Kriliah's conflict - story five

With everything going on in their head, Kriliah finds it's not so easy to remember and utilise the skills they discovered at the Vortexes.

Welcome fellow Road Trippers to a tiny dimension of escapism and fancy. We continue our road trip into our fantasy world of maps and stories.

This armchair road trip is like no other. Our uncrewed airborne people carrier (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. As we take off, 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.

Your votes went to Frubble Frontier. You can see where this is on the larger map at the bottom of this letter.

“Frubble Frontier” © Deb.Aura.Art 2023

I’m yelling crazily.

“Stop. Just. Stop. I really wish I was back at Tenich Outpost, bored out of my mind. At least I knew what I was doing there.” My breathing is ragged. “You two are NOT helping. I’m more confused than when we started. Jalisse, you're drunk most of the time, and you,” I point to Crox, “just keep pushing, pushing, pushing.”

I see Crox and Jalisse exchange a worried glance. Crox coaxes, “Distraction makes this harder. What’s distracting you, K?”

I abruptly turn away from them both, pacing the bouncing, tussocky ground of Bubbly Green. I am distracted and torn. I cannot tell the others that I feel like the biggest fraud to be leading this expedition to find the key. I do wish I was back at Tenich. I’m also regretting bringing Crox into my life. And, it turns out that I am so damned useless at remembering and harnessing these mental skills.

Plus, Frubble Frontier makes me feel a hundred times worse. It’s the “perfect” place for me to remember the skills - the whole vibe here is about mental constructs and thought bubbles. The Trekkers and Jalisse are having no trouble tapping into these bubbly energies - turning the ever present bubbles into tangible needs or desires. The Trekkers are permanently snoozing on cosy bubble beds they've thought into being. ‘Isse is on a semi-permanent bender over at Bubble Bends and is only occasionally sober. She's discovered she can think hooch into existence here. 

Why, why, why? Every time I try to harness a mental construct, my concentration drifts into space like one of the bubbles here. I used my skills at the Vortexes without too much effort. As I think this, a widget we collected from Hexton pulses insistently against my leg. I’m beginning to trust these nudges from the widgets. This time it's the tiny white gilded cage that is “speaking to me”, and I know what I need to say to Crox.

“Let’s change tack here. I feel like you’re caging me in, expecting so much, in such a short time. Rather than trying to show me my skills, why don’t you just tell me what they are! If I stop trying so freaking hard, I know it will come to me.”

“But you need to learn to tap into them intentionally, K.”

“Yeah” I mutter. “But if I cannot even access them in the first place, how will I ever do that? Let me at least try to get a feel for their power first, in my own way. Let me out of the damned cage, for the love of Thandi!”

Decide what happens next

Decide where the group go to in the next episode. And if you wish, let me know what you think should happen next, as we move over the half way mark, we should be nearer to finding clues to locating the key.

Have a look at the two options below:

• 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)

Voting is open to all subscribers (both free and paid).

Option One - Angle Sea

• What at the first words that come to mind? Leave a few words in the comments

Option Two - Pentaspheres

• What at the first words that come to mind? Leave a few words in the comments

Vote ➡️

Update your map

Update your free map for this make believe road trip with the location of Frubble Frontier.

---

If you could turn a thought bubble into something real, what would it be?

We’ll be back on Dwerp next Tuesday for the next episode. I can’t wait to see which map you’ll choose!

By sharing this letter and by referring friends you’ll receive special benefits such as complementary paid subscriptions.

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 437 words.

The stories behind the story

Want to explore more into the details of this story? I have a 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.