"What is that?" Eve stops.
The librarian saw the end of her journey through the grass, where she was greeted by an empty post and an unlit campfire after stomping on a high terrain from the cave with her icy shoes. Six golden lights shone above, with a tuft hanging at the bottom, releasing glitters over the ground.
The glitter ails the librarian's body from the dirt and filth behind the darkness, granting her soul a pure color and relieving her from the aching gut on her stomach. However, it could only ease the pain committed by the stomach, not the source.
"Finally! Time to find out what's been forgotten. Charger, go get my—Oh, right—nevermind! Here I come, uhm..." She pauses.
"Austery? Austria? Ugh, where does that night vision go when I need them?"
The west side of this island is known as Austeria, where the town lives above an unstable plateau that has been floating for eons without a supporting cliff or cave. Heading here would be impossible without the cave, but the hills are cruel and harsh for outsiders. Only a great explorer could find this town unharmed.
The arch led her to a bridge, guided by floating orbs and chasms left and right. There was no way to describe what would happen if she fell, but as long as she followed the white arch afar, that odd would not occur. After passing through the yellow guardian on the arch, she arrives at a stone gazebo and a small pool.
"Hm. I'm surprised how large this place was...I thought the starlings would've gone for a—small one...?"
The librarian was shocked to see the view of Austeria from the gazebo. It was not just a town—it was an entire ecosystem. Water dominated the whole place and left a small ground for her to pass, but all the houses were made like giants. She felt like a starling standing alone in the center of the town.
"Okay. I underestimate you, Austeria..." Eve muttered. "I heavily underestimated you..."
"But where are the others?"
But she was adamant there was life around here. There was light even, but there were no people, and all the humongous buildings were empty husks like they had been abandoned for centuries or more. Yet, through this, life is somewhat nourished thanks to the endless pool of water and clear sunlight.
"Is this some kind of joke? I didn't went here to see a dead town! I came here to see a live one!"
*Row* *Row*
"Huh?"
There was a person on a boat near the gazebo who appeared right after she rows closer behind a tall stalactite holding a bridge above her head. She carries three clays of jars on her way to a lowland before she sees the librarian from the gazebo. She waves fiercely at her while throwing stones at the water to call her name.
It was not long until the lady rows her way close into the gazebo, slowly pushing her tiny boat closer to the ground for the librarian to kneel, and saw a lady covered in pale cotton from head to toe in blue striped clothes and a frowning mask.
"Enforcer? What brings you to this serene land?" The lady asks calmly.
"Is this Bellflower?" Eve whispers to her ears.
"I'm afraid not. Bellflower is thousands of miles above this ground, my dear flesh and bone sister."
"Thousands?? Hmm, at least I know I was in the right place." Eve had a mixed feeling.
"Are you living here? Where's the others? And what is this place?"
The lady eagerly introduces her to the land of Austeria, where the homes have always been made in a giant's perception due to the cruel terrain and instability between reality and the Earth they stepped upon. Their bodies are small, but the spaces are unimaginable to conserve. Hence, the land had always looked empty and decrepit because everyone was too small to notice.
But many people didn't live on the lower ground as much as the lady did because it was too dim and the sun was hard to notice. Moreover, the water in this area makes a terrible positioning for houses, heavily affecting the lives of starlings struggling in the dense heat of the sun. Thus, the summit delivers these light beings from fear and pain.
Yet those born here refuse to leave their beloved home and are accustomed to another form of entertainment like the others. Even if they could, they wouldn't want to. It was as simple as a child's mind. The librarian took this clear after her first experience with the other starlings.
"I need to go over the Bellflower to find, uhm...someone," Eve mumbled, "Is there any way I could enter that path?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to reach the market
"I thought you said there's no one on this ground?"
"The market was merely occupied by only five people."
"As long as there's something to eat, I guess."
The lady offered her boat for the librarian to pass, given how deep the water could tear her before she could drown. It was a slow yet entertaining view for her upon seeing perhaps the best and most peaceful land ever.
Among the people who could've been a god, a lot of them are fools except here. Here, they are as distant as a prophet. There are a few stories that the librarian remembered about people who lived far from civilization and dwelled by mountains, such as the Himalayan or Mongolian people.
"You should be careful not to swim here. There are no chance for you to survive on such depths. Not even a Joyling like us do since the Enlightenment Age."
