"How does this dimension travel thing really work?" I found myself asking Ibryn as we leaned forward against the railing, huddling in my jacket against the icy wind. Just as he did in Azodu, Ibryn appeared unbothered by the temperature, wearing his casual black and white clothes, his yellow jacket under his arm.

"Well, this wasn't dimensional travel. Dimensional travel is when you use your ring, or and other method of portal travelling, to move around within in a dimension. Like..." He paused, seemingly trying to remember something. "Ah! You were there when we travelled within Ecethis. From one location within that dimension to the other. Interdimensional travel is this." He spoke, lifting a hand up slightly to catch the breeze as we gradually descended. "Moving from one dimension to the other. The details of it are complicated, but I can explain it to you some time."

"Mm" I verbally nodded in acknowledgement.

"I see you're taking on my style." He commented, his tone playfully sly.

I flashed him a smirk, "Maybe you're having a subconscious influence on me. Or maybe you're just seeing what you want to see."

We continued our gentle banter, waiting for the Sea Warden to fly low enough for us to see anything but clouds and mountain peaks.

Something about the way he spoke reminded me of a - not my- big brother, or maybe a young teacher. I wasn't sure.

We eventually well into silence as the clouds began to pass over us, the land visible far below. It looked like a planet that had frozen over. Every surface as far as I could see was covered in snow. Mountains were everywhere, only small matches of trees visible in the distance. If I looked far, I could see the ocean water lapping slowly, the shore frozen. It was the polar opposite of Azodu.

After the initial awe, what took me by surprise, however, was train that I could see travelling along its tracks. Even from this high up, I could see the steam that surrounded its wheels as it travelled along the snow, then continued right over the ocean. I was taken aback, before realising that the tracks were laid out along the parts of the ocean that were covered in thick ice.

I mentally smiled at the concept. It was fascinating. I hadn't seen any kind of technology or large inventions while in Azodu. I only got to learn about their swords-turn-to-whips, strange sour drinks and other minor things I'd seen at Valley Marketplace. My face scrunched slightly at the memory of the sour-sweet orange drink that I no longer remembered what it was called. Su- something the golden-haired man had called it.

A tap echoed through the railing of the ship that I recognised as the captain summoning us all. I turned to see her descending the stairs from the quarterdeck to the main deck where she'd been steering the ship.

Moments later everyone was gathering, except Lysandra and Lysandros who continued to accelerate the ship forward and down.

"Okay, so all the information we have," the captain started, "Is that the cave we are looking for is likely on Laestrithan. Axe and I have come up with some places and people to investigate. But remember, the faster and more discrete we are, the less likely we are to run into trouble."

Everyone nodded and grumbled acknowledgement at the usual warning. "We are going to split into three groups to ensure that speed and discreetness. One group will remain with the ship."

My initial thought was that, just like on Azodu, I didn't want to be left behind, missing the opportunity to experience this new world. But then I remembered what Noe said, about her having a 'mission' for us. I had the freedom to decline the bargain we'd struck, but I chose not to.

"Lennon, Reneta; you will guard the ship with Lysandra and Lysandros Tell them to be ready to take off if immediately if trouble follows us when we return." The two nodded and went to pass the message.

"Ester, Noe, Kota, you are with Axe. You will travel to Grendfrost in search of the map maker Themric Korsa. Axe will fill you in on the details of that mission." I found myself glancing over at Noe, who gave a slow and telling nod. The mission was still on.

"The rest of you; Ibryn, Leitus, Talaos and Dune, will come with me to investigate the Mining Archives in Thirlin." She finished.

Dune seemed to huff at this, but Talaos pet his head with his flesh arm to comfort whatever it was that caused him disappointment.

As everyone split up, preparing to land, I saw Talaos approach the captain. A few whispered words later, and nodded, petting the more pleased Dune.

~

Cold. Absolute biting cold. I tried not to cave in on myself every time a gust of wind hit me. My shoes crunched through the thick snow, leaving behind a trail of footprints that led to grey stone beneath.

"We meet back here as soon as our quests are complete. But no longer than three days. Sunset on the third, everyone must be here at the ship." Captain Talaedra said, the effort she was using to restrain her chattering teeth did not go unnoticed. Despite these efforts, she still hunched over for a moment, containing her body heat, before seeming to realise and straightening her posture.

Everyone grumbled in agreement, clearly preferring the heat over the cold. I could agree. I'd rather melt, fry or suffocate back in Azodu over freezing to death here. Perhaps because I was accustomed to warmer weather.

The rest of the captain's last-minute tips and warnings went unheard to me, the sound of my own chattering teeth too loud in my ears.

Suddenly, the cold relented ever so slightly, a warmth encompassing my body. I looked up, trying to restrain my chattering teeth, to see Ibryn, having placed his large yellow jacket over me.

"It matches your look." He said, casually. Not a goosebump, not a shiver. I flashed him a smile, not being able to manage more than that. I was going to be sick.

~

It didn't take us long to arrive at the train station. Written along its length in big letters, coated in snow and ice, was the word 'Tsygar' which Axe explained was the name of the country we had landed on. Below the word were letters that I didn't recognise, which I guessed was the same name in Laestrithan letters.

We had parted ways with the captain's group not long ago. They had said they were headed to a separate station, one that lead to the capital country of Thirlin.

At this station, Axe approached a pole that held a large, frosted gold bell at the top, with a long bell clapper that hung a few feet off the ground. He pulled the clapper back and forth a few times before the thin layer of ice that clearly slowed its movements broke, allowing the bell to ring. The sound was crisp and loud, seeming to echo against the mountains nearby.

