Meanwhile, back home...

[Amaterasu]

"Thank you", said Amaterasu as she accepted the map. The old troll phone beeped and she needed a moment to find the map, but then it lit up before her. "There we go. So this is where she is?" she asked and turned the phone to show Murasaki a red dot on the map.

"That’s the place. It’s a general location though, as Amber is underground and we don’t get her signal. Once you’re in the vicinity you’ll have to search for the caverns."

"I see. Well then, I’ll rush to their aid as quickly as I can. Which means… Oki, Fiara, you two stay behind. We need the Nimbus with as little a load as possible. Book yourselves a room here and wait for us to come back."

"Ah, an’ what ‘bout me? Ye want me along?" asked Urist. He already seemed to know the answer though because he was hurriedly finishing his drink, much to the amusement of the other patrons who saw the hardy dwarf chug the ‘Gut Scorcher’ like it was sweetened water.

"Yes. Your knowledge about the geography of the Fields will prove very valuable, as will your experience in mining. I can convert rock to Omnilium if I want, but if I do it without considering the stress points of an underground structure I may very well cause a cave-in." She turned back to Oki and Fiara. "You two have some money to get you over the next few days. If I take longer to come back, I trust that you’ll know what to do."

"You can trust us", said Oki. "Go already!"

Amaterasu nodded. As she was about to leave however, something else occured to her. "Fiara. Please message Kushi, let her know that we’re here in Atlas and that we’ll be returning to Dwarfholm for a short visit. I imagine that she’s doing okay but I want to check in on her before we move forward with the ‘project’ I mentioned."

"I see", said Fiara. "I’ll let her know."

"Thanks. I’ll be in touch"“ And with that she left the bar, already picking up a rapid pace on her way out so that Urist stumbled over his feet trying to follow her. There was no time to be lost.

"Now then", said Oki and turned back to the bar. "Would you happen to have any rooms available for two people?"



Fiara had quickly whipped out her phone and typed in a message to the sake brewer. It was a good thing that Amaterasu’s Communicator had synced up to hers so she had all her contacts… she was eager to see Kushi again, and to visit the caves of Dwarfholm. Come to think of it she had not gained access to the Mead Halls yet, as opposed to Oki and Amaterasu - perhaps she should try to get that done too?

"Blahblahblah… coming to visit you soon in Dwarfholm, we’re near the gate to the fields… eh, lots of stuff happened. There we go. Aaaand, sent."



Amaterasu reached the surface and barely took the time to slide into her coat before she headed out to take the Nimbus from the stables. Urist with his shorter legs was struggling to keep up so he was barely at the ground floor by the time Amaterasu reached the stables. The stablekeeper’s eyes widened as he saw her rush to the box she’d booked.

"Back so soon? Did you change your mind about staying?"

"Not quite. We have to head out in a hurry, no time to explain. Keep the change, though."

"What about your pals?"

As she opened the door, Amaterasu nodded towards the entrance where she had just come from. "They’ll be staying here in Atlas. And yes, I realize that this sounds like we’re criminals running away and leaving our accomplices behind after they got caught."

The stablekeeper gave a nervous chuckle. "Well if you are I can’t hope to stop you but the guards at the gate surely will. And if you’re not I hope you make it in time to wherever you’re headed."

"I think I will, thanks!" She grabbed Urist by his hand just as he came through the door and heaved him onto the cloud, then manoeuvered it through the stables’ entrance and to the door. The dwarf just… went with it and made himself comfortable on the back of the Nimbus.

At the gate the guards looked a little puzzled. "Didn’t we just let you in?" asked one.

"You did. We have to head back out, we heard about the nearby cave-in and thought that we could lend a hand. This dwarf who’s with me knows his way around mining. Can you please open the gate again?"

When the guards looked at each other Amaterasu grunted. She wished that she could just slice the gate open before they lost more time, but that’d paint a bad picture.

"Sure, go on out then", the guard said. "Need directions?"

"We already have them." She waited for the gate to be open just barely enough, then accelerated the Nimbus so they passed through just barely. As the guards shook their heads in disbelief Amaterasu went up to full speed and handed Urist her Dataverse device for him to read directions. Within minutes they were but a shrinking cloud of dust headed away from Atlas, off to meet the Prime who had made the place.