Falling out of Earth's orbit, the two screamed. Not for fear, but for sheer joy. Tumbling flipping sliding through the upper airs until the got low enough to start breathing again, at least for the human. Iron Elementals do breathe, but its more of a once a day type of thing. Falling further, they crossed out of the stratosphere and into the troposphere. If they had been above Mt. Everest, they would now be on the ground, but the wide Atlantic was below them. Now they could speak.

  "Should we try to move toward the land?"

  "I don't know," the man said. "I think Santa dropped us off there for a reason and we should trust him."

  The iron elemental, now formed into a shape like a dart wing, rippled its skin in a shrug. For it landing in the Atlantic or on land was no bother either way. Shortly thereafter a jet stream, peculiarly strong hit them, sent them tumbling to the west. They rode in it for many miles even as they dropped a mile, and coming out on a fast arc they both saw land ahead. Instead of water, they were going to hit on a coastline.

  "I sense a lot of iron in the land. I like this place."

  "Its Wales, the most mountainous part of England, and the most western part of the main island if you're not counting the island of Eire."

  "Why would Santa send us to Wales?"

  The human shrugged in reply.

  Their speed was dropping down to terminal velocity as the excess speed from the jet stream bled off. No dragons or wyverns were in the sky, and no jumbo jets out of one of London's many airports were either. Getting closer, he saw cars on the road, but they were black and boxy which meant before the Fifties and after the Tens, so they were in a forty year span.

  The ground got greatly closer, and both flopped belly to the wind to bleed off more speed from a hundred seventy on nose dive to one twenty on belly flop approach. Despite his iron elemental friend taking a somewhat wider winged shape, Biggie still fell faster as he was heavier by far. The Hidden Minor knew that Galileo or some guy had proved that a feather and a cannon ball would fall at the same speed except for air resistance, but that learned worthy had not planned on the physics altering magic of the System. Dragons could flap their wings and fly to the Moon, why? Because, that's why.

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  "This is going to sting." The Hidden Miner shouted.

  "Yessssss!" Biggie wailed, and the two of them plowed into the shallow coastal waters just off a rocky beach at a hundred twenty and a hundred thirty miles per hour respectively with Biggie leading the way and making the biggest splash as he burst through the ten feet of water to impact the sandy bottom. The Hidden Miner landed twenty feet from him,. and made his own forty foot tall splash, and went down as well.

  -41 Hit points from impact. You are dazed.

  The Hidden Miner flexed his will.

  You are recovered from being dazed by Force of Concentration Level 21.

  Title gain: Orbital Infantry. You gain +3% damage from all attacks where you drop onto an enemy.

  He activated Sense of Location Level 145. This was a much used skill for his travels around the world and under continental plates. In point of fact, he had it so high that even passively it told him his location to within an inch. Shoving up, he swam to the shore despite being laden with a lot of gear, and got there ahead of the slower iron elemental who was complaining as it strode through the waves of the rust it was accumulating.

  The Hidden Minor could see none, and taking his loc lock and his memory of his loc on the Sleigh, and the sight of Santa flying away, he took out his telescope from his backpack. A few checks, and yep, there Santa was, still flying toward the Moon with a struggling and angry Zirmondo behind him. It was daytime and finding such small objects patently impossible for even modern pre System tlelescopes, but he had Sense of Location up to Ultra Grandmaster so he could manage it.

  He told Biggie the news who cheered up at it, and came ashore.

  "Well, let's find out why Santa wanted us in Wales, Ironfriend." Biggie said, and the Hidden Minor nodded as they walked up across the stony beach to the slender one lane roadway beyond.