"Perhaps I judge too quickly," Eve mumbles, "Maybe there was a manner in this world. Or a beauty not yet to be thrown by materialistic value..."
"Oh, but there was nothing about enjoying a little fun while you are alive, sister. We are all born with a body to feel happiness." The lady mumbles.
The lady guides her closer to the coast while the librarian ponders at the jar's content. It was glowing with various colors, but it all smelled like fish oil. The librarian was dissatisfied and closed it immediately, just as the lady successfully arrived at the northeast market.
"Here we are. Welcome to the Austery market. Make your way through the large gate and you'll find another park leading to a second floor."
"Great. Just what I had expected..." Eve left the boat with a spirit.
The first thing she witnessed was three people selling oil jars inside the store, which were not for eating purposes. There are few people here, but there are ten instead of five, strolling and silently walking without a surprise from the librarian. It is as if they knew she would be here.
The people here make delicate edibles, and the librarian was lucky with how good they smell. In their cart, a few sticks of honey-covered apples were fried on a ceramic plate and rays upon a warm yellow light. It smells of an apple and honey, and it was just finished in the kitchen before it was displayed with steam boiling from a pipe.
"Lyppete here! Come get your favorite Lyte-induced Peppete here!"
"New Lyppete on the store! Get it while it is still fresh!"
"Lyppete! Who wants Lyppete?"
Those vendors left their shops open, and their aroma spread above, tempting anyone who could have passed the street. She has been starving for too long, and seeing the honey-covered apple on a stick could distract her from cries for help. But it's not like there's ever been a cry for one, right?
"I smell apple. Did you say apple?"
"Ohoho, sister. It's called Lyppete! You surely looks like the curious one here. Why don't you try?"
She took a bite from the apple while the honey was still hot in her mouth. It was aching and painful to her gum and tongue, and the librarian was suffering heavily under the taste of boiling water. She puked the apple with pain as blood and steam spurted out, turning the vendor in terrified disgust.
"Young lady! What happened? Is it too hot??" The vendor.
"Uhuk! Uhuk! Uhuk! Aack!"
The apple was more than sweet—it tasted like a honey apple and was wet enough to quench her thirst. But it was far from recovery to her mouth, burning like a fire. Desperate and speechless, she ran from the market and reached for water from the pool behind the vendor.
"Water! Water! Water!!!" She yelled.
Hiss! Hiss!
The steam boils her mouth and leaves her permanently burned in her mouth. The librarian quickly jumped into the pool and soaked her mouth and body. It was the second time her body was left cold and wet in the distant land. Forgetting what the lady had said, the librarian was unaware of the danger within the water.
*Splash*
She was not a swimmer, and the pool didn't seem to enjoy her staying on the surface. The water dragged her down to the abyss, as the lady said, and before she could even recover from the heat, she had dived a few meters below.
"Aack...H-ckelk-Hckeck!" Eve swims in a struggle.
"Oh no! The human is drowning! She's drowning! Someone, help her!"
The starlings could not help her. The water is too deep, and they don't like soaking themselves in a cold place. The librarian spent more minutes swimming to the surface, struggling without an answer or help from the people. Her breathing was fierce and quick, but it only made her drown quicker.
It was close to an end. The librarian's life slowly faded into a water-soaked abyss. The water's current is too severe for her to fight, and she barely makes it from her current position. The ice-coated attire would only burden her further.
"Does anyone have boat??"
"Ugh! My boat is on the other side of this market!"
"I can't swim! I think she can't either! What do we do?"
"Don't worry! I can help!" Yelled a lady in a rush.
But just as death seems to prevail, a savior arrives from a distance by boat afar. Quickly rowing through rocks and rivers, the same lady throws a rope into the librarian's grasp before tying them into her raft. The librarian, who was slowly drowning, felt the rope grasping her hands and dragging her above as a signal.
"Follow my rope! Get over the surface with me, young lady!"
"Blblblb!!!" Eve grasped the rope tightly.
The lady persistently drags her to the surface despite her small grip, enough to put the librarian's nose to the surface and let her swim close to her boat instead. People are clapping joyfully at her victory in saving the librarian with a mere rope on her way to their position.
"Aagh! *cough* *cough* *cough* Ack...my..." Eve grunted. Her mouth is not in a good state to speak.
