33. Ash the Portable Fortress


    The bloody Flesh-fiend hunt had been good, wholesome fun. But, in its aftermath, Serac was left with a problem that was causing her a far worse headache than it was worth.


    “Explain to me why I can’t just drop the Waystation inside Ash itself.”


    “The Waystation’s function is to set down persistent markers of a Wayfarer’s progress through the Realms. It can’t act as a ‘marker’ if it constantly shifts along with a Steed’s movement. As such, Pathsight has implemented an ‘immotility’ feature to its Waystations, in order to prevent the kind of cheating you’re suggest—”


    “Who said anything about cheating? I’m just trying to think on my feet here. I thought it was a good idea, anyway. Wouldn’t you agree, Zacko?”


    Despite Serac’s pointed question, the Manusya barely stirred from his nap, leaning his head against one wall of the cabin that had quickly become ‘Zacko’s Corner’. It was a wonder that he could sleep at all, given how badly Ash was shaking and bouncing as it tried to navigate the great outdoors.


    The traveling party had come upon what Pazu had called the Badlands, a vast stretch of uneven terrain that alternated erratically from eroded hills to deep gullies to otherwise bumpy rock formations. Supposedly, this was what took up almost the entirety of central Naraka, which meant the Wayfarers—at least Serac, anyway—could look forward to many more days of sore bums and motion sickness.


    It was ‘Bad’ enough to make a girl wish she’d had a flying dog for a Steed instead of a living castle. Which was a terrible thought to have, of course, and Serac dispelled it with a firm shake of her head.


    Ash was perfect the way it was, and she’d love and cherish her little castle through all the bumps on the road. Along with this remedial thought, Serac gave Ash’s steering wheel an affectionate pat—the ‘steering wheel’ being a wooden contraption the Hopers had helped install, more to keep the Wayfarers occupied while cooped up inside their cabin rather than serving any practical purpose.


    “Speaking of Ashvanaga, that’s another good reason to keep a Waystation and a Steed as separate entities.” Trippy had recently picked up the bad habit of his former self, that of dispensing with any pretense of privacy. “How else would you carry Ashvanaga around in its portable form?”


    It took Serac a hot minute to process what Trippy had just said. She had to make sure she heard him correctly because, if she weren’t mistaken, he’d just revealed something of life-altering importance.


    “Did you just say ‘portable form’… in reference to Ashvanaga the living castle?”


    “I did.”


    “Elaborate. Right now. And spare no details.”


    “Portable form. It’s exactly what it means, Serac Edin. All Steeds, once tethered to a Wayfarer, takes on the ability to transform into a much smaller version of itself that could then be carried on a Wayfarer’s person. Think of it as a convenient byproduct of its transmutation.”


    “Okay, you are blowing my mind right now. But I still gotta ask, why would I want to carry Ash instead of the other way around? I mean the whole point of a Steed is so I can ride around everywhere instead of—”


    That was when a particularly gnarly bump sent the whole party flying.


    Ash stayed suspended in air for far longer than was healthy for a living castle. As it finally made its freefalling descent, Serac felt her stomach drop, a sensation she’d not had since her turn with ‘the Falling Chair’ back in the Damnatorium. The castle then crash-landed at the edge of a gully, from which it tipped over and fell once more, roof-first this time, onto the bottom of the hollow.


    “Couldn’t think of a better way to wake me up, huh?”


    Serac paid Zacko’s grumblings no mind as she herself tried to pick up the pieces of her upside-down self. It took some effort to push herself into an upright sitting position. And when she did, she sensed right away that the same correction for her castle would be no small task.


    “Ash?” she called out, fully confident that she’d get a ‘response’. “You okay, bud? Think you’re right to stand back up on your own?”


    Grraaawwww…


    That was a ‘no’ in castle-speak. Welp. So much for riding around everywhere.


    “Does this answer your question, Wayfarer?” Trippy again. Was that… snark in his tone? Surely not.


    “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Is this part of the tutorial where you show me how to transform my Steed?”


    “I’d suggest for both you and Zacarias Borges-Juventus to step out first… unless you wish to be reconstituted all the way back in First Hope.”


    Okay, that had got to be a deliberately snarky one-liner! Certainly not as mean-spirited as Version 1’s brand of sarcasm, but it was becoming harder and harder for Serac to pretend that this new Trippy wasn’t developing some kind of… personality if not outright identity.


    And, if she were honest, she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.


    Serac absent-mindedly reached up and touched a bump behind her right ear, one that felt a little more prominent than she could remember. The ‘change’, if there had been one at all, was subtle enough that she could still convince herself that it was all in her head.


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    Outside, Serac and Zacko first took a moment to inspect the damage. Night had fallen by then, which cast the whole place in a maroonish gloom. There was also a thin cloud of something fine and pale—some kind of dust particle—that floated in the air and obscured the Wayfarer’s vision.


    “I could maybe knock it over again with [Pauldron],” Zacko suggested. “Want me to try?”


    “No!” Serac yelled hastily, and with no little indignation. “How could you even think of treating Ash like that? Would you do that to your own Steed?”


    “I honestly wouldn’t know,” Zacko said, scratching his bearded chin. “Back in Manesfera, the closest thing we had to Steeds were cars. And I’m not one of those weirdos who treat their modes of transportation like a second spouse.”


    “Cars? What’s that?”


    Zacko considered for a moment, then said, “They’re like Ash, except made of metal and stinking of gas instead of blood.”


