In the City of Giants - Chapter II

            Shabaka usually hated long rides like this one, but this time it did not bother her. All she cared about was the fact that she was about to go on her first real adventure and live like the heroes she admired. Then again, that did not make riding in a cramped train cart with five other people any more pleasant. They each had their own way of coping with this particularly uncomfortable ride. Shabaka was excited enough that it did not bother her as much as it normally would have, Amare stayed in a deep meditation nearly the entire duration of the ride; Tilian read; Vitoroy hated everything so this was not much worse for him; Smallblade was truly miserable, willowing and whining the whole time; but Bard… Bard was unfazed. Shabaka was never able to grasp the kind of man her father was, now she learned that he was the kind of man that could keep himself distracted by staring out a window off into the distance.

            When the train finally came to a stop at an old train station, all there was left to do for Shabaka and her family was find the person who would guide them through the desert. The station itself looked abandoned by the word ‘abandoned.’ The conductor probably did not even know this place existed until they learned they had to stop here. It should go without saying that the Bard family were the only ones there, the guide had not even arrived yet.

“This edge of the desert station where sand is hard and cracked was once a lake,” Bard said in the storyteller voice Shabaka had such fond memories of. “In this lake there was once an island, and that is where we are heading. Over the millennia dust and sand have collected in that heart of the desert, burying the city of giants beneath it.”

“Could you please just tell us how long it will take to get there?” Vito said cutting off his father, Shabaka hit him in the arm just hard enough for him to wince.  

“Well… I don’t know. Depends on what animal the guide brings with him,” said Bard rubbing the back of his head nervously. “If it is camels like I suspect, probably another few ho-”

Almost as if on cue, that was when the guide arrived. Not on some animal, not slowly from over the horizon, but instead the man zoomed right up beside the train station on a giant ornate flying carpet.

“Or he could just be using magical bullshit,” sighed Bard with a scowl. Shabaka was jumping in joy, she had never seen magic on such a large scale before and was excited to get to ride on such a thing like a magic carpet.

“So, you’re the translator!” cheered the man in tan colored rags as he took off a pair of thick goggles. Looking at him closer, Shabaka could not quite shake the feeling that his skin was glowing, but it was hard to tell in the bright sun.

“Yes,” sighed Bard. Shabaka never understood her father’s distaste for magic. She had heard conflicting stories, some about bad experiences with wizards, others said it was just a general over exposure to the stuff.

            “And these must be the kiddies I was told about. I see their inherited their father’s good looks. Especially that cute little one,” the guide on the carpet said looking to Vitoroy.

            “I’m seven-fucking-teen, asshole!” shouted Vitoroy having to be physically restrained by Smallblade.

            “Forgive my dwarf son, and apologize yourself,” spat Bard back dryly. Bard always carried that kind of confidence with him. The kind that allowed him to have his cake and eat it too.

            “Sorry about that, I am used to dwarves having beards,” said the guide rolling his eyes ever so slightly. Shabaka could tell that Bard was having to restrain himself in the same way Smalls was restraining Vito. She knew that this mutual fake kindness was only to make sure no one got left stranded at the edge of the desert, and Shabaka accepted this. But that did not make her want to hurt the guide any less.

            “After we get back from the dig,” Shabaka thought.

            It was not long until the Bard family had all calmed down enough to load up their luggage on the flying carpet and climb aboard. The thing about magic carpets is that no living thing could get on or off without willing intent. Objects on the other hand were obviously not living so they had to be held onto. Being forced to hold onto the bags that contained her clothes, food , and personal possessions, all at once was only one of the miserable things about the trip through the desert. There was also the intense heat, the sand flying into her face, the intense heat, her hair becoming itchy from catching the sand, and the intense heat, developing sunburns, and perhaps just maybe possibly the intense heat. All of this made Shabaka doubt her dream of becoming an adventurer… that was until she saw the tent.

            It was a massive thing of a structure, the tent. Shabaka estimated it had to be at least a mile wide, and three hundred feet tall. The cloth it was made of was jet black, and the poles that propped it up were thick as a mighty ancient tree. Shabaka knew that only magic could construct something like this, and if this expedition had enough funding to afford a massive magical item, then it must be worth the cost.

            “Wait, where is the dig?” asked Smallblade with his jaw gaped open.

            “Under the tent my green friend,” said the guide throught his teeth as he made a gesture with his hands that made the carpet move just a bit faster. Next thing Shabaka knew, the carpet had rammed its way through the opening slit of the tent.

            Inside, it was like a night sky, candles hanged from above by nearly invisible strings, which along with the frequently placed torches, and basin fires, illuminated the dig stie. Shabaka could not see to the other end of the tent without straining her eyes, but the dig itself was bright as day, illuminated by orange flame. A massive, ruined city half buried in the sand within a crater, and at the center was a pillar that reached all the way to the top of the tent. All the while the ant like Eianth workers were running about and digging.

As the carpet came to a stop Shabaka could not help but bring her gaze back to the city. By Shabaka’s count she could only see four structures. The pillar, and what looked like three roofs around it. Shabaka was sure that there must be more left for the Eianth to unearth.