Chapter 12: A Tour Of The "Ship".

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Gale stared into the distance as he walked down the street, the musty smell of booze and rotten food filling the air. To the side, a small exhaust pipe dripped, greenish water falling into a drain below, and the city buildings about were lit with warm orange lights.

Above, the sky was still that sickly grey, and fog covered the area in a misty haze. Walking about, Gale felt his cold breath against his face as he strolled forth, taking in the city view. At every corner of the place countless cogs and mechanisms creaked and clanged, smoke constantly pumped into the air.

Nearby, a Frog-man and a human sat there, playing with a deck of old cards. Sitting on a pair of barrels they were, covered in dirt and soot. To the side, a lone frog swept the street, whistling and tap-dancing to some jazz music playing from an old radio.

As Gale went by, he watched as a transparent copper-framed cylinder filled with bubbling blue liquid of some sorts was sent up with an intrinsic network of pulleys and levers. A young woman laughed about, speeding down the street on a rusty old bike, her blond hair flapping in the wind.

It was cinematic, to say the least. He had always been a fan of Steampunk, so this was a novel experience. The only thing that Gale didn't understand was why? This whole situation, much like the Piano was confusing. It didn't make sense. Frogs and Humans coexist in a small city, filled with cogs and gears.

At times as he walked, whole buildings would lurch, and the ground would shake as if crashing up and down on something, which did not help stave Gale's curiosity in the slightest.

"Come one, come all, to Finch's Floating Circus!"

At the corner of the street, bright flashing lights filled the area, and Gale could see a yellow-red striped circus tent, with bronze pillars surrounding the thing. Inside, he could hear loud applause, and people filed in and out of the place. A roughly painted sign hanging from the top of the tent read:

"FInch's Floating Circus!"

*ROAR!!!*

So, Gale assumed it was a circus. He did not enter, though it did tempt him. As he left, a loud roar shook the area as within, what the young teen thought to be a lion or tiger.

Passing, his eyes peeked up as a giant hunched form limped past him. It was a giant Toad, with blubbery skin the color of algae, and an eloquent dress shirt, the creature laughed a loud boisterous laugh, propping a small beige beret on its head.

"Wild, man…."

"Sure thing."

"Burton Turse, third-richest toad onboard the Oil Ship."

"Complete drunkard."

To the side, sitting at a rickety old table, a few frogs and humans gossiped, all staring in the giant amphibian's direction.

"Oil…. Ship?" Gale muttered. Was it the name of this city? Strange….

*Skrutch!*

Suddenly, the whole city seemed to shake, and Gale was sent skidding about, crashing into an old street lamp. Turning, he felt the cold black metal against his cheek. Looking up, he watched the fire flicker and sputter, illuminating the cold glass in wavering shadows.

*Splash!*

Looking down he watched as the buildings and towers shook once more, and from the sides, thin layers of water cascaded down in both directions, soaking the bottom of Gale's pants.

"Damnit! I just got these shoes!"

"Pretty big waves…"

"I mean, we are traveling through this region."

Shaking his head, Gale hopped about through the water, his feet splashing about and droplets of water flying into the air. Rounding a corner, he watched as, before his eyes, a clockwork tower bent forwards, a few gears clattering down to the ground.

Passing by a few people, he finally reached the edge of the city and gaped. Behind him, were countless smokestacks, tall and dull, made from stone, they pumped acrid black smoke into the already gloomy atmosphere, with a fire roaring in their furnaces. And to the side, beyond rusted iron handrails, were the vast open ocean. And below, was a faded green hull of sorts.

As waves crashed about, and the city shook, Gale knew one thing was for sure. He was on a giant ship. That contained a whole city. The Oil Ship. That name made somewhat more sense now….

One Hour Later….

Sitting on the edge of a small concrete block, Gale kicked his feet back and forth, watching as titanic cascading waves crashed into the side of the ship, greywater spilling aboard before being washed away through small iron-barred drains.

He watched slowly as a rotting banana peel was washed overboard, swallowed by the ravenous waters of this hellish plain. This was no ordinary ship indeed. Putting aside the literal city that lay upon its surface, the ship was a behemoth.

