Out of the setting sun, an object makes its appearance. The sound is not noticed at first, but as it slowly draws closer, more and more people begin looking up.
An apparition has come to call. Someone’s giant colander, supported by dozens of levitating goose eggs, and roaring like a banshee, sidles in over the low hills.
Now that the engines are loud enough to be an annoyance, there is a noticeable change in their tone, as they are throttled back slightly. The indescribable conveyance drifts closer. As it grows nearer, the scale becomes apparent. Again and again, witnesses adjust their concepts of big.
It floats gently above the center of the lake, gently turning to orient North to North. Again the tone of the engines mutes slightly. It settles closer to the low wave-tops.
From the bottom of the rectangular girders which support it, flotation cushions deploy and fill. Gigantic Mae West puffery elevates a metal skirting around the perimeter walls, forming a walkway and loading dock.
The curious structure dips a fearful toe into the water, appearing to test its warmth. Gradually it immerses itself, the jets slowing ever further as it slowly comes to a stop. A new island, complete with its own cloud cover, has appeared in the middle of the lake.
The jets are silenced. In the sudden hush, one hears a whining, as of distant construction equipment. Very gradually, the tremendous hot air balloons are ingested back into the the tops of the metal towers, like a schoolboy working his bubblegum bubble back into his mouth. The process takes at least half an hour, as the hot air is bled off, and the plasticized fabric balloons are pulled back into their hidden compartments. The jet engines are turned and oriented for stowage, and collapse back into their compartments. Finally all the noises stop, and the stunned inhabitants realize that an adventure has arrived in their midst. Several small boats set out to rendezvous with the castle.
The party continues...