Ch 3
The fog and the bubbles
The mysterious bubbles
Albu names: Yona, Yepa, Minta/Mintha, Lyra, Enora, Emma, Jessie, Leila
So, we need a name for this albu.
Patricia.
No, that’s no good.
Josephine?
Fay. Leila.
Jordan.
Is that even a girl’s name??
Ah!
-
How about Yona?
Nima puts hand on Ashim’s head.
Lyra
Hmm!
I like it!
Yona: Grunts looking down at the kids
-
As the team approaches, they see a coat of fog.
‘This must be the fog the old man was talking about’.
The albuu starts walking and goes past a rock. After a while of walking they reach the same rock again,
-
and reach the same rock twice.
‘I think we’re going in circles!’/ Are we going in circles?
Let’s go back.
They try going another direction but reach the same spot. Then they go back out of the fog and
-
end up outside of the fog.
We’re back outside!
‘How do we go forward?’
Let’s try one more time.
-
Y’know, Ashim.
I think this is the place they talked about In our village.
There is a huge coat of mist that divides the world.
And it’s no ordinary mist.
That must be why we can’t get through it.
Because there’s magic.
After a while of walking back and forth…
Ashim: That’s it. We need to try something new…
-
Ashim clutches the compass to his chest and prays.
Please.
Help us get to the other side of the fog.
They see something shiny.
-
It turns into a silhouette.
Amazing!
They follow it and it leads them to the other side of the fog.
(Could be the mountain goddess)
-
Wow…!
We’ve crossed the border… to a new area. A new place we’ve never seen before.
-
Boys hit Nima with a slingshot.
Ow!
Who is that?
Boys hide.
What was that all about? When I find out who did that…
-
As they reach the village, the villagers seem to be wary of them.
Whisper whisper
‘Why’s everyone hiding from us and looking at us suspiciously?’
One family isn’t worried and comes out to greet them.
‘Welcome to our village, travellers’.
-
Nima: Pleased to meet you.
We’re residents of this village. Do you need to spend a night here?
If so we can help you with that.
Nima: That would be-!
Spheres start falling from the sky.
…!
Look out!
-
Spheres fall
‘Quick, get inside!’
‘The albu can fit into the village hall!’
-
They run over to the village hall so that the albuu can fit inside.
They look outside.
The whole city is covered with spheres that burst like bubbles when they hit the ground.
‘What are they?’
-
‘Are these like corneorites?’
‘Corneorites? I had heard about them, but thought they were a myth’.
‘You don’t get corneorites here?’
‘No.’
Things must be very different at the other side of that blanket of fog.
Then… how do you stay alive?
‘We hunt.
-
The animals around here grow and breed fast, and these spheres do half of the work for us by killing some of them.
I don’t know why the animals here grow like they do, but it must have something to do with the magic forces at play in this area.’
The sky is clearing!
As the spheres stop falling, everyone starts going back outside.
-
‘Why are the people here afraid of us?’
‘They believe the spheres are the work of an outsider, so they don’t take well to outsiders. It causes us a lot of distress’.
‘I see…’
‘What are you here for?’
‘We’re after the lost land.’
-
*Dad peers through glasses* Really??
Just how on earth do you plan to do that?
‘We have a compass. It was made especially to point towards the Lost Land.’
‘Fascinating…’
‘Well it looks like you don’t pose any harm to us. I’ll introduce you to the village.’
*Villagers look up with wide open faces*
Wow…
-
‘Welcome!’ ‘It’s not often that we get visitors!’ ‘Want to stay in our house?’
‘Easy now, let the travellers rest. I don’t think they want to be separated, so they can sleep in the village hall together overnight’.
*Cheers*
But first, let’s have dinner together.
I’ll cook enough for all of you.
-
They stay up for a long time chatting.
They learn about the village’s history and its people.
‘You’re welcome to stay as long as you want’.
‘Thanks!’
(At night) ‘Nima,
I want to stay a little longer, what do you say?
