The Droic pulled the cart with the help of Scalemen pushing from behind. Most of the liberated captives were Tortoise Folk. Their huge frame made them for easy targets, thus were easily captured but making them difficult to transport in large numbers.
On the tenth day, Kihet successfully returned to their base. The following weeks went by as more and more rescue operations were deployed. The resistance’s numbers rapidly grew into a sizable militia.
The events to come went too suspiciously smooth as reports came through. Many operations concluded in a victory, but reports stated the encampments were near abandoned with only a handful of Alc’Bruk’s zealots and Pamalyra mercenaries opposing them.
There was a pattern among victories and that was seeing a large area of forest around targeted encampments were burned down. It could’ve easily been counted as collateral damage to those who were only aware of their victory. Something wasn’t right, but before he delved deeper, there was a knock that snatched his attention.
“Yo, Kihet. You’ve been busy. How about taking some time off?”
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“I’m taking a break. You probably don’t understand so I’ll explain the concept to you. You see, sometimes when one continues working, they’ll burn out and-.”
“Do I look like I have the time?”
Kihet frowned at Draigh with heavy bagged eyes and extended his hand presenting the mounds of documents scattered in his office. From maps to pile of reports stacked almost on all walking space, Kihet’s messy hair was just visible poking out from the stack on his desk.
“Why don’t you get some help?”
“Last time I had help, chaos happened.”
The corner beside Kihet was piled with scrapped tree bark the Scalemen carelessly destroyed with their claws. It reminded him when stacks from left and right fell like dominos, adding more work in the end.
“Right.” Draigh nodded. “But at this rate you’re not going to leave this room. You can at least take a breather, or do I need to grab Tomoe?”
Once Draigh brought up Lily, Kihet flinched. Setting his quill down, he pushed his chair away from the paper filled desk. The last thing he wanted was a second coming of a storm rushing through this room.
“If you call her, she’ll pester me until I get up and I do have something I want to check.”
“You really can’t win against her. She gets feisty. Maybe more than Sorah if you get on her bad side.”
“Not really. I find Sorah much scarier.”
“Sorah was always harsh on you, but hey. Tough love.”
Kihet snatched a few rolls of documents in hand and tipped toe his way out of the room. There, he found Lily hiding beside the exit, sulking at him.
“What?”
“You called me annoying.”
“I never said that.” Though his tone did imply she was at times annoying. He raised a brow at her then turned back to his friend.
A wryly smile formed on Draigh’s face and slapped Kihet’s back, pushing him forward to lead the way. Lily would hook onto Kihet’s arm, clinging onto him as if she was expecting people to steal him away at any moment. They stepped into the camping grounds surrounded by stone walls. This was a stronghold they captured and rebuilt as their own for their advancing force.
Over by the target range, Aten -now fluent in Scylanis-, assisted Carmyn with combat drills. Meanwhile, Tama was Tama. The Werecat sought to make profit by trading goods for future wares to sell.
“Did you figure out what was bothering Aten?” Lily asked.
“It’s resolved.”
“What caused him to be like that?”
Kihet relayed everything few nights prior to return to main base. He caught Aten alone in the trees. His never blinking compound eyes set on the volcano they saw around the hot springs. It was the place where he buried his comrades centuries ago.
The Insectoid explained the monument he built was graffitied and vandalized. Graves were dug out. The pots holding the ash remains of his friends were opened, shattered. The worst part was recently, he discovered one of the withering knickknacks the Dragonkins were carelessly tossing around, dishonoring his fallen friends.
“Is he alright?” Lily asked.
“I think he’s got over it, or at least it looks like he did.”
“He’s always so composed. It’s hard to imagine that happening.”
“Give him some time to cool off.”
“What are you two mumbling about?” Draigh interrupted. “By the way, Kihet. What did you need to check on?”
“Krullu’s progress.”
“Hm. I don’t think it’s going to be completed anytime soon, but progress is steadily growing.”
“I’d like some good news. This equipment is crucial if we want a good chance to take down that wall.”
“Well look at you! I never thought I’d see you take charge before. Man, you were always holed up in that shack of yours. I thought you died at one point when you didn’t leave your home for weeks. Turns out you’re a natural to be leading!”
“You know I hate taking on that role.”
“With that attitude, I’m starting to miss the old Kihet.”
