(TFT) SOLO III, 015

["David Michael Grouchy II" <david_michael_grouchy_ii@hotmail.com>]

SOLO III
Demon World
Part 015

    Ada floats up and out.  "Come on.  Home is under that city over there." 
 No sooner do you think about following and it happens.  The three of you 
fly down to the lake diving like eagles.  Skimming over the bubbly popping 
surface  at high speed you zip out over the burning lake.  A mixture of soot 
and molten rock vent hot gas as the glowing surface zooms by underneath.  
You feel no heat at all.
    Rebbecca and Ada are watching you.  As you stop sight seeing you look 
ahead to the city.  There is a huge iron ship at dock.  The magma just flows 
around it.  No sooner do you look at it and it seems to rush up to you 
instantly.  The three of you are floating next to it now.  Massive rivits 
running down the sides.  A wicked looking cannon on the prow on two huge 
wheels but held by six chains.  There is no mast, but there is a two story 
iron house on the back third of the ship.  Over three hundred meters long, 
it is enormous.  The windows on the back house are barred and look like cell 
windows to some kind of metal jail.
    The three of you float straight through the ship.  The hold is filled 
with crates of fruit and vegetables.  On the other side the docks are a 
bustle of activity.  Huge burly men with black leather hoods, black leather 
pants, belt, and boots are running down the gang plank with a crate over the 
shoulder.  Another line of the men is running up a gang plank further along 
the ship, but their hands are empty.  They all have iron wrist bands as 
well.
    The dock side empties into a huge empty courtyard, except for the 
guilotine in the middle.  The walls are black shiny basaltic glass.  There a 
are narrow steps carved so soldiers can mount the tops of the walls.  And 
there are.  About eighty men are facing away from the dock.  They wear full 
length black leather cloaks, lightly holding long bows, and lounging around.
    Through a large arch on the other side is some kind of town square with 
an actual water fountain.  With actual fresh water.  But the courtyard is 
teaming with the saddest mass of humanity you have ever seen.  This 
miserable city has got to be grossly over populated.  But all these poor 
bare foot people are quite in their sadness, and stand in endless slow 
moving lines to approach the water.  You realise that about half have a 
shallow little cup about three fingers deep and the other half don't have 
anything at all.  Just their eagerly cupped hands.
    Skimming through the courtyard you see no children.  Widening out 
through the city you see a strange sight.  Wooden bunk beds.  Stacked 
eighteen high and spread out like a miniature city of towers all by itself.  
All the rows of bunk beds are connected together for support with cross 
beams and ladders.
    This takes a bit longer to search.  You become convinced that these 
bunks are their homes.  You see all their possessions hanging in their bunks 
and up to three people sleeping in one.  And every person you have seen has 
a pair of those iron wrist bands.
    Further into the city is up hill.  And closer to the dark smokey sky.  
As you move further from the lake of fire you move up the rim of the crator. 
 The middle seciton of the city is only reachable by a couple of ramps and 
a few stairs.
    This section has people with shirts.  And vendors selling fruit and 
vegetables for silver coins or small ivory statues.  The streets are lined 
with various shops and industries.  Smithing, leatherwork, wheels, chain 
making, mechanical locks, cauldrons, tong and tool smiths.  Smoke is coming 
from all four corners of every building here.
    It is also here that you spot a child.  It is fleeing to the edge of 
town, while trying to eat an ear of corn.  He is running amazingly fast for 
having both hands to his mouth.

David Michael Grouchy II

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