When they reached the entrance they could see the enormous roots that stretched for several meters before entering the earth. Hegani descended from his mount and then helped Darthañan and Frigglene down. Immediately he grabbed the basket that was hanging on his chest and carefully took out the two little ones who were asleep.
"Thank you very much Mr. Hegani" said Darthañan.
"Thank you" Frigglene said receiving the two babies.
"There is nothing to be grateful for…" the ent answered them, turning his back on them and leading his mount towards the internal part of the first level of Vorpiax. In the center of it, dozens of Sauropodxylon could be seen walking and eating plants as if they were free.
At that moment Fusca and Albella approached them.
"Follow me, my father is dismissing the group of flora that accompanied us to deliver the offerings" Fusca said with a smile.
"We can wait him" said Darthañan out of courtesy.
“Most of those who traveled with us belong to the children of Bachué, they are a fairly conservative religious group. The farewell will take a long time so it is better to follow us. We must visit a doctor as soon as possible” explained Albella.
Frigglene, seeing that her husband was going to insist on waiting, handed him Elizabeth.
“I agree; we have to check that the children are healthy”
"Very well, this way please" Fusca replied.
The two young lepiots guided them to a station that was made of giant petals. In this place they could take the cable car to the higher levels of the city. The station was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people, and despite the crowds and apparent chaos, everything was in an unclear order. All types of humanoid flora gathered in this city so Darthañan and Frigglene were not surprised to find no other species at the station.
When they boarded the floral booth Fusca and Albella sat opposite to the guests. Frigglene was making funny faces at Theodor who had just woken up while Darthañan watched with fascination out the window.
Next to the cable cars were vines that constantly helped to carry all kinds of objects, mostly raw materials from the island; as well as giant staircases where the ents and the largest creatures climbed to the next levels. Upon reaching the second level they were greeted by a vibrant metropolis full of life, and it seemed more like a garden than a city.
What surprised Darthañan was that he could see that there were several crystal creatures with quite peculiar bodies. Its size was similar to the bear they had faced, its pelvis was small and supported by four thin legs, its torso was proportionally much larger and it leaned on two legs much bigger and sturdier than the other four. Its neck lengthened a few centimeters to an oval head. Two thin, slender hands with four fingers each protruded from the neck. There were six eyes on its face, three on each side, and from his nose to the back of his head stretched a beautiful glass ornament. These creatures looked both agile, for their anatomy, and strong, for their crystalline composition.
“What's the name of those animals?” Darthañan asked quite interested, signaling the strange creature.
Fusca started laughing, so his sister Albella answered for him.
“They are not animals; they are intelligent beings like us. Their breed is called Krisyll and they are part of the two native non-floral breeds of Lhimkio”
“¡Hehe!” Darthañan laughed in embarrassment.
This type of errors happened frequently in the empire because the great amount of species considered people with rights was such that it was very difficult for everyone to know them completely.
“Mommy”
“¡Oh! Theodor also learned to speak” Frigglene said excitedly.
Darthañan tried to take the little one from his wife to see if he could also say daddy, but he received a look from his wife that left him paralyzed. At that moment the cable car started to go up to the third level. Like the last time, you could also see the vines and stairs on the sides of the cable car.
"When we get to the third level, we have to catch a train to go to the central tree" Fusca said.
“Can't we keep going up on the cable car?” Darthañan asked, still with a pale face.
“This tree only has four levels. By design none of the rings have connections on their last levels. And as we are going to the castle we have to proceed to the central tree to be able to go up to the seventh level”
Darthañan's jaw dropped, each ring, on each level, seemed like a separate city. How many people lived in Vorpiax? this city was so much more amazing than he had imagined.
When they reached the third level, the doors of the cable car opened and Fusca guided them to where the train they would take to reach the central tree was located. Cable cars, vines and stairs allowed traffic between levels, while trains, vehicles and mounts were allowed transit inside the levels. To move up, vehicles and mounts should be able to climb the ladders or else they should be loaded by vines.
When they boarded the train Elizabeth woke up and saw her brother laughing in front of his mother.
"Tod" said the girl, not noticing how surprised her father was.
"Eli" replied the boy, turning his head.
The two little ones smiled at each other and tried to get closer, but their parents stopped them.
"Right now we can't play, we have to sit and behave" said Frigglene looking at them with love.
Elizabeth nodded and greeted her dad.
“¡Daddy!”
Darthañan almost passed out with his daughter's cuteness.
Theodor, on the other hand, began to fidget, moving his arms and legs to try to get away from his mother. Seeing that he did not achieve what he intended, he began to cry and make a fuss that neither his parents nor the two young lepiots expected.
Frigglene became alarmed, but regained her senses long before her husband, and began to admonish Theodor. It pained her to do so, but she knew very well that her children's education depended on her and Darthañan. Thinking of that gave her a headache, her husband was sure to spoil their children. Now the fact that her children grew up well and were well educated depended on her.
Getting off the train in the central tree, they were greeted by what could very well be an independent city anywhere else. They went to a new cable car and began to climb from the third level to the seventh.
Because they were now in the private cabin, Darthañan and Frigglene released their children in the middle so they could play.
“Tod”
“Eli”
The two said giving each other a hug. The cable car moved just then making them fall. Elizabeth fell on her back and from the scare she started crying, she closed her fist and hit her brother hard on the face. And before his shocked parents reacted Theodor returned it with his own fist. It was a crying fest now.
The following minutes Frigglene scolded the two little ones by lifting them up again and pulling them apart, while Darthañan could barely close his mouth.
Reaching the seventh level took approximately 5 minutes. And what received them was a huge practically empty platform, on this last level there were only several gardens, and a large wooden castle that had a design so natural, that at first glance the castle was blurred among the last stems of the Lignum Vitae where they were.
Fusca and Albella guided them through the tourists who were admiring the amazing view offered by the height of the tree, until they reached the perimeter protected by a wall of only five meters, made of a peculiar carnivorous plant called Guahaioque, unique to Lhimkio, with the appearance of a creeper made of logs.
Several lepiots guards guarded the wall to warn all people to keep their distance. They found themselves, not watching that anyone entered but protecting the unwary from the dangerous plant that guarded the baron's castle.
"Follow me carefully, before my father talks to this plant, never approach it alone" Fusca warned.
“Are we going to be locked in the castle?” Frigglene asked with a bit of hostility in her voice as she began to feel insecure about Fusca's comment.
"No, nothing like that. When my father gives permission, you will be able to enter and leave the castle in complete tranquility. We just want to avoid an accident while my father is busy” Albella said seeking to calm Frigglene.
"Only when we have authorization" Frigglene repeated, recording those words on her mind.
Due to the situation they were in, she had to take into account the worst possible case in order to guarantee the safety of her family. Even these people who were helping them could become hostile at some point, and until she and Darthañan were in optimal condition, Frigglene would not risk anything.
When they walked to the wall of Guahaioque, the guards bowed and greeted the two young lepiots, the wall opened in two and a beautiful door gave way to the gardens that connected to the castle.
Walking through the gardens full of medical plants with beautiful and exotic appearances, they reached doors that opened on their own to receive them. Several guards and servants greeted the newcomers with a courtesy bow and continued their tasks.
Fusca and Albella explained to their servants about the new guests and continued to take Darthañan and Frigglene to the medical villa.
