With their troubles behind them, Ripley plopped down on the cabin floor and heaved a huge sigh. “We finally escaped.”

“Good job back there, Rip!” Marlowe looked back held a thumb up towards his friend. “I feel like you’re a changed man!”

“It’s thanks to the revolver and Lou,” he said as he lay down and caught a few breaths.

“What were you doing back there, Silt?” Lou asked. “I thought you were busy exploring some ruinson the other side or something.”

“Well, let’s just say I had to deliver some stuff before the Blue Army got in the way,” Silt replied loudly, cat-like gaze focused ahead. The young smith wanted to ask a ton of questions to the new person, but before a word escaped from his lips, Lou began to answer.

“Before you say anything more, yes. We know each other. Met a few times in the battlefield. You could say our working relationship’s a tad too complicated for your ears. Whew, that’s cold!”

While he was explaining, he turned to a metal cabinet that was as tall as a man, and as he opened it, a gust of cool wind enveloped the entire cabin. Ripley could see dew-encrusted bottles line up the cabinet, but Lou simply stood there, not admiring the collection.

“Hey!” the thief looked back and glared at the mercenary. “If you’re gonna sit there and cool yourself off, pick a drink and close the box! You’re letting all the cold out!”

“Isn’t that the whole point of this artifact of yours, little missy?” he rebutted smugly. “To cool stuff? Oh, and you better watch the road. You might bump onto something.” And he picked a few bottles and handed one of them to Ripley.

“That stupid knight. Always taking advantage of my stuff.” Silt grumbled loud enough to be heard.

“Anyway, where was I?” Lou continued. “Oh yeah. Silt here is a mercenary just like me, but she’s mostly a scout that hunts for information. She also hunts artifacts from all over. The crates you see here have artifacts in them, including this very box. That’s probably why she came back to get you, kid.”

“Speaking of boxes, here’s yours back,” Marlowe approached the two and set the wooden box on the floor. Seeing the two were having a sip of the cold drinks, he beamed and requested a taste.

Ripley examined the box for anything suspicious, and sure enough, he saw a huge number of cuts on the lid, where the Bulwark crest was located. He surmised that Silt might have tried to pry out the crest from the box for reasons unknown, and she was unsuccessful.

“I still don’t get it,” he finally said. “Why are all these things happening to me? I get handed a magical box, and a bunch of powerful people start to flock toward me.”

“Don’t let it get to you, Rip,” Marlowe tried to console him. “What’s important is that we’re here, and that the clockwork hammer is still in your possession. Also, we have a mercenary helping us rescue your dad, and now, we have a really cool lady giving us a ride in her Behemoth. There’s so much I want to ask her, but she seemed angry, so I left.”

Ripley looked towards the front of the Behemoth cabin and noticed that there was a closed, metal door in place of the desert horizon.

“It’s my fault,” Lou admitted. “I can’t help but tease the little lady. She’s adorable like that. Oh, lemme tell you this story. One time, we were working together on a mission to some ruins north of here, and we had to steal some manuscripts from this old geezer. Silt had this idea that we should act as civilians who got lost in the woods, and I thought the plan great, except for one thing, so I changed the plan midway into the operation. I told the old man that-”

“That’s enough of your silly stories, knight.”

Silt’s voice came in from above the mercenary, and when Ripley looked for the source, he saw a box with the thief’s face. She had taken off her chainmail robe that covered most of her figure and changed into more traditional clothing, which included a bandana. Though it was only an image, she held an imposing aura that caused the two boys to step back. Lou, on the other hand, casually greeted her.

“Oh, hey, Silt. We were just talking about you. By the way, that’s another artifact of hers that allows you to talk under closed doors.”

“Amazing!” cheered Marlowe, and when he looked around, his eyes shone even more. “She owns a treasure trove!”

“Ahem,” the girl in the box cleared her throat and began with her explanation. “I’m sorry that we got off the wrong foot back there, you two. I’m also sorry about the Bulwark box. I thought you were working for them from the start because the knight was around, and since I thought that box was an important item for the Blue Army, I went ahead and pilfered it.But when I heard a loud bang, I couldn’t just sit idly and let this chance slip by. I believe he mentioned to you two that I’m a collector of artifacts? That’s one of the reasons why I turned back. I thought I had heard the sound of a gun, and it seemed like I was right.”

