was soil beneath his feet—not the multicolored oceanic ground.
There were also trees around him. Zane appeared to be in the middle of a forest. The atmosphere felt dreamlike, though Zane was sure it was real. Zane concluded that he was either in a forest memory or inside a dream bubble.
He reached toward a tree and touched it. His palm landed softly on the rough bark. The tree was real. It was some sort of memory.
Zane then looked at the swirling hurricane from which he'd been flung. A round well had been built around the pit where the tornado swirled. Zane had just been propelled out of the tornado pit and thrown onto the forested land.
Zane was standing on grass in the circular clearing around the tornado pit. Forest trees covered all the space around the clearing in every direction.
Zane then watched as Blendriad approached him. Blendriad had been flung just a few meters from where Zane had landed.
Zane couldn't see the other gentlets as he swept his gaze around. There was only the tornado well, the forest, and Blendriad. There was also a single narrow path at Zane's right side. In the direction the path led, Zane could see a tall structure that soared high enough into the sky to be seen beyond the tall forest trees.
Zane removed the helmet of the suit then removed the breathing mask. The mask now hanged on the neck of the suit. He didn't want to remove the whole suit. The Inventory Grimoire was full and Zane didn't want to carry the suit. The helmet rested on his left hand at his waist.
Zane breathed the refreshing cool but unreal air of the forest, it smelled like a sweet assortment of flowers mixed with clear fresh air.
"Where are the others?"
Zane asked Blendriad, who was now standing before him.
"They are probably thrown into the surrounding forest. We'll have to wait for them here. We usually meet around the Dream Well."
Blendriad said while pointing to the round structure beside them. It was about two hundred meters from where they stood, but Zane could feel the emanating pressure. The wind moved in a circle around the well due to the tornado, which was now a hurricane inside the pit.
"Is that Eryndor?"
Zane asked, pointing at the tower that pierced the sky above the forest canopy.
"Yes, Mr. Ling. That is Eryndor."
Blendriad said while shaking his head. Zane had come to learn that the gentlets shook their heads when in agreement. They didn't nod like Zane. Zane also shook his head in understanding.
Silence stretched between the two of them as they waited. Zane didn't speak, and neither did Blendriad. Zane had already received the answer to his question and didn't know what else to talk about with this strange gentlet.
Cozysprouts was the first to emerge. He stumbled out of the bushes a few meters from the narrow path. He then headed in their direction.
"Thank you, Mr. Ling. We wouldn't have gotten out of the dream shard without your help."
Cozysprouts said as soon as he reached where Zane and Blendriad were standing. He bowed before Zane.
Zane didn't want to tell him that he didn't do much—the ability he'd bestowed upon them wasn't even real. He didn't want to tell him that he'd only rescued them so that they could take him to Eryndor, where he could conduct trading. He only shook his head in agreement.
"I didn't really do much. I only helped you a little."
Zane said while looking at Cozysprouts' hand, where he now held another machete. This one had a metallic handle and a broader edge, not similar to the one he'd had before.
"I promise to repay Mr. Ling's kindness once we reach Eryndor."
Cozysprouts said, resolve written all over his face.
"No, you don't have to repay me in any way. Taking me to Eryndor is payment enough. You can take me around Eryndor and show me the city once we arrive. I don't need anything else."
Zane said while showing a troubled expression. He didn't want these gentlets to stick to him when they reached Eryndor. He would part with them after being shown around and go about his business.
Zane didn't say anything else. Cozysprouts knew Zane didn't want to speak anymore and also chose to remain quiet.
Soon enough, the other three gentlets arrived, and the group embarked on a journey toward Eryndor.
Eryndor wasn't far from where the well was. The path became broader as they moved forward. Soon enough, Zane could see Eryndor in the distance as he walked on the dusty path.
Trees loomed beside the winding path, stretching high above Zane. The path ahead of him wound toward Eryndor.
The path moved upward toward the gates of a medieval city that was perched on a hilly surface. The city was surrounded by a tall wall that prevented Zane from seeing its interior.
Zane could make out a few buildings that shot high above the walls. Zane could see the tower he had spotted previously at the edge of the wall to his right side. There were also other tall buildings whose purpose Zane couldn't determine.
The group continued walking until they reached the gate of the medieval city that was Eryndor.
Two gentlet guards wearing shimmering chainmail that seemed to shift between silver and deep purple stood at the entrance. Their helmets were adorned with small crystal formations that pulsed with a soft, dream-like glow, and each carried a spear tipped with what appeared to be crystallized starlight.
The guards didn't stop the group as they passed through the gate.