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I craned my neck up to the towers as a giant moan moved through the entire city. Niara’s hand holding mine was clammy and her nails dug into my palm, betraying the calm she tried to portray.
More groaning followed, the pumps seemed to become louder as we kept slowly rising.
“It’s working,” Niara screamed triumphantly.
This part did seem to work. Nathan had confided that the risky phase would be once he started the boats to move Aecor, that’s when the structure would be tested to its breaking point.
More groaning followed and I held my breath as all the boats turned their engines from idle to speed.
Another groan accompanied a violent jerk that challenged our balance as my city began to move. I didn’t even dare to breathe as my ears strained for a louder sound that would indicate any part of the structure breaking.
Divers surveyed the domes and kept their eyes on the walkway tubes, which were all supported by airbladders.
Now and then a diver would come up, to give us the thumbs up gesture Niara had taught them and as the hours passed, divers came up for a break and others took their places.
“Come on, let’s have a looksie,” Niara nudged me in the side.
My stomach turned at the thought of Niara down there, among the many domes and tubes, held up by airbladders. If one broke, the suction would pull anything and anybody in who was unlucky enough to be too close. Right before everything collapsed.
“It’ll be alright,” she smiled, reading my mind by my expression.
I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer, “Any chance you’ll sit this out?”
“What kind of example would I set?” she retorted.
I pulled her against me, “I love you.”
She grinned, “I love you too.” She rose to kiss my lips. Then she slapped my ass, “Now let’s go see how we can help move our city.”
We changed into diving gear and got into the water. The deeper we dove, the more awed I became. Aecor floated several paces over the ground, moving majestically forward. Tubes protruded like giant tentacles, connecting domes. Large airbladders carried the entire city, attached to every level of domes and tubes.
The place was a hive of activity as divers swam in between the tunnels and domes, checking the structural stability and making sure none of the bladders sprung a leak. If one deflated, it could be devastating to the rest of the city. More divers held long hoses, to refill airbladders occasionally. All the while Aecor was moving toward Fall Mountain Island on a carefully planned out route Nathan had chosen and mapped. It wasn’t the shortest route, but one without large coral reefs, mountains or any other rising environment, to allow keeping Aecor leveled.
It was an enormous undertaking, but from the looks of it, it seemed to be working. We just needed to make sure none of the divers became exhausted, we couldn’t afford for anybody to lose their focus.
It took five days before Aecor reached Fall Mountain Island. There were some dramatic moments, when one of the divers discovered a leaking airbladder and another a crack in one of the tubes, but thankfully we were able to repair both.
There was another very tense few hours, when Aecor fully reached its destination and the airbladders were slowly emptied of their contents. I had never seen my brother more nervous and animated as when he directed the divers of when and where and how much air to release.
He nearly collapsed when Aecor settled once again on the bottom of the ocean. This time, hopefully for good. I didn’t think Nathan’s heart or sanity could take another move.
Myles pounded him on the shoulder, bringing my poor brother to his knees. “Well done, Nathan, well done!”
“Thank you, Vissigroth.” Nathan beamed up at him and I detected a trace of worshipfulness in him. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if he continued wanting to impress Myles.
Hesitantly at first, Aecor’s citizens reclaimed their homes, inspecting every nook and cranny and reporting any kind of damage, no matter how minuscule.
Within a few more days, everything returned to normal and Myles took me on an outing he had promised me for a long time. We were going to dive down into the city of Attourna. He promised me a full week of just him and me and exploring.
First though, he wanted to make one more stop.
It was a small island he took me to, overgrown with bushes and trees. I estimated it would probably take about half an hour to walk around it.
Myles didn’t take me for a walk though, he led me to an overgrown path that looked like it hadn’t been used in over a hundred years or more. With his sword, he hacked at overhanging branches and cut bushes back so my skirts wouldn’t get snared.
After exploring Fall Mountain Island and its cavernous maze underneath, I would never look at an island the same, realizing that all of them must have been large mountains at one point or another. Mountains of which now only the very tips were visible. My adventurous mind was already working hard on figuring out how to explore each one of these islands, to see if there were any more hidden treasures within them.
None of my musings had prepared me for where Myles took me. We reached the center of the island, and stunned, I stopped dead in my tracks. The holiness of this place was palpable. It was enveloped in shadows from large trees, whole foliage nearly blocked the sun out, only allowing a few beams in, highlighting the statue of a woman and man.
