I hesitated. “Some say a great dragon sleeps below, and that our earthquakes and volcanoes are a result of its tossing and turning in slumber.”

“Mmm.” Crankshaft nodded. “The truth may be closer than you imagine. I don’t know about dragons, but there’s something of great power beneath us. Something that generates such strong magic that even the ambient fields are supernaturally charged, the closer you get.”

“And you’re making use of that magic? How?”

“You’ll see,” he said.

The Hippocampus tilted downwards, and we began to descend...