-
I want to try helping the villagers find the cause to their sphere problem’.
‘Ok,
just as long as we don’t lose our way’.
The next morning it showers spheres again.
Spheres!
‘Again, in such short succession!’
Quick, into the town hall!
-
They hide in the town hall, and when they look outside they see a figure in the hills.
Look! Who’s that?
When the spheres stop, they rush towards them.
Quick, follow them!
-
They turn out to be the boys that hit Nima with a slingshot.
It’s you guys!
‘What are you doing here??’
‘Umm, nothing!’
‘I don’t believe it. Where did you come from? Show me!’
-
‘We come from that village over there.’
Our pops wasn’t nice to us, so we ran away.’
‘And now you’re causing mischief for the villagers? You’d better cut it out!’
‘I wonder if you also have something to do with those spheres!’
‘You’re giving them too much credit.
A bunch of boys causing huge spheres to fall? They couldn’t. It’s just the magic of the area.’
-
The boys fidget.
‘Come, I have something to show you.’
They take out a flask and in it is the fluid of the sphere.
It’s the fluid found in the spheres.
We captured some of it in this flask.
‘It’s dangerous to the touch’.
‘So have you figured out what it is?’
‘Nope. But we saw an inscription in a cave that they have been falling since a long time ago.
-
But we think that they used to have a different purpose.’
‘They weren’t harmful at first. But as time went on they became toxic, and we had to hide from them.
Then the boys bring them to the cave. ‘See? It was hard to find because the entrance was covered in snow. We found it by chance.’
-
‘I wonder what caused them to turn bad’.
‘That’s what I’ve been wondering’.
*pointing at inscriptions*
‘Look, people used to play with them.
They’d try catching them and children would try jumping into them.’
‘Then they became more toxic and people started running away from them.
Touching one now could get you sesiously injured or even killed.’
‘Look over here. According to these inscriptions, the origin of the spheres are…’
‘A city in the sky’.
-
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
‘The truth is that, indeed… Sometimes we can see something in the sky when the clouds have cleared.
It could be that ancient city’.
‘I wonder if we’ll ever be able to fly up to that city?’
‘We should go to the village and tell them about this.’
Boys: No! We don’t want to go back!
‘Come on! Why do you hate your dad so badly?’
‘It’s not that we hate him, he’s just…
very grumpy and strict all the time.
We want to be free.’
-
‘But I’m sure he misses you’.
‘Ok, I’ll tell you what. We’ll go with you to tell them about the city, and then we’re out of here!’
‘Deal’.
They go to the village and tell them what they saw. Dad reunites with boys and they hug.
-
Dad: ‘(Maybe I was too tough on them. I should be nicer from now on.
Don’t you boys ever leave me again.’
*Boys look at each other*
Villagers: We’ll think of some way to better deal with the spheres.
I don’t know how, but now that we know more about them we’re better equipped to finding a way to deal with them. Thank you.’
-
Ashim: Thank you for letting us stay. We’ll continue our quest to find the Lost Land.
Good luck! We wish you the best in your journey.
What about you two? *talking to the boys*
‘On second thought?
let’s stay here’.
Ashim: Heheh!
Ashim and Nima wave while the albu sets off.
--
It is evening, and Ashim has fallen asleep early.
Nima remembers what someone from the town told her.
Person: Not far from here, there is a magical stone. If you pray to it, you can tell it to control the mind of any person you like. It will grant you one wish, so be careful what you will it to do.
Nima visits the stone. She prays: Please, convince Ashim to give up on the Lost Land and go home.
-
She goes back to Ashim.
Ashim wakes up.
Ashim: Alright! Let’s set off to the Lost Land!
Nima frowns.
She goes back to the stone.
-
THinks in her head: I told you, I want Ashim to turn back!
She kicks it.
Ashim: Nima, come on!
Nima frowns again and then turns away, following Ashim.
Scene switches back to person standing at edge of cliff, putting hand out for a bubble that’s falling down. Some kind of magic is emanating from their hand.
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