Crox - story four
What mishaps and adventures do the Company encounter in the Vortexes of Volute as they try to activate one of the widgets? A fantasy fiction story in 527 words
Welcome fellow Road Trippers to our dimension of escapism and fancy as we continue our road trip into our fantasy world of maps and stories.
Our armchair road trip aboard the uncrewed airborne people carrier (UAPC) is one of a kind. The UAPC, affectionately known as Drewp, offers top of the range comfort whilst it silently cruises the pink skies above our fantasy world, giving us front row seats to the unfolding story.
Welcome onboard. Get settled in your preferred seat on Drewp. Relax and let the real world fade away. This is a place where anything can happen and flights of fancy are encouraged! Meet me in the comments to share your experiences of this leg of the trip.
The Vortexes of Volute provide some surprises for Kriliah’s Company. Locate the vortexes on the larger map at the bottom of this letter.
“Kriliah? I’m Crox. I’m here to help you remember.”
“Huh, where did you come from?”
“The widget, dear one, the widget. Tell me, how did I get here?”
—-
Kriliah thinks back. The Company had turned up, en masse, on a promontory.
“Trekker II1 sheepishly admitted to twisting the spiral lid on the violet wooden widget, transporting us here from just outside Hexton. My Chimarii2, Jalisse, worked out that we need to harness the power of a vortex for one of the widgets we collected - your statuette!”
Kriliah pauses to collect their thoughts.
“I’m not sure why I’m telling you this, but I remember slipping into a trance, feeling a stirring of an ancient memory of some unused magical skill in my gut. I saw a 3D map of this archipelago and was ‘told’ there was a sophisticated transport network we could use. And something about the top of a hill.”
Although it was deeply concerning at the time (If one Trekker is lost, they will not find the key), Kriliah laughs and recounts the story of how Trekker IV got sucked into a vortex.
“It started with the typical Trekker voice buzz, about the water being so alluring and calling to them. Trekker IV waded into the turquoise water just a few footsteps from where we had materialised. Whorls of volute-shaped waves pulled IV into a powerful, towering vortex. Jalisse, always alert to danger, yanked IV out of the powerful, swirling water with some difficulty. She is only tiny after all. And she dropped IV on the pebbly beach.”
Kriliah doesn’t share the bit where Jalisse had asked him for hooch3, and how he’d shouted back at her about having work to do. Nor do they share their mounting impatience with the meddlesome Trekkers who take no responsibility for any of their actions. After all, they don’t really know anything about this Crox person.
“Anyway, the thought crossed my mind that we needed to make use of the transport system and head Rightward. Just as the thought appeared, so did a pulsating hydrofoil-type vessel! It deposited us at a central travel hub across the water from where we appeared. From there we took an airborne craft further Rightward, to the base of the small hill where I instinctively knew the vortex would be.”
Crox nods. “Well, you seem to be remembering something, even if you’re not sure what. Go on.”
“Then, a pocket in my coat caught fire and your statuette fell out. I had no idea what to do next! Time passed. The Trekkers sighed collectively, as they do!”
Kriliah can’t help rolling their eyes. Crox grins.
“Eventually, Jalisse got so impatient that she grabbed the statuette from me and shouted at me! There were instruction markings on it which she could decipher. We were to look for a niche and then plug the statuette into it. It didn’t take us long to find it. But nothing happened. We got bored with waiting and carelessly, I think we all fell asleep. I woke up when you touched my shoulder.”
Kriliah takes a deep breath. It feels good to have someone other than Jalisse to talk to.
Decide what happens next
Crox has joined Kriliah’s Company. Decide what happens in the next episode.
Vote in the poll to let me know which map of the two maps you’d like to see in the next story
Look at the two maps below. What at the first words that come to mind?
Leave a few words in the comments
I may choose one of your words for the story (and give you credit for it)
Option One - Crox, Kriliah and Jalisse “remember” together at the Heliotrope Heartlands
Option Two - The Company frolic in Flubble Frontier
Vote ➡️
Update your map
If you’ve downloaded and printed the free map for this make believe road trip, you can update it with the position of the Vortexes of Volute.
We’ll be back on Dwerp next Tuesday for the next episode. I can’t wait to see which map you’ll choose! Head to the comments, please! Your suggestions could determine where the story goes!
What magical skills do you think Kriliah needs to remember?
And why have they been forgotten?
Other stories in this series
Head to the Index Page for all the stories so far. Most of these stories will be micro fiction, so I’ll be attempting to keep them under 500 words if I can. This one is 527 words. Much less than the last episode.
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The stories behind the story
There is an annotated map of this episode in the world building index available to paid subscribers. If you’d like to delve deeper into the stories behind the story, why not upgrade your subscription? I have a 10% off offer valid until the end of October.
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