"All right, coach it is; between of us, on nice days the view is better from the deck anyway . . . though if it starts to rain . . . you aren't a witch are you? We've had some liability issues with witches riding coach and melting in sudden rain storms."
"No," you say, "I'm not."
"Didn't think so but had to ask," Primella says. She writes something in her ledger. "So I will be needing a hope and a dream from you." You glance at the male Elf in confusion.
"You've never paid at a Fairy or Elven merchant before have you?" he smiles. "It is fairly simple. We use hopes, dreams, wishes, and memories to fuel our spells and maintain our magical creatures. You do not lose anything from the exchange. You simply share things which make it a mutually beneficial situation. However, you can only share each individual dream or memory once, so it is a finite resource and you don't want to go throwing it about willy nilly. You can always make more which is fairly simply with wishes, hopes, and dreams, there is always something new to dream about, for instance. You can also manufacture new memories but that takes a little bit more effort which is why they hold the highest value in our currency system. We can use the powers found in these imaginings to create almost everything we need. In extreme circumstances we will take payment in gold or barter, but I am sure, since you are new to our lands, you have a bountiful resource of hopes and dreams inside you right now."
"That is very interesting," you say, "but what exactly do you need from me? I don't exactly keep my dreams in my wallet."
"Oh, let me take care of that, sweetie," Primella laughs. "The Captain has brought you to the right girl. I do this all the time."
She takes several items out from under the counter: a large, soft haired paint brush, a clear glass funnel on a golden stand, a bottle of blue glass, a bottle of green glass, a lump of red wax, and a candle. She lights the candle, sets the blue bottle under the funnel, and opens the green bottle. She up ends the green bottle into the funnel and a swirling, lime green gas fills the funnel but does not drain down the spout.
"Dip your fingers in this," she says. You obey and she begins to brush the backs of your hands and wrists with the paint brush. This has a hypnotic effect on you and you sway on your feet. She continues for sometime and the gas grows darker and heavier and starts to circle down the spout into the bottle below. When all the vapor has drained into the blue bottle she removes the funnel and uses the candle to heat the wax and seal it shut. "There we go; all done."
She stores the blue bottle on the shelf behind her which you now see is crowded with glass bottles of various sizes, shapes, and colors, all sealed with red wax.
A shadow falls over you and you glance up and see a zeppelin gliding silently overhead toward the closer of the two mooring towers.
"Ah, right on time," the Captain says. "I will escort you on board. My shift is just beginning so I need to relieve Captain Broadleaf and make sure the ferry is ready for its next flight."
He takes you to the elevator and a pair of husky bears come forward and start to turn the crank. The elevator rises with a jolt and soon you are even with the deck of the zeppelin. Under the great, torpedo shaped balloon hangs a ship almost identical to a sea going ship. A crowd of Fairy Folk, Elves, Goblins, Pixies, and even some animals, stands on the deck waiting to disembark and from the multitude of passengers you understand why coach is usually standing room only, though there are a few benches scattered about the wooden deck. There is a stair leading downward into the belly of the ship with a sign that says "Second Class" and a stair leading upward into a window lined cabin and a sign that says, "First Class Passengers Only Please."
Thankfully, boarding early with the Captain has given you an advantage and you seek out a seat and sit patiently while Elven deckhands rush about completing various tasks from picking up trash to checking for stowaways. After a few minutes, fresh passengers begin to appear, another varied and exotic crowd none of whom take any notice of you.
It isn't long before a deckhand shouts down from the rigging, "Prepare to embark! Cut the ropes! Cast off!"
The ship lurches away from the mooring then glides pleasantly into the open air. You nudge your way towards the railing and glance down at the earth. It slips away beneath you and soon you are over the forest. You can see the cottage with the garden where your adventures began in the distance and the mountains in another direction. Up ahead is a silver sheet which after a time you identify as the sea. You pass over the sandy beach and see great sea going vessels and the spout of a whale. The air smells salty, even at that altitude, but now the zeppelin climbs and you find yourself surrounded by wispy clouds. Soon there is nothing to see but white in all directions so you sit back down and wait for arrival.
You break above the cloud cover and see a miraculous sight on the horizon, a city of alabaster and pearl with spires and stair cases floating upon a particularly dense sheet of cloud. You rub your eyes. You knew that this was a castle in the clouds but hearing about it and seeing it are two different beasts and you gape in awe at this impossible structure.
In no time at all the zeppelin bumps up against a dock like protrusion on the city and the sky-sailors hurry to bind ropes and hold it fast.
You disembark with the crowd and find yourself facing the broad, shining streets of a fairy city.
