Around The World In... One Day

[Nephti]

1st Winter 516

"I bet you can't!" Mr Illusion raised an eyebrow, challenging her. They sat near whirling Alvadas, him outstretched fully and Nephti clutching her knees, watching him closely. People lingered nearby, but it was the maelstrom that interested them, not the two teens who laughed and joked, discussing the city and its wonders.

"I only suggested it. I know explorers would probably never manage to travel around the world, and here, even I could do it. It's just..."

"That Ionu is amazing, as well as this city?" he laughed, hair falling out of his face. His eyes had lit up, and he leaned back, resting on his palms. "Knew all that."

Nephti rolled her eyes, punching out at him. She knocked his shoulder lightly and he couldn't stop laughing. "No, but seriously, it just doesn't feel real. Alvadas is like a crazy dream, where anything and everything can happen. If you wanted to, you could travel round the world in a day - less than that, probably. You couldn't ever do that otherwise."

He rolled forward, leaning towards her. "Do it."
Snorting with confusion, she looked straight back at him. "Me?'
"No, the pig behind you. Yes, you! Travel the world in a day. See everything. Show me it really can be done."
"What? That's ridiculous! You don't expect me to really-"
"I don't see why not. Do you have anything else planned?"
"No, but-"
"-Then there we go! Visit ever city, and bring me something back from all of them. Proof you've been there, of course!" Nephti looked at him, trying to figure out whether he was joking, or not. He was impossible to read, his eyes still glinting wildly. After she didn't say anything, he spoke again. "What are you waiting for? You'll never do it now!"

Nephti tilted her head, deciding to humour him. "See you later," she grinned, rising. She had no idea where to head, no idea where she would be going, but she'd show him. "And if I do it, what then?"

"You'll see," he winked, smiling mysteriously.

"Right." She nodded, waiting awkwardly for a moment. "Right. I'll do it, you'll see."

"Get a move on then!" She rolled her eyes at him again, then broke into a run, disappearing from his sight quickly.

[Nephti]

She found herself in a jungle. The sun was hidden from view by large towering trees, vines and roots and branches winding in her way. Everything was green, every shade of it, from the leaves to the bushes to the moss covering everything else. Light broke through in shafts from the trees towering above her, casting outcroppings of rocks or bunches of flowers in spotlight.

There was an eerie silence to the rainforest. She could hear her own breathing in the lack of people, but it was broken every so often by the shrill call of a bird or chatter of a monkey somewhere way above her. It was hard to take it all in, the girl stumbling around not able to take it all in.

Suddenly, the green opened out in a clearing, joined with a pair of warriors who were chucking axes and spears and other weapons at each other. Nephti ducked as one whizzed over her head, missing her by an inch. Her heart missed a beat as they continued, not even noticing the six armed girl that had appeared. They yelled and grunted and fell silent, until one beat the other and the loser crumpled to the ground, axe to the eye.

Nephti let out a scream as the other warrior moved past her, still ignoring her and retrieved her axe, rubbing it against her simple clothing as if it was also covered in blood. At a closer look, the girl realised it was - the tree was bleeding, just like the other woman who lay as a heap on the ground.

The dark skinned woman who was alive scanned the surroundings, before shrieking in her warrior tongue and disappearing into the darkness of the jungle around. Nephti burst towards the fallen warrior, reaching for her as the body twitched slightly.

"Help!" she yelled, grabbing the empty hand and looking around for anyone nearby, "Help!" But as she turned back to the fallen woman, she realised that there was no one there. She was holding a leaf, which crumpled in her hand and fell to the ground, now scattered with roots and bushes and no longer a pocket in the flora.

Once her heart finally stopped racing, she realised that what she had just witnessed was an illusion. It had been impossible to tell, as it always was. Deciding it was about time to move on, and discover some other city because this one was far too strange, the girl rose, still shaking slightly from what she had seen.

[Nephti]

Realising she didn't know where to go, Nephti moved towards one of the trees, hugging it as best as she could as she realised the trunk was too thick for her to reach all the way around. She clambered onto the roots, then reached on her tiptoes to grab a vine with her hands. Testing it first, she pulled on it and yanked herself up, feet moving across the vines and dents on the tree.

