Blomar wasn't having any of it. He was not a man that liked to have his legs pulled. Whatever bluff this Hub-Man person had conjured up to ensnare George and Schrotti in he was determined to call it and decided to put his 'best man' on the job. Himself.
'Alright, Ship.'
'Yes Captain' the Nori sprang to life.
'Let Lt. Streets know that she is to ready XN1 and XN2 for an excursion. We will be going in half an hour.'
Following this order, things were rapidly starting to get busy again. XN1, previously used by Bonnet and Rackham, was in serious need of thorough cleaning.
The group met up with Bonnet, Rackham and Lt. Streets boarded XN1 and XN2 and made their way to "The Lonely Mountain" despite Jorge's protest. It was a mystical place. The all encompassing scrap metal and junk that littered Haradhere's surface was nowhere to be found in this place. Instead, they stood at the foot of a towering mountain with its peak hidden in a ring of thunderclouds. A Stairway all the way to the top revealed itself as if it had been concealed by magic.
'I have a bad feeling about this Captain.' Lt. Streets spoke up.
'What? Are you some kind of space wizard now?' George shut her down despite feeling the exact same way and having previously advertised against coming here. There was something about masculine women that annoyed him to no end --Possibly the fact that he more or less identified himself as a feminine man. Sybil however didn't feel the need to answer to the obvious provocation.
'So, who wants to climb up there?' Blomar asked without looking at anyone in particular.
'Captain, we think it would be prudent not to leave XN1 and XN2 unguarded in this thief ridden plain.' Bonnet said looking for a way to spare himself a torturous multi hour long flight of stairs.
'Good thinking Mr. Bonnet, you and Mr. Rackham may remain here and stand guard. Make sure to remain in contact with both our group and the Nori. I don't want to come back down here to find my ride back home gone.'
The climb was arduous, and continued on and on .... and on.... and on ..... Sweat and tears of exhaustion were dripping out of eyes bloodshot with anger at the insensitivity of their host. Streets thought that it would be justified to throw the damn Hub-Guy right down his stupid stairway or make him take a bite out of every step, but kept climbing with determination. Jorge cried. Schrotti was forced to let go of his blob form, usually he was just sliding stairs up, and adopted a spiral like hopping pattern. The only one who seemed to be having fun, was Schrotti's cat as she was hitching a ride on Sybil's shoulders and encouraging her troupe with the occasional spirited or bored 'mew'.
They eventually made it to the top. The sight was magnificent. The stairway was crowned by a huge arc that led them into a tunnel and went right through the mountains peak. On the other side of it, things looked different. The way ended at a cliff. They could see a sleek pillar rising from a bottomless depth up to their height. Atop it burned an unnatural looking fire in a vexing round shape, there appeared to be something in the middle of it, but before they had the time to contemplate what it might be a figure appeared before them. It might have once been a man, but it looked more like a bunch of tattered and moth ridden robes slung over the shoulders of a skeleton. For a second no one moved. Then it spoke.
'You have come here seeking your destiny, but what you will find is only despair. I urge you, turn around and go whence you came'
'So you are this Hub-Man person I have heard so much about? I have to say I was expecting someone more ... man' Blomar wasn't impressed.