The plaza was surrounded by massive buildings that reached up into the sky. Each was covered with plant life, some with green vines, others with flowering plants. Some had terraces that jutted out at odd angles with trees growing out of them while on others the plants cascaded down their sides like a waterfall. 

Benches, or better said chairs, were scattered on the plaza seemingly at random, though they were different than anything Kepa had seen before. All were built with a back that was taller than a typical person, shaped almost like an egg shell. And they seemed to float above the stone. Kepa watched as a few people pushed some of the chairs around, rearranging them so that they faced one another in a circle before climbing in and engaging in conversation.

“Over there,” said Kepa pointing to two isolated chairs. “Let’s sit for a minute.”

They walked across the plaza and turned the two floating chairs so that they were facing one another. As Kepa climbed into his, it automatically lowered to make sitting easier, and then rose again once he was nestled inside. He could feel warmth radiating from the surface, which also vibrated ever so slightly. He was about to surrender himself to sleep when Maite broke his meditation.

“Orain zer?” asked Maite, nestled into her own egg. “What now?”

Kepa shrugged, his eyes heavy from all of the excitement. “I guess we need to find Marina?”

Maite held up the dodecahedron that Marina had given her. “I don’t know what to do with this.”

“You know, it’s funny,” said Kepa. “When we time jump, we automatically get these identities and backstories to help us fit in, but we don’t get that much knowledge about the mundane things, like how things like that work.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

Maite nodded. “Neither do I. It’s almost like someone or something is making all of this up on the fly.”

There was an awkward pause as Maite and Kepa looked at each other.

Maite shook her head, as if to clear it. She held up the dodecahedron again, twirling it between her fingers, the points digging slightly into her fingertips. “I’ve tried squeezing it, rubbing the sides, looking for a seam, but I can’t find anything. It almost seems like a solid piece of metal.”

“Maybe we have to put it in something? You know, to activate it?”

Maite shrugged. “Maybe. But what?”

“Did you see those people disappearing in those flying eggs?” asked Kepa. “Maybe it tells those eggs where to go?”

Maite looked over at the edge of the plaza where a transparent egg had materialized after another had taken off. She shuddered. “Those things give me the creeps. Hurtling through the air in something that looks fragile as hell doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

“They must be safe,” said Kepa. “Or people wouldn’t use them.”

“True, but I can’t even begin to understand how they might work. And that creeps me out.”

“What’s the saying? ‘Advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic?’ And, to be fair, we’ve seen real magic too.”

Maite sighed. “I guess. Just so much I don’t understand.”

Kepa laughed. “That’s how I feel most of the time.”

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