“Draigh, what was Kihet like back then?” Lily turned towards Draigh with sparkling eyes. “Anything embarrassing?”
“Well, he was the quiet type and when I first met him, he always acted awkward. I did remember a time where we got him to agree on playing a game where loser gets a punishment. He lost and the girls dressed him up as a-.”
“Not another word.” His piercing gaze was so cold Draigh felt like he visited the northern regions for a second.
“They made you cross dress, didn’t they?” Lily snickered.
“No, actually because of his lethargic attitude, the girls thought he’d looked cute in a costume… S-so,” Draigh decided changing the subject would be for the best. “Did you figure out how we should tackle the wall?”
“What did they make him dress up as?”
“I do have a few plans in mind,” Ignoring Lily, Kihet shouted over her. “But I’m not sure if we have enough resources to pull it off. It’ll change accordingly depending on Krullu’s part.”
He wasn’t a strategist, but Lily often brought up siege tactics and he had Hilaqi as a consultant for conducting skirmishes. He gained some experienced commanding people from the battle of Ilum mines although it ended with half his group fleeing at the time.
Commander or not, it was inevitable Kihet’s growing Resistance would eventually clash against Alc’Bruk’s zealots. He already witnessed the Dragonborn’s might and the Dragon God’s blessing. He could protect himself and small number of people against Alc’Bruk’s breath. The Oracle’s powers could only cover so much area. He needed a way to prevent the Scalemen from a total wipeout by that deadly blast.
But first, he needed to bolster the Scalemen’s offensive power to increase their chances of success sieging the great wall.
With him buried behind his desk every day, Kihet asked the chameleon Lizardman, Krullu, to understand and produce some form of artillery to use against the wall. Using one of his firelance brought from Vivrus as the basis, the chameleon grasped the working concept, performing many trials and errors.
As such, when he was escorted to the front of a building, he saw many boxes of junk stashed outside. It reminded him of his home where many scraps and failed prototypes lay dormant, kept for spare parts.
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They were invited by a heavy stench of smoke and metal rushed through the door. A working forge was stationed at the end of the chamber with many metal workers pouring liquid metal in molds, mass producing ingots for blacksmiths.
“I don’t see fuel or charcoal being thrown into the furnaces. How is the forge burning?” Lily fanned herself.
“Wood are precious resources for building structure and homes. The Scalemen have adapted to take advantage of magma veins, but we would need one closer to the volcano, or in one, depending on the type of metal we’re trying to smith.”
“Did you learn how to smith?” Kihet asked.
“It was one way to pass time, but they never let me touch the forge after I broke a few anvils. I could only watch from the sidelines.”
“How did you even managed to do that?”
Draigh simply shrugged at Kihet’s question and continued marching through the chamber of hot air.
A Tortoise Folk was seen reaching into the barrel of the large casted object. The dorsal portion of its shell was dark brown while the ventral sections was lighter. Its rough skin was the dark navy.
“Yo, Ainig!”
Loose dirt and clay fell out of the barrel as the Tortoise moved itself out. With a hunched back, it stood taller than everyone in Kihet’s group. It poked it’s head out of its shell like a curious child, and with a smile, waddled towards Draigh.
“Holy Draigh, l-look at what Krullu made!” Even though he stuttered, Ainig pointed at the product of finished metal casting with sparkles in its eyes containing pure excitement.
“I heard. I brought my friends here to look at it. Speaking of which…” Draigh shot a glance at Kihet which prompted him to step forward. “I don’t think you two have been introduced yet.”
Ainig who was on friendly terms with Draigh was expected to show the same manner to Kihet. However, the Tortoise froze in place after shifting his focus onto Kihet. Was it the piercing glare, or default unfriendly aura around him? If so, every Scalemen who introduced themselves to him before didn’t have a problem with it.
“N-n-n-n-n-n…”
The Tortoise was completely frozen over in fear, stuttering his words even more.
“What with him?” Kihet inquired.
“Aha… I forgot. He’s a bit shy. Even more so than Malth. It took me months for him to finally speak normally to me.”
“A communication disorder?”
“Maybe. He can talk in front of a few people, Krullu and me. Just not strangers, I think. You have business with him?”