"We can wait here for train." Axe grunted, sitting on a raised stretch of stone that acted as a few inches' high barrier between us and the train tracks. He seemed unbothered by the cold, his silver hair seeming to blend into the white and grey background of snow and stone.

I glanced at the rest of the group. Noe had already begun walking off somewhere. Talaos - who had apparently joined our group - and Ester had begun speaking about something together with Axe, all three seemingly unfazed by the cold. Even the dog ran about like catching the scarce snowflakes that began to fall like they were butterflies on a spring day. I tried to listen to what the others were saying, to take my mind off the cold, but I couldn't hear them. All I could hear was the blood pumping through me, all I could think about was controlling my breathing. Even that was hard in this cold, like the icy air was stealing our breath away. My breath away, apparently.

Walking. Yes, I should walk. My body screamed at me to stop as I forced my stiff muscles to carry me away from the group. I began walking back and forth, in circles, and eventually I wasn't even sure what. I couldn't focus, couldn't think. I decided with certainty, I was going to die in this place.

~

Life was a blur for some time after that, like snow had gotten into my brain. I was distantly aware of my surroundings, but not enough for it to matter; like I had been drugged on the cold.

A loud sound came from next to me.

A distant orange light.

Someone approached me, their hand guiding me somewhere.

Light, bright orange light. And warmth, so much warmth.

I felt like I was thawing.

The hand continued to guide me.

I sat somewhere.

Then my exhaustion took over.

~

I opened my eyes, my mind blank. The memories of the cold slowly came back to me in dull fragments. I was now sitting in a train. I was lit with bright glowing lights that seemed to create warmth under my skin. The cold was still present, but just bearable. Maybe it wasn't even in the minuses anymore.

The train shook back and forth, but compared to the trains I rode back home, this one was gliding. The sound of its movement across icy rails and through snow, and the sound of the train and its contents rattling, was like a lullaby. The white noise, the gentle shaking, it was enough to put me right back to sleep.

The inside of the train contained booth lounges, and separately small round tables and chairs, which were all attached to the floor. There didn't appear to be kind of order to them, with booth lounges and tables lining its length at random.

It was dark outside the windows. The scene of tall mountains, white snow and the occasional cluster of trees flew past in a dark blur, only illuminated by the orange glow of the train.

In the seat across from me in the same booth, Talaos sat, his arms crossed over each other, his head resting back in sleep. His metal arm glimmered as the warmth in the train caused water drops to appear on its frosted surface. It wasn't quite melting - no, it was too cold for that, even in here - perhaps the thin layer of ice was sweating slightly.

Next to him on the lounge, Dune lay, his chin rested on his paws, snoring quietly. The metal that covered his body was in a similar state.

I wondered about the two for a moment. What the story was behind their robotic limbs. My thoughts didn't go far however, as I decided to get my blood moving. Although much warmer in the train, it was far too cold for my comfort.

I stood up, hugging Ibryn's yellow jacket tighter around me as I walked along the trains isle. I spotted Axe sleeping on one of the booth lounges, and as I kept walking, I saw Ester awake on one of the lounges. She watched the scenery outside the window as it passed by.

"Wanna see something?" She whispered, without taking her eyes off the window. Wordlessly, I sat on the lounge across from her in the same booth and shuffled my way toward the window.

I looked out the window, seeing nothing special. The same white blur flying past, with the occasional tree. "What is it?" I eventually whispered back.

"Wait for it." She responded. A moment later, the all-white scenery turned a grey blue colour. The mountains and trees suddenly disappeared, giving way to an expanse of gently rolling waves.

I sucked in a breath in surprise and a brief moment of anxiety. I remembered then, the way I'd seen the train gliding across the ice that seemed to spread along the ocean like clear, grey island. "Whoa..." I finally said, breathlessly. In the distance I could see land, like islands or countries in the far distance. Below, I watched the train move effortlessly along the ice, a mist of snow and ice particles flying up around its wheels.

And everywhere in between was uninterrupted ocean, moving gently in the night breeze. I shivered, holding the two jackets that clung to me even tighter.

We silently watched the view as it passed by, mesmerised. Eventually, when the cold seemed to bite harder, I glanced over at Ester, still content. She wore her usual outfit - a black and brown leather shirt, her white hair tied up.

"You're not cold?" I said, breathless from it.

Her teal eyes pulled away from the scenery for moment, glancing at my hunched over form, before looking back out the window.

"This is my home dimension. This is the comfortable temperature for me." She said, before adding, "Don't worry so much about the cold. Tsygar is colder than where we're going. Grendfrost is actually quite warm."

I decided not to point out the fact that it had the word 'frost' in its name. "And the others?" I asked, remembering how I seemed to be one of the only ones affected by the cold. I had noticed it in the captain too, which at least made me feel less begrudgingly about the situation.

"Axe is from here too." Ester started, " 'Gathén' we're both from." I nodded, not recognising the name, but deciding it must have been another Laestrithan country.

"And the others? Talaos? Ibryn? Noe?" I prompted.

Ester looked across at me again, her eyebrows slightly raised. "Noe is dealing worse than you. He wouldn't even let me enter the same carriage as him."

My brows furrowed together. I suppose I hadn't seen much of him since our arrival. Silence stretched between us as something stirred uncomfortably within me. Our 'mission' would have to be carried out in this temperature, and clearly, none of us were built for it.

-Interdimensional Pirates
-April Bluebird/@BlueWhiskers1
-20/Nov/2025
-Chapter 24: Cold
-2316 words
-1.43K 👁‍🗨, 350 🌟, 638💭