24. Astral Space

After leaving the manor, the group continues their desert journey by wagon. Rufus insists on bringing the heidels rather than abandoning them. The route will take them to a nearby village, then onward to a river valley and by boat to the coastal city. Farrah vows painful retribution on the informant who betrayed them, while Rufus demands the man live for questioning and Anisa claims him for church justice.

As they approach a dark green mountain, Farrah explains it is famed for green marble shipped through the coastal city of Greenstone. The trail improves around the mountain, where quarry operations mix labor with magic; enchanted rails float heavy slabs.

The village appears around a lake fed by a spectacular waterfall spraying from the mountain itself. Gary and Farrah explain the water emerges from an open astral space with multiple apertures across the desert. Farrah details that the magically saturated water condenses into water quintessence crystals when concentrated, creating a profitable local resource hunted by boats on the lake and along the coast.

They enter the ring-road village set amid lush palms and plastered stone buildings inlaid with green marble. Rufus peels off to stable the extra heidels. Gary stops at an inn to arrange rooms and unhitched teams. Jason, sore from travel, revels in the humidity and decides to explore his first non-hostile settlement.

Farrah and Anisa head out to quietly locate the betrayer before he can flee, confident he never expected their return. Gary warns Jason about money: a gold spirit coin is far too valuable for local purchases, as most trade uses lesser and iron-rank coins. Jason opts to learn the exchange rates by experience and sets off to look around.