Slowly, she progressed upward, finding the journey relatively easy with the many vines and branches the tree held. She continued to climb, not realising how tall the trees were. The further she went, the more she realised how much she had underestimated the size of this tree.

Finally, she reached the upper layers, when the foliage began to clear and light started streaming in, much more clearly and brightly than the jungle floor. The branches became weaker too, and Nephti was careful as she climbed, testing each one and getting a few scares as a few snapped before her.

Once she finally could see over the trees, she gasped with amazement. A carpet of green leaves lay before her, mixed with a light mist in places and shining in the morning sunlight. It took more than a few moments to take it all in, and she was still staring when the monkey arrived. It made a monkey noise and stared at her hard.

Nephti giggled at the thing, reaching a hand out towards the reddish-black fur and wondering how soft it would be. Before she could stroke it, however, the creature gave a shriek and disappeared below the greenery. Laughing, she turned her eyes back to the sky, and searching for where the tree broke off, leading way to the next city Alvadas would hold. There! Nephti kept the direction in mind and slowly began to shuffle down, trying to retrace her steps as she started the descent.

[Nephti]

Suddenly, she was surrounded by the monkeys. They were everywhere, above her, below her, beside her. Some were close enough to touch but this time, she knew it wasn't a wise idea. They chattered around her, hanging with their tails and limbs and all staring at her with wide eyes.

The girl froze for a moment, then began clambering down as quickly as she could, sliding at times when she hadn't grabbed hold properly. The monkeys began screeching and something rushed past her, thundering through the leaves. Nephti didn't stop to look, feeling a branch beneath her feet and dropping quickly, eager to get away.

They barked again, the group moving after her, far quicker and more agile than she would ever be. They began to throw more sticks and branches at her, missing as she slid down the trunk with her heart beating, wishing these were just illusions too. But they smacked against her fingers, leaving them red and raw and she knew that even if they were illusions, they were not safe. Thankfully, even when one hand was hit and let go with the pain, another five kept her going and once she saw the ground, she just jumped, flying through the air and landing on the ground in an uncomfortable heap.

That didn't stop her. Turning to face the way she had decided was out, she began to run, leaping over the roots as much as she could to get away. Gradually, the barking faded away and she slowed to a light walk, panting heavily with fear and the running.

As she reached the edge of the jungle, seeing the mountains she had spotted through the leaves, she realised she hadn't even taken anything as proof to Mr Illusion that she had been in the jungles and survived. Looking around, she spotted a bunch of bright red flowers and she leaned over, picking one and tucking it in her hair. Red for the dangers of this forest. Because there were far too many and she was glad to be out.

[Nephti]

As the jungles shifted to mountains, Nephti kicked stones around while she walked, wishing she had a map with her. Or a list of cities. Or something. Because at that moment, she had no clue where she was, no clue what she would see, and no clue of what she would miss.

She moved forward, spotting a shimmering light at the top of the mountain. It glimmered in the light of the moon, sparkling as she approach- wait, the moon? Nephti looked up towards the sky, sure enough spotting Leth and the stars around him staring down at her. But that couldn't be. She hadn't been in the jungle that long - definitely not more than a bell. And it was early morning when she left - it had been early morning just before she had spotted the monkey.

Either this was an illusion, or she had lost the bet badly. Deciding it was the former, she hitched her skirt up a little and marched forward, following what could have been a trail in the rocks. Eventually, of course, it stopped, blocked by a huge boulder. The girl shook her head, a little annoyed and tried to find a way around of it, but there wasn't one, as she had expected. Pressing her hand against the stone, she accepted the fact she would have to do more climbing today that she probably had done in her whole life.

At least there wouldn't be angry monkeys at the top of this thing. Or so she hoped. Monkeys didn't live in mountains, did they?

The rock was significantly harder to climb than the tree, which had had so many well placed vines and branches, as if it was made to be climbed. The boulder, on the other hand, was perfectly smooth, except for the very visible scar across the middle, too high to be in Nephti's reach, but too low to reach the top if you managed to get your feet wedged in it. After a few failed attempts to jump up and reach, she continued walking along, before turning around completely. This was Alvadas. The minute you turned your back on something, it vanished.

