The moment Tristan passed through the short connecting hallway into the airship proper, a thick, cloying sensation enveloped his skin. He froze and saw Eila shuddering by his side.

Then, it abruptly passed.

“I hate that feeling,” she muttered, shaking her head.

“What was that?” he asked.

She eyed him. “The lockdown? It’s common in government buildings, though I never experienced one in an airship before. It probably runs throughout the whole thing. You can’t use cards while you're here, unless you have a special permission key or you enter one of the lockdown-free zones. [Binders] are fine, though.”

To test, Tristan tried summoning his deck. Nothing came. The effect sounded familiar to the Grandmaster Order card, [Enforce: Lockdown].

He shrugged. Not like he needed his deck while he was thousands of feet in the air.

That settled, he was now free to gawk.

The lobby stretched out in front of him was a vast, opulent space. Soft, beige carpet blanketed the floors, and the interior walls and ceiling were of a rich, warm wood. A massive mural was on the ceiling depicting a beautiful, white-haired woman with her [Main Deck] and [Burst Deck] around her, arms spread wide. The Transcendent patron?

Grumbling at the sight of her, he turned his focus downwards. Various seating areas had been set up throughout the space, people already sitting and chatting as servers in white-and-blue uniforms walked around with trays, offering drinks and finger foods.

At the back were four elevated landings, each with their own reception areas below, and two curved staircases led up to each landing. On top of the landings were a large, floating white-and-gray crystal atop a dais. Tristan watched as an elderly couple placed their hand on it and suddenly disappeared in a flash of light.

A [Teleport Stone]? he thought. Those existed in the game, as well; they allowed for fast-travel between locations.

Tristan and Eila made their way to the reception directly in front of them.

“Would you two care for a refreshment?” a soft-voiced woman offered, coming up to him and Eila and proffering a tray of [Item Cards] arranged in neat rows, divided by drink type. He scanned the options and plucked a card that read, Argavo juice. Eila shook her head.

“All emptied drinks can be converted back into their cards and returned in the appropriate disposal slots,” the server said, pointing to some slits in the walls around the space. “The slots are labeled for which type of item they take. If you have any questions, just ask an employee.”

“Great, thanks,” Tristan said, converting the card as the woman walked away. A thin flute of bubbling orange liquid appeared. He took a sip: it tasted like a carbonated mix of mango and orange juice. Not bad. He took another sip.

They continued on to the reception area and waited for their turn. He cast excited eyes around; he had those eager jitters that he always had whenever he went on vacation, the feeling that anything and everything was possible.

“Sorry,” he heard Eila murmur behind him. He turned around, and the taller girl had a sad smile pasted on her face.

“Why?” he asked, confused.

“I’m being a bummer.”

He shook his head vehemently. “No. Please, don’t apologize. I understand what you’re going through. Take your time.”

She nodded, a grateful look in her eyes.

The line passed, and they walked up to the smiling receptionist standing behind the desk. “May I have your tickets and [Status Page Cards], please?”

Tristan gave his, sipping his drink, and Eila handed hers over after.

“Excellent. Welcome aboard the Serenity, Mr. Ford, Ms. Yarron.” He handed them each a set of three [Item Cards]. “Here is a map of the airship, a [Topaz Access Key], and a room key. The [Topaz Access Key] grants you access to the rooms and [Teleport Stones] located on the first, second, fifth, sixth, and seventh floors. Card use is disabled on the airship except for designated zones as marked on the map."

“Thank you,” Eila said. They put their new items away in their [Binders], and he followed her as she led them to the landing behind the area.

As they waited their turn to use the Stone, Tristan converted the [Topaz Access Key], curious about it. It appeared in his hand as a palm-sized metallic disc inset with a glimmering green gem. Lines of gray and white energy ran throughout the disc, the colors of Order and Air energy.

“How do they make these things?” Tristan asked Eila, who seemed lost in thought.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

She looked over her shoulder at him and shrugged. “No clue. Elemental engineering is a deep, complicated field, and I don't understand a lick of it.”

He mulled over that as their turn came up. Another employee stood up here beside the Stone, a fellow shorter man in a bellhop-looking cap with the Serenity’s

card logo on it. He held something curious in his hand up to his ear; it was another metallic disc, thicker than the Access Key, with more elemental lines running through it.

Eila whistled, and he turned to look at her. She nodded to the employee, who seemed to be listening intently to the disc.

“That’s how you know this is a fancy place,” she whispered to him as they stepped onto the landing. “Even the normal employees have shortcomms.”

The hell is that? Tristan wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut, just nodding along sagely.

