Free The Dream Sanctum: The Eternal World by Kay Solo Page A

tree
flatulence. Patronizing old bat.”
    Ella snorted and started to cough, causing
Alastor to quickly pat her on the back. He flashed Kwin an approving thumbs up,
and she finally smiled.
    “All right, let’s get out of here. Alastor,
Ella, take Sky Capital. Make sure it’s intact; we don’t want buildings raining
down on our heads. Lindsay, Kai and I will take Aqua. Ask questions, look for
anything unusual and get as much information as you can. I’m not sure if these
disasters are going to continue, but I’d rather play it safe.”
    The group split, and Alastor and Ella took off
immediately in the direction of the Sanctum’s floating city.
    “Kwin, are you all right?” Lindsay asked
concernedly. When Kwin looked at her with a puzzled expression, Lindsay
continued, “I just know that’s your favorite city, and the library was in there
too.”
    “I hadn’t actually thought of the library,”
Kwin admitted. “But the building the library is in seemed to be mostly
undamaged, so if there were any issues the librarians no doubt took care of
them. Besides, I am not completely without; Aqua has a library I may make use
of as well. I plan to do that once we arrive.”
    At the speeds they were capable of flying, the
journey didn’t take long, and they soon touched down within Aqua Capital’s
walls. A few people waved at Kwin as they landed, but Kwin ignored them as
usual. She led Kai and Kwin to a set of benches next to a nearby fountain, and
the three of them sat down. The sound of the fountain and the general atmosphere
of the city was calming, and Kai felt himself relaxing despite the situation.
    Lindsay looked as though she were about to
speak when Kwin suddenly looked at her.
    “I realize I completely forgot to ask you
before we came here. Does being in this city bother you?”
    Lindsay looked slightly confused, but then
shook her head with a smile.
    “Oh, I’m fine. I think I just need to stay
away from the… exhibit .”
    “Understood. All the same, I apologize for the
oversight. If I ever make a request of you that will result in your discomfort,
please let me know. I would hate to think that–”
    She gasped as the bench she was sitting on
flickered, then disappeared. She landed painfully on the glass ground beneath
them and stood up irritably.
    “This is going to get irritating very quickly,” she hissed.
    “I was thinking about this myself,” Kai spoke
up, and Kwin looked at him interestedly as she took a seat on his bench
instead. “The things that we’re seeing vanish are all Sanctum creations, like
inanimate objects and things like that. But no people have disappeared, so it
doesn’t seem like there’s anything dangerous going on. Not like the… not like
before,” he finished.
    “That’s right,” Lindsay nodded thoughtfully.
“That reminds me, I wanted to ask you, Kwin: are there any people who aren’t
real in here? Are there people who are just as much created by the Sanctum as a
tree or bench?”
    “Yes. Many of the shopkeepers are not real, as
well as the mail services and teleporters. As far as I’m aware, none of them
have vanished or flickered. If any of them did, that would be most
unfortunate,” Kwin answered.
    “If that’s the case, maybe we can start
narrowing down what’s causing the problem,” Kai said.
    “That’s a good thought,” Kwin said
approvingly. “But we need to start somewhere more basic to answer those
questions. Namely, we need to figure out how the Sanctum works so we can figure
out what’s wrong with it. You can’t fix your car before you know how the engine
works, for example. So if–”
    “Ashley!” came a cry from across the small
square. Kwin looked mildly annoyed at the interruption until she seemed to
remember that Ashley was her own name, and looked up with sudden interest. Kai
and Lindsay glanced at each other in surprise. They had never heard someone use
Kwin’s real name in the Sanctum before.
    A dark-skinned girl who looked to be