Sakpata’s jewel shines down on Zacchaeus as he makes his way along a rocky path. The jewel is the sun of Sakpata’s disc, and even though it is deep red, its rays are yellow-white. The terrain of the disc is mostly brown stone and there are patches of light blue moss that seem to glow even under the bright jewel overhead, but there is a path of red stone that Zacchaeus follows.
Follow the auburn stone and it should lead us right through to the disc of Gû…
Zacchaeus and the Needy followed the directions of Santer, a friend of Coffey on the disc of Agê, and they both kept their eyes open for the kammapa that roamed the rocky disc looking for anything to consume. The kammapa are very strange beings and when Santer described them, Zacchaeus couldn’t imagine what they looked like. A fully matured kammapa has a humanoid body made of stone, some with rough surfaces, other polished, and that is easy enough to imagine, but the thing that matures into a stone person was hard for Zacchaeus to wrap his brain around. He pictured it as a chaos of form, not quite gooey and liquid like the Needy, but able to stretch around its food to consume it. The immature kammapa can be found all over the disc and most blend into the terrain and appear to be rocks, or poor simulacrums of rocks, that either eat the other rocks around it or prey on unsuspecting passersby. Some have distinct colors that are a manifestation of the things they consume. It takes a kammapa a long time to digest a rock which is why they have not completely consumed the disc of Sakpata.
But their journey was quiet and Zacchaeus marveled at the terrain. They passed rock formations that looked like mounds of dirt or sand from a distance, but were solid rock, some hollowed and teeming with life. He saw gold-digging ants in most of the formations. Most of the beings he encountered went about their business without acknowledging him.
I like this place much better than the forest and the jungle.
“Yeah, well you don’t have to walk it, I do. I didn’t know we’d be hiking across rock for days. I don’t have the right shoes for this.”
As he spoke, he felt the Needy cushion his feet.
Your feet don’t hurt that badly. We can take a rest here if you need. I want to study a kammapa, they seem similar to what I am.
“I really don’t like this Needy. You’re like a kid in a candy store. And I’m sorry, but we cant waste time resting, just support my body as much as you can while we get to the disc of Xêvioso as fast as possible. And if he’s not there, I’m sorry, but I’m pushing the button and we’re subliming back to the Museum.”
Zacchaeus, since the two of us have bonded, I must say that I have been surprised by your attitude toward me. Your grandmother and I were a lethal team. We killed thousands together and it made me stronger. But you don’t like to kill, you have an aversion to despair. I have considered if our union was a mistake. I thought that I misjudged you as a worthy successor to your grandmother. You have all of her skills and then some, but you are not as ruthless. And then you obtained that sublime device and we found our way here, met Xêvioso. It was then that I realized that you are more special than I could have ever anticipated and our union was fated. I did not like the way you wielded my powers, frankly, I find your rules arbitrary and they make for a boring existence. But you introduced me to the Fonlands and I don’t believe any other Earthling could have found it. I pledge myself to you forever for bringing me here, and I will also follow your wisdom.
“That’s really sweet but…” Zacchaeus was interrupted but a growling that intensified as it grew louder. He looked off to the side of the auburn road just in time to see what appeared to be a large, moving boulder with a big gaping maw.
Aww, it’s a baby kammapa, so cute. Let’s go say hello.
“That’s a baby? We have to get out of here,” Zacchaeus said as he started to run.
It doesn’t realize that we’re friendly.
“It doesn’t look like it wants to listen to us introduce ourselves.”
As Zacchaeus runs, he rolls and flips to throw sharp, black daggers that he materializes from the Needy, but the kammapa just chomps and keeps moving.
“We’ve gotta leave the road,” Zacchaeus says and he jumps, takes flight by flapping the long cape made of the Needy like wings.
You’re expending a lot of our energy. I hoped to be very strong for Xêvioso…
“Shut up about your boyfriend, Xêvioso! We are flying away from this crazy place where rock babies can eat us, we’re not even going to stop on Gû disc, who knows what fresh hell is waiting for us there. We’re going straight to Xêvioso’s disc!”
Zacchaeus flew and he saw the rocky terrain far below. He zigged and zagged between mountain tops and ranges and was surprised that it wasn’t cold at the high elevation. There was no wind that wasn’t created by the wings of flying dwellers of the disc.
They flew for a while and the jewel of Sakpata followed slowly behind them. As they left the disc of Sakpata and crossed into the disc of Gû, Zacchaeus noticed the shiny metal of fortresses and gated communities.
Don’t you want to go down and see it? How can we just fly over? When will we ever see this again?
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to drag me back here.”
Zacchaeus did fly lower, his curiosity got the better of him and he wondered what the land looked like. It proved to be a mistake for Zacchaeus who only wanted to fly through and never set foot on the disc.
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