The fire in the study hearth had burned low, casting long, dancing shadows across the bookshelves. The air smelled of aged paper, wax, and the lingering tension of their conversation. Lucid leaned back in the guest chair, the fine fabric of his new clothes still feeling slightly foreign against his skin.
"Alright," he said, his voice firmer now, a decision made. "I will go to Vex. I will find this 'Atlas Engine' for you."
Karmen nodded, a look of profound relief washing over his features. "Thank you, Lucid. Truly."
"But," Lucid continued, holding up a hand. "There is something else. The man in black. The one from the tavern, and the cave. You know more about him than you have said."
"And he recognized you..."
Karmen's relieved expression sobered. He steepled his fingers on the desk. "I do. His name is Silas. Or at least, that is the alias he used when he approached me. He is an agent of The Chapeu, the organization I mentioned. Initially, he came to Tyriana with a different target. A political rival of Ater was hiding here. I... made a deal with him."
Lucid's eyes narrowed. "A deal?"
"To look the other way," Karmen admitted, his gaze dropping to his hands. "In exchange, he would handle the problem discreetly and guarantee no harm would come to the townspeople during his operation, as well as protecting any oncoming danger from Materna. It was a pragmatic choice, Lucid. A terrible one, perhaps, but I believed it was for the greater good of Tyriana. I never expected his interest to shift. I never expected you."
"He is not after you anymore," Lucid stated, remembering the chilling words in the forest.
"No. My thread in that particular game is cut. The rift you cleared resolved the paradox of my existence that made me a target for their... research. But you, Lucid. You are an anomaly they did not anticipate. You cleared a rift.. another one that resulted in a personal fate-lock, in record time. To them, you are a fascinating new variable. Silas will report you. Others will come."
The weight of the warning settled in the room. Alice's presence in Lucid's mind grew still and watchful.
"So I have a shadowy organization of fate-obsessed assassins on my trail, and I am about to walk into the domain of a greedy noble family to steal a dead genius's machine. Charming," Lucid said dryly.
"Precisely why you must be careful, and why you must go," Karmen said. "The Fenshore estate is in Vex, which is under the King's law, not the informal rules of a frontier town. The Chapeu's influence there is more subtle, but so is mine. You will have a degree of protection simply by being in a more civilized place. But getting there is its own trial."
He stood and walked to a large map framed on the wall. He pointed to a range of mountains rendered in rusty red ink. "The Red Mountains. They stand between here and the coastal plains. You must traverse them to reach the Sky-Dock."
"Sky-Dock?" Lucid asked.
"The railway does not run on the ground, not for the long-haul journeys between realms," Karmen explained. "It runs on pathways of solidified Fate Essence, high in the atmosphere. The Sky-Dock is where the land-borne, train carriages, vehicles, are lifted and locked onto the main celestial rail. From there, it is a three-day journey across the void to the floating continent of Vex."
Lucid absorbed this. A train in the sky. Of course. "I will need a carriage to get to this dock, then."
Karmen gave him a rueful, teasing smile. "Ah. That would have been part of the sponsored contract. The one you so theatrically destroyed. I could have provided a private coach, equipped and supplied. But since you did not sign..." He spread his hands in a gesture of mock helplessness.
Lucid shot him a glare that had no real heat. "You are enjoying this."
"A little," Karmen admitted, the ghost of Jake's impishness in his eyes. "But I am not leaving you with nothing." He opened a drawer and pulled out a thick, leather-wrapped bundle. "Here. A map of the Red Mountain passes, detailed by our best surveyors. A purse with enough coin for supplies and modest lodgings. And," he added, placing a heavier, smaller pouch on top, "a letter of introduction to the Sky-Dock master, stamped with my family's seal. It will secure you passage on the next available public ascension carriage."
It was more than fair. Lucid took the bundles, the leather smooth under his fingers. "Thank you."
"Travel light, travel smart," Karmen advised. "The Red Mountains are not kind. The passes are steep, the weather changes in a heartbeat, and there are things that live in the high crags that do not love travelers. Trust the map. Do not stray from the marked paths."
The next morning, under a clear, pale blue sky, Lucid stood at the main gates of the Tyriana. He wore his practical new clothes, a sturdy travel cloak draped over his shoulders, and the gear Karmen had provided was securely packed in a leather satchel. The mist that obscured his face to others seemed thinner today, perhaps a sign of his growing stability in this world.
A small crowd had gathered to see him off. Rebecca the innkeeper was there, her bovine ears twitching. She pressed a small, cloth-wrapped parcel into his hands. "Traveler's biscuits. My own recipe. They will not go stale."
Gerald the butler offered a stiff, formal nod. "Do try to avoid destroying any more establishments, sir."
Jane, the orange-haired maid, peeked from behind Gerald. She gave a shy, quick wave before hiding her face again.
Down by the town gate, the guards Bjorn and Gabriel leaned on their spears. Bjorn gave a gruff nod. "Try not to get eaten, lad." Gabriel just smiled and tipped his helmet.
Karmen stood at the front of the group. He had shed the last vestiges of 'Jake,' standing straight in a fine grey coat. He looked every inch the young governor. He clasped Lucid's forearm in a firm grip.
"Remember the pendant. Signal if you are in dire need. And Lucid," his voice dropped, "find Lyle's dream. Bring it home."
Lucid nodded, a strange feeling in his chest that was not quite friendship, but a solid respect. "I will."
He turned his back on Tyriana, on the quiet town that had been his violent, confusing introduction to this world. The man made road stretched out before him, winding towards the distant, hazy line of red-tinged peaks that clawed at the horizon. The Red Mountains awaited.
As he walked, the sounds of the town faded, replaced by the whisper of the wind through the purple grassy fields and the call of distant birds.
"Well, Alice," he thought, adjusting the strap of his satchel. "Just you and me again. Off to steal from a noble and outrun fate-collecting assassins. Sounds like a pleasant trip."
He felt her warmth bloom in his mind, a sensation like a soft sigh and a determined smile combined. "I have had worse itineraries," she replied, her voice a gentle comfort in the widening solitude. "At least the scenery promises to be dramatic."
Lucid looked up at the imposing, rust-colored mountains growing larger with every step.
It was his first step towards returning home... home to earth.