It was early afternoon, high time for Dabbles to enjoy his walk through Alefpria.

Of course, for the sake of all the plants that needed light and rain, Father Dominus no longer anchored above the city. Indeed, due to the amount of fuel required to resist gravity indefinitely, the living vehicle was not actually hovering at all. Faced with the question of where to park such a colossal edifice of divine willpower, Dabbles had settled on the perfect solution, one with both space and hydrogen available in spades. And, after all, aren't ships meant to stay in harbours?

Dabbles descended down about a hundred metres of rope ladder to his dingy, and happily picked up the oars. "Hello, fellow captain!" he said, waving to the barge that had not long ago been the largest vessel in Alefpria.

The captain looked down miserably at the lump of blankets in the dingy, then up at the mountainous Ark, then down again, raising his palms without a word and looking like a man lost.

"Goodbye, fellow captain!" said Dabbles, paddling away.

The man pulled a gourd of wine from his jacket and took a swig.

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