She spun quickly on her heels, grin on her face, which fell instantly, when the rock had not only not vanished, but also grown in size. Sighing, she moved over, resting her forehead against the rock. This was so frustrating, but then again, it was nothing worse than what the city normally had. There had been the time when it had all turned to the wilds, with mountains there too. They had been impossible to get around. This mountain was nothing new.

Spurred with new spirit, she took a closer look at the rock, and around. There was a section where the crack was slightly more in reach. And below it, in that area too, there was another bit, where the rock stuck out. It was hard to see in Leth's light, but she could just about make it out with her hands.

After the third jump, she just about managed to snag the bottom lip of the crack and with a little more effort, including trying to walk up the rock face, bury her fingers into the sharp edge. With that to hold her steady, she used first her middle then her lower arms to hoist herself using the jutting out section, until finally her feet found it and she managed to balance herself between the two.

Stuck in the awkward position, she waited a while until her arms started hurting, and she began to look up, searching for a way to reach the top of the boulder. From the position she hung in, she couldn't see, and she twisted to her side, anchoring herself with six hands in the crack and kicking up enough to wedge a foot in too. In this position, she could get the other one up easily, but then wasn't exactly certain what she could do next. With some wiggling and movements she wasn't certain she could do, she managed to get herself on both feet, with her hands and body pressed against the smooth stone above them.

Peering up, she shuffled along the crack until the top was in view. This time, however, she couldn't jump, and there was no handy formation in the rock to give her a leg up. Instead, a face popped over, hearing her grunts as she tried anyway.

"Good morning!" the face said, with a grin that matched the tone, "Or night, or whatever this is. Want some help up?"

[Nephti]

Nephti didn't even have to reply before a rope was thrown down at her. She snatched it and held tight, wrapping it around her waist and knotting it as best she could. The man gave a few weak attempts at instructing her, then gave up, hoisting her up with a little help from the girl as she kicked at the rock face.

"Thanks," she smiled, passing the rope back to him. He began moving forward, climbing over smaller, much more traversable rocks. Nephti followed quickly, scrambling behind him.

"No problem! Always willing to help someone find the Diamond of Kalea - even when it is just part of Alvadas!" he exclaimed, moving much quicker than Nephti could keep up with.

"Di-Diamond of Kalea?" she asked, panting a little as she raced to keep up with him. He nodded, gesturing towards the sparkling houses. As they approached the reason for the name - or maybe Ionu's twist on it - became apparent.

Each and every house was studded with diamonds across every wall, which took the light and twisted it in their own ways. Nephti was amazed, running her fingers along the jewels and wondering how real they actually were. The residents had to be rich beyond belief!

"Thank you," Nephti said again, turning to find the man that had helped her, but he had also disappeared, now that his work was done. Probably rescuing more travellers stuck on the mountain, she assumed, and she turned back to the houses made from diamonds.

Her fingers still rested on them and slowly curled around the diamond. Just one diamond would be worth so much, and she doubted the owner of the house would miss this addition. And it would be the perfect thing to bring back to Mr Illusion. She dug her fingers under the gem, trying to dislodge it by twisting and turning it before pulling it towards her.

"Hey!" came a call, and the girl spun, facing an angry looking woman gripping a bawling baby and a rolling pin, "Get off my diamonds!" Nephti jumped back lifting her hands to show her innocence. Innocence that didn't really exist, but it was better than being found with a diamond in her hand. "Shoo! Shoo!" she yelled, as Nephti darted to the side, "Go away!"

Nephti moved quickly, not wanting any conflict, and hurried away down the mountain, before stopping suddenly. She still had nothing for I. With a longing look towards the houses studded in gems, she decided against trying to get one again. Instead, she rummaged in the dirt for a shiny looking stone, perfectly polished and maybe a gem with a bit of imagination. Close enough. With a smile and quick pocketing of the shiny pebble, she continued along the mountains, eyes up at the horizon, which seemed to stretch forever in mountainsides. Hopefully, not. Climbing these was starting to be very painful - and she had only tried one.