About as tall as a mountain in the height of the hull alone, and as wide as about eight football fields. Smaller than many cities Gale had been to, but it was a miracle that this place was still afloat. Whoever created this was a prodigious engineer no doubt.

He had casually asked about, and soon found the identity of the Toad King and more information about the "Oil Ship". The Toad King was the mayor of this city, a rich and powerful merchant who had risen atop through many…. Shady means.

He was arrogant and powerful, intelligent and cunning, but most important of all, was his overwhelming toad charisma. Easily able to deal with diplomatic relations, and very good at hosting banquets and parties, this toad was a social animal. The weird thing that Gale found, was that no one really knew his real name….

Not that he really cared. It wouldn't matter to him what name the guy had, as it wasn't that relevant. He was here to steal a "key", wasn't he?

Compared to the last whole Piano thing, this felt more overwhelming... To think he would experience all of this in the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter. The Oil Ship sort of fit the theme, but it was also vastly different in many ways…

Putting that aside, the Toad King lived in "The Grand Burrow". Unlike the Weasleys Burrow, which was a wonky abstract house of wood, this one, was in a literal sense, a burrow. It was a giant mass of dirt, metal scraps, and cogs standing above everything else in the city, with a giant grand entrance and countless guards defending the place.

As much as he wanted to explore the whole city, if he was gone from Hogsmeade for such a long time, things could get complicated… He would have to finish it in the next few hours…. Sitting there, blankly blinking, suddenly, a wet soggy newspaper smacked into his face.

Grunting in disgust, he flicked it aside to the ground. The thing was yellowed and soaked to the bone in water, but Gale could make out the fading ink letters printed across its surface.

{Aserk Continent}

{- covered in a mysterious black fog...}

{Cry of wolves throughout…..}

{Disappearance of The Blacksmith!}

Squinting his eyes, a sense of unease spread over Gale's body, but he shook it off, kicking the paper into the wind, watching as it drifted away hauntingly.

Shrugging, he got down from the block, his calloused hand touching its rough cracked surface. Gale blew aside some of his hair, only for it to be smacked back in his face by the sea breeze.

"Ugh." Walking back through the city, he grumbled about the cold. Right now, he planned to try to get into the "Grand Burrow". It would be sort of annoying honestly as he couldn't just waltz through the front entrance…..

While he was strong, Gale had no idea of the strength of the guards. Especially the Toads and Frogs. If he underestimated them, this could be his death bed. So what he was thinking, was getting in from the top into the midst of the Burrow. The whole thing was a pile of miscellaneous pieces, much like the rest of the city, stuck together.

If that was the case, there were probably some holes or areas wide enough for him to squeeze through. Turning a corner, he arrived in front of a strange contraption of sorts.

Attached to the side of a tall rickety old tower made from wood and copper, the thing had a bronze cable of sorts stuck into the ground, along with a bunch of pulleys and gears connecting it to a wide circular disk that resemble a sewer porthole.

*Clank*

*Clank*

*Clank*

*Clank*

*Clank*

Stepping on it, Gale cranked a lever that stuck from the side of the contraption, and soon, the porthole-like disc rose into the air unsteadily, Gale's sandals gripping to the "elevators" floor hard. If he fell and broke his neck by using this thing, it would be pretty sad…..

Soon, the gadget reached the top with a sorrowful groan, and Gale hopped off onto the uneven roof of a building, scrambling to the side to regain some footing. With that, he felt his face flare with heat as he stood near a burning furnace, which let loose that murky black smoke into the air. Global warming was probably a major problem around these parts. Coughing, Gale looked up and took his real first glimpse at the Grand Burrow.

He'd only seen glimpses of it through the maze of buildings and towers that made up the Oil Ship, but now, Gale could see it all….

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Thanks for reading~ as usual, if you have the time, please tell me of any spelling or grammatical errors. This "arc" should end in the next chapter. Does this work? I mean, it is sort of random, but does it seem consistent? Does it flow well? I hope it doesn't come off as filler.