Do you proceed immediately to the Queen?
or
You have some time. Explore the Cloud Castle while you can.
"No," you say, "I'm not."
"Didn't think so but had to ask," Primella says. She writes something in her ledger. "So I will be needing a hope and a dream from you." You glance at the male Elf in confusion.
"You've never paid at a Fairy or Elven merchant before have you?" he smiles. "It is fairly simple. We use hopes, dreams, wishes, and memories to fuel our spells and maintain our magical creatures. You do not lose anything from the exchange. You simply share things which make it a mutually beneficial situation. However, you can only share each individual dream or memory once, so it is a finite resource and you don't want to go throwing it about willy nilly. You can always make more which is fairly simply with wishes, hopes, and dreams, there is always something new to dream about, for instance. You can also manufacture new memories but that takes a little bit more effort which is why they hold the highest value in our currency system. We can use the powers found in these imaginings to create almost everything we need. In extreme circumstances we will take payment in gold or barter, but I am sure, since you are new to our lands, you have a bountiful resource of hopes and dreams inside you right now."
"That is very interesting," you say, "but what exactly do you need from me? I don't exactly keep my dreams in my wallet."
"Oh, let me take care of that, sweetie," Primella laughs. "The Captain has brought you to the right girl. I do this all the time."
She takes several items out from under the counter: a large, soft haired paint brush, a clear glass funnel on a golden stand, a bottle of blue glass, a bottle of green glass, a lump of red wax, and a candle. She lights the candle, sets the blue bottle under the funnel, and opens the green bottle. She up ends the green bottle into the funnel and a swirling, lime green gas fills the funnel but does not drain down the spout.
"Dip your fingers in this," she says. You obey and she begins to brush the backs of your hands and wrists with the paint brush. This has a hypnotic effect on you and you sway on your feet. She continues for sometime and the gas grows darker and heavier and starts to circle down the spout into the bottle below. When all the vapor has drained into the blue bottle she removes the funnel and uses the candle to heat the wax and seal it shut. "There we go; all done."
She stores the blue bottle on the shelf behind her which you now see is crowded with glass bottles of various sizes, shapes, and colors, all sealed with red wax.
A shadow falls over you and you glance up and see a zeppelin gliding silently overhead toward the closer of the two mooring towers.
"Ah, right on time," the Captain says. "I will escort you on board. My shift is just beginning so I need to relieve Captain Broadleaf and make sure the ferry is ready for its next flight."
He takes you to the elevator and a pair of husky bears come forward and start to turn the crank. The elevator rises with a jolt and soon you are even with the deck of the zeppelin. Under the great, torpedo shaped balloon hangs a ship almost identical to a sea going ship. A crowd of Fairy Folk, Elves, Goblins, Pixies, and even some animals, stands on the deck waiting to disembark and from the multitude of passengers you understand why coach is usually standing room only, though there are a few benches scattered about the wooden deck. There is a stair leading downward into the belly of the ship with a sign that says "Second Class" and a stair leading upward into a window lined cabin and a sign that says, "First Class Passengers Only Please."
Thankfully, boarding early with the Captain has given you an advantage and you seek out a seat and sit patiently while Elven deckhands rush about completing various tasks from picking up trash to checking for stowaways. After a few minutes, fresh passengers begin to appear, another varied and exotic crowd none of whom take any notice of you.
It isn't long before a deckhand shouts down from the rigging, "Prepare to embark! Cut the ropes! Cast off!"
The ship lurches away from the mooring then glides pleasantly into the open air. You nudge your way towards the railing and glance down at the earth. It slips away beneath you and soon you are over the forest. You can see the cottage with the garden where your adventures began in the distance and the mountains in another direction. Up ahead is a silver sheet which after a time you identify as the sea. You pass over the sandy beach and see great sea going vessels and the spout of a whale. The air smells salty, even at that altitude, but now the zeppelin climbs and you find yourself surrounded by wispy clouds. Soon there is nothing to see but white in all directions so you sit back down and wait for arrival.
You break above the cloud cover and see a miraculous sight on the horizon, a city of alabaster and pearl with spires and stair cases floating upon a particularly dense sheet of cloud. You rub your eyes. You knew that this was a castle in the clouds but hearing about it and seeing it are two different beasts and you gape in awe at this impossible structure.
In no time at all the zeppelin bumps up against a dock like protrusion on the city and the sky-sailors hurry to bind ropes and hold it fast.
You disembark with the crowd and find yourself facing the broad, shining streets of a fairy city.
Do you proceed immediately to the Queen?
or
You have some time. Explore the Cloud Castle while you can.
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