“Yeah. From someone who calls him ‘Young Master’.” Kihet reached in his pocket for a bloodstained amulet and tossed it into Ainig’s hands. “He said ‘I go to where the Pale Dragon Slumbers’. That’s all.”
“Don’t forget to introduce yourself.”
“Kihet.”
“And I’m Tomoe! Nice to meet you!”
“Eep!”
Ainig was caught off guard by Lily jumping out from Kihet’s back. He took a step away, but his heels caught onto the mound of dirt and tripped on his back. The Tortoise began to panic as he flailed and thrashed violently, unable to flip himself upright.
“Oh no! Are you alright-?”
“GYAAA!”
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
“Tomoe, I got this. Could you take a step back?”
Draigh and his inhuman strength lifted Ainig and put the Tortoise on his two feet. While he offered words to calm the Scalemen, Lily’s attention fell on patches of dirt around the cannon.
“This… it’s no good.”
Kihet was suddenly taken back by Lily’s assessment. She inspected the piece of artillery thoroughly and her evaluation of the object deemed it defective.
“Huh? What do you mean? The walls are made thick and it’s not enough?”
“There are too many pockets of air trapped in the casting. It’ll likely explode when we use it.”
The General from Xu, Toudo, mentioned briefly how a cannon operated. The fire medicine creates pressure trapped behind the projectile and hurled it out of the barrel. If there were significant cracks anywhere on the casting, it was likely to rupture the moment the matchstick lit the fire medicine.
“How could that happen? Is there a specific way molten metal was supposed to be poured?”
“I think we overlooked something.” Lily stated, rubbing the soil used for casting. “I don’t know what Xu’s engineers used for their molds, but I do know it needs to be dry. The dirt is wet. The cause might be from steam being made when molten metal touches the mold.”
“The Devil Folk’s right.”
Out from the shadows, Krullu changed the color of his scales to vibrant yellow, making him visible in the dim lighting like he was spying the group from the corner. His bulging eyes shifted in opposite directions, scanning the room before announcing his findings.
“Stusis’ soils hold lots of water since being beside Pamalyra doesn’t often bring rainclouds over our heads. We don’t have the time to draw water out of them. So instead, I’ve revised the method to make them. Ainig, get it out!”
“Huh? I-I can’t move it own my own.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll help.”
The result of the Krullu’s work being wheeled out by Draigh and Ainig was different from how Kihet imagined it’d look. The ones he saw from Xu had a narrower barrel. The one Krullu presented was massive. It had a wide opening for a large projectile to sit in and plenty of room to load fire medicine in it. Notably, it was reinforced by rings strapped at equal distance through the length of the smoothbore barrel.
“Feast your eyes! Instead of using a mold, I came up with the idea to make the barrel with strips of steel like a wooden barrel! And with a wider opening aiming upwards, it’ll lob projectiles to the air and crash down at any unfortunate foes! It’s a new archetype of artillery that specializes striking from above!”
“Is it powerful enough to break the Dragonborn’s wall?”
“I wouldn’t know how fortified the enemies are, but I know the bigger it is, the harder it hits. The harder it hits, more things break.”
There was doubt on Kihet’s face, but nonetheless, his request was completed.
It could also be said the larger the cannon was, the more fire medicine required. Their production of fire medicine was almost nonexistent. It was too risky to send miners to collect sulfur out in the open where Dragonkins have air superiority.
Kihet then heard a note hummed in the chamber and went to investigate. The sound led him to an assortment of clay pots containing the necessary ingredients for fire medicine and other ingredients. There was a pot to the side which held magic crystals. That’s right. The world was blessed with magic even though he couldn’t use it himself. It didn’t mean others couldn’t take advantage of it.
“What’s the matter Oracle?” Krullu impatiently tapped his foot and replied with an irritated squint. “I tested the recipe you gave me. Don’t you tell me I got the measurements wrong because I know I didn’t!”
“I was thinking of using magic crystals.”
“Are you stupid? Magic crystals aren’t flammable.”
“It doesn’t have to be if it’s being used to perform the same function.” Kihet instantly shot back. “What if we had mages coordinate fire and wind magic?”
“Yes… that could work. All we had to do is replicate the pressure built to shoot the projectile.” Kihet’s proposal triggered Krullu to further brainstorm the idea. “What if we have a big enough flame and air-no, steam?”