    “Gas? Eww. You better not fill Ash up with your stinky gas!”


    Serac hadn’t meant it as a joke, but Zacko laughed anyway.


    “Not that kind of gas, but duly noted, princess.”


    Serac still didn’t see what was funny, but decided she had more pressing matters to attend to. If she hadn’t imagined it, the cloud of pale ‘dust’ had thickened somewhat, and that seemed to be accompanied by an unpleasant sensation—almost as if the air itself was clinging onto her body. She wanted to sort Ash out and move on from here, as soon as possible.


    “Alright, Trippy, since this Manusya knows nothing about Steeds, you’re up again. What do I do about Ash?”


    “Simple, Wayfarer. Another mental exercise, much like the one you use to meditate. This time, imagine Ashvanaga in its Interstitial form, that is, the aggregate of the Souldust that makes up what it is. Next, conjure up the image of a much smaller object, one that would be amenable to accompanying you on foot, then visualize the whole of Ashvanaga’s Interstitial form transferring and fitting into that object. It might help to maintain skin-to-castle contact for optimal results.”


    “So, in other words, the contents of a big water balloon flowing out and squeezing into a much smaller one?”


    “… If you say so, Serac Edin. But I would’ve thought you would require an analogy that’s more closely rooted in your own experience.”


    Serac blinked. Trippy was right, of course, and she recalled that her own off-hand comment had been rooted in a conversation with a different disembodied voice. Nothing since had changed with regards to her knowledge of water balloons, so she’d do better to find a handier analogy.


    Something that could accompany me while I’m on foot… like a Trinket? Speaking of, Froggy is an example of a small ‘container’ stuffed full of particles, isn’t it? Pink desert sand wrapped in Fiend skin? Hm, maybe this could work…


    Serac put her PULVERIZER hand on Ash’s stone wall and her REVOLVER one on Froggy. Skin-to-castle-to-object contact.


    Once that was established, she pictured Ash’s essence as a thick cloud of pink sandstorm, much like the one it used to kick up during its stint as a Penitent transport vehicle. In her vision, the sandstorm swirled and condensed until every last particle was sucked into the frog figurine in her right hand.


    She’d done exactly as Trippy had advised, but she was still shocked when Ash’s stone wall—and indeed its entire physical form—gave way and disappeared. Poof, into thin air. Or, more accurately, into the Interstitium, only to then reappear in its new form as—


    Something metallic let out a musical clink. Serac searched for the source of the sound, and didn’t take long to find it. A new ‘ornament’ that hung from her belt, right next to the pink frog figurine.


    The first thing she did was unclip the ornament and bring it up for a closer look (no small task, given the thickening ‘dust cloud’ all around).


    It was a blocky object that could comfortably fit in the palm of her hand. Despite its size, the features that defined it as [ASHVANAGA the Resurgent Fortress] were unmistakable. There was the battlement, with its tiny parapets lined with tiny javelins. This connected smoothly into the slightly larger cabin, the foundations for which were lined with the tiny spinning teeth that acted as the castle’s propulsive mechanism.


    It was a faithful replica of her living castle in miniature form. And it was freaking adorable.


    “Oh my gods,” Serac gasped, even as her eyes brimmed with actual tears. “This is the greatest thing I’ve ever witnessed. I want to keep it like this forever. I never want Ash to grow up!”


    “That would be counterproductive, Wayfarer, given the long distances you need to travel. Note that Ashvanaga may be resummoned at any time, as long as you aren’t at a location Pathsight has designated as a ‘dungeon’. My recommendation at present would be to proceed on foot until you reach a terrain that’s more suitable for castle travel, whereupon you’d be advised to put your Steed back to work.”


    That was a whole lot of pointed advice, coming from what was meant to be a Special Guidance Protocol. At the moment, however, Serac had far more pressing concerns, such as:


    “Wait, so, this means all Wayfarers tethered to Steeds have a portable version of that Steed, right? Even Sublimity? With their armored dog?”


    “… I’m not sure I know this Sublimity you speak of, but yes. One would presume their Steed, which you claim is an armored dog, would have a portable form of itself.”


    At this, Serac felt a pang of something that almost resembled pain. Oh, Trippy, you know this Sublimity far better than you think you do. She quickly alleviated the pain by imagining [SKYHOWL the Prismatic Hound] in its ‘portable form’, the results of which were so endearing that she nearly forgot how much she hated the Hound’s master.


    “Hey, Serac?” Zacko cut in then, his earlier nonchalance now cut with a frown and partially obscured by the dust in the air. “Hate to interrupt… whatever this is, but I reckon we better get a move on.”


    “You’re right,” Serac said somewhat reluctantly, clipping Mini-Ash back onto her belt as she did. “First order of business is to find a good place for a Waystation, yeah? Somehow, I don’t think… this is it.”


    She gestured vaguely at her surroundings… and was disconcerted to find how heavy the air was. It was like the air had become a different substance altogether—something so viscous as to be almost solid. Either that, or her own body was being weighed down by something she couldn’t see…


    “Uh, Serac?” Zacko again, voice now tinged with real concern. “I really think we need to hurry.”


    Serac felt her own anxiety rise, and she readily agreed with Zacko, despite not fully knowing why… until a new notification came in from Pathsight and gave word to the Wayfarer’s fears.


    [Wayfarer Status Effect: OSSIFY]


    [TRIBULATION active (x2): current buff at 10%]