“I’m sorry, a what?” Lou wiped his ear, thinking he had heard a made-up word.

“A gun,” Ripley began to explain. “That’s another word for my revolver.”

“Ahh, I see you know your weapon well, uhh…”

“Ripley. And this is Marlowe.” The young smith introduced himself and his friend, who waved towards the face, all in a gesture of good will. The face, in turn, returned the gesture back with a smile.

“Oh. Sorry. I actually haven’t introduced myself. I’m Siltrainn Olivario, but you can just call me Silt. It’s shorter that way.”

Although her face seemed to have this constant tinge of anger thanks to her gaze, her smile was actually refreshing to look at.The two had found this exchange of gestures reassuring, and so the tension felt earlier had started to loosen a bit.

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“You have a surname? Ripley has one too! He’s a Nightjar!” Marlowe, still chipper, pointed out.

“What?! A Nightjar? That must mean he’s a son of Earl Nightjar!”

“Wait, how do you know my father’s name?”

“Everyone in the Bulwark Kingdom has at least heard of him.”

“Not me, though.”

“Could you seal your lips just for a few minutes, knight?! I’m trying to explain things to these two here. Things that they should understand!”

Lou shrugged, but went silent as told. He even stood up and distanced himself from the gathering, taking Ripley’s treasured box with him. Only then did Silt continue with her lecture.

“To continue, Earl Nightjar is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, smiths in the history of the Bulwark Kingdom’s rule. He was an expert in weaponry, but he also spearheaded the construction of a few outposts ringing the desert basin. His weapons were sought after even by the Shorin, and they were so advanced in their make that he had to be in the front lines just to do maintenance. He was also a great warrior, mind you.”

“You seem to know a lot about Ripley’s dad, Miss Silt,” said Marlowe.

“Of course! In fact, he taught me how to maintain this Behemoth.”

“Does that mean my father was also a technician?” Ripley asked with a sad look. “But I thought they had slowly died out since Marriot’s rule. Father even told me to stay away from Behemoths since they’re dangerous.”

“And what is a technician, exactly?” asked his friend.

“Simply put,” the girl on the screen said,“they can tame Behemoths. They’re the only ones who know about their inner workings.”

The young smith had recalled a time when he and his father were collecting hunks of metal to be used for the smithing business. The young smith had happened upon a strange mechanism amongst the metal pile, and when the elder Nightjar saw his son fiddle with it, he swatted the object from his hands and tossed it in the furnace.

“That was a Behemoth’s heart, son. It might be out of its body, but it can still wreak havoc when touched by inexperienced hands. Promise me you’ll stay away from those metal demons, and if you see one, report it to me immediately.”

The fact that his father even knew about such a thing was enough to affirm what Silt had just said, and this added to the young smith’s ever-growing cloud of doubt.

“Don’t worry,” the thief reassured him. “This Behemoth doesn’t carry any weapons aboard because it’s the kind designed to transport supplies. By the way, I want to ask you. What were you doing out there?”

“See, that’s the thing,” Marlowe answered in Ripley’s stead. He told her everything that had happened for the past few hours.

“So it’s true, then,” Silt mumbled. “The Blue Army had finally made their move after 24 years of inactivity. That explains the Behemoth pair I saw in the battlefield. Look, I know it must feel hard on you, having all these things happen to you all of a sudden. But with your father missing, this means the tides of battle will change.”

“She’s right, kid,” continued Lou. “Stop moping around. We’re in the verge of a war right now.”

“I know that! It’s just…” Ripley cried out. “I’m confused. I’m so used to living a peaceful life with my father, and right now, you’re saying that war is coming because of him, that he’s an important person in the Blue Army? He’s also important to me! He’s the only family I have! I don’t care about the war! I just want him back!”

“And then what?” asked Silt. “Do you think you can just leave without leaving some impact on the war? You are a son of a Nightjar smith, for crying out loud. You’re already involved yourself in the war, whether you like it or not. Think about it. Why did your father order you to run away with the relic in your hands? What if you hadn’t meet the knight? What would’ve happened if you didn’t catch me with your precious box?”

