“She knows who everyone is, Clive,” Jason said. “She knows everything except what a private conversation is, apparently.”
“Jason,” Gabrielle said. “She says the people of this world have to learn important things for themselves, instead of from some dimension-hopping loon.”
“Did she tell you to say that?” Jason asked.
“She was very explicit. She said that if you keep your mouth shut for once, she’ll give you a gift.”
“Bribery?” Jason said, thinking it over. “Yeah, alright.”
Gabrielle nodded and turned back for the group, some of whom had been looking on with curiosity. Many of them had the perception of a silver-ranked spirit attribute and could have easily eavesdropped.
“Gravity?” Clive asked.
“Did you not just hear me get bribed not to tell you? She’d know immediately.”
A look of contemplation crossed Jason’s face.
“She knows when you’ve been naughty,” he mused. “She brings gifts, apparently.”
Halfway back to the group, Gabrielle wheeled around and stormed back to Jason, waving a finger in his face.
“I don’t know what a flirty Santa Claus is,” she scolded, “but my goddess definitely isn’t one.”
“Does she have a big temple to the north where elves make toys?”
“What?” Clive and Gabrielle asked.
“Look,” Jason said, pointing out to sea. “I think it’s kicking off.”
Their eyes followed where Jason’s hand was pointing until they spotted what looked like a mass of cloud on the horizon.
“What is that?” Clive asked. “It’s magical, but I can’t make anything out at this distance.”
“You don’t know?” Gabrielle asked. “Why are you here?”
“Jason wouldn’t tell me.”
“I thought it would be a fun surprise,” Jason said defensively.
“What are you up to?” Clive asked Jason warily.
“Actually, it should be kind of a fun surprise,” Gabrielle conceded.
They watched as the mass of cloud moved closer.
“It’s a ship,” Clive said excitedly. “It’s a ship made of clouds.”
The cloud ship, sailing through the water, was not as close as it first appeared. Its enormous size made it seem that way, growing bigger and bigger in their vision as it approached. It was proportioned like an ocean liner, crafted from fluffy white clouds. Sunset shades of blue and orange delineated the dimensions of the ship that floated over the water at a goodly speed, in spite of no visible propulsion.
“That’s some proper, fantasy world goodness, right there,” Jason said.
By the time it pulled into place at the dock, it was clear how overwhelmingly humongous the vessel was. Over three hundred metres long, sixty metres wide and high, even the silver-rankers were agog at the sheer magnitude of it.
The ship drew to a gentle stop in the dock and a walkway of cloud emerged from the side. When it connected to the shore, a hole appeared in the side of the ship to reveal Emir Bahadir. Though he was seeing him in daylight, he looked the same as when Jason had met him in the dark. Sleek clothes, midnight skin and dark hair woven with colourful beads. Jason had been uncertain in their previous encounter when Bahadir could seemingly evade his ability to see through darkness.
He walked across the platform to the shore, meeting Elspeth Arella who came out to greet him. She led him inside to be met by the assembled welcoming party, but Clive was uninterested. He had stood up out of his chair, his eyes roaming the side of the ship. His vision power allowed him to see at least some of the otherwise-invisible magic.
“This is amazing,” he said.
Gabrielle had remained with them to watch the ship appear and suddenly remembered she should be with the larger group. She was about to hurry away when Bahadir vanished from where he was standing to appear in front of them in a single step.
“Mr Asano,” Emir greeted.
“Mr Bahadir,” Jason said, standing up to shake hands. “This is Gabrielle Pellin. You’ll know Danielle Geller, I presume. Gabrielle is currently attached to her son, Humphrey. She does have accomplishments outside what man she’s hanging around, but she called me a dimension-hopping loon, so I won’t bother with them.”
“A delight to meet you,” Emir said.
Gabrielle’s eyes shot daggers at Jason, before turning back to Emir with a smile.
“A pleasure,” she said, shaking his hand. “I’m an acolyte with the church of Knowledge.”
“He knows that from your robes,” Jason said. “You might as well have worn a white sack and painted ‘church of Knowledge’ on it.”
“You will pay for this, Jason,” she said.
“Facing up to consequences is the making of a man,” Jason said, gesturing to Clive, still looking out the window. “This is Clive. He’s the deputy something-something at the local Magic Society, and more interested in your boat than meeting a gold-ranker, it appears.”
“What?” Clive said, turning his gaze from the boat for the first time. “Oh, um, wait. A gold ranker?”
“Emir Bahadir,” Jason introduced, “meet Clive Standish.”
“I’ll see you get a tour,” Emir said, shaking a flummoxed Clive’s hand. “It won’t be a ship anymore, but I’m confident you’ll find it just as impressive.”
“It won’t be a boat?” Clive asked.
As they chatted, more people had come across the wide gangplank made of cloud.
“My staff,” Emir said. “The ship can be crewed by only a few people, as you will come to see, Clive, but I have various other needs. There seem to be some necessary social duties planned, so I will have to go back, but first…”
The people finished disembarking, around fifty of them.
“Come along,” Emir said and walked back outside, Jason and the others trailing behind.
As they swept past the nonplussed welcoming committee, Gabrielle glanced nervously at her high priest, who nodded the affirmation to continue. Outside, Emir's staff was gathered haphazardly. They were a wild collection of races and ethnicities within those races. Their attire ranged from neat and subdued like Emir and Rufus preferred, to the wild and colourful clothing that Gary and the Greenstone locals preferred.
Emir walked over to a woman dressed in a similar style to himself, with a one-button jacket, neat slacks and practical dark shoes. Where Emir was dark-skinned, she was pale. Her dark brown hair dropped simply down to neck length in a cut that, like her clothes, was simple and stylish. She had a subdued, but not wholly restrained, silver-rank aura.
“This is Constance,” Emir introduced. “She is the single most indispensable person in my world. Constance, this is Jason, Gabrielle and Clive. They are always welcome.”
Constance nodded.
“Understood.”
Jason sensed something of a kindred spirit in Emir’s easy persona, which he knew had strengths and weaknesses. The professionalism he read in Constance gave him a sense that she was the one who kept the clocks running.
“Everyone’s off?” Emir asked Constance.
“They are.”
“Alright then,” Emir said, reaching into his jacket. From it, he pulled what looked to Jason like a round-bottomed chemistry flask, with Emir holding it by the neck. It was certainly too large to fit in a pocket.
“Is that a dimensional jacket?” Jason asked.
“It is,” Emir said.
“Stylish and practical,” Jason said. “I like it.”
“If you ever find your way to Vitesse,” Emir said, “I’ll introduce you to my tailor. He only takes new clients by referral.”
Emir shook the flask, then took out the crystal stopper. Four thin streams of mist emerged, gathering in the air to form four shapes that floated in place. Like the ship, they were made of clouds with sunset colours giving definition. One looked like a model of a sprawling estate house, the next like a bus or recreational vehicle with no wheels. The third was a sprawling palace, and the fourth was a small replica of the ship floating in front of them. That final image was glowing with an internal light.