They stepped up to the Stone, and the employee gestured for them to wait. Tristan peered closer at the communicator, then blinked when a voice came out of the machine.

“All clear,” the distant, scratchy voice said.

Holy shit, they have magical walkie-talkies, Tristan thought as the employee nodded at them to move forward.

He tried to hold his amazement back and closely observed Eila, who confidently walked up to the Stone, fiddled with her key, pressed it against the Stone and disappeared.

Here goes nothing. He followed in her steps, pressing the disc against the Stone.

Nothing happened. He pressed the key again. Nothing.

“Sir,” the employee said politely. “Which floor are you trying to go to?”

“The Topaz floor,” Tristan answered, ears reddening. He could feel the people behind him staring at him.

“Ah, I see the issue. You did not select the correct setting,” the employee said. He pointed to the top of the disc, where a small black switch was embedded along a groove. “Push the switch until the key reads your floor.”

Tristan did so. He pushed the switch, and a plate on the disc’s surface twisted to the side, revealing the words “Topaz floor.” He pressed the key against the Stone now, trying to ignore the amused murmurs from the people waiting in line.

Light flashed. In a blink, he teleported, the sensation unsettling and slightly nauseating.

He turned around. He was now in the middle of a wide intersection, another [Teleport Stone] floating behind him, with four corridors stretching out on either side. The flooring here was a warm, yellowish-brown, and doors lined the painted walls.

Eila stood in the corridor to his left, eyebrows raised in confused amusement.

“If you would clear the zone, please, sir,” an employee said beside the Stone, holding another one of those communicators.

Tristan left hastily, and he heard the employee say, “All clear.”

“Took you a bit, huh?” Eila teased as they went down the hall. Plates on the doors showed the cabin number: 1, 2, 3… It seemed like the pricier and bigger rooms were closer to the [Teleport Stone] for easier access.

“Damn thing was malfunctioning,” Tristan muttered, embarrassed. She snorted but didn’t press the issue.

They arrived at their cabin after a few minutes. Tristan converted his now-finished drink back into a card and placed it into a nearby slot on the wall labeled “Beverages.” Eila converted her room key, which thankfully was just a regular key, and unlocked the door. He’d had enough of these fancy, magical keys for now.

Their cabin was small and quaint. Two single beds were separated with a nightstand on either side, along with a desk and closet. Atop the desk was a clock and some [Item Cards]: some complimentary pajamas with the Serenity’s logo on it. A tight but clean bathroom with a shower was beside the entrance. Unfortunately, with the cheap cabin they paid for, there was no window looking outside.

“Attention all passengers and crew,” came a voice from the ceiling. Tristan looked up and saw a larger metallic disc shaped object embedded into the roof. “We will be departing Solossi in one hour. I repeat, we will be departing Solossi in one hour. Thank you for your patience.”

Eila threw herself onto the bed belly first, sighing in satisfaction. “This is much nicer than the airship I took to Advance last time,” she murmured, smushing her face against the pillow.

“Yeah,” Tristan breathed, looking out the porthole. “This is really something.”

Eila spun around and flopped on her back. She seemed to have gotten over her earlier mood or better at pretending. “Let’s go explore,” she said to the ceiling.

“Agreed. Let me take a look at this map first.” Tristan pulled the card from his [Binder] and converted it, creating a large, foldable map. He heard Eila snake out of her bed and come peer over his shoulder. He laid it out on the table so could see too.

It looked like the Serenity was divided into eight floors. The first floor was named “Lobby,” and it was split into two large halves: the reception and waiting area, which they’d just exited, and a shopping zone beside.

The second, third, and fourth floors were all passenger floors: Topaz, Aquamarine, and Ruby in that order. Some of the rooms on the Ruby floor had a symbol of a card on them, and a quick glance at the index on the side revealed that these cabins had the lockdown effect disabled. Interesting.

The fifth floor was labeled “General Entertainment.” This floor was divided into several chunks, including a library, children’s playroom, spa, swimming pool, auditorium, sporting facilities, and an adults-only bar and casino. There was also the entrance to the balcony he saw earlier, dubbed “Aerial.”

The sixth floor was labeled “Cardzone” and was the most intriguing to Tristan. A large portion of the floor was dedicated to a Dueling arena, and there were also smaller rooms for daily workshops and lessons, as well as an emporium on the opposite end of the floor to the arena.

The seventh floor was labeled “Dining” and was split in half like the first floor, but this time an uneven split between a dining room, which took up the largest portion, and a lounge.

The eighth floor simply said “Employee,” and that plus the rest of the airship above was grayed out.

“Start at General Entertainment and work our way up?” Tristan asked, closing the map.

Eila nodded eagerly.