“Hey! Take it easy, Silt!” said Lou. “You can’t just reproach the kid for what he’s trying to do!”

“I have to, knight. He’s still a kid. He’s not in the right mind, and he clearly has no idea about the war going on. It’s time he faced the reality of the current situation. When all is said and done, he’ll have to take a side and take arms. It doesn’t matter if it’s Bulwark or Shorin. He has what it takes to change history because of what he holds in his hands.”

“You mean the revolver?” Marlowe asked.

“Yes. That weapon has the potential to start a war. No, in fact, it could be said to be an instrument made for the sole purpose of war. It can kill in the blink of an eye and strike fear in the hearts of men. And worse of all, anyone can use it. It’s much more dangerous than a sword or a spell. Of course, it has its share of disadvantages, but all in all, it’s a very dangerous weapon of the past. Civilizations were built upon the destruction wrought by a gun, and the fact that it’s owned by a kid who hasn’t experienced killing someone, well, I shudder at the thought.”

Being put on a pedestal didn’t sit comfortably with the young smith, but with all that had happened in the past few hours, the pressure was starting to get to him.He recalled his vision that morning, about a large-scale war that seemed to stretch on forever. What if he had used his weapon in that dream?

“Don’t listen to her, Ripley,” warned Marlowe. “She’s just trying to scare you into giving her the weapon. Think about what she had done earlier. She not only tried to steal the box from us, she nicked it a few times too. While I do idolize her for her treasure trove, as thieves, we have a mandate never to trust each other’s company.”

“I can hear you, you know,” she said. “And I’m not after his gun. I’m just warning him. You guys are lucky enough to catch a ride with me, but I can’t tolerate someone with a potential to cause havoc just for the sake of his father.”

“I don’t care,” said Ripley. “I have already made up my mind. I will rescue my father, no matter what it takes. And if you will stop us, I will not hesitate to use my revolver on you.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Lou stood up, and silence enveloped the vehicle, save for the groaning sounds of the Behemoth. “We can settle this fight at a later date. The important thing is that I have found out where his dad is. He’s somewhere in the northern rim of the desert basin, and with Silt and her Behemoth, that means he can have that family reunion in a jiffy.”

“Wait, I never said I-” Silt became flustered at Lou’s declaration before getting shot down.

“Too late. You’ve given us the save and a ride, so that’s two counts of assisting us. You’re already part of our merry group, little missy.”

“Don’t call me that, you stupid knight!” the cat-eyed thief barked at the smug mercenary, who simply shrugged it off. “I’m about to run out of fuel, so I will have to stop by at the nearest town. Since you’re here, knight, you better help me extract some aether from the air. Just enough to get us to an outpost.”

“But Outpost is the nearest town,” said Marlowe. “I mean, look! I can see the Palmetto from here!”

The scenery from behind the mercenary had changed. Amongst an endless horizon, they could see a lone spire sticking out of the bleak landscape.

“Wow! How have I not seen that before? That’s definitely going in my maps. Alright, boys. We’re staying the night there. I’m turning off the artifact, so I’ll see you in a bit.”

And the driver led her Behemoth to the two youths’ dear town, but as they got closer, they had noticed a change in the town’s atmosphere. Several lines of people were gathering outside the town’s perimeter, as if preparing to evacuate.

“What’s happening outside?” Marlowe craned forward to get a closer look, and Ripley stood right beside him. They could see a few blue tents where men in uniform were posted.

“Oh, no. It’s them,” said Ripley fearfully. “How were they able to catch up to us?”

“Don’t be silly, kid!” Lou corrected him. “They’re not even the same unit, so they wouldn’t recognize us. Just in case, though. We better hide from them. They might get a message from that border camp. Someone better tell the driver.”

“I’ll go! In fact, I know somewhere we can hide,” Marlowe beamed and returned to the front of the vehicle. After a few seconds, the Behemoth which was heading towards the front gate of Outpost suddenly stopped and made a turn, and from there, they stopped at a place the three boys recognized all too well.