A few seconds later, the ship emerged on the outskirts of Laudarkvik, on the edge of a valley sheltered from prying eyes so as not to alert the city. The huge spacecraft landed noiselessly and the passengers inside cheered with joy.
Yet, Jake was more in the mood to cry his eyes out. The speed of this Lodunvals-Laudarkvik trip was matched only by its Aether cost. 80B worth of Aether points was what the Purgatory had burned to power the ship's thrusters and support the illusion, put to the test by the atmospheric friction.
Right now, he had just over 100B Aether points left. That is, less than a quarter of the amount of Aether he had started with. And the Ordeal had only been going on for a day.
Jake drew a cold breath as he checked his savings. From now on, the Aether he had left should be reserved for life and death situations. But more realistically, he absolutely had to find a way to restore the spent Aether and put in place some solutions so he wouldn't be so dependent on it.