"Don't worry, young lady. You're safe now." The lady retrieves the rope and continues her row.
"Huh? W-who arck...gwou?"
The lady was hiding her face in a frowned mask, proudly worn among her happiest starlings alongside a color of blue. Yet the people didn't bother her for bearing that cursed face. When the librarian touched her fingers, she felt a cold yet warm humidity from her nails.
The librarian resurfaces on the coast, and the starlings run to congratulate the lady for her bravery. The lady with a shady face had six hands and a round stomach—perfectly rounded like a moon. She has two horns covered by thick cotton and stands taller than any other starlings.
The people adore the librarian for being brave, but she only wishes to save the librarian from her demise. It reminds her of the prince's charm and his people. But the lady there was more benevolent and selfless, yet mysteriously odd for the librarian to ignore. The people even knew her better than those squires of his and even praised the lady not for her charm but her bravery.
When everyone left for the market, and the lady was drying up her nets and delivering her jars out of the boat, the librarian approached her for gratitude while carrying her soaked paper and pen. Seeing the lady finish her duty and prepare to leave, she stopped her from the coast with a yell.
"Hey, lady!" Eve yelled at her.
"Hm?" She replies.
"Hey, thanks
The lady stared at her silently as she approached her knees, giving the librarian an uneasy feeling from her frown and mutterless face. But when she appears four-eyed with her, the lady immediately wears off her mask and reveals her face to her.
She could clearly see that the lady was not a starling but a living creature like her. Her grey-pinkish skin, long eyes, and tendril between her mouths gave her an otherworldly feeling. It was the first creature in here the librarian had encountered with flesh, although it may not look so alive from the skin.
Yet she was tiny like the others, only an inch taller above the librarian's knee, and gleamed like an anglerfish.
"No problem! Anything for newcomers around here..." The lady carefully ties her boat to the coast while waiting for Eve to finish.
"Are you a fish? A stingray by any chance?" Eve scratches her head.
"Nope. I'm a Gaste, not some aquatic creature."
"Gaste?" Eve replies.
"Gaste as in Grastenopodo—The dark snails."
The lady stood fiercely at the wind's current, immune to the doubt and false figure, as she made herself an enforcer of this land. The law she upholds in this town comes from the idealization of enlightenment and peace, unlike the outside world, given how vigilant she is in the librarian's life.
"Dark snail, that doesn't sound like a common race here."
"Grastenopodo aren't from here. We're dark-dweller, not a light one."
"There was a dark world here?"
"It's way far below than you think, human."
The librarian sees an opportunity to ally with the lady searching for the child. Not far from her path, the lady had already stayed over the lowlands market. She was ready to help her, but a conflict came to her interest as if she suddenly felt a distrust when she heard the enforcer's purpose.
"By any chance, why are you here, enforcer? Is there an incident happening here?" The lady pauses after taking one of the Lypple.
"I was...uhm...searching for my friend who was gone..." Eve states nervously.
"Ehm?"
"You see, I was searching for someone who happened to disappear from the town, and some tracks led me here. It's a client of mine who needs to go..."
"Disappeared people? I've never heard of that happen here before. What do they look like?"
"They wear funny clothes and they like to laugh. A young boy if specific..."
"Hmm, are you sure he was here? I haven't heard anyone entering or leaving this town."
"Really? You must have heard it wrong, then. There was apparently a boy who ended up here because..."
It was a difficult task to earn her trust. The librarian couldn't risk telling her she was looking for a missing child because it would be embarrassing if they knew she was the one who sent him here. Worse, they might laugh at her for being 'bold yet stubborn' to unravel the cliffs. She could only assure her that it was not a threat she was looking for.
"The boy tripped and accidentally had an amnesia and forgot her parents, now he decided to be here because obviously no one outside this town wants to ruin this peace and not that someone might make them in trouble?" She speaks hastily.
"Well, then you can count on me for this travel. I've been around for years keeping Austeria lowlands from outside danger." The lady replies.
"The name's Linda. Linda Tuinstra of Grastenopodo."
The enforcer introduces herself with her left arm above her chest and bows before the librarian. Such gestures make the librarian feel honored to do the return for her.
"Eve. Eve Ainsley of Homo Sapiens." Eve waves awkwardly.
