<She has a certain way with her guests, don't you think? First, she nearly crushed us. Then she kicked us from the parapet. I wonder how that Ganya gal is when not serving the Triumvirate. Timid? Or full-blown nuts? Questions over que->
<Shut up, Khôra. I am trying here to keep my meal in. The ground ... it comes closer with every moment, faster and faster!>
Khôra, who was trying to lighten up the mood with that harmless banter, immediately retreated into Denton's mind after hearing him snapping out, now peeved to the max. With her gone, there was nobody in his mind left he could hold close in his fear of the ground coming closer. He braced himself for impact, tears in his eyes, but there was none. In the blink of an eye, the familiar feeling of losing all senses returned painfully. When they dove into the ground at the bottom of the staircase it felt as if they would dive deep into the stone, maybe 5 meters or even more. Then the carbunclo guided the group upwards again by solidifying only her rocky feet for a brief moment winding up a mighty leap back to the surface. And with a loud uncharacteristic 'splash' emerged the group out of the stone ocean back to the surface, where Ganya brought everybody back from the different dimension her ability placed them into. Denton landed on his knees and felt a jolt of sharp pain running through his spine into his brain, signalling that he was truly back in his realm. His first thought was directed to Bianca, who was now rubbing her tail. Having landed on it caused her tail to get bent slightly under the force of the drop. He saw faintly her magic putting in an effort dancing around her tail fixing the bruises quickly. Then she hasted over to her brother, her amber eyes filled with concern for his well-being.
"Is everything alright? Have you hurt yourself, Den? Tell me where you landed on, and I will fix you."
"On my knees.", Denton grumbled, "But it is nothing. Just a small shock. Give it a minute, and I can walk alone again. Until then, Thilarie will surely support me. Am I right?"
Thilarie gave the siblings a gentle nod and helped Denton to his feet. The pain was worse than he gave it credit for, but the albino tried to keep Bianca at bay, not taking away all his pain right at the moment he received it. How else could he toughen up to protect her if necessary if she constantly screwed with his pain resistance build-up plan? Denton earned an angry yet powerless expression from his sister when he limped with the freezer's help behind the carbunclo butler, who was already advancing to the only gate at the bottom of the stairway. A brief look upwards, and he realized how long they had been falling just now. He found the exit to the memorial hall somewhere 60 meters above them.
She is nuts. No doubts. But walking down all these stairs ... I am certain that my legs would hurt after that more than they do now. Still ...
As the pair was limping towards the gate, Denton felt anger billowing up in his gut. He remembered what he forgot to ask, being the example of a bad friend. Denton looked up to the automaton towering over him, who was still holding hands with him, never even thinking about dividing the connection the entire time. With a shaky voice filled with shame, he finally asked about her well-being.
"I ... am sorry I didn't ask, but are you alright, bud? I hope nothing is broken or bruised, and I am worsening it ev-"
Thilarie shushed him, her joyous half-moon eyes shining bright in the dark galaxy inside her metal skull. She demonstratively threw back the long metal lobes, which acted as her hair or ears, freezing them shut at 30 degrees.
"From that small jump? Don't make me laugh ... bud. That now was one of Ganya's most harmless leaps. If you find that borderline, don't ask her to get down quickly from the palace above us. She will throw herself with you out of the next window to assure you a quick trip. No matter if it is 100 or 1000 meters towards the ground."
Denton felt his legs giving up on him upon hearing what crazy stuff that emerald carbunclo would do, and instructed Khôra to write it into their shared memories, that they never should ask her for a quick trip. That was just a little bit too much for his weakly pronounced fear of great heights.
The butler was now waiting in front of the gate for her visitors, ready to open it when they would arrive. It took a bit longer with Denton still recovering, but eventually, they all stood in front of the gate waiting for a glimpse at the 'elevator central'.
Now that I think about it ... why did we go downwards to get to an elevator reaching upwards ... a follow-up question. How? The palace is only connected by that weird wire structure with the wings. My wild guess, it will work similarly to the ruined domiciles on the outside. Magic means of transportation? Let's see what is behind the door, shall we?
