<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #008040"><div style="text-align: center;">Tessa</div></span></span></span><br/><br/>Tessa drank the water thankful for the apparently magical nature of it. She wondered how much of the stuff back at the "house" was magical, and then for a moment desperately wished they were there. She was halfway through the water when she offered it to David. To his question about distance she only shrugged. The sun was still relatively high in the sky.<br/><br/>How long had they even been here? "Hopefully we get there before nightfall. I have no desire to try to camp out here." Would they rent a room? Should they consider an inn or an apartment? Ugh, too many decisions and not enough information.<br/><br/>"That's strange," David stopped and pointed at a sign that Tessa had almost missed while thinking.<br/><br/>"Mural City Causeway. Top speed: 20 Silver, Medium Speed: 13 Silver, Abhorrent Speed: 2 Silver. Today is Troll-Day: Trolls ride at half price. Imposters Utilizing Troll shoe wear will be shot. Questions or Comments? Contact Your Local Politics Dealer."<br/><br/>"So how do you suppose we use this? We don't have like, a sled or car or anything." David brought out the bag of money and took a coin out. He stepped onto the track and almost slipped Tessa had a hand out, but he steadied himself before she needed to help him. "We don't have any silver, but we have gold. Do you think this will work?" Tessa was about to respond, but she hadn't quite formulated an idea when David tossed the coin. It fell to the track and then was gone.<br/><br/>"Did you see that?" David pointed at where the coin had been, Tessa was staring at it.<br/><br/>"Yeah I did, what do you think-" She started to respond when two black marble pillars rose from the track. David took one of the tickets that were on a pillar and handed it to her. She was examining it as David spoke, but mostly to himself.  Tessa was partway through the math, of how much a gold coin was to a silver and then David was gone.  There had been a snap and what was left behind was the smell of electricity.<br/><br/>"David." Tessa cried out. Being left alone on a strange planet was not her idea of fun. "Where the ... How even?" She stared at the smooth track and then sensed something she hadn't noticed before. It wasn't magic, not completely. It was odd because she could feel the electricity that thrummed through the system. Sensed it like a someone with their eyes closed could smell bread baking. Then it stopped, it was still there, but not as strong. Tessa smiled and stepped onto the track. She could feel it thinking, testing at her. She leaned forward slightly onto her right foot, and the system came to life again. It felt like she was flying.<br/><br/>David was coming up. She leaned back slightly and felt herself slow down as she neared him, then with a small step back she was standing almost perfectly next to him a huge grin on her face.  "Okay, this is wild. The combination of technology and magic is phenomenal." Tessa turned around and started heading back the way they came, leaned back and stopped. Then was back at David's side with a simple two step.<br/><br/>Now that they knew how the system worked Tessa leaned into the track and let it take her at incredible speeds to the city. She watched as the city grew even more massive in front of them, and it was clear why they had been given some climbing gear. The city was carved into the face of a giant plateau. She slowed down and stepped to the side of the track when they were within shouting range of what appeared to be guard gates.<br/><br/>"I don't think we should sneak past, but what is our story? Farmers from Littleberry who were chased out by the war?" Tessa came up with after remembering what the lava crossing guard creature had said.<br/><br/>Beyond the gate the city, now in clear view was beautiful. There was no other way to describe it. Someone had spent painstaking hours working on the facade, and Tessa could tell the city went deep into the mountain facade. She could feel it like she had with the electric/magic track. The same thing was happening here. There was no way for her to explain what she was seeing, or rather feeling to David, and she didn't feel like having him think she was crazy. The day was already weird enough.<br/><br/>Along the ground, just this side of the city gates, before stairways and ladders, and tunnels led and disappeared into the city there was exactly what Tessa had hoped to find. An open air market. Perfect. They could get a gauge on language and food, and most importantly money exchange practices. She wasn't good enough at math to figure out what gold to silver was, but it had to be big if a gold piece was worth more than 40 silver.<br/><br/>"First the market." She said to David, and without waiting made her way to it. The first thing that was clear was the smell. It was pungent. Obviously here no one had heard of deodorant. Tessa paused for a few minutes watching a small group at a food stand order something, a skewer by the looks of it. She had no idea what type of meat it was though. The exchanged coin was dropped into a till, and Tessa sighed relieved. No change was given back, but the coin that had been handed over had been what could have been a piece of copper.