"Glad to meet you here, Eve. I see this search seems serious for you to risk it out to this land without your staff." Linda replies.
"Yeah, it's such a bummer that I was too tired to notice. I went into your cave and found a way in by the arch. Not sure why the other town didn't have structure like this."
"Austeria is an isolated town. While we enjoy a little entertainment for our brethren outside, we tend not to leave our homes since the pathway is dangerous to return. Besides, not even a criminal would be here easily..."
"Glad I didn't brought mine, then." Eve bluffs.
"Come, the market wants peace." Linda dragged Eve by the finger.
The lady was kind. She offers the librarian a piece of bread inside one of her jars with a napkin to keep it warm and fresh. There was a chunk of meat and a drop of water for her within the jar, and the librarian wasted no time devouring these evening appetizers.
She grabs the largest chunk of meat inside one of the jars given by the enforcer, one that she has never felt relieved to eat since her departure. It tasted wonderful and salty, like how it was supposed to be at home, and she had never thought of taking another chunk until it was halfway empty.
"Ugh, I haven't even finished eating those Lypples yet."
"You shouldn't eat them with the Lyte honey. It's not for you to eat..."
"Thank you, I've learned it the hard way. Thanks for the meat, by the way!"
"Y-you're welcome..." Linda glances with confusion.
Her stomach was sufficed with spices and protein, yet her tongue still retained a heavy wound before she could feel those meals. When the librarian finished filling her stomach, she sat with relief for she was satiated, hydrated, and rested like she had been wishing. The lady could not bear to see how satisfied she was, she had to distract herself.
The river near the lowland hill was strong and for once, the librarian could feel an eve she had never felt before. It was alive and filled with lives like no Earth had ever given to her, and there was a glimpse of hope in her journey.
She tried communicating with the lady, but she was busy fishing on her own at the river down a creak. Her face was looking away from the librarian as if she wasn't noticing her from afar, much to the librarian's shock. She was focused on catching more fish to fill in the jar before she could leave for the higher ground.
She grabbed a leaf from a tree, peeled it into a square, and made it into her paper so that her pencil could still write the beauty of this place. There were so many things that she could not fill in one page but worth writing in records. The people of the middle world may peek their eyes at the land of Austeria.
"I need to make a fire." She mumbled. "But how?"
"Wait, can I?" She said as she noticed a stain of honey leaking from her clothes.
She grabs a stick from a tree and takes the hot honey away from her icy sweater before twisting it with another stick. A smoke with a sweet scent came out as a gold fire burst through the stick like a torch. Yet its warmth could melt her sweater if close, and left parts of her slowly dying to the sun.
"I need to bathe. In the same water that drown me once..."
The water is not only cold but harmless, like her world's water. She could dive her fingers and toes into the water to get rid of the dust and refresh herself near a cliff and under a large fall between a bridge above, where there's a shallow ground made of soft pebbles. That is if she dares to count the odds of someone finding her bathing without her icy sweater in defense.
"Phew! I thought it was going to be horrible. It wasn't!" She splashes into the water.
The librarian can hear the silence beautifully and sees the ceiling behind numerous stone bridges, ropes, and platforms gazing at her with its yellow pupil. It was too real for the librarian, it could have been a dream for her.
"The beauty! The beauty! Oh, the beauty!"
The lady is still a mystery for the librarian. Her strong-willed spirit and fake facade are not a proper mix for a starling, yet it was only a glimpse of what she could have thought about her. Something that still lingers in her thoughts about the librarian is how persistent she was at keeping her duty so that she could differ from her people not by looks but by act.
"You're not swimming, Linda?" Eve bathed.
"No, thanks! I'm fine with myself."
"Oh, okay! Just don't look from here, okay?"
"Okay!"
She didn't seem to enjoy swimming. The lady would sit over there waiting for a fish to come over her bait then jumping into the free water like the librarian. But she kept her eyes on her while holding the fishing rod tightly in her hand as if she was waiting for blood to come.
"Child, huh? What an odd person we are looking for, human."
"But I'm the officer here, and he won't leave this town by any means. Quite bold of you to come here for someone insignificant as a child."
"But if you insist, human. I could help you find him right before his demise..." Linda stands with her fishing rod sharpened by the top.
"It would be awful if someone were to die alone here."