Alex in Wunderstrande: The Clairvoyance Clock [BOOK ONE]

Chapter XIII: Dirigibourne

Hastily, I finished changing into some extra clothes Lucian had on hand and made my way up to the dining lounge. Lucian and Professor Sheridan conversed in low tones, while Mechanical Man and Clement sifted through the morning's meager array of food items. Visibly missing from the roll call: Jayce.

Imogen beckoned me over to the chair next to hers. "Morning, Alex!"

"Hi," I said drowsily, collapsing into the chair.

"Good morning, lad," said Lucian cheerfully. His smile quickly faded when he caught sight of my somnolent appearance. "Are you all right? Just looking at you makes me want to sleep a thousand years. Seriously, you look like you're about to fall over."

"I'm not going to fall over," I murmured. Although, I had to admit, sitting up straight was proving to be a more difficult task than usual.

"If you say so," Lucian replied. "Say, where's Jayce?"

I shrugged. "Don't know."

"Hmm. Well, the crew and I were just discussing the need to stock up on provisions," Lucian explained as he sipped his tea. "As you can probably guess, money hardly sticks around for very long when you travel for a living. That, and with no real leads on where to find the Clock, we're stuck between the gondola and the open sky. That is, unless you have any new inklings, Alex?"

I shook my head. "None whatsoever."

Lucian shrugged nonchalantly, but Clement appeared agitated by my response.

"No worries in the slightest," Lucian said. "Besides, it'll give us some much needed time to recoup and re-strategize."

"We're planning on stopping in Dirigibourne!" Imogen exclaimed in excitement. "I've been meaning to pay a visit ever since Garry wrote a feature story on their annual Ingenuity Festival this time last year."

"Dirigibourne," I repeated, consulting the map of Crommelin I kept in my memory. "Isn't that a northern trade town?"

"More or less," Mechanical Man chimed in. "It's no Lancaster, but it is a great outpost for travelers, the best in the region."

"It'll be quite crowded now that it's Festival time again," Sheridan added, glancing in my direction. "Just something to keep in mind."

"That's usually better for us," Clement replied. "It's easier to slip in and out of those crowds unnoticed."

"Wait, so, how are we going to get provisions if we're low on money?" I inquired.

Lucian smiled and shared a knowing look with the cyborg. I looked back and forth between the two, trying to follow their increasingly humorous silent exchange.

At that moment, Jayce entered the room and spun a chair around to sit in it backwards. Propping her elbows on top of the back rest, she grabbed the last scone and took a massive bite. "What are we talking about?" she asked with her mouth full.