“There is a slight problem with replacing fire medicine with magic.” Lily interrupted. “Among the few casters we have, are there people who can use fire or wind magic?”
“Tomoe’s right. Scalemen have strong affinity with earth magic primarily then fire.” Draigh answered. “The only person I know who can use wind magic effectively would be Hilaqi, but he rarely uses it.”
“Hilaqi, that snake head…” Krullu groaned. “He’s a nice guy don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t help but find him terrifying to walk-, I mean slither, beside. In the meantime, I’ll look into what the Oracle said and find alternatives.”
“Holy Draigh, Oracle! I bring grave newsss!” As if they called him, they found Hilaqi at the entrance grimacing. “The Dragonkins are burning down the foressst!”
Kihet and Lily exchanged looks and knew it was the worst-case scenario for them.
----------------------------------------
Claws slammed on the table. Each member of the council stood up and glared furiously towards the Dragonborn sitting on the far end of the table. The one who led the questioning was none other than Kaz’Bruk, questioning Alc’Bruk’s decision to not stop the Resistance building their numbers.
They lost many outposts, resources and slaves. It should be no surprise even though Kaz’Bruk didn’t want to force answers from his blood brother, but others would. At least if the Dragonborn were to give his explanation for his inactions, the people’s faith would continue to waiver under his leadership.
“Eldest brother. What were you thinking? Why are you letting our enemy do as they please? At this rate, they will retaliate and overcome us.”
“And so what?”
Despite being berated, Alc’Bruk remained composed and calm. All it took was a few moments of his silence for the room to quiet down. His unresponsive stare generated more distrust among his subordinates.
“At any time any of you prove to be stronger than I, I shall relinquish my position as Crimson’s wrath. I welcome the challenge.”
No one in the room objected to his strength. It was clear if it wasn’t for Alc’Bruk, the Tower Monsters that ambushed their assault on the stone fortress would’ve annihilated them. However, everyone was seething in anger that the Dragonborn allowed the Scalemen to capitalize their loss.
One of the councils slammed its tail, destroying the wooden stool behind. “With your combined strength and the Dragon God’s blessing, victory could be granted to us immediately-.”
“A war cannot be won with one strong individual.” Alc’Bruk corrected. “That is what the Heretics intended when they relied on the Goliath. However, wars can be won ‘because’ of a single warrior.”
That warrior he imagined leading the Heretics was the Enui disguised as Devil Folk, the fake Oracle. The mayhem the Enui executed was perfect in the Dragonborn’s eyes. To think even a small group had barely any chance to force a retreat on an army was successful. It was due to using resources he never imagined possible. He envied his opponent’s ingenuity.
Brute force, tactics, cunningness. For Alc’Bruk, he achieved near unattainable strength and was even rewarded more with the Dragon God’s blessing. However, as a mortal, he possesses limits as much as his comrades in the same room.
“Champion of the Crimson, spare us your foolery. We demand to know how you plan on turning the tides back to our favor!”
“You old geezers wouldn’t understand patience with what remaining time you have.” Alc’Bruk scoffed at the council. “I shall see to my duties, if you’ll excuse me.”
Without another word, the Dragonborn walked out of the war room. Fools, he thought. The council was too focused on the Heretics to understand the position they were in. They thought simply relying on the Dragon God’s blessing had no cost, but fortunately severe consequences have yet surfaced.
“Eldest Brother. At this rate, I fear the council will find a way to dispose of you and have Crimson elect a new champion.”
“Crimson chose me and if they dare oppose the it’s decision, it is them who have to fear. Not us. Kaz’Bruk, surely you have an inkling of reason why I avoided further skirmishes against the Heretics.”
“Is it the Towers scattered throughout the land?”
“Indeed. You saw the silver flames from that battle. It had the same energy as the Oracle’s light and the enemy even had the audacity to use the same tactic we used to corner the Heretics.”
“Does that mean we must call for the Oracle?”
“It simply means we must wait. Rest assured. The Oracle knows what kind of predicament we are in and sent two of his comrades to aid us.”
“That relieves me knowing you do not intend to charge mindlessly into the Heretics. What have you planned?”
“The enemy will not have the resources to feed so many mouths after the forest have all been burned down. They will come to us, and we shall welcome them. We shall greet them with open arms and flames. They will crumble and become remnants of old Stusis after I kill the Faker.”